New Beer Sunday (week 524)

EC12 is a very nice bourbon. Would be nice to try an Impy with it.

Cheers!

 

New Saison/Farmhouse Ale Sunday!

Work day was fun and active, played a co-worker in chess during down time. 1st game was a no-brainer, 2nd Game had to use some Dynamic Tactics to open up the H file that would result in Mate in 2 moves. Enough of that, time for the Beer!



Courtesy of @GetMeAnIPA Thank You!

As of late, I've been feeling under the weather with what feels like maybe a Cold or Sinus Infection. Today was a nice day (weather wise), so I'm going to crack open a less than 6% brew for today. This brew pours gorgeous for its style(s), brass straw in appearance with just enough haze to keep it mysterious. There's a nice soapy white head that builds the beer's character even more. Very pleasnt look beer. I'll try to use my sniffer to see what we're working with.. Smells like Wheat crackers and slight citric zest and spice. It's short and to the point, how I like my women. The smells getting my interest, how's the flavor? This tastes like pure refreshment. There's wheat crackers, spice and some corn. The corn works well with sweetness left behind and doesn't clash itself with what's going on with the beer. This finishes dry and slightly tart like a green apple, lingering corn and crackerish malts in the aftertaste. There's a mild floral bitterness that acts as a refresher and not a palate wrecker. The feel is very light, with very decent carbonation.

Overall: This brew is pretty solid and enjoyable to me. I'm also a Belgian kinda guy and this I would drink after working all day in the fields. Not too sweet and not too dry, balanced enough to keep you coming back to it. Is it setting new bars, no. Is it doing its job, yes! Nice compliment to a hard days work! This brew is Worthy!

Grade: B+

Musical Narration:



Cheers my Fellow New Beer Sunday Crew!

 

Is it spring? Sunday
Edit: just realized I took a nice selfie (though mostly my hands/the camera) via the glass
I think this is one of if not the first day this year the high in Cleveland has been above freezing. What better reason to drink some fresh fruit? I can't wait to eat some that's locally grown (vs imported from South America).

Unfortunately despite being well rated for me this beer did not deliver. Give me New Glarus any day. My formal review is below. Bottom line- good promise but why is this bitter and it needs more acidity



750ml bottle poured into a pint glass
A: Dark pink with a pink one-finger head (4.25)
S: Pure, fresh raspberry with a bit of wheat and Belgian yeast (4.25)
T: Initially this matched the nose with intense fresh raspberry and wheat but then a weird bitter note took over and provided an unpleasant lengthy finish. Not sure if the yeast got weird in the bottle or something else but it definitely turned a very good beer into something rather disappointing (3.5)
F: Light-bodied, semi-sweet but balanced though again the bitter is out of place (3.5)
O: Promising but for the price this bottle was a let-down. If that bitter note wasn't there and the fruit/wheat kept the stage I would be scoring this a lot higher. Without the bitter note it would go from very good to perfect if there was a bit of acidity to complement the sweetness (3.75)

 

Been away for a while, busy traveling for work and just generally taking care of biz, it's good to be back. Got a chance to do a little skiing this week, was pretty nice to get out on the slopes again. We've had a bit of snow, so I've had to shovel a couple hours yesterday, but nothing like our poor East Coast brethren have had to deal with. Anyway, we've had about 4 days of sunshine now, with several more on the forecast so it will all be gone in a couple days. Watching some NASCAR action right now and enjoying a nice inclusion from the Stone 12 pack.

Stone Cali-Belgique IPA

Appearance: Poured a clear light golden yellow color, with a big fluffy white head. Very nice retention and lacing.
Smell: Some nice citrus and spicy aromas, with some back notes of bubblegum sweetness.
Taste: Pretty close to the smell, with nice citrus and spicy belgian yeasty flavors.
Mouthfeel: fairly light bodied, slightly dry finish, quite nice.
Overall: Great addition to Stone's 12-pack, very nice IPA hoppiness and spicy yeast belgian flavors, good combination. I like this beer a lot.

Prost BAs!

 

Well, the planets have aligned, and I am finally (2nd time ever) having a new-to-me beer on a Sunday, and am ready to post stuff (not always possible on Sundays for me).
I've seen Grapefruit Sculpin several times here in central NY over the past 3 months, but have always declined to purchase based on it being the middle of winter, price, etc. Today, with no expectation whatsoever (the only beer I had in mind was some standard Guinness Extra for St.Paddy's around the corner), I stumbled upon GFS for the first time at my local grocery store, and snatched it up for 12.99/six. Today, serendipitously, is also the first day above 30 degrees here since December, I think (exaggeration, but very close to true), and the forecast is actually calling for "warmer than 30" over the next week. It is still early March, but I won't lie, I am dying for today to be my own official "first day of Spring", so, it is. And what better way to celebrate the lovely thaw that is in our midst:

My first Grapefruit Sculpin. I would call this a summer beer for me, and I'm in the mood to imagine a sunny summer afternoon, watching golf on tv, sipping a tasty, fruity beverage while all my cares drift into space (wait for the song reference). I'm drinking it too fast, but here's my quick review. Clear golden pour, medium white head. Smell of lime juice, pineapple, grapefruit, honey. Taste is pure grapefruit with a light kiss of lime. Very light body, just like Sculpin has. Love how this tasty IPA melds big taste with light feel. It stands out in that way, and the GF version is no different. All winter I've been eating grapefruit in the morning to keep my vitC count up and hopefully stave off the random cold. Such practice may be more placebo effect than real science (I know citrus is not the best source of vitC, but so what), but it's one of those things I've done all my life, so why stop now. Drinking this beer puts my tastebuds right back in mind of starting a cold winter morning with grapefruit. Cheers to the sunny side of life, and cheers to my first day of Spring.

Yeah, I know it's a cover of the Drifters version (i like the original, but think the stilted vocals don't fit the lyrics IMO), but since it's a CKing/GGoffin tune and JT has long history with CKing, I think it's fair to say this is the best version of the song (JT played on CKing's solo version of this). Just let your cares drift out into space......

 

New Chile Beer Sunday:



Cracked that open in the early Sunday morning hours after the late shift ... reviewed it, too (in fact, @cavedave almost got this week's NBS up as I was doing it -- way to get the worm, early cavebird!):

http://www.beeradvocate.com/beer/profile/24326/80522/?ba=Premo88

3.96 (+21.1% rDev)

It's taken me a couple of years of gentle-but-progressive wading from the shallow end of the craft beer pool into the deeper water to reach the point where a jalapeno beer seemed like a good idea. In fact, I passed on this particular brew in 2013 and 2014 -- but not in 2015. No life preserver, neither!

And the wait worked out perfectly because this brew wouldn't make as much sense to my palette had I not tried a few smoked beers/rauchbiers and some peaty beers first. No Label puts both raw jalapenos and smoked jalapenos into the batch (seeds included according to the description), and you get ALL of that in the taste -- the green pepper flavor, the smoked quality (with a little peat flavor) and plenty of pepper heat in a lingering aftertaste that feels like chili powder and cayenne. I love jalapenos and green bell peppers, so the green pepper taste here is fantastic. I'm also Cajun and grew up on Tex-Mex and Mexican food, so some good pepper heat is a daily requisite for good health.

It's a great brew and one that is screaming to be paired with tacos ... or cheese. I rarely eat food with my beer, but this one seems to send images of food straight to the brain ... yummy tacos ... or that gouda in the fridge ... something! I'll be pairing food with the remainder of the six-pack of the coming week. Maybe it will kick-start me into more beer-food pairings.

Need a trip to the recycling center soon:


Cheers!

 

Sakes Alive!!! You Northwesterners (@woemad and @beertunes, we're looking at you) , keeping the brewing industry afloat.
Of course that has me thinking to myself, "I need to get back up that way!"

 

I forgot to mention there was also some Montana-made bourbon involved. As distances were quite short and I was on foot, I felt I could indulge a bit.

As the weather is so nice (nearly 60 last I checked), I'm thinking I'm going to save the new beers I bought for a future NBS and walk over to River City and get my grunt on with something I haven't done before from them if there's anything that fits the bill.

 

@Betolito Que bonita esta cancion. I have seen X, the Blasters, Dave w/ the Guilty Men & solo, John Doe, Xcene, and even The Pleasure Barons. But I never got to see the Kntters. And that's my favorite song that they ever covered. Nice pull man. Everybody here should give it a listen.
Cheers

 

Good evening (hour sooner than usual ) fellow NBS-ers!
Today's entry is the first beer I am having in a few days....I just haven't been into having one. Drinking a beer is about being happy and celebratory, I don't drink when I am depressed...most times.
Anyway today's entry:
Smuttynose Old Brown Dog Ale

Pours a murky brown color with tons of floaties within it, kind of reminds me of Founders Curmudgeon.
Some chocolate aromas
Taste matches with the smell; chocolate and some bitterness on the end
An easy drinking brown ale.
Doesn't blow me away but is pretty solid.



Cheers!

Cross-posting with WBAYDN#869

 

Hey what's going on!?!

Well there was 7 inches in my backyard, and now it's nearly all gone... please tell me this is the end of winter down here. Got some ice skating in for one last time, and that should be the end.

Busy very good weekend. Great opening day for MLS, book club all done today, box of goodies arriving much ahead of schedule (gotta love that) and change is in the air.

Speaking of change and drowning a PLiny before hand... we need to have something new today!

What is new for our hero! Oh many things! But let's check out first this lovely lady to begin with for NBS!

Panil Torrechiara Birre Artigianali - Raphael Oak Aged Red Ale / Batch #1 Vintage 2013


Panil Torrechiara Birre Artigianali - Raphael Oak Aged Red Ale / Batch #1 Vintage 2013 by imbibehour, on Flickr

Review here or read below: http://www.beeradvocate.com/beer/profile/2467/115041/?ba=smakawhat

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Poured from the bottle into a tulip glass. Batch #1 vintage 2013.

Rocking three finger tan white head, light and fluffy looking as a feather with excellent pinhead carbonation. Rocking clumpy retention and lacing to match as well and not going anywhere. Body color is a burnt rust orange, opaque yet glowing with a classic roaring middle column of carbonation, and some on the sides of the glass, creeping up to repopulate the head wonderfully. Aggressive, take no prisoners, near perfection and a shocking good looking brew.

Interesting mix on the nose. Bouquet hits at dry peppery almost saison like notes but with much more tartness coming forward. Big fruit aroma and dry acetic tones really come out. Sour caramel mixes in as well. An excellent bouquet mixing an almost lambic fruit sense, biere de garde, and saison nose in a wild mix. Barrel character hints at just a bit of round quality but it's the esters and malts really scrambling for the limelight in a very enjoyable way.

Seems we were heading for greatness but first palate experience brings the beer down to earth. Dry heat manages to take in with simple malt body. Chewy and malt sweetness really does take a back seat, even a hint of wet, which does not give much character of any barrel greatness. Slow mix of mild tartness and light pepper, and a hint of caramel sweetness. Quite bright mineral aftertaste with a hint of mild toffee, but with tartness taking much of the sweetness character away.

Interesting brew that went in many different angles, not sure if by design either. Still comes out a little disappointing from appearance and nose but does make a good solid tasty experience all around at least.

look: 4.75 | smell: 4.5 | taste: 4 | feel: 3.75 | overall: 4 | BA generated score: 4.14

--------------------------

Real fascinating animal, delicious take though, with quite an interesting mix on fruit, ester and malt action unlike any other beer I have had. Really going hybrid here, for a nice tasty ride which is what really matters most.

 

You just described everything I love in a DIPA!

 

I love me some Portsmouth Brewery. Let's see how this one goes.

A: pours a light toasty brown with a fluffy moderate head that recedes quickly.
S: the nose has caramel, honey, and toast.
T: the taste follows the nose, with a dry, earthy hop finish.
M: nice creamy mouthfeel with medium-high carbonation.
O: another nice beer from P-brew, and I'm happy to finally track down a Vienna Lager made by a New England craft brewer...

I give it a 3.99. There are good things happening here. Cheers!

 

Nice review and excellent tunes. Never heard of these guys.

 

Agree. Excellent beer, but at $30, those are 1 time deals for me. Especially when you can almost have 2 Parabolas for that.

 

I really dug Angels.. Yet because this was the first album I heard from them, it holds a special place in my heart. I like their choice of 3 by 3 rhythm, makes it like a Death Waltz.

 

I'm with you @Roguer . I like the Eclipse variants a lot...but I stopped pulling that $30 trigger 2 years ago. While it is unique, the mouthfeel borders on creamy, the same issues you mention make it NOT as good as many others that are better AND cheaper.

 

Warmed up nicely here today, 47 degrees, shirt sleeve weather so I tried a Breckenridge SummerBright Ale. Nice, easy to drink, good warm weather brew.