New Beer Sunday (week 580)

Next, this massively aggressive imperial stout.



I've had a few beverages from Modern Times and enjoyed them all immensely, but they were all hop-forward beverages. This is my first dance with these guys outside of that comfort zone.

The pour is jet black, less than a finger of tan head. The aromas are lots of dark fruit and chocolate, but no char - at all. Hmmmm, char is a typical characteristic of an imperial stout. What am I getting myself into? I shudder, yet I soldier on with my NBS pride leading me.

The taste: boozy, dark fruit, boozy, dark chocolate, boozy, whap-you-upside-the-melon aggressive. Really nice, but if it was a bit more subtle, it would be world-class.

Rated 3.99. Have a stupendous Sunday, NBSers.

 

A new-for-me farmhouse altbier from Jester King, Simple Means:

borderline gusher ... handle with care



It smells super sweet with some smoke/peat, but it tastes very earthy with loads of smoke/peat and little sweetness. It also has a super floral flavor, like crushed leaves or cilantro or chewing on dried flowers, but with a twinge of sweetness in it. There's definitely a ton of malt in this one, and while it doesn't taste sweet, I think a lot of that malt sweetness is working hard to balance out the big earthy flavor/bitterness.

For a smoke fix, it's solid. Not nearly as good as the Schlenkerla brews, but the peaty smoke aroma is fantastic and the flavor is good.

The review:
http://www.beeradvocate.com/beer/profile/24018/211376/?ba=Premo88#review
4.16 (+6.1% rDev)

I made it over to the Folger First Folio exhibit on its final day at Texas A&M ... I've visited the Folger in D.C. years ago, but being the English major geek/Anglophile that I am, I had to wander over to campus and take a peek.



Cheers!

 

Welcome back and thanks for your review! It's funny because I find the aroma on that beer to be one of the fine points for me. I will as someone who has decent access to that I found from time to time they have a consistency issue. Glad you enjoyed it!

 

I think it is a touch hot for 7.5% ABV because of the rum, but I don't feel it takes away from the beer. Personally I'm a big fan of rum barrel aged beers, fifth rum barrel aged beer I've tried and I've enjoyed all of them.

 

Second NBS BIF beer for me. Thanks @thebeers!

Poured in my new tulip from Bent Paddle, in the swag box. Nice and heavy, with a thick stem. Could be a new favorite glass.
Pours a murky honey color with a soapy head.
Smells of tropical fruits, citrus.
Taste is everything I want in an IPA. Big and bitter. Lots of lemon and grapefruit peels, juicy mango, guava, grassy and a peppery finish. Medium bodied, easy drinking with a clean finish.

 

New American Imperial Stout Sunday.

Evenin' NBSers with special greetings to all you stalwart seekers of succulent stouts.

Well not surprisingly, and keeping with other areas of the North East the weather today has been very different than what it was yesterday or will be tomorrow (seems to be a pattern of irregularity emerging here ). Mostly sunny through out the day but with chilly, amost cold temperatures and some remainders of the serious gusts of wind we had last night. Power outages didn't hit us personally (keeping fingers crossed ) but they did prevent a few errands since some places were without power. No obvious pattern to the outages except that there didn't seem to be a pattern. But between errands and chores from the "Honey-do" list I've been able to peek into this thread and find some good ideas for beers to try and to avoid.

Tonight's new beer is from a semi-local and relatively new brewery here in SE PA called Evil Genius, and is the fourth of their beers I've tried. (They don't bottle date yet so I've concentrated on the seasonals rather than risk buying an old beer.) This particular beer is an American Imperial Stout (9.4% ABV) called "I'll have what she's having." (They seem to have a thing about naming their beers by using lines from movie dialogs, e.g., an earlier one I've tried is named "Santa! I know him!).

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

http://www.beeradvocate.com/beer/profile/29022/157807/?ba=drtth#review

Basically this is a solid, well made American Imperial Stout that I'd say is worth taking a look at. On the label it says it is a Chocolate Hazenut Stout and both the aromas and flavors deliver on that. There's a bit of sweetness in there that makes the Chocolate seem more like milk chocolate than like the intense dark chocolate I also love. Also while you can tell here and there that there's a bit of dark roasted malt being used it doesn't slap you in the face and beat you about the head and shoulders. On the whole I'd say if you like the idea of Chocolate and Hazelnut combined (e.g., Chocolate covered Hazelnuts) this is one worth looking out for if you can find it.

The brewery currently does business in SE PA and does their brewing in a different state, but the current quality of this particular beer gives me hope that the brewery will survive and thrive well enough to fund their own physical plant and eventually brew here in PA. If they accumulate enough support to be able to do that I'd expect having their own equipment would enable them to step up their game on the quality of most if not all of their beers.

In keeping with that thought, and in anticipation of the success of a fairly local College Basketball team on Monday (fingers crossed ), tonight's music has included a special aria from one of the most popular operas ever written, Puccini's Madama Butterfly (Cho-Cho San), who in this particular aria is anticipating "One fine day." The aria is one of the greatest every written for a Soprano and the particular artist in this case is Maria Callas who was one of the most outstanding sopranos ever (full stop, period, no question mark).

Cho-Cho-San from Madama Butterfly

Cheers, all!

 

Last beer of the weekend, NBSers! Luckily, it's a new one to me. I've seen it around but never pulled the trigger and got myself any. Luckily, my housemate picked some up and traded me a can for one of my Foolproof Queen of the Yahd cans I posted about earlier.



I've long been of the mind that Limbo is a good beer, and I knew it was only a matter of time before Long Trail would go a bit bigger with a proper "DIPA" in the New England tradition. As soon as I cracked open the can and picked up a whiff of the liquid within, I was instantaneously reminded of good ol' Heady, though with a little more pineapple, mango and even coconut... very tropical leaning. Poured out, it built up a two-finger off-white-ish head that settled rather quickly, leaving a sheet of consistent lace. You can tell a lot of work was put into this one already and I'm impressed with Long Trail's dedication even before sipping this one.

In the glass the nose reminded me instantly of Enjoy Bys I've had before. That hugely-dank, hoppy, resinous, fruity scent balanced by a mild caramel and pale malt backing and a dose of ethanol for good measure. There's definitely some raw melon, pine resin and juicy mango notes here backed up by mild herbal qualities, light toffee maltiness (kind of like Werther's Originals!), shredded coconut and guava. Lots going on, but it also seems pretty well-grounded. Though the label for some reason turned me off of this for a long time (must be the "DOES NOT CONTAIN JUICE" silliness, or maybe it's the stupid name itself, I don't know really), this seems good.

Flavor is very similar to Enjoy By, for sure. I get this insanely clean malt profile backing up a huge wash of fruity, juicy, tropical and herbal hops. Some grassy, green onion-like qualities seem to pop out, which is something I've come to embrace in a lot of highly-rated DIPAs after a decent time period of thinking they were some kind of misstep. Lots of mango juice and honeydew melon with an oily palate that finishes surprisingly non-dry. Dusty yeast note seems placed right at the end of each sip to attempt to dry things out, but this is fairly sweet-leaning and quite round on the palate. Semi-heavy bodied and sits on the tongue quite squarely, with each sip's flavor taking a while to fade out.

Hmm, not sure how I really feel about this... on the one hand, I think it's a pretty good effort, but I also think I'll tentatively agree with people saying this sits a notch below a lot of the more highly-rated NE DIPAs, which makes sense given its pedigree. I believe Fair Maiden and Second Fiddle are both better beers from VT. Though I've seen Fair Maiden recently quite a bit more often than usual, this is likely to be easier to find. On the other hand, it reminds me a lot of a slightly-more-unrestrained Enjoy By, and that's not a bad thing at all, so I guess it's pretty good (great, even) by that metric. However, I typically only buy Enjoy By like twice a year or so at this point and probably won't feel the need to get a sixer of them anytime soon. Space Juice is a bit sweeter and a little more dependent on crystal malt for body, but it does the job. Similar to how I feel about EB, I won't seek out a 4-pack anytime soon, but I appreciate the opportunity to try it! Solid stuff.

Music-wise, I'm ending my Sunday with a maddening descent into chaotic abandon and I welcome ye all to join me!



"Rattling substrata senses, they yearn
So trans-dimensional vibrations burn
Let it be undone
Let it lose its glow
Beat my head to submission till it darkens the glow
May I see nothing so"

 

Weihenstephaner Hefe Weissbier, 5.4% ABV, 14 IBU. Lots of head. Nose and taste is bread dough and bananas. Truly an excellent beer - if you haven't tried this then you are missing out. I took a chance on this one based on reviews and bought a 6-pack since I could not find a single. I suppose my favorite bottle shop might have cut one from the herd for me, but now I'm glad I bought the 6er. I recommend this highly, a must try. Wow!

 

Hey everybody.

I've resurrected my barley wine thread just so I can properly put a stake through its heart. I had to do it with a new one on a NBS day like today.



Port Jeff - Cold North Wind, Apple Brandy Barrel version

Reactions here:
A Barley Wine for Every Day

 

Great review man! Very well said. And I want to buy it......then I don't. Excellent stuff thank you!

 

Speaking of boozy beers, @larryi86...

I started the day with a favorite beer of mine to celebrate my starting a new position tomorrow. I figured I'd end the day with a special beer, too. This beer is special because I have just never found a good time to pop it open. This seemed like a good one (excuse anyhow). This is one of Avery's big barrel aged beers (apparently #22 in the series), and is retired according to this site. That isn't very trustworthy, but I have not seen it repeat like some others (i.e. Tweak and Uncle Jacobs). This beer has been aged in the beer refrigerator door for almost two years, and is called 5 Monks - a "barrel-aged Quintuple Ale" (bourbon barrels):


Pours with a lightly reddish chestnut that darkens as the glass fills. Pretty much void of head, but at almost 20%, not a surprise. Nose is almost syrupy through a nice level of heat. The alcohol itself isn't overly strong, but does play a major role in the scent. Molasses and raisin and some other dark fruit notes come from the depths of the alcohol ocean to reach my nose. Let's see if a sip destroys my palate...

With the beer still a bit chilled, the alcohol is strong, but like the nose, does not completely dominate the taste. In fact, the opening notes have little burn to them. The raisin and date come through, a lighter molasses taste than I got in the nose accompanying them. The alcohol builds and turns this into a flavor reminiscent of an alcohol soaked dessert bread.

As the beer warms, there is a distinct wood note that starts to gain in the nose. I noticed it first with taking a sip (and this is a sipping beer, obviously). Upon closer inspection, I can almost imagine the wood shop at school being where this beer was made. The wood doesn't take over the taste as much, but does creep into the aftertaste more and more.

I am going to hit "post" no even though I expect this beer to maybe evolve a little more. I'm just going to enjoy it. Cheers all!!

P.S. @ichorNet - enjoyed your reviews today

 

My first beer out of the nbs bif box from @bigjsempire, a longtime want of mine, Hopslam!



Really enjoyed this beer, I got a bit of upfront malty/sweetness with a nice round bitter finish and vegetal flavors.

 

Hmmm, with that ABV I'll be expecting that you'll "evolve" a bit more before its gone. :-)

 

Well, you won't be surprised to know that I had already bought the Sofie (Matilda too), Hop Henge AND the New Belgium Blackberry Barleywine. I'm pretty sure she won't be reading this, but if she does some digging she'll know that I purchased all three two days ago at the same location. So I agreed on one. Didn't want to be a greedy pig because you know what intimately happens to pigs.

 

NBS beer #3 for the evening is a first in this style for me.



Three Philosophers Belgian Style Blend (Quadrupel)

Brewery Ommegang
Quadrupel (Quad) / 9.70% ABV

3.96/5 rDev -3.9% | Avg: 4.12
look: 3.75 | smell: 4 | taste: 4 | feel: 3.75 | overall: 4

Best by 06/2020...whew just made it.

L-The beer pours a clear cola brown with a full 3 inch frothy off white head. The towering head quickly recedes to a thin ring. Lacing is absent.
S-The beer smells of caramel, charr, and alcohol. Just behind the initial wiff, the faintest hint of the kriek's cherries can be detected.
T-The taste is similar to the nose, with the cherries being slightly stronger in the taste vs the nose. The cherries get stronger as the beer warms, but never become the dominant flavor. They serve to take some of the alchohol edge off the beer as well as toning down the charr. Overall the kriek added to the beer has made it easier drinking than I was expecting for a quad.
F- The carbonation is prickly, but not overly strong for the style. The mouthfeel is thinner than I was expecting.
O-A good, but not great beer that I'm glad I tried. Still it's probably not something I would shell out the cash for again.

 

Luckily I gave the GF a little of it .

Since I am posting, the wood and bourbon notes seem to combine with a little more warmth - a nice evolution for the beer that cuts the somewhat straighter alcohol flavor from earlier in the glass.

 

Cheers man, glad you liked them! And congrats on (also) starting a new position! I also enjoyed a somewhat-aged (year and a half I believe) Five Monks a couple months ago and found it to be quite a treat. Their new Old Perseverance was quite good and in a sort of similar vein as well, so check that one out.

 

UPDATE:
After finishing this I should say that it was a little bit like a 10% ABV bottle of Blackberry Kool-Aid.
Pretty sweet, but less cloying if not allowed to warm up. Still enjoyed it but no pretty lights showed up.

 

New Belgian pale ale

Spring break in Nashville. Beautiful weather, great friends, tasty beer.

http://www.beeradvocate.com/beer/profile/27835/106736/?ba=GRPunk#review

 

Here in the happy kingdom we have obviously done something to at least irritate the minor deities of the underworld. Not enough to provoke ouright rage, but sufficient to bring ourselves annoyance. It has been pretty bizarre on the weather front. Shirtsleeves last week, snow this morning. At one point it was white out not because it was snowin hard, but the flakes were enormous fluffy cotton rafts the size of small dessert plates. Then sun, wind, cold, and snow again tomorrow. Leftover Supreme day to get the Easter remains used up. Mac and cheese with ham, a chicken pot pie thing. Small smorgasbord...basically in two pans. The missus is sipping Rubaeus and was happy to hear it is year round now.

My daughter celebrated her 27th birthday today, and sonny boy got back from the guycation to North Carolina playing disc golf fom here to there and back. We just secured our grown up vacation spot for this year in Harpswell, ME. We enjoyed Harpswell last year and we learned the area better. Location last year was great, but the house was rough. We are hoping we havent swung the pendulum too far the other way, but we will be on the water again.

On to the beverage... Tonights sacrifice is Allagash Evora bottled last Novermber. This beer is aged for one year in Portuguese brandy barrels. It is fermented with classic Belgian yeast (duh...Allagash) and Bretannomyces bruxellensis. Maris Otter malt and flaked oats in the grist, Sorachi ace, Northern brewer, and Hallertau hops. So whats it like, you ask?

The cork came out with a very loud pop, but the carbonation on my typical hard pour was not aggressive. About two fingers of bubbly white head that has quickly subsided to a thin layer of soapy bubbles fed by a small stream from the bottom of the tulip. It is a nice, golden yellow color, maybe a bit towards the bronze and fairly clear. Slight cloudiness, pretty typical for the style. I find the aroma quite subdued, yet tempting....drink me.... I can pick up honey sweetness, just a gentle kiss of brandy, restrained Blgian yeast character, and an ever so faint earthy funk. Definitely laid back here....hints of this and that are coming in with temperature, with tropical fruit playing a countermelody. This beer strikes me opposite the description, at least in how I am picking things up. Not particularly tropical fruit forward, but it is there. It is a light, layered aroma that is enticing.

The taste....evolves, triggers different responses sip on sip. Decidedly Belgian...peppery phenolics play and then linger. It us a bit acidic,but there is a nice honey like sweetness. The brandy moves beyond the teasing kiss and establishes itself with a pretty bold stroke...fruit of the vine has come to play. The brett charcter is there but subdued. I wouldnt call this out as brett beer. But just a little funk that comes and goes. Sweetness lingers a bit like honey will, yet the finish is quite dry. There is almost an apple cider like quality as the sweet and mild sour play against each other with the brandy adding a richnes. The malt is a supporting actor here, barely noticeable in this medium bodied beverage. Some tropical fruit in the mango or papaya flavors, a microscopic bit of banana.

Digging this beer. It is restrained in that nothing brings the big guns, yet it is wild and untamed in the sense that it morphs and changes. Different tastes and smells roll with the sipping, warming, etc. Somehow it all hangs together into a cohesive experience, but I can also see where this could have gone hellaciously wrong. I am feeling this one will come in in the low fours on the review.

http://www.ezportugal.com/evora-portugal Home of some interesting things including the Chapel of Bones and a Portuguese stonehenge.

I was remiss in not thanking our good shepherds @cavedave and @utopiajane for getting us rolling and keeping NBS alive.