Night Shift’s Darkling

Tags

Beer, Beer Review, Massachusetts, Night Shift Brewing

Sometimes when you want a beer you go beyond what you have in the fridge and venture into the dark corners of your cellar. Lacking a proper cellar, I ventured into the deep and forgotten regions of the closet, and the following is what I found lurking there.

Beer Name: Darkling

Brewer: Night Shift Brewing Company

Style: Imperial Stout

ABV: 10.3%

Description: A nice big imperial stout that I believe is one of the first, if not the first, of its kind released by Night Shift. Bottled on 10/14/2014 it was released to a limited run of 200 bottles which came and went the same day, as did the tap line. It described on the bottle as a double-mash bourbon barrel aged imperial stout.

Pour Info: Poured from my 750 ml bottle into a snifter glass.

Price: $20 for 750 ml.

Appearance: Pours a gloriously thick black body. Accompanied by a thin tan head that recedes to a thick ring of bubbles around the edges of the glass.

Smell: Huge bourbon smell mixed with sweet malts.

Taste: Big bourbon taste right from the start and persists through the finish. The bourbon is accompanied by sweet malts in the middle that also carry into the end while at cooler temperatures. There’s a little bit of heat on the finish that ties these tastes together into a warm satisfying finish. Great tasting beer.

Mouth Feel: Thick body with minimal carbonation. Slightly creamy feel to start and finishes with a silky decadent smoothness.

Hype Factor: I knew this beer was fantastic going in, the only question was how it held up over the last few months.

Overall: Huge fan of this beer and as much as I loved drinking it I am sad to see it go. This is a fantastic imperial stout in which every element is spot on and contributes to a fantastic whole. Super excited that there is going to be a similar beer in the 2015 Barrel Society lineup.

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A Taste of the Vermont Winter

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Beer, Beer Review, Fiddlehead Brewing Company, The Alchemist, Vermont

While I am still getting into the swing of things this year, we might as well check in on some end of the year gifts I received hailing from the wonderful state of Vermont. Here’s what ended up making it south of the border and into my hands.

Beer Name: Luscious

Brewer: The Alchemist

Style: Imperial Stout

ABV: 11.1%

Description: The eleventh anniversary release of Alchemist’s big Imperial Stout. Listed as having a huge amount of dark malts and just a bit of Summer hops.

Pour Info: Poured from a refrigerated 16 oz. can in my Bean Porter mug.

Price: Unknown, it was a gift!

Appearance: Pours thick and black out of the can. A thin dark tan head makes an appearance before settling in around the sides of the glass.

Smell: Light roasty malts with hints of cocoa

Taste: At first sip there is a light roasty taste up front that transitions into a cocoa/dark chocolate finish. There’s a hint of the ABV at the very start but it is not boozy at all. As the beer warms the heat picks up a bit on the finish and a hint of bitter coffee appears on the end.

Mouth Feel: Very thick bodied with low carbonation. At the very start of the sip there is the slightest hint of carbonation but after that initial instant the beer gets very smooth. As the beer warms, it becomes silky smooth and creamy.

Hype Factor: An Alchemist brew that unexpectedly falls into my hands? Of course I’m excited to try that.

Overall: A very good stout. I took my time and slowly sipped this one on a cold night and thoroughly enjoyed the experience.

Beer Name: Second Fiddle

Brewer: Fiddlehead Brewing Company

Style: DIPA

ABV: 8.2%

Description: The brewery website simply lists this as having a “big aroma” and “lots of hops.” They are most definitely not wrong.

Pour Info: From a refrigerated 16 oz can into the teku glass.

Price: Unknown, this was also a gift. Lucky me!

Appearance: Amber/orange color with a light and foamy white head that sticks around for much of the drinking experience.

Smell: Slightly sweet with tons of dank piney hops. Grabs your attention as soon as the can is popped open.

Taste: Sweet citrus fruits upfront with a big piney, resinous hop finish. The bitterness is definitely there but very well balanced and doesn’t become too overpowering.

Mouth Feel: Medium-plus bodied with about an equal amount of carbonation. Very drinkable and goes down nice and easy.

Hype Factor: I was also looking forward to this one. Much appreciated having a nice Vermont DIPA to try without having to any hunting or legwork to get it.

Overall: Very well done and easily drinkable DIPA. A great example of the style and gives no hint that it is 8.2%. Would love to get my hands on some more of this one.

 

New Beers to Start off the New Year

Tags

Beer, Beer Review, Massachusetts, Night Shift Barrel Society, Night Shift Brewing, Trillium Brewing Company

Here we are with the first post of the new year. It’s been pretty chilly out there so far and it happened that I picked two of the coldest days of the winter to check in on two of Boston’s hottest breweries, the recently re-opened Trillium Brewing Company and my trusty go to Night Shift. Here’s a look at the best of what each had to offer.

Beer Name: Double Dry Hopped Melcher Street IPA

Brewer: Trillium Brewing Company

Style: IPA

ABV: 7.3%

Description: A dry hopped version of the juicy Melcher Street IPA.

Pour Info: Poured same day from a newly acquired 32 oz. growler into my trusty teku glass.

Price: $12.50 for the fill (and the usual $5.00 down on the new growler)

Appearance: Body is a light, golden orange color. A bubbly white head quickly forms and then settles down to around a centimeter.

Smell: It’s tempting to make smell the first category reviewed because of how intense it was. Huge burst of pineapple and tropical fruits when I opened up the growler. The fruitiness was present throughout the pour and coupled with a smell oddly reminiscent of really good dank pot.

Taste: As expected, lots of juicy hops up front but quite as intense as the smell first lead on. There’s a juicy sweetness that remains throughout which blends into a dank and resiny bitterness on the finish. The bitterness was never overpowering or out of balance even though it grabbed you from the first sip and lingered after the last.

Mouth Feel: Medium bodied with some playful carbonation.

Hype Factor: I was pretty eager to try this one. I did walk about three quarters of a mile in snowy 20 degree weather to get to the brewery after all. Ever since Trillium re-opened following their licensing snafu late last year, they’ve been putting out some great looking stuff that has been in very high demand. Remembering how good the regular Melcher Street was, I was very interesting in trying out this version.

Overall: This beer did not disappoint. Great to drink all around and very satisfying as an IPA. It’s probably long gone for grolwer fills by the time I get this post up but I would highly recommend grabbing any bottles left out there.

Beer Name: Pluto

Brewer: Night Shift Brewing Company

Style: Golden/Wild Ale

ABV: 6.7%

Description: The final release in the 2014 Barrel Society series, it is described as a sour ale aged with raspberries and brettanomyces.

Pour Info: 8 oz. pour from the draft line into a flute glass.

Price: $5.00 for 8 oz.

Appearance: Reddish amber body and a not quite white bubbly head. From a certain angle it looks like the foam takes on some of the body’s coloring in a very light and pale form.

Smell: Has a distinct brett aroma paired with tart berries.

Taste: Very tart raspberries up front with just a hint of funkiness. Sweetness develops as the sip progresses before finishing on a tart raspberry note again. Lots of tart dark fruit and just the right amount of funk.

Mouth Feel: Medium bodied. It has a somewhat thin syrupy finish coupled with a touch of fizzy carbonation. Compliments the beer very well.

Hype Factor: Also high. Night Shift put out some fantastic beers for their 2014 Barrel Society members and I was eager to see how they finished off the series.

Overall: I liked this beer a lot and it was definitely a strong finish to the year. I don’t think it was quite as awesome as the recently released of Mainer Weiss and Big Dipper, which I really loved, but this was definitely a solid beer in its own right. I am curious to see what sitting on my bottle for a month or two does to the big fruit flavor and may have to revisit this post when I do.