Somehow Left Handed Giant always creates the most dreamy beer labels, which I'd be lying if I said a part of me picks them up because the labels are just so damn nice! They're the work of illustrator James Yeo by the way!

But of course the beer is really good too and that's why we're here. After all the art and the beer comes together to create a dreamscape for our imaginations to wander off too don't they?

So who is the Left Handed Giant!

Left Handed Giant comes from Bristol, UK, and is the result of a chance encounter between two pub owners, Bruce Gray and Jack Granger of Small Bar, who had been passed some beer by a homebrewer named Rich Poole. Bruce and Jack had at times tinkered with the idea of brewing their own beer which they could then offer at their bar, and yet it was this encounter that motivated them to start thinking seriously about starting a brewery - if Rich could do it, so could they!

By 2014 / 2015, they had gained enough experience as a cuckoo brewer, and it was time to go all in. They named themselves after a local Bristol lore about two giants who had competed for the hand of a lady, whom had put them to a test, getting them to see who could first drain the lake that ran between Bristol and Wiltshire - this fable became used as the explanation for the gorge that runs through Bristol today.

Avon Gorge, whose lore Left Handed Giant is named after.

And ever since then they've only continued to expand, having taken up a full scale brewery in Bristol! Their focus is on creating sessionable beers that are approachable and easy to drink, exploring a wide variety of styles.

Today we've got with us the Dream House IPA - this is Left Handed Giant's most brewed Hazy IPA, and is made with a hop combo of Citra, Vic Secret and Galaxy. This became so popular it's today Left Handed Giant's house IPA, and also happens to be gluten-free, and is packed with extra oats and wheat to give it more body.

Let's go!

Beer Review: Dream House IPA, Left Handed Giant, 6.2% ABV

Tasting Notes

Colour: Light Orange Juice

Aroma: Fresh scents of mandarin oranges and pineapples, with just a little bit of grassiness and pith around it. Some light diesel aromas emerge with time.

Taste: Really great richness here. It starts off with the same pineapples and oranges, but quickly that citrus pith finds its way forward. It’s really cohesive, with this base of isotonic water. There’s some diesel towards the back as well. It’s soft and lighter, yet very evocative and almost heady.

Finish: It recedes into this beautiful base of barley sugars coated in freshly squeezed oranges and pineapples. Some lingering diesel in the finish, along with more of that pith. 

My Thoughts

This is closer to an East Coast style IPA where it starts off with these sweeter, more citrusy notes of mandarin oranges and pineapples, and as you go along, more of the dankness starts to emerge, with the pith always filling in the middle part. It’s also lighter and brighter, yet it has the richness that coats the palate and delivers this heady quality about it. It somehow feels really cohesive as it goes through this systematic transition of fruit, to pith and then to diesel - really seamless almost. The finish was rendered beautifully with that base of barley sugars, yet here coated in freshly squeezed oranges and pineapples. 

Kanpai!

@111hotpot