Herevana – GABS Edition – Deep Creek – Zenith
That’s right, a proper beer festival beer pack for my Herevana experience. Herevana, a beer festival at my place.
Because they’re in a list that I might or might not follow I started with the Sours, and then I thought lagers and then the Pale and IPA’s. It’s last orders and I’ve saved the Deep Creek beer for last. Mostly because they are very local and make some really nice beers all of the other times.
Deep Creek Brewing Co make the Deep Creek Zenith in 🇳🇿 Auckland, New Zealand as an IPA – Hazy / New England (NEIPA) with 6.0% ABV, this is 1.6 drinks in NZ.
Deep Creek Zenith Hazy IPA Nectarine and Pineapple hop flavours take you on this journey. A downright addictive juicy Hazy IPA with low bitterness. An incredibly approachable style. Reach for the Zenith!
Apart from the Duncan’s beer they’ve all been brown beers so far (when I say brown I mean shades of orange) but they’re all vary similar. This is a much hazier (thicker) looking beer with a lovely white head. Big bold aroma too, which lets you into what you hope a similar juicy taste as it has.
It is however hard to tell, might be the snacks I’ve been having, so I’m going to take a reset ( a walk to the kitchen for a glass of water). Which works. The beer turns into something short and sharp. There’s this lovely nose, then you get to sip, where there’s a short intense bitterness that is piggybacking something quite fruity, making it quite appealing, as it then is a beer that you really can sip or quaff, as that profile is going to be equally as engaging and easy going.
I’m going to be honest when I say there are much much better hazy IPA beers from a lot of very good brewers, and this doesn’t really stack up against some of them. Where it wins though is that it introduces both the haziness and juiciness in a package that is quite approachable and enjoyable without being challenging or divisive.
The Pdubyah-o-meter rates this as 8 on the arbitrary number scale. This on tap at the local would be a winner, a fully drinkable and enable beer that wouldn’t overwhelm you or demand your attention.
It is vinyl Sunday and I’m now still listening to The Pet Shop Boys – Actually – you can join in on Spotify
The Top 8
Turned out that it was all over bar the shouting after the sours beers, they are such outrages vehicles that offer up so much more opportunity to display and impress. I really liked them both, the Behemoth one was a clear winner in my opinion. The Deep Creek beer was really nice, and I can see it’s appeal, all the others, well they’ve all made better beers, Urbanaut I feel sorry for as they did make the best Brut IPA I’ve ever had, and that’s a high bar. I like the Luz though, and I would easy go again on that.
1. Behemoth – Just a Little Slice
2. Duncan’s Boysenberry and Chocolate Ripple
3. Deep Creek Zenith
4. Urbanaut Luz
5. Funk Estate Mos Definitely
6. 8 Wired Welcome To Tijuana
7. Emerson’s Hell Yeah!
8. Sawmill Aotearoa IPA Series #17 Hazy Riwaka – mostly because it’s not a festival beer.
The GABS Invitational pack brings you a true “Craft Beer Summer in a Box” and features eight carefully curated craft beers that won’t be found anywhere else including Just A Little Slice Cheesecake Sour from Behemoth, Double Boysenberry & Chocolate Ripple Sour from Duncan’s, Mos Definitely Hazy Mosaic IPA from Funk Estate, Luz Grapefruit Brut IPA from Urbanaut, Aotearoa IPA Series #17 Hazy Riwaka from Sawmill, Zenith Hazy IPA from Deep Creek, Welcome to Tijuana Lime Lager from 8 Wired and Hell Yeah! Helles Lager from Emerson’s.
Herevana beers are those I drink at home, I’m not at some beer festival, like, for instance, Beervana, but am just in my kitchen, usually, dining room table, sometimes, or outside, occasionally, where I can take an average picture and write in real time about the beer that I’ve invested in, both in a monetary and emotional way.
Philip himself.
