What are you drinking ?

[jt]

Ok, so What Are You Brewing was a hotty, as topics go.

Now I'm 15 pints into a keg I only filled on Tuesday and wondering if anyone else has a favourite at the moment ?

It's my second brown with US-Oh05 and it's better than the forst, maybe Ikept the temps down a bit during the scorcher we had in januray

[Matthew]

Armageddon with Luke tonight. Thanks for the chat mate, loved your passion!

HopWired. Great work Soren, I really enjoyed it. Fruit salad IPA, those hops on the nose and palate were the biz.

[James P]

Bloody hell, who said four kegs was enough.... I have no spare kegs... had to get my brother in law to bring over a crate to fill from my two half kegs. They are now one keg with the Global Pilsner which will need two months in the keg (eek!), and one with my entry for the CBC in January (if it lasts that long as I had a couple pints out of the fermenter.... it's got game at the moment!)

Finishing my night with a crack at my hop rocker version 4 side by side with the original... I think mines a little nicer and I think I love the Nelson Sauvin and Cascade combo!

Also got to read the Consumer report on craft beer with Geoff and Stu et al. Good write up, but not sure why Rogue Hop was rated over Emersons Pilsner (or was that just the formatting of the table?). I thought it was funny about the other three guys not rating the wheat beers... they don't like then either! ;)

[jt]

not rating the wheat beers... they don't like then either!

All fizz & fluff, highly over rated

[Soren]

sierra nevada annversery ale pared with glenlivet, the beer was a little musty but the dram was great
flying dog gonzo imp porter pared with ardberg 10 yo, both divine, only comment is that my last bottle of rasputin would have gone better with the dram

[JoKing]

That Ardbeg is Gnarley though aye! I don't think I've had a more smokey malt that that!

[Greig McGill]

You must try "Smokehead" then. I'm fairly sure the base whisky is Ardbeg, but they don't say. Anyway, it's supercharged! Like an imperial IPA of scotch, except smoke replaces IBUs. The Malthouse has some I recall.

[Soren]

smokehead is awesome, during beervana I paired one with brewdog's paradox - aged in preloved smokehead barrels, was awesome! have had my hands on a bottle of Ardbeg supernova which is supposed to be the smokiest malt of them all but for some reason ($250 reasons) I didn't buy it...

[Dale Cooper]

Last night was a sake and unusal japanese beverages tasting at Hashigo Zake. Took this photo of both Soren's beers together on tap :-)

Apart from the tasting I had a Captain Cooker, Hop Wired and PKB remix.

[Soren]

hehe, that's pretty cool indeed, thanks! and Dominic, the young samurai of the NZ beer scene, behind the wheel.

[Matthew]

Soren, what hop varieties went into HopWired? I still have fond memories of them dancing around my palate...

[Soren]

Motueka and nelson sauvin are the two main players with sauvin being the more dominant of the two. best hop in the world I recon. and the motueka that went in the hopback was possibly the freshest and most awesome smelling hops I have ever used, like sticking your head into a bucket of freshly crushed oranges.. mmmmm, feel like a pint now:)

[Stu McKinlay]

I agree with you on the Sauvin. A lovely hop. I've got plans for it in our winter release for 2010...

And agree with the words on the lips of everyone i've bumped into this week here in Wellington: 8 Wired Hopwired is one of the beers of the year!
Well done Soren (and to Brian your 'labourer' - his IPA ain't tasting bad either).