Beer of the Week! 07/19/22

Nost Lady

Regularly $12.99 / Now on Sale for $11.96
Hefeweizen Style Ale

The Lady is our latest Nost Brewing Project beer from Rachel Howard, head brewer for Oozlefinch who has gone rogue from their wacky fare to make beer in traditional US craft styles (IPAs, Brown Ales, Helles Lagers, Pilsners, etc.). Where she clearly put a lot of thought into her IPAs, this Hefeweizen tastes closer to her heart.

Hefeweizen are unfiltered wheat ales that originated in Bavaria in the early 1500s. Basically, they were the hazy beers before hazy was cool. ;P Commonly the malt bill is around half and half wheat and barley producing a lighter tasting base than a barley or rye base will alone. Hefeweizen yeasts will produce flavors reminiscent of cloves, bananas, nutmeg, and even bubblegum (!?!). These phenols and esters stand against the slight tang that comes from the wheat.

The Lady steps right up to those banana and clove flavors, but holds back before it gets there delivering surprising and appealing lemon and lime notes instead. Those notes not only provide a fun zing! to the Lady, they co-opt and thus curtail some of the wheat tang giving you a smoother ride with the beer.

They say, “a lady never drinks; she sips.” Well, we find it hard to act like a lady with this brew.

Bonus Beer of the Week (‘Cause if the brew fits, share it!)

Offshoot Relax [It’s Just a Hazy IPA]

Regularly $14.99 / Now on Sale for $13.96
New England Style IPA

Continuing the trend of new breweries that are actually parts of old breweries, Offshoot Beer Company is an extension of the Bruery — the Placentia, CA beer company started by the Rue brothers. Offshoot is also a way around a promise.

For years, the Bruery dedicated itself to Belgian styles and Belgian inspired beers, so much so that Patrick Rue (one of the brothers) famously said that the Bruery would never brew an IPA. Never! Well, as beer tastes have shifted away from Belgian beers, so has the Bruery. So, we guess their brewers were emboldened to knock on that door. The answer seems to have been both “No” and “Yes.”

(Don’t worry Belgian beers. We still love you!)

Offshoot Beer Company is the Bruery’s new entity focusing on hop-forward beers. Thus, earnest promises can be kept and good beers can be made. Relax is their first New England Style IPA.

2-Row and Carafoam malts are mixed with Flaked Oats. Then the wort is hopped with Citra, Amarillo, Centennial, and Simcoe. Now, you’d think that hop combination would deliver a citrusy, West Coast Style IPA. However, Offshoot somehow pulls a juiciness out of them. We liked it — so well-balanced — but we couldn’t put our finger on the particular flavor. (Maybe some sort of berry or bing cherry?)

Whatever. It doesn’t matter if the fruit notes here are hard to describe. You don’t need descriptions. You just need to enjoy this moment in life. It’s been a long time since we’ve encountered a beer that so fully lives up to its marketing. The Relax is smooth and calming. It’s like a float down the river with friends.

Remember!

You can see our entire beer inventory on Untappd.com!