New Beer Sunday (Week 672)

Taxman Brewing?

 

Ok, I’ll admit I’m a sucker for barrel aged beers, and wine barrel aged beers make me dizzy with anticipation...Trip In The Woods: Red Wine Barrel Aged Narwhal, bottled 08/11/16:



Black with ruby edges;lite brown mousse-like Head; poured at 56 degrees; moderately heavy lacing; long cap retention with heavy ring; thin legs, but there on swirl. 4.5

Red wine, oak, grape/berries nose. 4.25

Lite chocolate malt, tannic red wine, oak with creamy vanilla notes; sweet plums, berries, grapes finish. 4.5

Medium plus body; moderate carbonation; creamy vanilla and dry wooden barrel tongue coating; warming retronasal, sinuses and mouth. 4.25

Overall a fruit forward, tannic Barrel Aged beauty; malt and chocolate base completely secondary to a thinner, wine like tasty stout; 10.5% completely hidden flavor wise; I like!; there are Lots of big malt/chocolate stouts (I love ‘em) but an acidic fruity, complex Barrel Aged grape and berries flavors stout that we have here is a treat. 4.5

Cheers boys and girls!

 

Trappistes rochefort #6. Amber color, heavy feel,full bodied. Aroma is raisins and prunes first followed by other dried fruit,malt,and a slight caramel smell. Taste for the most part follows the aroma, dried fruit definitely comes through first. This isn't overly sweet at all despite the presence of dried fruit and is also kept in check by a mild bitterness. This was really enjoyable and the 7.5 abv made it easily drinkable yet warming after being outside with the dog in the cold

 

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

Canned 11 days ago.

Pours medium-hazy dark orange with 2+ fingers of white head.

The nose is kiwi and raspberry. Sweet and inviting. Some pungent, pot-like dankness in the background.

The taste is kiwi and orange peel, with a doughy malt character vying for attention. This doesn't quite pop or wow me, but it's pretty tasty. Citrus peel and unripe papaya. I'm not getting any of the jammy berry notes I get on the nose, and, as with a lot of good-but-not-amazing NE-IPAs in this ABV range, there's some mild astringency as you get further into the pint. Overall, though, it's a fairly easy-drinking beer, with a medium mouthfeel supporting it.

The verdict: 4.25, which seems to be where most Magnify beers land for me. Their hoppy beers aren't quite as fruity or clean as the big boy's (Trillium etc.), but they're very solid.

 

fantastic looking food, as usual, cheers.

 

Many thanks to @lordofthewiens for getting this great thread started, and to @JackHorzempa and @cjgiant for the phenomenal side-by-side NBS contributions! I say side-by-side rather than head-to-head as the later seems to imply a needed winner, and it would seem that one would ever be a loser with any of those four beers.

Snowbirds were definitely something I envied growing up in South Dakota. Our family knew many grain farmers who were lucky enough to escape the sometimes brutal winter weather of the Dakotas for the sunshine of AZ and Southern CA. I was not so lucky. We are cattle ranchers, and thus animal husbandry inhibits any thoughts of uprooting for months at a time. The nastiest I ever personally endured was for chores during the winter of '96/97...and a wind chill of -70F. Needless to say that was the last winter I spent in the Dakotas before pursuing education in far more hospitable climates.

My offering today is from Faction Brewing, in Alameda California. I find that Faction are one of the best APA brewers in Norcal for my palate and preferences. 007 Pale Ale definitely reaffirms that assessment for me. Pours as one of the darker APAs I can remember, almost reminiscent of an amber depending on the light. To enjoy this brew, you'd better embrace the dankness. Not necessarily a marijuana dank, but more of an earthy dank. It's got a plethora of carbonation which lends to a lively tongue. I thoroughly enjoyed the brew, and will happily grab again. That said, it may not be quite crisp enough for summertime, but would be just fine for Fall through Spring. Complete review link, BA Score = 4.2, rdev = +8.8%

 

Yes, Taxman brewing. They are south of Indy and reasonably priced. All Belgian beers.

 

Ballast Point's BA Victory at Sea.

Pours black with a finger and a half of dark caramel-colored head. Head retention is nice, with a caramel-colored foamy ring lingering for a long time. Aroma is bourbon and barrel first, with roasted and toasted malts forming a strong presence just behind. Caramel, toffee, and molasses all mingle as well. Flavor profile is sweet and soft notes of toffee, and caramel, over a heavy base of roasted and toasted malts. Bourbon and barrel are present throughout, but heavily present at the finish. Mouth feel is thick, and velvety. Overall, a heavy barrel aged porter that tastes smooth and well balanced.

Score: 4.25 | 4.25 | 4.5 | 4.5 | 4.5 | BA Score: 4.43 | rDev: +0.7%

 

Happy first NBS of 2018, everyone. I'm joining @cjgiant in reviewing High West BA Victory at Sea. I've been looking forward to trying this because I really like the base porter, and I was excited to finally see it in a local bottle shop, particularly in the 12 oz. format. This is a nicely crafted porter although I generally prefer bourbon to rye whiskey. I rated it a solid 4.25. Here's my full review:

4.25/5 rDev -0.7%
look: 4.25 | smell: 4.25 | taste: 4.25 | feel: 4.25 | overall: 4.25

2017 release. Poured from 12 oz. bottle into a tulip glass. It pours a very dark walnut with almost a finger of fluffy, mocha colored head, which dissipated rapidly, and elegant lacing that lasted through the pour. There's lots of barrel on the nose, along with roasted malt, cocoa, caramel, oak, and light, freshly-brewed coffee. The taste is more whiskey forward than I anticipated; the chocolate, caramel, and coffee are more subtle and evident at the finish. As the glass warmed, I tasted bourbon and almonds, as well. I generally prefer bourbon to rye whiskey and recommend letting the glass warm before sipping. The mouth feel seems to be somewhat richer than the base porter. And while it's not overtly boozy you can feel the 12% ABV. Overall, I'm a fan of the base VAS and, while this version didn't disappoint, I'd prefer less rye whiskey and more bourbon. Nonetheless, it merits its "outstanding" rating.

I hope you're all enjoying your new beers today. Cheers!

 

Actually they're just returning back home to roost.

 

SN No Middle Ground IPA. It was decent, 3.87 overall. Just not a style to get me all weak in knees for sure

https://www.beeradvocate.com/beer/profile/140/320976/?ba=russpowell#review

 

Sorry folks, postimage ain't working today either, so you will have to allow your imagination to paint the picture of this one;

The Answer Brewpub - Thumbs Up Emoji DIPA

4.49/5 rDev 0%
look: 4.25 | smell: 4.5 | taste: 4.5 | feel: 4.5 | overall: 4.5

Cloudy, dingy orange juice body with a decent, mostly off white foam head when forced a bit. Very little lace clinging to the glass. Great aromas rising up as it's mostly grapefruit leaning towards the earthy side. No overripe veggie smell at all, nor is there any garlic or shallot, yet there is still something a little dank that offers a bit of spice as well that stings the back of the nostrils. Taste is a refreshing dry, resiny bitter straight away, taking on a real strong grapefruit character, followed slightly by orange peel. Got a little backbone on the otherwise dry finish. Where a lot of these beers come across as fluffy, this one is a touch heavier and more on par with the feel of a DIPA. After taste is bracingly bitter and dry.

 

Great review! Thanks for posting.

 

Alvarado Street will probably be sued by the Rolling Stones for ripping off the name and album cover.

 

Thanks. I seem to have gotten the barrel a little less distinctively than most today. As always, nice to see how a beer hits other people's palates for both similarities and differences. Cheers!

 

I think that's one of the reasons I liked the beer, it's not another juice bomb and provides a nice crisp West Coast change of pace to tap handles of IPA/DIPAs that seem to be dominated by hazy and/or juicy recipes these days. Cheers

 

G' afternoon NBS-ers!
The wife got a treadmill for free the other day, her way of hinting that I am getting too large. So after a 45 minute work out I'm gonna re-hydrate. I'm gonna drink "backwards" today and start out big.
Left Hand Brewing Wake Up Dead nitro RIS



Poured hard into the glass, as instructed on the bottle, from a 12 oz. bottle. BBD: 09/20/18.

Appearance: Jet black body, nothing shows through when held up to the light. Creamy nitro head; lovely tan coffee with milk colored head.

Aroma: Coffee, mild licorice, dark chocolate. Aromas seem muted which to me is typical with nitro beers.

Taste/Mouthfeel: Mildly bitter with licorice, bakers chocolate and some bitterness. Mouthfeel is light and easy super smooth and all alcohol is hidden. Hard not do drink this one down in a few gulps!

Overall: I really love this nitro version. Lovely look and taste. Glad I picked this one up!

Cheers!

 

Tip of the hat to the rest of you freezing your keisters off on this chilly Sunday. My sole offering today hails from Visby on Gotland Island in Sweden. My girlfriend's grandmother is Swedish, who in turn birthed a Swedish-American daughter who went on to create my girlfriend: and luck would have it, right before visiting us for the holidays, she visited Sweden. This has nothing to do with snowbirds (though my parents are trying to escape them by moving back to Texas from Florida), but I hear there's plenty of snow in Sweden. And birds. And beer.

Anyway, back to the beer: Sitting Bulldog by Gotlands Bryggeri. As their website describes, this is their take on a classic IPA using American hops. Currants, passion fruit, dried figs and aroma of roasted malt are specified for the nose, with a likely mis-Google-translated "selected beef" and fullness as well as honey-sweet and fruity aftertones. Let's see what we've got, shall we?



Sitting Bulldog IPA
BB Date: 11/21/2018, so assuming this is a little over the 6 weeks old mark.
Gotlands Bryggeri
BA Score: 3.71
My Score: 3.83

L - 4
Poured into an appropriately Nordic tulip glass after 10 minutes on the counter. Pours a perfectly clear copper, with a slightly off-white vibrant head that slowly recedes into a film and rim around the edge, and leaves plenty of lacing behind. Most IPAs steer away from this color these days in NYC, but the clarity is damn impressive. My half-asleep cat is confused as to why he can see me through the glass.

S - 3.5
Honey and malt come first on the aroma, pleasantly different from my usual IPA fare, followed by an earthy, piney, almost evergreen hop note. A straight forward aroma, a bit muted, but pleasant.

T - 4
Flavor follows the aroma closely at first, but as the sip warms up the hops take front and center stage. The introduction is definitely the pine/evergreen note, but it quickly changes into a fruity flavor. I get why their website talks about black currant and figs -- I would not have thought of that without looking, but it's spot on. I also get a little plum, but it's nearly non-existant, so I wonder if I'm stretching for it. There's a honey, caramel sweetness to it, and it's a quite pleasing contrast to the hops.

F - 4
Light to medium body, nice carbonation zip, with plenty of resin.

O - 3.75
The flavor is overall fairly subdued, in a very good way. It's not a beer that beats you over the head, nor is it a beer that takes excessive effort to dissect. I look forward to trying this fresh someday at the brewery in Gotland, as I imagine my future travels will inevitably take me to Sweden.