This beer review is on Cushty Cushty which is a hazy session IPA. This is an interesting because it is my first beer from both Brinkburn St Brewery and Steam Machine. This appealing beer was a purchase made at the same time as my Wor flags pale ale purchase. This beer originates from the North East and I am from the North East so it’s only necessary to give it a try. During course of this review, I will cover the history of both breweries, the pour, the taste and aroma and finally my opinion on this collaboration. Cheers
A walkthrough to the history of this beer and the breweries.
First, I will talk about Brinkburn St Brewery. This is located on Ouseburn, Newcastle Upon Tyne and I have personally walked past this brewery a couple of times but for one reason or another I haven’t actually stopped in. Brinkburn St is a microbrewery which was founded in 2015 and gained valuable advice from the likes Magic Rock and Northern Alchemy during start up. In 2018, they moved to the premises in Ouseburn which allowed for a taproom to added. Their style appears to focus on hoppy ales such as a west coast ale or dry hopping.
Moving onto Steam Machine Brewing Company, this was founded in 2015 by Nick and Gulen Smith however this existed earlier as a concept. This brewery is located in Newton Aycliffe, County Durham and I have personally received a couple recommendations to visit it. Their mission appears to be experimentation and exploring a wide range of styles. Along with this, they also do a lot of community engagement and eventing.
This collaboration adds to many collabs between the two breweries with one example being Wrong Side of the Pennines. Cushty Cushty is a hazy session IPA with an ABV of 4.2%. It is hopped with Citra and Moutere hops which tend to give the ale a tropical taste whilst maintaining its hazy appearance. It is described as a ‘generously dry hopped’ despite the session strength.
A very hazy pour
When poured into the glass, this beer had a golden colour which was opaque with an orange glow. This comes from the hops, which I described above. There also must be some sort of oats or wheat to add to the level of opaqueness. There was also a light head which led to low to moderate lacing. There was a moderate amount of carbonation added to this beer.
A pleasant taste and aroma
When a cracking the can open you can notice the full effects of the Citra and Moutere hops which give off scents of lime, grapefruit, passionfruit, peach and apricot. There is also a floral hint too. Underneath, I could notice a soft sweet maltiness in line with oats or bread. Overall, this is a juicy and inviting aroma.
On the first sip, I was stunned the bursting flavours of tropical fruitiness. Distinct flavours of pineapple, and mango with a citrus zest. The hops continued working overtime as Moutere added a piney bitterness which was slightly weaker than the bitterness you would expect from a West Coast IPA. This was a very smooth drink that was quite creamy. A citrus aftertaste linger which overall made this a juicy and refreshing IPA.
Time for my verdict
To start my verdict, I will add the caveat that I always go for a hazy IPA or New England IPA as I love the juicy tropical flavours from the ale. Thats why a lot of my reviews cover Hazy and NEIPAs. This one seemed different as it had the look and juiciness of a Hazy IPA but had tastes closer to a West Coast IPA. This is most likely due to Brinkburn St’s specialty in dry hopped and west coast bitterness, which is certainly not a bad thing. I really rate this ale however I believe the true potential of this would be raised with a higher ABV. I understand the two breweries wanted to make a sessionable ale. However, this is not a bad ale by any stretch so it gets a 3.75 out of 5. I would like to try other brews from both Steam Machine and Brinkburn St, hopefully in the near future.
Where did I Purchase this beer from?
I bought this from Fenwicks food hall in Newcastle City Centre. I think this beer cost around £5 but it was worth it as it did look great.
Cheers for reading my review, if you enjoyed my review please do not hesitate to explore my page further.
Leave a Reply