Nomadic
Tree House Brewing Company

 

 

 

I'm not sure what the cardamom adds to this, but I liked the oaked version a lot more. The roast and black bread are more muted somehow. Still quite good, but not one I need to hurry back to.

Pours a dark brown color. Completely opaque. Thick frothy, velvety khaki colored head forms on the beer. Head shows excellent retention. The aroma is really dominated by the green cardamom. However underneath that there are notes of lightly roasted malts, hints of coffee, cream, and some rye bread.

The green cardamom is noticeable on the nose, but does not dominate the profile as much as the nose would imply. Notes of roasted malt, cocoa, rye bread and cream all come through. In the end this beer is so good, but the addition of the cardamom just does not improve the beer overall. Feel is light, smooth, almost velvety. Moderate carbonation. Semi-dry finish.

Overall its a very nice Czech dark lager, I just did not think the cardamom worked for me here.

From a 16oz can, date-stamped ‘Winter 2023.’ Served in a cervoise.

Pours a near-black oak-brown with cola highlights and a two-plus finger thick and sturdy beige head. Retention is excellent, leaving a foamy cap and a tattered curtain of sudsy lacing.

Nose is rich, warm and spicy. Probably inevitably the aroma reminds me of khavi pulla, or Finnish cardamom bread.

Taste is precisely in line with the nose sparing me the trouble of thinking of new words. I mean, I know I’m drinking beer but, if I close my eyes and turn my head away, I have the distinct sensation of having been drinking strong black coffee with a piece of sweet pulla.

Feel is clean and bright, medium-light bodied with fine, sharp carbonation. The finish may feel a bit watery to me but, in fairness, that may be in contrast to the taste, which seems like it should be bready and chewy.

Overall, a bit of a mixed bag for me. It was undeniably fine and tasty, and I’ve rated it accordingly, but come right down to it, I don’t really need cardamom in my beer. I totally get what the brewer is shooting for here, and I think he’s accomplished it brilliantly, but, but… I’m fundamentally lazy and my palate doesn’t want to work that hard.

Canned Winter 2023

So I picked up the mixed Nomad pack when I hit Tree House last weekend. Having already had an loved the OG and Oak variants, I figured it was a no brainer to get these new ones. Nomadism (the coffee variant) was fine but didn’t really impress me much. This one however sounds much more interesting, using green cardamom in a CDL seems odd, but I bet it could work. Let’s get into it

Pours a lightly cloudy reddish brown with 3 fingers of frothy tan head that slowly fades to a cap and leaves decent lacing

Oh man, that cardamom has so much presence in the nose. It’s cool but almost overwhelming. I’m picking up on aromas of green cardamom, dark toast, burnt caramel, black pepper, toffee, herbal hops, acidic coffee, and light molasses

It's a bit more gentle in taste, though still with plenty of cardamom particularly on the back end. On the front end of the sip I'm tasting dark toast, toffee, black pepper, biscuity malt, light roast coffee, light cardamom, and herbal hops. The swallow brings notes of green cardamom, herbal hops, burnt caramel, dark toast, acidic coffee, light toffee, and black pepper

A medium body pairs with gentle tingling carbonation, resulting in a bright beer. Finishes mostly dry with a huge cardamom character

This one is also quite weird. I enjoy this and the coffee variants, but don't see much of a reason to return to them

 

 

 

Pours clear, chestnut brown in color with one inch head. Taste is big brown bread and cardamom. Light bodied, moderate low carbonation, slightly sweet. Excellent and interesting rendering of Nomad. Really enjoy the uniqueness.