Darling Brew’s Warlord Imperial IPA has long been one of the brewery’s much loved India Pale Ales. Warlord, inspired by the black rhino, has been available on tap at the brewery and few selected outlets in the past. This season, Darling Brew made the call to bottle this rarity, for the first time in their new 330ml shape.
Warlord is a beer that means business. At a whopping 9% ABV, it is the Darling Brew beer with the highest percentage of alcohol, yet it remains to be an easy drinking beer. This is potentially what makes Warlord such a favourite amongst beer lovers. High in hop flavours, Warlord has aromas of guava and lychee, grapefruit, pine and a hint of floral. All-in-all it has” a mild, well-rounded bitterness for the style, is elegantly balanced, with a full mouthfeel, but not as heavy as one would expect,” says René du Toit, Darling Brew’s head brewer.
Continuing in Darling Brew’s consistent effort to draw attention to conservation and sustainability, the Warlord Imperial IPA is inspired by the black rhino, the rarest of the big five in Africa. Once abundant from the Cape to the northern parts of South Africa and Namibia, this prehistoric looking animal was hunted to extinction in the 1850’s in South Africa.
The African population was hunted from around 70,000 to below 2500 in 1990. Animals were bought in from zoos around the world to breed with the population that was left to bring in genetic diversity. The population has grown to around 5000 animals, but is still critically endangered. An age old mythical tradition from the far east is once again decimation the rhino population.
In March 2017, Warlord was also launched in Brazil as the first of many beers that will be brewed and sold in Brazil ,under license on behalf of Darling Brew by Sunset Brew.
Warlord is available for a limited time, while stocks last at independent liquor stores in Gauteng and Western Cape.
Outlets
WESTERN CAPE:
- Woodstock Liquors
- The Biggest Little Beer Shop
- Roeland Liquors
- Liquor City Claremont
- Shorties Blue Bottle Liquors
GAUTENG:
- Wine & Liquor at Craighall
- Craft Beer Library
- Capital Craft
- Olivewood Liquor
- Machics – Restaurant and Alehouse
Darling Brew
Darling Brew is a microbrewery located in the small town of Darling in the Western Cape. The brewery produces a wide range of popular craft beers. Each beer in their range has unique characteristics and a backstory dedicated to the endangered creature it honours and supports through the various conservation programmes that they donate to.
It all started in 2007 when owners Kevin and Philippa Wood journeyed into Africa to see as much wildlife as they could and explore the many different beers of each country. They brewery opened in 2010. Most recently they have constructed a new micro-brewery and Taste Room which offers an interactive beer tasting experience in the tasting room and bar which overlooks the working microbrewery, a restaurant that serves delicious beer paired meals made from fresh, organic, seasonal and locally sourced ingredients, and beautiful gardens.
Darling Brew’s new premises are situated at 48 Caledon Street in Darling.
