Sunshine Gisborne Gold

Brewed by Sunshine Brewery
Style: Pale Lager
Gisborne, New Zealand

Serve in Dimpled mug, English pint, Lager glass, Shaker

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The first sip reminded me of opening a bag of hops. Great drinker, interesting and unintrusive hop profile. It’s not trying to new a highly hoped pils, that is the green’s job. Instead it is an easy drinking yet satisfying pale lager. I would order this over a steinlager, stella or carona any day.

500ml bottle fresh from the brewery. According to the brewer this is the same recipe as Gisborne Green (Pilsener) just with 20% more water. Strangely the Gisborne Green was more about the hops and this was more about the malt. Given the choice between the two I would always choose the the more intense aroma and flavour of the Gisborne Green. However this was OK as a beer and easily much better than your average pale lager.

Reminiscing on this. Grassiness is the memory that sticks in my mind more than most. A NZ beer that has its own distinctiveness,

Clear and brigh gold. Fine mouse with good stability. Overt but not excessive hop aromas with fejoa and grapefruit . Delicate malt structure displaying honey/straw notes and a slight toast background. Solid hop back bone finishing very dry, a great refresher or session beer with a bit m,ore charachter. At its price (just above domestic green bottle price) a very good buy.

UPDATED: JUN 20, 2009 Pale golden lager. Not a whole lot on the nose, some honey sweetness and toasty malt tastes. Finishes a little sweet but a nice enough beer

Bottle at the film archive. My favourite ’student beer’, it is affordable and availible. Lovely golden colour, with white head. Malty with a hoppy bitterness to finish. Head and shoulders above such brews as Mac’s Gold.

Not a bad beer really, slight vanilla on the nose, quite a refreshing bitterness that lingers, as fairly commercial lagers go this is ok

Rigger from Regional. Pours light golden with white disappearing head. I was surprised when I first tasted this as I was expecting something on par with Speights. What I tasted was far superior. This is quite a simple beer, little aromas to speak of, perhaps some malt. I was surprised to clearly taste some nice bitter hops, with a malty background and lingering bitterness. For its price range this is the best I’ve tasted.

(Bottle 33 cl) Pours a clear golden with a white head. Aroma of malt and a little flowers. Medium body with sweetish malts and flower notes and a surprisingly distinct bitterness. Surprisingly characterful for a NZ Pale Lager. 210208

UPDATED: FEB 17, 2008 Slightly golden body and nice dense head. Pretty anonyme aroma. Bitter/hops in taste and aftertaste. Generally a bit thin.