Blocktoberfest
Other Half Brewing - Center Street

Lovely surprise. Love surprises after 1500 beers.
a) Thick opaque cloud body of apricot capped with thick, lasting, lacing head.
s) Way more creamy DIPA than Oktoberfest. Lemon, hoppy more than malt.
t) Creamy
f) dreamy

Picked this up when it was released and finally got around to it tonight, given that I've been away and busy for so long! Loved the label and all of the breweries that were on it but this beer was not quite like Other Half's typical fare. As soon as I poured it out, the darker hue was a hint that something was different here, but this still felt relatively familiar when all was said and done.

Cloudy and pumpkin-hued, this had a nice appearance to it once I got over the initial surprise. Plenty of head topped this off and there was enough spotty lacing down the side of my Teku glass once I started to work my way trough this. Surprisingly, the nose was very understated as it was tough to pick out a prevalent aroma. Thankfully, the taste was indicative of what this beer was about as apple, caramel, and Mosaic Hops as the Huell Melon gave this an odd, tropical feel. Hints of cider came through as well along with a woody impression that reminded me of a fall day with the turning leaves in full effect! The hops and slick mouthfeel felt like the Other Half beers that I've known to come and love but at the same time, there were reminders of an Octoberfest that just didn't quite mesh with everything else that was going on here.

Thankfully, the amount of alcohol in this wasn't too high and there wasn't a lot of stickiness in the aftertaste, as would be the case with so many other autumnal offerings. Had there been less hints of passion and tropical fruit and more caramel, this could have been a winner. As it was, this came across as a novelty that was worth a go once, before the days became too cold and dark. Dated 10/13 with "NYC BREWERS" written blow it, this was a fun beer that was worth sipping, but only once...

 

Was expecting an oktoberfest and got a juicy NE IPA. Hazy orange juice color. Lots of orange and mandarin orange juice flavors. Earthy and floral. Very soft. A great NE IPA.