New Beer Sunday (week 561)

Bite your tongue. Although, I remember back a couple years we had warm weather right until beginning December, when the bottom dropped out and it was zero with blizzards the rest of the winter.

 

Wow that lamp is awesome. Really nice work !

 

Texas folks are not allowed to use the NY only word "yas", even if you do have a place on the UWS

 

I had 38 for dinner last night with a lot of drinking. I have enough of the crowd left to be able to share this one up



The nose is slightly funky, but not a lot. The taste is very sour with some nice malt complexity. All in all a great sour.

 

I'm easily more offended by your referring to me as a Texan than your prohibition of the word "yas." Wars have been started for less.

 

Next week I need to work in Led Zeppelin ... or James McMurtry ... or deconstructionism.

Right now I'm working in another New Beer on this wonderful Sunday, and it's a style I am falling so madly in love with:



My experience with the Flanders red ale is still pretty limited, but like others I've tried, Cuvee des Jacobins Rouge tastes mostly like tart cranberries to me ... also sour/sweet apples. It doesn't have as much of the toasted flavor that Monk's Cafe does, but it *does* have a bit more of that earthy/funky Jester King/Jolly Pumpkin farmhouse/wild ale thing going on, like a musty barn. That note is not overpowering, but it's present enough to bite your tongue with some bitterness. Surrounded by the other tart/sweet flavors, the dirt bitterness works really well.

The review:
http://www.beeradvocate.com/beer/profile/223/50772/?ba=Premo88
4.3 (+0.2% rDev)

Man, that squirrel in Minnesota was *digging*. Hahahahahaha ... what an athlete!

Looks like there's a lot of great Sundays and new beers floating around our circuit ... sure is fun to see.

Midnight popped in for a peek:


Cheers!

 

Sorry I meant New Mexico. In my defense this stout is kicking my ass.

 

I somehow missed word about it until too late, but I don't think I had anything on hand to fill that niche anyway (at least I hope not). Ironically, I've been advocating a New Bad Beer Sunday for some time now.

 

New American Imperial / Double IPA Sunday

Hello all! A very cold day here in Milwaukee (only in the upper 20's). Todays brew is from Surly - Abrasive. An awesome DIPA to say the least. I scored it 4.5's across the board, landing it just over a slight hair above the current average. Juicy/fruity hop goodness really shines through with a firm smooth malt backing. Alcohol is incredibly well-hidden! If you can get this and like hoppy brews I highly recommend you do so!

Here's the link:
http://www.beeradvocate.com/beer/profile/13014/46849/?ba=jwc215

Cheers!

 

I've had a couple of disappointments from Brooklyn lately but Hand & Seal is an outstanding English Barleywine. Too bad it's no longer brewed and has become much more difficult to find.

4.34/5 rDev +0.7%
look: 4 | smell: 4.25 | taste: 4.5 | feel: 4.25 | overall: 4.25

Poured from cork and cage bottle into snifter. This is a hazy ale and its color is variegated, ranging from a deep brown at the bottom of the glass to a yellow-orange at the top, with a rather thin, milk-white, head and lacing. It rather resembles apple cider. The smell is inviting with abundant caramel, toffee, and sweet malt and some subdued pear. The taste is strongly caramel, balanced by a refreshing fruitiness, and finishing with a nice brown sugar. As the glass warmed, I tasted the vanilla I had smelled, as well as some maple. The bourbon blends very nicely with the other flavors and is by no means overpowering. There's also a slight hoppiness in the aftertaste. This is a full-bodied, chewy ale with moderate carbonation. The high ABV of 13.3% is not nearly as noticeable as I thought it would be but it still packs a wallop. Expect to sip on this one. Overall, this is a vine English Barleywine and I'm sorry it was only brewed once. I should have bought it when it was easier to find!

 

Hope this helps.

 

Back from the movie...Spaceballs is always great! A lot of references kids won't understand nowadays, but I love it!
Anyway, my next entry for today is....
Lagunitas Brown Shugga' Ale

Poured from a 12 oz. bottle into a tulip. Julian dating 281 5 (October 8, 2015)
Pours a nice dark amber-red-brwon with a lot of off white head. My glass is full of lacing....ridiculous!
Getting a nice hoppy aroma, not what I was expecting, although I don't really know what I was expecting...Sour lemon and pine dominating.
Taste...Clean hops taste up front with pine and a citrus bite; maltiness comes in at the end to round that out and then leaves a nice bitterness behind on the palate.
Mouth feel is...well I guess medium. Not a hint of the 9.8% abv that's listed on the label. Honestly I had no idea it had that high of an abv, either.
Overall, I never really looked into it or had plans of buying it, so when I had to complete a mix-a-six I saw this on the shelf and grabbed one. I liked it, but not enough to really go and look for it again; just satisfied with it to have had it this one time. Reminds me of Arrogant Bastard a little, just not hoppy enough. This isn't a bad beer by any means; I won't be rating low, it's like I said I won't really be seeking this one out again.

Cheers!

 

Thanks for your review. I'm a big fan of Tiny and think it's underrated or merely gets lost with all the other great offerings from Weyerbacher.

 

Ok, on to 4pm games as the NFC East just gets more muddled. Hoping, and not expecting, this beer to not exhibit the same quality of that division. From the [in?]famous @5EKF, a nice little surprise "I'm sending you something" that showed up the day after he notified me. I'm still getting his return package together. Need more shipping material. This sharing of beer is fun but a bit of work at times - labor of love, I guess. Might need the VA breweries to step up the beer they put in cans (preferably) .

Anyhow, as alluded to in my WBAYDN post - this beer is from MN and I am guessing quite a few of you have had the privilege to enjoy it. Abrasive Ale by Surly


( Mild irony yet again as the Savor glass sees Surly from a BA and not in a pour from the brewers )

GF: why do I get the small glass?
Me: because I went through the effort and cost of trading for it.
GF: and I pay for the house you are living in
Me: ... but I have to do a review for NBS
GF: asshole

Guess I won the argument ?

Anyhow, beer is nice pale golden, or maybe even a golden-orange yellow. Light haze and a nice white head, thin but lasting. Notes of melon, tropical fruit, pineapple and sweet orange. Hmmm, reminds me of something...

Glass to lips and there is a light tartness initially - lemon/orange - before the flavor equivalents of the nose come in. There's the slightest bite of alcohol. The ending is very clean, surprisingly so. I usually expect a big grapefruit pith, dank note, and/or pine after the fruit fades. But this just fades away nicely, the pineapple/orange maybe having the longest staying power. Almost after the fact a light fuzzy pith grabs my tongue.

I am amazed at how much this reminds me of OTWOA. I think this is a tad more balanced and brings a little less heat. It also seems a little cleaner in the end even (OTWOA does bring some grapefruit to the end). But the tropical notes and the way they hit up front and just fade is reminiscent to me at least.

Thanks again, @5EKF!!

 

Tarkus!

Cheers!

 

First NBS post.
Avery Twenty Two (Anniversary beer).
"100% Brettanomyces drie Fermented dry-hopped wild ale" per the label.

Poured into the closest thing I had to a goblet. Head does not last long.

Pairs well with cream cheese wonton.


Last pour, still bubbly.

But no head or lacing.

Smell-a bit of funk. Not much else.

Taste/feel-a little too sour for me on the end. Mouth drying.

Overall-I'm not a big sour fan, don't regularly drink them. I enjoy flavored ones more than the straight forward type, but this was pleasant.

L-4.25 S-3.75 T-4 F-4 O-4
Total 3.96
r Dev -2.7%

 

New Amber Ale Sunday!

The Work day was fine and fast, the way I like it! Definitely feeling that Winter chill in the air today, which I am a fan of! Well let's get down to business, shall we?



Bell's Amber Ale. This is a bit "Seasoned" since it was packaged in early parts of Summer. So I'm just giving my thoughts about the contains inside the Bottle. Off the jump this pours accordingly to the Amber Ale style. Nice deep Amber body reaching that Burnt Orange color. Nice slap of White foam of head. Looking Great IMO.

The Aroma first slaps the Nose with a melange of Caramel and Honey. Some hits of Spice and mild touch of Chocolate. Not bad yet it's a pretty simple smelling brew.

The Flavor should be more interesting...shouldn't it? The flavor matches the Aroma but a little bit more balanced. This is like drinking Honeynut Cheerio's with a Mild touch of Cocoa in the mix. The malt sweetness accents the Honey and toasted Cereal Grains notes evenly. Nice dose of Caramel with a crisp Herbal Hop finish. This has a subtle bitterness that cuts the malts very nicely. Lingering Toasted Oats and Caramel in the aftertaste. The feel is light body with fizzy carbonation.

Overall: This is an easy drinking brew that isn't trying to be better than the next kid on the block. Nice modest Ale that achieved a satisfying effect on me. I normally wouldn't reach for a Bell's brew but I'm actually feeling this beer. I might've found an everyday drinker with this brew. It's balanced, no off-flavors and has a snappy finish that can accelerate how fast I kill this brew. This brew is Recommended!

Grade: A-

Cheers my fellow New Beer Sunday Crew!

 

Well, then, just take a deep breath (or three :-)) and think about having "christmas" Huevos tomorrow am.

 

Very well done!

 

It's now 40 degrees, partly sunny, and I just drank an IPA from SF as the 'hawks similarly dispatch that city's NFL team:

http://www.beeradvocate.com/beer/profile/28/112128/?ba=woemad

Highly mediocre. It looked good but was rather malty for an IPA.