OnTap Magazine

BREW REVIEWS REVIEWERS: Lucy Corne (LC), Megan Gemmell & Dion van Huyssteen (MG & DvH), Shawn Duthie (SD) BREWNEWS Jack Black’s latest limited release is a tweaked version of the imperial IPA that won best in show at the 2018 Cape Town Festival of Beer. At 8% it’s towards the lower end of the imperial spectrum, and it’s perhaps a little too easy-drinking – this is a beer that could quickly get you into trouble. I believe the term is “dangerously drinkable”. It’s a veritable fruit salad on the aroma - pineapple, lychee, raspberry and a touch of mango, though the fruits are all a little muted, as though they’re dried or tinned rather than fresh from the tree. It’s a fairly well-balanced beer that displays Jack Black’s distinct malt character, but unlike some high ABV brews, it’s not too sweet. You wouldn’t exactly call it a hop bomb, but it does offer a decent bitterness. Overall, a well-made and enjoyable beer that would be great with a curry or a plate of mature cheddar. – SD Jack Black's MEGA ALE (8%) 3.7 3.4 Yng Gns brewery is the new kid on the block in KZN, and we were excited to be able to try their beers. They offer an IPA, APA and a session ale, the latter being the one we opted to review. On initial pour, you are greeted with a lovely light floral hop character with a slight fruitiness and a touch of malt graininess to add complexity. This pale golden ale delivers a bready malt flavour with just enough hop fruitiness to keep it interesting. At only 3.5% ABV, this beer is remarkably flavourful, and you’ll happily drink several more. – MG & DvH Yng Gns SESSION ALE (3.5%) On a recent trip to Singapore, brewers from Afro Caribbean and Dissident joined up with local brewery Red Dot to brew a collab that honoured ingredients from their respective lands: sorghum and rice. On returning to SA, the team recreated the brew – a session IPA hopped with cascade and southern passion. There is a decent whiff of hop – a floral note, reminiscent of geraniums or maybe violets – I need to up my game on floral smells. Flavour-wise, this is a weird beast. On first entry I picked up a woody, grainy note that I didn’t enjoy at all. Then a wave of stewed fruits cheered me up, but was quickly replaced by a weird chalky flavour that I attribute to sorghum and don’t entirely love. And in the end, that floral hop aroma came back in flavour form. It’s a deeply interesting beer and while I don’t love it, I do appreciate the unique flavour profiles. I’d recommend it with food – something fragrant and spicy, like a Thai green curry or peri-peri prawns. – LC Afro Caribbean x Dissident x Red Dot LIFE IS A DETOUR (5.5%) 3.2 Ah, the black IPA, that forgotten fad of beer. It’s the fidget spinner of beer, if you will. The Livestrong bracelet of beer. The ice bucket challenge of beer. One minute everyone was doing it and the next it was relegated to the vaults, revived only occasionally by those with a particular penchant for nostalgia. Well I have that penchant and I’m happy to see another black IPA in our fridges, albeit for a limited period. This is the second in Lakeside’s Dark Warrior collab series with Impi and it’s quite a sexy beast. Mahogany in hue with a thick and fluffy tan-coloured head that you just want to dip your tongue in. On the nose there’s pine, leather and a touch of mocha. I might have like a bit more hop punch, but there’s definitely some humulus character. I likewise would have enjoyed a bit more hop bitterness to go alongside the roast character, though it does finish with a fresh, almost minty note. I wasn’t sure if I liked it at first, then suddenly half the glass was gone and I was cracking another can – got to be a good sign. – LC Lakeside x Impi DARK WARRIOR BLACK IPA (5.5%) 3.6 ontapmag.co.za | Summer 2019 | 69