In 2021, Ballistic brewed an imperial version of their Hawaiian Haze for Beer Cartel’s Canvent calendar. It was so loved by punters Ballistic decided to bring it back in 2022 for a wider audience.
This beer smells like a hop factory and it’s beautiful. (In my mind, a hop factory is full of tiny elves attaching each petal onto each hop before piping the lupulin in.)
After I tasted this beer, I had a look at the tasting notes on the Ballistic website and it felt like Multiverse Mick wrote them. It’s not often I find everything in the tasting notes resonating with me, but with this beer I’m on the same page all the way. Tangerine, peach and pineapple? Check, check, check. Soft and fluffy? Check. Subtle booziness? Check.
I described the pale ale as a Hawaiian shirt, and the IPA as having a $2 lei added to the outfit. Perhaps the hazy DIPA also includes a grass skirt in the ensemble? I don’t know how much further I can go with this imagery if Ballistic decides to keep releasing bigger versions of Hawaiian Haze.
Mick Wüst
Published January 6, 2023 2023-01-06 00:00:00
