Java the Hop (2024) - NZ 106 Hops + Kilenso Coffee
Fort George Brewery + Public House

Golden amber pour, modest head. Nose is coffee plus a healthy dose of citrus hops. Bitterness is very noticeable but not harsh and otherwise very well- behaved. Body is smooth and on the dry side. The coffee carries throughout the taste and to the finish. Sip slowly and taken in the range of tastes. They get a lot out of a 6.5% ABV beer.

ive had and reviewed this before under the generic header, but its cool they make it obvious now that there are multiple versions of this, maybe it was always obvious and i didnt know, but this is somehow even better than whatever edition i had when i first encountered this, this ethiopian coffee is lights out, the beer overall is insanely good, the fit with the hops is shockingly cohesive, and its lighter to drink than it sounds, truly a beer i could make a day of, and fort george again delivers something magnificent and clever. a new hop from new zealand, a coffee which i assume is pretty lightly roasted, and a really unassuming beer in the glass, blonde with only the faintest color imparted by the coffee, frothy white headed, a touch hazy, but still airy and delicate looking. nose and taste are the same, warming and almost cozy coffee character juxtaposing coldness in the beer, crispness even, this is dry and without heavy grain or anything, and there is a juiciness to the hops that lean into it being kind of refreshing, so its almost confusing at first. the coffee has subtle smoke and dry crumbly soil along with baking chocolate, hazelnut, almond, and raisin type fruitiness, could be natural process beans doing that, id love to know. the hops bring melon rind, tidy citrus, and some unique herbal tones that play extremely well with the coffee. bitterness is very low from both coffee and hops, like they considered the obvious possibility of double jeopardy there and went well away from any risk, which makes this crazy drinkable and oddly clean for what it is. hints of coconut in the hops pull out cocoa powder in the coffee, and this is more synergistic than i even thought possible, reminds me of some epic dry hopped cold brew coffee from corvus in denver that they used to make, even though those beans were from rwanda, the best fusion of coffee and hops i have known, perhaps until now. lighter than expected, amazingly complex, one of my favorite beers right now. need to track down the indonesian coffee edition from this year!