Beer - #511 - Three Boys - IPA

The second of the #NZSecretSanta beers - Three Boys IPA - yes #NZSecretSanta, -  Secret Santa for NZ Twitter Users!,   I scored a couple of beers, this is the 2nd of them.

Second Secrets, Second Time Music, Countdown numbers and counting on a party.

The generous addition of specially selected New Zealand hops to this brew creates a great aroma. A fantastic I.P.A.

This is a 500ml bottle, of a  5.2%ABV and that would be 156 calories a serve size, and  that would be 2.05 standard drink units.

Brewed by Three Boys Brewery, in the obvious style that is  India Pale Ale (IPA) and they do all that in Christchurch, New Zealand

[caption id="attachment_10043" align="alignleft" width="300"] Gift beer, I love gift beer[/caption]

The Indian Pale Ale was born when handfuls of fresh hops were added to barrels to preserve beer quality when shipping from England to colonial India.

It is the same generous additions of hops that allow Three Boys IPA to also survive the long haul, but when drunk fresh you can really appreciate the aroma our special selection of NZ hops creates.

What could possibly go wrong?

Not a lot on opening that's for sure, lovely hiss and a great aroma of sweet hops.

Brilliant warm orange pour with a decent and lively head that kept on giving. Looks slightly hazy in the glass, but it does look a picture.

Eye scrunch bitterness was my initial take on this, that really was a burst that I wasn't honestly expecting, and it is balanced on a lovely sweet caramel. The finish might be a little disappointing though.

So the only thing letting this down in a major way is the length and finish, the bitterness is lovely and the look of this is great.

This is a fairly solid IPA style of beer, nothing overly floral, overly citrus or over-hopped in a beer that is nicely bitter and easy drinking.

The pdubyah-o-meter rates this as 7 a of its things from the thing. I'd like for it to have had more middle, or body, whilst it is nicely bitter up front there could be a tad more, if you were being picky. Solid though, and an easy go-to beer in a crisis, and I've had far far worse.

Plus this was  gift and that makes it even better.

The double dip review

1. Am I enjoying it? Yes it's a nice way to start an evening, something with a bit of engagement and enjoyment. Sets a standard for what comes next.


2. Would I have another? Yes this is nice.


3. Would I share with a friend on a porch and set the world to rights? I would, because this is a nice beer, well done, and true to the style an intention.

Music - well one of my favourite albums of this year - Brian Jonestown Massacre - This track a standout "What You Isn't", The Album "Revelation"

The Brian Jonestown Massacre is an American neo-psychedelia band formed in San Francisco in 1990. The band's output spans psychedelic rock, folk rock and shoegaze.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=D-JV18_K1V4

 

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.

 

Related articles

• Funky Buddha Hop Gun Beer


• Beer Review: Harpoon Cambridge Uncommon


• Beat the freeze this winter with some of these brews


• 22 Gifts for the Beer Lover on Your List


• Coaster Critique: Ridgeway Brewing Reindeer's Revolt


• 10 Must-Try Session Beers


• Beer 101


• Funky Buddha to bottle beers


• Brewers tap careful-drinker market

Beer - #246 - Three Boys - Wild Plum Ale

In for a penny with this, a Three Boys Wild Plum Ale, Brewed by Three Boys Brewery in the style of a  Fruit Beer from the wonderful Christchurch, New Zealand.

A 330ml of a 7.7ABV beer , 1.9 standard drink units give or take.

Every autumn in the deep south, the Three Boys family harvest wild cherry plums from the family farm and celebrate their capture in traditional preserves. The Three Boys brewer takes these same fruit and captures those evocative flavours in this Wild Plum Ale.

Aroma is just of yeast and a hint of a fruit sweetness, it's not pronounced.  Pours a really golden orange with more head than humpty dumpty!

It's quite tart and bit like unsweetened stewed fruit as a taste, you can pick that it's plums, but knowing that it's called Plum Ale sort of helps out :-)

It's not sweet to drink, might want to notch that up a bit, but then it might be more a lambic fruit. and then I thought that there is a roughness in the profile, not enough to put you off though.

Drinking this along with a Nick Cave live from the KCRW album on a summer evening and all is good.

I thought....and that's how the trouble started....  that I might have got more sweetness, less tartness, and I thought I would get more 'musty' than there is. It's really a fantastic colour, well carbonated and doesn't have unusual or sharp edges that catch you out. But it's not a lambic, as I tell myself again.

So how do I mark it as a fruit beer/ale? The same way. As it warmed up a bit there was more 'fruitiness' but not overt pluminess. So the pdubyah-o-meter ever a quandary says that 7, lucky 7 for this, it's good but not spectacular, and only a 7 because less would be mean.

I liked it, would I have another? Not really there are many better alternatives to this, cider for instance come to mind. However big final thing, 7.7ABV, likely to be a show stopper if you think that you'd have another, could be a short evening not overly rewarded.

FRUIT BEER (def.)

Any ale or lager made with fruit. See beer description for flavor. Body, color, hop character and strength vary depending on the type of fruit used.

Related articles

• Spinnakers releases Sooke Sour Plum Ale (beerontherock.com)


• Gueuzerie Tilquin - Quetsche Tilquin (beerscout.wordpress.com)


• Sunday School: Fruit Beers & Wines (sarabozich.com)


• The Guide to Collecting & Aging Beer (coolmaterial.com)

Beer- #75 - Three Boys Porter

Ok, time to claim back the night.... Three Boys Porter  which is brewed by the Three Boys Brewery, after the style of a Porter, and they're in  Christchurch, New Zealand holla!

"Such was the popularity of porter in old England that legend has it townsfolk drowned when vats at a local brewery burst, flooding the streets. The Three Boys recreate this legendary beer, balancing toasted malts to give a rich, complex flavour. Fuggles hops maintain tradition while select New Zealand hops add spiciness that carries this beer into the new world" it says......

So... a 500ml of 5.3% ABV Porter, delivered in the magnificent way that 3 boys is, all the same, all different. Love it.

Straight up then  the aroma is roasty toasty...  Pours like a champion, head and all, dark and inviting, get in! It really is generous with a deep maltiness on the nose, I'm scared to drink it lest I be let down again.

Oh no, wait,  that's quite nice. Ir's chocolate, nutty, a bit deep, a bit shallow, like a white knight to the rescue on an otherwise average night in. There's a lot of things all doing their thing with this. The problem now is that I'm drinking this as a beer to drink not actually thinking about what I'm tasting. I'd like to linger over why it's making a tap dance on the tongue. This is, at the end of a long day, a bit of the good thing. Not love, but a deep affection.

You know the worse thing? I only brought the one.  The pdubyah-o-meter loves this at 9 from 10. That's a big number based on the last few beers that I had, and I think today, now, this beer, it's deserving.

I following a friend around the beer tastes, I feel like it's a competition and I have a deep respect for Dan,  he knows who he is, and I think he likes a Porter. Well I can’t recall a better porter,  but then I’m a beginner, and if this is the bar then there is a big treat somewhere ahead. Start here and follow the yellow brick road.... or the three boys...  charge.........

and yes I remembered that there was a Mocha Porter, this is all that and the glitter.

Related articles

• Beer Mythbusting: The Truth About Porter and Stout (drinks.seriouseats.com)


• Beer Review 127: Founders Devil Dancer (thebeerfriends.com)