Derek Smalls
Nedloh Brewing Company

This beer was served on tap at Nedloh Brewing Company’s taproom in Bloomfield, New York. A deep shimmering soy sauce coloring shown through the flared tasting glass. It held a foamy yet fizzy half finger tall head of medium brown bubbles, showing nice retention. Wet, spotted lacing was left around the glass. No haze or sediment was noted, and carbonation appeared to be moderate. The aroma was wildly unique, boasting notes of hot licorice, burnt sunflower seeds, Magic Marker phenols, massive sunscreen chemical smear, soothing but equally as synthetic aloe gel, rich and sweet chocolate and coffee malt roastiness, marshmallow sugars, nutmeg, allspice, black pepper, sweetly soft ethanol, and fresh vanilla coffee creamer. The taste followed in an identical shell, with the most prominent note being that planty aloe stickiness. Otherwise, dissenting flavors included an earthen herbal hoppiness, dustier black malts, olivine brine, phenolic plastics and chemicals, gingerbread, and honey-dipped Graham crackers. The body was stylistically quite light, but the carbonation remained hearty to the tongue and palate. The mouth was left wetted and coated, with an eventual tannic powdering. The abv was appropriate, and the beer drank easily.

Overall, this was arguably our favorite beer from the day, or really from anything we’ve sampled from Nedloh thus far. Despite the fact that all of their other beers are boundary-pushers, this one just screamed of authenticity and singularity. The spices were varied and fantastic, and mirrored expertly between the aroma and taste. That curious sunscreen and aloe interplay is also nice, keeping you intrigued, but leaving you somewhat unable to pinpoint their origin. By keeping the mouthfeel lighter, you are better able to appreciate these ingredients. Additionally, this eases the drinker back, increasing drinkability dramatically. In the end, this was just a great beer, made all the better by a wonderful foundation. This is something a lot of brewers forget these days, and go for flair without getting the recipe down correctly in the first place. Here, they nail it.