Multiple Beer Reviews: Sogni D’oro, Wastin’ Daylight, Market Research, Peach Novelty, Oktobock, Lucky Cat Lien (ZeroDay Brewing Co.)

Day four, and we’re kicking it up a notch here at The Beer Thrillers. Bigger, badder, bolder, better…. or other cliche crap marketers say. But all that withstanding, what I’m really doing is a multiple beer review again. Following a lecture at the Mid-Town Scholar by philosopher Eleanor Gordon-Smith promoting her book “Stop Being Reasonable” I walked down to ZeroDay to have myself a flight, read some of the latest book I purchased at Mid-Town Scholar, and be entertained by the antics of people playing trivia.

As I typically like to do when visiting breweries I don’t get to too often (its been about 4-5 months since I was last at ZeroDay) I get a flight, relax for a while, slowly sip, and if alone, read. And following the lecture at Mid-Town Scholar thats exactly what I chose to do. ZeroDay does great flights. Up to six beers at a time, for 2$ each for a total of 12$ (plus tip). Thats about as good and unbeatable of a flight as you can make. And ZeroDay typically has pretty top notch beers to boot, so thats as good a combination as you can make.

So I maxed out and went for a full six, with five new beers for me, and one I wanted to give a try to again, because the first time I didn’t enjoy it but was hoping my opinion of it would change. (And it did, not super super much, but it did.)

Beer: Sogni D’oro
Brewery: ZeroDay Brewing Co.
Style: Stout – Milk / Sweet
ABV: 8.8%
IBU: 15
Untappd Write-Up: A Biscotti inspired Pastry Stout brewed with 2018’s Dream Beer Winner. Sweet and Savory, this nitro stout is a dream in itself!

Started off the flight with basically a pastry stout (though listed as a Milk / Sweet; the style “Pastry Stout” isn’t used much in Untappd and isn’t fully recognized by a lot of people; the new Pastry Stouts would often get listed as Milk or Sweet Stouts under the old style guidelines).

Appearance is interesting for this one, not black, and not fully brown either, it has almost a purplish hue to it.

Aroma is sweet smelling, vanilla, some rich malts, bready smell to it. A good whiff of this gets you that biscotti smell but you also can already pick up the nose of booze on this one… which leads me to…

Taste… immediate booze which is interesting since its only a 8.8% (ABV) so its kind of odd to get a bite of booze right out of the gate. Especially non-barrel aged, so no added bourbon, scotch, whiskey, etc. flavors from a barrel for this; so the booze bite is odd, not bad really though. Its not off putting, just a “oh… hey… ok….” kind of immediate reaction. There is a very nice malt backbone to this that gives the biscotti bready flavor a great profile to work on. The booze taste lightens off and your left with a very fine tasty pastry stout.

My Untappd Rating: ****
Global Untappd Rating: 3.68 (as of 11.4.19)

So this is the one I’m giving a second try to. The first time, I did not enjoy it, but this time that has improved. So either my palate or tastes changed, or the beer has, or my opinions / reflections of the day have, maybe it was my mood, or who knows what, perhaps bad tap lines, who knows.

The first time I had it was June 7th, 2018 and my Untappd rating was **.75 and gave it a: “Ehh… typical cream ale but a bit worse off.” Not a whole lot to go on, and I apparently didn’t feel like giving a really good, in-depth review, but apparently I must have thought it very bland and boring and not too tasty. That has changed a bit. I got a lot more flavor out of it this time.

First thing I’ve noticed looking back, is the appearance has changed. The one I had in 2018 looks much lighter, more straw colored, more like (hate to use this as a comparison point, but I think its apt) Miller Lite or Coors Lite. The one I had in 2019 is a bit darker, more amber-brown hued, and looks to have a fuller body.

But I’m getting ahead of myself here, so lets get the stats out:

Beer: Wastin’ Daylight
Brewery: ZeroDay Brewing Co.
Style: Cream Ale
ABV: 4.9%
IBU: 12
Untappd Write-Up: Crisp and refreshing, this light-bodied cream ale brewed with corn is the perfect brew to sit back, relax, and waste some daylight with.

So as I was saying, the hue for this (now anyway) is a light amber to brown. Still see through, still transparent, but darker hued than previously. It also looks to have a fuller body. This is what is leading me to think there was a recipe tweak or change since the first time I’ve had it.

Aroma is thin, not a whole lot going on, you got some light flavors of vanilla and cream and a light smell. Cream ales typically aren’t known for a robust aroma (at least in my experience, I’ll admit I’m not fully diverse in this style).

Flavor is much better this time around. You get a rich creamy mouthfeel. You got some nice relaxing sippable flavors that make this a whole-day crushing beer. A keg of this late summer going into fall would be wonderful for pre-bonfire start (and of course one the bonfire kicks off then you go into the heavy stouts before passing out).

My Untappd Rating (NOW): ***.25
Global Untappd Rating: 3.35 (as of 11.4.19)

Beer: Market Research
Brewery: ZeroDay Brewing Co.
Style: IPA – American
ABV: 6.8%
IBU: 75
Untappd Write-Up: After years of conducting our own market research and brewing experimental batches, we developed this West Coast style IPA. Highlighting Amarillo, Mosaic, and El Dorado hops, Market Research has a level of perceived bitterness, which is balanced by a prominent malt backbone. Enjoy this crisp, clear IPA time and time again because it’s not going anywhere!

Its always nice to find a well made IPA – West Coast (or regular or American) style. In a market dominated by New England IPAs, Milkshake IPAs, and the like, its great to find the occasional West Coast IPA, especially one thats done well, and not just meant to be a hop bomb to distinguish itself purposefully from the sea of NEIPAs.

This looks just like your prototypical West Coast IPA. Light brown strawish earthy coloring. This is not a knock on it, this is exactly how it SHOULD look, and it does that exactly.

This smells perfectly like a well made IPA. Very hop forward, but not total hop bomb. You get notes of the grain and malt but the hops do powerfully overtake it. Amarillo, El Dorado, and Mosaic are some of the more “juicy” hops so they provide a very strong aroma note.

This was fun to drink. It seems rare that I get to drink a good hoppy West Coast IPA anymore, unless its done too overblown. Like their making a point by being as hoppy as humanly possible with extreme IBUs and thirty different hop varieties thrown in. This falls in a nice place, just right, not too hoppy, not unhoppy either. Just right. Mouthfeel and drinking it is nice, little thin, but overall its a solid beer.

My Untappd Rating: ***.75
Global Untappd Rating: 3.89 (as of 11.4.19)

Beer: Peach Novelty
Brewery: ZeroDay Brewing Co.
Style: Fruit Beer
ABV: 6.5%
IBU: 45
Untappd Write-Up: With loads of fresh peaches from Strites Farms, this bright and sunny peach milk sugar IPA hopped exclusively with Mosaic, is like sipping sunshine and rainbows, and is sure to hit all the right strides.

Here’s another one of those ‘oddities’ of Untappd and everything else. Its listed on Untappd as a “Fruit Beer” but it specifically says in the write-up “Milk Sugar IPA”. And if you see it, look at it, drink it; you’d know this is a Milkshake IPA far and above anything else. I don’t know if its because of how peach forward it is, but whoever entered this one into Untappd did it a bit of an injustice. I’d assume they even promote, market, and write it on their draft lists as a Milkshake IPA, no “fruit beer” style anywhere to be found with this beer. (Not a knock on fruit beers, I love them too; just this a fruit beer it is not.)

Appearance for this is your spot on NEIPA / Milkshake IPA. A sugary hazy, opaque, unfiltered IPA. The sediments floating, the look of sugar coating the glass, the hazy yellow glow.

Aroma though is extreme peach. Almost as if cutting a peach right in front of you. There is some notes of vanilla but the peach is just extremely overpowering on the aroma front.

Taste is pretty much just the same. Peach dominates. Extreme domination. Extremely dominating. (I probably popped up in all the wrong sorts of SEOs and search engines now… oh boy…. oh well….) This has a rich creamy feel to it, and with the peach flavor, it does very much feel like drinking a peach milkshake. So if you don’t like peach you probably want to avoid this, otherwise its a terrific beer.

My Untappd Rating: ***.75
Global Rating: 3.8 (as of 11.4.19)

So let me just change gears a slight bit and preface the rest of this entry…

Everything up to and prior to this was written this morning before I went to work. But I ran out of time and had to finish up tonight. Well, after work, I stopped at the Gin Mill in Lebanon and just now got home to finish. So the last two beers for this multi-beer review are after having a few drinks at the Gin Mill and after a long day of work. So take that for what its worth.

Beer: Oktobock
Brewery: ZeroDay Brewing Co.
Style: Bock – Dopplebock
ABV: 8.7%
IBU: 26
Untappd Write-Up: This one was Theo’s brainchild. As a creative team, we wanted to start focusing on craft lagers as a new series. ZerØday Pilsner was our first go, and Oktobock is the second iteration. Think the drinkability of a Marzen lager with the deep flavors of a Doppelbock.

This is pretty much a mashup of a Bock and a Marzen, and its very tasty for it.

Appearance is darker in color, similar to how bocks and marzens both are. Both of these styles look relatively similar that its not an issue. And this coloring matches up with both.

Aroma is bready, heady, and more on point with a marzen. Though once again, marzens and bocks can smell and taste and look pretty similar.

Taste is pretty complex. There’s a lot to this. Its bready, its heavy, its got some nice fall flavorings with complexity, its got a deep and heavy mouthfeel, its got a deep and heavy malty grain bill that really tastes and acts complex, it looks deep, it looks interesting, it tastes even more so.

My Untappd Rating: ***.75
Global Untappd Rating: 3.77 (as of 11.4.19)

Beer: Lucky Cat Lien
Brewery: ZeroDay Brewing Co.
Style: IPA – New England
ABV: 5.4%
IBU: 70
Untappd Write-Up: This Hazy IPA is opaque in appearance but light in body, and the use of rice in the grain bill really lets the hops shine. Generously hopped with a combination of experimental 07270, Amarillo, and Vic Secret, drinking a glass of Lucky Cat Lien reminds us of enjoying papayas and grapefruit in a tropical oasis.

I think looking at it, and at first sip, I wanted to like this more than I should have. That isn’t to say that this is a bad beer. Just not what I was expecting or wanting, and kind of talked myself into (perhaps) rating it a bit higher than it deserved.

Appearance is heavy and dark and opaque. Its a hazy orange-juice color, with a nice ring of head but not too much. This is certainly unfiltered.

Aroma is pretty hoppy but not too crazily so. Theres not a whole lot to smell in a NEIPA like this, but a nice hop aroma definitely adds to the overall of the beer, somehow adding to the actual taste.

Taste is a good NEIPA. Not amazing, but good. It did taste a bit less than most NEIPAs I’ve had. It had the haze, it had the hop, it just… the flavors might not be jelling that well, or maybe something was just a bit off in the beer or recipe or production or something.

My Untappd Rating: ***.50
Global Untappd Rating: 3.64 (as of 11.4.19)

Thank you for reading this long winded review. Sorry the last two were a bit short and not as in-depth as the others. But… well… I had two Toppling Goliaths, and a Dewey, and a bit more than that, to drink at the Gin Mill.

And this concludes #4, just 26 more to go!

-B. Kline