The calendar has turned to September (seriously, what the hell happened to summer) and I am ready to dive into some fall beers. I am not a fan of pumpkin beers, to each their own they just aren’t for me, but I love some richer and more malt forward beers in the fall including brown ales, dubbels, and especially Oktoberfest/marzen lagers. I am ready to drink a bunch of Oktoberfests this fall, assuming I can find enough quality versions of the style locally. I’ve even been thinking about making another version of my Hoppy Boston glassware, but this time it would definitely be some sort of stein perfect for full pours of delicious lagers. For a while it seemed like breweries were moving away from Oktoberfests due to the pumpkin beer craze, but more are starting to come back with the resurgence of craft lagers. One example that I’ve tried a couple times but never had a chance to write about is Night Shift Steinbier, a traditional marzen brewed with German malts and hops. Night Shift Steinbier is available in the fall on draft and in 16 oz cans.
Night Shift Steinbier pours clear bright orange with a solid white head. The aroma features some bready malt and floral hops. Steinbier is pretty balanced for a marzen, a nice mixture of rich malts and noble hops. The malts add notes of bread crust and cereal, full flavor but no residual sweetness. The hops balance this out with touches of grass, herbs and spice along with a bit of bitter bite at the end. Steinbier is medium bodied and super easy drinking, on the lighter side at 5.0% ABV. The finish is crisp and clean with just a hint of lingering malt and hops. This is a really interesting take on the marzen style, different from many American versions, but still very good. Hoppy Boston score: 4.25/5.
Previous Night Shift Reviews:
Night Shift Pomegranate State, Night Shift Fluffinity, Night Shift Out of Darkness, Brewery Profile: Night Shift, Night Shift Dynasty, Night Shift Albert, Night Shift Waiting for Anton, Night Shift Matisse, Night Shift The 87, Night Shift Bennington, Night Shift Whirlpool, Night Shift Awake, Night Shift Santilli, Night Shift Maracuya, Night Shift Mainer Weisse, Night Shift Thunder Moon, Night Shift Morph IPA, Night Shift Ever Weisse, Night Shift Grove, Night Shift JoJo, Night Shift Taza Stout, Night Shift Simcoenation
Hoppy Boston 
