Both Australians and Northerners are known for being 'ard, and this beer is a solid contender. I reckon it could knock out most other DDHs in a fist fight.
This is part of Northern Monk's 'Patrons Project' range which is designed to support the community of artists, athletes and creatives across the north of England.
This Australian DDH IPA is brewed to support Fingathing, a musical collaboration spanning 20 years between turntablist Peter Parker and a classical double bass player called Simon Houghton.
Artist and illustrator Cave Troll Drury joined the duo to bring more fun stuff to the table, and Can of Whup Ass celebrates 20 years since the release of Fingathing's debut album 'The Main Event' along with the comic-book -violence and action heros that shaped the trio's formative years.
The beer itself aims to showcase the best of Australian hops, with the dank but fruity enigma t90 the leading hop in this particular show. Plenty of fruit, plenty of body and plenty of punch in this one.
It smells delightful, hints of tropical fruit along with that fragrant richness of a really good hop make up the nose, and the pour allows more fruity scents to come to the fore.
The pour itself is really thick, giving it a really big body and a thick, creamy head to match. The texture is rich and smooth with a creamy mouthfeel that really defies the thin carbonation that the beer has.
The tropical fruit leads the way flavour wise, soon overcoming the initial bitterness with lots of citrus tang and sharpness combining with the big body of the hops to give it an almost pina colada style taste.
The finish is a little dry, but remains true to it's fruity roots right to the end despite getting a little bitter.
The can features a design by Chris 'Caveman' Drury, the visual element of the Fingathing trio. It truly is a thing to behold, with the protagonist of the piece, the caped crusader Mister Fist, opening up a can of whup ass on some can henchmen.
Above this, and clearly pulling the strings, is a hooded enemy with what can only be described as magic hands, presumably controlling the can henchmen against our man Mister Fist on his quest.
As well as this fantastic design, there are heaps of information on there too. What's great is you can pull back the can art to reveal more information about Fingathing, a spotify streaming link to scan with your phone, information about the patrons project along with a good biography of the beer.
It's an absolute hero of a can.
Help Mister Fist out and get yourself one of these to support Fingathing, Northern Monk and the great stuff the Patrons Project is doing. You can get it from Honest Brew for £7.71 if you're a member, or £8.29 if you're not.
There's currently a waiting list, but this is well worth waiting for. If not just for the cool can design alone.
