Beer - #122 - Townshend - Three Piece Wheat

Nice play on words Townshend - Three Piece Wheat, Brewed by Townshend Brewery in the style of a : German Hefeweizen and they live in Upper Moutere, Nelson, New Zealand

500ml bottle of 4.5% ABV beer, that's about 1.8 standard drink units. 4.5% ABV surprised me, for no reason other than expectation I was expecting more (obviously).

The head brewers mother comes from Hall in Tirol, Austria, so this top fermented, cloudy Bavarian ale is a small tribute to one of the most wonderful people in the world. True to style, it contains 50% malted wheat and uses a yeast strain imported fromWeihenstephan, Germany.

It's also unpasturized and unfiltered. So "pour with care" I'm mumbling under my breath. They promise a classic wheat beer with  hints of banana and cloves.

There's nothing remarkable in the aroma, apart from the lack of an aroma. It's slightly darker than I thought it would be, and the lower carbonation means of course that it struggles with a head.

There's nothing remarkable in the taste either, mostly the fizz of bubbles masking whatever is underneath it. If you squint you could imagine a banana taste, if you really try. As for cloves, they are pretty understated to the point of absence.

Also not cloudy.

So of the three things that I think I'd like in a wheat beer, in no particular order;  Golden yellow colour, cloudy in appearance  and tasty of lemons or citrus,  what I get in this is a glass of fizzy water.

The pdubyah-o-meter casts this a poor 4 on it's scale of things, and an indication that you'd do well to miss this, as the brewer may have given it a crack but has also missed the target, badly and awfully.

And that's never a good thing. To their credit they didn't make up that it was a hybrid brew or a special concoction they've gone balls out and called it. Disastrous.

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Auckland Lantern festival 2013

The Auckland Lantern Festival is celebrated on the first full moon following the Chinese New Year.

In 2013, the event, from 22-24 February was held at Albert Park in Auckland.

This year we tool the in-laws, which as it turns out was a disaster, and so, for the very brief time we were at the event here are a few pictures. Who knew that FIL was claustrophobic, and the crowds made him have a mild panic. Why MrsPdubyah would organise to go to a crowded event is beyond me, unless it's some kind of daughter revenge. Anyway  here you are:-

[gallery ids="4290,4291,4292,4293,4294,4295,4296,4297,4298,4299,4300,4301,4302,4303,4304,4305,4306,4307,4308,4309,4310,4311,4312,4313,4314,4315"]

The park was packed, but I would urge you to go, and if you have good spirits and don't mind the jostle and the hustle this is the most cheerful and happy event that you could image, all the lanterns are amazing, and although we had to leave almost as soon as we arrived what I saw made me smile a lot.

Beer - #121 - Yeastie Boys - His Majesty 2012

I stopped in at my local bottle shop on the way home, a particularly weird day at work that was pretty frustrating on a number of fronts, and I picked me up a Yeastie Boys His Majesty 2012.

Yeastie Boys beer is  Brewed at Invercargill Brewery  and His Majesty 2012 is in the style of a : Belgian Ale <strong>

His Majesty, The Fourth, is a Belgian-style strong pale ale. A gentle (yet dangerous) giant of a beer featuring an interplay of sweet bready German malt, a hint of kiwi hops and a delicate spiced fruit from use of a Belgian Abbey yeast.

750ml, 8.5% ABV beer - that's about 5.3 standard drink units.

I'm only disappointed that this doesn't have a cork and cage,

Belgium beer then, Sweet, Dark Amber, Heady, Malty, slightly bitter under note. Oh I'm looking forward to this .

Beer - #120 - Nøgne Ø - India Pale Ale

Nøgne Ø - India Pale Ale. Brewed by Nøgne Ø this in the style of an India Pale Ale (IPA) and they get their groove on in Grimstad, Norway.

A rich, malty, and very bitter ale. Cascade hops provide a long, fruity, and spicy after-taste. Recommended serving temperature 10°C/50°F. Ideal with barbequed or smoked meat dishes.

Ingredients: Maris Otter, Munich, wheat and caramel malt; Chinook and Cascade hops; English ale yeast, and our local Grimstad water.

17.5° P, 60 IBU, 7.5 ABV, in a 500ml bottle (that's about 3 standard drink units).

I remember enjoying the Two Captains Double IPA, so I'm inwardly quite excited. And because I'm a rebel this is the lad-in to a prawn curry. Go on have a word. It's also the background to the Led Zeppelin LP that I'm playing. It's all go here.

Traditional beer coloured beer, with a really nice head. A flash of hoppy aroma too. It's a good start. The aroma tails off though to a dough/yeasty note, masking any hoppy that might have been there.  The head dies away.

There is a lot of caramel sweet taste in this, not a lot of bitters that you could expect, they are there, but there but overshadowed somewhat. Expecting a bitter tasting tang and getting a malt warmth might put you off somewhat, but it's nice.

Other tastes I get or think I get are a citrus and a soapy note. There is a melange of tastes going through this. making it difficult to get a real handle on what it's trying to be or do.

In general though I think the sweetness of this makes it a bit odd, for an IPA it really does have a sweet tooth that's not expected. It does take it back to being a beer that has a taste but no definition. The pdubyah-o-meter makes this one a 7 and 3/4  on it's thing of things.

It might be that I misunderstand this Nogne  Ø thing, they appear to have become every beer type available brewer,  and not a fanciful in my head little place that turns out some class acts. That said I'm enjoying this less bitter IPA than the last beer I had, because sometimes the hops shouldn't be the main event and the backing band. An easy beer to drink though, and that is a good thing.

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Beer - #119 - Hallertau - Maximus Humulus Lupulus

Hallertau Maximus Humulus Lupulus. Brewed by Hallertau Brewbar & Restaurant in the styleof an American Strong Ale, in Auckland.

Strong Ale? It says Pale Ale on the label.

The fiercely floral and fragrant hop, known as the Earth Wolf by the Ancients, has been cunningly tamed with a soft, rich maltiness. Please drink respectfully

India Pale Ale – The Gladiator of Hops of 5.8% ABV in a dinky 330ml bottle, not the larger 750ml size.

The fiercely floral and fragrant hop, known as the earth wolf by the ancients, has been cunningly tamed with a soft, rich, maltiness.

So again a beer with mixed messaging from the intertubes. Again I'll go with the source on this. This has been re-packaged to the smaller bottles and toned down from a 6.8% ABV offering. That's not always a bad thing.

Hazy muddy cloudy golden pour with a rapidly disappearing head, fantastic flush of hop aroma. Not the prettiest beer I ever poured. Bittery hops but with a short length finishing. Lots of grass, and what you'd have to put down as an overall dry taste.

An interesting beer this, it's the most complicated named, the ugliest looking and it delivers a mixed bag of taste. I didn't really like the Hallertau 1,2,3 or 4 beers, and this was somewhat a last chance saloon, and because I'd heard a whisper that it might be heads above those.

There's not a lot of body in this, and adding to the dry I'm therefore also going to say thin, which is usually a sign that they've given up on something and left out the bite.

Given the trick packaging you could be lead to think that this was going to deliver something of an adventure.  It doesn't

The pdubyah-o-meter just says 7. Making this a beer that sits in the pack, it's bitter hoppy facade really does mask the shortcoming that this has. This has not made me a bigger fan of the Hallertau beers.

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The one with the budget

It's only in the last couple of years that I've had my own personal bank account. Since before being married MrsPdubyah and Me have had a joint bank account. Everything we do is based on a joint income. Seems fair and proper and works really well. We have joint credit cards too. No surprises in our finances.

But I have now got my own personal "stash of cash" in my own bank account. Monthly I pay myself pocket money from my salary. MrsPdubyah approves of this, as one debit means that she knows how much I have taken and does not tsk every time I do something random and buy something on impulse, or frown at the cost of the beer I'm buying. What the eyes can't see the heart can't grieve. Right.

I've added a few extra dollars in to the account, like when I've had a larger than expected commission payment, I give myself a "bonus" and of course there was some money from the estate of the deceased Mother.

And I've been good.

Except that I haven't been good at all. I downloaded the last 12 months of statements and had a set too with the spreadsheet. And then I got all surprised and a little worried about how much I had frittered unwisely.

Sports related things	-2%
Gifts for people	-2%
Online Auctions	-2%
Unfashionable Clothes	-3%
A Writing Pen	-3%
LP Records	-5%
Coffee from one particular café, and the Coffee van man	-9%
Food from specialty stores for the home entertaining	-11%
Takeaway food, and the Café   lifestyle	-11%
Electronic Gadgets I had to have	-12%
Cash that I spent on who knows what	-12%
Beer from Stores	-25%

The "Stash of Cash" isn't a big amount. I chose a number that would allow me to buy some beer without MrsPdubyah having a tizz about the price, and to be fair I drink less, and better beer, on the whole, than I used to. It was also an amount that should have allowed me to accrue some money for a bigger purchase eventually and with carefull management.

The bigger purchase is still a dream, the budget is in tatters. I hadn't realised just how much discretionary money goes on the Coffee purchases, That alone might have gone some way towards a new Tablet. The Takeaway food is a mix between my needy lunches and family take-away nights when it's all too hard to cook, Although that appears to be a lot more than just occasional.

Electronic gadgets oes include an Android phone for the daughter and a DVD player for the house.

The other big ticket was fancy foods for the home entertaining. These are things like expensive cuts of meats and fixings for a special dinner. I'm gad I do that and I will continue to do so, but as out family changes into a 3 adult house we've been buying better quality things in general, and there is less worse food in the house, Bread is a rare treat for instance, and I have a memory of Ice-cream going with fruit.

I've mentioned in passing to MrsPdubyah my findings, to which she said "don't you have anything better to do?" so I might have dodged a bullet. However since she is the Head of Entertainment and Finance my 2013 budget proposal had better be a good one if I'm to seek at least a cost of living rise in my pocket money.

Beer - #118 - Coronado - Red Devil

The Red Devil they say an Imperial Red Ale -  Brewed by Coronado Brewing Company in the style of an  American Strong Ale, in of all places Coronado, California 'merica.

Talking it up Coronado says that The Red Devil is a "double dose of our "Mermaid's Red Ale"  We simply doubled the ingredients (double the malt, double the hops) and created an award winning Ale. An incredibly balanced and smooth beer with a strong finish."

Worries me when they say "simply" did something, which might be code-word for this one time we had a new kid and he didn't pay attention and threw a second helping in the pot, which we had to sell, and it  turned out ok, so we carried on with it.

This is a 8.5% ABV beer in a 650ml (pint) bottle, the attached label says however 10.7% abv which is about 5.5 standard drinks, the plot thickens somewhat. Is there a US and a Foreign ABV rating that I'm not aware of? I'm picking the lower number since it's on the bottle and in other places. Weirdly though the original Red Devil appears to be a 10.7% ABV beer. Perhaps it's mellowed in it's age?



So a mixed start to start. They've changed the label and so they may have changed the mix for this and that is what I'm going to go with. Clearly their own information has to be taken as gospel.

So many words without any action then. And I've built up an expectation of having my thirst quenched because I've been making rib marinades this afternoon, and that's time in the kitchen, that I have to balance up with a beer. It's the law.

The alternate description is this This robust, roasty, aggressively hopped imperial red is an amplified, more sinful version of our flagship Mermaid's Red™. Heaping additions of Amarillo and Simcoe hops provide clean, botanic bitterness to slice straight through a well rounded caramel sweetness borne of chocolate malt.

There is definitely a load of hops on the aroma, and it's dark dark red on the pour with a faint and disappearing head. It's a lovely aroma, I could sit here enjoying just that, but I dither. Enjoying it though I get a lovely sweet fruits note too, like soaked raisins.

and it's initially as pleasant as any beer I've drunk for a long time, lovely soft bitter and overtones of a sweet malt and caramel, but it finishes on the bitter. Not that it's a bad thing, This isn't a beer that's going to leave you reaching for an elusive taste that's on the top of your tongue, it's fairly well all up front. The caramel is lovely and balanced with the bitterness, which after sitting takes a less dominant position. All in all a bit good.

The pdubyah-o-meter has this at 8.75 things on the scale of the way things work, which isn't shameful and makes this a beer that I'd reach for if I had my pick of things. So for a simply doubled up on a few ingredients they've managed to retain a marvellous balance of tastes, Good work.

 

Beer - #117 - Moa - Imperial Stout

The Moa Imperial Stout is something I've been thinking about having for a while. Brewed by Moa Brewing CompanyIn the style of a : Imperial Stout
Blenheim, New Zealand.

This is making a second appearance in the list I panned it in review 71  which I re-read after I'd written this.

A 375ml bottle of a 10.2% ABV beer (2.8 standard Drink units) awaits me, and being honest I brought two of them, because I just couldn't help myself.

" Moa Imperial Stout Barrel Reserve is a very strong, upfront and rich offering of this famous Moa style. Aged in oak Pinot Noir barrels, this beer not only displays coffee and mocha characters but also some sweet and savory notes unique to Moa Imperial. This award winning Stout is seasonally produced and available for short periods each year "

It says.

It also says "Moa Imperial Stout is a very strong, bold upfront and rich offering of a famous beer style. Aged in Pinot Noir barrels, this beer not only displays coffee and mocha charters but also some sweet and spicy notes. A tannin like finish and an oak induced mellow bitterness makes it a serious stout. Moa Imperial Stout is best served just below room temperature in a tulip glass"

So they're giving you a fair warning up front about what's held within, all cork and wire cage enclosed. Very fancy.  I guess if you charge a premium price you get to dress it properly, which is very nicely done. A performance beer.

A sour aroma, dark rich chocolate head, deep dark colouration, and a reasonable carbonation. Quite the smokey first taste and a lovely chocolate tone. Head dies away. The taste moves to fruits and an indication of roasted or burnts. And call me a liar but there is a pinot note in there. It's not half bad.

Not half bad but not alarmingly good though. Close but no cigar. Actually it's closer than that, like I said this if fairly nice. If I'd thought it through I would be having some cheese with this, because I think that they'd both be drawn out more.

As it is though there are a few nice things in this that keep you involved, there is a slightly sour note, and a heady overnote of red wines. I could get to like this in moderation.

The pdubyah-o-meter likes this 8.5 things worth on it's arbitrary and unknowable scale of things.

I'm not a terribly big fan of the range of Moa beers, the St.Jospehs is a head over the others, and this sits besides it as a being a bit good.  I'm glad I brought two, I get to do it all over again.

I was surprised that I marked this a 5 arbitrary things the first time, surprised that I couldn't remember drinking this in October, but not surprised that I was drinking it with a cheese accompaniment, because it needs it.  I am surprised that I think it's that much better then when I first had a go at this. And you know what I'm pleased I did, since with age this may have improved, unlike my memory of such things. 

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Beer - #116 - Liberty - Yakima Scarlet

The Liberty - Yakima Scarlet. Brewed by Liberty Brewing  In the style: American Strong Ale and they do that of course in New Plymouth, New Zealand

Of course. It's been a while since I had a new beer to drink about, and time to get back on the horse.

They say "My original records for this beer date back to a batch of home brew in June 2007. It was a beer called IPA Massacre. It was brewed three times under this moniker with minor tweaks along the way. The most significant tweak I made to the recipe was changing to use hops grown in Washington USA. Accordingly, in January 2011 the name was changed to Yakima Scarlet. There were no less than seven iterations of this beer brewed before releasing what you hold in your hands right now. I still don’t what style of beer it is, but I can tell you that it is hoppy and it is red."

I say... 500ml bottle of 6.9% ABV beer, that's 2.8 Standard Drink units,  here I come... and I'm  expecting a  beer with a history of chop and change but that with American hops should make it a mouthful...

It does have a bitter hops aroma, a fluffy dark head (a head yes!) and decent carbonation, it's all happening. When I say bitter aroma, I mean pungent because the aroma is sweet malty sweet.

The beer is a dark red, not stout dark, but burnt brown dark, it's really a very pretty thing.

And the taste is to amaze at, there is a balance between the hops and the malts that brings a smile to the dial, this at first flush seems to be the goods.  This isn't like any "red ale" that I've ever had, and I don't profess to be any kind of expert or aficionado, but this is nice as is.

As it sits between sips though the hops take a hold and push the malt sweets to the back, but overall this is a bit of alright. The pdubyah-o-meter says 8.25 arbitrary things for this, not because there are things wrong with it but because I'd prefer the malt to hag around for a bit longer.

Very good, I'm off to cook some lamb, and watch some cricket, and smile .

 

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The one with the online shopping

I'm trying to convince myself that I'm not an online shopper.

But truth is I'm never comfortable with the online shopping thing. Sure I've done it.

Locally we have Trademe, which is like eBay buy for New Zealanders.

I've brought from Amazon in the UK, a phone case for the daughter, that was about NZ$14.00.

I brought some vinyl music from http://www.wowhd.co.nz The Elbow Definitive Vinyl, a couple of hundred NZ$, nights of angst!

Recently I brought shoes from http://www.shoes4u.co.nz This was a real interesting experience and driven by the fact that my current  excercise (walking) shoes have after just under 200kms are showing wear and tear, and if nothing else is important it's looking good and having the good shoes on the feet.

I prefer Nike Free. I've been a big fan of them since forever. Having seen some in a sale recently at NZ$150 I was kind of tempted, they are around that price too in the Nike Outlet place.  So I had a google, and found two sites, and chose the Shoes4U one, for the simple reason that they took a credit card transaction, and not a paypal thing.

So I ordered a pair, all up in US$ 77.95 including the shipping. That was Thursday 31st January. Get home Monday and there is a card from the couriers saying go pick up a package. Which we thought was some university documents, because clearly something from Hong Kong isn't going to get to Auckland in 4 days?

And the credit card hadn't been debited yet.

Wrong. There they were. Delivered. The Credit card got debited that day, But that's the first time the things have arrived before the card has been charged.

The Shoes4u.co.nz website is maddeningly difficult to navigate to log-on, check the shipment, give feedback and all that but they have a benchmark in service.

So here I sit a bit of this and a bit of that. I feel like I scored a real bargain, shoes for under NZ$100 saving me at least $50 in the colour I want to, not the run-out colours maybe in your style or not.

I also feel that I've let the local shops down too, it doesn't feel right that you can the same shoes freighted in, and even if you add the GST part they work out NZ$35 dollars cheaper than on sale. They retail normally around $190-$200.

I'm all for buy local where I can, and where it makes sense.  I understand how the local retailers find the online shopping opportunities a real threat to them.

As it turns out I'm a bit of an online shopper and my purchases from overseas appear to be increasing, for someone that like to swap money for immediate possession of goods the online purchase always provides days of fret and worry. And one day I'll get an import bill of some kind where they ping me for tax or something, Inevitable really. I've no doubt that you could get totally carried away and spend heaps of money buying all sorts of things, but I'd steer clear of laptops and tablets for now, because I'm not prepared to gamble money on things that may break, as opposed to shoes, for instance. And my purchases might never get above the $100, because like gambling that might be all I'm prepared to lose in one transaction.