Round Corner Brewing has released a new version of Follow The Green Line, its New Zealand Pale Ale. The beer was first seen in 2022.
With a slight recipe tweak and ABV change, the golden, gently hazy pale ale has New Zealand hop varieties Nelson Sauvin, Rakau, and Riwaka, which are added liberally for citrusy grapefruit, pomelo, and gooseberry aromas. The beer has just enough malt sweetness to balance the New World bitterness.
The beer is named after the green line which guides Auckland Airport’s visiting passengers between the New Zealand domestic and international terminals. It’s a trip many at Round Corner Brewing have taken on their way to Wellington, which is somewhat of a second home.
Follow The Green Line is Round Corner Brewing’s seventh Market Edition beer of 2023. It’s available in cans and is also available in the brewery taproom.
“Last year’s beer was slightly stronger at 5.3% and punchier in bitterness at 40 IBU,” said Round Corner Brewing’s head brewer and co-founder, Colin Paige.
“This year, however, we’ve brought it back to 4.9% and to about 34 IBU, although we’ve actually added more hops, but at a time when it’s really going to drive aroma.
“The aromatics in this beer are just lovely, and it’s loaded with Nelson Sauvin, Rakau, and Riwaka hops. It has a slightly tropical flavour, but also a little bit of frangipani. So, it’s a kind of orange, but floral orange. It has lovely floral and slightly tropical notes which are really delicious and lead you into the beer.”
He added: “The beer is light in colour with an approachable amount of bitterness. The malt is a little bit lighter than it was last year and we’ve used an extra pale ale malt.
“It’s really nice and pale, gently hazy, but a little bit of cara gold malt helps give it a little bit of depth and something for the hops to build on, but without really effecting drinkability too much. With a new lower ABV of 4.9% it’s certainly a much better strength for drinkability on a hot sunny day.”
