New Beer Sunday (week 582)

the fireworks went off in my head, I just got that user name now!

 

Hello, all. I'm getting off to a late start in every way today because we were up at my parents place in upstate NY. Since I'm just now returning from Lowe's and still have a beautiful late afternoon to take advantage of, this will be a bit of a hit and run post.

Surly Xtra Citra is perfect for right now. It's hoppy and dry, but not too much of either. I started out getting lots of grapefruit peel, but now mango and pineapple are starting to show themselves. Easy drinking, multi faceted and tasty - thumbs up! Thanks again, @Josholson666!

 

We were out in that area yesterday also hit Newington and then the 7-11 in Kittery but decided to go to Hayseed at Smuttynose instead of heading to Deciduous to fill my empty growlers. Maybe someday we can run into each other and enjoy a beer.

 

I'm sure most of us are @Pierre_Pressure d to drink macros by family XD

 

New American DIPA Sunday!

Howdy and greetings form a beautiful Spring day here at the Jersey Shore. It's sunny, warm, and pleasant; great beer drinking weather. It's been a busy week, today's no different. Today started with a (very) early morning run. Then on to a round of golf in which my buddy insisted on playing from the way back tees. I'm not getting any younger and 7000 yards this early in the year is tough. No matter, we killed it. More Sunday goodness here: http://www.beeradvocate.com/beer/profile/220/68269/?ba=NiceTaps#review

A great Lags offering, very solid.



I'm drinking "dope" beer, I'll listen dope, too!
There are great posts today. Some of that BIF stuff is sick.
Thanks for letting me hang a bit.

All the best!

 

Maine beer IV. First time I've had it. Got it from a friend at the brewery. Really nice. More west coast IPA than Maine usually does. Citrus and hops, complex. I like it. Recommend.

 

Perhaps it's a phrase from the southern hemisphere for something completely different than gardening.

"I knew a lass, in her youth time, who moved many, many a Kiwi vine."

 

Happy NBS!
Its such a perfect day here in the low country...Too bad I'm stuck inside cleaning some rims before I get new tires put on them...
At least I found some of these beers. Missed out on them at my usual store but randomly found them somewhere else so bought two 6 packs.
So weird how I used to hate stouts and would struggle to finish them now I am literally craving stouts everytime I want a beer. I'm not complaining tho just funny how palates evolve.

So today from Coast brewing in Charleston SC.
Blackbeerd Imperial Stout. 9.3%



L: Pours a viscous jet black nice finger or so of tan creamy head with great retention.

S: Smooth roasty malts creamy yet bitter dark chocolate. But of a milk stout quality to the smell. Some licorice and Carmel also.

T: Starts off with a nice chocolate then the roasty bitterness comes with a maybe vegetal green pepper type taste? Bit more coffee up front as it warms..

F: Awesome mouthfeel. Enough carb ...velvety yet easily drinkable.

O: I really enjoyed this stout nice all around balance. Gonna pick up some more.

Cheers everyone!

 

Hope everyone is having an awesome Sunday, absence of alliteration aside.

Based on the posts I have read so far it would seem that everybody is having some great beers so far and all (or nearly all) are basking in beautiful warm weather. Same thing here. The temperature really shot up today and it is just about perfect for my tastes.

Well, what better way to enjoy Spring and the inevitability of Summer than with a nice fresh lager courtesy of an awesome BA by the name of KC. This is one from the second trade I have ever done (both with this upstanding fellow); and I've gotta say, if I were to look at what is the most difficult about trading, it would be a toss-up between forcing myself to make the beer last and not dedicating all my time/effort/money/resources/etc. to more trading. I am hoping that I will be able to get in on the next NBS BIF, but we'll see. I worry about subjecting other folks to dealing with customs...

Anyway, on to the beer. This is a hoppy lager from Maine in a pint can with a very nice-looking label. Due to the name (although "that which gives light" seems like a pretty lazy translation to me) and the weather I figured I might as well douse the fucker in as much sunlight as possible.
Hope I didn't skunk it.






When I open the can I am immediately hit with bright, pungent hop aromas. It pours very nice. Golden straw with a tight little white head. Both the aroma and flavor are bolder versions of a classic German Pilsner (says I). There is a very good balance between the pils malt and the hops. Both are there. Both are ever-present, but neither takes away from the other. Grassy, herbal, spicy, dry hops front and center with a thick (but not overpowering and full of DMS like some are) malt backbone. Very well-balanced, very clean, extremely drinkable.



I'll admit, that when I saw that it was a hoppy pilsner I was worried it was gonna just be a thinly disguised IPA. How wrong I was. This is a great beer and any of you folks (@utopiajane , @JackHorzempa , @cavedave, et al.) who are fans of lagers should keep an eye out for this one.

Cheers all!

My review is here.

 

Wow, high praise. Off to check a new want!

On way out now, but grabbed a sampler Ocelot's first BA beer I've seen - a BA Barleywine (listed here as English, though I'd argue it's American). Bitterness (not bold, but obvious) hits in the back, and that's maybe the difference b/t this and Hardywood's version that I really enjoy. They aren't doing growlers of this beer , called My Sweet Virginia. It's one of those beers where the barrel seems to work with the beer versus dominating it. Too small a pour to do a official review but I did snap a pic:


(The background beer is Broken, a hoppy red ale; the one or two of you with good memories know it's not my style)

Cheers, yet again to all you NBSers

 

Enjoying New Berliner Sunday

Bruery Hottenroth with Peaches

Really crisp and perfect for a beautiful Sunday afternoon

Here's my review:
4.32/5 rDev +6.4%look: 4.5 | smell: 4.25 | taste: 4.25 | feel: 4.75 | overall: 4.25

Bottled almost a year ago 4/21/15 A: Pours a hazy yellow with a whit effervescent head. Tons of carbonation S: sweet peaches up front followed by subtle funk T: tart peaches, funk, hay some yeast MF: crisp great carbonation sour taste O: Very very good. Everything I'm looking for in a Berliner and peaches

Switched the Times to a different Warren

 

Riegele Privat

The Sierra Nevada/Riegele Oktoberfest was such a success... and while SN got most of the glory, I felt like this was probably a collaboration where the influence of each brewer could be felt. Unfortunately, I never actually had a Riegele beer. I aimed to correct that.

I tried the Riegele Kellerbier on tap, but the beer was so clearly old. It was a crime. Undrinkable.

Shopping around for bottles got me nowhere. "You've got strange taste in beer" was the answer I got from one store owner when I asked if he had any.

A few days ago, I found these bottles and I grabbed one.

This beer tastes like Germany in one swig. I mean this with sincerity. It's a gloriously clear golden color. I wish the head was more existent. The style as listed here is Dortmunder, but the bottle calls it a Helles Fest Beer. The bready qualities of this beer are wonderful. It's so clean and inviting. What a perfect beer. Fantastic.

According to the bottle, this beer won the 2010 "German Beer of the Decade." I have no idea what that means, but as it turns out, that accolade was a better indication of its quality than the 83 it scores here.

@TongoRad , your name is on this one.

I have no idea when this beer was bottled... could have been a while ago. Despite this, my experiences with this brewery are proof that you can't always look to keg for a beer that tastes fresh.

 

This has been a fine spring weekend in New England with a lot of sun and warm temperatures. I took a drive up to Woodstock Vermont and swung by this home brew supply and bottle shop for a few beers that I cannot get in New Hampshire. Vermont is one of those states that allows growler fills at stores and retail outlets other than breweries. New Hampshire does not allow that. This is a 32 oz. growler of Zero Gravity Madonna DIPA from Burlington, Vermont. 8% ABV. It was first released about 4-5 days ago so it is brand new and worthy of a New Beer Sunday mention.

Hazy yellow pour with modest white head. Big aroma of grapefruit, pineapple, and citrus hops with a toffee sweetness in the toasted malts. Medium to better than medium body. Juicy texture. Same big fruity and grapefruit hop characteristics leading up to a bitter finish. The booze was not on the nose or in the taste (but it was in my head at the end of the growler haha).

 

Greetings friends,
I truly miss being in the mix here on Sundays, but I've been here- in and out- and loving every minute. The beers today look great, new ones everywhere. The profusion of new breweries and beers continues to amaze me. Beer and wine have been a great part of my life, and this world transformation of beer and beer culture is like heaven realized. Not a soul saw ALL of this happening. Good and great beer has always been available, but now we are spoiled for sure. Let's treat it well.
Here is a musical interlude, and thanks for letting me pull your ears and memories. It is easy to overlook Jesse Colin Young, but his music was always there and beautiful. Cheers. Drink one for me! Dick

 

My first new beer for today and first-ever NBS post. I'm sure this is not a new beer for a lot of BAs, but it was for me:



Unfortunately it was not as interesting as I'd hoped... full review over on the review page, but my overall rating was 3.24. Now what's next...?

 

Welcome.

No need to worry about "new to us" as there are lots of folks who haven't had many of the beers out there and even if we have had the one that's new to you it's also nice to get someone else's perspective on the beer.

Chatting about beer is really what this thread is all about.

(BTW, next time if you could copy and paste the link to your review it saves anyone having to hunt for it and then have to navigate back here.)

 

Not in the immediate future.

 

Certainly, that makes sense...

http://www.beeradvocate.com/beer/profile/35/77233/