Beer - #79 - Mussel Inn - Dark Horse

Right then, last chance saloon the Mussel Inn Dark Horse Black Beer - Which is brewed by The Mussel Inn, and they do this in the style of a Porter in the deepest Onekaka, New Zealand.

To be fair this is the last of the shopping basket for this round of beers, that was mostluy a Porter. Question is then best for last, or last for a reason?

It's an all or nothing deal then, no pressure.

5% ABV in a 330ml bottle, this has a hard road ahead of it to be more than just a bottle of beer. at the 5% level they pretend that this is where Heineken, or Stella, et al sit , in the continental class.

So then, given the label that has a lack of commitment "Very dark and roasty – not too dry. A solid and dependable performer - pulls away strong at the finish." I'm really really really contemplating a wee dram.

I'm not comfortable with the presentation of this beer, I'm not actually sure what the label is reaching for, the kitsch, the edgy, the boutique, or what, I chose this despite not being drawn in by it.

So it has an aroma that's a porter, it's dark like a porter, and has the roasted that fits. And I got a head on the pour. Of course the chocolate, and the malts, that's the thing right?

And then we get to the taste, it's like an eager puppy scrabbling around, but this is thinner than a catwalk model, there is bulk over substance going on, and an unpleasant aftertaste of the malts running away.

The Mussel Inn are producing a bunch of competent beers, but they are not leaders, or trend setters, or making their own path, they're just making a beer.

The pdubyah-o-meter swings in a panic to a 5 arbitrary things from 10 equally arbitrary things. This is a beer that wouldn't ever be voted "beer most likely to" anything...  I'm going to cry.

I might have missed the whole Porter thing, I'm sure I have, they seem to be a half-way house between nev and er . This does not get better the longer it sits, In fact I began to find it a bit unpleasing towards the end, and again felt that 330ml was going to be a challenge or me.

I can do better than this, and so should they. If they've caught an eclectic audience based on local or label or image or reputation then big ups of the Mussel Inn, I would though be counselling them against entering a beer competition, he says as an expert. bwahahahah.

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Beer - #76 - Mussel Inn - Captain Cooker Manuka Beer

Mussel Inn Captain Cooker Manuka Beer, then. MrsPdubyah is watching the teevee and this seems like a distraction. Its a pretty pink label and it holds within a 330ml  portion of a 5% ABV beer, but wait...

This is brewed by the world Famous Mussel Inn in the syle of a Spice/ Herb/ Vegetable beer and they're world famous in Onekaka, New Zealand

I'm going to expect all this "A red brown beer flavoured with the freshly picked tips of the Manuka tree. A very distinctive beer with proven medicinal qualities. The only one out of 240 New Zealand beers to rate 10 out of 10 in Keith Stewarts book 'The complete guide to New Zealand Beer'. Also featured in 'Best - a New Zealand compendium'. Compiled by Ella Griffiths, published by Awa Press. Also available on tap at Hopgood's in Trafalgar St. Nelson, The Abbey at Appleby and Jester House in Tasman"

Medicinal beer. Proven. (puts Skeptical hat to one side), perhaps this is the beer that is a cure for a hangover....

On the aroma I get a bit of honey....  I'd struggle to say this was a "red" on the pour. There is a bunch of other things going on in the aroma, none of which I get but I'm reaching for.

There is honey and I get Turkish Delight on the palate. Turkish Delight! I'm making things up, but no that's what I have - you might think roses or rose water, I have a sweet tooth.  It's not over hopped, and the sweetness undernotes are not that bad.

The carbonation is good, there's an sense that this is a solid predictable beer , and that the next one would be the same, a confidence, for something a bit edgy that's a big thing.

I still  get a candy floss, turkish delight or rose water thing, and I think that's by design. The carbonation is a bit annoying too, that's something I could do without to be honest. I might be looking for more a honey sweetness if I was going to have a bash at this for an evening, As a once-er or a round-table for a consensus this isn't such bad thing.

Lets get to the gritty, Keith Stewart is a plank to suggest this is a 10/10, Ella Griffiths also needs to get out more. This isn't a 10/10 or a best of anything ever, not even ow!. I'd hate to have to make a top 10 though, but I do know this isn't close by a mile.

It's not bad but at the arbitrary pdubyah-o-meter this isn't more than 6 arbitrary things from 10 other arbitrary things. Look hey if you brought me a 6 pack over I'd admire you and we'd chew the fat, but there are thicker and longer beers than this, not that this is thin, it's just not a stayer, and barely a starter. I think you'd tire of the roses pretty smartish, I've got the end of this and I'm glad it was 330ml and not 500ml.

If you're going to show off something that it somehow a unique New Zealand thing, the Manuka, the honey then fill your boots. If it's something a little more than a beer for a diplomat or your mother in law that you're looking for then this might not be the beer for you.

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