New Beer Sunday (Week 696)

A-Pours a nice copper color with a generous head and lacing
A-Aroma has slight malty hints
T-The taste follows the nose with a slight malty flavor
M-A medium bodied well carbonated beer
O-A good take on the English style IPA

 

Those Answer Popsicle beers are quite tasty, and a good break between some of the nice Imperial Stouts and DIPAs they have on thier large tap list at the brewery/pub. Agree that they sorta seem to only fit the term "beer" in a technical sense, which is fine as long as you know what you are getting into.

 

Thanks @lordofthewiens for another intro that gets my brain to down shift with out fail. Certainly the similarities in the unknowns of children and a new beer are there although you have little responsibility to bear if you were not the brewer. I will leave it to the 'Nature vs. Nurture' debaters as to how much influence parents have but uncontrollable laughing fits with my kids due to an arcane reference one of us has made makes me want to believe I had something to do with their senses of humor at least.

Grabbed off the grocery store shelf last evening in haste hoping that some karmic connection might be made between my taste buds and the beer thru my arm. While the name gave me pause, my wife's sushi order beckoned down the street.



L - Cloudy, medium gold with unavoidable dregs dive bombing from the cover provided by the can into the my Speigelau IPA glass. Decent white head transitions to rocky lumps before pulling back to a ring riding up the side of the glass and a thin layer across the surface.
S - Initial bright hoppy aromas quickly give way to a stale mustiness.
T - Surprising sweet beginning followed by a spiciness with no bitterness.
F - Medium body with off-putting spicy burn.
O - At least they did not add "Be All and " to its name which it would not even close to describing it. So many better IPAs at the same price point.
Composite score 2.9 which is very near my drain pour threshold.

 

Hey what's going on!?

Hi all, been having some fun lately. Lots of World Cup action which has made glued like crazy. Also been having some fun with @TongoRad as well, hope he is doing well.

I went to my old neighborhood to hit up my Latino market and got some crazy goodies for some fish tacos tonight.

I haven't been diggin in to my stash lately, but there's plenty of goodies, but I am working on my pacing these days.

Finally dug into this badboy which has been sitting around, let's see how it goes.

What's new for our hero today?



Poured from the bottle into a snifter glass. Bottled August 23rd 2017.

Burnt and rusted red glowing body, with a touch of amber orange. Khaki and fleeting head that dissolves pretty quickly, but manages a creamy good sized collar. This really looks like a barleywine.

Nice aroma. Comes off a sense of possible wet body perhaps, but a good sticky barrel caramel note, touches of vanilla and cream also. Decent nothing amazing though. There's almost a sense of berry like fruit also.

Nice light palate. Doesn't quite have the heft of a stout, but the flavors are at least their by a slightly wet body. Creamy almost nougat with a light wash of caramel flavors on first sip. A bit of fizz carbonation, which unfortunately distracts slightly. Bit of a touch of hop bitterness that's slightly citrus as well which is interesting.

Very interesting take for an Imperial Brown Ale. Doesn't quite absorb all the great barrel notes, but gets some, and has a good interesting flavor.

Look: 3.5 | smell: 4 | taste: 4 | feel: 3.75 | overall: 4 | BA Generated Score: 3.95

Cheers!

 

New beers #3 and 4 are @Sixpoint ’s barrel-aged Jammer variants (Tequila and Gin). Going to review them showdown-style.



Tequila on the left, Gin on the right.

L - Tequila displays a trace head that is gone in seconds. Gin shows a 1-finger silken head that dissolves quite slowly. Tequila’s body is a slightly darker shade of orange, but the two look similar. Advantage: Gin

S - Tequila smells mostly of bright citrus with only a hint of barrel. Gin is milder citrus with more barrel apparent. Advantage: Tie.

T - Tequila starts out orange-forward before the barrel really takes over. I was not expecting this degree of tequila taste based on the nose, but it’s very prominent! Low salinity. Gin features juniper berries, which I get at first, but similar to the Tequila variant, the Gin really takes over. Similar low salinity. Both have no bitterness, minimal sweetness, and no booziness. Advantage: Tequila.

F - both beers feature similar bodies, with gin showing slightly higher levels of carb. Even with the higher abv, both feel perfect for the summer heat. Advantage: Tie.

O - It is quite hard to pick a winner. Ultimately I like the original Citrus Jammer more than both of these barreled versions, so it really comes down to your liquor of choice. I prefer Tequila to Gin, so if pressed to choose I would pick the Tequila version, especially given the more prominent citrus of this version.

Following the individual pours with the cuvee.

 

Central Waters Bourbon Barrel Vanilla Bean Stout, 9.5% ABV. Pours black with a one finger tan head. Nose is bourbon and vanilla, taste follows, plus chocolate and coffee. Moderate bitterness. Excellent mouthfeel, overall excellent.

 

Greetings NBSers, many thanks to @lordofthewiens for getting this great recurring thread off and running! When digging through the beer fridge for a brunch beer to accompany the Poland v. Columbia match I did not expect the selected beer to 'speak to me'...given that it was already approaching 90F at 11:00.

My first offering today is Stone's Stygian Descent (rye whiskey BA Sublimely Self-Righteous Ale). Perhaps it was the bitterness of the base beer that drew me to this selection. My wife and I are preparing to close on our first home purchase tomorrow. While exciting, those activities have come at the expense of numerous cancelled backcountry trips for snowboarding and climbing in the past month. So I'm guessing my subconscious sought something bitter to align with those feelings, as I've missed out on prime corn conditions on Mt. Shasta recently.

Pours jet black with nearly 2 fingers of variable density tan head. Good retention and leaves a mixed lacing pattern. Nose is subtle, dominated by oak, char, vanilla, and whiskey, and then some surprising stone fruit undertones. Hops make a mute presence once the beer warms, but this has an aroma profile FAR different from the base beer. Taste brings better balance of the barrel and base beer. Some piney/resinous hops, roasted malt, and whiskey in good balance. Some subtle spiciness from the rye makes a contribution once warm. Finishes far less bitter than the base beer, and clears the palate quickly. Low-medium bodied with moderate carbonation, feels a bit thin on the tongue, with a slick finish.



Overall I enjoyed the beer. But it didn't 'scratch the itch' of the bitterness I sought of the base beer. I'm happy to have tried this offering, but would rather spend my money on a 6er of the base beer (if Stone ever brings it back into rotation) rather than buy another bottle of this. Overall rating link, BA score = 4.18, rdev = -0.9%

 

Bells porter
..solid black
...just above average body but carbonation is a little high so it takes away from the overall feel
..aroma is roasted coffee beans,dark black coffee, and malt
...taste is dark roasted coffee followed by some malt. Not overly complex but still a nice tasting porter
..overall the taste is nice but the carbonation made the feel somewhat unpleasant

 

Time for another can, Foam The Shining. Love the label and the beer is great!

4.32/5 rDev -0.7%
look: 4 | smell: 4.5 | taste: 4.25 | feel: 4.5 | overall: 4.25

16 oz can, dated 6/21/18, poured into a teku

A- A hazy golden straw with a small white head.

S- Cantaloupe, some pineapple, some mango, tropical fruits, some citrus, mildly dank.

T- Tropical fruits, melons, citrus, piney, hints of berries.

M- Smooth, medium body, a little creamy.

O- A nice DIPA, worth seeking out, easy to drink.

Cheers!

 

Happ Sunday NBS players. A rather humid and overcast summer day here on the island. Watching the hapless Mets game, (couldn’t even come up with a starting pitchers or today’s game), and relaxing most of the day. I have a few new brews today but we’ll see how many I’m able to get to.

My first new beer today is Decadent Delight, imperial stout brewed w/ pistachio, cinnamon, and coconut, a collabo from Evil Twin/ Decadent brewing. The brew checks in at 11.7% abv and has a 4/24/18 canning date.

A black color on the pour with a frothy brown head. The nose is mostly chocolate malt and sugars. A rush of the chocolate malt and cinnamon hits upfront on the initial sips. Rather smooth on the flow and finish. The cinnamon flavor really seems to be the most pronounced element. There is a definite dry nutty note but it’s a rather mixed flavor and I’m not really picking up either of the nuts on their own. Still, the flavors work pretty week together. The feel is a touch boozy but not over done. Sweet lactose on the finish seems to really lend to a semi-sticky feel as well.

Overall, I’m finding it a decent brew. I like the different flavors and it’s rather easy drinking for the abv. I’m right around a 4 here players.

 

Ahh, I greet all fellow viewers of NBS with my contribution...from none other than Duvel-Moorgat...
Duvel Single Fermented Belgian Golden Ale:

...lovely matte black can!

Freshness:

...based on the Best By Date (and the fact that these cans just dropped in my market), it appears that Duvel-Moortgat is placing a 10-month shelf-life for Duvel Single Fermented

Can descriptor:

...this is a new recipe since no prior versions of Duvel Single/Green ever enjoyed a dry hop (let alone a dry hop of Citra!)

Review:
Poured from a nicely presented, matte black can into an oversized (non-nucleated) Belgian Tulip glass. Since Duvel Single Fermented is just that, it does not have the carbonation to withstand a normal (and nucleated) Duvel glass without going flat very quickly.

A - Pours a crystal clear, pale gold color with a head that just approaches 1-finger. (4.25)

S - Due to the dry hopping, the nose falls somewhere between classic Duvel and Duvel Tripel Hop Citra with the former winning out...the Duvel yeast is most prominent, but there are hints of peach, pear, tropical fruits and citrus (orange, grapefruit and lemon/lime). (4.5)

T - All of the classic Duvel traits are represented here...yet, a bit more bright. (4.5)

M - Medium to Medium-Light which lends to extreme drinkability. This is an absolute crusher of a beer that hits all the right notes for a beer that defines the style. (5.0)

O - $11 4-Pack of 500ml cans is more than reasonable considering Delirium Tremens cans (albeit, 8.5% ABV) are ~$19 4-Pack. Duvel Single Fermented pours clear, the Citra dry hop is noticeable and the beer drinks as easily as a sub-5% lager with much more complex flavor. Yes, please! (5.0)

Cheers everyone!

 

Good afternoon NBS
I'm home from summer baseball wanderings and pouring this beer in a glass for the first time (makes it new right?).

The review:
12oz canned 5/25/18 (31 days ago) poured into a tall pilsner glass at fridge temp 5.5% ABV. The beer pours bright straw yellow with sticky off white head.
The head recedes to a splotchy cap and leaves some lacing. The aroma is fairly pungent lemony and earthy in nature. The taste follows with a nice light malt body initially and then a rush of hop flavor. I get a lemon and grass taste predominantly. The mouthfeel is thin to medium bodied, adequately carbonated, soft and mostly dry in the finish. The nature, amount and profile of the hops keep this beer from finishing completely dry. Overall, excellent. Outstanding use of new hops in an old style to create something different and delicious.

This beer was entered in the database yesterday as a German Pilsner. I can see that or American Pale Lager. Either way, lovely beer. Cheers all & enjoy the new beer in your glass today!

 

My son came up to me and asked if I wanted to go for a walk with him. I said "sure." I thought it would be a nice father-son bonding time - but no, he wanted to look for Pokemon on his Pokemon Go app. I guess that game is back in vogue. Ah well.

This one is a one-off from Shipyard of Maine. It is their Hoppy Pride Hazy IPA. Canned for the first time 05-25-2018 so it is new. 6.7% ABV. Another New England IPA in New England. June is Pride Month so it is not surprising that at least one brewery would release something to coincide with that. This had a big bitter bite

 

Good afternoon, NBS! I don't have much to contribute to the general theme this week, but cheers to @lordofthewiens all the same, and thanks for getting us started. More importantly, congratulations on your impending retirement - that's quite the accomplishment, and I hope it brings you great pleasure! I've been thinking on that a bit lately, and had a sort of "retirement" party of my own recently... I'm only thirty-six, and the cost of housing and living in general makes me wonder whether I'll ever be able to afford that particular pleasure. Fingers crossed.

This has been a busy week here - many beer-related things going on. Barrel Theory, probably our best Minnesota brewery at this point in time (honorable mention also to Wild Mind, my favorite local producer of sours), had a one year anniversary celebration on Friday. Featured on tap was one of my favorite things - an apple brandy barrel-aged stout! That was quite tasty - but for lack of seating or places to set down my glass, I do not have a decent picture to share. Suffice to say it was thick, rich, and very pleasantly warm. The booze was well-balanced by chocolate and light apple. I love how beautiful a glass coated with thick, oily stout looks - great, satisfying aesthetic.

I made the mistake of overdoing it from there on Friday, as I wanted to pick up cans for a regular trading partner... and drank just four or fives of those cans... consequently, I missed out on five or six phone calls at midnight. You see, Toppling Goliath announced the release of SR-71, and I missed it.

This is fine. It was just a bit disappointing. I'd been waiting for this release, and it was honestly one of a very small number of things that I've been looking forward to this summer. Again - it's fine. I actually had plenty of fun with my Saturday anyway - as I'd been planning a "retirement" party with friends for quite a while. What was it that made it a retirement party? Well - I've been spending too much money on beer for a couple of years now. I've been trading and hunting bottles like crazy. I decided that it was probably time to take a break from bottle hunting, at the very least - trading to continue, most likely, and BIFs, for sure. I'd like to work on selling my house, moving to a nicer area, and possibly enrolling in a master's degree program before I get in to my forties. So, beer needs to take a bit of a back seat.

So, friends I had a little bit of a share to "celebrate".



Just a little share. Lots of wishlist bottles though - it's great to be going out with a bang like this. When I started seriously getting in to craft beer, about three years ago, several of these were bottles that I immediately picked off of Untappd and wishlisted. It's pretty cool to be checking them off, finally.

After all of those big stouts, I'm not feeling all that awful today, surprisingly - mostly just a bit sad that all of those bottles are gone now, and I may never drink them again.

Anyway. I'm taking it easy today. Need to give my body a little rest. We didn't actually make it through the entirety of my bucket list bottles last night, so a follow-up share will be happening at some point... but, I'm going to enjoy a little bit of time off prior to that.

I didn't say I won't be drinking though. Today, I'm enjoying a little IPA from my new regular trading partner @Ryannotbryan - this is my first Roughtail beer, and it's definitely a great place to start. Thank you for the extra, Ryan!



Adaptation Ale, per the can, is brewed four times a year, and each batch can be expected to be a different experience. Being my first, I can't speak to that - but the beer has a very nice sweet, juicy aroma and taste to it. It's a bit yeasty in texture and dank in taste as well. Light bitterness balances the sweetness well and gives it pleasant dimension. I like this, and particularly enjoy the can art. Very nice!

I'll probably be back for more later. Cheers, NBS - hope you've all had a great week!

 

Tired Hands Grafted Oblivex Gewürtztramer Double IPA

Greetings, BAs. Hope you're all enjoying your Sundays. Today's new beer was part of the Tired Hands sixth anniversary release, and is definitely one of my favorites from that day.

It pours a very hazy, almost-cloudy, light-peach color with a fat finger of foamy, near-white head that leaves sheets of lacing.

It has a lovely aroma of mango, white wine, flowers and fresh green herbs.

It's similarly "green" tasting with more bitter herbs, some cut grass, light peach, light citrus and a refined white wine taking the lead, and just a hint of tropical fruit and vanilla in the background. Nice moderate bitterness lingers in the finish.

It's full bodied with a little creaminess and good carbonation in the feel.

At a month old this is incredibly refreshing, with a great herbal bitterness not too common to NEIPAs.

I think I enjoyed this a lot more than @larryi86 and @CanConPhilly, who seemed to find it much sweeter than I did. If you guys have any cans left, try it now. You might like it better at this age.

 

New beer #4.

Same, But Different - Other Half
Imperial Hoppy Pilsner - 7.5% abv
Canned 6/11/18 (14 days ago)
Score: 3.84 (-1.9% rDev)



L - 1-finger fizzy head atop a translucent orange body. Looks like an ipa.

S - citrus, pine, a little grass, a little sweetness. Smells like an ipa.

T - citrus, corn, and grassy hops. Caramel malt is prevalent and adds sweetness. Middle is very clean. Finishes dry. Moderate-low sweetness. Low bitterness. Medium-low booziness.

F - medium-light body with above average carb.

O - I don’t have a ton of knowledge about the Imperial Pilsner style, but this is somewhat refreshing on a 90 degree day. Non-imperial would have been preferable though, to cut back on the sweetness and booze.

 

Hoping to get in a new beer later this evening, out running around doing some fun stuff with my boys for now. Looking forward to sharing a beer with them sometime but as they are only 5 and 9 years old now we'll settle for sharing these.

Golden in color with a quarter inch of white head.
Not much on the aroma.
Taste is pineapple and mango, maybe a little pine if you really search for it.
Probably the most dense beer I've ever had.
Overall a tasty treat to share with my boys.
Cheers until a bit later on!