New Beer Sunday (week 538)

Free Will Brewing Company, Napoleon Reserve 2014

4.17/5 rDev n/a
look: 3.75 | smell: 3.5 | taste: 4.5 | feel: 4.5 | overall: 4.25

Look: Slightly Cloudy Straw into a Snifter, with an aggressive pour there's almost a finger of head, which dissipates quickly. For a saison, it's disappointing, but because it has Brett Brux, I'd say great for the style.

Smell: Like Lagunitas Little Sumpin Wild: White grapes, vanilla, not expecting much complexity. . .

Taste: .. but like Sumpin Wild I was expecting a something simple but pleasing; though, this turned out to be a much more complex beer than the smell would lead you to believe and the beer opens up like wildfire on the palate: apples, grapes, pears, wine, vanilla, then some oddly brown malt flavors, hibiscus petals, finishes with a complex, dry, very hay-infused funk. Hold on, I will let this warm to see if it comes together or stays separate. Definitely more cohesive once warmed to 55 or so. Oak starts to come through and brings everything together.

Feel: Exactly like a St. Germain Champagne cocktail, a brut-like dry finish with lingering sticky sweetness. Actually quite nice. Once it warms, the carbonation is less sharp, way more smooth, almost nitro smooth, despite much less carbonation.

Overall, a must try beer. I'd like this further aged in tequila barrels. What do you say, Free Will?

 

Good evening, NBSers! It's approximately 400 degrees in Mankato, and I just mowed, so let's have a couple of lawnmower beers. First up is Summer Daze from Mad Anthony in Ft. Wayne, IN.



3.67/5 rDev +3.4%
look: 3.75 | smell: 3.5 | taste: 3.75 | feel: 3.5 | overall: 3.75

Look: light golden color of straw with one finger of white head. Beautiful.

Smell: honey dominates, some citrus.

Taste: honey sweetness up front, tangy citrus follows. Very refreshing.

Feel: spritzy (is that a word?).

Overall: nice pale wheat ale. Great lawnmower beer.

 

Greetings All from the upper left corner of the US map.

Today it's Slow Ride, which is a nice beer and an even better song from the 70's rock band Foghat.
http://www.beeradvocate.com/beer/profile/192/144097/

I would drink the beer and hear the song again.

Grand day here in the Columbia Basin, sunny with temps in the upper 70's. Hard to beat, and I old glory flying in the front yard on the Flag Day. Really an undeserved holiday in my book.

Happy Trails!

 

If Dave is like me, it's either because he doesn't agree with you or he's never had the beer to agree with what you're tasting. I like because everyone's taste is different, regardless. If I feel you describe the beer to where I'm tasting it with you, then it's getting a like from me.

 

My NBS policy is to "like" every post that fits the basic parameters of NBS. Sometimes, if I'm on my phone, I miss one. I don't give likes to the "drive-by" posts, the ones that read like a WBAYDN post. Then, I judge the side comments/conversations individually.

 

Me too, just posting a pic isn't telling me anything about the brew. What you like or dislike from it. Would you drink it again etc..

 

#2, Anderson Valley's excellent example of the Gose style.



4/5 rDev +0.5%
look: 4 | smell: 4 | taste: 4 | feel: 4 | overall: 4

Look: hazy golden loveliness with a finger of white head.

Smell: salty, tangy, citrusy summer.

Taste: the salt assaults, then the orange tanginess follows, along with coriander. SOOOOOO refreshing.

Feel: tart and bubbly. Effervescent.

Overall: I could drink a gallon of this. An excellent example of a one-off of the Gose style.

 

I too enjoy this beer and I'm not a Gose guy.

 

I know. I'm basically calling him out because I've noticed him several Sundays literally liking every post leading up to and then immediately after my posts. I know it has nothing to do with the quality of my reviews or whether or not he agrees with my review. Maybe it's a weekly coincidence. I'm betting though that he has me on "ignore" for some reason and I've been testing it out. Right, @cavedave?

 

Oh, I'm sorry if there's bad blood. I'm not trying to step into the ring of fire. I don't ignore people or posts on these forums unless I know for certain my response would get me the Axe from this Site...I've already been reported enough already. Sorry I butted into a "test" post. Carry on.

 

Evening NBSers! Dropping in a little late in the day to join in the fun. Some great posts here today.

My choice today is an offering from Deschutes that I have been hoping to try for a while now. Just realized that a trip I have to Portland in July will have me staying 10 minutes from their Portland brewpub - visited once before and excite to go again and see what they have going on.



Fresh Squeezed is a seriously good looking and great smelling beer - from the pour it kicked up a beautiful, full thick head whilst I got a whiff of those juicy citrus fruit notes on the aroma side. The look is copper and burnt orange - tantalizing on the eyes. The 'best by' date on the bottle is September so this should be relatively fresh.



The scent of satsuma rind comes across as a big note here, along with some grapefruit. There is plenty of balance on the body - feel is medium-full but not overly so. The bitterness is quite low - there is a sweet note here, which reminds me of how my mom used to sprinkle sugar on her morning grapefruit halves!

This is a fine IPA - definitely gets me excited to see what their pub in PDX has to offer in July.

Cheers all!

 

Today was busier than I expected it to be. I still had one major task, but it just took a whole lot longer than I anticipated. The good news is that I finally retired my 20+ year-old disintegrating gas grill and ushered in a brand new model. The bad is that I decided to build it myself; it's not that it was difficult, but it sure was tedious. Here's how it all started earlier this afternoon-


And the finished project (except for a temporary shim due to my uneven deck)-


But life is not all pounder cans and lawnmower beers, especially on this specially reserved day of the week. New beers must be sampled, and I am going into my relaxing part of the day doing just that-



Nebraska Brewing's Running With the Devil, in a Duvel (a rum barrel barleywine)-
Straight out of the fridge my initial impression of the nose was that there was an unfortunate overriding nail polish remover quality. Now that it has warmed up that aspect is subsiding and I am getting more brown sugar, dates and vanilla. The palate is rich with caramel and fruit, nicely spry for such a big beer, and ends with a generous (but not overbearing) snap of bitterness. The barrel quality comes out on the finish, where I am getting more wood than rum, but it's gentle enough to blend in with the other elements and lend a needed hint of complexity. Long into the finish I am riding a lingering wave of vanilla. This is an enjoyable beer, despite some minor imperfections, and I'm leaning towards the very high B+ range at the moment (3.9).

Enjoy the rest of your Sunday everybody. Cheers!

 

That's the thing. I don't have any problem with him, but I've noticed that he never responds to me, even when I have directly quoted him or replied to him on several forums. At this point I'm just wondering what I did to offend him. ?

 

Let's play 3!!! I'm glad I saved the best for last. This saison by 18th Street is exquisite.



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

Look: cloudy burnt orange goodness, 2 fingers of white head.

Smell: very hop-forward saison. Almost like a saison IPA.

Taste: this brewery does great things with Citra hops, and this saison seems to have that varietal plus has the funkiness saisons are noted for.

Feel: well carbed, bubbly goodness, a bit dry.

Overall: this is a magnificent saison. I've had 3 different beers from these guys and they're all excellent.

 

I didn't get a like from either. Don't sweat it man. Your posts are informative and interesting to me anyway.
Hey you say tamaaaato I say say tomato. Whatever the hell that means.

 

Tonight's choice:


Voodoo Brewery - Hoodoo

This is an IPA that totally falls on the "bitter" end of the spectrum. Finishes clean and dry, all together a solid brew.

Cheers!

 

Hey nice DAB in cans! That's cool..,..

 

A little behind, but opened this to wind down:


A: dark, but poured a little thin. small, tan head. little carbonation. looks the part. 4.

S: chocolate. roasty. slightly sweet. barrel is subtle; not the most intense BB character I've ever encountered. 4.25

T: follows the nose. more bourbon on the taste, but still muted. finishes with a bitterness that, while I don't hate it, comes too strong, too quick. the kind of slight bitterness you'd appreciate on a very barrel forward beer...for balance. 3.75

M: medium. as with all BA stouts, thicker the better IMO. this one doesn't quite get there. 3.5.

O: a very good BA stout. Is it a beer to seek and trade for? Probably not. Is it a very good extra and worth grabbing if given the opportunity? Sure is. Would love to try the base here. Would also like more of the barrel to shine through in this one. 3.75.

BA adjusted score was a 3.86. Was I too hard on this one? Oh well, enjoying it either way!

 

Hell yeah- I see myself taking advantage of those a lot this summer.

 

Another, and it may cause me to seek others of this style due to just how different it is.



Ithaca Cayuga Cruiser, a berliner style weisse.

The appearance is a slightly cloudy light straw with a little bit of compact head that fades fast. Smell has a little funky yeasty notes with a hint of cracker.

None of this hints at what is really coming.

The taste Is almost alien to my palate. It is like funky, crackery lemon juice, the acid is FORWARD. Like putting your tongue on a 9V battery different. The mouthfeel is slick, then dry, puckey, and bathes the senses in a dry acidic sensation.

I am going to have to try more of these to get a feel of what this style is.

Mother nature continues scoffing at my attempt to complete yardwork, soaking the yard even more now.