IIPA by Pirate Life Brewing

The beer I’m recommending this week is easily one of my top 5 favourite beers full stop: Pirate Life IIPA. 

As I’ve mentioned in previous posts, I aim to mainly highlight and recommend independent Australian breweries and their wares.  As some may know, Pirate Life was purchased by a large brewing conglomerate last year.  Had this beer been merely good, that might have weighed further on my decision to write about it.  However, as I would characterize it as fantastic, and as the point of this blog is to share beers and breweries I love, it would be disingenuous of me not to include this beer.  Because I very much do love it.

While I’ve recently recommended some stouts, sours, and other types of beers that I enjoy, this one is really back in my hoppy wheelhouse.  Because this beer is seriously hoppy.  Pirate Life IIPA comes in at a healthy 120 IBU and 8.8%.  But through some brewing alchemy they’ve managed to make a beer that is extremely hoppy while somehow maintaining a balanced flavour. It also doesn’t venture as far down the bitterness spectrum as you might expect.  Colour-wise, there’s a nice, almost amber tinge to it and the aroma is a big blast of glorious hops. It’s a big beer, but one that’s extremely drinkable as well.  It’s just a hoppy, hoppy masterpiece that never fails to deliver.

In conclusion, as I mentioned in the opening, this would have to be one of my top 5 favourite beers in the world (a statement I do not make lightly).  It’s one of a few beers that can take me from zero to happy in just a few sips (and no, that’s not just because of the 8.8% alcohol content). 

For those that might not be familiar with Pirate Life, anything of theirs you can find is worth a try.  Say what you want about the corporate structure, the undeniable fact is that these guys make a damn tasty beverage.