Having completed yet another trip around the sun last week (I've lost count at this stage), I've only recently experienced what it's like to fall down a TikTok rabbit hole.
Seconds become minutes and minutes become half-hours and during the whole process your brain appears to have regressed into some zombie state. If television is chewing gum for the eyes, then TikTok as is nutritiously beneficial as gulping thin air.
Not that you don't stumble upon the odd gem, like the hilarious musings of Garron Noone, and – I suppose this owes a lot to the algorithm – little craft beer nuggets.
In between the predictable videos about pretentious beer snobs there are some informative bits. One I came across this week extolled the health benefits of drinking beer (in moderation of course).
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One of the benefits coming from hops is that it can help prevent diabetes by having a positive effect on insulin sensitivity. Hops also contain anti-inflammatory characteristics and can even help reduce anxiety.
It may not have been all these health benefits which may have prompted Boundary brewery to champion hops and their growers in their latest range of beers, but it certainly is a plant worth celebrating.
The Belfast brewers teamed up with Crosby Hops and Loughran Brewing to produce their Hop Growers Series and the one I managed to get my hands on was an IPA by the name of Can You Not.
They have made use of a Crosby's Cryogenic Lupulin Hop Pellet, which is designed to provide a much more intense flavour experience. The hop in question is Idaho 7 CGX and it succeeds in delivering that intensity, whether it is a rich resiny aroma or dank and juicy flavours on the palate.
The beer pours a thick, almost opaque, bright amber colour in the glass, very much leaning it into the New England IPA style and falling into the hop soup category.
There are some punchy stone fruit flavours like peach and mango, with a little bit of pear peeping through.
The mouthfeel is bordering on the creamy, and I even picked up a slight minty vibe to it.
