Brewed: Amsterdam, Netherlands
Strength: 6% ABV
Heavily inspired by the often forgotten history of Dutch brewing, using herbs, spices and fruits brought home by Dutch sailors, Lowlander Beer use botanicals during the brewing process of all of their beers. Named after the literal meaning of The Netherlands (‘Low Lands’), the brewery source all of their botanicals, herbs and spices from Jacob Hooy, the oldest spice store in Amsterdam and intend to ‘create great tasting beers which are full of both character and flavour.’
Like the rest of the beers from the brewery, Lowlander’s I.P.A is inspired by an historical story. An Indonesian pale ale, juxtaposed to India pale ale, the beer is a tribute to the forward thinking of sailors that would settle their debts within taverns using monkeys acquired during their travels (hence the monkey on the bottle label). These travels would include expeditions to Indonesia, in which they’d return with exotic bounty, including botanicals such as white tea and coriander – both of which are used to brew Lowlander’s I.P.A. When poured, the beer is medium amber with an off-white head. On the nose, very subtle notes of white tea and coriander are joined by some malt complexity, peach, grapefruit and orange rind, plus some soft spiciness. Notes of bitter grapefruit continue on the palate, as do stronger flavours of fresh coriander. Although the beer has a slick texture and is generally fruity, the taste is mature with plenty of grassy hops and back notes of resinous pine. These are followed by some herbal bitterness that continues into a pleasant medium bitter finish.
Further information on Lowlander Beer can be found at lowlander-beer.com.