Beer – #807 – Baylands – 650
Baylands brewery, they’re in Wellington. This popped up at the fill station, I popped in and got some. I had a beer from them called Area 650, this oddly might be the same, or then again a different beer. I’m going it’s different, because I had to make a call.
dry-hopped twice for big aroma
Trusty old 1 litre bottle with beer that is 6.5% ABV and 195 calories a serve size, this is 5.13 standard drink units of beer in NZ.
Brewed by Baylands Brewery in that style that is of India Pale Ale (IPA) and they are in Lower Hutt, New Zealand
Dreaming of West Coast sunshine
650 is the area code for San Francisco and this beer is 6.5% abv.
This punchy West Coast style IPA is dry-hopped twice for big aroma. It’s a riot of hops!
A bitter, moderately strong American pale ale that uses its clean, supporting malt to showcase its hop character.
So, what could possibly go wrong?
Light aroma, sweet and sugary, when I flipped the lid open. Nice carbonation formed a spontaneous head. Poured it before t got out of hand.
In the glass, a cloudier pour than I expected, nice white firm head, and a bagful of aroma that is like passionfruit, very dense. Nice.
Wow there is a lot of malt body in this, a lot. Almost drowns out the bitterness, but it has the last laugh and finishes dry and that bitterness lingers sharp in the mouth.
But that malt don’t add to the body much, and once you’ve gotten used to it becomes less pronounced, allowing the hop characters to show through. Characters that are the Tropical, passionfruit, thing, and a really sharp bitterness.
Nice aromas though, which make it pleasant, but I’m not convinced in the whole drink, and have come to a sad conclusion that this is the same as the Area 650 beer, and only I know why I thought they were different.
Whist this is tasty and aromatic, it’s also a bit peaky and empty at the same time, unbalanced and not fulfilling, which is a bit of a disappointment. I said this the last time:-
Then it drinks slightly odd, the bitter appearing and leaving early, and then the bitter grassy linger that hangs around, I’m wondering if my taste buds are off because I’m sure there is a middle in this too, but I can’t recall exactly what.
Same old same old, a beer that has a dry finish, but with an earthy feel too, I’d like to think that this was a work in progress, and I remind myself it’s not. It could be better, less peaky perhaps, but it has many fans that enjoy it, and it isn’t therefore to my taste, and when push comes to shove this is me drinking a beer, and this beer didn’t spin my wheels.
The pdubyah-o-meter rates this as 7 of its things from the thing. I’ve had a couple of really good IPA beers lately, and had a reasonable expectation of this being ‘up there’. To be fair and blunt this wasn’t the most expensive, and almost the cheapest of the beers available. That shouldn’t make it bad beer. What I think it has made is patchy beer.
The double dip review
- Where did I get it? Liquorland in Forrest Hill. It is a brewery standard though, so it might be all over the place you look.
- Am I enjoying it? Not really, it is rather unfulfilling.
- Would I have another? I might pass, but then at the price I might not.
- Would I share with a friend on a porch and set the world to rights? Not this time.
Music for this: ” Hot Hot Heat” have an album ” Hot Hot Heat” on the Spotify player
They’re a Canadian indie rock band from Victoria, British Columbia. Light pop really.
INDIA PALE ALE & IPA
India Pale Ale gets its name and unique style from British brewers who were making beer for export to India. This style has an intense hop flavor which was used to preserve the beer for the long voyage. India Pale Ale has a golden to copper color with a medium maltiness and body. The aroma is moderate to very strong. IPAs work especially well at cutting the heat of chili, vindaloo or Sichuan cuisine.
