New Beer Sunday (Week 678)

I’ve enjoyed the debate I inadvertently started. I know you look at things differently than the 5-category layout on this site (which is why I asked). There have been and will be more threads on the question of needing x (which equals what, 102 on this site) style categories.

My two cents (worth 50¢ on the $) is in agreement with @drtth insofar as words help explain things better than just numbers or ever-increasingly ambiguous styles. “White stout” comes to mind. Because it doesn’t fit a category, it should fail in most all. Does that make it a bad beer? Corny enough, it’s in the eyes of the beer-holder. But the word “stout” does come with certain expectations, which will color impressions (and reviews).

There is not a solution I see, just (hopefully) fun discussion.

 

If it's Cultivating Mass, I'm in love already. If it's not Cultivating Mass, I'm probably still in love already.

 

I'm with you on this. The whole point of starting the BIFs was to drive NBS involvement, which it seems to have done, at least to a point. I'll admit to using a lax hand in guiding the participation in the BIFs, (I have a More The Merrier approach), but I haven't figured out a way to "enforce" BIFers to participate in NBS. I'm open to thoughts and suggestions on this matter, tell me what ya think. Either way, I hope you sign up, you bring much fun to the thing.

 

Been on an Amber kick for the last few weeks. I tend to drink one style (IPAs and Stouts) until I get burnt out for a bit. I am starting to get that way with Stouts for the winter. Feel like Ambers offer the hops I like from IPAs and a spicier backbone than the average IPA. So for NBS this week I decided to compare a couple Ambers.



My Native Amber review : https://www.beeradvocate.com/beer/profile/19456/48720/

My Avalanche Ale review: https://www.beeradvocate.com/beer/profile/2137/2297/

Overall I felt the Native Amber was considerably better. It had a stronger hop presence than the Avalanche. I thought the Avalanche had more in common with a typical Lager than a Amber. I was reccomended the Avalanche yesterday at a liquor store in Ft. Smith. One of the others the guy recommended he then told me he had never had. Neither had much of the spice that I want in the style, but the Native Amber scored better in every area.

 

Nope, it's brewed right here in the 'Ham.

 

New beer #3. Maybe I’m just spoiled when it comes to ddh beers, but this one doesn’t do it for me. 100th review though!

Lagunitas - Dry Hopped Censored
Amber Ale - 6.7% abv
Purchased for $2.79 at Monde Market
Score: 3.67 (-10.3% rDev)



L - 2-finger dense offwhite head atop a translucent burnt orange body.

S - dirt, pine, citrus, some sweetness, some booze.

T - hops hit you first. Not bitter but the taste is in your face! The hops are vegetal and earthy...can’t identify them but I’m sure someone else will. Moderate sweetness and booze.

F - Medium body and carb.

O - The dry hopping here is very obvious. I’m just not a huge fan of whatever commodity hops they used to dry hop. That being said, it’s nice to be able to actually taste the hops being used in an Amber Ale. I find many of them (Nugget Nectar included) to be too sweet to let the hops showcase themselves.

 

Funky Buddha Hop Gun

A-Pours a nice amber color with a head but little lacing
A-Aroma has hoppy hints
T-Taste follows the nose with a nice hop flavor and decent bittterness.
M-A medium bodied beer with nice carbonation
O-Well made well balanced beer

 

One of my favorite parts of traveling is hauling home new beer for me to try. It just so happened I visited a state that gets Sixpoint recently, and stumbled into two cans of this - so I bought both. Had a bit of fun and made a mess with the photography for this review, but it's all in the name of fun.



Sixpoint's BBA 3 Bean's.

Pours black with a finger and a half of khaki foam. Head retention is fair with little lacing left behind. Aroma is aromatic bourbon at a mild proof, with barrel, oak, butter, coffee, and roasted and toasted malts. Despite being a bourbon barrel aged dark ale, it comes off as bright and light - in a positive way. Flavor profile is coffee right on the nose, with light notes of barrel char, butter, bourbon, and toasted malts. Even lighter notes of oak, and biscuit malts give the beer a little extra depth, without shoving it further down the path of a dark, robust beer. Mouth feel is just a touch fizzy, but otherwise crisp and smooth. It has a medium thickness. Overall, despite being bourbon barrel aged, it really doesn't deliver a huge hit of power. It's well balanced, with pleasant notes of bourbon and coffee intertwined and sips a little thinner than its 10.10% ABV would suggest.

Score: 4 | 4.25 | 4.25 | 4.25 | 4.25 | BA Score: 4.24 | rDev: +1.4%

 

It's been a beautiful day here in middle-TN, with the first legit sunny day in I-don't-know how long. I'm enjoying another Colorado beer thanks to @Wasatch, and this one's interesting:

Blucifer, Odd13 Brewing, Lafayette, Colorado




Thanks again to @Wasatch for this one. This one was cola-brown on the pour, becoming opaque in the glass. There was an effervescent large tan head that appeared quickly with the pour but rapidly settled, leaving no trace. There was definite Brett funk on the nose with a raisiny fruitiness along with some faint raspberries. It tasted moderately tart with a mix of raspberry, raisins, and even some toffee. The Brett funkiness was also there but was restrained. I also picked up on the lactose which gave it a slight sweetness in addition to a little heft. The body was great for a 4% beer, probably from the lactose. This did not feel thin and straddled the line between thin and sweet nicely. Overall a very tasty beer that left me longing for more. Cheers!

 

Another Modern Times and this one screamed, "Drink Me" as I poured it in the glass!

Poured a turbid golden orange with minimal white head but left a consistent sheet of lacing as it quickly disappeared from the glass.
Smells is tropical fruit with an underlying resinous pine.
Tastes follows, I'm getting guava, papaya, a little zesty citrus all riding on an earthy, resinous pine. Nice malt backbone.
Medium to full bodied, oily coating, Medium carbed with a slight prickle on the tongue.
Overall another tasty one from Modern Times, I see seeking out more of these in my future.

 

Man Eating Toaster from Aslin. Just released. It's essentially a hazy cinnamon toast crunch IPA. Smooth vanilla, light cinnamon. Dig this a lot. Very unique.

 

A-Beer pours a nice black color with a generous tan head and slight lacing
A-Aroma has distinct coconuts hints
T-Taste follows the nose with a wonderful coconut flavor
M-A medium bodied beer with generous carbonation
O-A very well made beer, probably the best porter I ever had

 

Next up on NBSx2, a beverage from a brewery that seems to need little or no introduction but I'll do so anyway. A big thanks goes out to @joe1510 for this beer.

Three Floyds
Alpha Klaus- Christmas Porter



First of all, I'm terrified of the little creep on the label. Not human flesh eating clown terrified, but human flesh eating cartoon green painted clown terrified.



Alpha Klaus pours black. No light can penetrate through its mass, but perhaps through the dense forest of tanned foam resting above. That foam leaves a solid but smooth coastline around the glass with an island perfectly poised in the center.

Despite its black hole appearance, the aromas quickly bring it back to earth with black licorice, burnt sugar, and damp foliage. Hints of sarsaparilla come to mind as well.

There is no question about it, this is a porter. Baked bread is met with root beer spices and wonderful woody notes. A burst of roasted coffee then a mild metallic end deems itself appropriate by way of English chocolate malts.

Though it is very roasted with a fine bitter finish, a good shot of sweetness keeps this close to balanced. It is a little thick and creamy even, but has a dryness on the end that makes this superbly drinkable. A mild and tingly carbonation give whatever "strange hops" are used, a platform to showcase a spicy bite.

Only my second beer from 3 Floyd's, and I'd say this is another winner. I'd buy this in six packs for sure, especially on sleet down pouring days like today, where I've got nothing better to do than warm up with some bold beers.

Thanks again Joe! Cheers.

After my official review I gave Alpha Klaus a rating of 4.15 with an rDev of +0.7%

 

Sold!

 

Could you give me the reference? I don't know that the 0.5% difference is statistically significant but it may very well be biologically significant.

 

Now that @beerloser has chimed in, I'll join him in echoing my two cents. I don't want to be the ass in excluding anyone from participating, but since the call went out to grow this I've noticed what I consider tickers coming to the party then disappearing. I've always considered this an open but tight knit group consisting mostly of regulars that believe in the purpose of the thread. I also understand it takes a certain amount of dedication to do so, but it can be done. We're a pretty easy going group here and don't ask for much more than a simple description or link to your review.

I've made some great and generous connections here and met some in person. It's a bit personal to me in that aspect, so I may be speaking out of turn. Just one person's opinion.

 

Probably my favorite warm-weather beer when i want something hoppy, and very happy to have it as a staple in my beer fridge year round. Many thanks @ModernTimesJacob @ModernTimesSteven ! Please continue to make Fortunate Islands a year-round offering!

 

Here it is:
https://jamanetwork.com/journals/jamainternalmedicine/fullarticle/2593255

 

At least you're not debating what the definition of is is!

 

I still think I was being unclear then. I would never suggest the opposite regarding reviews vs scores. When I say that a Doppelbock can be pale, I'm not trying to make styles more ambiguous or trying to embrace misfits. I'm not even saying anything that requires a solution. I am suggesting that our approach to "styles" should not be to place a false set of standards on a style so that they all have specific definitions across a spectrum of criteria that really should not be there. If someone thinks that a pale Doppelbock is bad because it's pale, then (in my eyes) the problem is with the review not the beer. I see the repercussions of this a lot... where "not to style" is not used in a way that's accurate. When a German beer is a "Doppelbock Dunkel" it's not an exercise in redundancy for its own sake. There's no reason why all terms like Doppelbock, old ale, Pilsner, and porter need to communicate clearly defined ideas of everything including taste, ABV, color, etc. Some terms will, and others will focus on a specific attribute instead. (Man, people must hate these posts)