New Beer Sunday (Week 644)

Discussion in 'The Bar' started by lordofthewiens, Jun 25, 2017.

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  1. lordofthewiens

    lordofthewiens Grand Pooh-Bah (5,891) Sep 17, 2005 New Mexico
    Pooh-Bah Society Trader

    Have you ever been competent, or even good, at something, and then lose that ability? This is a description of my presently abysmal golf game. I've been playing golf for 60 years. In my younger years, while not great, I played to a 4 or 5 handicap. As I got older the handicap rose, but still remained in the single digits. That is, until two years ago. I began to have trouble breaking 90. Shooting less than 80? Forget about it! I've bought new clubs, I've tinkered with my stance and swing, I've taken lessons, all to no avail. I tell you, it's wearing me out. I once had a game I played fairly well, and could rely on, and now it's gone. I'm going to keep working on it, though. I am taking a lesson this week from our new pro, who says he can help me. Hope springs eternal!

    One thing I'm still good at is drinking and talking about beer. This is the place to TRY a new beer and to TELL us about it. Beer is appreciated in five categories: appearance, aroma, taste, mouthfeel, and overall impression. So drink a new beer, put your fingers on the keyboard, and tell us your impression here on New Beer Sunday.

    My new beer for today is Ghost Hammer IPA from Stone Brewing. It was canned on 05/18/17 and meant to be enjoyed by 09/15/17.
    It pours a hazy gold color with a thick, but rapidly dissipating, white head. There is abundant lace.
    Aroma of pine and citrus.
    Taste followed the nose: pine resin and grapefruit zest.
    A hop-forward beer. Good, not great.

    [​IMG]

    Happy Sunday!
     
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  2. utopiajane

    utopiajane Initiate (0) Jun 11, 2013 New York


    Good morning @lordofthewiens ! Thanks for getting us started this morning.

    I have had times in my life like that as well. At one time in my life, in my mid thirties and then once again in years later, I lost my touch in the kitchen. Undercooked, burned, too much garlic or just not that good in general. I wondered the same thing. I attribute it either to stress or enlightenment or both. Someone once told me that when you are working toward a new idea or a different mind that you can become literally clumsy and off balance.

    See you in a bit with my beer!
     
    #2 utopiajane, Jun 25, 2017
    Last edited: Jun 25, 2017
  3. Squire

    Squire Grand Pooh-Bah (4,081) Jul 16, 2015 Mississippi
    Pooh-Bah Society Trader

    A new day . . . a new beer . . . life is good . . .

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    Score 4.08
    look: 3.75 | aroma: 3.75 | taste: 4.25 | feel: 4 | overall: 4.25

    Deep clear amber with orange highlights and white cap.

    Intriguing aroma of coffee, cacao, resin and grapefruit.

    I taste chocolate first quickly followed by coffee and piney hops. It's like someone poured half a beer, got distracted, then inadvertently topped it off with brew from a different bottle. A joltingly disjointed concoction that strangely works.

    Medium texture with balancing carbonation.

    I want to know what happened to the other half of my beer. Next time I want a whole one, not this halfling. Seriously, I don't know what to think here. It's an interesting blend of styles that's pulled off with panache so I have to appreciate what they've done, still, I think I would prefer one or the other rather than both together.
     
  4. utopiajane

    utopiajane Initiate (0) Jun 11, 2013 New York

    Cheers you all and Happy New Beer Sunday! Today I have an IPA! Seasonal drinking. I like my IPA's in the summer please.

    This beer has added essential oils from both tangerine and grapefruit as well as galaxy and mosaic hops.

    Happy Seasonal Sunday!

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    [​IMG]

    Pours a hazy and perfect amber color with an off white head that fell well. Nose is grapefruit and tangerine. Malt is a generous cracker and the hop floral is a light petal on the nose. Malt smells a little toasty. I almost think I smell a hint of caramel and I like that very much.

    Taste follows the nose. Soft generous malt with a little mouthfeel and flavor come through bringing all kinds of tangerine and grapefruit. The pithy grapefruit underscores the beer with a little bitterness and the hops do not bite too hard at the end. This had a soft and graceful bearing on the palate and was not too bitter or too strong. It is quite strong though at 7.6% and the alcohol on the palate is gentle and gives some bitterness to the finish too. That hint of toastiness from the malt is the perfect accent to the tangerine. A bit of aftertaste from fruit.

    This was very enjoyable!
     
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  5. drtth

    drtth Initiate (0) Nov 25, 2007 Pennsylvania
    In Memoriam

    Mornin' NBSers with special thanks to @lordofthewiens for the early and thought provoking start to today's virtual pub.

    One of the fringe benefits of living near a city with a great thirst for beer and a matching appreciation of flavorful beers is that Philly has one of the oldest and best beer weeks in the country. This year's recently ended Philly Beer Week (actually 10 days long these days) brings temporarily to town lots of beers we might not otherwise see around here. Sometimes there's enough shipped that we also see some "bleed" into the marketplace.

    With a full day on the schedule ahead I'll probably not be back until this evening to report on such a new beer. Currently I expect it'll be the Modern Times Blazing World with only about a month of can age on it.

    As for the start up question, yes there are many things I'm no longer skilled at. Most were things learned during a misspent youth and are probably best not shared in public, even if I were still proud of them. But on the other hand I can also say that I have replaced most of those skills with other skills that have served me much better in life than if I had continued down a few other possible paths through life. (Indeed a few of those skills acquired during my youth might well have appreciably shortened my enjoyment of life had they continued. :slight_smile: )
     
    #5 drtth, Jun 25, 2017
    Last edited: Jun 25, 2017
  6. rgordon

    rgordon Pooh-Bah (2,677) Apr 26, 2012 North Carolina
    Pooh-Bah Society

    Good morning. You and I are close in age and I know what you mean about golf, the old golf. Arthritis in my hands has been hell and golf just generally drifted away. Lately, however, my hands are better for some odd reason. We recently visited my brother-in-law in Oak Island and he talked me into a round of golf. I played remarkably well, but my putting was not so good. I used to be a scratch player, but now being out there is great fun. My wife would rather watch golf on TV than basketball anytime. So now we go to a really nice 3 par course and she's damned good! Just keep at it.
     
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  7. JackHorzempa

    JackHorzempa Grand Pooh-Bah (3,181) Dec 15, 2005 Pennsylvania
    Pooh-Bah Society

    Summertime and the livin’ is easy!

    I’ll bet you would never associate this song with playing on a boom-box!?!

    [​IMG]

    Well, it took a fair bit of effort but I was finally successful at finding the variety pack (Higher Volume) of Sixpoint recently reformulated beers of Blonde (Sweet Action), Bengali IPA, The Crisp Pilsner, and Resin IIPA.

    A few Sundays ago I discussed the Bengali IPA and the efforts that Sixpoint made for re-freshing these beers.

    This re-fresh was a combination of efforts:

    · A change of packaging including a change to the dates they place on the bottom of their cans. They now indicate both a canning date as well as a best by date.

    · They reformulated their recipes. This is not so much of a new thing for Sixpoint since in the past they have continually ‘tweaked’ their recipes but for this go-around they seemed to have made bigger changes.

    · They have made new efforts in sourcing their ingredients – hops

    · They have eliminated filtering – these new beers are unfiltered.

    Today I will be drinking The Crisp Pilsner. I have had this beer before in multiple iterations including the version that was brewed at The Lion brewery a number of years ago.

    According to the Sixpoint website The Crisp was re-freshed via:

    “We went to Germany for this one. When it comes to German hops, American breweries are often left with the scraps (we call that the “hop sausage.”) So we go straight to the source to get the prime cuts. For the first time, the Tettnanger and Hallertau hops in THE CRISP are sourced 100% directly from farmers in Tettnang, Germany — now that bright, floral aroma on this dialed in Pilz comes absolutely flying out of the glass.”

    Sounds very exciting!!

    Served in my Polish Pilsner glass:

    Appearance:

    Light golden colored with a BIG white head.

    Aroma:

    The most prominent aspect of the aroma is bready Pilsner Malt aroma but there is some herbal/spicy hop aroma as well.

    Taste:

    The flavor pretty much follows the nose. There is sweet Pilsner Malt flavor but there is the accompaniment of hop flavors: herbal/spicy. A firm bitterness.

    Mouthfeel:

    Medium-thin bodied with an off-dry finish.

    Overall:

    I think this beer is very good! The most striking feature for me in this beer is the bready/sweet Pilsner malt aroma/flavor but the hop flavors provided some pleasant balance as well.

    On the bottom of the can is lists: “CANNED 15MAY2017 BB 11NOV2017”

    @zid @rotsaruch @Sixpoint @KOP_Beer_OUtlet @Ranbot

    [​IMG]
     
    #7 JackHorzempa, Jun 25, 2017
    Last edited: Jun 25, 2017
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  8. JuicesFlowing

    JuicesFlowing Initiate (0) Jul 5, 2009 Kansas

    [​IMG]

    Breckenridge Summer Pils

    There was once a time when I loved Breckenridge Brewery. Then they sold out, and I hated them. I refused to buy their beer for months. Then I lightened up, and basically stopped caring. I still like Breckenridge and they are my sentimental favorite. Today I'm drinking a new pils from them.

    It looks beautiful in the glass. Shiny golden body with a dense white head that settles to a very thick foamy film. Lacing is random splotches and vertical river-esque veins of foam. It smells bready and doughy with layers of spicy hops that bring out notes of dried lemongrass and citrus zest. It tastes much the same with malts bringing notions of grainy crackers bread dough. The hops really dry this beer out bringing lemongrass, citrus, and white pepper into the mix. It finishes dry. A good balance between malts and hops overall. Sweet and tangy is how I see this beer.

    I like it. I'm not a huge fan of pils but I appreciate them now and then.

    After yesterday's heart-wrenching loss of my cat, I sort of let myself get lost in beer this weekend. I'm probably going to take the next several weeks off from drinking although I might find some nice beers for July 4th. Then in a few weeks I'm heading to the mountains. Summer is going by too fast. Until next time, Cheers
     
  9. Ozzylizard

    Ozzylizard Grand Pooh-Bah (5,825) Oct 5, 2013 Pennsylvania
    Pooh-Bah Society Trader

    Good morning New BSers! Thanks, @lordofthewiens, for starting us off and posing such a thought-provoking question. I never really excelled at anything except math and that ability disappeared in college when I discovered beer and girls, in that order. Nor would I care to get back on a wrestling mat. Now I'm pretty good at analyzing problems in electric circuits and still swing a mean loop in a micro lab, both skills that have served me well over the last 40 years.

    Today's New Breakfast Beer is:




    $ 8.47 (Including tax)/22 oz capped bottle ($ 0.385/oz) at Riverside Liquors, Grand Rapids, MI.
    Bomber bottled 12/27/16, stored at 42 degrees. Served at 55 degrees in a hand washed and dried Jester King snifter.
    Aroma – sour, a little vinegary.
    Head average (Maximum three cm, aggressive pour), tan, fizzy, average density, short retention, rapidly diminishing to a two mm ring and a thin partial layer.
    Lacing – none.
    Body – deep amber, clear.
    Flavor – begins pleasantly sour with some oak coming through. No hops, no malt, no alcohol, no diacetyl.
    Palate - medium, watery, soft carbonation.

    Not an exceptional sour but still a good one, worth the price. I’ll watch for more of these.

    Appearance 4, Aroma 4.25, Flavor 4.25, Palate 4, Overall 4.25. Rating 4.21, rDev +10.5%.
     
  10. utopiajane

    utopiajane Initiate (0) Jun 11, 2013 New York

    Cheers Jack! I am looking forward to the rest of your thoughts on those beers. I need those reformulated beers! I have not seen sweet action in Idk how long.
     
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  11. JackHorzempa

    JackHorzempa Grand Pooh-Bah (3,181) Dec 15, 2005 Pennsylvania
    Pooh-Bah Society

    Maria, I will report on Sweet Action in a future thread. It sounds like they make some notable changes to that beer since they are calling a Blonde now?

    Cheers!
     
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  12. utopiajane

    utopiajane Initiate (0) Jun 11, 2013 New York

    Was it a cream ale? I am hot on the trail of cream ales with no additions like coffee but that's another story. Long time ago they had sweet action and one called brownstone(?) which was a brown ale. Sweet action disappeared for me about the same time as the brown. Bengali was my least favorite from sixpoint but resin is classic and I need to try the new formula.
     
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  13. cavedave

    cavedave Grand Pooh-Bah (4,145) Mar 12, 2009 New York
    Pooh-Bah Society Trader

    Good Morning all, and thanks to @lordofthewiens for the excellent opening! I have a new beer for today thanks to @MakersNeat from a quick and easy trade he and I just did.

    Was planning on having some of the new Hudson Valley release cans, but they only dropped one of the expected two beers yesterday, and a friend who lives in Beacon gave me a heads up that the one they released is, and I quote, "diarrhea in a glass". Interesting way to describe something, but I know that what he means is it is a beer made with lots of adjuncts and flavor additives and thick enough to qualify as a puree, something neither he nor I enjoy. Interesting times when a brewery like Hudson Valley that makes some of the best barreled wilds, sours, and saisons in America needs also to put out IPA's to stay in business.

    As a skiier for most of my life I can relate to no longer having the ability nor skill of younger days, but in my case it is due to bad MCL's on both knees. Bridge isn't a sport, but it is something I have enjoyed playing through life, and I will never be the player I was when I was a younger man with lots of master points (all expired long ago). I once vowed to take up golf when I couldn't do real sports anymore lol, but I think I still enjoy my walks unspoiled too much to do it.

    See y'all in a bit.
     
  14. JackHorzempa

    JackHorzempa Grand Pooh-Bah (3,181) Dec 15, 2005 Pennsylvania
    Pooh-Bah Society

    It was classified on BA as being a Cream Ale but IMO it really wasn't a Cream Ale. I don't think that the old Sweet Action really fits into any exiting beer style. Maybe we should just call it a Good Ale? I thought it was a good Ale.

    Cheers!
     
  15. EMH73

    EMH73 Grand Pooh-Bah (3,671) Sep 16, 2015 New York
    Pooh-Bah Society Trader

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    Amazeballs from Peekskill Brewery, a 4.7% APA brewwd with galaxy hops. Pours a slightly cloudy copper color with a huge white head that was well retained and left blotches of lacing. Smells like tropical fruit juice with some sweet malts. Tastes like tropical fruits with passion fruit and mango at the forefront, sweet malts and a hint of pepper. Very little bitterness on the finish. Light bodied, well carbonated, clean, crisp and very refreshing. Terrific beer, unfortunately a 2 can limit, so one to go.
     
  16. Greywulfken

    Greywulfken Grand Pooh-Bah (5,731) Aug 25, 2010 New York
    Pooh-Bah Society Trader

    New Beer #1,399 Sunday, starring...

    Greenroom
    APA (5.4% abv) from Barrier Brewing...
    [​IMG]
    I'm not a big APA drinker, but I totally dig those I rate as top of the line - beers like Zombie Dust, Lizard King, and Daisy Cutter - and my personally top-rated APA, Toppling Goliath's XHops (Pink)... :sunglasses:
    [​IMG]
    This one is dry hopped, featuring Centennial, Cascade, and Comet... You can see the pale gold body, lightly hazy, under a tall white head, trailing some lace behind... On the nose, grassy, floral, and grainy with hints of pine and citrus... On the palate, tight bitterness, dry, with very little by way of sweetness - clean and crisp... Light-bodied, taut, earthy and bitter... Very much what I expect in a good pale ale (as opposed to an IPA) - light and tight, bitter and dry; as opposed to sweet/fruity... I'd put it just a notch under the beers I referenced above... 6/12/17 canning...

    New beer number 1,400 coming up next... :wink:
     
  17. zid

    zid Grand Pooh-Bah (3,058) Feb 15, 2010 New York
    Pooh-Bah Society Trader

    The previous version of Sweet Action was never intended by the brewer to be classified as a cream ale. Just think of it as a pale ale that marched to its own beat.
     
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  18. JackHorzempa

    JackHorzempa Grand Pooh-Bah (3,181) Dec 15, 2005 Pennsylvania
    Pooh-Bah Society

    In other words a Good Ale!?!:slight_smile:

    Cheers!
     
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  19. utopiajane

    utopiajane Initiate (0) Jun 11, 2013 New York


    Congrats on a milestone! 1400 new beers! Cheers!
     
  20. zid

    zid Grand Pooh-Bah (3,058) Feb 15, 2010 New York
    Pooh-Bah Society Trader

    Was this beer always brewed with Galaxy?
     
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