New Beer Sunday (week 577)

You would be correct

 

Technically, since @aoampm decided that foreigners aren't welcome in the BIF!

 

Ok, this didn't come out as well as I'd hoped. This beer didn't have much head at the brewery, but it's really lacking after a night in a howler. So I won't do an official review, but this is Aslin's Buon Giornio (on this site as Buongiorno, the brewer had the beer split on two lines, so not sure which is correct):


This was listed as a Biscotti Stout on the board, and since my GF loves the Evil Twin version, she ordered one. I got to taste it, and hence the howler in the pics. As stated, this beer isn't much of a looker. One glass did fizzle up some head, but it fizzled out just as quickly.

The beer has a distinct mocha nose to it, and it shifts from seeming more chocolate to more coffee. Pretty robust and also a little sweet.

There is still a little carbonation left in this, but not much. Just enough to provide the lightest tickle on the tongue.

The taste does have a little raisin dark and sweet-tart note in the opening. The chocolate is more prevalent in the taste early than the coffee, and it follows that it is a tad on the sweet end as well. The coffee comes in late, as does a little hint of anise - not really strong enough to make it to licorice.

Not a bad beer, even with a pretty flat body. The flavors are nice, but I think there could be some tidying up of the edges to strengthen and focus on bringing out the individual flavors a little more distinctly.

 

Haha. Just looked at my list and I'd already ruled you out. Better to be safe than sorry!

 

Wasn't going to post again but after all this is NBS. and this beer is new to me.
I'm just starting to get into the "Trillium phenomenon" I've had Fort Point, Scaled and Sleeper Street with some in the fridge yet to go... so I'm thinking Trillium- all about hops, that's the story. Until I just opened this.
The beer is strangely reminiscent of .......EE GADS!!!.. Delirium Tremens.
One of my favorite beers of all time! Belgian yeast and hopped up deliciousness! The citra adds a nice crisp citrusy dry finish.
Although I wouldnt say this is world class like DT, but its a hell of an effort. Trillium... not just juice bombs.

 

Stopped by my local shop yesterday to pick up some things for a box I'm packing, and stumbled onto a new one from Westbrook.

This is Tiny Tornado - a DIPA with Galaxy, Chinook, Amarillo, and Columbus hops. Wonderful combination of citrus, floral, and earthy notes.

Excellent DIPA, and very happy to see it less than a week from bottling!

Now back to trying to figure out my sender in the NBS BIF...



http://www.beeradvocate.com/beer/profile/24134/218748/?ba=richj1970

 

I'll tell you whether you're my shipper if you tell me if you're mine.

 

Happy Selection Day Sunday, NBSers. To celebrate the prospect of IU and Kentucky meeting in the 2nd round of the NCAA Tournament in Des Moines (which I will attend if it occurs - oh, yes), I decided to crack open this relatively new red IPA from an iconic West Coast brewer.



My first Stone beer was Arrogant Bastard, enjoyed on Christmas Eve 2008 at dinner before Midnight Mass in Zionsville, IN with my bro-in-law. Despite the dagger eyes our wives (who are sisters and Irish twins) were tossing our way, we enjoyed The Bastard immensely, and I've been a HUUUUUUGE fan ever since. They do cool stuff (the Enjoy By series is magnificent), and they seem to have great "beer karma." That makes a difference to me.

Anywho, this particular offering pours a gorgeous clear garnet with 2 fingers of tan head. On the nose, the hops are present, and they're REALLY present on the first sip (a nice "tang", from either the Mosaic or the Cascade) - and then the toffee and biscuit flavors from the malt come forward, and that creamy goodness just floors me. Truly well done. Rated 4.35, have an astounding Sunday evening, NBSers.

 

Haha! This line right here was great. Are you sure it was just one? Not sure one would have brought about the proper nap I need for midnight mass.

 

Otter Creek Steampipe

This is a "California common." I tend to buy any packaged California common that I run into. With a name like "Steampipe," I get visions that make me think porter… but this beer name is of course a sly reference to Anchor's beer. Sly because Anchor trademarked the term "steam beer." When I first learned of this trademark, I thought it was a bit offensive, but since then I've mellowed on that stance considerably. Has Anchor earned the right to hold this term as part of their identity given their history? I don't know.

Otter Creek's beer is not a beer that clicks with me. It recalls Anchor's but the hops provide a citrus quality along with the bitterness. The citrus taste doesn't work for me. Otter Creek claims that the "tropical" hops are in line with modern drinker sensibilities. Maybe they are right, but I don't think Steampipe is a beer for an IPA addict. Most importantly, this beer does not feel clean. I don't mean to suggest that it has an ale profile from a warm fermentation, I'm saying something tastes off. If my intelligence was anything more than two degrees above stupid, I'd be capable of elaborating on this, but as my Uncle Harry always said, "A man's got to know his limitations." I know mine, and I'll just say I didn't find a friend in this beer.

Personally, I find it difficult to form a set of expectations with this style. Everyone is basically going off of Anchor's current iteration. Anchor's beer is such an anomaly. Whenever I think I have an impression of it, it proves to be much harder to pin down.

 

Vigorous pour yields a one inch head.
Very nice nose of funk.
Tastes wonderful, I am liking this beer.
Nice mouthfeel.
I will be grabbing another!

 

Once again, my Grandma brought back some goodies from Vermont!! And that includes the Bernie Sanders cheese and the special reserve Cabot Cheddar in the back. Surprisingly it didn't include the Space Juice in the back; I actually picked that up at Total Wine in RiverEdge NJ. Pretty good DIPA. Very smooth and drinkable. Very piney smell, felt like I was in a Forrest. At first it wasn't as hoppy as I was intending. Now, once this baby warmed up it turned course and the hop flavors and aromas really came forward over the malt. I immediately took out the second one I was planning on having so that it too could warm up. All in all, very good DIPA, I enjoyed it. Salud BA!

 

New Russian Imperial Stout Sunday.

Evenin' NBSers with special salutations to those stalwart seekers of superior stouts.

Well today's chores are finished and we're ready here for tonight's/tomorrow's rain. The weather here was pretty much overcast all day and with a few light showers here and there, now and then.

Inspired by Maria's lead, this evening's new beer is the RIS Blackout Stout from Great Lakes which I've managed to overlook having despite the fact that GL has been in PA for 4-5 years now.

As usual my review is about half finished and can be found here:

http://www.beeradvocate.com/beer/profile/73/15813/?ba=drtth

However, it won't get changed any more during this beer since I'm now starting on my third night of having some Stilton Cheese paired with beer. Two nights ago the cheese was paired with the Troeg's Nugget Nectar and my thoughts were that it worked OK but the hops tended to conceal some of the more subtle flavors of the Stilton. Last night the pairing was with Bell's Cherry Stout and the Stilton. I thought that pairing worked better than the Nugget Nectar, especially with some tartness from the Cherries. However, by the end of the beer/cheese it seemed that the background sweetness in the stout was not really contributing to the pairing.

This Blackout Stout is a very nice beer on its own with lots of dark roast and chocolate in both the aromas and the flavors. It well deserves its high rating on this site and I'll be having more of it in the future.

However, now that I've started pairing it with the Stilton my focus will be on that flavor combination and any revision of the review will wait for the future.

So far I think creaminess of the Stilton Cheese and the creamy mouth feel of the stout work together perfectly and the contrasts between stout and cheese flavors are working out nicely. Any sweetness from the stout sort of disappears in the flavors of the cheese, the bitterness is smoothed out and adds a nice touch to the blue vein character of the Stilton. While I still think an English Barleywine and a Stilton make the best pairing, as suggested by Gerrit Oliver in his Brewmaster's Table, a nice rich Imperial Stout is right up there in contention and is almost as good.

As for music today I didn't have time for much, but did find something on YouTube that demonstrated once again what an amazing resource it can be.

Someone once wrote a tune called "Stilton Cheese."

Cheers, all!

 

New Am. IPA Sunday

Greetings NBSer's,
Unusually early start to spring with no snow on the ground. Unusual, but I'll take it. For regular attendee's of this fine forum, they will know I bitch at this time of year as I tend to get worn down by the length and intensity of MN winters. But not this year. Not with a trip to Las Vegas and this early thaw, I'm doing okay. Now if my adult children would help out a little bit all would be good.
Anyway, another wonderful start from Maria, who also reviewed a classic and wonderful beer.
Gearing up for NBS BIF #3.
Today I reviewed the last beer I brought home from NV.
http://www.beeradvocate.com/beer/profile/31987/99287/?ba=garymuchow

Best to all.

 

Rock Art in cans. Nice. Under appreciated brewery for sure.

 

Wow. That was nice.

 

Helluva a game. I'm both a Purdue fan and an IZZO fan. So it's hard sometimes.

 

That beer showed up here 4-6 weeks ago on tap. Had a pint, liked it, haven't seen bottles or draft since. Weird.

 

New Holland Night Tripper Imperial Stout, 11.5% ABV, 56 IBU. Pours black and thick, not much head, coffee nose, bitter coffee taste. The bitter eases as it warms. Pretty good! Another warm day in South Dakota, grilled burgers.

 

in my mind's eye, the Mormons make that area a little slice of north Korea right here in the good ole us of a!