‘JP’ is a regular in Emerson’s healthily-populated series of seasonal releases. It’s named in honour of JP Dufour, a Belgian who is reputedly largely responsible for introducing the fledgling local brewing scene to the joys of beers from his homeland. He was a professor at Otago University, I believe with Richard Emerson’s father — and sales from these beers apparently go towards a scholarship.

Each year’s ‘JP’ is a different take on a Belgian style, and the 2008 was a big hearty brown ale, matured on cherries. Generally speaking, I don’t go for cherries. But I go for this, in a big way. So that was clever of them. It’s freaking delicious, and has real cross-category appeal.

Verbatim: Emerson’s JP 2008. 5/10/08 $10 @ Markets. I’ve had this before, but it turns out that [REDACTED]. Awesome Belgian brown ale, matured on cherries. I hate cherries, and I love this.

Afterthoughts, October 2010: My first piece of censorship, here. The Diary was never intended for public consumption, after all. I was elated to find such a worthy Little Country beer at the markets in the Big Country, but also moved to pick this particular one because of a certain piece of rumour / gossip I’d heard. So I’ve bleeped that bit out.