New Beer Sunday (Week 711)

That's pretty touchy-feely. You sure you're from Idaho?

 

Next NBS BF beer up from @strohme2 is from Perrin Brewing Caribbean Nights a milkshake IPA that according to to the brewer brings all the hops to the yard. Lots of vanilla and light hops very est drinking and smooth.



Appearance 4.25 - Pours opaque orange with thin white head and tons of sticky lacing.

Aroma 4 - Lots of tropical fruit mango, pineapple , sweet tangerine. mild citra hops very sweet aroma.

Taste 4.25 - Taste follows the nose well, lots of mango, pineapple, tangerine. Bitter citrus peel and mild hops

Feel 4.25 - medium bodied nice carbonation and a smooth dry finish.

Overall 4.19 - Really great tasting beer, wonderful tropical flavors very smooth easy drinking.

 

yeah, I am sure, buddy. The last year has been a rollercoaster from hell. Getting touchy feely help taters grow LMFAO

 

Well, if you include taters as your local food item, you'll probably be my sender next round. I love taters.

 

Starting off my Sunday with my first Trillium beer courtesy of the very generous @tasterschoice62 ! What a great BIF sender. Was grinning from ear to ear with excitement when I opened the box





4.49/5 rDev +1.4%
look: 4.25 | smell: 4.5 | taste: 4.5 | feel: 4.5 | overall: 4.5

Look- Poured aggressively into a Trillium tulip glass. With a two finger head. Picture does not do the color of this beer justice. Its a beautiful opaque and turbid yellow. 4.25

Smell- Could smell the "juiciness" as soon as I opened the can. Upon pouring into the glass, I got huge whiffs of Melon, particularly cantaloupe, kiwi, tangerines, papaya and pineapple. Extremely inviting. 4.5

Taste- Taste follows suit with the smell. Big flavors of pineapple, papaya, and melon. Although this beer has the juicy NEIPA flavor going on, I am extremely happy that there is a solid hop bite to it. 4.5

Feel- Wonderful. Soft, approachable, and lingers on the tongue for a while. Just about perfect. 4.5

Overall- Just a spot on example for the style. Soft and approachable, but still makes it known that it's an IPA. With everyone doing a NEIPA now a days, this is what they all should strive for.

 

That St. Georgian was exquisite on draft over in Franconia!

 

New beer #5. Another thanks to @FlintB. I had to take some food out of my fridge to make room for all the ipas you gave me. Worth it. Also this is my first Ellison, and it’s rather grand indeed. Says “Drink from the can” on the label, but I ignored that guidance.

Citra Evolution - Ellison
DDH IPA - 6.75% abv
Score: 4.23 (-1.9% rDev)



Review:
https://www.beeradvocate.com/beer/profile/42597/322463/?ba=CanConPhilly#review

Synopsis:
Some Citra hopped beers taste like a meat dinner to me (Alpha Abstraction being the best example in recent memory, from @JBowenGeorgia ). This beer has some garlic crusted steak-like attributes to it, but the meat taste is balanced by some prominent citrus flavors. I get a lot of peach out of this in particular. I really dig it, as my brain keeps going back and forth between experiencing meat and experiencing citrus. I wish I could find someone else who tastes Citra hops as meat, just to compare notes with. Thanks Brian for another meat beer!

 

I've been meaning forever to drive over to Casanova Liquor in Hudson, WI. I finally made that trip today and grabbed some New Glarus beers to try and a couple stouts that the guy recommended. I'll be heading back when my beer budget gets bigger. They had a lot of good stuff there.

 

Good evening NBS, hope everyone is enjoying the end of the weekend once again. Normal weekend as usual, running super low on new review beers, so hopefully this week shows some more new stuff. Might have to slow down a bit. Today is BIF Sunday, so I will be reviewing everything from @TheDoctor. He sent along a nice box with a fair share of Canadian beverages as expected, but not all.

New Beer:

This was outstanding! Fantastic lasting head retention/soapy lacing on the glass. Aromas and flavors of big lemon, orange, citrus peel/zest, peppercorn, and pine hops; with moderate cracker, white bread dough, lightly toasted biscuit malts; and herbal, floral, grassy hop earthiness. Moderate pine, citrus peel/rind, herbal, floral, grassy, peppery bitterness on the finish. Medium-plus carbonation, light-medium body, and moderately crisp/clean finishing. Balanced bready/grainy malts and sticky hops in the mouthfeel; light resins/rinds. Moderate increasing lingering bitter dryness, no hop astringency. Very flavorful/refreshing, 4.6%. Not watery at all. Perfectly clean lagering, no yeasty notes. Wow they really nailed this out of the park. Felt just a tad too aggressively bitter/hoppy I thought, but still ending nicely crisp/clean as it should be. Perfectly balanced clean pils malts and citrusy/earthy noble hop complexity. 4.18


Mystery time. The paper says 'What Am I' in French. I noticed his newspaper packing was in French as well when I took out the trash today lol. Anyways, this was excellent! Awesome fluffy head retention and thick soapy lacing on the glass. Flavors of big milk/dark chocolate, cocoa, coffee, caramel, brown sugar, vanilla, toffee, whipped cream, nuttiness, dark/brown bread, and toasted biscuit; with lighter notes of dark fruit, smoke, char, herbal, grass, peppery hops, and yeast earthiness. Similar/muted aromas, a bit too fruity/yeasty but not overwhelming. Light-moderate herbal, grassy, peppery hop; and roast/char bitterness on the finish. Medium-plus carbonation and body; creamy/silky/bready/grainy malts, some sticky hops and chalky char/roast in the mouthfeel. Lightly increasing lingering hop/char dryness. No acrid/astringency. Very smooth, minimal warming ABV. Yea definitely some kind of milk stout. Nicely rich English malt complexity, lactose, balancing earthy hops against sweetness; and restrained English yeast presence. Really impressive! 4.01




Cheers, be back super soon

 

So if memory serves, I'm pretty sure that was their Centennial Fresh Hop. I was worried about that one as the cap thread didn't seem quite right, but I was hoping that enough parafilm would keep it closed. Apologies for that gambit not working out, but glad there was still enough to get a glass worth!

So the story behind that Chicaoji... First I'm glad you enjoy it! I too love it. It's probably my favourite hot sauce, I will put it on almost anything and have literally eaten it straight before. I buy it by the growler for my own use.
But the story behind it.
My uncle (more or less) was one of the folks who helped introduce me to beer at a young age. I've talked about my dad giving me sips of his beer when I was younger if I wanted a taste, well this uncle was the other one who would do the same. Except Uncle Randy was an alcoholic who ceded the reigns of control to the booze rather than being the one to hold them himself. Eventually it caught up with him and I got a phone call late one night that he was in the hospital in severe liver failure and they didn't think he had more than a couple of weeks. I almost donated half of my liver, but thankfully it didn't come to that. He completely revamped his life, beginning with his diet.
Part of this revamping was the creation of this hot sauce... he's from Texas, so chilis and hot sauce are as ingrained in his blood as rain is to this northwesterner, so it was truly a no brainer. He was able to refocus himself and, as he'd already quit the construction game after losing a finger to some shaky scaffolding, he poured himself fully into the hot sauce, expanding from there to spearhead some programs on the island focusing on supporting local culinary artisans and creating a shared kitchen space to help defray the overhead costs associated with finding a production facility that meets the health code standards for consumable products.
So anyway, even if it weren't a tasty sauce, it's from my home island and produced by someone I care very deeply about, so I'd probably still like it.
But even if it weren't from my home island and produced by someone I care very deeply about, personally I happen to love the way it tastes. The smoky notes of the chipotle, the sweet from the goji berries and cacao nibs... it's just right up my alley.

Basically what I'm saying is: I'm glad you like it too! Just be sure to shake it up as it has a tendency to separate out if it's been sitting.


As for beer... I've got a couple of errands to attend to (and to continue to get myself ship shape from last nights boat party), but I intend to dig into the mystery beer from @Dragginballs76 a little bit later.

Cheers!

 

Excellent review Daniel. Happens to be my favorite Trillium brew because Im a Nelson Lover. Glad you enjoyed and you have another small box coming with the replacement Dialed In and a few more goodies..

 

That's a great story! I love when there's some 'soul' to an item, it deepens the experience. Glad to hear they sell by the growler too. I'll be seeking more out once this bottle is gone...which won't be long.

 

Good afternoon all. We just recently got Surly distributed here in the RVA, which is exciting since I really like Todd. But here’s one I haven’t had from them -

Darkness (bottle says 2016 vintage)



4.29/5 rDev -4.2%
look: 4.25 | smell: 4.5 | taste: 4.25 | feel: 4 | overall: 4.25

I think when it comes to the look of a stout, the only real make/break is the quality of the head, and this was certainly nice with a thick beige head that leaves behind a creamy looking layer and some decent lacing. Big fragrant beer here, as raisin, molasses, fig and vanilla dominate the smell. The taste starts out abrasive with a bitter coffee upfront that turns towards dark chocolate and hints of vanilla and fig. Under it all is a touch of alcohol heat that plays into the aftertaste

 

@SammyJaxxxx

Not sure what to think about this IPA taking after a sugary cereal. The beer is 45 degrees and served in a pint glass. The gentle pour produced a monster two finger head with excellent retention. The head slowly dissipates decorating the glass with lacing. The head is bright white foamy, creamy and airy. The color of the beer is SRM 4 a pale gold color with light amber hues. The beer is opaque from the volume of the yeast in the beer. Effervescence in the beer is visible. Foamy half finger head is all the remains on the beer.

The aromas in the beer are oranges, grapefruit, grass, toasted malt, lemons, limes, yeast, and I get this tropical pineapple aroma on the back end.

The flavors in the beer are oranges, lemons, grapefruit, herbal, floral, tropical, yeast, and toasted malts.

The mouthfeel of the beer is astringent and dry.

The body of the beer is medium-light, medium carbonation, and a medium finish.

The IPA has more of NEIPA feel to it. I am not sure if I can pick the milk sugar in the beer, I think the hops hide it well. I pick up the lime note in the beer, but it is not prevalent as I hoped. The beer is a solid 4. Personally, a stronger malt backbone would give this beer better balance. Lots of hops are present and subtle sweetness. Overall, I would drink this beer again and thoroughly enjoyed it.
4.11

 

Alright, time for my second New Beer for this Sunday. I took a break with a can of Double Daisy Cutter (which I had for the first time yesterday, thus disqualifying it from posting in this thread; still posted a review which you can read here, though), but I'm back and raring to go!



Up next is Decadent Ales' Pog Nog, a DIPA dry-hopped with Citra and Mosaic, with pineapple, orange zest and guava added. Will this rank favorably among the other adjunct-laden, weird-as-hell DIPAs I've had from Decadent?

Pours a pretty much stagnant, solid orange creamsicle color with just about the thinnest head imaginable. It's got some alright legs to it, I guess, but yeah... this is just boring and static looking in my glass. Very, very hazy though... so if you're turned on by that, you'll be in for a treat!

The nose is definitely pretty forward about the fruit additions, contrary to some of my experiences with this brewery's fruited DIPA stuff. I definitely get the guava (especially considering Citra is involved; they're both pretty catty, honestly) and light suggestions of the pineapple. This has a really good smell to it, actually. It's definitely a DIPA, but the orange zest, though plain and been-there-done-that, gives a bit more character than I expected. Instead of smelling dull and yeasty like a lot of beers with this appearance tend towards, this actually has a vibrant, tropical scent to it that is giving me hope that it might stand out from the pack.

...aaaaand, what do you know? The flavor on this beer is pretty great, too! The Mosaic and Citra hops provide some grassy dankness, laying down a foundation for the mid-palate, in all its fruity glory, to take over and drive the direction of the drinking session. This is super juicy! Pineapple and orange/tangerine flavors abound, with some of the light mango/guava tropical elements coming through toward the finish. Sure, this one smells like a DIPA, but the juiciness really eclipses any suggestion of the strength here. I'm impressed! Could Decadent be becoming more consistent...? I can't wait until they aren't "batchy," because this is superb!

Full mouthfeel with oat-laden thickness and a low-ish carbonation that nevertheless allows the beer to feel bright mostly on the back of the fruit flavors and dry-hop character. Superbly done stuff. I wish I picked up more of this! Even though it's two months old (to the date!), this tastes fresh as anything. Unabashed high marks for a brewery that has tended to leave me confused in the past... excellent stuff!

 

Bale Breaker + Crux Way Two Fresh

Keeping this party going with a Fresh Hop Imperial IPA from @beertunes and the NBS BIF.

It pours clear gold with three fingers of antique white head that leave moderate lacing.

Honey, orange, mint, pine and pepper compete in the nose. The same elements carry over to the taste, with a kiss of alcohol added and a peppery, mildly bitter finish and aftertaste.

It had a full-bodied, slightly-sticky feel with good carbonation.

Not sure DIPAs are the best choice for showcasing fresh (wet?) hops, but this tastes pretty good nonetheless. Thanks again, Terry.

Go Birds.

 

Page #4, new Missouri beer #4
The kids are off officiating some youth soccer and my wife is out and about with her mom. I've got a rum barrel aged 14.5% stout in the fridge...what to do?

The review:
12oz bottled 9/29/17 (1 year ago) bb 9/29/19 poured into a tulip glass at 55F 14.5% ABV 18 IBU per label. The beer pours inky black with a quickly fading medium brown cola-like head. The head recedes to a pencil thin ring and leaves no lacing. The aroma is deep and inviting with brown sugar, oak, vanilla and rum. The taste is warm rummy, brown sugar soaked stout. It stays a bit sweet and the alcohol is there in the taste and feel. I don't get any roasty notes from the base stout and there is no real bitterness. Mouthfeel is medium bodied with less than medium carbonation. The finish is undry, but not out of place for the style or ABV. Overall, very good. I'm a big fan of rum barrel beers and this one delivers. Glad to have the chance to try it.

I picked this up in a barrel aged 4x2 8 pack in St. Louis. Wouldn't have seen it here even though we get some Boulevard distribution. 3 of the 4 beers in the pack are new to me so they are slated for upcoming NBS spots.

@JeremyDanner, I am curious if I am right on the bottle date. I was a bit surprised this was a year old bottle in a newly released pack, but it's drinking great to my taste. I plan to save the other until next year.

Cheers all!