Author: Will Ziebell, The Crafty Pint
Original Article published on 5 July 2023
Hawkers Beers are enjoying a cracking pace when it comes to their beer sagas in 2023. Straight after they dropped several barrel-aged and white stouts at once, they’ve returned to the Experimental Series they kicked off at the start of the year. Sheer Terroir showcased three different Citras from three different American farms, while the Fashionably Punctual beer have been dry hopped the same IPA with Nelson Sauvin from one farm that was harvested at different times. Those Kiwi hops come courtesy of Freestyle, whose unique approach and backstory to growing hops in New Zealand you can read about here. And, because it’s always hard to know quite how deep to dive into beers like this, you can get the full details (from alpha acids to oil content) of the beers via the brewery’s blog. In true Hawkers style, they sold out in a near instant from the brewery’s online store, although they’re making their way into wider retail too.*
As for the beers at hand, Early Harvest features Nelson Sauvin which was picked between March 15 and 17. Here, that hop brings out aromas and flavours of yellow nectarine, white grape and quite a bit of pine and grapefruit, with that early picking window seeming to lead to quite a classic, zesty West Coast experience. For Late Harvest, its Nelson was picked towards the tail end of the harvest window, across March 27 and 28. It makes for a West Coast that leans towards a more modern flavour profile thanks to tropical tones, ripe peach and sweet, somewhat candy-like orange. Having said that, it’s also a touch more bitter than the Early which keeps things more classically West Coast.
Will Ziebell
*This is a slight lie as at the time of writing, a couple of Early Harvest cans are still available through the Hawkers webstore. Frankly, that raises a whole lot of questions: two beers that nobody has drunk, each with the same ABV and the same hop. Who the heck knows they’re going to like the Late Harvest more than the Early? Who is buying one and not the other? Reveal yourselves!!
