New Beer Sunday (week 506)

Alright, I'll go with it!

 

New super-powered, tea infused Wit

It's another beautiful Sunday in West MI. Blue skies and mild temps made for fun tossing the football in the yard and getting in one of the last mows of the year.

The weekend was definitely bitter sweet. Had to say goodbye to a drinking buddy, and his wonderful family, who is moving south (making a good reason to crack the last of my 2012 KBS last night). A nice parting gift was left in the back of the fridge, as shown below.

http://www.beeradvocate.com/beer/profile/18680/89852/?ba=GRPunk

 

Also, RIP Jim Capaldi!

 

Don't worry, I've got a fridge-door full of Undead Party Crasher to make up for any shortcomings in this one. =]

I was expecting the bourbon to be a little more subtle, as it's blended, but for some reason—perhaps because I let it warm to about 50 degrees before sampling—the bourbon seemed really dominant. Any idea what barrels they used? It reminded me a lot of the Anderson Valley Wild Turkey beer, but I could just be primed by the label graphic.

 

Brisk cool weekend in these parts, so I made a big pot of sausage and lentil soup earlier this afternoon. Saw SN Snow Pack at the grocery this morning, so I picked it up to get a chance to try the coffee stout.

Decided to start with the Boomerang IPA. On the whole, a nice basic IPA with a refreshingly different hop profile, but nothing outstanding. A little too light for my tastes. No problem finishing the others from the pack, but I wouldn't buy this again as a standalone. Too many other IPAs that I enjoy more.





http://www.beeradvocate.com/beer/profile/140/135687/?ba=richj1970

 

Continuing to work on the snow pack with the coffee stout this time.

I had big hopes for this one since it falls into one of my favorite styles, and it delivered in spades. Lots of big coffee notes, hints of good quality chocolate, and plenty of roasted malts. This one alone makes the rest of the snow pack worthwhile...





http://www.beeradvocate.com/beer/profile/140/135684/?ba=richj1970

 

Visiting Atlanta for a couple days. Yesterday I stopped by the public debut of Second Self, and also Red Brick (formerly Atlanta) which is barely a mile away. Of course anytime I go anywhere Allagash is distributed I have to grab some

This shows a very nice blend of dark malt, cocoa and hops. Very balanced, as is every Allagash I've had. Looking forward to trying their Dubbel and Saison for the first time tonight or tomorrow also.

 

Well, my wife and I were talking about it and we could't decide if it was Claptonian or Claptonesque. One sounds like a species and the other like a play.

 

And, sadly, the final brew from the box I got from @TongoRad (thanks buddy!): http://www.beeradvocate.com/beer/profile/10607/133429/

 

Having just seen the polished perfect Paul McCartney presence, this raw old rock and roll is wonderful. The McCartney show was worth 3 times the money. It was a sonic historical tapestry that is visceral still. I suppose that I'm a captive of my era, but check out the Greensboro show if possible.

 

Another great New deal on great Stone Beer Sunday


Don't expect a lot of bourbon, but any fans of fresh AB are sure to love this delicious take on it. Barrel seemed to pronounce the dark fruity flavors, add a tiny bit of sweetness, and a nice fuzzy barrel dryness on the finish. Spicy chinook hops throughout. Delicious.

*New Vintage Sunday*

Juicy as ever, rich fruit toffee with some spicy hop bitterness in the finish. Delicious.

Cheers NBS!

 

Watching the Steelers game and decided to try another new beer:

Crop Weizen- Crop Bistro and Brewery Stowe VT

http://www.beeradvocate.com/beer/profile/28187/97980/

4.13/5 rDev +18%
look: 4 | smell: 4.5 | taste: 4 | feel: 3.75 | overall: 4.25

Bottle purchased under the name "crop weizen" at a bottleshop in Burlington, VT this summer. Poured into a tall weizen glass.

A- Body is a translucent, hazy straw yellow color. Pours with a 2 finger foamy white head that slowly fades to a thick collar. Some lacing is left behind in the glass.

S- Nose is very typical for a hefeweizen. Clove and banana are at the forefront with a soft, sweet, bready yeast backbone. A hint of floral hops may be mixed in there too. Nose is fantastic and spot-on for what you would expect in this style.

T- Flavor is quite mild upfront with some yeast and wheat in the background. All the flavor is at the end with a good amount of clove, banana, and bready yeast coming through for the finish. Lingering on is clove, bread, and a hint of banana.

M- Medium to high carbonation. Lightweight slightly bready body. Somewhat dry.

O- Overall this is a very nice, enjoyable hefe. Much more of a typical German hefe than an American wheat beer. When you pick out an American "hefeweizen" you are really rolling the dice and you never know what you are going to get. I am pleasantly surprised by this one and glad I decided to pick it up.



As a general note I really don't think a good wheat beer gets enough respect on this site

 

Good evening NBS! Hope everyone is enjoying the end of the weekend once again. I was supposed to brew a barleywine today and my stove decided to break. Need to replace the element socket under the stovetop now, it's all disintegrated(I only have 1 BIG element, all the others are tiny) . Luckily I get election day off so I'll brew it then.

New beers today:

Really nice. This is a paler side of the old ale spectrum, but still fits the style very well. Taste of caramel, toast, biscuit, pear, apple, berries, spruce, herbal, grass, light pepper, light nuttiness, and yeast earthiness. Very light amount of earthy bitterness on the finish. Balance between malt, spruce, noble hops, and English yeast character is spot on. No cloying flavors at all. Very smooth and fairly crisp finish; light amount of creaminess as well. Really enjoyable. 3.9


Very nice Belgian strong dark ale. Taste of raisin, plum, apricot, pear, apple, banana, clove, pepper, caramel, brown sugar, toasted bread, herbal, grass, and earthy yeast. Nice crisp yeast spiciness on the finish. Well carbonated and fairly dry finish. Great balance of malt, yeast, and earthy hop flavors. 8.9% and super smooth sipping with minimal alcohol heat on the finish. Delicious. 3.9


Quite nice for a Belgian imperial stout. Aromas were a bit weak, but had some good balance. Taste of milk chocolate, cocoa, coffee, toast, biscuit, brown sugar, raisin, plum, banana, clove, and light anise and light char. Some lightly roasty bitterness/spicy yeast notes on the finish. Good balance of the yeast, cocoa, and malt flavors. Really not getting anything overly salty with this, likely only doing the flavor enhancement as I had hoped. Tasty and enjoyable. 3.8


Cheers, have a good night NBS.

 

Greetings NBS people! Took a break from my chores today to sneak out to one of the region breweries for a bottle release. The place is called Four Fathers Brewing, and the beer is The Gadget mango IPA. It was also on tap, and that's what I reviewed.

The appearance is a very cloudy dark orange that resembles orange juice. There is a faint ring of foam around the glass with very little carbonation present.

Aroma is very strong and filled with tropical fruit. I picked up a cornucopia of grapefruit, mango, and passionfruit.

The flavor is a mix of mouth puckering goodness, including grapefruit, mango, and a bitter bite reminiscent of blood orange. Tropical fruit flavor in every sip. A bit of an acidic taste like drinking OJ or grapefruit juice after consuming about two thirds of a glass, but not off putting. I have to remind myself that I'm drinking a beer and not a mimosa!

In all a very satisfying beer from a regional place that I haven't frequented much, but they surprise me each time I come back. I suspect they're going to see more of my business. I'm going to give this one a 4.0. Hope you all had an enjoyable NBS.

 

I really don't drink a lot of ales this hue, ...but what they did with this?

I could drink it all day.

Unrelated, heard this on the radio the other day...

Hey, you don't have to be Lemmy to appreciate the Foo...

Don't forget, ...Dave's pedigree...

 

Greetings fellow NBSers,
Gearing up for tonights Walking dead and enjoying this Big Bad Baptist from Epic Brewing. This may have been the first bomber I picked up in AZ and is the first Epic brew that I've tried. Release #26 bottled last Dec and clocks in at 9.9%.


The coffee flavors really take a back seat to the cocoa nibs and dark fruit flavors and do not become readily apparent until later in the sip. It starts off mildly sweet and ends with a lingering coffee bitterness with just a touch of booze as it warms up. based on this one beer I would say that the brewery deserves its Epic appellation.


I'm sure this has been posted today but R.I.P. Wayne!

Edit: After letting it warm while I posted the chocolate became much more evident. Definitely something I can pick up for special occasions or when I am just happy with myself.

 

Hey NBSers, the rapid change from "float the river" weather to "snow in the forecast" weather is in full swing in the High Desert. I'm almost ready to ramp up the heavier beers, but there's still time for something light too.

Blood Orange Gose from Anderson Valley Brewing of Boonville, CA



Had not heard anything about this beer before I saw it at the shop, but I enjoyed the original incarnation so it was a no-brainer. No Kimmies, Yinks, or other boontling is part of the name this time, and I'm really fine with that. I can't really blame them for trying to stand out in a crowded market, but that name was a little much. Out of the can, it pours a clear pale orange with an active white head. The smell is mostly lactic with a little citrus hiding in back. The first sip is wonderfully tart. It takes a little bit for the blood orange to come out, and even at "full strength" it remains subtle, but I'm glad they didn't overdo the fruitiness. Just a touch of salt at the end. This beer sacrifices nothing of the original and adds a balanced blood orange flavor, it's a winner. 4/5

 

Hello New Age Bracket! 25-44! Happy Birthday to Me!

Remembered that I still had a birthday beer to review. I'd had a Kind Ryed earlier, then broke my NB glass. Now, I'm having Gridlock from DuClaw (and Mad Fox, since it appears to be a collaboration), which I hadn't heard of until I walked into The Wine Source. I'd had my birthday brunch with my parents at Birrotecca. I didn't order any beer there, but they had a decent selection. Can't believe I'm drinking DuClaw on my birthday. I got some much better stuff in the fridge, but @Shroud0fdoom got a bit too inebriated before he was supposed to come over. So, we will be having said beers on Monday (today now). All in all it has been a decent day, but I welcome slumber now.



It is actually quite decent, but I feel like I'm finding that these hoppy lagers or IPL's tend to taste the same. I think it has to do with the domineering nature of the characteristic lager flavor.