New Beer Sunday (week 599)

Final NBS installment for the week is this Amber Lager from Stone Corral in Richmond VT.



Trailblazer

Stone Corral Brewery
Vienna Lager / 4.90% ABV

3.79/5 rDev n/a | Avg: 4.26
look: 4 | smell: 3.75 | taste: 3.75 | feel: 4 | overall: 3.75

L- Pours a clear reddish brown with a 3 plus finger off white head. Lacing is spotty but there.
S- The nose is an even mix of caramel malt and spicy hops. The nose overall is fairly mild.
T- Taste is a stronger version of the nose. The malt and hops are well balanced. Initially you get the malt which then transitions into the spicy finish of the Tettnang hops.
F- Carbonation strong on the initial pour. The carbonation settles down into a light prickliness which keeps the beer drinking very easy. Mouthfeel is on the lighter side of medium. Not AAL thin, but easy to knock back in multiples.
O- Stone Corral didn't reinvent the wheel here. What they did do is put a very approachable and drinkable beer into it's arsenal. I believe it's also their first foray into the Tallboy can format as well. A very nice beer I would drink again.

 

#2, this iteration of a classic.



I really enjoyed the base beer, so add chocolate and coffee - sign me up! What's interesting is that I don't get much chocolate, but as it warms, the bourbon definitely comes forward. That's not a bad thing, but I thought this would have more chocolate notes.

Rated 4.27.

 

Nice review. Pretty much spot on with mine. The barrel and maple really do compliment the Double Bastard

 

Good evening NBS, hope everyone is enjoying the end of the weekend once again. Thanks to @JackHorzempa for guest hosting this weeks thread. We got a hefty amount of rain last night, and brief storm in the late morning when I was at the store. I had to get thermal paste for my CPU today, because I have been blue screening from over temp alarm errors. I made a trip down to Bloomfield Hills to pick up the Sierra Nevada High Altitude 4 bomber pack because the Best Buy was right next door. Smooth computer sailing now, temps seem normal again. Another normal week of work ahead of me. Today's new beers:

This is one I cannot formally review. Turns out this brewery closed a year ago, I had randomly grabbed it in Ohio. So a year old witbier, no can dating. I will still get to put it on Untappd at least. This was pretty good. Lasting foamy head retention, with lots of streaming carbonation and dense lacing. Aromas and flavors of lemon, orange peel, pear, apple, coriander, pepper, light banana/clove, wheat, herbal, grass, and yeast earthiness. Light yeast spice, herbal bitterness, and tangy wheat tartness on the finish. Light-medium bodied; light wheat creaminess and spice stickiness in the mouthfeel. Crisp and moderately dry, medium-high carbonation. A bit too thin on mouthfeel, but very drinkable. 3.53


Very nice fruited saison. Aromas and flavors of juicy peach, lemon, pear, pineapple, melon, pepper, and clove yeast; moderate wheat, bread, light honeyed malts; with herbal/grassy and yeast earthiness. Moderate yeast spiciness and light fruit tartness on the finish. Medium carbonation/body; moderate grainy wheat creaminess and light stickiness in the mouthfeel. Light-moderate increasing dryness from spicy yeast. Highly drinkable and refreshing. A weak nose and head retention, but the flavor is very robust and delicious between yeast and juicy peach flavors; with a moderate sized malt backing. Would buy again. 3.85


Surprised I had to add this to the BA database. It's been out for a month already. Anyways, this was really excellent stuff! Aromas and flavors of big sour cherry, cranberry, lemon, green apple, red grape, pepper, brown sugar, toasted oak, vanilla, hay, straw, and grass; with lighter notes of leather, funk, and red wine vinegar. Moderate acidic tartness and yeast/tannic oak spiciness on the finish. Moderate acidic dryness; balanced acidic/tannic and lightly creamy medium bodied mouthfeel. Highly drinkable with the balanced acidity; with a lot of great complexity. They definitely oaked this one in some way(barrel/spiral?). Very impressed with this one all around. For being an unblended American sour ale, this is dangerously close to tasting like an authentic Flanders red ale. Fricking well done Odd Side! 4.1


Outstanding DIPA! Aromas and flavors of big tangerine, peach, pineapple, passion fruit, papaya, mango, melon, berry, lemon/orange zest, and light pepper/pine hops; with some light honey/bready malts; and herbal/floral/grassy hop earthiness. Light-moderate pine/herbal/spicy bitterness; balanced hop stickiness and grainy creaminess in the mouthfeel. Light increasing dryness. Wow, super juicy all over the place. Not too malty with balanced bitterness. Mosaic and Citra hops. This is my jam! 4.2


Cheers, have a good night NBS.

 

Thanks! I don't read reviews until after I do mine and I was pleasantly amused how spot on ours were. Great beer minds think/drink alike!

 

New Beer Sunday: A New IPA

Evenin NBSers, with a special hello to hunters of habanero heat in IPAs.

The weather here was mostly warm, humid and cloudy until eary evening when we had some heavy thunderstorms rush through here on their way to visit Jersey. Finished off some miscellaneous chores and errands throughout the day and was back at home before the skies poured rain.

This evening's new beer is the Fever Dream Mango Habanero IPA from Flying Dog.

As usual the review is in progess and subject to change but tonight only until about half way through the beer since at about the mid-way point I intend to try out pairing it with a locally made Habanero Chedder Cheese. (Getting the impression I like Chili Peppers? )

The current state of the review can be found here:

http://www.beeradvocate.com/beer/profile/68/112953/?ba=drtth#review

Basically this is an IPA with tropical fruit some touches of sweetness and a reasonable bitterness that doesn't rasp the tongue. But what really is making the beer interesting for me is the use of the Habanero. As a fan of chili peppers, but usually in a pot of chili that's simmered for 8-10 hours, I thought this would be an interesting beer to try. On the whole it's a quite decent IPA but what really sets it out for me is the heat from the Habaneros. Unlike some Chili beers I've tried this one uses the habaneros as chili peppers should be used in my view. Whether in a pot of chili or in a bottle of beer, the chili should add flavor and heat but the heat should sneak up behind you until suddenly you realize there's some heat here. (With a well made chili that usually happens first when you discover the persperation on your forehead. ) Pounding the taste buds early and hard is not the way it should work. I'm pleased to report that Flying Dog seems to have mastered this concept of how chili should be used, because the heat from sipping the beer grows slowly until one realizes that, yes, it really is there.

To go along with this beer I've had some vocals by Peggy Lee on the player (thanks to a friend who has loaned me a big stack of vinyl.) Peggy Lee was both a talented and sexy singing sensation most famous during the 50's and early 60's. In this particular performance, on a mid 60's Andy Williams show, she is signing a song called "Fever" (spot the connection with the beer? ) which she first recorded in the late 50's and which became her most famous signature song. (BTW, in this performance, ignore the unnecessary and less than stellar supporting dancers and their routine. Concentrate your attention on the woman and the music.)

Peggy Lee, Fever.

 

Anchorage Brewing Anadromous a Black Sour Ale.

One inch head, nice lacing.

Smells of milk chocolate, malted milk, and.... coca cola!?!?!

Taste of sour coke!

Thin, very thin.

Overall the nose is the best part.

 

A simple picture for a simple beer...



I've had Negra Modelo several times and enjoyed it relatively well. This one, not so much. Too corny for me.

 

New Beer Saison

I love a good saison, so it is kinda surprising it has taken me this long to try the most ticked in the style.

Ommegang Hennepin

Best by 11/2017

The addition of ginger may have kept me from trying this, but it is not very prominent. I enjoy the grains of paradise addition, though. Nice peppery note to this. It is bright and lively carbonated, as expected, with a citrus note that leans very lime-y and refreshing. The finish is awesomely dry, and may even be helped by the ginger. It won't beat out New Holland's Monkey King or New Belgium's Long Table as a regular in my fridge, but that is more about value than quality. It is a very good saison and I am glad I finally grabbed one.

3.98/5

Gotta keep moving forward.

Cheers, NBS!

 

Spent the weekend in Boston for the Microbrew Fest. Had a great time and got to try a ton of new beer.

Ran into @jhavs at the fest on Saturday. Always nice to put a face to a name...

Picked up this one from Singlecut in Boston. Big tropical aromas and plenty of bitter dank hops. A winner for sure!



http://www.beeradvocate.com/beer/profile/30452/221622/

 

My first time trying the excellent Ruination 2.0. A great DIPA at a reasonable ABV and price.

 

Founders Sumatra Mountain, 9% ABV, 40 IBU, style is Brown Ale. Pours medium thickness, dark brown, with 7+ fingers of foamy off-white head, nice lacing. Nose is alcohol and coffee. Taste is coffee, alcohol, some carbonation burn, and a slight bitter close. Generally a fan of stouts, but overall this has decent mouthfeel and could pass as a porter. Might buy again. Definitely a must-try for coffee lovers. FBB=Founders Breakfast Brown?

 

Congrat's on the Birthday!

 

I was going to post a review of Carton's Cosmonaut next, but my experience is so far off from all the other reviews that I've decided something must have gone wrong with the can. A pity, as I was really looking forward to it - indeed, I saved it for last from a box from SammyJaxxx precisely because I thought It'd be a strong beer to finish on. Nothing seemed to meld, and - this was the dealbreaker - there was a tremendously strong, ashy, cigarette thing that eventually caused me to bail on it about 3/4 in. Nobody else seems to have had that experience, so it's either a bad batch, a can that had something catastrophic happen to it, or there's some ingredient (there are some sort of unnamed "spices" alluded to on the can) that just doesn't work with my palate.

 

Welcome again to New Beer Sunday. I've been wanting to get to this beer since I got home from work - ok, today was my day off work, yet I was at work, working. Of, course, as soon as I wanted to start the review, the site got too drunk, and passed out, like it's want to do at this time of the night. At least it finally sobered up, and let me review this new beer.

And on to the beer


If I was forced to drink only one style of beer, hands down I'd chose Hefes. This is another delicious hefe, and I'm glad I got it.

 

IMO a good beer to down some tacos.

 

Very cool. Happy birthdays!

 

It was a cloudy, chilly, and occassionally rainy day here in the kingdom, but not unpleasant. It was good enough to finish planting tomato and pepper plants. Yesterday...besides having my soul once again claimed by the Duvel (vua the minion undergid Ommegang)...was spent shopping for a washing machine. Since we have stackable washer and dryer, we learned they come in pairs... Our old, perfectly fine dryer wont fit on top of a new, modern washing machine. If there is good news, it is free delivery and installation...I did have a tinge pity for the installers thinking what they are going to go through on Friday, but I'm completely recovered.

In my glass as a LNNBS brew is a rather delicate beer...Allagash Golden Brett that us just short of a year old. I have quite a good collection of these little buggers, but this is my first real consumption beyond the tasting room. Big pop from the cork, so I was reasonably prepared for foam city but it was pretty tame. Big fluffy white head that fell right quick to a thin layer of tight foam. It is definitely golden, very slightly cloudy. The aroma opens with citrus and a faint hint of something sweeter. Then the phenols weave their way into the picture, with a very mild breadlike smell. It is not a strong aroma, and it takes a while to sink in and evolve. The taste opens with a surprising sharp tang the moves rather quickly into citrus lemon/lime, tangerine for sure, and apricot following along that leaves some bitterness. As the taste washes through, more layers of fruit - wine-like grape, sour(ish) apple, and the earthy notes from the brett, a tiny bit of peppery spice. It is a little abrupt...the flavor falls off quickly and while quite dry, it is a little sticky. Ample carbonation, yet it feels a bit smooth and rich. Overall, felling this is a fine, refined, subtle beer. Lots going on, but you have to be patient and let things develop. Feeling this will come in around the low 4 region on the BA scorecard. Deceptively simple, this one.

@JackHorzempa coming in from the bullpen for the save - another great kickoff post.

@TongoRad ....Happy Birthday.

I have a nice beverage to finish and much post reading to complete.

 

Evil Twin has started brewing at Two Roads and it has resulted in more affordable prices and MORE CANS!

This is actually my first time trying IBB. I've been meaning to for so long now but the price always deterred me a bit. The vanilla and almond is really heavy in this one. Velvety mouth feel with a little hop bitterness and a tiny bit of booze on the back end along with chocolate and coffee
Now that these cans are only about $12.99 a 4 pack I'll definitely be buying this again. A little sweet but very tasty


Session ipa from a new brewery called Alementary in Hackensack. Very crisp and easy drinking but has a nice dank herbal hop bite. Could definitely have a few of these

 

Good reading today as always. Too tired to recap today twice (already hit WBAYDN with the commentary) but visited Cincinnati and then Athens, OH for Jackie O's. Wouldn't go out of my way again, but an interesting drive. Now in West Virginia for the night and will be visiting Gettysburg tomorrow, followed by, I hope, Pizza Boy and Troeg's before landing in NYC. Determined to stop in Morgantown, WV tomorrow just to buy a WV beer to tick too.

I'll be back for NBS next week.