守破離 (Shuhari)

For the most part, our hoppy beers are on the easy drinking side, focusing more on hop flavour and aroma than bitterness, and usually with a low enough ABV to have more than one in a sitting. Sometimes, though, you just want to take the chains off and brew something a bit outside your comfort zone!

This beer is just that. It is a classic American-style Double IPA, and while we have toned down the bitterness compared to your typical West Coast version, there is still plenty to keep hop heads happy. Simcoe hops take center stage in this brew, making up 97% of all hops used, and 75% of that being used late in the brewing process to capture as much of their aroma and flavour as possible. What is also unique about this beer for us is the malt recipe and what that does to the perception of the Simcoe hops. Our hoppy beers normally favour base malts, wheat, oats, and other “soft” malts that don’t get in the way of the perception of hop flavour and aroma. With such a huge amount of hops in this brew, though, relying only on those soft varieties would easily make the bitterness and flavour harsh and overpowering, so we took a page from the classic American Pale Ale and used a touch of Munich and Crystal T50 malt. The result is a firm malt backdrop that helps lift the hop bitterness while at the same time providing some sweetness to play on Simcoe’s tropical aroma rather than what can sometimes feel like a piney and berry-like fruitiness.

We look forward to sharing this new expression of KBC hoppiness with you!

Naming: While this beer may be by our standards something of a “textbook” double IPA, it is perhaps a little outside of what is typical for us. “Shuhari” is a concept related to learning whereby we learn fundamental techniques (Shu - "protect" and "obey"), break from them (Ha - "detach" and "digress"), and then transcend (Ri - "separate" and "leave").

It is a concept rooted in martial arts that reminds us to never forget tradition and to go back to basics. This seemed particularly fitting to this full-on double IPA, which certainly packs a punch!

Style: Double IPA

Malt Bill:

Pilsner, Golden Promise, Crystal T50, Munich

Hops:

Bittering: Columbus

Flavour/Aroma: Simcoe

Yeast: American Ale

ABV: 8.5%

IBU: 45

Gas Volumes: 2.4