Kane Brewing (August 2017)

I might be in the minority here, but I don't think they took a step back with the dark beers, I think they took a step... sideways? It's not the same beer 100%, but it's good in its own regard. The biggest complaint I usually hear is about the coffee aspect of it for the new ones. It is "overpowering" but I also drink Puerto Rican coffee twice a day, so for me, it's absolutely perfect.

 

i did get some christian patrick, it was good, i hope they tossed some into barrels, think it would do well in them, much like how BA Silent Nights was amazing.

Omna was consistent this year with years past years. missed out on the variants but got to try the orange one, wasn't a big fan but it was still done well.. heard coconut and irish potato were both good, those sold out while i was 60-80 people away

i know people have mentioned Kane has lost some brewers over the years and i'm sure they've gained some new ones too, always interesting to see with the comings and goings how beers taste one year to the next. seems few breweries retain their brewers for a long period of time. guess the long hours play a toll and with so many new breweries opening up it must be easy to entice people to hop from place to place... at least i can imagine. Not speaking on any specifics since i have no clue whom has come or gone at Kane, just an observation as to all of craft beer especially as it pertains to beers that get made year after year... it's like the old SN Celebration ale or KBS... "I liked last years more"

 

sideways might be a better way to put it.. i know they have increased the availability this year, and have done so every year they have been open while maintaining a very nice quality level so it may not be fair to say a step back, sideways may be a better verbiage

i preferred the creaminess of last years MB.. mouth-feel had a bit more heft in both SB and MB in 2016 imo... mexi brunch has the heft in mouth-feel but the pepper bite wasn't the same as it was when it was a tap only offering in 2015, that one though i think was by design... think they even made mention they toned the heat back with their choice of peppers in the 2016 iteration of it

this can be seen as nitpicking on my part, but i'm doing so because i've enjoyed their stuff for so long, also nobody else in our area/region really does as good of a job as Kane does with the dark stuff... i guess you'd have to go out to pittsburgh and voodoo to find the next spot in the area with great dark beers (stouts/porters/barleywines etc) especially one with a great barrel program

 

I will agree that I was a bit underwhelmed by the bottled Mex after hearing such great reviews of it. I prefer a stronger pepper note, and I thought Mex was and still is very cocoa heavy. I prefer similar offerings from Conclave and Troon.

 

Was doing some cleaning of my beer fridge this week and found a can of PM Dawn from Trillium and a can of Port Omna Irish Potato Candy in there, cant wait to crack those when it gets a bit colder out!

 

The peppers in Mexican Brunch are milder: Ancho. Whereas some others go full on habanero, given one a true kick in the face without much of anything else/detail. Thus, brunch is not meant to be dominated by chili spices, but rather concurrent with other elements:

 

the 2015 draft mexi did provide some kick to the face however and it kind of threw people for a loop when they opened bottles of the 2016 version and the kick was all but gone.. sure it was/is still good but it did vary significantly from the 2015 draft version

 

Can’t argue with the 2015 draft account, seeing as though it’s 2+ years in the making; nonetheless, don’t remember the spices being aggressive/full-frontal. Of course, the later/recent batch(s) might be more cocoa forward suppressing the already delicate spices even more

Here’s the initial description from batch #1:

 

I absolutely loved the Coconut Omna this year. Thought it was one of the best dark beers Kane did this year. And thats coming from somebody who is not a big fan of coconut at all. Wish I bought more of that. Soooooo good

 

Well said.

 

I understand why they did it, I just prefer a little more kick to help differentiate it from SB more.

 

god Coconut Omna was so good this year

 

Awesome takeover at Cowan's in nutley. Solid tap list including Sunday brunch and Patrick.

 

I'm not much of a kolsch fan but this sounds good, nice to also see a sticker can in a different style than the xPAs. If twin elephant wasn't doing a release and shore traffic wasn't going to be brutal, I'd totally pick this up.

 

I feel comfortable about being able to get some later. I hope. Kolsch doesn't scream out FOMO

 

Is Sneakbox available in cans today?

 

Agreed. But to me this is so much better than another IPA.

 

Was near empty when I was there near 12:30. Cans behind the bar so they must have not expected a rush for them either

 

Yeah, it's a kolsch. Can-heads are looking for IPA. If they had said it was a Kolsch-style IPA, I'd assure you that it'd be sold out.

With that said, plenty left and they actually put it on draft. It's pretty tasty.