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
Premium! 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.
Related articles
- Beer of the week: St. Peter’s English Ale (beerhub.wordpress.com)
- Best Local Breweries in Charlotte (apartmentguide.com)
- Moa Beer enters Canadian market (nzherald.co.nz)
A life just as ordinary 