With Kiwi Ingenuity You Don’t Need a Brewery to Make Beer

“We don't have the resources nor the abilities to run our own brewery, so we make do with what we have” says ‘8Wired’ brewer Søren Eriksen. A recipe using local ingredients, and renting the kettle from neighbouring Renaissance brewery is all that’s needed to craft his unique brews inspired with ingenuity in flavour. Now, that’s what I call a crafty hoperation from this 2011 NZ brewer of the year!

Speaking of local, one of 8’s main ingredients is the Nelson sauvin hop. Named after the Sauvignon Blanc grape it has similar characteristics to the wine and imparts a strong tropical fruitiness to 8’s ‘Saison Sauvin’. The saison beer is a style from Belgium, brewed for thirsty farm workers who couldn’t drink the dodgy water, however ‘Saison Sauvin’ ain’t no rehydrater at 7%! .  The brew has a somewhat cloudy mustard colour exactly like the label. Generating a quickly dissolving head and little carbonation this fullish bodied brew reveals notes of hops, pineapples, bananas and cloves, and just enough smooth bitterness to offset any malty sweetness. And with the oncoming season to be jolly, this would make a refreshing quenching festive and summertime BBQ brew.

Another 8Wired sauvin hop dominated brew is their ‘Hop Wired IPA’ (Instant Pleasure Arousal). Clear golden brown with a foamy white head. Wafts of a hop fruit bowl, medium to full bodied and booming hop tangelo tang.  Lingering bitterness and a subtle finishing maltiness with just enough alcohol (7.3%) to ease the silly season stresses.

If you want twice as much pleasure then try the 'Super Conductor' Double IPA. Crack the bottle and get hit with such a distinctive puff of fruity hops you’d almost expect hop flowers on steroids to tumble out whilst pouring.  Spawning a thick creamy white head atop a slightly hazy orangy brown fluid. Instant mouth pucker as soon as the liquid fills the mouth and then flavors of bitter dried apricots from this full bodied brew.  The finish is so dry you’d think you’d just swallowed powdered hop flowers. Better to leave this 8.8% beauty for later on in the evening when BBQing is done and you’ve adjourned to the couch waiting for Santa to descend.

Stop the press! Just released in time for Xmas is 8Wired ‘Semi-Conductor’ session IPA. Brewed with a blend of American and NZ hops, this brew has a busload amount of flavor, but unlike the aforementioned high alc brews, the ‘Semi-Conductor’ comes with minimum regret at 4.4%.  Come in for lunch from the beach cricket then enjoy one (or two) of these effervescent hop tangers, feel like you’re indulging a much more alcoholic brew. Get refreshed and quenched with the citrusy hops, and then return to stumps without tripping over every grain of sand on the beach, shamazing!

Sauvin, so there, some great festive brews, all made with the devotion of some fence wire!

Belgium Beers Bigger than Marty Banks Boot

Belgium is to beer what McDs is to America.,  The Belgium beers combines French flair, German precision and Dutch sturdiness into a unique range of beers, some very sweet, some dry, some sour and some mixtures of all. One thing for sure is that they are all big beers and all have a lot of history and world famous for their Abbey beers. The Belgium beers are strong beers as a result of a law in 1919 banning the sale of distilled spirits in bars so brewers strengthened their beers to meet the demand for more robust drinks. This law has only been rescinded since 1984; the end result is big beers with big flavour variations. Belgians also like their yeast and bottle conditioning is more common in Belgium than anywhere else in the world and this has had a large influence on modern craft brewing.

One of these living brews is 2013 world ale winner “Gulden Draak” from Van Steenberge with a gulden medal. Pours a creamy tan head with mahogany red juice. Fruity on the tongue with strong malt toffee sweetness balanced with hop whiskey like bitterness and full body barrel aged woodiness.  Don’t serve chilled as you won’t appreciate the myriad of flavours.  This guy is a sure head wobbler, either from the 10.5% alcohol or from just shear enjoyment.

Contrasting the Draak is the “Sloebar” still a big beer but more subtle in body and flavours. This brew has the slightly yeasty taste which the Belgium’s go for, and gives a pleasant bitterness enhancing an orange hoppiness with a creamy effervescence that makes it refreshing and leaving you thirsting for more.

The “Piraat”, also from Van Steenberge and also a gold award winner, but in 2012, is a hazy amber and tastes rich in complex flavours of malt and hops.  Starts sweet on the tongue then ends with a grassy zing with a dry finish.

 

One of the few remaining historic Belgium beers is the Kwak and this brew is a real kwacker. Beautiful deep bright amber colour with a creamy tan head and a spicy malt aroma. Tastes like  caramel rum sauce over bananas with a background yeastiness to keep it mildly bitter. You can feel this guy smoothly and warmly going all the way down to your stomach as the 8.4% kicks in.

 

Different yet again is the “Duchesse De Bourgogne” and is the sour sovereign of Belgium beers. This is a lambic style beer which is brewed with wild yeasts and with at least 30% raw wheat, the malt flavours are not balanced by hop bitterness but more by lactic acidity. Once your mouth unpuckers from the sourness, flavours will hit from all directions.  This is one taste phenomenon that all drinkers should try and then realise that it’s not how much you drink, it’s how much you have yet to drink!

Big Day Out, A Beerstorming Day in Wellington

Got no holidays at Christmas so took the opportunity of the long labour weekend to spend a holiday in the windy city for some much needed R&R (rugby and rate beer).  And what a great hopportunity that turned out to be.

As luck would have it, not only was the final of the ITM cup on but also ‘The Great Pacific Beer Expo’ was on with 36 state of the art craft brews to sample. Holy hole in the Cake tin Batman, this actually sounds like a daunting task for my little taste buds as I’m only ever a one or two at the most oneday beer sampler. This sounds like a challenge that I cannot resist and I certainly hope that all the single brew a day tastings that I’ve done over the last few months have trained me enough to take on such an event?  Even the two o’clock start time is enough of a challenge as its three hours before my normal beer o’clock.

Thankfully the program was divided up into 2 two and a half hour sessions with the main emphasis on the first session being beers with a lower alcohol content served to provide some means of pacing one’s self thus enabling the taster a chance to see the second session. For me this  didn’t work as I’d sampled 10 of the brews in the first two hours which was heaps for me and I still wanted to be coherent for  a proper second session but with nothing else to do for the last half hour before the swop over I had another two more samples. I think that in reality the two sessions were just to provide only half the available brews at a time because of the limited space available at the St James.

I must confess, picking the first brew to try was the hardest part of the day. The plan was to go for ever increasing hoppyness and then finishing with darker beers and stouts.  Also, an emphasis on trying to taste the local brewers, as I felt it to be more likely to purchase these if there were some that I particularly fancied.

Well organised by organisers with food chips being a compulsory part of the provided beer chips, dirty glasses that could be replaced with clean glasses, or even clean glasses with water in as a palette cleaner, but their piece de résistance was definitely  the waterproof beer list.

Good to see the place well represented by the female variety which bodes well  that the variety of craft beer can provide for all and every taste peculiarity and especially nice to talk to some of them to get their perspective on the taste sensations.  Apparently, this expo was unique in that unlike some of the other beer festivals, the pacific beer expo was small and intimate enough that the punters soon spread the word on any exceptionally nice samples and this would then have people descending on the said brewer and the formation of an instant queue. In the end this is how I decided what to try next, by noting what the longest queue was as I was starting a sample and by the time my sample was finished then so would be the queue. 

At the end of the 5 hour long session all that I could manage was to taste 20 brews as my pocket does have a bottom and I needed to successfully negotiate the two flights of stairs to get out of the place.

Here’s the sample of the samples in drunken order of tasting…

ParrotDog Barrel Aged Sleuthhound 6.6% aged scotch ale from Wellington. This was a great way to start the day. This brew did taste like scotch so consequently was to be sipped. It was smooth and dry with imperceptible hops but a pleasant malt finish. 6.5/10

Garage Project Weasel Cah Phe Dah. Strong coffee aroma big thick coffee crema head, dark coffee coloured liquid, and surprise surprise, it tasted like a lightly fizzed cold coffee beans. It is called cahphe after all, derr! 6.5/10

Jungle Tropical Wheat Orange and Mango 4.2% from Singapore. Aroma of mangoes and lemons and a hazy gold colour. Tasted like a cyder with a refreshing fruity bite, not sweet, maybe not beer but would be a great alternative for a cyder and perhaps acquiring a beer palate.  The ladies liked. 6/10

Baylands Pacific Sunset 4.6% Blueberry Wheat Beer, Wellington. Another one the ladies liked and probably maybe because of its pink liquid colour and watermelon smell.  I couldn’t detect the blueberry flavour but I heard it from a reliable source(me missus)  that there was a subtle blueberryness to it. To me the hint of hops and the wheat tinges made for a very refreshing beer that you could have just before a beer. 6/10

Funk Estate Pinky and the Grain 8.8% Pink Pepper Saison, Wellingtion. 8.8%, now we’re talking! After seeing that it was a clear amber colour with no ‘pinky’ I gave it a go.  This tasted like a Belgium beer, with a complex fruity flavour, strong wheat and yeast notes, then a hot peppery bite at the end. Hot enough to make you want to gulp some more, then some more, then some more. 7/10

8 Wired Saeson Chardonnay Barrel Aged 6.5%. I would have liked to have spent more time with this slightly hazy, fruity, dry, slightly sour beer. With similar fruity tastes of a chardonnay wine, it had such complexity to it that I kept bumping up my out of ten score from 6 to 8. Plus it tasted great with satay chicken!

Pretty Things Yeastie Boys Our Turn/Your Turn 6.8% American Wheat Ale with Lindenflower  Wellington/Massachusetts. Hazy amber hue with wafts of lindenflower and hops it had a bitter musty hoppy taste that once again grew on me the more I partook. 7.5/10

Southern Tier Compass 9% Sparkling Ale with Rose Hips, Lakewood New York. Hint of hops in the aroma of this clear amber brew with a light creamy head.  Tastes of citrusy hops that are not over the top, but combine well with just enough malt to make a full bodied smooth easy to drink ale, be careful, 9%!

Kereru Pohutakawa Golden Ale 5% Upper Hutt. Aroma of malt and wooden barrels, dark amber colour and a foamy white head. A bitter ale with no sweetness which was not expected from the malt aroma. A modicum of manuka tang makes this brew taste clean and green and seemed like I was drinking a forest. 6/10

Fork & Brewer / Brayden Rawlinson MoonBlink Black IPA Wellington. I rate black IPAs so was looking forwards to partaking. Strong hop aroma and a dark liquid underneath a creamy ash head. Taste was big on hops but lacking on malt which seemed strange coming from such a dark brew. 7/10

Four Horsemen of the Hopocalypse 10.3% Triple IPA, Auckland.  An extremely hard name to pronounce to the barman when soberish.  A rather nondescript aroma but a beautiful clear red brown colour with creamy off white head. This brew has got something special apart from its full bodied viscous mouth feel and it might be, believe it or not,,,,strawberries, but not as we know them! 9/10

Lobethal Double Hopped IPA 5.9% Lobethal Aussie.  Clear copper with creamy white head. Medium bodied with both vibrant hop and malt flavours and a smooth mouth feel. 8/10

Mike’s Hemp IPA 5% Urenui Taranaki. OK, only tried this just to see if it was good for trips and pleased I did, not because of any trips but because this was a powerpacked 5%er. Clear copper manhogany with a foamy white head. Medium bodied with an earthy bitter hop taste. One of the best 5% IPAs I’ve tried. 7/10

Southern Tier Crème Brulee 9.6% Spiced Imperial Milk Stout, Lakewood New York. This brew had the biggest queues and for good reasons, it also had the biggest flavours. Smells like Kahlua, tastes like bubbly Kahlua. This had the flavour explosion that I had come for. Distinctly a dessert brew and when combined with the crème brulee from the food choices, was sensational. Possibly everybody’s favourite? 9/10

666 Brewaucracy Devils in the Detail, Highly Hopped Belgium Tripel, Hamilton. Pale amber colour, medium bodied and tasting of bitter, slightly citrusy tasting hops.  Unfortunately was not quite as Belgiumy tripel as a Belgium tripel 6.5/10

8 Wired Wired Feijoa 10% Strong Pale Ale Barrel Aged with Feijoas, Blenheim. Aroma of sour feijoas. Tasted like sour feijoas and ripe bananas but I liked it. Fruity and refreshing, not sweet with plenty of complexity to savour. 7/10

Renaissance Barrel Fermented Grizette 4.6%, Blenheim. I like Renaissance beers, especially their Stonecutter scotch ale and I like sour Lambic style sour beers, but the Grizette, pink with no head, delivered a sour dry bland taste and was my grizaster. I am getting pretty fussy at this stage of the day so might need to go back to this if I see it at the lollyshop?  4/10

Murray’s Wild Thing 10% New South Wales, Aussie. Black almost purple liquid under a brown creamy head. Aroma of sweet malt. Tasting of smooth malt with pleasant whiskey notes and no harsh coffee taste that’s often in strong stouts. This one is an all nighter winter beer (10%, maybe half the night!) 8/10

Speakeasy Double Daddy 8.5% Imperial IPA, San Francisco. Clear amber colour underneath a white creamy head. Powerful hop aroma with a good hop flavour without the extreme bitterness that you get with most U.S. west coast brews. A refreshing dry finish. 8.5/10

Liberty Darkest Days Stout 6% Auckland. Nothing new here, you can buy this stuff from your local lollyshop no probs. It’s still a very drinkable bitter chocolate coffee with smooth mouth feel stout. (I wished Liberty had their Alpha Dog there as this is a real bitch of a beer). 7.5/10

At the end of the day my favourite drink may have been the Hopocalypse cause it was the only drink I had two of and I wanted to finish on this big beer, and see if my enunciation had improved over the afternoon.

There you go, finally, beer there, drunk that, shamazing!

Emerson’s, the Lion’s Share of the Craft Brew Market.

Emersons, one of the original NZ craft brewers to enter the market, established back in 1992. One year ago was bought out by Lion Nathan and at that time the news of the takeover resulted in a storm of comment on social media with some drinkers speculating that the craft beer maker's product quality would decline under Lion's ownership. In the interests of quality, I’ll partake and see.

Bookbinder.

The label says it all, “anytime refreshing new world ale” and the Booky is exactly that, tasting bigger than its 3.7% abv would suggest. The booky is a well rated beer by overseas beer aficionado Roger Protz in his recent “300 More Beers To Try Before You Die”. Roge has penned over 20 beer books so should be my idol but I rather prefer Ben Smith. Of the eight NZ beers listed, three are from Emersons, suggesting no dodgy beers from this brewery. For me, it’s an all occasion beer, from watching the footy, to rehydrating during a marathon.

1812 Aromatic Hoppy Ale

If cutting the grass on a hot spring afternoon develops a wicked first and the smell reminds you of hops, then this is the brew for you. Don’t drink from the bottle or you’ll miss the marmalade and malt bouquet. Pours a foamy head atop a clear bright amber medium bodied brew. More malt taste than you’d expect from a hoppy ale but its balanced so well with the bite of grassy piny hops and leaves a crisp dry refreshing taste.

Bird Dog IPA. 

Crack the bottle and straight away you get a whiff of fruity grapefruit, then pour out the dark amber full bodied brew that metamorphs into a big foamy white head. Wait a mo for some to settle, then drink the liquid and head together, for a creamy hop hit. I’m guessing American cascade hops in this brew has it has huge bitterness with a spicy citrus tang. Don’t why it’s called bird dog when it could be called the bee’s knees and is perfectly suited for hopaholics and my favourite.

Since the takeover Emersons have won five awards at the recent 2013 Brewers Guild NZ Awards including gold and class trophy for their Dinner Bell in the European Ale Styles.

So, watered down inferior quality product? Yeah right!

Spring has sprung, the pollen is drifting and the lambs are bleating.

A quick gawk around the lollyshop fridge and my parched eyes settle upon this little gem, a “Lean Lamb barrel aged sour” from the Mussel Inn.  I thought I’d tried them all, from peaches to pancakes, chillies to whiskies, and bacon to butterscotch, all of them different varieties of craft beer but one made out of lamb? Oh well, it’s lean so gotta be good for you? I must say, that a lean lamb and being sour certainly gets my curiosity going plus the label sports a couple of wheat stalks as well as a lamb. Certainly the right time of year for this brew then so here she goes.

Pours a thin bodied slightly hazy dark amber colour with small head that gets going once provoked.  An aroma of apple cider vinegar and fresh wood with a bite that jerks the nose back like you do when smelling ammonia. First taste and instant mouth pucker.  This is one grizzly beer and has some serious sourness and is like biting straight into a lemon. After the initial sour shock and realisation that you’ve spent good money on this so you’re going to drink this whether you like it or not I give it another go. Hmmm, better, it’s a lot like doing shots of tequila and biting lemon without the sucking the salt.

Once you’ve braved a few more sips your taste buds start to acclimatise and this brew gathers momentum and starts to reveal what its style is all about. This brew is complex enough to be interesting but unfortunately I’ve finished the bottle without appreciating this style’s finer points.

The label blurb says Lambic hence the Lamb name (derr!) and this style of Lambic is a Gueuze.   Lambic style beers were started when there was no knowledge of yeast cultures and were left to naturally occurring wild yeast and bacteria. Before yeast was identified as a living organism, it was known as ‘God is Good.’ They knew it as a something, but in absence of a firm scientific explanation, it was assumed to be a divine something. A Gueuze style is a blend of several different aged Lambics mixed according to the brewer’s taste.

Lambics are brewed with at least 30% raw wheat and the malt flavours are not balanced by hop bitterness but more by lactic acidity so probably not best to drink one before exercise.  The hops that are used are deliberately old and so have fewer flavours and are used just for their preservative compounds. Lambics are therefore a tribute to the art of controlled spoilage.

O.K. back from the lollyshop with another bottle and now that I know what to expect, can give it a second go for some finer appreciation, what the hell, it’s one of the cheaper craft brews in the shop and my taste buds need to get out of their comfort zone as much as possible.

This time, after the initial effervescent tang on the front of the tongue, I can detect flavours of apple cider, pickled onions and an aged barrel woodiness that you get from good whiskey. Each sip finishes with a lingering malt background and dryness on the back of the tongue. So much complexity with this brew that each sip has something different about it. This is a must do taste experience for every craft brew drinker and is sure to expand the palate boundaries. Actually, it’s like discovering a new alcoholic beverage that you can call beer.

If you appreciate what a blue vein is compared to a tasty then you’ll appreciate what a lambic is to ale. You’re not put off by the smell of the cheese and same with the Lamb as this brew is as delicious as it is stinky. Perfect for the adventurous beer taster, just make sure that if you try one, get two bottles.

Canny Can Plan

They Can so we can knock em back
30 years ago there were just 3 craft breweries in NZ. Today there are over 47 registered breweries and with Wellington claiming themselves as the craft capital of NZ.  But just because they may have the highest number, I’d argue that Nelson would rank higher on a per capita basis and after a few more beers I’m sure I could do the maths to confirm that.

One such Welly brewery is Garage Project and they have just started to can their craft. Their justification, the advantages of Fresh beer, fresh can, no pasteurising and no filtering and for us beer buffs, a cheaper way to experiment with the offerings from craft beer.

For me, 330mls is only a teaser and not enough to explore the full complexities of craft beer flavours so this could be a canny plan just to get you to buy more, plus, I like to know how much is left without having to shake!

Here’s three of their latest offerings, fresh out of the smelter

Pils n Thrills

Pilsners are distinguished from other lager styles by their more assertive hop character and ‘Pils n Thrills’ is bang on here. With a flowery citrusy aroma, soft white head, and clear golden straw colour, this medium bodied grapefruit tasting brew is zesty and very refreshing. My wine and cider swilling Missus took a liking to this brew, which is high praise coming from a non-beer drinker. She’s the boss, what more can I say?

Smoke & Mirrors

A lager that has a dark brown colour must be sleight of hand. Distinct smokey taste on first gulp, but once taste buds have acclimatised this mellows, revealing a myriad of malt flavours. Great BBQ brew and easy to drink but couldn’t taste the mirrors.

Angry Peaches

Don’t be like me and be fooled that this brew might taste like a fruit punch or alco pop. Whoa, I was gloriously wrong. Clear copper colour with strong floral and grapefruit hoppy aroma. Smooth full body and a tart dried apricot, yes apricot flavour combined with strong hops and balanced perfectly with a malty background. This brew is angry and does have a knockout punch

Bellynote:  Can’t mention garage project without mentioning their award winning brew’ Cockswain’s Courage Tastes Like War!’, a blended porter that’s as complex as a Team NZ yacht and a deserved winner.  If this tastes like war, then what does peace taste like?

Get your Oats with some Impressive Imperials

First of the Makos home games brought a clear crisp night and the resulting emphatic win by the team, electrified the crowd with exited anticipation for perhaps a serious shield challenge.  Well, I was excited and had me scurrying back home faster than a Makos back line to check the fridge for some thirst quenching warming oatmeal stouts to ease the chill of the night and toast a great win.

Oatmeal stouts are exactly as labelled, having rolled oats added to the fermentation for their higher fat content to give qualities of sweetness and rich mouth feel, and used to be viewed as a healthful and restorative drink, so make sure your Doctor reads this!

First up was Liberty Brewing ‘Darkest Days’ named because of the ever increasing difficulty for craft brewers to get regular supplies of hops, not because Richie and Dan are injured.  Swirl the glass to encourage a creamy head, take a gulp and experience a thin bodied yet silky texture as the oat fats lubricate the mouth. Perfectly balanced mild strength with pleasant hop and cocoa malt flavours.  This is an easy to drink stout and is in stark contrast to the next oatmeal stout,

The ‘Epicurean Coffee and Fig Imperial Oatmeal Stout’ from Epic.

Distinct aroma of fresh figs, taste is of dark chocolate with a ‘long black’ background and a dry woody lingering aftertaste exactly like a freshly picked fig.  Strangely, this dry aftertaste keeps you going back for more. This brew is an unusual departure from Epic’s normal in your face hoppy brews as the Epic Epicurean is more an about face in your face fig brew, not just their play on words!

‘8 Wired Mighty Imperial Ale’ hasn’t any oatmeal, but I’m sure is just as healthy?

A full bodied brew with a port barrel aged woodiness to it that smacks of bitterness, hoppy pines then a pleasant afterglow of malty diversity with just a touch of smokiness.  An 11% blockbuster that’ll warm you to your toes!

Maybe Richie and Dan should be trying oatmeal for their restoration?

Denis  Cooper - Zythologist

 

No rogue Rogues for this rogue

 

Had no tastings to do for da boss for a while and then at the last minute he plonks 9 beers on me to try, all in one evening and a test match night as well.  I’ll quickly review the beers so then I can relax and watch some Prime time rugby.  Man, hard making a living these days!

The beers are all from an American brewery going by the name of Rogue which was one of the earliest craft breweries to establish themselves way back in 1988 starting from a bunch of home brewing mates.  The head brewer, John “more hops” Maier, has a caricature of himself on many of the different beer bottle labels and sports a distinct beard that is not at all dissimilar to our own illustrious Grocer’s beard.

Okey dokey, that’s enough about rogues and more about the Rogues.

 ‘Brutal I.P.A.’   Don’t drink this one out of the bottle as you won’t get the stupendous aroma of hoppy tangerines that intensifies the flavour taste experience from this malty award winning brew. The hops are there alright, (man, love those American hops) but maybe not as much as the name might suggest.  A Very well balanced full bodied IPA.

‘Dad’s Little Helper Black IPA’.  I’m a big fan of black IPAs and this doesn’t disappoint.  Long story short behind the strange name of this brew boils down to the naming of Father’s Day.  Big aroma of hops, dark full body with big white head, and an intense hop flavour with lingering bitter butterscotch that keeps on going.  So with Father’s day coming up shortly, this brew might be the bomb! (hint, hint, my good Mrs).

‘Yellow Snow IPA’.  Made for the Salt Lake City winter Olympics in 2000 this brew has a hazy clarity, medium body and a citrusy aroma, and man, there is hops all the way through it. Bitter till the end and then some.  Just the way I like it!

‘Chatoe Rogue Oregasmic Ale’.  The Rogue guys made this with their own home grown hops and barley which you would think should make this brew cheaper, but isn’t!  None the less, a fruity aroma with a good amount of hoppy flavour, malty background and good body.  Excellent ale and maybe the pick of the night?

‘Juniper Pale Ale’, I’ve no idea what juniper berries taste like but this brew has a uniqueness about it that is very drinkable.  Big on effervescence and a good hop flavour coming through with those unusual juniper berries.  After the whole bottle I still could not come up with a taste description that would do this brew justice so I’ll leave it up to you: suffice to say that it was world beer champion in 2010 and 2011.  (I wonder if the world beer championships have the same rankings as the world baseball champs i.e., only American competitors?)

Chipotle Ale.  A chipotle is a smoked chilli pepper from Mexico and definitely makes this fellow a spicy little number.  A beautiful clear reddish colour with malt and hop aromas and quickly dissipating head.  The peppers almost give a medicinal taste to the brew and may be off-putting if you’re not used to spicy brews; the resultant heat gives a looong aftertaste.  This brew could be the go as the sun settles on the BBQ and the air starts to get cooler?

‘Hazelnut Brown Nectar’.  This brew is just like drinking pecan pie from a bottle.  A real nutty caramelly aroma with this brew and has strong tastes of chocolate hazelnuts that are very pleasant and quite sweet.  Definitely a dessert beer with such a richness that you only need one.

The ‘Voodoo Doughnut’ a bacon maple ale.  Sounds mental and tastes mental.  This brew is so far off the planet that it’s tipped off the edge of the universe.  With a pink spray painted bottle and wacky flavour combo’s you’re better to leave the shop with this bottle in a brown paper bag.  Personally, to save the embarrassment of carrying a pink bottle, I would have painted this Rogue red.  Easily identifiable smoky bacon flavour with a sweet maple finish.  This could be a breakfast drink but with 6.5% Abv you’d need a pool and deckchair to cope with the rest of the day.

‘Morimoto Black Obi Soba Ale’.  Big frothy head and dark clarity.  Some complexity here, with a variety of malts and hops used in the making resulting in a crisp hop note with lingering chocolate vanilla nut malt flavours.  A lower 5.3%Abv it could be a good second half beer.

Apart from the crazy pink one, all these Rogues live up to the brewmeister’s middle name having a big hop character which I’m a fan of, so for this rogue there are no rogue Rogues and everyone a gem. Now I can get on with that other R word, rugby!

Denis “no relation to Quaid” Cooper

Oxymorons

So, not much blogging after a hard week of late night finishes and no time for perusing the lollyshop taste temptations. After a particularly stressful shift I needed a cheer beer, so I’m soon off to the lollyshop to pick me out a treat. Not sure what I’m in the mood for so I’ll cover all bets with a black I.P.A.  Black Indian pale ale I hear you say. How can you have a black pale, isn’t that an oxymoron?  A black IPA is named from its roasted malts which are similar to a stout or porter beers yet still has enough hop flavour to retain the hoppy character of an IPA.

The chosen one was Funk’n’Stein from Funk Estate at a not to be sneezed at 7% Abv.  On its label shows a frizzy haired light brown grey coloured girl that was remarkably similar to the colour of the small quickly dissipating head produced when this brew was poured.  The liquid colour was definitely not a normal amber IPA colour but instead an intense dark red more akin to a stout. The aroma however was not of malt which you would expect from such a colour, but of a definite hop and maybe hints of mandarin?

I tried this baby just before tea, which normally I’d quickly polish off before eating, however the late night work shifts meant the good woman had tea ready and I was ready to devour it. With the first sip the initial taste was of smoky malt wood chips with only a slight after taste of hops lingering on the palate. Quickly tucking into a steak tea, I then took a few more swigs of the Funkenstein and wow, no more smoky notes but a much more richer malt flavour when first touching the tongue and then a stronger hop flavour coming through as you swallow and breathing out through the nose.

Homemade banana bread for dessert and I still had some of the brew left. After a slice I had another swig.  Wow again! This time still the rich malt, only now the hop flavour has reached a whole new level with a wonderful bitterness of mandarins coming through.

The black IPA from Funkenstein is like a taste hologram that’s different from any angle and these oxymorons will change their character depending on what you’re chewing on and in doing so, you will have forgotten all that stressed you out in the first place!

Stop the Press, this here is a bargain!

With one of my frequent visits to the lollylanddreamworld whilst trying to decide which craft brew to buy to wet the whistle, I spied upon perhaps what I thought an incorrect price note on a particular brand of beer.  Now here’s the thing, the price for this imported lager beer from Belgium in a 500ml can was only 2 dollars! But wait there’s more, the abV of this bargain is a whopping 9%! I’m thinking either it is a bargain or this brew has got a funny taste. Two bucks, worth a try!

Get home, open the can, into a glass, nice white foamy head, clear straw colour, nothing wrong so far. Into the mouth, hey not bad, in fact, it’s good! Wow, this is very drinkable much like a commercial lager only this has the mouth feel giving away its high alcohol content.

For two bucks, this is the bomb.  For you late night clubbers fill yer boots with this before you go instead of that synthetic smokey stuff. For you Chiefs supports, drink this whilst watching the semi and you still won’t be disappointed.

I’ll give this beer a nine out of ten cause I put value in my ratings.

New Zealand Brewed Imperial Stouts.

 

With winter starting to give a decisive kick in the down under, a comforting stout seems the obvious choice. Imperial stouts were brewed originally in England as porter beers but were brewed extra strong so that the beer could be transported without deteriorating on its journey to the imperial court and Empress of Russia, so hence the name. And here I’m thinking that Russian imperial stouts were named that way because the beer was brewed by imperial Russians, what a mistaka to makea. So if anybody can brew an imperial stout without having to be a Russian, how well do the New Zealand craft brewers go at it?

Here’s my tasting of two Imperial stouts from two different NZ craft breweries.

The ‘Nokabollokov Imperial Stout’ from ‘The Twisted Hop’ abv 8%

The blurb on the label indicates that the Nokabollokov is styled as a Russian stout and these stouts were brewed by English breweries and made extra strong to keep from freezing when being transported. So this is should stop me from freezing by drinking one of these on a cold winter nights right?

I always have a sense of excitement when trying a new beer, like a Pom awaiting a royal birth, and after quickly whipping this stout out of the fridge and opening the bottle to get into the experience I then read that it should be served ideally at 10 – 12degrees, hmmm, I’ll wait a bit for it to warm up then have a taste.

60 seconds later I’m sipping on what looks like a coffee crema headed beer that smells of raspberry and dark chocolate. Initial taste and it has a smoky almost burnt flavour but after some moments swirling the brew around in the glass warming it with my hands, the flavour takes on whole new dimensions. The flavour mellows and tastes way smoother with a rich malty bite and dark chocolate overtones and now no hints of any overcooked malt.

Who needs a cold beer? Drinking an almost room temperature stout is my comfort food this time of year and the Kokabollobov is definitely something worth chewing on and gets a 7.5/10!

‘Bumaye’ Imperial Stout by 8 Wired Brewing Co.

These guys are great brewers and specialise in seeing how far they can take it, with flavour being the main objective and I know they make a superb IPA so their imperial stout with a humongous 16% abv would be rude not to try. Yes you read right, 16% abv, I had to get out a magnifying glass just to confirm that I was reading the label right. In other words, 4.2 standard drinks in a 330ml bottle, phew, a new personal best for alcohol content in a beer!

Extreme alcohol never seems to raise a head but instead when poured you can see a beautiful red halo around the edge of the glass that surrounds a deep dark colour. Smelling somewhat of a coffee porty aroma it tastes of a rich maltnificence with strong ruby port overtones. You can lick your tongue around your mouth after a sip and wipe off a chocolate sensation. After the swallow there is a huge taste explosion and with so much malt coming through and is somehow not sweet but counterbalanced with a truckload of hops for a resounding smack of bitterness. This baby has got some boot and is at the extreme end of the dark beer continuum and should be applied very carefully, ideally just before bedtime. 9/10

 

Taste Off,The extremes.

The Epic ‘Mosaic’ versus the Wells and Young’s Brewing Company’s ‘Courage Imperial Russian Stout’

Winter being the perfect time for a comfort stout, I had a particularly good stout stored in the fridge just in case of emergencies and it happened to be the ‘Courage Imperial Russian Stout’ from Young’s Brewing Company. However, on my weekly long run all I could think about to get me through the arduous cold run was consuming a big dose of hops at the end of it all. I think it may have been the similar smell of pine needles that some varieties of hops have, and the forest that I was running through, that drove this craving.  Either that or I’m just a plain old hopaholic?

Previously I’ve enjoyed big doses of hops from Epic’s ‘Mosaic’ so this was the obvious choice for me to settle those cravings. I’m quickly down to my local lolly shop (Fresh Choice Nelson) for the purchase then back home but somehow in the meantime the stomach becomes a bit unsettled from the after effects of the run and I ended up storing the Mosaic next to the Stout and that’s how this formulated the taste off.

I always start a multi taste going from light to heavy, colour that is, for no other reason than it’s easier to see a darker colour when the alcohol starts to take effect, so the Mosaic was the first to be sampled. This brew is chocka full of fruity citrusy hops and with not much else. With a slightly thin mouth feel and no discernible malt or even sweetness it leaves a dry but satisfying taste. This brew just crackles and hops on the palate and is as sparkly as its label.  It would be enjoyed by serious hopaholics and so should be placed at the start of the craft brewers hop malt continuum.

On the other hand, the exact opposite of the Mosaic would be the Imperial Russian Stout, this brew has history originally being brewed for Catherine the Great of Russia (whoever she is?) way back in 1795. It’s an intense dark brew with a quickly dissolving espresso crema head. Flavoured with malt for miles, a somewhat sweetish marmitey, coffee, fruity, creamy thick complexity and a slight hoppy finish. One of the richest and smoothest stouts I’ve ever had the pleasure and should be placed towards the malt end of the hop malt continuum.

So, two beers each at the extreme ends of the beer taste continuum and when both are consumed back to back result in unequalled burp flavours. What a combination!  This would be my perfect beer if someone could brew one beer that tastes like this???

'Mr Mistoffelees' and 'Lando Kardashian' both from Moon Dog Breweries

Two new beers to try and a game of rugby to watch probably don’t go together as neither experiences would get the full enjoyable attention they both deserve so as it turned out a wet miserable dark day the next day turned out to be the perfect occasion for new taste sensations.

 

First up was the ‘Mr Mistoffelees’ from the Moon Dog brewery which was crafted as a single keg only release for the 2012 Great Australian Beer Spectapular. (True, that’s how they spell it. Like I’ve said before, these guy’s are quite mad.) now I have no idea what Mr Mistoffelees is but the name must mean something so a quick Google search informs me that he is a character in a poetry book called ‘Old Possum’s Book of Practical Cats’ which means nothing to me but this book is what Andrew Lloyd Webber’s popular musical Cats is adapted from. Once again a factoid from beer drinking. What this actually has to do with beer is still a mystery so the best clue about what to expect from this beer is actually right there on the label  ‘passion fruit and mango wild ale’.

 

Fruity beers wouldn’t be my first choice however, this 6.2% abv aged in Hungarian oak barrels for 6 months with mangoes and passionfruit,  and with four yeast varieties to chew on four kinds of malt does sound intriguing!

 

Crack open the bottle to a reassuring psssst releases many bubbles which stir up plentiful supply of floaty bits from the bottom of the bottle. Pouring into a glass however formulates zero head and a cloudy light amber clarity with a very strong aroma of passionfruit. Hmmm, dunno about this, it might be an alco pop that’s suitable for a teenagers party?

 

Quick swig and quite the opposite from what I was expecting. This has a sour, almost tartness to it with a loud passionfruit flavour. It does have a bold body with discreet earthy biscuity flavours in the background maybe as a result of the oak barrel and those different malts. With enough back breathing through the nose you can even detect a slight hop flavour.

 

This stuff grows on you the more you drink it and I can see myself partaking this brew  in a swim up bar on a hot tropical island as a pre beer beer. It may also appeal to those ladies (or men) out there who enjoy a dry cider or ginger beer and would like to have another alternative of a hop variety.

 

Points out of 10, I’ll give this a 6 because even though it’s not really my definition of a beer, it does have a complexity about it that makes you want to drink more.

 

Having just drunk The Mr Mistoffelees I was having some hop withdrawal symptoms and the next beer to try offered an exciting prospect. Called ‘Lando Kardashian’ once again from Moon Dog,  and labelled as a triple IPA.

 

Now I’m sorry if you think like I once did that tripel was a misspelt word for three times as much, in this case IPAs in one bottle, then you are sadly mistaken. If this was right then the Lando should be hovering around the 15% abv instead of its lowly 11.5!  The word tripel is a term used way back when, to describe a strong pale ale. The strength of the tripel was denoted by a series of crosses on a cask, X for the weakest and XXX for the strongest beer. This factoid fits it all together for you now doesn’t it?

 

Now the name of Lando Kardashian has me a bit confused, but the guys at Moon Dog will probably be pleased to hear this. I assumed it was a cosmetic Doctor from the popular Kardashian show on TV judging by the latex gloves prominently pictured on the label but a Google search only revealed some freak with a twitter account, hmmm, so could actually be some friend of the Moon Dogs, so once again the name has nothing to do with the beer?

 

So that’s why you have me.

 

This baby has the biggest head I’ve uncounted from the Moon Dogs and yet still only a slight head. However it does have a clear clarity with a dark amber colour. Swirling the brew around the glass and you can see good body and does release a pleasant but not strong  hop aroma but more of a pronounced malt and beer barrels aroma. First taste and ‘my oh my’, this is beer! The taste has taken me back to when I first discovered beer all those years ago when I nicked one of the old man’s 4%er commercial bottles (at which there were only the two big Breweries at the time) and drank it in the garage. I remember thinking to myself, wow, so this is beer, now I can see why it causes so much trouble. Well after drinking a Lando those same feelings have returned, only on a whole new level. A much more stronger hoppy bitterness and sweet malt flavours with subtle whisky notes. This is a powerful beer and yet not so strong that you couldn’t drink another, or at least I think I could have. Let the teenagers have that other stuff, this is a real grown-ups beer.

 

Points out of 10, I’m giving this a 9 simply cause it brought back some great memories for me.

 

The 'Nordic Saddle Buffer' from Moon Dog

Well the Mrs has got a life and has gone out for the night, so I’m left home alone, great, perfect time to try the ‘Nordic Saddle Buffer’ from Moon Dog. With such an array of beers to choose from in Fresh Choice Nelson the blurb on the bottle’s label is very important for picking the ‘chosen one’ and the 14.6 abv on the side of this bad boy did it for me. This amount of alcohol is three times more than the big commercial brands and more than most wines, so even if the taste is not up to scratch, I can always hold the nose while drinking and still have a good night right?

Cap off, nose in, then immediate aromas of butterscotch and pear that is almost palpable. First pour produces no head whatsoever. Its amber colour has a slightly murky clarity but without any floaty bits and there are a few bubbles managing to weave their way upwards. This baby has got some body!  Indeed, swirling the beer around in the glass could almost be mistaken for swirling modern day high viscosity engine oil.

 
As soon as the brew hits the lips you detect the coolness of evaporating alcohol and you realise it’s a seriously strong brew. The liquid oozes over the tongue revealing a complexity of flavours. The viscosity of this brew is such that it lays a lingering blanket of flavour that stays for moments making small sips completely satisfying.

Whilst it doesn’t have a unique hop character, it does have a bitterness that is proportionally offset by strong malty butterscotch flavours and hints of molasses. Definitely a beer for savouring after a special occasion dinner, however don’t forget that this brew packs a big punch which might impact on any romantic after dinner thoughts!

Points out of 10, I’m giving it 9 because not only does this beer have a Schwarzenegger body and a myriad of enjoyable complexities, it also has the unique attraction factor of being the highest alcohol beer I’ve ever enjoyed and so resulted in me having a great night home alone.

 

 

 

 

‘Oh Lordy’ from Funk Estate

Well, having just come back from a beer tasting weekend in Wellington “the microbrewery capital of NZ?” I’m pretty well hopped out with new knowledge in that NZ small breweries can make some excellent ales and England can make terrible ales and this might be why England is more regarded for her bitters and stouts? So therefore first cab off the ramp was the ‘Oh Lordy’ from Funk Estate.

Once again I don’t read the cool label so as not to be influenced by any of their blurb on what they think they have created. Having said this, I always read the label before purchasing a beer, as the picture and writing are the only clues I get as to what I’m buying and it’s always the picture that will grab my attention and certainly, the Oh lordy label ‘will’ grab your attention.

On first pour I’m always careful as I don’t know whether the brew will instantly froth-up and spill over the top of the glass or what, however on this occasion there is very little reaction from the beer at all. No worries, I never worry about whether it’s got a head or not, it’s only the taste that matters. Well maybe a few bubbles as well, as this does something to the back of your throat whilst drinking which enhances the experience but very little effervescence here. It does however, have a beautiful clear amber colour which looks very appetising.

First smell and instantly I get a subtle hop smell that I would expect from a pale ale and thankfully do get a mild hop flavour upon first mouthful. This hop flavour is not like the usual Moutere sharp citrusy bitterness but almost an orangey mellowness with a pleasant malty milo hint. This is when I read the blurb on the label to see Funk Estate’s opinion… Munich malt, biscuity passion fruit, citrusy grapes, oh well, close enough.

For me, this brew is very drinkable, not overly powering like some of the boutique breweries products, yet has much more flavour than any commercial brew. Depending on its price, I would be happy to buy a half dozen to drink whilst being entertained with a good old England NZ rugby test!

Out of 10 score, 6.5

Could have been a 7 if it wasn’t so flat.

 

Townshend’s Thunder Drum.

 

I only looked at the main label without reading the small print so that I wouldn’t be influenced by any of their comments and it was the first beer of the night so that the palette was clean.

I also used a glass to maximise any fragrance that would help with the taste.

First pour and the glass was immediately engulfed with foamy white head that needed several minutes to disintegrate back down to a drinkable liquid.

I quickly took a sniff from the foamy head and noted a pleasant smell of a light malt ale with a hint of hops. The label did read an ale so I’m thinking this could be quite nice.

I didn’t quite have the patience for the head to dissolve, so took an excited swig from the bottle. Goodness me, it’s a wheat bear with that tarty yeasty taste nearly gags you like unripe rhubarb. This is when I read the fine print to see if it is a wheat bear, and there is no mention of wheat, only the world’s finest malt and hops. O.K so I go for another swig of the bottle just to confirm my first impression and although still rough on my palette maybe not as much. By this time the head in the glass has settled into a liquid and I’m seeing a very cloudy pale amber colour with a few floaty bits. My worst home brew has looked clearer than this concoction.  I very carefully pour more beer into the glass so that I can drink from the glass and smell some of the hops in the hope that this may improve the taste which on the next swig seems to be a bit more mellower. This is definitely a strong beer and because of this any tastes not to your liking makes it a beer that is hard to gulp so takes a while to get to know it.

This brew does have an excellent  mouth feel which is what I would expect from a 7.6 percenter and for me seems to have an after taste of whiskey. I remember drinking an early Moa Noir with similar flavours and colours so never tried it again until recently when I had a much more aged Moa and it was way better. I’m thinking that the Thunder Drum may be another such beer and a couple more months of ageing would let the finings settle smooth out the rough edges and let it’s real taste come through.

All in all I’m giving this beer a 4/10 today and maybe 7/10 in two months time.