The big brother of the Mari family, this highly aromatic rollercoaster is a west-coast inspired Belgian Double IPA
[Character]A pale-dry malt character with a hint of biscuit creates the base for this beer. With Predominate citrus and tropical fruit flavors, this beer is layered with hints of pine, flowers and fruity Belgian yeast esters. At 8% it has a slightly boozy but dry finish, and just a touch of West Coast dank hop character to bring it all together.[Food Pairing]Rosemary infused roast pork belly, chicken karaage with sweet and sour orange sauce, seasonal vegetable water kimchi[Naming]It is somewhat of a coincidence but this beer shares the name of a famous plumber. It also happens to share its style with our year-round beer, Ichii Senshin, while happening to also be stronger in alcohol as well as using more hops. In short, we see this beer as being a kind of big brother to Ichii Senshin, with the name coming from “Marihana” (a less commonly used but more descriptive word for hops; “mari” literally meaning “cone” and “hana” meaning "flower”) and “O”, a reading of “otoko” or “man”. Without wanting to sound too cocky, this is a beer that we feel can match up to another very popular older brother.[Brewer's Voice]We knew that “Mario” needed to be the biggest and most brash of the Mari family of beers. I knew that, not only did this beer need to be the highest ABV of the bunch, but it needed an aggressive and bold hop character. The American West Coast Style of IPAs made their name for big, and unapologetically hoppy beers. This combination of hops has made the style one of my favorites for many years. What I particular love is the perfect combination of citrus and fruity character, with a dank and floral pine character that for me defines what is great about the West Coast style. I kept this beer dry but wanted to give it a bit of body and color to hold up to its ABV by adding in some wheat and biscuit malt. I wanted to lean on the Belgian yeast’s fruity esters to compliment the fruity character that the Citra was contributing, and Simcoe hops were used to balance out the fruity contribution from the yeast and Citra. This was a fun beer to craft, and truly designed for those with a penchant for hops.StyleBelgian Double IPASeriesMari FamilyABV8.5%IBU35Gas Volume2.65MaltPilsner, Wheat Malt, Biscuit MaltHopFlex, Citra, Simcoe, Simcoe DynaboostYeastBelgianOthersFlaked WheatCategoryBeerJAN4589718741901
