Closing out this week's lineup from Original Pattern Brewing Co. is Uncommon Matter, an IPA at 6.9% ABV, the strongest of the six new releases and, based on the swirling cosmic can art alone, the one with the most going on visually too. It's brewed with Mosaic, New Zealand Waimea, and Centennial hops, a combination built to project flavor well past the first sip.
Notes of berry, kiwi, citrus, and resinous pine come through in layers, with the brewery describing it as projecting flavors into the future long after your last sip, taking a leap into flavor-space as you float into compossibility. That is, admittedly, a lot of language for a beer, but the underlying hop bill backs it up with genuine range rather than just vibes.
At the top end of this week's ABV spread, Uncommon Matter is doing the most work of the six, and Oakland's Original Pattern seems to know it, saving the highest-gravity release for last. Six new beers dropping together is a serious showing for one week, and closing with the strongest, most flavor-dense of the bunch is a reasonable way to send everyone home happy.
Available in the taproom and shipping Friday at noon, with delivery across California for anyone not making the trip to Oakland.
If the rest of the week's releases were the appetizers, Uncommon Matter is very much the main course.