AntiMatter last came out of Adroit Theory Brewing Company's tanks in 2021. It is back this week, and not as a straight reissue.
The brewery says it revamped the beer to sit inside its current line of hazies, and the change is in the grist rather than the hops. The malt base has been updated to match what Adroit Theory calls its recent oat cream projects, the softer, fuller foundation that now runs underneath most of its hazy releases. The result, the brewery says, is a silky, semi-sweet body carrying bright notes of tropical citrus fruit, with what it describes as extremely mild finishing bitterness.
That restraint is doing something specific at this strength. The beer is a triple IPA at 10.5 percent, a range where finishing bitterness and warming alcohol can stack up on each other quickly. Keeping the bitterness low is what lets a beer this big stay in juice territory.
The hops are Mosaic, Citra and Motueka, double dry-hopped. Motueka is the one setting up the split the brewery points to between American and southern hemisphere character. It is a New Zealand variety with Saaz in its parentage, which gives it an unusual profile for a hazy: lime and lemon citrus sitting over a faint noble-hop spice. Next to the heavier tropical weight of Mosaic and Citra, it reads as lift.
The can carries one other Adroit Theory signature. Alongside the label art, the brewery prints its own suggested pairings for the beer - duck confit crostini with pickled cherries, a sheep's milk cheese, a cigar, and a record. For AntiMatter the record is Old Star, by Darkthrone.
AntiMatter is available now at the Purcellville taproom in pours and cans, with 3.5 cases packaged.
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.