Beer - #364 - Moa - Pale Ale

This was on 'special' and so I dived right on in.  Drinking now a Moa Pale Ale.

In the giant 750ml bottle, this a 5% ABV beer, being around 150 calories a serve, and this bottle would be slightly less than 3 standard drink units in NZ.

Brewed by Moa Brewing Company this is in the Style of an  American Pale Ale, and they are in Blenheim, New Zealand

Moa Pale Ale is a New Zealand take on a popular North American beer style. Using

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famous Cascade and Nelson Sauvin hops, the dominant features in this beer are unique to New Zealand and the Moa bottle conditioned brewing method. Its hoppy strength displays powerful floral, citrus and tropical notes, and like its northern cousins is a beer best enjoyed just below room temperature. 

While the intensity of the typical Nelson hop bitterness is well presented in Moa Pale Ale, there are also luscious sweet malts and bright passion fruit flavours. Offering a heightened complexity, this exceptional beer displays flinty and mineralistic characters. Moa Pale Ale is best served at approximately 6˚C in a tulip glass.

A performance bottle, foil, cork, cage. Cork was difficult to get out! I need a drink after that effort.

Muted but lovely floral hop aroma.

Cloudy orange golden pour with a nice fluffy and lively head, less of the hops aroma in the glass.

 

Full carbonation, and a real burst of hops in this, not sour or overly bitter, just a pit intense and earthy like you'd be expecting.  I hope this mellows and flattens out more as it warms up, it's started well enough.

This is nice to drink, it really doesn't have any real peaks of dips, it's just pleasing and seems to be well balanced.

This is a great way for me to start a Saturday evening, this is easy drinking and palatable, but (and there is always a but) I don't know that you could session on this, or make an evening of it.

The pdubyah-o-meter rates this as 8 a of its things from the thing.  I have a kind of love hate with Moa, to in my head I do, and this is more towards the love, and that is a good thing. For all it loveliness though this really does lack a bit of body and strength in the palate.  Still think though this is a good beer.

The double dip review

1. Am I enjoying it? Yes.


2. Would I have another? I probably would, it's a nice performance bottle


3. Would I share with a friend on a porch and set the world to rights? Yes I probably would, I wouldn't however swig it from the bottle.

It was also a Bob Marley kind of afternoon

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AMERICAN PALE ALE

American Pale Ales are light in color, ranging from golden to a light copper color. The style of this beer is defined by the American hops used. American hops typically have high bitterness and aroma.This is a perfect beer for big fare like grilled burgers or combination pizzas, as well as lighter fare like sushi and green salads.

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Beer - #224 - Moa - Breakfast

Indeed, a beer called "Breakfast" which raised the hackles when it was first launched a while back. But continuing with the lighter frivolousness of a Sunday then I have in front of me  -  Moa Breakfast - Brewed by Moa Brewing Company as a  Fruit Beer from the warm and sunny Blenheim, New Zealand

Moa Breakfast is a blend of premium wheat malt, floral Nelson hops and cherries. A very refreshing and fruity lager specifically designed as a European-style breakfast beer but more commonly enjoyed as a mid-afternoon beverage in New Zealand.

Although not always. 

1.62 drinks of a 5.5%ABV beer in a fancy cork and cage 375ml custom made bottle .

Always something special to open a cork contained beer, the Moa people take some effort in marketing and packaging, although I've found their beers to be a bit hit and miss, still you can't win them all.

reconstituted cork gives a decent little pop on opening, and a really nice light fruit/flower aroma to follow. Pours straw yellow with a giant sized head, I've still got the touch. The aroma is still very appealing.  No sign of the giant white fluff abating either.

The taste however is somewhat disappointing and insipid. It almost chemical in it's delivery of whatever taste it's trying to deliver. The sherbet aroma does not mirror the delivery from the glass. I didn't get strong fruits, although you could argue for cherry perhaps, probably wouldn't

So up front a bit sour, and bubble gum, very short palate, and no length of carry. Thin as straw too. So there you have it not a complete success. The pdubyah-o-meter  at 5 thinks this is average.

The idea of a breakfast beer doesn't mean that you can forego taste or palate in a beer, and this appears to be missing both those. It looks great, upfront aroma is nice, pours great, and then, well the wheels fall off.

I leave you with the tasting notes:
Moa Breakfast is a wheat beer based lager with a subtle, sweet cherry aroma and taste. Hints of almond, banana and vanilla characters can also be detected. Low bitterness levels and an absence of strong malt characters emphasise these fruit flavours. Moa Breakfast can either be poured carefully off the lees or alternatively with the lees mixed in if a stronger yeast character is desired. Moa Breakfast is best served at approximately 4°C in a pilsner glass.

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