Beer - #555 - Altitude - Mischievous Kea

Altitude, Attitude, Aptitude and a good old party.

Hoppy yet balanced all NZ IPA.We give away a portion of profits from this beer to the kea conservation trust.

This is a 500ml bottle, and it has beer of  5.5% ABV and 58 IBU things, so 2.17 standard drinks, and around 220 calories in the bottle.

Brewed by Altitude Brewing Studio this on is in the style that is India Pale Ale (IPA) and they are in the very picturesque Queenstown, New Zealand

[caption id="attachment_10559" align="alignleft" width="300"] Mischievous you say?[/caption]

Much like the parrot that this brew is named after, the mischievous kea is a uniquely Kiwi brew with a cheeky attitude that separates it from all others.

Brewed using all Kiwi ingredients, it is packed with a carefully chosen blend of Malborough hops, that gives us the vibrant and fragrant IPA style with a tropical sweet citrus twist.

The malts are all sourced from the Canterbury plains and are purposely selected and mashed to balance the vibrant hop profile, with a toasty malty sweetness that gives the brew a rich full body.

So what could go wrong?

Not as strong an aroma as I'd expected, but a nice 'hiss'. Aroma is vaguely floral.

This is al of the 56 IBU things and tarty and sharply bitter. Despite that though there is a resounding and strong maltiness about this that fills it's boots nicely.

That though just adds a twist and makes this sharply bitter beer with a strong over-malted back, and leaves it with an oily bothersome coated tongue linger. No pleasing some people.

So I find myself not overly keen on this, which for an IPA surprises me, Not enjoying the aggressive front bitter hops, and the malt is perhaps a tad much.

It does look fantastic in the glass though, rich brown orange with a brilliant white head that is persistent and enjoyable. Looks a picture in the glass.

The pdubyah-o-meter rates this as 7.5  random things of its things from the thing.  If I had enjoyed it more I'd mark it higher, but it's as I drink it. I'm not sure I'm too far off the mark with the descriptions and experience, although this profile does appeal to some. Plus and let's not forget that this is a solid effort of the style, and would find a wider audience, and appreciation. I'm talking myself into liking it more as I drink it and would love to find it on tap in a pub somewhere, I should travel more perhaps I would.

The double dip review

1. Am I enjoying it? I'm not enthusiastic.


2. Would I have another? I would because it has most of the right things in the right place.


3. Would I share with a friend on a porch and set the world to rights? I might, because it has a cracking back-story and it is different as IPA's go in a field where there are a bazillion IPA beers.  Plus it looks great.

So I'm listening to a group called " Mountain Goats" and a rather splendid song "Best Ever Death Metal Band In Denton"

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1fKcROeuvCI

It is not death metal, all produced or any of those things, but it's just a really good set of lyrics that paint a picture and engage your thinking in a really good way. Go on treat yourself for 3 minutes.

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 – #36 – Wanaka Beerworks - Sir Walter

How could you go past a beer  faux named after you - Wanaka Beerworks - Sir Walter.

So from the Wanaka Beerworks, in the Abbey Tripel style - and yes Wanaka, It has a lake.*

It's a Triple, so I'm expecting  hazy, yellow, nice head and lacing, fruit/sherbert. I have a lot of expectations, but as it's a faux tribute beer I'll forgive it a lot.

It's a normal 330ml bottle of 7.5% ABV beer simply presented.

I had a check on their website they have some humorous names for beers, I could be on a new mission. (do you have to do missions in order?)

and so .... Cripes! it has an uncontrollable head on it, I can pour beer

(I've had a bit of practice) but clearly this needs a more delicate and deft touch than I brought to the table.

And so fighting through the foam I get to the beer. and there's a thing. That was a bunch of taste that I wasn't expecting. The foam is very, er, forceful and firm. This is unnerving. Underneath though the last is grounded in citrus,I got oranges, but there is something else. Something dusty in the background.

It has the haze, it's a delightful color, and there is length  in the taste too, which is pleasing. Not the alcohol but of the actual taste. And despite my best efforts the aroma eludes me though the foam. I'll pay more attention next bottle, because I have a back up plan.

The head does die away, and there is a fair about of lacing left.

Arbitrarily I'm going to award from arbitrary points on the equally as arbitrary pdubyah-o-meter and get to 7 things out of 10 things on some random notion of fairness. I'm happy to forgo aroma but I'm confused by the excited head. And that's not a sentence you normally hear in polite conversation. I like this though, it's not pretentious, it is what it says it is.

*Wanaka - for my 50th birthday I was taken on a road trip through some of the South Island of New Zealand, my masthead picture is from Lake Tekapo, just by the Church of the Good Shepherd. Anyway Wanaka was one stop on the journey, and cresting the hill I exclaimed "A Lake". Everyone else in New Zealand knows there is a lake at Wanaka, Not me. I've yet to live this down.

Related articles

• Winter Trip of 2009 (jyhedgehog.wordpress.com)


• Exploring Wanaka (myworldmarkstory.com)


• 11Days 10 Nights New Zealand Itinerary (alwaystravelicious.com)


• Day 6 - Wanaka (alwaystravelicious.com)