Half Acre Beer's New Souped Up Daisy Cutter Is Here

By Ben Kramer in Food on Nov 6, 2015 6:56PM

Photo provided by Half Acre Beer Company.

Friday afternoon brought the much-anticipated release of the Double Daisy Cutter, Half Acre Brewing Company's Imperial take on their year-round favorite, Daisy Cutter.

Contrary to the “Double” in the name, the beer does not contain double the amount of malt, hops or ABV. Certainly there are more raw materials used, but the “Double” is meant to, “imply it's a bigger, more flavorful version of the regular form of Daisy Cutter,” as Head Brewer Matt Young puts it.

So what does “bigger, more flavorful version” of Daisy Cutter mean? Well, it means a few things. One, it's a higher ABV. Standard Daisy Cutter is 5.2 percent whereas Double Daisy Cutter hits the scales at 8 percent. The percentage increase certainly makes for a stronger, bigger take on the brew but it doesn't stop there.

When Young and his crew set out to do this variation, the desire was to create a beer as crisp and drinkable as the standard Daisy Cutter but one with a greater hop intensity. As you can imagine, this meant more hops than normal were boiled in the kettle (kettle hopping provides most of the beers bitterness) but also meant increasing the amount of hops used for the dry hopping. “Dry hopping is a critical component,” says Young. For him, adding more in this phase is, “the best way to amplify the hop intensity for this type of beer.”

Now, amplified hop intensity doesn't mean the beer will be overly bitter. It just means they're going for something bigger in flavor and aroma. And not just bigger, but different too.

Tweaking the recipe almost yearly, Young and his team wanted this years Double Daisy Cutter to own more of a tropical, fruity, citrus character, as opposed to standard Daisy Cutter, which is in more of the dank, grassy, piney feel. To emphasize these characteristics, Young says the team shifted around proportions of the hops, using slightly more or less of each variant to let those tropical, citrusy, fruity flavors shine.

Now keep in mind, this beer, while big, is a limited release. The best place to find it will be at the Half Acre taproom and storefront, located at 4257 N. Lincoln Ave. There are some ground rules to keep in mind though. 64 oz growler fills are $20.00 and limited to one per person. 32 oz howler fills are $11.00 and limited to one fill and one re-fill per person. 22 oz bombers are $9.99 with a limit of 4 per person. 16 oz pours will be available at the taproom for $6.00. There is no limit on those pours but don't make a fool of yourself. Remember, it's 8%. Be responsible, be an adult.

Lastly, understand this beer goes fast. In Young's experience, the bombers tend to stick around the Half Acre storefront for a week, or two, and two is a maybe. If you want to try Double Daisy Cutter, do it sooner rather than later. Because wait too long, and miss it, you might just feel like pushing up daisies.