Kooinda Red Ale

Exciting times: a new Kooinda to try!

Interesting pour this, a fair bit darker than expected particularly given the conciliatory abv. Nose is of nuts but also some sticky sugary notes, slight sour citrus to balance. Not quite what I was expecting all round, but not bad nonetheless.

Taste-wise there's a nice nutty presence but also a little bit of sourness and almost metallic sort of character that limits full enjoyment.. it's fine beer in itself but you're left longing for a softer palate to avoid any jarring notes. You're looking, in short, for Rogue.

It's a short review but it feels to be honest like a 'shorter' beer than most everything else from Kooinda. Far from bad - but in a context of frequent brilliance from this stable, just a little off the pace. 7.0

The Peoples' Pint 2012: Double Hoptendre

Few quick notes on this one tried at the launch at Temple in Melbourne.

Got to say first, this is a great competition and it's good to see Ron and co at Temple working both on this, and the upcoming beer scholarship with Sierra Nevada etc too. They're great initiatives that help to strengthen the craft beer community & I think they themselves will gain a lot of benefit from their hard work too. All power to Temple!

Beer wise - this was a rye red IPA that has been double dry hopped in line with the mission statement. The result is a relatively spicy effort, certainly spicier than I've come to usually expect with a rye beer. The two different hop profiles are evident here also giving it an interesting 'bounce' of bitterness not once but twice during the mouthful. Despite this I did find it a bit trying toward the bottom of the glass however.

So.. an interesting drop, but not quite to my personal tastes. What will next year bring? 6.0