Review: What to expect from White Owl four new craft beers?

The Beer Hater's Take
English porter, American pale ale, German hefeweizen, Irish red ale... none of these descriptions referring to White Owl's craft beers Torpedo, Shadow, Halcyon and Diablo respectively, rang a bell for me. If you're thinking, how ignorant! Well ignorant I am, when it comes to beers.

I've disliked beer, since the first time I tried it. But I must admit that over the years I have sampled a good number of them by taking a sip or two of the new ones that friends and family tried out. A lot of people acquire the taste for beer overtime, but not me. So at While Owl, one of the things that motivated me to sample the beers was their concept of food pairings with beer and also the descriptions of the beers and flavours–mild caramel and roast, moderate banana and clove, strong roast and mild chocolate, strong citrus... they just called out to the foodie in me. While I won't say their beers turned me into a lover, I surely  found Shadow and Torpedo interesting. I'm told Torpedo gets its distinct flavour due to dry hopping, "it adds flavour as well as aroma to the beer. So in the normal process, hops are added during the boiling process, therefore the heat extracts the bitterness of hops, but in dry hopping, hops are added once more after the brew has cooled to extract more flavour and aroma... " Despite knowing the flavours each beer was supposed to carry (as it's mentioned in the menu), I couldn't dissect them on drinking, except the unmistakebly lovely smokiness of Shadow.

After sampling all four, I actually summoned up the courage to order a jar of Shadow (yes, at White Owl beers are not served in glasses or pitchers, but in cute little jars with their owl staring at you) and opted the Chef's Chipotle Chilli that the menu recommends as a pairing for Shadow. I really never thought I could enjoy beans so much, but coupled with brown rice–which reminded me of risotto, the sweetness of house porter and the spice and tanginess of jalapenos, invisibly-small tomatoes bits, chitpotle sauce and sour cream (some of which was dolloped on the top), it tasted great, very innovative. This dish too was served in a jar. What made it more interesting was how its various flavours captured the tastebuds one after the other, finally leaving a hot, spicey aftertaste that gelled perfectly with smokiness of my beer. They matched so well, in fact, that I managed to finishe off my jar of beer too; something I can't imagine having succeeded at otherwise. So will I return here for the beer? Maybe to try their new pumpkin beer or maybe not. But I'll surely return for their tantalizing food menu (even though it's a tad expensive).
–Pooja Bhula

And Cheers! from the Beer Lover

Torpedo with Chilli-Pepper Corn Dog

From hating beer to opting for it out of sheer laziness to growing to love it, tasting four new brews, at White Owl got me excited. First come the lighter beers–Diablo, an Irish red ale with a mild roast aroma and a light caramel and roast flavour and the Halycon, which has influences of the German Hefeweizen with a fruity aroma with a slight banana and clove flavour. Images of a hot summer day, sitting by a pool in Goa sipping on one of these, dance across my mind. They're light, easy on the tongue, summery and perfect for someone who doesn't drink beer or a beer drinker not in the mood to really drink.

Next is Shadow, a dark English porter with a strong roast flavour that seems bitter after having tried the Diablo and the Halycon. Having just tried Guinness in Ireland, one look at the English porter reminds me of the Irish stout. It’s not as bitter as Guinness, but is much lighter in body and not as sweet. The American pale ale, Torpedo, on the other hand has tropical aroma and is different to taste. With a citrusy, floral flavour, it is bitter yet pleasing to the palate. That's my pick!

A short while later, my pitcher of Torpedo arrives followed by a plate of chilli-pepper corn dogs (the recommended food pairing with the Torpedo). I take a bite of the corn dog dipped in a chilli sauce. The sauce is sweet at first and then its spice hits you. A perfect combination! A sip of beer brings out the flavours of the sausage and the chilli sauce. I try the olive mayo sauce. For a person who is not fond of olives, a dip that leaves you wanting more has to be good, don't you think? The taste of olives was not too strong and blended smoothly with the mayo... all in all a perfect combination with the corn dog!
–Avril-Ann Braganza