M.P.A - Renaissance Brewing

shambeano

Australia

3.88/5  rDev +1.8%
look: 3.5 | smell: 3.5 | taste: 4 | feel: 4 | overall: 4

shared this one with a friend.

A-pours an ambery brown. about a centimeter of head quickly subsides. looks good.

S- smell is a little subtle. tiny bit of non descript floral hops but nothing is really jumping out at me there.

T- straight up there is a sweet fruitcakey sweetness, very quickly followed by the bitterness. pretty nice, although nothing is really jumping out at me, its hoppy but i cant realy take that further, is sweet and bitter. rounded and enjoyable.

M- pretty full, covers most of the mouth, bitterness stays for a little well but the finish is pretty dry.

D- drinks pretty well, the 8.5% is very hidden, and it is not particularly thick. the dryness though does make you want to take another sip, adding to the drinkability.

Serving type: bottle

11-01-2010 11:10:26 | More by shambeano

dgilks

Australia

4.25/5  rDev +11.5%
look: 4.5 | smell: 4 | taste: 4.5 | feel: 4 | overall: 4

I am allowing my review below to stand as it is based on the bottle I consumed in New Zealand when it was fresh and close to the source. The next bottle I've had back in Australia doesn't have the same freshness but it still very good. It's probably more of a B+ beer when not as fresh.

Big, overripe fruit aroma. Lots of banana, pineapple and kiwi with a touch of gooseberry. Rakau is interesting to say the least.

Slightly hazy copper colour with a reasonable sized off-white head.

Well rounded, smooth hop flavour. The ripe tropical fruit and gooseberry note is good though some people may call it sweaty. The biscuity malt background lays a good foundation for the hops and the bitterness which is high doesn't come through as high as it allegedly is.

Medium body and moderate carbonation. Suitable and it works well.

A tasty beer which shows off a hop that could really be described as "Super Sauvins". Clean bitterness with lots of flavour and aroma and while I like it, some people may not like it.

Serving type: bottle

08-28-2010 07:26:32 | More by dgilks

mulder1010

Australia

3.68/5  rDev -3.4%
look: 4 | smell: 3.5 | taste: 3.5 | feel: 4 | overall: 4

500 ML poured into a tulip

A-- Poured a dark orange brown color (almost rust like). Nice reverse cascading off white head that grew to one finger in height and held its form well. Very little visible carbonation and just small rings of lacing through drinking.

S-- Candied citrus. Mostly Lemon and orange, grapefruit and pine in the background. Small amount of oily residue smell. Much sweeter than other DIPA's that I have had and not as bold. A lot of carmel smell in this.

T-- Juicy Orange and peach forward taste. The peach is very unique and nice. Peach really resonates in this. More crisp than aggressive to me. Pine and grapefruit are there but are much more muted and do not attack like other DIPA's do.

M-- Low carbonation and crisp feel to this. Touches of carmel are present and the grapefruit and pine are middle to the back of the feel. Peach just stands out in this though.

D-- Alcohol becomes present in this about halfway through this. Still very drinkable and can have 2 of these easily. Can tell this was thought out well. As the beer is very well balanced in the hop and in the malt taste and feel. Not in your face like US DIPA's are. Different and well done.

Serving type: bottle

08-18-2010 13:12:15 | More by mulder1010

jbowers56

Australia

3.7/5  rDev -2.9%
look: 3.5 | smell: 4 | taste: 3.5 | feel: 3.5 | overall: 4

Murky dark copper colour with a 1 finger cream coloured head. Doesnt leave the best lacing.

Smell is suprisingly citrussy. Some pine in there as well. Much less present than expected is that typical new zealand hop sweet fruity quality, but it's there in a perfumy peach scent. Also some rich caramel and syrupy notes from the malt. Very nice. Could be more intense perhaps.

Flavour is a little sweeter than the nose suggests and the stone fruit qualities of the hops are more present, though some pine and citrus are evident especially in the after taste. Sweetness has a light caramel flavour to it. Bitterness is alarmingly soft. It is certainly there, and not in a small way - however the actual nature of the bitterness is incredibly smooth.

Mouthfeel is interesting, quite low carbonation which I think works well. I would like it to either feel lighter, or be obviously more creamy in it's texture.

Overall, good but lacks the robust strength of flavour found in the best examples of the style.

Serving type: bottle

06-05-2010 08:27:14 | More by jbowers56

jahsausage

New Zealand (Aotearoa)

3.95/5  rDev +3.7%
look: 4 | smell: 4 | taste: 4 | feel: 3.5 | overall: 4

Pours a dark amber, with a long-lived 1cm head, much longer-lived than my two earlier pale ales from this brewery in my tasting. The smell is awesome, stinky pine, very strong. On first taste fior some reason I get hints of the smoky sweet flavour of manuka honey. Near the end the sweetish alcohol competes with the bitterness which is a new and interesting flavour balance. This is a very nice beer, would love to compare it to other DIPA as this is the first i've had.

Serving type: bottle

01-14-2010 10:30:24 | More by jahsausage

ADZA

Australia

3.85/5  rDev +1%
look: 3.5 | smell: 4.5 | taste: 3.5 | feel: 4 | overall: 4

This is one of those breweries that just produces some nice quality brews and i was suprised to see this one in my favourite bottleshop,on the back of the label it says this brew was made to showcase the Rakau Hop and ive never heard of this hop before but i must admit they do a very good job of showcasing this Hop and the M.P.A means Marlborough Pale Ale New Zealand's take on an ADIPA,the brew pours a deep copper hue with average carbonation that leaves a small one finger head and minimal lacing,the aroma is straight fruity/piney hops but not one or the other just a exact cross of both fruity and piney with some underlying caramel malts,it has a nice full mouthfeel with with the smell coming thru on taste its quite a nice unusual taste that i quite cant put my hand on but i must admit its very pleasant indeed and the aftertaste is very nice with little bitterness and no alcohol warmth aswell its definately one of those Hops that ive had little to do with but would be very interested to hear about other brews with this variety a good and interesting beer if you can get your hands on it.

Serving type: bottle

12-09-2009 11:29:35 | More by ADZA