We were going to make one beer with Verdant. We ended up making four.
An entirely reasonable outcome.
The idea behind the collection is simple: start with one hop, then add another at every stage. Citra. Then Motueka. Then Nelson Sauvin. Finally, Nectaron. Each beer carries the hops from the one before it, building in strength and intensity as we move from a single-hop cask pale to a four-hop DIPA.
Four beers connected by the same idea, with something different to find in every glass.
First, a Little Trouble (CASK ONLY)
Everything starts with Citra.
Little Trouble is our single-hop cask pale, built around bright citrus, soft tropical fruit and the rounded character of cask. There’s plenty to enjoy here before we add anything else. Citra has enough range to carry a beer on its own, and this is its chance to do exactly that.
Starting on cask felt right. A proper pint, and the foundation for everything that follows.
Then, A Little More Trouble - 5% DDH Pale Ale (CAN & KEG)
For the second beer, Motueka joins Citra in a double dry-hopped pale.
Fresh lime and lemon zest bring a brighter edge to the citrus and tropical fruit underneath. The beer grows in strength and hop intensity, but keeps the drinkability we wanted at the centre of the collection.
This is where the progression starts to become clear. You can follow the Citra through from Little Trouble, then pick out what Motueka brings to it.
Trouble in Bloom - 6.5% DDH IPA (CAN & KEG)
The third beer takes us into DDH IPA territory, with Nelson Sauvin joining Citra and Motueka.
Nelson brings its distinctive white-wine fruit and fresh gooseberry character, adding another dimension to the citrus and lime. It’s a hop with a strong personality, so the balance matters: enough to make itself known, with room for the earlier hops to keep doing their work.
The result is a fuller, more layered expression of the same idea. Three hops, each with a part to play.
And finally, Big Trouble - 8% DIPA (CAN & KEG)
We could have stopped at three.
Nectaron joins the full line-up for our DIPA, bringing pineapple, passionfruit and peach to the Citra, Motueka and Nelson Sauvin already in place.
It’s the most expansive beer in the collection, with the body and intensity to carry all four varieties. Taste it alongside Little Trouble and you’ll see how far the idea has travelled.
Taste them in order.
Each beer stands on its own, but trying them together gives you the full story. Follow the citrus into lime, then gooseberry and white-wine fruit, before the final layer of tropical fruit arrives.
Little Trouble belongs on cask. The other three take the collection into keg and can. To experience all four, you’ll need a visit to the pub somewhere along the way.
We’re comfortable with that.
Floc. × Verdant. Four stages of an idea that got a little bigger than planned.
We regret nothing.
