What’s one of the best parts of brewing beer? Coming up with a new recipe. The other best part of brewing beer? Getting to drink it and share it with others! The origin story of the Tropic Wonder Hazy is pretty simple. I had an empty tank and a full cold room inventory. The sky was the limit, so I decided to brew something really novel….a Hazy IPA! We’ve dabbled in hazies before, but I wanted something that really packed a punch, while still highlighting some awesome hops. Enter Azacca and Mandarina Bavaria, both of which are citrusy and bright. The juicy sweetness of the hops counteract the dryness of the beer, and some of the alcohol too.
So if I’m highlighting the hops in the beer, why not do it here too? Azacca is named after the Haitian god of agriculture and can really give you all the citrusy, tropical fruitiness you could want, along with even some pine notes. For these reasons, you’ll typically find it alongside Mosaic and Citra in IPAs or fruited beers, or even highlighted all on its own!
Mandarina Bavaria is similar on the broad flavor category of citrusy and sweet, but leans more toward tangerine than Azacca, which leans more towards mango. It pairs very well with similar hops as Azacca and, as the name suggests, is from Germany.
It’s sweet tropical smell comes flying out when you open the tap, which will either have the bartenders happy with me for such a delicious smell or angry for making them constantly thirsty. Should you drink it? Should you make a candle out of it? You can decide for yourself but I think I’ll go with the former.
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