New Beer Sunday (week 567)

What's up NBS players? A cool but nicely sunny day here on the island and about to get our first real taste of winter weather this week. Big let down with the Jets pathetic performance against the measly bills. I didn't expect this team to go very far but it would have been nice to see some playoff action for the team.

So, my new beer today is Red Button, an imperial red ale, by Barrier Brewing co here in western long island. The brew comes in at 8.8% and its really great to see these guys starting to bottle more and gain wider distribution. Their Money ipa is fantastic.

A dirty brown/burgundy pour with little clarity and a soft, white, and nicely retaining head. The nose is very malty with a sort of toasted quality to it but not very floral to me. Big time malty taste on the initial sip with a sort of robust feel to it. The robust/malty taste continues to a slightly bitter hop finish. Very earthy and herbal note qualities come on the more it warms. I really get a sort of herbal tea quality. The mouth feel is moderate, dirty, and yet somewhat smooth.

Overall- decent, drinkable, and different but nothing great. The malts and dirty feel really dominate and I don't really get much hops at all. I'm in the 3.5 range at best.

 

Thanks - I followed the link. Next time I'm in Key West, I'll be counting toes!

 

Guys, I've been absent from NBS for several weeks as I was on vacation exploring California. I'm back today briefly and hoping to crack a New Beer today but also have a fridge full of other beers I'dl like to consume. Starting tomorrow I'll begin a much-needed detox and I've sworn to limit my BA usage (it's just too damn tempting and encourages beer-drinking {duh!}). I hope to be back later with Victory's Java Cask as a slight last hurrah. Meanwhile. as I said, I've been enjoying the reviews, thoughts and general camaraderie.

 

Okay, @Jacobob10, @TheDoctor, @TongoRad, @LeperJim et al, had to give a listen to the link the first in the list had supplied, and was impressed and thoroughly enjoyed Claypool's band's take on the album. Yet another bit of music knowledge garnered from a beer site. Love it!

(Unfortunately does not seem to be on my music streaming site, but oh well)

 

Poured into a 13 oz tulip glass bottled on 11/21/15. Pours a dark yellow with a 2 inch sticky white head that leaves behind plenty of lace. 4.25

Smell is grapefruit, gin, pine, lime, and orange peel. 3.5

Taste lots of grapefruit and gin, musk and limes, really harsh and not something I am loving. 3

Mouthfeel is Almost medium, a good amount of life, dry as you would expect, and good drinkability if you can get past the really bitter and ex stringent taste. 4

Overall as a person that doesn't like gin, this is pretty good considering. Fans of gin martinis or GNT's would probably love this. 3.25

 

Hey what's going on?!

Fun day today, just got back from quick earlyy dinner after a theatre show at the Kennedy Centre in downtown DC as a Christmas gift for the wife... Pretty nice day to be out on a bright cold and crisp day.

Shame that I have to go back to work tomorrow...

That being said, our hero is up to putting together his favorite beers in 2015. Yup it's a big list too, and some of you know I do this every year, right now looking back at all my notes and pics... yowza. I am working on the video right now for my channel and it is ...sloooooooooooow going... but it's getting there. It's not ready but I am praying I'll somehow get it done this week.

What a year, with lots of highlights! That Vermont trip sure spoiled me, but there were some big surprises too.

With that being said, I just finished one category with many more to come, and I need to take a break from editing this giant monster, so it's time for a beer!

Going to start off a little easy I think first so what's new for our hero today?

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Heritage Brewing - Freedom Isn't Free IPA


Heritage Brewing Co. - Freedom Isn't Free IPA by imbibehour, on Flickr

Poured from the can into a Spiegelau IPA glass. No obvious dating.

Deep amber orange body color, but with some sediment floating around and some of it is quite dark actually but luckily and surprisingly the floaties aren't that numerous or even distracting in appearance. Head manages though smaller than your average IPA, only about two fingers, creamy light tan, and a thin half finger puck with some lacing.

Aroma is quite basic but also pretty good, but perhaps hiding a fault. Comes up like a hop forward amber with caramel sweeetness and a nice hop note of basic orange. There is a bit of faint solvent like smell to this, it's very small though luckily.

Woah what happened here? Palate comes with large amounts of astringent hops that just punish. Out of control bitterness that comes off like just green brewed homebrew that hasn't even had the yeast added. Wet bodied not horribly, it's ok what should be for the palate feel, but this is really going off the deep end. Finish is extremely bitter, almost tasting like eating bitter rinds and pith. Surprisingly also no malt flavor to this at all, which would be much appreciated to add some sweetness to totally counter this overly green tasting beer, with no enjoyable hop characters at all.

This is just not getting it done unfortunately. I've had worse, but in the numerous IPA realm this sticks out like a sore thumb and not in a good way.

look: 3.5 | smell: 3.5 | taste: 2 | feel: 3.5 | overall: 2 | BA Generated score : 2.6

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Oh well... at least there's more beer...

 

Happy NBS! The first of the New Year seems to be a nice chilled out start.

Today has been a fairly relaxed one leading into a full return to work. Finally got round to taking Xmas decorations down for another year.....felt good to sweep away all the pine needles but bittersweet as I definitely enjoy having up the lights, Charlie Brown christmas tree and other trimmings.

My new beer today is Almanac's Dogpatch Sour



Bottle is from May 2015. Pours a deep amber to red with plenty of carbonation evident. No real head present. All cherry on the nose - gives you a taste of things to come. This is a sharp sour, definitely an eye opener! The lively carbonation gives this a refreshing feel, sparkling cherry juice style. Haven't had to break out the antacids just yet....but as it warms I am getting a vinegary tone which leaves a lasting aftertaste. Lots to like here. This is one of a few Almanac offerings available in the Chicago area and I look forward to trying many more.

 

Hey gang, I'm back for another that I received from a friend over the holidays in the Smokestack Series box. Popping the cork on the Tank 7 that I had way back in the day before I rated or reviewed. Let's go down memory lane!

Pours a hazy pale yellow with a huge three finger head of creamy white foam. The aroma is lemon grass, clove and banana. Flavor profile is lemon, clove, banana, and a bit of pepper in the finish. The feel is wet, semi tart and dry.



Overall I'm glad I was given this gift and a chance to revisit. A very flavorful and refreshing beer with a well hidden 8.5 abv. My score was 4.21 / rDev +1.4%.

Cheers NBS peeps, keep them coming! Review below.....

http://www.beeradvocate.com/beer/profile/423/50570/?ba=Prager62

 

Hello NBS,
I am a little late starting this sunday for a couple reasons, My friend just opened a barbershop in the heart of Downtown Montreal So I went for a haircut, Its in a popular clothing store selling brands I quite like and they're opening a tattoo parlor in the same store. So its really gonna be a one stop shop lol.

After that I helped a friend move from an off Island suburb to one in the east end of Montreal (a 50 minute highway drive from my place)(god this city is big landmass wise!). So Its been an all over the place kind of day for me.

Anyways I started tonight with High hopes on a Saison brewed with brett yeast and dry hopped with Chinook hops by les trois mousquetaires. and Was Fairly disappointed. I like sour saisons for the most part and a lot of reviewers probably liked it for the fact that i was all over the place... It got a 3.51 from me and avg is 4.06 so who knows, maybe I just expected better! anyways ill let my review do the talking Cheers!

3.51/5 rDev -12.5%
look: 3.25 | smell: 4 | taste: 3.25 | feel: 3.5 | overall: 3.5

Appearance - this beer pours a cloudy golden orange color with 2 finger bubbly white head which dissapear quickly to give it a small film over the top.

Aroma - brett funk, orange, apple, grape, oak, bubble gum, bread.

Taste - Salt and sour apple/grape hit the tongue first. followed by oak from the barrels then a spiceyness from the chinook hops and fresh bread from the yeast.

Feel - light creamy body mild bitterness very smooth but not what I would expect considering the saisons I've had in the past.

Overall - This is a pretty average offering that is priced way above its quality in my opinion. It may be that les trois mousquetaires usually make fantastic beers that I'm a little mixed as to where this one is concerened. It has a fatastic smell but the flavor and feel just dont do that smell justice. cheers!

★825 characters

 

Pretty creative writing review there! I have a bottle myself and looking forward to it.

 

That one is an outlier for sure.

 

New Oyster Stout Sunday

Hello again NBSer's! For my 2nd new beer today, I had some Abita Bad Mother Shucker Oyster Stout: http://www.beeradvocate.com/beer/profile/3/195109/?ba=bluejacket74



I thought it was good, Abita has been doing a good job with their new brews lately. And they're very well priced compared to a lot of breweries right now so I'll keep trying their new stuff as long as it keeps being good. I think I'll have another new beer tonight so I'll be back!

 

Rivertown Soulless Scarlet Sour Ale



Picked this Flanders up for two bucks over the holidays. One of my favorite styles. At that price, what could go wrong?

Pours a lovely dark red, very clear, with just a wisp of tan head that lingers around the edges. Unfortunately, the tartness and oak typical of the style are overpowered by sherry and vinegar in the aroma and soy sauce in the taste. There's a good beer underneath somewhere, but there's some big obvious flaw/s sitting on top.

@WckdVbz warned I'd be disappointed when I included it in a haul pic, and was right. My first (and hopefully last!) drain pour of 2016.

 

And Its not that I absolutely dislike it either. Its a decent beer it just isnt wowing me like most in the style.

 

Another entry for me today.
Weyerbacher Tarte Nouveau


Poured from a 12 oz. bottle, packaged on 11/17/15.

Pours a light golden yellow body with a quickly disappearing head; plenty of bubbles streaming up from the bottom.

Aroma has plenty of lacto sourness along with some citrusy tartness.

Taste is fine up front with tart citrus and lacto sourness finishing with a clean dryness, quite a bit of the sour/vinegar sizzle on the sides of the tongue.

Mouth feel is light and mildly refreshing. Strong wheat aftertaste.

Overall, this isn't too bad; the wheat aftertaste is a little off-putting to me. I bought this as part of a mix-a-six and glad that I did; while this has a very nice sourness up front, it isn't just enough in the finish to keep me interested.

Cheers!

 

Back with my second beer for this NBS and it will be Hedgerow a English style Barleywine from the Burlington Beer Co.

4.1/5 rDev -0.2%
look: 4 | smell: 4 | taste: 4.25 | feel: 4 | overall: 4

This beer pour a dark orange to brown color. A nice pleasant nose with hints of caramel and fruit with some smooth bread like aroma. The taste follows the nose to a point a sweet caramel taste with the hint of grapes in the back ground. The carbonation is smooth and it drinks a lot smoother than the 11% ABV listed on the bottle. I'll be interested to see how this beer ages.
This is another really good beer from this VT brewery.

 

Ok I went and fixed that beer problem...

NEXT!!!

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Evil Twin / Westbrook Brewing - The Perfect Nose - Evil Twin Brewing


Evil Twin Brewing / Westbrook Brewing Co. - The Perfect Nose by imbibehour, on Flickr

Poured from the bottle into a snifter glass.

Deep rusty dark plum red body color, and a bit muddy like looking as well. Very fine and creamy whispy top with a brown ultrafine creamy collar to match.

Aroma is very large and truly decadent. Large big plum and thick grape notes. Warm senses of brandy and some almost dried apricot like fruit qualities as well. Thick bouquet. A big getting into just too large strangely. Some faint light pepper hits as well. Quite big with lots of boozy warmth and really does smell like brandy.

Palate is kind of interesting. Discovering cognac barrels don't seem to add a lot of depth too much, and this is a little bit better but certainly has a bit of a washing wet like palate feel. Flavors are pretty solid with a good mix for the style. Chewy dark and stone like fruits, with minimal sweetness and big on thick fat and alcohol. Piping warm notes of plum and wood, with a thick waffing cognac punch. Light honey coating slightly but without the sweetness particularly on the lips.

Kind of gets into spirit beer and tastes bigger than its ABV indicates it seems. However, sort of just needs to bring out the base style a little better but very little to complain about here. Decadent indeed.

look: 3.5 | smell: 4.25 | taste: 4 | feel: 3.75 | overall: 4 | BA Generated Score : 4.01

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ok we rolling now, back to the editing room...

 

Back before dinner with one more new one: Green Flash/Alpine Hand Shake IPA.

We have had GF distro here for a while but just started getting Alpine last week. I know that it's not the "old" Alpine, but I happily picked up some Duet (they were already out of Nelson) and noticed this one and got curious. A collaboration between Alpine and GF hopped with Simcoe, Mosaic, Citra, and El Dorado - could not pass this one up:



Best by on the label was 5/11/16. Poured a hazy amber-orange with a nice soapy white head. This beer smelled delicious! Blueberry, grapefruit, orange, pine, and earth. A hint of malt. Not a full on citrus bomb, but complex and interesting. The taste was similar, with the Mosaic up first - big blueberry and fruity notes. I noticed the Simcoe next, with the earthy, piney flavors. The Citra and El Dorado seemed less prominent to me, with the beer seeming rounded-out with plenty of citrusy hoppiness. There was a nice malt backbone with no sweetness. Clean finish, full-bodied. 7.0% ABV, only 55 IBU but full of flavor. A great IPA. Cheers!

 

Last New Beer of the night while finishing the Carolina game..
Another Saison.. Farmhouse's are like my comfort style, for me nothing better than a simplyfunky farmhouse ale.

Passed this at the store a bunch of times till I finally realized it's a saison I haven't tried so picked it up.
Off Color brewing - Apex Predator.





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L: Hazy bright gold color nice carbonation.

S: Super farmhouse funk.. White wine. A little hoppy mango citrus.

T: Mango citrus tartness, some oak..Funk not like smell a bit more on the medicinal end.
Some green apple too.

F: Light, prickly carbonation.

O: Really surprised by this beer. Really good saison. The white wine like smell and taste reminds me of goose island Sofie..IMO that's a compliment.

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Funny just realized this and Sofie are Brewed in the same city

 

It's funny you say that. I don't necessarily think the Frog Brigade version is better than the original, but I certainly enjoy it more. Pink Floyd had the brilliance to compose the album in the first place so it's hard to knock it at all. But when I'm in the mood to listen to Animals, I reach for my Frog Brigade album. They breathed some new life into it without really changing any of the songs. As you mentioned, the energy of playing it live certainly adds to its power. A good cover should educate and entertain, and I think they succeeded in doing both. And let's face it... Claypool just fucking rocks on bass.

Glad you enjoyed! It's probably one of my Top 5 most listened to albums of all time, but after all this talk tonight I may need to give it another spin before bed.