Beer - #510 - Brew Moon - Hophead IPA

#NZSecretSanta, yes Secret Santa for NZ Twitter Users!,   brought me a couple of beers, this is one of them - Brew Moon Hophead IPA.

So Gifted Beer, Gifted Musicians, Gift of Numeracy and Gift of Friendships.

A hoppy, complex and drinkable IPA. We use Vienna and a combination of various other malts for a rich base and then dry hop with lots of aromatic Nelson hops.

In a 500ml bottle,  a beer that is 5% ABV so about 250 calories a serve size, This bottle is about 1.97 standard drink units in NZ

HopHead IPA is Brewed by Brew Moon Brewing Company, in the style that is of India Pale Ale (IPA), and they are in Amberley, North Canterbury, South Island, Middle Earth, New Zealand

A mile from mainstream beers and made with organic ingredients, this beer is full of hops.

[caption id="attachment_10035" align="alignleft" width="300"] A gift of beer, it's just like christmas.[/caption]

The initial fresh floral character complements the crisp, bitter finish and rich malt flavour.

Here at the Brew Moon we take "hand-crafted" to new heights. Everything in our 600l microbrewery is done by hand with great care.

Our beers are made naturally using age-old brewing techniques, malted grain, hops, yeast and good Canterbury water.

This beer is not filtered or pasteurized - as a result there may be some sediment in the bottle - fear not! Yeast is good for you.

I love gift beer, Especially when they went to the trouble of finding beer that I hadn't already drunk, I'm sure more of a mission than not, so kudos to them.

Really nice hop aroma on opening, lightly hissing, Light grassy.

Golden orange pour which is really pretty, and a decent head. Aroma carries some florals now, it looks and smells a treat. From this I shouldn't be surprised of a burst of hops and a dry finish.

It is bitter, but not overly, and the finish is dryish, it is quite the refreshing drink for a sunny afternoon.

A decent IPA then, and in a category where there has been larger and larger flavours it is nice to have something that is quaffable and enjoyable for what it is, and not because you're expecting your head to explode or some such.

Nice amount of citrus, perhaps grapefruits, and the aroma is still very pleasant.

Second pour lets the yeast sediment into the glass, I wonder how this will change or alter the taste? I also have to say that I've alarmingly managed to drink a significant amount of this in just a couple of trips to the lips.

Of late there have been a lot more 'session' beers appearing, and this is for one of two reasons.

(1) Because the brewers have a collective desire to participate in the lower ABV range of 4-5% and compete with the mass-produced standards that you get in 6-12-24 and 30 packs

(2) There is some over-riding hop shortage or something going on that is making lower ABV beer a necessity rather than a luxury. I mean 'luxury' beer at 'premium' prices compared to big-brewery, that can't really be an economic model to success. Despite the fact that there are some really really good 'session' beers appearing, they still only appeal to the discretionary spend part of the market. Case in point is that I just brought Father-In-Law a 12 pack of beer for the christmas holiday break - he likes bulk over substance and won't be had with 'fancy' beers.

Anyway, ill formed argument aside this particular beer appears to have always been at 5% ABV, and is a brewers standard, and it is actually a decent beer, and I'm enjoying it a lot. Remember a few sentences ago I added the yeast sediment, made no difference, it's still a lovely beer. The worse thing is that it is that nice I'd easily go another.

Nothing wrong at all with this beer then, lovely colour, decent head, nice lacing, lovely level of bitterness and that quaff-ability and things that make a good session beer, and that point where you finish the bottle and wish you had another because I'd happy and easily go again. Not a hop explosion, not a beer to turn your palate to dust, this is just a cracking good IPA.

The pdubyah-o-meter rates this as an 8.5 a of its things from the thing. This is a very good drink and easy drinking beer of some style, it's balanced, no rough edges and nothing to scare you.  This bottle also appears to be quite fresh and the beer is very bright and zingy.  You can tell I'm enjoying it.

The double dip review

1. Am I enjoying it? It is, as they say, a bit good.


2. Would I have another? I wish I could have another, it wouldn't be hard to have a few more to be honest.


3. Would I share with a friend on a porch and set the world to rights? Yes, this would be a good conversation beer, it is flavoursome and engaging without being the conversation, it is easy drinking and at the lower ABV it would be good for a few.

Musically, on the music machineI was listening to 2:54 who are an alternative rock band from London comprising sisters Colette and Hannah Thurlow,  "a little bit grunge, a little bit shoegaze, with bursts of heavy riffing and the odd psychedelic meander"

This is the track "BlindFold" from the album "The Other I"

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=O7Sa9_TxtB8

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.

Beer - #181 - Brew Moon - Luna-Wit

Brew Moon,  the New Zealand one,  Luna-Wit - Brewed by Brew Moon Brewing Company in the style of a  Wheat Ale from the town of Amberley, North Canterbury, New Zealand



This is a 500ml of a 5% ABV beer - which is about 2 standard drinks

Luna-Wit Wheat Beer inspired by Belgian Wit or cloudy wheat beer this beer contains a large proportion of wheat malt spiced up with coriander, orange peel and a mystery spice. Warning: May improve your humour and wit!

The initial aroma seems a bit 'sour',  the pour a nice dark golden colour, but lacks a head, despite the intense fizzy carbonation. The Aroma then tends to sweet.

It's not cloudy, and initially all there is by way of taste is the malt.  I wasn't expecting a taste explosion with this, and I based that on the alcohol content. But this isn't unpleasant.

But what it isn't is also anything like what I thought a Wheat ale might be like and it's not as estery as German or Belgian-style beers.  (These are generally light, fruity, floral scents).

My top up pour produced a head, yay! but it was fleeting, and it got cloudier.

This is a fairly crisp beer, with delicate tastes and an unassuming palate. It's quaffable and enjoyable as a fine beer. Despite not having a whole range of complex layers this is pretty competent as a drink, but there is no length of taste, no bite, no hidden flavour waiting for the warmth to release it.

The pdubyah-o-meter says 7 things from it's thing, making it "good". As an alternate to other very commercial beers this would be a fine and more then acceptable substitute. What you're not going to have though is a conversation about the flavour delivery of this. What you will have is a smile.

As a craft beer though, and in advance I state I might have misunderstood wheat ale , this really doesn't showcase anything. I'm not saying that craft brewers need to be pushing an envelope, although they should be, but this is a style that might not be well known, and if this is a leading example of the style then fair play. But it's not going to be a wildly commercial success and be the next 'black'.

However, unlike other craft brewery places who seem to cobble together all sorts of mistakes and over-brews and then label them up as "brew master specials" or "exciting adventures", Brew Moon seem to be sure of their footing. And for that they get a thumbs up.

Beer - #115 - Brew Moon - Olé Molé

Brew Moon (NZ) Olé Molé beer - Brewed by Brew Moon Brewing Company
in the styleof a Spice/Herb/Vegetable and that trickery happens in Amberley, North Canterbury, New Zealand.

500mls (pint) of a 5% ABV concoction, and when I say concoction : Olé Molé - A culinary beer inspired by the famous Mexican dish Mole. This beer has lots of different spices including 3 different chillis and cocoa on a bock base to produce one balanced but very sexy Mexican!

The label  says "Live Ale - keep cool and dark" They probably mean the Ale, as I'm neither cool or dark.

A new brewery to me, Brew Moon, I may have been put off by their labels before, but here goes. What do you expect from a Chilli beer? They promise a beer to be Chemical and preservative free, and this one has a bottle date in August 2013.

Right away it's very carbonated, but headless, it's a muddy cloudy beer, and there are things floating in it. Um should they have made a point about letting this settle and pouring gently, are the things a thing?

The Aroma is vegetable and cocoa. The taste is like nothing I've ever had before, There are two distinct things, the first I've forgotten but the the second is a chilli explosion on the back of the tongue, wow! wow!

The first is a wonderful temptation of flavours, I'm not quick enough to grab them. I'll keep trying.

The Chilli burst is still there, reminding your throat that it just enjoyed something. The under flavour, the first explosion flavour appears to be citrus like, but the heat, yes the heat, make it very difficult. It's like a sucker punch.

MrsPdubyah had a sip, a tiny sip, she's not talking to me for a few hours I can tell, Hot Chilli beer isn't her thing.

The pdubyah-o-meter has no idea how to rate this, but it's a 8 of it's things, making this a beer that shouldn't be discarded, but treated with a wary eye. I defy anyone to have more than one of these it's just too unusual and challenging in it's difference. As to the sediments they might warn you, then again they're integral to the thing. Delightfully  quirky and actually tasty enough to pull of a madness that shouldn't work.