The Sip #38 - Mash's Copy Cat
Long-time beer drinker and The Sip editor Ross Lewis puts some of Australia's top drops to the test.
Catch up with other beers on The Sip Archive
For a beer that didn’t have a name until the last minute Mash’s most successful brew has been on plenty of lips over the past month.
Copy Cat, the company’s American India Pale Ale, is still the toast of the Australian good beer scene following its triumph at the country’s leading brewing competition.
Now it isn’t just the Australian International Beer Awards judges that can enjoy the great beverage produced at Mash’s Swan Valley enterprise.
A couple of days after picking up the gong, head brewer Charlie Hodgson was picking out the stock to put what was going to be a seasonal release back into production.
And this time it has been bottled increasing the availability around the country.
So maybe it is now the consumers that can have the Copy Cat handle considering the word of mouth following the AIBA win has help build a trend for the drop.
There was a reluctance to produce the beer at all. Mash had been delivering great brews without an AIPA in the stable and had formed a strong bond with sister set-up 3 Ravens in Melbourne.
However, Hodgson was even less convinced about a name.
It wasn’t until the suggestion was made that Mash was copying everybody else by manufacturing such a beer that the team had that light bulb moment and a moniker was determined.
Copy Cat now sits proudly in the Mash range that also includes the Challenger English IPA, Grasscutter Lawnmower Ale, the Freo Doctor Pale Lager and the West Coast Wheat Beer.
The Challenger English IPA gave a hint of the flavours Hodgson was going to produce in Copy Cat. In the earlier brew the dry hopping with New Zealand cones gave Challenger a brilliant orange taste.
Copy Cat is super piney on the nose but its aroma is one of the best experienced by a West Coast US beer.
There is a distinct pineapple and melon fruit edge to the smell.
The fruits, this time including citrus, come forward early in the taste and give a sweet edge.
It finishes without too much bitterness. But be warned. It hits the alcohol charts at 6.8 per cent so it is wise to respect Copy Cat.
However, this is a brew to be sipped and savoured not rushed.
At least when it comes to Copy Cat we should follow what a lot of good beer drinkers are doing.
The Sip Snip
Copy Cat
Brewer: Mash Brewing, WA
Style: American India Pale Ale
Alcohol content: 6.8%
Standard drinks: 1.8
Bitterness: 70IBU
Bottles: 330ml
Estimated calories: 204 (approx)
The Sip Tip (rating): Gold medal material
Average prices: $6 per bottle, $20 for a four-pack.
