Obsession Series – Simcoe IPA
Celebrating 25 years of Simcoe hops! In collaboration with Yakima Chief Hops, we’ve created a very Simcoe-y release to showcase one of our favourite ingredients from the world of humulus lupulus, and celebrate the significant impact it has had on the modern beer scene.
Back in the year 2000, a new hop variety burst onto the scene and it very quickly became a major component of the backbone of some of the world’s most sought-after beers.
Our Obsession series is the perfect place to spotlight a single hop, and so we’ve kept the malt base straightforward with just a little biscuit malt for a hint of sweetness, providing a clean backbone to allow these very special hops to truly shine. On top of that, we’ve added an absolute abundance of Simcoe, across whole cone leaf, T90 and Cryo hop form, dosed in liberally throughout the brewing process to really make the most of its wonderfully versatile nature.
Expect zesty grapefruit on the aroma, with flavours of resinous pine, more citrus fruit and a tantalising hint of fresh red berries, followed by a hearty, bitter finish. Weighing in at 5.8%, to allow for a full body without overwhelming booziness. Packed with Simcoe character, it’s bold, vibrant and we think a fitting way of putting this rockstar of the hop world centre stage.
The leaf hops we used were grown by Tributary Farms, owned by the Smith family who are founders of Yakima Chief Hops and Yakima Chief Ranches. YCR are the breeders of Simcoe (which was originally named YCR 14), so the Smiths would have been some of the original growers of Simcoe hops 25 years ago. And the T90 pellets we used in this batch were grown by Double R Hop Ranches, also one of the grower owners of YCH – 5th generation hop growers based in Moxee, WA.
Obsession Simcoe is available now in cask, keg and can. Please join us in raising a glass to a quarter of a century of this incredible hop!
With thanks to Yakima Chief Hops for the information about the hop growers, and for involving us in celebrating 25 Years of Simcoe!
