Category Archives: Beer Review

Garage Project API IPA

Posted on by
5
Inverting this tap badge reveals a hidden satanic message.

Inverting this tap badge reveals a hidden satanic message.

Beer: Garage Project ‘API IPA’
Style: IPA
ABV: 6.7%
From: Hashigo Zake
Date: 12/02/2013

This is perhaps one of my less timely reviews: API was released in time for Webstock 2013, which was a while ago.  But it’s also the first beer off Garage Project’s bottling line, so there’s a high chance readers will see this beer further afield than the usual Wellington beer-spots.

First thing to note about API is that its a concept beer.  I love concept beers, but they don’t always work out.  Phil from the Garage pitched it to me one rather slow Saturday shift.  “It’s like an IPA, but backwards.”
“So you… reverse the hop schedule?” I asked.
“Exactly.”  (Ha! +1 to Beer Geek ability).  “We used an aroma hop for bittering and a bittering hop for flavour.”
“What’d you use?  Super-Alpha?”  I asked.
“Yeah, actually.”  Woo!  Another +1 to Beer Geek ability.  It would be +2 if I’d used the proper name for the hop.  Super-Alpha, or as it should now be known, Dr Rudi, is a New Zealand grown hop grown to have a high (or ‘super’) alpha acid content.  Alpha acids are chemicals which give beer it’s bitterness.  

My lucky guess isn’t that surprising.  I’ve known a couple of home-brewers that have used Dr Rudi for flavour and aroma, as well as a brew by ePICO, which was written about here.

The Beer
API is IPA backwards!

Hidden message: API is IPA backwards!

It’s cloudy, pale orange.  Smells leafy-green and kind of lemony.  The flavour is very bitter, but the body is full which counter-points it nicely.  The over-all hop character is peppery, with hints of lemon.

It’s a nice beer, balanced and all that bollocks.  So why do I suggest in my second paragraph that I’m a bit luke-warm about it?  Well, because the conclusion I reached after my first pint was that API isn’t much fun.  Garage Project are nothing if not masters of making hoppy beers that reach down your trousers and tug on your fun bits (metaphorically speaking, of course).  API just doesn’t do that.  It’s a pint of perfectly acceptable hoppy beer, nothing more, nothing less.

Annoyingly I think this beer could be made fantastic very easily: just a wee dash more flavour hops.  Just a smidgeon of Sauvin, a pinch of Motueka, a drizzle of Riwaka, and this beer would pop!  It would be a fun-tastic IPA.  But therein lies the problem.  You’d be using flavour hop for flavour, which would defeat the entire concept of the beer.  That’s what I thought after my first pint.

But I had to be sure.  I wasn’t thrilled by my first pint, so I had a second.  And a third.  And a fourth.  In fact, this beer was on tap during the entire week of Webstock and I had a pint of it for my staffie every single day.  And a few more pints on top of those.  In short, I drank a metric shit-load of API.1  And I will drink a lot more (I might even be drinking one as you read this).

Photo courtesy of Garage Project.

Photo courtesy of Hashigo Zake/Garage Project.

And that I think, is really the point I’m trying to get at.  It’s a pint of perfectly acceptable hoppy beer, nothing more, but certainly nothing less.  I could drink it all night and while it will might not set me aflame, I’ll never tire of it either.  And that perhaps, is one of the biggest endorsements I can give a beer.  It might not tickle my fun-bits, but hey, it’s still bloody good and you should definitely have one.2  Or two.  Or six.  Just to be sure.  

  1. Which is smaller than an imperial shit-load and uses base-ten.
  2. Although it is a little grainy, Pete.

Hophugger Pilsner

Posted on by
5
Pretty much all these photos are taken at my desk.

Pretty much all these photos are taken at my desk.

Beer: Hophugger Pilsner
Style: Pilsner (?)
ABV: 5%
From: My secret supply
Date: 25/01/2013

Now this is going to be a bit of an odd review: I’m going to say quite a few negative things.  But I’m also going to say some positive things, and because I don’t trust the anti-beer-snob Mafia to finish reading this post before they come around to my house and break my kneecaps (or at least send me angry comments and emails), I’m going to put the positives at the start, before I dish out the criticism.  And as always, caveat lector.

Hophugger is a totally decent beer, that I enjoyed, and you might too.  Is that clear?  Everyone got that?  Good.

Now some negative: the bottle label is awful.  So is the name.  Neither of these should ever be a deal-breaker, but as someone who sells beer, trust me: these things matter.  Frequently people will buy a beer because the label looks cool or it has a clever name.  I don’t consider that to be a good thing, but it’s a reality, and this beer fails on both those counts.1  I know they take their name from a Timaru-based organics company (contracted at Invercargill, I believe), but I think they should have given it more thought.

Anyway, lets not judge books by their terrible cover-design.  How was the beer?  Well I poured out a glass, and my immediate thought was: gosh, that’s dark for a pilsner.  It’s a funny thing to notice, but I’m not joking when I say it really was too dark to be a pilsner.

Is that dark for a pils? Che thinks so.

Is that dark for a pils? Che thinks so.

BJCP guidelines suggest a pils should be around 2-6 SRM (standard reference method).  I pulled up a comparison chart, and Hophugger seemed to be somewhere around 9 or 10 SRM.  Again, appearance should never be a deal-breaker in a beer.  I’ve never been one to send back a beer because it doesn’t look right, and I hate people that do.2  The reason I mention this though, is that it was kind of a warning, because…

It smells lovely, but it doesn’t really smell like a pilsner either.  The main aroma is classic New Zealand hops: purple fruit, citrus peel and a bit of dirt; but underneath it all, there’s a big caramel character.  Caramel in a pilsner?  That’s a bit weird.  Again it’s not a deal-breaker, but…

It tastes more or less exactly like it smells.  The body is full and rich (for a pale beer) and the flavour is sweet and caramelly.  It’s hop character was again, classically New Zealand and the bitterness was pleasantly high.  However the body was full and round and a little fat.

Now don’t get me wrong, the flavour was quite nice, but you might see where I’m going here.  My benchmark  pilsners (but not my favourite, mind) are Pilsner Urquel (Czech), Waldhaus Diplom (German) and Emerson’s (New Zealand).  If I had to say what was the defining character of all those beers it’s a refreshing dryness, a snap-and-crackle that makes the beer stand to attention on your tongue.3  

And that’s what’s missing here.  Hophugger does not have the essential snap of a pilsner.  It’s too soft and round and sweet.  If you gave it to me blind, I’d guess something like a Blonde Ale, or maybe a very light Pale Ale.  There might be a lager sub-category that it fits into better, like New Zealand-hopped Helles Bock or something silly like that, but I simply suspect that this is a beer that doesn’t fit well into any category.  One thing is clear though: it’s not a classic pilsner.

Interestingly, a couple of people threw around the ‘D’ word: diacetyl.  I disagree but I think it might be indicative: I think what’s going on here is an excess of speciality malt (caramel or crystal maybe).  This would make a lot of sense:  It’s kind of like a pils, but quite full and sweet.  And you know what?  That’s fine: it’s a nice beer.  Spend your money on it and you won’t be ripped off.

So what’s my gripe then?  Well, it’s classic case of failing to do what it says on the tin.  Hardcore pilsner drinkers are picky bastards (I’m not one of them).  This beer promises a pilsner, but delivers something different.  And I guess that’s the crux of my consumer advice: this is a nice beer, but don’t expect a classic pilsner.

Did I mention it’s a nice beer and I like it?  Please don’t break my kneecaps…

  1. That’s why I swear I’m going to write those naming guidelines one day.
  2. And believe me, they do.  The majority of them have been CAMRA members.
  3. Notice how hard I’m trying to avoid the word ‘crisp’, because I’m bloody sick of it.  Feel free to insert that word if you like.

New Release Tuesday: Garage Project Rye Chai IPA

Posted on by
1

DSC_0672Beer: Garage Project ‘Rye Chai IPA’
Style: Spiced Rye IPA
ABV: 7.5%
From: Hashigo Zake
Date: 22/01/2013

When starting this whole writing shindig I realised pretty quickly that first impressions are the most valuable (and frequently funniest) asset to reviewing a beer.  As such  New Release Tuesdays at work are a godsend: every week a new beer I’ve (probably) never had before.

The problem is though, that NRTs usually are one keg only (sometimes as little as 10 litres only). By the time I post it and you read it, the beer will be probably be long gone.1  So in writing about NRTs, particularly Garage Project ones, I’m being a bit of an [insert preferred genitals here] tease.  That’s certainly the case here: the Rye Chai lasted until 10 pm.  I have no idea if it will ever be brewed again either, so sorry if you’re reading this and missed out on Rye Chai, because I’m now going to tell you how nice it was.2

The Beer

That said, at first I didn’t like it.  I grabbed a quick taster before the beer went live at 5 pm (perks of the job) and I found it really overbearing on the spice character.  Forget rye or IPA, this one was all chai spice dominant, with the major character being clove.  Also, being a cloudy brown-amber (I have no photos unfortunately), it certainly didn’t look like any IPA I know of.  So I more or less dismissed it as a one note song and left it at that.

But then a bit later on in the evening we had to change to the second keg of Rye Chai, which meant running through a jug of foam, which settled down to about a pint of beer.  Now we can’t let good beer go to waste and I was about to knock off, so I valiantly volunteered to drink it (more perks of the job).

What I essentially got was flatter, slight warmer Rye Chai and I have to say I found it really quite lovely.  There was still spices all up in the whole thing but the malt body was so much fuller and richer.  I can’t say I got much rye character, but it probably contributed to the body and mouth-feel.3  

What really took me by surprise though was the hop character.  Rye Chai was dosed with the classic Simcoe/Amarillo combination that so many American IPAs use.  On my first taste I remember thinking ‘what waste of good US hops’.  However having the beer flat and warm brought out both a pleasant bitterness in the beer but also surprisingly, a zesty citrus-hop character!  It was so noticeable that I went to check and see if chai had bergamot in it like Earl Grey tea.  It doesn’t.

So all in all, Rye Chai IPA was an interesting and pleasant beer, as well as a fascinating example of what different temperatures/carbonation levels can do to flavour.  Also, maybe next time, we could try a little of it on hand-pump?  Just say’in…

  1. Usually a keg lasts a few days at Hashigo, but some last a matter of hours.  At the hight of the 24/24, beers like Day of the Dead lasted only minutes.  45 minutes to be exact.
  2. Aside from the usual criticism: it was a bit grainy, Pete.
  3. As a total aside, Pete has gone a little rye crazy lately (or should I say crazy from rye).  I like it.  Also I was there when he did his first rye beer.  That too was a bastard.

Moon Dog Henry Ford’s Girthsome Fjord

Posted on by
Reply
MDHFGF in my Baird Boston with my trusty Fish-Pen.

MDHFGF in my Baird Boston with my trusty Fish-Pen.

Beer: Moon Dog ‘Henry Ford’s Girthsome Fjord’
Style:  Hybrid Belgian/American Imperial Brown Ale
ABV: 8.9%
From: Hashigo Zake
Date: 22/01/2013

One day I’m going to write a set of guidelines on how to name beers and when I do, Moon Dog are going be mentioned at least twice.  Firstly for having Dog in their name, and secondly for breaking all the rules (that I haven’t written yet) but still making it work.  Seriously, ‘Henry Ford’s Girthsome Fjord’?  That’s a terrible name for a beer!  It makes no sense and tell and tells you nothing about the beer.1 But still I love it.  Probably because the words are full of O’s and R’s, which makes them round and delicious to say and also because ‘girthsome’ and ‘fjord’ are words I find inherently funny.

Anyway.  People who know me know that I have a mania for good brown ale.  So of all the Moon Dog beers Hashigo is now distributing, Henry Fjord’s Girthsome Ford was the one I was most keen to get into.

The Beer

It hissed and gushed at me when I capped it and when poured it gave me a big fluffy brown head.  Smelling it, it was hoppy, sweet and caramelly but also had a strong hint of tartness.  I began to suspect infection, but then checked the bottle.  It apparently uses three yeast strains: Trappist, American Ale and Whitbread Ale.  Presumably the Trappist strain is giving the beer a slightly Orval-like character?2

Chunky bits!

Chunky bits!

I was about to take a sip when I noticed what looked to be an insect wing floating on the head.  On closer inspection it turned out to be a chunk of hop cone.  Bloody hell, I know Australians like cloudy beer (don’t we all), but that’s a bit far isn’t it?  No matter.

The flavour was a combination of fruity hop character, slightly tart yeast and a big toasty caramel malt finish.  Oh and plenty of booze on top of all that.  Now those are all really good characters that I like a lot but to be honest, I felt like they were a bit jumbled up together.  If I had to describe it I wouldn’t say ‘integrated’ so much as ‘a party in your mouth’.  But at the same time, I also kinda dig that.  Certainly the label with its rather suspect collage (see below), promises a side helping of crazy with the beer and that’s kinda what I got.  I also have to admit that as I got further through the beer it smoothed out, and I found it quite easy drinking.  At 8.9%, this is bit of dangerous thing.

"Lets put a horse on the label!""Um, why?""No idea! Also, it needs a hat!"

“Lets put a horse on the label!”
“Um, why?”
“No idea! Also, it needs a hat!”

Overall I’d say I enjoyed Girthsome Henry’s Ford Fjord and it’s definitely well worth ago.  As an aside, I found out recently that Josh and Karl from Moon Dog are going to be at Hashigo this Saturday night (2/2/13).  Despite the 7’s it should be pretty relaxed down there, so if you want to meet them, head on down.

  1. Well, they sorta justify it on the bottle.  A bit.
  2. Although I may revisit that infection theory, depending on how the beer develops.

Second Chance Beer: Ben Middlemiss Brewing Hodgson IPA

Posted on by
Reply
Hodgson IPA

Hodgson IPA seen here with my Marchfest Che Glass and Gordon Freeman

Beer: Ben Middlemiss Brewing ‘Hodgeson IPA’
Style: IPA (?)
ABV: 8.8%
From: Regional Wines and Spirits
Date: 17/01/2013

I’m a sporting chap.  I like to give a beer an honest chance. And if I don’t like them, such is life.  But every now and again I like to give a beer a second chance.  With this in mind I swung by Regional on my day off and I grabbed a couple of bottles, including this little suspect.

I’ve had Hodgson IPA before during a trip to Christchurch (ostensibly to get some practical brewing experience at Three Boy’s brewery).  As you might have guessed I wasn’t a fan: I found it fat and flabby.  The massive sweet-caramel malt body made it cloying and gave it a character similar to oxidation.  This may have been the point as the bottle blurb suggested it was reminiscent of actual IPA that had crossed the ocean but to me it just tasted old.1

I had several reasons to give this beer a second chance.  Firstly, I like Ben Middlemiss.2 Secondly, his Nota Bene abbey ale is excellent.  Most interestingly though, I heard (from Ben himself) that this batch was brewed at Tuatara, using his house blend yeast, the same one that gives Nota Bene it’s wonderful funk.  It also greatly helped that it now came in a 330ml bottle.  At 8.8% this made it less intimidating than the big 500ml bottles and if I didn’t like it, I wouldn’t be stuck with it for too long.

The Beer

As I remember from last time, it was brown-orange colour with an off-white head.  As soon as I got my nose near it though, I knew something was different.  There’s a distinct funk to this beer this beer that I didn’t find in the last one I drank.  Hello there, Nota Bene Yeast.

The taste was pretty different too.  If last time I found the beer fat and slow, this bottle was much, well… faster.  The malt body seemed not so much lighter but less encumbered, like it had had an engine upgrade to give it a better power-to-weight ratio.  There was also a pronounced sweatiness that comes from the yeast and a lively hop character that over all made it quite a complex and enjoyable beer.

So it seems that this was a good choice for a second chance beer.  But it does come with a warning: it’s not in any modern or contemporary sense of the term, an India Pale Ale.  For starters it’s 8.8%.  In modern beer style terms that make it an Imperial IPA.  The closest comparison I can make is to a fuller-bodied and hopped up Nota Bene, or perhaps a maltier Green Flash Rayon Vert.  The funkiness  integrates quite well with hop character, but is pretty out of place in an IPA.

You might consider this to be failing the “does what it says on the tin” test.  But then again, I might be missing the point.  The stated goal of the beer is to replicate an IPA of the 1700’s.  And maybe a beer shipped across the ocean in a none-too-clean barrel would develop a pronounced yeast funk.  I don’t know, I was too young to legally drink back then.

My point is, this is an interesting beer and well worth trying.  Just don’t expect your classic IPA.

My other second chance beer was Moa Breakfast.  No comment.

Addendum 3/02/13

A brief online exchange between myself, Kieran from Regional and Ben Middlemiss has brought something to light: the bottles currently on sale at Regional are not brewed at Tuatara, but come from an older batch at Harrington’s (as did the one I had in Christchurch).

Now this is interesting because my journal from Christchurch describes a completely different beer from my blog notes.  What’s changed between the two bottles?  Possibly it was a contextual thing: I was just in the wrong mood to enjoy the beer the first-time around.  The explanation I’m more tempted by though, it that I simply had an off bottle for some unknown reason: possibly handling or storage, it might have gotten over-heated or whatever.  It’s unusual, but not unheard of.

Either way, it makes me all the more glad I gave Hodgsons another go.
Cheers!

  1. I’ve been reflecting on this.  The bottle was purchased some months after Hodgson was first released.  On second thoughts, it may actually have been the case that the bottle had been mis-handled or perhaps had some other issue with it.  All the more reason to give it a second chance.
  2. At Beervana 2011 he was the only Brewer seen consistently hanging around where his beer was being poured, which earned him a lot of points in my book.  He’s also a nice chap.