Wellington, New Zealand's Garage Project is probably one of the most well-known craft beer folks in the eastern hemisphere. Known for their deeply experimental, no common theme, high frequency releases that span the entire craft beer vocabulary, they've amassed a huge cult following.

The company was started by Pete Gillespie and Jos Ruffell who grew up together, as well as having some input from Pete's brother Ian, and as you might imagine from its name, was an incredibly small project when it first started out.

The good guys behind New Zealand's cult favorite Garage Project. (Image Source: Beer and Brewer)

This allowed them to try out all sorts of experiments which gave birth to the massive range of creations that now belong to the brand. It's obviously become very popular since and has expanded far and wide.

Today we're going to give their East Coast anthem IPA, Party & Bulls#*t a go. You probably can guess what about it attracted me. I suspect it's an homage to the Notorious B.I.G's song of the same name. Big fan. Can't give you a quote of any of the lyrics though.

In any case, for those starting out, there's a stylistic difference between East Coast and West Coast IPAs - East Coast IPAs generally start off sweeter, while West Coast IPAs are dry and tend to be alot more bitter. It's a result of the different types of hops used to achieve the different preferred profiles - neither is better, obviously. However, if you are just starting out, go for the East Coast IPAs which are more friendly to the palate and generally balance some sweetness with the bitterness.

With that, this little number from Garage Project is crafted using Simcoe and Mosaic hops to create a bigger and juicier expression. 

Absolutely love the art by T-Wei.

Party & Bulls#*t (Party & Bullshit) IPA, Garage Project, 6.2% ABV - Review

Tasting Notes

Color: Hazy Pineapple Juice

Aroma: Bright, lightly honeyed pineapple and passionfruit, a light grassiness - overall really fruity with a sense of thickness. It’s not overly sweet, certainly not sour or bitter. Tropical summer days.

Taste: A solid medium body, silky and smooth. To the fore a good tropical fruit punch emerges but is quickly hit with a smouldering wave of hoppy grassiness and bitterness. Kinda like a pineapple tepache - throw in the pineapple, the core and even the leafy crown. That’s what it is. It’s softly carbonated otherwise.

Finish: The hoppy bitterness dominates here with just a light sweetness. It lingers, forever.

My Thoughts

While it does start out sweeter, it goes deep into the hoppy bitterness really fast. It delivers on the tropical fruit front and together with the hoppiness blends into a sort of pineapple tepache, that is if you fermented the whole pineapple in parts - flesh, core and the leafy crown. It's fruity but at the same time has an earthy green leafiness and in between those two flavors is a really hefty pithy sort of bitter cotton.

It's pretty refreshing but you have to enjoy the bitterness because it goes deep! I'd recommend pairing this with a steak actually. Gives it a great balance.

If you're down, get it here Temple Cellars (Singapore), Beer Force (Singapore), Beer Cartel (AU), Blackhearts & Sparrows (AU).

Kanpai!

@111hotpot