From our no.1 Kiwi brewery comes this quite simply labelled brown ale. I mean, who needs flashy labels when you brew the best beer in your country?
Aggressively poured into an English pint glass the deep mahogany appearance reveals attractive ruby highlights when held to the light. Crowning this liquid beauty is a steady one finger beige head that eventually reduced to a thin layer on top. Minimal lacing. From past experiences with this breweries beers (and what we love the most about them) is their propensity to be very liberal with their hopping so we’re expecting a hoppy brown ale here. Quite juicy on the nose we’re loving the sweet, jammy aromas of fig, currants, caramel and plum. There is a fragrant nuttiness along with a firm hop profile offering fruity wafts of grapefruit and pine. Classy, as always. So smooth in the mouth with this silky soft texture. Carbonation is low and the body is about mild-medium. A firm hop presence gets things underway with a solid hop bitterness cutting through the earthy malts, caramel, brown sugar and nuts. A toffee-like sweetness through the mid carries forward and finishes slightly bitter with a suggestion of roasted chocolate malts on the back end. Fairly good length on the tongue. The slightly above average 5.7% ABV again reflects the class of this brewery as there is no sign of it in flavour or aroma. What we like the most about this ale is that it doesn’t come with that usual heavy, syrupy element. The generous hopping has ensured the bitterness balances out the heavier, more cloying flavours. Class brew from world class brewers. Bang on.