New Beer Sunday (week 543)

i'm tryin a new beer later today from a Chicago brewery that hasn't yet been reviewed,stay tuned...

 

Good morning @cavedave ! Thanks for kicking us off today and to the morning people a toast!

 

Ciao everyone and you all know how my favorite morning beer is the tripell. Today I have The Bruery's Tripel Trade Winds. It's made with Thai Basil. You know if a brewery does not make a pilsner but they do make a tripel I want to try it. This one is made with rice and I think rice tastes like rice in beer much the same way that chicken tastes like chicken if that were in beer.





Ever since we started getting in beers from the Bruery I decided to try them. I like what I have had so far. The rice is to lighten the body and increase the gravity. This pours a lovely apricot with a luxurious head of dirty cream colored foam that spilled up over the glass as I was powerless to stop it.



Fruity scent tempered by rice. That rice is sticky smelling even on the nose, very white. There's floral. Fruit is icy peach. The basil is lightly on top of the scent like a subtle perfume. Bright and herbal. In the taste the body , instead of being neutral with rice is fruity and juicy. The basil is cool like mint. It's not too spicy . There is a sweet citrus zest in this that points to some spice. Finishes sweet and with only a touch of sticky sweet rice and tropical fruitiness. AS authentically juicy as it could possibly be. Very unique character. Light dry breezy and finishes with a malty lingering after tase that shows a hint of warming alcohol.

A touch filling. Rice is filling in beer. But this beer has a lovely flavor of apricot. It's even jammy with it. It's sweet in the swallow and warm with alcohol and it's a good beer. There is a rice like after taste. It's malty enough so that I don't mind.

Cheers and Happy New American Style Tripel Sunday

 

“What kind of beer can stand up to such conditions?” I will accept that challenge; I think that Straub Hefeweizen is up to the task!!

Straub Hefeweizen – Beer No. 4 from the Sunshine Variety Pack

I have already reported on Straub Kolsch, Vienna Lager, and Pilsner so now it’s time for Straub Hefeweizen.

On the bottle neck label it states: “Back in the year 1872 when our founder Peter Straub began brewing in St. Marys, Bavarian royalty gave up their exclusive right to brew wheat beer. “Weizen” has become the most popular style in Bavaria, and is brewed the world over. We offer this classic Weissbier as a thanks for that good fortune in 1872.”

On the 12 –pack box packaging it states:

“Hefeweizen

Color: Golden Yellow

Malt: White Wheat & Canadian 2-row

Hops: Tettnang

Yeast: Weihenstephan Yeast

IBU: 15

ABV: 5.5%”

So with those preliminaries out of the way, how did the beer taste:

Served in my 17 ounce Pilsner Glass.

Appearance:

Golden color with a big billowy and long lasting white head.

Aroma:

A BIG aroma of banana and clove!

Taste:

The taste pretty much followed the aroma, an awesome combination of banana and clove!

Mouthfeel:

Smooth and luscious.

Overall:

This is an excellent hefeweizen! And yes, it was indeed a beer that stands up to hot conditions!!

I should note that I normally drink my beer at a conservative pace but this beer was so damn good I practically guzzled it. Hopefully I will be able to exercise more self-control with the two remaining bottles from the variety pack

Straub Hefeweizen is a summer seasonal beer so it is available as standalone 6-packs (and by the case).

Cheers to Straub Brewing for brewing four very tasty beers!

 

Triple C Brewing Up All Night Breakfast Porter

Lots of coffee and bitter dark chocolate with just a hint of honey. A nice imperial porter.

 

New Texas Beer Sunday!

... and a craft adjunct?



Got lots of barbed wire and outlawesque stuff going on in the artwork. Even a zombie bandito:



Twisted X's "Tex Mex Lager" uses corn, so it's an American adjunct lager. It's pretty corny, too, but it has enough sweetness to keep it from tasting like a liquified tortilla chip. In fact, it tastes a lot like the average American blonde ale many craft breweries offer. The sweet note and corn note avoid mashing into a creamed corn flavor, which I like, but there's a twinge of medicinality in both the flavor and the nose, which I don't. The upshot is it has a bit of the "house paint" flavor Schlitz and some other adjunct lagers have -- I have no idea how else to describe it but "house paint". I figure it's the medicinal flavor mixing with the sweetness that creates it. Adjunct lagers are the only styles that have it.

The review:

http://www.beeradvocate.com/beer/profile/25622/152012/?ba=Premo88
3.90 (+15.7% rDev)

It's a good beer and very well made -- the lager look of this brew is perfect. But ultimately at $8.16 a six-pack, it's not *that* much better than Schlitz or most other AALs to be worth it.

Gotta say, though, that Twisted X has my attention. This brew is good enough to have me interested in trying some of their lineup.

Cheers!

 

Good Sunday morning! I thought I would review today a new (to me) Belgian beer in anticipation of this evening's Abt 12 event...

"Delirium tremens", a Belgian Strong Pale Ale:



Pale Gold (4) pour with thick white foam that reduced quickly; crystal clear with great carbonation; very little lace but cap sits on liquid as I empty (repeatedly) the glass. 4.75



Whiff of Belgian yeast/clove and a little banana initially; I wouldn't call it pepper, but there is a spiciness in the nose as I consume; bready fruity esters round out the nose. 4.5

Semi sweet malt and bread flavors provide the foundation for layers of coriander and green apple flavors; middle is bright fresh fruit-apples, pears and bananas; and a little bubblegum too; finish is banana and coriander and lemon zest. Really nice. 4.75

Bubbly, crisp and bright mouthfeel; tongue coating is a somewhat bready Belgian yeast and subtle coriander linger; I'm really liking this interplay of "sparkling" beverage vs. soft yeasty linger. 4.5

Overall, this was outstanding. The flavors for me were all subtle and well balanced; this beer was thoroughly enjoyable and I would drink again (and again). 4.5

 

Later today I'm gonna crack open a bomber of Stone Imperial Russian Stout Chai-Spiced edition with an old friend as we catch up. Can't wait!

 

thanks @cavedave for the intro....

Back on the road again here, sounds like NYC is starting to get brutally hot and humid, so a good time to put back a few beers....last week was a good week, with a couple of solid events including a great one at the Blind Tiger, so thanks to all for coming out to that....

Once again I find myself drinking at airports, and this time, it is PDX airport, which low and behold, has an awesome Rogue Ale house inside. What's even better is you can purchase a growler of beer to take on your flight! How cool is that? Nice cold growler of beer to share with your travel companion...draft beer in the sky, oh yeah!

I've had quite a selection of Rogue beers over the years. I remember a "revolutionary" beer they made back in the day called Rogue Brutal Bitter, which had an abundance of Crystal hops in it. At the time, it was completely controversial and eye-opening - but of course, by today's standards, it is considered quite pedestrian.

I was curious when I saw the "Brutal IPA" on tap, and wondered if it was just a variation of the Brutal Bitter? Admittedly I have not been drinking a lot of Rogue lately, but they used to be huge out here on the East Coast and the NYC area about 10-15 years ago.....I ordered one up, and low and behold, it was awesome! Nice fresh, juicy hop flavor - although it did not taste like exclusively Crystal hops. I decided to take a growler to go, for how can you argue with fresh beer while up in the sky?

 

Good morning New BSers! It's a beautiful day here in sunny NW PA - nice and muggy, just the way I like it (seriously)! Not much scheduled for today, as far as I know - Mrs. Lizard hasn't told me yet - so maybe it'll be a good day to brew some beer. The outside turtles have been fed some juicy japanese beetles, we picked some ripe tomatoes yesterday, and the last of the weisswurst we picked up in MI last week has been consumed. This week the contractors are to return and finish the outside remodeling project from the spring - no big deal, shouldn't take more than about 4 hours. Anyway, today's new brew is one probably most of you have had but I haven't until now.



Yep, it's Weihenstephaner Vitus. This guy I've somehow been overlooking until last week's run to MI. Recently I've begun to appreciate German brews other than Kostritzer Schwarzbier and Schlenkerla Marzen. The other Weihenstephaner varieties have been pretty good so this seemed a sure bet, particularly since it had "bock" as part of the description.

500 mL bottle marked 1504 18:05:26 at 52 degrees into a weizen glass
$ 3.49/bottle at Oppermann’s (Saginaw, MI)
Aroma lightly fruity with a hint of smoke
Head enormous but stabilizing at eight cm (aggressive pour), white, creamy, slowly diminishing to five millimeters of creamy layer
Lacing poor – few islands of tiny, nearly microscopic, bubbles,
Body light yellow, hazy
Flavor very light and slightly sweet and fruity, lacking any maltiness associated with a bock; no hops, no alcohol, no diacetyl
Palate medium, creamy, soft carbonation

Appearance 4.25, Aroma 4, Flavor 3.75, Palate 4.25, Overall 4.25 Rating 3.99, rDev -6.6

The weak aroma lacking any banana/clove hints and the lack of any malt flavor disappointed me, but I guess the lack of maltiness is typical of the lighter colored weizenbocks. The hint of smoke was unexpected and intriguing but went nowhere.

 

Heh, NBS thread is almost as long as WBAYDN.

Had a fun day yeserday celebrating my 4 year olds bday. It was warm and very humid, but nicer weather has pushed in overnight and it feels refreshing today.

I'm enjoying my very first sour style beer from the Breuery after already walking my dogs and mowing the lawn. I will be driving an hour to pick up 4 bottles of some lambic style beer in about an hour. Let's get to the beer that has been reviewed here the past 2 weeks.

Sour in the Rye is a nice brown sour ale with aromas of sour fruits. Hints of rye emerge along with some woody notes.

The sour brown ale is flavored with sour green plum and sour peaches. It is more sour than tart, not much in the way of funk, bit has some woody notes. The spiced rye finish makes it unique.

A lighter feel to it with prickly carbonation. Makes you pucker and finishes dry. Quite enjoyable on a summers day. Cheers!

 

Good late morning, NBS. Been a mildly annoying week, as I was finally motivated to get a bunch of things fixed up at my place (I basically mooch off... I mean live with my girlfriend). A friend's sister needs a place to stay for a couple months while she awaits her home to be completed. My laziness had let the place fall into some disrepair, over and above the updating the place needs anyhow.

AC was failing due to a bad wire, so electrician fixed that. While waiting all day (is it a window if it's b/t 8am and 5pm??), I wanted to see if my hot water heater was actually leaking (I had turned it off when I thought it might). Note to you guys: if your testing if your hot water heater is leaking, don't forget you are doing that test...

So after mopping up a bit, that day was shot, but now I needed a plumber. Another half day for that appointment, and then about another half day for the actual install, I finally have a functioning house again. Now I need to use next week to make up some hours, and I'm a bit grouchy about it this morning, so...


.. a sour beer it is. Wasn't a big fan of the Golden Monkey, but I am digging the Sour Monkey. The visual is a nice yellow gold. The nucleation points provide a steady stream of carbonation to fuel the white foamy head (can sorta see it in the far right pic). The nose is a bit more neutral than the taste - wood and funk moreso than tart - even though it's in my glass, it seems like I am taking a whiff from the barrel house.

The taste does have more tart bite, but it isn't overpowering, which is quite nice. My mouth wants to pucker, but hesitates, and says, "Hey, that's not too bad!" Sour apple and strangely, a berry flavor with the fizz of the carbonation that hits the tongue early to mid taste. I actually believe this is one of the best balanced sours I've had - enough fruity tartness to know it's a sour, but not so much that you know it's just a component of the beverage.

Cheers all!

Edit: @utopiajane - had the Trade Winds on tap about two weeks ago and recall really enjoying it, although I wasn't analyzing it at the time since I have one in the fridge. May have to crack it later to compare notes.

 

pours carmel with thin head, I can detect a grapefruit note, and can detect a hint of clove, maybe my imagination.cheers

 

It's hotter than should be legal in these parts this weekend, so seems like a good time to hang out inside and enjoy a new beer. This is Iron Hill's Wee Heavy, and comes to me as part of the BIF box from @larryi86.

This is a very interesting twist on a wee heavy. Beautiful pour, and quite a bit clearer than expected. A smokey peat both in the aroma and flavor that conjures up images of a good scotch. Also some nutty notes that read more brown ale than wee heavy. A subtle sweetness overall, and much better controlled than most scotch ales. Recommended for sure.

The only other Iron Hill beer I've tried to date was their RIS which I enjoyed immensely, and it looks like I should try some more of their offerings.





http://www.beeradvocate.com/beer/profile/6045/3430/?ba=richj1970

 

New A. IPA Sunday (and something else later today)

Greetings NBSer's,
Glorious summer day on hand today. Low 80's and low humidity. Makes me want to go to one of our 10,000 lakes. That's for next week.
Getting towards the end of my NBS BIF#2 beers from @beertunes.
To start itoday s a nicely done Am. IPA
http://www.beeradvocate.com/beer/profile/31389/93180/

May be back later.

 

love that glass, i'm guessing a stone brewery glass, need to seek out.

 

This one is made with rice and I think rice tastes like rice in beer much the same way that chicken tastes like chicken if that were in beer.

Great line Maria @utopiajane

 

It's a Stone glass. They have a nice selection of speciality glasses on their website...