The Beer & Wine Review Thread

[scissorhands]

Krolsh is $21 for 12 bots at supermarkets this week

[slofox]

At about $6.00 a bottle it is not a cheap drop, but I will be keen to try it again...and again...

My rating is out of five...

If you are paying $6.00 a bottle for Tuatara, you are paying too much. $4.00 a bottle from me. I can courier to any address in NZ...

For the ultimate Porter, try Flying Dog "Gonzo" Porter - brewed in memory of Hunter S Thompson by Flying Dog Brewery, Frederick, MD, USofA. Fan bloody tastic brew. 9.2% - MUST be good! (Not cheap though - $9.00 per 330ml...)

We are lucky having the Tuatara brewery in our area, it doesn't seem to be available widely.

I have quaffed my way through a bottle or two of TUATARA ARDENNES

Promoted as a "Belgian Style Ale", its a golden colour, and very clear. Smells a little like orange peel, and if served cool rather than cold appears heavily carbonated (making it very summery with that slight citrus smell.) 6.5% alcohol, so by the third one, I felt it had improved from merely "excellent" to "must have another at all costs".
I'll buy it again. Tonight on the way home would be good.

The Ardennes is in the style of a Belgian "top fermented golden ale" - akin to Duvel, Piraat, Brigand or La Chouffe to name but a few. This style is quite highly carbonated - this to give it a generous head in the glass. The Belgian versions are often quite sweet on the palate - a result, I think anyway, of decoction method mashing rather than the English infusion method. Decoction method tends to leave more unfermentable carbohydrates in the beer which I think leads to that flavour. Belgian Tripel beers are even more this way - to the extent of becoming "beer soup" in some cases (think Karmeliet). Just my opinion, like - some people love 'em.

I stock lots of imported beer for what it's worth.

[Bren]

I stock lots of imported beer for what it's worth.

Hmm, you may be someone who ios able to get a beer I have been craving for for ages...

Shiner Bok....not a fantastic beer but I love the stuff...

Where are you Slofox, what area?

[AllanB]

Anything over 4% tastes good in Christchurch this week!

I'm even considering squirting some of that hand sanitiser into my mouth - that's pretty high in alcohol.

[Clockwork]

Ok peeps.... time to fess up. I have "over the past few years become a beer snob. (currently drinking a Chimay Blue as I type).

Went to Beervana two weeks ago and I was stunned by the variety and quality of beers availaible, many brewed locally.

Tuatara make a nice drop but I started my pilgrimage to beer Snob status drinking Emerson's Pilsner.

Today I had a beer at the Malthouse, Wellington that simply blew me away. I was a Wigram Stout drawn through what the Malthouse calls a "hoppinator" but in this case it contained coffee beans. It was a bloody awesome drop!

Other noteable beers I've sampled would include
Rennesance (SP) Stonecutter
Monk's Habbit (local brew, can't recall the brewer)
Mike's double IPA. And their Whisky Porter.
Many of the Fuiller's range but particularly 1845, and ESB
Pretty much anything from Emerson's (possibly not the Taieri George)
Epic APA
Cooper's Vintage


Man, once you get into this stuff you just can't look regular beers in the face again, they all just seem like sugary pisswater.

[boostin]

Rennesance (SP) Stonecutter is a good one.

Also a big fat of the 3 Boys Oyster Stout

[Scuba_Steve]

Ok well looks like a wine is needed...

Recently I have been enjoying a Pieroth Rouge (Merlot) 2008 (For those who speak french "Vin de pays d'oc" & "Vin Rouge Français" are also on the bottle)
Not the cheapest wine available @ $25.95/bottle and only available through direct sell, But in my opinion a bloody good wine 12.5%alc/vol.

I would give it a /5

[davereid]

I stock lots of imported beer for what it's worth.

I'd like to try some of the beers mentioned in the thread, not particularly the imported ones, more interest in smaller kiwi brewers.

I guess you have stock of all those mentioned - can you link your website or summat ? Or pm me or summat ?

Thirsty. pm soon.

[Gareth123]

Torlesse Gerwurtraminer

Please pardon my spelling.

This lovely drop of white wine is slightly sweet but not over powerfully so. Would go well with a dish of pasta or fish.

I'd give it 5 outta 5. Costs around $20 a bottle

[Bren]

On wine I am partial to Wolf Blass Yellow Label Merlot or Mud House Merlot...usually both are about $20 but can pick up the wolf blass at $10 on occasion
Wolf blass 4/5
Mud House 4.5/5

[Scuba_Steve]

On wine I am partial to Wolf Blass Yellow Label Merlot or Mud House Merlot...usually both are about $20 but can pick up the wolf blass at $10 on occasion
Wolf blass 4/5
Mud House 4.5/5

Mud House is good, can't say I'm a fan of the Wolf blass tho

[rie]

Now is a good time to be getting into wine as certain movements in the industry currently means shitloads of really excellent wine is going to be dirt cheap.

you might go to the supermarket and scrutinise the sale wine with some suspicion, but right now there are some surprisingly good wines of all kinds (more so whites than reds) so reserve your skepticism. of course, some wines are too cheap to be true - e.g. if a white wine is particularly old, say 2006, and it's down to $10 you might have to wonder why since (very) generally white is best not aged.

[slofox]

Hmm, you may be someone who ios able to get a beer I have been craving for for ages...

Shiner Bok....not a fantastic beer but I love the stuff...

Where are you Slofox, what area?

The Tron.

www.hillcrestfinewines.co.nz

[allycatz]

Currently enjoying Brown Brothers Dolcetta & Syrah....nice drop designed to be served chilled and ever so slight fizz which suits me fine cos I usually drink red wine with lemonade (yes, I know sooo wrong)

[rachprice]

Rolling Shiraz awesome drop for around $15

Drappier - Champagne that tastes like Bollinger (mmm green apples) for half the price $50