New Beer Sunday (week 518)

Nice! The early bird gets the worm...or in this case the brew...cheers NBS!

 

I'll be along eventually. Cheers all!

 

5% alcohol. 20 IBU. Introduced in 2014. I bought a single of this as Rouse's on Leon C. Simon Blvd. & Franklin Ave. in New Orleans, yesterday afternoon.

My review:
Shiner Birthday Beer has a thin-to-medium beige head, a dark brown (almost black) appearance, and just a small amount of lacing left behind. The aroma is of strong, sweet, bold chocolate, but the flavor is more of somewhat dull, a bit acidic bitterness, chocolate taste, and bread notes. Mouthfeel is medium, and Shiner Birthday Beer finishes somewhat powdery and drinkable. RJT

 

Good day and happy NBS . Weather here in Denver is chilly but very pleasant for late January. Going to be a very dry winter down here at 5420 feet above sea. The mountains are getting what they need with snow . Any way my new beer is fantastic nose to this edition more tropical notes mangoes almost a passion fruit flavor. Taste awesome. Another win for stone. Cheers NBS Godsmack - Rocky Mountain Way:

 

I was going to wax lyrical about how disappointing this FA Cup weekend has been after seeing Chelsea lose a 2 goal lead and lose 4-2 to Bradford City, but I'd rather just drink.

This beer smells very subdued. I get subtle apricot fruitiness and a little bit more of the woody notes, with equally subtle spiciness. It smells good, it just doesn't pop.

Wow. I just realized that this is 13% ABV and I haven't noticed much alcohol -- until I think about it. There's a good amount of heat but the flavors do try to mask the booze. The taste is much like the aroma, with very subtle apricot sweetness, some malt backbone, and a piny, citrusy grapefruit peel finish. Yes, in the finish you do start to feel the ABV and the peppery heat.

The longer I drink this the hotter and boozier it gets yet it maintains the flavor profile.
Not a bad sipper but 13% ABV is just not my cup of tea. I don't mind this beer, I believe I got it for $8 or so, pretty good by Evil Twin's standards.

 

NEW FLANDERS OUD-WEIZEN-BRUN-BOCK

Happy NBS all! I was up way too late last night reading some dystopian, feminist-style science fiction. A Handmaid's Tale by Margaret Atwood was chilling and impossible to put down. I had a hard time focusing on how great this beer was.

http://www.beeradvocate.com/beer/profile/72/106399/?ba=DIM



I would love to have access to unlimited quantities of both of the base beers and the barrel aged versions. It would be fun to find the perfectly puckering proportions for my persnickety palate's pleasure. Whatever, this beer was great as is! Cheers!

 

Cheers Dave and Maria, and to all of the NBS crew!

I have another bottle share to go to today and the hosts will again be providing the refreshments. I may break my rules of not reviewing at such events and having a minimum sampling so I may be back with some reviews.

If not, I'll probably post some pics on the WBAYDN thread.

 

Well thought out re the style, Maria. I too like mine of the style to grab my attention but in those subtle ways that...like Reissdorf Kölsch
Now there's a thing of beauty and it is widely available. Oh Yeah, the Yanks brew some good ones as well. Even in Wyoming.

 

A few weeks ago I posted in NBS my impressions of a new beer from Straub Brewing: Straub Helles: http://www.beeradvocate.com/community/threads/new-beer-sunday-week-512.237836/page-2#post-3062616

Since I has so much fun last week doing a taste off of Sierra Nevada Nooner Pilsner vs. Jever Pilsener I thought what the heck how about another competition?

So, this week will be a side-by-side tasting of Straub Helles and Spaten Premium Lager

Are you ready to rumble one mo’ time!?!

Appearance

Straub Helles: Light straw color with a nice fluffy white head.

Spaten: Light straw color with a nice fluffy white head.

Aroma

Straub Helles: Predominantly Pilsner malt aroma with a hint of Noble hop aroma.

Spaten: Light to moderate aromas of Pilsner malt plus some Noble hops on the nose.


Taste:

Straub Helles: The flavor follows the aroma with pleasant Pilsner malt flavor. The Noble hop flavor is a bit more noticeable vs. the aroma. Light – moderate hop bitterness; just enough to provide some balance to the Pilsner malt flavor.

Spaten: Like the aroma, the taste has initial flavors of Pilsner malt followed by spices from the hops in the finish. There is a light to moderate amount of bitterness.

Mouthfeel

Straub Helles: Light – medium body but finishes dry.

Spaten: Same as Straub; light – medium body but finishes dry.

Overall

Straub Helles: I like this new beer from Straub. A nice drinkable (süffig) beer which is Pilsner malt focused with just the right amount of Noble hops for the Helles style.

Spaten: Also an enjoyable Helles with Pilsner malt dominating with some Noble hop contributions.

These were two tasty Helles beers that I enjoyed drinking.

Cheers!

 

Today: Baird / Stone / Ishii 'Japanese Green Tea IPA'


First thought—delicious!

I perused the beer release thread beforehand for this one, and it seems to be a polarising beer. I love it. There is a huge fresh matcha flavour, with some of that almost-milky creaminess you get in green tea ice cream or a green tea latte. I really think matcha rather than any whole-leaf tea. Bits of tropical fruit too—it reminds me of some of the Enjoy By beers, actually—and some nice green tea nuttiness. Overall, the tea and hops are both big, and they complement each other well.

Really good.


To the last drop.

 

I remember some of the movie version being really strange too!

 

Hmmm, I'd like to see that. Apparently it's an opera too.

 

Happy NBS BIF "release day". Luckily we won't have to traverse our respective towns searching for which bottle shops have the beer we are searching for, because it was delivered to our door ! I will have 3 beers today from my BIF sender, @strohme2.

Actually hit the gym today, and had a good workout. Temps outside are just a tad nippy, could do something outside today if needed. Unfortunately, UVa plays in-state rival Va Tech today at 1pm. On paper, this could be over by halftime, but rivalry games more than any other aren't played on paper.

Today's first BIF is from Mountain Town Brewing Co out of Mt Pleasant, MI. My girlfriend saw an old bottle in her search and I see it might be double entered here as Mt Pleasant Brewing Co (a brewpub that I guess is related), but I didn't do much more research. This beer is Train Wreck, an Amber ale brewed with Maple Syrup and Honey, and clocks in at 8.2% ABV.



Beer pours clear and 5-10 minutes in the carbonation can still be seen rising to the top, even though the original pour did not bring much head (the pic is within a minute of pour). The nose is almost all malt, with the honey coming through more than the maple syrup, it seems. Taste does have a tart bitter bite up front, reminding me it is an amber ale, but is replaced with a darker sweetness that I assume is the advertised sweetening agents. There is also a little bit of woodiness in the end as the sweetness fades.

Amber ales are not usually up my alley; in fact, they may be one of my least favorite styles. However, I am used to lighter versions than this beer. I enjoyed this, the sweetness was not at all overpowering. Yet another beer that reminded me of a style it's not purporting to be, in this case more of a Dunkel, as it felt darker than an amber. I saw one review that mentioned Arrogant Bastard, and I could see that for the malt side, but it's nothing like it on the hops side.

 

What did you make of the Munich malt presence in either/both? To my palate, Spaten has an almost explosive melanoidin malt character that I typically associate with decoction mashing and/or Munich malt.

 

Good afternoon fellow NBS-ers! Today's entry for me is SN 2015 Beer Camp Hoppy Lager, Spring Seasonal.

Courtesy of @millerbuffoon

Pours a crystal clear golden to orange body with a fluffy white head that leaves tons of lacing in the glass.
Slight aromas of citrus, some pine and dry malts.
Tastes of bitter hops up front with a super dry finish, slight unpleasing after taste of straight bitterness.
Smooth and easy to drink with a decent amount of carbonation.
Overall a decent brew, but just not enough going on for me. Not really a lager fan. Happy to have had a chance to try it though.



Cheers!

 

Here is the first beer from my NBS BIF box, which was a great experience and I hope we do more of these in the future. Today I am drinking Fat Head's Head Hunter courtesy of @FlakyBiscuit , who sent me an amazing box. This beer has a huge hop aroma and a great color, while California is full of IPAs this one is really exceptional. Lots of citrus in the aroma and flavor, a great example of an IPA. I look forward to see what everyone else breaks out of their boxes today.

 

This is a good post to follow @jhartley Happy NBS! My palate is definitely changing as I find myself starting to crave lower ABV beer. I still enjoy the big barrel aged stouts and hopped up IIPAs, just not as often.

Nooner starts off with aromas of light, sweet bready malts with some hay, straw and grain. A touch of fruity citrus hops to give it a bit more character. There are flavors of sweetness from the malts. Fleshy fruit notes mingle with the straw, hay, grain, and bread. A bit of green citrus hops on the finish make it a unique take on the classic style.

I bought a single of Nooner and the Hoppy Lager. Much preferred Nooner and may have to grab a six pack. It's quite good.

 

Today i do not have a new beer....(bear with me...)....i have had Sierra Nevada Bigfoot Barleywine before but never aged! So today my new beer is aged Bigfoot. Im doing a 2015 v 2014, fresh v 1 year. I know there have probably been a thousand bigfoot vertical reviews posted on BA, but id like to give my input, ill keep it to just general observations.

If i were to do this blind i would be convinced these were different brews by the aroma alone. Fresh has much brighter sweeter fruit notes of cherry and berries, aged has started taking on some winter dark fruit notes of figs, raisins, plums....and has a real nice sherry, port aroma. Fresh tastes much more sugary and fruitier, obv the piney hops are much more forward, a real crisp bitterness. Aged just tastes much richer, and full, follows nose with just wonderful dark fruits and thick molasses.

Im just blown away by the difference. I prefer the aged, but probably just because the hops have faded and lets the malts showcase more. Im more of an english barleywine guy than an american barleywine. But both are fantastic.

Cant wait to do larger verticals in years to come. Enjoy your day everyone....cheers