New Beer Sunday (week 631)

Cheers BAs! It's 70 degrees and sunny here in Little Rock And I've got myself a super special barrel aged release from Night Shift brewing courtesy of the ever generous @smanson56

2016 Vesuvius - Brett saison aged with blackberries and lemons.

Look - 4.5 - Don't think the color of this beer is coming through on the pictures, but its got a great vinuous translucent crimson going on here. Tiny off white head, with no lacing to speak of.
Smell - 4.25 - Light brett funk immediately overtaken by jammy berry and citrus. The lemon totally shows out even with all the red fruit going on, which is pretty impressive.
Taste - 4.5 - Whoa, it captures so much great red fruit and finishes with a dry zippy acidity. The lemon lingers long on the finish, and more sips bring to mind blackberry pie from the nice malt base that was hidden in the aroma.
Feel - 4.5 - So much great flavor without weighing down the palate. Finishes so crisp, it's begging you to take another sip and uncover more nuance. This beer could hang with any Russian River sour
Overall - 4.5 - Outstanding job. They picked an interesting flavor combination and hit it out of the park. I was weary of too much brett going in, but it was held in check beautifully as only a complement instead of the dominating force as is all too common for my taste when it comes to brett saisons.

Wish I had another to age and see how it drinks in a year or two, but c'est la vie.

Amazing beer.

 

Happy New American Impy Stout Sunday!

Sad to see @cavedave and @utopiajane go, but welcoming @cjgaint and @lordofthewiens aboard.

Did the usual hike today, almost 60, sun peaking out, big ass black clouds coming in from the south/southwest. A big thanks goes out to @thebeers for this brew and glassware. I've been a fan of Weyerbacher for years, very tasty brews. So, it was very nice to see this in the NBS BIF #5 box I received. This brew does not disappoint! Really nice touch of coffee. Will be back with another shortly.

https://www.beeradvocate.com/beer/profile/392/89345/?ba=Wasatch#review

Cheers!

 

This statement makes me sad.

 

It's been a while since I posted to this thread. New Belgium Voodoo Ranger. I think they could dial the bitterness and the alcohol back a click and beef up the aroma hop by the same amount. 1 click = 2 smidges.

 

If you want a howler that you probably need to drink no later than Wednesday, and that's probably pushing it.

 

Great beer day. Doppelgänger is amazing and that extra vanilla milkshake is so creamy and smooth. Loved both if you can trade for them.

 

Guinness Golden Ale for New Beer Sunday.


11.2oz bottle poured into a pint glass shows a dull amber, burnt orange colored body and floats a 1/4" off-white head that dissipates to an edge hugging ring. The name has 'Gold', the label promotes a 'rich golden hue', but my idea of gold is a brighter yellow than this displays. Maybe an old forgotten gold, or a rarely worn gold. Active bubbles and no lacing.
The bottle marketing boasts: “A group of enterprising brewers on a quest to explore new recipes, reinterpret old ones and collaborate freely to bring new ideas to life. A beautifully balanced ale with a rich golden hue. The subtle biscuit flavors of the malted barley perfectly compliment the pleasing bitterness and delicate, fruity hop aroma, giving way to a refreshingly crisp finish.” I really appreciate, and expect, this concept. I assume that brewers are passionate enough in their craft that they experiment, share, and grow. That it not just a job. That said, I hope they are not done with this recipe yet.
Aroma is a toasty biscuit malt with a hint of stone fruit and honey. It is almost smokey, which is odd, but could definitely work.
Flavor matches.
Feel is clean, almost fizzy, and light with a dry finish.
Overall the toast aroma and flavor throws me off, but I like the clean finish. English pale ale, really? Not a really light porter?

 

I'm good. I feel like I may go over my 50 lb luggage limit already.

 

Got one of those in my BIF box....gonna hold off as long a I can to try it though!

 

They should do a beer and food and food and beer blog. I'd join!

 

Don't wait too too long, it's really good now. Plus, egocentrically, I'd love to read another opinion/review on it .

 

Mother's Single Barrel ( Rye ) MILF. Only had 2 of these variants, this is the alpha of them for now. Base beer still the best....

Pours an effervescent ebony with a pinky of tan head. Viscous look to this, just trace of head retention & lacing

S: Faint chcocolate, a wisp of boozeyness that picks up momentum as this warms, but a bit muted on all other aspects

T: Woody dryness, a little spiceyness, dark chocloate, a whisper of booze warmth & dryness up front. Vanilla, dark chocolate, dryness as this warms, some figs & raisins too, some Rye bite as well; shows in the dryness & peppery boozeyness, some black currants as well. Finishes with boozey warmth, a little caramel, less chocolate, raisins, a little molasses, & carob & Rye barrel dryness

MF: Fairly firm body, assertive carbonation, warming

Great offering, probably the first barrel variable that can challenge the base beer that I have tried. Drinks pretty easy despite the rye & booze bite

Overall 4.05

 

Four new 4+ beers this week. Carton, Cambridge, and Shmaltz NYC.
CambridgeCosmonaut | Carton
4.15/5 rDev +4.3%
look: 4.25 | smell: 4 | taste: 4.25 | feel: 4.25 | overall: 4

Overall - Creativity in a Russian Imperial Stout that's correctly balanced to handle the addition of sweet with its core hop bitters and power.

This ice cream flavored, spiced, and inspired Neopolitan does not disappoint. It starts on a bitter RIS core, and adds astronaut ice cream to bring it back to - well, a strong sweet stout - out of this world.

Creative craft at its best. Why? Because it never becomes artificial, bathroom scented and remains a drinkable, balanced, meditation stout.

A) 2 finger light tan head with good retention, lots of lacing rings. Blackish, dark brown.

S) it's coffee, roasted malts, a bit of hop spice, Summer fireman's fair or an ancient boardwalk.

T) Follows smell with roasted malts, more coffee. Strawberry, Vanilla, Chocolate Ice Cream. Rounds out with bitterness and alcohol on the final orbit.

F: Medium-bodied, light carbonation, creamy (which is required in this case!) The bitterness and ABV gives it a saving dry finish.

Beantown Stout | Cambridge
4.15/5 rDev +0.2%
look: 4 | smell: 4 | taste: 4.25 | feel: 4 | overall: 4.25

Thrilled to write 1st review of this great stout.
a) Just right black body and lace with lasting head.
s) Perfect peat fire char for Bean town, with a fresh hop and malt feel that's balanced. Strong perfume and intense rightness of aroma.
t) Follow smell into a tight curl of bitter, char, bite, coffee, malt. Bitter dry sweet as a great stout should be.
f) light side of stout, but enough character, dryness, and hop finish to satisfy.
Sessionable stout. I'd take this dark one home. Try 24.

He'Brew Bittersweet Lenny's R.I.P.A. | Shmaltz
4.15/5 rDev +2.7%
look: 3.75 | smell: 4.25 | taste: 4.25 | feel: 4 | overall: 4
If you're celebrating Lenny Bruce, this RIPA (rest in peace ale/ rye IPA) is a tribute. It's dank, dirty and frank.
12oz bottle. A nice tribute to Lenny Bruce, he of the inspiration for so many of today's more edgy comics.

A) The beer pours a hazed, dark reddish amber color, with 2 fingers of thick, foamy, off-white head, which laces and lasts less for me than others.

S) Lenny has a big aura and aroma, it smells of acrid pine resin hops, bready, thick caramel malt, a bit of Belgian yeast, and a dank, cellar mystery along with the alcohol heat.

T) The taste equally big, with that dank, cellar dominating after a dry grapefruit hops, and dry pine woody start.
Brings a robust spiciness, from the rye, and bready caramel malt balanced by strong alcohol acrid pepper notes, like a bar drink, and finally, landing back in the cellar with a lingering dank hop bitterness.
F) The feel is balanced and big, with good creamy main notes, balanced by oily counter notes.

Crazy-big DIPA, thick, sticky, and a meditation beer. Let it dwell and warm.

Dunkel Jesse And The Rippers | Cambridge 4/5 rDev +0.8%
look: 3.75 | smell: 3.75 | taste: 4.25 | feel: 4 | overall: 4
Session Dunkel.
1) Color of pumpernickel bread, low head and fizz, a streak of lace. Cola, ruby,
2) Bread and perfume, sweet, but balanced.
3) Best dunkel ever, thick black bread in liquid form, juicy, malty, very pleasant upward finish. Sweet grain while clean. Fresh.
4) Feels mid-bodied, low carb, like all their brews, and finished clean - great food beer.

 

Lol, this is supposed to say NBS intros, not BS!, sorry for my typing faux pas @cavedave

 

To further the conundrum, we shared a short pour of Nocturnal from Ocelot (not new to either of us, but a BA coffee stout), and she liked it more than this AM's beer. Admittedly, it's also a tad sweet, but the coffee and roasted bitterness find their place in the mix like the Almanac brew didn't, to me.

 

Now up another beer from the BIF, some Half Arce Navaja, thanks @Ri0!
4.33/5 rDev +1.6%
look: 4.25 | smell: 4.25 | taste: 4.5 | feel: 4 | overall: 4.25

Thank you Ri0 for this
16 oz can, dated 2/21/17, poured into a tulip

A- A fairly clear golden orange with a two finger white head.

S- Tropical fruits, piney, citrus, some fruit sweetness and caramel malts.

T- Tropcial fruits, citrus, sweet oranges, some caramel malts, piney/resiny finish.

M- Smooth, medium body.

O- A solid traditional DIPA, worth seeking out. Very easy to drink for 10% ABV.

Cheers!

 

Antoher sunday of getting chores and errands done and then watching some sports, spending time with the little ones, and now enjoying a beer while prepping dinner.

Full disclaimer: I have had this beer before, but this is the first time I have actually sat down and reviewed the beer.


The beer is Night Shift Whirlpool. The can is about a month old.
4.5 ABV

Look: Halfway between pineapple/orange juice and a normal light beer color color. Very hazy, but has a great head that lasts and plenty of lacing. 3.25
Smell and taste: some orange citrus and light tropical/pineapple hop flavor. the flavor starts sweet and ends dry with a nice hop resin/piney bitterness. 3.75
Feel: Smooth mouthfeel, extremely drinkable 4.25
Overall: Its a well made beer, which accomplishes what I think they wanted to accomplish. However, my personal taste likes some malt flavor in my APA's. i think I might of almost tasted malt but if it was there it was hard to taste. Drinks a lot like a session IPA. 3.75

Hope everyone enjoys the rest of their day.

 

Cheers all you NBSer's out there. I have been drinking a bunch of new beers this week thanks to the awesome box from @MunsonRoyE in the NBS BIF #5. The Sunday morning stout and black note stout were calling too hard to wait for today and with good reason because they were both awesome.

For today I have a new one too me called Moo-HooChiato from Terrapin.
This was one of my bigger wants that got check off my the box.



L: Pretty dark and smooth, somewhere between dark brown and black, with a good amount of tan head that lasted.
S: This smells awesome, coffee and chocolate are huge up front and then some other sweet smells come through. A hint of carmel sweet milk at the end.
T: A lot of chocolate to start followed by coffee and some carmel, the finish to me is a milk flavored that I loved.
F: Solidly thick for a milk stout, I tend to think milk stouts are too thin in general, but this one was smooth and thicker than expected.
O: Wow! I really loved this one, definitely going to want more of this. All the flavors were there and nothing overpowering the others.

 

Well good afternoon NBS and I shed a tear as the era of @cavedave and @utopiajane comes to a close. All kidding aside its been a lot of fun waking up to Dave's clever poetry and Maria puns and food pics, and of course both of your awesome reviews.I guess I've been around for about 3 years and NBS Sundays and your roll calls have always been something to look forward too. I am sure our new hosts will fill your shoes well.
I've been working on the BIF Box from @Josholson666 heavily over the last few days.
Last nights Almanac Farmers Reserve Grand Cru was superb. Probably should have saved that for today but couldn't help myself. That's ok because I have a red version left and that will probably be next Sunday.

Todays beer from the box is Almanacs Cerise Sour Blond
Brewed with cherries and aged in wine barrels- something I am very fond of with sours- Josh did his research.
Pours a rusty reddish brown with a small tan head that migrates to the edges rather quickly leaving no lacing.
Aroma is tart cherries,oak vanillin, sauvignon blanc/ white grape, wild yeast, funk, and hay.
Taste is cherries, oak, and vinous quality, tart green apple. I find this leans more sour than tart.
Feel is low carbonation, very dry, light bodied with a greenish edge to the finish- almost like stems.
All in all a decent brew but nothing like the Farmers Reserve. I've had a few of these Farm to Barrel versions and I will probably have more. Thanks again Josh!
For NewOldVinylSunday I'm spinning a tune from one of my fave bands and classic record. XTC Black Sea- Language in Our Lungs. Thanks for taking the time and hav a great week.

 

Big and bold flavors from the North! Another one from NBS BIF #5 from @TeemuWPG

Torque Brewing Red Line IPA (red IPA).



3.92/5 rDev +5.9%
look: 4 | smell: 3.75 | taste: 4 | feel: 3.75 | overall: 4

Can poured into snifter.

Deep mahogany, somewhat hazed. A bit of a tan tint to the tick foamy head. Head settles into whispy cap and a bit thicker collar. The lacing clings all over the glass.

Deep caramel malts, hint of sweetness and earthy pine in the aroma.

Big bitter punch up front, earthy, pine, followed by caramel and a hint of mineral. Light bitter grapefruit flavor is almost covered up by the rich malts, but is still perceptible.

Moderate carbonation, malty but not syrupy, fairly full body for an IPA. Drying and coats the tongue a bit.

A big flavor brew. Not subtle with the malt and hop additions. I think there must be a lot of early addition hops giving it a noticeable up front bitterness that pushes forward of the caramel maltiness and residual sweetness. Bold, but not unbalanced.