{"id":4844,"date":"2012-07-23T20:56:54","date_gmt":"2012-07-23T08:56:54","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/philcook.net\/beerdiary\/?p=4844"},"modified":"2012-07-25T00:18:17","modified_gmt":"2012-07-24T12:18:17","slug":"croucher-raindogs","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/philcook.net\/beerdiary\/2012\/07\/23\/croucher-raindogs\/","title":{"rendered":"Croucher ‘Double D’ and Raindogs ‘Apothecary’"},"content":{"rendered":"
\"Croucher<\/a>
Croucher 'Double D', tap badge<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

It is, for some reason, traditional that here in Wellington trans-Tasman flights arrive Eastward around midnight and depart Westward just before sunrise. I suppose it makes its own kind of sense, but it does mandate some bleary-eyed mornings<\/a> and lead to the occasional un-bookable blank evening if you’re excitably waiting for a plane to land. On this particular day, Emma was inbound for a holiday and I was parked up at Hashigo with her High School friend and former flatmate Joaquin \u2014 who, for reasons of pronunciation and my weird sense of humour, I simply refer to (not just<\/em> in my notes) as “The Spaniard” \u2014 while we waited for the time to head to the airport to meet her late-night arrival.<\/p>\n

My first beer, Croucher’s take on a Hoppy Red \/ India Red Ale, is apparently named after their two junior brewers \u2014 Dave and Dave \u2014 rather than anything, you know, boob-ish<\/em>.1<\/sup>\u00a0It didn’t have the vibrantly glowing\u00a0redness<\/em>\u00a0of Bright Brewery’s ‘Resistance Red’<\/a>, instead appearing more like a somewhat-paler version of that hazy crimson in\u00a0the prototype batch of 8 Wired’s ‘Tall Poppy’<\/a>, which was a minor-league disappointment. Overall, the beer was\u00a0enjoyable, for sure, with nicely fresh fruitiness about it \u2014 but I just couldn’t shake the oddness of a slightly minerally \/ flinty note. In addition to a slightly-too-thin body, I just kept being reminded of tonic water<\/em>2<\/sup>\u00a0and became gripped by thoughts of an equally-red gin<\/em>\u00a0to go with it. Which is madness of a kind that I can’t entirely<\/em> blame on the beer, certainly, though I should stress that I subscribe to the belief that gin is amazing<\/em>\u00a0\u2014 and so anything that puts it to my mind is work a look.\u00a0‘Double D’ tastes like a First Draft, but one that’s well on its way to its goal.<\/p>\n

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\"Croucher<\/a>
Croucher 'Double D'<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<\/div>\n
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\"Raindogs<\/a>
Raindogs 'Apothecary'<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<\/div>\n
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\"Raindogs<\/a>
Raindogs 'Apothecary'<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<\/div>\n

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It wasn’t quite<\/em>\u00a0what I was looking for, and I found myself with time to spare, so I had another. And I spent some time struggling to figure out what to have next before noticing the ‘Apothecary’ Amber badge on the handpull right in front of my face<\/em>. I’ve had a few Raindogs beers \u2014 including one during the podcast<\/a> recorded between this Diary<\/em>\u00a0entry and the previous<\/a> \u2014\u00a0and they’ve all been solid so far. This was no exception, and succeeded in being just the right beer for the moment. Perched on the handpull for the photo, it was appropriately “Amber”, but under the lights and sitting on the white Daily Menu it managed to seem redder<\/em>\u00a0than the intended red thing before it. It suited the (sparkler-ed) handpull really nicely, pouring with a smooth off-white head that made it look<\/em> like a (widget-ed) Kilkenny, while tasting<\/em> more like one from a neighbouring, much more exciting alternate universe than the stuff we’ve got here in our World. It was velvety and sessionable, with a really delicious burnt-toffee finishes that goes on for ages and ages. Or at least long enough to bide your time with, until you’re due at the airport.<\/p>\n

Original Diary entry:<\/strong>\u00a0Croucher ‘Double D’ 7\/6\/12 (6%, $11, 425ml) @ Hashigo with the Spaniard while Emma’s in the air. Hoppy red ale, but not sirenny like Bright’s. Hazy ruddy amber. Nicely odd nose + taste. Flinty? Like tonic water in that minerally fruitiness. Makes me want red gin, not that that’s a thing. And then a Raindogs ‘Apothecary’ Amber (4.9%, $8, 380ml) which is nearly as “red”. Lovely and smooth and easy, like Kilkenny from a non-boring alternate universe. Lovely burnt-toffee note and a long finish. Just what I wanted.<\/p>\n

\n
\"Diary<\/a>
Diary II entry #223.1, Croucher 'Double D'<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<\/div>\n
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\"Diary<\/a>
Diary II entry #223.2, Croucher 'Double D'<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<\/div>\n
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1:<\/strong>\u00a0They’re obviously also<\/em>\u00a0going for the bra-size-pun, of course. But the fact that they do<\/em> have two Daves on staff and<\/em>\u00a0the fact that they also drop a Dr. Seuss reference<\/a> entirely<\/em>\u00a0excuses the laddish humour \u2014 in this case \u2014 if you ask me.<\/span>
\n2:<\/strong>\u00a0Speaking (as I was) of 8 Wired, prototypes, red beers and tonic water \u2014 S\u00f8ren’s experimental low-alcohol ‘Underwired’<\/a> had a similar note and a similar cast, so there might be something in the water chemistry or something about that red malt that kicks up that minerally taste, to me.<\/span><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

It is, for some reason, traditional that here in Wellington trans-Tasman flights arrive Eastward around midnight and depart Westward just before sunrise. I suppose it makes its own kind of sense, but it does mandate some bleary-eyed mornings and lead to the occasional un-bookable blank evening if you’re excitably waiting for a plane to land. … Continue reading Croucher ‘Double D’ and Raindogs ‘Apothecary’<\/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":[27,6,14,12,49],"class_list":["post-4844","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-diary","tag-ale","tag-pages","tag-nz","tag-pale-ale","tag-2012-06"],"jetpack_publicize_connections":[],"jetpack_featured_media_url":"","jetpack_sharing_enabled":true,"jetpack-related-posts":[{"id":403,"url":"https:\/\/philcook.net\/beerdiary\/2008\/08\/28\/croucher-pale-ale\/","url_meta":{"origin":4844,"position":0},"title":"Croucher Pale Ale","author":"Phil","date":"August 28, 2008","format":false,"excerpt":"Verbatim: Croucher Pale Ale, from Rotorua, but with none of that city's usual aromatic downsides. An after-work drink, and a pretty damn good one. It's a little bit Little-Creatures-esque, what with being a pale ale, but not being a thwack in the head with a fistful of hops. More just\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "Actual Diary entries"","block_context":{"text":"Actual Diary entries","link":"https:\/\/philcook.net\/beerdiary\/category\/diary\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"Croucher Pale Ale","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/philcook.net\/beerdiary\/wp-content\/uploads\/Croucher-Pale-Ale-300x225.jpg?resize=350%2C200","width":350,"height":200},"classes":[]},{"id":2115,"url":"https:\/\/philcook.net\/beerdiary\/2011\/03\/19\/croucher-patriot\/","url_meta":{"origin":4844,"position":1},"title":"Croucher ‘Patriot’","author":"Phil","date":"March 19, 2011","format":false,"excerpt":"So here we are again with the 'Black IPA', which I'll just go with calling it for now (the brewery themselves went with 'American Black Ale') and which it seems is cementing itself as quite the trend -- though to take a stab at for how long would be patently\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "Actual Diary entries"","block_context":{"text":"Actual Diary entries","link":"https:\/\/philcook.net\/beerdiary\/category\/diary\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"Croucher 'Patriot', my first proper pint of","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/philcook.net\/beerdiary\/wp-content\/uploads\/Croucher-Patriot-first-proper-pint-300x225.jpg?resize=350%2C200","width":350,"height":200},"classes":[]},{"id":983,"url":"https:\/\/philcook.net\/beerdiary\/2010\/10\/29\/house-on-hood-and-house-croucher-mighty-golden-ale\/","url_meta":{"origin":4844,"position":2},"title":"House on Hood, and House \/ Croucher ‘Mighty’ Golden Ale","author":"Phil","date":"October 29, 2010","format":false,"excerpt":"Hamilton really does get a bad rap. Frequently from me, I'll freely admit. It just has this big, flat, sprawling bland black hole kind of a feel to it -- especially when you're trying to get through it on your way somewhere else. But there were increasing rumours of Good\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "Actual Diary entries"","block_context":{"text":"Actual Diary entries","link":"https:\/\/philcook.net\/beerdiary\/category\/diary\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"Beer taps at House on Hood","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/philcook.net\/beerdiary\/wp-content\/uploads\/House-on-Hood-taps-225x300.jpg?resize=350%2C200","width":350,"height":200},"classes":[]},{"id":1008,"url":"https:\/\/philcook.net\/beerdiary\/2010\/10\/30\/croucher-pale-ale-2\/","url_meta":{"origin":4844,"position":3},"title":"Croucher Pale Ale","author":"Phil","date":"October 30, 2010","format":false,"excerpt":"Saturday brought an end to my Hamilton Expedition, but did compensate me with a lovely drive home down State Highway 4 -- I decided I'd done SH1 too often, so thought I'd go around the other side of the Lake. And when I got home, I had a house full\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "Actual Diary entries"","block_context":{"text":"Actual Diary entries","link":"https:\/\/philcook.net\/beerdiary\/category\/diary\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"Croucher Pale Ale","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/philcook.net\/beerdiary\/wp-content\/uploads\/Croucher-Pale-Ale-500ml-225x300.jpg?resize=350%2C200","width":350,"height":200},"classes":[]},{"id":1239,"url":"https:\/\/philcook.net\/beerdiary\/2010\/12\/29\/tuatara-porter-doubly-modified-croucher-mrs-claus\/","url_meta":{"origin":4844,"position":4},"title":"Tuatara Porter (doubly modified) & Croucher ‘Mrs. Claus’","author":"Phil","date":"December 29, 2010","format":false,"excerpt":"There some beers that you want to like, but you just can't. Both of these were near-misses, for me, so I lessened their Diary-polluting effect by consolidating them into one entry. Pinot and porter are usually a great match -- Hallertau do a wonderfully-mad 'Porter Noir' with barrels home to\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "Actual Diary entries"","block_context":{"text":"Actual Diary entries","link":"https:\/\/philcook.net\/beerdiary\/category\/diary\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"Tuatara Porter (with pinot and cherries) and Croucher 'Mrs Claus'","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/philcook.net\/beerdiary\/wp-content\/uploads\/Tuatara-Porter-with-pinot-and-cherries-and-Croucher-Mrs-Claus-225x300.jpg?resize=350%2C200","width":350,"height":200},"classes":[]},{"id":1118,"url":"https:\/\/philcook.net\/beerdiary\/2010\/12\/04\/croucher-october-ipa\/","url_meta":{"origin":4844,"position":5},"title":"Croucher ‘October’ IPA","author":"Phil","date":"December 4, 2010","format":false,"excerpt":"This totally managed to stump a few people and cause a minor nerd-riot, it did. We had two kegs of it at work, and the first went on through a Hopinator crammed full of mandarins1 -- \u00e0 la the rather-successful batch of fruited-up Twisted Hop IPA we'd previously done. When\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "Actual Diary entries"","block_context":{"text":"Actual Diary entries","link":"https:\/\/philcook.net\/beerdiary\/category\/diary\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"Croucher 'October' IPA","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/philcook.net\/beerdiary\/wp-content\/uploads\/Diary-2039-Croucher-October-300x285.png?resize=350%2C200","width":350,"height":200},"classes":[]}],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/philcook.net\/beerdiary\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/4844","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=4844"}],"version-history":[{"count":35,"href":"https:\/\/philcook.net\/beerdiary\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/4844\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":4927,"href":"https:\/\/philcook.net\/beerdiary\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/4844\/revisions\/4927"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/philcook.net\/beerdiary\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=4844"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/philcook.net\/beerdiary\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=4844"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/philcook.net\/beerdiary\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=4844"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}