New Beer Sunday (week 547)

Took the girls to the water center this afternoon to beat the heat. Back home now and enjoying on of the 11 JK beers that @TX-Badger sent to me.

A - Dark mahogany in color with a 2.5 finger khaki head. Fades slowly into a thin cap and leaves behind thick lacing.

S - This certainly has the aroma of a dark English mild. A good amount of roasted and nutty malts with some grain and Wheaties. The funk and wood are barely detectable but present.

T- Starts off with the dark malts with some roasty and nutty flavors. There are hints of tartness along the way, but not so much as to detract from the malt. Some faint grain and hints of oak, but not much funk round it out.

M - Really smooth with a nice soft carbonation that gives it a fuller feel for such a low ABV. Still maintains a easy to drink quality and never feels heavy.

O - If you expect a light bodied dark English mild I think you will enjoy it. I would not expect a Saison or you will be disappointed.



Time for a refill.

 

I said I'd have a beer before 10AM but then I decided to cook an elaborate (by my very low standards) breakfast. Then I went off to church, which isn't generally my thing, but lately I've been feeling like maybe a positive message in my life and some time for reflection ain't such a bad thing. I'd like to keep it up but it's cutting into my drinking time and will definitely get interesting once football season starts and I'm consumed by Fantasy.

Anyway, daughter is napping and I am trying to squeeze a few beers in this Sunday before I try a 2-week detox (loooong overdue and I have an NYC trip coming up, which means major liver damage) and this has been in the fridge begging to be drank:



Crooked Stave's Petite Sour Passion Fruit

4.06/5 rDev -2.4%
look: 4.75 | smell: 3 | taste: 4.25 | feel: 4.5 | overall: 4.5

375mL bottle poured into a stemmed chalice/tulip blend from Goose Island. Not sure what I'd call this glassware.

A- Fizzy head (and sound), trickling carbonation and bubbliness like a champagne, and a golden body with a touch of haze. 4.75

S- Man, there's some pungent passionfruit aroma here, but it's also pretty pissy and baby-diaperish. Not an attractive smelling beer, really. 2.5

T- Taste veers back in the right direction. Tart fruitiness reminds me of Sweet Tarts and the passionfruit flavor is on display, hitting with a pungent, stickiness as well as a tart bite. Lemon and a zesty flavor like light grapefruit also come into the fold. After I drank the beer down a bit, I poured the bottom of the bottle with the cloudy yeast in and this actually added more flavor to the beer. The passionfruit is more pronounced and slightly sweeter. 4.25

M- This drinks nicely. Light-bodied and light- to medium-carbonation with a potent tartness that isn't overwhelming. This combination makes each sip a bit of lip-puckerer but with a fullness and refresh that are thirst-quenching before completely drying out the palate. The feel is probably the highlight of this beer. 4.5

Aside from the offensive nose, this a great beer. A lovely fruit flavor and superb drinkability.

This beer deserves a score closer to 4.25 but I originally scored the nose at 2.5 (I truly found it off-putting) and I had to adjust the "Look," "Smell," and "Overall" score just to get it to 4.06. Wish there were a way to weight those attributes a bit more so that one thing wouldn't drag the entire score down so much.

Oh well. Salud to my fellow NBS neighbors in beer studies.

 

Hello again NBS-ers! I'm back to review another new brew, this one couldn't be more different than the one in my earlier post:
Brooklyn Intensified Barrel-Aged Coffee Porter

This bottle was most generously BIF'd to me by our friend @cjgiant & I promised him that I'd reserve it for an NBS post. Done & done, my brother! :-)

First, some BA stuff:

A: 3.75, S: 3.75, T: 4, M: 4, O: 3.75, BA says: 3.88

My official review:

750ml bottle into a tasting-size stemmed glass.

A: Pours a pretty opaque deep mahogany, almost black. 1/2" light tan head that dissipates quickly. Retention consists only of a faint ring around the glass. Lacing is almost nonexistent.

S: More than anything, I'm getting booze. Digging beneath that I find a mild coffee/vanilla note kissed by Bourbon. As the booze subsides during a big whiff, vanilla, more than coffee, seems to be front & center.

T: Comes on with notes of vanilla, milk chocolate & coffee in equal parts. The mid palate begins to show more Bourbon character & what I can only describe as fresh-whipped cream. Hints of nutty spice leading into the finish. Finishes with a half coffee/half cream note wrapped in booze.

M: Low-to-moderate carb married to a light, rich body that's very style appropriate. Creamy all the way through.

O: This brew is a bit on the unapologetically boozy side for my taste, but the flavors are quite interesting & it does show more depth as it warms. All-in-all worthwhile.

So, mixed feelings on this one. As a personal preference, poorly-masked ABV tends to turn me off a bit with darker brews like this. This bad boy tastes every bit as boozy as it's 11.8% would suggest. Now, in a strictly empirical, less biased sense (which is definitely what my review above attempts) - I can say that this beer has some fantastic flavor development that surprised me. The intensity of the cream & vanilla notes were completely unexpected & thoroughly enjoyable.
The delicate body belied it's inherent richness creating a very drinkable brew despite the heavy (to me) alcohol notes. I also enjoyed the deeply hidden spiciness & buried licorice notes that became just-slightly more apparent as it warmed.
I'd sum it up as well-crafted & living up to the 'intensified' banner that it proudly displays :-)

Thanks a million to @cjgiant for making this one possible, next time, I'll be sending the goodies your way

This is (as always) a very enjoyable, informative NBS! So glad to contribute today! Enjoying all of your new brew reviews, everybody!

Once more, wishing you all good beer & good cheer!

 

People decided they needed to take 85 practice swings, and line up every single putt, that's where the four hour round went. My usual foursome can walk the course and be done in no more than 3.5 hours.

 

I like people on NBS way more than most people I know in real life.

Bummer you didn't like that more. It's a phenomenal beer. And I'd call it a barleywine for sure.

Singlecut does great stuff!

 

Yeah, reading others reviews I thought I like it more, definitely has potential. I feel like if it was local to me I would probably pick up a bottle two for myself every year.

 

And onward!

Mosaic IPA - Lost Nation Brewing

Lost Nation Brewing - Mosaic IPA by imbibehour, on Flickr

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Poured from the can into a Spiegelau IPA glass. Consumed one week after pick up of cans from brewery.

Pours out of the can looking like pineapple juice, hits the glass and fills the body with cloudy and almost turbid looking appearances. Lemon solid yellow, but not really glowing and very murky. Head is quite even and bright white off the pour. Big retention and nice even bubbles at first, but breaks down into big soapy quality.

Classic enticing aroma. Big notes of tropical grapefruit, and hints of pineapple. Large and big, with a rolling bit of earth and weedy like character following behind it. Hops it is, and there is no escaping this one as it comes off noticeable and no escaping. Luckily not overkill either.

Palate manages no surprises except the expected. Juiced slightly a little wet, but seems to be more in the pale ale category at such a low abv the lighter feel works out for me. Bursting hop mid palate of juiced pineapple and grapefruit. Some of the classic weedy and earth quality really gets opening up on the swallow, moving with a good bitterness that isn't dry then to a real minty mouthwash quality. Light bodied sweetness of the malts adds a simple contrast, and just lets the hops play and take the stage.

I would almost put this as a great hop forward pale ale, but it works out even better for me that way since I seem to prefer it's easier drinking, and staying away from session IPA thinness. Solid real good brew, hop heads will have fun.

look: 3.5 | smell: 4.5 | taste: 4.25 | feel: 4 | overall: 4.25

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Cheers!

 

So... is it cool to do two different new beers on one NBS? Because that is what I am doing. I guess it's a Pacific Northwest saison kind of day for me.

Here we have Warehouse Farmhouse from Wander Brewing up in Bellingham, Washington. Green apple and citrus on the nose, dry and refreshing on the palate. Lighter in body than most saisons. I'll probably be giving it pretty close to 4.0 scores across the board. Cheers!

 

Well hey all NBSers! And thanks Dave for revving up the engines with your wonderful words of wisdom.
Well I must confess I am now an addict here on NBS cause I was gonna sit this one out due to work. But the itch had to be scratched. Besides after reading all your fabulous reviews I had to chime in. Thanks @rgordon for your perfect piece of poetry. Being an artist (at heart anyway) I love those snippets. Just to dream.....anyway. To BEER!

Today's offering-: Lord Hobo Brewing Boom Sauce Hoppy Ale 8% ABV.

Starts on the aggressive pour with a tall tan head with honeycomb like bubbles. The color is a rusty, hazy brown. The head lasts for a bit then settles to a 1/4" ring with spotty lacing. Look might be the finest part of this brew......

Upon opening the can there is a citrus and pine aroma that wafts from the opening. Once poured into glass a sweet caramel malt aroma takes center stage, wrapped with small amounts pine, grapefruit, orange and citrus pith. Has some alcohol also.....where's the juice I was promised ? Nose is underwhelming.

Taste is resinous and Bitter hops with sweet malts and some alcohol heat. Not alot of variety in the flavor. Bitter with not much depth. I'm missing citrus, tropical fruits......can says " will wrap you in a juice blanket".....I beg to differ.

Finish is oily, rough and Bitter with lingering bitterness on the tip of the tongue.

Well there is obviously some very good marketing behind this beer. I mean the label wants you to buy this beer.
They have also chosen to call this a "hoppy Ale" because they feel IPA is overused. It's brewed to be a IPA/DIPA.
I'm on board with all of that if you can back it up. If you're going to proclaim yourself a juicy hoppy Ale try a little to meet that criteria. And if you have the nuggets as a very new brewery to charge 15 and change a 4 pack make sure its outstanding, because that's an outstanding price.
Overall Boom Sauce was a dud for me. Price into consideration I will not be purchasing this again .

And for NOVS today's choice is the glamour boys of eighties collaboration with Robert Palmer.....
Some Like It Hot. Rip Robert.
Have a great week and as always thanks for listening!

 

It's New Saison Sunday!!!

Hello, beverage magistrates and jurists. I humbly submit this magnificent beverage from Anchorage Brewing for your review .....



4.27/5 rDev +0.7%
look: 4.5 | smell: 4.25 | taste: 4.25 | feel: 4.25 | overall: 4.25

Look: a gorgeous beer, amber/golden, and a little murky in the way I like my saisons. And right out of the bottle, it is BUBBLY-icious.

Smell: the Brett and Pinot aging really shine on the nose - almost a champagne feel. Then you get the hops, and some herbal aromas. Outstanding.

Taste: Brett attack, just all sorts of funky - but some pepper, too, and the Pinot barrel, of course. A nice little hop wallop on the swallow. Simply delicious.

Feel: very dry, almost a bubbly character. I'm getting my Thurston Howell the III on.

Overall: 2nd beer I've had from Anchorage, this is truly outstanding. I really enjoy saisons in the summer, and this hits all the notes you expect from a saison at an exceptionally high level. Well done by the folks at Anchorage.

 

It's been a looooong weekend. I (we) started with this Friday morning:



His name is Oliver. He's part English Yellow Lab/part Pee Machine. I (we) have been cleaning up more pee than I could ever have imagined. Buy stock in Brawny...our choice paper towel.

We had a house warming party yesterday afternoon to celebrate our new house we just moved into at the end of June. In preparation for the party I saw this @Ithaca_Beer_Co and thought I was going to die:



Moving on to today. It was a busy day of clean up and meet and greet between Oliver and his cousins (Bristol and Crumb.):



Finally after all the busy stuff I've sat down and had a few beers...some new some old. But this one is noteworthy. A very nice beer.



http://www.beeradvocate.com/beer/profile/10607/183169/?ba=zoober911

Have a great night BA. I'm off to clean up some more pee I haven't found I'm sure.

 

Evening NBSers - making a late dash for the line here after seeing some cool and fun posts. I was inspired to join in today after trying a Tangerine Cacao Wheat Ale from Moody Tongue earlier at brunch. Such an interesting taste profile....thought I would pull something from my fridge that I had been waiting to try.

Seeing as our new kitten and our adult cat are both snoozing I thought it wise to partake whilst the peace and quiet is optimal!

I opted for a 'Sinister Vertigo' Imperial Stout from Odd Side Ales in MI.



The pour kicked up a frothy, tan head which dissipated fairly swiftly. This pours with a faint waft of chocolate covered raisins on the aroma profile. The carbonation is fairly low here, which allows for this to become a smooth sipper. Finding a drip coffee note in here that I feel would make this a good breakfast beer. It is somewhat lighter than expected, something of a medium body with no real booziness. Some oreo cookie like sweetness comes into play though this steers away from a true 'dessert' style stout in my opinion. As this warms some tobacco and dried fruit elements come through and you get more complexity, as with many good stouts. I've been drinking some cold brew coffee recently and this has some of the same components - with a roasted berry/dried fruit element as noted.



Here are those sleepy cats providing a peaceful backdrop.....better enjoy whilst I can!



Hope everyone is enjoying a fine Sunday.

 

Today's beer:


EvilTwin Brewing - Even More Jesus
Been holding on to this bottle for a while now, time to pop it open for NBS. Pours like motor oil, no head at first but it slowly rises, dark brown and sticks around as a light ring while drinking. Slightly sweet, chocolate, some bitterness but it plays well with everything. Super complex beer but not as "dark" tasting as I was expecting. Super thick mouth feel. Overall a real nice beer, glad I got a chance to try this one.

Cheers!

 

Another new one...
Another nice German beer for the day..

Crisp, clear and refreshing. The Germans really know how to knock out really enjoyable biers.
Glad I'm getting out of my comfort zone and getting into other styles/countries.

 

I think this might be my first NBS (though there's a chance it could be my second, don't remember if I actually posted before)

Stopped by Captain Lawrence Brewing Company today and got to try the Transatlantic Imperial Red they brewed in collaboration with Jameson. (Picture is neither this beer, nor the Jameson barrels, just a picture of some of the cool stuff they got going on in their new expanded barrel room - 1 of them is a bourbon barrel milk stout, 1 of them is Cuvee de Castelon, and the last is Apple Brandy Frost Monster).

Taste was mostly sweet caramel, just the right body for the style. A really, really well made brew. The Jameson barrel aging comes through in just the right amount - not too strong, but it's there. And it doesn't contribute any alcohol burn. Might have been one of the smoothest, least alcohol prevalent higher ABV brews I've ever had.

My only disappointment was that it wasn't in the taproom - brewery tour exclusive. And I don't know if/when they'll be bottling it/letting people fill growlers of it. Definitely a winner.

They also had some other great stuff on tap, but this was a real stand out.

 

Nothing about this one grabbed me; lacked something distinctive or interesting. Perhaps I am just getting too picky, but for $18 a 6-pack I was hoping for something a bit more wow

L - pours deep copper with off white fluffy head that lingers for ages
S - Honey sweetness up front with pine and a hint of tropical fruit
T - much softer than I was expecting. Some sweetness, and some pine then bitterness, but no real character or distinct 'thing' to define the beer
M - medium bodied, carb was on spec for the style

Overall just nothing about this grabbed me to engage my interest - a good beer certainly, but nothing about it made me want to drink it again

Rating - 3.72

 

Damn, that HB went down too easily! And I was half-way down when I posted.
In full disclosure, I had one of these last night, but it wasn't cold enough for me to give it a fair shake (pour)

I've been seeing this in the WF cold case for a while now and never grabbed it. I was in last night, needing a sixer of my beloved style, the DIPA.
I usually grabbed Hoptimum or a bomber of something along the lines of Hop Stoopid. But I pulled out a single of this and saw the "best by" date, counted backwards and figured, still pretty fresh. AND it was on sale for $8.
Now, sipping on an ice cold bottle of it, much better than I gave it last night. Has to be because it wasn't cold enough last night.
Fantastic hop presence, really good creamy mouthfeel, dank, fruity nose...giving Hoptimum a run for its money! And I'm a Sierra Nevada *****! A few bucks less for a sixer than a four pack of Hoptimum...?
Things that make ya go hmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmm

 

This is not new to me, but it's hella good, and it's a saison, so I wanted to share it with my NBS brethren. If anyone offers it to you in a trade, grab it and enjoy it. It's really, really good - peppery, with a lot of funky Belgian goodness. Surly is the real deal, IMHO.

 

Well Hello Fellow NBS'ers,
It's now official...It's fargin' HOT here in the West. 100+ degrees here next to the Happiest Place on Earth (TM?). Sure not a weekend that I'd want to spend marching around from long line to longer line just to ride something that lasts less than 3 minutes. But hey, that's just me. My summer is over, so I'm a little jaded. I've been working on my classroom, going to meetings, etc. for a few weeks now. But, starting tomorrow, it's "game on." First day with kids, which I love. But it's also the first day of infinite paperwork, scrutiny of "experts", and very long work days. Anyhoo...

Big Thanks to @Prager62 for Upland Brewing's Barrel Chested Barleywine (Bourbon barrel aged)
this was just one more of the zymurgical goodness that bubbled up from his bottomless box o' goodies in our esteemed NBS BIF #2

Deep aged copper in color, some loose frothy foam that dissipates to a thin oatmeal colored whisp.
Smell starts with caramel, rich dates, some boozy warmth with a nice hint of vanilla. But the caramel and date smell really tempts. Flavors of caramel and dates are instantly joined by some boozy warmth while the vanilla is more subtle than it was in the nose, yet still peeking through. As I swallow, I notice oaky wood that heads towards a dryness that seems to be brought on by the hops...heading in the direction of an American barleywine. Mouthfeel is almost creamy, elegantly hefty. Overall, a very solid, complex offering.

A nice one to end summer with. Thanks Brother.

 

Finally getting around to joinin today. Been a hot one here around 90' + in some parts. Spent the day guzzlin goses and poundin pils. Now I get to sit back and sip stout. A buddy of mine gave me these a week or 2 ago. Too bad the don't distribute here cause I would be there biggest consumer.
Let's start. Looks like any good stout should, nice an dark. Although the huge head thru me off. Smells like the bottom of a carboy , super hoppy. Taste like the label says a hoppy stout ?? A first for me but thoroughly enjoyable although lacking on the stout side( I prefer a nice thick stout) I hope everyone enjoyed their Sunday, and to all you folks in WA Hawks season is coming soon. 12th man out. See you next week