Night Shift Brewing

Damn, don't let anyone over in the Tree House thread read that...

 

I don’t venture over there often, but I have a feeling the people in the Tree House threads aren’t rational.

 

Swung by the cellar bottle sale today. Only a handful of people there at the time, so no wait. Grabbed an Elbrus (bourbon barrel-aged Russian imperial stout) and a Titus Andronicus (barleywine aged in port-finished bourbon barrels). $18 each.

 

Its good to hear the bottle costs on the black Friday sale was $18. I like that Nightshift is playing with prices. I'm really excited that the release of Elevensies for the Barrel Society release is 16 oz cans for $22. That was honestly a no brainer purchase for me. 64 oz of BA baltic porter for $22 split into 4 cans, awesome. Can't wait to pick mine up next week. I much prefer this setup than a 750ml bottle.

 

Anyone crack an Elevensies yet? Picking mine up on Friday and curious to people’s initial thoughts.

 

I'm drinking my first one as I type this. Its very enjoyable. If this was a $22 750ml bottle I'd be happy but not ecstatic. As a 16 oz can at around $5.50, I am pretty psyched that I have 3 others that I will really enjoy. The base porter is an ok porter, its probably a little overpowered by the bourbon barrels but I like that personally. At its current age its very bourbony. If they release this again next year in the same format and price, I'm in 100%. If you like bourbon in your beer you'll love it, if you don't you won't pretty simple.

I picked up a few other beers when I was there, I also really enjoyed the Citranation throwback. Its interesting to drink this beer since I think I only had Night Shift after maybe 2014/2015 after they shifted more away from Belgian beers. Its a nice take on a Belgian beer and I think would be a nice addition to a more regular rotation just for something different. I also had the blonde roast but I'm still trying to recover from the shock of drinking a blonde stout

 

Had the blonde roast when I picked mine up today. Actually enjoyed it more than I anticipated. Very smooth! Elevensies being cracked tomorrow.

Had the Blonde Roast

 

Seconded. Very barrel forward — which I like but not everyone will — and maybe just a tiny bit thinner than I’d prefer.

 

I enjoyed the Blonde roast as well but its like drinking Pepsi Clear, just weird.

 

Thought it was solid but definitely agree it is a bit on the thin side. Loved the flavors and felt that while the barrel was certainly strong it wasn’t unbalanced. Going to age a couple for a year or so and see what happens.

 

I got an e-mail about the bourbon el Lechador release. They did two variants (maple and chillie) but missed on the pre-release.

Apple brandy El Lechador is my favorite local stout, It’s too bad I missed out on the variants. I believe the bourbon el Lechador version will be a public sale.

 

Anyone been to Owl's Nest this season? We went on Saturday. Great spot, but man did it take forever to get a beer. Waited about 20-30 minutes to get in (no big deal, we were expecting a line on a nice day on a long weekend), but the wait to get a beer took well over 30 minutes. I'm sure a bunch of it was people waiting until they got to the front of the line to make up their mind, and the folks are the bar were hustling, but wish there were a better way to move folks through the line. Last year we would hang out there for hours; this time I got two beers each during the one trip through the line and left after that, just couldn't take another half hour wait to get a beer.

 

Went once last year. Line was like you said, about 30 minutes to get in if I recall correctly. No real line to get beer though.

I also want to add Fluffliest was delicious.

 

Seconded. I've been twice so far. The location is wonderful on the water and the beer is tasty, but it's so poorly run compared to the other beer/wine gardens nearby. Waited just under 30 minutes to get a beer in line. Thought it was a fluke the first visit, but the second visit proved they're just not equipped to handle the crowds they welcome.

 

@Justin42 @SnugTeam6 @AlcahueteJ - Thanks for the feedback. We are just getting our feet under us for the Owl's Nest and dialing in the staff (both in terms of training and number). The team is actively working to get the time down and get beers in your hands faster.

We have a lot of cool events planned this year at the Owl's Nest locations so hopefully you all can give it another shot. We sincerely appreciate your patience while we work out the kinks.

Cheers,
Rob

 

Thank you Rob, good to know the timing is being looked it. It was a favorite spot last year (never had any issues last year, and we were there on opening weekend another half dozen or so times), so I'm sure we'll be back. Also excited to check out Lovejoy

 

Seconded, thanks for the response! I know there's always some growing pains when starting up operations. Like I said before, the location is fantastic and the beer is tasty, so I'll come back for sure this summer

 

I’ll admit it - the Lime Lite will be a staple for me this summer.

Had a 4-pack over the warm Memorial Day weekend at the pool & was impressed. A nice quencher with just enough lime (not too much) that you don’t have to think too hard or fuss about. Nice low ABV of 4.3 too. 12-pack next time.

 

Went to the Lovejoy Wharf location and was impressed. The layout is very cool and VERY different from Everett. The food wasn't "destination" worthy on its own but it was perfectly good to accompany a beer-centric experience and reasonably priced for the area.

Beers are all $8 or $9 for full 16 oz. pours unless they were high ABV, and for a buck more you can get a 20 ounce pour. Sadly that's pretty damn good price for Boston drinking. Best of all was that they have a ton of beers unique to that location - probably half the menu. Percentage wise it's a hoppy menu, but they have so many beers that there are still plenty of other options. They had a Vienna, a Pilsner, a couple farmhouse, 3 weisse's, a rye porter, and even a Dark Mild (which made me very happy) and an English Barley Wine.

Don't take my specific descriptors too seriously here as there was a lot going on. The short story is that everything was good except the Pilsner.

Vienna: very good. Felt a bit like a crisper, brighter Sam Adams.
Dark Mild; very good though maybe just a touch thin.
NE DIPA: very good but they had a couple of them and I don't remember which one this was.
West Coast IPA: it wasn't labeled as such but that's basically what it was. The name had 'dank' in it and it was indeed that. Nice bitterness and older school look/body. Really good and a nice change of pace.
English Barley Wine: Excellent! Rich and raisiny and true to its name as it was not overly hoppy in the least.
NE Pale Ale: this was called 'Fuzzy Situation' and it may have knocked Whirpool off its pedestal as my wife's favorite beer of theirs. It's only a little boozier (5%) but it has a thicker body and citrusy rather than peachy flavor. Fantastic.
German Pilsner: this was the only clunker. It was only 3.5% ABV and basically tasted the way you might fear a pilsner that low would taste. Had kind of a harsh lemony hoppiness to it that had no richness or maltiness to back it up.

The patio isn't open yet but they said it should be within a couple weeks. Bar was packed when we got there at 6:00 and by 7:00 the dining areas were packed too. Great experience all around. They're going to make a mint here

(knock on wood)

 

I loved it there as well, as I've said before, might be my favorite Boston area tap room. I love the coffee shop attached to it as well. And the "to-go cans" area is beautiful too.

Regarding the beers...

Vienna: It might just be crisper and brighter because it was fresh. Have you ever tasted fresh Boston Lager at the brewery?

Dark Mild: What was the ABV? Was it on cask?

Pils: I think Notch's may turn out better because it will be low ABV, but it will utilize decoction mashing. This should add depth and richness to the malt profile.