Memory beer, Mesmorising Music, Memorising numbers and remembers a party.
This beer is made with all USA grown ingredients (malt, hops and yeast), and will only be available on tap over the summer.
Intended as a light floral easy tasting summer pale ale.
The familiar 1 litre bottle, 6% ABV, 40 IBU things, just about 500-ish calories in the bottle, and it is 4.73 standard drink units. 40 IBU is low end bitter for an IPA
For Epic Brewing Company (NZ) this is brewed at Steam Brewing Company in the style that is of the India Pale Ale (IPA), and that happens in Auckland, New Zealand
This beer is made with all USA grown ingredients (malt, hops and yeast). This is the first time I had the opportunity in NZ to do
[caption id="attachment_10173" align="alignleft" width="300"]
Looking Guilty[/caption]this. Cryer Malt imported some US grown malt which we have used to make this beer.
The recipe was design as a hat tip to the moment in time where I had my lifes path changed by having a craft beer epiphany, which has ultimately lead me to making this beer.
In 1991 I was at university in California, and got my first taste of craft beer (this happened to be Sierra Nevada and it was first drunk in Chico).
The beer captures the light pale ale style that has influenced me, my beer tastes, the way I like to brew. It is pretty simple with the hop flavour being driven by old school aroma hops - Cascade & Centennial.
That is a big intro, and a good reason to break my self imposed health break. I don't think MrsPdubyah will approve, but what could go wrong? Well I will tell you what could go wrong the amount of chilli I added to the wings is what. Still I have a beer to make it all good.
A beer that seems to be popular with 'the lads' this one.
A lovely caramel hops grass note, but also an underlying sour. Gently carbonated judging by the hiss of the flip top.
It's quite an interesting orange colour and the off white firm but small head looks great. Orange citrus aroma in the glass.
That is surprisingly bitter but it's that low level 'oh that's nice' level of bitterness. Clean too. Overall mouthfeel is a bit odd for me, seems to be there is an overall dryness to this, and a lingering back.
This then appears, or indeed, tastes like it has a heavy reliance on the hop characteristics. So you gets hints of a more 'fruity' citrus beer of some wallop, but you get a zephyr of a hint on the nose, which is really nice, it's sort of sugar sweet and orange, and then a big wash of bitterness over the top. You'd kind of hope for some of that warmth in the middle, it is there, but it is cowering, over-taken by the main-act when it should be part of it. Then you get a linger of a bitter-dry finish. It is all a bit sudden and quick. (.....that's what she said)
I don't enjoy being contrary, but there isn't a point in bandwagon if that isn't the right thing either. Epic make some startlingly good beers, I know I've had some. Fair play to the brewer to do his own thing, his homage to him, It's like a bands 4th album, the one they always wanted to make, not the contractual obligation one, the one that they really wanted to make.This is a 'tap only' beer, indicating that it's a one-off and a dalliance, perhaps it's a platform a new thing, the brewer isn't shy about style or ingredients. For a summer day this is nice, for a once-off this is nice, Is it 'showing off'? I don't know.
The pdubyah-o-meter rates this as a 7 of its things from the thing. What's to say. It is a great looking beer, and has some great aroma. There is a belting amount of bitterness about it, and a lingering finish, but again I bang on about the middle, as if it were a thing. For me it is, and this doesn't have it.
As a bit of a postscript I'd venture to suggest that adding both chilli flakes and chilli sauce to wings isn't the most prudent of things to do, my eyeballs got all sweaty for instance. A story for another day.
The double dip review
- Am I enjoying it? Some of it is great, some of it a bit missing.
- Would I have another? It is different in taste and profile to make it interesting enough, but interesting isn't compelling enough in this case.
- Would I share with a friend on a porch and set the world to rights? I think as a discussion about what was happening in 1991 it would be a great starter, where was beer like this in 1991 for instance. In those days it wasn't craft it was called small independent breweries, and very very local.
Drinking with me is David Ryan Adams who is an American singer-songwriter, musician and producer. This is "Gimme Something Good" from his self-title album. Available in the all the places probably.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=802vbfZe9io
It is great summer music and might have the sort of plains America about it, I make no sense except in my head on this though. It is kind of wholesome American soft rock, soft of like Tom Petty and others, full of angst and like a amp'd up country ballad. Judge me.
INDIA PALE ALE & IPA
India Pale Ale gets its name and unique style from British brewers who were making beer for export to India. This style has an intense hop flavor which was used to preserve the beer for the long voyage. India Pale Ale has a golden to copper color with a medium maltiness and body. The aroma is moderate to very strong. IPAs work especially well at cutting the heat of chili, vindaloo or Sichuan cuisine.
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