The Thursday night before Beervana I found myself at the Wellington institution that is The Malthouse and upon entering the wooden doors I didn’t just walk into a bar, I walked into a party where everyone who is anyone in the craft beer scene was invited and I was a gate crasher! After several handshakes and high-fives I bumped into a bearded brewer who told me of a new hazy he had in the works brewed with Motueka, Mosaic and Nelson Sauvin hops. That bearded man goes by the name of Bernard, and he is the mastermind behind Alibi Brewing and that hazy goes by the name of Swamp Willow. Once I escaped Wellywood after almost getting cancelled by Beervana, I hunted down a tin of Swamp Willow. The colour was yellow, the thickness was thiccc and the juiciness was juicccy! Swamp Willow is the real deal and it is everything I want in a hazy and that is why it is in the running for one of my top beers of 2022.
Tasting notes: Orange-mango juice consumed from a juice box, pre-chewed mango, a no-lip-sip of oat milk, banana peel and a whiff of a pine scented air freshener.
