Version 2.0 of AuZealand hit the taps about a week ago, and just like its predecessor, has quickly become a fan favorite at Boneshire. For good reason too, this is a delicious, smooth, lovely bordering on New England style IPA.

AuZealand, the original, now listed as AuZealand 1.0 was very well received. The original hewed much closer to a Western (regular / typical / original) Coast (or West Coast) Style IPA. The new AuZealand is much closer to a New England Style IPA.

There’s a few other differences between the two recipes. The hops involved are different. Both use Pacific hops, but just different ones. AuZealand 1.0 uses New Zealand Pacific Gem and Australian Galaxy Hops. AuZealand 2.0 uses New Zealand Wai-iti and Australian Summer Hops. AuZealand 2.0 also has lactose, whereas 1.0 does not (which gives it the near-NE style quality, over its predecessor). The ABV has also dropped a bit, where AuZealand 1.0 was a 7.1% the second version is a 6.3%. Neither has an IBU listing.

It has been a little while since I’ve had the original AuZealand, June 18th 2018 to be exact. So it would be neat in the future maybe to see both versions on tap and get to try a side-by-side to see which I ultimately like better. I do recall liking the original very much and gave it a solid ****.50 on Untappd. It currently has a global 3.81 as of 9.23.19 (but, as I look down at some recent check-ins for AuZealand 1.0, they are clearly meant to be AuZealand 2.0, and people are just checking in the wrong beer, so take this all for what its worth.)

Time to break down AuZealand 2.0 and discuss this delicious brew.

Beer: AuZealand (2.0)
Brewery: Boneshire Brew Works
Style: IPA – American
ABV: 6.3%
IBU: No IBU Listed
Untappd Write-Up: IPA brewed with New Zealand Wai-iti and Australian Summer Hops. We also added lactose to this batch.

So, this was the second beer I had when I was supposed to be out running errands Friday. Needless to say the errands got pushed back til after the girls got out of school, because after the Belgian Quad – They Burn Them All Away (which is 13%) and then this, I needed to take a break before getting them.

This was certainly a nice switch going from the 13% dark and heavy Belgian Quad. This was a nice, smooth, easy drinking lactose laced 6.3% IPA. Made for a very nice transition and palate changer.

While me, D.Scott and Shawn (bartender and former owner of Nomad BBQ) discussed politics, sports, BBQ, the casino business, everyday life, beer, and just about everything else, we sat and we drank, (and didn’t know things… thank god for Google), but ultimately, we drank and we talked.

Starting off with the appearance, this has a nice NE-IPA looking orange hue. Not quite pure orange juice look, but definitely more on the NE-IPA spectrum than a West Coast IPA (WC-IPA I guess?) would look. A glowy orange straw color. There was a nice foamed head to it that while not large was pillowy, soft, with large and small bubbles.

Moving on to aroma and it is a lovely smell as soon as its sat in front of you. Hop forward you can smell the distinct New Zealand / Pacific hops. The New Zealand / Australian (and even South African) hops just have a very distinct smell. Not as familiar with the Australian Summer Hops and the New Zealand Wai-iti hops as I am some other Pacific hops, but they definitely have a distinct smell and it is lovely. I am much more familiar with the Galaxy hops and others used in the previous batch. For some information on these new hop varieties, you can check them here: Australian Summer Hops and Wai-iti Hops. Both links direct you to hopslist (a site that gives reviews, and information about all of the various varieties of hops). There is a very heavy peach, passionfruit, a citrusy backbone to these hops in the new AuZealand. Looking it up, this comes primarily from the Summer Hops which I think dominate over the Wai-iti hops (or at least to my nose they do). It works well with the style and definitely with the lactose. Giving it a smooth look, a smooth clear peach and fruit heavy aroma, and a smooth and crisp taste.

The flavor is exactly what you are hoping for, and exactly what its appearance and aroma dictates that it should be. Its a clean, smooth, juicy IPA. Its delicious, its clean, its an entirely fun beer to drink. There is a wide range of flavors and notes you get from the New Zealand / Australian hops. Its fruity and possibly one could describe it as ‘milkshake – esque’ but not really. Its got some qualities of that with the peach and passionfruit notes taking front and center stage, and with the lactose making it smooth and easy it gives it kind of a creamy quality that goes with some milkshake IPAs but this isn’t that heavy of it and doesn’t fully lend to that. I have to assume the lactose is in a small dosage here (in the recipe) and it works for this, making it smooth, adding to the peach and passionfruit and not detracting from the beer at all.

All in all, its just a wonderful, tasty, delicious IPA that I would highly recommend anyone looking for a nice, clean, smooth, IPA to sit and enjoy. Could easily drink one or a four pack of these beauties.

My Untappd Rating: ****.25
Global Untappd Rating: 3.91 (as of 9.23.19)

I got to go to the Lititz Brewfest yesterday (Sunday, September 22nd) so look for a review on here (and most likely Breweries in PA as well). That should be done sometime this week. Also, I am most likely stopping at Ever Grain tomorrow after work, as I need to pick up that new pastry stout for a girl at work, and will probably do a flight while there (can’t NOT do a flight or at least one beer, at a brewery whenever I stop). So look for that review then either tomorrow night or the next day.

Keep drinking and keep commenting people, always love to hear from you all!

-B. Kline

Some days turn out to be more productive than others. Some days you get lots of things done. Some days you PLAN on getting lots of things done. And some days… you start getting things done… and then you start drinking a 13% Belgian Quad at the bar…… at noon…. ….and there goes the day’s productivity right there.

This was one of those kinds of days.

Up and early at 6AM to get kids ready for school, drop people off at various places, walk younger ones to their school, and then back home to do chores around the house til 10AM. Thats when it was “errands” time. Which required getting to a printer, printing labels, sending beer mail, going to Target, the Hershey Library, and a host of other activities, and get them all done before said kids are done at school.

And of course thats when you get that text from your buddy at noon that just says “Boozin” and nothing more. *Shakes fist* And *shakes fist* at Boneshire Brewery being along the way (sorta…. kinda…. not really….) to Target. So needless to say, one (ie. me) never made it to Target until late at night (same thing with the Hershey Library happening much later as well). But I did get my shipment of beer mail sent before noon. So…. accomplishment and success? ….Calls for a beer! (Or two!)

Beer: They Will Burn Them All Away
Brewery: Broken Goblet Brewing
Style: Belgian Quadruple
ABV: 13%
IBU: No IBU
Untappd Write-Up: THEY BURN THEM ALL AWAY is a 13% Belgian Quad that not-so-subtly knocks you on your butt after you take in the balanced fruit and spice notes against the toasted caramel background. Raisins, plums, and a hint of wine can be expected, as will the giggles and a need to sit down after about 10 minutes.

Nothing like walking into your small-time local brewery right as their opening their doors and getting to smell the wonderful delicious smell of a brewery in operation. Shawn was manning on the bar and welcomed me right away and I took a seat at the bar and we chatted about how his old BBQ truck next-door to Boneshire Brewery (in between Boneshire and the 717 Armory) “Nomad BBQ” has been bought by a group of guys and they’ve rechristened it “Blues BBQ”. He seemed happy it was being put to good use, but at the same time, we said its like driving by your old home. The tree out back you planted has been cut down. There’s different doors and windows. The side-room has new siding thats a different color. They added a patio that doesn’t seem to match. The garden is gone. Etc.

D. Scott finally made his way in and got a Boneshire Brew and the three of us chatted, while Alan Miller (head brewer and owner of Boneshire Brew Works) occasionally popped his head out from out-back hard-working to bring us more brewskies in the future.

Enough about the crap surrounding the event, and more about the beer. This is a good Quad. But good god… you are going to feel it, and you are going to feel it right away. 13% is a good high number (most regular IPAs are around the 6-7% benchmark, DIPAs around the 9% area, and even TIPAs usually around the 10-12% area). So on an empty stomach at noon, 13% is feeling pretty grand and wonderful.

Lets start off with the basics though, aroma – very Belgian, very dark and heavy. You get plum and raisin, you get an underlying boozyness and smells like the empty bottles of wine (freshly emptied, not days old emptied). Stone fruit kind of dark heavy fruit smell. Some spice notes but everything else pretty much blocks it out – the spice just barely peeks through. There is a dark malt note as well, probably caramel, definitely not roasted.

Appearance is jet-black dark. Almost purplish in hue, with a nice thin head to it. Bubbles on top are good and varied. Its not a reflective dark but a more ‘enveloping dark’. (If any of that makes sense…. it does in my head at least, not sure how that translates to you the reader.)

First sip has the characteristics of a Belgian, especially a dark Belgian, but as the booze hits you it picks up and speeds across your tongue and BAM you realize this is definitely a QUAD and not even a DOUBLE. The booznyess is a bit upfront, bit more so than necessary, but probably too hard to hide given the wine notes and the high (13%!!) ABV. The booze burn slowly fades out and you begin to get the notes of plum, raisin, wine, and the malt characteristics of caramel. There is some spices to it (not pepper and not heated, just notes of various kitchen cabinet spices) that adds a bit of a flourish to it. But this is mostly straight forward dark stone fruit taste combined with a wine boozy overflow to it. The mouthfeel is a bit heavy but not cloying and nothing unpleasant. No after taste that disrupts anything either.

My Untappd Rating: ****
Global Untappd Rating: 3.95 (as of 9.21.19)

After this, me and D. Scott had a second (I had the new version of AuZealand by Boneshire – AuZealand 2.0 w/Lactose, and D. Scott had the Harrishire). So needless to say before I knew it, I’m leaving Boneshire at 2:30, just in time to get home, eat, down some mouth wash, brush my teeth, spray myself with cologne, and get the girls from school.

Productivity had to wait til later (and I did manage to get my errands down, just dispersed throughout the day instead of all at once). So all in all it was a successful day.

Look for an AuZealand review coming soon, as well as much more, and with the 6th Annual Lititz Brewfest happening tomorrow (9.22.19) look for some stuff coming out from that. Should be a fun day. The Lititz Brewfest is always one of the best in the state and goes to a great cause, and its due to be a beautiful 88 degree day.

Cheers All!

-B. Kline