Name: Bitter Bitch
Brewery: ParrotDog, brewed at Mike’s Organic Brewery (Wellington, New Zealand)
ABV: 6.3%
Style: IPA
Source: Galbraiths Ales
Finally… Finally I got to try a Bitter Bitch!
This is the beer that won the People’s Choice Award at Beervana this year, which is super cool because it’s the first ever commercial release from brand new Wellington brewery, ParrotDog.
I was actually at Beervana, but somehow I totally missed this along with heaps of other beers that I’m now desperate to try. (Probably because I was with my apple-head dad who insisted that we spend half our precious tokens on cider.) Of course as soon as I left everyone was all “Oh, you didn’t try the Bitter Bitch? It was magical! Probably won’t be able to get any in Auckland though,” so I was kicking myself for not being more clued-up.
Mercifully some did make it up to Auckland (so hah!), and I’ve been waiting patiently (tweeting incessantly) for Galbraiths to hook up their keg. It’s a bit of a bugger that BB’s arrival coincided with my blocked nose, but I was afraid that if I waited for it to clear then I would miss out once again.
I went to Galbraith’s last night armed with two spare noses (Finn and Cass), and all three of us got the BB. I really hate saying ‘Bitter Bitch’ out loud because I’m bad at swearing and it doesn’t really roll off the tongue anyway, so I just mumbled my order and pointed at the tap.
You can see in the picture that Cass took that I sniffed it pretty seriously (note that it looks like I’m sniffing a giant beer, visual trickery FTW) and through my inflamed and mucus-filled nasal cavities I got some tart and luscious fruits (citrus? Peach? Basically a big ol’ fruit salad), as well as some sweet toffee/caramel aromas.
My first sip was dominated with bitterness, but it didn’t wring my tongue out to dry like I was expecting. It was sharp, definitely, but really nicely cushioned with malt. Even though my tastebuds are on holiday at the moment I could sense that the citrusy hop flavour was there, and that it was crisp and dry and refreshing. I really hope there is more of this available when summer eventually rolls around, because I can’t think of a more perfect match for a steaming hot day. I also love that it packs lots of punch without being crazy-alcoholic, which means that I can drink lots (2 pints) of it.
Congratulations to ParrotDog for an awesome first release! And best of luck with the difficult second album. 😉
Beer for a Year 