Interesting new pints packed with flavours bring much joy to Don Kavanagh.
OOH, IT’S a lovely time to be a beer drinker.
I’ve been inundated with new beers recently. The first ones to arrive were interesting additions to the Boundary Road range: a weissbier and an American pale ale. I know some people don’t consider Boundary Road to be a “proper” craft brewery, but that sort of person can be safely ignored. The Wheat reaper is a gorgeous blend of clove and creamy vanilla, and the Stolen Base (8 per cent, so be warned) is packed with grippy hop notes and a lovely blast of malt.
I was just getting over those when another parcel arrived, from Wellington bar Hashigo Zake.
There is a fantastic 9 per cent imperial rye porter, called Ø, a co-production by the cult brewery Nogne Ø and American craft brewer Terrapin. It’s a great brew made with the addition of malted rye. Rich, malty and with a hefty belt of hops, it’s magnificent.
Next was the garage Project Red Rocks Reserve, made in a shed in Wellington and featuring a delightful meld of rich, caramel-like malt and a heady amount of big sauvin hop flavour. It’s addictive.
From Japan, there is the Baird Beer Angry Boy Brown Ale, a mahogany ale with a lifted piney hop nose and a nice maltiness at the back. Despite 6.2 per cent alcohol, the balance makes it a sessionable beer.
The Southern Tier IPA is another big, forward beast, with four malts and four different hops combining for a really interesting, malty IPA.
Epic has re-released Larger — a big, bitter hop- laden pilsner that takes the quite gentle flavours of your average pilsner and turn them up to 11 on the dial. Talk about doing what it says on the lid…
Epic have also released Mayhem in time for Christmas. A festive brute of a beer that incapacitates the taste buds to such a degree that you can’t taste straight whisky after two mouthfuls, it’s a special Christmas treat for the hophead in your life.
But the best has been the launch of a few more Galbraith’s beers. Munich (now relabelled Galbraith’s Munich Lager) is joined by a heady New Zealand Pale Ale and a limited edition strong ale, which packs the palate with dried fruit and spice flavours, wrapped up in a lovely golden strong ale. I’ll take a dozen, please.