Name: Maiden
Brewery: Beltane (Contract Brewed at Harrington’s)
Style: Wheat Beer
ABV: 5%
Source: Liquorland Oamaru
Still phone-blogging from Oamaru.
Came across this at Liquorland and thought it looked too weird to go past. There was another one too, different label, with a naked lady and a snake on her shoulders. Tempting, but picked this one because it said it was “just gorgeous’.
“What can you tell me about this beer?” I asked the shopkeeper.
“Nothing. Except once that’s gone, there won’t be anymore” he said.
“Sold.” I said.
A quick Google revealed it was made “by a woman” (Vicky Purple), “for women” (me).
I read the label which said it was a wheat beer (damn trickery! That should have been in larger print), and suggested I might mix it with fruit juice.
Decided I was going to hate it.
Poured beer into a crystal glass, because it’s Oamaru, and took a sniff. Smelled wheat-beery – a bit yeasty, a bit sour and lemony. It had probably been sitting on the shelf at Liquorland for a year, which I think gave it a bit of a wine-y smell too.
I sipped. It was light and fizzy and a bit sour, like cider, with a dry and refreshing finish. Not exactly my pint of beer, but on a hot day… Yeah. Yeah I could do it again. Definitely no fruit juice required.
