What beer are you drinking now? #1660

Spent yesterday at Soldier Field at the Chicago Beer Classic as we have the past 4 years. Then, had a solid dinner at Willow Rm. in Old Town (recommend).

Then today on the way home I had to stop at Binny's to grab some Piperworks that I can't get in Northwest Indiana. Mango Guppy is a solid session.

 

That beer is in my top 3 pale ales cheers

 

NBS X-Post!

The thread introduction got me inspired to go lurking in the old end of the forums(late night BA etc). Get some nostalgia going. Turns out I did not post in the threads nightly like I do now up until a few months after the server reboot. I did not do full-on reviews like I do now, but I did give some tasting notes and such (which gradually grew longer at some point, I'm not going to try and figure that out now). Still some of my old pics lurking around back there from when I had a point-n-shoot(got a DSLR for Christmas that same year). I have all of the pictures of every beer I have ever taken on Flickr. I deleted them if I made a fresh one later on, so there are not many still showing in those old threads.

And to continue on another note: I did not do NBS until July 2014(week 489, I went hunting for it). One of the members (no longer with us unfortunately, beerkangaroo) invited me to contribute since I was always reviewing in WBAYDN anyways, and it just so happened to be my 2400th review that day; so that's how I know when it was lol(Victory Dark Intrigue, I remember it clearly). I have been doing NBS almost every week since then(exceptions being holidays when I am in Ohio). Looking back on them, I used to post the percentage score (100/100) in the thread, but then I gradually went to the 5 point at some point lol. No idea why, but whatever. haha. It was fun to look back on. So beerkangaroo would be to thank posthumously, for essentially getting me started. On a previous week he did ask me to contribute and wish mattcrill a farewell from hosting(week 480), but the second time was the official start of the consistent contributions. He happens to be a mod on RB now actually. I kept in some sparse contact with him since closed his account.

Anyways, now that we have the history of my BA life recorded; now onto today's agenda. Normal laundry, bottle returns, and a bit of laptop work done for tomorrow. Less stressful at work last month or so, with the lower volume pilot builds on the JL Wrangler. But I'll always have something to do with overtime approval. Got a handful of new beers from my usual Sunday stop, but I don't have many bombers left in my cellar of new beers, so it might be time for a haul next weekend. What I do have are massive ass 15%+ bombers, and I usually reserve that sort of weight for a weekend.

Today's new beer:

Delicious pale ale! Fantastic head retention and thick lasting webby lacing on the glass. Great clarity. Aromas and flavors of tangerine, grapefruit, peach, pineapple, apricot, lemon zest, orange peel, and light pepper/pine hops; with balancing caramel, toasted bread malt sweetness; and herbal, floral, grassy hop earthiness. Light pine/grassy/spicy bitterness on the finish. Medium bodied; bready malt creaminess and fairly sticky from hops in the mouthfeel. Lightly increasing dryness from lingering hop oils, no astringency. Really refreshing and easy drinking from the mellow bitterness. Wonderfully juicy, fruity, and citrusy. Sizable malt backbone, but never overly sweet or heavy. Other than the muted aromas, this was a wonderful pale ale. It said they used 100% MI grown hops, so this has got to be Cascade and Crystal; because those seem to be the most popular local crops. Crystal has a lot of the stone fruit stuff going on in my experience as well. Will definitely grab another single of this next time! 3.91


Great Berliner! Pretty similar to the Gose I had last week, but a little more Bretty/funky. Aromas and flavors of big lightly tart lemon, lime, peach, pear, green apple, white grape, hay, straw, herbal, grass, wheat, and cracker; with lighter notes of leather, pepper, salt, musty funk, and white wine vinegar. Light-moderate lactic tartness and light yeast spiciness on the finish. Light-medium body; balanced grainy wheat and acidity in the mouthfeel. Touch of salinity. Moderately crisp, clean, and increasingly drying acidic finish; never puckering. Very refreshing and traditional as hell style example. Very impressed. Nice level of Brett complexity, without overdoing it. This was supposedly older than the Gose (2016 vs 2017 vintage), so that very well may be the reason for the differences on the Brett character. 4


Outsanding IRA! Fantastic head retention and lasting lacing on the glass. Aromas and flavors of big grapefruit, tangerine, peach, apricot, mango, melon, pear, apple, lemon zest, orange peel, and light pepper/pine hops; with balancing caramel, brown sugar, toasted bread, light nutty malts; and herbal, floral, grassy hop earthiness. Light-moderate pine/grassy/spicy/citrus peel bitterness on the finish. Medium-plus bodied; nice bready/grainy creaminess and fairly sticky from hops in the mouthfeel. Lightly increasing bitter dryness, zero astringency. Perfect bitterness balance, amazing mouthfeel. Lovely fruity/earthy mix of hops with a nice sized malt backbone. Never overly sweet/heavy with increasing dryness. Extremely juicy and vibrant. They used Aussie hops in this, I love the profile! Will be picking this up again. 4.18


This was awesome. Aromas and flavors of huge sweet/tart/tangy peaches and lemon/pear/apple yeast fruits; with moderate honey, cracker, bready malt balance; with some herbal, floral, grassy, light peppery hops; and yeasty earthiness. Light herbal/grassy/spicy bitterness and some fruit tartness on the finish. Light-medium bodied; balanced bready/grainy malt and fruit acidity in the mouthfeel; light hop stickiness. Moderately crisp, clean, and refreshing. Increasing tart/bitter dryness after the finish. Never astringent. Extremely flavorful. I remember being a big fan of the base beer way back when, but this amps up the flavor intensity a ton; while still remaining well balanced and still resembles a Kolsch extremely well. Very juicy flavors from the fruit. Definitely well worth another buy, still plenty on the shelf. 4.1


Cheers

 

Going out dark and heavy, BA...

Whiskey Barrel-Aged Heavy Boots of Lead...

And Gojira...






Cheers...

 

This is a really fantastic beer. The bottle says it's named after the music of Gustav Holst. I feel like I studied this music in elementary school.

 

Friends,
I am overloading on hops!!!
I bet y'all think that's THE thing to do, even though my wife may not quite agree with y'all!
Cheers.

This is the beer against my kitchen light!
(Lol, I feels it's beautiful)

 

Another local tall boy hitting the scene. Lots of pine, little citrus, very smooth. Nice bitterness at the end. Very good.

 

The beer was great thank you for sending it to him.

 

Welp @WesMantooth got my engines started so now I'm going to drink .

 

!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!what the f*#kwhere did you get that?

 

Cheers!!

 

A lot of people drink and blame me. There seems to be a patern.

 

That second pour is s'more like it.

 

Old Nation's Boxer.

 

My guess is Half Acre.

 

no one likes a (Yankees fan) smart ass!

 

One heavy hitter!

 

Short's Anni Ale 13irteen

Dry Hopped Sour Ale with Black Currants

 

Glad you enjoyed it. Cheers Dave! That's right... I know who you are ...!