Yesterday I made the 40-minute walk from my house to Castle Macadam. It is not, as it’s name suggests, a castle. It is a beer store, a genuine, mouth-watering (at least for a beer geek like myself) bottle shop. It is exactly the sort of place I’ve been looking for since arriving in Dunedin, the sort of place I am used to frequenting in the states.
Castle Macadam has been mentioned several times in my search for a beer store, but given my disappointment with the other stores recommended in the same sentence, I was hesitant to make the trek. It was only after the topic of beer stores came up in my conversation with Chris O’Leary, and after he gave his approval of the place, that my hesitancy turned to reserved optimism.
Entering the store brought me a feeling of comfort. It sounds silly, but it is nice to find a store where the staff (one man in this case) really know what they are talking about, where you can go, even with no intention of buying anything, just because it is an enjoyable environment.
I will hopefully be posting more about Castle Macadam as I plan on returning not only as a customer, but also to learn a bit more about the retail aspect of the beverage industry. I bought a bottle of Rodenbach Grand Cru, which will be the subject for the remainder of this post.
If I had to name the major weaknesses in my experience as a beer drinker I would name one broad geographical problem, and several style specific issues. Geographically speaking, I find that I rarely buy beer produced outside The United States. This is simply because it does not make sense to spend the extra money on foreign beer, when there is a brewery in the states making a similar product. While this is a nice problem to have, it means that when it comes to Belgian style beer, I have very little experience with actual Belgian beers, or at least not as much experience as I would like to have.
On a more micro level, I just simply haven’t consumed a lot of sour beer: Lambics, Guezes, Krieks, Flanders Red and Bruin. Rodenbach Grand Cru, as a Flanders Red, falls squarely in the center of both the geographic and stylistic black holes in my palate experience.
My research into Rodenbach Grand Cru revealed that the sour complexity of the beer is achieved through the use of five yeast strains. Grand Cru in particular uses yeast, and a barrel-conditioning period of 18 months to achieve a ridiculous level of sour fruity complexity. I have posted my review below.
Rodenbach Grand Cru 6%
750 ml bottle poured into a wine glass.
A: Pours a dark reddish brown with a fizzy tan head
S: Wow. I don't have much experience with any of the sour beer styles so that is probably why I was blown away by the smell and taste: Vinegar like sourness mixes with sweet cherry and vanilla. There is some oak as well from the aging process.
T: Again this was an eye opener. Tartness and sweetness that I can only describe as cherry-like are followed by some earthiness/mustiness from the oak and from the yeast. There may be some malt and hops somewhere in this beer but they are hard to pick out.
M: Fizzy Champaign-like carbonation cuts the medium body and acts in opposition to the tongue coating quality of the beer. Finishes pretty clean.
D: Amazingly complex beer which makes it a pleasure to consume.
Notes: If I didn't know better, I would be sure that this was brewed with cherries. It’s crazy that they achieve that level of fruitiness just through using various strains of yeast.
Sunday, May 31, 2009
Thursday, May 28, 2009
Emerson's, Bottling Part II, and Beervana
I would like to begin by welcoming anyone who happened upon my blog as a result of Real Beer NZ ( the online craft beer community for new zealand) which is now graciously listing my blog on their site. If an you you are in Dunedin and would like to grab a drink or trade some beer or thoughts on beer in New Zealand, let me know.
So I just got back form an awesome visit to Emerson's. Got a tour of the facility from production manager Chris O'Leary. It's quite an impressive production facility. Also had a lengthy chat with Chris about beer culture in New Zealand, distribution difficulties, beer philosophy and a whole number of other topics. Then I met Richard Emerson who graciously led me through a tasting of pretty much all of their beers. I was particularly blown away by their Smoked Porter (I think it's a brewer's reserve), which had an amazing ripe fruit hop aroma, a subtle roasted bitterness, and a gentle smokiness towards the back of the tongue. I look forward to tasting their line-up in bottled form, for reviewing purposes, and hopefully getting the opportunity to volunteer for them in the future.
Earlier in the day I helped out at Green Man, bottling Best Bitter and Stout. While I had previously stated I enjoyed the bottling process, today's experience was much more stressful. Whereas I had previously been removed from the more mechanized portions of the process, today I was in the thick of things. Besides the pressure to perform my task rapidly enough to not cause a complete breakdown in the whole bottling line, several bottle exploded a foot from my face when the ancient capping machine applied pressure where it shouldn't have to the smaller 330 ml bottled used by Green Man for some of their beer. Anyways, it was a tiresome stressful morning.
In other exciting news, I think I am going to be a volunteer at the national craft brew festival in New Zealand called Beervana. So to all the kiwi beer enthusiasts now hopefully reading my blog, I will see you there.
So I just got back form an awesome visit to Emerson's. Got a tour of the facility from production manager Chris O'Leary. It's quite an impressive production facility. Also had a lengthy chat with Chris about beer culture in New Zealand, distribution difficulties, beer philosophy and a whole number of other topics. Then I met Richard Emerson who graciously led me through a tasting of pretty much all of their beers. I was particularly blown away by their Smoked Porter (I think it's a brewer's reserve), which had an amazing ripe fruit hop aroma, a subtle roasted bitterness, and a gentle smokiness towards the back of the tongue. I look forward to tasting their line-up in bottled form, for reviewing purposes, and hopefully getting the opportunity to volunteer for them in the future.
Earlier in the day I helped out at Green Man, bottling Best Bitter and Stout. While I had previously stated I enjoyed the bottling process, today's experience was much more stressful. Whereas I had previously been removed from the more mechanized portions of the process, today I was in the thick of things. Besides the pressure to perform my task rapidly enough to not cause a complete breakdown in the whole bottling line, several bottle exploded a foot from my face when the ancient capping machine applied pressure where it shouldn't have to the smaller 330 ml bottled used by Green Man for some of their beer. Anyways, it was a tiresome stressful morning.
In other exciting news, I think I am going to be a volunteer at the national craft brew festival in New Zealand called Beervana. So to all the kiwi beer enthusiasts now hopefully reading my blog, I will see you there.
Farmhouse Lager?
Moa Brewing Company is doing an interesting thing up in Marlborough (The epicenter of New Zealand's wine culture). It was founded by the son of a wine making family, who was himself full of wine making knowledge. Moa bottle conditions their beer (adds sugar and yeast to the beer before putting it in bottles, thus allowing carbonation to build in the sealed bottles), but they bottle condition with wine yeast. What this does to their beers is quite interesting. Their three flagship beers, Original, Noir, and Blanc all have a yeasty funkiness to them. This is something common in belgian beers, which are all bottle conditioned, but the Moa funk is quite unique.
It is my expert opinion that this interesting use of bottle conditioning with wine yeast in their Original means they have created a new style of beer. I call it Farmhouse Lager, as the beer is made like a lager but demonstrates a lot of the belgian farmhouse qualities that I mentioned in my review of the Original. I will post my beeradvocate reviews of the Blanc and Noir bellow. Again, the complexity of the beer has lent itself to rather lengthy reviews so they are posted as written on the site:
Moa Noir:
375 ml bottle poured into a glass mug.
A: Deep mahogany with a one and a half inch tan head. Leaves lacing down the glass.
S: Sour funk takes a back seat on this one. Darker malts take the lead, lending both a roasted coffee like quality to the nose, and a sweet dark fruit and vanilla quality.
T: Again sourdough yeast is there but not upfront. Roasted bitterness and malty sweetness dominate. Coffee comes through as well. Yeast is there but only around the edges.
M: Medium body with crisp carbonation. Finish is clean but not as dry as the original and blanc.
D: The carbonation on these beers makes them awesomely drinkable.
Moa Blanc:
375 ml bottle poured into a glass mug.
A: Pours a hazy straw with one and a half inch white head and lots of carbonation rising from the bottom of the glass. Leaves some lacing down the glass.
S: Starts out with a lot of sour funk from the yeast. Followed by some fresh cut grass hay like notes. As the beer warms banana and coriander come through.
T: Raw grain, spicy hops, sour yeast. Finishes with a but of sweetness.
M: Crisp carbonation punctuates a lightish body. Wheat definitely comes through on the mouthfeel, lending to a dry finish.
D: Very nice. I like the house wine yeast funk that the two moa beers I have had so far feature quite prominently. The blanc was a bit less complex and lighter than the original but that almost makes it more drinkable.
It is my expert opinion that this interesting use of bottle conditioning with wine yeast in their Original means they have created a new style of beer. I call it Farmhouse Lager, as the beer is made like a lager but demonstrates a lot of the belgian farmhouse qualities that I mentioned in my review of the Original. I will post my beeradvocate reviews of the Blanc and Noir bellow. Again, the complexity of the beer has lent itself to rather lengthy reviews so they are posted as written on the site:
Moa Noir:
375 ml bottle poured into a glass mug.
A: Deep mahogany with a one and a half inch tan head. Leaves lacing down the glass.
S: Sour funk takes a back seat on this one. Darker malts take the lead, lending both a roasted coffee like quality to the nose, and a sweet dark fruit and vanilla quality.
T: Again sourdough yeast is there but not upfront. Roasted bitterness and malty sweetness dominate. Coffee comes through as well. Yeast is there but only around the edges.
M: Medium body with crisp carbonation. Finish is clean but not as dry as the original and blanc.
D: The carbonation on these beers makes them awesomely drinkable.
Moa Blanc:
375 ml bottle poured into a glass mug.
A: Pours a hazy straw with one and a half inch white head and lots of carbonation rising from the bottom of the glass. Leaves some lacing down the glass.
S: Starts out with a lot of sour funk from the yeast. Followed by some fresh cut grass hay like notes. As the beer warms banana and coriander come through.
T: Raw grain, spicy hops, sour yeast. Finishes with a but of sweetness.
M: Crisp carbonation punctuates a lightish body. Wheat definitely comes through on the mouthfeel, lending to a dry finish.
D: Very nice. I like the house wine yeast funk that the two moa beers I have had so far feature quite prominently. The blanc was a bit less complex and lighter than the original but that almost makes it more drinkable.
Wednesday, May 27, 2009
In the land of giants (thoughts on being a midget)
Someone should have told me that New Zealanders are giant people. I may have not gone on this adventure if I knew that my pride would be damaged every time i left the house. But seriously, people here are really tall. Guys are tall, girls are tall, children are tall, old men and women are tall. It is to such an extreme that the other day when I was going shoe shopping (for a pair of leather boots) I was told, in reference to a pair of boots that were much too big on me, "those are the smallest size in the country, we couldn't even order a pair that would fit you". Shortly thereafter i did manage to find a pair of sweet boots that fit me, but they were the smallest size that store had available.
Shoveling
I don't know why I haven't posted about this activity yet, but it is something I have done twice at the brewery and which I quite enjoy. The activity is shoveling spent grain from the lauter tun (vessel where sugar is rinsed from the barley which has just come from a process called mashing. A process in which long chain starches are reduced by several enzymes into sugar) into bins to be collected by a farmer to feed to his pigs.
What this entails is putting on rubber boots, climbing into a big metal vat and shoveling the spent grain with a large shovel. The process takes about thirty minutes.
Why? you might be asking yourself, would a college graduate enjoy work so menial. For three reasons. First and foremost it is warm, and in a country where a lot of the buildings (my house) are not insulated and don't have central heating (my house again) and where (in dunedin at least) the cold is a nasty penetrating damp sort of cold, being warm, genuinely warm, is a rare thing. Secondly, it smells amazing. Maybe it is some baser part of my brain, the part that instinctually yearns for carbs, but the smell of baked bread and cooked oatmeal which rises off the warm bed of grains is pretty awesome. And finally, it is good exercise and makes me feel useful.
Anyways, this is probably something I will do frequently and i look forward to it.
What this entails is putting on rubber boots, climbing into a big metal vat and shoveling the spent grain with a large shovel. The process takes about thirty minutes.
Why? you might be asking yourself, would a college graduate enjoy work so menial. For three reasons. First and foremost it is warm, and in a country where a lot of the buildings (my house) are not insulated and don't have central heating (my house again) and where (in dunedin at least) the cold is a nasty penetrating damp sort of cold, being warm, genuinely warm, is a rare thing. Secondly, it smells amazing. Maybe it is some baser part of my brain, the part that instinctually yearns for carbs, but the smell of baked bread and cooked oatmeal which rises off the warm bed of grains is pretty awesome. And finally, it is good exercise and makes me feel useful.
Anyways, this is probably something I will do frequently and i look forward to it.
Moa Original
I should probably reveal now that I review all of the beers I have been drinking three times. First in he journal I am keeping, then on the website beeradvocate, then on my blog. Usual my beeradvocate reviews are aimed more at precision and thus not verbose enough to warrant a blog post. However today I tried a beer which inspired me to write a beeradvocate lengthy enough to post here. So here it is:
I would like to preface this review by saying that this beer in a lot of respects reminds me more of a saison than a pils. I am sure the ingredients and process are consistent with that of a pilsner but the bottle conditioning and resulting residual yeast give it a nose and taste more consistent with a saison.
A: Pours an appealing semi-clear gold with a massive fluffy white head and lots of bubbling from the bottom of the glass. Leaves nices lacing down the glass.
S: This is where the saison thing starts happening. Spicy hops and fresh cut grass are the first thing I noticed. Underlying that first layer is a lemon citrus bite. There was also a decent dose of yeasty sourness, an unexpected but pleasant surprise. On final whiff, as the beer warms, there is a bit of coriander.
T: Hop bitterness and spice are most predominant flavor balanced by a raw grain backbone and some sourdough yeast (particularly after I emptied the bottle)
M: Medium to light body with crisp carbonation and clean finish.
D: This would be perfect for a hot summer day BUT even on this cold, late-fall (in new zealand) night it was an easy drink.
Nice palate cleanser after a dinner of frittata and toast.
I would like to preface this review by saying that this beer in a lot of respects reminds me more of a saison than a pils. I am sure the ingredients and process are consistent with that of a pilsner but the bottle conditioning and resulting residual yeast give it a nose and taste more consistent with a saison.
A: Pours an appealing semi-clear gold with a massive fluffy white head and lots of bubbling from the bottom of the glass. Leaves nices lacing down the glass.
S: This is where the saison thing starts happening. Spicy hops and fresh cut grass are the first thing I noticed. Underlying that first layer is a lemon citrus bite. There was also a decent dose of yeasty sourness, an unexpected but pleasant surprise. On final whiff, as the beer warms, there is a bit of coriander.
T: Hop bitterness and spice are most predominant flavor balanced by a raw grain backbone and some sourdough yeast (particularly after I emptied the bottle)
M: Medium to light body with crisp carbonation and clean finish.
D: This would be perfect for a hot summer day BUT even on this cold, late-fall (in new zealand) night it was an easy drink.
Nice palate cleanser after a dinner of frittata and toast.
Nature
I went on a nature excursion on sunday. It was exciting to go on my first outdoors adventure in this country known for its outdoor experiences. Day was a bit overcast but a drastic improvement over the constant rain of the two previous days. After a pleasant twenty minute van ride from the visitor's center, where I was picked up by the tour company, through the otago peninsula, we arrived at the albatross center. While most of us did not pay the extra money to go on the albatross viewing extension, we almost immediately saw two albatross fly across the sky.
Then we headed to the beach where we were to see penguins, sea lions, and seals. It was quite interesting to be so close to wild animals I had only ever seen in a zoo. Sea lions it turns out have absolutely no fear of anything on land, a fact which lead to there extinction on new zealand after Maori hunters easily killed off the population, and a fact which makes it possible to get within feet of them. We also happened upon a female sea lion (one of only twenty in the country) on a beach that usually has no females on it.
All and all it was worth the money to get so up close to animals that most people will only know, at best, through the looking glass of a zoo.
Then we headed to the beach where we were to see penguins, sea lions, and seals. It was quite interesting to be so close to wild animals I had only ever seen in a zoo. Sea lions it turns out have absolutely no fear of anything on land, a fact which lead to there extinction on new zealand after Maori hunters easily killed off the population, and a fact which makes it possible to get within feet of them. We also happened upon a female sea lion (one of only twenty in the country) on a beach that usually has no females on it.
All and all it was worth the money to get so up close to animals that most people will only know, at best, through the looking glass of a zoo.
Saturday, May 23, 2009
Bottling
On friday I helped bottle beer. In juxtaposition to the general idea of brewing as art in a fermented form, bottling is entirely unromantic. It is a process characterized by the loud whir of machinery, the water which seems to spew from everywhere in the process, and the repetitive nature of the human tasks involved along the way. That being said, I quite liked bottling. Not only was it physically grueling enough to make me feel I had actually done a days work, but there is something satisfying about doing a repetitive task over and over again, perfecting your motions along the way.
I have also noticed a unifying feature of all the Green Man beers. They are straightforward. Nothing about the beer is radical or screams for attention. They are just solid beers, containing the standard range of beer flavors and aroma. This is a reflection of the brew master's philosophy which is to make good beer the traditional way. Perhaps even more than that, it seems to be a reflection of his german origins and training, which emphasize the importance of tradition and culture.
I witnessed another symptom of developing beer culture yesterday. I walked to the home brew store in Dunedin (a walk which took me quite some time, through the hood, where I got offered a ride by a middle aged man driving a beat up red sedan with his dog in the back seat...I politely declined). While it is the only home brew store in the city, the owner and customers in the store really knew what they were talking about. And while I can't exactly diagnose the state of home brewing in the country from this one trip, it is certainly an encouraging sign that there seems to be a healthy home brewing culture here in Dunedin.
Going on a nature excursion today. Post to follow.
I have also noticed a unifying feature of all the Green Man beers. They are straightforward. Nothing about the beer is radical or screams for attention. They are just solid beers, containing the standard range of beer flavors and aroma. This is a reflection of the brew master's philosophy which is to make good beer the traditional way. Perhaps even more than that, it seems to be a reflection of his german origins and training, which emphasize the importance of tradition and culture.
I witnessed another symptom of developing beer culture yesterday. I walked to the home brew store in Dunedin (a walk which took me quite some time, through the hood, where I got offered a ride by a middle aged man driving a beat up red sedan with his dog in the back seat...I politely declined). While it is the only home brew store in the city, the owner and customers in the store really knew what they were talking about. And while I can't exactly diagnose the state of home brewing in the country from this one trip, it is certainly an encouraging sign that there seems to be a healthy home brewing culture here in Dunedin.
Going on a nature excursion today. Post to follow.
Lager, Dark Mild, Best Bitter and Strong
Green Man Lager 4.8%
500 ml bottle poured into a glass mug
Pours a clear yellow-gold with very active carbonation and a one inch white head that dissolves to several centimeters. Smell is pretty straightforward, grain and faint hops. Taste is grainy malt with a gentle hop bitterness. Body is light and mouthfeel is crisp with abundant carbonation. Finish is clean and dry. Subdued smell and taste with light body and crisp mouthfeel. What a lager should be. Paired nicely with my grilled chicken sandwich.
Green Man Dark Mild 3.5%
500 ml bottle poured into a glass mug
Pours a dark brown, not quite opaque, with a one inch lasting tan head. Leaves a bit of lacing down the glass. Smell is caramel like sweetness from the malt, not much else going on. Taste is gentle sweetness and bitterness both from some darker malts and hops. Both aroma and taste are a bit underwhelming. Mouthfeel starts of creamy but finishes watery, very light carbonation. Mils as the title suggests, can't really hold it against the beer but this style is not really for me.
Green Man Best Bitter 4.5%
500 ml bottle poured into a glass mug
Pours a deep clear amber with one inch off-white head and active carbonation bubbling from the bottom of the glass. Leaves nice lacing down the glass. Smells of sweet and toasty malts as well as some spicy hops. Taste is hoppy bitterness which manifests itself as a bit spicy and fruity. Malt is there but flavor profile is not balanced. Not a problem, this is by design Medium body and medium carbonation with a lingering finish. Most hop aroma and bitterness of all the green man beers I've tried. As a hop head, I approve.
Green Man Strong (Whisky Barrel Aged) 6.5%
500 ml bottle poured into a glass mug
Pours a deep amber red with an off white head. Smell is sweet vanilla, oak, heat from the alcohol, and spicy hops. Taste starts with hop bitterness, oaky and malty sweetness in the middle and closes with heat from the alcohol. Body is medium with light carbonation and a lingering finish. Probably the most interesting beer in the Green Man line-up in terms of aroma and taste.
Only beers I have yet to try are the Pilsner (part of the regular line-up), the Whisky Bock and Enrico's Cure.
500 ml bottle poured into a glass mug
Pours a clear yellow-gold with very active carbonation and a one inch white head that dissolves to several centimeters. Smell is pretty straightforward, grain and faint hops. Taste is grainy malt with a gentle hop bitterness. Body is light and mouthfeel is crisp with abundant carbonation. Finish is clean and dry. Subdued smell and taste with light body and crisp mouthfeel. What a lager should be. Paired nicely with my grilled chicken sandwich.
Green Man Dark Mild 3.5%
500 ml bottle poured into a glass mug
Pours a dark brown, not quite opaque, with a one inch lasting tan head. Leaves a bit of lacing down the glass. Smell is caramel like sweetness from the malt, not much else going on. Taste is gentle sweetness and bitterness both from some darker malts and hops. Both aroma and taste are a bit underwhelming. Mouthfeel starts of creamy but finishes watery, very light carbonation. Mils as the title suggests, can't really hold it against the beer but this style is not really for me.
Green Man Best Bitter 4.5%
500 ml bottle poured into a glass mug
Pours a deep clear amber with one inch off-white head and active carbonation bubbling from the bottom of the glass. Leaves nice lacing down the glass. Smells of sweet and toasty malts as well as some spicy hops. Taste is hoppy bitterness which manifests itself as a bit spicy and fruity. Malt is there but flavor profile is not balanced. Not a problem, this is by design Medium body and medium carbonation with a lingering finish. Most hop aroma and bitterness of all the green man beers I've tried. As a hop head, I approve.
Green Man Strong (Whisky Barrel Aged) 6.5%
500 ml bottle poured into a glass mug
Pours a deep amber red with an off white head. Smell is sweet vanilla, oak, heat from the alcohol, and spicy hops. Taste starts with hop bitterness, oaky and malty sweetness in the middle and closes with heat from the alcohol. Body is medium with light carbonation and a lingering finish. Probably the most interesting beer in the Green Man line-up in terms of aroma and taste.
Only beers I have yet to try are the Pilsner (part of the regular line-up), the Whisky Bock and Enrico's Cure.
Wednesday, May 20, 2009
Celt and Stout
Green Man Celt 6.5%
500 ml bottle poured into a glass mug.
Pours a rich dark brown with noticeable amounts of red peaking through the faint translucency. Smells of roasted barley, oak, vanilla and alcohol. Taste is roasted bitterness, pronounced malty sweetness, and alcohol heat. Medium body with light carbonation and a slick lingering finish. Definitely more of a sipper. A solid offering.
Green Man Stout 7%
500 ml bottle poured into a glass mug.
Pours an opaque dark brown, almost black with a thin, quickly dissipating, tan head. Aroma is roasted barley, coffee, hints of chocolate and dark fruit like plum. Taste is roasted bitterness with firm malty sweetness and alcohol. Body is on the heavier side. Light carbonation and finish that is lingering but doesn't coat the tongue. A sipper for sure, but not hard to finish a glass on a cold night. My favorite offering from Green Man so far.
500 ml bottle poured into a glass mug.
Pours a rich dark brown with noticeable amounts of red peaking through the faint translucency. Smells of roasted barley, oak, vanilla and alcohol. Taste is roasted bitterness, pronounced malty sweetness, and alcohol heat. Medium body with light carbonation and a slick lingering finish. Definitely more of a sipper. A solid offering.
Green Man Stout 7%
500 ml bottle poured into a glass mug.
Pours an opaque dark brown, almost black with a thin, quickly dissipating, tan head. Aroma is roasted barley, coffee, hints of chocolate and dark fruit like plum. Taste is roasted bitterness with firm malty sweetness and alcohol. Body is on the heavier side. Light carbonation and finish that is lingering but doesn't coat the tongue. A sipper for sure, but not hard to finish a glass on a cold night. My favorite offering from Green Man so far.
Monday, May 18, 2009
Green Man Keller
Green Man Keller 4.8%
Poured from a 500ml bottle into a glass mug.
Note before review: Keller is, for a strikingly simple style of beer, a style I have never tried and rarely see. Keller is simply an unfiltered lager.
Beer pours a hazy gold with a thin white head that quickly dissolves to nothing. Aroma is quite complex with notes of sweet fruit like bananas and apricots, lemon and fresh cut grass, and sourdough yeast (especially after I emptied the bottle into the glass). The taste is mild, with a gentle citrusy bitterness balanced by a mild sweetness. Biscuity and yeasty around the edges (again, especially after I emptied the bottle). Body is on the lighter side with very gentle carbonation. A surprisingly clean finish for a beer with so little carbonation. All and all, a nice drinkable lager. Flavorful without overwhelming the palate, light but not watery, and clean on the finish.
Poured from a 500ml bottle into a glass mug.
Note before review: Keller is, for a strikingly simple style of beer, a style I have never tried and rarely see. Keller is simply an unfiltered lager.
Beer pours a hazy gold with a thin white head that quickly dissolves to nothing. Aroma is quite complex with notes of sweet fruit like bananas and apricots, lemon and fresh cut grass, and sourdough yeast (especially after I emptied the bottle into the glass). The taste is mild, with a gentle citrusy bitterness balanced by a mild sweetness. Biscuity and yeasty around the edges (again, especially after I emptied the bottle). Body is on the lighter side with very gentle carbonation. A surprisingly clean finish for a beer with so little carbonation. All and all, a nice drinkable lager. Flavorful without overwhelming the palate, light but not watery, and clean on the finish.
Day One at Green Man
Had my first day at Green Man yesterday. Pretty uneventful morning. Met the staff. Tom, Jeremy, and Enrico the Brewmaster. My jobs for the day were limited to stocking a van to go on a sales trip, and hauling malt sacks up a staircase. Later in the day, after I had travelled about looking for a job, I realized something about the country.
New Zealand seems to have a fairly large number of breweries per capita. There seems to be a well developed culture of producing interesting flavorful small batch beers. The beer drinking culture of the country, however, does not seem to be at the same level. I would imagine that as craft brewed beer becomes more plentiful that New Zealanders will catch on and start drinking more of the beer produced around the country.
Oh and I got a fair amount of free beer from the brewery. I will post reviews of the beer in the coming days.
New Zealand seems to have a fairly large number of breweries per capita. There seems to be a well developed culture of producing interesting flavorful small batch beers. The beer drinking culture of the country, however, does not seem to be at the same level. I would imagine that as craft brewed beer becomes more plentiful that New Zealanders will catch on and start drinking more of the beer produced around the country.
Oh and I got a fair amount of free beer from the brewery. I will post reviews of the beer in the coming days.
Sunday, May 17, 2009
Planning and Photographing
I began the first really active phase in planning my beer tour. Sent out emails to all the breweries in christchurch. I also took some photos of Dunedin which I will post in some fashion soon.
Friday, May 15, 2009
Farmers Market
Went to the farmers market this morning. Very nice, pretty large selection of produce, fish, meat, cheese and baked goods. Got a crepe for breakfast, and some real coffee (plunger coffee) but only because the stall didn't have electricity.
Thursday, May 14, 2009
Coffee
Just a quick note on coffee in New Zealand. And that is namely that they don't have coffee. Or don't serve it in the cafes in the sense I am familiar with. They only serve shots of espresso which are either diluted with water called a "long black" or not diluted with water, a "short black". I find this very odd, but the espresso is not bad and I am trying to kick my caffeine habit anyways.
Shakespeare Tavern and Mac's
Stopped by the Shakespeare Tavern, New Zealand oldest Micro, and Mac's
The Shakespeare Tavern was cozy, mostly empty, and the bar left the brewery semi exposed.
Beer: Old Gobbo's Nice Wiess 6.1% ABV
Served in a glass mug. Poured a pale to medium gold with a thin quickly dissipating white head. Biscuity wheat aroma is only thing of note in fairly bland nose. Wheat is first to hit the pallet followed by grain, sweetness in the middle, yeast and bitterness towards the end. Tastes almost like an american wheat, cleaner than european versions of the style. Mouthfeel was crisp with high carbonation and a lingering finish. Very drinkable beer.
Notes:
Sitting at the bar, I met the brewer for Sail Street, another brewpub in Auckland. To me, the effortless networking that happened in the two days I was in the city are a sign to go ahead with my plans.
Mac's was a swanky, chic sort of place, full of business men and women just off from work, grabbing a pint. A bit too cool for my tastes.
Beer: Brewjolais 5.5% ABV
Served in a tapered pint glass. Poured a hazy gold with one inch white unstable looking head. Aroma was a lot of spicy and fruity hops, very west coast smelling which makes sense as the beer is hopped with cascades. Taste was very bitter and unbalanced at the beginning, but the malt came out nicely as the beer warmed. The beer left a lacy trail down the glass. Mouthfeel was light to medium with medium carbonation and lingering mouthfeel. Very drinkable pale ale, could be a bit more balanced but a flavorful offering nonetheless.
The Shakespeare Tavern was cozy, mostly empty, and the bar left the brewery semi exposed.
Beer: Old Gobbo's Nice Wiess 6.1% ABV
Served in a glass mug. Poured a pale to medium gold with a thin quickly dissipating white head. Biscuity wheat aroma is only thing of note in fairly bland nose. Wheat is first to hit the pallet followed by grain, sweetness in the middle, yeast and bitterness towards the end. Tastes almost like an american wheat, cleaner than european versions of the style. Mouthfeel was crisp with high carbonation and a lingering finish. Very drinkable beer.
Notes:
Sitting at the bar, I met the brewer for Sail Street, another brewpub in Auckland. To me, the effortless networking that happened in the two days I was in the city are a sign to go ahead with my plans.
Mac's was a swanky, chic sort of place, full of business men and women just off from work, grabbing a pint. A bit too cool for my tastes.
Beer: Brewjolais 5.5% ABV
Served in a tapered pint glass. Poured a hazy gold with one inch white unstable looking head. Aroma was a lot of spicy and fruity hops, very west coast smelling which makes sense as the beer is hopped with cascades. Taste was very bitter and unbalanced at the beginning, but the malt came out nicely as the beer warmed. The beer left a lacy trail down the glass. Mouthfeel was light to medium with medium carbonation and lingering mouthfeel. Very drinkable pale ale, could be a bit more balanced but a flavorful offering nonetheless.
Day Two in Auckland
I am writing this several days after the fact but day two in Auckland was quite eventful. I started the day with an orientation in which I got paperwork to get a tax number, learned how to open a bank account, and learned a bit about the country. Grabbed a quick bite at a cafe which is not important, but in my search for lunch I noticed something.
Auckland is full of cafes. Every little street is filled with tiny eateries serving all sorts of ethnic food, coffee, sandwiches, and sweets. I have since discovered that New Zealand culture is a cafe culture. As a foodie, I like this. After lunch I went to the Auckland gallery which is currently under renovation and expansion but the small galleries landscapes and maori portraits were quite stunning.
I think it was around this time of day, when I was searching for a journal that a potentially monumental thought came to me. Or maybe it was after I went up the Sky Tower (views were amazing). The thought, the idea for an adventure, is as follows:
I want to see the country. Small as it is, it is still an overwhelming proposition to explore the country without any direction or purpose. So, to give myself direction, and make a project out of my exploration, I will go around the country from brewery to brewery, interviewing brewers, touring breweries, tasting beer, and keep a journal/journals of the experience.
I then asked myself why? where did this idea come from?. The answer lies in the spirit of exploration and adventure that pours from so many of the people I have encountered in my short time in this country. This spirit is contagious and I have adapted this general thirst for adventure to suit my own ambitions, adding a purpose to the exploration.
I thought about all of this while sitting in a food court of sorts, the sort of place that Anthony Bourdain would approve of, eating my first plate of malaysian food, which was quite delicious. I visited the shakespeare tavern and mac's, both brewpubs, and another post is to follow with my experiences there.
Auckland is full of cafes. Every little street is filled with tiny eateries serving all sorts of ethnic food, coffee, sandwiches, and sweets. I have since discovered that New Zealand culture is a cafe culture. As a foodie, I like this. After lunch I went to the Auckland gallery which is currently under renovation and expansion but the small galleries landscapes and maori portraits were quite stunning.
I think it was around this time of day, when I was searching for a journal that a potentially monumental thought came to me. Or maybe it was after I went up the Sky Tower (views were amazing). The thought, the idea for an adventure, is as follows:
I want to see the country. Small as it is, it is still an overwhelming proposition to explore the country without any direction or purpose. So, to give myself direction, and make a project out of my exploration, I will go around the country from brewery to brewery, interviewing brewers, touring breweries, tasting beer, and keep a journal/journals of the experience.
I then asked myself why? where did this idea come from?. The answer lies in the spirit of exploration and adventure that pours from so many of the people I have encountered in my short time in this country. This spirit is contagious and I have adapted this general thirst for adventure to suit my own ambitions, adding a purpose to the exploration.
I thought about all of this while sitting in a food court of sorts, the sort of place that Anthony Bourdain would approve of, eating my first plate of malaysian food, which was quite delicious. I visited the shakespeare tavern and mac's, both brewpubs, and another post is to follow with my experiences there.
Tuesday, May 12, 2009
Galbraith's Alehouse
As hinted, I did make my way to Galbraith’s Alehouse last night. Checked out the menu, food seemed a bit pricey, so I got a kabob instead. After my kabob I went back to taste two of their beers.
Beer 1: Grafton Porter
Cask conditioned and served in a nonic pint glass at 55 degrees. The beer poured a rich dark brown with strong hints of red, and a creamy looking thin ring of tan colored foam. The beer smelled of rich chocolate, roasted malt, and closed with some sweet and caramelized notes. The taste was chocolate first, followed by sweet malt, and a very gentle roasted bitterness, but overall a very subdued flavor profile (not a bad thing). The mouth-feel was amazing. I later found out that there is oatmeal in the grist, which partially explains the extremely smooth and creamy feel. Overall I would say this beer was an excellent example of the English porter and showed a restraint and balance that is hard to find in today’s world of big over the top brews.
Beer 2: Bitter and Twisted E.S.B.
Cask conditioned and served in a nonic pint glass at 55 degrees. Poured a reddish brown with a persistent, creamy, off-white one inch head. Smelled equally as amazing as the porter, which can be attributed in part to the serving temperature, but also to the fine craftsmanship. The aroma was a lot of toasted malt upfront, very similar to Skull Splitter from the Orkney Islands. The taste was toasted and sweet malt, with a pronounced but subtle bitterness at the end which provided a nice balance to the malt. The feel was creamy with a clean finish. The flavors in the E.S.B. were a bit bigger, but still a wonderful example of how balanced restraint can sometimes be a better thing than in-your-face flavor.
Notes:
Galbraith’s is doing things old school; cask conditioned ales, served warm and flat. To some people, warm flat beer would seem an unappealing proposition. I rather enjoy my beer this way, and would encourage anyone traveling in Auckland to give Galbriath’s a try. The establishment itself was comfortable, the bar tenders were nice, and I met Keith Galbraith, who was more than happy to answer some questions on the malt bills of his beers.
Beer 1: Grafton Porter
Cask conditioned and served in a nonic pint glass at 55 degrees. The beer poured a rich dark brown with strong hints of red, and a creamy looking thin ring of tan colored foam. The beer smelled of rich chocolate, roasted malt, and closed with some sweet and caramelized notes. The taste was chocolate first, followed by sweet malt, and a very gentle roasted bitterness, but overall a very subdued flavor profile (not a bad thing). The mouth-feel was amazing. I later found out that there is oatmeal in the grist, which partially explains the extremely smooth and creamy feel. Overall I would say this beer was an excellent example of the English porter and showed a restraint and balance that is hard to find in today’s world of big over the top brews.
Beer 2: Bitter and Twisted E.S.B.
Cask conditioned and served in a nonic pint glass at 55 degrees. Poured a reddish brown with a persistent, creamy, off-white one inch head. Smelled equally as amazing as the porter, which can be attributed in part to the serving temperature, but also to the fine craftsmanship. The aroma was a lot of toasted malt upfront, very similar to Skull Splitter from the Orkney Islands. The taste was toasted and sweet malt, with a pronounced but subtle bitterness at the end which provided a nice balance to the malt. The feel was creamy with a clean finish. The flavors in the E.S.B. were a bit bigger, but still a wonderful example of how balanced restraint can sometimes be a better thing than in-your-face flavor.
Notes:
Galbraith’s is doing things old school; cask conditioned ales, served warm and flat. To some people, warm flat beer would seem an unappealing proposition. I rather enjoy my beer this way, and would encourage anyone traveling in Auckland to give Galbriath’s a try. The establishment itself was comfortable, the bar tenders were nice, and I met Keith Galbraith, who was more than happy to answer some questions on the malt bills of his beers.
Monday, May 11, 2009
Delusional Rap Moguls and Auckland
I left for New Zealand yesterday. Somewhere along the way I lost May 11th. What I gained was a renewed sense that things have a way of working out (I forgot my passport when I went to the airport, but my uncle, traveling 45 minutes behind, saved the day).
The trip from Philly to LA was painful. I couldn’t find a good way to fill the time save for listening to the delusional man sitting behind me. He spent the entire five and half hour flight talking about how wealthy and awesome he was (apparently he is a music mogul).
The trip from LA to New Zealand was sweet. Saw Gran Torino, took an ambien, saw The Class and that pretty much filled the time. Arrival in Auckland was a bit intense what with the regular customs and BIOSECURITY (OH NO SWINE FLU).
Got to the Hostel at around 6:30 and spent most of the day exploring. Went to Ponsonby and the museum. Saw a lot of Auckland, including the beautiful Auckland Domain (a park). Auckland on the whole is an aesthetically pleasing mix of post war, Victorian, and new construction placed creatively on steep volcanic slopes.
Most importantly, I think I will head to Gailbraith’s to begin my beer quest. See you on the other side of my first New Zealand pint.
The trip from Philly to LA was painful. I couldn’t find a good way to fill the time save for listening to the delusional man sitting behind me. He spent the entire five and half hour flight talking about how wealthy and awesome he was (apparently he is a music mogul).
The trip from LA to New Zealand was sweet. Saw Gran Torino, took an ambien, saw The Class and that pretty much filled the time. Arrival in Auckland was a bit intense what with the regular customs and BIOSECURITY (OH NO SWINE FLU).
Got to the Hostel at around 6:30 and spent most of the day exploring. Went to Ponsonby and the museum. Saw a lot of Auckland, including the beautiful Auckland Domain (a park). Auckland on the whole is an aesthetically pleasing mix of post war, Victorian, and new construction placed creatively on steep volcanic slopes.
Most importantly, I think I will head to Gailbraith’s to begin my beer quest. See you on the other side of my first New Zealand pint.
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