Tag Archives: Food

Apr 12 2013

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.

Rogue XS - Imperial IPAAnd 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.

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Mar 28 2013

Beer – #133 – Liberty – C!tra


Liberty C!tra, Brewed by Liberty Brewing in the style of a  Imperial/Double IPA in New Plymouth, New Zealand

500ml of a 9% ABV beer (thats about 3.6 standard drinks) in a simple bottle.

Liberty Brewing C!traWhat is in a name? Under conventional language guidelines you would expect to find any number of consonants, and to a lesser extent, you will find the odd noun. But if your have a look at the name of this beer, you will find that it has an exclamation mark right in the middle of it. What’s that all about? Doesn’t that just seem a little unusual? It’s definitely not a typo – and if you’re reading this, then I guess it’s done it’s Job. The next step is to take this bottle home. Go on. You won’t regret it.

at 9% ABV you might regret it, is what I’m thinking. This is beer that has nothing but good reviews though, so I’m not expecting any regrets, except if its only having one bottle.

Double IPA, so Hoppy, bitter (99IBU bitter) and a full noise nose is what I’m expecting. A head on the pour would be a bonus.

Before I pour there is an abundance of hop aroma, this is something you should bottle, it’s pretty o for owesum. It’s hoppy but sweet. Its chestnut brown and pours with a nice settled head. MrsPdubyah agrees with me , a first, that this has an aroma to die for. Grapefruit,  citrus, a little grass. I may have gone on a little bit about the aroma, it’s worth it!

There’s a banging amount of hop bitter on the taste too, not lip puckering whince but a fair goodly amount of ‘gosh, how fine and subtle that is’, and how fabulous the length of the taste, I’m sitting here grinning.

There a lovely sweetness to offset the bitter in this, the whole experience is something to savour and if you’re drinking to enjoy you’re unfolding a many layered thing.

After a bunch of average this stands shoulders above many many beers, and leaves you wondering what  the others might be up to, or what they missed on their journey.

As it sits the grassiness begins to take hold of the taste, the length remains the smile still lingers. They’ve really crammed the hops into this, and managed at the same time to keep them in check. I can see why this is well liked.

The pdubyah-o-meter likes this too. It’s a solid 9 things on the scale of things. Not a 10, there just aren’t enough things to keep you looking for the next thing, but as a thing on and of itself this is the thing!

One of those beers where if you like an IPA, then this would really ring you bell, and if you brought this and didn’t like it I’d offer you the money back. Quite spectacular, quaffable and a beer that would get you wobbly in short order should you forget that this i a big hitter 9% abv beer. Would easily stand up to some strong taste foods, would easily make grown men start waxing lyrical about the 80′s, 90′s, and confess many things.

Hats off to you Liberty, I’m a bit in love.

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Mar 17 2013

Beer – #127 – Rogue – Morimoto – Black Obi Soba Ale


Morimoto – Black Obi Soba Ale  - Brewed by Rogue Ales in the style of a Specialty Grain Newport, Oregon USA

Morimoto Black Obi Soba AleIt’s a pint of a 5.3 ABV beer (thats about 2.7 standard drinks),

“A darker version of our Soba Ale. Roasted malts provide a rich nut-laced flavor, while the 3 hops blend to provide a refreshing zest. 10 ingredients: Roasted soba, 2 row pale Munich, c-15, c-60, and Weyermann malts: Horizon, Sterling, and Cascade hops, free range coastal water and top fermenting Pacman yeast. 12.05 Plato, 30 IBU, 75.2 AA, 36.0 L”

I was opening this and Auckland had a 4.0 earthquake, unusual, which I hope portends the beer time come.

It’s a very dark brown beer, with a monster head of light brown, well carbonated, decent aroma of malts, but also some yeastiness. Head lingers too. All good so far.

It soft on the with a little bitterness, not an awful lot of body in this, and the pleasure is all derived from the flavour. Whilst it’s not challenging it avoids being bland and meh by having quite a lot going on on the palate, all very quietly going about what they do.

The darkness of this beer might put some off, and it’s colour doesn’t really match the taste delivery, this is a bit of a paradox in some respects.

The pdubyah-o-meter says 7.75 would be about right, it stumbles to achieve a greatness but quirky gets your attention and makes this an enjoyable experience.

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Mar 2 2013

Beer – #125 – Moa – Five Hops


Brewed by Moa Brewing Company in the style of a  Premium Bitter/ESB  brewed in the Marlborough region , Blenheim, New Zealand

Moa - Five HopPremium! none of the riff-raff. All cage and Cork too , you get a premium delivery for such a small bottle 330ml of what is described on the label as a winter Ale of 6.2% ABV beer.

Moa Five Hop winter ale shows the unique signatures of traditional North European bottle conditioning. Displaying a Nelson-dominant hoppy nose with a subtle oak character leaving extra smooth and creamy, honeyed characters on the palate. A well-balanced companion to eastern style spiced foods. Traditionally served just below room temperature.

Nelson Dominant?  Moa Five Hop Winter Ale utilises pilsner, Vienna, Munich and crystal malts to produce a distinctive mouth feel and flavour. New Zealand grown B Saaz and Hallertau aroma hops are used.

To me this says “We have a few bags of a few things left over let’s just chuck them in”

I have no idea why Moa beers carry a cachet of quality, taste, and remarkable, but I fall for it every time.

And back to earth this has nose-full of hops, which is somewhat re-assuring, it’s well carbonated, carried a decent head, which tinges orange coloured. and is decent beer orange colour (they’re not related I hope.)

The aroma portends a sour taste… here goes…. and ….. that’s interesting. It’s quite lovely, the hoppy combination is a bit of a joy, nothing that it going to shock you, and as a taste it’s not at the extreme end of the scale.

I like beer, and although I enjoy the sweeter beers, getting back to a hoppy taste is something that makes me smile, and somehow resolve to have more of it. I’m entranced by this small bottle of apparent magic. It’s quite mellow offers up a slight bittery finish and does not crease the brow with a difficult combination of things. It’s alright by me.

After the sweeter Belgium beers this is a welcome and remarkable beer,  lots of tastes despite the apparent initial  lack of aroma, which arrives as it warms, and in that weird way matches the taste that you get.

This is good enough for an 8 on the pdubyah-o-meter, I could get carried away and say that it’s as good as your money back, but it isn’t. It’s nice, very nice, nicely delivered, sense of occasion and does what it says. Impress your friends and get some, it’ll  be expensive and you should have a stand-by or alternative to go to.

For me it leads me back to the hoppy beers… and when you start to think about the types of beer and how they fit on sliding scale should bring joy to the heart.

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Mar 2 2013

Beer – #124 – Mc Chouffe


Mc Chouffe. That’s it’s name. Brewed by Brasserie d’Achouffe (Moortgat) in the style of a  Belgian Strong Ale and that’s all done in Achouffe, Belgium

McChouffe750ml bottle of an 8% ABV dark beer - the Mc CHOUFFE is an unfiltered dark beer, which is re-fermented in the bottle as well as in the keg. Behind its fruity flavour a slight hint of bitterness may be found.

I have an expectation of a toffee coloured beer, with a similar taste, malty, sweet, and fruity.

It’s a lot darker than I expected, but it is a “Brune” beer so that’s not such a surprise, the head is nice foamy and dark, and stays with the beer. There is nothing in the aroma to give away what is to come, if anything it smells of musty yeast.

There is a fair whack of carbonation that surprises the palate and this seems to mask the taste of the beer that you’re drinking. The malt isn’t very strong and you can get the alcahol bitterness of this beer. It’s not wholly unpleasant just surprising.

So where am I at with this. I think like the Le Chouffe this is a beer that isn’t a leader, or setting a mark that others have to get to. It’s a middle of the road offering,  nothing to see here, move along.  This isn’t a beer that I’d share with others, it’s not something that I’d be trying to impress you with. As a beer this lacks the sugary malty front taste, has too much carbonation and doesn’t carry very well to a finish.

However! for an 8% strong ale this is guaffable and could get you into trouble if you let it get carried away with you. The pdubyah-o-meter says 7.5 is a good mark to give, and at that mark there are a lot of beers that I wouldn’t dink in favour of this.

Given the beers of a similar  type that come to mind, such as Duvel, Chimay, Leffe or Maredesous this doesn’t fare as well.  It’s a likeable beer, well made and rounded, but it’s not a “A” student

Feb 21 2013

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>

Yeastie Boys - His MajestyHis 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 .

Smells great, is dark brown, has a head and bubbles and pops with a goodly amount of carbonation. Nothing wrong with all that so fat. You pick up a yeast smell when the head (quickly) dissipates, bit disappointing that it’s gone, but you all know it’s in my technique and not the beer.

There’s a heavy caramel taste, and rich burnt sugars, It also has what seem like spices in action, and the bubbles play across your tongue  in a nice way. There’s no indication that this is a strong ale, no back note of alcohol being hidden by the sweets. Nice work.

The bottle has a note that this is good now or up to 5 years in the cellar. Who are they kidding, this won’t see the hour out :-)

I’ve been called out before for not rating the Yeastie boys, but in this there is no mistake, it’s pretty accomplished and  I’m thinking one bottle will make me smile, two will make me sing. It would also put me over the line of desperate drunk, again it’s hard to pick that this is a strong beer by the way beers go, and it could get you in trouble

The pdubyah-o-meter loves this 9.25 things on it’s grand scale of things. I like Belgium beer, I like this. If I could get it with a head and lacing then I’d adore this. I pretty much love it already but.

As this sits in the glass getting warm  you can really notice the malts warming up and making the beer ‘glow’  and to my old tired eyes you can pick out the alcohol on the side of the glass as you swirl and admire what’s going on – which Is a story Im going to stick to.

You know those beers where I dare you to get one and confidence would make me bet your money back if you hated it, this might just be one of those times. Beer to make you chuckle, I got me one of those .

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Feb 16 2013

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.

Hallertau - Maximum Humulus LupulusThe 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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Feb 9 2013

Beer – #118 – Coronado – Red Devil


The Red Devil they say an Imperial Red Ale –  Brewed by Coronado Brewing Company in the style of an  American Strong Ale, in of all places Coronado, California ’merica.

Coronado Red DevilTalking it up Coronado says that The Red Devil is a “double dose of our “Mermaid’s Red Ale”  We simply doubled the ingredients (double the malt, double the hops) and created an award winning Ale. An incredibly balanced and smooth beer with a strong finish.”

Worries me when they say “simply” did something, which might be code-word for this one time we had a new kid and he didn’t pay attention and threw a second helping in the pot, which we had to sell, and it  turned out ok, so we carried on with it.

This is a 8.5% ABV beer in a 650ml (pint) bottle, the attached label says however 10.7% abv which is about 5.5 standard drinks, the plot thickens somewhat. Is there a US and a Foreign ABV rating that I’m not aware of? I’m picking the lower number since it’s on the bottle and in other places. Weirdly though the original Red Devil appears to be a 10.7% ABV beer. Perhaps it’s mellowed in it’s age?

Photo on 9-02-13 at 5.00 PMPhoto on 9-02-13 at 5.01 PMScreen Shot 2013-02-09 at 5.03.55 PM

So a mixed start to start. They’ve changed the label and so they may have changed the mix for this and that is what I’m going to go with. Clearly their own information has to be taken as gospel.

So many words without any action then. And I’ve built up an expectation of having my thirst quenched because I’ve been making rib marinades this afternoon, and that’s time in the kitchen, that I have to balance up with a beer. It’s the law.

The alternate description is this This robust, roasty, aggressively hopped imperial red is an amplified, more sinful version of our flagship Mermaid’s Red™. Heaping additions of Amarillo and Simcoe hops provide clean, botanic bitterness to slice straight through a well rounded caramel sweetness borne of chocolate malt.

There is definitely a load of hops on the aroma, and it’s dark dark red on the pour with a faint and disappearing head. It’s a lovely aroma, I could sit here enjoying just that, but I dither. Enjoying it though I get a lovely sweet fruits note too, like soaked raisins.

and it’s initially as pleasant as any beer I’ve drunk for a long time, lovely soft bitter and overtones of a sweet malt and caramel, but it finishes on the bitter. Not that it’s a bad thing, This isn’t a beer that’s going to leave you reaching for an elusive taste that’s on the top of your tongue, it’s fairly well all up front. The caramel is lovely and balanced with the bitterness, which after sitting takes a less dominant position. All in all a bit good.

The pdubyah-o-meter has this at 8.75 things on the scale of the way things work, which isn’t shameful and makes this a beer that I’d reach for if I had my pick of things. So for a simply doubled up on a few ingredients they’ve managed to retain a marvellous balance of tastes, Good work.

 

Jan 28 2013

4th Annual Rings Beach Food and Drink Festival


The 4th Annual Rings Beach, Coromandel, Food and Drink Festival, Saturday January 26th.

A new beach tradition, originally started to honour a birthday, has now taken a life of it’s own. Hosted at one of the beach homes this is purely a fun affair. Entry is free, and optional.

The rules, where there are any, are that dish is either a “sweet” or a “Savoury” and has to have a matched drink to go with it. It also has to be “Foreign”. So for example you could enter Sushi and Sake, if you dared.

Some things you need to  know about “Rings Beach Life” is that you can’t enter something that you’d reasonably expect to have, so Crayfish, and Scallops would be considered a bit of a no, since they are regularly dived for by various residents.

Similarly there are some traditional things that you shouldn’t enter, a smoked Salmon for instance, as this is one of the centre pieces at the Rings Beach Christmas day gathering, along with Scallops, and Crayfish.

Everyone attending gets to make one vote in each of the 4 categories.

The prizes are awarded in the categories

  • Best Dish –  Savoury
  • Best Dish  - Sweet
  • Most Original
  • Best Overall

It was decided that there would be a new category next year, best cocktail or matched drink, which might turn into a best matched pair award, I hope it doesn’t since the Sangria served with one of the dishes was singularly brilliant!

There were three “Sweet” desserts, A Danish Trifle, a Strawberry gateaux and a Blueberry tartlet. Competition in that category is fierce.

The winner was the Danish Trifle, possibly due to an alcohol content, but it was really tasty

The “Savoury” category had a lot of entrants, in no particular order, and from my poor memory;

  • Marinated Smoked Mussels, matched with a Stoke Smokey Ale
  • Chinese Chicken and Corn Soup, matched with a Scrumpy Punch
  • Lebanese burgers, matched with a vodka cocktail
  • Lamb Tagine, matched with an “El Morocco” cocktail
  • Cucumber Soup and Naan, matched to a Sauvignon Blanc
  • Fish Pie, matched with a Chardonnay
  • Cheese sticks and Sauvignon
  • Jambalaya, matched to a Sauvignon
  • Buffalo Beach beef bourguignon, matched with a Red Wine
  • Pickle Dogs, matched with Budweiser
  • Meatballs and chorizo, matched to a Sangria
  • Possum Eye Pie, matched with a Red Wine
  • and page 45 of the Donna hay cookbook, and a strawberry cocktail

The Winners;

The Jambalaya won the best savoury prize, the Beef bourguignon won the best overall, the possum eye pie won the most original

I ate some of everything and the Possum eye pie was spectacular, the Beef dish was divine, the Danish Trifle was a treat. And whilst I didn’t think the Jambalaya was the best dish there it was very special and tasty and did deserve to win.

The prizes consisted a selection of tiaras, wands and beads from the $2 shop, and there was a special award of a wooden spoon to one voter for being vocal :-)

 

Dec 11 2012

The 12 ways of Christmas – The Festive Drinks


One of the things that I remember from Christmas was the abundance of things. The seasonal drinks cupboard got topped up.

There were 4 standout things that were brought into the house only for the Christmas period.

babychamBabycham

A sparkling Perry (fermented pear) drink. In packs of 4 little bottles, and aimed fair square at a female audience. Loved by my mother.

Warninks Advocaat

advocaat

What is Christmas without a “Snowball”, made with Advocaat,and lemonade, Lime and ice if you’re a bit fancy. A fluffy yellow treat for the teens.

Port and LemonPort

“Port and Lemon”. Another post-war favourite, relying on the memory and traditions carried forward. If you couldn’t talk your way into a Port and Lemon you would fall back on the Snowball

party sevenWatneys Party Seven

Also available as a Party Four. Contained 7 or 4 pints of beer. Could only have been 3.9% ABV of  English Bitter. Came with a can opener. Usually resulted in half the contents spraying over the guests as it had not settled or had just arrived.  Needless to say the last “offering” was only available to the adults and only after bedtime for the children. The adults would congregate in the back room, and smoke and drink, play cards.

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