Verdant Brewing Company recently released the Doubling Down series. Four single hop Double IPAs brewed in collaboration with three different Cornish breweries. The one I picked up while down in Falmouth was the Simcoe edition which was brewed with Perranporth based Black Flag Brewery. All the beers in the series come in at a respectable 8% ABV to solidify that Double IPA status.

Visually the beer pours a classic hazy gold colour. Lots of peach and stone fruits on the nose for but with an interesting level of piney aromas to it as well. The body of the beer carries on this theme quite well. There is a lot of grassy and piney bitterness but it is complimented well by the great, sweet fruity flavours. Also, as seems to be the case with the big, boozy Verdant beers I’ve tried in the past, this is incredibly drinkable for 8%. Slips down like a dream.

A quick note on the can art: All the cans in the series have the same design with a different colour scheme. I really like the artwork, the hop cone in the middle and the wacky mashup of the Double Down name is all rather funky.

I chose the Simcoe edition because, compared to the hops of the other beers, this was my favourite. It’s got those lovely juicy, soft stone fruit flavours which I love. However, I also read up that each beer in the series used a different type of yeast. This has me wondering if this is where those great piney and grassy flavours are coming from this unique strain of yeast. Either way the beer as a whole is gorgeous, lots of flavour and goes down far easier than it has any right to. Has me wanting to taste the others of the series now!

Score: 8.5/10

Thanks for reading! Cheers!

If you’d like a snappier version of my reviews check out my Instagram!

Additional Information:

• Hops: Simcoe
• Malt: Not Available
• IBU: Not Available
• ABV: 8%
• Gluten Free: No
• Vegan: Yes!
• Purchase Location: Green Elephant Beer Cellar