Panhead The Vandal

My last beer was one that harkens back to more traditional brewing flavours. Today's beer is all about what is current in NZ brewing. This one's from a brewery that is so new they haven't even got their website up and running yet. Panhead Custom Ales is all about up and running with their hot rod themed brews. Just what you would expect from another Upper Hutt brewery. These guys are totally inspired by the American market and that means HOPS! The Vandal (named after a famous NZ hot rod) pushes that as far as it can go. It's hops or bust on this one. The taste is strong. It is so bitter it is almost like drinking smoke. I have heard other people say that it has a fruity taste due to the fresh hops. It does have three types of hops in there. I didn't really get the fruit flavour, but if you are into strong hop flavours in your beers then take the Vandal for a drive. It's only limited release so you may have already missed it as it sped past...

Harrington's Brewer's Selection IPA

Harrington's brewery is another one of those breweries which has actually been around for a while (since 1991) but is now able to ride the craft brewing wave. If you check out their photos on their website you can see that these aren't young upstarts, they have been at it for a while. My latest bottle out of my Beer Cellar box is a bottle of Harrington's Brewer's Selection IPA. Harrington's is in Christchurch, the most English of New Zealand Cities. Despite its name, the Indian Pale Ale is a very English beer. However, many New Zealand and American brewers see it as an opportunity to fill an IPA full of hops and call it an APA (Aotearoa/American respectively). Don't get me wrong, those beers have their place and there are many that I very much enjoy. Nonetheless it is great to drink some of the  more subtle flavours that you get in British Real Ale. Harrington's seem to have followed this older line of thinking when they created their IPA. They even say on their label that their aim is to go beyond the hop and create balanced brews. That is exactly what they have delivered. It has a nice golden colour to it. There is definitely the taste of hops there but they work with the other flavours in the beer to give you a nice balanced taste, that doesn't leave you feeling like the hops have beaten up the other flavours. Overall it is as close as I have found to an English beer from an NZ brewery. Well done. Very drinkable.

Deep Creek Brewing Co's Undercurrent

Some people swear by a good pilsner. They sure are an interesting mix of light coloured beer with a hoppy taste and there is no doubt that they go down well while you are sitting in a bar in Prague. However I find that sometimes it just isn't the beer I feel like drinking.

Having said that on a hot day I decided to give the Deep Creek Brewing Co's Uncercurrent Pilsner a try. One word to describe this beer. Perfect. It had a nice golden colour with a good head on it (Beer like this should have head people!) It was a fantastic balance with a sweet wheatey start followed by a bitter hoppy aftertaste. Unfortunately a look at their website makes it look like they aren't actually brewing it at the moment. I guess that is what you get with craft brewing in small batches. Hopefully they bring it back because I would definitely have it again.