Equilibrium South Street Imperium

Brewery: Equilibrium Brewery
Country: USA
ABV: 8%
Style: New England / Hazy Double IPA
Other Notes: Double India Pale Ale

Brewer Description: (from website) Juice experiments are well underway here to explore some of the new toys we have at our new South Street facility. We had two leading theories on how to best use one of our new toys, both rooted in solid science, preliminary results both looked good… but different. So we thought… lets try both! We brought back the South Street version of the familiar companion set Experimentum and Imperium (Latin for Experiment and Control). Both feature our DIPA sized 2-Row Fractal fermentation, fractal grain bill, and a hop bill of Citra, Mosaic, and Sabra. These beers are parallel in recipe but not process. The difference focuses on two distinct uses of an exclusive piece South Street equipment and Experimentum utilizes our coveted Energy treatment process #twovariables. Both beers have a candy-like-tiki-cocktail aroma. South Street Imperium has notes and flavors of assorted citrus, peach, and crushed Pez candy with dank and slightly resinous finish and punchy rollercoaster of #EQJuice. South Street Experimentum offers flavors of bright tropical fruit, deep navel orange characteristics with mango and papaya in a distinctly succulently soft body while and crossing the finish line with our EQJuice. With the same ingredients but two different processes, a showdown is underway. Which one do you prefer?

My rating: 3
My beeradvocate.com rating: 3.92
My ratebeer.com rating: 3.8

Intro: A 1 pint can, canned on 28th May 2020. Poured into a Holy Mountain tulip glass.
Appearance: A hazy orange colour with a nice two finger white head that had excellent retention and left lots of great lacing.
Aroma: Citrusy orange zest and pith, peach candy, guava, pineapple, with notes of melon.
Taste: Orange, orange juice, with notes of peach gummy candy, dankness, and onion.
Mouthfeel: Medium bodied with moderate carbonation.
Overall: Aroma was nice, but taste didn’t quite match for me. I preferred Experimentum just that slightly more.

Garage Project Pas De Deux

Brewery: Garage Project
Country: New Zealand
ABV: 11.6%
Style: Bière de Champagne / Bière Brut
Other Notes: Garage Project + Nautilus. Methode Aro Bière 2016

Brewer Description: (from bottle) A duet of perfect unison – strong blonde wort and the finest clear pressed pinot juice from Nautilus Estate’s sparkling vineyard. First blended and fermented together using a mixture of Belgian beer and champagne yeasts, then bottled and allowed to condition ‘sur lie’ for 18 months before being riddled and disgorged in the traditional method. The result of this intricate, painstaking process is a seamless union of beer and sparkling wine. A true pas de deux.

My rating: 3
My beeradvocate.com rating: 3.91
My ratebeer.com rating: 3.7

Intro: A corked and caged 750ml bottle, Methode Aro Bière 2016, poured into a 3 Fonteinen stemmed glass.
Appearance: A lightly hazy golden colour with a one finger white head that dissipated fairly quickly to a thin ring around the glass, while leaving some nice lacing.
Aroma: White grape, grape gummy candy, with ice wine notes.
Taste: Moderately sweet, vinous, white grape, candy sugar, with notes of apple, caramel and booze.
Mouthfeel: Medium bodied with moderate to low spritzy carbonation.
Overall: This was interesting, maybe more of a sipper for me, as the sweetness and booze combo is not my favourite.

Garage Project FRESH IPA (Jun 2020)

Brewery: Garage Project
Country: New Zealand
ABV: 7%
Style: New England / Hazy IPA
Other Notes: Malts – Pilsner, Oats and Spelt. Hops – Simcoe, Centennial Cryo, Motueka and Azacca. Yeast – Wyeast 1318 London III

Brewer Description: (from can) Fresh IPA, a rolling, ever-changing monthly series of one-offs, brewed in small batches and available only from our brewery outlets, and only while stocks last. Each batch is an opportunity to try a new, brewery fresh IPA – unfiltered and unfined, showcasing a unique combination of yeast, malt and hops. Just fun, fresh hoppy beer at its best.

My rating: 4
My beeradvocate.com rating: 4.1
My ratebeer.com rating: 4

Intro: A 440ml can, canned on 4th May 2020 (maybe… it’s not too legible). Poured into a Holy Mountain tulip glass.
Appearance: A hazy orange yellow colour with a three finger white head that had good retention and left nice lacing.
Aroma: Strong citrus pith, orange and lemon zest, with notes of pine and grass.
Taste: Juicy, papaya, melon, mango, citrus zest and pith, lightly bitter finish.
Mouthfeel: Medium bodied with moderate carbonation and a dry finish.
Overall: Easy drinking IPA with enjoyable aroma and flavours.

Dádiva Saison Printemps

Brewery: Cervejaria Dádiva
Country: Brazil
ABV: 5.9%
Style: Belgian Saison
Other Notes: 2017 vintage

Brewer Description: (from bottle in Portuguese) A Dádiva Printemps é única. Feita com pêssego e brettanomyces bruxellensis ela te convida a viajar por um horizonte selvagem, cheio de mistérios, cores e aromas. Tudo isso, com o frescor e a leveza da primavera.

(translated to English) Dádiva Printemps is unique. Made with peach and brettanomyces bruxellensis it invites you to travel across a wild horizon, full of mysteries, colors and aromas. All of this, with the freshness and lightness of spring.

My rating: 3
My beeradvocate.com rating: 3.85
My ratebeer.com rating: 3.6

Intro: A corked and caged 375ml bottle, with a best before date of September 2020. Poured into a Holy Mountain tulip glass.
Appearance: A very lightly hazy orange colour with a half finger white head that dissipated fairly quickly while leaving some decent lacing.
Aroma: Light funk, brett, peach, apricot, honey, pineapple, mandarin zest and a touch floral.
Taste: Funky, brett, floral, light sweetness, apricot, white pepper.
Mouthfeel: Light to medium bodied with soft carbonation.
Overall: The carbonation was an issue here, but I also read many instances even up to early 2018 where the carbonation was lost. However, despite this, there was definitely some interesting aroma and flavours coming through.