New Beer Sunday (week 605)

Greetings friends from sunny Steamboat Colorado today. I found a new brewery that's only been open two months according to my server. I searched the site and don't see it listed, so I'll give them a plug here. Maybe I'll add it later if I can navigate the site better.

For now let's check out what they claim is their hoppiest beer. A twelve ounce glass of Current IPA from Mountain Tap Brewery with an abv. of 6% and 55 IBU's. It's a transparent copper color with a couple centimeters of white foam that disappears quickly leaving a little lacing. The smell is floral and yeasty/malty. Taste is floral, mango, grapefruit and pine. The feel is sticky malt with a slightly bitter and slick finish.



While it's nothing game changing, it is a well made IPA that's more reminiscent of the old school balance of hops and malt. Tasty enough on a beautiful day in the mountains! I'd put my score around a 3.75.

I ordered a pizza from their killer brick oven. A really good pie called the Rancher with Italian sausage, San Marzano tomatoes, garlic, fresh mozzarella, fennel and oregano. Quality bar food in minutes!







I'm hoping to be back later with another, but I'm a guy just taking things as they come out here. Enjoy your Sunday new beer adventures!

 

Belgian Strong Dark Ale is a style that's really grown on me. I've never seen one that color before. Did you like it?

 

Well, that was kinda frustrating, watching the Giants beat themselves. What a stupid, undisciplined team we have this year...

On to something a whole lot nicer-


Crooked Can High Stepper IPA, by way of @jhartley

What a nice, bright aroma, if a little mild- tangerine, some pine, maybe a little floral. The taste is all citrus and pine, with a very long lasting citrus peel-like bitterness. Nice and dry, with a moderately creamy malt platform that shows itself here and there. In a way, I'm kind of reminded of Celebration Ale and Two Hearted with this one, only with the seriously bitter kick of the old Ruination. Those are all classics for a reason, and this one does well to emulate them, but ultimately isn't as well-put together or aromatic as those beers. Still, it's very clean and quite enjoyable. A- (4.0). Thanks again, Jeff!

 

Greetings NBScates. I normally don't post on this thread, but this one is both new to me and rather new to the site – once I put in my review, I will be the 10th person to do so. Beer in question is Pipeworks Mandarin Dragonet.


Two notes, first off:
1) The above picture was with the last half a glass, and I ended up bumping up the taste and overall rating a quarter point each from the above notes by the time I finished.
2) this was the 99th beer by Pipeworks I have rated, so I already have an inherent love/bias toward their stuff. Plus their double IPAs with honey and fruit are some of my favorite beers of all time, so I went into this one with high expectations as well. And you know what? It met if not exceeded them.

Look: It poured a coppery/bronze color with a thick creamy head that barely faded and healthy lacing that lasted the entire time. It was one of those beers that I could have licked the glass when I was done. It was cloudy with a healthy amount of sediment.

Smell: bitter sweet-the hops and honey meshed well, and were backed by mild citrus.

Taste: this is where the Pipeworks fruit/honey DIPAs stand out. There is so much depth to them. You have the strong hop flavors and characteristics-they're juicy yet bitter and have a tang to them. Then you add the honey, and a strong sweetness starts popping out. With this one, the Mandarina orange is strongly present, helping add more juice flavor and more tang to it. It is just a deep beer.

Feel: again, just like taste, depth is the key word. It is very creamy, and all the flavors make it one of those beers that seems to hit lots of different taste buds and parts of your mouth.

A: 4.5 S: 4.5 T: 4.75 F: 4.75 O: 4.75
Total: 4.68

Bonus picture – the descriptions for this series of beers are pretty funny, and this one is no exception.

Happy NBS, all, and happy drinking!

 

Manayunk Brewing
Hopgasm India Pale Ale
This brew came via the kind @thebeers and did not want to wait the two weeks for NBS BIF 4, as my sender said this beer was not dated and may be past its prime, after drinking I can't imagine it being any better. This beer poured a nice Amber orange with a frothy head that lasted nearly the entire pint. Really nice appearance, aroma is piney, taste is very hop forward nice malt balance. The lacing was phenomenal and coated the entire glass. Can said juicy and stickey, very stickey not so juicy. Exceptional IPA

 

Yes, I had been thinking maybe the G-Men would be a better 4th Quarter team after holding leads the last two weeks. So much for that! Great Unnecessary Roughness on #33! What a bone-headed play.

 

You know what, I really haven't seen many porters recently, either. Then again, my not really recognizing there absence says something, and it's not that I don't want porters. I'm guessing (hoping, maybe) that it is one of those seasonal things and not that porters are going the way of the brown ale (which I'd also like to see more of ).

Yes, they literally just hit this week. I happened to stop in a Total Wine the day after and they had a few left, including Pernicious - which was what I really wanted. The BA version of my reviewed beer was gone from that store (as I found out after the fact that it was even available) - not that it was that bothersome, I wasn't expecting to find any. I am hoping we continue to get their beers more often (and/or in larger allotments). Or maybe the newness will wear off and they'll just be available when I go to the store .

Good Luck with your haul, and let us know what we should be looking for here in the DC area .

 

Happy NBS. Trying this Avery Certatio Equestris. Very nice indeed. Cheers all.

https://www.beeradvocate.com/beer/profile/30/224241/?ba=cindyjeffsmith#review

 

Woww great start today @utopiajane , We had an altbier today too, Harpoon's sticke alt version. I've had it before and really enjoyed it. I once brewed with a guy who wanted to open a brewery with me that specialized in alts. And a sad alt story is our oldest local brewey, Gilded Otter once brewed an alt bier that was really tasty. They still brew it now, but...

Greetings fellow NBSers from on the ridge in Mid Hud Val, NY. Tough day at work, super busy, sooo many new customers, and for the first time in my personal history in the business I had to turn a customer away due to there was no room in any container or shed or barn for any more cardboard (state law forbids any disposables/recyclables kept on ground, period). Went from there to brew a crazy wonderful beer, a brown ale with fresh cascade hops and local hemlock needles. Talk about a new beer, that was it right there haha. The wort tasted wonderful, just enough sweet to guarantee a perfect ferment, really pungent sweet grapefruit and light citrus pith, with the piney notes of the hemlock a wonderful addition. If you have ever tried spruce beers you can imagine this one by thinking of a sweeter and less sharp but just as bright pine note. Went really well.

We drank quite a few beers, but none of them was new to me. Chances are I will not be back to join you, I have to sauce a huge batch of heirloom plum tomatoes a customer gave me as a tip, and I should probably quit drinking for today before my intake becomes measurable by gallons. I will check in and enjoy vicariously all those new beer y'all try.

 

It has been a nice (and hot) weekend! Going against parental advice, our daughter came home from college for the weekend to see Kanye West last night. While I gave her a hard time, I did enjoy spending time with her, and I scored points with her friends when I admitted that I miss the old Kanye. Did a little work this morning followed by a relaxing brew day with my buddy today. Brewed a Hefeweizen which (hopefully) will ferment with built-up dregs from some SN Kellerweis bottles.


Now onto the new beer. This was a fun review:

Oakmeal - Bitter Chocolate Oatmeal Stout, Stone Brewing Co




look: 4.5 | smell: 3.5 | taste: 4 | feel: 4.5 | overall: 4.25

This beer looked fantastic. An opaque deep dark brown color on the pour with a rocky, foamy mocha-colored head. The foam settled slowly into a modest creamy cap, lasting longer than I expected. It really looked like a Cappuccino. Everything changed with the first whiff, though. The nose was all whiskey, with some oak and vanilla. Very little malt, chocolate, or other notes, and it left me wanting a bit more balance. Not surprisingly, the first sip brought whiskey and wood, but there was a nice and surprising undercurrent of dark chocolate that crept in. Other flavors also made an appearance, including coffee, toast, coconut, and vanilla. The whiskey came back for the finish, which was slightly hot showing the alcohol. The high point for me was the feel: this was silky and creamy through-and-through. Overall, a roller-coaster of a review, starting strong on the pour, dipping on the nose, and finishing fantastic. Cheers!

 

New Beer Sunday: An interesting Stout (that is soon to go away).

Afternoon NBSers with special greetings to those stout lovers who might want to catch and tick a new stout before it goes extinct.

Time to talk about today's new beer two. Currently it's half time in the Eagles, Steelers game and so I'm entering my review of a great sipping beer. The review is mostly finished and based on notes taken during commercials. (I knew there was some useful purpose for commercials. )

My review of Boulevard's Dark Truth can be found here:

https://www.beeradvocate.com/beer/profile/423/56469/?ba=drtth#review

I thought this a great example of a nicely complex beer with multiple flavors and layers of flavors to challenge. While it is clearly a stout, there are some ways it is also one that doesn't fit completely into any of the conventional Imperial Stout categories. If there were an "official" category for Belgian stout I’d nominate this one, given that it has some characteristics I associate with BSDAs and Quads. Glad I found out that it was being discontinued while I still had a chance to try it. It definitely reinforces my view that the Boulevard Smokestack series are all worth buying and trying. I think I'll be looking to find a few of the more before they disappear.

Cheers, all!

 

Glad you liked it!

 

Have not seen (new shit) this series here in GJ in quite a few months.

Cheers!

 

The Packers took care of Detroit, but had to make it interesting late in the game.

On to another glorious Trillium beer. Scaled pours very cloudy dark yellow with a 2 finger foamy white head and tons of lacing on my glass. Aroma is loaded with grapefruit and orange along with some hints of pineapple.Flavor starts with the citrus zest, and grapefruit pith. Softer notes of malt, pineapple and other tropical fruit with a slight bitterness. Medium bodied with nice carbonation and a dry finish. Exceptionally made IPA.

 

Been looking for this one for a few weeks now, with no luck, so far.

Cheers!

 

That's a good one, it will be missed.

Cheers!

 

Poured a little cooler than room temperature, couldn't figure out when it was bottled and 8.2% ABV. Pours a very attractive chestnut brown, with a two inch off white head that leaves patches of lace. 4.5

Smell is dark fruit, toffee, vanilla, caramel, clove, and some oak. 4

Taste follows fig and dates, toffee, caramel, vanilla, clove, and a oak really well balanced and surprisingly complex. 4

Mouthfeel is alost large, creamy with plenty of carbonation, a whisker dry, and excellent drinkability. 4.25

Overall I am not normally wowed by Magic Hat, but this one is a winner. Well done and once again not my favorite style. 4

 

It is rare for me to post twice on a Sunday, but I wanted to just in case someone here knows what causes this weird smell/flavor that I've noticed in a few of the less-great local beers around these parts (though it's only the smell in this particular beer).



Anyway, this one is an interesting beer despite this aroma (or lack thereof). Neither great nor terrible. It looks very nice. The flavor is a mix of sweet and woodsy. It feels velvety and the alcohol is fairly well-hidden, but damned if the smell is not completely off base with stale water being filtered through rocky dirt. I don't know if this is a problem with packaging or ingredients or what. All I know is that this is the first of their canned hoppy offerings that I've had that only ONE aspect of it had the distracting, water-rung-out-of-an-old-dishcloth aroma. I might have again; these guys have huge potential but for the crazy high cost of the beer it makes it hard to keep giving them a shot.

Almost all of their hoppy beers have this same dirty, mineraly, funky flavor present in one or more aspects of the beer. I have gone back and forth. Could it be sanitation? Could it be their water? Could it be hop storage? No idea. Any of you brewers/experts know? @JackHorzempa is who immediately came to mind.

Cheers!

 

Could be the water.

Cheers!

 

Elevation Beer Co. - Elevated PSA: A wheatwine aged in sauvingnon blanc oak barrels, 10.5% ABV, 35 IBUs, Cascade and Simcoe hops. Rare Beer of the Month Club (September)



Weak nose of wheat and almost no hops. The flavor is a some wheat malt with bitter hops, hot alcohol, and some green/young oak. Astringent. Quite dry. Surprisingly more bitter than I would expect for the stated IBUs, but maybe the oak is contributing there. Not sure. It's been a while since I had a wheatwine, so I don't know how "to style" this would be, but overall I'm not all that impressed.

That's fine though... The wife is out of the house and I have taken over the table for some PC surgury and a long overdue upgrade, so I don't need to be too distracted by beer.



Current background music:


Cheers!