流るる潮 (SHIFTING TIDES)

WE'RE RETURNING, LIKE THE TIDES, TO THE CLASSIC AMERICAN IPA STYLE THAT CREATED A REVOLUTION, IN COLLABORATION WITH BLACK TIDE BREWING.

[Character]
A classic American IPA featuring a blend of American "C" hops. A touch of caramel malt gives the beer its pale orange hue, with a touch of malt sweetness, balanced out by moderate hop bitterness, and aromas of citrus, pine, floral, and lemongrass.

[Food Pairing]
Boiled asparagus with herbed garlic butter, fried light white fish, orange tartar sauce, roasted pork belly infused with rosemary

[Naming]
The "Black Tide" in our collaborating partner's name refers to the translation of "Kuroshio", one of the world's strongest currents. Flowing along the Pacific coast, and eventually connecting to the North Pacific Ocean, this current impacts the waterflow around the entire world. Aside from the name connection, we reflected on the beer we were making, inspired by the classic West Coast IPA. We thought the idea of these shifting tides worked as a pretty good metaphor for styles, which shift and change, and eventually often finally come full circle back to where they came. Each cycle might be slightly different, just like these shifting tides, but return they will.

[Brewer's Voice]
Back in September, we travelled to Yakima for our American hop selection with a group of breweries from Japan. Amongst the breweries on that trip was James Watney from Black Tide. During our selection, James W. mentioned his love for Crystal, a classic American hop we have not used in some time. After a short rant about how underappreciated it was as a hop, it was clear that our collaboration needed to include this classic hop. For this beer, we came together and brewed a classic West Coast style IPA using all classic American “C” hops. In true old school fashion, this beer is focused on the balance of malt and hop character, using some crystal malt for sweetness and colour, and to balance out the bitterness of the hops. As for which hops, we used a generous blend of Columbus, Citra, Centennial and, of course, Crystal, giving a broad range of pine and citrus notes. As a bit more of a modern take on this style, instead of a classic California ale strain, we went with a thermotolerant lager strain, which we fermented at a warmer ale temperature in line with the Black Tide way of brewing. This lager strain gives a crisp and clean finish to the beer thanks to its slightly slower fermentation compared to its ale counterpart, suppressing yeast esters, and ensuring the character from the hops can come through as well as possible. Here's a modern method for bringing back a classic character from the godfather of American craft beer styles.
Style: IPA
Series: Nakama
Category: Beer
JAN: 4589718742496