Summer Brew and Swap Reviews - NZ Pale Ales

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Love this style so defiantly one I’m going to brew again but not to my same recipe.

First up or me is @Tess Tickle's Brewery NZ Pale @5.5% when she said she’d filled the fecker she certainly had no wasted head space on this one 😂

It poured a lovely hazy yellow colour but really bright not murky with a nice head that dissipates fairly quickly to a light covering.

Then the aroma is so fresh and fruity which the hops used worked together a treat, I also got a faint grassy? smell.

The flavour was right up my street, hoppy without that can’t think of the word too hoppy flavour that sometimes over powers a beer, this had none of it. I would have been well chuffed is this was mine, perfeyon a sunny day, it didn’t last long at all 👍

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@SMP Brewery kiwi pale first up from me.

Nice golden colour, picture is ****, little bit of head which fades away quite quickly. Lovely and clear.

Lovely aroma, bubblegum, citrus.

Flavour like aroma if a little bit more restrained. Nice bit of bitterness which compliments the sweet and stops it from being cloying.

Carbonation and mouthfeel spot on for the style.

It's a decent beer, would be happy to drink a few of these, thank you for sharing! I think if i was being really critical i might have wanted a bit more hoppy flavour because it's all there in the aroma but its fine for the style! 👍
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Next up, @Alastair70 kiwi pale, slightly darker than my last one, crystal clear, poured with a nice fluffy white head which dissipated quite quickly to leave bit of foam round the edges of the glass.

Lovely bubblegum, citrus aroma on opening the bottle but more pine/resin in glass with some bready malt coming through too.

Flavour, quite similar to @SMP Brewery pale, nice level of Hop flavour, a bit of pine in there and a great balance of sweet then bitter.

Carbonation and mouthfeel spot on again, surprising as it had leaked the in transit!

Overall another lovely beer, thank you for sharing, I really like these swaps.

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Lovely glass here from @pilgrimhudd .

Intense but not OTT aromas of mango and lime. Gentle malt flavour with refreshing fruit flavours. Perfect level of bitterness for me... which is a bit of a shame as my wife insisted I couldn't finish her glass for her. Great job - recipe please!

Great, glad you liked it, I'll fish out the recipe later.
 
@Agentgonzo disappointingly I can't find my recipe...

However I know my malt bill was the same as my v2 kiwi pale...

5kg pale
300g wheat
300g caragold

Hops I used riwaka and rakau... but not sure when and in what quantity, although I know I used 100g riwaka and 50g rakau. Yeast cml 5.

Bit gutted myself at losing that.
 
First to arrive was this lovely beer from @Nottsbeer

Been settling a fair while now so I thought it was about time I took it around the block.

Like mine, it's a hazy boy with a nice fruity aroma.

Bitterness just right for me and lovely full flavour.

Head dissipated quite quickly but then I did pre-pour into a jug first to avoid any yeasties and so I could share with the hubby.

To quote my hubby "it has a white wine vibe". Does it have Nelson in it? I don't get that personally but he does have a better tasting palate than me.

Overall it's a great example and we've both enjoyed it. Many thanks for sharing! 😊

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Next up is @Nottsbeer Hazy John. Hazy by name hazy by nature 😀

Pours with a slight head that soon disappears, seems to be a common occurrence with all the brews I’ve seen so far.

This was interesting for me as I didn’t get that much aroma, however when tasting the bitterness was the first thing I noticed but then the fruity flavours started to appear and lingered long on the pallet.

Nice mouthfeel and carbonation another lovely beer, it’s been a good swap this.

@Tess Tickle's Brewery I sort of get the white wine vibe in that the fruity flavours hang around for a while but doesn’t taste of white wine.

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Next up is @Nottsbeer Hazy John. Hazy by name hazy by nature 😀

Pours with a slight head that soon disappears, seems to be a common occurrence with all the brews I’ve seen so far.

This was interesting for me as I didn’t get that much aroma, however when tasting the bitterness was the first thing I noticed but then the fruity flavours started to appear and lingered long on the pallet.

Nice mouthfeel and carbonation another lovely beer, it’s been a good swap this.

@Tess Tickle's Brewery I sort of get the white wine vibe in that the fruity flavours hang around for a while but doesn’t taste of white wine.

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No definitely doesn't taste of white wine, just a hint and it was very pleasant. Agree it's been a good swap so far 🙂
 
I had these last night and I’m doing all three in one post.
All three were very well made, and I’ve become a massive fan of the style overnight. Thank you everyone, and great brews all round.

First up, @SMP Brewery
Low to medium carbonation and the head dissipated quite quickly. Great aroma, mostly citrus with some tropical fruit notes in the background. The flavour followed suit. Great taste, bitterness and hops leaning towards IPA levels. Beautifully balanced and a great start to the evening.
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Next up @Tess Tickle's Brewery. Lovely pour, the Tickler definitely delivered the best head of the evening (fnrrr fnrrr). Noticeably paler in colour. Awesome aroma, massive hit of tropical fruit, particularly mango. Again, the flavour followed. Bitterness and hops leaning towards the upper range again. Similar to No.1 in many respects but with a contrasting hop choice.
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Last of the three is from @Agentgonzo. Looks like No.1 in the glass, the aroma was similar too. On tasting, lovely balance of bready malts and more citrusy hops. Bitterness and hop levels are squarely in Pale Ale territory which allowed the malt complexity to shine through more. I was sad to finish it, especially as it was the last one of the evening.

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Hi All, sorry for the radio silence - been away with work for a while.

@Tess Tickle's Brewery and @SMP Brewery - thanks both for your kind reviews. I only had a change to try one bottle before sending these, thus I was a little nervous on how they would be. Great you both enjoyed them. Hops used for this were Taiheke (60 & 15 mins) and Motueka (0 and dry hop). I'm just trying a pint now, and I'm a bit disappointed in the aroma and taste. I think if I were to make this again I'd double the dry hop, and maybe up the last addition as well. Otherwise it's an easy one to drink!

@Stu's Brews and @smallscaleale - sadly your beers didn't arrive (unless you didn't get around to posting yet). I've checked the likely places (in the bin!) but no sign.
 
Hi All, sorry for the radio silence - been away with work for a while.

@Tess Tickle's Brewery and @SMP Brewery - thanks both for your kind reviews. I only had a change to try one bottle before sending these, thus I was a little nervous on how they would be. Great you both enjoyed them. Hops used for this were Taiheke (60 & 15 mins) and Motueka (0 and dry hop). I'm just trying a pint now, and I'm a bit disappointed in the aroma and taste. I think if I were to make this again I'd double the dry hop, and maybe up the last addition as well. Otherwise it's an easy one to drink!

@Stu's Brews and @smallscaleale - sadly your beers didn't arrive (unless you didn't get around to posting yet). I've checked the likely places (in the bin!) but no sign.

Bugger - it will be 2 weeks tomorrow since I posted them so it really should have arrived by now.

Unfortunately I've also since finished the keg (was pretty much done when I bottled them) so can't send another. I can arrange to get an alternative beer sent out though as a replacement.
 
Bugger - it will be 2 weeks tomorrow since I posted them so it really should have arrived by now.

Unfortunately I've also since finished the keg (was pretty much done when I bottled them) so can't send another. I can arrange to get an alternative beer sent out though as a replacement.
Hi Mate, no problem. I saw that you had posted them, and I was hoping my wife had stashed the package away. Sadly no sign of it. Don't worry about a replacement 👍
 
Having drunk one of mine, I cracked open the Kiwi Pale kindly supplied by @pilgrimhudd. Poured nicely, having a decent head which retained👍. Interesting aroma which I couldn't place. Taste wise I initially thought piney flavour, and then decided it wasn't and maybe slightly fruitish, but hard to place! This was not overly bitter and quite refreshing. I noticed that you used two hops I haven't tried before and I may try them in the future. Like mine, this was a hazy beer. Lovely pint, many thanks for sharing.
 

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