Seasonal New England IPA 2025

2026’s Summer Seasonal is a fruit-forward New England Pale Ale, featuring new hop varieties and innovative processing technologies. The malt base combines barley with oats and wheat, enhancing the juiciness and rounded mouthfeel. A newly developed hybrid yeast strain from Lallemand (“Pomona”) works with dry hops and low kettle bittering to emphasize a spectrum of fruit flavours, including peach, citrus, and tropical fruits. The American hop Dolcita leads with notes of coconut, peach, honeydew, and Valencia orange, used in whirlpool and during dry hopping. Amarillo, processed as concentrated CGX pellets, add layers of tangerine, peach, and apricot flavours. El Dorado hops bring more tropical flavours such as pineapple and watermelon. Finally, we have added a relatively new hop this year, Luminosa, known for imparting both peach and candied fruit flavours. We have added it both to the whirlpool and the dry-hop.

By using some of the dry hops early in the process, while the yeast is still active, certain hop aroma compounds known as “thiols” can be unlocked through interaction with the yeast, in a process known as biotransformation. Thiols are particularly associated with tropical fruit flavours, and so this adds further to the tropical fruit flavours and aromas of this beer.

Aroma: Tropical and stone fruits, with scents of coconut, peach, honeydew melon, orange, and mango.

Flavour: Fruit-forward, juicy flavour with a rounded mouthfeel. Yeast adding a slight peach flavour.

Food pairings: The fruity profile of this Summer Seasonal can complement the heat of dishes like spicy Thai curries or buffalo wings, and the tropical flavours work well with barbecue or grilled pork.