Mikes - Heavy Petal

Contrary to popular opinion around the office there are actually things I like, and this is one of them.

Firstly I like colour, its a dark orangey red with a creamy off white head. It looks like heaven in a glass and it smells like water passed from the lord himself. Roses and hops. Sweet malt. Turkish delight, caramel!

Theres a pleasant hoppy floral bitterness, a bit of citrus zest and rosewater. Its got a lingering bitter finish, probably from whatever rose flavouring used. (Home made or otherwise, plants be bitter y'all). The malts a soothing and sweet with a smooth mouthfeel.

Sure its a gimmick brew, and maybe you won't sit down and order pint after pint.Not every brew has to be a drink all night amazing, some are just special once every now and then. I get the feeling I could really enjoy this with some raspberry cheese cake.

(Also I've been trying to work out a recipe turkish delight chocolate stout in my head for weeks, Mike's, please, steal my idea!)

Invercargill Brewery - Smokin' Bishop

Its a good colour, crystal clear and catching the light with a deep amber brown hue. It makes an elegant first impression with its delicate little tan head. Aroma wise I'm a getting a smoke with ethanol and hints of charcoal embers in a dying fire.

The first sip is smokey with a sweet impression and a little fruitiness. After a few sips all I can think of is wood smoke, smoked pork and barbecues. It slides around on the tongue and has a slightly oily mouthfeel with low carbonation. I start to get hints of burnt caramel sugars and flavours reminiscent of Belgian beers. Cigars spring to mind as a few tobacco notes hit the palate. Suddenly I find myself sitting in a leather chair by a dying fire sipping a peaty whisky, a cigar rests in the silver ashtray next to me and thin wisps of cigar smoke are winding their way towards the ceiling. This beer is highly evocative.

Complements to Invercargill breweries as the smoke level is just right, not too intense. It adds to the impressive complexity of this beer and seems to brings all the other flavours together.

I can imagine pouring this all over a pork shoulder before whacking it in a slow cooker or accompanying a tasting plate of nutty cheeses and quince paste.


Final thought: If Indiana Jones's hat was a beer it would be the Smokin' Bishop. Roguish and intelligent all in the same package.