We may be living in the post-truth era, but if there’s one thing that’s universally accepted as fact, it’s that Brassneck makes fantastic beer and if you see something with its logo on it at the beer store, then you buy it.
Brassneck doesn’t really bottle or can its beer, and even draft taps are hard to find—pretty much every drop Conrad Gmoser and his team brews gets sucked up by the thirsty patrons at the Main Street tasting room. As a result, Brassneck’s packaged product is usually limited to the one-off collabs it does with other breweries.
New Westminster’s Steel & Oak, meanwhile, might be one of the most criminally underappreciated breweries in the province (in my humble opinion), so when I saw both of their logos on the same tall can, it was a no-brainer.
The result of this delicious collaboration is Kith and Kin, a Norwegian farmhouse ale utilizing that crazy kveik yeast all the kids are talking about these days. Why is it crazy? Well, it ferments at an insanely high temperature for a very short period of time, resulting in some really interesting tropical fruit characteristics. No one had heard of the stuff two years ago, and now everyone’s brewing with it.
Kveik. So hot right now.
Anyways, first thing’s first: yes, Kith and Kin is delicious and you should go buy some right now before it’s all gone (or I drink it all).
Aroma-wise, it’s super fragrant with massive fruit and citrus notes. More like power chords, really. And given the beer’s opaque nature, if you had told me it was a hazy pale ale, I probably would have believed you. But beer style guidelines are largely subjective nonsense, anyhow.
Naturally, there’s lots of fruit flavour to be had here. Mandarin orange, melon and tangerine jump right out, but there’s some passion fruit and even a bit of pineapple in there, too. There’s an interesting spice character to it, as well. Not quite peppery like a saison, and not quite clove-y like hefeweizen. It’s subdued, but very complementary.
Further proof that some facts are indisputable.
Kith and Kin by Steel & Oak Brewing Co. / Brassneck Brewery (5.6% ABV, 473 mL tall cans)
Appearance: Hazy deep amber with a healthy white head.
Aroma: Tropical fruit, citrus, melon.
Flavour: Tropical fruit, mandarin orange, melon, tangerine, passion fruit, touch of spice, mild hop bitterness, mild biscuity malt character.
Body/finish: Medium bodied with an off-dry finish.
Pairs with: Moroccan tagine, summer salad and editing Wikipedia entries to suit your political agenda.
- The Winter 2018/19 issue of The Growler is out now! You can find B.C.’s favourite craft beer guide at your local brewery, select private liquor stores, and on newsstands across the province.
