Ahh Holgate...my sentimental favourite Victorian microbrewery, since it was the first craft brewery pub I ever visited (for beer) and discovered drinkably rich and tasty beers. I have since returned several times now and never leave disappointed.
When I first tried the Holgate Road Trip IPA, on tap at The Royston Hotel and then at the Fed Square Microbreweries Showcase back in October, it did not quite capture me as an amazing IPA on these occasions. However, today I drank it on tap at the Holgate Brewhouse in Woodend and just loved it! Unfortunately, I was the designated driver today (it is an hour drive from Melbourne city out to Woodend), so I limited myself to just the one pot of Road Trip, but it was a very rewarded pot.
Golden amber in colour and with a very small but frothy white head, the appearance is straight forward...but the taste and drinkability are the key. Its beautifully rich hoppy aroma continues into the the big and wonderfully rich taste, dominated by the Chinook, Centennial and Citra hops. The flavour also throws up some notes of pine and passionfruit. The typical malty and caramelly Holgate character is still present, providing the unique Holgate quality to this IPA.
Overall, it is very well balanced, with a very nice medium body, medium carbonation and a long bitter finish, there is plenty to explore in this beer.
Finally, a huge thank you to Jeff, Assistant Brewer at Holgate, who gave the wife and I, along with our fellow beer-loving bloggers from Eat Drink Stagger, a personal brewery tour today...and allowed me to add the hop pellets to the Pilsner brew!
Alt Christmas Song of the Day: "Yule Shoot Your Eye Out" by Fall Out Boy
now that is a beer worth writing about and really not a fair thing for for the designated driver to have to deal with.
ReplyDelete