Altoberfest

Beer Name: Altoberfest
Brewery: Element Brewing Company
ABV: 7%
Serving method: 16-oz pint poured from a 25-oz bottle
Born/Bottled/Shipped on: Bottled on 8/18/10

Ok, NOW I've had everything Element has to offer. Well, everything they've had to offer so far. Altoberfest is Element's first seasonal beer, and claims to be a combination of the styles of altbier (apparently that is a real thing) and, obviously, oktoberfest. It was also only brewed in a limited quantity (530 bottles), which means that I probably should have kept the wrapper and number tag in case this brewery gets huge and it's worth something some day. Hey, people collect a lot of weird things.

Altoberfest is a deep reddish brown beer with a malty scent. There isn't a lot of head, and it fades quickly, so you can get right to the drinking of beer. So let's do that.

This beer has a light to medium carbonation (like a 2 out of 5 if you ranked it numerically). The beer starts malty, and then has some kind of sharp flavor at the end. I am not sure what it is, but I didn't really like it. However, as the beer warms up, this sharpness fades. That makes the beer a lot better. If I get another bottle of this, I plan to take it out of the fridge for at least 10 minutes before I drink it.

Final thought - After it warmed up a little, the Altoberfest was a nice beer to sit and drink while relaxing on the couch. I hope they make some more of it next year, because I think it's better than their Extra Special Oak. Bottles aren't cheap though, so that's one negative. That sharp flavor when it's cold isn't great either. I would drink it again, but not frequently.

-Jon

Dark Element

Beer Name: Dark Element
Brewery: Element Brewing Company
ABV: 8.0%
Serving method: 16-oz pint poured from a 25-oz bottle
Born/Bottled/Shipped on: Unknown

This review will complete the main offerings from Element. They also have something called "Altoberfest," which is a special edition brew that was brewed in limited quantities but is not always available. There is a bottle of that waiting for me in Kathryn's fridge, so we'll get around to that sometime. The guy who works there told me that their beers age well, so there's no rush to drink them.

Dark Element was originally called Dark Matter, so you may have heard of it under that name. However, due to a naming conflict with Brooklyn Brewery, Element reached a friendly agreement to change theirs to something else. You can learn a lot by talking to the guy who owns the brewery.

This beer has a nice smell of maltiness, and a very dark brown color in the middle. There is also a slight red color on the edges if you hold it up to a light. It produces a lot of head that sticks around for a while and sticks to the glass a little.

The taste is great. It's mostly malty with some slight hoppy notes mixed in. There's also a roasty taste, and maybe some chocolate or toffee. It finishes slightly bitter, and the aftertaste hangs around for a while after you're done. There is some carbonation, but nothing overwhelming.

Final thought - Dark Element is a great beer that fits into the black lager category without actually being a lager. It's flavor is quite strong, but it is drinkable on its own. And even better, it is still good if it warms up a little. Fantastic stuff all around.

-Jon

Extra Special Oak

Beer Name: Extra Special Oak
Brewery: Element Brewing Company
ABV: 7%
Serving method: 16-oz pint poured from a 25-oz bottle
Born/Bottled/Shipped on: Unknown

Ok, so maybe I bought all the different Element beers at the same time. They've just got so many bottles of them there, what was I supposed to do? Leave them behind? I just couldn't do that.

Extra Special Oak is Element's take on the Extra Special Bitter style of brewing. Since you might not know (I didn't), "bitter" is the name they use in England for pale ales. Extra Special ones are bitters that have at least 4.8% ABV, and this one clearly qualifies there. And the "oak" part comes because I believe that this beer is aged in oak casks. That makes a lot more sense that using oak in the brewing process. I am not positive about that last part though, so don't go around telling people that this beer is aged in oak casks like it's a fact.

ESO smells like beer. I can't pick up on any specific scents, but there's probably oak in there, and possibly some vanilla. I am just not sure what oak smells like. Maybe I'll go outside and smell some acorns or something. Probably not though. It has a light brown opaque color and not much head when it's poured, and the head disappears quickly.

The first taste of the ESO gives a slight feeling of carbonation, but not too much. There are some hints of some kind of spice, and then a taste of vanilla at the end. The beer doesn't have a strong aftertaste, and despite being called bitter, there really isn't much of a bitter taste.

Final thought - Extra Special Oak is a good beer, but I prefer Element's other offerings instead. I think it's definitely worth a try, especially if you like pale ales. I will stick to my dark beers though.

-Jon

Red Giant

Beer Name: Element Red Giant
Brewery: Element Brewing Company
ABV: 7%
Serving method: 16-oz pint poured from a growler
Born/Bottled/Shipped on: Bottled (growlered?) 9/10/10

As a native of Massachusetts, I try to buy local whenever possible.

Ok, that is a complete lie. I buy whatever is cheapest when it comes to food, and whatever looks exciting when it comes to beer. But I suppose when the beer that looks exciting happens to be a local one, that is probably good for the local economy. Or not. Hey, I wasn't an economics major. I was a barely competent CS major.

I stopped by the Element Brewery because it's one of only a handful of breweries whose actual physical location I know and because I assumed that getting beer directly from the brewery would result in the freshest possible beer. Seems logical.

Right from the start, this beer comes on strong. It smells like a serious beer, and it's not afraid to let you know. If you're into head (beer head you sicko), this one brings the heat, with almost an inch of that foamy silliness chilling out on top of the beer. I have been told that it's good to have a head on the beer, but I can't see how. More foam = less space for beer = less beer for my enjoyment. But other "experts" claim it's important, so there you go. This beer has got aroma and head in abundance.

This beer has got some bitterness to it as well. There's a little carbonation, but what really hits you is the bitterness and the hops. I think the bitterness is what keeps the flavor in your mouth after you've had a sip. It definitely sticks around. The red ale taste is in there too, and it comes through at the end. It's not like most other reds that I have had though. Or at least it seems different. This one feels like it's quite a bit stronger, and further down the darkness scale in terms of color. If you hold up the glass, you can pick out the hints of red, but mostly this beer is dark. Deal with that!

Final thought - The Red Giant is good, but I can see how it wouldn't be for everyone. I think the bitterness would push people away, and the fact that it is really strong means that little sissy drinkers wouldn't like it. Although to be fair, I imagine that if I drank the whole growler, I'd be knocked on my ass and have another "bagel incident." I like it though, and will enjoy it again in the future.

-Jon