Brulo Tropic of Now DDH IPA

Brulo were founded in early 2019 as Coast Beer, and should be instantly recognisable to any regular reader of this blog (are there any?). Since their initial few offerings they’ve become rather prolific in their output, with 12 different brews available on their website at time of writing. We’ve reviewed four of them so far, with this review being the fifth, which only puts them behind Mash Gang in this site’s ‘most reviewed brand’ leader board – what an accolade indeed! The approach they seem to have taken for most of their beers is to experiment with different hop combinations whilst keeping a standard malt profile as the canvas for the hops to paint their flavours on. This, coupled with De Proefbrouwerij in Belgium performing brewing duties for Brulo using their specialist strain of yeast, tends to mean that a Brulo beer has a recognisable and familiar taste. This is not to say that they all taste the same – far from it – but there’s a juiciness on the palate, akin to passion fruit or grapefruit, that gives away a De Proef beer.

Where Brulo’s beers shine is their use of hops to move away from any uniformity in their beers. The brewers are obviously a fan of new world hops, with Sabro, Idaho 7, Galaxy and Azacca featuring in a lot of their brews. With Tropic of Now they’ve gone for a quatro-hopaggio (technical term) of Azzaca, Citra, Columbus and Sabro, which I’m sure will already be setting off the saliva glands of readers who know a thing or two about their hops. Tropic of Now is also a DDH IPA, which of course means that it’s been dry-hopped, not once but twice. As we’ve discussed in previous reviews, double dry-hopping involves adding a second round of hops to the beer during the fermentation process. This gives the beer a more intense hop aroma and flavour, as well as a hazier appearance. I couldn’t get a finger on exactly what the name ‘Tropic of Now’ is in reference to, but I suspect that with the combination of hops used in the brew, we’ll be getting tropical flavours, aromas and juiciness aplenty. Let’s open ‘er up!

Pouring from the can we get a light golden coloured liquid with a light haze to it, and several visible streams of bubbles. A good creamy-looking frothy head is produced, and leaves rings of lacing down our glass as we drink the beer. On the nose we get a basket of tropical fruits washing over our olfactory system – pineapple, mango, mandarin orange, grapefruit and more. Along with those juicy fruits there are some sweet sherbet notes, a whiff of something akin to coconut water, and a peppery spice in the background. The aromas are well balanced, nothing overwhelming anything else.

On tasting, the beer is of course hop forward, with pleasant juicy fruitiness coming in the form of mango, melon, mandarin orange, grapefruit rind, along with a resinous pine bitterness at the back of the tongue. There’s sweetness there too but not as high as usual in a Brulo beer, perfectly balancing the marauding hop hordes but not managing to vanquish them. The mouthfeel is silky smooth, with the aggressive-looking carbonation actually being quite gentle on the mouth, and a light to medium body. We get a bitter finish to the drink.

Brulo Tropic of Now DDH IPA is a great showcase for the brewer and the four hops they’ve used in the brew. Layers of fruity flavours with a perfect balance of bitterness and sweetness. If you’re already a Brulo fan you’re in for a treat, and I think this may be their best alcohol-free beer so far. Can they top it?

Buy Brulo Tropic of Now DDH IPA

You may have been lucky enough to experience Brulo’s beers on tap, as their roll out to bars continues. A few of their offerings are available in Morrisons supermarkets, or you can buy your Tropic of Now DDH IPA direct from the brewer:

Nutritional Information (per 100ml, taken from the side of the can)
ABV	0.0%
Energy	33 kcal
Fat	0g
Carbohydrates	7.9g
Sugar	3.8g
Protein	<1g
Ingredients
Water, Barley, Hops, Yeast
Additional Information
Country of Production	Belgium
Brewer	Brulo Beer – https://www.brulobeer.com/
Gluten Free?	No
Vegan Friendly?	Yes