If you've read many of my beer write-ups, you'll know I have a soft spot in my heart for red IPAs. If someone cared enough†, they may even accuse me of giving red IPAs special attention. But this one doesn't need a biased description by a red IPA lover – Newstead have given it all the special attention it needs.
When it came to making their first limited release of 2022, Newstead went with a malt-heavy beer and absolutely blasted it with hops. As well as the kettle addition, whirlpool addition and two rounds of dry-hopping, the brewers threw hops into the mash right at the beginning of the brew, filled the hopback with whole cone Galaxy hops between the kettle and fermenter, and finally added hop oil extracts into the bright tank right at the end of the process.
It's kind of a stupid amount of hops but the whole thing has led to a terrific red IPA. Big toffee malt swirls with resin and marmalade as you breathe in the fumes, then the hops really burst open in the mouth. It's jammy and zesty and bitter, with a stewed fruit fullness in the mouth that doesn't quite tip over into syrup territory.
If you’re looking for a fine example of a beer overloaded with hops but still wonderfully balanced, I’d heartily recommend Simon Says. I’ll admit there’s a bit of a conflict of interest when I give you advice about red IPAS. But that doesn’t mean that I’m wrong.††
Mick Wüst
†No one does.
††If that line sounded familiar to you, it’s because I channelled my inner Clooney. Watched Ocean’s 11 for the millionth time the other day. I regret nothing.
Published March 23, 2022 2022-03-23 00:00:00
