New Beer Sunday (week 504)

Good morning Señor Cave Dave, our co host and recycler extraordinaire, and the other guys and gals that are in attendance today on NBS. I drank my first Ten Fidy early this morning after I came back from Nogales, Sonora Mexico from a visit to my wife's aunt that suffered a major stroke about 6 weeks ago. I was going to drink beer and watch the Notre Dame game, but my lovely made me an offer I couldn't refuse. It sure makes me reflect on life and what's important after a visit like that. We did stop and and have some great tacos de carne asada and a quesadilla before her son gave us a ride back to the border. Hot dog stands and taquerias do a cranking business on the weekend until the wee hours over there as the clubs and bailes don't shut down until about 4, but no pics unfortunately since I'm paranoid about getting calls and international charges across the line. On to the beer:

TEN FIDY
OSCAR BLUES BREWERY
10.5 % ABV, 65 IBU'S

Pours, or should I say glugs out, like well worn motor oil. Black and devoid of light, so dark that I can't even see the Boulevard etching on my tulip glass (it is late, or early depending on your perspective). A surprising amount of head and carbonation, but this one was brewed in late August so it's still fresh by any standard, and certainly by RIS standards.
I smell chocolate, coffee, vanilla, and dark fruit.
Taste: hoo boy just like it smells, heavy chocolate malt, vanilla, dark fruit, and some smooth coffee on the back end. This is compared a lot to Foumders Imperial, but it reminds me of a thicker, more complex Narwhal. The IBU's are almost identical to the SN offering, but the coffee is much more prevalent. The FIS by comparison is roastier, and hoppier, but all great beers IMO. The mouthfeel is thick, and viscous, and sipping is mandatory because of the consistency, and pleasure in having all those flavors come to the fore as it warms.

In general, this is one awesome RIS that holds its own against any, and is better than most. Readily available, in a can, for 13.99 a four pack, what more could you want?

 

Good day NBS friends! Hope you are enjoying your day and new beer exploits. A phenomenal day here after a very wet period. I hope to get around to reviewing a couple new ones today from a recent Michigan trip.

First up is Bonafide Legit IPA from Shorts. Label says made with Summit hops grown in northern Michigan.

Pours a hazy gold with ample egg white head that quickly disappears to a ring of lacing.

Aroma is primarily malt, maybe a hint of yeast, and a slight bit of floral notes. Smells more like a slightly hopped lager.

Flavor is very malt forward. A bready yeast-like taste with a bit of bitterness on the back. If I didn't look at the label identifying it as an IPA, I would never have guessed it. The bottle was refrigerated at purchase and I believe this is a recent release, so I have no idea where the hops are? As Michigan IPA's go, this is nothing special. I love trying Short's and their many experiments, but they can be hit or miss. One reason why I often do mix sixes of their beers.

My final thoughts? Two Hearted remains one of my benchmark Midwest IPA's by which I gauge from. With that said, this one falls way short. Giving it a 2.75.

 

Greetings craft caretakers and nanobrew nannies, it’s another installment of NBS. Seems I’m late to the party, but never fear, the often garrulous but ne’er spurious Bottle King Craft Beer Consultant is here. This week’s docket? Stone’s Hibiscusicity from the Stochasticity Series.

Poured relatively hard and vertical into a Maredsous goblet.

Sight- At first pour, my reaction was “Whoa.” Rosy pink and red. It definitely reminds me of the pulp of some grapefruits or blood orange. The head is an off-white that settles down to a thin cap on the top of my goblet. Lacing ends up delicate an spotty, with an occasional icicle-like patch.

Smell- I get a light flowery aroma from the hibiscus; a bit of citrus from the Sterling and Magnum. Rounding out the aroma profile I get a touch of orange and I’m pretty sure, some bit of yeast.

Taste- Wow. It tastes like it smells, in a good way. It’s orangey in the front, a little fruit in the middle, and (it’s got to be) the hibiscus in the end, with a little bit of hops on the end. As I licked my lip off, I got another orange dose. Just… wow. All flavors synchronized and played their part just like… what’s that band that sings about a message in a bottle?

Mouthfeel- I’ll give it a medium minus, though light and as I like to say “good bubble.” Refreshing and easy to take multiple sips in a short time.

Overall- Perhaps my second favorite (Quadrotriticale being #1) Stochasticity offering, Hibiscusicity is the glamorous, avant-garde and maybe “black sheep” cousin to Verboten or Maredsous 6. Keep up the strange work, Stone.

And now, if you didn’t catch the setup…

 

Excellent pic - surreal...

 

Greetings all,
Stunning day here in Greensboro- cool, bright, full blown Autumn. This morning I had the good fortune to hit a bunch of golf balls with my son and I don't care that the Packers are beating the crap out of the Panthers. I apologize for the crappy photo, but my technical assistant has gone to the store. Today is a bit Anglo oriented. In that blurry photo rests a Mystery Brewing Co. Pickwick English Mild Ale. Mystery is in beautiful old historic Hillsborough and is brewing an array of Old World brews that often hit the mark.
This beer threw a smallish head with an aggressive pour, but the bead persists to replenish a nice white cap. For a 3.4% beer to carry this much flavor is very nice for sure. Newcastle colored, roasted, very pure malt all the way with a prickly bit of hops to challenge the roasted malt. I will buy this one again.
Waterloo Sunset is simply a beautiful song and here's a nod to the Brits and their beer heritage.
Laurelyn Dossett and Rhiannon Giddens are local artists that are notable. Laurelyn's song "Anna Lee" was featured on Levon Helm's Grammy winning recording, "Dirt Farmer". Rhiannon Giddens is a member of The Carolina Chocolate Drops.

 

Thank you for the compliment. You do some excellent work yourself!

 

What's happening NBS players. Nice little Sunday here on eastern long island. Cool, breezy, and fall for sure with football all day and some walkers tonight. Bunch of beers ahead so best to review first and sober.

My new beer today is Pumpkin Barrel Ale from Fire Island Beer Co. I'm not a huge fan of this company (location without a brewery) or their other beers but I grabbed a single to complete a mix 6 on a whim.

Pours out average with a pretty decent nose of pumpkin spices - cinnamon, nutmeg etc. Initial taste comes off light with subtle pumpkin flavor. Spices are pretty mute as compared to the nose. Pretty light mouth feel and almost a bit watery. The ale really seems to try and stay toward true pumpkin flavor but it's just not as pronounced as I would like it. A very average pumpkin ale that the 82 ba score seems to be spot on,

 

Port Jeff's about 20-30 minutes from me here on LI...

This is their recently released Fresh Hop Ale...

Paired with some Mrs. Paul's fried tilapia - accented with parmesan, parsley, and lemon juice...

 

Hello NBSers! Today we have a beer I tasted at the brewery last weekend, but this is a new full pour of the bottle bought that day. It's Fair Maiden IIPA from Foley Brothers in Brandon, VT. The color is a lightly cloudy deep Amber. Head is white and lacing is generous. Smell is strongly pine resin and dank with just a bit of fruitiness, more peach than citrus. Flavor follows the nose very closely, with some added graham cracker maltiness and lingering bitterness on the finish. The last is the only flaw I can find in this outstanding beer. I'd score it over 4.25, under 4.5, mostly because I prefer a juicy hop profile and because of the finish.

Really amazed at what these guys are doing in a converted barn. My in-laws have a house 20 minutes from the brewery and I recall when Foley Bros had a hand written sign pointing to the dirt road driveway to the property that said "Brewery" or some such. Their Maple Brown is tremendous and their Forgotten Ale is a sour I found to be wonderful, and I generally don't like the style.

 

I *love* Tettnang!

It's New HOPS Sunday over here:



Picked this up a bit late in the game (beer's three months old according to label date), but the single hop aspect was too much for me to pass up. In this case, the Equinox hop smells and tastes very much like the mix in Sierra Nevada's Celebration -- it's a super sweet/super bitter IPA that toes the line between full on orange-citrus vs. caramel.

I rated it where everybody else has placed it (3.83):
http://www.beeradvocate.com/beer/profile/140/129422/?ba=Premo88

I would've loved to grab this several weeks ago to see how much freshness helps it, but as it is, it's good. Not great, but I love the big bitter bite of green grass and citrus, which is taming the overly sweet I don't like in DIPAs ... and the 6.5% ABV is nice. Nothing crazy but enough punch to marry with a ton of flavor.

BTW, this sucker poured cloudy but cleared up pretty quickly. Check it out:

(right after pour)


(about 20 minutes later)


my photo skills suck, but there's enough there to see the difference, no? I'm assuming Sierra Nevada bottle conditions this brew like they do many of their others, so the cloudy-to-clear act makes some sense.

Hope you're enjoying your Sunday ...
Cheers!

 

I decided on a lager for lunch, so I pulled out this single I bought a few weeks ago. One of my life 'beer' goals is to have a beer from every state (41 so far) and at least 100 countries (36), so when I saw this Beerlao Lager, from Laos, I had to try it.
There was a nice, long lasting head when I poured it into the glass, with plenty of carbonation rising to the top. Many of these type of beers have heads that fade quickly, so I was impressed that it lasted almost as long as it took to drink it. The aroma was slightly sweet, expected from a beer made with rice & malt. I was prepared for the worst when I took my first swig, but instead I was pleasantly surprised. I would equate the taste with Budweiser. For an import from Laos that may have been months old, and could have suffered the consequences of traveling half around the world, this lager was still fresh tasting and enjoyable!

 

To rorjets above. I'll bet that beer is great in Laos with spicy food and dodging the sun! To Roxie, I had to save a chipmunk from my cat.

 

Happy NBS! An absolutely beautiful fall day here in South Dakota, nary a cloud in the sky. Used the opportunity for some end-of-season yard work. Rewarded myslef with one of the brews I brought back from a recent Chicago trip. 5 Grass Hoppy Ale from 5 Rabbit. This is not a very highly rated beer but i thoroughly enjoyed it. From my review:
Love the aroma. full of spice and lemon and grassy dankness and some pepper as well and a caramel sweetness underneath. I love the taste of this beer! I get plenty of citrus, lemon especially as well as the spiciness and dank grassy notes. A nice, dry finish as well.
The mouthfeel is very nice, medium and smooth.
Overall, I thought this was a wonderful take on the pale ale and was extremely refreshing and inviting.
Cheers! Now back to work...

 

great pic!

 

Well I guess in late again? Be a long cloudy day of doing leaves here in CT. Besides the snow I hate leaves. Owell at least I got a reward for finishing. Avoided this beer for awhile do to the price. $17 but pretty tasty, I ca taste the chard, yeasty upfront though, better as it got warmer.
Still having a problem with pics, damn Iphone. For all talk wondering it was Nebraskas melange a trois

 

Happy NBS! I haven't played this game in a while, but here it goes....


SC just started getting Prairies recently, and for now, only the sours. I'm not a fan of these but am trying to broaden my horizons. First of all, it looks fantastic, with a nice foamy head and good color. I'm getting the usual funk that comes with sours, but not much cherry. As I drink this, the lack of cherries continues. Halfway through, I'm still getting a nice 1/4 inch of lacing around my snifter. Overall, it's a well-made beer...just not MY type! Cheers!!

 

I am feeling very lazy today. The power went out about 20 mins before the start of the Packer game, but managed to come back on a few mins after it started. Packers rolled today and rode the Panthers right out of town.

It's a sunny, but blustery afternoon, so a BA Scotch Ale seemed appropriate for my second beer. Clown Shoes Ride the Lion starts off with a big malty sweetness of caramel and toffee along with butter scotch. The barrel is quite subdued, but adds to the flavor with some bourbon and oak. Finish has some peat and a slight hint of smoke. Pretty good on this Sunday.