Myrtle's Bunga Bunga Party
Birra Del Borgo

Pours a gold colour, slightly cloudy. Head is white, consisting of large bubbles around a dense, foamy crown. Nice lace. Looks good.

Smells quite sweet, but a big whack of lemon myrtle tang. Yeah, strong citric character, well dominant anyway. Possibly too dominant as there's not much else going on, but it delivers what it promises and is quite enticing and refreshing.

Taste is more malty, with a big cereal grain character upfront. Vanilla notes as well, before getting into the tangy, fruity mid-palate where there's apple, pear, some notes of passionfruit and of course a big floral citric note as well. Overall very sweet. Needs something to ground it.

Decent body, slight fizz from the carbonation on the tongue. Not bad.

I think only the second beer to use lemon myrtle that I've tried, the other being the Baron's lemon myrtle witbier, and I have the same issue with this as I had with that (although I think this is better). It's just too sweet. I'd like to see someone throw lemon myrtle in with some NZ bittering hops (Sticklebract for example) just for some more grounding and balance, because it can be just too sweet otherwise.

Tried on-tap at the 2013 GABS festival in Melbourne.

Pours a pale golden colour, quite hazed with a full, frothy cream of yellow white head. Body is decently weighted and holds fine carbonation. Lacing forms in streaky, intricate swathes. Looks good.

Big citrus characters on the nose mingled with sweet spices which give a powerful fruit cake aroma. Lemon sherbet comes through along with nutmeg, and the obvious lemon myrtle used in this beer's construction. It's all really beautifully balanced as well, meaning that while it's big, it's all really well integrated. Lovely aroma.

Quite a light, entry on the palate: smooth and dry, before the characters buoy up on the mid. Here there's stacks of orange peel, candied fruits and a rich spiciness. Back is smooth and clean but maintaining that persistent richness. Lovely stuff.

Feel is light and clean, and really quite creamy. Very pleasant.

Overall, this was great stuff. I loved how well the spices were used and how balanced and rich the beer was as a whole. One of my favourites from GABS.

Pours gold with a fading head.
Nose shows perfumous lemon myrtle, light malt, wheat and phenolic notes. Tempting.
Very similar flavours. The lemon myrtle works wonder and is matched perfectly with a light malt profile and well-balanced bitterness.
Nice moderately high carbonation. Could be a little higher.