New Beer Sunday (week 562)

Well back for a second go round on this Sunday. The turkey is roasting in the oven along with a couple of pans of root veggies and the gravy has already been made. I'd been holding onto this beer for a few weeks not sure where it was headed. But decided to open it today. This Indra Kunindra from Ballast Point.

This beer pours a rich black color with a creamy tan head.
The nose is overpowering of cumin, and curry spices. These two combined leave no chance for anything else to come through.
The taste follows the nose you have the bite of curry and the heat and smokiness from the cumin and not a lot of anything else comes through. I happen to like these spices but in moderation is the best way to enjoy them and when they are wrapped around other flavors.
The mouthfeel is smooth with the right carbonation.
This is one spicy beer not for the faint of heart. I'm not a fan of what they have here but have had far worse beers. I am working on finishing this bomber. Which I will do. So not a drain pour for sure but then again I liked the spices before I tried the beer. I won't be buying anymore.

 

Trying this Jailhouse Brewing Last Request. Very nice. Cheers all.

http://www.beeradvocate.com/beer/profile/21635/201114/?ba=cindyjeffsmith

 

New Framboise-esque Wild Ale Sunday!

Today was chilly at work and pure doom overcast settled the day. I wasn't too upset at work, just keeping to myself and doing my job. Now the Work day is through and I'm sharing a brew with you!



The 2015 edition of Lolita, she's a bit too young to be enjoying now....but you never know until you try. Off the jump she pours a deep Amber Body boarderline touching that Burnt Orange color. Small white head that dissipated rather quickly. Not really a looker this brew is.

Time for the Aroma! Acidity/Vinegar for Days! On the back end there is notes of Raspeberries but majority of the nose is acidty!

Flavor time baby! The first thing that his you is a nice touch of malt sweetness and raspberries. Seconds later the Acidty touches your no-no spot. Not offensive yet eerily smooth so as not to grab your pucker reflex. Mild touches of vinegar is in there but not overbearing so as to make you want to put this on your salad instead of in a glass. This finishes a touch sweet and tart with a nice dry tannins vibe. The feel is a bit light with some passive aggressive carbonation. Touchy little girl this brew is.

Overall: This isn't a great brew nor is it bad. I enjoyed this fresh but I can imagine it can get only better with age. I'd like to see more Deep Burgundy color to the body. The aroma isn't as complex as other Wild Ales I've enjoyed...again, I'll age a bottle to see if aging will help mellow the acidity in the aroma. The flavor is sweet overall yet the dryness and tartness helps cut that. Just I'm not being wowed by this brew. Will I drink again? In a few years I'll revisit. This Brew is Worthy!

Grade: B

Cheers my fellow New Beer Sunday Crew!

 

Pennsylvania Tuxedo by Dogfish. Finally found it, can taste the spruce.

 

Congrats on breaking its BA Cherry!

 

I understand. Hopefully sometime in the near future. Belgian Fest is just around the bend....just saying

 

Worked today, so joining the party late.



Smuttynose Imperial Stout (Big Beer Series)

Smuttynose Brewing Company
Russian Imperial Stout / 10.50% ABV

3.59/5 rDev -11.8% | Avg: 4.07
look: 3.75 | smell: 4 | taste: 3.5 | feel: 3 | overall: 3.5

Bottled in Feb. 2015.

L-Dark and black with no light transference. Head is minimal and fades to a thin ring.
S-Dark Chocolate with a hint of dark fruit sweetness.
T-Dark chocolate bitterness is the dominant flavor. Pretty one dimensional at this point.
F- Light carbonation with only a medium mouthfeel, too light for a stout.
O- A bit too simple in the flavor profile. In other reviews hops had been noted, but they seem to have faded at this point. I have to admit I'm disappointed. Not Smuttynose's best effort.

 

Been a pretty mellow weekend (starting Wednesday at 4) here in NorCal.
Turkey day came and went. I got in 46 miles in on the bike during the day and am vegan, so the meal with family was more about quality time than the food.
Black Friday, aka BCBS Friday, came and went. Got four at my local Whole Foods, no line, no limit and no fuss (aside from the wife, but she knows how good it is).
Yesterday, more of the same. Got six more BCBS, a pair of FW 19 and Pliny. Ironic how ya'll wait in lines for BCBS (mostly for the variants I'd guess) and here, where we only started getting it two years ago, I can grab it on the shelves for a few weeks, no fuss.
Alas, it's Sunday, the 9ers are dog-meat and I'm having a case of "I shoulda played so-and-so", in this case, Sammy Watkins and DeSean Jackson in Fantasy Football.
But this is in my glass and it's impressive!

Pours a nice deep golden hue with a nice amount of creamy head.
Not getting a lot of the Farmhouse on the nose. In fact, when I first cracked the cap, it was almost a hint of an IPA. Neither is a bad thing.
Initial tasting gives off a faint taste of the Farmhouse style. A style I don't consider a must have but am warming up to. This says it's aged in oak barrels but even that I can't get a heck of a lot of. This too isn't a bad thing.
I'm on my second pour of the 750 and there is still loads of lacing on the glass.
Flavor is Farmhouse but only for a second, as is the mouthfeel that would be expected of the style.
But after each sip, I nod in appreciation of the beer. Very tasty!

 

from the cellar. newly acquired from my very nice neighbor


well what can I tell you about it?
poured out cola colored with some foam head that reduces and sticks around
malty sweet smelling with nutmeg

another sip, ...

clove and cinnamon spice, ah that's nice.
mouthfeel to me is carbonated, and surely a spicy finish with this beer

i'll continue to enjoy this for a few more hours!
great holiday beer here! cheers!

 

Love this beer! It does need time though. I was lucky enough to enjoy a 2 year old bottle at Goose Island and it was exquisite. Awesome choice.

 

Yeah I'm keeping the other for a long while. I felt it was "Too Young", but I wanted to see how it managed fresh.

 

Nice to see you in this corner of Beer Advocate!

 

What's up nbs players? A pretty cool fall day here on the island with the feeling that winter is right around the corner. Enjoyed the Jets win over a bad dolphins team but it doesn't look the jets will do all that much this year regardless. Been taking it easy today in the drinking department but I'm kicking the evening off with a new beer.

Hog Cabin, a maple bacon porter, from Great South Bay brewing here on the island. A really good sounding brew that comes in at 6.5%.

The pour is dark with almost a caramel color in the light. The nose gives major notes of smoke and syrup sugars. Very nicely floral and I haven't been able to stop smelling it. The drinking starts with the malty taste of a classic porter. The finish carries the smoke over for the nose and adds a kind of sugary mash to it. Tones of molasses, maple syrup, cinnamon, and even nutmeg. The mouth feel is a tad light but it seems to work with the flavor. I'm not getting a ton of bacon I really only get smoke which really seems to dominate the brew the more I drink it.

Overall, a pretty fun beer to try but I really feel its more of an average brew at best. The nose is great, 4.5, but I'm in the mid 3's for all other categories. My other problem is that the bacon flavor just doesn't deliver for me. I think it should be simply called smoked maple porter instead.

 

You know this is the first time I've seen the direction's request for a Pint Glass.

 

New English Barleywine Sunday

Happy NBS everyone! For my first new brew of the day, I had a good local brew from Seventh Son: http://www.beeradvocate.com/beer/profile/31408/191866/?ba=bluejacket74




I thought it was a good barleywine, might have even liked it more if I would have let it age for a while. I'll be back on here later with another new beer review. Cheers everyone!

 

Saved this one for NBS

I enjoyed Double Bastard earlier in the week to get a sense of the base beer in this one. It drank like an AM BW with lots of malt sweetness, fruity hops with a cut of pine. That being said I wasn't sure how a coffee take would work.

And work it did! It's like having an espresso with a chaser of OJ and Grapefruit juice.

Starts out with big bold Java flavors...dark roast and smoke...that works well with the caramel malt sweetness. Develops into fruity hops...oranges, pineapple...and finally into a nice resinous pine bitterness.

Carbonation is spot on keeping it from being too syrupy.

Talk about a complex brewski!

Cheers NBS!

 

Nice review, I keep passing on Lolita, it's a decent beer but Juliet is much better. I really hope GI release more Juliet soon. BTW Juliet and Lolita blended together is great, Juliet is able to cover up the flaws of Lolita but you still get the raspberries and blackberries from both beers.

 

Sounds like a Cuvee in my near future! Thanks for the Recommendation Larry!

 

Me again, NBSers!



Another beer I haven't had in a while, Stone's Oaked Arrogant Bastard. It definitely smacks of typical AB (lots of biting, harsh pine; yet there's a decent malt backbone underneath it all), with the oak helping to mellow things out. Actually...dare I say...it's a bit bland. Still, this is a very easy beer to drink.

I still think it's around a 3.5/5. Good, not great.

 

Going Big today, huh K-Dawg?