#259 Mt Froth – Digital IPA

Name: Digital IPA
Brewery: Mt Froth (recipe by Yeastie Boys)
Style: IPA
ABV: 7.4%
Source: David Ball

If you’ve been following this blog for a while, you’ll have noticed that I occasionally post from far-flung and exotic places that I’m sent to for work – places like Oamaru, Kapiti Island and Waitomo.

Today, and for the next three days, I’m in Grampians National Park in Victoria. As I write this there are kangaroos bounding around the field outside my room, cockatoos screeching, and a brilliant orange sun sinking beneath the mountains. If there were a tanned beach babe carrying a surfboard in sight, I’d think I was in an Australia Tourism commercial. (Also I’d think she was insane because it’s actually bloody cold.)

I’m here for a wine and food festival this weekend, and back in Melbourne next weekend for GABS, so there should be loads of Australian beers coming up on the blog in the next two weeks.

But not yet because I’m too behind on posting! So let me tell you about a beer I drank a week ago instead.

If you have any clue what you’re doing, and Dave certainly does, then it would be hard to go too wrong with this Yeastie Boys Digital IPA recipe. I’ve raved about the original before but just to refresh you: it’s punchy and fruity, has a lovely malt profile, and is more balanced than most IPA’s I’ve tried. In short – it’s my cup of ale.

Dave’s version, while noticeably different from the Boys’, was pretty delicious too. It had an awesome bright nose of passionfruit and guava, a solid malt backing, an oily smooth mouthfeel and a crisp bitter kick at the finish. I think the water Dave uses has a distinct flavour that I’ve talked about before – minerally, a little plasticky perhaps – so this is where it departed from the original and was more noticeably a home brew. Still a fair dinkum beer nonetheless!

(Sorry, but people do actually say that here and I tell you, its quite infectious.)

#216 Mt Froth – Out of Bounds

Name: Out of Bounds
Brewery: Mt Froth (Wanaka, NZ)
Style: Amber Ale
ABV: 5.5%
Source: David Ball (homebrewer)

Remember how on Tuesday I vowed that I was going to catch up on my blog once and for all and never let myself fall behind again? Yeah, well, forget you ever read that because I failed horribly and am now more behind than ever.

It was Sunday night that I drank this, and I feel a bit bad because I was actually playing charades at the time and not writing notes like I should have been.

I remember thinking it was quite similar to my own Sierra Nevada Pale Ale clone (only you know, better), and wondered if David had perhaps used NZ Cascade hops as well. It had a similar citrusy, fruity hop taste with lots of malt to back it up, and a nice balance of sweetness with a dry, lasting finish.

Apart from that I can’t say much else – just that it was tasty, quaffable, and gave me the magical powers I needed to win charades!

#190 Mt Froth – Amber Wheat Ale

Name: Amber Wheat Ale
Brewery: Mt Froth Brewing Company (Wanaka, New Zealand)
Style: Amber Wheat Ale
ABV: 5.5%
Source: David Ball

So once again I have been a VBB (very bad blogger) and am five days behind on my posting, which means I will probably just be farting out posts that aren’t nearly as informative or pun-filled as I would like them to be.

Anyway, this is a homebrew that my friend David in Wanaka sent me. David is awesome at making beer and, as I mentioned in the past, went through the same food science degree at Dunedin that Kelly Ryan at Epic did. (BTW, did you guys know Kelly is leaving Epic and heading for Hamilton? Big big news. Read all about it here.)

Sadly David is moving to Perth for some reason (I hope he gets a job at Feral or Little Creatures!) so this will be the last batch of beers he sends me for a while.

This is the second hoppy wheat ale I’ve had in week, which makes me think I could be riding the crest of a new fad in beer styles. (Though its unlikely because I’m always really behind with these things.)

This tasted and looked marginally more like a wheat beer than the Haywired, but if I’d tasted it blind I doubt I would have guessed. It had a juicy hop aroma with some citrus, marmalade, and a faint whiff of doughy yeast.

In the mouth it had a great malty sweetness, really nicely balanced with a bitter finish, and a smooth fullish mouthfeel.

There was one problem for me though, and that was a rubbery, almost band-aid like taste that dominated the flavour. It’s something I’ve noticed in quite a few beers before – some home-brewed, some not, and although some people might like it I’m not so sure.

I asked Kelly Ryan about what this taste could be, and he reeled off about seven different possibilities which I can’t remember (this was at the end of a very long tasting session). Something about yeast or water or containers or beer.

Anyway, it still had a lot going for it and I suspect the band-aid taste could fade with more cellaring. Thanks heaps to Dave and all the best in Perth. Don’t forget to drink lots of fresh Hop Hog for me!

#98 Mt Froth – I.P.A

Name: I.P.A
Brewery: Mt Froth Brewing Co. (Wanaka, New Zealand)
Style: American I.P.A
ABV: 6.5%
Source: Mt Froth Brewing Co.

There is really nothing better than receiving homebrew in the post.

OK, so it’s only happened twice. But both times I’ve been delighted at the homemade labels, amused at excessive amounts of packaging that the brewer has used to ensure their babies arrive safely, and astounded at how good the stuff inside tastes.

‘Mt Froth Brewing Co’, aka David Ball, is an old friend of mine from high school who now lives in Wanaka. Like me, he’s always been a big foodie, but unlike me he’s really really good at cooking. He studied Food Science at Otago University, which seems to be a natural precursor for lots of brewers in NZ, so it’s really no surprise at all that he’s making homebrew now. Really good homebrew, it would seem.

This is the second I.P.A Dave’s made, and he’s used US Simcoe, NZ Riwaka, and NZ Casacde hops. He tells me all his beers use unfiltered spring water from a source on the edge of lake Wanaka, which is pretty hard and ideal for hoppy ales.

You can see it pours a lovely deep, orangey marmalade colour, slightly hazy with a frothy white head. It smelled really fruity – but complex. I got those American citrus and resiny pine characteristics, but also ripe tropical fruit – pineapple in particular. Was it a bit floral too? Possibly. I’m not the best at picking these things apart, but basically the smell made me think of Hawaii.

In the mouth there was there was a light, caramel sweetness from the malt, balanced with a dry hop bitterness that lingered after I swallowed. It was medium bodied and lightly carbonated, and very easy to drink.

I told Dave I was going to send him some of my homebrew when it was ready, but after trying his I think I’d be a bit embarrassed. Instead I think I need to find an excuse to go down to Wanaka and get him to show me how he does it. And maybe steal a bit of that fancy spring water, too!