US Hop Drop: Barrier & Grimm! Vibrant Forest, DEYA, Dry & Bitter...
H E L L O
C L A P T O N C R A F T
F A N S !
We had a feeling this week could turn into a bit of a special one, and looking down the running order it does read like a who's who of some of the best breweries across the UK, Europe and the US. We've got NYC hops galore, including legends Barrier, and incredibly limited online exclusives from Grimm, plus Danish Dons Dry & Bitter and some ludicrous beers from Northern Monk. If that isn't enough we're also delighted for Misty Woods, our collab with Vibrant Forest to return for a much-requested encore, plus your weekly essentials of DEYA, Verdant and Pressure Drop. Quite frankly there's too much to cover here, so read on!
N Y C J U I C E
F R O M
B A R R I E R & G R I M M
Brewing out of beautiful Oceanside, Long Island Barrier Brewing Co. had their first batches rolling out to the public in June of 2010, before expanding in 2012 after much fanfare. However the new brewery only operated for a few short months before being severely damaged by Hurricane Sandy. After several months of rebuilding, along with some tremendous support from fellow brewers and the local community, Barrier reopened a year later, and the fermentors have been bubbling away ever since.
We've got four brilliant beers to celebrate: fan favourite and uber-hoppy IPA Money. Greenroom, a superbly balanced and vibrant Pale Ale dry-hopped with Centennial, Cascade & Comet, What Day Is It?, a sumptuous NEIPA, and finally Kickin' Knowledge, a ludicrous Milkshake IPA with strawberry, vanilla & coconut - so thick you might need a spoon.
Having been lucky enough to taste some of Grimm's beer directly from the source, it's fair to say the Brooklyn brewery are making some of the most ingenious and exciting brews in the US right now. Fulfilling the juice quota we have Magnetic Tape, an IPA oozing radiant peach and melon notes, while Cloud Landing is a Hazy, fluffy New England-style double IPA featuring New Zealand hops Moutere and Motueka that lend flavours of cotton candy, watermelon, and rather aptly, kiwi.
Vacay is a classic Grimm dry-hopped sour featuring notes of lemongrass, apricot, and black peppercorn. A fresh, puckering refresher with lightly toasted oak in the background - there's plenty of scope for chin-stroking with this one, though it also won't hang around in your glass. Finally, Utopos is a highly regarded step-mashed brew Pilsner that was fermented under pressure in order to naturally capture a soft carbonation, with a crisp and delightfully snappy finish.
With only a handful to go around, Grimm will be going online only so everyone has a fair shot - these are available as of midday, with newsletter subscribers hearing first!
S O U T H C O A S T
& S C A N D I S U D S
We just couldn't help ourselves... Misty Woods, our collab with the unstoppable Vibrant Forest is back alongside a plethora of park-ready pales, a quenching raspberry and rhubarb sour, and an indulgent stout from the New Forest team. But, if you've not had a chance to try our Mountain IPA it might be the last time to do so! A hybrid of the clean, piney bitter-laden West Coast favourites and the tropical, oat-filled East, this if we do say ourselves... is a pretty number.
It's been far too long since Dry & Bitter were found on these shores and we're delighted to reintroduce the Danish favourites. Founded in early 2015, these quickly became a mainstay of the European brewing scene, with a focus on forward thinking hop-forward beers. Their signature, West Coast IPA Dank & Juicy makes a welcome return in all it's resinous, hoppy glory. It features alongside UW (pronounced U-Dub) their, super oily, dank IPA, as well Sleepy Nomad, a session IPA double dry-hopped with Idaho-7 and Simcoe which sees sweet peach and creamy tangerine take the lead. Vague Vessel, their hefty Citra, Mosaic and Simcoe New England IPA completes what is a very exciting quartet.
B R E W E R Y
O F T H E W E E K
N O R T H E R N M O N K
Leeds legends Northern Monk have rightly become synonymous with everything from brilliantly balanced session beers, to over-the-top pastry stouts and ridiculously hoppy IPAs. Either way, we can never get enough from this riotous bunch so we're pretty pumped to receive eight entirely different freshies.
Faith, Northern Lager and Striding Edge are arguably the ultimate fridge staples, the latter of which packing unbelievable flavour into just 2.8%. We've also got two of their Old Flax Store specials including OFS006, an unnamed but entirely obvious interpretation of a British classic. Here they've blended a strawberry, red grape and citrus peel kettle sour with a Vic Secret-hopped IPA, then infused this with mint and grated cucumber for a summer smasher. OFS007 sees them push the limits of the notorious Kveik yeast, creating a thick, sticky IPA, dripping with orange, passion fruit and a touch of pepper.
For those after something a little more decadent we also have two tantalising, dessert inspired efforts. Fudge Sundaze is an imperial stout made with a blend of caramel malts, in addition to demerara and milk sugar, cacao nibs, and coffee beans for a suitably creamy, gluttonous brew. Forget a Mr Whippy, the Monks have you covered for post-park, nostalgic refreshment. Their Culinary Adventures Scarborough is a Double Cone Ice Cream pale(!) using Madagascan vanilla and strawberry puree during fermentation, with a late addition of milk chocolate for that all important flake feel. Meanwhile Montage is a Double IPA clocking in at 9.5% and showcasing HBC692, one of the most exciting experimental varieties coming through hop specialists Yakima Chief’s program.
There's truly something for everyone here and we encourage you to dive into their range with double loyalty points in store this week! If you're yet to sign up you can join in store, or shoot us an email and we can do the rest.
M O R E H I G H L I G H T S
T H I S W E E K
🐊 DEYA 🐊
Back To Earth - DIPA
Into The Haze - New England IPA
Sometimes - Session Pale
Steady Rolling Man - Pale Ale
⛰ GIPSY HILL ⛰
Operator - NEIPA
Propeller - Saison
Grafter - Micro Kveik IPA
Dinomania - West Coast Pilsner
💫 GRAVITY WELL 💫
Unexplained Signals - Fruited Sour
Ripples Through Space - New England Pale
🎉 PARTIZAN 🎉
IPA - Mosaic & Ekuanot
Dee Dee - DDH Pale Ale
🔥 PRESSURE DROP 🔥
Show Me Something New - American Brown Ale
Parachute - New England Pale
🍒 THE KERNEL 🍒
Biere De Saison - Sour Cherry
Biere De Saison - Cider Apple
London Sour - Raspberry
🌱 VERDANT 🌱
Neal Gets Things Done - New England IPA
🌲 VIBRANT FOREST 🌲
Aira - Session Pale
Cambrian Root - Salted Liquorice Stout
Otto - New England Pale
Pupa - Juicy Pale Ale
Summer of Sundays - Hazy IPA
Viridis - Raspberry & Rhubarb Sour
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As always there's even more to discover online, and in all five stores open every day of the week. Thanks for reading, and more importantly have a great weekend!
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