Tinnie of the Week: Good Land architects of their own success with Brutalist TIPA

The independent craft brewing industry can be brutal at times, so it’s good to have a friend to lean on.

Swan Valley craft pioneer Feral Brewing Co. has been enjoying a creative reset since its return to independent hands after a brief and less than satisfying flirtation with corporate ownership through Coca Cola Amatil.

Now they have teamed up with fellow independent brewers Good Land, out of Gippsland in Victoria, for The Brutalist, a triple hopped IPA that embraces the Feral philosophy of “more is more”.

Good Land is renowned for its barrel aged stouts and fruit-heavy Smoovies but have opted here for an unapologetically intense flavour here that is “hop architecture at its finest”.

And it’s hop heavy, loaded with Nectaron Cryo, Nectaron Hop Kief, Citra, Citra Prysma, HBC 630 and Krush.

The result? A fruit explosion when you open the can, with waves of tropical fruit aromas such as pineapple, ripe stonefruits including mango, and sweet citrus, with a faint resinous streak.

It pours a thick, opaque golden, with a thin creamy head that collapses quickly and leaves behind a heavy lacing on the inside of the glass.

That first sip reveals a hazy juice bomb, with those Nectaron and Citra hops giving hints of nectarine and passionfruit, followed by pineapple and peach, with slight piney flavours for balance.

It has an assertive bitterness at first that slowly gives way to the sweetness, and boasts a thick, creamy mouthfeel.

It has a lingering hop bite before coming to a velvety, warming finish.

It’s unashamedly boozy, with an ABV of 10 per cent, but dangerously crushable so proceed with care to avoid a brutal morning after.