Beer - #451 - Townshend - No. 9

Townshend, a brewery I've overlooked somewhat or ignored, either/either - but tonight I have Townshend No. 9 for my edification.

Brewed by Townshend Brewery in the style that is  Dry Stout and they are in Upper Moutere, New Zealand

This is a 500ml bottle of a 4% ABV beer, making it only 120 calories a serve, and  a total of only 1.6 standard drink units in NZ.

 A sweet stout. This well balanced dark ale has plenty body and length.

I've always enjoyed the likes of Guinness and Murphys stout and have heard that they are both better if imbibed at their point of origin, Ireland.

The same goes for this beer: drink it in the Moutere where it belongs.

I see.....

Beer - #424 - Townshend - Divine Intervention

Townshend Divine Intervention - a collaboration beer (with Southstar Brewing). Calm down. Also A Belgium IPA\Belgium ale

Brewed by Townshend Brewery as their take on the  Belgian Ale style and they are in Upper Moutere, New Zealand.

Brewers note on their website has this though as a Pale Ale, despite the label saying otherwise. One of those things. 

All that but a 500ml bottle, (16 fl oz>, of beer that is 7.8% ABV, making it 3.1 standard drinks in NZ,  and 234 calories a serve.

A strong and heavily New Zealand hopped Belgian Pale Ale. This is a collaboration series beer with Kieran Haslett Moores' brewing arm Southstar Brewing Co. The beer is named in loving memory of Jeff Hennaman from Slayer who died last year. (We are both huge Slayer fans.)

Don't expect a Slayer video clip either.

Beer - #218 - Townshend - Toppa’s Hadd’n Full On Pale Ale

The strangely named : Toppa’s Hadd’n Full On Pale Ale - Brewed by the  Townshend Brewery in the style of an English Pale Ale and they hail from Upper Moutere, New Zealand. This is a collaboration with those magicians at the Brewaucracy 

Classic English Pale Ales are not pale but rather are golden to copper colored and display English variety hop character. Distinguishing characteristics are dryness and defined hop taste, but more malt balance than what youll typically find in an American Pale Ale. Great to drink with all sorts of meats including roast beef, lamb, burgers, duck, goose, etc. Note that the term pale ale is used in England to signify a bottled bitter, and in that way there is no such thing as English Pale Ale to the English. The style is a North American construct, borne of the multitude of pale ales that pay homage to these bottled bitters - Bass in particular - and therefore the majority of true examples of the style are found outside Britain.

It's a lesson in beer every time.

A 500ml (pint) of a 5.2% ABV beer, which is then two standard drink units.

Just the trick before the BBQ goes on for the Lamb, and a lead up to the F1 race from Korea.

Bittery hoppy nose on opening, very inviting, Pours a hazy orange yellow with a head that is  then suddenly isn't, reasonable carbonation. the really nice aroma on opening has gone missing too.

Shame that.

But then you get a wonderful mellow bitter taste, with a mix of sweeter fruits, and a reasonable length.

The pdubyah-o-meter likes this as a 8, arbitrarily making it "very good" on the arbitrary scale. A beer to be pleasantly surprised and rewarded by,

You're not going to give  virtual high-five to anyone after drinking this, nor are you going to regret buying it.

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Beer - #122 - Townshend - Three Piece Wheat

Nice play on words Townshend - Three Piece Wheat, Brewed by Townshend Brewery in the style of a : German Hefeweizen and they live in Upper Moutere, Nelson, New Zealand

500ml bottle of 4.5% ABV beer, that's about 1.8 standard drink units. 4.5% ABV surprised me, for no reason other than expectation I was expecting more (obviously).

The head brewers mother comes from Hall in Tirol, Austria, so this top fermented, cloudy Bavarian ale is a small tribute to one of the most wonderful people in the world. True to style, it contains 50% malted wheat and uses a yeast strain imported fromWeihenstephan, Germany.

It's also unpasturized and unfiltered. So "pour with care" I'm mumbling under my breath. They promise a classic wheat beer with  hints of banana and cloves.

There's nothing remarkable in the aroma, apart from the lack of an aroma. It's slightly darker than I thought it would be, and the lower carbonation means of course that it struggles with a head.

There's nothing remarkable in the taste either, mostly the fizz of bubbles masking whatever is underneath it. If you squint you could imagine a banana taste, if you really try. As for cloves, they are pretty understated to the point of absence.

Also not cloudy.

So of the three things that I think I'd like in a wheat beer, in no particular order;  Golden yellow colour, cloudy in appearance  and tasty of lemons or citrus,  what I get in this is a glass of fizzy water.

The pdubyah-o-meter casts this a poor 4 on it's scale of things, and an indication that you'd do well to miss this, as the brewer may have given it a crack but has also missed the target, badly and awfully.

And that's never a good thing. To their credit they didn't make up that it was a hybrid brew or a special concoction they've gone balls out and called it. Disastrous.

Related articles

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