Notch Brewing (2021)

Northampton still has Daniel Shay’s Best Bitter and at least one other.

 

No formal review but Gates is something I want to drink out of a Poland Springs water cooler. Leave the spout open and crush.

 

This is true and tastes have definitely changed. Think we’re heading back to a more balanced lineup overall, which I fully support. But we also have to recognize that there were A LOT of really bad British style beers coming out of neighborhood brewpubs back then too. I was in the generation that grew up hating IPAs because all we had were buttery, off tasting fuggle/ekg ringwood bombs from local brewpubs.

 

True, and I've never actually been to Bunker, always meant to go.

I suppose by "off the beaten" path I meant I can't hit up Bissell easily on foot like the breweries at Industrial all at once. Or like Oxbow, Rising Tide, Austin Street, Goodfire/Lone Pine...etc. in a half mile stretch.

An English Mild on nitro? This is blasphemous to me...

 

Wasn't nitro developed to replicate the creamy feel of cask in a more shelf stable manner?

Regardless, would still be a pass for me.

 

Fox Farm did nitro and co2 versions of their dark mild the last time it was released. Wish I could have tried it.

 

I used to think that, but a recent post by our resident historical expert Ron Pattinson indicated Guinness created it to recreate the pouring process for Guinness Porter, since it was time consuming and messy. I'll see if I can dig that post up.

But yes, nitro does replicate the creamy mouthfeel of a cask pour, but that's about it.

Nitro mutes flavors in beer rather than enhancing/developing them over time in a firkin. Moreover, beers on nitro aren't served at cellar temp (at least not to my recollection).

At best nitro is "cheating" to get the right mouthfeel, and at worst it mutes the flavors and should never ever be compared to a cask pour.

Now, all that rambling aside, I totally dig Guinness on nitro, and other stouts. I had a pint of Guinness on tap this past Saturday. But if it's used as a replacement for styles that are suited for cask...no thanks. Just gimme CO2 driven if you can't put it in a firkin (and definitely if you don't know how to properly care for one).

 

Here we go...so it was technically done to reproduce cask, at least part of the reason anyhow...

And then a question was asked about what produced the huge head on the beer, so he provided this video...

 

this is called a gravity pull and it’s classy AF

 

Also studies so the water cooler is where most information is passed, so that would be an added bonus.

 

$5/4-pack for shipping has given me pause for months, but y'all left me no choice. Just pulled the trigger on a full 12 pack of Gates.

 

You won't be disappointed. And if you are you can ship them to me. I'll pay for the shipping.

 

Shipyard/Geary's & all the Pugsley brewery systems ruined the northeast's taste for hoppy beers for years. Thanks for bringing back buried memories of truly terrible beers.

 

I just renewed my subscription. I debated it for a while, but we get so many packages at my house for my wife and kids and almost none for dad. Dad needs a monthly Notch package.

 

I love getting Notch in the mail. Makes it so much more accessible for me. Can’t wait for my box of GotW and the Kolsch to show up.

 

I opened the beer fridge last night and I realized I had one more of Tenner, GotW, and Loggerhead. I thought I was out of at least one of the Tenner or GotW. Man, that Bitter is maybe the perfect "I'm gonna drink a quick beer without my wife knowing while I cook dinner" beer.

 

Got the soul crushing email that there was an inventory issue and they are sold out of Gates for my mail order shipment... Anyone sitting on a stockpile that would be willing to trade a few cans?

 

Same thing happened to me. Devastating!

 

Tap Room opens up on Saturday

w/ glassware!!!!

 

Just noticed it's almost May - which means next week will be delivery week for Beer-of-the-Month subscribers! Perfect timing for me, as this weekend will be hops-and-booze-a-po-looza with the BA online IPA fest.
I haven't seen much on Notch social media as to what has been packaged lately, and the online inventory looks pretty slim. Curious to see what will be in the box, but sure it'll be delicious.