O'so Brewing Colada-Ral Damage

O'so Brewing Colada-Ral Damage. Pina Colada inspired India Pale Ale. "Tropical. Juicy. Breezy. Lush. Sunny. Relaxing. Mellow." India Pale Ale brewed with pineapple and coconut.  Brewed and bottled by O'so Brewing, Plover, WI.
6.4 % ABV. 14 IBU.

Highly hazed, murky, dull golden hue, slim ivory head, though long-lasting.

In the nose: Citrus hops and pineapple, with coconut pulling up fast, getting bigger and bigger.

In the mouth: Big coconut, bright coconut, alarmingly, overwhelmingly coconut. Brief blast of bitterness, a smack of pineapple, then back to all-coconut, all the time. Medium-bodied, easy-ish drinking, fading hoppiness, meager malt.

A pineapple/coconut hazy IPA. Huh.
Not really a fan. But, if you know me you could see that coming. Just not the kind of thing I'm likely to enjoy. You might dig it, though. Never know.

A iteration on our Hazy IPA made with pineapple and coconut. Made to resemble a Pina Colada with a nice citrus flavor. 

O'so Blood of the Cherry

O'so Blood of the Cherry. Barrel Aged Blended Sour Ale Refermented on Door County Cherries. 7 % ABV. 10 IBU. O'so Brewing, Plover, WI.

Highly hazed, murky crimson coloring, swiftly departed white head.

In the nose: Tart. Fruity. Oaky. Sour. Delightful.

In the mouth: Even more so. Fiercely sour & fruity, deep and complex. Tasty. Medium bodied. Non-stop sour. Full-on cherry. Just a touch of sweet, to match the sour. Wow. I'm digging this. Bloody good.

Blood the Cherry (sic) was one of our first sours that we did regularly. Made with cherries from Door county. This sour comes in as a extremely cherry tart treat. Blood of the Cherry was first made in 2014. Made from a single barrel with cherries, however as we've gotten better at making sours, we started to do blends more. Blood of the Cherry now comes in as one of the best cherry sours out there.

O'so DePeche a la Mode Peach Milkshake IPA

O'so DePeche a la Mode. India Pale Ale with peaches added.
#peachmilkshakeipa. #personalpeachus. (Verbatim from label.)

6% ABV. 40 IBU.
O'so Brewing, Plover, WI.

Highly clouded, fuzzy orange color, slim white head.

In the nose: Big hoppy nose on the outset. Slightly tart, funky, fuzzy. Interesting.

In the mouth: Bitterness bursts on the tongue and lays on the palate. Peach shows up just behind, but plays a minor role. I'm not getting as much of it as you'd think, from it's starring status. Medium bodied, easy-ish drinking. But not particularly exciting. I am ever so weary of lactose and haze. Bored to death. I wish I liked this, but....eh.

There are words on the side of the label. They read: "Succulent. Luscious. Inviting. Redolent. Keen. Nectarous. Fuzzy." I'm not sure if all of these words apply to this beer.

A iteration on our Hazy Ipa's, made with peaches and lactose sugar. De Peches a la Mode is what you would expect from a peach milkshake. 

Get an editor, guys. "Ipa's"? Sheesh! Also, "a iteration." A before consonant, an before vowel. That's how it goes, guys. Try reading it out loud before publishing it.

O'so Barrel Aged Liquid Soul Imperial Stout

O'so Barrel Aged Liquid Soul Imperial Stout. 10.5% ABV. 40 IBU. O'so Brewing, Plover, WI.

Solid blackness, rich brown head on top.

In the nose: Ah, the smoke, the char, the chocolate. Rich, bitter, sweet. Whiskey flavor dominates, vanilla wafts out, a pinch of cherry. Deep, viscous.

In the mouth: Full. Hot. Thick. Intense. Bullet points. One. Word. Phrases. Slick. Sweet. Dry. Bitter. Chocolate. Bourbon. Decadent. Delicious.

Imperial stout aged in Bulleit Bourbon barrels.

What is a soul? 
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Is it the sum of our human qualities? Perhaps it’s our perception of a human condition filtered through experience, circumstance, will and time. A culmination of human endeavor, and the dreams which forge triumph, failure, doubt, and ascension in the wake of creation. We suggest the soul is none of these things. As captured in this corporeal form to exist as vacancy, black and tempered by time in our contrivance to ascribe meaning to abstract existence, we create. This thought becomes reality, sublimated into liquid form from harmonious nothing, and transformed over time in bourbon barrels. Barrel Aged Liquid Soul is willed to be. It exists as a testament to creation and by consequence an approximation of the Liquid Soul. 

In other words, it's good beer and you can drink it.
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O'so Goldilock's Revenge Brandy Barrel Imperial Stout

O'so Goldilock's Revenge Brandy Barrel Imperial Stout. 10.8 % ABV. O'so Brewing, Plover, WI. Smoked Imperial Stout aged in Oak Brandy Barrels.

O'so Brewing has not appeared here in the Nib in seven years. When I visit Wisconsin to buy beer, I must be passing them over for other things. But now they are self-distributing to Minnesota, and I got some samples, all totally new to me. According to the rep, they're only bringing out the best stuff, not the cores. Sound fine by me. Let's start with this one.

Absolute blackness in the glass, complete opacity, slim brown ring on top.

In the nose: Brandy barrel's busting out all over. Big-boned and boozy. Substantial sweetness. Rich and alcoholic. Impressively expressive.

In the mouth: Massive malt, rich, slightly bitter, excessively dry. Barrel aged expresses itself exceptionally. Hot, hot, hot, and bursting at the seams. Dark, decadent, charred and smokey. Immense. Almost dangerous. Fairly impressive.

Goldilocks' Revenge? She ate their food, wrecked their furniture, slept in their beds, invaded their home....and she's taking "revenge" on the bears? In most tellings of the tale, she escapes and lives unscathed. Again, what's she taking revenge on? Their ire at having their home invaded, the privacy destroyed, their sacred sanctum desecrated? The Bears were innocent!

Our imperial stout aged in brandy barrels for five months. This beer symbolizes the fight that small breweries have to go through in order to get established in a market poisoned with greedy distributors, corporate idealism and fat cats with deep pockets. The small guy can still survive if they have enough true grit and work ethic. Feel the anger.

The O’so Extreme Beer series is our take on very limited production wood aged fine beers. These ultra premium beers are released only when we feel they are ready, and not a minute sooner. Some of them age for months, some of them years. Some of these will never be made again, some of them might be. We are always working on new Extreme Beers.

There's more on the label. "Anyone can become angry. That is easy. But to be angry with the right person, to the right degree, at the right time, for the right purpose and in the right way...that is not easy."--Aristotle.

None of that has anything to do with Goldilocks and the Three Bears!

O'so Hop Whoopin' I.P.A.

O'so Hop Whoopin' IPA. Once again, the label is a string of of words and phrases which may, or may not, have something to do with the beer inside. This string of seeming non-sequitors could render my notes obsolete. So, I will dispense with them until I've done my thing. And, away…

Clear. Bright. Yellow. Small head.

Piney. Sticky. Lemon, orange, pithy, resinous.

Bracing, puckering, bitter/sour intensity. Citric assault. Oncoming alcohol assault.

And yet…and yet…ah, it tries, but misses the mark. Seems to be a something I often find in the O'so beers. They come close, but don't quite hit it. Sometimes, though, close is good enough.

Let's list those words now: "S.M.A.S.H. {???} . 95 IBU. Intense. Freakish. Obnoxious. Excessive.Deranged."

What?

O'so Dank Imperial Red Ale

O'so Dank Imperial Red Ale.  O'so Brewing Company, Plover, WI.

Dark, a rich burgundy hue, murky, and looking every bit "dank." Utterly opaque, with a tight, slim head.

Aroma: A little sweet, a little sour. Deep and fruity, raisins, plums, and dates. Dense malt flavors arise, as well. Interesting stuff, this is. Rich, intriguing malt, nice blast of hops. Alcohol unknown, but it should be 8 % or above. Feels like it.

A complex and tasty brew, although it's a bit of murky mess as well. Not that I actually mind. "Imperial Red Ale" isn't a category with any by-laws or restraints, so far as I know. All that matters is "did you like it?" And I did. Do. Do did. Like it, I mean.

O'So Hopdinger Double IPA

O'so Hopdinger, O'So Brewing Company, Plover, WI. 

"Pungent. Hoppy. Crisp. Floral. Bitter. Piney. Resinous. Engaging."

Well, great, now I don't need to write anything, do I?

I will, anyway. 

Murky, dank deep amber hue, considerable carbonation and head. Billowing and lacy. Gigantic. Impressive….whoa, if I don't watch out, they'll have me expressing myself in one word statements.

Aroma: Yup, bitter, floral, piney, resinous, citric, pungent, hoppy, ….let's not repeat ourselves. It hits the notes you want in a double IPA. A little hint of honey in there, too, unless I'm imagining it. And I'm not.

Taste: bitter and pungent, and all that all over again. Malt flavor keep up with the huge hops, and there's an astringency added in that I can't help feeling was unintended. Don't think I tasted this when I bought it back in November. Yeah, why did this sit in the fridge for 3 months? And is the brew older than that, actually? No bottled on date, no way to know. 

This bottle is definitely funkier than when it was (I think) fresh. A little sour happening here. Lesson learned. Drink those hoppy beers up, don't sit on them, like the Pliny the Elder label implores us. We're not hens, and they're not eggs.

It does not mean, in any way shape or form, that a week or two or three will make them undrinkable, but …hey, maybe I'm wrong. 

I do like this like this. It has a Belgian quality that I find utterly diggable. Not crisply clean like a HopSlam or any kind of palate buster like a Maharaja and nowhere as smooth as an Abrasive Ale. But, quite flavorful, and unique. Lively carbonation, non-stop hops. I do like it.

O'so Lupulin Maximus

O'so Brewing Lupulin Maximus. Imperial Pale Ale. Warning: May Contain Hop Cone.

Cute gimmick. Town Hall does it every year with the Fresh Hop growlers. One problem, though. There's an initial difficulty in pouring, as the cone stops up the bottleneck. It comes loose and dives into the glass, eventually. And there's the matter of it bobbing it up against your lips as you drink. So, just take it out already.

Lovely, hazed orange-ish amber-y coloration, small white head.

Pungent aroma of pine needles, and tropical fruit, some citrus. A little lemon and grapefruit. Bold, hoppy nose.

Tasting it: Vibrant, hoppy flavors jump on the palate, and run amok. Great big bitterness spills all over the mouth. Juicy fruitiness takes charge. Bitterness never ceases. Long, hoppy finish. Fades after a bit, but remains delightful all the way down.

O'so Night Train

Another from the Wisconsin haul

All aboard! For the Night Train! O'so Brewing's Night Train, …which is described by a succession of words separated by dots: "Roasty. Chewy. Robust. Judicious. Creamy. Bold. Complex. Immense." Wait, how can you be "judicious" as well as immense, bold, robust, and complex? And what the hell do they mean? Also, we are told to join the fight against boring beer at Osobrewing.com, brewed and bottled by O'so Brewing company, Plover, WI, and to Discover the art of freestyle brewing. So, "freestyle", yet "judicious", hmmm? On with the beer…

Solid black, full brown yet, drifts down slowly.

Beautiful aromatics, creamy, bittersweet, and roasty. Just the thing for an oatmeal stout, if this is what this is. A little spicy kick in there, too.

Tasting it: smooth, semi-sweet, lightly roasty, lightly bitter. Full-bodied. Robust, you bet. And ever so judicious. Not too much else to say about this one, just an all-right, right on, good-drinking stout. You can pick it up, and then put it down. Some chocolate, little bits of coffee, but mostly cocoa, all applied very…"judiciously"…why was I so critical of that anomalous word choice?