Beer - #598 - Baylands - Rock Solid

Gifts of beer! Gifts of music, gift of numbers and gifts for a party.

A wickedly hoppy West Coast APA

I have then a 1.25 litre growler of a beer that is 5.8% ABV,  55 IBU things, that's around 174 calories a serve size, and this bottle contains about 5.72 standard drink units worth.

Brewed by Baylands Brewery this is styled as an American Pale Ale and they are in  Petone in Wellington, New Zealand.

[caption id="attachment_11060" align="alignleft" width="300"] Different background same old hobo looking man[/caption]

A perfectly balanced bold American pale ale jammed full of Amarillo and Centennial hops

Amarillo hops for aroma and flavor, orange citrus characters and  a bit of floral profile, too.

Centennial hops for citrus and/or floral character,  bittering and aromatic characters.

What could possibly go wrong?

This was flown up from Wellington and hand delivered, well it was brought up from Welington by a close friend who was here in business and thought I needed a new experience "from a small craft place" he'd discovered. He has good taste, has just discovered that I write about the beer I drink and has recently moved to Wellington where the craft beer thing is leading the charge. Funny thing is we went to a local pub in Auckland where it was on tap, not usual though to get this in the take-out form here abouts. Winning!

Boldly hoppy and malty sweet on opening. Still winning.

Much darker pour than I would have though, for no reason than again I'm thrown by the 'pale' in Pale Ale. Of course I am. Couldn't pour with a head but you know I;m not an expert in that.

That lovely hoppy aroma and sweetness blooms in the glass.  Lovely level of bitterness, 55 IBU is quite high really.  I do think that this might be just so slightly past best though, it's not as well carbonated as you would like it to be. Not a huge problem though, the beer is good enough to carry itself.

Grassy hoppy note is quite nice, bit peaky, and it has a decent finish and linger in the mouth.

Got a head on the second pour, I still have the gift. This is quite moorish and welcoming as a beer, it's bitterness though would lend itself to a balancing act of some food-thing just to keep the whole thing in check.

The pdubyah-o-meter rates this as 8 a of its things from the thing. I though the bitterness was high, and that made it uncomfortable as a stand alone beer, and I don't think i should session on it (have a few/many in one go) I think I'd end up with a very dull palate and dryness. But for that it's really nice to drink and brings a smile to the dial.

The double dip review

Am I enjoying it? Yes it's rather nice.
Would I have another? Yes I am having the whole of it :-)
Would I share with a friend on a porch and set the world to rights? This is a beer that lends itself to conversation and a few hours contemplation so yes I'd bring it if there  was a discussion to be had like who would win a fight between Batman and Spiderman for instance.

Music for this, arguably a  New Zealand icon Don McGlashan, he has a new Album out, Lucky Stars, you can listen here on Spotify

Don McGlashan is a New Zealand musician and songwriter who won fame with bands Blam Blam Blam, The Front Lawn, and one of my favourites  The Mutton Birds, I'd say if you like well crafted songs with thoughtful lyrics you might seek them out.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=uAwJiq_W2wk

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.

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Beer - #581 - Garage Project - Cherry Bomb

Garage Project Cherry Bomb

Warning - may contain hints of stone age love.

The big 650 ml bottle, 9% ABV, 270 calories a serve, and that makes it 4.6 standard drinks. It's all on for a Tuesday.

Brewed by Garage Project in the style: Imperial/Strong Porter and they are inWellington, New Zealand

[caption id="attachment_10846" align="alignleft" width="300"] Shiny Haircut and a big beer.[/caption]

Hello world, it's Cherry Bomb imperial porter, a complex, decadent dessert beer, spiked with sour cherries and cacao nibs.

The finished beer has a rich ebony hue with a pronounced, bitter-sweet, dark chocolate and ripe tart cherry character. 

Warning - may contain hints of stone age love.

What, then, could possibly go wrong?

Lots of dark chocolate aroma on opening this.

Pour is deep cherry red and a small but positive head that slowly starts to fade but is still there.

In the glass I get a big aroma of coffee, and then lightly some sweet sugar aroma.

There is a lot of alcohol note, a lot. It is really predominant. It really is 9% ABV so dur! Beneath that though you get a lovely whole sugary warm drink with a lovely finish that is more bitter than dry and none of that alcohol. It's like it's almost backwards.

I left it to warm itself in the glass seeing if the cherryness will take up, and the whole mellow a little.

~pause~

And it does get nicer, but the high alcohol is still noticeable. Overall though it's quite nice but not spectacular. I would have though more of those fruit notes perhaps? or sweetness.

I'm reminded of the 'stone age' so I've convinced myself this is paleo beer. (kidding)

I love the aroma you get before you drink, then the sip, then the pause as the burn passes then the warm bit and a hint of the sweetness.

The pdubyah-o-meter rates this as 7.5 a of its things from the thing. It's somewhere between good and better than good but not great.  I think a beer like this really shows up how at the big beer end of the scales, how wide the styles can be. This is pretty mush as describes as the style Imperial/Strong Porter, but blindly you could think that you'd be getting more a Stout or more a Porter. Not so.

A bit different then, and not totally unpleasant, it's a drink that probably needs a bit of a run up to, not a desert beer, but possibly too big to go straight into, unless I'm going a bit soft.

The double dip review

1. Am I enjoying it? It's ok when you get over yourself and your expectations. 


2. Would I have another? I think perhaps with a cigar, instead of a port.


3. Would I share with a friend on a porch and set the world to rights? This is some heavy duty tall tale telling juice. why not.

Brendon Thomas and the Vibes, currently appearing in an NZ talent show. very polished and doing the right things. You can listen to an Album thing here it's called 'The Eclect' Or there is this live ad hoc performance.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=APh2sfw1_1g

 

IMPERIAL/STRONG PORTER

Imperial or extra-strong porters fall in between the traditional porter, a Baltic porter, and an imperial stout. They range from around 7.5% upwards, with hefty dark malt character, but lack the overt roastiness of an imperial stout.

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Beer - #556 - Garage Project - Hops on Pointe - a redux

Ballet beer, Ballet Music, Pas de Deux, and post opera party.

Beer and ballet – the perfect Pas de Deux. Brewed by Garage Project for the Royal New Zealand Ballet. 

Available at all good barres.

I have 1 litre, FYO from the growler station,  bottle of a 6.7% ABV beer, making it about  5.29 standard drink units, and 201 calories a serve size.

Garage Project Hops on Pointe - a beer for the New Zealand Ballet. Brewed by Garage Project In the style of a Premium Lager and they do that in a garage in Wellington, New Zealand, probably.

[caption id="attachment_10568" align="alignleft" width="300"] The face of a man about to...[/caption]

Brewed with premium German malts, Nelson Sauvin hops and finished with champagne yeast, the result is a pale gold lager with a crisp, clean palate, rich tropical fruit aromas and tight champagne bubbles forming a dense white head of foam. 

Hops on Pointe was originally brewed to celebrate the world’s first ‘Beer Ballet’ called Bier Halle that Royal New Zealand Ballet are staging.

Saison hops promise much, and champagne yeast should make it light.  What could possibly go wrong?

This does have the familiar aroma of Sauvin hops, they're sort of passion fruit and soft.

Pour is nice, the light yellow beer pours with a small but persistent white head of foam, doesn't look overly carbonated in the glass though.

Drinking it, well it's been a while. This is hop forward the grassiness and bitter bite up front are not all just up front, they have a bit of carry in them, and finish and linger. Added to this the lovely soft mouthfeel in the middle, it is quite clever.

Like a pilsner like no other. Well probably. Well possibly. Well nice though. This does have that nice pilsner thing going on, you know the hop bite, but it's really dialled up elsewhere so that the overall seems to be everything is dialled down. It isn't.

And, I might add, at 6.7% ABV this is beer that needs some attention, because too many might see you doing the wobbly leg walk later.

I remember that in the bottle I enjoyed this a lot more than I thought I would, the idea that you could toss in a champagne yeast and it would somehow make a difference. I was wrong then and I still am.

The most surprising thing is the easy drinking, and despite the lingering this is still just a bit moorish, as my now empty glass attests.  Lucky for me however I have more! Get in!

The only doubt then is that the tall hops overshadow what might be a nice sweetness of aromatic fruits, like passionfruit, or lemons or whathaveyou, making this more a lager than anything. Countering that is the high-isn level of sweetness that this has.

A beer that has it's fans, and detractors, mostly positive though, I enjoyed re-visiting this when it came back around, now in cans too, clearly a winning combination.  A sort of beer for a thinking drinker, because you know that 'premium lager' or 'pilsner' is a dime a dozen. And sometimes that is their cost. this though a beer that pushes that and really works on that style.

The pdubyah-o-meter rates this as 8.5 a of its things from the thing. It is remarkably consistent for beer I had almost two years ago, and has much the same effect on me, in some ways. Reading that last time I was a bit more enthusiastic in places than I am now. This does seem much more hop-forward and less cushioned by sweetness than it did. It is still however a bit good.

The double dip review

1. Am I enjoying it? I really am.


2. Would I have another? I really would, and I am.


3. Would I share with a friend on a porch and set the world to rights? I'd hate to disappoint you by not brining one around to yours to watch you imbibe and wax lyrical. I'd happily try this to convert a 'domestic' lager drinker into a new wonderful world of beer with more than one taste sensation, a drink for more than just drinking.

Music player settles on Young Statues an American indie-rock band from Philadelphia

This is "Run The River Dry"

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=MPUPLIyIO_4&spfreload=10

Unlike the beer this is a bit all over the place, some of it interesting, some of it a bit over worked and under thought. I did listen though, it was great background to a beer, and a soundtrack to the sportsball

PREMIUM LAGER

A beer that straddles between the mainstream Pale Lager and Pilsner. Not all beers that call themselves Premium Lager are, but those that are will typically have a deep gold to light bronze colour, and distinct influence of malt and hops. They should be free of adjuncts and will have a softer carbonation than Pale Lager or Classic German Pilsner.IBUs will typically range in the 20’s, and lagering times will typically be 4-6 weeks, more in line with what pilsners have. Overall accent will be malty-to-balanced, alcohol in a slightly tighter range than either Pale Lager or Pilsner (4.5-5.5%). Most often the product of a microbrewery or brewpub, but macrobreweries can make this style if they jack up the hops a bit and make it all-malt.

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Beer - #549 - Garage Project - Louisiana Voodoo Queen

Special beer, special music, social numbers and special friends.

Louisiana Voodoo Queen, from Garage Project, perhaps the most bonkers beer I've had.

Best enjoyed from a stemmed glass rubbed on a black cat.

This is a 650ml bottle that is beer of 9.5% ABV, that's 285 calories a serve, and 3.33 standard drink units in the bottle,

Brewed by Garage Project in the random style that is: Special/Other, and GP are in Wellington, New Zealand

This is a powerful dark brew.

[caption id="attachment_10454" align="alignleft" width="300"] Hoodoo Voodoo[/caption]

Inspired by the tradition of New Orleans coffee and the Louisiana Voodoo ‘cure-all’, Voodoo Queen is a rich, dark ale, redolent of plum fruit and spice and infused with chicory root and a specially roasted batch of Brazilian beans conjured up by our friends at Flight Coffee.

So lay down your three nickels and imbibe with caution – powerful forces lie within.

Best enjoyed from a stemmed glass rubbed on a black cat.

What could go wrong? Apart from not having a black cat, we have a sort or mixed up thing that is somewhat a Russian Blue, close enough is good enough. Or I'm hexed.

That is more like chocolate or coffee on opening, already I smile a bit. The rubbing the glass on the cat might have worked out,

The pure is dark , bit not pitch black more a deep brown, the head is lingering and not persistent.

Strangely the aroma in the glass is really muted and not at all easy to discern.

Mouthfeel is 'thick' and mostly the taste is of a deep Coffee, but there are other things, or something else, sweet and full underneath this, it's a bit of an enigma.

It looks flat in the glass, but it is well carbonated. The coffee is rich and mellow, not burn or sour, leaving you with a pleasant after taste and linger.

In amongst it all is that nice steeped raisins taste, fruity. The more you search for them the more you notice. I also notice the numbness on the tip of my tongue. I'm going to rub the glass on the cat a bit more, it might be a curse. Probably isn't since no such thing exists.

I have to say that this is quite pleasant but not special or outstanding drinking. That isn't to say that it isn't a clever or pleasant beer, it so is. But it is mostly the coffee thing, and that isn't such a thing is it?  Not without a bunch of depth perhaps, it's the predominant note but it is a note not the body.

I just wanted more.

I went and had dinner, which was Lamb in a Lemon/Balsamic marinade, with fresh Rosemary, and some roast assorted vegetables like Potato, red and Green Capsicum, Orange Kumera, Onion and Corgettes, in case you were asking.  Oh and some fresh herb bread toasted just to make it less like a Sunday roast, and we sat in the late evening sun. Just Saying.

Anyway, second go at this. Pour does elicit a head that seems firmer and more persistent. Aroma is still mostly coffee.

It obviously has warmed up somewhat, the carbonation seems to either be more pronounced or the other flavours have become more muted. The finish becomes more dry and leaves the tongue a bit sour around the edges. It is still a nice beer.

I don't know that  I'd recommend or rave about this to anyone though, the name and the contents seems to be a world apart. Then again how would you distil the essence of Louisiana into a beer, I've been to New Orleans a few times and this didn't remind me of that. Perhaps I didn't stray far enough from Bourbon Street

The pdubyah-o-meter rates this as an 8  of its things from the thing. Who doesn't like a coffee beer? Well I imagine a few people. But I like a coffee beer, there is the C4 for instance that I find divine. Anyway, this is a beer that is predominant in coffee-ness and it somehow lacks a body or middle that would make it more full or rounded. I didn't enjoy the dry finish so much in this instance, and the look of the beer is unappealing, flat and a bit dour.

The double dip review

1. Am I enjoying it? I am because I like coffee and I like beer. it goes well, but adding coffee to beer for the sake of it never ends well.


2. Would I have another? There are better Coffee based beers that I'd go to first.


3. Would I share with a friend on a porch and set the world to rights? As a conversation piece the name alone would be interesting, the delivery of the beer based on the build up not so much, it's a bit of a damper on things that this has such a high and well obscured and going early in the evening on this makes for a short evening really.

Musically, It's Visage, Visage were a British synthpop band, formed in London in 1978. New Romantics.  Steve Strange died this last few days. They played songs on the radio and I still know the words.  You should all know "Fade to Grey"

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vMPR6Ujop4k

It made me get up and have a quick shuffle about the lounge in a old school way. Just glorious.

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Beer - #529 - Panhead - Whitewall Hoppy Wheat Ale

Weird Beer, Weird Musics, Weird numbers and Weird parties.

Any petrol head knows you can’t redline the engine all the time…sometimes you just need to drop the seat back and cruise.

Getting amongst it with a Panhead Whitewall Hoppy Wheat Ale this is another of the summer fill-your-own from a keg, so I have 1 litre bottle of a 4.3% ABV beer, around 3.4 standard drink units and 129 calories a serve size.

Brewed by Panhead Custom Ales in the style that is Wheat Ale and pinhead are in Upper Hutt, New Zealand

[caption id="attachment_10243" align="alignleft" width="300"] Endless Summer of fyo beers[/caption]

Much as we enjoy a big hop-rod it’s nice to kick back and cruise on occasion. Whitewall pulls a very diplomatic 4.3% with a clean, crisp mouthfeel imparted by a touch of wheat in the malt. 

Whitewall is the ultimate cruisy summer beer – brewed to a very smooth 4.3% with a clean, crisp mouthfeel achieved by a small amount of wheat in the malt.

The heavy hop addition is like dropping a V8 in a Mini and showcases the new generation of fragrant Aussie hops – Galaxy, Enigma and Ella. 

Best enjoyed on the back porch late afternoon after a bit of self-congratulatory physical exertion

Well I might have  thought about mowing the grass, so that counts and what could go wrong with that thinking? First though I ponder on the number of fill-your-own beers that I've had recently, which is a departure from the bottles that you or I can buy, so I'm beginning to think that I might have to cut back on the beer that you might not be able to get and get back to the things you might have a chance of buying. It is just a thought.

Anyway you can buy Whitewall in bottles. Not that I have, but it is in stores.

This has a sugar sweet aroma that you might expect from a 'wheat' ale, it looks anaemic and pale and a bit unattractive, I'll pour it into a glass and watch it transform into a swan.

And like magic in a glass it becomes brighter and has a great fluffy head, like I knew it would.

Aroma begins to hint of the hop additions.

To the taste then. There is a wash of hop bitterness which overlays a soft middle, There is also a surprisingly dry finish which I wasn't expecting but perhaps should have.

But, however, and, I don't know so much that this is a wheat beer. The cynical in me wants to say is this another "throw some things that are available together" and see what comes out, which is simplistic yes, but using new generation hops, and then adding 'a touch of wheat" seems a bit, to me, odd. Look I like new styles and things, this though seems a bit neither of one thing or another.

So what I do get is 'crispness' but I do get "hop bitterness.

Then again this isn't a Belgium wheat and that's where the problem in my thinking might be. The pour is lovely, the second glass behaving the same as the first, big fluffy head, really looks a charm.

The nice things about this are then, the low but noticeable hop levels and bitterness, the soft middle even if it a bit unidentified, but not so much the towards dry finish.

Uncomfortably I'm not over-enthusiastic about this as a beer. I'm going to use the word 'thin' to describe the middle, the carry, the body, the bit where you want the fun to happen. Hop aroma carries to a similar hop taste and that for me is about it. A bit of a disappointment.

The pdubyah-o-meter rates this as 7 of of its things from the thing. It really isn't something to write home about. Whitewall the tires, dress them up a bit, make them look a bit flash, I don't think they took the name in the same way, but this is a bit dressed up and it is a party for itself.

The double dip review

1. Am I enjoying it? Not so much.


2. Would I have another? I had to I have the whole bottle, but it lasted a while.


3. Would I share with a friend on a porch and set the world to rights? Oh no not even.

I had some new musics on, this time, "The Novatones", and a track 'Living For The Weekend'  from a release called "Begging At The Bunhouse'"

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=m0I02xTscgU

They're active on the social medias,   they are a four-piece with a knack for creating energetic indie-pop songs. And that's where I went wrong. Pop songs. They're very energetic but it is of little substance.

WHEAT ALE

Golden to light amber in color, the body is light to medium. The wheat lends a crispness to the brew, often with some acidity. Some hop flavour maybe be present, but bitterness is low. Not as estery as German or Belgian-style wheats.

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Beer- #504 - Garage Project / Nøgne Ø - Summer Sommer

Collaborative Beer, Musical Collaborations, numbers dancing and just dancing.

The collaborative love child of iconic Norwegian craft brewery Nøgne Ø and Wellington's own Garage Project, Summer Sommer is a strong golden ale, brewed with rye malts and Pohutakawa honey. Rich gold in colour, smooth with a touch of rye spice, honey and warming alcohol, it's sunshine in a bottle. The taste of the New Zealand summer is here.

Garage Project / Nøgne Ø - Summer Sommer - Brewed by Garage Project in the style that is a Specialty Grain and they did that in Wellington, New Zealand

7.6% ABV making it 268 calories a serve size, 650ml bottle that makes it 3.85 standard drink units.

[caption id="attachment_9973" align="alignleft" width="300"] Reminds me of lyrics from a T-Rex song[/caption]

In collaboration with Garage Project, Wellington. A strong golden ale brewed with rye malts and Pohutukawa honey. Rich gold in colour, smooth with a touch of rye, spice, honey and warming alcohol. It is sunshine in a bottle.

Come and brew with us! " said Pete and Jo from Garage Project in Wellington, when they heard that we were going to New Zealand.

"Clearly we want! " we said .

" Christmas beer " we said . " Sommerøl " they said.

" It's the same; in New Zealand" we agreed .

The result: A sommerjulerugøl with Pohutukawa honey.

What could possibly be awry with that?

Sweetish aroma, underlined by a wet hay kind of bitterness, but mostly sweet.

An what a brilliant almost bright red orange colour on the pour, and with a decent a fluffy head too!, it looked fantastically carbonated and effervescent. Quite noisy to the ear too!, haven't listed to a beer for a while. Aroma isn't so much of the sweetness and it's pretty neutral.

Oh, ok wasn't expecting that . It's a lot 'fuller' in mouthfeel than I was prepared for, the honey certainly packs out the body on this, bringing sweetness and fullness, covering the bitterness that is the carry. Lots of harsh type hops too at the top, it's a bit of a mixed bag is this.

It's a shame that this is not a more aromatic beer, and it relies on the more subtle honey to greet the nose and prepare the mouth for incoming. Which is still surprised by the fullness of taste, and then the bitter bite, and the towards bitter finish.

For me though not the taste of summer that I was expecting, and neither does it give me anything that would, or does, make me think of my own personal summer things. It is however a very engaging beer of some quirk that makes it welcome at the table, it is at both the same time an unremarkable and yet loud beer, with many of the taste points lingering and hangind around, the honey sweetness, the bitterness and dry-isn finish, which are all a bit over the place.

The pdubyah-o-meter rates this as 8 a of its things from the thing. I like it for the sweetness, and the way that the bitterness is balanced and muted by it, I'm let down by the lack of aroma in this, being picky.  Not a session beer, I think that this would tax the palate if left unchecked by intervention of something, or a change of pace.

The double dip review

1. Am I enjoying it? It is nice, yes


2. Would I have another? Yes indeed, it might work better in a warmer setting, at the end of the day.


3. Would I share with a friend on a porch and set the world to rights? I don't think this is the 'taste of summer' or a go-to summer beer I think that it's a bit rough around the edges, and whilst you could take it for a spin you might send it to a quiet place and get on with the party without it.

Music, well, Bombay Bicycle Club was on the music machine, A Different Kind of Fix, and this track "Lights Out, Words Gone" Seems apt. Bombay Bicycle Club are an English indie rock band from Crouch End, London.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vglxk3JbHnQ

I also wanted the music to be more, well, better, and this has been wittering away in the background and won't be going on repeat. Can't win them all.

SPECIALTY GRAIN

Beer made with a speciality grain, most typically rye, but also common are rice, sorghum, millet, corn, buckwheat, oats and spelt. As this is a catch-all category, alcohol levels, bitterness, and color vary.

Beer - #475 - Garage Project - Texas Tea Brown Ale

I've been thinking about Snake Oil, Soul food, guessing and double guessing

Texas Tea is slang for oil and Garage Project operate out of an old service station in Aro Valley

It starts with a beer from the now prolific Garage Project, and a can of Texas Tea Brown Ale. A can, like a small barrel. They have a lot of tinned output.

Brewed by Garage Project in the style that is  Brown Ale and they are in Wellington, New Zealand

330ml can of beer that is 6.2% ABV, making it 186 calories in the can, and 1.61 standard drink units.

[caption id="attachment_9668" align="alignleft" width="300"] Tea, in a can[/caption]

A spicy and bold Texas brown ale brewed with a heady dose of American hops, habanero chili and prickly pear.

A Texas Brown Ale with a twist.

Brewed with Warrior, Columbus and Simcoe, habaneros chilli and prickly pear. 

Think hot and hoppy cactus sizzurp. Welcome to weird Texas.

What could go wrong? Now I've done some research and this is a dark beer, not tea coloured. stand by for my amazed observation....

Pop the can, get a decent whiff of hops.

Lovely pour, looks like the colour of Malt vinegar, a decent head too!, unlike malt vinegar. Aroma is like stilted hops in the glass, which now looks like it contains oil or tar. It's quite intriguing.

You get a bite of bitter, carbonation - pause - boomfha, a Chilli burst -  pause - all calm nice finish.

Go again.  Same thing, although the chilli hit is a bit stronger and longer.

Then is gave me the sneezes and the peppery chilli began to be prominent. At this point it's where I decide that chilli-beers are not all that and a bag of chips, or in other ways you could say that this is a style that I'm not a fan of.

It might be very clever as a beer, but I'm not sure I like or enjoy it, and I like odd things usually.

This does have a nice hop level, and the chilli heat level is low to medium and not intrusive or off-putting, it's a compliment to the beer and not a mask for something that may have not gone so well in the brewing.

The pdubyah-o-meter rates this as 7 a of its things from the thing. I wanted to like it, and it looks great, sits well, and has a nice level of enjoyable hops, tonight though I'm not in the zone to enjoy the chilli hit.

The double dip review

1. Am I enjoying it? There are bits of this to like


2. Would I have another? I don't think that at the moment I would, but then I don't know when would be the right time.


3. Would I share with a friend on a porch and set the world to rights? I couldn't in all honesty talk too this beer enough to convince someone else to share it.

"It's About Time" is the album of choice for this, by Ruby Velle & The Soulphonics, this is the the track "My Dear"

[youtube https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=F9-JvdNNP-A&w=560&h=315]

For me a bit under produced, under sung, or poorly chosen songs for what should be a better album and effort.

Not the best of an evening.

Finally, almost, this is what a proper paid and trained journalist has to say 

Finally, in the tea-but-not-as-you-know-it category, I have to mention Yeastie Boys' fellow Wellingtonians Garage Project and their Texas Tea.

While it doesn't actually feature tea we're still in the weird department as Texas Tea is made with habanero chilli and prickly pear (oh, all right, cactus). 

The beer starts with a lustrous chocolate malt base, has a spike of habanero heat and ends with a sweet, berry note that must come from the cactus.

I love this name - Texas Tea is slang for oil and Garage Project operates out of an old service station in Aro Valley, so it's a pretty slick name. Look out for it in the distinctive blue can with the with wispy cloud-like wording above a service station in the desert.

BROWN ALE

Color ranges from reddish-brown to dark brown. Lower in alcohol than porter, medium to full body flavor. Appropriate foods are apple pie, pork with brown sauce, beef vegetable soup and cheddar.

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Beer - #465 - Garage Project - Wabi Sabi Sour

Wherein I have a  Sour Beer,  A moment of happiness, a second glance, ponder random numbers and indulge in double dipping.

The people at Garage Project make a lot of beers! I picked this one  - the Wabi Sabi Sour for my edification.

Brewed by Garage Project in the style that is  Sour/Wild Ale and they are in Wellington, New Zealand

Packaged  as a 650ml bottle of a beer that is 7.7% ABV, which is about 3.95 standard drink units,  at about 420 calories equivalent in this bottle.

The concept of Wabi-Sabi is hard to define.

[caption id="attachment_9524" align="alignright" width="300"] Man with a grin[/caption]

It is natural simplicity - flawed beauty - the way imperfection can make an object more compelling. Sourness produced by lactic bacteria in beer is normally considered a flaw.

This beer is naturally soured and its sharp, tart character complimented with Honeydew melon and the juice and rind of fresh Yuzu.

Nothing is perfect – but sometimes imperfection can be beautiful.

Wabi Sabi Sour, named for the Japanese aesthetic of natural simplicity and flawed beauty, is a strong golden beer that has been soured in the brew kettle with various strains of usually-wild yeast and bacteria given free reign for a few days before the boil. Conditioned on yuzu (a Japanese citrus fruit) and honeydew melon, the result is complex but refreshing and remains accessible even while being challengingly and interestingly different.

I'm actually looking forward to this, Sour beers are "the" thing aren't they?

Beer - #329 - Black Dog - Bite Hopped Pilsner

Black Dog beer, I've only had out on my travels in pubs from taps. So this is a new experience. Pilsner too, a style with which I have a love/hate thing with, at least in my head.

This is a  500ml bottle (16 fl oz) of a 5.5% ABV beer, which is 2.17 drinks, could be about 230 calories worth in the bottle, not a serve. I may have this all wrong.

Brewed by Black Dog Brewing Company This of course in the style of a  Pilsener and they are in Wellington, New Zealand, and I will get to visit them one day.

[caption id="attachment_7195" align="alignleft" width="300"] ah ha! the selfie[/caption]

This is a hoppy Pilsner done in the Kiwi style. This is our representation of a style that New Zealand brewers are really crafting into something unique, a hoppy lager style beer that showcases our country’s hops. Bite features Motueka and Nelson Sauvin hops, both of which are making a big name for themselves around the world. Kiwi hop growers can’t produce enough of these varieties so you better get a glass of this one while you can!

All I got on opening was yeast, but that's normal, right ?

Mint pour of a crisp yellow orange beer with a lovely foamy head and loadsa carbonation going all on in the glass. Nice.

Still only a yeast aroma, I'm not so bothered by this though. I am looking forward to the first sup.

This isn't as earthy as I lead myself to believe this might be, and it's actually somewhat muted.

It's also not that hopped in the way that you might think that hops = bitterness , or add flavours like grass or pine or cats urine, or whatever.

This is a pretty clean and crisp beer, it's nothing edgy or spectacular, or difficult or challenging, or something you drink to feel different, it's just a good beer done well.

There is nothing at all stand-out though, and this is where this, for me, becomes a good domestic beer, an everyman beer. Which isn't bad it's just a commercial beer, and being in the money is important for the side projects.

It's very quaffable and the pdubyah-o-meter rates this as a 6 on the scale of things, which is only at the average level of beer, for me.  This however isn't the whole of it, because of the  the arbitrary 3 Question Quiz

1. Am I enjoying it?  Yes, yes I am


2. Would I have another?  Yes, yes I would


3. Would I share with a friend on a porch and set the world to rights? I think you could sit and have a share session with a few of these as it's low impact and high enjoyment.

So, I'd like another, yes I would, but if only we were having a Sunday afternoon half-back/quarterback session, but then you could insert commercial beer X in that slot and get a similar result.

If I was grading this for report it could be B- must try harder!

Musically we moved (I say we, MrsPdubyah insisted something more upbeat) to George Michael and his Symphonica  Album , who doesn't like swing!

[youtube http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=pARujCvm4Wo&w=560&h=315]

As an aside on Untappd  I got another 'badge' Crisp as Day (Level 2) - Light and crisp, a Pilsner is all you need to make your day great. Though, perhaps another one would make it even better. That’s 10 different Pilsners. No one can claim I like all the same beers.

PILSENER

While the definition of "pilsner" is open to much debate in the beer community, it generally refers to pale, hoppy lagers, ranging from 28IBUs and up.

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Beer - #256 - Garage Project - Trip Hop

Sunday brings with it a Garage Project - Trip Hop - Brewed by Garage Project in the Style of an India Pale Ale (IPA), and of course they're in Wellington, New Zealand

The brewer says - "We love NZ Hops. How much? Here’s how much. Triple hopped with, Pacificica, Motueka and Riwaka hops in increasingly lavish quantities throughout the boil, Trip Hop’s bitter but (we hope) balanced on a malt base of pale, Carahelles, Vienna and Caraaroma. Rich amber red and redolent of the Nelson hop fields. Think easy drinking for resin heads and pucker up."

So stand by for bitterness from this a 650ml (22 Fl Oz) bottle of a 5.6% ABV beer. which is all of 2.9 standard drink units in NZ, and my guesstimate is around 300 calories in this bottle.

Of course a bitter aroma on opening, lots of the grass, but also other things.

Pours with a really lively head of fluffy bubbles, but they recede a bit to something more normal, and has a bitter aroma that I'm not familiar with, but which isn't unpleasant.

Plenty Floral things going on and there is a fair crack of malt sweetness to asset with the drinking.

This, to me, is more an English style bitter, for the reason that although you get an idea that the brewer wanted hops to be the thing they've run off and hidden themselves quietly and unobtrusively in the background.

A soft easy drinking beer, hardly a classic or one for the scarp-book from Garage Project, who's output any sane man would have trouble keeping up with.

The pdubyah-o-meter says that this would be 6 and one half on the random scale of arbitrary , making this an average beer in the scheme of things. Hey if you were out and someone wanted to 'try' a bitter her this might be the thing that you could get them by way of introduction.

To me however, to finish, I think this is a little thin and without a lot of depth and carry. I think that the hop aroma is pleasant, and the bunch of grass and flora notes that are delivered are pleasant and fulfilling. But it might be too sweet, and too soft. Not one for the scrap-book.

For background today,  the cricket plays to itself on the teevee and  Hooverphonic do their grooving on the music machine, accompanied by the drone of late afternoon lawn mowing somewhere in the distance. It could be a lot worse.

Beer - #243 - Garage Project - La Calavera Catrina

The 2nd of the day of the dead beers, this one the Garage Project La Calavera Catrina. Brewed by Garage Project This one also in the Style of a  Spice/Herb/Vegetable and of course from windy Wellington, New Zealand.

The brewer says "Blonde Lager". but they could be making that style up and mean plain old Lager of course.  650ml bottle of a 6.9% ABV beer, in NZ being 3.54 standard drink units.

La Catrina is as blonde as Day of the Dead is dark, but she’s no lightweight. The base beer is a blonde lager with a cheeky, even ironic addition of maize. Maize is an ingredient you’d normally associate with much blander lager offerings, but here it is fired up with a generous addition of organic Habanero chillis, giving Calevera a far more assertive chilli heat than the smoky chipotle of her brother. To this blonde chilli base went an addition of rose water and watermelon. The result is a complex and surprising beer we think can stand proudly beside the Day of the Dead. Cheeky, ironic, complex and firey – what more could you want in the Lady of Death? We hope you’ll give her a warm welcome.

Aroma perhaps of sour fruit on opening. Pours orange golden with a fair fluffy head, which is two in a row, on a roll here!!!

Firstly there is something nice, like watermelon, but it's a ruse because there is a rabbit punch of chilli that fair assaults you.  Made my eyes pucker.

Yes this is as pale as the other is dark. This has a front taste that the other didn't, but this is far and away more chilli bite than you'd expect, or perhaps is warranted.

It's more a pepper than than a chilli though, and it's that harsh and blunt that it has to be a bit of a 'have'. I don't doubt that making a chill beer is a challenge, but this sort of isn't that, it seems like a beer that they tipped some chilli as an addition after the fact rather than as a balanced part of a project or end goal.

Garage Project seem to be aggressively brewing different beers in an almost endless procession,  you would hope that they'd stop and think, or get some feedback from a focus group. Not that they're failing but you can wander down a pathway that might take a while to get back from. Sure they've had a few hits and misses but they tend to be close or near to the mark.

I can't see though how this beer fits with anything. It's not a beer to accompany anything, it's a bit overwhelming on the palate tanging everything up, it's not a session beer,  frankly it's a bit of a challenge (I was told it was easier drinking, it isn't),  and it's not something that I would let a friend drink, except perhaps as a prank. Which means for the pdubyah-o-meter that this is struggling to find a home. I want to say 6 - average, it has great colour, great aroma but it's just not pleasing.  Six it is making just above average, but that might be taking into account the nice things about it. of which the chilli smash isn't one of them.

So if the random score isn't about the chilli what is it about? I'm going to cower and say it looks great, pours great, has a head, and the aroma was pleasant. The chilli is "as advertised" and so therefore this is what it is. You might like it.

Probably won't.

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Beer - #242 - Garage Project - Day Of The Dead

Keeping in theme with heavy metal then, or not, I have the pleasure of a Garage Project beer, this one  "Day Of The Dead" Brewed by Garage Project in the rather mixed style of a  Spice/Herb/Vegetable beer, and they are of course in the windy city of Wellington, New Zealand.

The brewer says "Black Lager" though , for this, a 650ml bottle of a 6.7% ABV beer, making it in NZ 3.44 standard drink units.   This would then be similar in taste then to the Rogue Farms – Dirtoir Black Lager that I had and rated a high 9, he said hopefully.

Lager, but not as we know it. Garage Project’s Day of the Dead - astrong black lager inspired by the Aztec beverage xocolatl, “a bitter, frothy, spicy drink” combining cocoa and chili. Brewed with smoked chipotle chili, refermented with organic blue agave syrup (the basis of Tequila) and conditioned over raw cocoa nibs - rich and dark, Day of the Dead is smooth and drinkable with a complex mix of smoke, chocolate and restrained chili heat. A true celebration of the dark side. First available November 1, in celebration of  El Día de los Muertos - Mexico’s Day of the Dead.

Opening you get a cocoa aroma,  Pours with a decent head, dark dark black (it does say black lager), but the aroma is hard to pick now.

To the taste though. This is sort of lager like, but it isn't. They've faffed with it of course, and then this loses the 'aaah' in lager.  What you get is a brief familiar lager introduction taste and 'bang' a sucker punch of spice zing. Not a punch in the mouth, more a playful punch on the arm.

So I'm a little confused, this is 'hot' in the way that that hard to describe, there is more a pinch at the back of the throat, and you play with trying to identify what exactly is causing it. I have no idea, so I refer to the label,  and some chipotle in tequila has been added. Makes Sense.

Not sense ending in -ible because this isn't at all sensible.  It is a good thing though. Because (a) you have no idea what you're drinking, a lager or a spiced beer (2) if you drink it all you forget that it's 3 1/2 drinks you just had, because (c) you can't easily pick that you have a beer of stronger than normal. But this brings me to (4) Could you go another ?

I don't think I could, and I have a La Calevera Catrina, in the fridge, the companion to this, and that by all counts has Chilli that might kick your teeth in - (I'm kidding) (I hope).

As this  gets warmer it begins to gather more body about it, and turns it hands to a more porter like profile. But with a kicker that is more muted but there, like a mosquito in your ear at night, just out of reach, and it appears to tail off the more you have, or the warmer it gets, and it's only a matter of degrees.

This would be a fantastic "to share" beer with friends as a discussion, and the pdubyah-o-meter says at 8 this would be a very good idea. It's not at all like the Rogue Farms Dirtoir Black Lager, but that's a good thing, because they're really not the same thing.

Beer - #217 - Garage Project - Sauvin Nouveau

Another beer from the dwindling back of fridge stocks, the Garage Project Sauvin Nouveau, baing saved for no reason. Brewed by Garage Project in the style of a Pilsener and they're in Wellington, New Zealand, and on the bucket list of things less than a day away :-)

Fresh sauvignon blanc juice fermented with pilsner wort brewed an extravagant late addition of Nelson Sauvin hops. Vin Nouveau meet Sauvin Nouveau in a vintage harvest pilsner of crisp and intense aromatic fruit complexity, where the flavours of beer and wine intertwine so closely it’s almost indecent. Surely it can’t be wrong if it feels this right? This beer was made possible by the generous assistance of the award winning Palliser Estate Wines of Martinborough.

Riiiiight.....

This is a 650ml of a 7.6% beer, or 3.9 standard drinks to me and you.

It could be  a  beer-wine or a wine-beer, but it seems like it could be awesome.

An interesting aroma on opening, like gooseberry ? Really pale pour,  good head too (that's 2 in a row), the intriguing aroma intrigues me.

For a not bitter beer this certainly has a bang of hops in it, no mistaking the grassy notes, but they're a little magical in the delivery, this is altogether a bit clever. It carries a long soft bitter note but has a wonderfully moorish over-riding sweetness.

It's just a bit good.  You might think you've had a good Pilsner type beer, this however is a head, shoulders and a step-ladder better in many many ways.  The Garage Project boys seems to nail their brief with alarming regularity, making it all a bit unfair on the competition.

It is possible to have too many favourite beers, but I'd put this on my list as one of them, very clever, no way you'd think that it was 7.6% ABV, and no way you'd leave the glass half full.  It's soft to drink and yet has a taste profile you can chase and enjoy if you're in the mood. I had the thought that this would be with me, in the sun, at the beach house, pre-BBQ and stress level zero. And it's not often a beer takes you on that journey.

I would so buy this for you as a gift, the pdubyah-o-meter says 10. Outstanding.

Beer- #214 - Garage Project - Lord Cockswain’s Courage Blended Porter

The Weirdly named Garage Project Lord Cockswain’s Courage- Blended Porter, Brewed by Garage Project in the style of a  Porter  or Imperial/Strong Porter for the stronger one, and The Garage Project is based in Wellington, New Zealand.

Garage Project have this labelled as a" Blended Porter".

"Tastes Like War". Slogging up and down the mounts of Venus really takes it out of a chap. After a long day at it, his Lordship needs a special something to steady the legs. Brewed to his own special requirements, Lord Cockswain’s Double Barrel Blend is a judicious blend of freshly brewed Courage, and our brewery ’stock’, aged for over 12 months in oak bourbon barrels. Combining the rich licorice, raisin and vanilla character of aged porter, with a lively sparkle and chocolate character of freshly brewed beer, the result is complex, powerful and deceptively drinkable. Just the way his lordship likes it. Bottled on 8th July 2013 Enjoy now or for several years to come

This is a 650ml bottle of a 10.5% ABV,  beer, making it about 5.4 standard drink units

Indeed why not.  Also seems this might be a "rare" find.

Unassuming bitter note on opening. Pours richly dark, with a really lively mocha head that dissipates in a sea of carbonation.  Settles to a musty chocolate fruit aroma.

Tastes like a wizards concoction.

Lots going on with high tones of fruits, and sweet things, with a really deep under-note of smoked. Very pleasant this is. It's bitterness is almost a sourness, but in some strange way this is very appealing.

The alcohol isn't abundantly apparent, and you'd be forgiven for thinking that this was a strong beer without realising that it was a bit of a heavyweight of it's sort.

The pdubyah-o-meter makes this easily a 10, swing and a ding! A beer that is aggressive and accessible, not bitter, not overly sweet. Maybe erring too much to the barley wine with the fruit, but a thoroughly impressive concoction. Well done that man.

I’m so pleased I got this. It is let down by it seeming ’fizziness’ and then a lack of sustained head, but if you know me and beer it might be more a me thing than a beer thing. There is a wicked amount of sweet fruit and top notes against a booming pleasant carrying note of smoked or bourbon underneath. Very long palate, very decent mouthfeel. A wizards concoction. Hides it high ABV pretty well, and for some might have too much fruitiness to make it seem more barley wine than Porter. Substantial, and if you missed out don’t fret, the track record from GP is such that the next one will have the dial at 11.

 

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Beer- #213 - Funk Estate - Oh Lordy! - The Redux

I drank this a few beers ago #180  - the Funk Estate - Oh Lordy!,  from  naturally  the Funk Estate and Brewed at Aotearoa Breweries in the style: American Pale Ale and of all the places I'm not at the moment Windy Wellington, New Zealand.

Still a 330 ml bottle of a 5.9% ABV NZ Pale Ale, still only the 1.5 standard drinks.

Funk call this out as " Gooseberries and tropical fruit are some of the notes picked out of the incredible complexity. Smooth and soulful with an exciting late bitterness. OH LORDY!"

Should you care to read my less than glorious first attempt you'll see I called them out to contact me.  Should you care to look you'll note they did

Should you note, also, that I declared that I couldn't be brought off. Turns out I can :-)

Tonight then the re-review of the beer that brought me so much angst and anger back in June this year.

The hiss from the opening says it could be ok, the aroma is a bit missing, but that's ok, it's what happens next.

The pour is  flat and headless, but then I have a thing about beer and head, the aroma has some deep unfamiliar thing going on. You think you have it then you don't.  It settles to a bready note, if I was pushed.

The taste is full of lemon, grapefruit, and other 'sour' notes, but there isn't a top note softness to balance this up.

It's still gives the impression of a  disturbingly flat beer in the glass, like beer that's been left overnight from a party. The taste profile delivers a grassiness and grapefruit thing, which is good.

Things that I thought might be different; poured with a head, kept some carbonation

Things that were different; had happiness and the associated grassiness and citrus type fruit notes.

Things that I like about this. It's a much better beer than I gave credit for previously.  I do think that there is an issue with head and appearance or apparent carbonation, don't get me wrong this isn't a flat beer,  it just looks like one.

The pdubyah-o-meter then on re-examination  says 7  , but a B- and either I don't get your vision or I've misunderstood it.  I don't know how to make this a better beer,  but perhaps I'd make either of the ends of the sweet or bitter end sharper. I might make the beer darker. I think the aroma profile is confused.

I wanted to re-evaluate this based on me buying it and being honest.  I gave it up and accepted the offer from the brewer, but I'm not going to compromise by pretending this is, for me, better than it is.  Which is a beer that is a bit understated, not in a good way, with a few things that need a review.

Did I enjoy it, yes I did. but in compare to the last time I had it. Did I enjoy it comparedto the promise of funkification that the label has, sadly not so much.

As Shaft would say, I think you're Jiving me.

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Beer - #164 - Geek - Coconut Porter

All in then on a Geek Coconut Porter- Brewed by Geek Beer in the style of a  Porter and they weave this magic in Windy Wellington, New Zealand

Never had a Geek beer - but couldn't pass this one up. A 330ml bottle of a 6% ABV beer (1.6 Standard drinks), and at 30IBU this isn't going to be too challenging middle range bitter.

Geek Coconut Porter is a dark robust porter with a depth of flavour created from a wide range of carefully selected malts with the addition of toasted coconut. The intriguing aroma and rich chocolate flavour makes for a truly delicious beer. You could even say it’s Geekalicious.

Aroma on opening of desiccated coconut and of chocolate, it's like confectionery.

Dark pour, no head, not even a hint of one, it's almost dead flat calm, even though I know I could hear carbonation a happening. The Aroma remains a dark rich fruity base.

And a confusion of tastes follows. Mostly burnt fruit. But of coconut there is some, not all up in your face but you can hear it singing on the wings.

I'm betwixt and between on this, it seems like it should be heavier but it's a bit thin on length. There is a magnificence of chocolates and fruits and coconuts, but  there could be more.

It's ok, but they could all be turned up to 11, as it is though this lacks lenght, and turns into a rather sweet experience that might make it a longer drink than you'd like.

The pdubyah-o-meter after a first flush peters out to a rather disappointing 7 things on its scale of things. I would have liked more, I'm glad I came, and it won't put me off another.

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Beer - #163 - Garage Project - Red Rocks

Garage Project - Red Rocks - Brewed by Garage Project in the Style: Amber Ale in Wellington, New Zealand

All a bit special. 650ml bottle, 7.5% ABV - 3.6 Standard Drink units.

Red Rocks is a rich ruby red ale with loads of chewy malt character. There wasn’t a lot of restraint shown in the hopping of this beer. We had a fair bit of whole cone Nelson Sauvin hops in the fridge and they all went in. The end result is a nice balance of malt sweetness and bitterness, with some assertive hop aroma and flavour.

These guys party when they make beer, and well this was a bottle I couldn't go past.

Big bang of hops on the aroma, rich dark brown pour, but a poor effort of head. The hop aroma isn't fussy and just is, and it's almost chocolate like, but that might be fanciful.

My mouth is a bit watering with expectation, and that a weird thing. OMG, this is a delightfully rich deep beer. There is a smash of malt sweets and a layer of hop bitter, and it's like a party going on in my mouth! The hops are raw and grassy, the caramels are just on point, and the carbonation is lovely and mellow.

The hops get more prevalent as it sits, but they don't carry a sourness or sour end with them, and they are carried well by the malts.

Love it a lot, the pdubyah-o-meter is 9.25th of a thing, it's a bit good. Lovely balanced beer well put together.

'nuff said.

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