Beer #81 - W/C 12 September 2016
BREWERY // In 1989, after taking redundancy from a career working on oil rigs Mike Johnson took his life savings and opened a brewery in Urenui producing beer commercially in Taranaki for the first time in a generation. It took until 2000 to secure a consistent supply of organic malt and hops when Johnson achieved his goal of making mike's Mild the first accredited organic beer from the North Island. When brewer Ron Trigg and his family bought the brewery in 2007, only two beers were in production- mike's Mild and an organic lager. That didn't last for long as Ron rapidly added to the core range and also began releasing seasonal beers throughout the year. You may have read about the voluntary liquidation of mike's this winter, the brewery is going to continue making beer and you can hear about their future in the video below.
TASTING NOTES // Imperial Porters/Stouts have a long and romantic history with the style being created following Peter the Great's visit to England in 1698. He enjoyed the stouts he drank in London and requested some be sent to his Imperial court, the Barclay brewery upped the alcohol and increased the hops to ensure the beer would survive the long journey and a new style was born. Imperial Porters are still beloved by beer enthusiasts, so much so that 10 of the top 15 in the RateBeer 'Best 50 Beers' list are that style. RIP is a very good example of the style- the aroma and taste are dominated by the dark roasted malts. There is a lot of caramel sweetness as well as toasted coffee flavours, there are also chocolate smoky nuttiness you'd expect in a beer as big and dark as this. The sweetness of the full bodied beer is cut through by the bitterness of hops. We think you'll agree that the 'Robust' in the name is pretty accurate.
BREWERY // mike's
BEER // RIP
STYLE // English Imperial Porter
ORIGIN // Urenui, Taranaki
ABV // 8%
HOPS // Pacific Jade, Green Bullet, Wakatu
TEMPERATURE // Cupboard temp- 10-13C
FOOD MATCH // Beef and Oyster Pie. Mellow Blue Cheese. Vanilla Ice-cream (Imperial Stout ice-cream floats are a thing)
GLASS // Stout Glass, Snifter