New Beer Sunday (week 600)

What would a Cherry Lager aged in brandy barrels taste like? Let's find out!

Lakefront is becoming a master of the brandy barrel. This has a deep ruby color with a 1 finger fizzy white head that quickly disappears. Aromas of brandy overtones, wood, vanilla, caramel, and fresh cherries. The taste is sweet with brandy and vanilla with caramel covered cherries. It is medium body and has some alcohol warmth to it. I had no idea what to expect, but I rather enjoyed this one even on a cool summer day. I think Lakefront knows how to age beer in brandy barrels.



Seems like a good BIF beer.

 

Congrats my dear friends on 600!! @cavedave and @utopiajane are absolutely the finest pole bearers for NBS, my absolute favorite thread here.
I am sharing my new beer, Baxter brewing Tarnation Lager. I drink this beer today since I was at Baxter State park in Maine yesterday. Old Governer Baxter donated 33,000 acres for sake of wilderness. These are the same forests that inspired Thoreau.
I raise my glass to all those hard working individuals who maintain these trails and these places that allow generations to continue to connect with Nature.
And I can't think of better location to drink it then at a lakeside in Maine.
The beer comes in a 12 oz can. It's a lager brewed with San Francisco yeast in a California commons/ steam beer style.
Pours burnt orange color and smells of sweet malts.
Tastes really very good with rich malts and greatly balanced hops. It's not a style that I drink often but today, it feels so good. A completely honest to goodness, no fuss flavorful lager. I wish I had more energy to describe it but I am done for after my hike.
Cheers and congrats again to all the NBS supporters.

 

Afternoon NBS! Long time, first time here. On this rainy afternoon in NOVA I tried Coconut Delight Rum-Barreled Quad from Lickinghole Creek Craft Brewery in Goochland, VA. I picked this one up last week from Whole Foods Alexandria.



Appearance: Dark ruby to brown with a fluffy mocha head, about one finger.

Smell: Subdued coconut, alcohol, and dark fruit. Definitely not a coconut bomb, which is good news to me.

Taste: A light coconut essence hits up front, followed by dark candies fruit, cherries, and some light toffee. The heat from the rum follows up.

Mouthfeel: Light and easy to drink. Normal carbonation.

Overall: I'm not a big coconut fan, so I went into this with some trepidation. I've had some pretty rough coconut beers that were straight drain pours, but this was a pleasant surprise. It has all the flavors expected from a quad, along with a hit from the coconut and alcohol heat, but neither is enough to be overwhelming, and they both complement quite well. Overall another win from LCCB!

 

My housemate is part of a Beer of the Month club and gets some sample bottles from random small breweries every month. He was nice enough to let me ransack his fridge for a few of this month's selections so I could share my thoughts with NBS!



This is Diamond Bear Brewing Co (from Little Rock, AR)'s Paradise Porter. That label is pretty damn hokey, but in the glass it looks pretty decent with a big, deeply-ruby tinged body that borders pure blackness, topped off with a small yet retentive ring of khaki colored foam.

Nose is roasty and chocolate-y as expected, with an ashy note bolstered by deep cocoa and lightly nutty tones. Sometimes seems to drift a bit into the "acrid" side of things. BA lists this as being 6.24% ABV and I get no note of ethanol at all in the scent. I can detect a slight bit of herbal hop character but it's certainly buried under the intense roast profile. Seems like this should be solid.

Flavor is definitely cocoa forward with a dusty, Belgian-chocolate like complexion and a hint of espresso hanging around here and there. Hoppier than expected on the palate, with a surprising earthy and lightly-fruity note that works well with the nutty malt aspects. Huh, this is actually pretty damn good. Definitely drinkable and seems to be higher quality than I expected. Feel is a bit on the thin side, or so it seems at first... as this warms a bit it's starting to acclimate itself and I'm picking up a much bigger wave of hoppy and roasty flavors that come across solidly with semi-aggressive carbonation. Yep, definitely a solid brew. Nothing spectacular, but worth a drink.



Currently listening to some fucked-up stuff. Glitchy, obscure electronic music with some tape loop-esque qualities from one of the more unique and prolific producers in the scene. I love weird-ass music and this is no exception. Parts of this have left me feeling genuinely discomforted. I'm down.

 

So well said...I really don't think I could add anything to that. This IS the best place on BA. And NBS is truly one of the things I REALLY look forward to each week. Thanks Dave, Maria, et al.

 

Welcome! A very solid post for your first appearance.

 

..

Pretty well done! Nice to have another Virginian hitting this weekly thread. I quite enjoy coconut, but I haven't picked up that one for the other aspect of it: I don't like Rum-barrel aged beers. Sounds like the rum comes in enough that I can skip the beer unless I see it on tap and can grab a sample.

 

Good afternoon BA, got some great beer in the lineup tonight, but only one new one, Tree House Bright.



Pour is a hazy golden amber with a thick and fluffy white head. Head hangs around great but leaves little lacing. Great looking beer if the haze doesn't bother you.

Aroma is heavy with oranges mangos and cantaloupe. A little pineapple and sweetness, malt is entirely covered.

Taste primarily follows the nose with big fruits, almost like over ripe cantaloupe. Hops have a little earthy dank quality also. There is a tinge of malty sweetness and breadiness and a nice drying burst of subdued bitterness. Very pleasant flavor.

Mouthfeel is smooth but a little thin, carbonation has a nice tingle, and is about where I prefer it.

Overall it's a very soft and round IPA, it's listed as a Double and clocks in at 7.8% which I would still call a single. Hop aroma and flavor are massive, which we have come to expect from these brewers. I appreciate the bitterness in this beer, which is stronger compared to other examples. This is one of the only brews hopped with Nelson that I've had and I can see the similarity to Mosaic. It's by far my favorite beer that I have had from Tree House. Definitely worth a shot if you have access to it.

Cheers BA!

Marc

 

To Cans!!!

 

Happy New Imperial Pilsner Sunday!

WOW! 600 Fuckn' Weeks!

Did a nice little hike, around 80, sunny, slight wind on the Western Slope. Not too often do I get a chance to be the first to review a brew, but today is the day. A pretty nice take on the style, for the price, you cannot go wrong with FS.

https://www.beeradvocate.com/beer/profile/5316/244541/?ba=Wasatch#review

Cheers!

 

Pepper update: They are now dry and my house smells like habanero peppers. I am leaving them in the oven for awhile to finish drying and will crush them later.

My new beer today is from Castle Island Brewing. I have only had one of their offerings before, which was Big Ern and it was good. Today's beer is Candlepin, which they call a session ale, but is listed on beer advocate as an American Pale Ale. The beer is brewed with Citra and Columbus, which is surprising based on the flavor I would not have guessed it. It is 4.4% ABV.


Look: Long lasting white head that leaves ample lacing. It is yellow with a hint of orange and is crystal clear. 4.75
Aroma: Mild sweet malt and a big citrus hop punch and some slight spice. 4
Taste: Citrus, spice, pine are the dominant hop flavors. An almost slightly woody note appear at times, but not on every sip. Has a fruity malt sweetness in the middle but finishes dry and bitter. Nice bready malt flavor as it warms 4.25
Feel: Very drinkable, nice prickly carbonation, resiny coating in mouth after each sip. 4
Overall: A low ABV beer with some complexity. I think it could use a little more malt flavor, which would make the beer more enjoyable to me, but still a really nice beer. 4.25


This beer is an incredible example of the complexity hops can show when used in small amounts. Many citra hopped beers are very tropical because they are hopped with such a high concentration of hops. The hop profile becomes one dimensional. I am reading a book on hops right now and that is One of the things they state about using a large quantity of hops. When hops are used in very large quantities some of the other flavors are drowned out.

Might be back with another beer later. Enjoy your beers everyone.

 

Well done again. I guess we do reside in the Western world, and God knows we like to quantify everything. So, I guess we should have expected that your column would evolve into something like the 1-10 scale. But that's fine. Dude, you're so LEGIT!!!

 

Hi

Free Will Brewing Co. Perkasie, PA
"Freshie" fresh hopped IPA. 7.4% abv.

Bottled 08/16/16
Enjoyed 08/21/16

L. Dull yellow-orange with a sudsy head reducing to bubbly patches and a fat ring in a few minutes.

S. Huge tropical and melon aroma. Pineapple, mango, peaches, nectarine, orange, some lemon perhaps.

T. More bitterness in the taste than in the aroma. Grapefruit, lemon, peach, some spiciness, tart apple, soft sweetness throughout. Clean, bitter aftertaste.

F. Light body, good carbonation.

O. I am really enjoying this. Enough bitterness but not too much, lots of flavor, easy drinking. It kinda reminds me of my mom's fruit salad, so of course I love it. 4.5/5. Cheers!

 

"Peace, love, and malty-ness"...

I love reading that again. Peace Matt.

 

What better place to make my first NBS post than in the 600th installment. Nice work everyone getting to 600. Keep up the good work.

Until I happened upon it in the grocery aisle yesterday, I'd never heard of Santan Brewing. It was between this and their pineapple beer. I went with this: Moon Juice, Galactic IPA. The reviews were a little more convincing and opting for IPA vs. pineapple wheat is less risky. That is, there is less chance of a let down.



This beer is awfully tasty and refreshing. It's fruity. It's fresh (canned about 4 weeks ago). There's nothing to dislike about it at all. As an added bonus, great homage to Buzz Lightyear on the can. Happy Sunday.

 

Here are two new-to-me beers from Boulevard.

First up - Tropical Pale Ale

Can a beer be too well made for its own good? This might be proof of that. The Miami packaging and ingredient additions (grapefruit and passion fruit) promise something lurid. The beer doesn't live up to this. The fruit additions are handled wonderfully. They provide a measured touch of something different. I wish the beer they were being added to was a bit more inspired. This beer is basically an old-school American pale ale (which I like) with a twist. The combination is better than expected because it is so conservative. I was expecting something more tacky. Tacky isn't always bad.



Next up is Frequent Flier, a session IPA.

The label has a flying penguin with a rocket pack. When I see a flying penguin, I do not think "frequent flier." The beer is a nice gold color. In general, "session IPAs" are lacking because they are completely lacking in balance. It's funny when someone complains about a malt presence in an IPA. If you don't want malt presence, then just drink the most unbalanced session IPA you can get. Chances are that person won't like the session IPA either. This Boulevard beer is better than your average session IPA because there is better balance. They manage to pull this one off - but I'm just not a fan of the target. The hops contribute both citrus and pine. Very good for its type.

 

Hi everyone. It's a damp, rainy Sunday here in northern New Jersey. The rain has cooled the air temperature and it's a perfect day for a Belgian Strong Dark Ale: Abbaye des Rocs Grand Cru. Lots of plum, raisin, cherry, caramel, and honey. It's very well-crafted and has me thinking of crisp afternoons sampling beer on the deck. Here's my review:

4.35/5 rDev +3.6%
look: 4.25 | smell: 4.25 | taste: 4.5 | feel: 4.25 | overall: 4.25

This is a beer I've long wanted to try and wasn't disappointed. It was poured into a tulip glass. It pours a deep brown with ruby hues and a thick, creamy, khaki-colored head and lacing. It smells of candied fruit, brown sugar, molasses, plum, cherry, and spice. The first tastes encountered are the fruit: plum, raisin, and cherry, followed by caramel, molasses, and honey. It finishes with a touch of spice. The tastes blend beautifully. This ale is well-carbonated and while it isn't overtly boozy, you can feel the 9% ABV. Overall, it is a truly a well-crafted and enjoyable Belgian Strong Dark Ale. It makes an excellent dessert beer and would pair especially well with a nice tray of cheeses.

As always, I'm enjoying all of your reviews and getting some good ideas. Santé, my friends!

 

Well, I asked a bunch of people which they would like better, 1-10, including decimals, or 1-100, without decimals. It was universal, 1-100 was preferred, and everyone said that "most people" would like 1-10, even though they are the exact same thing. Scratch my head. I did what I could though, to make 5.5 (average) still a really good beer. I'm so new at this.

 

That's a great review. Thanks for posting!

 

I almost grabbed that at the store today. But, then I thought, eh, Full Sail. Chose other things.
BTW, may I interest you in a BIF kind sir? I know of an excellent one starting soon.