Beer Review: Southern Alps White IPA

I've been told I should have tried Moa's Southern Alps White IPA ages ago - now I know why.

This is a beautiful balance between two very distinctive beer varieties - a classic India Pale Ale and Belgian wit beer - and it really works.

It pours a light golden colour with decent head and its aromas are fruity with a little bit of spice.

It's not overly hoppy and initially more on the wit side, until the bitter aftertaste kicks in when you get that classic hit of IPA character.

It's a complex beer and is a reasonably strong 6.4 per cent but it's very drinkable and something a bit different for lovers of both styles.

The fun part of this beer tasting was the accompaniment of John Knight's (CBK manager) black and tan beer bread and IPA beer cheese.

The bread's made with Stoke Gold and Stoke Dark mixed into the recipe and the cheese has some great hints of IPA and went with the beer really well.

John's a real craft beer convert and has gone out of his way to produce something a bit different to tempt his customers.

"I remember drinking beer that after the first few sips would taste like flavoured water. The great thing about craft beer is after those first few sips you still get those intense flavours of a real beer," he said.

Beer kindly supplied by CBK Craft Bar and Kitchen on Eat Streat, Rotorua.