Beer of the Week 3

NZ Craft Beer TV Presents Mash Up 

Pale Ale 6%

I know the web address has Aussie beer in the title but bugger it, I write about what inspires me and this week’s muse comes from South of the Tasman.  New Zealanders are practically part of the family anyway, the tag foreigner doesn’t really apply to them the way it does to others like those lay-about Queenslanders.  What?  Part of Australia?  Really?  Wow...

Mash Up is billed as the world’s biggest collaborative brew, a joining of forces by 44 of NZ’s craft breweries and is the result of two lucky bastards (head of Epic and a former Thornbridge brewer) driving around the islands in a van visiting the various breweries and collecting their input and eventually crafting what is essentially a manifesto of where NZ craft brewing is at in 2011.

The result is predictably hoppy, showcasing what Kiwi breweries are famous for, big, hoppy Pale Ales.  In the glass it looks stunning, a perfect golden amber, with few bubbles it almost looks like a glass of clear, resinous sap.  The nose is also sublime, a veritable basket of tropical fruits – passionfruit, pineapple, mango, paw paw and really sweet lime, almost like Schweppes lime cordial syrup.

 

The taste is also really fruity, citrusy and oily to begin with, followed by what I swear is kiwi fruit.  This builds to a powerful, though slightly rough hoppy bitterness with characteristics of pineapple and grapefruit, a touch of passionfruit and hints of green apple.  There is a prolonged bitter aftertaste which becomes slightly metallic, a bit like Little Creatures PA.  Not really my thing but this is the only fault I found with an otherwise very desirable concoction.

Brewed at Epic, for the full story head here.  In other Epic news, the incredible Hop Zombie has just had its second batch released, I’m not sure how much will make its way to our shores but as the one keg at Cookie Bar during Good Beer Week was emptied in about 40 minutes there is clearly plenty of demand.  There won’t be any more until the next harvest in spring so grab what you can, hole yourself up in a good defendable position with a shotty and await the slathering undead hordes!  Remember, aim for the head!