Great Lakes Brewery has released Thrust! An IPA for what the brewery calls an extremely limited batch, and unlike a beer built on a rotating hop bill, this one is a single-hop showcase built entirely around Nelson Sauvin, a New Zealand variety.
Nelson Sauvin is a distinctive hop even by New Zealand standards, and Great Lakes leans into that: the brewery describes big notes of freshly crushed gooseberry alongside grapefruit, mango, and kiwi. Gooseberry in particular is a less common descriptor in North American IPAs, closer to what shows up in Nelson Sauvin's namesake, Sauvignon Blanc wine grapes, than to the citrus and dank notes typical of West Coast hop varieties. Great Lakes calls it one of the team's all-time favorite returning releases. It comes in at 6.5 percent ABV.
Thrust! An IPA is available Thursday at the Great Lakes brewery, the GLB Brewpub, and the Great Lakes online shop.
Source & Editorial
JollyPint independently prepares release articles using information published by breweries through newsletters, websites, and other official public communications. Brewery-supplied descriptions and tasting notes are reported as provided, while editorial context is added by JollyPint.