A good drop from the kiwi McCashin family brewery. We are huge fans of this beer, even so that every time we visit DEan Murphys we can’t leave the place without grabbing one.
Served in a shaker glass the amber-copper pour constructed a tight off-white head that slowly fell away to a thin film on top. Mild lace. There has to be points given for these guys attempting to initiate a new brand of brewing. Similar to how the West coast IPA was born with the big 4 ‘C’ hops these guys have abbreviated the style of beer and stuck to their native hop variety (Wai-iti). With this in mind the feature hop displays well on the nose with a jammy, caramelised character. Like a Kiwi/Pommy hybrid the body of this aroma works in unison with the fruity wafts of tangerine, rockmelon and peach balancing beautifully on the caramel, carrot cake, honey and raisin base. Gorgeous aroma. In the mouth it’s slightly creamy with a frothy texture. Carbonation is lively with a decent body to back up. Solid malts come forward initially and hold up well into the finish. The assertive bitterness kicks into gear mid-palate and teams up with an earthy, sweet back end that completely dries up on the tongue. Excellent length. A standout drop this one, and the 5.5% ABV is bang on target. Really hard to fault this beer, it’s just brilliant. It’s one of those beers you look at and say “why isn’t this more well known!”. An absolute diamond in the rough.