30 April 2015 - Best Beer HQ

Craft beer review: Garagista IPA

Craft beer review: Garagista IPA

ABV: 5.8%

Bottle: It’s not in a bottle – this is one of the rare craft beers that comes in a can.

Why don’t more craft beers come in cans? I don’t know, off the top of my head – but I do know that I like the look of this can. A racing car bursts forth at speed, flanked by bursts of red, yellow, and silver.

The image of the racing car appears to be in drawn in a similar style to the Batmobile in the old Batman: The Animated Series cartoon from the 1990s. That TV show was cool – and so is this can of craft beer.

Blurb on the bottle: Embrace the Garagista spirit – ignore convention, experiment, test the limits, and look things a little differently. Brewed and double dry hopped with New Zealand, Australian and US hops. Great things can come from the garage.

Who? Garage Project – the craft brewery behind this beer – is a small brewery located in an old petrol station on Te Aro Street in Wellington, New Zealand. Apparently this brewery likes pushing boundaries, reinterpreting styles and challenging the notions of what beer can be.

They also seem to like putting their craft beer in cans, because this isn’t the only one of the brewery’s beers that happens to be packaged this way. For instance, one of Garage Project’s beers is sold in a white can that’s simply called “Beer”. Seriously.

Tastes like: a relaxing evening with some good mates, chilling some place warm – by a fireplace perhaps, or in a proper English-style pub – and talking absolute nonsense. That sounds like the ideal Friday night to me.

This beer isn’t as pungent (I mean that in a good way) as most IPAs. But I have just gotten over a recent cold. That won’t be due to a lack of hops, though. While my nose might be suffering the lingering effects of a cold, my taste buds are optimal, and this IPA packs a decent bite with its lovely, fruity hops. Perfect for savouring, the taste lasts long after you’ve finished.

Garagista IPA pours a rather rich amber colour – almost orange – with minimal head.

Is it the best beer ever? I’ll answer a question with a question: is any beer the best beer ever? The hunt for the best beer must continue forever, because although this is an exceptional, stupendous and delightful beer, who am I to say that there isn’t better ones out there?

Put it this way – Garagista IPA is certainly one of the best beers I’ve reviewed – so far – for Best Beer HQ. We highly recommend you seek it out.

What else should I try? Garage Project was named the best brewery in New Zealand at the 2014 Society of Beer Advocates awards. So with that in mind, all of its beers are probably well worth a try.

I have tried Garage Project’s Red Rocks Reserve red ale, which I can also recommend if you enjoy Garagista and you want to try something else by the same craft brewery.

Craft Beer New Zealand / review /

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