Norwich Inn 90 Shilling

I went to Colorado for a week with Kristine and was able to catch the craft beer scene there (Kristine was very supportive of my interest during our vacation - thanks love). Anyway, I came back with such an appreciation for Odell's 90 Shilling and haven't had a beer to compare the style. Therefore, my impression of the Norwich Inn's 90 Shilling is little lackluster in matching up against Odell's, but its still a good choice from the brewery. This was the last beer in the flight and bar far the heaviest or fullest bodied and flavored.

They have a variety of sized glasses and prices ranging from $3/ half up to $6 for any premium beverage. Small samples are available for individual purchase or a flight of 5.

Aroma: Malts are the showcase here, with complex notes of caramel, dried fruit, melanoidins, and a hint of chocolate. Hops and alcohol are very restrained. Has that "house" character I would describe as being somewhat earthy - potentially the way the yeast and hops interact.
Appearance: Bubbles cling to nucleation sites on the inside of the glass, which is an indication of a dirty or dusty glass. An off-white head develops quickly in the small sample glass and is decanted off before serving. The beer shows a modest amount of turbidity with a dark brown and garnet color.
Flavor: Malty start, very similar to the aromas with even more sweetness. The yeast lends a fruity "house" characteristic that plays well with the array of malts. Bitterness is quite smooth but does not hold up well against the malt sweetness. I believe I sense a touch of hop flavors but this is debatable. Malts can also be described as lending notes of winter fruits. I find pomegranate-like flavors from the yeast.
Mouthfeel: Fullest body with moderate carbonation. Lots of creaminess, especially as the beer warms. I'm not sure if this is because the carbonation starts to fall out of solution or another means. This example dries out in the aftertaste. I mentioned in another Norwich Inn post I was a little hungover and my palate was taking a lot of wear that day. Although flavors are still quite detectable, there was a big difference in mouthfeel as my palate felt very dry.
Overall Impression: The style is supposed to be very drinkable, or as I like to say approachable. Drinkability is too much of a Bud light marketing scheme. This beer is very full bodied and full flavored, the exact opposite of Bud light, yet at the same time very approachable. However, the Norwich Inn's version doesn't quite live up to Odell's 90 Shilling, which I must say is at the top of my list.

Norwich Inn Whistling Pig

The fourth beer in a flight of five from the Norwich Inn is an Irish Red. The order is usually ascending in strength, whether that be body and alcohol content or bitterness. I was reluctant to find all the beers in this flight to be malt focused and the residual sweetness or maltiness was starting to blend together with the initial sip of new beer. It is good to have water or crackers to help wash down the previous beer before sampling another.

They have a variety of sized glasses and prices ranging from $3/ half up to $6 for any premium beverage. Small samples are available for individual purchase or a flight of 5.

Aroma: Potentially oxidized or stale of which I derived from its distinct wet cardboard aroma. Can also be described as a bit musty. Otherwise some dried fruit character from yeast. Malts are potentially aiding to the mustiness and are not as pleasant as I'd like for an Irish Red - they don't quite jump out. Hops are in the background as well.
Appearance: Displays an off-white head with hardly any retention. I only noticed it when pouring but it was gone by the time the beer arrived in front of me. Generally quite clear but harder to distinguish due to its dark amber red color. No visible carbonation; Instead, it looks very still and watery. No lacing  and hardly any sign of foaming with agitation.
Flavor: Starts out malty with a distinctively earthy or woody hop bitterness. Similar hop profile as some of the other beers in both flavor and mouthfeel (bitterness). I've heard some describe it as a dry vegetal matter. A roasted barley finish provides depth to the bitterness and helps clean up the malty front. Esters from yeast fermentation follows the nose.
Mouthfeel: Lighter carbonation (for the style) alters my perception of the beers fullness. In other words potentially too much body. Alcohol is very restrained.
Overall Impression: Its just missing something to leave a great impression on me. Perhaps my palate is continuing to be worn down. The aftertaste and drying is becoming more unpleasant. My expectations of the style is also very high. I've also heard this is their usual beer on tap which means it must be a good seller. I'll have to keep it in mind for my next visit as the tasting experience can be quite different.

Norwich Inn J & R's Birthday Brown

The third beer in the lineup from the Norwich Inn is the brown ale. Although there was no further information given about the beer and the bartender was unsure of any properties, I determined the style to resemble that of a Northern English brown. At this point I was starting to notice similar characteristics in the hop profile in all the beers - all strangely of the Fuggles variety. I know judges aren't supposed to assume they can pick out a particular ingredient but given that this was used in other beers from the Norwich Inn, it wouldn't surprise me that a small pub would have multiple purposes for the hop across its portfolio of beers.

They have a variety of sized glasses and prices ranging from $3/ half up to $6 for any premium beverage. Small samples are available for individual purchase or a flight of 5.

Aroma: Malty sweet and rich with a distinctive english character in both the grain bill and yeast/ fermentation characteristics. Yeasty and bready with a dried cranberry raisin ester. These esters become even more apparent while tasting, in which aromatics can be pushed back through the nose after swallowing. I detected a light off-aroma/ odd character that I cannot trace back to anything specific - could be diacetyl. Hops present earthy notes. 

Appearance: Displayed a very thick tan head with great retention for such a small sample glass. Another somewhat dirty glass for the brewpub. Beer is otherwise clear and deep red brown in color.

Flavor: Matches well with the aroma description as the nose becomes more sensitive to different attributes in the flavor. Hops are minimal, lending an earthy and semi-dry finish/ aftertaste. Malts push through each stage of the palate and are balanced by hops in the aftertaste. Still, the emphasis is on the malts.

Mouthfeel: Serving temperature was a bit warmer and was great for distinguishing esters amongst other aromas. Its moderately-light body could actually be a little fuller for the style. Carbonation is mild as well. A distinct slickness suggests a light amount of diacetyl. Some creaminess which I prefer for this style. Overall a smooth, easy drinking ale. 

Overall Impression: Perhaps a good sodium chloride content could contribute to the roundness of the beer. I found it to be a very approachable beer with a malt emphasis that goes down smoothly. Not aggressively hopped like American brown ales. Fuggle hops could be the theme here again. I noticed at this stage in the sampling my palate is beginning to wear out already, perhaps due to a lingering hangover. Hangovers will always alter perception - for me it usually causes more drying and I am especially heightened to notes of alcohol, which my body clearly does not want.

Norwich Inn Porch Rocker Red

The second beer out of five samples at the Norwich Inn is a Vienna-style lager. This style is not typically found around Burlington with the exception of Trapp Lager so I was excited to see how it matched up. I find it to be a very approachable style of beer for almost any occasion and would like to see more craft versions of this in the future.

They have a variety of sized glasses and prices ranging from $3/ half up to $6 for any premium beverage. Small samples are available for individual purchase or a flight of 5.

Aroma: Malty, possibly even a touch of roasted barley but this is not typical of the style. Nonetheless I get a strange sense of roast. Also comes across as a mild chocolate malt character and is very rich and smooth. Maltiness can be described as a deep melanoidin character, clearly dominating the hops - little or no hop aromas as far as I can tell. Fermentation character is clean/ esters are restrained and appropriate to style.
Appearance: Dirty glass as shown by bubbles clinging all around the inside walls, making it difficult to even see through the beer. When they finally dissipated the beer showcased a deep amber red or light brown with great clarity.
Flavor: Malt notes of Vienna and Munich gives a deeper, rich, grainy blend of sweetness. Dried fruit notes of cherry are possibly a result of the malts. Finish is semi-dry, with malts lending a degree of bitterness from darker grains. I found this to be very odd as it crosses over into the Irish red style. Hop flavors are very minimal, with just enough bitterness to help lift some of the malt sweetness. Take this next sentence with a grain of salt: roasted finish reminds me of a bitter herb with notes of mint or menthol.
Mouthfeel: Moderate body with high carbonation. I'm still working on picking out sulfur notes in lager yeast but I'll mention it in this one for future reference. Alcohol is restrained. Serving temperature is great. A light astringency from the grains. Melanoidins give a relatively more viscous mouthfeel for me, or in other words harder to put down the hatch.
Overall Impression: I found it to be too dark for the style with too much malty sweetness lingering into the aftertaste. Strange notes of roasted grain is inappropriate in this beer. This should be a very approachable lager. I give the point to Trapp's Vienna lager over this example but I like to say that beer choice is always a personal preference based on individual differences in perceptions.

Norwich Inn Light Humour

I stopped at the Norwich Inn Brewery a few weeks ago on my way back from Boston. Unfortunately I haven't been around much to write up a review on a flight of beers I sampled. It is likely that some of these beers are no longer available on tap but I have no knowledge of their portfolio or tap rotations. The first in the flight is Light Humour, a Belgian-style Witbier.

They have a variety of sized glasses and prices ranging from $3/ half up to $6 for any premium beverage. Small samples are available for individual purchase or a flight of 5.

Aroma: Coriander spice, lemon peels, and orange aromas are very forward. Deep inhalations are met with carbonic acid that scrubs the inside of the nose, giving the impression of high carbonation and a very light body. Malts remain in the background. Fermentation is quite fruity and phenolic. Comes across as almost sour/ tart. Hop aroma is minimal.
Appearance: White head, large bubbles, relatively hazy golden yellow color in the small sample glass. A larger glass such as a shaker pint would likely be very hazy due to the density of liquid and nature of the style. Sample glass is about the size of a double shot shaped like a mug with a little handle. Head retention was very poor for all of the servings. Carbonation fizzes out of solution quickly.
Flavor: Sour notes (or at least a puckering sensation) and coriander spice play out first with fruity esters reminding me of lemon zest or even a lemon cleaning solution. Bitterness is clean and hops partaking no particular flavors. Malts give the impression of pilsner/ graininess. Aftertaste is met with a lingering dryness. I also noted a green-apple flavor in the aftertaste which could be a sign of acetaldehyde.
Mouthfeel: Dryness in the aftertaste is mild, with no harsh flavors or astringency coming out. Serving temperature was pleasant and allowed for lots of fruity esters, spices, and phenols to shine. Moderately high carbonation helps lift the pilsner malt graininess while the spices continue to leave an impression. Low alcohol or least well hidden. Moderately light body.
Overall Impression: Coriander spice could be toned back or a colder serving temperature could be used to restrain both spices and phenols. Bartender noted it was somewhere just shy of 5% ABV but I wasn't convinced of his interest in the matter. Service was generally lackluster.