Wigram Captain Cook Spruce Beer

Brewed by Wigram Brewing Company
Style: Spice/Herb/Vegetable
Christchurch, New Zealand

Serve in Lager glass, Shaker, Tumbler

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Bottle from Barry’s Bay Cheese Co., Akaroa, Banks Peninsula, Christchurch
Ruby brown with fluffy white head. Spicy nutmeg and honey notes with spicy dry malts. White pepper, light carbonation and sweet honey caramel finish. More sprue appears on warming. May not be for everyone but I enjoyed it, reminds me of Nollaig by Williams bros.

UPDATED: APR 2, 2010 Interesting one this... Like a trip back in time... Like the concept, don’t mind the beer, and well done to the boys at Wigram for trying something different. sdriessen... you tell me if you like it. Judging by your score of 10/20, obviously not. donfardz, 7/20? Really?

Bottle brought from NZ by Andrew, thanks a ton man for lugging this around the world! Pours a cloudy amber color with a thick head. A very unusual aroma; quite pleasing though, I suspect the manuka is quite strong in the nose. The taste was full of easgoing and tasty tea notes, sweet spruce and light smoke, a huge tea aspect. This was a real find, very interesting. I suspect that it is a kind of novelty beer, but it should be appreciated in its own right. Seven AM with some toast, this would be great.

Bottle. Pours a deep tea-coloured amber with an orange-tinted head. Very intriguing aroma-- my wife says it smells like homemade ginger cake! Molasses, ginger, allspice are all there. Treacle sweetness with loads of spiciness and a dry medicinal finish. Both of us thought this was delicious.

Amber and hazy. Aroma is sprucey and molassesy aroma. Sweet and molasses, with spruce character, soft body and a sweet finish.

Deep amber under a beige head with evident carbonation. The aroma of manuka wafts to the nostrils before nosing. Lovely, peppery, honey spiciness. You could attempt to replicate this aroma by raiding the spice cupboard in the kitchen, but the smell of rimu chips would be difficult to do. A little sweet initially and very full mouthfeel. Those same spruce flavours dominate and are quite lovely. The body is a wee bit thin. I feel that this beer needs to bit full and chewy, but otherwise a lovely drop.

500ml bottle. Amber body, small offwhite foam. Earthy aroma; pepper, pot pouri, rosemary-like herbaceousness and leafiness, distinctly wood-like; really feels like i’m in the bush. Some rich caramel malt lingers in the background. Carbonation is quite low, texture is somewhat thick, sticky, syrup-like yet balanced with leafy astrigency. Rich toffee/treacle-like maltiness, lots of sweetness. Really earthy spiciness; eucalyptus leaf, white pepper, cinamon and rosemary, woody but not in an oaky or pine-like way, more like picking a dry stick off the ground and taking a bite. Somewhat balanced finish without a great deal of proper bitterness. This sure is an odd one, but it seems to work. Probably a bit heavy going to be sessionable, but the flavours are enjoyable and intriguing.

Bottled. A dark amber beer with a lazing beige head. The aroma is very spicy with notes of spruce needles as well as tea. The flavor is sweet with notes of caramel, malt, tea, and spruce needles, leading to a bitter finish. The body is a bit light.

Bottle. Pours dark amber with medium of-white head. Aroma of pine, manuka and wood. The flavour is malt and herbs...tastes like tea. I was somewhat partial to the flavour of the beer but after a few sips quite enjoy this. Very different to most beers on the market. Dry finish with a slight astringency.

An interesting beer that im glad I tried. Nice aroma of manuka, very woody, almost smoky taste to it reminiscent of rauchbier. Slightly astringent but not unpleasant. Finishes with a lingering dryness.