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.

Kegerator Drip Tray Bargain

My kegerator in the garage has been making a bit of a mess, there's two stains on the concrete right under the taps from wayward beer. It's enough to make my husband give me that look, y'know the one.  Where they look at you sideways and grumble "suselorrrrre.........". So I've been looking for a drip tray but the options online were well over $100 and I'm on a budget. Lab technician salary plus Auckland mortgage doesn't equal the financial wonderland I thought it would. 

So I couldn't believe my luck when I found this while out shopping for a hacksaw. A magnetic tool tray   at Wairau Bunnings for $14. Thats right $14. Its got super strong magnets and a rubber back so you don't scratch your fridge. Easy  enough to reposition but strong, it wont be knocked off without some serious effort. It's 31cm wide and just in case you want one too I found it near the socket sets in the power tool area. 

Is It Safe to Leave Star San in My Keg and Beer Lines?

Is It Safe to Leave Star San in My Keg and Beer Lines?

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.

Paderborner - Pilsner

Original German Beer! 

So as it says on the can its original german beer, which is good to know I guess. I wouldn't want to be drinking a non-original beer, I think that violates some rule of the craft beer enthusiast code book. 

However I get a bit suspicious when the ingredients include hop extract. 

Currently I'm more attuned to the NZ styles of pilsner with the gorgeous floral hop aromas and bitterness levels that really satisfy. Having recently finished a box of Tuatara Pilsner I'm not sure how this brew is going to compare.

There's hints of a herbal hop aroma, and a bunch of malt bouncing out of the glass. I get a lager vibe more than anything. Its not extremely malt forward on drinking though, the bitterness is there as soon as it hits your tongue. A really nice amount of carbonation makes it great for drinking after a 90 minute hike through the bush, but its not crisp enough to be the ultimate post exertion refreshment. A strange little aftertaste, but not really off putting. Kinda doughy on the finish and barely enough hop extract to keep it drinkable.  

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.

Spruce Beer - Wigram Brewing Co

Classic label and classic bottle, this brew caught my eye about a month ago and its been shamefully sitting in my fridge for too long. Spruce beer sounds intriguing doesn't it. I know spruce is variety of conifer but I just learned fresh young spruce tips are a good source of vitamin. Captain Cook knew what he was on about when he had this brewed this up for the crew.

This beer seems to be spruceless, but it does have rimu and tea tree. I wonder how the local flora compares for Vitamin C content? Spruce beer pours a slightly hazy darkish amber. No head to really speak of and light carbonation. The aroma  is of spiced honey and homemade ginger beer. To be fair the expiry date on this bottle is 30th October 2013 so I'm only getting to appreciate it in the golden years of its lifespan.

The flavour is malty and spicy, peppercorn flavours waft up the back of my throat. Its a gentle spiciness that also has ginger flavours mingling with the malts. It has a nice clean finish which suits me well otherwise I think I'd find the ginger flavour a bit too much after a while. This beer tastes old fashioned, but in a good way. Its not like any other beer I've tried. Who knew trees made good beer? However I can't imagine Captain Cooks brew tasted as good as this. Probably took a bit of skill from Wigram to get everything just balanced right. I wonder if this is the last batch I'll see or if Wigram will brew it again? I'd certainly like to taste a fresher bottle!

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.