Beer – #228 – Renaissance Enlightenment Series – Fresh Hop Benelux Ale
So to the fridge he dashes, and grabs for the Renaissance Enlightenment Series Fresh Hop Benelux Ale. Brewed by Renaissance Brewing in the style of a : Belgian Ale, and they do that in Blenheim, New Zealand.
Fresh Hop Benelux Ale. You see, it is not quite a Belgian style, but kind of in that region. We based this on a Blonde and brewed it with a mixture of yeasts and a large portion of freshly harvested Wakatu hops. The result, a bright straw coloured ale with a fruity nose and creamy palate. Notes of spice, earth, tropical fruit, and hop resin.
500ml bottle, of a 7% ABV beer, making it 2.8 standard drinks.
After a long drive home from the beach house I was looking forward to sitting down and relaxing with this. However it didn’t happen.
Instead i waited, and Wednesday was big night in, and after a more then acceptable curry from my new favourite restaurant I got to hankering.
Intriguing fruit laden aroma, Rich brown poor, but not much of a head, and that really interesting almost chocolate (this time) aroma, and then it settles to a familiar Belgium beer aroma. It’s a thing.
An interesting mouthful that, sort of thin and lacking in depth, but also with a reasonable back of sweetness. It’s a thing.
This isn’t so much muddled as confused. I like it. It doesn’t have that sharp alcohol burn that you get with some Belgium beers, but it has the aroma and the colour.
It has a sourness, but it’s fairly soft, and I may have mentioned seems a bit thin. The Pdubyah-o-meter thinks this is about an 8 – very good – on the arbitrary scale of things, and I probably would buy this again. Yes I would, despite it not making it higher on the scale of things.
Recapping then, Smells like Belgium, looks like Belgium, has a nice caramel things going on, lacks the alcohol note, is a bit thin, doesn’t carry. Other than than, it’s a bit good 🙂
A life just as ordinary 
Oh come on now, you can’t mention you new favorite restaurant without naming it. It’s a thing.
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