Life

Beer: Beer Hut's Hybrid and Brighter Days pack a deceptively drinkable punch

Beer Hut's Hybrid
Beer Hut's Hybrid Beer Hut's Hybrid

ONE thing we've had confirmed this week is that rules are made to be broken. Well, as long as you're the tracksuited Poundshop Machiavelli currently 'advising' the British PM.

To me, there aren't too many rules in beer other than 'make good beer', and with that I've learnt not to get too caught up on the increasing deviations from established styles (I still think there are too many IPAs though).

In music, they may be called 'mash-ups', and in the world of motoring,' crossovers', but whatever you want to call this blending of styles, Beer Hut seem to be pretty busy at it right now.

First up is Hybrid, which is billed as a "double dry hopped New England Kolsch". Kolsch itself is something of a hybrid style already, borrowing elements from both ale and lager brewing. It is top fermented, like most ales, but cooled before conditioning in the same way lagers are.

Beer Hut's Hybrid therefore achieves that lightness and drinkability of a kolsch while also injecting some bitterness and accenting the fruit flavours. A traditional kolsch has a certain sweetness, but the additional hops in this one certainly ramp it up a notch.

It's hazy in the glass, a nod to the New England aspect of it, and there is a smooth yet flavourful feel to it all before a nice clean, crisp finish. It weighs in at six per cent, which is considerable enough for a beer that has a quite a sessionable feel to it.

Brighter Days is one of the those early-lockdown beers that tried to tap into the postponed optimism we were all feeling that all this forboding would soon fade. We may have grown a bit more weary and impatient over the ensuing weeks, but this still remains a fantastic feelgood beer.

This is billed as a farmhouse IPA, mostly due to the use of the always lively and fun kviek yeast. While the yeast gives it a nice farmhouse feel, the hopping with citra and mosaic mean it is also bursting with big juicy, tropical flavours. You get a nice whack of passion fruit, papaya and mango and I refreshing lemony citrus blast.

This is clocks in at seven per cent which, again, is ridiculous for such as a drinkable beer – we're almost into DIPA territory here – but there isn't a trace of the strength. Well, until the 'brighter days' start to become a bit hazier.