Beer - #592 - Moa - Cherry Sour

Moa Cherry Sour- the 2013 year. I've been buying sours. I'm going to stop. Stop and go music, stopping the dial, stop the dance and stop the party!

"..A food friendly beer..."

This is a 375ml bottle (that's a half standard wine bottle) with the cork and cage presentation, posh, 5.9% ABV, which is 177 calories, and 1.74 standard drink units.

This is brewed by Moa Brewing Company in the style that is  Sour Red/Brown or perhaps Lambic, and they are in Marlborough, New Zealand

Moa Cherry Sour 2013 Vintage is a barrel fermented and aged cherry sour beer.

[caption id="attachment_10983" align="alignleft" width="300"] Like Cherry Cola, but a beer, and sour.[/caption]

Brewed with a wheat beer base and whole Marlborough cherries harvested in December 2013, with 12 months in a combination of tank and barrel on both the skins and stones, cherry flavours are very upfront.

Farmyard characters are evident from the Brettanomyces yeast and it is tart rather than over acidic.

A food friendly beer well matched with Brie or aged Gouda.

What then could go wrong? Except that I only had Camembert.

Fruit sour aroma, I know that aroma!

It's pink!!! a pink beer. that pours with a great fizz but not a lot of head. Aroma remains the 'sour' of course.

Taste was a let down though, nothing by the way of cherry that I could discern. That was a disappointment I can tell you having got all up and excited about the colour.

There is a lot os sherbet sour in this, and not a lot else, it's mildly refreshing but not dazzlingly so, doesn't do an awful lot to the palate except annoy it.

I wanted so much more cherry or at least cherry hint sweetness, if you'd ever get sweetness in a sour beer.

The pdubyah-o-meter rates this as 5 a of its things from the thing. I've had a few of the sour beer offering in the last couple of weeks, this, whilst not the best, or the worst, is sadly somewhere in the grey area of 'meh' it isn't overly sour, it is under flavoured, it's just a bit average.

I think I'm done with the sours. I prefer the Saisons, I prefer the Dubels, Tripels and Quads.

The double dip review

1. Am I enjoying it? No, it's  disappointing.


2. Would I have another? Not of this no, until the next vintage release :-)


3. Would I share with a friend on a porch and set the world to rights? I couldn't bring myself to take one of these and front a 'guess what I have' thing, it would end badly.

Musically it's Boz Scaggs that took my fancy. William Royce "Boz" Scaggs is an American singer, songwriter, and guitarist. He gained fame in the 1960s as a guitarist and sometime lead singer with the Steve Miller Band. Who knew.

From the album "A Fool to Care" this is "Last Tango on 16th Street"

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=e9sjaVmnrMQ

SOUR/WILD ALE

Sour ale is a broad spectrum of wild ales, from the fruity and acetic Flanders Red Ales and Oud Bruins, to the experimental ales gaining popularity in the United States which use lactobacillus, brettanomyces and pediococcus in new and wild ways.

LAMBIC STYLE - FRUIT

Lambics are wheat beers made with stale hops and fermented with wild yeasts and other microorganisms, traditionally only on the Senne Valley in and around Brussels. The most traditional of the fruit lambics are kriek (cherry) and framboise (raspberry). In modern times, peaches (peche), blackcurrants (cassis), grapes, as well as more exotic fruits are used. Traditional lambics are commonly denoted by the term "oud", which is a reference to "old-style", and these are the most sour. More commonly, though, lambics are sweetened to cut the intense acidity. Serve with sharp cheeses or pickled dishes, or use in the preparation of mussels.

Related articles

• The New Belgium Brewing Company Explains Sour Beer


• Cascade Brewery expanding its sour beer operations in Beaverton


• The Rare Barrel: delicious, rare sour beer


• How many calories are in your beer? Take our quiz and find out!

Beer - #545 - Moa - Tripel Sauvignon 2014 Vintage

Experimental beer, experimental music, experiments with numbers and an experiment at a party

A Belgian style Tripel experimental fusion beer

A Moa Tripel Sauvignon 2014 Vintage beer, in a cork and cage special presentation 375 ml bottle, and at 9.3% ABV, makes it 2.8 standard drinks, the bottle would be around 300 calories.

Brewed by Moa Brewing Company in the style that is Abbey Tripel and they are in Blenheim, New Zealand

[caption id="attachment_10409" align="alignleft" width="300"] Classical beer, ideal for classical music[/caption]

A Belgian style Tripel experimental fusion beer where the candi sugar adjunct was replaced with unfermented Sauvignon Blanc grape juice from the 2014 Marlborough harvest.

The end result is a beer where the typical Tripel banana and spice fermentation derived characters are complemented by vineous yet fruity and tropical notes.

What could possibly go wrong?

Love the cork and cage, even if it bumps up the pricing, makes it a celebration beer somewhat.

That popped with a bit of urgency, so well carbonated.

Sweet sugary aroma.

Pour is quite pale, and then clouds as you forget the bit in the bottom. The head, as is, is thin but persistent. Aroma blooms a little to be more banana like,

it is very familiar. Alcohol is noticeable too.

The initial taste is quite bitter and tart, but with familiar sugars and softness. The finish is towards a dry and arid.

I'm really enjoying this, but then I secretly really like the Belgium style beers and would generally be very enthusiastic about them, I like the mouldy mildew kind of thing, I like the over-the-top sweet candy sugars, I like the sour bitterness and I enjoy the colours. There I said it.

This does have a fairly noticeable alcohol astringent in it that could be considered a bit of a handicap to some, but it appears to be all up front and not at the back.

As it warms slightly you get more of the sauvignon notes and overall it become a bit deeper and some of the more tart notes begin to come through.

If I was the brewer I'd be a bit chuffed with this one.

The pdubyah-o-meter rates this as a solid 9  of its things from the thing. I might be slightly generous with that number it seems to have been a while between good Belgium beers for me, good ones that is, and when you get one you realise that you should get another. Not quite a desert beer but this is a nice end of drinking finisher.

The double dip review

1. Am I enjoying it? I am a bit blown away by how good this one is. Yes I am.


2. Would I have another? I would be in heaven if I had another, it might be worth getting another for later in the year.


3. Would I share with a friend on a porch and set the world to rights? This is a decent beer that would go well at the end of the evening, with or after the desert, sitting under the stars or in the warmth of the music room. It really is a beer to mull over and  enjoy.

Music is a challenge, and so with this I'm listening to something completely left field. Joseph Haydn: Concerto for Trumpet and Orchestra in E-flat major.  This is performed by Wynton Marsalis

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=j9z2q2YSu4I

I know right, be unpredictable and enjoy it all.

ABBEY TRIPEL

Like other abbey ales, Tripels are strong, yeasty-malty beers. But they are also pale, and have a notable hop profile. Hop bitterness may be higher than a typical abbey ale, up to 35IBUs. But the finish is where the hops really shine, as tripels should finish fairly dry. Otherwise, maltiness is still essential to the style, and the assertive yeast note typical of all abbey ales will be more apparent in tripels, since they do not have the rich dark malts to distract the palate. Alcohol flavours feature more prominently in Tripels that in just about any other style.

Related articles

• Are NZ sauvignon blanc the wine world's IPA?


• Air NZ ditches Moa contract


• Marsalis brings new 'Blues Symphony' to Strathmore

Beer - #516 - Moa - Hoppy Cologne

Another in the summer of FYO beers, this one is also by coincidence from MOA, I seem to have had a few Moa beers recently, I've not become a one-trick pony, honest. This the for my entertainment a keg only beer - Moa Hoppy Kölsch or Hoppy Cologne

Fermented using a traditional Kölsch yeast at relatively warm temperatures, the objective has been to produce summer ale with good drinkability

This is by the numbers then; 5.4% ABV, 162 calories a serve size, I have the 1 litre or 32 oz bottle, this is 4.26 standard drink units in the bottle, oh and it is 45 IBU things.  45 is like lowish IPA, or a well hopped Pilsner and is similar to a well hopped Amber Ale for instance.

Moa Brewing Company in the style that is a Kölsch and they are in Blenheim, New Zealand

Pale straw colour in appearance with a nice lingering head, this German style ale is brewed with predominantly Pilsner malts with a touch of Vienna and Wheat,

[caption id="attachment_10096" align="alignleft" width="300"] Still needing a haircut..[/caption]

providing a mild malt sweetness.

It deviates from style in bitterness and hop character. It has a bitterness of 45 IBU and is both late hopped and dry hopped with NZ Motueka and Australian Vic Secret.

Up-front it has a passionfruit and pineapple fruit characters that give way to some pine and lemonade-type citrus flavours. A mild white wine character with some slight spiciness, this beer has a lingering clean after-bitterness with a dry finish

What could go wrong, I'm keen to sit outside in the sun and have this, the Focaccia style bread is on the rise in the warm place, the prep for dinner is done, it's that quiet time.

Clearer than I expected, in my head this is a cloudy or hazy beer, and it is also paler than I imagined. Perhaps I imagine too much.

It is green grass hoppy on opening, pour is nothing exciting and I didn't get as full a head as I wanted to.

Bitter, yes, but without that 'bite' of a Pislner type beer, and a nice grassy mouthfeel that matches the aroma, and the finish is nice too, nothing too edgy or dry.

If anything this might be a little sweeter, but don't ask me how you'd go about that, aside from adding something as I've seen with other Kölsch type beers, e.g. Honey.

You have focus on what this is, and what it isn't, for the style that it is this is pretty decent, but then I have no experience generally with Kölsch, and so you wander back to comparison with Lager or Pilsner styles that this looks and somewhat tastes similar too. Which is a mistake as this isn't that.

Lacking a high effervescence and I didn't discren any esters, but that's not to say that I didn't like it, because this is really really easy drinking and soft on the palate and mind. This however will not make your friends envious or jellies of your beer buying exploits, despite it being a nice beer it is of a style that is unfamiliar and perhaps difficult to explain or be different in.

What sets this aside for me is that the aroma is strong in the glass and the mouthfeel matches that aroma, you get the forewarning as you lift to sip, sup, or gulp, as is your whim or fancy.

The pdubyah-o-meter rates this as 8 a of its things from the thing. Because it could have been a pretender and this is a lot nicer when you put aside your prejudice of similar styles, and you then get a nice hoppy well rounded soft drinking beer. I've enjoyed drinking this, even if it's not a go-to style nor would I rush to it necessarily.

The double dip review

1. Am I enjoying it? I am enjoying it.


2. Would I have another? It would be a stretch for me to go get a second re-fill, there appears to be an abundance of new beers that relegate this to the rabble.


3. Would I share with a friend on a porch and set the world to rights? I think I'd be happy to crack this out with friends and share it over some small talk and table food, it has a style that would be broadly appealing to most people. It isn't a show stopper and your friends won't be envious of your beer buying prowess though.

Musically, well I'm not a big fan, nor I hope am I jumping on a bandwagon of #FauxGrief but Joe Cocker died recently, and whilst I don't like some of his cover songs this one in particular is a bit good - "Unchain my heart"

[youtube https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Tpz1Rsiw0AU&w=560&h=315]

KÖLSCH

Golden, top-fermented style native to Kln, Germany. The style has a very narrow profile and many beers that consider themselves to be kölschbiers are not. Generally they have a moderate bitterness, but fairly prominent hop flavour (typically Spalt, Tettnang or Hallertau). They have high effervescence, medium esters, but a rounded, stylish character derived from lagering.

Beer - #515 - Moa - Festive IPA

Monday on the run into New Year*, it's really quite warm in the sun, and it's been a long day, but I have this a Moa Festive IPA. (*at this point you might wonder why this is being posted when it is, it's a long story about OCD me and wanting to do things in order, trust me it's weird)

So, Monday Beer, Monday Musics, magic Monday numbers and Monday is a good day to party.

"At 70 IBU, your mouth will be left comfortably numb"

This is a 500ml bottle, of a beer that is 6.4% ABV, 70 IBU, and 2.5 standard drinks, around 192 calories a serve size.

Brewed by Moa Brewing Company, in that style that is India Pale Ale (IPA) an they're in Blenheim, New Zealand.

This one is in the new standardised generic bottle, and is brewed in their own facility, they're moving from the wine bottle shape and sizes, corks and cages, and do contract brew where they need to.

[caption id="attachment_10083" align="alignleft" width="300"] Festival shirt and all[/caption]

Resinous and pine-like hop characters dominate this American style IPA.

Hopped using Citra, Amarillo, Simcoe, Columbus and US Cascade, and dry hopped with Citra and Amarillo, tangelo, lime and pine aromas feature.

At 70 IBU, your mouth will be left comfortably numb, making it the perfect beer for the festive season.

 What could possibly go wrong! 

I've left this one to warm up a bit from being in a cold fridge, there are some things I try to do properly, half-heartedly but I try.

Nice peppery hoppy aroma on opening.Lovely orange pour wit ha nice white head that isn't tall but is persistent.

That seems to be quite lemony and has a peppery and dry finish. Nice bitter though, and some comfortable sweet malt in the middle. Yes you can pick the Simcoe and it's unusual aroma.

I measured it with a thermometer thing, and it was 9c, or thereabouts, I'm sure the brewer might have recommended 7, how cold would that be, I'm not sure this is an experiment I want to continue.

As beers to this isn't swigging beer, it is more sipping beer than supping beer. The bitterness levels are persistent on the palate and leave that sticky resinous after note, which isn't all bad. For a New Zealand festival beer, it is summer after all, this is pretty decent drinking and would be great to BBQ by or even eat a BBQ by.

We're still eating the remains of the ham though*, so take a rain check on that.  (*again at this point you might wonder why this is being posted when it is, it's a long story about OCD me and wanting to do things in order, trust me it's weird)

I like this more than I was expecting, and yes I know it's an IPA and this surprised me in that it's not strictly a hop monster and there are more citrus notes that I've enjoyed in a  while, I like the finish, but would have like more in the middle, which seems to be a bit of a theme of wishes for me, I might even figure out what that means, but I think it means I want a constant flavour not a peak, middle dip, peak. I'll work on it.

The pdubyah-o-meter rates this as an 8 a of its things from the thing. It's very good and although I don't like the new delivery packaging over the old style, this does make me smile and think that the brewer is back on track and on point, not distracted by commercial constraint in any way, all of which I might have made up in my head.

The double dip review

1. Am I enjoying it? I am, but then it is a decent IPA that has some other things going on other than dryness and pucker.


2. Would I have another? I would love one, I might get one tomorrow on my trip to the bottle store.


3. Would I share with a friend on a porch and set the world to rights? It's a festival beer, what could you not enjoy and share about it, it's festival beer!  Be festive and merry.

What I should be listening to is Pink Floyd, however what I'm listening to, because the world needs more pop music, is music from the group Tigers On Trains, and their album  Antarctica In Color,

This is a track "Stalking my Pulse" available available on Spotify, iTunes and on the band's website at http://tigersontrains.bandcamp.com/

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=JMCl5gB1Xx4

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 - #488 - Moa - Blanc Evolution

This one: A First, First Things, First things First, and a Finish.

Moa Blanc Evolution is bottle fermented in the Belgian-style with a small amount of coriander added during its extended maturation time giving it a unique spiciness. Described as a rich, mouth-filling beer, it’s really a true wheat lover’s beer and a staple of the Moa Reserve range.

To round out the Moa Blanc trilogy I've managed of course to get them in the wrong order and so I finish with the Evolution.

Brewed by Moa Brewing Company this is in the style that is a Belgian White (Witbier) and they are  in Blenheim, New Zealand.

A small 330ml bottle, cork and cage, 6.2% ABV, 186 calories, this is 1.83 standard drink units.

[caption id="attachment_9763" align="alignleft" width="300"] Sunday, sunday......[/caption]

Moa Blanc Evolution has a slight fruity aroma and a crisp, refreshing finish.

Stone fruit and hazelnut flavours compliment the distinctive dominant spicy and phenolic characters.

With a subtle hop aroma and bitterness, Moa Blanc Evolution is well paired with lightly aged cheeses, smoked and savoury meals, or on its own for a satisfying pint.

Moa Blanc Evolution is best served at approximately 4˚C in a pilsner glass. 

Moa are undergoing some changes, all in progress, but they appear to be making a move to standardised 500ml bottles, re-branding, and shedding some of the range, although they might deny it. They've also been contract brewing for the last year, and these changes might be the continuance of that and reducing some costs, but here I just speculate. Love the cork and cage, it adds a little to the excitement, and no doubt the costs.

[caption id="attachment_9764" align="alignright" width="224"] Not my best work.[/caption]

Spend 5 minutes cleaning up beer after the cork spectacularly popped and beer fizzed all over the macbook, the table, floor and the cork took out the cat.

I've never worn a beer in such a spectacular way before.  Not a good thing. My own fault for peeling the cage and then thinking I could gently roll the bottle to move the sediment.

The aroma though is really nice,  sweet fruity and sugary. Its lively, very lively, I have a whole glass of excitable foam to deal with, and I really tried to be pour gentle.

Sometimes you end up feeling like a klutz.

This is a much 'softer' drink than the standard blanc, and drinks more like a Wheat beer might.

The hops and the associated roughness are not present that I could detect. Now the foam subsides this is a pleasing cloudy golden yellow, and the carbonation bubbles are pretty in the glass.

But as to the overall taste experience and how this sits int he scheme of things. This different to the standard 'Blanc' it is softer, but it is also more intense in the middle.

The aroma is stronger (MrsPdubyah just noticed the rather pungent room), and there is a lingering to the finish that is more to dry than not. The wine elements are highlights and can be picked.

The pdubyah-o-meter rates this as 7 a of its things from the thing. I wanted it to be better, I couldn't have wished for more exciting though. The double dip review

1. Am I enjoying it? Not in the way that I expected to, or might have expected to.


2. Would I have another? No.


3. Would I share with a friend on a porch and set the world to rights? No. There isn't anything special or defining in this that would make it a conversation piece, or move a conversation along.

Music to drink by for this in an evolution of the band Status Quo, legends, their Quo Live album is one of the best live albums ever, in my opinion. So I was overcome with unbounded joy when I discovered they had a new album - The acoustic Status Quo 2014 album - Aquostic (Stripped Bare). This is the track  "And it's better now"

One of those occasions where the music was better than the beer, and that doesn't happen all that often.

[youtube https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=XcsL-JqVaTo&w=420&h=315]

BELGIAN WHITE & WITBIER

Belgian style wheat beers are very pale, opaque, with the crisp character of wheat, plus the citric refreshment of orange peel and coriander. Ingredients sometimes also include oats for smoothness, and other spices such as grains of paradise. Serve with light cheeses or mussels.

Related articles

• 'Pathetic' marketing idea quickly stubbed out

Beer - #483 - Moa - Special Reserve Sour Blanc (2012)

Special beer, Special Music, Special Numbers and Special gatherings

A traditional Sour beer with a complexity best described as a riot of flavours. 

With a base of Moa Blanc this wheat beer is a throwback to how the very first beers were produced.

In a break with tradition I'm mid-week drinking,  but it's a Moa Special Reserve Sour Blanc (2012) Limited Edition, so I don't feel guilty.

Brewed by Moa Brewing Company in the style that is of Sour/Wild Ale, they're based in Blenheim, New Zealand

The traditional 750ml bottle. cork and cage and all the drama that is special to this brewhouse, 6% ABV, and about 180 calories a serve, this is 3.54 standard drink units in the bottle.

With a base of Moa Blanc (their Belgian wheat beer) it was then fermented with a wild yeast and aged in oak barrels.

As Josh says "brewed using traditional costly, inefficient and labour intensive techniques."

Fermented using natural wild yeast and aged in oak barrels, Moa Sour Blanc perfectly balances a malty fruit and a complex yeasty acidity.

Moa have a a bit of a mixed bag of beers, some are great some are a bit of a miss. I've read up on this particular one seems to be the former. So as the early summer sun ducks behind a cloud let's get into it.

Of course theatrics opening the thing, the cork is very stubborn and so I resolve to using nut-crackers to twist it. I have soft desk-workers hands that are soft. Then I gave it a proper two thumbs press and off the top popped, well hissed as there is nothing as poor as flying cork.

Really rich orange pour, and a magnificent aroma of sherbet sour-ness, didn't mind the no-head pour, the look and aroma made up for it. It's almost like apple cider aroma.

Well then. It is very cider like. Sherberty and very well carbonated, except I know it's not a beer as there is a definite hoppiness to it.

And it has what I can only call a creaminess that runs through it.

I'm going to cloud up the next glass, naturally having forgotten to do so with my initial excitement and enthusiasm. From my Yeastie Boys drinking I'm expecting a change of flavour with the addition of the sediments muddled in.

Which clouds up the beer, and adds more tartness, and somewhat a more softer middle. I find myself really enjoying this as a sour beer experience, which let's be fair can be a bit hit and miss.

By which I mean you know you're going to get sour, and there are levels where the sourness is all pucker and squint, like a child's sour chew, this isn't that it is for me nicely balanced and layered.

The pdubyah-o-meter rates this as 8.5 random numbers on an arbitrary and imponderable scale of all things of no sense. I like this but I can't help thinking 'cider' as I drink it, which is why I might like it so.  Ideal drink for a summer day I'd say should I ever be in a position to be offered on, which all seems a bit improbable.

The double dip review

1. Am I enjoying it? Yes this is a particularly nice drink.


2. Would I have another? If I'd thought it thorough I'd have got another. I know the shop had a couple on the shelf I might go check. Tomorrow since it's a drive.


3. Would I share with a friend on a porch and set the world to rights? Yes I would, you get theatrics, and drama, and then a really nicely sour and not bitter beer experience.

Extraordinary choice of music, from a tweet I noticed in passing, which means  I'm listening to "Alcest" who are  a French shoegazing band from Bagnols-sur-Cèze, France. This is a track "Autre Temps"

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=85c-P9hbmBg

More heavy then melodic type shoe-gaze this has kept my ears entertained in the background.

SOUR/WILD ALE

Sour ale is a broad spectrum of wild ales, from the fruity and acetic Flanders Red Ales and Oud Bruins, to the experimental ales gaining popularity in the United States which use lactobacillus, brettanomyces and pediococcus in new and wild ways.

Beer - #478 - Moa - St Josephs Tripel

A realisation, records, randomising and ruminating.

Moa St Josephs is a classic Belgian Tripel. Strong spice, caramel and banana ester characters create complex flavours and aromas which are heightened by its extended bottle conditioning period. The combination of bittering hops, malt and candy sugars compliment the high alcohol content and integrate into a very approachable and drinkable Tripel.

This is beer that I have drunk and I thought that I'd written about, turns out yes I have drunk it and no not for this diary. I'm now looking forward to this, the Moa St Josephs Tripel.

Brewed by Moa Brewing Company in the style that is of Abbey Tripel and they are based Blenheim, New Zealand

Beautifully presented 375ml bottle, cork and cage too, with beer that is 9.5% ABV, and 285 calories. and 2.8 standard drink units in this bottle to round that out.

[caption id="attachment_9682" align="alignright" width="300"] Mini Champagne, cork- cage, custom bottle[/caption]

Moa St Josephs is brewed in the traditional style of a classic Belgian Tripel. Strong spice and clove characters create complex flavours and aromas which are heightened by its extended bottle conditioning, with a combination of malt and candy sugars complimenting the high alcohol content produced by the Belgian ale yeast. Best served at 8°C in a goblet after gently rolling the bottle to distribute the sediment signature. 

Moa St Josephs is a true abbey style tripel with strong clove and spice flavours apparent with a noticeable fruit ester profile. Smokey phenolic characters can be detected. The bitterness is designed to be complimentary rather than dominant. Moa St Josephs is a complex beer that has no added herbs or spices, and is best served at approximately 8˚C in a tulip glass. 

Love the presentation, it makes it a real occasion beer. And I like the Belgium style, so I should be happy as this unfolds. From memory of drinking this I should just be happy.

Fantastic sweet malt aroma initially that fades. Orange golden pour that you need to work at to make cloudy as desired by the brewer, head is light but persistent.

Chewing-gum aroma is there but it's not prominent.

Full sweet mouthfeel of beer, lots of sweetness. But it's tempered by the bitterness at the top.

The pdubyah-o-meter rates this as 8 a of its things from the thing. It's a style that I like to enjoy and although this isn't a jaw dropping example it is very good and very enjoyable.

So, to summarise, I would have thought more aroma, slightly fuller body, tad more sweetness and more alcohol at the end would make this overly much better.

Not that you need alcohol astringent, but it is by some measure a feature of the style. I'd really like a fuller/fluffier mouthfeel than this gives, it's as if the malts have been held back for a reason. You can pick the typical Belgium style aromas and notes on the palate, but you have to go looking for them a bit.

It's not as good as I remember it being, or it's in someway different than I remember, bearing in mind that a lot of beer has been drunk between, and I've had a few good beers since. Perhaps my own benchmark has changed, again. Or of course I don't remember drinking it, as mentioned, and came in with rose tinted glasses in hope.

The double dip review

1. Am I enjoying it? Yes, I am because for its faults it isn't all bad.


2. Would I have another? Yes, I'd be keen to go again, it's an occasion beer for any occasion.


3. Would I share with a friend on a porch and set the world to rights? Yes, I'd be happy to share and share this, they make it in a a proper sized bottle too for the grand occasion.

The new Johnny Marr  album is a whole level much better than the last effort, so I thought.

This is "Easy Money" off that new Album "Playland"

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9_P5iSG_APE

ABBEY TRIPEL

Like other abbey ales, Tripels are strong, yeasty-malty beers. But they are also pale, and have a notable hop profile. Hop bitterness may be higher than a typical abbey ale, up to 35IBUs. But the finish is where the hops really shine, as tripels should finish fairly dry. Otherwise, maltiness is still essential to the style, and the assertive yeast note typical of all abbey ales will be more apparent in tripels, since they do not have the rich dark malts to distract the palate. Alcohol flavours feature more prominently in Tripels that in just about any other style.

Beer - #374 - Moa - Methode (a redux)

Moa Methode- I've reviewed this before #47 on the list  and I gave it an 8.5 then, this was on special and therefore qualifies as purchasable :-)

Brewed by Moa Brewing Company and is styled as a  Pilsener and they are in Blenheim, New Zealand

A 750ml bottle this time, with 5% ABV , this should be around 165 calories a serving, also this is 2.96 standard drinks in the bottle.

[caption id="attachment_8183" align="alignleft" width="300"] Selfie[/caption]

Moa Methode is bottle fermented and conditioned to give a natural, more consistent carbonation and flavour. Due to the natural brewing process of Methode Moa, a light, beneficial sediment will remain. This sediment protects the beer from premature aging and leaves full, slightly spicy characters on the palate.

Moa Methode is a German style pilsner with a high bitterness balanced with a relatively full mouth feel. Citrus hop characters dominate aroma with the presence of fresh bread yeast notes. It can either be poured carefully off the lees or alternatively with the lees mixed in if a strong yeast character is desired.

Moa Methode is a complex pilsner best served in a pilsner glass at approximately 6˚C to maximise aromatic release.

'k... or from the fridge in my case. Foil, cork and Cage make this a performance beer.

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

[caption id="attachment_8033" align="alignright" width="300"] Selfie[/caption]

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

[youtube http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=OFGgbT_VasI&w=420&h=315]

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.

Related articles

• NZ craft beers shine on world stage

Beer - #250 - Moa - Ten Year Beer

Bit Excited to have a 2012 vintage Moa Ten Year Beer.  Brewed by Moa Brewing Company In the style of a  Sour/Wild Ale and they do that of course in Blenheim, New Zealand

Moa Ten Year Beer is a cherry lambic made in a uniquely traditional Belgium style. It is fermented as a tripel then poured into French oak puncheons with Marlborough cherries stuffed in the barrel. Wild yeast is added and it is left to slowly ferment and age over 10 months. The end product pours strawberry golden and has powerful aromas of cherries and dried herbs. The oak and cherries integrate over time and the base characters of banana and butterscotch are evident at the end of the palate. Moa Ten Year Beer is not as sour as traditional lambics and this complex style benefits from ten years of cellar aging.

750ml of a 10%% ABV beer, which is something like 6.2 standard drink units. Could also be 315 calories.

Presented in a Cork and Cage style, as is normal from Moa. But without the fancy foil that may have been on previous vintages.

So I've got to 250 with something a bit special, which means I still have my Epic Coffee and Fig Stout to have at a later date, and I am really looking forward to that.

Lovely Sour cheery aroma when the cork gently pops, goodly amount of carbonation,  Pours golden yellow brown, almost cloudy, which MrsPdubyah says is  "pretty", and she has no interest in beer at all!,   but without a head,  but fizzes away to itself in the glass. Aroma is dusky sour.

Sour in an odd way. Not a balanced sour but seems to be something chemical and unreal about it. Not sure what they've added to make this sweeter, but they could have used more.

I've had much more sour beers than this and they are fully in play with that. This is a good effort but it isn't a great effort. I will say that it's an incredibly ballsy effort and going out on a limb is always worth more kudos.

Having said that it's not great the end to end experience is pretty interesting. The colour and the aroma on the nose, the duskiness, and the wash of sourness as a underlying taste. However there isn't much tartness from the cherries, or much of chary at all in this, and then there isn't much carry, it's all pretty much front notes.

The pdubyah-o-meter, of course, random and arbitrary, a 7 , this is good but just that.  It's a very approachable beer for a sour, and  would stand a fairly robust food match, but it gets to be a bit tedious and that makes it a celebration or situation beer, and not for sharing or for sitting for a session with.

Lambics are wheat beers made with stale hops and fermented with wild yeasts and other microorganisms, traditionally only on the Senne Valley in and around Brussels. The most traditional of the fruit lambics are kriek (cherry) and framboise (raspberry). In modern times, peaches (peche), blackcurrants (cassis), grapes, as well as more exotic fruits are used. Traditional lambics are commonly denoted by the term "oud", which is a reference to "old-style", and these are the most sour. More commonly, though, lambics are sweetened to cut the intense acidity. Serve with sharp cheeses or pickled dishes, or use in the preparation of mussels.

Related articles

• Beer - #246 - Three Boys - Wild Plum Ale (pdubyah.com)


• Popping my sour beer cherry. (mylamebeerblog.com)

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.

Related articles

• Stoush brews between Moa and winery (nzherald.co.nz)


• Cloudy Bay hits out at 'dirty tactics' accusation (thedrinksbusiness.com)


• New distribution model now being used by Moa (radionz.co.nz)

Beer - #125 - Moa - Five Hops

Brewed by Moa Brewing Company in the style of a  Premium Bitter/ESB  brewed in the Marlborough region , Blenheim, New Zealand

Premium! none of the riff-raff. All cage and Cork too , you get a premium delivery for such a small bottle 330ml of what is described on the label as a winter Ale of 6.2% ABV beer.

Moa Five Hop winter ale shows the unique signatures of traditional North European bottle conditioning. Displaying a Nelson-dominant hoppy nose with a subtle oak character leaving extra smooth and creamy, honeyed characters on the palate. A well-balanced companion to eastern style spiced foods. Traditionally served just below room temperature.

Nelson Dominant?  Moa Five Hop Winter Ale utilises pilsner, Vienna, Munich and crystal malts to produce a distinctive mouth feel and flavour. New Zealand grown B Saaz and Hallertau aroma hops are used.

To me this says "We have a few bags of a few things left over let's just chuck them in"

I have no idea why Moa beers carry a cachet of quality, taste, and remarkable, but I fall for it every time.

And back to earth this has nose-full of hops, which is somewhat re-assuring, it's well carbonated, carried a decent head, which tinges orange coloured. and is decent beer orange colour (they're not related I hope.)

The aroma portends a sour taste... here goes.... and ..... that's interesting. It's quite lovely, the hoppy combination is a bit of a joy, nothing that it going to shock you, and as a taste it's not at the extreme end of the scale.

I like beer, and although I enjoy the sweeter beers, getting back to a hoppy taste is something that makes me smile, and somehow resolve to have more of it. I'm entranced by this small bottle of apparent magic. It's quite mellow offers up a slight bittery finish and does not crease the brow with a difficult combination of things. It's alright by me.

After the sweeter Belgium beers this is a welcome and remarkable beer,  lots of tastes despite the apparent initial  lack of aroma, which arrives as it warms, and in that weird way matches the taste that you get.

This is good enough for an 8 on the pdubyah-o-meter, I could get carried away and say that it's as good as your money back, but it isn't. It's nice, very nice, nicely delivered, sense of occasion and does what it says. Impress your friends and get some, it'll  be expensive and you should have a stand-by or alternative to go to.

For me it leads me back to the hoppy beers... and when you start to think about the types of beer and how they fit on sliding scale should bring joy to the heart.

Related articles

• Beer of the week: St. Peter's English Ale (beerhub.wordpress.com)


• Best Local Breweries in Charlotte (apartmentguide.com)


• Moa Beer enters Canadian market (nzherald.co.nz)