I touched briefly on the Renaissance brewery while writing about their Craftsman stout, in My Top Five Beers. Founded by Californians Andy Deuchars and Brian Thiel in 2005, Renaissance is located in the historic Grove Mill in Blenheim, New Zealand. Their beers have been available to the general public since 2006, and have been winning awards ever since. The Elemental porter is Renaissance’s most awarded beer, having won gold medals in New Zealand and Australia. More recently the Elemental received a silver medal at the Australia International Beers Awards in May 2010.
Renaissance is my favourite brewery for many reasons. Their bottles are shaped beautifully, and the labels are great to look at. Renaissance beers always taste like they were made with the care and passion you would expect from a smaller brewery, but without the cheap, home-made taste you might associate with microbreweries. Whenever I come across a bottle store or supermarket that sells Renaissance, I buy as much as I can carry. Their beers seem to have become nearly impossible to find in Christchurch - perhaps it’s time I moved to Marlborough!
The Renaissance Elemental porter is a full bodied ale with dark, roasted malt flavours. The ale delivers complex notes of coffee, dark chocolate, and biscuit which linger on the palette long after the beer has gone down. These flavours make it an ideal match for chocolate desserts (I enjoy it with a chocolate fondant), and I imagine they would also compliment red meats.
This beer is definitely among my favourite, which is surprising considering I don’t usually drink porters. The Elemental is made to be enjoyed, so go out and buy a few and make them last (or not).