Hop Showers
Other Half Brewing - Center Street

On tap at Pony Bar Hell's Kitchen. Brewed with Amarillo, Citra, and Ahtanium hops.

Appearance: Hazy orange yellow. Bartender leaves a half inch head with good retention and lacing.

Smell: Dank weed and citrus. Sort of flower-tinged lime aromas. Pungent and good.

Taste: Lots of tropical fruit and melon, lime-like citrus; all the virtues of these hops preening in their full glory. It's a little earthy, but more bright.

From my limited experience (3 other beers) with Other Half, I expect 1) Emphasis on the bright, floral/fruity hop flavors as opposed to dank weed flavors, 2) lots of crystal malt, 3) well defined, sweet malt backbone. This beer definitely has (1) (with just a liiitle dank), but (2) and (3) are completely wrong here; do not apply at all. This is solid West Coast and Vermont style "hop assault plus beautiful cereal grain malt backbone."

The aforementioned cereal malt backbone is never at the forefront; it's always the bedrock on which the bright hop flavors build and shine (mixed metaphor). I love pretty much every element of the flavor of this beer.

Mouthfeel: Medium bodied, high side of moderate carbonation, dry finish. Very good.

Overall: Well, Other Half is back on my radar. This is fresh NEBCO Gandhi Bot, Trillium, Hill Farmstead caliber hoppy beer, giving Peekskill a run for their money re: best hoppy beer in NY. It's better than Kelso's Industrial IPA, a beer that I'm pretty much in love with.

If this beer consistently tastes like this, hands down I'll order it every time I see it on tap. Really, as I said above, just excellent stuff. Expect big things if this is what this brewery is about.

 

A - Pours a hazy golden orange with a sturdy two finger white head. Tons of soapy lacing.

S - Aroma is orange, peach, mango and some dank hops.

T - The taste is orange juice, pineapple, peach, grapefruit and nice bitter hop bite.

M - Medium body with medium carbonation. Creamy mouthfeel with a pillowy soft finish.

O - Really solid.

(45 days old) Standard haze. Big juicy, citrusy aroma. Flavor mostly citrus: featuring notes of orange and hints of peach. Soft, smooth mouthfeel. Finishes firm and dry with virtually no resin burn.

 

 

Citra and Amarillo.

Pleasantly cloudy with a big juicy nose. Orange fluff comes across, with some berry and pineapple notes. The sip carries more of the same. Low bitterness.

 

 

Cloudy yellow with a nice, white head. Tropical fruits and citrus punch in the aroma. Moderate hoppy bitterness. Juicy, flavourful, medium-bodied IPA

 

Nice looking NE IPA with a good head and lacing. Melon and Mango with a little grapefruit. Very creamy that coats the mouth. Perfect carbonation that's not over the top, perfect. This is a terrific NE IPA!

Hazy pale gold yellow appearance with a tight white foamy head, decent retention, modest foamy lacing. Grapefruit, pineapple, mellow hop notes. Moderate to full body, creamy, moderate carbonation.