Sixpoint: 150% Citrus

Beer Deluxe, Federation Square (Melbourne)

As fresh as sweet, fragrant outback air.

It has to be said that Sixpoint’s IPA offerings are those by which all others may be judged.  150% Citrus trumps not only previous releases by Sixpoint themselves, it also tops many competitors in its class.

On the nose, it wallops forth with grapefruit and vigorous vinegary sharpness; balance arrives by way an air of arid plant earthiness.

Grapefruit and blood orange dominate throughout before the backline of the palate is struck by full, rotund hop bitterness.  There are arid plant undertones coming through that do well in adding complexity to 150% Citrus.  The arid character is not that of saltbush (a favourite IPA tasting note of mine - one that transposes the smell of the plant to taste); instead it is of another unidentifiable arid or semi-arid plant.  It is not pine, either.  Whatever it is, I like it, and the whole experience is rounded off by a smooth mouthfeel.

It is like stepping off the train at Cook in the middle of the Nullarbor.  The sun has a bite to it; likewise this fantastic beer, however there is a cool breeze blowing as well.  There is in fact nothing like breathing in the fresh, untainted desert winds, especially the cool, fragrant kind that suggest forthcoming or recent rainfall.  150% Citrus is indeed quite the breah of fresh air that speaks of such experiences.