Beer – #814 – Mata Fat Monk – White IPA

Aotearoa Mata / Fat Monk White IPA Mango Infused Collaboration – well now Beerclub beer again, comes around every week of course, and they like to test and push a little – this is ostensibly an IPA but it turns out that ‘Fruit Beer’ much more aptly describes this collaboration

There is a lot going on in this beer

This is a 500ml bottle of a beer that is 6.6% ABV making it 2.6 standard drink units, 198 calories in a serve,

Brewed by Aotearoa Breweries this has to be in the style that is Fruit Beer and they’re in Kawerau, New Zealand

White hair is as close as you get to white IPA

A white IPA with an array of tropical fruity flavours and aromas from a secret combination of hops, which is infused with mango.

Our white IPA mixes the hoppy flavours of an IPA with a Belgian yeast strain and wheat and oat malts of a wheat beer.

There are lots of fresh, fruity, citrus hop flavours which compliment the juicy, tropical mango which is dominant in the long finish. With so much going on in one beer, there was huge potential for it to be a disaster. Instead Mata and Fat Monk have created a delicious and unique crisp beer.

So, what could possibly go wrong?

Smells like an IPA ought to when you open it, hoppy, sugary, quite sharp.

The pdubyah-o-meter rates this as ? of its things from the thing.

Lovely looking golden yellow brown our with a decent soft head that is persistent.

Aroma in the glass is more a sour grass than anything really.

Taste is really hoppy IPA like and takes you a bit by surprise, I was expecting a lot softer fuller mouthfeel beer from the Belgian yeast and that wheat addition. But no so. So not so.

Then it’s hard to pick out ‘flavours’ in this as there doesn’t seem anything apparent or obvious, and even my ‘go to’ mango seems to be missing, this does not seem a beer endowed with those familiar IPA tropicals that you often get and look for.

The bitterness is also a bit sharp and curt at the front, once you get over that the beer os nice and easy drinking without anything edgy and it finishes softly and without fuss at the back.

This would make a lovely summer starter beer, not a session beer at the higher ABV of course, which is hidden well and not at all obvious. This is a beer that is rather meek though and I’m reaching to discover the hidden bits in it, but they are well hidden

The pdubyah-o-meter rates this as 6 of the arbitrary things. It is fair to middling beer, that does not achieve anything much by way of taste or flavours, and ends up a bit average really. Need ed more mango or something to spark up the middle, and this ended up being a quaffing beer, IF they could tap that ABV level back and keep the profile and feel then this would be a nice session beer for summer sunshine, as it is it’s neither use nor ornament.

The double dip review

Where did I get it? BeerJerkNZ beer of the week, but it should be in good places.
Am I enjoying it? I am because it’s not hard drinking, but it’s not particularly good at IPA or Wheat beer.
Would I have another? There are far too many beers to stop and have another.
Would I share with a friend on a porch and set the world to rights? It does have a great story on the label but it really doesn’t deliver a strong beer that is recognisable as the goal the brewers were looking for. It is nice drinking and would be welcome on a hotter day than right now the midst of winter.

Music for this: ” Alexis Taylor ” and ” Piano ” on Spotify

Alexis Taylor is a British musician. He is the lead vocalist and keyboardist/ guitarist of the band Hot Chip