Mad Brewers Garden de Paradisi witbier review

When a beer comes with the boast "made using secret spices used in voodoo rituals", the first image that springs to mind is the robot from Lost In Space waving his arms and yelling "Danger!"

It's not exactly confidence inspiring to think that either a) the brewers had some leftover flavourings after making jerk chicken and thought "why not?" or b) about an hour after drinking you'll be talking in tongues.

But when it's part of the Mad Brewers line from Malt Shovel, there is hope.

Maybe this won't be a bad idea after all? Maybe they've stumbled across something that actually works? At the very least, maybe the experiment of sampling one won't be too bad after all. And thankfully, it's not.

The Garden de Paradisi witbier with its Ghanian grana paradisi spice probably won't become a staple beer addition, but for a one-off seasonal offering it's a welcome twist on a good beer.

At its heart this is a Belgian witbier, made with a blend of mosaic, summer and topaz hops, plus barley malt, unmalted wheat and oats.

But from the pour it's obvious this is a witbier with a difference. It's cloudy - imagine the final moments of a Coopers Red - with a robust white head and a strong spicy citrus aroma. That would be the aforementioned grana paradisi plus a mandarin peel addition, both of which hit you from the first sip. There are sharp hops and a full fruity undertone with a peppery belt that soon shows the spice's relation to cardamom.

"We believe we have been able to create a unique beer," brewer Josh Staines says.

Staines and co-brewer Dan Feist certainly have created a unique drop, and it's certainly something to try.

Does it match up to some of the other Mad Brewers offerings, such as the Hoppy Hefe? Not quite.

Unpasteurised and unfiltered, you could almost use a fork to drink this. The fact there's more flavour into a mouthful than many standard beers have in a whole glass is a bit much by the end of the pint-sized bottle. This is the difference between sipping a nice broth and sucking on a stock cube.

So it's not a session beer, but one or two, paired with foods strong enough to match (jerk chicken anyone?) would be ideal.

Verdict: Worth a try, 6/10.