Ashton BrownASHTON BROWN sends out an SOS and Laughing Bones brewery of Silverdale answers his call for some delicious cold ones to review.
Until recently I had never come across Laughing Bones brewery or their beer. As an investigative journalist, I did what I had to do to find the next story: I Googled “craft beer NZ” and this led me to the Silverdale-based brewery, who after contacting me, not only sent me beers to sample and review, but also provided me with tasting notes and the order to drink the beers in should I drink them in one sitting.
As a serious investigative journalist, of course I didn’t drink them all in one sitting (I had work the next day). But I was impressed with the extra mile the brewery went in order to make sure I could maximise my beer-drinking pleasure. This self-proclaimed family business appears to have a lot of pride in their product, and after sampling a handful of their beers I’m delighted to say that they have every right to.
ADIOS
West Coast IPA
6.5%
My first foray into this brewery was their West Coast IPA, Adios.
A bright and golden beer that’s bursting with personality, Adios did not disappoint. It was delicious, strong-tasting and full-bodied, with a rich texture and a dank hoppy kick.
Its name is inspired by the choice of hops. Mexican Zappa, El Dorado, Azacca and Talus hops give it its distinctive flavour that makes it unique to other IPAs I’d tried, but the familiarity of the more common Chinook and Simco hops made it strangely comforting while also tasting refreshingly different. With a clean and fruity undercurrent simmering below the surface and a malty and bitter aftertaste, Adios is an excellent beer for fans of the style.
SOLAR JUICE
6.1%
New England IPA
I’d never come across a New England IPA but with its orange and cloudy look and smell, I couldn’t help but feel it was a hazy. Turns out it is a hazy – New England IPA is a subcategory of the hazy styler of beer.
Upon pouring, this beer stared back with a deep and dank-looking thickness.
A strong, rich orange juice-like taste was the first thing that hit both my nasal passage and my taste buds – not uncommon for this variety of beer.
Very thick and heavy but also weirdly light and refreshing, equating to a nicely balanced hazy.
I can see why they labelled it with New England IPA rather than going with the Hazy tag as it’s not as summery as you would expect from a hazy and it’s like a delicious duvet to cuddle up with in winter.
It has a strong orange flavour with a deep malty background. As I write about this beer I feel like it’s one of conflicting ideas – pulpy yet smooth, heavy yet light, wintery yet fruity and refreshing. These opposites collide to make something incredibly enjoyable, unique, and an absolute winner of a heavy light strong cuddly unfiltered IPA thanks to its combination of Strata, Simcoe, Equanot, Citra, Chinook, and Azacca hops which blend together perfectly for a sensational flavour hit worth trying.
PEPPER TREE
Saison
6%
I’ve never heard of or drunk a saison before. It sounded Japanese to me, but maybe that just highlights how white Auckland I am given that it’s a Belgian-styled ale, pale coloured and highly carbonated.
On my deep journalistic research journey of what a Saison is, the word “spicy” popped up frequently. What does spicy mean in a beer? Hot like a pepper? Or like a fruit mince pie? Upon tasting, this definitely leans more toward a fruit mince style beer, almost like a hot cross bun crossed with an IPA, a mulled wine beer best served chilled. It provides a hint of pepper that sits on the tongue, clearly providing the inspiration for the use of pepper in the name. But it’s subtler than a hot cross bun in a can, there’s something endearingly quiet about the spice, the pepper, it’s there, but lurking in the shadows, rather than jumping out and screaming AAAAGH I’M A CONDIMENT IN YOUR BEER!
Perle, Pacific Jade and Motueka hops are at play here creating the unique flavour profile.
I have to be honest though, I don’t really like pepper on my steak, so having it in my beer didn’t end up doing much for me on a personal level, but I respect the approach and know that there are absolutely people out there who this beer is for.
HIGHLAND HOPPER
Mountain IPA #16
6%
A mountain IPA is a new concept to me, like musical genres in my Spotify Wrapped each year, it sometimes feels like we are making up genres as we go.
Described as a West Coast IPA meeting an East Coast IPA, I’m very excited about the idea of two of my favourite beer styles making love.
Upon pouring it looks like a Hazy Ipa. It’s cloudy, it’s orange and it looks amazing. Aroma wise it also has a hazy feel to it – citrusy, fruit with an undercurrent of hops. It’s delicious, but in terms of boasting a new style of beer, I think that because of how prominent the more familiar hops are in this blend (Strata, Chinook and the like) it prevents this from being anything truly breakthrough in terms of originality.
BUT I love it, and would drink it, not because it claims to be a breakthrough IPA style but simply because it’s a fucking good beer.
Hibiscus Coast Haze
Unfiltered IPA
6.5%
Again, Laughing Bones are getting crafty with their crafty here by avoiding the term “Hazy IPA” and instead going with “Unfiltered IPA” (similar to how they used New England IPA for Solar Juice when they all essentially could go by the category of a Hazy).
I found this visually to be darker than a typical hazy and taste-wise I thought it wasn’t quite hoppy enough to be just an IPA nor quite fruity enough to be just a hazy, but the balance where it lands is quite perfect, so I kind of respect the use of Unfiltered IPA to note the point of difference at play here. It has a richness to its flavour, it’s full-bodied with almost a tart aftertaste but it all entirely works. I was really impressed with this, it felt both easy and complicated at the same time, strong but refreshing. Another super beer from Laughing Bones, leaving me feeling incredibly impressed.
Overall, Laughing Bones is easily one of the best breweries I’ve “researched” to date. They have a uniqueness to their brewing style that means their beers are both familiar but also slightly daring. I think it’s criminal that I haven’t come across them before and if you find yourself in Silverdale, please go check out their taproom. I hope to get up there to shake the brewer’s hand in the near future.
