Beer - #482 - Golden Eagle - The Bitter End

British Beer,  Discovered genius , Imperial Numbers, and Bragging

Our English Bitter has been referred to as the most authentic English Bitter in New Zealand. 

This is a new beer, leastways I've not seen it in bottles before, from the Golden Eagle people this the is  The Bitter End. They contacted me by email to heads-up on some new bees they have, I like that.

Brewed by Golden Eagle Brewery in the style that is a Bitter and they are based in Christchurch, New Zealand

[caption id="attachment_9718" align="alignleft" width="300"] It really is....[/caption]

This is a 500ml bottle, and it's at 4.4% ABV, which seems authentic, at 30 IBU and 132 calories a serve,  this makes all up 1.74 standard drink units in the bottle.

True to style a Special English Bitter brewed with Bramling Cross here in NZ.

Full bodied with a great malt backbone to support the superb blackcurrant flavours from this wonderful hop variety

What could possibly go wrong?

English beer pub aroma, musty hops.

Did my best but this does not pour with a head, and almost seemed a bit flat, but it wasn't, a head of sorts more a film appears. I really did try I wanted a foam moustache.

Aroma in the glass is really un-missable English bitter.

Nicely bitter, felt like a nice caramel malt middle and finish that was dry/musty. There is a tartness at the back of this though, that's not something I remember well though. Doesn't sit so well either in the scheme of things.

But the upside of this outweighs the downside as it really is quite the refreshing beer.  And it's from New Zealand.

Now, the problem, and of course there is one. The price. I can wander down my local English importer store, or Supermarket, and pick up a variety of English beers from ol' blighty. Some of them quite good, some of them cheaper than this locally produced version.

It is a problem, because some English bitters are good, some very good and well regarded. I accept that this is crafted locally and all that, but I'm not getting a premium over something that is from the source, as it were.

I think that this is good as beer is. but it's a thing that I'd probably argue against in a board meeting, sure I'd probably lose, but this brewer has other beers that are a head above this, and for me I'm not going to go all 'craft' and 'batch' for English Bitter. I'm just not.

Said though this might fit a gap in the craft market, IPA are 10 a dozen, stouts galore, the odd barley wine, some Saisons, some Pilsners and lagers, the 'Bitter' market does not appear to be over addressed, I've had something like 14 English bitters, from England and this is the first New Zealand one in that list.

You see how I lost my own argument there, in a sense, but I'm going to be stubborn and stand my grand on the 'why?' question.

The pdubyah-o-meter rates this as 8 a of its things from the thing. In this instance though as much as I like this it isn't a beer that it going to be finding a home in the fridge on a regular basis. There are other English Bitters that I'd rather go to, because English.

The double dip review

1. Am I enjoying it? I am, it's rather tasty and enjoyable.


2. Would I have another? There is a case for me having another, this available on tap, so might provide the full English Bitter session experience.


3. Would I share with a friend on a porch and set the world to rights? I would because it's a bit of a wildcard in a well established and crowded field, brave stuff.

Joining me in this is brilliant yet under appreciated Sixto Rodriguez - this track is "I Wonder". An American gem that got somehow overlooked and lost for too many years. If you like raw and poet like, say, Dylan, you should like this.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=fMHdq4jm0oQ

"I wonder how many times you've been had
And I wonder how many plans have gone bad"

BITTER

A gold to copper color, low carbonation and medium to high bitterness. Hop flavor and aroma may be non-existent to mild. Great to drink with steak and lobster.