Sunshine Brewery - Gisborne Gold

So I picked this up for 2.99 at my local Pac'n'sav. Sunshine brewery was sold last year to 4 new owners one of whom owns Vintners Ltd (Mark Young). Vintners is a national wine distribution and marketing company and they have also taken over distributing Gisborne Gold. Thats probably how it managed to get a spot on the shelf at Wairau Pac'n'sav, home to a usually dismal selection of craft beers. 

Gisborne cold is a crystal clear honey straw colour with abundant carbonation and a serviceable white foam head. Head retention is excellent as thousands of bubbles keep it going right till the end of the glass. Sunshine in a glass alright.

I love the hop profile, its quite surprising for a lager. Not too much is given away on the nose but there is a lovely grapefruit bitterness with an underlying smoothness of tropical fruit. The malts are lovely and crisp with hints of toast. It finishes with the hops and a refreshing bitterness lingers. It just feels like a fresh beer, sometimes I get a real musty/dusty flavour from some of the mass produced lagers but Gisborne Gold just screams refined crispness. This is a very drinkable beer. Much better than anything you'll find in a green bottle sold by the dozen at Pac'n'save thats for sure.

At 4% ABV and super drinkable is a perfect lawnmower beer. Will definitely be a summer favourite if I could find it in reasonably priced six packs.

Green Flash - Green Bullet

Who can be sad about beer for christmas, unless you get sick and don't even feel like a beer till 4 days after christmas. I've been plenty sad about all the beer I can't drink. Plenty sad.

Today I feel well enough to crave an afternoon beer and thankfully my clever husband picked up on all my subtle hints and bought me a delicious selection of beers from The Beer Cellar for my christmas treat. However my decision to start with a small bottle may have slightly backfired as the Green Bullet is 10.1% alcohol, but it wears it well, great colour with an innocently white foamy head.

Aroma is skunky, but not in the common use of the word regarding beer. It reminds me of things I was fortunate/unfortunate enough to smell in my youth. A similar weed of the same family whose aroma sometimes presents itself in certain beers. So its got a dank, vegetative smell. Heady and earthy.

Taste is grassy, spicy, slightly floral and sweet. Its heavy and hard going. One must sip the beasty slowly least one angers it, this beer require respectful drinking by my short self. Full malt body holds it own against the bitter hops, half way through the glass and with more warmth the pine flavours start to wade through the heavy malts and alcohol and hints of caramalised pineapple add to the experience.

Even with some alluring flavours this beer is taking me forever to drink. Its just a little too much of everything. A fitting brew for the season where over indulgence seems to be the order of the day.

Croucher - Patriot, American Black Ale.

In the fading light of a Monday evening a cool bottle of Croucher Patriot waits, while I clean the kitchen, a beer waits. While I make an urgent phone call while my husband cleans the kitchen, a beer waits.

Well wait no more Patriot, I've been eyeing you up for days now and its time to imbibe! Really sturdy dark red/brown colour, slightly tan head that persists and leaves lovely lacing and adding a perception of creaminess to the beer. 

I think I was expecting this to be super hoppy, American themes in labelling is usually a dead giveaway. Hop aroma is mild, a little citrus with some earthy pine aroma's. Some great malty notes coming forward too. Sweet, subtle hints of shortbread and toasted grain.

So what is this? I honestly don't know. There's great piney bitterness on the finish with hints of bittersweet chocolate and coffee. There's orangey grapefruit with biscuity malty goodness. There's a delightful zing on the tongue and an irresistible urge to drink more and more. Is this the wonder that is black IPA? Its confusingly delicious and there's a nice hoppy buzz to be had from not sharing the bottle. At only 5.5% its easy to enjoy by yourself on a warms summers eve.

Bairds Brewing - Single Take Session Ale

Monday afternoon, its hot, the weekend was too short and I've got 101 things to do but I've always got time for a beer. Which is why I've still got 101 things to do. Anyway today I'm sampling a beer from Japan by Baird brewing. It's bottle conditioned and long travelled so hopefully stored well in transit and not suffering too much.

Pouring cloudy amber orange with a persistent thin white head, it looks absolutely mouth watering. Aroma is complex but not punchy. There's grassy hops, citrus and sweetness on the nose with hints of yeast. 

First mouthful is refreshing, nice grassy bitterness and hints of spice. The belgian yeast really hits the back of the palete but isn't dominating. It seems a nice balance of pale ale and belgian ale with a little effervescence to bubble it all together. Really lovely but not best served ice cold let it warm up a little before pouring. It improves with every mouthful, delicious with some moderately spicy dishes.

Renaissance Enlightenment - The Age of Raisin

Here's a smart little offering from Enlightenment Brewing. The age of Raisin. 

It certainly smells like raisins, and a bit like walking through the back rooms on a winery tour when the guide decides to go off plan.The malt aroma's are lovely. I guess I'm used to malt aroma's hiding shyly behind the hop aroma but in this beer I get a fresh cake smell, a golden syrup sultana cake thats maybe gone a little crispy round the edges. Great deep colour, loads of red in there which is occasionally highlighted in the dismal spring light of this rainy day.

Little to no head and sparse carbonation but upon drinking its more lively in the mouth than in the glass.   First impressions are definitely raisins, but with a balancing acidity. I'm actually reminded of Fuller's ESB. Just that hint of winey raisins. But this beer has a little more acidity and it finishes smooth on delicious  biscuity malts with a very slight, oh so slight, hint of butter. Its like drinking toasted sultana bread. Hints of caramel and toffee sugar delight me. I really like the mouth feel of this beer. It starts zingy and finishes nice and round. The belgian yeast adds a little spice, which just makes itself known on the finish merging with the heat of the alcohol.

Once again an excellent beer that I can imagine pairing with food, a creme brûlée with its caramelised sugar would be excellent here, or I think it has enough flavour to hold up to a sweet gamey meat dish like duck or even venison.

6.5% 500ml bottle.

Brewers Collaboration Series. Townshend's and Liberty Brewing Co - Chatham's Rise

I love collaborations, whether they are fraught with tension and infighting for creative control or are a gentle melding of minds that lets idea bloom in a nurturing environment. I think its always a good idea to test your boundaries from time to time with a good ol' collaboration, like when I let my husband cook with me, its a testing time indeed.

Domestic tensions aside let us return to considering this beer collaboration. Chatham's rise is a freshly hopped ale with Chinook and Cascade. At 5.6% alcohol and 2.2 standard drinks it looks like it could be a nice pre dinner warmer. I'm not overwhelmed by aroma here. The beer is a little cold (my fault) and very flat. I may have fallen victim to buying old beer again. Where's a Best Before date when you need one!? Still I can appreciate the gorgeous colour it's a lovely intense orangey red that really catches the light.

Good looks aside though the beer is delicious. The gradual loss of carbonation hasn't hurt and there's plenty of interest even without effervescence. A very smooth malt base carries the hops, it starts off a little sweet and syrupy but instantly opens out into biscuity toffee goodness with fresh hop zing dancing along the top. The finish is moderately bitter with hints of that good piney freshness. Maybe a hint of herbaceousness from the fresh hops but it works very well with the overall composition of the beer. It just gets better and better as it warms up and is an easy brew to drink while waiting for dinner. A lovely hoppy ale.

Bach Brewing - Hopsmacker

The last couple of weeks have had their ups and downs. On the plus side I got my kegerator up and running. On the downside I got all four wisdom teeth out and my taste buds were decimated by the 14 days of prescription mouthwash. So its been a while since I've had the chance to enjoy a beer.

What a pleasure it is to start drinking beer again. There is nothing else that can substitute those hoppy malty flavours. The complex combination of bitter hops and sweet malt with effervescent carbonation is the most satisfying beverage to end my day with. Its why I brew, because when it comes to beer flavour is everything.

My return to beer starts with Bach Brewing's Hopsmacker. The label screams kiwi summers and I have no doubt it with be a holiday favourite.

It pours nice and clear golden yellow with a thin white head (but then I'm a very careful pourer). The aroma is tropical fruit and citrus zest with resinous pine notes. Certainly gets mouth watering. On drinking the peppery and bitter grapefruit flavours of the hops certainly hit the spot. It borders on dry with very little cloying sweet malts. Its a nice sipper and thirst quenching although the hops get a little grassy after while.  At 5.8% its a little kinder on the liver than other hoppy offerings and a nice reintroduction to alcohol after surgery.

Renaissance - Craftsman

I've been trying to wrap my head around New Zealand stouts. Some of them have been amazing and some of them have been real clangers. I even had my first ever un-finishable bottle of beer. I wept as I thought of the money I'd wasted on the grossest beer of my life.

But onward to better things! I can't possibly go wrong with a Renaissance beer after all it was voted champion international small brewery at the Australian beer awards. 

The Craftsman is a chocolate oatmeal stout, now the oats don't add a "porridge" flavour to beer however they break down to give the beer body and a smooth feel on the palate. As for the chocolate according to the label there's cocoa nibs a plenty used at different stages of the brewing process. All those nibs must be working because the aroma is divine. Its a milk chocolate, soft to begin but developing into a mocha dark coffee aroma as you linger over the glass.

Its a beautiful dark brown beer with hints of red when you tilt your glass just the right way in the light and the thinest of tan brown heads as befitting the low carbonation of the style

Once you drink it it turns into a dark chocolate and medium roast coffee experience with hints of burnt toffee. It's not a sweet stout, nor overly bitter, there's a nice maltyness that really comes out as the beer warms. However it's not as silky on the tongue as you might expect for an oatmeal stout, in fact it sometimes feels a bit thin, but there's plenty of complexity from the dark roasted malts and coca nibs interacting to make for a very moreish brew. The hops are subtle as you'd expect from a stout, but they let themselves be known on the finish which is slightly zingy on the sides of the tongue. 

Added bonus is of course the attractive distenctive Renaissance bottle which Dai Henwood described as "making you feel like you are in Game Of Thrones, not the suburban twenty tens". Too right. 

Perfect for a winters night, posible dessert match but also good with venison!

Rogue - Juniper Pale Ale

In the depths of a Glenfield winter, there is always the light and well being that is a glass of beer.
Just look at this golden lovely! A glowing gold with hints of orange, its like a beacon on a cold winters eve.
Sure its head is thin, but it make up for it with good looks. A juniper pale sounds like a good match, my only experience with what juniper tastes like is of course gin, and probably average gin at that. But to my delight the bitter astringency that I associate with  the juniper flavour blends very well into a hoppy malty pale ale. Its light on aroma, malts hints of hops nothing too noteworthy and drinking is the same, a very nice light pale ale with light mouthfeel, finishing with hops and hints of that weird gin flavour we all know and love from stealing sips of grandma's drinks at christmas.
Its actually a damn fine beer and I can see why its won awards, I could drink several of these.
Refreshing and quenching, probably really good post gardening beer and only a little dangerous at 5.2%

Fuller's London Black Cab Stout.

Ah English beers, I have a awkward relationship with you. I sometimes like you but sometimes you are so weird to my new world palate.

But the more I drink you, the more I like you and not just in a everything tastes good after the fifth glass way.

So I had the stout out of the fridge while I did a little housework and let it warm up to New Zealand winter room temp (don't know why I bothered really but I'm every the delusional optimist).
Once I'd earned my beer I retired to the gloomy deck and poured a glass. Oh my black beauty, attractive little number aren't you ;) I think the beer is flirting with me, although it may just be the migraine medication I had to take this morning. Anyway the beer invites me to take in some of its aroma's before we get down to business.  Well hello dark roasted sugary sweet malts you smell very nice, plus some really dark dried fruit aromas that must be yeast driven. Do I smell a little wood or vanilla and just the subtlest hint of coffee?

The flavour is all that on the nose with an excellent smooth creamy mouthfeel. There's some bitterness from hops not evident in the aroma that add a lovely balance and more coffee comes shining through. A little bitter cocoa with a roasty note also adds complexity. Its not too big, but not small either, there's enough richness in the finish to be really satisfying but its not so heavy as to become overwhelming.

I enjoyed the bottle more and more as it warmed up, a satisfying stout that I would drink again.

Mike's Strawberry Sour

I've been taking papers at Uni. Yes its continuing education for the old. Must develop career blah blah blah.Was I ever so young as these fresh faced idiotic first years? Oh yes, and probably worse. But I can't comprehend spending thousands per year and then talking your way through lectures. My withering stares don't seem to be working either. Looks like I'll have to nerd up and sit near the front of the class.

To celebrate my confusion in applied statistical modelling and because its my birthday, I treated myself to this delightful brew.

Oh my. Strawberries. It smells like strawberries. Its the end of summer but soft aroma's bring it all back. Beautiful ripe refreshing strawberry. 

It pours dark, a brown red that reminds me of fruit wines. The aroma is reminiscent of a fruit wine but its a BEER, whats going on.

Flavour is whats going on. Holy crap its like someone took the ripest, sweetest, darkest red strawberries and made them into jam, then they took that jam and made beer. A sweet/sour fruity beer. Its hard to find the malt in here, its probably part of the sweetness that balanced out the sour so perfectly. This fruit beer has a lovely balance and a dry finish. No cloying syrup feel here, just refreshing bright strawberry. So light in the mouth, with subtle carbonation to refresh and delight its ever so drinkable. It's a little like champagne with its delicate mouthfeel.

A beaut little woody/vanilla aroma is in the mix and becomes more evident as the beer warms in the glass. With a smaller volume some golden hues also start to shine in the dying evening light. 

I'm very new to the whole sour beer style, but I can see why its damn popular. Mike's have a delicious example here, my palates too inexperienced to tell if its brett or lacto, but whatever it is, its damn good. 

Seek this out before summer ends, sip on the deck with some brie or camembert watching the dying sun. You wont regret it.

Renaissance Voyager - India Pale Ale

When my husband dares go to Brothers Beer without me he knows to bring home something delicious or face the consequences. So its my supreme delight to try Renaissance Voyager.

It pours with no head and minimal carbonation, which I DONT LIKE! I mean it doesn't really make much of a difference but I love the aesthetics a a lovely white head and lacing down my glass. Still the orange haze is nice and hints at the hops within!

Lucky for me the aroma more than makes up for appearances. Sticky green weed aromas, resinous and fresh. Plus hints of tangerine and citrus with the odd pine note.  But mostly is smells like weed. I don't know if its my childhood or my screwed up nose from being exposed to formaldehyde at work but some beers really smell of fresh weed to me.

Its nice and bitter in the mouth, good ol grapefruit on the finish. Dryer than some IPA's I've had which is nice on this hot summer afternoon. The alcohol tingles on the tongue with a bit of spice and pine resin. I just keep going back for sip after sip. Oh its an enticing wee brew alright.

This bottle wont last long on this hot afternoon, damn fine beer.

Stoke Pilsner

I was prepared to be unimpressed, Stoke brew good beers, but they're just good. I like their Bomber range. But the regular offerings of gold, amber etc are not very interesting to me. Damn I'm turning into a pretentious beer-o-phile. But I wont apologise!  GREAT BEER SHOULD BE REVERED!

Anyway imagine my surprise when I cracked open this little brown boy to an intense aroma of pineapple. WHAT THE HELL. I don't know if Pilsner's are supposed to smell like pineapple but I don't care. This beer smells delicious. What a delicious sweet hop aroma combined with lush deep golden colour to provide such an attractive Monday night sneaky brew.

Mmmm this beer goes down a treat, nice carbonation with a persistent white head. Malts are sweet and creamy with a bitterness that could oddly be described as malty. The hops are blended supremely well with the malt. Its refreshing a little on the sweet side with loads of body.

Its floral, but it still has complementary bitterness. I love it but it also feels like something I'd let my grandmother drink. Its a beer of two halves. And beer is the winner on the day.

Harrington's The Rogue Hop - Organic pilsner

Another Pilsner is called for. It's for science, comparative analysis and all that.

And with Pac'n'Sav stocking so few craft offerings I had to support the cause. Buy more craft beer to get more craft beer is my theory. Its win win.

This beer is organic and I feel all saving the planet from pesticides when I buy it.
"That's right fellow humans, I'm saving the planet one beer at a time." Organic Hops surely means New Zealand hops as we are the largest supplier in the world. Harringtons claim its made with their own "Rogue hop". What the heck is a rogue hop? I feel it might refer to one that was growing as a weed on the side of the brew shed, or a whole crop that got accidentally cross fertilised by a rogue male plant in a wild night of pollination.

So what is this hop? Its hard to pick out, there's little aroma from the beer. I feel the malty bready notes coming through and maybe hints of greenish hops, something herby and citrus.

Its a lovely clear beer with golden hues and a white head. Certainly aesthetically spot on for summers day drinking.

When you take a sip the crisp refreshing grapefruit bitterness of the hops dances on the tongue bouncing in with all the bubbles followed by some fairly bready malts, and a hint of raw grain after-taste but not too bad. Its refreshing and spicy to start but start to feel a little heavy after a while.

Still it hits the spot for Auckland Anniversary and nothing better to reward oneself with after successfully navigating the supermarket crowds.

BB 9/JAN/14

Tall Poppy India Red Ale - 8 Wired Brewing Co

Super Liquor (next to Postman's leg in Glenfield) was once a barren land for the craft beer lover. DB and Lion completely dominated the beer fridge, but they've finally wised up and bought in some tasty beers. Unable to decide whats good they seem to have bought one of everything and stuffed them into boxes near the front of the beer fridge. A good rummage round unearthed this bright little treasure. A Tall Poppy India Red Ale. Does anything sound nicer? 

After a fairly hectic morning, I figure the lunch break needs to be suitably decadent and refreshing. I'm rewarded with a beautiful aroma as soon as I pop the cap. Its very fruity and marmalade springs to mind. Hints of pine come wafting through as well as an amazing amount of caramel malt. 

Tall poppy pours a dark red with a small foamy head that subsides to a persistent ring as the the beer goes down. A light hand with the carbonation seems balanced with the flavour.

There is a decent amount of bittering hops in the gorgeous brew. Pine and resin seem to be the big components of the bitter notes. But then theres the malt. Robust caramel malts hold up the the bitter hops and surround them in syrupy sweetness making for a bitter and balanced morish beer. 

Each mouthful is a joy and fruity hop aroma marries well with the sweet malts and bitter hops stop it from being cloying and keep everything interesting. Almost worth drinking for the colour alone, its a an IPA with a classy red dress, an excellent drop.

Croucher, Galaxy IPA.

puh-chiiiiiiiiiiiii Hello bubbles and wafting aroma, already an active beer its begging to be poured. First aromas are spiced apricot, nectarine, ripe honey dew melon and some kinda funky herbaceous tree smell. Pours a sumptuous old gold colour with a bubbly head that dissipates leaving me with a lasting ring of white foam around my glass. The aromas are pretty complex and begging me to drink.

Its bitter baby and you'd better like it cause there's no namby pamby super sweet malty backbone to hold your hand afterwards. Superbly dry and refreshing it may however be too much to handle for the non hop heads. Its like drinking a tree. Sure theres a hint of biscuity malt as it first hits your tongue but don't expect them to hang around. Its quickly replaced with brain tingling resinous bitterness that is beautiful in its own way.

As the beer warms you can expect a bit more sweetness to come through but for the main part this is a beer for hop lover. I am such, this beer is for me.

Emerson's Bird Dog IPA

Mmmm bottle conditioned goodness. This beer is withheld or cellared till the brewer is happy with the way the flavours have developed only then is it sold! Small batches being released from September through to march so get it while you can.

Well hello hops, hello hello hello! Before I can even appreciate the golden amber hues of this attractive beer I find myself being assaulted by hops punching their way out of the bottle. There's an astringent note to these sappy hop aromas, it gives a real feeling of freshness and zestiness. Its almost like a sour fruit smell. Refreshing!

Lively carbonation starts us off with a puffy head that falls to a well retained thin white head, not much lacing observed in this pour.

On tasting it aggressive marmalade grapfruity hoppiness very intense and bitter, but the bitterness isn't lasting. There's some honey malty goodness and the mouthfeel is thinish but it all feels fairly balanced. The bitterness almost runs rampant, but it fades nicely after each mouthful so the overall feeling isn't too intense.

Its a beer that any hop head will love but perhaps not the best beer to use for introducing your lager loving mates to craft beer.

Its 6.5% and a bottle is equivalent of 2.6 drinks and I'm certainly feeling it. The alcohol blends in nicely with the bitterness. Not a beer to be rushed its well enjoyed at the end of a long day of christmas shopping.

This has instantly become a favourite and is a try before you die kinda beer.

Dogfish Head 60 Minute IPA

Its hump day, feeling the downward slide to Friday in my bones and relaxing on the deck with a beer.

So this beauty is very golden and once you wipe the condensation off the glass its clear. Interestingly there's no instant "smash your face in" aroma, rather gentle. Bottled in May but long travelled may have diminished the nose somewhat. I get hints of lemon, astringent spice, citrus, vegetation, a little sweet malt or fruity hops in the background maybe. Its all very subtle.

As I try appreciate the subtle aromas an amazing thing is going on with the carbonation, thousands of tiny bubbles are continuously forming at the bottom of my glass creating a very fine super lasting creamy white head. Champagne bubbles, its beautiful! This is some masterful carbonation.

I was expecting more hoppy aroma, but a large portion of this hops have turned to bitterness. Citrus pith and grapefruit dominate in the mouth, but it balanced with some pretty competitive caramel maltiness. Overall mouthfeel is however fairly creamy yet light and lively with a dry finish.

Alcohol at 6% is adding a bit of spicy heat but can't out compete the bitter hops.

It's a sweet little beer and maybe I drink too many ridiculous IPA's these days because it was a little less than I was expecting, but I would be happy with a 6 pack of this for a weekend.

Sierra Nevada Torpedo Extra IPA

My nearest Glengarry has jumped on the craft beer bandwagon and is importing butt loads of American beer. The youthful Glengarry workers were keen to talk beer and recommended some excellent beers, but mostly I had my heart set on America.

Finally I'm able to taste a Sierra Nevada beer. This staple of quality American beer is always popping up on my untappd feed (Beer bragging site) even Whil Wheaton drinks it.

Pour is a golden orange with a medium off-white head, carbonation is adequate but leaves me wondering just how well this 12FL.OZ bottle travelled to New Zealand, was it a long arduous boat ride or high altitude air freight, or simply set adrift on the ocean with a message to call me as soon as it reached out shores?

Aroma is hoppy, nothing too piney though, its mostly fruit and flowers. Slightly green nectarine, tangy pineapple and sticky sap notes.

You can smell and taste the dry hopping in this little bottle. In the mouth it's delightfully bitter, with an oiliness that not only coats your tongue but the whole inside of you mouth leaving you tasting it for some time after. A nice lingering moreish bitterness which is satisfying on its own making the enjoyment of the brew last even longer. The hoppy bitter notes remind me of grapefruit and bitter orange, aka the usual suspects. Plus the pine finally comes through.

Malts are in there, sweet and caramel blending in nicely with the fruitier hop aromatics to round out the bitterness.

The alcohol on this is 7.2% adding a little heat and spiciness to the flavour but is well blended with the other flavours and I could have mistaken the beer for being lower in alcohol.

Overall an enjoyable IPA that was easily lingered over in the hour before dinner.

Epic Zythos

Today is brew day and as I toil in the kitchen a cold beer is required to keep the joints well lubricated for such a strenuous task.

My beer of choice is Epic Zythos, because after yesterdays disastrous tasting of Mayhem I figured I need to give epic another chance.

The wort is happily boiling away so I'm taking a moment to really savour the beer.

I like the colour, its a lot lighter than the Mayhem, and the head is a little whiter to.  Pours with a nice head and leave loads of lovely lacing and maintains its carbonation. I'm starting to feel like the mayhem was really let down by the lack of carbonation, it really didn't work too well as a flat beer. So I'm delighted with the staying power of the Zythos.

Aroma is grapefruits and fresh crushed green pine needles. Sappy and sweet a nice light refreshing balanced aroma.

The flavour of Zythos is something else, I want so say wintergreen, buts its not quite as a strong as that. Its light a pine flavoured malt candy. Very very tasty. Hints of grapefruit and citrus zest. Its got a resinous syrupy finish. Great mouthfeel with a comforting sensation of fully coating the tongue with flavour. Some lovely biscuity malt notes in there too.

I much prefer Zythos to Mayhem, its moreish and better balanced. The carbonation is more on target and remains tasty to the last drop.