No, It's not salty, but it is Zythos.

Epic Beer make a lot of incredible beer. They have stood as beacons of great beer for a fair while now, and just keep getting more and more inventive. They have informally specialised in IPA - Indian Pale Ale, a fact for which I completely understand, and am very grateful for. Armageddon IPA has been turning heads for a while now with it's potent hoppiness, and the latest in that line of thinking (or drinking) is Zythos IPA.

There is apparently a hop shortage (but don't panic). Back in 2006 a glut in the US hops market forced prices down, and in response farmers pulled up their hops in favour of more profitable crops. The saving grace is that this primarily effected US Hops varieties. It's a cycle of boom and bust, and pretty much a classic example of supply/demand economics. Things were looking up in 2009 when Epic started making Hop Zombie, a tribute to the big American Pale Ales and American IPA styles. But (gasp) disaster struck again and we're back into the "shortage" part of the cycle. 

This presented an obvious problem in the production of Hop Zombie. Not to be dissuaded (and obviously happy to craft up a hoppy beer at a moment's notice) - head brewer Luke Nicholas whipped up Zythos using some hybrid hops and some good old fashioned kiwi ingenuity.

The result is spectacular.

Much has been made of the name - no it's not the Greek name for the salted Egyptian brew. Much has also been speculated on the exact hybrid and blend of hops that goes into this masterpiece. I don't know that (though I would love to hear!). 

What I can say is that this forging of flavours is truly something to get your lips around.

Satisfying deep red to amber in colour with a lovely light amber head, it's easy on the eye but offers some surprised for the palette. The nose is all warm citrus, there is something herbaceous almost christmassy about it, and there might just be a pinch of fresh bread in there too.

The taste is crisp and bitter up front, softening to rich fruits and citrus and maybe a hint of woodiness. These are all incredible things. It tastes like so much more than the sum of it's parts, I almost to find out that this is more than just the usual combination of malt, hops and water. It has a lively carbonation with light bubbles and a full malty mouth feel.

It's good. Bloody good. It might just be better than Armageddon if that's even possible. I have heard that this is in fairly short supply, so I'd get out and get some quick if I were you...

It's Rye but it aint Whiskey

A lot of beer drinkers don't like anything outside the norm. To some degree I can understand the thinking, but that's not me - I love trying something new, different and have learnt to enjoy the challenge of something a bit different. Rye beer shouldn't be too much of a stretch really, considering it's been brewed for hundreds of years. Rye is also a familiar ingredient in whiskey.

Kaimai Brewing might not be trying to start a Rye resurgence, but they do have a take on the traditional Barvarian beer style. Whether you consider Rye Beer to belong with fruit beers on the fringes of the beer canon, or somewhere near wheat as a kind of speciality beer, it's worth taking a look at the tradition and the characteristics of Rye Beer.

Rye Beer is made when malted Rye grass (funnily enough) is substituted for some of the barley malt on the grains bill. In the 1500's Rye was a fairly common addition to beer but repeated Ergot infections caused the use of Rye to be outlawed. Ergot poisoning is pretty nasty so this was probably for the best. Anyway in 1988 the law was repealed and as the current generation of inventive brewers found their places in the beer world Rye once again cropped up in our favourite tipple.

So is it any good?

Kaimai Brewing Co have declared themselves specialists in Rye Brewing so I decided to give their Golden Rye Ale a taste.

True to it's name it sure is Golden - right the way through to a beautiful deep amber colour. This sets the tone for the beer - the intensity is unmistakable. Check out that lovely think head too! It pulled down fairly quickly but held the entire glass.

Then we get to the aroma - malty, but not the familiar barley notes, theres something a bit more going on here and the rye really comes through. Without further ado the taste... The first taste is a lovely chocolatey malt, with a bit of citrus and a nice lingering bitterness on finish. It does bring to mind whiskey comparisons, but mostly through the complexity. It's good, almost too complex to be beer. There's a lot going on in both the aroma and the flavour. It's a wonderful beer to taste but definitely not a session beer! The mouth feel is really something too - full, silky, and almost creamy. It almost feels like it needs chewing.

Having not experienced other Rye Beer I don't have a lot to go on here - it's bloody tasty, very interesting and highly complex. Kaimai also make a Rye Stout so that's on my to do list...

Another day, another Pils

Pilsner (like most beer) is pretty good, and while I might dwell on Ales at times it's important not to forget our cold-fermented friends, the Lagers and Pilsners.I've talked about a damn fine beer - if not a typical Pilsner before, but today I want to look at a couple of different beers, including one of the best Pilsners.

In my review of Mac's Hop Rocker I talked about the history of Mac's brewery and it's importance on the New Zealand beer scene, but I neglected to delve into what makes a Pilsner. Some time in the 1800's bottom fermenting yeasts were used to make beer that was then kept in caves around modern day Germany and Czech Republic - the process called Lagering (German for "Storage") led to the style's of beer we now call Lager's. Pilsner is technically a type of Lager (much the same as Bitter is a type of Ale) with unique characteristics. The first real Pilsners were made in the Bohemian town of Pilzen around 1840 using the newly popular bottom fermenting yeasts, as well as the recently developed pale malts - with local soft water and Saaz hops from a nearby town. The result was then left in caves to mature and clear.Pilsner Urquell is still made there today.

If your only experience with Pilsner is Heineken then you're in for a treat. While northern European commercial Pilsners (Heineken, Grolsch, Amstel, Stella Atrois) tend to be slightly sweet and malty, traditional Czech and Barvarian Pilsner is more crisp with a notable bitterness of hops. Urquell (meaning "Original Source" in German is officially the first Pilsner and easily one of the best. Very real and present Hops in traditional Saaz dominate the flavour, finished by crisp malt. Everything about this beer is refreshing, from the light golden colour through to the clean finish and the lasting head. Best drunk in Bohemian beer halls full of laughter and song!

For a brilliant modern take on the Pilsner, I look no further than Monteiths Pilsner. Back when DB Export Dry was saving kiwi blokes from the popularity of wine (according to the advertising anyway) Monteiths were upgrading their production to cope with demand for premium quality beer. Along came Monteiths Pilsner. It might not be the most experimental or innovative Pilsner, but unlike a lot of other variations on the theme, this fantastic beer is true to style. Warm gold in colour and a fraction sweeter than Bohemian Pilsners but with more distinction than your average Heineken, this Pils had something special going for it - Nobel Hop varieties grown locally. Compared to many of today's beers the hops remain subtle (though the same could easily be said of Urquell) but their presence adds complexity to a delicious and charming beer.

Pilsners are great session beers, and the perfect refreshing pint on a warm sunny afternoon - kind of like how this one is shaping out!