Koru
MadTree Brewing

Purchased can at Jungle Jim's. Can date 6/10/2020
Pours very sparkly, very light yellow. Almost no head.
Hint of citrus with some bitterness at the end.
A light refreshing beer.

This is a "New Zealand style lager". Canned on 6/10/20. 12oz can poured into a tulip. Pours extremely pale with bubbles racing upwards; great clarity and transparency; small creamy eggshell white head that falls slowly leaving great thick retention and sticky lacing. The aromas are what you would expect from a lager/pilsner for the most part although there's a hop aroma coming through as it slightly warms. Subtle blend of floral and citrus along with some mild tropical notes. Some crackers and fresh bread along with some hints of corn. Malts are there. The flavors are extremely clean, crisp and refreshing. More floral notes. Hints of grapefruit. Lots of fresh grass. More bread and crackers in the mix. Nice earthy bitterness. Malts do their thing, but almost seem to take a backseat. Finishes dry. Alcohol goes unnoticed. Mouthfeel is great. It's on the fuller side of light-bodied with active carbonation. It's sharp, crisp, smooth and easy to drink.

This is an awesome lager. It's honestly one of the best lagers I've ever had, at least in awhile. The craftsmanship is very impressive. It's perfect for the hot weather. Well done. I love it.

 

 

The pour yields a nearly crystal clear straw colored beer with a conspicuously foamy white head. Gorgeous beer. The nose captures what I’m assuming are fruity hop aromas from New Zealand hops, which are welcome, but the grassy/grainy/bready aromas I associate with a lager aren’t present.

They’re not present on the taste, either, but the tropical hop flavors certainly are, especially lemongrass, and the mouthfeel is on point. This is a crusher of a lager that is more in the IPL category, IMHO. Really nice lawnmower beer.

Not my style of beer, generally speaking, but this is a great summer drinker. Light, refreshing, and it actually has something I insist upon in a beer.....flavor. I like it.

I got a 6pck of this from my local meijer store. It poured a clear yellow with no head and no lace. The scent had faint white grape notes. The taste was nicely balanced and easy to drink with mild earth malt and floral hop highlights. The mouthfeel was lighter in body with good carbonation. Overall its a good beer.

New Zealand style lager poured from a can into a Taft's Brewing Co. tulip. The pour is pale gold in color and sports about a finger of white head with low retention. The nose has notes of fresh bread with hints of lemon, honey, and banana.

Light body with a thin feel. It's a little bready up front, like any good lager, but it definitely goes for the dry tones as well. Flavors include oyster crackers, lemon, and a little champagne. Overall, something that should appeal to folks new to craft beer (or those who are averse to adventure and seek light, easy-drinking examples). I was intrigued by the style, and I think it's well-crafted, but ultimately this is not the sort of beer that appeals to me.

Flying in the face of all things juicy, hazy and plush, MadTree takes those land-down-under hops and applies them to a dry, crisp and refreshing lager.

Pouring sparkling clear, the chrome tinted Koru builds a lathery honeycomb of a froth before releasing a host of dried tropical and citrus fruits along with a gentle drift of sulfur and raw grain. A fresh and bready sweetness greets the early palate with notions of honeysuckle and stevia.

In nearly IPA fashion, the malt influence falls off rapidly and the hops begin to pop on the middle palate. Pineapple, orange, grapefruit and passionfruit are all represented with a dehydrated quality. A quick development of vegetation pulls from the raw grains and captures the finish in a verbena, lemongrass, fresh grassy bitterness.

Medium light on the palate, the void of sweetness and the building hops accentuate the dryness of the beer as its nearly militant carbonation sharpens the tongue with a crisp carbonic bite. A quick finish carries an extension of tea and tonic well past its malt influences.

*Poured from a can and served cold

L: VERY light golden hue, what you would expect from a pale ale. A pretty 1 inch creamy white head that retains.

S: Floral and slightly hoppy.

T: As far as taste goes, I give it a 4 for 2 reasons. The first being this ale is so light that by looks alone, you expect it to taste like a cheap light beer (its THAT light), but the aroma combined with the high carbonation and the exotic floral hop notes bring out a flavor thats well balanced and refreshing. Note that it also has a 5% abv which is impressive for an ale THIS pale!

F: High carbonation. Light bodied (as expected). Refreshing

O: My first "New Zealand" style beer. Its essentially just a high carbonated, high ABV, and VERY flavorful pale ale. I really want to try it on tap now!