Category: Beer

Beer Review: Renaissance Elemental

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.

My Top Five Beers

Before I start this list, let me explain something. I am not a beer connoisseur; I haven’t tried every beer under the sun. I am actually quite picky when it comes to drinking beer. I have no tolerance for the beer-flavoured fizzy water that multi-billion dollar companies like Carlsberg and Heineken produce. I do not enjoy beers that are “low carb” or “light”.

Well then, what beers do I like? Stouts and dark ales, of course! So really, this isn’t a list of my top five beers. It’s a list of my top five dark ales and stouts.