As most of the country hits its lockdown targets and moves back to normal, we’re seeing plenty of friends and family reunite on the soft grassy fields of our favourite parks and gardens. We’ve all seen the Instagram pics, it’s officially picnic season and with that comes some great food and drink.
Alongside this, Victorian-based independent brewery, Wolf of the Willows has released three new tins: a DDH hazy DIPA, a DDH hazy IPA and an orange sangrita sour.
Let’s kick it off with the most exciting on the list, the orange sangrita sour.
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Disco of the Dead II is a natural sequel to the previous sour and boy was this one of the more interesting sours I’ve had in recent memory. Wolf of the Willows partnered with Tromba Tequila to bring this brew to life and it’s exactly that; full of life.
The sour combines pomegranate, orange juice, a few squeezes of lime and, of course, some the Melbourne-based Tromba Tequila. Like most sours, you can definitely taste the citrus flavours, but the tequila adds an extra element that works perfectly.
ManSpace magazine was lucky enough to get its hands on this drink before it officially dropped so stay tuned on Wolf of the Willows socials for more information.
Next up is the Double Vision II, a double dry hopped (DDH) hazy DIPA with plenty of strong hoppy flavours paired with a fruity finish.
I love the whole theme of this drink: a soft-looking dog looking into the mirror to see a tough, aggressive dog sits on the label while the brewery tries to hide the soft, fruitier flavours behind the rich hops.
It also comes with Cryo Pop hops, a new advanced hop product from Yakima Chief Hop Farms. As the brewery writes on its website: “Combined with our industry-leading Cryo Hops production process, we have engineered a supercharged pellet blend packed with the most effective aromatic components.”
And lastly, the final new brew from Wolf of the Willows is Inner Vision II (it must be sequel season in Mordialloc), an Azacca-Citra-Galaxy DDH hazy IPA. It’s aiming to bring a fruity, summery salad punch to the picnic alongside a creamy, oat mouthfeel for balanced bitterness.
While I didn’t love this as much as the previous two, I could definitely see what it’s going for. It’s a much thicker brew than the Double Vision II and the hoppy notes of the IPA were much more prevalent for me. But then again, the two beers before this one were some of my favourites in the past 12 months, tough competition.
These three beers are limited releases so make sure you get in quick to secure some of the more interesting brews from 2021. In fact, I’ll put it bluntly, do whatever is possible to wrap your lips around the Disco of the Dead II, if you’re into sour beers, you’ll be doubly into this one.
To find out more about what Wolf of the Willows do and where to purchase, visit their website here.
