– those bitter beautiful bodacious brews really do indeed light up my tiny dark heart – but this phenomenon is hardly unique.

 It actually happens a lot. I smile and laugh when Quade Cooper makes a horrendous blunder in rugby, when Nicky Hagar complains about invasions of privacy, when Mr Miyagi kicks that thug in the groin in Karate Kid, when Muralitharan (finally) got called for chucking in cricket, when Leroy Jethro Gibbs drinks bourbon out of a mason jar during NCIS, when a giraffe tramples on Dai Henwood’s trousers with him still in them [2], when Sepp Blatter fell off the stage at the fraud that is currently known as FIFA, and when Donald Trump became President of the United States. Wait, that last one is not so very funny these days…

 The point of that micro-rant was that I really like hoppy beers. [3] That trademark silly smile is the result of what has been called the “Lupulin Effect” because hops (technically Humulus Lupulus) just make my soul soar like a magnificent eagle. Hops are truly the wind beneath my brew wings.

 Not just mine – famed drinks writer Fred Eckhart wrote in All about Beer magazine almost a decade ago about the aforesaid syndrome. He said:

“Lupulin (2.5T lupinol) is the active ingredient in hops… the real change is from the lupulin: one has a feeling of relaxed well-being. You feel like talking and exchanging views. The lupulin effect seems to be educational. You can talk about any subject at great length. The lupulin effect also leads one to sing. It seems to enhance the voice, even if you don’t know the words – any words will do.

The lupulin effect reduces one’s inhibitions. You become erudite, intelligent, friendly and in dire need of another pint. [4] Lupulin contributes to our good health by stimulating deep breathing and song; but best of all it makes the drinker feel richly contented. It’s the lupulin in beer that makes you sleep well and wake up happy; it does this by reducing anxiety and nervous tension.”

That is quite the ringing endorsement about hops from one of the world’s best beer experts. I certainly feel able to sing and discuss any topic at great length after a few hoppy ales. Actual results may vary of course.

On a surprisingly closely related note, I really like Deep Creek Lupulin Effect Double IPA. Deep Creek were recently crowned Champion International Small Brewery at the Australian beer awards. That particular drop is so good that it was the primary date night beer this week. A date night beer has to be either very good, amusingly bad (say, a two litre can of Asahi), or there is no right choice available (looking at you Westpac Stadium). [5] Lupulin Effect is near the top of the very good category.

On July 14 2017 Malthouse will be hosting the Deep Creek creator of Lupulin Effect Scott Taylor, some of his brew support crew, and virtually all of their beers in a tap takeover and launch event. Said crew should be easy to spot as they proudly wear their own merchandise and will also likely be giving some away. I don’t have a Deep Creek t-shirt, for the record…

The beers are:

Deep Creek Undercurrent Pilsner (5%) – New Zealand hopped Pilsner with notes of grainy malt and sharp lemon zest.

Deep Creek Lotus Pale Ale (4.5%) – My introduction to the Deep Creek range. It is fruity and mildly bitter in the glass.

Deep Creek Redwood APA (5.9%) – This is my go-to beer for their regular range. Redwood is resplendent with notes of grapefruit, pine and lemon.

Deep Creek The Leprechauns Belle Irish Red Ale (4.6%) – This beer is more red than Ed Sheeran after a hot shower. There are notes of caramel and dark fruit followed by a firm bitterness.

Deep Creek Pontoon in a Monsoon IPA (6.9%) – A big full bodied IPA with lashings of caramel, pine needles and orange. Note to Deep Creek: I see what you did with the alcohol percentage. I presume your marketers were from Bill S Preston Esq and Ted Theodore Logan Associates. [6]

Dusty Gringo IBA (6.8%) – I reviewed this one for Cuisine writing:

“This robust India Brown Ale “inspired by the ruggedness of the Wild West cowboy”, combines a hearty malt base (including plenty of chocolate malt) with three American-style hops.

Dusty Gringo pours a rich dark brown into the glass. The initial base flavours are chocolate, toffee and a nutty sweetness from the malts. Floating above that, thanks to the generous addition of Cascade, Amarillo and Centennial hops continually throughout the boil, there are notes of citrus, lemongrass and fresh grass. It finishes with a soft lingering bitterness.”

I consider it one of the most food friendly beers on the market.

Deep Creek Lupulin Effect Double IPA (8%) – The start of their IPA project and my favourite Deep Creek beer (so far). There are lashings of  grapefruit, lemon, sherbet and joy.

Deep Creek Lupulin Effect Double Red IPA – This event is the official release for this toffee, caramel version of the flagship beer above.

Deep Creek Lupulin Effect New England IPA (6/5%) – This is the last keg of this cloudy East Coast IPA. Yes, apparently that really is a thing now.

Deep Creek Steam Funk Raspberry Chocolate Berliner – July 14 2017 will be the official release for this beer. Frankly, it scares me more than Gareth Morgan being Prime Minister. However, this beer is likely to be far more popular.

Deep Creek Steam Funk Black Tamarillo Gose (4.9%) – How could I not love a dark sour beer with fruit in it? Quite easily it seems. However, for those into that kind of flavour profile this is officially the last keg in the land.

Deep Creek Nero Robust Porter – Another official release for a new beer – do you feel lucky yet? Well, do you, punk? [7]

Nero Chocolate Chipotle Stout – Pouring on the nitro tap, there are notes of dark chocolate, spicy chilli and burnt toast crusts.

I would encourage people to come to the event, try the beers and then tell brewer Scott Taylor why raspberry chocolate sour beers should not exist and he should apologise to the world for his transgression. Or just say hi – either is good.

Next time, we drink to the bold and prescient beer blogger who predicted last week that the British and Irish Lions would win in Wellington to square the series. Despite considerable mockery before the event, there is only one chap wearing the clever trousers right now… and it is me.

[1] In completely unrelated news, the 10th Annual West Coast IPA Challenge is on at Malthouse and Fork & Brewer on 28 July 2017.

[2] This technically has not happened yet, and I have just made myself public suspect #1. For the record, it would be totally worth it.

[3] If this is news to you, welcome to the Malthouse Blog.

[4] I am going to add “erudite, intelligent, friendly and in dire need of another pint” to my new business cards.

[5] At the Westpac Stadium we were offered “beer”. I put the word in quotation marks because there was no visible signage about what brand it was, and the servers simply talked about “four beers here” and “two beers there”. To this day I could not tell you with certainty what we drank during the epic Lions – Hurricanes draw. It was definitely a liquid.

[6] Look it up. It is quite excellent.

[7] Movie references are not limited to Bill and Ted. We can go a little classic Dirty Harry too.

Cheers

Neil Miller

Beer Writer

Beer and Brewer Magazine

Cuisine Magazine

TheShout Magazine

Links

Deep Creek Tap Takeover and Beer Launches – https://tinyurl.com/y9jg9sew

10th Annual West Coast IPA Challenge Facebook – https://www.facebook.com/events/375675949500881/

All About Beer article “The Joy of Beer and the Lupulin Effect” – http://allaboutbeer.com/article/the-joy-of-beer-and-the-lupulin-effect/

Malthouse Facebook – www.facebook.com/pages/Malthouse/7084276173

Malthouse Twitter – www.twitter.com/#!/malthouse

Malthouse Taps on Twitter – www.twitter.com/#!/MalthouseTaps

Neil Miller on Twitter – http://www.twitter.com/#!/beerlytweeting