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.

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Auckland Lantern festival 2013

The Auckland Lantern Festival is celebrated on the first full moon following the Chinese New Year.

In 2013, the event, from 22-24 February was held at Albert Park in Auckland.

This year we tool the in-laws, which as it turns out was a disaster, and so, for the very brief time we were at the event here are a few pictures. Who knew that FIL was claustrophobic, and the crowds made him have a mild panic. Why MrsPdubyah would organise to go to a crowded event is beyond me, unless it's some kind of daughter revenge. Anyway  here you are:-

[gallery ids="4290,4291,4292,4293,4294,4295,4296,4297,4298,4299,4300,4301,4302,4303,4304,4305,4306,4307,4308,4309,4310,4311,4312,4313,4314,4315"]

The park was packed, but I would urge you to go, and if you have good spirits and don't mind the jostle and the hustle this is the most cheerful and happy event that you could image, all the lanterns are amazing, and although we had to leave almost as soon as we arrived what I saw made me smile a lot.

Beer - #121 - Yeastie Boys - His Majesty 2012

I stopped in at my local bottle shop on the way home, a particularly weird day at work that was pretty frustrating on a number of fronts, and I picked me up a Yeastie Boys His Majesty 2012.

Yeastie Boys beer is  Brewed at Invercargill Brewery  and His Majesty 2012 is in the style of a : Belgian Ale <strong>

His Majesty, The Fourth, is a Belgian-style strong pale ale. A gentle (yet dangerous) giant of a beer featuring an interplay of sweet bready German malt, a hint of kiwi hops and a delicate spiced fruit from use of a Belgian Abbey yeast.

750ml, 8.5% ABV beer - that's about 5.3 standard drink units.

I'm only disappointed that this doesn't have a cork and cage,

Belgium beer then, Sweet, Dark Amber, Heady, Malty, slightly bitter under note. Oh I'm looking forward to this .

Beer - #120 - Nøgne Ø - India Pale Ale

Nøgne Ø - India Pale Ale. Brewed by Nøgne Ø this in the style of an India Pale Ale (IPA) and they get their groove on in Grimstad, Norway.

A rich, malty, and very bitter ale. Cascade hops provide a long, fruity, and spicy after-taste. Recommended serving temperature 10°C/50°F. Ideal with barbequed or smoked meat dishes.

Ingredients: Maris Otter, Munich, wheat and caramel malt; Chinook and Cascade hops; English ale yeast, and our local Grimstad water.

17.5° P, 60 IBU, 7.5 ABV, in a 500ml bottle (that's about 3 standard drink units).

I remember enjoying the Two Captains Double IPA, so I'm inwardly quite excited. And because I'm a rebel this is the lad-in to a prawn curry. Go on have a word. It's also the background to the Led Zeppelin LP that I'm playing. It's all go here.

Traditional beer coloured beer, with a really nice head. A flash of hoppy aroma too. It's a good start. The aroma tails off though to a dough/yeasty note, masking any hoppy that might have been there.  The head dies away.

There is a lot of caramel sweet taste in this, not a lot of bitters that you could expect, they are there, but there but overshadowed somewhat. Expecting a bitter tasting tang and getting a malt warmth might put you off somewhat, but it's nice.

Other tastes I get or think I get are a citrus and a soapy note. There is a melange of tastes going through this. making it difficult to get a real handle on what it's trying to be or do.

In general though I think the sweetness of this makes it a bit odd, for an IPA it really does have a sweet tooth that's not expected. It does take it back to being a beer that has a taste but no definition. The pdubyah-o-meter makes this one a 7 and 3/4  on it's thing of things.

It might be that I misunderstand this Nogne  Ø thing, they appear to have become every beer type available brewer,  and not a fanciful in my head little place that turns out some class acts. That said I'm enjoying this less bitter IPA than the last beer I had, because sometimes the hops shouldn't be the main event and the backing band. An easy beer to drink though, and that is a good thing.

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Beer - #119 - Hallertau - Maximus Humulus Lupulus

Hallertau Maximus Humulus Lupulus. Brewed by Hallertau Brewbar & Restaurant in the styleof an American Strong Ale, in Auckland.

Strong Ale? It says Pale Ale on the label.

The fiercely floral and fragrant hop, known as the Earth Wolf by the Ancients, has been cunningly tamed with a soft, rich maltiness. Please drink respectfully

India Pale Ale – The Gladiator of Hops of 5.8% ABV in a dinky 330ml bottle, not the larger 750ml size.

The fiercely floral and fragrant hop, known as the earth wolf by the ancients, has been cunningly tamed with a soft, rich, maltiness.

So again a beer with mixed messaging from the intertubes. Again I'll go with the source on this. This has been re-packaged to the smaller bottles and toned down from a 6.8% ABV offering. That's not always a bad thing.

Hazy muddy cloudy golden pour with a rapidly disappearing head, fantastic flush of hop aroma. Not the prettiest beer I ever poured. Bittery hops but with a short length finishing. Lots of grass, and what you'd have to put down as an overall dry taste.

An interesting beer this, it's the most complicated named, the ugliest looking and it delivers a mixed bag of taste. I didn't really like the Hallertau 1,2,3 or 4 beers, and this was somewhat a last chance saloon, and because I'd heard a whisper that it might be heads above those.

There's not a lot of body in this, and adding to the dry I'm therefore also going to say thin, which is usually a sign that they've given up on something and left out the bite.

Given the trick packaging you could be lead to think that this was going to deliver something of an adventure.  It doesn't

The pdubyah-o-meter just says 7. Making this a beer that sits in the pack, it's bitter hoppy facade really does mask the shortcoming that this has. This has not made me a bigger fan of the Hallertau beers.

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