New Beer Sunday (Week 637)

You are absolutely right! having had other Belgian beers I can say that they have a distinct yeast profile or "taste" as the average consumer might just describe it as.

 

Chris, I have only brewed one batch of a 'hoppy Saison' but with that one batch I can relate to the aspect of "feels like a saison". My guess is that the highly attenuating nature of Sasion yeast strains (i.e., low final gravity reading - low residual sugars) provides the quality that we associate with the Saison beer style regardless of the hopping amounts.

Cheers!

 

Hi everyone! I have a beer that is a milk stout made by a brewery acquired by Ab In Bev. It added lactose, that's sugar. And it also added coffee so Happy More Additional Summer Sunday! =)

The sweet stout can be surprisingly roasty. I can't wait to see the coffee in this beer. I happen to be a closet fan of coffee in beer. Now the coffee kolsh is popular and I won't try it. The coffee lager and the coffee cream ale were recent brewers hits I thought. One of my favorite IPAs with coffee was my very own local Java Power. A secret seems to be that you can add already brewed coffee to beer and the flavor is wonderful and lasts well as long as you don't use too many hops. Saranac did it with their cold brew, shiner too.

Elysian Split Shot

Pours black but clear as I catch an orange hue at the edge of the glass. Chocolate head of foam that lasts well. Slight clinging. Nose is roasty. Lots of bold coffee and out of the fridge the lactose is like a stiff taffy sweetness. Brown sugar or light caramel. Almost no hops except for a cool minty breath that suggests tree bark. Faint chocolate and tootsie rolls.

Taste is silky and lots of coffee. Plenty of roasty malt but I am not tasting any sweetness or cream. Hops give a lasting bitter but no herbal. Low fruitiness. This beer is medium dry and moderately roasty. I am not tasting anything milky or creamy though until the swallow. Then it simply lays out a bit. A very light creamy flavor. It finishes the beer softly and medium dry. Medium full, moderate carbonation. Pkgd 2/1/17 these hops are fresh enough to show me pepper at the very end.


Happy Two Beer Sunday!

 

Two friends of mine came home from Texas with more than a few cans of Texas beer in their checked bag. They were nice enough to give one to me. From Freetail Brewing in San Antonio TX Rye Wit. This is not only a new beer from a new brewery but is also a style I never drank before. Whoa, this is a really nice brew. Rye Wit pours a pale gold color and is a bit cloudy with a nice white head. The aroma is bready with some rye and a little lemon. The rye comes on more in the taste and works very well with the yeast and the hops to make the beer different than any wit I've tasted before. The finish is both dry and spicy. I called this beer really nice earlier in the post. That was wrong Wit Rye is much better than that. A very flavorful, refreshing and enjoyable brew. I'll be keeping a eye open looking for other Rye Wits since i won't be going to TX any time soon.

 

That is certainly part of it. Other factors include specific length of "rests" at certain temperatures during the (step-infusion or decoction) mash, the Kolbach index (in %) of the malt used, utilizing open fermentation, and bottle conditioning the beer (obviously a factor in sedimented Weizens, and not here with the filtered ones).

Anyhow, great beer. Been getting back into Weizens myself recently and this one and the "regular" Weihenstephaner Kristall have been standouts.

 

First up today is some Short's Chief Hopper DIPA, thanks @Blackop555!
3.96/5 rDev +5.3%
look: 4.25 | smell: 3.75 | taste: 4 | feel: 4 | overall: 4

Thank you Blackop555 for this
12 oz bottle, dated 2/13/17, poured into a snifter

A- A fairly clear golden copper with two finger white head

S- Stone fruit, citrus, some lemon zest, piney, some wet grass, some caramel malts.

T- Citrus, lemon zest, pine/resin, some peachs/stone fruit, some caramel malts.

M- Smooth, medium body.

O- A decent DIPA, definitely on the bitter side.

Cheers!

 

Again, I would be interested to see if they would have made these same comments if they tasted this beer blind.

Needless to say but folks on BA provide beer reviews with full knowledge of what they are drinking. I have no way of guessing how many reviewers would be bold enough in a review to state something like: "This beer lists that it was brewed using ingredient x but I could not perceive any x flavors in this beer".

Also, the fact that we know something is used will influence us to try real hard to perceive that something.

There is also the fact that agricultural products will vary with crop (year and location for example). Maybe some batches of blackberry are more flavorful than others?

So many variables. Makes beer appreciation exciting, eh?

Cheers!

 

Yes it's mid-afternoon but this is breakfast for me- I slept in late and was lazy getting up. Can't beat that for a Sunday.

This is definitely a coffee-driven beer and I enjoy how many breakfast ingredients were thrown in the kettle (scrapple! Though I couldn't taste it). That being said I've come to appreciate the fine coffee roasters throughout the country and brews that feature their unique sources or blends of beans. This beer has plenty of coffee on both the nose and palate but everything is a bit muddied with spice/maple, all nice things to feature in a stout but that made little stand out. Still worth a try and a decent stout overall; I continue to love DFH's continuing creativity. Cheers!

 

Squam Brewing Sugar Cabin IPA from New Hampshire. 7.0% ABV. Release less than a week ago and brewed with New Hampshire maple syrup. It is so new that I will have to add it to the BA database, which I will do as soon as I am done writing this commentary.

Pollen is falling everywhere. My whole backyard is covered with stuff falling off trees and things floating in the air. Luckily for me - I do not get an allergic reaction. This beer is brewed with New Hampshire maple syrup and is only available as a small batch here in the spring. The sap finished flowing about 4 weeks ago.

If you are the kind of person who likes their IPAs to be hopped up, juicy, piney,. fruity, tropical, and about as green as it can be - this one is not for you. The brewery defines it as an India Pale Ale brewed with maple syrup and that is the overwhelming aroma and flavor of the beer. Maple! Oh yeah, I get a hint of citrus back there but the finish is more resiny. Medium bodied. Sweet, sugary, cloying, candy, and syrupy. I needed my Roget's Thesaurus to find a few synonyms for sweet because...well...that's what it is.

Still good and only available in New Hampshire. This photo is in front of a maple tree.

 

Good afternoon NBS!
Great opening by @cjgiant this morning, thanks for the history.
I also enjoyed the weizenbock breakdown by @utopiajane
And loved the Founders acquisition story from @Squire123
I have some catching up to do and am sure I'll find more entertaining reading.

My new beer is Krieky Bones.
I have been seeing the Barrelworks creations posted here and there by BAs and have been hoping to try at least one of them.
I made an unplanned bottle shop stop on Friday and found a number of good things along with this one.

I'd like to say that this bottle is damn sexy and I haven't been able to put it in the recycle bin.
I also felt that it deserved to be poured into nothing less than a crystal flute.

First let me say that tart and sour styles aren't my thing but I continue to try them because a long time ago stouts were an acquired taste for me and I don't think I could live without them now. There is also the possibility I just haven't found the right ones yet.

I found this to be the most agreeable of the tart and sour styles I have tried. While it is to me, still very tart, it isn't overpowering nor does the tartness mask the sour cherry, sweet-tart and funky flavors that were apparent to me. It finishes mostly dry and clean with just a bit of lingering tartness.

The light to medium body, good carbonation and effervescence combined with the flavor profile make it refreshing but still a sipper. I would also call it complex as it seemed to change as I worked my way through the bottle. I would say that certainly some of this is from the aeration and temperature change but also due in part to its effect on my palate.

Bottom line is, while an enjoyable experience this one isn't really for me.

My apologies for the amateur breakdown, this really is a new frontier for me.

I hope everyone is enjoying their NBS!

 

Why hello there. It's been a while. Last October I mentioned that I had a bit of a drinking problem, and on November 1, I took the plunge and went stone cold sober. I did it on my own with no real support group or anything. To make a very long story short, since April I have been limiting myself to one day or weekend per month to indulge, and by that I mean have one nice strong beer or maybe a sixer of something lighter. Going without beer for 172 days made me appreciate it perhaps. I don't know. So far I'm managing this issue and I'm definitely forbidding myself from drinking on consecutive weekends or during the work week that way I don't develop patterns. There's nothing to suggest that this plan has ever worked, people probably think I'm playing with Fire and eventually I'll fail, but that's fine. Everyone makes their own choices in life. I'll stop with the seriousness now. Hopefully I can stick around and not get carried away.

Onto new beer.

Defiance Brewing Moonta IPA
7% ABV

I just added this beer to the database, it's from a brewery in Western Kansas that I generally like.

Look: A very ugly color somewhere between faded brown and a dark straw yellow. I can never really aptly describe this color. A bubbly, airy head dissipates leaving light cirrus cloud lacing on top.

Aroma: Thick juicy pine, citrusy orange peel, toasted bread, some alcohol.

Taste: As far as IPAs go, this is one of the juiciest ones I've tried. A nice clean piny body with a good amount of orange citrus, with the alcohol neatly hidden perhaps because of the juicy nature of the beer.

Mouthfeel: Medium body and somewhat dry.

Overall: Admittedly I'm not an IPA expert, but this is a favorable one to me. The bitterness matches up with the citrus perfectly so it does feel so bitter and harsh going down.

That's all for now. I will be back in two weeks as I will drink one nice beer on Sunday the 21st to celebrate the end of the Premier League season.

 

Spending the week in Vegas for work but have a little free time today. Must be time for a new beer!

Tenaya Creek's Gypsy Fade IPA. Nice soft creamy texture and highly drinkable. If the flavors and aromas were dialed up a notch, this would be a home run.



Poured on draft at taproom.

A: Clear pale straw yellow with one finger white head. Nice retention and heavy lacing.

S: Fairly light aroma with some subtle citrus notes and the slightest hint of pine.

T: Lemon, orange zest, and soft citrus. Cracker malts.

M: Medium body with lively carbonation. Creamy texture.

O: Highly drinkable IPA. Just wish the aroma and flavors were more prounced.

 

Hi and hope everyone is having a nice Sunday.
I'll double dip on NBS with a couple of brews I grabbed at lunch after a Home Depot trip.

First is Lawson's Finest Super Session #8. I've had others in the series, but this is my first #8.

Poured in a Jack's Abbey shaker pint.

Clear, golden straw with lasting foamy white head. Some lacing clings to the glass and the head lasts through most of the pour before receding into a thin collar.

Aroma is mostly tropical fruits, not overpowering, sweet mango and some grassy/floral notes as well.

Flavor is crisp and dry. Light and refreshing. Citrus and tropical fruit takes precedence,

Moderate carbonation and light body, dry,

A good amount of flavor for this low ABV session brew.

Next I'm having the opposite side of the IPA spectrum.


Upper Pass Cloud Drop DIPA

12oz pour in Lawson's snifter on draft. Right to the top with minuscule cap which creates a thin collar. Tan tinted grapefruit juice appearance with full on opaque haze.

Aroma is citrus, bitter grapefruit pith and sweet tropical fruit backing.

Flavor at first sip is citrus and dominated by bitter grapefruit. Settles into juicier flavors as warms up a bit. Hint of sweetness but still masked by bitter bite, which I don't mean as a bad thing.

Moderate carbonation and higher side of medium body. Bites the tongue a bit.

Definitely a big flavored DIPA, must be some serious #'s of lbs for Hop additions.

 

Yeah I found it on ebay here in Germany. In the past a big thing used to be "Adler Brauerei" or Eagle Breweries, where they used some form of the eagle as their logo. After World War 2 they became less popular but you can still find some glassware on ebay from these breweries.

 

It's been a busy weekend here, with a healthy mixture of work and play. Yesterday I attended Yazoo's annual Funk Fest, which is hands down my favorite beer festival to date. If you like funky and sour beer, you might want to put this one on your radar. A great, relaxed vibe, with copious amounts of free local food (yes, free), guest speakers (this year included Jay Goodwin from the Rare Barrel and Jeff Stuffings from Jester King), and incredible stuff from countless breweries. Here are a few pics:

The front entrance


Brandon pouring us some Side Project while we waited in line for the Fou Foune tapping


Jeff Stuffings talking about spontaneous fermentation while Brandon pours some Spon


Alright, thanks for indulging me with this long introduction. Today's beer was on my mind this week for obvious reasons, as it's the last Wicked Weed in my fridge:



A great-looking beer. A thick, viscous cola brown on the pour, producing a large and long-lasting tan head that slowly settled. Considering the ABV, the foam was remarkable. Aromas of rum, coffee, vanilla, and black currants were present as soon as I cracked open the cap. Seeing that this was fermented with Brett, I was expecting something pretty dry, but boy was I wrong. This beer was big and it was sweet: lots of honey, rum, brown sugar, and chocolate. Not a lot of wood flavors. It wasn't boozy per se, but there was a steady heat on the finish of each sip. Not cloying, but definitely a sipper - would make an excellent dessert beer. I enjoyed this one.

Cheers and go Preds!

 

Hello to all this cold and damp Sunday. I have 6 pounds of jerky in the smoker. The kitchen has been cleaned and the washer and dryer are doing their thing. I think it is a good day for a darker beer. I went down to my stash and pulled out a Jack's Abbey Bourbon Barrel-Aged Faminghammer Baltic Porter. It looks like a 16+ ounce bottle and I am guessing it is at least 2 years old. It pours pitch black into a 12 ounce tulip glass. It doesn't say what ABV but it smells boozy. The label describes it as "Big, Bold & Black" which is pretty accurate. I made an aggressive pour with a good looking dark tan head that dissipated quickly with no lacing to speak of. The label also states "Oats and Brown Sugar". The first whiff was fairly strong with no doubt about the barrel aging. The taste is a combination of brown sugar and booze with an enjoyable porter base. I like it. The mouthfeel is a bit thin but I have to admit that I am not a porter expert so maybe that is how they are. So the bottom line, at least for me is that if you are into sweet and boozy this brews for you.

 

I intend to post from there - I'm staying at the Fassla brewery all but two nights and it doesn't appear that they have internet, at least not in the guest rooms. But there's bound to be a cyber cafe around somewhere. Most of the other members of my group are staying at the Best Western so I can probably impose on them for their internet connection if I buy them a beer or two.

 

I enjoyed this post as well as your earlier ones. Very Informative!
I would love to know the name of the podcast you referred to.
Cheers!