New Beer Sunday (week 612)

It's not that hard if you take a long-term approach, and at least the app instills a bit of discipline to keep you from straying too much. I find that the 1900 calories it has me doing is quite manageable. Best wishes if and when you get started.

 

I'm not an IPA fan, but the local sports bar has a limited craft selection. It was OK.

 

Well a little late to the party today for me but had morning plans of an early run to Nightshift to pick up a few bottles and then had to do a final few chores before winter actually arrives here in central NH. So that leaves me at the conundrum for the day as to which new beer I choose to review first. I'm going to chose first is a bottle that landed on my porch on Friday from a fellow BA in Colorado for winning a LIF that he was running. The box included six different bottles from Casey all of which were new to me. The one I picked for today was East Bank a Honey Ale aged in Oak Barrels.

This beer poured a golden yellow color into my snifter glass. A thin white head formed on top and disappeared fairly quickly leaving only the lacing on the edge.
The nose of this beer tells of the honey and also the oak that it was aged in. There is a certain tartness in the nose from the yeast used in the aging.
To me the taste is the strong point for this wonderful beer. You get the sweetness from the honey and a smoothness from the oak. All followed by the tartness from the yeast used in the aging. The blend of the 3 elements is great.
There is a nice effervescence in the mouthfeel. Great carbonation that lasts through the whole glass.
All in all this is a wonderful beer. True to the great beers that Casey puts out.
4.34/5 rDev +1.4%
look: 4 | smell: 4.25 | taste: 4.5 | feel: 4.25 | overall: 4.25
This is only the second beer I've had from Casey but I'm impressed by there beers.

 

And, back with a brew courtesy of @SammyJaxxxx , and, by extension, NBS BIF#4. I'm not a coffee drinker, and generally find that it overwhelms most beers. I wouldn't say it overwhelmed this beer, but it was the most noticeable aspect: https://www.beeradvocate.com/beer/profile/29800/187507/

 

Awesome Fuckn' Brew!

Cheers!

 

Something different from them. Would not mind trying that one out.

Cheers!

 

Next up is one I've been trying to run down for a few years, happy to finally try it - Surly Abrasive.



Crystal clear, orange, and happy to present about a finger and a half worth of off white, foamy head that leaves behind only a small bit of lacing. I've got dankness on the nose again. Garlic, green onion, sulfur and a bit of alcohol that gives way to a more lemon zest accompanied grapefruit. I could be getting a little peppery thing as well.

Taste is a punch to the tongue. Big grapefruit, big onion and big alcohol sweetness as proof of well manicured balance. Finish is a touch thinner than all the bigness would suggest, but still solid.

Well worth the seek!

 

Very Nice Brew!

Cheers!

 

Very Tasty Brew!

Cheers!

 

Hello NBS Gang. It's a pretty Fall afternoon in North Jersey. Mrs. Mac and I spent the afternoon attacking the copious amount of leaves on the front lawn. We made progress but there's still a lot to do and a sugar maple that hasn't dropped yet. Russian Imperial Stout is probably my favorite beer style and I've been looking forward to trying Siberian Night, particularly because I'm such a fan of Thirsty Dog's Wulver. While it's certainly a fine RIS, I was disappointed by the lack of dark fruit and the bitterness at the finish. Here's my review:

4.04/5 rDev -2.7%
look: 4.25 | smell: 4 | taste: 4 | feel: 4.25 | overall: 4

Poured from 12 oz. bottle into stout glass. It pours a dark walnut - nearly black - with one finger of fluffy, khaki-colored head and lacing. It smells of roasted malt, bourbon, dark coffee, and chocolate. I expected it to be more aromatic. The taste features burnt coffee grounds, cocoa, smoke, vanilla, molasses, and bourbon. One nice feature is that the bourbon doesn't overwhelm the other tastes. It finishes surprisingly bitter. I didn't detect any dark fruit. This stout is medium-bodied and carbonated. It's not as viscous as Ten Fidy, Expedition Stout, FIS, and some of its other famous competitors. It's 10.9% ABV is well-hidden and not very noticeable.Overall, it's a fine BA RIS but I prefer more dark fruit and I thought the bitterness at the finish was rather harsh.

Hope you're all enjoying your new (or old) beer today. As always, I enjoy reading your reviews.

 

One of the best fuckn' brews out there, hands down!

Cheers!

 

Thirsty Dog makes some pretty awesome brews!

Cheers!

 

First ride in a while where I got cussed out. I was 400m away from home as well.... Damn. Anyway, after some errands, I've decided it's time to clean and condition my Red Wing Beckman's. Naturally, this process calls for a beer. Today, that lucky liquid comes in the form of a can, from a local brewery, even though its style and the barrel's it was aged in are from half a world away.



Martin City's Monk in Scotland.

Pours a very murky brown, almost like a muddy river. The head formation is quick to come up, with most of it disappearing rather rapidly. Khaki colored bubbles rise up around the edge of the glass, and keep a thin layer of foam constantly on the top of the beer. Lacing is spotting. Aroma is complex and tasty. Dark fruits, coriander, and cloves peep through on the Belgian quad side of the aroma. There is a peat and oak twist the otherwise rich Belgian quad aroma. Flavor profile is wonderful and robust. It opens with dark fruits and coriander before the oak barrel shows up in the profile. Peat, and moss quickly follow before finishing with a dark alcohol finish. Mouth feel is filling, with a medium-thick consistency. Very rich. Overall, Monk in Scotland provides a delightful, robust, and complex concoction of aromas and flavors without following the standard barrel aged imperial stout route. At 11.1% ABV with a very rich, complexity, this beer is best sipped slow. Preferably bundled up in an Aran sweater at a brisk cycling cobble classic morning.

Score: 4.25 | 4.5 | 4.5 | 4.25 | 4.25 | BA Score: 4.41 | rDev: n/a (first review)

 

So I broke into my new SN Winter Pack. Comparing Pale Ale with the NBS (for me) Single Hop Cascade IPA.

Unfortunately, I think I did them in the wrong order. START WITH SINGLE HOP. It is the more subtle of the two.
Beautiful pour, great golden color, lighter than the SNPA.
Aroma is a little danker than SNPA.
As I already said, the taste is more subtle, not as hoppy or piney as SNPA. A little more citrusy actually. I am not well versed enough in individual hop accents to confirm this is cascade coming through. I will take this as a learning experience, which I think was what was intended.
SN website does not even have Single Hop on its beer list. As you may know SNPA highlights cascade, but also uses magnum an perle as bittering hops. I cannot find what malt is used on the Single. SNPA is 5.6 ABV vs. 6.3 for Single, but I would say there is subtly more alcohol presence in the SNPA.
The Single is not a bad beer. But against the classic it is disappointing.
I will say this again all you Snow Pack owners out there- Drink the Single before the SNPA if you are doing a run through the pack.

 

Back again NBS-ers!! This offering coming from my NBS BIF#4: Monkey With Knives sender @beertunes !

Boundary Bay: E.S.B.

A style that I don't have a lot of experience with, so let 's get at it!

Poured from a 22 oz. bottle into a shaker style pint. No dating on bottle.

Appearance: Beautiful golden-amber colored body. High clarity. Very thin cap of head formed and disappeared quickly. No lacing.

Aroma: All malts here, minimal amount of hop presence, as is in line with the style. Also, picking up on some mild toffee.

Taste: Yep, it's all about the malts here, imo. Sweet up front with a little bitterness on the end, finishes nice and clean. Super refreshing. Hops are there

Mouthfeel: Medium mouthfeel. Malty and juicy with a nice lingering bitterness along the outside edges of the tongue. Low carbonation.

Overall: A beer you can drink a lot of, easily! Not one of my favorite styles, but this was easy to drink and the whole bomber disappeared before I knew it! Delicious malty beer.

Cheers!

 

Happy New DIPA Sunday!

Did a little hike today, sunny, about 56. Really, this one is tasty, even though the age of it. Caught the end of the Bronco's game, what a ending.

https://www.beeradvocate.com/beer/profile/16873/86999/?ba=Wasatch#review

Cheers!

 

That was bottled the same day as the IPA I sent along, early Oct IIRC. That was my go-to BB brew for a long time, and I still have one on occasion, but I don't drink it much anymore. And, it's not really a "true" ESB, in the style of say Fullers, but more of an "IPA Light", IMHO. Even the description the brewery uses is "our take on an English Pale". Shrug. YMMV. They make a version in the spring for the Ski-to-Sea race that uses different hops, and is dry hopped. I prefer that bigly to the base version these days.

 

Welcome to another New Beer Sunday. This is, probably, the Sunday of the year here in central MN where the weather is amazing. Mid 60's, windows are open, and beer is being consumed.

As promised last Sunday, I popped open my growler from Wild Mind Artisan Ales in Minneapolis. Funkbot is a very delicious beer. So Glad I picked this one to bring home in a growler. I might not down it all today, but I'll try.



4.13/5 rDev +1%
look: 3.75 | smell: 3.75 | taste: 4.25 | feel: 4.5 | overall: 4.25

This pours a clear amberish color. The head is decent, small bubbles, and lots of carbonation in the beer. The nose has a sour smell to it. It also seems a bit fruity. The taste is interesting. It has a ot of complex favors to it. Some sourness. Some, slight hops. Some fruitness. This beer is also very thick feeling, not watery at all. A delicious offering from Wild Mind.

★ 374 characters

 

Celebrating an Eagles win the some Straight to Ale Bourbon Barrel Laika, thanks @richj1970! This beer reminds me of why I love these BIFs; I have only heard of this
because of others getting and reviewing it in previous rounds. I may have forgotten to list as a want but I still got it and very excited to try it!

4.29/5 rDev +2.6%
look: 4.25 | smell: 4.5 | taste: 4.25 | feel: 4 | overall: 4.25

Thank you richj1970 for this
22 oz bottle poured into a tulip

A- Black with a two finger mocha head.

S- Roasted coffee, rich chocolate, caramel malts, charred oak, bourbon and vanilla.

T- Cocoa powder, caramel malts, some roasted coffee, charred oak, vanilla, hints of dark fruits.

M- Smooth, medium body.

O- A solid barrel aged Russian Imperial Stout, taste is a little lighter than the nose and was hoping to body would be fuller and maybe a little chewy given the taste. I would definitely recommend this beer, would love to try the regular and wine barrel verison.

 

Happy Sunday NBS players. Pretty cool here on the island all weekend with the first real bite of the impending winter. Spent the day relaxing and watching a pretty bad Jets football game. Gonna do more couch surfing the rest of the evening and get back to the work grind tomorrow.

My new beer today is 42, a barleywine ale, from Moustache brewing co. here on the island. The brew was aged in south american rum barrels for 532 days. It checks in at 10% abv, bottle 197/228, with a 2016 vintage year. The 42 comes from the fact that it was the brewery's 42nd beer brewed.

A nice burgundy color on the pour. Hazy, with a fast non-existent head. The nose is big with booze, oak, and fruit. The drinking starts with a huge booze punch to the palate. A sweet and bitter rush on the finish. It's a little hot right now but that seems to mellow out a bit as it warms. The rum barrel is there big time with notes of oak, vanilla, caramel, and that lovely rummy flavor. At the same time you get big time dark, dried, and candied fruit notes. I mostly get apple, figs, raisins, and cherries. The mouth feel is full bodied and really has some nice stick to it that coats the palate and lingers nicely.

Overall, just an excellent beer. I just love how the booze doesn't hide at all but yet there is still so many different flavor notes. Every year these guys continue to impress me with how good their beers are getting. If you're on long island do not sleep on moustache brewing. I'm on a solid 4.5 here and I'll be going back for another bottle or two.