Beer - #162 - St Peters - Suffolk Gold

Change of pace again , this time to a St Peters Suffolk Gold in the style of a Premium Bitter/ESB - Brewed by St Peters (UK)  in Bungay, England

500ml bottle, 4.9%ABV,  2.45  Standard drinks. And the Bottle is a magnificent thing in itself.

"Suffolk grown First Gold hops provide the bitterness and aroma for this well hopped premium beer. This is brewed with Suffolk malt to produce a full bodied ale with a lasting hop aroma"

And there's me doing my best Wurzel Gummidge impression.

Because it's a friday, and I am looking forward to this. Beer that is, not necessarily this beer.

English bitter aroma, golden brown pour, a bit cloudy, reasonable head. The aroma is light and faintly grassy hoppy, the taste is somewhat soft too, and there is a hop kick in a long tasting mouthful. Nice lacing too.

I like the hoppiness in this, they taste fairly green, but aren't sharp or annoying, there is however not much else you can say. I'm sure there are malts but they all part of a thing and not individual players.

Pretty inoffensive and not a lot to write home about, the pdubyah-o-meter says a lazy 7 on this.   When you have a wide selection of bitters it's not easy to be different or stand-out. This is a beer you could easily share with friends, and drink a lot of without getting all rowdy.

For a Friday it's probably a good thing.

Beer - #151 - Zeelandt - Pale Ale

The second of the two beers- this one the Pale Ale - Brewed by Zeelandt Brewing Co of course in the style of a English Pale Ale and that's in sunny Napier, New Zealand.

500ml Bottle - 5% ABV bottle conditioned beer (thats about 1.97 standard drinks). It claims 35 IBU's which is near the upper end of bitter for a Pale Ale

A classic pale ale that delivers a glass full of hoppy flavour. This bright, copper coloured beer has a malty backbone, wonderfully balanced with citrus hop flavour and a clean, refreshing finish. This pale ale leaves you wanting more.

Copper brown, headless, and an aroma of mainly citrus and malts. If there are hops in this they are the silent types.

There is carbonation though, but it didn't translate into head. And it's very light on hops. Very. The mouth is dominated by the carbonation, a sweet note, and a slight finish of bitterness. There's no lacing either.

Frankly it's a bit meh. The pdubyah-o-meter says 7 and be happy.

Meh as in nothing outstanding, or rewarding in this, it's not particularly flavourful, aromatic, or alcohol heavy.  A safe beer from a new brewery.

A report card might say B- Must try harder.

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Beer - #144 - Rogue - Imperial India Pale Ale (I²PA)

omg omg omg - A Rogue - Imperial India Pale Ale (I²PA), which even without opening it looks like a work of art, ceramic covered glass with stopper. Brewed by Rogue Ales In the style: of a  Imperial/Double IPA Newport, Oregon USA.

And double up I've yet to be disappointed by a Rogue beer.

Above and beyond an India Pale Ale--I2PA is radically hopped with an intense aroma and hop bitterness. Unfiltered and aged for 9 months before it leaves the brewery--not for the faint of heart. I2PA is brewed with two-row Pipkin Pale malts, Saaz, Cascade and Northwest Golding hops.

a big 750ml bottle of a 9.5% ABV beer, which is 5.8 Standard drinks - in one bottle. 74 IBU's which is fair to middling.  BarleyWine and Standard IPA tops out at 70 on a good day. I should share it. I won't but I should.

A PDF of an IBU guide you can find here .

Magnificently hoppy on opening, pinegrassy, light orangey golden brown in colour, decent head, and carbonation. The aroma isn't carried though and it settles down to noticeable but not strong. It's full of body, has a citrus content, long mouth of hops and finishes nicely.  The pine/grass taste is pretty evident though and leads this charge.

The alcohol strength is well hidden, but that's not hard when the dominant taste is the bitter hops and not a lot else. Disappointing that there isn't a softer back-note or feel with this. Not that I want a sweet and sour beer, but it would add a dimension that could be nice.

I was hoping that as it warmed in the glass that it would change the impression, but the hops just get hoppier, but they're, in my opinion, just a tad on the harsh side. The malt warm does begin to get a hold, but they get a bit slammed, and the alcohol astringent gets a toe hold too.

Would I share it? Heck yes, there is enough in this to carry a conversation on it's merits. The pdubyah-o-meter says this would be 8 from 10, because I want to like it more than I do. I love the bottle and delivery, I hate the way that suddenly you've had nearly 6 drinks worth of beer: -), I love the hoppy aroma, it's just nice,  but I would have liked some lacing in the glass.

Party in a bottle? No. It's not as likeable as it could be, there could be a softer edge somewhere, this is pretty much a one dimension beer. Am I disappointed, yes, and no. It's a fine beer, I drank a lot of it too quickly, and I'm going to wish I had another, mostly to try and figure out if I was right or wrong about it.

Related articles

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Beer - #139 - Schipper’s - Scallywag

Schipper’s Scallywag - a Rich Amber Ale - From the Schipper’s Beer Company Brewed at Aotearoa Breweries in Newmarket, Auckland, New Zealand

5.5% ABV in a 500ml bottle. (2,2 Drink units) of either an  Amber Ale or ESB ?

This beer has a velvety balance of malt and hops that makes it very easy to drink.

Seems they dropped the premium packaging and went for comedy label ?

Brewery in Newmarket - let me guess..... Lion!

But I had a pif of a day and perhaps a comedy beer will make things better.

So: Light, Amber, no so bitter, and a bit chemical is what I have in mind....

It's actually decently hoppy!, I could be eating my own words (or drinking my own beer), very decently hoppy and has a fair bash of sweet malt note too. a decent off white head and me licking my lips, Seems like a bit of a winner.  Lovely dark chestnut colour too. All round goodly good.

This already has session beer all over it, an IBU of 45 means that you're not going to end up puckering every moutful and a bit looking forward to the next one. And at low/mid strength this will carry you all evening.

There's no hint of the alcohol or any additive that I was afeared of, and I'm refreshed and altogether in a much better place than I was earlier.

The pdubyah-o-meter says 7.5 things good on it's scale of arbitrary, making this a beer to reach for if you have any doubts about the other offerings in front of you .  It could do with a bit more malts and a bit of length on the palate if it was to push through and become a benchmark, as it is though it's a good solid if unspectacular beer.

If only I had another !