New Beer Sunday (Week 700)

Man, you're speaking to me. We've had a wonderful PGA event here in Greensboro since 1938. My father was an outstanding golfer that could shoot 66 any day. He survived the war, played in the North/South with my Mom's cousin (Sonny Holt), placed well and taught me the game. Thing is Sam Snead figures into this thought. Where I live is near Starmount Forest Country Club, deep in the woods. I grew up playing out at Sedgefield (the Wyndham venue-Donald Ross). The old GGO used to be split between two days at Sedgefield and two days at Starmount- until Sam Snead made some ethnically insensitive comments, relative to maintenance of the greens. Sam and the tournament were banished from Starmount- Now the road into the golf course is Sam Snead Drive. I saw Ben Hogan, Sam Snead, Byron Nelson as a young boy. I later saw Seve Ballesteros and Sandy Lyle win their first US tournaments here. It was always the week before The Masters and snowed fairly often.

 

Greetings all and thanks to our host for yet again reminding me that I don't think I'd enjoy golf very much. I did just get back from seeing a great movie though - 'Three Identical Strangers'. If you like a good documentary go see this with as little knowledge of what it's about as possible. I shall say no more.

I have to say I don't have particularly high expectations for today's beer. I'd never heard of it before and they randomly had a stack of them at my local liquor store that they were selling for $1 a piece or $20 a case. Couldn't hurt to grab a single I figured.

This is a Colbitzer, Heide-Brauere Pils clocking in at 4.9% ABV. The ingredients are listed in about 7 different languages so I have to assume this is primarily for export. And I now see why it was so cheap: if I'm reading the bottom of the can correctly this was packaged in July 2016 and expired in January 2018. Kudos to the store for marking it down at any rate.





Apologies for the dirty glass but this pours a darker than average golden straw color and seems a bit more opaque than a typical german pils. Nice fluffy white head that settles quickly to a ring. Nose is of damp hay and raw dough with a little bit of something like sour milk. Taste is a bit better as the hay seems more dry now and the dough has become bready. Surprisingly there is still a little hop bitterness on the back end but not much. Most of what is left in the mouth, however, is a vaguely off putting sourness in the middle of the palate and the cheeks. Mouthfeel is a bit soft and rounded and not at all the sharp crispness that I like in a Pilsner.

Given its age I don't want to judge the beer itself too harshly but in its present condition it is not particularly good. I may or may not finish the glass depending on how it warms.

Hope you all have something fresher and more tasty in your glasses. Cheers!

 

I’m going through my annual barley wine fixation... and nearing the end. This year, I assembled the group in the 3 pics below. Almost all of these aren’t new to me, but 4 of them are. I’ve saved the last one of those 4 for later today. Looking forward to it and reporting back. Cheers.





@utopiajane

 

Many thanks to @lordofthewiens for getting us 'off and running' today! Still buried in boxes...I really hate moving. But it should be a nice day pool side with temps only in the mid-upper 90s.

My offering is the FWIBF collaboration with Creature Comforts. Mother's Milk is an imperial milk porter aged in rye whiskey barrels.



L: Pours jet black with a half finger of medium density frothy khaki head with moderate retention and left limited lacing.

S: Nose is prominently sweet with lactose, rye barrels are present but definitely secondary.

T: Taste brings better balance and FAR more barrel character to the beer. Definitely some rye spiciness, more chocolate, still plenty sweet but at least there's competing flavors to lessen its prominence. Finishes with some lingering sweetness on the palate, hides the ABV very well.

F: Low-medium bodied, low carbonation, thin velvet-like on the tongue and swallow, slight ABV burn on the tongue.

O: It's definitely a delicious beer, but a bit too sweet for my preferences. Glad to have tried it, but also glad I only grabbed one. BA Score = 4.06, rdev = -0.7%

 

My first beer of the day is being enjoyed mainly because it caught my eye as something “nifty” - its a Pabst that isn’t a “BR”. Its their APA. Its pictured below with the backdrop of Yadi Molina at bat. Go Cards.



For the lack of proper lighting, I’ll inform you that it’s your run of the mill crystal clear gold with a decent but short lived foamy white head. Nose is bright, grassy and bitter in sorta a Noble hop way. Move beyond and you catch a bit of corny sweetness. Taste pops caramel malt first that bends slightly earthy bitter before falling thoroughly into that corn sweet with a thin, watery exit. Body is mighty thin with a seltzer water-ish bitterness left behind. This could redirect a few AAL drinkers, and it’s making me think that its a sad effort to probably what amounts to a survival instinct in the post hipster PBR slamming era.

 

Looks like you have a barley wine for every day! =)

 

Tallgrass German Chocolate Cake, 5% ABV. Pours black with a 2+ finger tan head which left no lacing. Nose is slight chocolate, taste is strong dark chocolate, slight roast malt bitterness. Excellent mouthfeel, overall excellent.

 

(First off, forgive me, but...)

The evil is spreading! For years, the IPA universe lived in relative peace. Hop bombs lived alongside more balanced offerings. Lighter IPAs and hoppy APAs would co-mingle, but these all lived by the general principles of the Bitterness Rules.

But a growing band of rebels started to revolt against the Bitterness Rules. The movement started taking over the northeast corner of the galaxy, but spread like wildfire. The cloud of the rebellion began to envelop the galaxy. The fruits of the rebel's efforts produced many sweet victories, especially those in which they came armed with the lactose weapon.

The old guard needed to find a way to react. So they sent out a beacon to find beers that could counter the power of the Haze Craze revolution. A small band of unlikely heroes came to the rescue - those with an innate ability to counter sweetness. But are they a viable solution to the revolution?


Our band of heroes dove straight into the murky skyline of the Haze capital city. The succeeded in cleaning up the air, allowing the Old Guard to see into the workings. The clouds shifted from thick and creamy to pillowy, with large empty areas within them. The light of a straw yellow sun shone through, but there was still a little remaining haze.

The smells of the battle finally wafted to command post. There was still a fruity air to the atmosphere, somewhat tropical which has the command questioning if the look was misleading as to how the battle proceeded. The grass was scorched by the battle, and the battlefields seemed to have taken place on the outskirts of the city - in the open fields and farms.

Battle reports came forth, with scouts indicating the heroes seem to be making inroads, but that it was difficult going, and the effort had dehydrated them. They were scoring pinpoint victories against the main Haze Craze compound - the Palate. The previously smooth facade of the compound had been heavily peppered with hits from the heroes Carbonation guns. One of the heroes stumbled back to his command post after the battle went on for hours, his skin dry and crackery; his clothes and skin seemed to have taken a few shots from the rinds of the fruit mortars the rebels shot at him. The herbal notes from his body indicated he has incurred some injuries.

"How goes the battle?" the Old Guard commander queries him.
"I am Brut."
"So they are willing to negotiate?"
"I am Brut."
"Good, we'll see if we can come to a settlement."

A crisp, new version of the Bitterness Rules was signed that day, one that left the Old Guard in a fairly effervescent mood. During the press conference at the announcement, the leaders said that they felt they won solid concessions on the sweet/dry question, but they had to concede a bit on bitterness. The fruitiness question was left open for further debate.


Ok, enough of the story. If you'd like to learn a more of the technical aspects of the battle, you can find it online here: I am Brut, by Old Ox.

 

I like the look of that can. Thanks for posting.

 

Happy Sunday, New Beer Sippers and commentators. And thank you, @lordofthewiens for hosting today in the midst of preparing for your cross-country move. It's a tremendous amount of work and isn't for the fainthearted. I've been drinking so many IPAs and Pales lately that I was anxious to review Dark Sovereign, a Quad aged on cherries in both bourbon and red wine barrels, from Czig Meister Brewing in nearby Hackettstown, NJ. The owner/brewer used to brew at Kane, which is known for, among other things, its Belgian beers, and the BA reviews I read were impressively high. While my rating isn't in the stratosphere, Dark Sovereign is very good: the cherry is a bit strong but there's a nice rich chocolate presence and the bourbon and red wines notes are delicate. It's like drinking a fantastic dessert. Here's my review:

4.28/5 rDev -2.7%
look: 4 | smell: 4 | taste: 4.5 | feel: 4.25 | overall: 4.25

Poured from 750 ML bottle into a tulip glass. It pours a dark cola with purple hues. The huge toffee-colored head dissipated quickly leaving a thin, creamy sheen of like-colored lacing. The nose features black cherry, plum, oak, Belgian yeast, clove, bourbon, red wine, and cola notes. There's lots of ripe cherry, plum, and fig in the initial taste, along with more than a hint of cocoa and clove, and earthy peat. The bourbon is subtle but evident, and the wine barrel appears at the finish. It's like drinking a rich chocolate-cherry dessert and the taste really improves as the glass warms. It's highly carbonated but nonetheless creamy in its feel, with a potent 9.4% ABV. Overall, I'm impressed with the flavor profile; the flavors are all distinct but they blend very well. Dark Sovereign is a first rate Quad. It's now retired and I'm glad I was able to try it. I may pick up another bottle and let it age a few months.

I hope you're all enjoying your new beers today. As always, I'm looking forward to reading all the reviews.

 

Brilliant!

 

New beer #5. From yesterday’s @Sixpoint release.

Stun Gun - Sixpoint
Sour IPA - 6% abv
Canned 7/19/18 (3 days ago)
Score: 4.28 (0% rDev - 1st review)



L - 1/2 finger offwhite head atop a translucent, orange juice-esque body.

S - pineapple is predominant. Some other citrus. Mango. Smells like a drink you’d order from a butler while lying on a private beach.

T - tons of pineapple. Mango comes through more in the taste as well. Biscuity middle. Finishes dry. Very quenching. No bitterness. Low sweetness. No booziness.

F - medium-light body with appropriate carb.

O - damn near perfect brew for a beer snob to drink outside on a hot day. Very quenching, but still has some subtleties that keeps you wanting more.

 

Bravo! I enjoyed this post!

 

Have a Stone offering - Idolatrous IPA next up



Just a touch bit hazy, but overall it’s pretty clean and golden with a nice foamy white head. Nose starts slightly mango sweet before tailing off into an earthy, ripe veggie finish. Taste starts with the same sweetness until a bitter bite of grapefruit drifts in, only to leave in the same manner as the nose, which is to say a little on the earth side. Feels pretty light but leaves behind a chalky, resiny bitter tongue blanket. Doesn’t really remind me of classic Stone IPAs, like maybe they got away from the old malt lineups or something. Different yeast? Dunno, just doesn’t have the same depth as everything Bastard.

 

This one is part of last week's birthday haul that included nine new beers. Sadly few will see the light of next week's NBS despite willpower being my birthday wish. Hazy, dusty yellow topped by a thin (despite the aggressive pour) and incomplete but creamy white head. Minimal lacing but carbonation awakened by each tip of the glass. Citrus aromas complementing the color dominate with grapefruit leading the charge and touch of mango and other citrus rind supporting. Theme continues in the taste with grapefruit and lemon drops. Stumbles ever so slightly with a bit of cloying at the end but not before effortlessly cutting thru the afternoon humidity. 3.96 composite

 

NBS beer #3 takes me out of my comfort zone and ticks a style. Let's see if I'm in over my head.



Aecht Schlenkerla Rauchbier Märzen

Brauerei Heller-Trum / Schlenkerla
Rauchbier / 5.40% ABV

4.04/5 rDev -0.5% | Score: 4.06
look: 4.25 | smell: 4 | taste: 4 | feel: 4.25 | overall: 4

L-The beer pours a dark caramel to cola with a 3 finger off white head. The head recedes to a thick film leaving a ringing of lacing at the top of the glass.
N- The nose is exactly what you expect it is. It's that classic smoked ham that I remember from their Helles, just amped up a touch.
T- From the jump you get smoked meat nuances reminding you of ham or bacon. I'm really liking this more than I expected. It's not coming across as overly salty which was a fear. The malt is difficult for me to pick out behind the smoke, but seems pretty typical for a marzen.
F- Mouthfeel is on the lighter side of medium. Carbonation is also medium.
O- Rauchbier isn't really I style I gravitate to normally. The lighter mouthfeel of this really keeps the smokiness in my comfort zone. I recommend for those who are worried about the smoke to start with their Helles first and then if you like that one move to this beer. Overall this brewery has earned my trust with their smoked beers. Recommended.

 

New beer #6. Ummm....

Economic Realities - Other Half feat. Great Notion
Coffee IPA - 7.4% abv
Canned 7/5/18 (17 days ago)
Score: 3.79 (-7.1% rDev)



L - 1/2 finger head atop a translucent yellow body.

S - strong coffee, citrus, pine.

T - starts with a lot of medium-grade coffee, as advertised. Fairly roasty. Grapefruit pith and pine. Sour limes in the middle. Harsh, burning finish. Low bitterness. Low sweetness. Low booziness.

F - medium body with average carb.

O - An odd duck. I much prefer Stone’s Mocha as the exemplar for coffee ipas. The coffee flavor here just doesn’t gel with the chosen hops, and makes me thankful that I only have a single can to consume.

 

Personally I dig that beer a whole lot. Any beer that reminds you of “ham or bacon” has a place in my heart. If they’d only convert to $5 cans, as opposed to these awkward $8-$10 bottles, I’d buy it all the time.