North East Beer Review

Today review is on an absolute belter of a brew. This is a Triple IPA from the famous and ever consistent Beak Brewery. Beak is one of those brewers that never seem to miss and the thing that also intrigues me is that this is a collaboration brew with another massively reputable brewer in US-based Other Half. Their brew Greens is subject of today’s review and during the course of this review I will cover the history of this beer and brewery, the pour, the taste and aroma and finally my verdict.

Two reputable brewers combine

Beak Brewery was founded by Danny Tapper who was a food and drink writer who had ‘cuckoo brewed’ his own recipes for UK breweries such as Beavertown, Northern Monk and Burning Sky. This helped him create notoriety and develop a reputation before even founding his own brewery. In 2020, Beak opened up in Lewes which came with its own brewery, taproom and street-food canteen.

Beak is known for its hop forward beers but has branched out into pilsners, saisons and imperial stouts. They have an emphasis on hop character and freshness which often take inspiration from pacific coast beer culture. At lot of their beers are brewed using local ingredients sourced from South Downs National Park.

Other Half Brewing was founded in 2014 in Brooklyn, New York by Matt Monahan and Andrew Burman. It is known as one of the greatest and most influential New England IPA producers. The brewery helped forge the hop heavy, full flavoured tropical New England IPA style. Each release has an incredibly high demand and it has a cult status amongst craft beer fans. Expansion has occurred into multiple locations including Brooklyn, Finger Lakes, Philadelphia, Washington DC and Buffalo. Today, Other Half is regarded as one of the benchmark breweries for hop-forward beer worldwide.

Beak Brewery x Other Half Brewing Greens is a top class triple hazy IPA which carries an ABV of 10%. It is hopped with Citra, Nelson Sauvin, Galaxy and Moteuka hops. The brewers states this is supposed “beer delivers bold flavours of mango, passion fruit, crushed gooseberry, sticky peach and bright lime zest, creating an intensely juicy yet surprisingly balanced Triple IPA.” This collaboration represents a mutuality between two brewers who are renowned for their hop forward beers. This brew pushes hop saturation whilst maintaining drinkability which is exactly what a modern day TIPA is supposed to do.

One of the haziest pours I have seen

Greens pours a deep golden to orange colour which is thick, hazy and bright. This is completely opaque and honestly one of the haziest pours I have seen. A thick foamy white head forms which retains throughout the drinking experience, leaving an impressive level of lacing. The carbonation is fine and gentle with a steady stream of bubbles rising somehow through the hazy nature. Overall, this looks like a tremendous pour which has the hazy nature you would expect from the hop saturation.

A tropical taste sensation

Aroma

Greens opens with explosions of tropical fruits such as mango, passion fruit and peach. This was shortly followed by notes of lime and orange. As the beer unlocks, aromas of white grape and gooseberry from the Nelson Sauvin shine. Beneath this fruit forward pour is a subtle floral note alongside a resinous edge. To finish is a gentle malty sweetness to help balance the aromatics out. Overall, an immensely fruit forward pour which provides an insight into how hoppy and juicy this pour will be.

Taste

The first sip of Greens presents a huge burst of tropical flavour. Flavours of fresh mango, passion fruit, pineapple and peach shine. This is followed by notes of lime, grapefruit and orange. Mid Palate, the Nelson Sauvin offers tastes of grape and gooseberry which adds a slight wine feel. As the beer warms up slightly, the malt base adds a light sweet note reminiscent of honey to accompany the resinous herbal notes. The finish is long and juicy. Despite being 10%, the alcohol warmth is basically nonexistent. The mouthfeel was full bodied and smooth along with a moderate bitterness. This was overall an absolutely amazing pour and drinks with surprising ease. Its bold flavours along with its easy drinking nature, you cannot go wrong with this. Cheers

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Time for my verdict

Green TIPA is an absolute master class in how produce extremely hop saturated flavours. This combination of tropical fruits, smooth mouthfeel and brilliant balance makes this an all timer for me. This might just be one of my favourite IPAs so far. There is no wonder why both Beak and Other Half have the reputation they do. This was honestly brilliant, I would recommend this ten times over. Overall, this gets a 5 out of 5 for me. Absolutely tremendous.

Where did I purchase this beer?

I bought this beer from Market Hall Wines located within the Durham Market Hall. I definitely recommend a visit due the wide variety and friendly customer service.

Thanks for reading my review. If you enjoyed this review I would recommend you read my review on Beak Steins.