Beer – #798 – BBC – Hinemoa
The bottle version of the beer I had fresh from the keg, and boy was it a cracker. Possibly the best session IPA I’d ever had.
Named after the historic Hinemoa Street that runs between the port and the village. The street takes its name from the Maori legend of Hinemoa and Tutanekai, two lovers separated by the waters of Lake Rotorua. Tutanekai is said to have lived on Mokoia Island and would serenade Hinemoa every night, his soulful music guiding her canoe as she paddled to meet him for a midnight tryst.
500ml bottle, beer that is 27 IBU and 4.6%ABV, that is around 138 calories a serve size, this would be 1.8 standard drink units.
For Birkenhead Brewing Company this is Brewed at Steam Brewing Company this is in the Style best describes as Session IPA and they do that Auckland, New Zealand
Someone is keen
This is a distinctly New Zealand Pale Ale that delivers a nose of sweet tropical fruit and resinous pine.
Citrus zest, fresh grapefruit and woody herbaceous hop flavours are well presented on a backbone of Gladfield malt with enough depth and balance to support the hop flavour without compromising session-ability.
A mid-palate with hints of orange marmalade followed by a subtle, biscuity malt sweetness, finally give way to a crisp, cleansing bitterness on the finish.
So, what could possibly go wrong?
Rich biscuity aroma on opening, fruity too.. Not as lively as the keg version, thankfully.
Pour is fantastic, with a lovely full fluffy head of whiteness. and it’s noisy! Aroma is mostly that biscuit thing. The head despite a brave starts falls away quickly.
Rich taste which is well supported by quite a lot of sweetness in this. Not as full bodied as I remember but this has quite a decent level of taste and citrus notes, and they’re long too, again I think supported by that sweetness. I’m a bit partial to that sweetness.
I get a lot more of a biscuit flavour from this than I remember from the keg version, it’s not bad at all, and is consistent and in keeping with the overall experience. I’m quite enjoying it.
But I’m not loving it like I remember loving the keg fresh version, there are difference between the keg and bottle. However, this is pretty tasty and again I think it’s one of the better session UPA beers I’ve had because it has a lot more middle and sweetness body than others I have had.
The pdubyah-o-meter rates this as 8 of its things from the thing. This is well good session beer, because it, for me, has consistency in the flavour and a sweetness that I don’t seem to get from other beers, for me carrying the taste through the whole front to end drinking experience. Not the most bitter of beers, this is easy drinking and yes I’d session on this should the need or occasion arise.
The double dip review
- Where did I get it? Liquorland in Forrest Hill.
- Am I enjoying it? Yes it is totally tasty for a session IPA beer.
- Would I have another? I would, and might have to seek out that keg version again.
- Would I share with a friend on a porch and set the world to rights? This would be a great beer to have over a long period of time, because I think it’d be consistent and rewarding. Plus it has a great local story should things get dull.
Music for this: ” Fire To The Stars ” with their album ” Made of Fire” on Spotify
Haze-pop band from melbourne & stockholm.
SESSION IPA
The term Session IPA describes a category of beers marketed for their hop-dominant flavor profiles at “sessionable” levels of alcohol. While this is typically 3.2 – 4.6 percent alcohol, a few have stretched the definition.
A life just as ordinary 