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

[Stu McKinlay]

Mac's Solstice - nice beer, a rich black malty number with an interesting spiced character. I'd love to get a chance to work through a jug and see it open up a bit more.

Townshend Rosedale Cider - very nice, outstanding lingering finish

Eastie Boys Red Rackham - the second keg, which is almost finished is just tasting its best around now. Yeast character is great but the recipe is too short, fat and malty for what I wanted.

[Ally Mcg]

Solstice?

Had a pint of this on a night out with the boys from my 5 a-side team and assorted hangers on. We all thought it was the worst pint of the night (having been at the twisted hop and goodbye blue mondays before hand)

I got cloves and an unpleasant thickness that i had to choke down. Had high hopes too

[Matthew]

I'm with Stu on this one. I really like Solstice, I've had a few pints now from the brewery and definitely enjoyed it better second time around. Solstice and Hop Rocker are the only Macs I'll touch at the mo...

[Greig McGill]

I've still not tried it. Ads are everywhere, but do you think I can find it in the local supermarkets? Odd for a LN beer! That said, I've not put any serious effort in.

Why is it, when the big guys with all their advertising and distribution might, produce a great beer... you can't get the stuff anywhere? They should have it on tap at all of their tied bars!

[Matthew]

Good point. Just thinking about it, I've only ever seen it at the Brewery. I don't think it's at the Craftsmen or any other affiliated bars. Did they even bottle it?

[Greig McGill]

Friends have had it, and I've seen posters advertising the bottles, so I'm assuming so. :)

I quite like that it's easier for me to get Armageddon!

[Matthew]

Armageddon tastes better too, different leagues...

[MrC]

PKB on tap at D4. I would strongly recommend that y'all keep well away from D4 while PKB is on tap and suggest that you try some of of the more quaffable NZ beers from some of the more mainstream breweries.

[Hopfull]

That's ok Mr Cherry, that leaves room for others to enjoy the newest Brewer's Reserve Hoppy2Porter :-) Even Yeastie Boys are starting to get worried LOL

[Stu McKinlay]

That's hopeful, Hopfull. We're streets ahead in the arms race. ;-)
Sounds like a Hoppy Dark challenge is in the making... a new style in the making?

[Reviled]

Drinking my Munich Amarillo SMaSH, its faded soooo much since last week :o( Last week it was like a citrussy mandarin with a juicy malt sweetness, but now the hop aroma and flavour is coming through alot more, its nice, dont get me wrong, but so different to what it was fresh!!!

Hows yours going Glen??

[denimglen]

Meh, I don't think Simcoe is all that flash on it's own TBH.

It's good but the hops have come out a little woody in flavour - not like tannic or piney, but like the smell of an average piece of wood. Otherwise it's what you would expect from them.

The malt character is a little thin and empty, and isn't helped by the fact that it's reasonably hoppy, I could have gone like a degree or two higher in mash temp which I think would help, but it already finished at like 1016 hmmm.

This will probably come round a bit more in a week or so once the hops start to fade a little and let the malt through a bit more.