It’s been seven years since we first released Understanding Whole Systems, and much has happened in the world since then: a global pandemic, changes in political structures, innumerable scientific discoveries… I could go on and on, but if there is one thing that has remained constant throughout all this time, it would be our undivided love of Citra and of this New England IPA. So now, a good seven years on, let’s talk about the process behind making Understanding Whole Systems and what first inspired us back in 2019.

We here at Pressure Drop are always on the look out for fresh inspiration for special brews, whether that’s from nature or current events, or from personal anecdotes or cultural references, the list goes on. With Understanding Whole Systems, we took inspiration from Whole Earth Catalog, an American magazine published between 1968 and 1974. This catalogue was designed to be an ‘evaluation and access device’ to help unite newly formed counterculture communities in print, with a special focus on sustainable design, experimental media, scientific innovation, modern philosophy, and art. What resulted was an amazing archive of diagrams and thoughtful insights into how we as humans might best unite nature, culture, and science during an era where the world was leaping further into technology than ever before.

How does any of that relate to us, I hear you ask? Well, we pride ourselves on our experimental brews, on upholding a connection to community while implementing modern brewing science on a small scale, on creating something delicious that everyone can enjoy. We thrive on DIY culture, which is why leafing through this old publication all about unifying community, design and science struck a deep chord.

Look a bit more closely at a can of this beer and you’ll notice step-by-step instructions for cleaning a brewhouse; a critical analysis of Vladimir Nabokov’s 1962 work, Pale Fire (does that name sound familiar?); a short poem waxing lyrical about tropical glades and orange blossom, two flavour profiles we like to taste in a Citra-hopped NEIPA. In short, Understanding Whole Systems is essentially our own catalogue dedicated to detailing exactly what makes us Pressure Drop.

As for the beer itself, Citra is the star here, with mango and passionfruit on the nose, and a beautiful mix of ripe stone fruit and cantaloupe that marries this tropical fruit salad of an IPA together. It’s balanced by a hint of bitter pine, with a smooth and sweet finish that will leave you wanting more. During the brewing process, we implemented the ‘dip-hop’ technique, which was first developed by Spring Valley Brewery in Japan back in 2012. This entails transferring a portion of hot wort (100L at 70 degrees, to be specific) directly into the fermenter along with a good dose of Citra Incognito to create a ‘hot tea’ ahead of full transfer. Why? It causes some more volatile compounds from the hops to evaporate, increasing the desirable hop aromas while decreasing the harsher ‘green’ flavours in the final product.

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We can’t wait for you to try the latest iteration of this beer! So much so, that we’re releasing it early to a select number of venues across England for First Pour events on Friday 10th April 2026:

All Good Beer, Dalston • Bayley’s of Bromsgrove, Birmingham • Beer Mine, Horsham • Beermoth, Manchester • Beer No Evil, Worthing • Caps & Taps, Tufnell Park • Jars Bar, Deptford • House of Trembling Madness, York • The Last Light, Margate • Lucky Anchor, Deptford • Junkyard, Nottingham • Mall Tavern, Notting Hill • Maltings Taphouse, Newton Abbot • Mind The Tap, Hertford • Mikkeller, Shoreditch • Mosaic Tap, Newcastle • The North Star, Leytonstone • Pressure Drop Taproom, Tottenham • Real Drinks, Maida Vale • The Rusty Bucket, Eltham • The Star & Garter, Bromley • Stormbird, Camberwell • Vinoramica, Chingford • Wolfe & Castle, Rochester

If you can't make it to any of these venues, fear not - cans will be available from Friday on our webshop, too. 

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