Idle Hands

Dropped into the brewery on Sunday and split a few flights with my wife. I have to say that after the hype in this thread I wasn't that impressed with Four and Six Seam. They weren't bad by any stretch, I'd order a pint at a bar, but nothing I felt I had to take home. Their barrel aged stout was very good, and I enjoyed the lagers as well. I was most impressed with the 2 Funk Town bottles I took home. They were excellent.

 

Thread based expectations can indeed be a bit of a double edged sword. Glad you still enjoyed your visit though.

If you were inclined to elaborate I'd be curious on the details of why they didn't quite connect for you. I know it can be hard to pin those sorts of things down but tastes are so idiosyncratic that I'm always interested in what does and doesn't work for people.

 

I've drank the last two batches of Six Seam and gotta say I'm less impressed with this batch. The previous November batch outta cans was outstanding. This January batch is a little hot with the alcohol and doesn't pack as much flavor, IMO.

This is somewhat hypocritical of me to say too as I've posted before about my disbelief in batch variation due to the number of variables involved in one's tasting experience from time A to time B. But there it is.

Still a very good NE DIPA. Starts w/ Mosaic character that goes over to Galaxy hop character as it warms for me. But I'd rate it in the low 4s this time around, compared to mid-4s last time. #firstworldproblems

 

Which is funny because I was thinking that this batch is an improvement over the last one, especially in the mouthfeel. And it keeps on evolving in the can - I got the full case and I can really notice it smoothing out and deepening over the past week.

Ah, well, different tastes. I picked up a mixed case of Voltage and Illegal Dance Moves at Mystic the same day and haven't enjoyed them half as much, even though my beer buddy insists they're better than the Six Seam.

 

I'm drinking it right now and I agree the mouthfeel is ultra-smooth. My issues are more with nose and flavor not popping to the level I remember.

 

I have to completely agree about the aroma, or relative lack thereof, but the taste is completely doing it for me.

I'd also add that this beer demands a good, hard pour into proper glassware, like maybe a spiegelau, to jolt it up to its fullest potential - no sissy-assed side pouring; a good, stern, no mercy chug right down the middle of the glass. That'll perk the nose up a bit.

 

This batch of six seam is the first on the scaled up batch size if I'm not mistaken.

 

I thought the hop flavor was a bit muted, not as bright and juicy as I'm looking for, and something in the malt bill was coming through more than I typically prefer. It's hard for me to really call out specifics after a few days. I'm curious about what yeast is in the IPAs.

 

Rye. It gives it a little sour twang.

 

That will do it. I've learned to avoid rye in my home brewed IPAs even.

 

And you attribute this to a difference in the beer, not a difference in your memory?

In a nutshell this thread hits on why talking about "this batch vs that batch" is silly.

It's far more likely that something was different with you than with the beer. You might have a cold coming on or be congested (or not.) You might have just eaten something this time that you hadn't eaten the last time you tried the beer.

Etc, etc etc.

 

Could be serving temp too. I liked the Six Seam I had from a can a lot more than the ice cold one I was served at their brewpub.

 

Adelais in cans again at last. Lagerheads rejoice!

 

Are cans usually available at the brewery? Or is it more of a release day and they all sell out.

 

We strive to have cans of Four Seam available all the time. Adelais should last for at least a month too.

Right now we have Adelais, Klara, Check Raise, Kill Your Idles:Tropical and Four Seam all available in cans.

 

Great, thanks for the quick reply. I will be in town for EBF this weekend and checking out Idle Hands is a top priority.

 

Cool. We're putting our last keg of Six Seam on tomorrow for the EBF crowd.

 

Great lineup. I'm loving Check Raise in cans!

 

Great spot, enjoyed all the brews we tried. We spoke with Brett and he did a great job providing info on the specifics of the brews.
Helga was great, and happy you had Six Seam on!

 

Has anyone else had the Kill your Idles Tropical? It's absolutely delicious! While the fruit is fantastic, the addition of the passion fruit really works with the sour. I need to get my hands on more of this.