Emersons Masterclass 09

Next up was Gallifrey Pale Ale, known within the brewery as Chico Pale Ale after the American yeast that was used to ferment it. Brewed with hops that were left over from the APA which is sadly no longer brewed, Gallifrey was packed with a fruity resinous hop character. Citrus and tropical aromas gave way to a firm malty palate and a firm bitter finish.

With the Harvest Ale we were onwards into unknown hop territory. Brewed just after the Hop Harvest with hops that were fresh from the kiln, Harvest Ale was packed with unusually fresh zingy hop aromas and flavours. Hops are usually rested after they have been kilned in order to let all the volatile flavour and aroma compounds relax, using them without resting them results in very unusual hop characters forming in the finished beer. Harvest Ale had a big green hop aroma displaying loads of tangy passionfruit, citrus and an almost tomato plant like note. In the mouth the fruit salad of hop flavours continued all balanced by a supporting malt ‘cushion’.

With Very Brown Ale things started to get darker. Brewed in the American Brown Ale style with loads of new world hop aroma and flavour alongside the rich chocolaty malt profile, Very Brown Ale reminded a few ex-pat Americans in the attendance of the sort of beers they missed from home.

Hoppy Porter entered new territory blending a chocolaty smoked malt character with strident New Zealand hops. Hoppy Porter presented with a massive aroma of fruity New Zealand Hops, Richard told us he was aiming for Emerson’s Pilsner with ‘shades on’! In the mouth the beer was roasty and smoky from the use of both dark and smoked malts. The over all perception was of a complex although slightly thin beer. The Emerson’s brewing crew had been so taken with the beer that they had decided to give the recipe another go in the near future with an eye to giving it some more body.

After Hoppy Porter we tasted the recently altered Emerson’s Porter recipe with a mind to comparing just how different two porters could be. Smooth chocolaty and rich, Emerson’s oldest brand tasted fantastic. Richard told us that since the decision had been made to drop the Oatmeal Stout from his range, they had been blending the processes and recipes used in the production of the beers to achieve one solid regular dark beer.

Next up we were to compare 2 versions of Old 95, one the standard young Old 95 , the other a variant called Old Cascade. Old Cascade came about when assistant Brewer Jim accidentally forgot to add the hops to the end of the boil, in an attempt to save the situation the hops were added ‘dry’ to the fermentor. Richard told us about the volatile hop compounds which make up the hop flavour and aroma of a beer, when the hops go into the kettle many of these volatiles are driven off in the boil, however when the hops are added ‘dry’ after the boil has finished these volatiles are retained. The difference in the aroma and flavour of the two beers was significant. Old Cascade presented with a massive floral, tropical nose while the standard Old 95 had a less pronounced citrus hop aroma with hints of warm malt. In the mouth the Old Cascade was mellow and rounded with more of the complex tropical notes that were in the nose, the Old 95 on the other hand was a full caramel malt character and a pronounced long bitter finish. The Old Cascade was a deserved winner across the 3 tastings.

Finally we ended on this years JP. Richard brews a different Belgian style beer each year to commemorate the life of Jean Pierre Dufour the Belgian brewing scientist who ran the food science department at Otago University. This years JP was brewed as a strong Belgian Dubbel. This years JP is a strong rich dark ale spiced with star anis and brewed with the same Belgian yeast that the first JP in 2007 used. It was agreed that this years JP needed a little time in the bottle in order for it to round out. The combination of the star anis and the Belgian yeast had created a mint flavour that along with the big warming alcohol notes would round out as the beer aged.

Results across the 3 sessions.

The Products...