Weston Brewing Sampler Pack

[Wings_Fan_In_KC]

Weston is a small brewer in Missouri that makes a line of "O'Malleys" beers. I found thier sampler pack at my local liquor store yesterday. The sampler had three each of O'Malley's Stout, O'Malley's Cream Ale, O'Malley's IPA and Weston Ruddy Wheat. I'll fill these in as the night goes on - bear with me, I may get loopy!

Their website: http://www.westonirish.com/BREWS.html

O'Malley's Stout: Poured fairly aggressively it left a finger's worth of dark, creamy head that didn't stick around long. Appearance was very midnight black and opaque with limited traces of lacing. Aroma gave the impression that a lot of dark roasted/black malts had been used along with a note of chocolate, just a whiff. Mouthfeel was crisp and smooth with a pretty dry finish. Compared to some other stouts where you get a "chewy" body, this wasn't like that at all. It was a bit on the lighter side, body-wise, actually. I almost felt like it was more of a porter than a stout since porters tend to be lighter bodied and less coffee-like. The aftertaste lingers with the roasty, almost smoked or burnt malt influences. Hops presence was there in the bitter sense but zero hops flavor or aroma. It ain't Guinness on nitrogen but what is? If I ordered this in a bar and they didn't have NB 1554 or a Breckenridge Vanilla Porter as a back up, I'd get another one.

O'Malley's IPA: Aggressive pour left more than a finger of dirty white head. Appearance was very clear copper/light golden amber color with lacing that started out nice but then creeped down the glass and didn't hold well. Aroma was hard to get a handle on as it was very weak, got mild citrus notes and some biscuit. For the 89 IBU's they post on their site, you sure could not tell from the nose on the beer. Mouthfeel was thin and pretty highly carbed, probably a bit thin for the style but that doesn't matter to me, I'm just saying. The taste gave first impressions of piney giving way to fruity but then an almost overwhelming medicinal quality kicked in that I'm still trying to figure out if I liked or not. The aftertaste is strong and sits on your tongue waiting for that next swig to wash it away. I've had better IPA's and I've had worse. This one sits squarely in the middle and if Best is on the right maybe leaning towards the left side of the spectrum. If I had ordered this in a bar, I more than likely would have ordered something else for the next round.

O'Malley's Cream Ale: The tour of Weston's sampler pack continues. This one pours with little or no head and that means no retention and no lacing were observed. Aroma is a weird one to say the least. Is it sweet? Is it sour? Is it malty? Is it all three? Shit, you got me. I've been sticking my nose in this glass for 10 minutes and I can't describe the aroma......and I'm very rarely at a loss for words as most of you know. I think the best way to sum it up is, the aroma begins sweet, moves to sour and ends malty....maybe like a malt vinegar. Honestly, this beer doesn't strike me as a Cream Ale at all but rather as more of a Helles lager type beer.......t reminds me of the Leinenkugel's Hoppin' Helles that I had and reviewed a while back. Definitely some sweet notes like a gambrinus honey malt in there and maybe some noble hops like Hallertau. If faced with drinking Budweiser Select or this, I'd drink this and at least have the "it's not BMC" going for me.

Weston Ruddy Wheat: So, this is the last one that I'm trying and I wish I had a clear palate to make sure that I'm not just being influenced by previous beers. Regardless, this is not like any "wheat" beer I have ever had. First off, it's filtered and crystal clear....and that is not something that I associate with a wheat or weizen beer. The color is clear dark orange/amber and is quite pleasant except for the nagging in my head that says I should not be able to hold it up and see through it. Off white head generated from a very aggressive pour was OK, not great and didn't hang around for a long time like the head or lacing of a SA Boston Lager or a SNPA. Aroma is faint but I am getting a general mustiness with some caramel notes. Not fruity, esters or banana notes at all. This is going to sound weird but on taste I am getting two things..........first taste is an almost "unsweetened iced tea-like" quality that gives way to the second which is a crisp malty finish that reminds me of an Irish Red Ale.....and certainly not a wheat beer of any kind. So, if you told me this was an Irish Red or an Amber Ale, I'd probably say it was pretty damned good for that style. As an "Amber Wheat", it sucks because it totally misses any element of the wheat style. Don't pee on my leg and tell me it's raining.

That concludes my brief interlude into the world of non-BMC beers for tonight. As a night cap, I (we) polished off a 32 oz PET of Diablo IPA Mod I found in the bar cabinet three days ago (and promptly put it in the basement beer fridge). I have heard stories of other brewers who have found beer that they had forgotten about and thought it would never happen to me but there it was, a full PET on a shelf tucked behind my F-I-L's Dewars and SWMBO's bottle of Kahlua. It must have been sitting there and when someone cleared the bar to clean, had the other bottles set in front of it and just sat there waiting to be discovered. Regardless...I was stoked to find a surviving bottle of beer that I'd brewed way back on Jan 27th, 2013. The aroma had faded somewhat but overall, it was a damn good beer. SWMBO even said it was the best beer she'd had in months....gotta love that. My St Pats Vanilla Porter is due for a 4 week "sampling" next weekend.........cannot friggin' wait although I know it won't hit it's stride until 6 to 8 weeks.

[Kealia]

Don't pee on my leg and tell me it's raining.

Great reviews. I love when people are able to express themselves so well that I can almost smell/taste them myself.

[Wings_Fan_In_KC]

Thanks! I try to be descriptive.

[Gymrat]

Believe it or not the Cream Ale is O Mally's flagship beer. In my experience thier beer is only so so. But you really have to visit O'Mally's. They were the first brewery in America to mass produce lagar. The pub is the restored brewery 5 stories under the ground. Where you enter is like this tiny little shack, you get in and you start going down down down. It is all stone foundation. Built before prohibition. They frequently have live Irish entertainment with no cover. It really is a lot of fun to go there you should check it out. You live closer than I do.