So Down and So Dirty
by Kurt Epps--The PubScout
Upon this Yankee's arrival in Southeastern NC two years ago, I was introduced to--and became enamoured of--a beer from New South Brewing in SC called "Dirty Myrtle." It's an 8+% DIPA that checks all the boxes I expect my DIPAs to hit--pretty to look at, smooth and strong and nicely balanced with a sufficient hop forward quality, but where the malt is a solid supporting actor. I've helped turn other visiting Yankee friends into fans.
Apparently, New South Brewing has no shortage of those, since devoteés of the brand descend on the brewery regularly. And special releases, like yesterday's release of "So Dirty," an offshoot of Dirty Myrtle made with blood orange, attract even more.
So Dirty is made a few times a year, and this year was the year to go get some. So Jersey Dave and I headed down to the Myrtle Beach brewery where we met Ty, aka T-Bone, another Yankee-turned-Southerner and converted Dirty Myrtle Disciple.
We dutifully got our wristbands (NSM's unique way of tracking what you've purchased) ordered our beers and snagged the back hightop table near the loo, because, well, the closer the better.
So how was the So Dirty? In a word, outstanding. It's a beer with great complexity. It's also a beer that starts off with a great nose, is smooth on the palate (for an 8.9% beer) and actually improves as you drink it, revealing more layers of complexity.
My assessment went from an initial "interesting" to an eventual outstanding and VERY dangerously drinkable --so much so that I carted home a healthy supply for friends. Because drinking it at home is decidedly less dangerous, especially if you're prone to making it a session beer as we did.
Mosaic, Simcoe, and Falconer Flight hops are the basis for Dirty Myrtle, and So Dirty's blood orange adds an extra citrusy layer of tangerine and lemon. It might even have a little more sweetness than its big brother. But outstanding it was.
NSB claims that its White Ale is its flagship beer, supposedly "the best selling beer on the Grand Strand." And if that's true (they should know, I guess), I wonder how close The "Dirties" are to overtaking it.
