If you decided to hide a beer brewing project from your parents in the basement of the local community centre, you would be emulating the somewhat secretive and bare-bones operation of the Nost Brewing Project. A spin-off from the Oozlefinch Beer & Blending facility in Hampton, Virginia, the stated goal of the project is pretty straight forward: deceptively simple beer made to perfection. We’re not claiming the elves or kobolds sneak out of the floorboards at night and make this beer, but we can’t be entirely certain they don’t. The Nost project has yielded 14 beers thus far and now there are two of them on the Canada Craft Club docket - so it’s time for you to crack these beers and bust the whole secret wide open. The Nostos is an American-style lager with a compelling flavour and crisp body, perfect for cracking open when you’re in the backyard watching the sunset. Serves well at 6°C and can cellar for up to six months.
Pours incredibly pale with just a hint of golden tint, a clear body, and light to medium carbonation. A touch of fizzy bubbles rings the glass.
Extremely subtle aroma in this beer, even when it warms up. There’s a little hint of sweet fruit and grainy malt but it’s tough to get your hooks into it.
More expressive in the taste than in the nose, you’ll get more of that sweetness and it tastes of bananas and orange zest. You can taste the malt but only as a strong sense of a floor on the taste that doesn’t waver. There’s a sniff of floral qualities but it comes and goes. All in all this is an easy drinking beer, but it plays between no flavour and sudden interesting qualities that show up.
Subtle enough that you can pair with nearly anything but don’t get too crazy and drown out your ability to sense what this beer has to offer.