New Beer Sunday (Week 702)

New Beer Sunday: An American Pale Ale

Afternoon NBSers with an alert for fans of APAs with lots of flavors.

This afternoon’s new beer is from Cape May Brewing and is called Always Ready to honor the men and women of the US Coast Guard. There’s a Coast Guard base and training center at Cape May and both Cape May and Cape May Point played a critical role during WWII in the defense of the continental US by doing Submarine watch and protecting access to the Delaware Bay and in particular the Philadelphia Navy Yard. (Just imagine how much damage could have been done to the warships in a shipyard filled with ships that were basically "sitting ducks.")

As usual, my review, subject to revision until I finish the beer, can be found here:

https://www.beeradvocate.com/beer/profile/25890/319553/?ba=drtth#review


The aromas/flavors of this beer are filled with lots of tropical fruit (pineapple and mango), some citric zest (grapefruit and orange) and a nicely smooth mouthfeel. This beer might be a candidate for being a juicy APA (or NE APA if there were such a thing ). Definitely going to have more of this one.

Cheers, all!

 

It's good to see a local brewery try their hand at a West Coast style IPA. I'm beginning to tire of the New England/Hazy style after 4 years or so of the "haze craze" and it's been nice revisiting West coast, English, East Coast etc. styles of IPA again.

This is Space Monster (love the can art) from Lamplighter Brewing out of Cambridge, MA. It's brewed with 100% Chinook hops and man, they nailed the style. Strong pine on the nose which carries to the taste with a touch of citrus. Some bitterness which lingers a bit. Very easy to drink at 7%. Appearance-wise, as you can see it is hazy so maybe we have a new style "Hazy West Coast". Kidding - it must be unfiltered.

Highly recommended. I'd give it a 4.3 (review to be posted later)!

 

I had that back in January, when we were in temporary housing, between the Texas house and the Indiana house. We were in an apartment complex that sits about 3 miles or so from Notre Dame, and we had the pleasure of experiencing weekend college parties again. We found that, whilst college parties are great when you're in your 20's, they lose much of their charm when you're in your 50's (i.e., "GET OFFA MY LAWN!!!!!).

Anywho, that beer was a shining star during that time. Fond memories of it indeed. Can't wait for the 2018 release.

 

Good afternoon, NBS! I'm continuing my dark beer summer and tackling trying to drink the entire deconstructed Bomb! series in one Sunday. I started with the chili version just after midnight and this morning made it through the cocoa and vanilla. I've got a function this evening then will drink the coffee which is the best rated.

So far none of them have been as good as the sum of their parts. Each has a dark, very smooth stout as the background. Each pours black with a nearly nonexistant head. Each base smells strongly of cocoa, bourbon, vanilla then with each of the emphasized ingredients taking a large role. For the cocoa and vanilla that just over-emphasizes the original note. For all three the flavors match the aromas again with an emphasis on whatever it was aged on. All three are smooth and overall balanced (11.8 is almost dangerously hidden). The only gripe is the cocoa really brings out the bitterness on the mouthfeel. I'm looking forward to the coffee however overall each of these ended up at just over a 4 and IMO are very good but not great where the original Bomb! I have pegged closer to a 4.5 and amazing. Have any of you tried the series? I'd love to hear thoughts.
Cheers!

(edit: screwed up the images the first time and can't find a way to delete the empty images from the bottom)

 

New beer #4. Thanks @larryi86 ! I think I liked this a bit less than you, but still enjoying it.

Canned Heat - Burley Oak
TDH DIPA - 9.3% abv
Canned 7/27/18 (9 days ago)
Score: 3.94 (-3.2% rDev)



L - 2-finger dense offwhite head atop an opaque yellow body.

S - vegetal, cheese, orange, cotton candy.

T - vegetal hops. Cabbage, carrot, turnip. Orange, pine, honey sweetness, earth/dirt, a touch of dank. Low bitterness. Moderate-low sweetness. Low booziness.

F - medium body and carb.

O - a strange hop profile, but I’m enjoying its uniqueness.

 

Only had th Coffee & Vanilla & so far, I am with you. The lower ABV seems to affect the mouthfeel for me. 2 more to go. Might have one today

 

I'm back for another, folks.
So this last week, as I haven't really had a chance to get to the beer store lately, I decided to clean out my cellar. I'm not big into cellaring beers. There are a couple that I keep around cause they're easy to get/I know they age really well to my tastes (Péché Mortel, Orval and Unibroue 17), but otherwise my cellar is mainly beers I don't get around to/want to begin with. That is to say, booze bombs and weirdly flavored stouts that came in variety packs.

Anyway, what a voyage of taste! So much oxidation and nastiness was experienced! It sucked but it was actually fairly interesting and I don't regret it because of two things: I feel like I got some really good sensory training out of it and it really solidified my thinking that cellaring is kind of silly in many cases and I am better served by drinking stuff fresh. I now have a lot more space in my fridge and an appreciation for a wide range of cardboard and soy sauce flavors. I would encourage everyone to do this out of curiosity to see what horrid or pleasant surprises they find.

With that in mind I'm gonna stick to light, fresh flavors today. And while this next beer isn't as crazy fresh as it could be, I'm sure it's held together much better than the ones I choked down/drainpoured A few days ago.

This is a milkshake IPA from a very new, very good brewery in Gatineau, QC. Ordinarily I wouldn't pick a beer like this up but their other beers are all good and I was curious. Plus I think the outrageous oxidation overload has made just about anything sound appetizing.

This is a fairly good beer. It pours a cloudy yellow color without much head. The aroma is pretty fruity and the flavor is more on the milkshake side of the equation. Regardless, this one doesn't really pop in my mind and there is nothing in it that really screams IPA/beer. It is sweet and interesting but I would choose a normal IPA over this one if given the choice.

Here is my review if you want to have a gander.

Santé!

 

New Saison Sunday (Week 702)
Greetings fellow NBSers from on the ridge in Mid Hud Val, NY.

Want to wish @lordofthewiens continued happiness in his/their new destination. Glad to hear it was an interesting trip across. It's good to be reminded that we live in one of, if not the most, beautiful countries on planet. New Mexico is without doubt in the top tier of the list when it comes to that beauty. Pretty sure you will love it there. Amazing to think that you now have lived in two spots that are certainly among the most beautiful in the country.

We live in a golden age of beer, and that is something we measure on a time scale goes back thousands of years. My other main hobby, foraging edible wild mushrooms, measures its "golden ages" a different way, and the woods occasionally get filled with an abundance of fungal beauty that is truly remarkable. All the recent rains after a dry spell, combined with the high heat, has caused such a "golden age" to be happening right now. I have been out admiring the beauty, learning more about this crazy flush of fungus on forest floor, and gathering the delicious specimens available. I have been out almost every day for over a week and this morning was another great foray. Here is what I came home with. Left a good number behind after a field ID, and likely some of these in pic won't make the cut either. Most will, though, and I cannot wait to eat them, and preserve the rest for when it isn't a "golden age".

Dan Suarez is a master of many styles, but IMO Saisons are what he does best. Been looking forward to opening this one, Kinda Classic.



Med. strength aroma features lemon-limey funk and overripe citrus, nice rounded yeasty tart, with sourdough, hay, and barnyard aromas checking in as well. All the flavors are balanced, and make it truly delightful to inhale. As it warms spice and floral fragrances emerge.

Wow it is a perfect rendition of the flavors in the aroma, with spice revealed as peppery and it assumes a more prominent role in the taste. Bright, clean, flavor crests, keeping its wonderful balance, with spice and overripe fruit funk closing the sip.

Super light bodied, low carb. very refreshing, clean as a whistle flavor presentation, and a finish that is a linger of beauty and excellence that doesn't build on palate.

What can I say except get this if you see it, highest recommendation.

Hope you also have a Great American Beer in your glass. Cheers!

 

Muddy brewery Czech pils
..amber gold color
..Medium body, just above average carbonation
..aroma is malt,yeast,bitter hops, cereal, and mildly floral
.. taste is similar, mild hop bitterness but also more sweet than the aroma hinted at.

.overall it was slightly different from what I expect from this style but those differences were still pleasurable. Would definitely try this againhost a photo and upload

 

Along with @SawDog505, I'm spreading the Weyerbacher love today. Thankfully, my tasting notes are completely unbiased, as I did not see @SawDog505's review until the time I am posting mine:

Here goes:

Poured from a 12oz bottle (no freshness date, but packaged sometime in early June 2018) into a 13oz Libbey Belgian “snulip” glass.

A - Pours a mostly clear deep gold color (a couple of floaties in suspension) with ~1 finger, eggshell, white head. Retention is conservative but longer lasting than a lot of Weyerbacher’s bold beers. (photo was captured after it dissipated somewhat) (4.25)

S - Multi-faceted. After the pour, the initial aroma was all coffee. However, that quickly changed as the beer opened up in the glass. The aroma that settled out included earthy, herbal and fruity (strawberry & blueberry) notes with only a hint of the coffee that was so present at first sip. As it warms you get a sense of bitterness on the nose which might be a contribution from the cacao, but there is really no outright chocolate to speak of. Even when warmed to room temperature, alcohol remains hidden…well done for the advertised 11.1% ABV. (4.5)

T - Like the nose, the palate is met with a nuanced flavor profile that starts with coffee and then transitions to a bit of chocolate and then some herbal and fruity notes. Malt sweetness is quite restrained for a beer of this heft and the semi-sweet finish makes this beer supremely drinkable. (4.75)

M - Medium+ body with creamy carbonation is soft on the palate and coupled with the gentle bitterness, all contribute to enhancing its drinkability. (4.75)

O - This is nothing like I have ever tasted and because of its unique aroma/flavor profile, I give Weyerbacher high marks. (4.75) However, I cannot agree to it being labelled as a “Golden Stout” per se. It does not posses the same roasted qualities that Stone’s ‘Master Of Disguise’ evoked, giving you that true sensory mixup where your brain thought you were drinking something black when in fact it was bright gold in color. Regardless of label, this is another well-executed Anniversary beer from Weyerbacher and among my favorites along with XVII, XIX and 21…Happy Belated 23rd! (4.5)

 

Too Close to Call: 4+ Rated beers this week
077-19148 - Citra | Carton
4.2/5 rDev +0.5%
look: 4.25 | smell: 4.25 | taste: 4.25 | feel: 4 | overall: 4.25

a) Sticky, clear, lacey.
s) Bigger than most odubs: dank, fruit, berry, grass.
t) more hemp on the way. Follows smell but juicy and supported on caramel malt base.
f) Mid, but extra tongue tickle. Finishes clean, dry.
o) A favorite 077- and I think we need to collect them to blind taste them to calibrate.

Good N' You? | Springdale
4.1/5 rDev -1.7%
look: 3.75 | smell: 4 | taste: 4.25 | feel: 4.25 | overall: 4
One of the juiciest, lovely. A favorite.
A) a waif, fizzy head that fades quickly, dotty lace, dark obscure, cloudy golden-orange body.
S) Big Nose! Of citrus, orange zest, tangerine, orange creamsicle, mango papaya on a creamy malt base, with just enough bittering hops to save it from being all-fruit bomb. Very Juicy.
T) More and juicier, like strained out of the blender, almost pulpy. Long profile.
F) Mid weight, creamy, low carb, filling - a meal.
O) Original, powerful, if you like fruit and power in a single IPA this is it.

Mosaic-Hero India Pale Ale | Revolution
4.1/5
look: 4 | smell: 3.75 | taste: 4.25 | feel: 4 | overall: 4.25

All the heroes are great from Revolution. Would have to arrange a blind test to rank them sequentially.
$1.70 at Wegman's in mix-six.
a) Clear, deep orange-amber, with active white head that lasts and laces resonably. Good color.
s) It's a pungent aroma with abundance of tropical fruits including grapefruit rind.
t) Follows the aroma with added pine, wet grass, marmalade, mango, and berries. The caramel malt is balanced by the ample bitter, rendering my favoite kind of flavor see-saw. dank and fruity.
f) Medium bodied, good feel, tickle and finishes crisp and dry. The finish with lingering pine.
o) Mosaic truthfully rendered.

Devil's Reach | Cape May Brewing
4.1/5 rDev +5.4%
look: 4 | smell: 4 | taste: 4.25 | feel: 4 | overall: 4
Beast of belgian, great beer, at brewer.
A) Persisting head over golden hazed body.
S) Large Flavors in the Aroma.
T) Ample fruit sweetness, Belgian yeast, pils, grass, orchard, mild bitterness, and alcohol.
F) Mid, creamy, and smooth tickley finish.

JER 1 | Carton (APA)
4.1/5 rDev 0%
look: 4 | smell: 4 | taste: 4.25 | feel: 4.25 | overall: 4
Pleased to be first review of Jer 1 on the Brewers' Board at Carton.
Big flavor for a 5% beer. APA is my favorite style and this fresh flavor bomb made locally wins my vote.
a) Hazed cloud golden body sports a thin white head that bubbles and laces brightly with a swirl. 4
s) Creamsicle, orange, zest, mainly citric nose, on a creamy malt base.
t) Big. Flavor follows smell, with more citrus, orange, creamsickle notes dominating over a pleasant malt ride.
f) Nice dance of creamy, juicy, hempy - that dries in a long bittering finish that sports well with food _ tonight at FRESH with Little Necks, Halibut, Risotto and garden salad.
o) Great food beer.

 

Ok, my new beer for the day has just been delivered by the GF. We are on our way back from a trip to western Maryland for the weekend. Not quite as long a trip as our host’s trip, and for a much shorter stay.

These aren’t near as interesting as the hiking photos of @Lingenbrau - but we did trek up about 500 feet through old Appalachian forest. At the top is a fire tower - placed atop the peak to survey the wider area for conflagrations. Unfortunately it is not open to climb up. The first shot is a “scenic outlook” where you can barely see the lake through the opening.


Some shots from the trail:


Got to watch the first 3 DVDs of Band of Brothers and finish The Sun Also Rises. So a mix of relaxing and mildly taxing times.

So back to the now. We stopped by Flying Dog Brewery as it’s just off 270 on our way home. There’s not a lot new and what I’d consider widely available, so I’m going with a Brewhouse Rarity, their Lemon Lime Pilsner.

I think I might’ve had this before, but I’m not very confident in that recollection and I didn’t rate or review it, so...


A deep golden clear body greets me. It takes a little while for her to remove her fuzzy white hat - the stole remained on her the whole encounter. No feathers or white lint dirtied the place during the stay.

She had a light perfume on her, with the base scent of a light grain bread that had spent exactly 18 seconds inthe toaster. The lighter, livelier citrus scents add a light syrupy note, but fade against this base eventually.

I go in for a kiss. The minimalism of the citrus in the perfume is recouped by the lemon-lime lip gloss she is wearing. A get a little electricity running through me, as my blood boils like a well-carbonated beverage. The touch of our lips has me ignoring the bready perfume, and I’ve lost touch with it.

As we break from our embrace, the perfume base note returns, ever so briefly. Perhaps I should feel guilty, but my conscience is pretty clean. I am hoping her light bitterness will remain that way - no worse that the thin rind of a lime - when I say we must part ways. There was an initial flash of interest, but nothing upon which to form a longer, more meaningful relationship. I would be willing to meet up for a drink in the unknowable future, but won’t be initiating said interaction.

 

Good afternoon BAs and happy New Boring Sunday. Boring for me that is, in more than one way. Yes, the beer isn't much to boast about, but boring can also be good. It's been awhile since I've posted here, mostly because I've been busy. But today is a well deserved boring old Sunday.

Earlier this week, I had the opportunity to Homebrew for the first time in about two years, since just before my son was born. Fittingly, I brewed a Pilsner with a twist. A SMaSH but with a favorite hop of mine, Huell Melon, that's going into the keg today at a respectable 5.7% abv and 28 ibu. There was a time that clarity was considered a skill, and being out of the game for a bit, I couldn't be happier:



Even had some help from the little guy. Cleaning, of course:



Also, we recently got back from yet another fantastic adventure along the Oregon coast. Astoria, Fort Stevens, and the roads themselves are picturesque every step of the way:













And now for the beer. Entered into the database today, so no rDev, but let's see how this goes...

Terminal Gravity
Pilsner





The straw colored body has a touch of cloudiness to it, but clean and refreshing enough looking for me to not be too judgemental. It's capped by a thin, slightly unimpressive bone white foam, but does leave a soft blanket over the surface and little streaks of lacing.

Simple enough, this Pilsner mists suggestions of honey drizzled bread crusts, freshly cut grass, and white pepper spice. I can't help but notice a classic Cascade presence in the background as a faint resemblance of grapefruit and pine lie deep beneath the focus.

A touch of butter distracts from this being that much better, but ultimately this is a pretty solid tasting Pilsner. Again with the bread, and grass, and pepper, but there is indeed that hint of grapefruit, and definitely lemon underneath. Maybe I'm crazy. Scratch that... I am crazy.

Despite it's appropriate medium high carbonation, the beauty of the crisp Pilsner signature is lost due to a slightly fuller, even oily body. It doesn't quite pop with effervescence. And though it is well balanced, there isn't enough of that clean bitter bite at the end that I so deeply love.

There is no canning date on this, but as I had to enter it into the BA database, I'd imagine it's pretty fresh. However, it tastes like a dated Pilsner. It's good overall, and hope to give it another go with a more guaranteed freshness.

After my official review, I gave Terminal Gravity Pilsner a rating of 3.79. Prost!

 

I would post my sorry ass pictures right before yours.

 

I'd hike that!

Great review too. You're really blossoming into the beautiful flower you were born to be.

 

Both of these sound delicious!

 

Haha. Timing is everything.

 

Midnight shift, excited twin 6 year olds and packing for summer vacation make me *just* a bit crabby. Thank goodness for New Beer Sunday. Luckily, my wife understands and humors me on these special days.
Starting today with Green Bench’s Turbid 6. Traded with a non-BA but he fits the definition of a true advocate of beers.


16 ounce can, dated 6/28/18. Poured into tulip.
Pours murky, slightly dingy looking. It’s the color of apricot purée. Thick 1 finger head. Great amount of thick lace as I drink it down.
The nose is peach, stone fruit, tropical, and pineapple.
Juicy, sweet oj and grapefruit, pineapple and ripe peach. Just a tiny amount of pine resin at the finish. Like a minuscule amount. Balances out the sweet juiciness.
Thinner body, but soft. Crisp finish. Solid attempt.
3.96, rDev of 0%

 

Happy Sunday, New Beer Samplers and commentators. And thank you @lordofthewiens for getting us started today from you new home! I'm really looking forward to your observations and reviews of local beers from New Mexico and Arizona, about which I have no first hand knowledge. Bell's and Hunterdon Brewing (NJ's main craft beer distributor) finally buried the hatchet over some silly dispute and we're now getting distro, which is very welcome. No longer do I need to drive over the New York line for Bell's. This is my first experience with The Oracle, a big, bold 10% West Coast style DIPA. The fruit is subdued but the sweet malt and bitter hops shine. There's nothing subtle about it and I mean that as a compliment. Here's my review:

4.19/5 rDev +0.7%
look: 4.25 | smell: 4 | taste: 4.25 | feel: 4.25 | overall: 4.25

Bottled on 7/12/2018 and poured into Bell's tulip glass. It pours a cloudy, honey-amber color with almost a finger of long-lasting, frothy, milk-white head and thick lacing. It has a mostly malty nose with some mildly floral hops. As the glass warms a little I'm also smelling ripe cantaloupe and lemon peel. The taste opens with primarily sweet malt, caramel, and some mild citrus but the sweetness is quickly overwhelmed by sharp pine and bitter, resinous Pacific Northwest hops (I wish they were better identified) that bite hard and leave a decidedly bitter aftertaste. This is one bitter brew, in a really good way! It features a full, rich mouth feel with moderate carbonation, and you can feel the 10% ABV. Overall, there's nothing subtle about The Oracle. It's an excellent West Coast style DIPA which lets the malt sweetness and hoppy bitterness battle it out for supremacy. If you like a "big" DIPA without a lot fruit, then you should really enjoy this beer.

I hope you're all enjoying your new beers today. As always, reading the reviews is informative and fun . . . and something to which I look forward each week. Cheers, NBS!