Zichovec - Winter Affair Gossip SOMA

For the third year in a row, we’ve been hosting the Winter Affair international beer tasting festival, and for just as long, we’ve been brewing collaborative batches with some of the participating breweries. It’s a unique opportunity to get to know each other better, share interesting insights, and combine our expertise. The beers created as part of the Winter Affair Gossip series are the result of these meetings—they bring together beer worlds, unique recipes, and a love for the craft across countries and continents. We joined forces with the Spanish brewery SOMA—a European leader in modern IPAs and hoppy beers in general—to brew a New England IPA that is full-bodied, hazy, and bursting with aroma and flavor, yet remains surprisingly easy to drink despite its 7% ABV. Thanks to its higher alcohol content, it has a beautifully smooth, juicy body. The bitterness is pleasant and moderate—just enough to balance the intense fruitiness. We used a trio of exceptional hops—New Zealand’s Riwaka and Motueka, along with the American classic Citra. Riwaka brings a distinct aroma of citrus peel, grapefruit, and passion fruit; Motueka adds notes of lime, gooseberry, and subtle herbal tones; and Citra wraps it all up in a layer of citrus, tropical fruit, mango, and cantaloupe.