New Beer Sunday (Week 672)

Good morning Doc and NBSers
Mrs Gee and I are at the age when you start thinking about ditching snow and cold for a few months. We love the coastal life and my wife can’t tolerate temps below 50 ish. She says it’s Raynaud’s disease. We love @DoctorZombies neck of the woods,St Pete, and fell in love with Passe A Grille this last trip. We would love to spend a couple months there in the winter. That is about all she could take being away from the grand kids for. Some day I guess

This is my new beer

Hold On to Sunshine from Tree House
Milk/ sweet stout 7.60 abv
I drank it outside so it didn’t really hit an optimal drinking temp
Pours black with a tan fluffy quickly dissipating head
Aroma was coffee, chocolate and brown sugar
It pours heavy looking but is creamy smooth and surprising light
I got coffee, sugar, chocolate and and a slight peanut butter finish. It is a mouth full. I thought it was creamy smooth
It really drank well and not heavy I could have had another
Cheers for Lauren

 

Bringing Sexy Back from Aslin for the bills jags game.

L: Hazy orange color with a white head and some lacing around the glass. 4.25
S: Orange, mango, and tangerines 4.25
T: Similar as the smell, tonnes of orange and Mango with some grapefruit and tangerine. 4.25
F: Creamy mouthfeel and medium body and carbonation. 4.25
O: A nice juicy ipa from aslin. Enjoying the lower abv. 4.25

 

Happy New Doppelbock Sunday

My first Doppelbock is Trader Joe's Josephsbrau Winter Brew, brewed by Gordon Biersch I assume.

I wasn't expecting much from this and I was very pleasantly surprised. It's a very pleasing chestnut brown. It's smooth and creamy. Tastes of chocolate and a little tobacco. Very clean. I would think that some poor reviews of it might be because it doesn't come across as a big beer, but on the flip side, the drinkability was outstanding. In fact, I admire how easy this beer is for 7.5%. I really enjoyed this.

 

Doppelbock number 2 is Einstock Icelandic Doppelbock.

I was expecting to like this more than the Trader Joe's beer, but the reality was the opposite. It's hard to view it without contrasting it against the first beer. This one has a much denser appearance. It's hearty and roasty. Far less clean than Josephsbrau's. It strikes me as muddled and unrefined. Perhaps I would have enjoyed it much more if I had it first.

@TongoRad

 

Good afternoon and happy New Bock Sunday! Rauch Bock to be exact, but more on that later. To answer the initial question @lordofthewiens , I've never had the opportunity to be a snowbird, living in Southern California for the last 35 years. Quite the opposite in fact. We would flock to Big Bear or Mammoth Lakes as often as we could to go ENJOY the snow! Haha. Our transition to the PNW has given us a small taste of what it's like to live where it occasionally snows, and I think my family and I will be perfectly content with the infrequency, but fully embrace it when it comes.

On to zie bier!

A combination of two of my favorite styles of bier. Rauchbiers (or smoked beer for any who aren't familiar with the style), and Bocks. As we know, both styles have a wide range in every category. From bright gold to ugly and murky brown. Sweet and crisp, to dark fruits and caramel stickiness. Intense bonfire smoke to minor suggestions of ham. Let's see what happens when they're brought together this time...

Heater Allen
Rauch Bock



Slightly chill hazed, Rauch Bock pours a beautiful crimson with a touch of chestnut brown. A thin, one finger cream colored foamy cap persists on top. It's impressively stubborn, and laces equally so.

Very subtle amounts of smoke float around, like the remnants of a fireplace used the night before. An equal amount of sweet, rich caramel suggest a wonderful balance between the styles. Minerals and a very slight medicinal aroma are difficult to find, but there, which for me seems common to the smoked beer family.

The first sip is superb. The smoke is the forefront, but not overpowering. Caramel and rye bread balance it perfectly. A sweet raisin shows itself for a brief moment before and earthy spiciness finishes the experience. These flavors are consistent from head to toe.

From a medium carbonation and its spicy character, this beer is quite 'tingly'. It seems a bit on the lighter side, not nearly as rich or sticky as I'd imagined, but does leave a little residue on the lips. A balanced beer, but favoring the bitter side perhaps due to the earthy, spicy, and smokey nature. It's very easy to drink.

Overall, Rauch Bock may not have been what I had hoped for or expected, but it's still a great beer and one I'll probably buy again. The smoke was more subdued, as was the sweetness. In that sense, I guess that makes it right there in the middle, so, well executed and appropriately named! I'll say this would be a great beer for the smoked beer beginners out there. Prost!

After my official review , I gave Rauch Bock a rating of 4.01 with an rDev of +5.8%.

Cheers everyone, and I will see you all soon.

 

Loved reading this. Very thoughtful and upfront.

 

Great label art though.

 

1-7-18 Strong 12+% super-beers rated higher than BA Avg.

Trappistes Rochefort 10
4.57/5 rDev +1.6%
look: 5 | smell: 4.25 | taste: 4.75 | feel: 4.5 | overall: 4.5
The best Rochefort by far. What I have been waiting for!
Amazing beer. As good as any wine. in my top 10.
Maybe one of the best beers ever made. up there with St. Bernardus Abt. 12.
A: The murky brown liquid pours with a turbulent smokey, rusty pour. A gravity defying, airy, tan head shows peppering of yeast, spice and sediment. The beer takes a very long time to settle with a half-inch head and lace specked with sediment.
S: Syrupy candy sweetness with fruitiness, spiciness, smokiness,and with a chocolate, tarry, treacle, brandy complexity.
T: Follows smell. Malty richness of dark sugars, caramels, and toffee melded with charred, toasty, chocolatey flavors. Fruitiness of a fall orchard of berries, grapes, dates, figs, plumbs, and apples - all slightly overripe and raisening. Next barrel aged woods with tang and autumnal, churchy mustiness.
F: Bold, full feel. The powder-sugar textures develop into a well-rounded beverage. Full, succulent textures balance the acidic fall fruit notes. Finishes with a dry, airy finish.
"A magical beer that defies modern brewing logic." as one reviewer wrote. A top 10!

Mephistopheles' Stout | Avery
4.38/5 rDev +3.8%
look: 4.25 | smell: 4.25 | taste: 4.5 | feel: 4.5 | overall: 4.25
Batch 12 - bottled 2016. Monster.
A: Pours a thick oily black body with a thick mocha head that rings and dots the glass with dark shards.
S: Rich, tarry aroma, with raisin, prune, and dark fruit, licorice, and everything dark you can name, chocolate, wine, port, charcoal.
T: Leather, espresso, tobacco, dark fruit, licorice, oil, cherries, and becomes bitter, hops, herbal, incense, and pepper in the finish.
F: Full bodied, syrup, good legs, with low carbonation, finishing in climax of warm bitter.
O: Give it time whether drinking old or young. Better probably if aged a bit. Complex.
Which would you rather a boozy zinfandel or this complex flavor bomb? Better than wine.

SUPEREGOIPA | Carton
4.3/5 rDev +3.6%
look: 3.75 | smell: 4.25 | taste: 4.5 | feel: 4 | overall: 4.25
Happy to be 8th reviewer of 2018 edition of SuperEgo.
Let's first talk about definition of "dank".
Classic: disagreeably damp, musty, and typically cold.
synonyms: damp, musty, chilly, clammy, moist, wet, unaired, humid
Urban Dictionary: dark, sticky, gooey, and potent. It was originally a common word to describe disgusting basements and caves ect. Then the world of pot took it over and was using it very correctly to describe very potent strains of marijuana, seeing as the definition of dank meets all the qualities you find in good marijuana.
OK so this 13% heavyweight is urban dank.
a) Pours hazed body that supports a white head that quickly fades down due to ABV. a bit of lace and rim, hazed remainder.
s) Abundant fruit flesh and skin, a fruit carving board, syrupy, malty, juicy. Citrus and piney.
t) Fruit flesh again, ripe peach, pear, apple, over ripe apricot, builds to to pine and earthy, chewy dankness with ABV heat.
f) Fruit smoothie, full-bodied with light carbonation, syrupy, then long finish with drying, peppery abv esters finishing.
o) funny that super ego is the rational part of psyche - this is an extreme, unrational, stoned beer. Nothing rational about it.


John Barleycorn - Bourbon Barrel Aged | Mad River
4.18/5 rDev +0.2%
look: 4.25| smell: 4.25 | taste: 4 | feel: 4.5 | overall: 4.25
Maybe toward the end of the 10 one-oz flight, at the strongs and the olds and the barley wines - tasted at Mad River - the beers edged better. But John Barleycorn aged in a single bourbon barrel was 1 of my 3 favorites of the 10.
A Hazy copper, clearer than most. The head retains and laces well.
S Ample bourbon on the nose, along with brown sugar sweetness. Mild alcohol, well hidden, and rich. Caramel and vanilla in an almost after dinner liquor experience.
F Rich on palate, bourbon and brown sugar come through strongly. But again, great feel, great finish. Full, almost syrupy body. Finishes with tannic oak, brown sugar and booze.
Must try.

Founders Devil Dancer
4.04/5 rDev +3.6%
look: 4 | smell: 3.75 | taste: 4.25 | feel: 4 | overall: 4
Gotta love the outliers. This is on the edge. 112 btu, 12% Abv, dark bomb.
A: Looks great. 4 on color. Tawny, hazed, alcohol mirrored body, over set by scant lace and after a thick head, just a ring. Best color.
S: Given what's to come, too light. malty, candied fruit, pine resin, sweet, approaching barley wine.
T: Ample, complex, extremely bitter. Peppery, spicey, pungent yet still clean. Complex, strong herbal and earthy hops. Sweetness is balanced by the bitterness with candied fruit and tart citrus custard. Grand Mariner like.
F: Thick, brandy body with low carbonation. Sharp & crisp for the degree of sugar.
Overall:Warms up quickly and burns. The alcohol is prominent as are the pungent, bitter hops.
As A bros wrote:
"This beer is insane. No, absolutely insane! dropped bombs on our palates, fight fire with fire! Aim and launch it at some really spicy"

 

Lamplighter Easy Tiger 100% Brettanomyces IPA

Happy Sunday, BAs. Went on a chilly ass walk in the woods this morning. Watching some football now. Time for a beer -- this one gifted to me for Christmas.

Easy Tiger pours a very clear, effervescent gold with two fingers of bright white head that leave a nice cap and heavy lacing.

This is one fruity, stanky beer. White peach, guava, tea and funky brett combine to give a definite cheese-like impression in the nose.

If the intensity in the nose is close to ten, the taste brings you way past eleven. You've got light mango and other tropical flavors mixing with unsweetened tea beneath a funky brett assault. There's a little hint of bitterness. And it's all followed by a dry, earthy, almost fungal finish.

Superb mouthfeel. Light, with just a touch of soft, juicy texture, and strong carbonation.

This beer tastes like nibbling on stinky cheese on a water cracker with a little spread of tropical jam to sweeten it, right after you've had a sip of some dry gueuze. It's actually cheesier in the nose than the taste itself. Not something everyone will like, nor one I'd come back to often, but it's very well executed for what it is.

Stay warm, non-snow birds.

 

G'afternoon NBS!

Snowbird? Not quite. Born and raised in NJ, but eventually settled in VA thanks to the Navy. I will admit though, I do appreciate the milder weather where I am now. Just never does seem to get quite as hot as NJ did nor quite as cold. Still get some snow, which is more of a treat than not here, especially working in the education system.

Speaking of treats, with the cold weather decided to crack something nice. Ballast Point High West Barrel Aged Victory at Sea.

Pours a thick black color with a several fingers thick tan head. Smells of chocolate, coffee, and malts. Tastes of bourbon, chocolate, coffee, vanilla, molasses, and oak. Medium body, Note of alcohol is present but nowhere near overwhelming. Flavors blend fairly nicely together. Maybe a touch thin in the body but no complaints here. Good value for what I paid ($15/4 pack).

 

Firestone Walker Mocha Merlin

I only had two "new to me" Doppelbocks, so I'm transitioning to porters for the rest of the day. I normally don't jump for coffee beers, buuuut, I do love porters at this ABV level (5.5). I'll take coffee in a modest ABV porter over the bigger ones any day. Nonetheless, I bought one of these as a spur of the moment decision. I might have put it back on the shelf if I gave it more thought.

"Mocha" makes me think of coffee and chocolate... and that would make this beer accurately named. It tastes like dark chocolate covered espresso beans. Color is a very dark brown. Goes down easy. Well made for its type. I suppose many here might find it too thin, but I think it's just right. Cheers.

 

NBS #2



Pot & Kettle Oatmeal Porter with Chocolate

Trillium Brewing Company
American Porter / 7.50% ABV

4.05/5 rDev -2.2% | Score: 4.14
look: 4 | smell: 4 | taste: 4 | feel: 4.5 | overall: 4

L- The beer pours almost black with a towering 3 finger mocha head. The head recedes to a thin film leaving spotty lacing.
S- The nose is a mix of coffee and dark chocolate. The coffee is the stronger of the two and is picked up immediately.
T- Taste is similar to the nose with coffee and dark chocolate mixing together and coffee being the more prominent of the two.
F-carbonation is light. The mouthfeel is on the high end of medium and the beer has a slickness that is very pleasing.
O- An interesting take on a porter which leans to coffee more than smoky or roasty. The chocolate is an accent and does not overwhelm the base beer with sweetness. Recommended for porter or stout fans.

 

Boone, Blowing Rock, and Banner Elk thrive with the summer Florida dollars. They wouldn't get close to the high mountains this time of year! My brother-in-law's place on top of Elk Ridge Mountain is a wonder. I could go there and stay for good.

 

Yeah. If I saw a single of that on the shelf, I'd buy it just because of that. Some Girls was the album that made me love albums... and that's still how I prefer to consume music even if I don't listen to Some Girls much anymore. I loved the packaging of that record and ended up buying an early pressing that had the initial unaltered artwork (but I sold it many years ago).

 

That is one dark ass saison! Looks and sounds delicious!

 

Thanks to @lordofthewiens for the start today. As a resident of So Cal, I don't really need to "snowbird" but my grandparents did it for quite a few years. They'd haul their 5th wheeler down to Yuma, AZ. I used to shoot out there about every 3-4 weeks when they were there, usually between November through March. Good times. Loved getting to know all of their "winter friends." My grandparents have passed on, as have most of those friends. And, I haven't been back to Yuma, or the little border town of Algodones, in more than a decade. I should get back that way soon.

I'm wishing you fine folks out east a quick retreat of this extreme weather. I can't imagine how debilitating that kind of cold must be.

On to beer!
I just had the best Milk Stout evaaaahhhh!!!

Odell's Lugene Chocolate Milk Stout

4.66/5 rDev +14.2%
look: 4.25 | smell: 4.5 | taste: 4.75 | feel: 4.75 | overall: 4.75

Dear Lord! Thanks to the generosity of @hophound for this divine drink.
This blew me away.
Deep brown, tan head that's almost as fluffy as a down pillow.
Smell is glorious. Gentle, creamy cocoa. A delicate roast that sways between the smoothest french roast coffee and bakers chocolate. But then the nose returns to creamy cocoa. Really quite enticing.
Flavor is more of the same, just deeper, rounder, brings the whole mouth into the experience. The roast is so subtle, really allowing the creamy, graceful chocolaty notes to sashay through a most pleasant range of cocoa flavors.
Mouthfeel is full, creamy, fluffy. Epic.
Overall, thee best milk stout I've ever experienced. Please tell me the "retired" status is a mistake.

 

Two new beers today for my first NBS of 2018. I've been skimping on NBS posts over the last few weeks, but I'll make it up to you guys today. Both of my beers today are stouts; flavored stouts, to be more specific! The first one will be a smaller beer in a bigger format, and the second will be quite the opposite. Both are apropos of the colder weather we're having in the Northeastern US, which by the way will supposedly be over and done with by the end of the week, providing at least a brief respite from the very brutal, cold weather of late. Tomorrow, we actually have a forecasted high of above-freezing temperature!

This is Gingerbread Chocolate Milk Stout by 4 Hands, and it's a pretty exciting beer for me. It is my first by 4 Hands Brewing Co., a brewery that seems to be held in high regard on BA, mostly for the base recipe of this brew, and came in a well-priced package alongside the blackberry and "Tiki" (coffee/coconut) versions of the chocolate milk stout.



Flavored stouts seem to be a pretty hot button topic for a lot of BAs, it seems, as there was a pretty long thread about so-called "pastry stouts" aka big, rich, dark brews with various sweetening/adjunct additions. I happen to really love these most of the time, but the overabundance of "Bomb!"-esque "maximal adjunct" stouts doesn't appeal to me as much as some other ideas do. The two stouts I have on order today rep some unusual flavor combinations I haven't seen too much of in the past. In fact, I've only ever had one other gingerbread-flavored stout: Merry Maker by Sam Adams, and that was years ago. And it was alright, I guess.

Aaaaanyway, this pours a viscous dark-brown that eventually ends up appearing near-black in my glass when a full pour finally winds up in there. The head is a light-khaki/ecru color and seems to last permanently, boasting about a finger-and-a-half of suds. The surface is moderately obscured by a large island of foam, and the lace seems to be sloppily-tiered. Pretty great looking stuff.

The nose is heavy on gingerbread and molasses with some cinnamon and nutmeg-like spice undertones. Very bready and "dense"-smelling, for lack of a better descriptor. It just seems like this one will be really flavorful. The stout underpinnings come across a bit under the spice and adjunct notes here, but there is definitely a milk stout element, with light creaminess and an almost-vanilla-like scent. Some tempered coffee notes as well, kind of café au lait-ish. Reminds me of a gingerbread latte drink from Starbucks, but with alcohol in it. Nice!

On the tongue, this has a cola-like disposition, with strong spice (nutmeg, allspice, cinnamon, maybe even some clove) and molasses flavors combining with the creamy lactose-driven finish. The mid-palate has a bit of chewy malt, but it overall seems eclipsed by the spice. Some tangy and zesty ginger pops up in there as well, and it feels like it gives off just enough "oomph" without crowding out the other spices. Mild roastiness and smooth cocoa flavors meld with the gingerbread/winter spicing pretty well, making this entry quite a good one overall. I think the feel could be sliiiightly creamier, as there is some sharpness in here that doesn't fully convince me, but that could have to do with the ginger, I suppose. The carbonation is adequate here, but overall this just doesn't have the oomph I want. Granted, it's only 5.5%, but still.

Nevertheless, I'm greatly looking forward to the other two variants in the pack (won't get to them today, but maybe next week they'll be featured) and my next entry for today. For now, though, I must check all of the other posts in this thread, then continue laundry and other chores around the house while I finish this bomber! Later on, NBS!



Edit: Woops, this is actually my second beer from this brewery. Completely forgot my buddy got me a can of Incarnation a year-and-a-half ago. That was pretty damn good, tbh.

 

NBS #2
This beer was a Christmas gift from my brother in law.

The review:
12oz canned 12/6/17 poured into a tulip pint glass at fridge temp 6.2% ABV 42 IBU per label. The head recedes to a nice cap and leaves a little lacing. The beer pours dense brown with chocolate tan colored head. The aroma is pleasant with baker's chocolate being predominant. There is some roast malt aroma as well. The taste is smooth semisweet roast malt up front, giving way to milk chocolate, then finishing with a balanced roasty bitterness. Mouthfeel is medium to full bodied, adequately carbonated, with a full, smooth finish from the lactose. Overall, good. This is a nice enough milk stout. I don't get any Belgian quality, but their house yeast is normally pretty restrained for a Belgian strain.

 

Snowbirds?
One set of grandparents traveled around after retirement, before settling in Casa Grande , AZ. One of their favorite things to do was to go to the Grand Canyon , where they met the world, by offering to take photos (w/ the tourists' own cameras). That before selfies were a common thing. They liked it, but those beautiful sunsets have a cost : the dust that creates it gave him something akin to black lung.

After a bit of traveling, they decided on Chattanooga, TN. It has much of the look of home (trees, not flat), but with much milder winters, and with less heat & humidity than coastal areas.

A coworker , and retired coworker both have places in Florida, but would rather be here in summer.

Today's (1st) NBS beer : Southern Tier Blueberry Tart. Not bad, but I think they mistimed it. I think it would be better in hot weather. August? That would allow for the current year's harvest, but still put it in warm weather. Think of juice from frozen blueberries (thawed) + grape soda, minus the sweetness.
Despite the relatively high abv, it's ~invisible .




3.5/5 rDev -1.1%
look: 4 | smell: 4 | taste: 3.25 | feel: 3.5 | overall: 3.25

Popping the cap brings some noticeable blueberry aroma , before even pouring.

Pours slightly-purplish, ruby red, with very slight pink head. (Beautiful color. "4" rating reflects almost complete lack of head.)

Aroma is of unsweetened , just-thawed frozen blueberries, plus a little lactic sourness.

Taste is unsweetened blueberry juice (~like blueberry soda), and medium tartness, with a (Concord) grapey flavor, & a slightly bitter dryness, on the finish . No hint of the 8.5%abv.

Feel medium - light, despite the 8.5% abv, with very fine .

Overall, it's OK , but nothing special. Probably be good with spicy food, especially on a hot summer day. If you've been disappointed by ST's Raspberry White, this ,at least, doesn't have that Kool-Aid + AAL flavor. Don't avoid it because of that.

 

Sounds like it could have used some smoke and spruce tips .
(I still have that bottle for ya, btw.)