When we started Zipline Brewing Co in 2012, the craft beer world was full tilt into the West Coast IPA craze. All the classic “C” hops and exciting new high-alpha varieties were being gobbled up by brewers with a lot more clout and a lot more cash. And, well, we thought some of those IPAs were a little rough around the edges as brewers sought to outdo each other with higher and higher IBUs. So when we sought to make a consistently awesome IPA, we pivoted to the (then) lesser known hops of New Zealand.
Coincidentally, one of our founders had recently returned from a prolonged stay down under and lauded the small but growing craft beer scene. This gave us confidence to go all in on such varieties as Pacifica, Motueka, Rakau, Wakatu, and other flavorful hops that ultimately became part of our five-hop NZ IPA recipe. In addition to being outright delicious, these allowed us to create a softer, less aggressive IPA we thought would help convert folks to the style long term.
As the brewery grew from idea to reality, and the number of hop varieties available to us increased, we decided in 2015 to transition to a more traditional American IPA, which then had (and still has) its own crazy intense hop profile. But, there were always those among us who longed for a dose of nostalgic “N Zed” goodness. This year we finally get our way!
We are proud to announce the release this week an updated version of our classic NZ IPA. With heaps of Motueka, Rakau, and Wakatu, and that classic rich malt base, fans of our very first IPA will instantly suss out the unique flavors of citrus, honey and blackberry in this OG Zipline IPA.
NZ IPA will be available for a limited time at all of our retail locations and at your local beer vendor. Grab some for your chilly bin. Ta!