New Beer Sunday (Week 633)

Dragon's Milk

I'm no expert in bourbon-barrel aged stouts but having now at least tried Bourbon County I can say that this one (despite being the lowly non-Reserve version of Dragon's Milk) was as enjoyable for me as any other of its kind. In fact, I dare say (and I know I may get some abuse for it) that it was even more enjoyable than Bourbon County (this year's edition at least). I kept it in my cellar for just over 6 months I should add. Only had 1 bottle so the curiosity got the better of me and cracked it open. My cellar has a very limited capacity so I had to make room for some other incoming goodies.

 

Happy NBS crew! I hope everyone is having a terrific weekend. I took the family to the Milwaukee Co. zoo yesterday as temps made it into the upper 60s with plenty of sunshine. Enjoyed a late lunch and had the girls visit their cousin.

Today it is humid and the temp should reach 70, which is awesome for April in WI. I am spending the day outside cleaning up the yard. Well enough babbling, time for a new beer!

Boulevard has returned to WI, so I am exited to try Tank 7! It pours a cloudy marigold with a 2.5 finger white head. Retention is for the entire session and it keeps a frothy cap with tons of lacing. Bubbles stream upwards from glass bottom. Nice floral banana scent, with some Belgian yeast. Light honey sweetness emerges as it warms. Light peppery spice. Tasty banana, grapefruit zest, and floral hops with Belgian yeast, Hints of sweet honey and it has a nice fruity, yeasty, spicy combination going on. Light bodied, with excellent carbonation and creamy feel. Slightly dry on the finish. After years of waiting to try this, I can see why it is raved about.



Cheers!

 

I didn't realize KBS was expensive. I always buy 2-3 four pks each year around $22. One should note that I do not buy BCBS.

 

The coconut rum variant is incredible.

 

New Beer Sunday: Fruited Stout

Afternoon NBSers, with special greetings to friends of fruited foam.

Welcome to your new role @cjgiant and it looks to me like things are clearly in good hands.

Fairly busy with the beautiful spring weather here but during lunch break I decided to have a new sipping beer.

So, while doing lunch today I'm having a 1st pour of a new beer and expecting to do 2 more pours from the 750ml bottle later on today.

Today's new beer is the Raspberry Stout from Hardywood brewing. This is my first Raspberry Stout in several years. The first I ever tried was from Weyerbacher and I didn’t realize when I bought only a 6 pack of their Raspberry Stout at the brewery that the beer was being retired, not to be revived again. Since I really liked the Weyerbacher beer I have high expectations for this one, especially given the growing Hardywood reputation for quality beers, especially their stouts.

As usual my review, subject to revision through the last pour, can be found here.

https://www.beeradvocate.com/beer/profile/26753/91785/?ba=drtth#review

On the whole I’d say this is a very well made beer that I’ll definitely be looking to have again. The combination of aromas and flavors include the chocolate mingled with raspberry, with both backed up by some roasted malt. There’s also some raspberry sweetness and some raspberry tartness. I’d recommend this beer to anyone who thinks they might enjoy dark chocolate covered raspberries.

The Raspberries put me in mind of a recording on some of the vinyl I have on long term loan from a friend’s collection. It’s done by a group called The Kingston Trio, which was arguably among the most influential music groups ever. For almost five years, in the late 50s-early 60s, they were pretty much the most popular singing group in the US.

Raspberries Strawberries

Expecting to peek back in once in a while.

Cheers, all!

 

Still recovering a little from Rock Out With Your Bock 3, so starting today with Upper Hand Lager from @Blackop555'S second box he sent me in the NBS BIF #5.

3.87/5 rDev 0%
look: 4 | smell: 3.75 | taste: 3.75 | feel: 4.25 | overall: 4

Thank you Blackop555 for this
12 oz bottle, dated 2/10/17, poured into a pint glass

A- A clear golden color with a two finger white head.

S- Bread, a little sweet, some floral and spicy hops.

T- Bread, some sweet malts, floral, touch of spicy hops.

M- Smooth, crisp, light body.

O- A solid lager that is easy to drink, flavors could be a little bigger.

 

It's a beautiful day for trying new lagers and exorcising the damned squirrels from my balcony, and I'm glad to be able to spend part of it here as well. I am really happy with the sentiment expressed by @cjgiant regarding this thread and (especially) the importance of reviewing beers and adding to the wonderful tool/community of which we are all a part.

My first beer today is this pilsner from Vrooden. Quebec craft beer has next to no lager even though historically—like many places—they brewed lots of it here (Molson being the second oldest company in Canada). The folk at Vrooden have just recently started bottling their beers, though I don't think they've been around for too awful long. I've had their doppelbock and it was good so I am looking forward to this one.


It is pretty damn clear. You wouldn't think I would need to be excited by that, but it is pretty unique in that respect among similar craft beers in the province.



It is a really tasty pilsner. It looks nearly perfect with a brilliant golden color, thick, persistent heady and lazy champagne carbonation in the glass. The aroma and flavor are both nicely balanced between crackery malt and Saaz hops, with little to no DMS (which I feel like I am a little sensitive to in some “Bohemian Pilsners”). The feel is nice and there is a teeter-totter effect between maltiness and spicy hops that leads you into the finish. It is a touch too sweet I think, but I might be nitpicking. Really tasty, drinkable, thirst-quenching beer. I'm glad to be able to get a locally-made beer this faithful to style and this enjoyable at relatively cheap price for Quebec. I figured I maight as well have some cheese, too.



Lately I've been making more of an effort to try beers with cheese. These are a few that I've been munching on with IPAs the last week or so (a goat tomme and some old cheddar). They go well with this pils too, especially the tomme which really brings out the herbal hoppiness in the beer. I don't know if it is just my tastes, but I have become convinced that tomme (a cheese which I honestly didn't even know existed until recently) is practically the perfect cheese to go with beer. Anyway, enough rambling. Have a good afternoon, everybody!

Here is my review of the beer.

Cheers!

 

Diving into a hoppy can from @larryi86 .



After emptying the second half of the can into a half full glass.



Tired Hand's Drippy Church / Another Church IPA.

The first half of the can pours a luminescent fiery-yellow with two fingers of white head. As the can is emptied, the beer clouds up more and more, finally reaching a murky, opaque deep yellow-orange. Good head retention and lacing left behind. Letting the beer sit for a moment and looking closely, the particulate is suspended in the beer like Dr. John Hammond's amber staff in Jurassic Park. Letting this beer sit for too long in the glass, and the bottom is a pile of beer sludge, which may be off putting to some. Aroma is packed full of delicate, hoppy notes that center around tropical fruits. Grapefruit, lemon zest, mango, and papaya specifically. Flavor profile is a little tart, sweet grapefruit right up front. Mango, papaya shift the flavor profile more around tropical fruits. Lemon zest with a whiff of biscuit malts close out the flavor profile. The aroma and flavor profile become considerably more dense and reinforced with hop notes when the final ounces of the beer are poured into the glass. Very smooth and easy to drink. Mouth feel is medium in thickness with a smooth, slightly crisp feel. Overall, a flavorful IPA that works its way towards the NE IPA style, and yet doesn't taste like juice or drink like flat juice. Meaning it drinks more like a proper IPA, making it a shear delight to drink.

Score: 4.25 | 4.5 | 4.5 | 4.5 | 4.75 | BA Score: 4.54 | rDev: +1.8%

Personal notes: Wow. Really enjoy this one. Each NE IPA continues to impress me, but I think this one is a stand out in the crowd. Reason being: it doesn't drink like a thin juice, instead it packs a good presence in terms of feel, all the while delivering exquisite hop notes. While the hop notes may not be the best, they are damn good. When bundled together, that makes this a formidable beer that delivers an authentic beer experience rather than being simply a juicy hop bomb. I'd try to snag a photo of the little clumps of particulate suspended in the beer, but all I have is the camera on my phone. They are so dominant I thought my glass was dirty, but after looking closer, it's clear it's little clusters of protein/flour/whatever suspended in the beer like a bug stuck in amber. So thankful Larry shared this one with me.

 

Mosaic mood double dry hopped american pale ale. Thanks @beerloserLI

4.3/5 rDev +2.1%
look: 4 | smell: 4.5 | taste: 4.25 | feel: 4.25 | overall: 4.25

Pours light Amber, slight cloudy. Thick, foamy, Whitehead that last a short time with light lacing.

Smells bready malt, strong grapefruit, Citrus, light floral and dank.

Tastes citrus right off start, juicy with a light bready malt and a hint of pale malt. Next it gets more bitter with citrus peel and light Pine. Finish is dry with a long citrus peel linger that is light bitter. Medium body and creamy medium carbonation.

Pretty tasty apa. I would take this any day over any other apa I've had

 

Good afternoon all. So let's get right to it.

Shotgun Betty Hefeweizen from Lonerider



Nothing unique in the appearance, as it's a crystal clear, golden beer with just about half a finger's worth of fizzy head that leaves no lacing once faded. Nose is strong on bubble gum and/or circus peanuts and maybe a hint of clove. Tastes a bit more tart than I expected for the style, and I mean tart as in that dirty tap line taste. Unfortunately, this is from a can, so it clearly isn't tap lines. Moving along, that off putting tart taste is quickly followed up with that bubble gum clove thing. Finish is water and thin, plus it leaves that weird tartness behind.

I fear that people will try this and forever swear off the Hefeweizen for the poor experience they'll surely have in this.

 

Switching to malts next since that last hop brew was so good. This one is a local brew that gains its name from an event that no longer exists (Kansas Ironman). Shame. This is my first go with this beer.



Free State's Ironman Imperial Stout.

Pours black with a finger of khaki head. Great head retention with a huge splattering of lacing left behind. Aroma is biscuit, bready, toasted, and nutty malts. It doesn't smell very dense, just lots of malts. Flavor profile is toasted, bready, nutty malts. It drinks more like a robust, dark brown ale or dry stout than an imperial stout. Mouth feel is medium in thickness and smooth. Overall, while malty and filling, it resides more on the smaller side of the imperial stout spectrum. Still plenty of malt and flavor for most. The subdued flavor profile combined with the thinner feel, may be more enjoyable after 70.3 miles of swimming, cycling, and running. Alone, it feels a little thin.

Score: 4.25 | 3.75 | 3.75 | 3.75 | 3.5 | BA Score: 3.73 | rDev: -0.8%

Personal notes: I've raced out in the area of the Kansas Ironman once, and had that half Ironman race targeted as a potential goal in a few years (i.e. enter around this time). Unfortunately, it's no more. I liked the idea of not having to fly with my bicycle, and that it's brutally hilly - benefiting me and my scoring potential since I don't have a triathlon specific bike. As the reputation for the race was tough, I figured this beer would live up to that moniker. Instead it's rather dry, and not to my liking. Especially when the label says "Imperial Stout". Oh well. I'll opt for other Kansas stouts (from Free State and others) for post race recovery should the Kansas Ironman make a return.

 

Think I'm getting back on track with this next one, Softly Spoken Magic Spells from Singlecut



Not exactly a huge head on this murky orange beer, but that allows the fragrance to jump right in. Very vibrant grapefruit with hints of wild onion and grass. Taste is even more massive, as it goes from slightly salty grapefruit to orange in short order, while leaving a little heat behind in the mouth. Upon further sips, I'm also getting a slightly earthy twist. The finish on this solidly medium bodied beer is dry, bitter and still has some heat. Very nice beer!

 

Great post. Founder's porter and RIS are two of the standards for american porters and imperial stouts. Not sure it can get much better then either of those (maybe different, but not better).

 

Good afternoon everyone, thanks to @cjgiant for our poetic start to the day. I am starting off with a beer I received from @Ozzylizard during NBS BIF #5. I will start by saying I like most styles of beer but I have to say smoked beers I have steered clear of due to a few early bad experiences. This is the second smoked beer I have tried from his box and the first one was great this one is even better, Aecht Schlenkerla Rauchbier Marzen. I was amazed at the smooth rich flavors and feel. I will now be searching out more smoked beers with the two home runs I have had in the last 2 weeks.



Appearance 4 - Pours semi transparent thin mahogany with decent tan head that dissipates pretty quickly leaving a light film. Spotty lacing around the glass.

Aroma 4.25 - Smells of charred wood, ash and smoked meat. Hints of malts.

Taste 4.5 - Wow this has really great flavors, taste follows the aroma closely but not as much ash/burned oak. The taste is very smooth the smoke flavor adds depth and is not overwhelming at all. More smoked meat thick flavor but the beer is not thick at all. There seems to be underlying molasses that somehow adds a touch of sweetness.

Feel 4.25 - Medium bodied, very smooth and creamy low carbonation.

Overall 4.34 - This is an excellent beer, I have no idea how they get so much smoke in the aroma and the taste is so smooth and balanced.

 

Happy New Beer Sunday!!! Settling in to watch the Masters! LOVE IT!!! My favorite week of the year! Been watching it non stop starting on Monday on the golf channel. R.I.P. Mr. Palmer. Being from Western PA. he holds a special place in my heart.
First at bat for me today Syringa Pale Ale from Bosie Brewing. Outstanding local! Has a darker look than most pales I've have had. Not a lot of smell. Great taste, finish and good bite at the end like every good pale should. Will get this local again!!! Cheers!!

 

Good afternoon! Warm weather seems to be settling into the area so been getting our patio and backspace straightened out.

Spent last weekend and half of last week on a trip out to the Midwest to visit my wife's family and got the chance to stop in at a couple of shops in Tennessee and Kentucky. Saved this one for NBS, Prairie BOMB!

Pours an inky black color with a thin brown head that fades to a ring around the glass. Smells of spices, cinnamon, dark chocolate, and coffee. Tastes of chocolate cake, a little coffee, a faint spice, and finishes with a little vanilla and light chocolate flavor. Slight heat throughout and lingering afterwards. Good, solid feeling brew. Overall, very nice. At first I thought Stone Xocoveza with the smell so I was a bit thrown with the flavor. The chili peppers seem to make this very much their own brew. Would certainly have again.

 

Schlafly Black IPA

Whenever folks in the industry talk about NE IPAs, they tend to add the comment, "let's not forget what happened to Black IPAs." Speaking of which, I was surprised to see this one in the store... and in the end I was just as surprised by how much this one worked.

This is a very nice "hoppy stout." The roasted qualities blend well with the entire beer (which is not very bitter) but are still present. The beer tastes of kumquats, a little pine, and a slight touch of asphalt. It's not sweet. It's all pretty harmonious for me. Great beer.

 

Happy NBS! Dishwasher broke last night in a flood so my charcuterie board today is a paper towel.

I am enjoying it with Gangster Duck from Radiant Pig. A nice hoppy red ale.

Thick, thick head, darkish foam. Dark amber color. Aroma is orange peel, ash, hint of hops to come.
Taste is good balance of malt and hops, but very strong rye presence (whether it's in there or not I don't know), but in a good way.
Mouthfeel is just right. Nice beer, but you have to be in the mood for the style.
Tall boy can is impressive also. Matt finish is a nice stand out from a sea of gloss can printing. Can't say I like the product duck mascot, but the brewery logo and the info on the back are both pretty cool.

 

Happy Sunday NBS players. Just a beauty of a spring day here on the island. Sunny with temps approaching 60 and a light/moderate breeze. Got some spring clean outs going on here mostly with the shed and basement and other chores round da house. Now I'm settling in for some beers and baseball for the rest of the afternoon/evening.

My first new beer today is Brother Bejamin, imperial ipa w/honey, from Greenbush brewing. The brew checks in at 10.1% abv and 114 ibu. Having some trouble with the bottle date but I thin it's 1/1/17. The year is clear but I can't make out the rest. The brew is thanks again to the NBS BIF #5 box and the generosity of @foundersasap .

A dark amber pour with an almost ruby mahogany color going on. A moderate off white head lingers nicely. The nose is pretty potent and floral with hops, barley, fruit, and sugars. A big boozie start on the first sip with lots of bitter and rough hops upfront. A sweet and citrus flow that finishes bitter and hoppy once again. The hops are all over the place and offer a rather mix of everything. Nice citrus fruit notes of lemon, mango, and grapefruit. Bitter qualities with pine and resin and also spicy herbal tones all seem to blend together well. I'm guessing the sweetness is from the honey but I also get a good amount of malt to round it out. The mouth feel is full bodied and in your face. Boozy as all hell and the 10.1% does not attempt to hide at all.

Overall, I do understand it's ba score. This is not a beer for everyone but I am really enjoying it. Big, bold, and just keeps kicking. Greenbush seems to make a lot of these types of beers and I have enjoyed everyone that I have been fortunate enough to try from the nbs bif's. If I ever get to Michigan this is a must stop for me. I'm in the low 4's to possible 4.5 on certain areas.