Lupulin Effect Double IPA
Deep Creek Brewing Co.

 

CAN
Hazy bright orange w/finger of film + trailers. 4
Papaya + orange by the ton, plus a bit of oil. 4
Thread of shortbread, heap of OJ, then specks of melon, mint, and grass, ending with green mango. 4.25
Lingering IBUs
Lt+, oily, smooth. 4

All Amarillo-esque to start, but gets nuanced at the end with some Citra hints. 8.5% is buried, bitterness well judged, and body smooth. Balance of old + new school and some real expertise on show. 4.25

This is a new brewery for me from that land of the long white cloud: Aotearoa, better known to many as New Zealand. As is my custom with reviewing a new brewer I went straight for the most imperial thing I could find, in this case a Double IPA. On the label it tells an interesting story of how closely linked cannabis and hops biologically (no wonder I sometimes get cannabis notes in the aroma of hop-driven brews, and before you ask: No, I didn’t inhale). This lupulin effect, that is the effect of hops, can help one feel relaxed (opines the label). Well I definitely get the lupulin effect after a hard day’s work... sometimes after no days’ work too! Here’s hoping this be one fine hopped ale to parch my non-existent thirst.

Poured from a 440ml can into a Duvel tulip.

A: Hazed with tiny hop particles is this amber coloured brew with a respectable 1 centimetre white head that slowly descends leaving a lace blanket. Some splotchy lace on the side of the glass as well. Looks rather tasty hey. 8/10.

S: Less cannabis notes than expected - it’s not green with hops, more of a tropical scent (think pineapple, hint of mango) with a slight piney character as well. It’s not as brash in the aroma as I expected given the 8.5% ABV and pictures of hops all over the label... though it could be a sleeper aroma waiting to pounce in the flavour - for some reason NZ DIPAs tend to be big in the aroma but lacking in flavour - let’s hope this brew flips the trend. 7/10.

T: Syrupy canned pineapple forward, gives way to a herbal “green” hop note (there it is!) piney hops, an unobtrusive biscuit malt character, and a finish that has a grassy assertive bitterness. Overall balance is pretty good here, a touch more hop flavour might help to cover up an ever-so-slight ethanol note, but otherwise this is a straight 8/10. 8/10. [see, told ya!]

M: Medium bodied, syrupy and slick with hop oils, and a fairly sedate carbonation lead to a beer that wants you to focus on the hop flavour more than anything. It’s sticky but doesn’t cloy - which is nice. 8/10.

D: What a solid DIPA Deep Creek have made! It’s not a socks blown off sort of brew, so my take so far is that Deep Creek are no Garage Project/Yeastie Boys with the craziness... nor do they intend to be - they strike me as just wanting to hone a semi-decent craft brew, something to sit back and sip. That ethanol note became ever-present as I got to the bottom of the glass - a slight distraction. 8/10. Total: 7.8/10.

Food match: Thai is my go-to standard with a DIPA of this nature.