Beer of the Week 07/01/24

Basic City Cactus Garden

Normally $12.99 / Now on Sale for $11.96 (12oz can 6P)
Hazy IPA with Agave

Agave is one of our favorite additives to find in beer as it can add a really appealing dimension to citrusy brews. So, we were excited to see our Waynesboro friends at Basic City Brewing Company kick out this hazy IPA with Agave and were intrigued, further, to see them pair it with Alora hops.

Alora hops are a relatively new hop, developed by famed German hop distributor, grower, and developer Hopsteiner. (The Gimbel family founded Hopsteiner in 1845, and it remains in their hands six generations later.) The Alora hop comes from their breeding program and was just released in 2023. It’s an aroma hop that sports fruit aromas and flavors from apricot to peach to yuzu.

Though Hopsteiner labels Alora as an aroma hop, Basic City leans on it to do all the hopping duties in the Cactus Garden. Of course, there’s also the Agave, which turns out to be a subtle addition, sculpting the edges of the flavor and rounding out the finish. The whole thing is a smooth, fragrant IPA — nowhere near as prickly as the name would suggest. ;)