Night Shift Lime Lite

When I first started drinking beer, I loved Miller Chill. Despite not giving the beer a stellar review, I loved it when I didn’t know what good beer was. I have been on the lookout for a decent lager with lime for the Summer. Let’s see how it was.

ABV: 4.3%

Style: American Pale Lager

Trivia: According to the brewery website, “Macro light beers with subpar flavors have owned the light beer space for too long, help us raise the bar and compete against big beer on their own turf! At 4.3% ABV and 120 calories per serving, Lime Lite features natural lime in its recipe. Like Nite Lite, Lime Lite is unfiltered, unpasteurized, and preservative-free. It sips super refreshing and crisp, with a hint of lime citrus. Available in 16oz 4-packs and 12oz 12-packs, making it ideal to share with friends at barbecues, tailgate parties, concerts, and pretty much anywhere you find yourself.”

Random: This beer was first produced in 2017.

The beer poured with a finger and a half of loose, white head. It dissipated quickly and left limited lacing on the glass. The body was a clear, golden-yellow color with a lot of carbonation visible. The nose had some grain, mineral water and lime. The lime struck me as actual lime as opposed to artificial lime. The taste started with clean lager notes, lots of grain and mineral water and lime juice. The body was light with a lot of carbonation. The finish was quick with grain and lime. For a light lager, this was pretty good. I’m just not a huge fan of the style.

Untappd Rating: 3.5/5.0

Night Shift Craigerator

Whenever we go out of state, I try to pick up some Night Shift beers for reviews. Let’s see how this one was.

ABV: 6.1%

Style: American IPA

Trivia: According to the brewery website, “Night Shift was founded in 2012 by a trio of friends with a shared passion for homebrewing. What began as a nocturnal hobby has now grown bigger than our wildest dreams – from our brewery and Taproom in Everett, to our distributing business, to our Owl’s Nest beer gardens, to coffee roasting and our latest location on Boston’s Lovejoy Wharf. With this growing ‘family’ in place, we exist to always create better for our staff, customers, and community. We are a proudly independent business – our three founders collectively own just over 80% of the business, with the remaining 20% owned by close friends and family. We maintain a relentless focus on three values – accessibility, integrity, and evolution. Our family of business branches continues to grow every year – learn more about each below!”

Random: I still haven’t made it to Night Shift yet.

The beer poured with a two finger, white head. It dissipated rather quickly and left some lacing on the glass. The body was a cloudy yellow color with no visible carbonation due to color. The nose had the usual tropical fruit, specifically pineapple and mango. The taste was on the lighter side with mango and pineapple and a grainy malt note as well. The body was very light, almost watery. It had a lighter than expected amount of carbonation. The finish was quick with tropical fruit. This beer was alright, but didn’t “wow” me.

Untappd Rating: 3.5/5.0

Night Shift Matisse

I was never into Matisse’s art, but let’s see if I like the beer better.

ABV: 6.8%

Style: Saison/Farmhouse Ale

Trivia: According to the brewery website, “Matisse is our way of showing that modern independent beer needn’t shy away from the canonical styles that brought us to where we are today. This classic saison is inspired by traditional French and Belgian farmhouse beers, and we chose a name that echoes the same origins. The French artist Henri Matisse captured lively scenes of the same French countryside where the rustic saison’s flavor profile was pioneered. We’re proud to have received the Silver Medal in the Classic Saison category at the 2017 Great American Beer Festival for Matisse. After an exciting first run with this beer, we brought it into our rotating and began to brew it on a larger scale!”

Random: The brewery suggests to pair this with paella, braised meats and soft cheeses.

The beer poured with a one finger white head. It dissipated quickly and left some lacing on the glass. The body was slightly hazy and yellow. There was moderate carbonation visible. The nose started with farmhouse funk and hay. It quickly went into grass and bread with white peppercorns. The taste started with some significant floral notes. Grass and hay came through next. There was a little bit of barnyard funk as well. White and black peppercorns came through next. The body was on the lighter side with a lot of carbonation. It had a quick finish with hay. This was a gift, so I have no idea how much it cost. Either way, this was a solid saison that is worth searching out.

Untappd Rating: 4.0/5.0

Night Shift One Hop This Time: Simcoe

Night Shift is one of my more recent favorite breweries. When I got this beer as a gift, I was quite excited.

ABV: 6%

Style: American IPA

Trivia: According to the brewery website, “One Hop This Time was born from our desire to explore and engage with different hops. By isolating a certain hop in each unique version of OHTT, we’re able to fully experience and appreciate what might be difficult to identify otherwise. Side by side tastings have helped us find our favorites, and many an NSB staff members has used the OHTT series as a jumping off point for their hop education.”

Random: I think they named this beer after the song, “Cha Cha Slide.”

The brew poured with a one finger, pure white head. It dissipated slowly and left some lacing on the glass. The body was hazy and bright yellow. There was a moderate amount of visible carbonation. The nose was filled with Simcoe hops. There was a lot of dank pine along with some sweet citrus, specifically grapefruit and orange. Mango, apricot and bubble gum came through next. The taste was really dank up front. There was a lot of citrus next with Mandarin oranges and grapefruit. I picked up the tropical fruit as well with mango and apricot. The body was on the lighter side with lots of carbonation. It had a lengthy finish with citrus. I received this beer as a gift, so I don’t know how much it was. I thought this was an outstanding beer and would definitely have this again.

Untappd Rating: 4.0/5.0

Night Shift Village Lager

I’m really getting into lighter lager beers since it’s so hot around here. Let’s see how this one was.

ABV: 5.1%

Style: Keller Bier/Zwickel Bier

Trivia: According to the brewery website, “Night Shift Brewing was founded in 2012 by a trio of friends with a shared passion for homebrewing. Through culinary inspiration and determined innovation, we aim to create memorable craft beers that offer a wide array of unique, complex flavors. WHAT DO WE BELIEVE? We believe in creating and sharing a world class culture built around our passions. This belief influences everything from our branding, to our sales service, to our staffing, to our Taproom environment, to our processes on the production floor. We are endlessly passionate about the culture that we create, and we look to share that culture with those around us.”

Random: This is another beer from Night Shift that has no information on their website. Don’t they know, inquiring minds want to know!

This beer poured with a huge, four finger, loose, white head. It took forever to dissipate and left a lot of lacing on the glass. The body was mostly clear and a dark yellow color. There was a lot of carbonation visible. The nose started with a lot of green herbs and transitioned into grassy hops. There was some freshly milled grain present as well. The taste was much of the same. The presence of the green herbs and grass were the prevalent flavors. The milled grain was present as well and there was a touch of corn sweetness. The body was light and crisp with a lot of carbonation. I received this beer as a gift, but I would pay for this beer, especially to stock a cooler. Grab a can now.

Untappd Rating: 4.5/5.0

Night Shift Pfaffenheck

Tonight’s beer is another beer from Night Shift, which is quickly becoming one of my favorite breweries.

ABV: 5.2%

Style: German Pilsener

Trivia: According to the brewery website, “We began homebrewing in a Somerville, MA kitchen in 2007, starting with a 5-gallon ‘boil kettle,’ a Gatorade cooler ‘mash tun,’ and some basic starter recipes. Over time, we refined our process, enhanced our recipes, upgraded our equipment, and were soon homebrewing well past midnight 2-3 times per week. We called ourselves “Night Shift Brewing” – desk workers by day, homebrewers by night. By 2009, we were sampling our own brews against every commercially available style, brand, and region possible. We realized that while not everyone makes truly great, memorable beer, anyone (including us) could make it with enough dedication, passion, and knowledge. Rob Burns homebrewing in our Somerville kitchen”

Random: Night Shift has some of my favorite branding in the business.

The beer poured with a one finger, pure white head. It dissipated almost instantly and left very little lacing on the glass. The body was clear and straw yellow with a lot of visible carbonation. The nose was on the lighter side, but had some light grain along with mineral water. The taste had some more grass and biscuit notes than the nose. It was still very crisp, but had a bit more depth. The body was on the lighter side with aggressive carbonation. It had a quick finish with biscuit and grass. I received this beer as a gift, so no idea how much it was. Either way, I really appreciate a well-made pilsner and this one is worth a try.

Untappd Rating: 4.0/5.0

Night Shift The 87

This beer was one that I was excited to crack open. I love Night Shift beers and the packaging is on point.

ABV: 8%

Style: American Double/Imperial IPA

Trivia: According to the brewery website, “Our house double IPA, The 87, has a piece of NSB history in its moniker. Named for our home at 87 Santilli Highway in Everett, this luscious hop bomb is wonderfully drinkable even with a little extra ABV. The 87’s hop profile marries traditional American varietals with some exciting, newer hops. After a few iterations, we’re pretty dang happy with the recipe. Long-time Night Shift fans may remember the days when we packaged this beer in 750ml bottles. Once cans were in the mix, we knew The 87 was destined for a 4-pack. These tall boys are available year-round at our Taproom, and if you grab a glass at the bar, you can officially drink The 87 at 87.”

Random: This was first brewed in 2014.

The beer poured with a half a finger of thick, pure white head. It dissipated slowly and left a lot of lacing on the glass. The body was incredibly hazy and lemon yellow in color. Because of the cloudiness, there was no visible carbonation, but there were some floaties in the beer. The nose started with some light mango notes along with grapefruit segments and grapefruit zest. There was some malt at the end. The taste was very citrusy and bright. It had grass, but quickly transitioned into mango along with grapefruit segments and Spring flowers. There was very little malt to this beer and the booze made an appearance at the end of the sip as well. The body was on the lighter side for a double IPA and had lots of carbonation. It had a lengthy finish with flowers. Val picked this up for me on a trip to New York, so I have no idea how much it was, but this was a solid beer that would pair well with food or would be a great standalone. This is worth searching out.

Untappd Rating: 4.0/5.0

Night Shift Bennington

Wedding planning has been fun and stressful. I never knew that so many decisions would have to be made from colors to musicians to dresses. One of the good things is that the decisions that are a big deal to Val are usually ones that I don’t feel strongly about, like music and having a good DJ. You’ll hear more about that in future posts, now, let’s get to the beer.

ABV: 7.1%

Style: Oatmeal Stout

Trivia: According to the brewery website, “Oatmeal stout brewed with dutch-processed cocoa and maple syrup.”

Random: You can get married at Night Shift brewing. We looked into it but it was way too far.

The beer poured with a huge, three finger, light brown head. It hung around for awhile and left generous lacing on the glass. The body was a dark brown with no visible carbonation due to the color. The nose was filled with chocolate and cocoa powder with some maple syrup. Roasted malts and coffee came through next. The taste was bordering on decadent. There were large amounts of dark chocolate and cocoa powder with roasted malts first. Maple syrup and nuttiness came through next. There was a touch of smoke along with this. The body was on the thicker side with just enough carbonation. It had a lengthy finish with maple syrup and dark chocolate. I have no idea what the price on this beer was since I received it as a gift, but I would happily pay to get my hands on this beer again. This one is highly recommended.

Untappd Rating: 4.5/5.0

Night Shift Furth

Night Shift is getting increased distribution in this area. I picked up a four pack of these cans in Philly and was ridiculously excited to see it without making a drive up north. I first got to give their beers a shot when my parents brought some home for me from an antiquing trip in Massachusetts. They had no idea what they were bringing home for me, but they have fared pretty well in the blog.

ABV: 5.5%

Style: Hefeweizen

Trivia: According to the brewery website, “Named after a Bavarian city, this globally enjoyable hefeweizen sips with soft, fruity notes of banana, wheat, clove, and orange rind.”

Random: We just started watching the movie version of “Into The Woods” and Christine Baranski is in it. This makes me happy.

The beer poured with a half a finger of pure white head. It dissipated slowly and left no lacing on the glass. The body was shockingly clear for the style and straw yellow in color. It had a lot of carbonation visible. The nose had a lot of bubble gum and banana. Wheat came through as well. The taste started with banana and bubble gum, but had a slightly metallic taste that was unpleasant. There was some mild clove spice as well. The body was thick for the style with high carbonation. It had a quick finish with clove and bubble gum. I don’t remember how much I paid for this one, but I did like that it came in sixteen ounce pounder cans. This wasn’t a bad beer by any means, just not the best one that I’ve ever had. I don’t feel the need to revisit it.

Untappd Rating: 3.0/5.0

Night Shift Awake

Night Shift beers are in high demand and when my parents were antiquing in Massachusetts, they offered to pick me up some beer. After I asked if the store had Trillium beers, Night Shift was my next choice. They also have really cute can art (Val and I have an affinity for woodland animals). This beer specifically also uses Counter Culture coffee, which I’ve heard is very good, although I’ve never had the chance to try it.

ABV: 6.7%

Style: American Porter

Trivia: According to the brewery website, “Coffee porter aged with Counter Culture coffee. Notes of fresh roasted coffee and baker’s chocolate.”

Random: The place that we buy coffee from didn’t have as good of a sale this Black Friday. We may need to find another place to order from.

The beer poured with a half a finger of tan head that dissipated quickly. It only left a small amount of lacing on the glass. It did leave a slight crown on top of the dark brown body. I couldn’t see any carbonation due to the color of the beer. The nose had deep espresso with bitter chocolate and a touch of sweetness at the end. The taste had a lot of espresso, vanilla and roasted malts. The same bitter chocolate came through as well. All of the flavors were well-integrated. The body was thick and heavy with light carbonation, making this a perfect winter beer. It had a lengthy finish with coffee and roasted malts. I’m not sure how much the beer was since I received it as a gift, but whatever it costs, it’s worth it. This was an excellent beer and I would search it out.

Untappd Rating: 4.0/5.0