Managed to get away from work early enough to get to Beer Delux by 5pm to try the new Thunder Road beer. Ok, it is a lager...a pale lager, so already I am not too interested. Also, it is winter, and not the best time to be trying out these beers. Still, I had 30 mins to waste, and can't say no to free beer, so gave it a go.
I have to say, it was better than I expected (ok, my expectations were not high), with a decent body, very crisp and refreshing, and even got a little hint of honey as it warmed up a little (maybe just wanting honey because of the weather, so misjudged the malt). Still, the first sip put me off a little, as it was almost too crisp, bringing with it a dryness that reminded me of a pilsner or even towards an Asahi.
Later on I happened to go past Purvis and see it still open, so headed in and as he was closing up, Damien and I had the Torpedo IPA. Had a similar nose to the Stone & Wood with the fruity aroma, but as it warmed up, the caramel malt came out much more, which of course I enjoyed more. This caramel came out more in flavour as it warmed as well, but diminished the hop of course. Therefore, I probably don't appreciate it for what it really is, but that is the relationship I have with hops. While it was cold, I was getting two hits of bitterness, one on mid-palate, then another in aftertaste. Still, the mid-palate bitterness settled a bit as it warmed. It is a hard bitterness, but does not seem to be overbearing, which is strange to find, and probably one the better things I found in this beer. The after taste bitterness really does linger, and shows most of the bitterness in the beer. So while there is aroma and bitterness from the hop, I didn't get a great deal of flavour, but that could just be from the aroma and bitterness being as big as they are.
Anyway, just got home, and have another day of work at Mountain Goat tomorrow, so better get a good night's rest, and so I can maybe do some knock off's after bottling, and a quick Brew Dog tasting (Yay! More free beer!)at Purvis on my way to the rugby for The Rebels final game of their inaugural season.
Cheers,
Beef
2 comments:
The big thing I found with the Torpedo is that its hop aromas are more piney, grassy, whereas its Pale Ale has more of the fruity/ citrus aromas, which have been used by Australian Craft Brewers again and again.
Your assessment of the Thunder Road beer is pretty much spot on I reckon, really interested to see how this brewery goes. I hope they start pumping out some interesting beers soon, to connect with us more 'serious beer drinkers'.
Yeah, compared to the Pale Ale you are probably right there Sim (been a while since I tried the Pale though).
The Thunder Pale is good, and I would hope after being around for a while they would have gotten it to a good point. Unfortunately not my style, but as you say, good reason to keep an eye out for what they bring out next. Looking at the number of staff they had at Beer Delux, hopefully it should not take them too long.
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