ONE DROP BREWING CO XPA
A day at the beach isn’t always a watercolour painting – sometimes we get burnt! The same can be said for life's journey. Fortunately, applied correctly (i.e. consumed over a conversation with a mate) this cold craft can be a soothing lotion, helping ease the pain.
Origin – Botany, New South Wales
ABV- 4.3%
Size- 375mL can
Style- Extra Pale Ale
Music legend Bob Marley, the driving force and namesake behind the pioneers of Reggae Bob Marley and the Wailers used shoe polish to darken his hair in a bid to appear 'more African', said his widow Rita. According to the Marley biography, it was as a result of the star struggling with insecurities over his mixed heritage as the son of a Caucasian father and Jamaican mother. Another not-so-well-known fact about the singer-songwriter that's credited with popularising the genre and taking the Rastafarian ideals of community, humanity and love worldwide, is his creation of the One Drop beat, the rhythm that now defines the reggae style.
Inspired by the same foundational ideals, when the husband and wife team of Meg Barbic and Clay Grant sold their family home to finance the foundation of the new brewery the name was evident at the outset. Having grown up in Botany, Meg and Clay already knew what was beating withing one of Sydney's authentic cultural melting pots. And after finding the ideal space in a former 1950's paper warehouse, One Drop Brewing was born, and that rhythm was released! It's a light-filled black-and-white space where the roller doors wind up to let the outside in. There are banana trees and a beer garden with festooned lights, along with DJ regularly playing a soundtrack of chilled reggae, soulful dub tunes and Pacific and Caribbean sounds. Head Brewer Nick Calder-Scholes, formerly of Four Pure in London is the man responsible for the eight rotating beers on tap and hand full of package beers.
While those looking to go a bit off-beat will be enchanted by Nick's focus on experimenting with fruit-based sour beers – past flavours have included mango and lime, blueberry, and watermelon and cucumber – most settle down to a flagship Botany Bay Lager, a refreshingly crisp New World IPA or this 2019 AIBA Gold Medal-winning XPA. With a standard pale golden pour, it’s the nose that first provides a glimpse that you're holding something special. Made with flavour and sessionability in mind it’s an xtra pale ale that is bright and refreshing with a substantial hop presence. Tropical & fruity notes dominate a floral palate, while a subdued bitterness and rounded malt presence balance this fresh yet flavour-packed little number.
Flowing from a basic, yet attractively boldly branded can, it even looks as good as it tastes – no need for shoe polish on this one!