That’s really good one
1 Like
Sub Harmonics by Great Notion Brewing (Portland, OR) - Hazy DIPA
Sweet, juicy, tropical fruitiness (mango, grapefruit, apricot, mandarin) upfront but well balanced with some grassy, nearly floral, bitterness. Excellent and refreshing DIPA with a velvety mouthfeel
2 Likes
Orange Screamsicle by Great Notion Brewery (Portland, OR) - Fruited Sour
If you like Split ice cream (very popular ice cream on a stick from Langnese in Germany) this fruited sour is for you. Strong flavors of orange juice with some vanilla in the background (as expected from an orange creamsicle). Good balance from the tartness of the sour. Overall good fruited sour but a bit too straightforward/boring - such sour would benefit from wild sours to add some interesting funk to it.
1 Like
Focal Banger by The Alchemist (Stowe, VT) - IPA
One of the more well known and rated IPAs which bursts of citrus flavors especially grapefruit before becoming really pine-heavy with many different grassy/herbaceous/spicy notes. Dry, medium to high bitter finish. Not your typical fruit bomb but more using the whole spectrum of hops in the flavor profile
1 Like
Spinach by Other Half Brewing Company (Brooklyn, NY) - NEIPA
Wonderful hazy IPA with tropical (mango, pineapple and orange) flavors without being a fruit bomb. Slowly changes afterwards towards nearly floral flavors with hints of mint, grape and some lower levels of pine. Long, dry, low bitterness finish. Really, really good and balanced.
Broccoli by Other Half Brewing Company (Brooklyn, NY) - Hazy DIPA
Hazy IPA which has some grape and peach flavor upfront but at the same time less sweet than most NEIPAs. The focus of this IPA is really on the dankness with a little if piney, herbaceous flavors and a very dry, long lasting bitter finish.
2 Likes
Sip of Sunshine by Lawson’s Finest Liquids (Waitsfield, VT) - DIPA
Famous WCIPA style beer from an east coast brewery - very few, light notes of orange at the start before lots and lots of piney and earthy bitterness with some light malt sweetness in the back. Tastes of grapefruit pith before a very dry, long lasting bitter finish. Strong emphasis on pine notes was more one dimensional than expected.
1 Like
I had this on tap and liked it a lot, tartness was on point for me as I think that I prefer less sour sours. Lots of mango flavor and refreshing.
2 Likes
I’ll respectfully disagree on a small point that I believe you’ll agree with me on. I agree, for these smaller breweries, they can have the sweet art sell shitty product for a time. But, in the macro brew world, the art , “advertising” is about all that sells this shit. Bud horses, bud lite frogs and that. Then again, shittt art for shitty beer.
Sorry to interrupt. Carry on, my good man.
Shmaltz Brewing Company, makers of He’Brew (the Chosen Beer) and others, officially closed in 2021 when the old owner retired. (The name and assets were recently bought by a Reform rabbinical student–no joke.) Last night, we had their very last beer, a barleywine brewed with dates, figs, pomegranate, and grapes called Exodus 2021 - A Farewell to Shmaltz. For a 2-year-old barleywine, it was rich and fruity but not super-heavy. We drank it at room temperature while watching “Chicken Run: Dawn of the Nugget” on Netflix.
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Heady Topper by The Alchemist (Stowe, VT) - DIPA
Very balanced DIPA with a beautiful mix of more aromatic flavors (grape, citrus, hints of peach) and piney, bitter tastes with a malty backbone but never drive the beer in one of the two extremes. Justifiably one of highest ranked IPAs
Built to Spill by Foam Brewers (Burlington, VT) - Hazy DIPA
Relatively middle of the road hazy DIPA with pineapple and citrus upfront and followed by some grassy notes - a bit one dimensional. Dry, medium-low bitter finish. Quite light tasting for 8% ABV and should have normally at bit more flavor
1 Like
Possessed by Great Notion Brewing (Portland, OR) - Fruited Sour
Normally I like a lot of beers from Great Notion but this sour ale was disappointing - one dimensional kettle sour notes with hints of artificial pineapple which really didn’t work together. It was meant as a Halloween joke but the green coloring doesn’t help to “improve” the sour.
1 Like
Firestone Walker’s Cinnamon Dolce Nitro Stout–the friend we had over for Christmas dinner brought a 6-pack. Surprisingly subtle, and just a little sweet. I think it would be nice poured over ice cream.
2 Likes
Tall Kiwi by Other Half Brewing Company (Brooklyn, NY) - Hazy IPA
Very tropical forward IPA with pineapple, passionfruit and peaches flavors quite dominant upfront. Before sweetness gets too overwhelming grassy, piney hop bitterness sets a nice counterpoint. Dry, medium bitter finish.
All this is very true. It would be fascinating to chart the breweries that Big Brew buys out who do this clever aesthetic thing. BB may be evil, but they know good beer better than anyone here.
I tried a pale ale recently that clevered me in: E9’s “Don of Time”. Got me to taste, but not to order. https://untappd.com/b/e9-brewing-co-don-of-time/1055995
I would challenge that notion - BB often doesn’t understand good beer (and the craft beer world) and they might try to jump on the craft beer wagon but also fail to be successful. Ballast Point Brewery is a “nice” example and how sales declined after purchased by BB (Constellation in this case). ABI also bought many small craft breweries which were quite successful (on craft beer scale) but sales declined and now there were quite significant layoffs at those breweries.
Of course you would.
Underestimating Big Brew is not a winning solution. Sure, they can dumb down and ruin what they buy, but they know what it takes to brew at all levels. They’re not buying “better” makers of beer–they’re buying labels they think will make them money with folks who, unlike you, don’t fetishize “craft” or micro. There are many craft brewers who are more than happy to cash out, and in fact that’s the retirement plan of many more.
No doubt but so far the many bets from BB do capitalize on craft beer hasn’t also turned to be terrible successful and they are trying to get rid of many of their purchases after a relatively short period of time due to lower sales compared to before their purchase. So it clearly turned out so far that overestimated how much they can sell craft beer to people who don’t really care about beer.
Don’t kid youself that you care more about beer than anyone else.
There’s certainly a “Catch and Kill” aspect to Big Brew’s acquisition strategy. But it’s hardly the kiss of death. More like “Hey, they built some loyalty we can profit from.” They play the odds. And they’re more successful at it than you think.
It’s always amused me that people conclude that any given garagiste with a brew sculpture somehow immaculately conceived and executed a world class Beer X. Did they all apprentice with a 200-time gold medal winner? Obviously not. Degree in zymurgy? Almost never.
I have a friend who makes very good beer. He’s a roofer. He bought a clone beer recipe book, and has riffed some creatively. The closest he’s been to Belgium is Tennessee. Never worked in the beverage industry. No guru, no method, no teacher. But if you think he knows a lot about beer, you’re dreaming.
Revering obscure beers is only that.
