When three heavyweight hop slingers step into the ring together you expect a big-hitting IPA.
And punch is exactly what you get from Hazemaker – a collaboration between three of Britain’s most exciting craft beer breweries: Northern Monk Brew Co., Deya Brewing Company and Verdant Brewing Co.
Hazemaker is one of a number of boundary-shoving collaborations to come out of the Northern Monk Patrons project (Number 6.01 to be exact, part of ). Spearheaded by Northern Monk, it’s an initiative set up to foster creative partnerships between brewers, artists, photographers, filmmakers and even athletes from the North of England (perfectly named Fell runner Ricky Lightfoot is among those involved).
The can art for Hazemaker is by Jon Simmons, a graphic designer who, like Northern Monk, is based in Leeds. Stunning cans are a hallmark of the Patrons Project beers and this is one of the standout ones for me. White cans tend to grab the eye anyway, but the gold and black image of old-school boxers knocking the hops out of each other is something else.
An IPA that packs a punch
With Verdant known for hop grenades like their Bloom and Pulp brands, and Deya putting out beers with names like “The very hoppy caterpillar”, Northern Monk put some serious dry-hop heroes in their corner for this one. And as you might expect, it’s a bold, fruity IPA.
Hazemaker pours a light golden orange with a deep haze (no surprise there). The mouthfeel is super soft thanks to wheat and spelt in the grain, but don’t let this deceive you. This beer might feel like a butterfly, but it stings like a bee.
With a hop cocktail of amarillo, simcoe, columbus and the experimental EXP035, Hazemaker first offers up a passion fruit and peach one-two followed by a spice and citrus uppercut that’ll have your tastebuds staggering. The warm booze on the finish is noticeable, but at 7.4% ABV its super drinkable and great for summer evenings. If you’re into your food pairing it would work really well with grilled chicken salads or haloumi cheese.
All in all, the Northern Monk Patron’s project has scored a big win with this one. Hazemaker is an absolute knockout of an IPA.