Beer Friday! - Boundary Road Brewery

Welcome to what will hopefully be a weekly series examining the wide range of brews on offer here in New Zealand. Each week I will endeavor to try something new and update you on how delicious (or not) it is. Ratings will be given in a completely arbitrary manner, because really, is there such thing as a truly bad beer? Didn't think so. This week, a look at selections from Boundary Road Brewery.

My original thought for the post today was a recap of my last weekend - the Flight of the Conchords came to Dunedin to play the Regent Theatre, and I was privileged enough to get tickets. But then I thought to myself, "What's the point in attempting to be funny when writing a review of a comedy show, you're nor nearly as funny as they are anyway. And your pictures are shit." So that's that, not going to write about the FotC show beyond saying they were hilarious and were everything I ever imagined and more.

Anyway, back to the topic "du jour", another addition of Beer Friday!. This week I'm taking a look at two selections from Boundary Road Brewery, a smaller operation based in the Hunua Hills south of Auckland. What flavours you ask? What half-assed rating scheme are you using this week you ponder? More flaming furniture perhaps? Read on to find out good people, the answers lie forwards, not backwards, upwards, not forwards and always twirling, twirling, twirling...Ahem. Read on then.

Boundary Road Brewery "Chocolate Moose" Chocolate Porter

As you might be familiar from my attempts at reviewing the Speight's range last week, I'm not great at describing beer beyond using words like "delicious", "bubbly" and "it's beer, HEY!". Fortunately, BRB provides snappy descriptions for each of their beers, which I will provide to you with accompanying commentary. BRB describes their Chocolate moose thusly:

"Porter is an old style of beer. Chocolate is an old style of chocolate. We've combined them for an ale with aromas of toasted malts, notes of cocoa and a finish so silky Oscar Wilde would make his curtains from it. To illustrate its magnificence we present a mighty forest creature with antlers and a dollop of cream on his head: The Chocolate Moose."

The Chocolate Moose (photo  courtesy BRB)

Breaking that down part by part, I see no reason to argue with the first two points. Porter-style beer and chocolate are old, practically as old as Keith Richards at this point. It's that second bit that I'll endeavour to suss out a little bit. Yes, there are indeed notes of cocoa, to the point where I'd say the beer is rathersweet to the taste. Rather than this being off-putting (as it often is with sweet beers), it works really well with the darker style porter, and it's certainly not an overpowering flavour. Overall, quite a fantastic beer to have with food or on its own. To continue to Oscar Wilde analogy if I may (and I will, because no one can stop me), I often considered just sitting there and staring at a bottle of this beer, getting lost in the beauty of it, just like Dorian Grey himself. What's that, not one but TWO Oscar Wilde references in a beer review. HIGH BROW STUFF THAT. Anyway, time for the arbitrary rating, I'll give it...8 Japanese car brands out of 9! WOW! (Note: arbitrary rating explained at the bottom of the post)


Mazda, Toyota, Honda, Hyundai, Nissan, Isuzu, Mitsubishi, Suzuki


Boundary Road Brewery "Bouncing Czech" Pilsener Lager
Let's continue on with the witty writing with what (alliteration!) BRB has to say about their take on the Pilsener:

"The Bouncing Czech is named after the town of Pizen (Pilsen) in what is now the Czech Republic. For centuries Pizen produced a beer famed for its strong hoppy taste. For a similar style we use NZ Cascade and Pacifica hops to produce a characterful pilsener with explosions of citrus. It'll bounce round your mouth like a rabbit on a trampoline."

The Bouncing Czech (photo courtesy BRB)

Once again, I can't find any issues with the condensed history of the pilsener provided by BRB. Clearly, they have someone on the payroll that knows how to use a library. Or Wikipedia. Also, BRB's NZ roots are reflected in their use of local products to produce this fine beverage, and I must say, it is also a wonderfully flavourful beer. Thankfully, the "explosions of citrus" is not a literal description, as I've cleaned up lemon shrapnel far too many times since I've moved to NZ. However, the beer does have a distinct citrusy undertone, with a strong and flavourful finish. When looked at alongside the Chocolate Moose, I can't help but have high expectations for the rest of the BRB range, and can't wait to continue sampling. Overall, 7.5 out of 9 Japanese car brands!

Honda, Hyundai, Subaru, Daihatsu, Nissan, Toyota, Mazda, Mitsu

Well, that does it for another edition of Beer Friday!, hope you enjoyed it. Do tune in next week, hopefully I'll be able to squeeze in a post despite my upcoming 2 week vacation (don't cry for me).

Dave

*Arbitrary rating system explanation:
1. Boundary Road Brewery - the road reference led me to believe a system based on automobiles was a moderately appropriate connection
2. By far the most common cars here in NZ are Japanese manufactured, 80% at least (I counted)
3. BRB was just purchased by Japanese brewing giant Asahi
Thus, Japanese car brands. Sorry for no pyrotechnic ottomans of fiery chesterfields this week :(