I've just telephoned my wife who is in New Plymouth tonight; who is now under strict instructions to stop by and collect a bottle to further the education of my palate.
Some excellent beer last night, I won't name everything just the highlights:
Tuatara APA
Mike's Porter (hadn't hit the whiskey barrels yet)
Mike's IIPA (Awesome)
Green Flash Hop head and WC IPA
Lagunitas Hop Stoopid
Alaskan Smoked porter
Goose Island Matilda (Belgian bret ale - too young, no bret yet but loved the beer)
Well - I thought I'd splash out this weekend and have a few beers (other than my home brew...)
Chimay Blue - I forgot how much I like this beer. Tasted quite fresh and the expiry on the back was 2013 so I figured it is bottled late last year. It had heaps of nice rich malt going on with sweet stone fruit esters. Probably the best Dubbel around.
Fullers ESB (exp november 2010) - not as oxidised as any of the other Fullers ESBs I've had. Great bitterness and some sweet caramel toffee notes. None of that toxic leathery / cardboardy crap you get in a lot of these beers.
Epic Pale Ale (BB 18-03-11) - It's so good to have this available in the New World supermarket down here. HEEL YEAH!!!! This is what I remember my very first mouthful of Epic tasting like. Great aroma of malt and graoefruit peel and hughe dry bitterness on the palate with a resinous aftertaste and mineral mouthfeel. Lovely beer Luke - I wish it was available in kegs down here now. You'll have to share this recipe one day.
Yum - I had a pint of Epic pale at the cock & bull in the Botany centre yesterday, after being dragged around and forced to try on 8000 items of clothing by my lovely wife. Just the ticket!
Stunning stock of beers in Regionals this weekend. I stocked up on 8 wired smoked porter, 8 wired istout, a rigger of epic stout and mike's IIPA. And there was a lot more I would have picked up, but was starting to worry about the budget after that lot. Has there ever been a better time for NZ beer?
My old man brought me back a mixed 6 pack from Kona brewing, the porter was not bad, coffee notes on the nose with a dry bitter (from the coffee?) almost chocolate finish, a little thin but a pretty good drop for a cold sunday night!