Beer – #263 – 8 Wired – Bumaye

Another beer making it to the front of the fridge after hiding in the back for a while is  a 8 Wired Bumaye – Brewed by 8 Wired Brewing styled as a Imperial Stout and they do this magic in Blenheim, New Zealand

16% ABV beer in a 330ml bottle,  480!!! calories, and it comes in at 50IBU’s. Pacific Jade and Chinook hops. This would be an incredible 4.2 standard drink units in NZ.

Sometimes – OK, rather often, actually – I find myself asking, “How far can we take it?” Now, obviously a number of overseas breweries have shown us that 16% abv is by no means the limit, but Keeping in mind that flavour should be the main objective at all time, the conception of 

Bumaye was one of those moments. To make it we started out with the baddest imperial stout we have ever brewed, and then added loads of tasty sugars to the fermenter foe extra flavour. To smooth out the roughness, we allowed the beer to mellow in Pinot Noir barrels for more than a year, actually  16 months in Pinot Noir barrels from Marlborough’s Mud House Winery

The name? I have been surprised how few people understand the meaning straight away. It’s not “Bum Eye” as many people seem to think, It’s BumaYE! As in “Ali, Bumaye!” Lifted from what was perhaps the most famous boxing match of all times, The Rumble in the Jungle, between Muhammad Ali and George Foreman. The match was fought in Zaire and quite famously (I thought) the locals were all cheering for Ali, chanting “Ali, Bumaye!” which in English means “Ali, Kill Him”. A fitting name for the most agressive beer we have made to date.

I have been looking forward to this, and Friday I’m in love. Hoping for a continuance of the rather good run of beers. I have this and a Stone Ruination to help me cope. That and loads of ham left over from the 25th. Loads.

Music playing in the background is from the artist “Birdy” – Fire Within. MrsPdubyah said so.

Totally intense rich fruit and chocolate on opening as an aroma.  Pours like it’s syrup but without a head so it appears flat, although I can see bubbles dancing so all is not lost.

Rich almost throat catchingly intense aroma, chocolate, raisins, and something else, citrus like, or maybe pepper, I’m not that reliable.

Wow that’s a lot like dark wines when you taste it, the tannin really gives this a fruity kick in the pants, the pinot clearly standing it’s own ground.

What over things are there, I get a bunch of slightly bitter things, and notes of citrus fruits. There is more than a skerrick of sourness and it does have a dry finish, a long long dry finish, this has length like you’d not believe.

I’m having are al internal dialogue about if I’m getting the taste I’m getting because I’m trying to be a wine snob, or if I over-reached myself, or the things I’m tasting are for real and not a remnant imagination of a beer-snob.

Is this a beer, yes. Is this a beer left to do its thang in barrels that had Pinot grapes making wine in them. yes. It is a wine infused beer. In the same way that there are whiskey infused beers, and some darned good ones, like the Ola Dubh, this then is an exercise in fiscal prudence, What else can you do with old wine barrels? You can recycle them to the craft brewer 🙂

The beer is warming in the glass, I know it’s not been long,  a couple of runs and a wicket at the cricket and a song or two. There is still a great fruit aroma, that’s the Pinot. But in my experience this is a sweeter smell than sniffing a wine, and I’m not about to open a wine to check, although I should, and would if this was a paid gig.

It still sits in the glass looking sullen dull and flat, a brown brown colour of little excitement and invite. The carbonation is about right though and this is actually pretty nice. It’s also a bit dangerous as because as you poke around on your tongue for the flavours you managed to imbibe slightly more than you thought.

The pdubyah-o-meter says that this is a clever beer, and it’s very good and a bit so that would be 8.25, I’m not going to rush out and high 5 anyone because I had one, and I’m actually not sure I’m going to get one as a present for anyone anytime soon. I think this this a beer of a type, where the type is “infuse with”.

The great run comes to an end, it’s not a disaster I just didn’t get fireworks. All that’s left is ham……

oh and the Stone Ruination….

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