Drinks

Some Beers.

Dainton – Hopf’n Juicy Blood Orange Hoppy Weiss. Hazy Hefeweizen, 5.5% 375ml can: Has that banana-smell that Hefeweizens have, but I don’t care for too much. Its not bad but there isn’t a lot else going on. It is very hazy, the hop bitterness is hazy style. Wish it had a bit more carbonation. The blood orange isn’t that noticeable, there is some bitterness that could be pith/rind? Its a Hefeweizen with hazy style hopping.
2.5 stars. It fine.

★★★

Rocky Ridge – Woodin’ It Be Nice Oaked Pale Ale. 5.0% 375ml can. This smells great, big fruity “juicy” hops (Mosaic, Strata, Vic Secret and Ella), and also vanilla supposedly from the oak. The oak/wood character is interesting in a clean crisp pale ale (its their core range Pale Ale) rather than as usual in a darker beer (or wine). There’s a dryness, a musty note, an astringency of sorts that combines with the hop bitterness? Nice. Different. 3 stars.

★★★

Rocky Ridge – 9 New Zealand, Hazy IPA (All NZ Hops). 6.66% 375ml can. First smell; Resinous and sweet, but also pretty juicy, and a bit of white wine? Its an IPA but they have rounded it out to be more “hazy” than the initial aroma suggests. The malts are there in the sweet notes, but not doing much. Its actually a bit uneventful in the end, unfortunately. Motueka, Nelson Sauvin and Nectaron hops. Its just a bit flat all round, Maybe 3 months on the shelf didn’t treat it right. Carbonation is fine, if a bit “sharp” initially. Its pretty easy drinking, and you get some interesting white wine notes. It just doesn’t pop or showcase the N.Z. hops as much as I would want. 2 stars?

★★
Drinks

Some recent beers.

8 Wired – Horseshoe Texas Brown Ale. 6.2% 440ml can. Its an American Brown Ale, maybe a bit more darker/roast malt character, but same mild carbonation. Then there is a far more than usual load of hops even for an American Brown Ale. Its not bad.

★★★

Daintons – Burnout Black IPA. 6.2%, 375ml can. This is good and that is because it is well balanced. Its big dark roasty malts, but also big IPA style hops, and they aren’t fruity or resinous so a nice straight Old World/UK bitterness comes through and doesn’t have other hop characters that could get in the way of the malts. Balanced. Very nice.

★★★★

Eclipse – Brown Ale. 5.0% 375ml can. A straight up Brown Ale. A bit low on carbonation, but it hits that weird area between light fizz and mouthfeel that works anyway? A bit too hop bitter. maybe? Nothing too detrimental. Its fine.

★★★

Finlays Brewing – Starboard Stout. 5.4% 375ml can. Black malts, very dark. There’s a nice hop bitterness in there. Its mainly all big dark malt bitterness. Almost a dry finish, nice light carbonation, not any real mouthfeel though.

★★★

Daintons – Chipmunk Choc Hazelnut Porter. 6.0% 375ml can. Not a Porter. There’s some cocoa but no Hazelnut. Its a dark mild, but very dark, and unbalanced hops.

★★
Drinks

Some beers with horror films

Dainton Brewing – Glazed & Confused, Jam Donut NEIPA. 7% 355ml can.
First hit is strawberry jam, then hoppy strawberry jam? Taste though is just very standard NEIPA with a hint of lactose sweetness, a hint of that jam in the taste. Its OK, I wish they would go large and full-on with these types of beers.

Pirate Life – Dilmah Tea & Biccies, Brown Ale. 5.6% 355ml can.
Smells like a lovely brown ale, nice malty smell. Nice colour, too. The mouthfeel is lighter than the average brown ale, a nice dark strong tea character is definitely present. A strong tea bitterness is there melded with the (New Zealand, unsure which) hops. There’s still some nice dark malt character in there though as well, especially as it warms. With the light carbonation this is very much like an alcoholic strong black tea. Which is kinda weird but nice. Refreshing, almost crisp, for a brown ale!

8 Wired – Flat White, Nitro Coffee Milk Stout. 5.5% 440ml can.
The is smells insanely like coffee., maybe some dark malt, but just heaps coffee. Nice dark colour, nice dense head like a tap beer. And its tastes like a slightly milky coffee. Smooth as hell, minimal carbonation, a slight sweetness, some very light vanilla, just a big coffee taste, dark malts accenting and pumping it up fantastically. If there is hops they are balanced amazingly with the light coffee bitterness.

Drinks

A Beer

Dainton Brewing – Bloodzilla, Double Blood Orange NEIPA, 8% 355ml can.

This is a throwback to what we just arent getting in NEIPA’s much anymore, its hazy as hell, its big hops flavour and its soft as hell. This is really good, like when the NEIPA thing started before NEIPA just became big hops and Hazy became it own thing for some reason…The soft mouthfeel is there which is sorely missed with this style now days. The blood orange is definitely there, its hard to say if theres rind/pith or its all the hops or what. Theres definitely some malt character in there, maybe crystal or something sweetish going on that just melds well with the bitter. This is a very good “old style” NEIPA style beer.

Drinks

4 Drinks

Wolf of the Willows – The S’Mores Man Toasted Marshmallow Nitro Amber Ale. 6.2% 355ml can. Biscuit malts, real roasted marshmallows, vanilla, Mork organic cacao nibs.
Dark amber kind of cloudy colour, a big head because I should have used a pint glass. Caramel slightly biscuit malt and “lagery” yeast smell.
Taste is slightly sweet and vanilla, great biscuity flavor, not cloying in anyway, extremely smooth. The biscuit character is just fantastic. More vanilla/marshmallow, and maybe cacao arrives in the aftertaste as you sip. The biscuit character is the winner here. Very nice.

Dainton Brewery – Fudge Dredd Double Choc Fudge Porter. 8% 355ml can. No ingredients listed.
Big thick brown head, viscous pour, smells like molasses and roasted malts. Taste is a big dark malt hit, slight burnt black malt character, cocoa more than chocolate, a sweetness like molassess, slightly boozy. Theres bitterness but its balanced with the darkest malt flavors and the alcohol. This is big and very rich, not as sweet as I expected from the fudge in the title. Nice.

Brookvale Union – Spiced Rum Ginger Beer & Vodka Peach Iced Tea. 4% and 330ml cans each.

Brookvale Union is 4 Pines Brewing making pre-mixed drinks, and they aren’t bad according to these two.
The spiced rum ginger beer is not bad, could do with more spice and ginger beer heat. The rum isnt very noticable after a while but seems apparent on the first few sips. Extremely drinkable.

The Vodka Peach Iced Tea though is excellent, it is exactly like Liptonice Peach Iced Tea but carbonated, the peach flavour is strong and good, you can really taste it and also smell it from a distance, the tea is there just like it is in Liptonice, and you cant taste the alcohol. This was excellent and I hope they make more Ice Tea varieties. Again, extremely drinkable.