Night Shift Brewing!

This used to be a wine blog.. I hope readers are not disappointed in the slight… hiatus.   I’m saving by wine taste buds for Italy tomorrow.  Luckily the amazing brewers from “Night Shift Brewing” have provided some delicious content for review!  So, I’m going to do that instead 🙂

Fancy Glasses! My sized!!

This weekend, I attended a Night Shift Brewing Beer Tasting and it rocked.  From fancy glasses  to SEVERAL beers on tap, it was just a great, yet informative, party!

I tasted 5 beers!  All brewed by these skillful, local, Bowdoin-alum brewers!  Yes, they really were having that much fun.

Oh right, I’m supposed to be “reviewing.”

Beer #1: Bee Tea Pale Ale: Delicious, light, verrrry honey!  I could definitely smell the aroma of green tea, but I couldn’t taste much of it.  It was deliciously smooth, start to finish with a nice spice that tasted just slightly of lemon (though I think that was actually ORANGE… I confuse my fruits when I drink apparently)?  It did apparently have orange peel, but I could really go for more!  Overall, there was a nice mix of herbal smell and taste with a sweet but smooth texture like honey; I could go for a longer more distinct finish, but I think that might evolve as they brew.  It was delicious and the name is totally suiting!

Beer #2:  B.A.R. Ale: This is the Belgian-American Red Ale” is clearly a combination beer- Red and Belgian- interesting concept… and actually, pretty good!  It had the color of a Red, but definitely a little more lightness in the middle of the taste like  Belgian.  The B.A.R. was a good, strong, darker ale that I really enjoyed.  I thought it was well balanced with a little sweet and a little more bitter.   It had some nice hop taste, but it wasn’t over the top thick with it.  I actually really liked the flow of this beer- the finish was really smooth but it had a lingering taste that I really liked.  It was pretty nutty  which was distinct and is probably the reason I distinctly remember the finish of this one.  Nicely done, Night Brew!

Smiles ALL around. Clearly the beer is doing its job.

Next I tried the highly-acclaimed Citra Imperial IPA, which was seriously citrusy.   It had a great flavor and just soaked my mouth in lemony goodness.  The carbonation with ostensibly smaller bubbles brought out that lightness as well.  Perhaps it’s that I tried this right after the B.A.R. but this seems incredibly light and almost missing some balance.  The taste was just so light that I felt like it needed a little hoppy grounding, but that’s just me.  That isn’t really a complaint- I think this was a really delicious summer beer and I hope they make more of it.

Hilary loving some Ale!

The Black Sap was really interesting.  This beer was intended to have a maple-y flavor, but what resulted was actually a dark, tasty, nutty brew that although lacking a little in maple flavor, smelled a little like maple and smoke and a few other light spices (nutmeg maybe?) and was really “drinkable” if I can steal Bud Light’s tagline and use it for something WAY better than Bud Light… obviously.  I really enjoyed this.  That’s a good sign in my book- I was expecting something much different, but I still really enjoyed the rich, nuttier brew.  I’m sure Night Brew is working on wrapping in more maple, too, which would just add to its balanced, delicious flavor as is.

Lastly, I tried the Bee Tea Pale Ale #2.  This was a slight variance from the first beer, but I thought it was a more complex flavor.  That could mean that the beer just doesn’t pull together as well, but in my mind, the different tastes were really delicious, they were just a bit sporadic.  I loved the aroma especially- I got a lot more tea from this one, and a bit more of the honey, too.  For the flavor, it tasted a bit different from the first- almost like there was a bit of cinnamon added to the tea/honey combo.  I really loved the idea behind that combination- I think it’s a solid brew (2 actually) and I think the batches that follow will be even better.  Justin was telling me that the neat thing about this brew is that they continuously added hops, unlike the other beers.  (at least I think it was the Bee Teas…) but it helps bring out the honey flavor throughout the whole taste, which I really appreciated.  Nom nom nom.

Some beer snobbery was mandatory. "Deliciously beer-y" was his description, I think. Apt, no?

Overall, can’t wait till this really hits the market (though I’m sure they’ve got stock if you’re interested!).  I would totally pick up a 6 or 12 of this any of these for (certain, deserving) parties.   The brewers put together a really fun event- from the tasting-appropriate glasses to the keggerator of several beers, to the comment cards and stories about the beers, I just felt that it was really well done in general.  Not to mention, they drew a great crowd, too.  Well done boys, I hope the brewing continues and evolves.  It’s already delicious and I look forward to more!

Fancy!