New Beer Sunday (week 545)

Hi Folks...a warm and sunny day here in Ontario, Canada. 27 C or about 80 F. Perfect temperature for a beer on the deck, and today I decided to enjoy my first beer from Boulevard...Tank 7 Farmhouse Ale. First time for this beer in Ontario, so it's a bit of a treat for us.



A: pours straw gold with a bit of haze, a fluffy three finger head breaks incredibly slowly. 4.25

S: Belgian yeasts, breads, fruity, a touch of honey and some funk. 4.5

T: earthy and a bit bitter on the front end, then the Belgian yeast comes in. Nice spices and a good hops finish 4

M: fairly high fine carbonation. Finish is dry and crisp. 4.25

O: a nice farmhouse, I especially appreciated the nose and feel. Perfect lunch beer on a warm August day. 4.25

4.21/5 rDev +1.7%

Going to enjoy the rest of the day I think...a little bit of work (buying a suit for @byronic 's wedding) then time on the patio!

Cheers all, enjoy your Sunday, enjoy your beers!

 

Good Morning, fellow NBSers, and thanks to @cavedave for starting us off right,

It’s 72 in my fair city, where the officially sanctioned motto is “Near Nature, Near Perfect,” and “Near Idaho” could be added. I’d love for it to stay at 72, but it’s predicted the mercury will climb another 30 DEGREES! It’s hazy and smoky from fires as well. That the region is dry as a bone goes without saying. We broke out of our cool off period a few days ago and are back to the unseasonably high temperatures that have typified this summer, though by now it’s at least closer to normal for this time of year than it was 6 weeks ago.

I had a battle with insomnia that kept me up until around 3, so I read a good portion of a book about the experiences of the USS Kirk off the coast of Vietnam at the end of the war there. Really interesting stuff. Still, when I did finally fall asleep, I crashed until about a quarter to nine. I had a couple new beers during the week. You can peruse them while I thaw out my brain with coffee.

On Monday I had a tallboy of Fort George’s Sunrise OPA: http://www.beeradvocate.com/beer/profile/16077/37643/?ba=woemad Really liked it, don’t know why it took so long to get around to it. Kinda bummed there’s talk on the NW Forum that this will no longer be canned.

Then I celebrated the end of the work week with this Missouri bad boy: http://www.beeradvocate.com/beer/profile/423/56469/?ba=woemad Really dug this. I think using more subtle, European hops helped the Belgian yeast come out to play. It was like an Impy Stout/Quad hybrid.

Yesterday I celebrated, um, the existence of oxygen with Full Sail’s Session Cream Ale: http://www.beeradvocate.com/beer/profile/5316/144080/?ba=woemad Pretty meh, even as a lawnmower beer. I’d definitely pick a Session Lager over this.

What will today bring? I might get back to the survivors of that NBS BIF box of mostly robust beers from @LehighAce06, or deal with some other things that might be a good match for the hot weather once it kicks in later today.

 

Nice NBS debut, talk about a walkoff home run (at least I think so - as a Mariner fan, I've precious little use of such a reference). I really need to get ahold of that beer.

 

That beer gets looked down upon by a lot of regional beer geeks, unfairly so in my opinion. I think it's light years better than Mac & Jack's African Amber (different styles, but it's the other regional beer found everywhere), and a really solid example of what is now a "traditional" approach to the style. I appreciate that whenever I'm somewhere and see this on tap, I can count on a good pale ale that's incredibly consistent.

 

Tyranena Carnal Knowledge Double Oatmeal Stout
Double Oatmeal Stout - 8.5% ABV

12oz bottle into a snifter. Pours a deep dark black color with a nice tan colored head. The aroma is dark roasted malts, unsweetened chocolate, and coffee. The taste like the aroma is dark and roasty up front with some sweetness coming in and lingering well into the finish. The mouthfeel is thicker than expected for an 8% beer which was a pleasant surprise and never a bad thing for an imperial stout. Overall, Carnal Knowledge was a very enjoyable double brew.

look: 4 | smell: 4 | taste: 4.25 | feel: 4 | overall: 4
--- 4.1/5 ---

 

Strangeways Brewing Soledad Rum Barrel Aged Tripel
Tripel - 8% ABV; 25 IBU

This is a bottle I purchased at Strangeways Brewing at the brewery on a recent trip to Richmond, VA. This is a rum barrel aged tripel with Columbian bananas, Piloncillo raw cane sugar, passion fruit, mamey sapote, and fresh mangoes.

750ml bottle purchased at the brewery in June poured into a snifter. Pours a dark brownish amber color with a light tan head that forms a ring of lacing around the glass. The aroma is tropical fruits, coconut, and rum from the 6 months this beer spent in the barrels. The nose is pretty fantastic. The taste like the aroma is sweet and fruity with some warmth from the alcohol. Overall, Soledad is a unique twist on your standard tripel and one that I thoroughly enjoyed.

look: 3.75 | smell: 4.5 | taste: 3.75 | feel: 4 | overall: 4
--- 4.01/5 ---

 

Good afternoon all NBS followers and participants. I'll start with a picture of what greeted me on the front steps this morning the first morning glory blossom of the season.
After some wonderful fresh wild blueberry pancakes we headed out to paddle one of the local waters.

Just a beautiful day for a paddle as you can see.
Now to my first beer for this NBS and it wasn't the one I had planned but I received this is a trade this week as an extra and it was just calling to me it is Brother Hezekiah from Greenbush Brewing an Imperial India pale ale brewed with honey and barrel aged. At 10.6% ABV and 114 ibu this beer was a pleasant surprise.
The nose of this beer runs to it's barrel aging and that's BBA if you know what I mean. A very nice warm Bourbon aroma and this to me is heaven as I was into craft brewed bourbon long before I was into craft beer.
The taste is a wonderful smooth taste with a strong sweet bourbon finish. None of the bitterness I expected from the 114 IBU posted on the bottle.
The mouthfeel is smooth like a good BBA beer should be.
This beer was a wonderful surprise and a beer I would love to have more of to cellar and enjoy at a later date.

So cheers to all on this beautiful Sunday and I'll be back with my planned beer later and also with my slow smoked and grilled Ribeye with a caramelized onion and blue cheese side later on.

 

Note to self: Put more French Toast in my life.

 

Good morning NBS'ers! I hope everyone is enjoying their weekend and many fantastic (new or otherwise) beers have been enjoyed by all. I myself spent the majority of my day in a car (10 hours total driving) to and from Glenwood Springs to visit one of my favorite local (term used liberally) beer haunts - Casey B&B! Yesterday was the one-year anniversary of my first visit (with many in between) and Troy continues to produce some of the best wilds/saisons in the country IMO.

Today I am taking a nice rest, made a delicious omelet with broccoli for breakfast as is my Sunday tradition and I am now enjoying a new beer! This one comes from Kuhnhenn and was part of their Summer Solstice release:



A: Pours a rich and bright shade of amber with red and golden accents. Virtually no discernible head, but a very thin pale collar. Huge sticky legs drape the edge of the glass. Closer in appearance to a well aged bourbon than a beer.
S: Massive oak and toffee, lots of sweetness, some dusty chocolate/cocoa powder, burnt sugar, and molasses with some booze/alcohol notes at the end.
T: Boozy, no question about that, the alcohol hits up front with a punch that combines with massive burnt sugar and charred oak to explode across the palate. Toffee/vanilla/caramel follows with hints of dark fruits - cherries and plums mainly - and cocoa/molasses/leather/tobacco. The barrel dominates throughout the very long finish even over the sweetness and booze.
M: Slightly thinner than expected but has a definitely syrupy note, lots of residual sugars. Carbonation is medium, slightly low, but perfect for the style. Just a tad more body would be nice.
O: This is exactly what I expect from a BA Kuhnhenn beer - deep and complex, incredibly sweet and chewy, lots of alcohol but not overwhelmingly boozy. Very well crafted.

4.58/5 rDev +6.3%
look: 4.25 | smell: 5 | taste: 4.5 | feel: 4.25 | overall: 4.5

 

Assuming you had a chance to try a few of the beers at the brewery, what'd you think about them overall? Our first experience they were a month old and were ok to interesting. Next stop a few months back they had grown a bit and while there was still some hit and miss, thought they were doing well overall.

 

Overall, I thought the brewery was pretty solid. Some of the beers were hit and miss for sure, but I think they are on the right track.

 

Good early afternoon friends,
I've been working in the yard and I'm a bit steamed up. Mowing and chainsaw stuff...yikes. It's time for a beer.
Thanks again to @WesMantooth for his amazing grouping sent southward. Jackie O's Oil of Aphrodite... Holy mackerel! I've read about this beer many times, but this is my first try. This is basically an all day beer, one to venture back to every now and then....otherwise I just might be watching old movies through my eyelids! It is a very big rich beer, beautifully black, and somehow light on it's feet at 10%....a very powerful beer for sure. With the amazing malt base, walnutiness and very interesting hop melange, this beer is unique and memorable. This is a highly contemplative beer that is fun, warming, excellent top quality, and really recommended. Jackie O's Oil of Aphrodite!
James Taylor played at The Greensboro Coliseum last night and he's on my mind. I first saw him on Jubilee Weekend at UNC back in 1970...this piece is real close to that time and it is a truly beautiful song.
Someone please tell me what kind of bee or hornet this is feasting on our mint flowers. Cheers all on a beautiful Sunday!

 

New Saison / Farmhouse Ale Sunday

It's a beautiful day here in Milwaukee! Sunny and around 90 with a nice breeze. Today's brew is from New Belgium - Long Table. I picked up a 12-pack for 14 bucks. Very sessionable! It leans on the sweeter side, but enough hops to balance it. The ingredients blend together very well! I gave it 4's across the board, landing it slightly higher than the currrent average of 3.88. Well worth the purchase!

http://www.beeradvocate.com/beer/profile/192/172124/

Cheers!

 

Hell, while @woemad's tag brought me here, I might as well put up a review of the beer I'm drinking this afternoon: Dragoon Brewing's Barrel Aged The Tres. It's their 3rd Anniversary Russian Imperial Stout, aged in Elijah Craig barrels. Came to me in a box whose purpose is too complicated to explain, courtesy of @PassMeAZima.

A - Pitch black, pours looking like motor oil not just in color, but also viscosity and complete lack of carb. Once the glass gets toward full a small amount of head forms, an eighth of an inch of dark tan head that dissipates very quickly.

S - Mostly bourbon, some vanilla, slight chocolate and coffee.

T - Follows the aroma, very, very bourbon forward, more chocolate than vanilla or coffee but all are present as well as a decent amount of oak. But mostly bourbon. Sweet tasting.

M - Thick and sticky, while cold it finished fairly cleanly but as it warms it's getting stickier and harder to get rid of, not that this is a bad thing.

O - Perhaps dominated by the bourbon barrel, but nevertheless a very enjoyable beer, a great sipper for a lazy Sunday afternoon.

On Untappd gave it a 4.5, haven't done a BA rating yet to see the real number.

 

Once again, B-ham proves itself to be a cool town.

 

Back for another NBS with yet another beer (glass, and opener) received from @smanson56 in NBS BIF #2:


Foley Brothers Brewing - Native IPA
Interesting brew here, bitter most of the way through with a slightly sweet aftertaste that is really throwing me off. Looks pretty in the glass, nose is a little off, juicy at first and finishes dry. Overall not my favorite but it's different for sure, glad I got to try it.

Cheers!

 

At the local brew pub, Hop Zest IPA, This IPA is brewed with Sorachi Ace and Lemon Drops hops and lemon peal added in the boil, 6.5 ABV. Nice brew the lemon is there but not over powering, one of the most refreshing IPA I've drank. Last week at the same pub my NBS beer was a Peach Wheat which was also very good. Drinkers here have been blending them 2/3 Peach 1/3 IPA. I took a shot ,wow 2 really nice beers blended into a excellent beer.

 

I feel sorry for you, brother,. You started out with the best. All coffee stouts are going to fail to live up to that first one.