Tuatara Toma Hawk American Pale Ale
Tuatara Brewing Co.

Holy shit! Can’t believe I haven’t reviewed Tuatara Tomahawk American Pale Ale yet. I’m a big fan of that giant lizard of the New Zealand brewing world - the mighty Tuatara, a modern-day remnant of the dinosaur days [talking about tuatara’s not the brewery]. Admittedly I haven't reviewed many Tuatara’s [the beer now], but thus far they’ve all rated decently, with Double Trouble being my favourite of theirs, which means they’ve got some Pale Ale making chops. KAPAI however, sort of a sister brew to Tomahawk, has been my least favourite, so here’s hoping that Tomahawk is better [though it’s probably not likely - hey I’m a realist, you should know this by now].

Poured from a 330ml bottle into a nonic pint.

A: Fairly clear deep amber body with a nice chunky off-white cappuccino foam head that compresses to 1 centimetre. Some latticework lacing forms on the side of the glass, decent standard West Coast APA here. 8/10.

S: Classic West Coast APA aroma of piney/orange hops, earthy forest-floor overtones, caramel/biscuit malts, and dry juniper note in the finish. They’ve pretty much nailed the style AFAIC, without adding anything new or exciting. But hey, if it works it works. 8/10.

T: As above: piney/orange hops, earthy forest-floor overtones, caramel/biscuit malts, dry juniper... and a peppery/herbal character towards the finish. Finish is mid to high hop bitterness, probably a bit too cavalier with the bitterness - for an APA, this is in IPA territory here. Apart from the slant towards bitterness this APA is g-to-the-power-of ood [basically it’s good]. 7/10.

M: Medium-ish bodied with a bit of hop resins floating around and a light but prickly carbonation. Nice and chunky like a Campbells soup. 8/10.

D: Not bad Tuatara, not bad at all. Better than KAPAI, it has a bit more of a flavour hit, and whether you like it or not: a bitterness hit as well. My only critiques relate to differences in style from APA and IPA - this beer is definitely heading in to IPA territory, not necessarily a bad thing in of itself, but you need to know what you’re buying and it says right there on the bottle in big blue letters “American Pale Ale”. Also it could have used a bit more malt character (and sweetness). Other than that we’re sweet brah. 8/10.

Food match: BBQ grilled chicken Portuguese-style with a bit of peri-peri chilli sauce to kick it up just a notch.

 

 

This seems to be the successor to their American Pale Ale, which weighed in at a slightly higher ABV of 5.8%. Poured from the unique reptilian-scaled 330 ml bottle (which resembles the previous APA bottle label in many respects) into a tulip glass. The appearance is an opaque copper orange tone, topped with generous froth, which did not retain well (despite the above average levels of carbonation). Aromas are typical West Coast Pale Ale - grapefruit and pine predominantly. Taste starts of lightly sweet, then lightly piney bitter all the way into a rather short finish. carbonation is above average in this medium bodied brew, but does not distract from the tastes. Nicely balanced!

330ml bottle poured into a teku glass.

Clear deep amber hue with some ruddy tinge, it tops with one and a half finger of frothy white head that stands with pretty good retention before sinking to some eternal foamy film on the surface and leaving plenty of sticky lacing patch and spot on the glass-side.

The aromas of floral, strong citrus, some spice, resin, and pine from hop while malt provides notes of biscuit and caramel.

Led by fruity citrus hop in the taste, malt discloses its biscuit and sweet caramel thereafter that is nicely balance when hop wraps up again with its pine, some grass, and moderate resiny bitterness.

The body is medium with smooth mouthfeel and lively carbonation. The feeling is crisp and refreshing with a dry finish.

Very well balance APA, this could be a benchmark of how good APA should be, worthy without doubt.

Copper and clear with huge soda bubbles. Topped with 5 fingers of amber tinged head.

Smells of pine, citrus, dank, garlic, onion, battery acid, floral notes and caramel.

Big and beautiful with citrus, pine and all the dankness and caramel, floral and all the mentioned above, but much more intense and beautiful than on the nose. Big, bitter finish.

Medium body, little carbonation, smooth and balanced.

Got and drank in Chiang Mai, Thailand. Really good brew, holds up to the others by this company, and maybe my new fav from them. Drinking it Dec 6th, 2016.