Tag Archives: Wine tasting descriptors

May 10 2013

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 PorterGeek 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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Sep 8 2012

Beer – #57 – Golden Bear Brewing Company – Pirate Peach Saison


Won a Trophy and a silver medal at the recent  Sutton Group Brewers Guild of New Zealand Awards so there!

Golden Bear – Pirate Peach Saison is brewed with fresh Black-Boy peaches, NZ grains and hops. The Belgian Saison yeast combines with those fresh ingredients giving it a unique flavour – zesty with essence of peach and a slightly dry finish worth pillaging for! Bottle conditioned and drinkable now – but gets more interesting as it matures.

A 750Ml bottle of 6.3% ABV Fruit beer, brewed in Port Mapua Nelson, and bottled in May 2011 by the   Golden Bear Brewing Company

And there was I thinking it was some American beer, for no reason at all, other than I started thinking, and that’s usually when the problem start.

So I would love to say this smells like a beer, but it smells like a fruit drink, a very fizzy one, and having prepared well it’s poured a a lovely hazy golden with a head that borders on ridiculous, so I guess i’m still in need of beer pouring practice.

And that’s a bit odd on the tongue. very tangy, and on the dry side like a dry cider is, not harshly dry but there it is. I don’t really know that to think, it’s jumped out of the bottle in a rush, but it might be a bit like a puppy that’s pleased to see you as soon as you get home, then instantly falls to sleep on you. I certainly am expecting a peachiness that just isn’t in it, the initial rush settles to a dry/sour fruit flavour.

Don’t get me wrong this isn’t unpleasant, and be honest with yourself when is says “peaches” you’re going to get something that it’s quite normal. The pdubyah-o-meter ticks up to 8 from 10 arbitrary things on this beer, but not because of what you struggle with it’s what you’re struggling to get. I’m in awe of a brewer who’s prepared to push the boat out, and unlike some other fantasy beers this one is a bit of ok, I’d be prepared to give up a lot of beers before I gave up this one. Despite my bluster I do like it.

However the Luddite in me can’t even think of a food match that might work for this, I’m sure that someone with a but more taste and refinement could some up with a few things. I can say that it’s be wasted with Fish and Chips, a pie, a curry, kebab or a burger :-) It might be worth a crack with cheese, which reminds me of a camembert with my name on on the kitchen.

Perhaps I should get some for the summer afternoon when I’m done with chores and just want to idle in the warm rays with no care in the world and a bit of a challenge and talking point of a beer with friends.

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Sep 3 2012

Beer – #56 – Sawmill Brewing Company – Crystal Wheat Beer


Sawmill Brewing Company – Crystal Wheat Beer. Brewed by Leigh Sawmill Brewing Company in Leigh, New Zealand ,and they style it as a Wheat Ale.

A beer with a flip top lid,  500mls of 4.5% ABV craftiness. As usual it’s buy first think about it later with me and having read about it later I have the trepidation.

Named “Crystal” because of its unique qualities, this beer is made to one of our own special recipes using 50% pilsner and 50% wheat malts. Light amber in appearance with a foaming white head, this beer has unique citrus fruit flavours. There is a hint of spice and a mild bitterness coupled with a medium hoppy aroma. This is a refreshing summer drink that can be enjoyed with a squeeze of lime juice. 4.3 to 4.5% abv

And I’m thinking “what have I done?” It could be a Frankensteins monster of a beer. It doesn’t seem to be what it wants to be.

But it does come with a flip top lid.

So it’s clear like a lager, it has the citrus lemon of an aroma- fleetingly. It even has a a head. And it had a magnificent poppage when I opened it- like it should.

yeah, the confusion of tastes, there is hoppiness, there is a lemonade shandy ness, a confusion of carbonation and a long mouthfeel taste of none of those things. I get an aftertaste of hops, it’s not good.

I am a fan of the wheat beer genre, there should be no mistake on that, and I’ve had a wide range of them. This is down the wrong end of the range. I’d be happy to put it at the end of a firing range and take pot-shots at it, this isn’t a beer that you could straight-face describe as a wheat beer. Or perhaps you can, in New Zealand, the same way you can trademark Radler I assume.

Arbitrarily then I can’t even give this an arbitrary out of some number rating.But I will being 3 from 10 arbitrary things. I might have found another beer that I’ll struggle to finish, and the frugal in me hates that.

The Leigh Sawmill company can do, and do have better beer than this. “The Doctor” for example – not a wheat beer. I’m in doubt about how this beer came into being, I’m not convinced it started as one thing, someone made a mistake and they had to sell it as something with a “special recipe”  and they do tell you to add lime juice to give it flavour. Enough said.

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Jul 1 2012

Beer – #33 – Stoke Bomber – Smoky Ale


I’ve had two people who’ve had the Stoke Bomber – Smoky Ale, and they have had totally different opinions on it.

It’s a 650ml bottle (big) of a 5.7% ABV beer, made in Nelson by the McCashin family.

It pours a deep golden color, and has a hoppy aroma which confused me as I was expecting bonfire smoke! Not a lot by way of head, I might be pouring it wrong, or it might be headless.

Oh and there’s the smoky taste, which is pretty subtle and not as shocking as I was expecting.  When I say subtle I don’t mean it’s not there, but again I was expecting bonfire burnt wood  / carbon footprint in a bottle. Don’t ask why.

The smoky taste doesn’t overpower the other tastes that this beer brings to the glass. I got bitterness like a pale ale, peppery and fizzy :-) It’s not unpleasant.

It’s defiantly more to my taste than say Yeastie Boys Rex Attitude – which they said couldn’t be done, and probably shouldn’t have, however that’s not a smoky beer but made with peat/whiskey flavor in mind.

I’m enjoying this though, not so much that I’d stock the fridge with it, but it is consistent on the tounge and is holding it’s flavors. I was worried that I had two of these, but I think I’ll manage it ok. It is however a “with food” beer and not a stand at the bar and quaff beer for my money, and it’s stand up to some robust counterpoint tastes.

The arbitrary pdubyah-o-meter for some arbitrary numbers from an arbitrary number then, and this has pleased me because it’s more palatable than I was expecting. So for that it’s a 4 from 5 arbitrary things from a thing.

oh the two opinions I mentioned at the top were at either end of the scale, one loved it the other couldn’t finish it. I’d say that the latter might have been because they were having a mini beer-fest in their lounge, and I’d pick that the Smoky Ale would clash with pretty much any other beer that you’d have had before.

Jun 22 2012

Beer – #30 – Duvel


Duvel – a Belgium Strong ale. I went the family sized 750Ml bottle of 8.5% ABV beer.

It’s hard  to be expecting anything other than magnificent from this beer. It comes with a reputation and a promise.

And it’s in a big bottle. And It’s been one of those weeks, and frankly I deserve this.

Hazy, White head, fluffy, snappy,  and from the reviews this is solid but not spectacular as Belgium Beers go.

For trick beer you have to undo the cage and pop the cork, all part of the experience , and then set in for an hour or so of taste sensation. This is almost Albino Pale, and it really does get a head on. It might be that I don’t own a “tulip” but I was impressed and amused at my result.

I thought this was a tad  ’sour’ as taste goes. Not really sure what it is I am tasting, it’s grassy. (and here I pause to contemplate ‘grassy’).

It’s almost a bit the opposite of what I expected which was a richer longer taste, and that’s confusing.

It does have a myriad of flavor in this, and begs for a food to go with it, so I’m going to pause and get the blue cheese out.

On the arbitrary pdubyah-o-meter for some arbitrary stars out of an arbitrary number I’d give this a 3.5 out of 5 which is fairly solid and not a disgrace, which I might be after drinking what essentially is a wine bottle‘s worth of beer.

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Jun 5 2012

Beer – #27 in a series – Jaipur


Thornbridge Jaipur IPA.

“A citrus dominated India Pale Ale, its immediate impression is soft and smooth yet builds to a crescendo of massive hoppiness accentuated by honey. An enduring, bitter finish”

A tall 500ml (pint) bottle and 5.9 ABV. with a fancy new label.

This one was special delivery from the UK from a friend of mine who could not rate it too highly. The interwebtubes also seem to lean towards this being at the better end of the tasty than not.

I’ve been holding back on this (not really) as I’ve only the one bottle, and that makes it even more precious. But it’s a night for a nice beer and so here we go!

Pale, straight up smells like oranges, and also you can smell the hopppiness. It’s really pale did I mention that, and  Gosh that’s a good taste, I’m having to tell myself to slow down a bit and enjoy it.

The initial and lingering smell of hops does not translate into a taste of hops, and there’s no bitterness or metallic on the tounge. The flavor stays and lingers, and it’s only later, almost an after thought that the hops break through with a nice afterglow.

Maxing lyrical on this I’ve got to say that 10 arbitrary stars out of 10 might not be enough, liquid awesomeness.  I’m wondering who I can hit up to get this on their shelves.

Arbitrarily then on the equally as arbitrary pdubyah-o-meter this is a staggeringly good 10 out of 10, and is almost that good to make me re-asses the other scores, because this has a bit of daylight between it and the next best.

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Jun 5 2012

Beer – #26 in a series – the weekend assortment.


A quick weekend break meant that it was bulk over substance time for beer drinking.

So A little bit of Speights Distinction, and provided by the Father-in-Law and some of the Boundry Road “Mumbo Jumbo” as provided by me.

It was such a nice weekend too, lots of fine weather and warm enough to sit outside for most of the daylight time in a t-shirt and shorts

and so what to make of these two commercial beers that were on the table for the weekend.

I’ve not tried either of these before, and I’m not including the various other beer that I may or may not have drunk on the weekend. It was that kind of weekend.

Speights Distinction: 330Ml 5% ABV. Quite unlike it’s brother the Old Dark, and pleasantly so.

SPEIGHT’S® Distinction Ale has a reddy brown colour and smooth malty bitterness unique to this premium Southern ale. It is batch-brewed with a hint of caramel, malt and butterscotch flavours.

Compelling enough to be of the 3 Speights Beers, Original, Old Dark and Distinction the one that I’d buy if I had to.

Boundary Road Brewery Mumbo Jumbo 330Ml 5.2% ABV

Back in the British Raj, elephant riding, tea-swilling settlers were in dire need of rescuing from the Indian sun. And so the India Pale Ale was born. Brewed with extra hops so it’d survive the voyage east, it was imbued with floral aromas, malty sweetness and a lingering dry finish. But enough of that Mumbo Jumbo. Stretch out on the verandah and enjoy

Yeah that. This is a beer that is thin, tinny and sharp on the tounge, it’s more an American pale ale than and IPA, it’s hard to know exactly what this is to be honest. Could have almost been a Pilsner, but wasn’t. It tries hard to be what it says it it, but it falls away quite quickly. It’s like they’re trying to run before they can slightly walk a bit. Shame really.

Not worth of even an arbitrary rating on the arbitrary pdubyah-o-meter for these, you get what you pay $15.00 or less a six pack of these, a constrained commercial offering. They’re fine but just don’t organize a party around them, you’ll lose friends.

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May 26 2012

Beer – #25 in a series – “The Doctor” is in the house


Tonight for my delectation I have from The Sawmill Brewing company Leigh, procured me “the Doctor“, a Dopplebock.

I looked it up, as I do, on the interwebtubes and they say

THE ‘DOCTOR’
A complex blend of four malts combined with a duo of traditional hop varieties. Rich, warm roasted caramel and toffee notes with a lasting finish and smooth mouth feel. For serious lovers of fine ales. ‘Strong, dark and handsome’. 6.5% alcohol by volume.

I love it when they talk it up. Stephen Bier Liked them and that’s all I could find on the interwebtubes, I didn’t really try that hard though, it has a name that’ll pop up all sorts of weirdness, try it you’ll see

So… It’s 500ml of a 6.5% ABV beer and they present it in a swing top bottle, so it’s looks fantastic, the white label, and the sticker over the swing, all little things that make you go mmm.

Before I even open it I’m worried now that I paid for design over substance, it’s not often you’ll get a small independent doing something a little odd.


Well Lordy! for dark beer this was dark!

It pours nice (technical term) and has a nice head. And it has a pleasing malt taste, with just enough edge to remind you that it’s a beer from the strong end of the shelf. Very nice. And it sits well in the glass after a couple tastes. And (enthusiastic like) it’s not a fizzy beer. You’ll know what I mean if you know what I mean.

It is a beer that deserves to be with food however, but I’m not so sure it’s a match for the prawn curry MrsPdubyah has in mind.

For me then this has then got some substance to back up it’s style, and I’m glad I made a difficult choice today from the beer shelf at the Liquorland on Forrest Hill Rd.

And so onto the arbitrary Pdubyah-o-meter for some arbitrary points. This is a nice beer, with a nice taste and nice color, in a nice bottle with tiny writing that my old man eyes can’t read, and it’s a hit at 8 out of 10 arbitrary things out of 10. So there. Best beer for a while and I’ve had some corkers.

p.s. I lied about the old man eyes, I’ve got perfect fuzzy vision.
p.p.s. Didn’t spill beer on the keyboard again, that’s like 3 in a row now.

May 11 2012

Beer – #22 in a series – Hawkes Bay Amber Ale


C/- Hawkes Bay Independent Brewery who talk it up a bit:

“A rich malt body with mild hop characteristic adds complex fruitiness and a pronounced bitterness to this deep amber ale. Batch brewed using traditional methods and cold filtered to give a smooth, crisp finish”

Well it initially smells fantastic, and the initial taste is somewhat pleasing. However, it’s fleeting and, for me, has that “pale ale” after burn which that I tend to shy away from. Not to say that it isn’t a pleasant beer, but I’d be wary of going back for more.

The taste falls away very quickly with this beer, which is something rather unusual, and not something that I recall happening before. It doesn’t sit in the glass well either, and seems somewhat flat and lackluster. Of course the next mouthful I have changed again, which means that this is either very complex or just odd!

They’ve also changed the bottle shape on this, and the two that I picked up have different labels and lids. Looking at this review. I’m a bit miffed that I didn’t get the unique unique bottle and not the pint size one that I have that, although the one I have is very reminiscent of a wine bottle in shape.

I’ve struggled to find a “good” review for this beer, and that in itself was odd, although to be fair it is a local beer for local people so the quantity of reviews is smaller than usual, however they’re all pretty much a much, this isn’t a winner.

So, to the pdubyah-o-meter for this, Despite it’s 500Ml (pint sized) bottle  of 4% ABV it’s disappointingly well average and struggles to make a 4 out of 10 arbitrary stars.

You’ll not again that I learnt a bit from the last debacle of being artistic with the tilted glass with a cunningly lit beer, only just though, nearly ended badly and expensively.

Thanks to the people at New World in Albany who have a rather fine range of beers to choose from.

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Apr 14 2012

Beer – #15 in a series – Stoke Bomber- Bohemian Ale


Ok so there’s me grinning like a loon. Presented in a magnificent 650ml bottle – that’s a lot!, I give you the “The Original Stoke Bomber Bohemian Ale”

From the  Mccashin Family Brewery (Nelson, NZ), it’s listed as a Golden Ale. It’s  ABV of 5.3% makes it a little stronger than most local beers.

It’s a lovely golden color in the glass, and has a very enticing hoppy smell on pour. To be fair  I was fair gagging for this.

I was not disappointed as the taste is to match, it’s pleasant, pleasing and moreish. I thought it really was that good.

The label says “the finest natural ingredients, with no chemicals, preservatives, sugar, or artificial colourings or flavorings” and I think it’s a bit spot on. From the interwebtubes I found this nonsense

“delicate wheat and lightly roasted barley with the lively citrus and pepper flavours. Fully rounded mouthfeel and engaging honeyed malt complexity and spicy. Classic Bohemian.”

 but what can I say other than yes. Goal!

On the completely arbitrary pdubyah-o-meter this is easily a 9 out of 10, the Mccashin crew have this one sorted.

Thanks to the fine people at the Wine Circle in Huapai who keep me on the straight and narrow!

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