Tasting Notes: 8 Wired: Rewired Brown Ale

8 Wired: Rewired Brown Ale (New Zealand: Brown Ale:  5.7% ABV)

Visual: Varnished mahogany. An inch of crushed biscuit coloured solid froth. Some evident carbonation on the dark but clear body.

Nose: Crushed peanuts and roasted nuts mix.  Quite dusty dry and bitter. Old books. Slight touch of chocolate mocha froth.

Body: Very roasted feel and good chunk of bitterness. Malty chocolate, Quite thick texture for a brown ale almost like a thick coffee, with a touch of the flavour.  Pineapple and grapefruit  fresh at the back. Pistachios.  Some beef styling about half way through.

Finish: Crushed nuts again. Bitter like coffee remains. Slight charring and a mild chocolate orange influence.  There is still the light freshness of pineapple, more in citrus feel than flavour. Dry malt and beef crisps.

Conclusion: The brown ale, oft overlooked, but home of some fine flavoursome session ales that come in often with a nice tart sourness.

Now, at over 5% this would only count as a session ale at the loosest definition in makeshitupland (Which is a favoured holiday venue for politicians I hear).  The thick texture also calls far more to nuts and roasted elements than the sour tartness, instead using citrus hops in its place to bring in a similar balancing element.

The flavours are solid throughout, though with little variation on the themes. Roasted and bitter with a decent chunk of malt versus fresh citrus influence is the order of the day. As you get into the finish the citrus builds more than the bitter, which gives for a nice shift as you get into the second half of the drink, keeping it from getting staid.

All this makes it a lot showier than expected of the style.  The influence is distinctly craft beer, but manages to keep the cornerstone beer appeal of the brown whilst being only a loose interpretation of the original style.

It’s a good beer for slow drinking on a long winter’s night. Just so long as you don’t mistake it for a session ale you will be ok.

Background: 8 Wired seem to be one of a growing group that use other peoples breweries to make their beers. So far they have done damn good with their beers, and showcase NZ’s tart and flavoursome hops well.  The bottle claims it will go well steak and kidney pie., which is quite possibly true.