11th Birthday DDH West Coast IPA w/ Riwaka & Motueka | 7.2%
Brewed in collaboration with our friends from Manchester, UK, Track Brewing, as part of their birthday celebration series “Forms”.
JP: We met Stefan from Track at These Hills Festival in August and we talked about doing a collab for their 11th anniversary, which is now, and we headed to Manchester right after Mash festival in Barcelona to brew that.
I had not been to Manchester for 10+ years and had never been to Track. I fell in love with the location and their setup. I love the look and feel of the taproom and how close you can see the brewery and the origin of what you are drinking (this was something important for us at DKB as well).
My highlight had to be pouring my first cask ale (thanks Stefan!) and getting to drink their wet hop cask beers (as we were there shortly after hop harvest) such as Auburn, hopped with Manchester grown hops from many different people in the community.
MJ: This was my first trip to Manchester but Track has been on my radar for a good few years. I think the first time I tried Track was when our friend Jack went on a work trip there and brought us back some of the famous Gold Top hazy DIPA.
Although it was my first time in Manchester I felt at home, I’m 100% Kiwi but have roots in The North and somehow it felt familiar to me.
JP: There are similarities but Track is a bigger brewery than DosKiwis, catering to a different market (UK) - we don’t do cask for instance (sad face!).
MJ: Track is bigger for sure, they produce quite a lot more beer than us. Overall the tech is quite similar but their tanks are larger and their canning line is faster. Track has a really large indoor space for taproom patrons, which is great for the colder months.
JP: Track had a very good concept for their 11th anniversary, a collection called FORMS. They even created a beautifully designed poster that you can use to collect the stickers for all the different 11 beers. We decided to make a West Coast IPA, a style we both love and in which we take a very similar approach in terms of process, so that was easy!
MJ: We have been brewing quite a few modern WCIPA’s lately, the style has evolved recently and has had a bit of a resurgence. Craft has been dominated by hazy and over the top beers for the last little while so its great to see some cleaner, more drinkable styles having an impact again. For me its an honour to be included in Track’s 11th birthday beers.
JP: Stefan was an excellent host and he showed us around Manchester extensively. I think my highlight was drinking a beer at The Peveril of The Peak with live Irish music and the meal we had at Noodle Alley, but I have to say it’s very hard to choose because every place was amazing!
MJ: Stefan is really easy to spend time with, he’s a great host and a good hang. I loved Siop Shop and Companio.
We also paid a visit to the Manchester Science and Industry museum, definitely worth a visit if you're interested in the city’s past.
A huge thank you to Stefan, Sam and the whole Track team. Also big thanks to Caitlin for patiently walking me through how she was going to fill the casks of Sonoma that morning!
Zonal is exclusively available via Track Brewing, while stocks last!