New Beer Sunday (week 521)

I can't find any codes on my bottle at all. Mine is 9.2% and brewed with Hard Core Coffee as TongoRad pointed out.

 

Good morning everyone. And thanks to Maria for keeping us going today.
Starting the day with some Midnight Brett from Allagash.
What a finely crafted beer, the lightness of the Brett and the complexity of the
nose all supported by a delicate body really sent me.
Hope everyone in the area stays warm today.

Cheers all

Allagash Midnight Brett

Allagash Brewing Company
American Wild Ale / 7.30% ABV

4.19/5 rDev +7.7% | rAvg: 3.89
look: 4 | smell: 4.25 | taste: 4.25 | feel: 4.25 | overall: 4

Poured from bottle dated 6/16/2014, into a modified tulip glass.

A - Deep mahogany, in color. A chorus of carbonation presents steady work culminating in a sustained meringue of a cap. Striking in its construction and consistency. Little lacing leaves its home.
S - Tart dark fruit, fig, red grape skin, Michigan dark cherries, blond tobacco, and warm tanned leather, hints of Cala lily and light oak. All add up to a clear challenge for this guys nose!
T - Oh that Brett, not overpowering but acts as the thread that holds this all together.
Cherries, again start things off but quickly give way to warmer notes of light oak, roasted malts, hints of citrus. Incredible in its complexity the flavors run around like an rush hour traffic rotary. The whole while maintaining a lite touch, and with a little warming the fruitiness subsides. Ending with a opaque maltiness. Delicious in every aspect.
M- Wonderfully light in its touch, initial tartness try's to roll up your palate, those tiny bubbles fight that off, leaving an even coating of delicate sweetness lingering for some time. A very intriguing experience for sure.
O - A delight to be had, from the creamy cap, through the ever evolving bouquet. to the palate dance. This Allagash offering is worth seeking out.

 

Today i got Jack's Abby Framinghammer....bottled 2/3/15. I worked hard fighting the snow and dare i say "risked my life" to travel out and pick up a 4-pk yesterday.

An odd case here where i have had the barrel-aged version of this beer but never the base version. But here goes....

Real bitter charred malts and cocoa on the aroma, balanced nicely by a sweetness of milk chocolate, caramel, and brown sugar. The taste follows the nose in terms of bitterness, but i get even more sweetness than in the aroma. Charred, charred malts, but sweet flavors come in right away and balance. Caramel, even a nutty almond, toasty brown sugar. On the finish there is some hop bitterness, slight alcohol, and a lingering roastiness. Incredibly smooth texture and feel, flavors very clear and concise.

Rated 4.36 on BA scale. I have to say, i may like this better than the barrel-aged version, i feel like the flavors im getting were a tad covered by the barrel, but now im getting everything. If i look at my scores i did rate the barrel-aged version higher....but maybe it was a case of bias because of rarity....(thats right i just called myself out).

My plans for the rest of my 4-pk are to age out. I was waiting to try one before deciding, but i feel this beer will come together even more with some age.

Cheers everyone! And for those in the northeast, stay inside and enjoy a new beer or two...

 

Good morning and happy NBS to everyone! It may be frigid here, but it is sunny outside!

I took my girls to summertime yesterday. It is a local indoor garden with plants and trees from tropical locations. It may have been 0 outside, but it was a humid 80 inside and felt glorious. They sure had a fun time visiting summer!

Today's first offering is stupendous! Coffee Framinghammer starts off with aromas of roasty, chocolaty with some coffee and cream. Hints of vanilla and oak. I would say the chocolate is more dominant than the coffee.

The flavor is big chocolate and vanilla that moves into some roasted malt. The coffee is rather faint, but pleasant along with some cocoa and cream. Notes of caramel and oak round it off. I really like the chocolate flavor and that the alcohol is hidden.

This was a terrific BA Baltic Porter with coffee added. Reminds me of a local favorite, Tyranena Devil Over a Barrel, but even better.

 

Good point. This has been a current theme i.e. Jim Koch and his antics, New Belgium and that deal, Magic Hat .. etc. I think it's just better to not get involved. If you like their beer, drink it.

 

I actually just bought one recently, there is a date code on mine so i know its this years release....and its 8.9% with no mention of the "hard core coffee".

Whats interesting is i reviewed my notes from last year and the abv was 9.2%. So either thats last years bottle, or they brewed two separate batches. Perhaps one from Chicago and one from Cali?

 

Huh. There's a hop-candy aroma, and the flavour opens sort of savoury?, sort of like onions and steak. Yes, it does make me think of Lagunitas IPA. The sort of greenness/onion-y-ness/earthiness makes me think Simcoe, but I suppose that must be the CTZ. It settles to hoppy but not bitter, grassy, green, brown, green onions, and maybe cream cheese or something. Overall: yum.

The codes for Lagunitas are printed on the neck or shoulder in black ink. Sometimes that makes them nearly impossible to find or read, which just seems so silly. Anyway—yes, I was curious because I noted the difference in ABV and the Hard Core Coffee branding. It's a 0.3%-points difference, which made me wonder if they're trying to use a couple of labels to cover batch variation in ABV, but perhaps also the ones you found were a special edition? Just curious.

 

Just finished shoveling another 10 inches of snow. 90 minutes of back breaking work. One day I'll invest in a snow blower. My front yard is a snow bank.

I rewarded myself with the Blue Lobster One and a Half IPA from Hampton, N.H. 7.6% ABV. Murky amber pour under a humongous, foamy off-white head. This picture was taken after the head settled some. But it was over the top. Leaves plenty of lacing. Earthy hop notes mainly with a grainy, malty character underneath. Medium body that has an astringency to it that causes it to end with a bitter bite. I wonder if they were attempting a Double IPA and didn't quite get there - thus it became a 1 1/2 IPA. Or maybe it was entirely deliberate.

Blue Lobster opened in 2012 and they are located in a small plaza on the main drag, US Route 1. When they first opened they mainly sold growlers at the brewery but in the last year they began bottling select beers. This being one of them. One of the more interesting things about the quaint tasting room is that they use a turntable to play the music you hear in there. Very 1970's to 1980's - which is why I added the music link that I did below. I miss the women of the 70's.




Squeeze. "Cool for Cats"

 

Good afternoon all NBS participants from a once again snowy NH. I'm glad to say that this little storm only deposited about 12" of snow in my yard but other than a couple hours of cleanup this morning it's a great day here, if you call 9 degrees and 40 mph wind gusts nice.
I'm going back to my local brewery, White Birch Brewing in Hooksett, NH for my new beer this week as the labels finally arrived and they were able to release there Birchwood Smoked Stout. This is a big stout coming in at 11.5% ABV. I'm drinking bottle #556 out of 576 this afternoon and enjoying every sip.

Birchwood Smoked Stout

4.23/5 rDev n/a
look: 4.25 | smell: 4.25 | taste: 4.25 | feel: 4 | overall: 4.25

This is a great addition to White Birch's growing line of smoked beers.
Pours a very dark black color with a thin tan head.
There is mild smokiness in the nose.
The smokey flavor is not overpowering but combines wonderfully with the richness of the stout.
The mouthfeel is smooth.
All in all a great flavor in this smoked stout will pick up a few more bottles to cellar away and see how it ages

 

Love that Less Than Jake hot sauce!!!

 

Interesting. I'll ask the dudes at the store I bought it from if I remember. The ABV listed on the Beer Advocate page is 9.2% which probably is in line with older batches.

 

New DIPA Sunday
Greetings NBSer's,
Nothing much to reports other than it's cold in MN, no sh*t, but I certainly can sense we are going into the final corner with longer days and more birds chirping (just not today, it's too damn cold).
Also this is the 1st weekend since Xmas without grandkids hanging around, which is a blessing in and of itself.
Today I continue my NBS trek through beers from larryi86 and part of NBS BIF#1. I think I only have one beer left after this one and I might save that for something special.
I've been going through quite a few DIPA's lately - it seems the season- and I'm getting fussier on this style. I great one is truly a wonderful experience, but it's hard to make a good standard DIPA and there are too many that don't really make the grade (or I'd be willing to buy again).
http://www.beeradvocate.com/beer/profile/19897/56467/?ba=garymuchow

And for closing a one hit wonder. Many are quite good and this one is no exception. DISCO!

Best to all this week.

 

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Still the greatest video ever made

 

A truly excellent beer. I have not had the 2015 batch yet

 

On to new beer number two! This is a blueberry beer from Evil Twin, and it is another great stout from them, cheers!

Evil Twin / Amager - From Amager With Love - Evil Twin Brewing

4.39/5 rDev +5%
look: 4.5 | smell: 4.25 | taste: 4.5 | feel: 4.5 | overall: 4.25

22 oz bottle poured into a teku

A- Pitch black with deep two finger mocha head.

S- Dark chocolate, roasted coffee, some smokiness, dark fruit, and a faint hint of blueberries, some caramel malts.

T- Chocolate, bitter roasted coffee, smoky finish, some dark fruit and tart blueberries. Blueberries aren't a big or bold flavor but noticeable and enjoyable. Beer has a very nice balance.

M- Smooth, full body.

O- Another good 10+% stout from Evil Twin, blueberries are a nice touch. Alcohol is well hidden. Very easy to drink.

I just wish Evil Twin could make their beers cheaper, cheers!

 

Thanks, it is really good!

 

To change the mood a little
I've been posing down the pub
On seeing my reflection
I'm looking slightly rough

...

although feeling pretty good right now myself

 

I think you just inspired me for next Sunday's breakfast!

 

I drank it after Midnight so it counts as New Beer Sunday

Received a Great IPA from @humuloner22 Jade

http://www.beeradvocate.com/beer/profile/11036/65993/?ba=SammyJaxxxx

and a great Stout from @mndanika Road Slush from New Glarus

http://www.beeradvocate.com/beer/profile/590/28267/?ba=SammyJaxxxx

and a pretty good Helles from Southern Tier


Later on today I am going to get back into my BIF box from @woemad

Listening to Noah Gunderson on this windy frigid afternoon

 

Really? I thought you'd blown it out in one night with brutal efficiency!