{"id":3144,"date":"2011-06-03T00:02:17","date_gmt":"2011-06-02T12:02:17","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/philcook.net\/beerdiary\/?p=3144"},"modified":"2011-09-07T14:59:49","modified_gmt":"2011-09-07T02:59:49","slug":"8-wired-%e2%80%98batch-18%e2%80%99","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/philcook.net\/beerdiary\/2011\/06\/03\/8-wired-%e2%80%98batch-18%e2%80%99\/","title":{"rendered":"8 Wired \u2018Batch 18\u2019"},"content":{"rendered":"
\"8<\/a>
8 Wired \u2018Batch 18\u2019<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

This is ‘anniversary beer’ done right. And good god damn<\/em> is it done right<\/em>. I am peculiarly fond of ‘occasion beer’ and so do love it when brewers mark special moments with special beers. But when they’re afterthoughts, or half-assed, or tokenistic, then they’re just sad<\/em>. Tuatara’s ‘X’ Anniversary Ale<\/a> last year was one of those (for me, and just to pick the example that comes most-readily to mind) with its bungled packaging and uninspiring recipe — though it has to be said that this year’s\u00a0offering was considerably better on all fronts, but we’ll get to that<\/em> in its own turn, soon enough. Suffice it to say, though — as I already have done, twice<\/em> — that \u2018Batch 18\u2019 is no let-down; it’s a freakin’ masterpiece.1<\/sup><\/p>\n

8 Wired really did hit the ground running back in late 2009, with a lovely brown ale (which came to be known as ‘Rewired’, but initially carried the somewhat-awkward name ‘All of the Above’), then an attention-grabbing local-produce-celebrating pale ale (in ‘Hopwired’), and onwards to an ever-expanding frequently-impressively-experimental range of beers. Most-recently, the still-relatively-new brewery’s rise was marked by taking out the “Best Brewery” gong at the beer awards this year — an achievement that was utterly deserved and generated seemingly-none of the usual beer geek grumbles or quibbles with such awards.<\/p>\n

But \u2018Batch 18\u2019 was in the works long before that<\/em>. According to S\u00f8ren’s characteristically-useful label text, the plan was to celebrate an “anniversary” with their eighth<\/em> batch, setting calendar-based timing aside and leaning instead on that numeral in their name. Things were way too busy when #8 rolled around, so they pushed it back to #18; do it right, or don’t do it at all. I just love<\/em> that;2<\/sup> it takes balls to delay something obviously-occasion-based past its actual date, merely in the name of doing it right<\/em> — just try, those of you with spouses,3<\/sup> to skip an anniversary and see how much compensatory awesomeness is required in return. This, though? This gets away with it; it’s massive and elaborate and you wouldn’t want to’ve done it in a rush. It’s a big imperial stout, fundamentally, but definitely isn’t just a slightly blinged-up version of their bloody-lovely ‘iStout’<\/a>. Rather, it’s brewed with two different yeast strains, dosed up with jaggery<\/a> (a raw sugar, which throws in some interesting flavours and helps kick the alcoholic strength up a few notches), infused with coffee, aged for a few months in oak barrels, infused with more<\/em> coffee — before finally being bottled up and wrapped in a gorgeous-but-simple label that implores you to a) share, and b) be brave.<\/p>\n

So I did, and I was. After I was done for the night, I sat at the bar and poured out five glasses — while admittedly bogarting the biggest glass for myself. We were all struck by the forceful<\/em> nature of the nose of it, on first whiff. This was not a beer that was shy about letting you know that a lot<\/em> would be going on in the glass. It doesn’t warn you away<\/em>, but it does warn you nonetheless. There’s a distinct booziness to it (it is 12.5%, after all), and that must help waft all those aromas up out of the glass. All the components are quite obviously doing something, and can certainly be picked out individually if you try hard enough — but it’s also a deft exercise in Flavour Jenga; they’re piled in a great big stack, but not precariously or without balance. They combine in interesting ways, too, stitching together into interestingly-unexpected notes like the “blue cheese and pears” comparison that Jono hit upon.<\/p>\n

I’ve got two more of these, sitting in my stash at work. I should drag one out now (well, not now<\/em>, since it’s 4.30am as I write this) and have it in celebration of the Champion Brewery trophy, and then I might just leave the other bottle to sit and wait until their calendar<\/em>-birthday rolls around later this year. S\u00f8ren was pretty sure that the coffee flavour would ease right off over time, but it was still nicely present in the bottles we had at a Weta Digital beer tasting not too long ago — so there’s an element of Science!<\/em> to my plan, not just an attempt at delayed gratification and blatant act of hoarding. Thought it is<\/em> those, also.<\/p>\n

Verbatim:<\/strong> 8 Wired \u2018Batch 18\u2019\u00a03\/6\/11 500ml \u00f7 5 with Peter, Haitch, Jono + Katie (the new girl) 12.5% $15-ish @ Reg. Bloody nice idea, well pitched and executed bang on. A little terrifying in your nose, but not in a bad way. Fumey + funky — blue cheese + pears, we think. Definitely hot + lingering on the palate, and you can definitely taste all the components. I said “definitely” twice. That’s telling. It’s a bit crazy, but in a charming kind of way, not (just) an off-putting one.<\/p>\n

\n
\"8<\/a>
8 Wired 'Batch 18', blurb<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<\/div>\n
\n
\"8<\/a>
Diary II entry #109, 8 Wired 'Batch 18'<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<\/div>\n
\n

1: Hell, given the elaborate recipe and execution, it comes close to being a “masterpiece” in the older-school sense<\/a> of the thing that signifies the turn from journeyman to craftsman. But that’s not how the Brewer’s Guild<\/a> works, these days, despite the name. I have to say that, now I mention it (to myself so far, obviously), I can’t shake the suspicion that it’s a pretty neat idea…<\/span>
\n2: I’m a habitual procrastinator, as you might be able to discern from the disparity between the dates of Diary<\/em> entries and the dates on which they appear, here. When I feel the need to defend myself, usually just to<\/em> myself,\u00a0this is the line I run most often.<\/span>
\n3: “Spice”?<\/span>
\n <\/span><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

This is ‘anniversary beer’ done right. And good god damn is it done right. I am peculiarly fond of ‘occasion beer’ and so do love it when brewers mark special moments with special beers. But when they’re afterthoughts, or half-assed, or tokenistic, then they’re just sad. Tuatara’s ‘X’ Anniversary Ale last year was one of … Continue reading 8 Wired \u2018Batch 18\u2019<\/span> →<\/span><\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"jetpack_post_was_ever_published":false,"_jetpack_newsletter_access":"","_jetpack_dont_email_post_to_subs":false,"_jetpack_newsletter_tier_id":0,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paywalled_content":false,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paid_content":false,"footnotes":"","jetpack_publicize_message":"","jetpack_publicize_feature_enabled":true,"jetpack_social_post_already_shared":false,"jetpack_social_options":{"image_generator_settings":{"template":"highway","default_image_id":0,"font":"","enabled":false},"version":2}},"categories":[3],"tags":[6,14,8,11],"class_list":["post-3144","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-diary","tag-pages","tag-nz","tag-photogenic","tag-stout"],"jetpack_publicize_connections":[],"jetpack_featured_media_url":"","jetpack_sharing_enabled":true,"jetpack-related-posts":[{"id":3480,"url":"https:\/\/philcook.net\/beerdiary\/2011\/06\/20\/sierra-nevada-30th-anniversary-black-barleywine\/","url_meta":{"origin":3144,"position":0},"title":"Sierra Nevada 30th Anniversary Black Barleywine","author":"Phil","date":"June 20, 2011","format":false,"excerpt":"Well now. It has been a while. Again. The value of t has graduated to the triple digits and is going to need a serious hammering to get back to a civilised size. So: roll sleeves up, make sandwich, brew tea, forget about tea, grab beer, roll sleeves back down\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "Actual Diary entries"","block_context":{"text":"Actual Diary entries","link":"https:\/\/philcook.net\/beerdiary\/category\/diary\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"Sierra Nevada 30th Anniversary Black Barleywine ","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/philcook.net\/beerdiary\/wp-content\/uploads\/Sierra-Nevada-30th-Anniversary-Black-Barleywine-300x225.jpg?resize=350%2C200","width":350,"height":200},"classes":[]},{"id":915,"url":"https:\/\/philcook.net\/beerdiary\/2010\/10\/13\/8-wired-tall-poppy-india-red-ale\/","url_meta":{"origin":3144,"position":1},"title":"8 Wired ‘Tall Poppy’ India Red Ale","author":"Phil","date":"October 13, 2010","format":false,"excerpt":"8 Wired continue to be a sure thing in the local beer scene. Whenever the almost-aggravatingly-talented S\u00f8ren Eriksen releases another beer, just try it. Worry about details like style, strength and price later. It's going to be good, whatever the hell it is, you can basically rely on that. This\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "Actual Diary entries"","block_context":{"text":"Actual Diary entries","link":"https:\/\/philcook.net\/beerdiary\/category\/diary\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"8 Wired 'Tall Poppy'","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/philcook.net\/beerdiary\/wp-content\/uploads\/8-Wired-Tall-Poppy-225x300.jpg?resize=350%2C200","width":350,"height":200},"classes":[]},{"id":1498,"url":"https:\/\/philcook.net\/beerdiary\/2011\/02\/12\/8-wired-underwired\/","url_meta":{"origin":3144,"position":2},"title":"8 Wired ‘Underwired’","author":"Phil","date":"February 12, 2011","format":false,"excerpt":"I've said it many times before, but it's not like saying it again is going to cost me extra: the world, and particularly this part of it, needs more midstrength craft beer. So when I heard that S\u00f8ren (him of the reliably-delightful 8 Wired beers)\u00a0was making one, and was dropping\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "Actual Diary entries"","block_context":{"text":"Actual Diary entries","link":"https:\/\/philcook.net\/beerdiary\/category\/diary\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"8 Wired 'Underwired'","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/philcook.net\/beerdiary\/wp-content\/uploads\/8-Wired-Underwired-225x300.jpg?resize=350%2C200","width":350,"height":200},"classes":[]},{"id":1932,"url":"https:\/\/philcook.net\/beerdiary\/2011\/03\/07\/8-wired-hopwired-saison-yeast\/","url_meta":{"origin":3144,"position":3},"title":"8 Wired ‘Hopwired’ (Saison yeast)","author":"Phil","date":"March 7, 2011","format":false,"excerpt":"Just when we got a couple of kegs of the ever-delightful Hopwired back in at work, I heard that Hashigo had a keg of an experimental Saison-yeast variation. Which sounded like a prime opportunity for 'Science!'. I jokingly suggested to Dave that we should pour some pints, brave the Liquor\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "Actual Diary entries"","block_context":{"text":"Actual Diary entries","link":"https:\/\/philcook.net\/beerdiary\/category\/diary\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"8 Wired 'Hopwired', Saison yeast edition","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/philcook.net\/beerdiary\/wp-content\/uploads\/8-Wired-Hopwired-saison-yeast-edition-300x225.jpg?resize=350%2C200","width":350,"height":200},"classes":[]},{"id":2581,"url":"https:\/\/philcook.net\/beerdiary\/2011\/04\/15\/8-wired-istout-ice-cream-float\/","url_meta":{"origin":3144,"position":4},"title":"8 Wired ‘iStout’ Ice Cream Float","author":"Phil","date":"April 15, 2011","format":false,"excerpt":"My brain and I often don't get along very well. It gives me these peculiar and mysterious and very annoying headaches way too often, for example. But one night, it served me up a dream about an iStout Ice Cream Float, and I was clever enough to take the hint.\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "Actual Diary entries"","block_context":{"text":"Actual Diary entries","link":"https:\/\/philcook.net\/beerdiary\/category\/diary\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"8 Wired 'iStout' Float","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/philcook.net\/beerdiary\/wp-content\/uploads\/8-Wired-iStout-Float-225x300.jpg?resize=350%2C200","width":350,"height":200},"classes":[]},{"id":4640,"url":"https:\/\/philcook.net\/beerdiary\/2012\/07\/11\/8-wired-saison-sauvin\/","url_meta":{"origin":3144,"position":5},"title":"8 Wired ‘Saison Sauvin’","author":"Phil","date":"July 11, 2012","format":false,"excerpt":"This'll make three posts in a row from that neglected mid-to-late-2011 patch of the Diary that I've resolved not to let rust completely. But this one, at least\u00a0\u2014 or \"unfortunately\", if that's what you were here for1 \u2014 will be significantly less grumpish. Not grumpish at all, in fact, since\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "Actual Diary entries"","block_context":{"text":"Actual Diary entries","link":"https:\/\/philcook.net\/beerdiary\/category\/diary\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"8 Wired 'Saison Sauvin'","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/philcook.net\/beerdiary\/wp-content\/uploads\/8-Wired-Saison-Sauvin-225x300.jpg?resize=350%2C200","width":350,"height":200},"classes":[]}],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/philcook.net\/beerdiary\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/3144","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/philcook.net\/beerdiary\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/philcook.net\/beerdiary\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/philcook.net\/beerdiary\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/philcook.net\/beerdiary\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=3144"}],"version-history":[{"count":29,"href":"https:\/\/philcook.net\/beerdiary\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/3144\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":3295,"href":"https:\/\/philcook.net\/beerdiary\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/3144\/revisions\/3295"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/philcook.net\/beerdiary\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=3144"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/philcook.net\/beerdiary\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=3144"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/philcook.net\/beerdiary\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=3144"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}