New Beer Sunday (Week 653)

That's most likely when I bought it, a few months back.

Cheers!

 

You guys are getting doused! I feel for you. Just glad my daughter doesn't live in Houston anymore

 

Greetings all. First new beer of the day: Founders Green Zebra, a Gose with Watermelon & Sea Salt. It drank really easy; 3.78 Over all

https://www.beeradvocate.com/beer/profile/1199/278457/?ba=russpowell#review

 

Good evening- I have another new one that caught my eye yesterday-

Hof Ten Dormaal's Sloe, a wild ale flavored with the infamously named berries (and I'll try to keep the innuendos to a minimum, here...)

First off, it's a good thing I opened this one outside, because it was a gusher at first; but once I got a few ounces poured everything seemed to be alright. Now, I wouldn't know a sloe berry if you pelted me with them, but the flavor is something that should easily bring to mind the last time I had a Sloe Comfortable Screw, so how could I refuse?

Right off the bat I'm getting a good amount of brett 'horseblanket' aroma interwoven nicely with the fruit- and, yes, I do recognize something about that fruitiness. A good deal of wood and a slight peppery spiciness round out the tightly knit bouquet.

The first few sips are deep and vinous, and a far cry from the crass frat-party concoction that the featured ingredient brings to mind. The wood actually plays the dominant role, although the horseblanket isn't too far behind. Way in the background, as well as in the finish, is where the fruity and spicy flavors reside. It's highly carbonated, but not overly so, as well as quenchingly tart, with an almost creamy mouthfeel for such a bone dry beer. Overall it's quite nice, but not a home run. I'd prefer if the wood was dialed down and berries dialed up a smidge. Very glad I picked it up A- (4.35).

 

Howdy folks! Had an enjoyable lunch... sigh... I miss you Provence... but you can always take some HOME!!


Having Lunch by imbibehour, on Flickr

That being said it's time for another new beer. Looking forward to new Canadian brews since I don't get a chance to try many of these, so lets see how this one goes.

Nickel Brook Bolshevik Bastard Russian Imperial Stout | Nickel Brook Brewing Co.


Nickel Brook Brewing - Bolshevik Bastard Russian Imperial Stout by imbibehour, on Flickr

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Poured from the bottle into a snifter glass.

Very dark mocha head, nearly getting some serious imperial dakness, but lays back a bit just a hair in color. Creamy sensing top with a nice bowl that dissolves slowly after a good two finger pour. Faint clarity through a deep mahogany and red dark edge on the body color. One very nice looking stout.

Classic estery and tangy roast Russian style aroma. Faint flirt with dark fruit and roast bitteness on the nose. Faint hints of cocoa dark powder, and tangy tart black berry but not hinting infection. Faint sense of milky and silky quality as well. Great start so far.

Palate gets the goods done. A slight hair of wet mouthfeel but only detracts the experience from minor enjoyment. Dark cocoa and rich roasty char in the mid palate. Silky tones not so much, but a thick almost crackling porter husky quality particularly on the aftertaste. Not much sensing fruity quality hinted on the nose, but the cocoa and even some fresh ground coffee bean action really hits nicely and dominates. Love also the char quality coming off this.

A real solid Russian Imperial. If the mouthfeel went up a hair, this could be a real impressive brew. This would probably make a great template also for barrel aging as well.

look: 4.25 | smell: 4.25 | taste: 4 | feel: 3.75 | overall: 4 | BA Generated Score: 4.05

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Time to work on dinner.. I am harvesting my pepper plants... who want's Chili Rellenos with Scallops and Shrimp??


Harvested Poblanos by imbibehour, on Flickr

Cheers!

 

Greetings from Middle Tennessee! As much as I have enjoyed our beautiful dry weekend, my thoughts are with Texas. Hoping everyone stays safe and out of harm's way down there. Today's beer is my last from a phenonemal box of Western goodness courtesy of @Wasatch:

Lambda Lambda Lambda, a "Triple" IPA from Melvin Brewing

This one is big: 13% ABV with 10 different hops.

Nice looking, almost like a Pilsner. Very clear golden color with a two-finger, fluffy white head that slowly settled. The aromas were wonderfully complex with citrus, floral, piney, and dank resiny notes. On the first sip, there was a bracing clean bitterness up front that quickly gave way to softer flavors: mainly orange rind, lavender, and resin. The malt was there but it was quite restrained for the size of this one. In fact, the beer dried out some on the finish, with sweetness from the alcohol lingering, washing out some of the flavor and merging into some heat on the finish. All in all, it was enjoyable, but a bit too hot and dry for me. Thanks again to Wasatch for the great beer, and cheers!

 

In-laws live in South Lyon. Witches Hat is a must-stop.

 

Thanks!

Huevos has figured out how to handle it:

Harvey's not even putting a dent in his sleep schedule.

While the fact that the rain WILL NEVER EVER STOP and it's slowly starting to freak me out (midway through what looks like 90-plus hours of nonstop rain), I think we're going to be OK in Bryan. We're definitely doing way better than the coast/coastal region. In fact, Huevos' mommy is flying back from Hong Kong to Dallas and going nowhere near her home in Houston until the all clear.

You girls' and boys' sunny NBS pictures never looked so wonderfully sunny!

 

Me too ... and I don't know her, but I'm happy for you both. Houston is not doing well in spots, and those spots are growing. We need some of you northerners to send down something to break up Harvey and make him go away!

(too late to use the Doctor's TARDIS and *NOT* build a massive city in the swamp)

 

That was my first Melvin beer that I had recently. The undeniable heat aside, I thought it was a mess. Just too much going on

 

I'm one of the higher raters. I didn't think it was that thin, and I really liked how the espresso lingered.

 

This was delivered by the brewer to the store last evening. It is such a great feeling to have Vasilios self distributing again. Great for me, and great for him as emails and texts can't hold a candle to the in-person dialogues I've had with him. I can't say enough good things about what is going on in Greensboro, and also a tip of the hat to Shaun E. Hill for letting this guy do his thing at the brewery.



https://www.beeradvocate.com/beer/profile/47666/296623/

I'd call this one an American Wild Ale...
Moderate pour yields an almost two inch white head over a slightly hazy golden body with very nice lacing. Nose of funk, cedar, fresh pine forest, and slight white grapefruit. Tastes of white grapefruit, cedar, and fresh pine with a very nice feel and an exquisite, dry finish. Overall, very impressive. Cheers!

4.6/5 rDev 0%
look: 4.5 | smell: 4.5 | taste: 4.75 | feel: 4.5 | overall: 4.5

 

Good day NBS!

Nice, cool, crisp evening here, sure starting to feel like fall. College football is back on tv, so loving that!

Tonight I have Fair Winds brewery, Siren's Lure, a hoppy saison. It pours a fairly clear yellow straw color with a pillowy white head. Smell is a little muted, but I picked up citrus, stone fruit, and some yeast notes. Taste is stronger towards apricot with some lemon, a little funk, and a bit of grass flavor. Some bitterness towards the end, doesn't seem to linger so long. Medium body with the carbonation making it fairly light on the tongue. Certainly doesn't feel like 7.2% ABV, felt closer to All Day IPA level, making it quite quaffable. Went well with the crisp air as I grilled off a chicken for dinner.

 

3.57/5 rDev -13.6%
look: 3.75 | smell: 3.5 | taste: 3.5 | feel: 4 | overall: 3.5

A: Golden brown color at pour. Poured one finger worth of head that quickly disappeared while drinking.

S: Mostly picking up the malty grain smell from the beer. Maybe a bit of pepper also.

T: Malty spiciness up front. Not much going on in this area, in my opinion. Picking up the grains predominantly.

M: Medium mouthfeel. Picking out a few carbonation bubbles throughout the glass. Best area of the beer.

O: Average easy drinking beer. Not much stands out but would drink again.

 

Stay strong Brother!

 

SN Oktoberfest, so yummy. 4.23 overall

Pours an effervescent gold with 2 fingers of rocky cream colored head. Nice head retention & lacing

S: Grassy, bready

T: Follows the nose some dryness & a little lemon up front. Pears, dryness, & a little breadyness as this warms. Finishes bready, dry, some pear, a little white grape & a little bit of soapyness

MF: Medium body, firm carbonation, nice balance

Very drinkable, spot on for the style. This is a must buy every year

 

An even rarer second post for me in NBS - Jolly Pumpkin Artisan Ales, Dexter, MI - "La Vida Improvisacion", an American Wild Ale bottled 3/23/16, Batch 770:





Poured at 50 degrees. Opaque amber (12-) with thick off white head; good retention; good clarity under cap; solid ring; moderately heavy lacing. 4.25



Floral funky herbal nose with sour fruit behind the initial whiff. 3.75

Bitter bite on a sour funky garden like vibe; barnyard, straw, and horse blanket yeast accentuates the sour fruit/peach flavors. 4.25

Dry, crisp and razor thin feel; moderate minus carbonation. 4.0



Overall, a lot of funky earthy hay flavors competing with sour fruit flavors; I like the in your face barnyard notes the wild yeast brings to the party, and yet there is a bitter herbal vibe like who put dandelions in my salad, that is a distraction; still, a most solid funky ale and worthy of seeking out for this style. 4.25. Cheers bothers and sisters of the funk!

 

Good evening NBS, hope everyone is enjoying the weekend once again. Thanks to @cjgiant for getting us rolling this morning. Another fun weekend has passed, but I am glad to be back into brewing again. I kicked a brown ale keg earlier this month, so I ordered an Irish red ale kit off Morebeer on Wednesday. Arrived on Friday just in time for the weekend. Used all RO water from the store. I feel fine doing extract batches for now, even though I can do all grain. It just takes too long with a stove, and it requires me to fire up the excel water chem files again. I can shave about 3 hours off my brew day and still do full boils. Looking forward to how it turns out. Will be brewing again next weekend. Probably an American stout or porter. Bottled a Star Thistle mead as well that has been in my closet for a year.

Anyways, not much else going on. Just finished up the laundry. More work this week. Hopefully not too busy. Review 5700 was on Friday. I keep finding more new beers, even today on my usual bottle return beer run. Just don't have any bombers left to review, other than huge ABV stuff.

New Beers:

Surprisingly nice Euro Lager. Nice head retention and webby lacing for the style. Aromas and flavors of a cracker, corn, white bread, and lightly toasted biscuit malts; with light-moderate herbal, grassy, peppery noble hops. Touch of yeast fruitiness in the aromas, none in the flavors. Light-moderate herbal, grass, spicy bitterness on the finish. Light-medium bodied, medium carbonation. Balanced bready/grainy malts and sticky hops in the mouthfeel. Moderate increasing bitter dryness, no hop astringency. Perfectly clean lagering, no esters. Very crisp, clean, and refreshing finish! Very flavorful for 5.4%. I can't really see anything wrong with this at all. Nice hop presence for a Euro lager; and plenty of pilsner malt flavor too, aside from the adjunct characteristics. Really tasty. 3.68


Really nice fruit IPA! Aromas and flavors of big lightly tart blackberries, grapefruit, tangerine, peach, pineapple, mango, melon, red grape, lemon zest, orange peel, pepper, and pine hops; with moderate toasted biscuit, light caramel malt balance; and herbal, floral, grassy hop earthiness. Light-moderate pine, citrus peel, grassy, spicy bitterness on the finish. Medium bodied; balanced bready/grainy malt and sticky hops in the mouthfeel. Slight blackberry acidity. Light-moderate increasing bitter dryness, no hop astringency. This is pretty refreshingly drinkable for an IPA. Loved the hops they used to compliment the blackberries: Citra, Equinox, and Denali. Super fruity stuff. Very juicy/vibrant hops. I will definitely grab another single or three of this one! On the sweeter/balanced side for an IPA, as usual with Anchor; but still has adequate dryness. 3.9


This was excellent! Aromas and flavors of big tart/sour cherry, blackberry, cranberry, raspberry, plum, red grape, fruit skin, lemon, green apple, red wine, and peppercorn; with moderate wheat, cracker, lightly toasted bread malts; herbal, floral, grassy hops and yeast earthiness. Mild funk/vinegar. Light-moderate fruity/lactic tartness, fruit tang, yeast spiciness, and light herbal/grassy hop bitterness on the finish. Medium body/carbonation; balanced bready/grainy malt, acidity, tangy fruit tannins, and light hop stickiness in the mouthfeel. Light-moderate increasing lactic/tannic fruit dryness; no puckering sourness. This is insanely drinkable for 8.5%, no warming ABV at all. Pretty refreshing from the mellow sourness. Really awesome balance between grapes, Lacto, earthy hops, and bready malt flavors. Will definitely grab this again soon before it disappears. 4


More sours, I still have quite a few of these Almanacs left. This was fantastic! Aromas and flavors of huge sweet/sour red/black cherries, raspberry, fruit skin, cherry pits, lemon, lime, green apple, almond, vanilla, red grape, white wine, pepper, oak, hay, straw, and grass; with moderate wheat, cracker, white bread malts; and lighter notes of musty funk and white vinegar. Light-moderate fruity/lactic tartness, fruit tang, and yeast/tannic oak spiciness on the finish. Medium bodied; balanced bready/grainy malt, lactic acid, and tangy fruit tannins in the mouthfeel. Light-moderate increasing lactic/tangy/tannic dryness; never puckering. Very easy drinking. One of the better Almanacs I have had in recent memory. Super jammy and tastes just like cherry pie as advertised. Nose was enormous. Awesome Brett complexity and solid Lacto presence against a ton of fruit character. 4.22


Cheers, have a good evening NBS!

Got the new Leprous album today. This is going to take a few listens to get used to, they changed their style again. Digging it though.

 

Back for another one.....

Hope all of you are doing well and surviving the weekend!

Here goes...

The beer:




The review:




Hopefully I'll be able to squeeze one more in. This one has surely made me thirst for more....

 

Thanks, @cjgiant, for that wonderful start. It's also great to see some new faces joining our little weekly hootenanny - this is the best recurring thread on BA, IMHO, and fresh faces keep us all on our toes, which is a good thing.

At the request of @cjgiant, my beers originated from that beer nerd extraordinaire @beertunes (I saw your earlier post, buddy - hope all is good for you) in the most recent BIF. I am finally able to see the end of the magnificent boxes he sent my way that spanned two states - Minnesota in March and Texas in May. First up, this offering from Wander.



4.01/5 rDev 0%
look: 3.75 | smell: 4 | taste: 4 | feel: 4.25 | overall: 4

So a Brett Saison aged in oak barrels on Bartlett pears. That's a lot of boxes to check, and this one does, for the most part.

Pour is a rich burnt orange, very cloudy, with a tan head that disappears almost immediately. The first aromas I get are the Brett and the oak - loads of both.

The taste is funky, dunky Brett with the oak mingling nicely. The only thing I really didn't get was the pears, but I'd bet the Brett/oak combo pack whacked 'em. Still, a very nice beer from Wander.