When I was growing up I used to go hunting with my dad. Nothing fancy or cruel it was just one man with his child, his dogs and a 12 gauge catching little more than a cold. Most weekends we would go out rambling through fields with wax jackets and wellies on. On special days like the start of duck hunting season (Sept 1st) we would wake long before dawn, go out into the wilderness and await the morning chorus (and the ducks of course) but mostly it was a Sunday afternoon type of activity. One day we were out and had to cross an area which was spotted with gorse and other rough shrubs. As we were making our ways around and through this over-grown scrubland we came across a very disgruntled goat. Now when out hunting with dogs in tow a general rule of thumb is not to bother farm animals and give them a wide berth. Cows in particular can get very worked up when dogs are around so much so that on another occasion we nearly got trampled … but more of that later. On this occasion we decided to it best not to try and cross an animal with such intent in its eyes. We tracked back, turned and started moving along the other side of some hedges. The goat however followed and cut us off at the pass. Every direction we tried this goat would follow getting ever closer, all the while staring maliciously in our direction. We made it past that day without seeing any action but it was a pretty scary experience for the preteen little ol’ me and one I will never forget. I guess it was a sort of coming of age moment where I was introduced a type of adult fear or sense of danger. Thankfully I have never come across a goat with such evil intent again. Well that is until I saw a bottle of Jack Cody’s ‘Duxie: Grapefruit Tea Pale Ale’

It pours a hazy light amber orange with a bubbly head. The head fades very quickly for the initial size. It smells fresh and lightly floral with a hint of caramel. Not at all what I was expecting. From the bottle and the mention of grapefruit I was kind of expecting big massive hop aromas. However, I didn’t feel let down, more of a pleasant surprise. Plus it makes a nice change from the large number of hop forward ales and IPAs on the market. The taste is again light and refreshing with a relaxed yet solid bittering at the tail end of the taste. Straight out of the fridge this would be a great summer ale. As it warms the tea becomes more pronounced which is not to say it becomes undrinkable but just more noticeable. Over all this is very very drinkable. Not something I would buy often but still very nice. Kind of like a flavoured water but at 5% it packs a bit of a punch.

1 (Palawan), 2 (Bornean), 3 (Heude’s), 4(Visayan), 5(Celebes)

Aroma: 3/5

Taste: 3/5

Originality: 4/5

Overall: 3/5