#65 Pink Elephant – Pink’s Peculiar

Name: Pink’s Peculiar
Brewery: Pink Elephant (Blenheim, New Zealand)
Style: Traditional Ale
ABV: 8%
Source: Regional Wines (Wellington)

OK, I’ve just smelled this beer and realised it’s going to be a weird one. Weird beers are always best documented with a ‘type as I taste’ post, so here goes…

As soon as I take the bottle cap off I smell the miso soup I had for dinner last night. I pour it (thick and black) and decide the aroma is really soy sauce. No, no, it’s VEGEMITE! Yes! Maybe just a little bit of chocolate and espresso, but mostly, definitely, vegemite.

It tastes-HOLY SHIT IT’S SOUR!! Wasn’t expecting that. My God. My saliva glands are going into hyperdrive as they try to cope with this sudden influx of acidity. It’s even… yes it is, a little bit salty on the tip of my tongue. What the hell kind of beer is this??

OK. Trying to discern some more flavours other than vegemite and sour. Basically it’s part porter (soy, coffee,chocolate) part sour fruit insanity – green plums and gooseberries. Yes.

The next question is, am I enjoying it?

God, too hard to tell. There’s so much going on. I’m drinking it, sure, but I think it’s for the intrigue rather than pleasure…

On second thoughts it’s really not bad. It reminds me a bit of the De Molen Hemel & Aarde, but I actually prefer this because of the sourness… It’s clean somehow – washes out your mouth and stops all those bizarre flavours from getting too overbearing.

Yes, yes actually I think I quite like it. But then – I like eating lemons by themselves (I used to take them to school in my lunch) so my judgement regarding sour things might be a little skewed.

I’ve just had a look at the bottle to see if it could shed any light as to what in God’s name this beer is supposed to be (it didn’t) but the description is so funny/bizarre that I have to share that as well.

I don’t know anything about Pink Elephant Brewery (mostly because they’re not on Twitter), but both beers that I’ve tried so far have been wonderfully odd. I can’t wait to get some more!

#42 Pink Elephant – Trumpet

Name: Trumpet
Brewery: Pink Elephant (Blenheim, New Zealand)
Style: Barley Wine
ABV: 10.4%
Source: Forrest Hill Liquorland

As those who know me can probably guess, I chose this one because of its name. My boyfriend plays the trumpet for a living (yep, you can do that!) and so it’s an instrument that I listen to a lot. In fact even as I type he’s downstairs giving a lesson to an 8-year-old boy, who is playing a rather grating rendition of “Summertime”.

The only way to deal with this kind of cacophony is to get drunk, and that’s exactly what I am after drinking this  10.4% beer before dinner.

This is my first ever beer from Pink Elephant, my first ever Barley Wine, and I think it’s the strongest beer that I’ve had on my blog so far. Given all those firsts this should really be a pretty comprehensive post, but I’m just too drunk to do it properly.

The aroma was sweet and not easily undefinable – lollies, bannoffie pie, something a bit Belgium. The taste was really sweet at first, then strong, alcoholic, fruity and slightly sour. Something about it reminded me of the Moinette Biologique – probably because it had a slight candyfloss/gewurtz vibe to it.

OK, I actually just took a two hour break because I was feeling too pissed to keep writing. My conclusion is that while it was kinda yum, it was just a bit too boozy for a wee lass like me.

On the plus side, the 8-year-old boy has gone from our garage and my favourite Auckland band, Bannerman are rehearsing instead. Check them out!