Zew Nork
Nedloh Brewing Company

 

This beer was served on tap at Nedloh Brewing Company’s taproom in Bloomfield, New York. It arrived in a house snifter, showing a glowing bright apricot coloring. A finger’s worth of a snowy white head was noted to retain well, leaving sticky chains of archipelago lacing around the glass. No haze or sediment was appreciated, and carbonation appeared to be moderate. Aromatics flooded the nostrils in a blend of heavy floral and citric hops, freshly sliced oranges, marigold florals and resins, pale and lightly raw caramel malts, bubblegum esters, white pound cake, sweet lactics, lemon zest, carob dust, chive sting, and light piney saps. The flavoring followed well with a happy helping of pale and heavy wheaty maltiness, dried white rice dust, brushes of candied caramel, hot chemical phenols, Rice Krispies and marshmallow sugars, and a finishing syrupy cleanliness of citric, bittering floral, and vegetal earthen hops. The body was towards the full side, while carbonation was medium. Slurp, smack, cream, froth, and pop were all fine, contributing nicely to the sip. The mouth was left with a fine dusty dryness between intermittent stripes of wet puck. The abv was appropriate, and drinkability was excellent.

Overall, this is your classic big and syrupy DIPA. It was recommended to us by a friend who happened to be working there, and being huge hop heads, we gladly obliged. Having lived near Kuhnhenn in southeastern Michigan for the past two years now, it was hard not to draw comparisons between Zew Nork and Kuhnhenn’s DRIPA. You get this big riced, adjuncty graininess to the base malt, while floating intensely citric and floral hoppiness atop it. Great juxtaposition,with great results. While the aftertaste comes across a bit muddy, through the intense, dirt-dusted freshness of those hops, the alcohol is well hidden, and the blend sits well. This beer will be gone from your glass before you know it. Nedloh can certainly pull off excellent hoppy, and anyone who says otherwise hasn’t tasted this beer.