Oh, now then this is an interesting one! Why may you ask? Well, when it comes to beers from Wilde Child I am often used to seeing flavour packed beers of differing styles where as this one is simply described as a Southern Hemisphere IPA. This is certainly not to suggest that this will be lacking in flavour as Wilde Child is not known for brewing bland beers, it is more of a case as to how their brewing skills will transition to a hop forward IPA, and I for one am certainly looking forward to finding out!
1. Name : Shoot to Thrill
2. Brewery: Wilde Child, Leeds
3. Hops : Galaxy, Nelson Sauvin & Motueka
4. Grain : Barley, Oats, Wheat & Yeast
5. Aroma : Appealing fruity nose with white grape, citrus and soft stone fruit to the fore. This comes from the excellent hop combination with characteristics of all identifiable.
6. Appearance : Lively pour with a three finger fluffy white head which calms as the beer settles in the glass. Beer pours a hazy straw colour with sediment evident at the bottom of the glass.
7. Body : Medium/full body with the typical soft pillowy characteristics of a NEIPA.
8. Taste : Punchy bitter hops hit you as soon as the beer hits the mouth with a lovely, zesty, fruity flavour from the hops cutting through. Taste lingers well on the palate and is very moreish.
I approached this beer both looking forward to it and wondering how Wilde Child would fair when it comes to a hop forward IPA and I can honestly say that they have seriously pulled this one off, creating a lovely beer indeed.
The beer has a very appealing nose as it is poured with all hops identifiable which creates a real punchy aroma that prepares you for the taste explosion that is to come. It certainly is a full-on explosion of flavours on the palate with an instant hop burst that hits the mouth before making way to a soft yet zesty citrus/stone fruit flavour that proves very moreish and lingers well as the beer is drank.
I can only say about this one that Wilde Child have brewed something very nice indeed with Shoot to Thrill and it highlights just what a good brewery they are to be able to pull of something as nice as this and something that differs from many of their flavour packed stouts and porters.
Shoot to Thrill certainly proved to be a thrilling experience and is a beer that I would be more than happy to have in my glass on a regular occasion. This is a beer that I would highly recommend for the hop heads out there, or indeed fans of good beer.
Mark’s overall rating: 4.0/ 5.0
That’s us done for the year! 2022 certainly has been a boozy one, we have expanded our number by one with an additional helper starting in the New year. From all of us here at the Eternal Hoptimist’s, thank you for reading and remember to drink responsible-ish, and we will see you in the new year!
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