New Beer Sunday (Week 675)

Alright, time for Hermit Thrush's Po Tweet, a sour pale ale. The label says this is "packed with a blend of our favorite local Four Star Farms hops," so I don't know which hops were specifically used here. I will say that I have mostly enjoyed HT's output thus far, however. They tend to be dependable when it comes to just about anything sour.



This pours a beautiful, radiant hazy golden color with some sunburst overtones. It's capped off by a retentive yet demure head of white foam that seems to lace quite well as it slowly dissipates away to about a finger overall.

The nose here is full of bright sour fruits and dank pine resin, with specific scents including candied grapefruit peel, orange juice, tangerine mango and guava, along with some notes of soursop and white wine. Some very light sulfuric notes and a bit of bloomy funk kicking around as well. Very complex, bright and unique!

The palate is overflowing with juicy and tart flavors ranging from mango to guava to papaya, with some dragonfruit and passion fruit as well. Pineapple, tangerine, white grapefruit and light Brett funk with some yeasty chalkiness toward the finish. Moderate carbonation and hefty sourness round out this interesting and highly enjoyable beer. It's hoppy, sour and surprisingly intense for its smaller stature (only 5.2%); I love it!... apologies for the quick review, but I've gotta finish up dinner right now and get ready for my week. Cheers guys!

 

Next Runner up is an impressive Beer

Evil Twin -It's Hip To Be Square - Hopped with Galaxy, Citra, and Wakatu - Canned 1/12/18

Pours a unfiltered juicy bright orange, much bright then in the photo.

Wow, What a nose on this one. Havent been caught off my guard with a nose like this in some time. It's very pungent. Massive amounts of Dank Herbs, Spicy herbs, lemon twist Tropical Fruits with the Pith, and earth, with some citrus Aroma is off the chain of this one!

Taste is creamy smooth and with restrained bitterness while following the nose perfectly. Certainly Juicy on the pallet with a slightly dry finish.

This is a awesome, awesome take on the NE style by Evil Twin.

I would wait in line for this one, and it's not even Double Dry Hopped!

Happy NBS!

 

What's up NBS? I'll have to catch up on this thread in a bit, time to drink a beer. SN Experimental Hop Session IPA, a dissapointment, not something I usually say about their beers.
3.41 overall

Pours an effervescent gold with a thumb of eggshell colored head.Lovely lacing & above average head retnetion

S: Grassy, not anything elseto speak of

T: Grassy, dry, & a little lemon up front. A little sweet breadyness as this warms, some lemongrass too. Finishes grassy,
a little dry, crisp & with more lemongrass

MF: Light body, delicate carbonation, solid balance

Easy to drink, but nothing compelling going on here. This style is not my jam & this is not an outlier

No significant dates coming up here for a little while. 32nd Wedding Anniversary will be the next one in March

 

Happy birthday to her and safe travels to you both
Cheers

 

I really screwed up earlier and did not properly acknowledge the anniversary/history aspect of this thread. Last weekend we had our children over, both born in January (16 and 20) four days and three years apart. Our son in law was born on 1/22/82. We also celebrated what would have been my Dad's 100th birthday on that same day.

 

Ten10 Brewing Brother of Night
Imperial Stout - 11% ABV



3.53/5 rDev 0%
look: 2.25 | smell: 4.25 | taste: 3.75 | feel: 1.75 | overall: 3.5

22oz bottle poured into a snifter. Bottle purchased at the brewery. Brother of Night is a barrel aged imperial stout weighing in at 11% ABV. Pours a dark black color with nearly zero visible carbonation despite a semi-aggressive pour. The nose features a lot of oak, bourbon and vanilla from the barrels the beer rested in. Upon first sip, my initial observations about very little carbonation in the bottle are confirmed. I would much rather little to no carbonation over an over carbonated beer any day but the mouthfeel and overall experience of the beer does take a hit. The flavor is really nice with some sweetness and roastiness up front and a big lingering warming finish from the barrels and high alcohol. Overall, I think the base beer is really solid but the lack of carbonation and the booziness from such a young bottle detracts from the beer. With proper carbonation and a little aging, Brother of Night would be a really solid beer.

 

3.89/5 rDev -5.4%
look: 4 | smell: 4.25 | taste: 3.75 | feel: 3.75 | overall: 3.75

A: Beer pours a dark brown cola like color. A light tan head quickly disapeared after first pour. Minimal lacing or head remained while drinking the beer.

S: Main scent was of oak and chocolate. The barrel aged aromas are present but somewhat subdued.

T: The tastes are similar to the nose of the beer. The whiskey flavors are more noticeable, however, on the taste than they were on the smells. Overall, the beer is one-dimensonal. Not much is evident outside the barrel aging.

M: Beer is thinner than I prefer my stouts to be normally. The taste of the beer is also watery. On the plus side, for a double digit ABV beer this is a light drinker.

O: Too thin and watery for my liking. The smells are the best part for a sub par beer.

 

Greetings all and thanks to Cjgiant for the clever opening. I'm a bit absent minded so for me, anniversaries of various sorts can be a source of stress. Thankfully I've not missed one in quite a while though!

As for beer, today I've got one that's been getting a bit of buzz in our local forum and, I assume, beyond: Danger! Danger! by Mystic Brewing. It's a DIPA in the New England style/approach that clocks in at a hefty 8.8% ABV.

There's an interesting story behind this beer in that Mystic is one of two Belgian focused breweries in the area to recently get into the IPA game in earnest (and they are only about 3 miles from each other as well). Some people might find it disappointing that they've had to "give in" to market pressure but I don't think it needs to be seen that way. They still brew all of their Belgian beers and their entry into the IPA realm appears to have allowed them to begin canning for the first time and their very popular Belgian Table Beer is now available in that format instead of bombers. I'm not a big saison fan myself but other people seem very excited about this. As is often said in the "sell out" threads, once you open a brewery it's a business and not a hobby, so you can either shake your fist at the sky that the beers you love most aren't best sellers, or you can get people in the door with a crowd pleaser and hope to entice them to explore your other offerings while they're there. Things seem to be working out well for the first brewery that made this change, and hopefully Mystic will have similar results.

Anyway, on to the beer!




This pours a very attractive honey orange color with a tightly fluffy white head that recedes fairly quickly. I agree with people who find some beers in this style to be a bit unattractively turbid but this is very much on the pleasantly hazy side of that line. I tend to find that the nose on these types of beers cluster a bit into two broad groups: ones that are heavy on the peach/apricot aroma and ones that are more along the lines of mango/guava/pineapple. This is very much in the former camp. A little dank weediness and a bit of alcohol as well. I don't know the malt bill on this but it appears to have the familiar mildly "oaty" smell as well.

Taste follows the nose though things now get a bit more tropical with some of those more mango and guava like flavors. There's a pleasant moderate bitterness on the backend and again just a hint of alcohol. Mouthfeel is safely in the thick and soft arena though the bitterness gives a suggestion of a slightly sharp and crisp finish.

This is an outstanding beer that to me could go toe to toe with any of the big players in NE IPA game. And since I prefer some good bitterness, I might actually put it above some of the more widely known ones. Great effort from Mystic. Cheers all!

 

Today is now two new beer Sunday!
As I will mention in the review it is super refreshing for me to drink a 'regular' IPA.
Firestone Walker Union Jack

12oz bottle into Nonic Pint
Bottled on 11/30/17 about 2 months old
L- pours a perfectly clear burnt orange with a nice big fluffy white head, great retention
S- caramel, pine, melon, grapefruit
T- melon, citrus, grapefruit, slightly toasted caramel, toffee, grapefruit aftertaste
F- medium-bodied, below average carbonation, perfectly crushable
Overall a quintessential West Coast IPA, which is very refreshing in 2018. The interesting note, is that the bitterness is more up front with the sweetness of the malt on the finish.

Cheers!

 

Yards thomas Jefferson ale, pours a dark amber color. Feel- medium carbonation with a slight heavy satisfying body. Aroma is slight bitter hops,malt and what I think is honey. Taste- follows nose, bitter hops softened by malt and what seems to be some honey. The 8% and is well hidden as this is a very easy beer to knock down more than one. Overall- an excellent beer from a great brewer

 

Good evening NBS, hope everyone is having a good day so far. Did my usual bottle returns and just finished up the laundry for the week. Got a couple new beers. Going to be busy as it was last week. Got a haircut earlier because it was getting out of control, and I feel much more comfortable now.

New beer:

Excellent IPA! Great head retention/lacing on the glass. Aromas and flavors of big grapefruit, tangerine, peach, pineapple, apricot, mango, lemon zest, orange peel, citrus rind, pepper, and pine hops; with moderate toasted biscuit, light caramel malts; and herbal, floral, grassy hop earthiness. Moderate pine, citrus rind, herbal, grassy, peppery bitterness on the finish. Medium carbonation/body and moderate crisp finishing. Balanced bready/grainy malts and sticky/resinous/rindy hops in the mouthfeel. Moderate increasing resin dryness, no hop astringency. Very easy drinking, 6%. Fairly aggressive, but not overwhelming. Very dank/vibrant hop complexity; nice bready malt backbone, with no residual sweetness. Really classic tasting IPA. Feels like Columbus, Simcoe, and Amarillo. Really delicious, will buy again. 4


Delicious gose. Aromas and flavors of big juicy/tart/tangy blackberries, fruit skin/seeds, lemon, lime, peach, pear, green apple, melon, red grape, sea salt, wheat, cracker, herbal, grass, light lacto funk, and yeast earthiness. Light-moderate fruity/lactic tartness, fruit tang; and light peppery yeast spiciness on the finish. Medium carbonation, light bodied, and moderately crisp/clean finishing. Balanced grainy wheat, lactic acid, fruit tang/tannins, and light salinity in the mouthfeel. Moderate increasing tart/tangy fruit dryness, never puckering. Very flavorful/refreshing, 4.6%. Really enjoyed this one. Nice levels of authentic berries with balanced Lacto; solid pale/wheat malt backbone, and not overly salty. I still have a ton of Gose left to review from my Ohio holiday visit. 3.9


First review as usual. This was outstanding! Aromas and flavors of big tart lemon, lime, orange, grapefruit, peach, pear, apricot, melon, red/green apple, white wine, hay, straw, herbal, grass, wood, and pepper; with some wheat/crackery malts; light leathery/musty funk and yeast earthiness. Moderate lactic tang/tartness and peppery yeast spiciness on the finish. Medium high carbonation, light-medium body, and moderately crisp/clean finishing. Balanced grainy wheat, acidity, and hop stickiness in the mouthfeel. Moderate increasing spicy/lactic/tangy dryness, never puckering. Completely refreshing 6%. Apparently they tried implementing some Lambic elements into their fermentation process with this; hence the name. The Brett complexity is just wonderful, nice dry hop presence, not overly lactic, nice malt backing against acidity. This is my favorite non-fruit one they made yet. Still have a couple more. One is a wild Kvass(style tick), other is elderberries. 4.15


Cheers, be back a bit later NBS.

I finally ended up getting the whole discography. Only took me 6 months of procrastination lol.

 

Keeping the new IPAs flowing with Revision The Bruff, thanks @CanConPhilly for this awesome juice!
4.39/5 rDev +4.3%
look: 4.25 | smell: 4.5 | taste: 4.25 | feel: 4.5 | overall: 4.5

Thank you CanConPhilly for this
16 oz can, dated 12/15/17, poured into a teku

A- A hazy golden straw with a two finger white head

S- Grapefruit, oranges, mango, tropical fruits. Complete juice bomb!

T- Tropical fruits, oranges, some grapefruit, touch of melons, mild dankness, touch of herbal tea.

M- Smooth, medium body, a little creamy.

O- A great example of a NEIPA. Smells like straight juice, not as juicy with the taste but very well done.

 

Thanks to @cjgiant for another great start to NBS today! My 3-year BA anniversary is in about a week, so that's something, I suppose. I spent most of the day working on the house, so it's extra nice to unwind with a new beer. There was nothing new in the fridge, so I dipped into my cellar (technically a closet) and found this one which piqued my curiosity:



I picked this one up a few months ago on a whim as one of a mix 6. Bottled in 2015, so who knows what this one has seen on the shelf!

Nice-looking beer with an amber color and a modest white head that quickly dissipated, leaving very little behind. It was crystal clear in the glass. There was a very sweet aroma at first with apples, pears, and honey, which then evolved to include some peppery and floral notes and a bit of smokiness at the end. The taste followed the nose closely. Very, very sweet through and through. Lots of honey flavor along with pear and some caramel. A slight peppery note on the back, although this could have been from the heat. No real signs of oxidation or soy sauce flavors. There was a gentle warming that I expected in a 14% beer, and this did not feel overly boozy. Full-bodied and very sweet with low-moderate carbonation. Overall this was nice but too sweet for my tastes. Curiosity satisfied. Did I say that this was sweet?

 

Speaking of Anniversarys Lost Forty Double Love Honey Anniversary Doppelbock, 3.8 overall.
Good, but one of my favorite styles, so you got to knock it out of the park to really impress me

https://www.beeradvocate.com/beer/profile/38015/324579/?ba=russpowell#review

 

Poured vintage 2017 into a Magnify Snulip, at near room temperature. Got a one inch dark tan head, that leaves thin wisps of lace behind after each sip. 4.25

Smell is underly intoxicating. Char, vanilla beans, coffee grounds, cocoa nibs, toffee, a hint of anise, and oak. 4.5

Taste follows char seems to hit my palate first, but then it explodes into vanilla, dark chocolate, coffee, a little toffee and anise, and nice hit of oaky bourbon lingers on the tongue, begging you to take another sip. 4.5

Mouthfeel is surprisingly big, not sure what the base beer is ABV, but it really drinks larger than 9.5% but is also exceptionally approachable, plenty of carbonation, but slightly creamy. 4.5

Overall this thing is really, really good and I went in with high expectations and it delivered the goods. Thanks @jzeilinger and @GreenBayBA for each sending me one of these this week, my cellar thanks you both for realizing I need one of these guys in my cellar for a special occasion and I never just put one the cellar without trying it fresh, because you don't know if it aged well if you didn't have it on the fresher side. World class Stout in my opinion. 4.5

 

I had that beer in my hands yesterday but ultimately put it back when I saw some Crooked Stave cans (because brettanomyces ). It sounds really interesting, though; I'll have to make a point of grabbing it the next time.

 

They're closing? What about the brewery itself? I really like Sully's (Dry Irish Stout.) The 2 IPAs I had from them were solid, but ordinary, so likely part of their demise .

 

Jackie O’s Bourbon Barrel Black Maple

 

Hello, NBS friends, and thank you to @cjgiant for the opener. This is the 3rd anniversary of my full engagement in this site. I was a member 5 years prior, but until January 2015, I only came here to vet beers I was considering for purchase (which I still do - for every single beer I purchase).

I tracked all the beers I’d had to that point on a spreadsheet. For real. Then I figured out, “You dillweed, you can track them on BA, which you visit fairly regularly to research beers.” So I started tracking here, and participating in WBAYDN, and then I discovered this magnificent thread.

And now I plan my beer week (actually, I plan my beer month - I am a trained professional) around this thread. So Happy Anniversary, NBS, I raise my glass to you all.

I have a couple of beers tonight (shocking, I know). The first is a NE-style DIPA. #DropsMic



4.6/5 rDev +2.9%
look: 4.5 | smell: 4.5 | taste: 4.75 | feel: 4.5 | overall: 4.5

The pour yields a turbid golden straw- colored beer with a pillowy off-white head. This sits between the hazy look of Heady/Focal and the milkshake look seen in many of this style. I prefer this to the milkshake look, but YMMV.

The first thing I notice on the nose is weed - actually, dank weed. This is followed by tropical citrus notes, with passion fruit the most prominent, but I also note juicy mandarin oranges and ... some pineapple.

The taste is orange rinds (an ever so slight astringent note), passion fruit, and gushingly juicy pineapple. Simply delicious, IMHO. The feel is soft-ish, but has some texture and bite. Most excellent, IMHO. Other Half continues to offer world-class stuff.

 

Tried for the first time today...



It's a solid IPA.