Disclaimer: Shook by Garage Project and Tired Hands was purchased and reviewed before news on the alleged sexual harassment and racism in craft breweries in the United States, including Tired Hands Brewing Company, broke out. Since then, Tired Hands founder Jean Broillet IV has stepped away from the brewery’s operations. Last June 12, Garage Project announced that they will be selling the remaining stock of their collaboration beer with all profits being donated to Pink Boots (Australia/ New Zealand) and RespecEd Aotearoa, organizations doing crucial work to encourage diversity and developing harm reduction tools for the brewing industry. We believe that craft beer should be inclusive and free from violence. We hope that by publishing this article, we bring more awareness to these issues plaguing the industry. #NotMe
Garage Project from Wellington is back with two fresh brews for the 2021 Hāpi Sessions. The first of the pair is Shook (Vol. 8), a collaboration with Tired Hands of Pennsylvania, while the second is Escape from LA (Vol. 9), a hazy IPA collaboration with Monkish of California. We revisit these latest two outturns to rediscover the hidden secrets of NZ hops.
FROM ARO WITH LOVE
What once started out in a garage in Aro Valley, Wellington by Pete Gillespie, Jos Ruffell, and Ian Gillespie in 2011, Garage Project is now one of the most sought-after craft breweries not just in Australia and NZ, but also around the world. In 2015, the brewery took the top spot in the Fast 50 Index of Deloitte thanks to its 664 percent annual growth. Not just that. In 2017, Garage Project was hailed as the best brewery by the Brewers Guild of New Zealand. The brewery also claimed 19 spots in the 2018 Great American Beer Festival (GABS) Hottest 100 Kiwi Craft Beers poll with their iconic beers: Death From Above (2nd) Pernicious Weed (3rd), and Party & Bullshit (5th) among others.
THE PURSUIT OF HĀPINESS
Garage Project took things a notch higher in 2019 by rolling out the red carpet and inviting the international craft beer community to Wellington for the first Hāpi Festival & Symposium. The objective of the festival was to showcase international hop-forward beers from fellow craft breweries across the globe. Some of the participating breweries include Hill Farmstead Brewery, Cloudwater Brew Co., Trillium Brewing Company, Stone Brewing, and Monkish Brewing Co. among others. The proceeds of the event were used to fund the Hāpi Hop Research Centre.
HĀPI SESSIONS
The global gathering also paved the way for Hāpi Sessions with its first four volumes released in 2019. Garage Project worked with Trillium, Firestone Walker, Other Half, and Three Weavers to recreate a beer from each of the mentioned partnering breweries and consequently feature the salient characteristics of at least one harvest-fresh NZ hop variety.
Hāpi Sessions Vol. 8 Tired Hands x Garage Project “Shook”
Name: Shook
Brewers: Garage Project, Tired Hands Brewing Company
Style: Fruit Beer (Base Style: New England IPA)
ABV: 8%
Review Year: 2021
Shook is a “lime thickshake” brewed with Simcoe, Sabro, and Freestyle Riwaka hops with oats, wheat, full cream milk sugar, and aromatic lime.
STYLE GUIDELINES
This beer is being evaluated as a Fruit Beer (29A) with the Specialty IPA: New England IPA (21B) as the base style in the context of the 2015 Beer Style Guidelines of the Beer Judge Certification Program (BJCP). Note that the Specialty IPA: New England IPA is a provisional style as of this writing, with its working definition published on the BJCP website. The most current version of the guidelines can be found on the BJCP website.
TASTING NOTES
Hazy straw with a persistent white head. Moderately low lime and passion fruit with supporting mango and resin aromas were noted initially. Subtle oats surfaced after a while. Medium body and carbonation; afterfeel had a low puckering quality akin to eating apples. Refreshing lime/lemon, passion fruit, and mango were the most notable of the flavors (moderately strong). These were followed by medium piney, resiny, herbal hop flavors with a touch of lime and coconut. Other characteristics included a low bready malt backbone, medium-low bitterness, and an off-dry finish despite having lactose. Oats were noted late (moderately low) and lingered into the aftertaste alongside lactose sweetness, bitterness, and a subtle minerally character.
THE VERDICT
Very good but not a standout. Shook is definitely a uniquely juicy beer. Lactose addition was a balancing act and did not contribute excess sweetness. Meanwhile, the piney, resiny, and herbal hop flavors were sufficient enough to remind us that this is still beer and not fruit juice. The hint of coconut was a proper nod to the Sabro hop. However, we think a more pronounced malt backbone could improve further the balance of this beer.
Hāpi Sessions Vol. 9 Monkish x Garage Project “Escape from LA”
Name: Escape from LA
Brewers: Garage Project, Monkish
Style: New England IPA
ABV: 8%
Review Year: 2021
Escape from LA was brewed with golden promise malt, three types of oats, and a massive double dose of Galaxy, Citra, Strata, and Freestyle Rakau hops.
STYLE GUIDELINES
This beer is being evaluated as a Specialty IPA: New England IPA (21B) in the context of the provisional guidelines of the Beer Judge Certification Program (BJCP) for the said beer style.
TASTING NOTES
Opaque straw; medium-low white head with poor retention. The aroma started with moderately low peach, grapefruit, and low pungent garlic aroma. These were upped by two notches higher as the beer settled and were coupled with resiny, piney, and lychee aromas. Medium-full body, moderate carbonation. Hop-forward profile composed mainly of assertive piney and zesty citrus flavors; supportive bready malt backbone. Bitterness was fairly strong while a medium-low peppery “hop burn” was noted. Off-dry finish (low residual sweetness); subtle alcohol. The aftertaste lingered with the piney hop impression, the noted “hop burn,” and some lychees.
THE VERDICT
Escape from LA is a hazy, hoppy-bitter beer that showcases diverse hop aromas and flavors. The stone fruit, citrus, and tropical fruit characteristics were expected from the hops. Meanwhile, the low pungent quality is likely from the hops as well. Some sources have actually noted that Galaxy can be intense and even pungent, lending qualities of passion fruit, citrus, and apricot among others. Crucially, the pungent quality added more character to the beer rather than overpowering it. However, we think less of the peppery “hop burn” could elevate this beer further. Relative to the chosen benchmark, Escape from LA is notably more bitter with its finish tilted toward the drier side– attributes suggesting that this beer could already be referred informally to as a “West Coast Hazy IPA.” Overall, very good.
View this post on Instagram
