The Quest - Rakau
King Harbor Brewing Co.

 

Just past a finger of white foam, bright with a dimpled, pocked surface, the retention is decent, maintains full surface coverage, the lacing breaks up easily leaving random splotches here and there. Pale metallic orange hue, close to fully transparent, the bubbles are widely spread and tiny but display good activity. The nose offers a clean shot of lemon, grapefruit citrus to start things off on a fresh note, switches gears into cocoa powder, caramel and dank forest floor matter, bitter black tea leaves, close to vegetal, the apricot, peach, pear fruit scents reduced to an almost dried fruit concentration, more pungent than delicate. Full-bodied, close to downright heavy on the palate. The carbonation seems to make the texture even rougher than smoother. The dank herbaceousness persists here and it develops a metallic bitterness as well, pine tar and coal. The citrus here mostly sour orange to lemon. Not a lot of fruit flavor, pineapple, peach and some apricot, perhaps faded. Even the caramel and melted chocolate lacks oomph. The finish just does not taste clean. An interesting experiment but perhaps best left at that.

 

Yellow color and plenty of foam in the Rodenbach goblet. Rather woody. Green flavors like celery and a hint of avocado, even some green olive. Some piney notes and a bitter aftertaste. This is less fruity and more vegetal than the other New Zealand hops. Maybe it would touch up a Saison or be interesting in a rye beer.

A little hot and sharp. Some light malt. A light and very drinkable Pale Ale with an unusual hop flavor. From the 22 oz bottle purchased at Hi-Time Wine Cellars in Costa Mesa. I like these single hop adventures. Not only do you get to taste different hops but it's interesting to see how different the flavors are when various breweries use them.

Pours a crystal clear medium orange with a thick, firm and lasting cloud white head. Very nice looking and a great lasting head.

Nose is fresh hop tones that are balanced and not too assertive but clean and appealing.Hints of vegetables and white pepper.

Mouth feel is light carbonation but well balanced and invites another taste.

Flavors are a bit herbal and green. There is salt, celery, green pepper and hints of green chile. Finish follows flavor profile with long bitter notes. Decent; nothing great but nothing bad.

 

 

 

On tap at the Surf 'N' Suds Beer Festival held at Carpenteria State Beach in Carpenteria, CA.

Pours a clear orange with a foamy bone head that settles to a partial film on top of the beer. Small streaks of lace form around the glass on the drink down. Smell is of citrus zest, herbal hop, and slight onion and garlic aromas. Taste is much the same with citrus zest, earth, and herbal hop flavors on the finish. There is a mild amount of hop bitterness on the palate with each sip. This beer has a good level of carbonation with a crisp mouthfeel. Overall, this is a good beer with solid aromas, but the hop choice comes through slightly better in the taste to me.

Serving type: on tap.