Following our riff on Headband with WOW Pale Ale, we had a greater understanding of what the Joshua Wardman yeast brings to the party: a rounded softness, a clean crisp finish, enhanced malt prominence and great head retention. The logical progression was to give it a whirl in an IPA and see how it responded.

The working title for WOW IPA was ‘Actual Beer’, and the idea was to have a more varied malt bill adding some complexity. To this end we included Rye Malt and Premium English Caramalt to add a dry spiciness and toffee note. We upped the IBUs through some first wort hopping and consolidated this with the West Coast classics Chinook and Centennial in the whirlpool. These two followed through in to the dry hop whilst being elevated with some superstar Citra. The result surprised us with the rye really punching through. The combined portrayal of the hops was markedly different to our expectations, less fruity with an emphasis on floral notes and pine resin. This goes to show how exciting and varied the brewing process is with relatively small adjustments - however we also appreciate that this time the result wasn't to everyone's taste. 

While Wow Signal IPA's malt forward flavour profile and darker appearance due to the grain bill aren't that which many have come to expect from a Verdant release - and we can assure you that your feedback has been acknowledged for future brews - Joshua seems to love malt. To this end, our third and final test was to see how it performed in an American Brown Ale, specifically, our collaboration with Boxcar, 'Gong Bath With A Priestess'. Tastings amongst the team indicate a lovely layered maltiness presenting rich caramel, coffee and chocolate character all rounded out with a hoppy berry note. We're incredibly pleased with the result and believe you will be too.

Thanks for reading, Team Verdant