She's Crafty

Craft beer is a growing market in NZ, partially thanks to a renewed interest in brewing as an art, partly because the quality of craft beers has risen dramatically over the past few years with innovators and experimenters testing the limits of what a beer can be. Yeastie Boys from Invercargill take even the modern adventurous craft beer spirit to a new level.

Yeastie Boys famously bring a breadth of tasting experience to their beers, and though I've only sampled a couple at this point it's clear that they work hard to achieve the subtle balances that make good beer great. Their approach to brewing is challenging and rewarding, as is their entire approach to the industry. As far as I'm aware, no other brewer has produced an "open source" beer. Yep thats right, if you're inclined you can make it for yourself. Crafty indeed. Not only that but such kiwi beer alumni as Beer for a Year think pretty highly of the official version too!

Today I'm drinking one of their seasonal releases: Red Rackham.

It's a Belgian Red with a pretty big point of difference. Dark red to amber colour, herbaceous, spice and red stone fruit aromas as well as the obligatory maltiness you'd expect. Mouthfeel is impressive, full and prefectly sparkling... then theres the flavour. Knowing what I know about Belgian beers I was expecting rich malty frutiness. But thats not where the complex flavours stop, there's nuttiness, summer fruits, and something estery from the yeasts, then you get the unexpect twist of bitterness. Something a bit out of the ordinary for a Belgian style beer but something amazing none-the-less!