THE history of popular music is littered with cautionary tales about artists who have been comfortably ensconced in a highly successful band widely overestimating their viability as a solo artist. Others have made a pretty good stab at it, but for every Sting, there’s a Geri Halliwell.
Going solo in beer can mean a lot of things, but a particular challenge many brewers set themselves is brewing a beer with just one hop variety. Given that various blends of various hops can lead to a cornucopia of flavours and aromas.
So when you decide to fly solo with just the one hop variety, you’re aiming more for the former Police front man than the ex-Spice Girl. You’ll be put be putting a lot of pressure on that single hop, so you need to know it’s going to deliver. While the likes of Citra and Mosaic are favoured for single-hop brews, the relatively new Strata hop has been gaining in popularity over the past few years.
I got to check out what all the fuss was about with the single-hop offering from Larkin’s simply called Strata. This is 5.5 per cent pale that showcases the Strata hop and the first thing you notice is the rather fruity aroma, even as it floods out of the 440ml can.
It pours an amber colour with a slightly off-white head and is lively enough in the glass before settling down. Wishing to avoid the constraints of confirmation bias, I avoided looking up the properties of the Strata hop, but when I did, I had my suspicions confirmed.
That fruity whiff translates into the flavour, with a juicy freshness that is reminiscent of slicing open a ripe pink grapefruit.
There are also hints of passion fruit and orange and an overall citrus feel, which leans more towards juicy than bitter. There’s the slight whisper of a lemon-peel bitterness, but this a real refreshing gulper of a beer, perfect for a warm summer’s day.
Another Larkin’s offering I tried out this week was Lighten Up, a 9.5 per cent double IPA, which also packed some juicy and fruity flavours into it. There are some nice peachy aromas and lovely stone fruit flavours, along with a hint of melon, and this beer has thick, almost freshly squeezed, thickness to it.
Another refreshing drop, but maybe not that much of a guzzler given the strength.
