New Beer Sunday (week 541)

"Going on means going far, going far means returning."
~ Tao Te Ching

In honor of the great dedication of @JuicesFlowing I will post my first ever NBS words & beer review a little later today.
Cheers!

 

New beer from one of my favorite local brewers. Very clean, mango aroma and all grapefruit rind for flavor. Strong but not abrasive. Great stuff!

 

Thanks for that quote. Few words, endless meaning!

 

Good morning all,

I have a wonderful DIPA in front of me courtesy of @kemoarps

Fremont Brother



Very nice two finger thick, creamy head that has left behind frothy film and gentle lacing. Slightly hazy burnt orange with dark yellow edges.

Nose is a struggle between pine, hints of floral qualities and just a slight grapefruit essence.

Taste is immediately a wash of terrific bitterness in the spirit of honey, grapefruit and the faintest sweetness ever before an awesome bitterness leaves behind a massive signature.

Feels very full bodied, as the solid malt backbone (yet it couldn't pierce the bitter bill) does a great job of balancing this out, almost completely covering the heat, but not completely as there is a tiny amount of heat on exit.

All in all, this is a fine ass beer!

 

New Dubbel Sunday

It's a bee-autiful day in West MI. The skies are blue, temps in the low 80s. Much more like July than we've experienced lately.

The whole house slept in after a late night full of fireworks, friends, and maybe a few too many tasty brews last night. I'm taking the chance to sneak in a nice treat while the kiddos eat lunch, before we all head down to the pool. I hope to get in a second before we go to a watch party to cheer on our USWNT. Come on you Yanks!

http://www.beeradvocate.com/beer/profile/24678/160395/?ba=GRPunk

 

Bourbon Barrel Aged Gentlemen George Stout by Castle Danger. Wowzers!

 

Greetings Fellow NBSers. Happy 4th of July weekend to everyone.

I'm not much for early day drinking, but I decided to make an exception for this intriguing "breakfast" beer from Coastal Empire Beer in Savannah. Dawn Patrol Imperial Breakfast Stout is aged on coffee, raisins, serrano peppers, ancho peppers, cumin, allspice, nutmeg, and cinnamon, and it was a bronze medal winner at GABF.



Pours an opaque, dark brown that is verging on black. A tight dark tan head quickly dissipates to a ring of lacing that remains throughout.

Aroma of roasted red peppers and cumin predominate, with some cinnamon, bittersweet chocolate, and a hint of roasted malt in the background. In short, an extremely strong aroma of mole sauce. Fantastic vegetal aromas coming forth.

Taste continues the aroma, but whereas the aroma suggests heat, the vegetal flavors of peppers are fairly mild. Cumin is extremely present, too. If you love Mexican mole or even Indian cuisine, then you'll find much to love here.

Mouthfeel is thick with a moderate amount of carbonation.

In sum, a very flavorful stout that offers a counterpoint to chile stouts that, despite their heat, tend to be driven more by chocolate, vanilla, and cinnamon sweetness. This more vegetal, spice-forward take on the style reminds us of the wide array of flavors in Mexican (and Indian cuisine) that can inform beer. Fantastic take that I would highly recommend to fans of Ballast Point Indra Kunindra and Dogfish Head Threobroma. Pure mole, Ole!

Cheers!

 

First saw that quote on the Vangelis album "Spiral" long ago. It seems to apply to everyone at some point in their life.
(Sorry. My NBS beer coming a little later once "things" settle down from last nights ale adventure.)

 

Quick review and then I am taking my girls down to the pond to look for toads and frogs.

Blister in the Sun has a citrus aroma with a pleasing lager yeast and good amount of hop scents. The coriander is present and gives an orange peel touch to it.

It kinda tastes like an IPA with lager yeast more that it does a lager with hops. It's confusing, but I like the fruity and citrus notes. Orange peel would be the biggest flavor followed by the cracker like malts and yeast notes.

It's pretty good, but not one I will drink as a regular.

 

Good afternoon my fellow alco....beer advocates! Today I'm having a Coffee Milk Stout from Wiseacre Brewing, out of Memphis, TN. Smells and tastes like coffee and lactose. The body is pretty thin, but you have to expect that from a low ABV Milk Stout. However it tastes very good. Sometimes you just want a stout, but not something that 8+ % and heavy. Cheers!

 

Happy Birfday @cavedave!!!

 

So what would I possibly follow Brother up with? ??

Sister from Fremont! @kemoarps sent the pair of siblings in his box to me, which is quickly turning into a package of unbelievable-ness, andI haven't even gotten to the critically acclaimed "good stuff " yet!

So without further interruption

Sister IIPA from Fremont



Like it's counterpart, Brother, this one has a terrific frothy cream colored head that leaves behind a more pronounced llacing than Brother. More clear and golden, this is a great looking beer!

First word that comes to mind upon sticking my nose in is "bright" because this one is quite vibrant pine and earthiness that could almost be mistaken for noble hops before a more resiny and recognizable pine presence leads us out.

Taste is, wow. Starts out with the malt but quickly takes a devious turn towards tropical and pine bitterness. Oh goodness this is a mighty palate wrecker indeed!!!

Fight through the punishment and you'll find a dry finish with just a hint of heat.

This is just a wicked bitter thing. Yep, vigorous thumbs up!!

 

One Hitter. A let down for me. Went into the bottle shop in search of it and they had it on tap. Howler fill for $8, good deal on not a great beer.

 

Happy Birthday!!! @cavedave Hope you got your "formal" tie dye on.

 

Greetings, fellow NBSers, & thanks to birthday boy @cavedave for getting us started off right. Here’s to you!

Here’s also to me for being lucky enough to drink a beer I’d long wanted to try that isn’t distributed in Washington, and to @leighighace06 for making that possible.

It’s been a long week, with today being the first day in over a week that the temperature isn’t supposed to halt at well above 90 (still high 80s though-I operate best when it’s about 75, it’s currently 82 and sunny). The firework display at Riverfront Park last night was suitably grand for around here. It won’t rival the epic scale of the time I was in Boston for the 4th, but it’ll do. On Friday I hit Hayden, Idaho’s Mad Bomber Brewing for the first time. I really wanted to like the place. It was founded by an ex-Army EOD guy, and they do a lot for veteran charities. Sadly, the beers I had weren’t much (one was okay, the other pretty grim), and the service was mostly directed towards their regulars at the expense of the guy at the bar who’d never been there before. Afterwards I stopped by Selkirk Abbey on my way home and got to talking with a guy who lives in Hayden and told me my experience was not unusual. Selkirk, of course, was awesome as always, and I went home with grunts of St. Stephen and St. Thomas, two old friends.

What about that beer from@lehighace06, you say? Well, that’s a coffee stout from a certain Michigan brewery that I’ve long wanted to try:
http://www.beeradvocate.com/beer/profile/287/2010/?ba=woemad
My first Bell’s beer, and I’m pretty impressed. It was a little watery in the mouthfeel department, but not to a crucial degree, and damned if I can say much else in terms of criticism. You can consider me officially on the bandwagon.

I’m currently getting over some stomach issues that plagued me for much of the last week, so this will probably be the only new beer for me today, so have a great NBS, everyone!

Current listening: Stephanie Hatzinikolis – a (formerly) local artist who happens to be a dear friend. Her more-or-less homemade debut album from 2012 is called “This Side Up” and features gorgeous piano work.

 

That one doesn't yet make it to eastern Washington, and I really want to try it!

 

I can't imagine that this or Sister are easily available, and if they are than the good people of Seattle are super spoiled. Both are outstanding but Sister is a show stopper!

 

On a day where I have decided to quit reviewing, I thought I would prove myself and get my hands dirty as soon as possible and test my intentions. I decided to drive to Wichita Brewing Company, and buy a growler of Between The Rind watermelon wheat, and bring it home. I'll drink it without reviewing it, and I will be on my way. See, today I really am reborn. I'll still tick this on Untappd

Wichita Brewing Company has TWO locations now, and they have also purchased the old brewing equipment from Tallgrass Brewing, and plan on starting a production line here. Their brewpub also make wood-fire pizzas, and they have something called Hopperoni which uses actual hop flakes on the pepperoni pizza. Amazing. I believe in these guys. Local, and freaking awesome. There is not a single brew of theirs that I do not like. You'll be hearing a lot about them from now on, courtesy of me.

Another #properglassware post, because I just had to. I finally have a can glass.

Look: Opaque, cloudy, faded burnt yellow? I cannot describe the color of wheat beers LOL The head is light cream and fades away with little or no lacing.

Aroma: All of the subtle wheat and grain elements with a sweet and also tart watermelon component. Not overpowering.

Taste: Okay, this is where they win me over. It's called Between The Rind ... There is more rind than actual watermelon, but the watermelon meat sweetness is there. That's where that slight tart component comes in, with the rind. The aftertaste may remind me of watermelon bubblegum, if that makes sense.

Mouthfeel: Very light bodied, but not watery. About average for the style.

Overall: Crushable because it's not cloying, it's not a sweet syrupy watermelon bomb. Really enjoyable, and I do like fruity wheat beers, it's a good style for me. I would easily rate this a 4.25 overall.

And to top off the Star Alignment Perfect Beer Day ... I was listening to Tool's Lateralus album on my way there. I walk in, and Schism is playing in the brewpub. Okay ... fist bump to the beer-rock gods. Wow.

I promise this is my last post today. There is so much negativity about "local" on the BA threads ... well, my "local" is awesome and I'm very appreciative of that. Wichita Brewing Company are growing, and I'm seeing it before my eyes. It's really cool. From one brewpub to two, to a production site. I hope one day these guys pop up on your radar. Cheers again. Tonight as I'm sobering up I'll be cheering on the US Women's soccer team in the Women's World Cup Final vs. Japan. That trophy will be the topping on the cake (if they win) for a perfect July 4th weekend.

Can I say something off-topic real quick? The Show yourself, BAs thread is awesome. Check it out if you haven't. Like many have said, it makes this place more human. I really enjoy that thread, so thanks to @twizzard !

 

New Munich Helles Sunday

Hey, I'm back. I just had to include this great label in this forum. It has a classic old time feel that I like.
Besides that, it's a pretty darn good beer too. For fans of good easy drinking German lagers I recommend this one.
http://www.beeradvocate.com/beer/profile/27979/179839/?ba=garymuchow

Probably see you all later.