Name: Blood & Art II
Brand: Blood Brothers Brewing
Availability: InStock

The numeral does a lot of work on this can. Blood & Art II is the second edition of an annual hoppy collaboration between Blood Brothers Brewing and Collective Arts Brewing, and the two Ontario breweries are framing it as an ongoing project rather than a one-time meeting.

The beer is an imperial IPA hopped with Krush Hyperboost, Citra and Superdelic. Blood Brothers describes it as bursting with ripe tropical fruit, candied citrus and bright berry notes, and credits the Superdelic and Krush hops for that character in particular.

Two of those three are the less familiar names. Superdelic is a New Zealand variety, still uncommon on Ontario labels, and the tropical and berry end of the brewery's tasting notes is where it tends to land. Krush Hyperboost is a processed hop product rather than a conventional pellet, the kind of preparation breweries reach for when they want aroma intensity without filling a tank with plant material. Citra is the steady hand of the three, a workhorse for stone fruit and grapefruit that gives the newer varieties something conventional to push against.

The collaboration itself has some history behind it. Blood Brothers describes the second year of the partnership as the result of years of friendship, shared recipes, cracked beers and plenty of laughs - a relationship that predates the beer rather than a marketing arrangement built around one. Collective Arts, based in Hamilton, is known for putting rotating artwork from open submissions on its labels, and the Blood & Art name folds that into the collaboration directly.

Blood & Art II is available now in 473 ml cans from Blood Brothers, which brews on Geary Avenue in Toronto.

Editor’s Take

The Roman numeral is the interesting part. Most brewery collaborations are a one-off handshake - two teams, one brew day, a can with both logos on it, everyone goes home. Putting a II on the label is a quieter commitment: it means somebody intends to make a III, and that next year's version will be judged against this one. Blood Brothers calls it a co-exploration rather than a collab, which sounds like marketing until you notice it is accurate. An exploration implies you go back.\n\nThe hop bill suggests they are not repeating themselves either. Two of the three names on it are the sort that turn up on a spec sheet rather than in a pub conversation: Superdelic, a New Zealand variety still finding its way onto Ontario cans, and Krush Hyperboost, which is a processed hop preparation rather than a plain pellet. Citra, meanwhile, is the reliable one, the hop that shows up to make sure the other two stay pointed at fruit. I would put this next to something salty and fried and let the candied citrus do the work a wedge of lime usually does.

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.

Blood & Art II Returns for Year Two With a Krush Hyperboost Bill

Blood Brothers and Collective Arts have brought back their hoppy collaboration for a second year, this time an IIPA on Krush Hyperboost, Citra and Superdelic. The brewery reports tropical fruit, candied citrus and berry.

Source & Editorial