Bee Tea - Night Shift Brewing

portia99

Massachusetts

3.55/5  rDev -3.5%
look: 3.5 | smell: 3.5 | taste: 3.5 | feel: 4 | overall: 3.5

750ml bottle (Batch#1, Bottled on 3/8/12) courtesy of a co-worker. Thanks Don! Poured into a Harpoon 100 Barrel stemmed glass. Love the simple design of the label...very cool logo and like the hand written batch information on the label too.

A - Pours out of the bottle with a thick and dirty/muddy appearance to it. In the glass the appearance remains consistent with marginally improved clarity. Quite a bit of haze and sediment in the otherwise pale amber body. Three fingers of dense tan foam shows excellent staying power, slowly fizzling down to the surface leaving behind foamy off-white lacing on the glass.

S - An interesting array of aromas. Green tea is easily noticed up front. Strong notes of lemons give a fresh citrusy kick to the aroma...very faint orange blossom aroma comes and goes only making an impression on non-consecutive whiffs. A muddy and somewhat off smelling yeasti-ness mars the overall effect a bit, but doesn't ruin it. A bit of a spicy saison-like wheaty and more traditional smelling yeasty aroma helps make up for things also.

T - Quite interesting...not really what I was expecting. Very strong malt base that is toasty and biscuity. Orange blossom honey comes thru nicely with a citrus kissed sweetness that works well against the malt. The green tea presses thru all of this and almost takes over the flavor stage. Its seemed like the tea is in the center with the other flavors playing off of it...honey and hints of lemon complement the tea as one would expect. A touch of tartness rounds things out.

M - Well carbonated but not overly fizzy...very fine bubbles give more of a creamy carbonation which I really like. The creaminess seems to bump up the body to a medium level...fuller feeling than the beer probably actually is. Quite herbal, spicy, malty and full of green tea.

O - Very interesting beer. I like the idea of the tea addition, but this might be a bit too intense...too much the center of attention. Instead of complementing, it actually takes over the beer a bit too much. Cut back the tea a little and figure out what the somewhat offputting dirty/yeasty off-flavor and this could be a real winner. Overall a pretty decent beer, definitely drinkable and better for warm weather.

Serving type: bottle

06-01-2012 23:26:12 | More by portia99

bruindre

Massachusetts

2.75/5  rDev -25.3%

05-04-2013 17:52:52 | More by bruindre

AliJ

Massachusetts

4.5/5  rDev +22.3%

05-03-2013 14:50:55 | More by AliJ

Kelp

New Hampshire

3.5/5  rDev -4.9%

04-29-2013 06:30:05 | More by Kelp

jaasen64

Massachusetts

3.5/5  rDev -4.9%

04-11-2013 20:02:46 | More by jaasen64

b2hogan

Massachusetts

4.25/5  rDev +15.5%

01-28-2013 14:04:11 | More by b2hogan

Apathetiq

Massachusetts

3.5/5  rDev -4.9%

01-26-2013 01:18:56 | More by Apathetiq

tehzachatak

Massachusetts

3.5/5  rDev -4.9%

01-16-2013 02:32:13 | More by tehzachatak

DelicateDelirium

Massachusetts

2.5/5  rDev -32.1%

01-13-2013 06:25:23 | More by DelicateDelirium

IPAman89

New Hampshire

4/5  rDev +8.7%

01-09-2013 23:54:10 | More by IPAman89

jmmy3

Massachusetts

3.75/5  rDev +1.9%

12-25-2012 03:47:54 | More by jmmy3

brother_rat

New York

4.25/5  rDev +15.5%

12-01-2012 22:00:37 | More by brother_rat

NilocRellim

Minnesota

4.1/5  rDev +11.4%
look: 4 | smell: 4.5 | taste: 4 | feel: 4 | overall: 4

Poured from the tap at the brewery on September 8th, 2012.

This beer was amber in colour with a hint of orange and an off-white head that settled quickly. The smell was very sweet and floral with a nice earthiness to it and hints of orange peel. The taste was pretty in-line with the smell... A slight sweet and citrus flavour initially, finishing with a jasmine tea earthiness. Very refreshing.

Would I buy it again? Absolutely.

Serving type: on-tap

12-01-2012 21:19:40 | More by NilocRellim

LynnHomeBrewer

Massachusetts

3.75/5  rDev +1.9%

10-23-2012 20:31:54 | More by LynnHomeBrewer

dadonabike

Massachusetts

2.18/5  rDev -40.8%
look: 1 | smell: 3 | taste: 1.5 | feel: 3.5 | overall: 2.5

Batch #6, Bottled 7/10/12;

Poured with a beautiful head: long lasting and nice lacing, but very cloudy/muddy looking. No shaking or stirring, just really muddy.

Smells nice; a bit sour as expected with a wheat beer, bit of floral from citrus and honey and a note of the tea but not much hops, also a touch of bubble gum.

Mostly sour and astringent tastes, not much malt, as you would expect but it lacks the spiciness I was hoping for. Tastes like over brewed tea and citrus pith.

The body and carbo are right on the money.

Drinkable: OK, doesn’t taste as though it is 8.4%, but really not what I was hoping for.

Over all, very disappointed, I was hoping for a spicy and zesty Belgian wheat beer. The flavors seem kind of muddy: distracting from each other rather than complimenting each other.

I remembered the name from an Edible Boston article, I love the local aspect and I love wheat and wit beers. Honey tea wheat ale seemed right up my alley and I was hoping for a special occasion beer. This is not it for me. It could be a poor batch and I will certainly try other beers of theirs but I will not recommend this beer to friends.

Serving type: bottle

09-29-2012 03:55:31 | More by dadonabike

PatGreer

Massachusetts

4.25/5  rDev +15.5%

09-16-2012 06:44:42 | More by PatGreer

brez8791

Pennsylvania

2/5  rDev -45.7%

09-11-2012 00:49:08 | More by brez8791

bluerabbit

Massachusetts

4.25/5  rDev +15.5%

09-10-2012 02:25:56 | More by bluerabbit

DonFisco

3.5/5  rDev -4.9%

09-02-2012 04:29:44 | More by DonFisco

thatbentleyguy

4.18/5  rDev +13.6%
look: 4 | smell: 4 | taste: 4.5 | feel: 3.5 | overall: 4

Growler from their brewery, a shining beacon in the middle of the 6th ring of gnarly warehouse hell!

Golden-orange amber pour with a finely laced just offwhite head, looks beautiful.

Nose of sweet floral honey and a hint of the tangy orange additions.

Taste is sweet honey front and center, with the tangy-sweet orange following it in short order, before finishing beautifully dry and astringent from the green tea. The tea lingers on the palate with the honey, in a bitter-sweet medley of awesome. Perfect malt backbone, lightly toasted.

Mouthfeel as silky smooth as can be throughout, the result of wheat certainly, and perhaps the honey. Sweet silkiness hides the 8% abv.

I'm loving this beer, and Night Shift's unique approach to melding classic styles. Their approach reminds me of Element Brewery of Millers Falls - both refuse to adhere to a single style, but combine disparate styles into something memorable. Night Shift has the unique ingredient niche cornered with this and their other brews - utilizing habaneros, green tea, lemongrass and ginger, just a grab bag of ingredients seen in their other styles.

Serving type: growler

08-30-2012 00:43:34 | More by thatbentleyguy

rab53

Massachusetts

3.25/5  rDev -11.7%

08-25-2012 02:34:53 | More by rab53

Dromeda

2.5/5  rDev -32.1%

07-17-2012 22:04:44 | More by Dromeda

jgknittel

Massachusetts

4/5  rDev +8.7%

07-12-2012 17:11:08 | More by jgknittel

Damian

Massachusetts

4.08/5  rDev +10.9%
look: 3.5 | smell: 4.5 | taste: 4 | feel: 4 | overall: 4

Drank on-tap at Flatbread Company, Somerville, MA
Served in a pint glass

Hazy, glowing, orangey-amber in appearance. The liquid was topped by a small, creamy, off-white head that quickly fell to a clingy ring.

The nose was unique and quite pleasant. Floral, slightly fruity, jasmine tea-like notes came through strong. Lots of honey. Some orange peel was detectible as well.

The flavor profile was also quite distinct. Jasmine tea was most noticeable. Citrus notes appeared in the center. Biscuity malts showed up on the back end. This beer looked and tasted more like an amber ale with flavor added than a wheat ale. Lots of sweet honey notes. The finish was dry and tannic and seemed to contain a green tea-like flavor. No hops were detectible. At 8% ABV, I was amazed by how remarkably well the alcohol was buried.

The mouthfeel was smooth and creamy with an ultra fine, medium effervescence.

This is the first Night Shift beer that I have sampled and I was quite impressed. I look forward to trying their other releases.

Serving type: on-tap

07-12-2012 05:26:49 | More by Damian

KSather

Massachusetts

3.5/5  rDev -4.9%

07-01-2012 00:16:45 | More by KSather