New Beer Sunday (Week 709)

Barrier - It's a Sweater

I'm sticking with Barrier IPAs for the rest of the day. Let's see how many I can do before I feel the need to stop... or before my wife returns from clothing shopping... or before my kids decide to declare war on each other. When breweries start pumping out one unique IPA after the other, I get the urge to tune them out and stick to their other types of beer. Today however, I'm all in.

This beer name and label is a Three Amigos reference. Would you expect anything less from craft beer?

I like this beer better than the Barrier Local to Locals brew. The thin feel and flavor snap makes it much more enjoyable. This one is crisp and it pops without being overwhelming. It's a little lemony and the finish is dry. The drinkability of this IPA makes it a winner. This is a premature pick for my favorite Barrier IPA of the day... but it's still early and my wife is still trying on pants... or sweaters.

 

Yeah, I wouldn't buy any of the other six pack beers by the six pack either... but what stops me with Black Duck is no bottling date.

 

New Beer Sunday: A New England IPA

Afternoon NBSers, with a special alert for fans of both NE IPAs and of wet hopped beers.

But first, after thinking a bit about the opening post in which @cjgiant asks about new Festbiers this year, so far I can only count three different Festbiers for the year so far, two new ones and an old favorite. With a healthy supply of the Sierra Nevada/Wehenstephaner collaboration (new) and the Sly Fox Oktoberfest (old favorite) I’ve been finding it hard to spend money anything else just because it was new. The other other new Festbier I tried, Dogtoberfest from Flying Dog was an OK version but nothing I’d write home about.

This afternoon’s new beer is new in a lot of ways. It is a fairly fresh (canned 27 Aug) Seize the Brae from Pizza Boy Brewing in Enola, PA, which is west of here and just the other side of the Susquehanna River from Harrisburg. The beer is described by the brewer as being a Wet Hopped NE IPA. Another thing that helps make this beer a local beer is that the wet hops used were grown at Sunny Brae Hops, a farm in Carlisle, PA, which is about 20 miles away from the brewery.

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

https://www.beeradvocate.com/beer/profile/18316/368054/?ba=drtth#review


The aromas/flavors of this beer are all about citrus, juiciness, pine and pine resin. But the beer also has the haziness, mouthfeel, and restrained or gentle character of the NE IPA. The beer is an interesting and tasty blending of the NE IPA and wet hopping. I’m definitely enjoying trying this one and may go back to where I found it to get another to try it again. That all said I’m not sure yet that I’d want to have a beer like this more than just a few times during wet hop season.

Cheers, all!

 

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My parents enjoying Oktoberfest at Rhein Main AFB in Wiesbaden circa 1958

Troegs Scratch beer #3432 Fest bier (Marzen)

3.98/5 rDev +3.6%
look: 4 | smell: 4 | taste: 4 | feel: 3.75 | overall: 4

On tap at Troegs brewery poured into a snifter

Clear copper liquid, thin off white foam ring

Aroma of sweet malts

Taste of sweet malts , “ caramel, baked bread, flowering herbs”

Good sudsing , taste lingers

Good beer

 

Good afternoon NBS and thanks to @cjgiant for the opening today, Yesterday was our 28th wedding anniversary, and the 3rd anniversary for BLDG 8 brewing, they put on a nice event withe some new releases, great food and music,
Today's offering is from our friends at Mystic Brewing. They have been slinging the IPAs lately, but thankfully they still have Table Beer and now this lovely offering called Solar Glare. A Grisette with excellent body and flavors, clocking in at sub 5%.

Cheers all

Solar Glare

Mystic Brewery
Belgian Saison / 4.70% ABV

4.16/5 rDev +2.7% | Score: 4.05
look: 4 | smell: 4.25 | taste: 4.25 | feel: 4 | overall: 4

Poured from a can dated 7/13/2018 into the test glass
A - Golden wheat color, hyper active carbonation, relentlessly feeds the loose knit white froth. A touch of haze adds a nice opaque curtain.
S - Lemon grass, spring grains, a bit of mustiness is pitch perfect,
T - Delicate grains, house yeast, honey on a dry cracker, grape skin all add up to a delightful melange.
M - Crisp on the palate, medium in body for a 4% offering. A tart thread runs through this experience. That musty yeast feel turns out an ashen dry finish, The carbonation dance across the palate borders on prickly.
O - A very good Grisette, less tart than Clara, but delightfully rich, showing the grains up front, adding to the experience that yeast is spot on, floral hops and a spicy finish. This is a beautiful beer

 

Good afternoon all. Happy Sunday! It went down into the 40s and I finally got to sleep with the windows open. Wonderful to say the least. I have been watering some new grass, doing a boat load of laundry and just finished the kitchen and my son is on his way over so I am going to cook him lunch. I started today at 12:01 with a Harpoon Octoberfest. I cheated and had one out the the bottle last night and was totally ready to pan it when reviewed. Today I poured it into a glass and had a totally different experience. It's enjoyable but I won't purchase again. Here is my review. "Poured from a 12 ounce bottle into a 16 ounce glass. Dark red amber with moderate tan head the didn't last very long but does leave decent lacing. Smells sweet and malty. When sipping it has a sweet front end with a touch of bitter on the finish. The mouthfeel is good and I like the carbonation. I honestly had my first one out of the bottle and was ready to totally pan the beer but out of a glass it is a totally difference experience. It's not a bad fall offering. Not too malty and not too sweet. I enjoyed my second try at it much more that the first." So now it is on to sorting out my hunting stuff and getting ready for a cookout. Have a great week! See you next Sunday.

 

Eviltwin maple bourbon barrel aged stout
...appearance is solid black with almost no head
..body is thick with an oily feel, medium light carbonation, a little more than I'm used to for this style
. Aroma is maple syrup, bourbon alcohol , and it all has an almost candy like smell
..taste is all bourbon followed quickly by maple syrup with the maple syrup getting stronger and dominating as it warms. The maple coats the mouth and lingers awhile. There's a small amount if coffee and malt that show up in the finish
..overall it was good but the base beer got almost completely washed out by the bourbon, maple syrup, and overall sweetness. Glad I tried it but have zero interest in getting it again

 

I feel pretty safe when I buy it at the brewery. What are your thoughts on Sand City? My personal favorite on the Island.

 

Happy anniversary!

 

I'm a little late to the party on this beer, Clerical Error by Springdale. Picked up a single last night with a best by date of 9/28/18. Pours a hazy amber with a half inch fluffy white head that left some spots of lacing. Smells of strong tropical fruits, a bit of citrus, wheat and pine. Tastes of mango, papaya, pineapple, tangerine, wheat, pine and grapefruit pith. Light to medium bodied, light carbonation, moderate bitterness with a lingering dry finish that coats the palate and tongue.

 

NBS beer #1



Peculiar

Bent Hill Brewery
American Wild Ale / 4.00% ABV

3.73/5 rDev -4.1% | Score: 3.89
look: 3.75 | smell: 3.75 | taste: 3.75 | feel: 3.5 | overall: 3.75

L-The beer pours a clear dark gold to almost orange. The head is about 3/4 of a finger in height and bone white. It recedes quickly to a thin ring with central island. No lacing is present.
S-Ginger is prominent in the nose as you would expect. There is a bit of sweetness and a bit of funk in the back end if you can get past the ginger.
T- Like the nose there is ginger presence up front. Not as strong as the nose, but there providing a pleasant spiciness. Once my palate adjust to the ginger some of the sour aspects of the beer come to life. As sours go it pretty mild. Far from a puckerer, but just enough to let you know what the base of the beer is. In the after taste there is some of the blood orange zest that lingers to the finish. I don't get any pineapple.
F-Mouthfeel overall is light bordering on watery. Carbonation while not producing much head on the pour, is medium and prickly while drinking.
O- This is ok. I'd like a little more pucker than what is on display here. It comes off almost as a ginger blonde ale rather than a sour.

 

A-Pours an amber color with a slight head and lacing
A-Aroma has raspberry hints
T-The taste follows the nose with a raspberry flavor
M-A light bodied moderately carbonated beer
O-A decent raspberry ale

 

New beer #3. I’ve never even heard of this brewery @JBowenGeorgia , but wow, I see why you popped this into your ninja boxes. It’s so tasty! A huge surprise. Also my 5th new brewery of the weekend.

Midnight Snack - Three Taverns
Milk Stout - 8% abv
Score: 4.41 (+4.3% rDev)



Review:
https://www.beeradvocate.com/beer/profile/32375/366663/?ba=CanConPhilly#review

Synopsis:
Gave this a 5 on the nose. It smells unbelievable. The taste is no slouch either, with lots of chocolate fudge, coffee, and hazelnut butter, with a bit of tart (not sour) cherry on top. I don’t generally like fruited stouts, but the cherry here is underplayed and compliments the other flavors perfectly. If this was a bomber, I’d be in big trouble.

 

Barrier - Hopaveli

This label looks like it features a Spider-Man villain from the 70s. Another Barrier IPA. This isn't as distinctive as "It's a Sweater."

It's an opaque, dull yellow. Head is very large (with lacing in sync). Slightly doughy. Tastes of overripe melon. Pretty good, but not really inviting sip after sip.

 

That is a good flavor description, I was struggling to put it into words. Reminded me of the nougat candies I used to eat at my grandmother's house.

 

Captain Lawrence Golden Delicious

3.78/5 rDev -3.1%
look: 3.75 | smell: 3.75 | taste: 3.75 | feel: 4 | overall: 3.75

Looks fairly mundane, clearish and golden with not too much head at all. Nose is a little confusing as there’s a little bit of ripe veggies thing happening before a nondescript sweetness flows in. Taste is more clear and to the point with an opening bitterness from I’m guessing is the dry hopping, as its a touch earthy. Get past the initial bitterness and sweet hints of apple are present before it mostly closes out with an alcohol induced bitterness. Doesn’t feel too thick, maybe solidly medium bodied with a little dryness and mostly alcohol aftertaste.

 

Barrier w/ Collective Arts & Thin Man - None Of Them Knew They Were Robots

The usual local IPA. I'm liking the sci-fi feel of the name. Big head that dies down quickly. This beer is a bit thicker in feel than the others. Relatively sweet but some bitterness in the finish. More sharp than smooth. More rotting fruit than bright fruit (which isn't my cup o' tea).

I'm the old man missing the days of brewers going through batch after batch of beer until they feel like they've arrived at the expression of IPA that they want... as opposed to the brewers of today releasing every variation that they can (pun intended) to the paying public (but I understand the marketplace changes that encourage this).

 

I don't have strong feelings either way towards Sand City but I don't drink their stuff often. On occasion, I've really enjoyed some of their IPAs, and some of their IPAs (and Belgian beers) don't do anything for me. I've always wanted to try their Belgian table beer.

 

Today's new beer is Interboro Brewery's Premiere DDH IPA. The brew presents as a beautiful amber tap pour with a slight haze and a 2 cm fine foam cap. The aroma is very light tangerine. The flavor is similarly subtle with light fruit flavors and a light body. The finish is somewhat dry. This tastes/feels like an IPL. From reviews I am guessing that the can version may be more flavorful.

 

Making a pot of hot Chili to go with a cold beer. Sorry Texas I'm using ground beef and beans.

Heist Cloud Control DIPA, 8.2 abv. Simcoe/Chinook/moasic/Amirillo hops. These hazy Dipas have a sameness sometimes, and I can't call one really better than the other. A tad more bitter than most in this style, and I'd call it dry , and make no mistake this is a very good beer. Just framiliar. But with the hops they used I was thinking it was going to be a bit more dank. Light bright fruit, dry, some bitter pineapple. Think trail mix with sweet salty stuff in it, and then you get a dry piece of pineapple that's bitter, and that the finish. Starts like it's going to be sweet then it flips a bit on the backside. I'd guess I'd rate this one at 4.25. Good beer but $18 a Crowler, I don't know.