Nerdsense Drinks Reviews – #101 Trillium and Lawson’s Pow Pow

Normally I’d put some sarcastic blurb about the beer but Trillium’s site has a pretty great description on how it came to be. So just read that. It’s better than what I’d write.

“The idea for Pow Pow was born when 2 very passionate individuals joined forces during the epic 2016 beer festival Beer Camp Across America. Devil’s Backbone, Dogfish Head, Sierra Nevada, Stoudt’s, Lawson’s Finest Liquids, and Trillium collaborated to create one of the festival’s signature beer Pat-Rye-Ot, a pale ale that pays tribute to America’s original homebrewers. During the process two brewers in particular were fascinated by a new hop product that was used in Pat-Rye-Ot. The product: lupulin powder. The fascinated brewers: Sean Lawson and JC Tetreault.

Lupulin powder is essentially a super concentrated hop product made by flash freezing and then shattering intact hop flowers. In early November, the team experimented with different ways of utilizing the lupulin powder in both the whirlpool and during the dry hop, taking into account beer and wort temperatures, contact time, lupulin powder temperatures, and consistency of the powder.”

http://www.trilliumbrewing.com/trillium-pow-pow

Style: Double IPA
Container: 16oz Can
Glassware: Snifters
Notes: Pow Pow is hazy, pale orange in appearance and emits aromatic qualities of orange zest, apricots and honeysuckle on the nose. Bright flavors of citrus pith, along with soft notes of melon are accentuated with a lasting and balanced bitterness. (7.7%)
Rating: 4/5

Nerdsense Drinks Reviews – #100 Oskar Blues Rum Barrel Aged Ten Fidy

We managed to get our grubby little hands on the brewery exclusive Rum Barrel Aged Ten Fidy by Oskar Blues!! Watch and see what we thought of it…

It’s a BEAST of a bear

Shout out to our good buddy Larry for sending this!

 

Style: American Imperial Stout aged in Rum Barreks
Container: 19.2oz  Stovepipe Can
Glassware: Nerdsense Snifters
Notes: Ten Fidy Aged in fresh-as-hell Jamaican rum barrels for six months (14.2%)
Rating: Shaun – 4.5  Mike – 3.75

Nerdsense Drinks Reviews – #99 The Alchemist Beelzebub

Mike managed to initiate a trade (with one of my beers) for a beer we didn’t expect to get on the show for awhile. The Alchemist’s, American Imperial Stout, Beelzebub graces our table this week!

Style: American Imperial Stout
Container: 16oz Can
Glassware: Nerdsense Snifters
Notes:The intensely smooth and rich roasted flavor is complemented by the unmistakable presence of hops. The bitterness is held in check, preserving the flavors of dark chocolate. This ale is aggressively dry hopped with Citra to cut through it all. (8.0%)
Rating: Shaun – 3.25  Mike – 4

Nerdsense Drinks Reviews – #98 Night Shift Annie Oatley

One of Night Shifts latest offerings. Pale Ale brewed with oats! I’ll just call it an Oatmeal Pale Ale

 

Style: Pale Ale
Container: 16oz Can
Glassware: Flutes
Notes: Pale ale brewed with oats and hopped with Simcoe, Citra, and Mosaic (4.9%)
Rating: 4.25/5

Nerdsense Drinks Reviews – #97 Trillium Dialed In with Sauvignon Blanc Juice

“This is everything I want in an IPA at this point in my life” – Mike 12/23/2015

It took about a year but we finally got our hands on some Dialed In. It’s really our fault as 1 brewery is about 30 minutes and the other is 40 minutes. We could have easily went many times.

Style: Double IPA
Container: 16oz Can
Glassware: Night Shift Stemmed Snifters
Notes: Dialed In is a dank, juicy Double IPA intensively dry hopped with Nelson Sauvin and Galaxy. Soft and creamy with moderate bitterness; Medium-Light bodied with a crisp, dry finish. (8.5%)
Rating: 5/5

Nerdsense Drinks Reviews – #96 Night Shift Morph 12/15/2016

Another Morph just in time for Christmas but not edited until after Christmas but edited before New Years Eve! Cheers!

Style: IPA
Container: 16oz Can
Glassware: Nerdsense Snifters
Notes: Our mid-December Morph pairs a blend of Rakau, Citra, and Simcoe hops, with just a bit of honey. (6.0%)
Rating: 4.25/5

Nerdsense Drinks Reviews – #95 Hardywood Gingerbread Stout

Since it’s Christmas we thought what better beer to review than a gingerbread stout! We were pleasantly surprised. I was shocked Mike liked it as much as he did!

Style: Milk Stout
Container: Bomber
Glassware: Nerdsense Snifters
Notes: Hardywood Gingerbread Stout offers aromatics of holiday spice originating from the ginger, and balanced with a generous dose of whole Madagascar bourbon vanilla beans and Vietnamese cinnamon. Milk sugar (lactose) contributes to the full body of this stout and tames its roasty character, while oats lend a silky quality. (9.2%)
Rating: 4.25/5

Nerdsense Drinks Reviews – #94 Night Shift XLV

The latest in Night Shift’s presidential DIPA series, XLV! This was brewed for the president  elect #45 and released on election day!

 

Style: DIPA
Container: 16oz Can
Glassware: Night Shift Flutes
Notes: Citra, Simcoe, and Amarillo (8.7%)
Rating: 3.75/5

Nerdsense Drinks Reviews – #93 Oskar Blues Java Bourbon Barrel Aged Ten Fidy

That’s right! We managed to get our grubby little hands on the mostly brewery exclusive Java Bourbon Barrel Aged Ten Fidy with Hotbox Coffee

Style: Bourbon Barrel Aged Imperial Stout
Container: 19.2oz Can
Glassware: Snifter
Notes: Java Ten Fidy is the base imperial stout aged in bourbon barrels, with Hotbox Roasters coffee
Rating: 4.75/5

Rogue One: A Star Wars Story – Mike’s Nerdsense Review

For the first time in my lifetime, a quality Star Wars film has been released. Starring Felicity Jones, Diego Luna, Ben Mendelsohn, Donnie Yen, Mads Mikkelsen, Alan Tudyk, and Forest Whitaker, Rogue One: A Star Wars Story is a rollicking, if surprisingly dark, adventure that suitably takes its place as one of the better films in the Star Wars canon and, to this reviewer, far superior to the underwhelming prequel films and the overrated Force Awakens.

The movie tells the story of how the Rebel Alliance obtains the stolen architectural plans for the Death Star so, essentially, we know how everything is going to end. But there are plenty of surprises to be had, including several fun cameos and an unexpected returning character. Director Gareth Edwards keeps the audience engaged from the opening frame, but the big third act battle is as emotional and hard hitting as anything you’ll find in the Star Wars canon. The stars are all great with Tudyk and Donnie Yen making perhaps the biggest impact, though Felicity Jones certainly impresses in the leading role of Jyn Erso.

The film isn’t perfect. There are too many characters and it’s entirely too busy at times, so it can easily become confusing. Plus, though it gets a pass, it’s yet another Death Star story. However, it’s the most original and enjoyable Star Wars movie since Return of the Jedi, and it’s the first film in the canon since then in which I’ve been emotionally invested. It’s great fun and, for the first time in a while, I’m excited for the future of the Star Wars franchise.

Mike’s Rating – See it in theaters if you can

Nerdsense Rating Scale

See it in theaters if you can – Great flick and definitely worth your time

Could wait for home media release – Good flick but no need to rush out to the theater

See it because you’re a nerd – Probably pretty bad but you kind of have to see it given the subject matter

Everyone has bad taste but me – Mike liked it even though it was critically panned