New Beer Sunday (Week 657)

New beer #3. A throw-in included in a recent trade that I've been wanting to try for awhile.

Burial - Skillet Donut Stout
8% abv - undated
Score: 4.14 (-1.9% rDev)

L - 2-finger mocha head recedes rapidly to an ominously black body.

S - donuts! Brown sugar, icing, milk chocolate, molasses, caramel, vanilla. There's a ton going on here.

T - chocolate-forward, then molasses. Not as sweet as I feared it would be. No trace of the 8% abv.

F - low carb, medium-full body.

O - Quite balanced. The "donut stout" label made me fear the worst, but this is a really well made brew.

 

Hey NBS! Surprisingly alive after a marathon day of beer drinking yesterday... beginning with Zwanze Day at Novare Res and ending with Beer Meets Wood! Had some truly outstanding brews at both events, including some old Cantillon favorites, the new Zwanze (with oolong tea), Bruery's Black Tuesday and some Black Project, Jackie O's Oro Negro, CCB Cognac-barrel Marshal Zhukov and White Oak Jai Alai... man, so much good stuff. Too bad I barely remember the last hour of BMW.

Typically after fests I take about a week off from drinking, but I picked up some new beers yesterday at a great store in Portland (RSVP) and really wanted to dig into them. Guess that week off will be a bit delayed... the show must go on!



Finding old beer at a store is usually kind of a drag, but when that beer is intended to be enjoyed after a certain date, I'm absolutely down with it! Lucked out and found a bunch of (most likely) year-old Stone Enjoy After at the aforementioned store yesterday. Wasn't sure if I'd like it even though I've been intrigued by the idea behind it for quite a while, so I only bought one. Glad to say it's quite good!

Nice pop on the cork here, and I love the bottle presentation; it has directions for storing and cellaring it as well as an explanation of the idea behind the beer. I know plenty about Brett beers already, of course, but I still like that Stone really pulled out all the stops on this one. Pour has a huge foamy buildup, as expected from a Brettanomyces beer. Its soapy white collar sticks around at about three fingers tall for 4-5 minutes and leaves behind some excellent lacing. It eventually settles down to a nominal finger of retentive bone-white bubbles. Very nice!

Nose is leathery, rustic and heavy on the clove-like phenolic spice Brett can push at times. I get only a very minor hop note here, as most of those elements seem to have been lost over time. There's a bit of pineapple and muted tropical fruit here, but I'm mostly picking up funky Brett. Some light notes of green apple, kiwi and grape must here if I really dig deep.

Flavor is a nice expression of what Brett can do in a pale ale base... there's a stiff, almost tannic and woody bitterness here with some chewy, simple malt. The yeast backing everything up is extremely forward, as expected from the nose, and it provides strong rustic flavors alongside the typical "horse blanket" and dusty elements it usually brings in beers of this style. I get more light orchard fruitiness and some muted tropical fruit yet again. Very enjoyable. Feel is smooth and pillowy. Kind of a heavier medium, which the low-ish carbonation helps push across. Not mind-blowing, but they did a good job with this one, in my opinion. As other reviewers have noted, it somewhat reminds me of an Orval with a year or two on it. That's very good company to be in, so I'd say this is a successful venture into Brett for this series.

Back with more soon... I took tomorrow off due to having worked a ton of mandatory overtime during the last month... I need a break, and that means I can have more new beers, right?

 

Now up Burley Oak Double Berry Cherry JREAM, thanks again @CanConPhilly
4.44/5 rDev -0.4%
look: 4.25 | smell: 4.5 | taste: 4.5 | feel: 4 | overall: 4.5

Thank you CanConPhilly for this
16 oz can poured into a teku

A- A deep burgundy with purple highlights and a three finger pink head

S-Sour, sweet cherries, tart cherries, raspberries, touch of lactose, a little earthy.

T- Tart cherries, followed by a big wave of sweet cherries, tart underripe raspberries, a mild earthiness, touch of lactose.

M- Smooth, medium body,high carbonation.

O- Another great JREAM for Burley Oak, huge fruit flavor and a nice balancing earthiness that others haven’t had. Closest to Boysenberry Black Currant JREAM which is my favorite.

Cheers!

 

Greetings from hot and humid TN! I'm pregaming and hoping that the elements give the Titans a small advantage against the SeaChickens later today - we will see. Thanks to @Wasatch for this tasty pale ale from Eddyline - a limited release APA featuring Citra hops and lime:


look: 4 | smell: 4.25 | taste: 4 | feel: 4 | overall: 4

A nice look to this one - a hazy, almost murky golden straw color with a one-finger fluffy white head that left sheets of splotchy laces in the glass. There were bright citrus notes in the aroma, with lime up front but not too dominant. Tangerine, grapefruit, and bready notes were there to balance things out. The taste followed closely, with the lime bringing a clean, bitter, and acidic frame for the beer, and the other citrus notes and a nice crackery malt presence keeping it interesting. Medium-bodied and not watery for a 5% ABV beer. Perfect for drinking on a Sunday afternoon while watching some football, especially with some chips. Cheers, errybody!

 

Today's next beer is an interesting one.

Brix City's Born Under Punches, canned a week ago

This ones hopped exclusively and Double Dry Hopped with Idaho 7 hops.

This is my first experience with theses hops and wow am I impressed. Massive amounts of black tea, earth, grass, and pine. Never got so much black tea aroma and flavor from just one hop. Speaking of flavors, although it looks like a juice bomb theres actually a decent amount of bitterness, but not like your typical west coast style IPAs. This one taste like a tea that has been over steeped. Or in other words it taste highly tanic. Once again just like a robust Earl Grey Black Tea. Finish is bone dry and leaves behind astringency.

It's fantastic! and very interesting. Although this hop is not for everyone. It's def different and I love it for that.

Body is super creamy and smooth, typical NE style fashion.

Excellent beer that may not be for everyone, but it's certainly for me!

Cheers and Happy NBS!

 

Trying two lagers new to me today. First-


look: 4.75 | smell: 3.5 | taste: 4.25 | feel: 4.25 | overall: 4.25

Nice that they played the first three letters of their brewery with Lager. Too bad they don't brew more lagers.
Poured from a bomber to a Pilz glass. No date found, FU Lagunitas, how can you avoid this for all your success?
For me, best looking beer of the month. Amber color, gorgeous head, fine lacing, tiny bubbles for the whole glass. Beutiful lacing to the bottom also. If it wasn't for the color I would swear this was a German Pilz.
Minimal aroma. Kind of sweet, but not in a malty sense.
Taste is clean with strong hop character, mild malt. Alcohol makes itself known. That's a good thing because you could slam this thing if it wasn't there as a reminder.
Pretty good beer all and all.
Besides no dating, I also have a gripe with their crazy story style marketing. Mildly entertaining, but as an engineer (not a liberal arts major) I don't really get it.

 

I think that's gonna be the next brew I crack into. Really nice review there.

 

Good afternoon NBS, trying a local offering while in Bar Harbor this week. I really enjoy the malt and touch of peat in this Scottish Ale
So nice to have had this offering on this near perfect trip to Maine
Cheers all




Scottish Ale

Atlantic Brewing Company / Mainely Meat BBQ
Scottish Ale / 7.10% ABV

3.76/5 rDev -4.8% | Avg: 3.95
look: 3.5 | smell: 3.75 | taste: 3.75 | feel: 4 | overall: 3.75

A - Poured from a bottle dated “ best by 7/1/18” into the test glass. Deep dark oak color, gently carbonated, an off white cap is quick to leave.
S - Roasted malt, a bit of peat, some brown sugar, and earthiness from hop choice.
T - Sweet caramel malt, dry roast matches the sweetness with good balance.
M- Medium in body, sweet start, then a slick look the runs across the palate, the linger is dry and malt rich
O - A rich offering, tad sweet but well worth seeking out

 

Following @strohme2's lead and cracking into my first Trillium beer! This is also courtesy of the great @y2kawakami.


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16 oz can poured into a pint glass. Canned just under a month ago.

Pours a murky orange juice color with a finger head that lingers really nicely.

Piney citrus, melon, pineapple, and earthy wheat on the nose.

Taste is bitter pine, mango, grapefruit, pineapple, dank citrus.

Feel is excellent for such a low abv IPA. One of the fullest bodied hoppy beer that I've had in this abv range. Crisp and refreshing.

Overall a stellar beer. I'd drink this all the time due to the huge flavor yet low abv.

4.49/5 rDev +8.2%
look: 4.25 | smell: 4.5 | taste: 4.5 | feel: 4.5 | overall: 4.5

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Cheers!

 

Good afternoon NBS! Beautiful weekend here, spent the first night of autumn out camping and enjoying the warmth of a campfire against a little evening chill. Now have some spareribs on the grill and Sleepy Hollow on Netflix.

Today's first beer, Deschutes Hopzeit Autumn IPA. Supposed to be a marzen inspired IPA.

Look: Pours a medium amber color with ample amounts of pillowy, off-white head.

Smell: Caramel, pine, and floral notes.

Taste: A little caramel and grapefruit up front, fades into a pleasant pine bitterness.

Feel: Fairly clean finish, a little lingering bitterness.

Overall: It's a pleasant IPA. The grapefruit and caramel meld nicely, perhaps helping to keep the overall sweetness that American marzens sometimes have at bay? Not sure, but it works. The bitterness is nice, just enough to let you know it's there.

 

3.93/5 rDev -3.2%
look: 3.5 | smell: 4.25 | taste: 4 | feel: 3.5 | overall: 3.75

A: Dark black beer with a small amount of khacki colored head. The head disapeared quick and left no lacing.

S: Smells of coffee and chocolate. Getting some spicey notes also. Guessing this comes from the spicebush.

T: Taste mimicks the smells. Nice mix of coffee and spices.

M: Taste is somewhat thin. Figured the beer would have a thicker mouthfeel. Taste is somewhat flat.

O: Beer has a good smell to it. Feel like the beer may have been a bit flat however. Not bad but nothing magical either.

 

My second 750 endeavor of the day... I must be a glutton for punishment, huh? This bottle was purchased at the same shop as the previous beer I reviewed. It was exciting to see some Fantôme on the store's shelves, so I chose one I haven't had yet to crack open and write about. The cork on this one was a little bit of a pain in the ass, but I eventually got it open. Gave off little more than a slight pop and poured with a hazy orange shade. Somewhat blush wine-like undertones to the appearance. Thin and retentive head. No lace as it fades, but I can slightly re-rouse it with a bit of glass-swirling. Kind of a "by the books" Fantôme pour here, but with less voluminous head than most I've had.

I know nothing about this beer or what it's supposed to be (and I'll bet Dany doesn't either, honestly ), but it smells like a saison-witbier hybrid to me. Kind of musty and yeasty with a bit of fennel, basil and other herbaceous notes. Slight honeyed malt, wheat and oat-like dustiness in there as well. Nothing really jumps out at me here... seems decent but like nothing special. I realize that when you play the Fantôme lottery, however, you don't always win. Guess we'll see what this brings on the palate...

Seems heavily yeasty and slightly medicinal with a strong herbal component. More basil and herbal qualities with a slight bit of yeast-borne tartness. Chalky malt backbone with leafy and earthy flavors. White pepper and clove. Bitter toward the finish with a snappy hop character that combines well with the rest of the flavors. Very characterful spice with some nutmeg and coriander following through toward the end of each sip. Had to look up the ABV here since it's not printed on the label and was a bit surprised to see it wasn't insanely strong like most other Fantôme! This baby clocks in at a cool 4%, evidently, and it's actually really good if you take the low alcohol into account. Lots of flavors and unique elements that I expect from the brewery at this point. It's not "exciting" really, but it's a fun drink. The feel is moderately heavy with low-medium carbonation. Nice sipper... not at all "crushable" despite its low strength. Another challenging Fantôme beer... I would say this is completely non-essential, but it was worth a shot in my opinion. Glad it's not going to cripple me, either... I had some worries when opening it, but those have been mostly allayed.

Still more soon! It's a hot day, I need refreshment...

 

What’s up BA? Doing a little quality checking for some possible BIF entries.

Picked this one up yesterday from Mantra. A wee heavy called Enlightenment.



Poured from 375 ml bottle.

A: Coca-cola brown with 1-2 finger light tan head. Fairly short retention and leaving only very light lacing.

S: Roasted malts, baked bread, caramel, toffee and hints of orange zest.

T: Fresh baked bread, roasted malts, and caramel. Light toffee notes. Flavors seem to bloom after warming up some.

M: Medium body with light carbonation. Perhaps a touch thin but the alcohol is extremely well hidden.

O: Very enjoyable wee-heavy. A touch on the expensive side.

 

Hello gang. It may be the beginning of Autumn but it's felt like mid-summer in Cincinnati this weekend. We had a great time hanging out with friends from Louisville and enjoying good street food and, of course, local beer. Today we visited Rhinegeist Brewery. My new beer today is Penguin, a "blonde stout", 7% ABV, and served on nitro. "Blonde" is appropriate given its golden honey color. The nose is sweet with fresh coffee, vanilla, and hazel nuts. The taste follows the nose but there is also a distinct taste of oats. Served on nitro, it's super creamy albeit a little thin for a stout. Overall, it reminds me a little of Carton's Regular Coffee but with a significantly lower ABV. Here's my full review:

4.06/5 rDev +5.5%
look: 4 | smell: 4.25 | taste: 4 | feel: 4 | overall: 4

I had this on draught at the brewery. It was served on nitro. 16 oz. pour in a pint glass. I've never had a Blonde Stout before and the description is apt: it pours an attractive golden honey color with a thick, creamy milk-white head and lacing with excellent retention. The nose features freshly-brewed coffee, vanilla, and a whiff of hazel nuts. It's a pleasing aroma. The taste is really interesting: it opens with caramel and freshly-brewed coffee and continues with an "oaty" flavor and hazel nuts that become more prevalent as the glass warms. Being served on nitro, it's lite, super creamy, and easy to drink at 7% ABV although it's a tad thin for a stout. Overall, this stout is unique in color, flavorful, and a nice change of pace. I'd gladly drink it again.

I hope you're all enjoying your new beer today.

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MacMalt, 18 minutes ago Edit Delete

 

Glad you enjoyed it, and no, they don't date the bottles. I do buy them refrigerated at a place where they seem to move.

I think we are getting the same character, and that's what hits me as 'toasted cornbread'; between that, the zippy hops, and more delicate mouthfeel, it does stand out in the AAL category. Stylistically, I couldn't say just what they're going for (maybe a nod to the pre-pro Weiner beers), but it just hits the spot with gusto- and that's good enough for me .

@zid- it has that same thing going for it on draught, so it's not a sign of age.

 

Deschutes The Abyss (Rye Whiskey Barrel-Aged), 13.2% ABV, 86 IBU. Pours dark black and thick with a one finger brown head. Whisky sweetness and chocolate on the nose, taste follows plus strong vanilla, and surprisingly little bitterness given the IBU. Outstanding mouthfeel, overall outstanding. Happened across this bottle and also a 2015 Cognac which a local store was clearing out of their cellar while preparing to move.

 

Well I'm just rolling along here. This one is courtesy of my esteemed sender in the NBS BIF, the great Minnesotan, @Josholson666! He sent me an absolutely killer box of hoppy beers that all have been outstanding with most of them being the New England hazy IPA style which I have no access to out in Hawaii. Minnesota breweries are killing it! He also sent a Pearson's Salted Nut Roll candy bar that tasted awesome at about midnight last night . Onward!


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16 oz can poured into a snifter. No visible canning date.

Pours a murky orange juice color with a really nice frothy and inviting head. Solid lacing.

Smell has citrus zest, tangerine, pineapple, mango, pine.

Flavor has creamy mango, bitter pine, tangerine, citrus, hoppy wheat, crisp apple.

Feel is nice and full bodied. Thick like a hoppy milkshake!

Overall another awesome beer out of Minnesota. Incredible how many great breweries they have!

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Cheers and thanks again Josh!!

 

Beer #2. Ribs are almost done, wanted something to go along with dinner.

These guys just started to bottle and distribute beyond a couple of local beer stores. This is one of two they are currently bottling, the other being a brown ale that is good but nothing spectacular.

Look: Light orange color with about a finger of white head.

Smell: Stone fruit with a little bit of malt.

Taste: Grapefruit and orange up front, quickly turning to pine and bitterness. The bitterness is about average for a pale ale.

Feel: Medium body. Clean finish. Moderate carbonation.

Overall: Tasty, about average pale ale. Nothing special about it, but a solid beer and something I'll look for if we get a chance to visit again (the pictures of their smoked prime rib look phenomenal).

 

Happy Sunday NBS players. A bit of a heat wave here on the island. Sunny, hot and steamy. I wish this is how August would have ended. The fiance and I gave serious thought to hitting the beach but elected against it. I've been doing nothing but watching football and following the fantasy stats. Jets got a nice first victory over the god damn fish. I have been preparing myself for 0-16 but they might actually surprise some people and win 3 or 4 games.

My new beer today is Bourbon Barrel Reverb, ipa aged in bourbon barrels, from Bronx brewing. The brew checks in at 8.1% abv and not canning date but since it just hit shelves here I'm betting it's pretty fresh.

A rather dirty amber color on the pour with lots of carbonation. Hazy clarity and a fast white head. The nose is almost all bourbon and rather floral. A big mix of flavors hits on the very first sip. A bitter flow with and equally bitter and dry finish. Lots of tangy hop notes blend together with the notes of the barrel. Neither one seems to really shine through or overpower the other. The hops are tangy and bitter with notes of orange, melon, grapefruit and pine. The barrel is sweet with notes of oak, vanilla, caramel, and booze. The mouth feel is moderate with a very dry feel to it. Subtle alcohol heat and burn from the booze. The flavors do stick around, especially from the barrel, but its not nearly as sticky as I thought it would be.

Overall, it's ok. I can drink it just fine and while I don't hate it I am not in love with it either. In all honesty, I have yet to have a bba ipa that I love. I'm not sure if its me or if the two just don't really work together. I'm in the 3.5/4 range at best.