and I just popped one... I'm curious!

brewinhard, you might be on to something with the hops. What's throwing me off a little is in the aroma and flavor... and it might be that "minty" descriptor of the NB hops.

I had a six of Anchor Steam not long ago, and I do recall it being "different" in flavor, and attributing it to the NB hops. Now with these homebrews, I may not be getting the exact same flavor as Anchor, but maybe it is the style itself. There's a minty aftertaste on the back of my tongue.

Had a couple yesterday and the odd flavor is seemingly dropping out. Finally noticed some yeast sludge at the bottom of the empty bottle. Could be these just really need the time in the fridge to lager and drop the yeast out.