Well, another addition to one of our favourite NZ craft breweries. The gist of this drop goes like this..Manuka smoked porter, refermented with farmhouse yeast and aged in American oak barrels for 18 months. The 11% alc vol is going to put hairs on our chest we think!
The aroma is intense. Sourness, funky yeast, red wine oak. Reminds us of a vintage red aroma. Poured into a tulip glass, a mat black colour hits us. There is minimal head here. Then the taste..smoked malt, that peaty like flavour dominates. So different to the initial olfactory onslaught, which is a tad saison like. Bitterness definately at the end of the palate. Full bodied, rich mouthfeel here as expected. Thrown into the mix is mild cocao somewhere in the background. Very oily also on the lips. Absolutely no lacing on the glass. Definate booze burn here but the smoked malt covers a lot of it. We have had plenty of imperials, and this little baby is right up there in terms of complexity. For a porter, we think ” fair enough”. So much going on in there…sweet, sour, salt. It’s a real testament to this world class brewery. Impressive.