Beer

Notch Session Pils salutes the unfiltered pale lagers of the Czech Republic: crisp, herbal, and hoppy. The Czech culture is a beer culture - drinking more beer per capita than any other nation. And their beer of choice is the low gravity, unfiltered and unpasteurized Pilsner, known as "workers" or "tap" beer. In the end, Czech Pilsner serves the same function as Brit Session Beer - lower ABV, great flavor, and built for multiple pints.

Brewed to the original Saison strength, this is the classic farmhouse beer. Originally brewed by farmers to slake the thirst of seasonal workers (les saisonniers), this refreshing beer had a lower alcohol content that is not often seen in today's modern Saison. Notch returns the Saison to its roots, not only in alcohol content, but by using local ingredients much like the Belgian farmers. The wheat used in Notch Saison is malted by Valley Malt in Hadley Massachusetts.

The American Session Ale. Pale copper color, firm malt body and a dry, hoppy finish. Notch Session Ale is well balanced, but in true American fashion the hop flavor is up front, and finishes dry, which begs for another sip. Notch Session Ale is unfiltered and hopped throughout the brewing process with three US hop varieties, resulting in a complex depth of hop flavor. The US has no Session Ale tradition - so this is our interpretation.

British malt, hard water and low gravity meets a new wave hop profile. The base malt is Fawcett Golden Promise, and that really sets this beer apart, along with a touch of Fawcett caramalt and oat malt. The hops are decidedly fruity and slightly citrusy, and include Citra, Galaxy, Simcoe and Centennial.

Polotmavy is a hoppy amber lager that is all about the malt. It has a full flavor yet dry finish, toasted aroma yet floral hops, and a malty yet spicy flavor. So OK, it's about the hops too. 100% Czech Saaz hops. Polotmavy is loosely translated as "half-dark" or amber as we know it, and is yet another style of Czech beer rarely found in the US. Na zdraví!

Under the Brewers Supporting Agriculture (BSA) program, brewers buy shares of their barely crops at the beginning of the season from Western Mass farmers. Notch was proud to be one of the first brewers to participate in this program, and the Valley Malt BSA is the result of this year's barley crop. The BSA is an American Farmhouse Ale that displays the character of a Belgian Saison, yet with US hops and New England grains. Each year the beer is slightly different, depending on the growing conditions of that season.

Tafelbier is a Belgian beer of lower strength - and for good reason. Tafelbier was, (and still is) enjoyed by Belgian families at meal time. This is the ultimate summer session beer at 2.8% ABV. Dry hopped with Styrian Goldings and Saaz hops, it has a distinct herbal hop aroma and flavor that balances perfectly with the spicy Belgian yeast character.

Inspired by the black session lagers of the Czech Republic, Notch Cerne Pivo is malty, toasty, and infinitely drinkable. Notch Cerne (pronounced CHAIR-nay) breaks the myth the dark beer is heavy, or that lower alcohol beer is light in color. Cerne Pivo is Czech for "Black Beer", and is a beer style indigenous to the Czech Republic. This style of beer is rarely found in the US, so enjoy a bit of the Czech session beer culture this winter.

Fourth up in the cask only series is a collaboration beer with Drink Craft Beer! This cask only beer is based on the idea of the Breakfast Stout, where a few in the AM won't curtail your activities the remainder of the day. A British Milk Stout serves as the base recipe, where a significant portion of oats and milk sugar provide a creamy sweetness. The beer is then blended in the cask with a lightly roasted, fruity Colombian coffee. The result is an extremely smooth, mellow stout with only a light roast from the coffee and barley. A real day drinker!

Third up in the cask only series is Notch Black Bitter. It's a strange yet intriguing little beer. Wholly British in every way, yet certainly lacking in any British tradition (to our knowledge, anyway). Think hoppy mild, or dark hoppy bitter. It is certainly not American in any way, as the British hops, malts and yeast dominate this beer, as does the dry finish from sulfate rich brewing water. We almost called this beer Oxymoron (aka Session Black IPA).

Second up in the cask only series is Notch Bitter. While traditional in British brewing methods, it is nontraditional in ingredients, using German malt and hops. Look for the classic British Bitter characteristics (dry, balanced, tastes like more), but with a German influence. In an era of bigger is better, Notch Bitter shows that subtlety still has merit. It's pretty damn tasty too.

Notch's Cask only series celebrates the roots of session beer, and first up in the series is Notch Dark Mild. While the British Mild has evolved over the centuries, it was the session beer of choice for the 20th century British coal miner. Notch’s Dark Mild pays homage to this worker’s beer – a very dark ruby brown appearance, malty and fruity aroma, a caramel maltiness with very low hop bitterness, and only 3.7% ABV.