New Beer Sunday (week 578)

Ok, time to ease myself into this box from @RoninTK3 - huge thanks for the box from the NBS BIF #3. Since winter technically just left us, figured I'd start with this beer from Sebago Brewing Co:


Slick Nick is a winter warmer, and comes from a brewer that the GF and I stopped by 2 years ago when we were in Protland, ME. This beer wasn't on tap, but we were there in August, so not a big surprise.

You can see how this beer pours, little towards the deep side of amber, with a nice reddish-tan head. The nose indicates more of a hoppy amber, a little syrupy malt sweetness countered by a fairly piney hop note. The beer is coming across as hop-forward, as the woody notes hit me first, before the classic amber malt bill catches up. The pine notes gain traction mid taste again and feed the mildly resinous ending.

In general terms, this reminds me a little bit of Jubelale in its bitterness as a winter warmer. I think Jubelale did balance out some with warmth, though stayed on the hoppy side. This beer follows suit, and does balance out a tad with some warmth. This beer doesn't seem to have any spice that a winter warmer can have, and the warming alcohol is actually a little hidden by the bitterness, to me.

 

Another New American Impy Stout Sunday!

Some interesting stuff this afternoon, that tip-in in the ND/SFA game, the puck off the helmet into the net in the Wash/Pitt game. This brew has a pretty intense coffee note, for sure.

http://www.beeradvocate.com/beer/profile/147/199849/?ba=Wasatch

Cheers!

 

Let's touch base.

 

Oh. Ouch!!!

 

Greetings, my NBS friends. Today's first submission is a beer I thought I'd love .....



..... but it REALLY confused me. I'm a ginormous Founders fan, and have really enjoyed everything I've tried from them, from Centennial (the first beer of theirs that I tried) to KBS (which is in my Top 10 beers). But this ..... I didn't get it.

It's a beautiful beer, golden colored, semi-translucent, 3 fingers of off-white head. The nose was tons of mango, which isn't a bad thing, but this was ALL mango. The taste is where I disconnected. The mango was really sweet, just a truckload of mango dumped on your palate - and thick. Very thick and sweet, to the point of being medicinal.

And then, at the back of the mouth, the heat from the habanero. It's not overwhelming, but it's present - and it doesn't cut the sweetness of the mango. As I plowed through the glass, I kept thinking, "I'll bet this beer would be a LOT better if I had a Cuban sandwich with a ton of pork to cut the mango." Maybe that would do it, maybe not. I still love Founders, and will seek everything they brew with the fervor every beer nerd knows, but this is one beverage I will not seek again.

Rated 3.49 here: http://www.beeradvocate.com/beer/profile/1199/96814/

 

I definitely liked the whole pack - if I'd bought a pack instead of jus singles there wouldn't be one in there I was dreading or anything.

I rated the IPL the highest (4.18) and Seven Summits and Risen (4.13 and 4.06) pretty close in 2nd and 3rd. I wasn't a huge fan of the Cream ale of Another State of Kind but still would be happy to drink any of them again. I think the IPL was just the most surprising to me. Cheers!

 

Greetings All:

First day of Spring and we have a seasonal golden ale, Expo 58 from Ninkasi Brewing. A very thin brew with some lager characteristics, including rice and corn flavors that frankly don't do much for me.
http://www.beeradvocate.com/beer/profile/14400/154936/

Like I said first day of spring and I had the mower out this afternoon. A bit early for mowing by eastern Washington standards, but it feels good to get the growing season underway just the same.

Until next time,

Happy Trails!

 

Finally opened this, as it's been in my fridge for a while.



Fairly vigorous pour yields a 1 inch+ head.
A bit of milk chocolate and coffee on the nose which translates nicely to the palate.
Very nice mouthfeel and very enjoyable overall.
A solid porter!
Kinda surprised at scores way lower than mine.

 

I too found that underwhelming. The most disappointing thing for me I think was the lack of Nelson characteristics. I just thought it bland with those fruity, wine like and gooseberry tastes you usually get from that hop

 

Working through the lager pack.

http://www.beeradvocate.com/beer/profile/35/125660/?ba=Chickenhawk9932

 

Thanks, I tend to look for some sort of validation when I like or dislike something that much more than the mean score (I know I know, "drink what you like"). Though I didn't give it a 1.3 or something like another recent review.

As I'm finishing it I've gotten a bit used to it it doesn't come across as cloyingly as it did at first. But yeah, the big regret s none of that Nelson glory comes through for me at all. Cheers!

 

G' evening NBS-ers! Thanks to @cavedave for getting it started today, been away for a while, with Pops visiting for the past 5 weeks and now...this is his last weekend here. Preparing to leave on Tuesday and head back to PA; my subtle urges of having him stay with us fell on deaf ears; no pun intended, he does have a slight hearing problem.
Anyway, enough rambling and more talking about tonight's beer...

Cigar City Brewing Marshal Zhukov's Imperial Stout


Been holding onto this one since I was (finally) able to get my hands on it back in August!

Look: Pure black body with a reddish-brown bubbly head that dissipated quickly and left no lacing in the glass.

Smell: Wow! Getting leather, tobacco, espresso coffee beans, dark roasted maltiness; perhaps some dark fruits on the end.

Taste: Coats the tongue with thick syrup like flavors of deep roasted malts, raisins, char, dark, bittersweet bakers chocolate and coffee.

Feel: Full and thick body, that leaves a nice coating on the tongue and doesn't let go.

Overall: A real big winner worthy of any and all hype! Huge beer that is just a true sipper and just fills your mouth with all kinds of malty goodness. One of the best RIS I have ever had.

Cheers!

 

I can't say I've ever come across one with this shape in my travels or purchases. I must lead a sheltered life?

 

New Dry-Hopped Farmhouse Sunday

Hey NBSers,

Long time gone, but this is one of those right time/right beer combos and I want to share. A rare rainy Sunday in Bend, and the sun is putting up a valiant fight to poke through, but it's no match for the storm system pushing across the mountains. I needed a little indoor sunshine and found it in this citrusy, snappy, beer.

Petit Citra by de Garde Brewing of Tillamook, Oregon




It's a beautiful honey color with fine carbonation producing a lily white head. Retention is good for a sour, but it gets wispy fairly quick and makes an amber monochrome relief map across the beer surface. A quick tilt reveals minimal residual sugars.

Aroma is a pleasant mixture of soft citrus (tangerine, sweet pineapple, orange) and a little creamy vanilla with Tillamook's tang on the back. The citrus flavors come across more sharp: lime, grapefruit, maybe due to the acidity and bitterness. The acidity level is definitely there, but it integrates with the bitterness and the citrus flavors rather than fighting for center stage. The base beer was already one of my favorites, and a healthy dry-hopping took it in a fantastic new direction, 4.75/5

 

Well entry # 3 on NBS today and # 2 on BIF box. My First Bells Hopslam.

Pours a deep orange gold color with a fine looking head that leaves some rings of lacing as the beer lowers in the glass.

I immediately get a sweet malt and honey aroma with grapefruit and pine notes and a bit of tropical

Taste is fruity and sweet with a bitterness and clover honey. For some reason I'm getting more of a bittering finish with a bit of a metallic taste. The alcohol at 10% is completely hidden. I'm not getting a lot of depth on this one. Its tasty and very drinkable just not very complex to me. Of course not every beer has to be complex to be enjoyable. Maybe I was expecting more due to the popularity its seems to have.

Medium bodied with a slickness and drying tiny bubble carb.

Well my first Bells Hopslam. Its good just maybe not what I was expecting. This seems like a beer you could drink a shit ton of. Hops blended with honey and malt sweetness make this go down really easy which maybe is part of the attraction- you get your hops and you get your 10%- wow. Decent beer but I'm not blown away. Definitely worth trying and I might purchase again on occasion if the mood was right and I had access.

 

New Beer Sunday: A New Chile Beer

Evenin' NBSers, with special collegial compliments to all you connoiseurs of chile and chili.

Well today was mostly gray and chilly( ) but the storm mostly remained east of here so periodic light rain is all we've seen. Today was a day mostly full of chores around the house--e.g., fixing a bookshelf, etc. Since the wife was out most of the day running errands I prepped for tonight's beer by fixing some Southwestern influenced foods. For lunch there was a healthy sized (and flavored) bean burrito with a Jalapeño Chicken Sausage and Pepper Jack Cheese as part of the bundle. Dinner was some nice Chili, and both got me even more in the mood for tonight's new beer. This beer is the Oaked Chipotle Ale from Flying Dog.

As usual my review, subject to revision until I finish the beer, can be found here:

http://www.beeradvocate.com/beer/profile/68/216142/?ba=drtth

Basically, I rather like this beer. (But then Chile and Chili were part of my diet growing up in one of the western states so I'm fond of spicy foods, both Tex-Mex and Mexican. About the only really spicy dish I've found that I don't want to tackle again is an authentically prepared Indian Vindaloo Curry. If you've never had an authentic Vindaloo Curry be warned, it's not for the casual consumer of Curries and even some serious fans of spicy food are brough to a halt by an authentic Vindaloo level of spices.) But I digress.

The Flying Dog Oaked Chipotle Ale emphasizes the Chipotle Pepper flavors and controls the heat with a nice backbone of malts to tone it down. However, in the back of the throat there's this light burning sensation that persists for quite a while. I'm looking forward to having more of this beer but it's not one I'll sit down and have more than one of at a time.

Since the day has been filled with chores and quick looks at the March Madness basketball games to see who's winning, etc. I've not had much music on today, but while relaxing with this beer I'm listening to some music by Beethoven. For reasons I can't identify the music and the beer seem to fit.

Beethoven's Emperer Concerto

Cheers, all!

 

Time for a bounce-back NBS beverage. This is definitely that.



I've had this for a year, after the mango debacle, decided to go big with this. It pours jet black with 2 fingers of tan head - CHECK. The nose is coffee/chocolate/char/dark fruit - CHECK. The taste is all the aromas - and the heat is present in the middle of the palate (not in the back of your throat), so it simmers the ABV down, but isn't so hot you can't drink this.

Central Waters does some really cool stuff, and this is another example of that. I wish I'd purchased more of this, because it approaches world-class, IMHO. Rated 4.23 here: http://www.beeradvocate.com/beer/profile/652/105906/

 

Planned on drinking a few for NBS so I waited until I was done and put them all in one post. Here goes.

Started with this.

I liked this. They were shooting for brownies and I think they hit the target.

3.67/5 rDev +14%
look: 4 | smell: 3.75 | taste: 3.5 | feel: 3.75 | overall: 3.75

Mostly brown with a hint of red. Very light tan head that fades quickly and leaves little evidence that it was there. The nose is roasted malts, cocoa powder, some sweetness and a tiny bit of brown sugar. The taste is sweet and reminiscent of brownie batter with cocoa and sweetness. There is a hoppy bitterness at the end. The mouthfeel is thin and the beer is decently carbonated. Not a bad beer but not spectacular.

This was the winner of the day.


4.14/5 rDev +5.6%
look: 4 | smell: 4.25 | taste: 4 | feel: 4.25 | overall: 4.25

The beer is a deep orange/copper color with an off white head. The nose is complex with banana, toasted oak, caramel, vanilla and a sweet spiciness. The taste is all of these things with the ripe banana giving way to the oak and sweetness at the end. The finish is slightly spicy and sweet. This is a really nice version of a Tripel and I would gladly drink it again.

Drank this one with my chili made with Sixpoint Global Warmer.



4.19/5 rDev +1.7%
look: 4.25 | smell: 4 | taste: 4.25 | feel: 4.25 | overall: 4.25

A nice dark beer with a tan head that leaves a bit of lacing. The aroma is roasted malt, bitter chocolate and a little green bell pepper. The taste is slightly sweet with a mainly bitter chocolate taste. There is also some green pepper taste and heat at the end. This is a really nice pepper beer.

Cheers all NBS people.

 

I had a nice 3 and a 1/2 day weekend. Back to the grind tomorrow. Trying to keep it short and sweet.

Nice pitch brown pour, and tiny head. Small ring of mocha bubbles in the glass. Smells of dark fruits and coffee.
Tastes like bitter cocoa, raisins and figs, and just a touch of licorice. Some smoke and char come out in the end. Mouthfeel is spot on, velvety smooth. Drying and astringent finish.
Those Canadians make a damn fine beer!

 

Pretty sure this will be made each year. I believe they are also aging some in barrels.