Brewery Visit) Zipline

I know that didn't take long for me to go from trying a few Zipline beers to actually checking out their tapping room. However, when I found out their brewery tour schedule was so limited, I didn't hold back on visiting. In short, I didn't get to tour the actual brewery yet, but the beers are what it's all about, right?

Wild NZ IPA, Copper Alt, Nitro Pale, Kölsch, Oak-aged IRA, Mosaic Pale

They had nine beers on tap, and since I had just had three of them for the previous post, I got a flight of the six I hadn't tried. Two of them, the Copper Alt and Nitro Pale, are ones you can find bottled or on tap elsewhere, but the other four were two single-batch and two cask-aged varieties, making them taproom exclusives if you want them draught.

Wild NZ IPA) This is a cask-aged version of their normal NZ IPA and a sour beer at that. I rather enjoyed the normal NZ IPA. However, I'm not sold on this variation. Though, the mid has a bit more of a berry touch to it, the finish is now much more bitter.  ☆☆

Copper Alt) A bit of a roasted taste to the mid and finish. Other than that, this one wasn't very robust for a Alt, though I did find it fairly smooth and drinkable. ☆☆☆

Nitro Pale) My guess is that this beer is great for people who like the light lager types. The initial has almost no flavor except a fairly pleasant watery aspect to it. However, the finish is bitter pine. I can't blame it for that since it is a Pale Ale essentially, but that just means it is not for me. ☆☆

Kölsch*) This is easily one of my favorite types of beer. The usual flavor is somewhere in between a lager and ale with just the right touch of bitterness. This single batch variant by Zipline has even less bitterness than the norm and instead has a light floral aromatic effect on the finish. This one was easily the most drinkable and smooth of the six I tried. ☆☆☆

Cask-Aged IRA) The smell caught me off guard. It was strong and somewhat vinegary. My brother said something about the smell reminding him of pickles. After our first sip though, we decided that what were smelling was hopefully the bourbon. This beer is very raw and harsh. While sipping it is enjoyable, taking a swallow is barely recommended. I'd almost say that it tastes like someone dropped a shot of bourbon whiskey right into an IRA. This one was definitely a unique experience. ☆☆☆

Mosaic Pale) If I were to simply compare this one to the earlier Nitro Pale, I would say that the hops are more complex in this beer. They aren't just pine but also have citrus. The hop flavor though is more ubiquitous as their bitterness dominates the initial, mid and finish. There's also a subtle background flavor almost like velvet or burgundy. I didn't find this one easy to drink. ☆☆

*Factoid: Do you know how to type in the German umlaut that is in Kölsch? First press down the alt key. Then while still holding the alt key press 1, 4 and 8 in succession. When you release the alt key, the umlaut should appear. Try it out!