The Stinger
Odd Side Ales

RB transfer

Great brew here. Easy drinker- not too hoppy but not lacking hopiness either. Nice refreshing brew. Pours out golden color. Very smooth type of feel. Smell is solid. Would love to get this again! The perfect brew for a nice, warm summer day.

 

As I said, the Left Hand Saisons segued into Chocolate-Peanut Butter Porters & Stouts, finishing up with one from Odd Side Ales. Since I had several other Odd Sides in abeyance for The CANQuest (tm), I have decided to stick with them a bit longer for CANother brewery horizontal. This is my last, for the time being, from Odd Side. I was initially inspired by Left Hand's Saison au Miel, a honey Saison, but the variances in ABV just did not make sense to go from that to this. My next horizontal will be one that will wrap up with a Saison that wraps back around to Porters! 8=O Viva The CANQuest (tm)!

From the CAN: "The Stinger Honey Double IPA"; "An American style Imperial IPA with five varieties of American hops, brewed with local Michigan Wildflower Honey, giving this beer an added dryness and depth of flavor that perfectly complements the large addition of hops."

I Crack!ed open the vent & listened for a buzzing sound. When I did not hear anything, I beCAN a slow, gentle C-Line Glug into the awaiting glass. It foamed up beautifully to form just over two fingers of dense, foamy, rocky, French Vanilla-colored head with very good retention, leaving behind a load of lacing as it slowly fell. Color was a gorgeous Golden-Amber (SRM = > 5, < 7) with NE-quality clarity, enticing The Gelt Gang of Croesus, Midas & Mammon to join me in the kitchen for a taste. Nose held a cool PNW piney hop mintiness along with an unabashed presence of honey! Une bière au miel ou ein bier mit honig, for sure! Mouthfeel was medium-to-full, not quite creamy, but on the approach. While it may have been light for the style, it had a softness on the tongue that was quite pleasant. The taste was like Baby's Bear's AIIPA - not too sweet, not too bitter, but just right. In fact, it was more bitter than the nose had led me to hope for. If it had been as sweet as the nose caused me to expect, I might not have enjoyed it as much. It was exceptionally smooth, which was actually kinda dangerous, given its CANparatively high ABV. Finish was semi-dry to dry & very pleasant. One reviewer said that they saw this as Odd Side's answer to Bell's Hopslam. Hmm. Well, the price point on this one was VERY friendly, if such was the case! YMMV.

Apparently not retired as my can is dated 01/28/20. Pours a fairly clear bright yellow with a long lasting white head. Leaves great lacing. Aroma is more lemon citrus than honey. Flavor is plenty of citrusy hops and honey. Feel is light bodied and well carbonated. Overall a fine double IPA that is not as tasty as Hopslam (clearly this brewery's attempt at copying), but at a third less dollar wise worth the price of admission.

 

Pours a hazy golden color with a finger width foamy head. Head retention is good. Lacing is very good. Malty, citrus, lightly sweet honey aroma. Taste is a little off, especially in the aftertaste. I may get some mild citrus, but there is more sweet honey, followed by a grainy, bready bitterness. I feel like they tried to copy Hopslam but came up very short of it.

 

 

 

Poured from a can into a pint glass

Appearance – The beer pours a slightly hazed light orange amber color with a billowy head of white foam. The head has a great level of retention, very slowly fading over time to leave a ton of foamy lace on the sides of the glass.

Smell – The aroma of the brew is rather strong of a tropical fruit aroma mixed with some bready malts and a bit of grapefruit hop. Along with these smells comes a little bit of a honey smell as well as some light dank smells of pine.

Taste – The taste begins with a cracker malt and slightly bready taste that has a decent hit of some earthy hop as well as some pine. Along with these flavors comes a light amount of tangerine and some grapefruit hop. The citrus is light upfront with it only giving a light amount of sweet/hop to the taste. As the taste advances however the grapefruit gets stronger while the tangerine gets weaker. All the while some light honey tastes join the flavor profile. At the end the pine amps up a bit all while a bit of booze comes to the tongue and ends up leaving one with a nice, somewhat more dry, and warming hopped taste to linger on the tongue.

Mouthfeel – The body of the brew is slightly more thick and chewy with a carbonation level that is average to slightly lower. For the slightly boozy taste, the hop mix, as well as the more moderate sweetness the feel is great and makes for a nice slow sipper.

Overall – A tasty and slightly boozy double IPA with a nice flavor profile and not over the top sweetness.

 

 

 

 

The Stinger Honey Double IPA, sent from superspak, poured into Stella Artois chalice. Can date of 2/21/19.

Slightly hazy golden amber glow with a creamy, rocky, almost cappuccino-like head of 3 fingers, great hop action here. Sheets of lacing falling from where the head was, and at its final form before imbibing it's at 1/2 finger. Alcohol legs drip down from the head like a gangsta.

Tons of nutty honey malt in the nose, with actual honey, sesame, slightly sulfur/catty, some chlorine, alfalfa, and tangerine. Taking a quarter point off for the sulfur otherwise it's solid.

Flavor opens slightly orange juice-y, but then the heavy dark sweetness of honey invades, but leaves as if it was at the wrong address, and tangerine takes its place as it brushes shoulders with the misplaced guest on the way in. An uncommon graininess (nutty, crackery) finishes this profile out. A hesitant 4, but it's keeping me intrigued so call it innovation.

Feel is mostly creamy, with a bed of resins underneath, and mild carbonation. Alcohol heat is floating always in there, but doesn't really surface until the end/when it's on your palate for an extended time.

Overall, I always wonder why people diss on OddSide so much (via the BA ratings, not verbally), but this one I can kinda understand because it's a hard one to nail down. I can't tell myself if I like it or not yet, I assume I'll have come to a resolution by the end of the can. Or not.

 

Blind tasting courtesy of @foundersasap from NBS BIF #9
Pours a slightly opaque, orange-tinged gold with a firm 2 fingers of fluffy white foam. After about a minute it recedes to a respectable half-finger cap. Curtains of lacing.
Smells opens up tropical, with a grassy, wet alfalfa note, hints of damp grain, grass, slight grapefruit, tangerine rind, and floral citrus.
Flavor is much more subdued than I expected based on the nose. Smooth citrus notes open up. Orange zest, orange blossom honey sweetness, and a cracker malt note. Slight drying bitterness.
Mouthfeel is on the lighter side of medium. Carbonation is mellow, but present.
Overall, I like it, but gotta wait for the reveal. I'm guessing an American IPA, or DIPA. Good stuff.