Beer - #425 - Mike’s - Vanilla Coffee Porter

Mike’s Vanilla Coffee Porter - from the tap - I last drank a version of this in a bottle in November 2012 - and loved it then, I wonder if I still love it now. This is the non-Organic version.

Brewed by Mike’s Brewery in the style that is of a  Porter and they are Taranaki, New Zealand

Flavour Initial sweetness gives way to fresh roasted coffee with low bitterness and  an After Taste  of Espresso coffee desert

At 8% ABV a litre (33fl Oz)  would be 6.31 standard drink units in NZ, and this bottle would be somewhere around 640 calories worth.

[caption id="attachment_9082" align="alignleft" width="300"] VCP[/caption]

When VCP arrived on the scene, marrying the satisfying hit of a freshly roasted morning coffee with the creamy full taste of a rich dark porter, Mike's couldn't help but feel that this son was close to perfection. It's good morning and good night all at once, a double shot of endlessly satisfying seer rich flours and subtle coffee bitterness that's smoother than your local barista.

VCP, quite possibly. Very Close to Perfection.

I guess the proof will be in the drinking.

Beer - #110 - Mike’s - Organic Single American Pale Ale

Mike’s Organic Single American Pale Ale. 500ml of a 6.7% ABV beer that needs drinking, and just because I can. It's Brewed by Mike’s Organic Brewery  in the style of an  American Pale Ale and they do that in Taranaki, New Zealand.

The all American (hops) hero, real West Coast AIPA, but more refined (thats real. AIPA, not the real West Coast that would be Taranaki) Pours rich golden amber with a coppery tinge, and a creamy white head lacing beautifully. The aroma is complex with tropical fruit including passion fruit, pineapple and melons all vying for attention. The flavour is complex, with the tropical fruits now balanced out by the layered malt flavour and intense hop bitterness. Mouthfeel is rich but crisp and clean without being dry, and then the aftertaste is deep with a solid lingering bitterness.

I'm frowning because this is the first beer for the evening, and it's the equal of 2 1/2 units. So best I make my resolutions now as I might have a strong ale lined up.

Straight off you can tell this is hop-tastic but there is a nice mellow fruit undernote that takes the sharpness off. It's a lovely golden coloured beer, like rich Rimu, and a nice headsworth of froth. That nice hopiness is still with it.

Mike certainly has a thing going. I know that Pale Ale is a stock beer for craft brewery places, but this is a bit good. This is quaffingly good beer, I almost forgot to sit and mull over the range of flavours that this has. Almost. It's crackingly good.

So then, I get a grassy taste (expected, not unpleasant not harsh at all), The malt is doing it's job and adding a smooth note along the way, and there is a depth and length to this that I'm enjoying. You might have guessed that. And it made me burp. I've no idea about the burp though, I might mention it only because it was there, I should pay more attention in future and mention if it's ever there again.

The pdubyah-o-meter is 9's on this, it delightfully drinkable, tasty and looks great.

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