Tag Archives: Christchurch

Apr 4 2013

Beer – #141 – Golden Eagle – Big Yank American IPA


Oh yes I did.  Golden Eagle Big Yank American IPA, on a Thursday!, Brewed by Golden Eagle Brewery Styled as a American Strong Ale in Christchurch, New Zealand.

Golden Eagle - Big Yank7.5% ABV in a 500ml glass, making it 3 standard drinks.

During 1944/45 the B17 Bomber – Big Yank – completed 50 combat missions, attacking targets throughout Germany.  

In true American IPA style, this beer packs a nose and mouthful of hops with a malt backbone and bitterness to match!

Not even much on the Golden Eagle website about this, but I’m looking forward to this, as I’ve not yet had a bad experience with the Golden Eagle.

Lovely hoppy aroma straight up, Fantastic dark brown colour, decent carbonation, and a good attempt at a head. A fair wallop of bitterness in this, the right amount, and backed with a decent malty back.  Nice citrus in this too, and decent length.

What this also does is hide that it’s a strong beer.

I’d hunt this out if it was on tap, this hits my spot nicely. The pdubyah-o-meter says 8.5 things on it’s scale of things. There’s not a lot not to like about this to be honest. If you’re up for an IPA, like the bitterness at a level that decent and carries itself well then this is the go.

Apr 1 2013

Beer – #140 – Harrington’s – Big John Special Reserve


Harrington’s Big John Special Reserve, which after the disastrous Belgium Tempest I’m slightly wary of.  This however a Limited Edition, and at the same time a Special Reserve !  Cover both bases.

Brewed by Harringtons Breweries (Christchurch) Styled as a Dunkler Bock and as always that’s al majicked in Christchurch, New Zealand.

500ml of a 6.5% ABV beer, (2.6 standard drinks), in a standard brown bottle.

Harrington's Big JohnDunkler Bock – The dark Bock has a deep copper to dark brown color. Medium to full-bodied, malt sweetness and nutty or light toasted flavors dominate. Hop flavor and aroma can be light to non-existent.

but they say in the notes – Strong dark ale, full flavoured brew with a hint of spiciness. Smooth roast malt flavour balanced well with hops.

Sets some expectations.

Aroma is sort of chocolate, and I thought faintly of orange  but it’s not insistent, or overpowering, dark beer, reasonable head, not overly excitable carbonation.

They’re right that the flavour in this is mellow and low key, you can get the roasted/chocolate -notes, you get a mouth of fizz, and a linger on the palate. There’s a fairly decent lacing on the glass as well, not something I mention enough.

The top of this though carries an alcohol note, and that’s not something you generally look for in a beer of any kind, sure some have it and you know that you’re likely to find it, but I wasn’t expecting it with this.

The pdubyah-o-meter finds it a struggle to get to a 6 from 10 on this in it arbitrary way or all thing. My bottom line with this is that I have a friend, oh yes I do, called John, and would I give it to him as a novelty gift? And I think not.  I rate it better than ‘meh’ as it really isn’t very offensive, it’d be ok to share with a friend and might spur you forward to try other dark beers, the porters, stouts etc.

But I’m glad I don’t have another if I was being honest.

Mar 29 2013

Beer- #136 – Harringtons – Belgium Tempest – revisited


I did this already - Beer #32 – June – a while ago, and I wasn’t that impressed.

But clearly I wasn’t that miffed, or disappointed or this might not have made it back to the shopping basket, unless it was under one of those buy one get one free things.

Harrington - Belgium ™ t TempestBrewed by Harringtons Breweries (Christchurch) in the style of a  Abbey Tripel from the deep south as far away as Christchurch, New Zealand.

Brewed using Belgian Ale yeast makes this beer big, rich and full of fruitiness. Palate is rich and subtle malty. Full bodied sweetness dominates most of the palate but dies to a dryer finish with a herbal/phenol crisp hop bitterness.

And because it was like 9 months ago, I start again, They set themselves a big bar, and a big expectation for this. So what do I want/expect: Golden or Chestnuet \ Malts and sweets \ Alcohol to the back\ citrus to the front. A s 500ml of an 8% ABV beer – thats 3.2 standard drinks in old money, it looks inviting with it’s electric blue label this may have been what drew me back.

Stand by …

The aroma isn vague  bit musty..  Well carbonated, chestnut colour no head, it looks like day old beer in  a glass, but it might be that’s doing it wrong.

The aroma is dank, musty, yeasty, not so good, a bit plastic, and perhaps a bit of banana.

And the taste is a bit sour, and alarming, it’s not inviting, and the malts take like forever to make a fleeting appearance, there is something not quite right about this.

I think that I gave this a 4  on the pdubyah-o-meter before, age or experience have not improved either this beer or my opinion of it. There is not even the begin of a head, carbonation or lacing, and this hasn’t changed. Either the brewer is working to a schedule or this must be the last harrarh for this, who likes it? Even at a 2 for 1 deal your’re being sold short.

Avoid

 

Nov 3 2012

Beer – #88 – Wigram Brewing Co. – Ginger Jerry


The Wigram Ginger Jerry bottle of 330ml sized 4% ABV beer, the quiet end of a night out.

Brewed by Wigram Brewing Company, in the style of a Belgian White (Witbier), and of course they’re in Christchurch, New Zealand.

Another addition to the Wigram seasonal range, Ginger Jerry has the full body of a wheat beer with the extra zing of infused ginger, honey and lemon resulting in a naturally sweet lemon ginger spice aroma. Cloudy in appearance the beer radiates with a warm rich orange hue. Brewed with a Belgium Ale yeast and low in alcohol, Ginger Jerry is a refreshing beer for all seasons.

For no reason other than I saw it this is a “best before September 13″ beer. Not even sure why that bothers me, or even if it does since I had “keeper” beers that I drank that were 5 months old. It is what it is.

Lets be upfont with what I expect, the citrus (read lemon) and ginger that the label promises, and that’s about all. So…….

It has ginger whiff , it has a well goodly amount of carbonation, and I get a cut grass aroma. The head which starts off all excitable like a puppy dies away fairly easily, I really do have to find a middling point with this aspect of beers.

The Palate is of a harsh bitter ginger that leaps and barks at you, like an excitable puppy, it’s very long on the palate, very long and almost troubling. Peppery and tanging on the tongue. There is a lemon back taste, but it’s like washing up liquid. What’s going on ?

Gak. This is almost like drinking washing up liquid, it’s not  really hitting any mark at all, and confuses to deceive as a beer. Not sure what the goal was but this might be an own goal of massive proportion.

This isn’t even a sweet ginger ginger beer, this is the worst of the bitter, and a mufddled taste, what I get is all grass, it’s fairly unpleasant. Lucky it’s 330ml and not something substantial.

The pdubyah-o-meter resists strongly but lurches to a really weak 3 things from it’s equally arbitrary number.  This should take a bus trip to Geradine and join the “muster” that I had a couple of beersago, and they should elope to and hide as recluses never to be seen again. Ghastly.

A poor finish to a night, and would have been a tragic start to a night, the chaps at Wigram need to sit in the sun more and listen the the inner voice, because whatever caused this wasn’t contemplation and thought.

Related articles

 

Oct 19 2012

Beer – #79 – Mussel Inn – Dark Horse


Right then, last chance saloon the Mussel Inn Dark Horse Black Beer - Which is brewed by The Mussel Inn, and they do this in the style of a Porter in the deepest Onekaka, New Zealand.

To be fair this is the last of the shopping basket for this round of beers, that was mostluy a Porter. Question is then best for last, or last for a reason?

It’s an all or nothing deal then, no pressure.

5% ABV in a 330ml bottle, this has a hard road ahead of it to be more than just a bottle of beer. at the 5% level they pretend that this is where Heineken, or Stella, et al sit , in the continental class.

So then, given the label that has a lack of commitment “Very dark and roasty – not too dry. A solid and dependable performer – pulls away strong at the finish.” I’m really really really contemplating a wee dram.

I’m not comfortable with the presentation of this beer, I’m not actually sure what the label is reaching for, the kitsch, the edgy, the boutique, or what, I chose this despite not being drawn in by it.

So it has an aroma that’s a porter, it’s dark like a porter, and has the roasted that fits. And I got a head on the pour. Of course the chocolate, and the malts, that’s the thing right?

And then we get to the taste, it’s like an eager puppy scrabbling around, but this is thinner than a catwalk model, there is bulk over substance going on, and an unpleasant aftertaste of the malts running away.

The Mussel Inn are producing a bunch of competent beers, but they are not leaders, or trend setters, or making their own path, they’re just making a beer.

The pdubyah-o-meter swings in a panic to a 5 arbitrary things from 10 equally arbitrary things. This is a beer that wouldn’t ever be voted “beer most likely to” anything…  I’m going to cry.

I might have missed the whole Porter thing, I’m sure I have, they seem to be a half-way house between nev and er . This does not get better the longer it sits, In fact I began to find it a bit unpleasing towards the end, and again felt that 330ml was going to be a challenge or me.

I can do better than this, and so should they. If they’ve caught an eclectic audience based on local or label or image or reputation then big ups of the Mussel Inn, I would though be counselling them against entering a beer competition, he says as an expert. bwahahahah.

Related articles
Oct 19 2012

Beer – #77 – KJD Brewing – Chocolate Cherry Porter


In for a penny….  KJD Brewing Chocolate Cherry Porter Brewed at the Wigram Brewing Company in the style of a Porter (we’re on a theme here) and this one is from Christchurch, New Zealand.

So then the story advances a frame to this. And as always they love to talk it up “Alluringly rich, our deep mahogany coloured porter has a delightful malty sweetness with notes of chocolate and toffee. Entwined within a delicate balance of dried fruit esters reminiscent of plums, prunes and raisins, Marlborough sun-ripened cherries added in the final stage of fermentation make this delectable beer dance on your tastebuds.”

Have to say that the label gets a 10 but they could gussy up the lid an this would get 11/10 just for looking great in the bottle. 500ml of a 6% beer, this one a 2010 “vintage” which isn’t something you often say after the word “beer”.  It’s also a serve a room temperature beer, which is a disaster, unless I move my office to the fridge where this has been for a bit of R & R.

I don’t mind going against advice though, or against my better judgement so I’m just going to get in. There’s a lovely aroma, deep chocolate. And a disappearing head. It’s a nice dark colour, you could talk yourself into seeing a redness, and the malt sweetness adds to the intrigue.  It’s fairly tangy on the tongue, but not so much that it’s a distraction, and then a lovely smooth taste, sort of fruity comforting, there’s nothing deep or mysterious in this, except that there is.  And as it warms and sits I begin to get more of the flavour and body, and it makes me wonder if this is a fruit based beer or a flavoured porter, it’s a line call.

Lets say that I’d be comfortable to buy this for friends to drink, I’d be happy that there is enough challenge in this to make them enjoy it without it being intrusive or a wrestle for them, and that makes this ok in my book.  But it relegates this to a beer that you’d serve your father, and if you’re looking to have a beer that you have an experience with, and I’ve had a few of those, then whist the intrigue of the taste and implied cherry-ness might catch you eye it really isn’t more then a glance.

Annoying that though. I might have completely not got the Porter thing, and that’s my fault and not that of the beer.  The pdubyah-o-meter settles in it’s arbitrary way at about a low 7, which is the average, or the level where I think I’m prepared to enjoy a beer without having a hissy fit about it. I wish I’d enjoyed a better journey with each mouthful, and discovered a new thing each time, or the same thing but better.

The end thing is that  I’d like to feel that I’m drinking a beer to discover and enjoy it, and I find myself thinking with this, and  that  in this case , that I might be drinking this because it’s a beer that ok to drink, which although in and of itself not a bad thing, but that if I wanted a beer just to drink that I might be drinking something else, this just isn’t a memorable beer.  And that is the worst grammatical sentence I tried to put together, so to summarise: “B+ must try harder”

Sep 1 2012

Beer – #52 – Apache American Amber Ale


Apache American Amber Ale –  Brewed by Golden Eagle Brewery, in the style of an Amber Ale, and is brewed in Rolleston,  Just outside Christchurch, New Zealand.  It delivered in a convenient (pint) 500ml 5.6%ABV bottle.

Pure Canterbury water, barley & American hops are brought together with passion to create an amber ale with Zest!

Been around since 2002 or thereabouts. It’s very hoppy and dark for an “amber ale”  which lead me to this discovery since I was really expecting ‘amber’ and not “dark’….

American Amber / Red Ale – Primarily a catch all for any beer less than a Dark Ale in color, ranging from amber (duh) to deep red hues. This style of beer tends to focus on the malts, but hop character can range from low to high. Expect a balanced beer, with toasted malt characters and a light fruitiness in most examples. The range can run from a basic ale, to American brewers who brew faux-Oktoberfest style beers that are actually ales instead of lagers.

An then I went “ahhh” I get it now. So turning the frown upside down your starter for 10 is “can I pour a beer with a head?” and you’d be right. Not this time.

Crikey that’s hoppy. Very hoppy, a loud surprise hoppy- again crickey. That’s somewhat pleasant. Wow, I’m totally at peace with the fact that mu ignorance leads to me a red ale, rather than something else. And having just had a “Leprechauns Belle” at the “Deep Creek Brewery” that won a bronze I can tell you the bar must be pretty low for that award. This is hands down a better beer by heaps.

Ok so else I get Hops, of course, and a pleasant malt that adds enough sweet to make this really somewhat a game of two halves. The hops makes you think of a bitterer mouthfeel the underlying malt taste balances that very well.

Lest I talk more nonsense I’ll award some arbitrary points on the pdubyah-o-meter, and I can’t lie this is 9 from 10. and it’s a high 9 not a down-marked 9. If I could pour one with a head, and it had better lacing it’s be 9.5 :) . This is something of a pleasant and rewarding beer, and I’m really impressed, and for the jaded me that’s something I look for.

In the adventure that is craft beer there are never many surprises, often you get too much carbonation, or mis-balance of hops, or malt, a thinness. Today I’m really quite impressed that I had to sit up and pay real attention to a fine beer. Seriously, try this, you’ll be impressed.

The lovely people at Liquorland in Forest Hill for their selection deserve a mention.

Related articles
Aug 5 2012

Beer – #41 – Raindogs Brewing Company – Apothecary Amber Ale


So then Apothecary Amber Ale (Raindogs Brewing Co), Well it’s an Amber Ale, and it’s from Christchurch and it’s in a fine 500ml bottle of 5.9% ABV-ness

Bit of a new boy there isn’t a lot of on he interwebtubes about this beer.

Raindogs Brewing Co was born from the aftermath of the 2011 Christchurch earthquakes, and this is the first beer I believe from brewer Sean Harris. It is by that measure something special.

A magnificent shade  of Amber it is, and it hold a head well, which I’m secretly giving a fist-pump about, since I’ve had not a lock of luck lately on beers with heads. It looks great to be honest, a right proper beer colour.

There was an aroma of bitterness at first, it’s gone now, I might have imagined it.

I thought this was a bit thin, didn’t carry a taste and was over carbonated. The taste finished to bitter and I don’t get a lot of anything much by way of a taste that sit’s up and says oi! I don’t get it, or what it is, apart from a pretty coloured beer.

The pdubyah-o-meter of late has been at a high bar and this fails to make the grade, and I’d be arbitrarily marking it at 6 from 10. It’s not that it’s a bad beer, it would be great if I was in the pub in front of a fire with some friends, it’s innocuous, not intrusive and quietly gets on with what it is. If I’m ever in Christchurch I’d look this up for a night out.

Liquorland on Forest Hill Road continues to amaze me with it’s beer fridge, thanks chaps.

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Oct 25 2011

It’s Electioneering time…..


That time every 3 years in New Zealand when we get to cast our collective say on what bunch of hypocrites governs us for 3 years, which is more like 2 years when all is said and done.

NZ National Party , having acquired a set of books from the outgoing NZ Labour Party of 9 years they’ve managed to walk into a couple of unexpected items, such as the Global Financial Crisis (GFC) and an Earthquake, and a bit of a boat wreck. They’ve dropped the tax rate for the higher income earners – much to the disgust of the socialist left and greens, and raised the GST rate, again much to the disgust of the Labour and Green party. That’s about all they’ve done though it’s not really been a time of forward thinking but one of introspection.

The Labour Party have campaigned hard on how badly the National Party are doing, that’s their whole mantra. Look what National did isn’t it bad. Dropping the tax rate – bad – because it’s only “rich pricks” who benefit – bad bad bad, and raising GST, that’s bad because it only punished the lower-income earners, double plus bad. The only policy shambles they’ve come up with is a Capital Gains Tax system, A tax on the rich, and at the end of a property bubble, which makes no sense. it might be an income generator in a few years, but it isn’t a fix for anything.

The Green Party are content to bag everyone about everything and clearly only want to target “rich pricks” with various incremental taxes, you earn more you pay more – for a Christchurch recovery fund- that makes no sense at all- it isn’t “fair” as they’d like you to belive, it’s targeted at the rich – who allegedly can afford more, somehow.

I don’t have any time for the Māori party – a separatist movement  – along with the Mana party, they’re not really sure what they are for or against, as long as it bags whitey and “the crown”

Couple of other things come to mind, the Labour party want to have a raise in the minimum wage, and an even more complex comparative wage standard in certain industries – yet they don’t want minimum standards of education for our children. That seems like madness.

So with only a few weeks ago it’ll be sling some mud time, see what sticks, then credit the voters with enough sense to pick and choose.

Jun 23 2011

The Story So far


I like the idea that the last post from me was a couple weeks ago, or december, whatever

Much has happened in such a short space of time

I became an Orphan, my mother died suddenly and unexpectedly earlier this year.
My Daughter got a car and drives her self everywhere with new found freedom.
My Daughter had a personal setback when she didn’t make a  Representative ‘A’ team, but with amazing inner strenght that I didn’t know she had, chose to go to the same tournament as an Umpire, itself a great honor.

I’ve been to Christchurch, Mt.Cook and Queenstown, and even indulged in some poor quality ‘planking’