New Beer Sunday (week 578)

Good Afternoon NBS.
Spring in full swing here. (Which means we're getting hints of summer). Luckily I have a friend handy to help me stay cool.
Epiphany DIPA by Foundation Brewing, Portland, Maine.
Big thanks to @walderek for this Solid, Glorious Maine Offering.

Pours a shiny penny with just a hint of haziness. One finger of tiny white bubbled head that retreats to a thin layer. Consistent lacing all the way around.
Smell bursts with a mélange of orange, peach, pine, with a hint of pineapple and malt sweetness.
Taste pumps its fist with a zesty orange peel up front, then moves back in the mouth with some tropical, slightly dry, pineapple and pine. Malt came through for just a moment, then some warmth. Yep, the pineapple and citrus escorts in a bit of what I perceive to be a gentle “heat.” More sips bring the tropical back around to a rounded out pine. Lotta good stuff going on here.
Mouthfeel is spot on. I often prefer a little more heft than style dictates, but this is full enough. And slightly oily on the finish.

Overall, I’d love a keg of this. My birthday is in July. Hook a brother up, Foundation.

 

Man, do we have a north wind howling through the Brazos Valley today ... whew!

Post golf practice beer:

I'm always amazed at how some of you good BAs find the inside-a-week-old beer. Inside a month always feels like a victory for me.


This beer = good.

This beer in a can = PARTY TIME!!!

Houston's 8th Wonder *finally* is canning ... at least 18 months late, I think, but hey, my fridge now has Dome F'auxm in it, so who's complaining?

Hopston is full of grapefruit/pine flavor from the hops with enough malt to be sweet and nearing bready flavored. Mangoes also come to mind, but it's not the full-on caramel/mango flavor some IPA/DIPAs get, at least not yet. Maybe it becomes that if it sits in the can another couple three weeks. It's also quite bitter at times, though the sweetness battles back and forth with the hop bite to smooth it out.

The review:
http://www.beeradvocate.com/beer/profile/28784/91390/?ba=Premo88
3.82 (+8.8% rDev -- a Michael Irvin! )

Watching the BIF#3 beers roll in is pretty cool. Glad NBS is continuing to do those.

Cheers!

 

Thanks @jzeilinger for this massive BA Quad, we have bourbon, I repeat we have bourbon. Poured slowly down the center at close to room temperature into my giant Duvel tulip, bottled 2/23/16 yikes. Pours a very attractive ruby red, with a large 3 finger head that quickly settles into a thin film of bubbles, no lace to speak of. 4.25 Smell starts with a Big hit of bourbon, oak, vanilla, clove, banana peel, ripe fig, brown sugar, and more bourbon. 4.25

Taste wowza, vanilla, brown sugar, oak, plum, clove, caramel, toffee, banana bread, and Bourbon that just hangs on your palate as if it didn't get you attention. 4.25 Mouthfeel is good size for the style and it's hearty 11.8% ABV, moderate amount of life and it works wonderfully and a nice creamyness, I would say it leans on the dry side, and it is a sipper for sure and I find myself sniffing it every chance I get and bracing myself for the next bourbon assault on my buds. 4.25 Overall I have only finally started getting into Belgians the last few months, this is without my favorite ever. If you don't like BA beers stay away, but if you do find this giant and be ready to take your time with this Beast! 4.25

 

I agree on the "polarizing" aspect. I first had this on tap at DFH and agree that the herbal/floral notes can be strong. I wasn't sure I liked it at first. In the first year when all 3 Brewer it, we did a side-by-side-by-side. There were mild differences that did indicate the individual brewers' style, but I also could've been seeking those differences. The beer did grow on me, but the herbal to earthy notes could turn people off enough, agreed.

 

2nd Week in a row I had that one in my hand but put it back and grabbed a different porter - Black Nun.

 

New English Porter Sunday

Hello all! Chilly day (upper 30's - barely hitting 40) but sunny, here in Milwaukee. Today's brew is an English Porter from a German brewery (don't think I've had an English Porter from a German brewery before). From Klosterbraurei Neuzelle - Black Nun Imperial Porter. I enjoyed it! On the sweeter side - Chocolate-like with light roast and subtle hint of licorice-like spicing. I scored the appearance and smell 4.25's and taste, mouthfeel and overall 4.0's - resulting in 4.08 - above the current average of 3.87. If you are looking for a sweeter (but not too sweet) strong English Porter I do recommend it!

Here's the link:

http://www.beeradvocate.com/beer/profile/861/157609/?ba=jwc215

Cheers!

 

Not new to BA but for me not a bad way to start spring.

Straight from the cellar at 54 degrees and I am not sure where to start.

The richness and complexity of the aromas and flavors makes you downshift and start contemplating the meaning of life. No blast of any one of the usual imperial stout constituents - just a smooth mosaic with a pleasant alcohol burn at the end.

 

Good afternoon NBS, just logged beer number 1000 on BA! Snow flurries have started in Delaware on the first day of spring so it seems completely appropriate for me to open up a big stout.
Some background on today's beer. About 5 years ago Two Stones opened their first pub just a few miles from my house and quickly became know as one of the best craft beer bars in the state of Delaware. Since opening in 2011 they have opened 2 more pubs in Delaware and 1in Pennsylvania along with their own brewery, 2SP Brewing Company with Bob Barrar from Iron Hill Brewery, where he made award winning beer. I've been very excited to try their beers and very happy that they are starting to bottle limited amounts of their beer so I can enjoy it at home instead of having to go out to the bar.
Okay here is the review of 2SP The Russian!
4.36/5 rDev +0.5%
look: 4.5 | smell: 4 | taste: 4.5 | feel: 4.75 | overall: 4.25

750 ml bottle, batch 2, poured into a snifter

A- Black with a two finger light tan head, great lacing.

S- Bakers chocolate, roasted malts, faint coffee, dark fruits, hints of vanilla, some caramel malts.

T- Cocoa, dark chocolate, some roasted coffee, hints of caramel malts, roasted malts, piney finish, faint vanilla, complex and well balanced.

M- Smooth, creamy, full body.

O- A well done Russian Imperial Stout. Very easy to drink for 9% ABV. Interested to see how is works aged in bourbon barrels.

★508 characters


Cheers!

 

Hey again NBS crew. I'm finally giving this last Devil's Backbone collaboration a go. It's a really interesting stout I'm quite enjoying. Cheers!


4.13/5 rDev +1.2%
look: 4 | smell: 4 | taste: 4.25 | feel: 4.25 | overall: 4

Poured from a 12oz bottle into a Stout glass. Pours near black - frothy khaki head forms and recedes relatively quickly. Not much lacing but there is some.

Nose has the cocoa as the most dominant note above the malt. Other things like coconut and oak are buried but if I know I'm looking for them I can more or less pick up the hints.

Flavor is really nice - definitely interesting. I get the cocoa first along with the roasty malts. I definitely pick up the hint of coconut - which is a really nice, soft and nutty addition that works incredibly well here. There is definitely a higher level of salinity than I'd expect in a stout. It helps to bring out the other flavors more than anything for me - this is not salty, per se. I'd be lying if I said I knew what to look for with Wattle seeds or blue-green algae (though maybe the latter helps with the mouthfeel?). I can definitely pick up the oak note on the palate. This isn't messy, or overwhelming. If I didn't know to look for some of these flavors I'd miss them for sure, but they work really well to make a very interesting stout.

The mouthfeel is a big win here too - full, delicate, but dry and lingers long on the sweeter notes. Not a hint of booze for the 10.5% it carries. This is a mouthfull and it works. Really nice, interesting stout.

 

Hey Good afternoon NBSers and Thanks @cavedave for kicking things off for us and of course for Marias food **** pics!
I love duck and duck confit. but I also love simple sandwiches made with fresh high quality ingredients. Yum. Anyway a few flakes tonight that I could care less about because this will not last with the heat of this spring sun. Worst case scenario it will delay the start of work tomorrow which is fine by me. Spent the night in Worcester with the family last night and had a wonderful dinner. Unfortunately I only had time for 2 beers! Yes Saturday with 2 beers with me is like a day without sunshine. Planned on hitting Armsby Abbey but it didn't materialize.
Good news is my BIF Triple Threat box from @foundersasap arrived with a lot of Michigan goodies! All I'm looking forward to trying. So I will be posting multiple times today........Yessssss!! I'm starting with this one which I had in line to try that did not come in the BIF Box-

Dieu Du Ciel - Disco Soleil - IPA brewed with Kumquats

Pours a golden orange hue that has a slight haze with a creamy white that leaves some nice lacing as the beer drains from the glass.

Smells of citrus and tropical fruits. There is a some slight light malt presence and some bitter rind notes

Taste is lots of orange, some red grapefruit and pine notes with lots of juice and not any pronounced hop profile. Lingering bitterness like orange and tangerine rind- Kumquats are a rather bitter and strange fruit to me and it shows in the taste.
I looked up the origin of the word since its rather a strange one; Cantonese/"golden tangerine". Maybe if there was more of a caramel malt sweetness this might work better.

Feel is dry, nicely carbonated and finish is very bitter and citrus rind like and it coats the tongue.

All in all an easy drinker that doesn't taste of the biting hops on the label they claim and has that lasting bitterness. Could be a thirst quencher in the heat but for the price of a single I will pass on this beer next time.

For New Old Vinyl Sunday- Nick Lowe from Labour of Lust- Born Fighter.
Thanks for listening and have a great week.

 

One of my all time faves. Love that brew.

 

Note to self. I want this one.

 

That's funny, I took the first sip and wasn't sure I liked it either but it really grew on me. I enjoyed it even more when I started snacking on some food with it. I also think a Saison is a great base beer to experiment with different herbs/spices, so smart choice by them.

I just picked up a bottle of this from the brewery yesterday with the same bottling date and was trying to decide whether to drink it fresh or let it mellow out a bit, so thanks for posting your review. Cool pics too! I think I will give it some time, sounds like a beast of a beer.

 

Enjoying this Eclipse Woodford Reserve. Cheers all!

http://www.beeradvocate.com/beer/profile/14936/148370/?ba=cindyjeffsmith

 

Yeah, the nose raised the hairs on my arms. Wish I could make this a go-to, but alas my zip code kinda eliminates that.

 

You nailed my feelings on Disco Soleil. That said, if you ever come across Moralité (their American IPA), give it a shot if it's fresh. It is really, really good. A collaboration between DDC and John Kimmich.

 

If I had an extra I'd send it your way, maybe their next release I can hook you up.

 

goose rassel bock
sweet smell with a banana and clove taste
great carmel color , small head
good sweet banana bread tastemedium mouthfeel
and to go with it
and the final product, babybacks!


finish smoke, minus test piece!