“Dank, ripe, delicious” read the tasting notes on the back of this excellently designed can. But while descriptors like these don’t really explain what Cheese, the latest hazy IPA from North London’s Pressure Drop, actually tastes like, they tell you pretty much everything you need to know: that this beer is dripping with the juicy flavours and aromas that, when done well, make this style of beer so appealing.
To be a little more specific, the flavours in this beer are totally tropical, with ripe mango and kiwi fruit to the fore, joined by a little fresh strawberry and passion fruit creeping in around the edges. Combined, I’d described these flavours as “heady” – in a roll-it-up-and-smoke-it kind of way. A dry finish, with just a lingering touch of juiciness lends it a really slurpable quality. This Cheese is good cheese.
As well as this beer, I was also thrilled to receive the news that Pressure Drop is one of the businesses taking part in a trial run by campaign group 4-Day-Global, which is looking at the effectiveness of a four-day work week. This means that all of the brewery’s staff will receive an extra day off, but will still be paid 100% of their full-time wage. The theory – which I confess I am also a major proponent of – is that despite having less time at work, you actually become more productive, because you are mentally and physically better rested.
What’s interesting about a brewery taking part in this trial is that, while the concept of the four-day week fits neatly into, say, an office scenario, it’s more challenging in what is essentially a food production factory. You physically need to be in a brewery to make beer, monitor it through fermentation and conditioning, and package it. Losing a day of production could make this tough.
Personally, however, I feel everyone deserves the opportunity to work four-day weeks if they possibly can. I look forward to chatting to the folks from Pressure Drop in a few months’ time about how successful it has hopefully been. If more productivity and happier staff means more exceptional beers like this one, then it can only be a positive thing.
Matthew Curtis is a writer, photographer and editor of Pellicle Magazine. Follow him on Twitter and Instagram @totalcurtis and @pelliclemag. Sign up to our All Killer No Filler subscription box and you'll find incredible beers like this one every month, plus more great writing from Matthew and our food writer Claire Bullen.