Canberra’s BentSpoke Brewing Co. is launching a new beer alongside Yakima Chief Hops, from the Pacific NorthWest USA, this Wednesday 19th of May during Good Beer Week in Melbourne.

James Monshing who is the Australian Hops Manager for Yakima Chief Hops, has said, “Partnering up with Richard and the BentSpoke team has proven itself to be a perfect opportunity to showcase hops such as Idaho 7, Ahtanum and HBC 586, produced by family farms in the Pacific North West.

This is the first extension of our EXP beer series outside of North America. The EXP series allows us to get finished beer produced with our hops, into the hands of customers to continue our relationship from farm to pint, gaining feedback for our growers in the process! ” This series promotes pushing the boundaries on experimentation and exploration with different hops, products, and techniques.

Through this way of learning they encourage drinkers to provide feedback on the hops and beer recipes through their website at expbeers.com.

This new beer, Hop Wheeler, is part of BentSpoke’s “Freewheeling” beer series celebrating collaborations within the beer community. For Hop Wheeler, the hops used include Simcoe, Idaho 7, Ahtanum, Citra, HBC 586. The aroma profile of the launch beer include ripe paw paw and mango, passionfruit and subtle notes of pineapple, berry and candy. It presents a hop forward mouth feel with a pronounced lingering bitterness, with hop flavours of tropical mango, pineapple and paw paw. With an ABV of 6.8% and an IBU of 35.

“‘Freewheelers Series’ is a chance for experimentation, collaboration and celebration of what it means to be part of the beer community. As brewers ‘Bending the rules of beer’ is at our core and this beer in the YCH EXP series gives the BentSpoke brew team a chance to work closely with the growers, have a bit of fun and also allow direct feedback on the beer.” Richard Watkins BentSpoke brewing Co Founder and Head Brewer.

Yakima Chief Hops is a 100% grower-owned network of family hop farms, creating a strong relationship between growers and brewers. Their mission is to connect family hop farms with the world’s best brewers and provide the highest quality products to their customers. The launch will take place at an exclusive event at the Prince Alfred Hotel in Port Melbourne Wednesday evening from 6pm onwards.