New Beer Sunday (Week 633)

Another killer brew compliments of the awesome BA, @tasterschoice62 , sorry to report that this is the last of the 26 brews sent as part of NBS BIF 5, I'm in for #6. The mug you see is a birthday present from my wife and custom made from The Glass Academy. I love it, my wife too! Makes judging the appearance a bit difficult but what the hell.
Solar Plexus, The Tap Brewing Co, Haverhill, MA, a DIPA at 9.2 ABV, aroma is fantastic, tons of citrus, tropical fruits mostly peach, mandarins orange, very smooth carbonation is spot on, is just slightly bitter, but finishes crisp and clean for this big beer. I really loved this beer, thanks again my friend, Larry Larrrge!

 

This is one of the beers I hauled back from my trip to Chicago. Was it worth taking up the space in my small backpack? Time to find out.



Three Floyd's Floy Division I.

Pours bright orange with a tinge of fog that settles out as the beer rests in the glass. Head is close to two fingers in height and stark white in color. Good retention with a few strings of lacing left behind. Aroma is pine, resin, herbal, and slightly floral hop notes with a backbone by way of biscuit malts. The smell is west coast, pine IPA all the way. Flavor profile features pine and resin throughout, however it opens with a more sweet, herbal, floral hop note. The finish is bitter. Mouth feel is crisp, with a medium-thin feel. Overall, an IPA that really resembles the west coast style with its pine, resin, and herbal notes. It's earthy, and decidedly outdoorsy.

Score: 4.25 | 4 | 4 | 3.75 | 4 | BA Score: 3.99 | rDev: -1%

Personal notes: Was it worth the bag space? Ehhh, hard to say since I bought my beers based on what I saw in the store, and didn't spend the time on BA to research. I bought this one because of the brewery. I'm glad I tried it, but I can't help but think there may have been some better beers to fill that slot in my bag. At least I know now.

 

Well the standards of opening up this thread have been brilliantly upheld by our two new hosts. Thank you @cjgiant. Recovering from yesterday's ROWYBO theme in which I continue to make a fool of myself completely disregarding the fact all of my idiocy remains forever in domain.
I completely understand your point of view on reviews and I do review most every beer I've had. But alas I do not post. And I have no excuse for this that is legitimate except for the fact if I spend anymore time with Kim might tell me to marry beer. But that's not good enough. I say someday I will begin to transcribe what has become very large volumes of my thoughts. Intil then i hope you all will allow me to continue to participate and share my thoughts here on Sunday.
I've had a couple of these this week and plenty of brews left from BIF 5 but I had to share this one. Perfect for a spring day.
Wormtown Mass Produced Lager Munich Style Helles
Pours a an ever so slightly hazy golden yellow with a classic frothy white head that calms to no head/lacing. Lines of bubbles rise continually like shooting stars. First off what a beautiful looking brew.
Aroma is classic sweet dough, grain and malts with green grass and spicy hops with a touch of earthy hay. But clean as heck.
Taste is sweet malted grains up front with some slight corn and nice earthy/malty middle with some white pepper spice finishing with yes some nice lemony notes.
I find this leans more toward the Czech style- ever so slightly. A nice blending of the two though with a brilliant touch of American hops. And it's just a perfect touch. No hoppy lager here.
Finishes crisp and very clean and dry with lemony touch. Medium to light body with the perfect carbonation.
I knew they made fantastic IPAs ( Be Hoppy - "the Pliny of the East") but this lager is just outstanding. Everything from the look right down to the cleanest of lagering. Damn I could drink these all the time. This is into Jack's Abby territory, even exceeding innthis style. Just a spot on fabulous drinking brew. Wow. Pick it up if you're lucky enough to find some. Have a great week and thanks for taking the time!

 

Full disclosure...I 1st reviewed KBS back in '11, but this is my first time having it on draft. If that violates NBS rules please let me know and it shall never happen again. In any case happy NBS and cheers!

https://www.beeradvocate.com/beer/profile/1199/19960/?ba=cindyjeffsmith#review

 

So glad you liked the brews. I still have bombers to send you with some swag. Sorry for the delay but I've had some crap to cut through.

 

I hope the crap is temporary and some good fortune is headed your way. The beers you sent we very special and I enjoyed them all. Thanks again!

 

It's a beautiful 80 degree day here in central Arkansas. We've been busy doing family stuff all day culminating with an Easter Egg Hunt at the neighborhood park.

My original plan for Craig's first day opening NBS was to sample one of the great beers he gave me. (I still may do that if I take the highly unusual step of having two beers in one day.). But when I was in Alabama last week Dogfish Head had just started distribution, so it was everywhere. I grabbed a bunch of stuff, but in honor of @cjgiant, I'm going to review Burton Baton.

Let's check out this beer. The label says it's a wood-aged Imperial IPA and an English-style ale.



Poured from a bottle dated 2/1/17. The beer pours very nice orange/amber color with a light white head that disappated quickly leaving a small amount of lacing.

When I first opened the bottle I got a hit of grapefruit immediately. From the glass I'm getting lots of light malts. The hops seem a little subdued and mostly pine and citrus.

The taste is a very interesting blend of lots of flavors. There is a definite citrus hop presence up front but the malt quickly moves in through the middle. The finish balances out the malt with a lingering bitterness. In searching for the oak, I get little hints of it on the front and the finish. There is no hint of the 10% abv.

The mouthfeel is smooth and slightly slick/oily with relatively low carbonation.

Overall this is a very unique beer. There is a ton going on but nothing seems to dominate other than lingering bitter finish. I'm really enjoying how easy it is to drink.

 

Yeah, by last nbs post I meant last for today and by robotic/redundant I also meant for me personally today after doing three of them. That I was switching over to the other thread for the day. A bit ahead of myself on that too since I've switched over to water and food instead for now. I'll be back next week etc. I too enjoy the reviews despite the numbers. A bit too much of the beer talking out of perspective. My apologies.

 

I didn't realize that there was a changing of the guard since the last time I NBS'd. I'm glad I jumped into the water soon enough to catch the tail end of CaveDave and UtopiaJane's tenure, and thanks to the folks who are picking up the ball and continuing the tradition!

The weather today is basically perfect, which is not a phrase we utter a lot here in March (ETA: erp, I've been in Florida for the past week and forgot the calender had changed!). Sunny, high 60s, with just a bit of a breeze. If I could design a planet from scratch it would be like this for 90% of the year. Anyway, I'm heading back to the Belgian well this week with a Trappistes Rochefort 10 Belgian Ale clocking in at a hefty 11.3% ABV. I know absolutely nothing else about this beer other than that it appeared dark in the bottle, which is what I look for in a Belgian. Let's see what we've got.



Smelling right from the bottle it almost seems a touch sour? Is this going to be something along the lines of an Ommegang Rosetta? Nope. That character seems to disappear once it's in the glass and it pours a deep brown with a big frothy head that doesn't last very long. It does, however, continue to have thick lacing even once the head has largely said its goodbyes.

The nose smells a bit like cherries (maybe some Rosetta afterall) with lots of dried fruit and some alcohol. It really smells surprisingly clean for such a dark brew - no heavy tofffee or caramel maltiness. Mouthfeel is surprisingly crisp. Some hotness from the booze but I'm typically game with that and this is no exception. I was having a bit of a hard time pinning down the flavors but this really seems to open up as it warms. Candied sugar and almost a mincemeat pie flavor. It finishes with practically no aftertaste and leaves you wanting to reach immediately for another sip.

The short story is that this is absolutely delicious and, much like the St. Bernardus 12 I tried a couple weeks back, dangerously drinkable for its ABV. I'm going to have to look up what those numbers mean.

Postscript: I just did a quick check of the beer page and see that this is in fact a Quad just like St. B, so I think it's safe to say I am officially a big fan of this style now. After trying and failing to like Tripels and other lighter colored Belgian brews over the years, I'm very pleased to be finding that I appear to consistently enjoy their darker offerings.

Cheers all!

 

H

Had to buy a vehicle that I wasn't expecting to......

 

Beautiful spring day in the deep south. Getting ready to grill some steaks, and time to crack open a new beer.

Today's selection is Cigar City's Marshal Zhukov's Penultimate Push. Simply put, this is an amazing stout that hits all of the right notes for me.

The price tag ($19 before tax) was probably the only thing stopping me from seeking out another bottle.



Poured from 22 oz bomber

A: Pitch black with 1-2 finger mocha head. Lasting retention and moderate lacing.

S: Rich espresso, vanilla, big roasted malts, and sweet molasses. Hints of tobacco.

T: Burnt roasted malts, rich dark coffee, and baker's chocolate. Hints of vanilla and cream.

M: Full bodied with average carbonation. Chewy texture with a sweet and roasty finish.

O: Excellent stout. Highly recommended and kicking myself for not grabbing another bottle although the price was a bit steep.

 

Back for a 2nd NBS beer!

This one is Waldo's special ale from Lagunitas. I have no idea how these guys make money with these beers at $2 a bottle, but I love them for it.



Starting drinking these while BBQ'ing and now I have a had 3 of the 6 I bought, I'm feeling it a little bit.

L: Golden color, clear with a good amount of white head that lasts a little bit.
S: Lots of hops and some malt, followed by citrus.
T: Wow this is awesome, hops and more hops with some grapefruit and orange. Everything is blended nicely and nothing overpowers, but hops are first and foremost.
F: Decent thickness for something so hop forward, light carbonation. I am really loving this beer.
O: This is an awesome beer and I will be buying more as long as it is available. This after born yesterday, which I loved, is amazing.

I know breweries selling out has been a hot topic, but if this is what happens, I am all for it.
I t seems like Lagunitas has used that extra money to make awesome experiment beers and sell them for super cheap. In this case we all win. I just wish Ballast point used all that money to charge us all less for beer.

 

Hahahahaha ... I wondered if that wasn't what you'd meant ... but context can be so tricky with the written word, I wasn't sure either.

(I'm chiming in because I *love* having my database of reviews and can enjoy doing them, but they also can be work. And after three in one day? There's no f-ing way I'm doing No. 4 ... too damn much work )

 

I'm not usually a literal reader of things, but I was there. Anyway, I still know what you mean and thanks for the words. There are too many people on the trails, The Masters is on the last nine holes, and food's cookin'. I'm hanging in and having a few! Cheers all.

 

I didn't take it that way. Just being polite.
Basically I'm bi- polar so you got the good side.

 

Since hops never last long in this house, I also enjoyed several excellent beers thanks to @SammyJaxxx this week. Many thanks for this awesome box!

My favorite, and standout from this bunch was Kane's Overhead.

Industrial Arts - State of the Art 68



Poured from undated 16 oz can.

A: Mostly clear golden orange with 1-2 finger white head. Moderate retention settling to a thin ring andleaving light lacing.

S: Resinous pine, candied oranges, and a touch of grapefruit and honey. An herbal note that I can't quite place

T: Caramel malts with oranges and grapefruit. A little tart citrus - maybe lemon or lime.

M: Medium body with light carbonation. Finish is slightly bitter and sweet.

O: Very enjoyable IPA. A little sweet and malty for my taste, but some nice aroma and flavor combinations.

Carton - 077xx



Poured from 16 oz. can dated 3/7/2017. Thanks to @SammyJaxxx for the can!

A: Clear sunshine yellow with smallish one finger white head. Short retention but leaving moderate lacing.

S: Pineapple, mango, and orange zest. Pine, fresh cut grass, and dank floral hops.

T: Big punch of dank floral hops with tons of tropical fruit. Pineapple, orange, and mango.

M: Medium body with average carbonation. Soft texture with a lightly bitter finish. Very easy drinking.

O: Outstanding DIPA. If this was in my distribution area, it would be a regular purchase.

Kane - Overhead



Poured from undated 16 oz can. Thanks to @SammyJaxxx for the can!

A: Rich golden orange with 1-2 finger white head. Lasting retention and nice lacing.

S: Orange juice, grapefruit, fresh pine, and big time resinous hops.

T: Grapefruit, oranges, tangerines, and piney resinous hops. Touch of honey lingering.

M: Medium body with average carbonation. Alcohol somewhat noticeable but appropriate.

O: Excellent DIPA that hits all of the notes I enjoy. A winner for sure.

Kane - Ripple



Poured from undated 16 oz can.

A: Hazy orange with 1-2 finger frothy white head. Lasting retention and settling to a thin ring with moderate lacing.

S: Nelson coming through nicely. Mango, pineapple, orange zest with a spicy herbal note.

T: Tropical fruits with mango and pineapple mixed with black pepper and earthy herbs. You can tell it's a session IPA, but not at all lacking in flavor.

M: Light to medium body with average carbonation. Finish is crisp and refreshing.

O: Very well done. I don't normally buy session IPA's, but this one would qualify for a regular purchase.

Industrial Arts - Tools of the Trade



Poured from updated 16 oz can.

A: Straw yellow with 2 finger white head. Decent retention and moderate lacing.

S: Light citrus with grapefruit and lemon combined with cracker malts. A touch of floral hops hanging around in the back.

T: Grapefruit, lemon, and melon. Light cracker malts.

M: Light body with a clean crisp finish. Crushable and would be welcome on a hot summer day.

O: Excellent pale ale. Easy drinking and refreshing.

 

I could have gotten Palo Santo, but I did not. The last time I had that beer I ended up having several pours of Lagavulin scotch and a few IPAs. The night did not end well for me, and I'm fairly certain I was still "under the influence" at work the next day until well after lunch.

As far as Burton goes, if I got this beer blind I'm not sure what I would have categorized it as. It has elements of a couple styles very well blended.