The name is Green Cheek Beer Company's own acknowledgment that this one cost more to make. Superdelic!? In This Economy?! is built around a new lot of Superdelic hops sourced from New Zealand, which the brewery says it paid a premium for.
Putting a pricier hop into a West Coast Pilsner rather than an IPA gives it a lighter frame to work in. Green Cheek describes bright, zesty citrus leading the profile, with fresh pineapple and a touch of mango behind it. At 5.4 percent ABV, the beer is built to let that hop character carry the load without much competition from malt.
Thinking about the hops and flavor profile
A pilsner base is a deliberately quiet stage for a hop to perform on. IPAs ask a hop to compete with dry-hopping rates, higher ABV, and often other hops in the same bill; a pilsner's clean, crisp malt backbone and lower gravity leave a lot more room for a single hop's character to come through unobscured. Putting a premium, small-lot hop like this fresh Superdelic into that format, rather than folding it into another hazy IPA, reads as a choice to actually showcase the hop rather than just use it. Whether that justifies the added cost is the brewery's own call to make, but it does mean the citrus and pineapple notes Green Cheek is describing have less competing for attention around them.
Superdelic!? In This Economy?! is available now in 4-packs, $15, at Green Cheek's Orange, Sunset Beach, Costa Mesa, and Oceanside locations.
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.