Charlie Hodgson and Lachy Crothers met back in 2010 when they were both were brewing at Gage Roads in Western Australia. Eventually, they both took head brewer jobs in Brisbane. But, while they spent five years brewing less than 5km from each other there, they never collaborated on a beer.
Now, in 2023, Charlie Hodgson is head brewer at Woopi, and his mate Lachy Crothers is commercial director of brewery consulting company WellBrewd. They live 350km apart… and they finally got together for a collab. When Lachy made the trip to Woolgoolga, the two decided to go retro with a style that was sexy back when they met: black IPA. And, while they were at it, they made it imperial.
Unlike some more aggressive black IPAs, Moonglade BIIPA is a beer that looks after you. It’s full of personality, but without any roughness or clashing flavours. The malt isn't oppressive, and the hops aren't overbearing. The dark malts (Carafa special and chocolate malt) were added late so as not to bring harsh acidic notes; they make for a deep darkness with glints of red, and bring coffee and burnt caramel flavours.
The impressive amount of hop character comes from 12g/L dry hop additions, made up mostly of NZ wunderkind Superdelic with some CTZ and Simcoe thrown in for good measure. Red fruit and resiny pine hit the nose (tied in with that fine coffee aroma), and carry into the mouth with some candied citrus (alongside that burnt caramel). Fine carbonation integrates well with the luxurious malt body, and there’s just the right amount of bitterness and boozy warmth to lift everything up a notch.
Tastes like reminiscence and long-distance friendship.
Mick Wüst
Published May 31, 2023 2023-05-31 00:00:00
