Thus Let Us Drink Beer - Dainton Brewing
If you have followed this series it should not come as a surprise that terra australis has a myriad of crafty and innovative breweries that are constantly pumping out quality brews that push the envelope of what was thought to be possible.
While certainly many brewers dabble in channelling their alchemy to create at times emissions that seem to tick more boxes in the novelty department rather than in terms of the creation of new tastes, there are breweries that have yet to disappoint me with their output as they have consistently upped their game and even if they not manage to make me a fan of their individual expressions, make me get what they were trying to achieve:
Enter Dainton Brewery.
Founded in 2013 and initially operated in a gypsy manner, i.e. utilising the resources of existing breweries to brew small batches, 2016 saw them taking their operations to the next level with the establishment of their own brewery in Carrum Downs.
Apart from a delicious core range comprised of draughts, pale ales and IPAs, what caught my interest were their barrel-aged beers experimental beers which range from exotic fruit sours to all manner of NE as the range of accolades Dainton has accumulated are testament to.
For this instalment, I’d like to zero in on two fairly new and expertly brewed expressions, i.e. Dainton The Hybrid and the Blood Orange New England Rye IPA.
The opaque golden Hybrid, a telling name indeed: What we got here is an NEIPA that clocks in at 6.4% ABV and is in essence an exercise in fruitiness meeting a melange of new German-grown Amarillo hops to impart near perfectly calibrated deliciously piney and weedy, citrussy, lemon grassy and orange- and stone fruity flavours that leave the palate with an elongated slightly acidic finish.
Another new addition to the Dainton family is the Blood Orange New England Rye IPA.
Now, what might sound like an abomination to the traditional lager lover, works surprisingly well.
What pours with a golden hazy orange hue in your class, is dominated but not overpowered by sweetness and a refreshing orangey aftertaste, underpinned by subtle nuances of bitterness that accentuate the wide territory that is covered taste-wise.
I for one quite dig how hop forward it is and how it combines tropical fruits with rye aromas on the nose, while the roof of the roof is tickled by slightly spicy and tangy citrussy flavoursomeness that culminates in an elongated crispy finish with a creamy mouthfeel.
In essence, it proved to be quite a suitable companion when one half of the Boilermaker to accompany an Ardbeg Perpetuum was missing.
