New Beer Sunday (Week 714)

That stinks! Hope everything heals up quickly and properly. I look forward to joining you with a new beer tomorrow.

 

What a great start @lordofthewiens ! I applaud you. I also hope the healing process gets easier for you and your wife !

 

I feel your pain I hate crutches Every time I have had to use them, I throw them away before I was supposed to stop.
I know several people who have suffered dog walking injuries. The vast majority involve other off leash dogs.
I wish you a speedy and full recovery.

I will be back later to post a beer or 3.

 

In from work and NBS is already active so I may as well enjoy a cold one. I received a ninja box from @jhavs earlier in the week from the BIF. Enjoying one from it now.

I had never heard of this brewery before, I guess it's easy to get overlooked when you are in VT with some of those breweries there.
Pours a foggy orange with a finger of dense white head. Plenty of lacing left behind.
On the nose I primarily got tropical fruits, some citrus, a bit of pine.
The taste is bit more citrus forward, tropical notes and pine are there. Sweet malts also there. Nice balance, not too bitter nor too sweet.
Medium bodied, the density of the head comes into play by giving this a creamy feel.
Overall a tasty new one for me.
Now off to bed, my youngest son has a birthday party tomorrow so more new ones will have to wait.

 

Just got off of work and jumping into my weekend with a New American Stout Sunday:




Texas Beer Co. King Grackle Stout

This can came in a mixed 12 pack of Texas Beer Co. beers as a single outlier, and I'm glad it did. It's full of big stout notes ... chocolate, coffee, a little molasses, plenty of wood in an earthy aftertaste. The nose has that note that reminds me of red wine that I get from good stouts -- it's not exactly red wine, but red wine is the closest I can come to describing it.

The can says it's "Batch #15", and it was bought in Taylor, so I'm assuming it's at least relatively fresh. If so, then the thing I love most about this brew is it reminds me a ton of a Sierra Nevada Narwhal that's spent a year in my fridge. Maybe not quite as sweet and chocolatey, but it's awfully close, and that's awesome because I don't have to age it. I'll be buying more of this as soon as I can.

The review:
https://www.beeradvocate.com/beer/profile/46321/330862/?ba=Premo88#review
4.32 (+5.1% rDev)

Sorry about the ankle, Dick. Crutches suck! Hang in there!

Hope your Sundays go well and have a good week!
Cheers!

 

Good morning New BSers! Thanks, @lordofthewiens, for getting us started today - I gotta say that I love your early starts! I'm sorry to hear about you foot - although the break was accidental, it's just another attempt by entropy to drag us down. We all know that eventually entropy will win, but staying healthy as long as possible can prolong the inevitable.

It's 1334 in Bamberg and 43 degrees with some on and off drizzles. Today's New Beer is:



Picked up at Weyermann, Bamberg, DE. €6.99 + 0.25€ Flaschenpf (Bottle deposit). Reviewed 10/28/18.
650 mL capped bottle marked “Mindestens haltbar bis 01.12.2018” on the back label. Stored in reefer in the maltery store and served at 42 degrees in a hand washed and dried Jester King snifter.
Appearance – 4.
Body – Deep amber, opaque.
Head – Large (Maximum 5.3 cm, aggressive center pour), tan, dense with surface rocks, good retention diminishing to a three mm ring and a complete layer. Head retraction leaves behind multiple broken pieces of lacing.
Lacing – Good. As the level lowers, thick partial rings of mostly tiny bubbles remain, connected by thin columns or flowstone-like sections.
First pour – Tan, hazy to the point of being opaque.
Aroma – 3 – Very weak smoke and some weak caramel barley (malted).
Flavor – 3.5 - Predominantly smoke but still much less than an average bacon. Slightly sweet. No flavor hints of a weizen. No alcohol (6.6% ABV), no diacetyl, no dimethylsulfide.
Palate – 3 – Medium, almost creamy, lively carbonation, i.e. a typical weizen.
Impression and interpretation – 3 – An average rauchbier. While the flavor of smoke is low, it is still more than adequate to bury any subtle flavors from the wheat malts.

I was a bit disappointed in this beer, possibly because the Spezial Bierstube was just around the corner and Schlenkerla was only a 15 minute walk, so I had high levels of exposure to good rauchbiers. It was very much like the average 'Murican take on a rauchbier. The malt bill



tends to show entirely too much smoking - sorry, it's a bit out of focus.

Weyermann (https://www.weyermann.de/eng/) sells beer in their shop, but only from brewers using Weyermann's malts. If you're ever in Bamberg, be sure to take one of their tours.

 

New Beer Sunday: Leipzig Gose

Mornin’ NBSers with a heads up for those still faced with some warm weather. Also a special thanks to @lordofthewiens for the early morning start today. Here's hoping there are no more complications from the ankle injury and that the healing process is normal. Having had a knee surgery some years back I know how frustrating the reduction in or lack of physical activity/ability can be. The rehab person who worked with me after the surgery had a lot of useful things in the "playbook" that I'd never have thought of to do on my own.

The weather here today is supposed to bring us colds and breaks of sunlight during the day. The temperature should be in the mid-50s and hopefully we're drying out some after the 36 hours or so of wind gusts and rain that began Friday evening.

This morning’s new beer is the Passion Fruit Gose from Two Roads. This is part of their Tanker Truck series. (The name of this series comes the fact that the brewers didn’t want to risk having lacto “contamination” of their main brewery and so they bought and repurposed a used dairy tanker truck. This interesting move was a return to a traditional source of brewing equipment since some of the earliest craft breweries were cobbled together from used dairy equipment, e.g., Sierra Nevada.)

As usual my review, subject to revision until the beer is finished can be found here.

https://www.beeradvocate.com/beer/profile/30437/276068/?ba=drtth#review


The aromas/flavors in this beer are a nicely complex interplay of the passion fruit, some malt and wheat, some light tartness and equally light sweetness. In addition there’s a touch of the saltiness of the sea. On the whole a drinkable and enjoyable beer that would be refreshing on a warm summer’s day or almost anytime you’re in the mood for a Gose.

Cheers, all!

 

Happy New Fat Rusty Head Rail Sunday (Week 714)!

As usual, I am up fairly early before heading off to my 1st shift Barback/Busser gig at Columbia Kettle Works 2nd Gear. Things are slow right now because even though we are finished & open, construction continues on a restaurant at the front of the building and a distillery (!) in the very back. CKW2G is sammiched between the two, next to an art house movie theatre, which is likewise open. I am usually first cut, which is fine, but in case I end up working the whole shift, it helps to get a jump start on the day before I have to leave Chez Woody, NLT 1000.

I am really banging out the bottles with an eye towards putting The CANQuest (tm) back on track once they are gone. I have a theme for the day, the bottles went into The Beerfigerator last evening, I have had coffee & now, I am leading off with:
https://www.beeradvocate.com/beer/profile/41951/238173/?ba=woodychandler#review

but that only established half of the day's theme, so I followed it up with:
https://www.beeradvocate.com/beer/profile/19544/82079/?ba=woodychandler#review

And so, I am off & running (often running, like from the bulls). I just received word that my presence is not required today, so I am now free to continue to indulge. Still, I want to get my initial post in now for a return visit later today.

 

Ommegang Mother Of Dragons

My NBS theme today is beer mash-ups.

This beer is a smoked porter and Belgian kriek blend. Sure, in the deep past, one could say that smokey beer and acidic beer were more par for the course rather than esoteric styles. In this case, putting these two elements together probably had less to do with making a beer that could have existed in the past, and more to do with the Game of Thrones inspiration (something that embodies being a Mother of Dragons I suppose - but I really have no experience with the source material). Ommegang calling this a “blend” pushes me in that direction, but whatever.

To be dull and make an obvious comparison, drinking this beer really does make one think of chocolate covered cherries. I suppose that highlights the two pieces of this beer sitting on top of each other rather than meshing to become something new.

The smoke is really there for a unconscious effect rather than something that announces itself with gusto. Despite the dessert comparison, this beer has a unique bitterness and it is not overly sweet. It’s certainly not overly tart either. It has some gentle fruit tartness to it and is not vinegary.

The beer is thin and a touch prickly. It’s a murky cola brown.

I liked this one more than I expected and more than my friend @TongoRad did. I feel like it was put together with a deft hand. This one doesn’t punch with boldness, but it wears its restraint very well. Drinkability is great for me and it remains interesting throughout. Balance is great, but a negative asset is that once it warms up, it becomes more tannic in an unbalanced way... lessening drinkability.

The very handsome red and black packaging nicely reflects the two blended beers (porter and kriek), but I’m annoyed by 750s where I can’t see through the glass to know how much beer is still left in the bottle.

 

Are you a bicyclist?

I used to be an avid cyclist back in the day. Most of my rides were of a shorter distance (e.g., 20-30 miles) but I would sometimes on the weekend do 50-ish mile rides.

Every year there is an organized bike ride from the Philly area (the “City”) to Ocean City, NJ (the “Shore”) which is a fund raiser for MS. This ride is longer than what I typically would do in a day but Jersey is all flat so in that context it is an ‘easy’ ride. I was supposed to do this ride in the past (15 years ago?) with my buddy Mike but I had to cancel due to work commitments. I never tried thereafter.

Which brings us to today’s beer of Cape May City to Shore DIPA. I think it is pretty cool that Cape May brews a beer to commemorate this event:

“BikeMS: City to Shore is inherently exciting. Thousands of bike riders make the trek from Cherry Hill, riding on a wave of enthusiasm and goodwill, entering Ocean City to meet the cheering throngs awaiting their arrival.

The least we could do is get them a beer.

And this time around they’ll be able to stash 4-packs of 16-ounce cans along the way.

We’ve been brewing our fan-favorite City to Shore since 2013, but not without a few tweaks here and there throughout the years.

ABV 7.8%

IBU 70

SRM 4.3

From the boil to the dry hop, the hops blend in City to Shore hits all the right notes and tickles your taste buds. The sexy hops in this Double IPA bring a wave of citrus, grapefruit, and other exotic fruits to your face. Not as dry as our usual hop-bombs, we leave a touch more of the body behind to being out the juicier hop profile.”

In all likelihood drinking this beer is as close as I will get to doing the City to Shore ride but you never know….

Served in my Gulden Draak tulip glass:

Appearance:

Yellow colored and quite turbid/murky with a white head.

Aroma:

Very fruity! I am picking up lots of tropical fruits but there is some citrus as well.

Taste:

The flavor is similar to the nose with tropical fruits (papaya and mango), some citrus but I am also picking up some herbal as well. There is a notable bitterness to this beer.

Mouthfeel:

Medium bodied with a a hint of “juiciness”. An off-dry finish.

Overall:

I think this beer is very good! I find the hop flavor combination to be appealing.

Cheers to the folks of Cape May Brewing for playing their part in the BikeMS: City to Shore!

@KOP_Beer_OUtlet @rotsaruch @kadonnay @brianhink @CapeMayBrewCo @JValm @RobH

 

Good morning, BA, and here’s to a speedy recovery @lordofthewiens !

I’ll spare the thread my thoughts on stupid dog owners and proceed with the direction set by our fine OP.

Brewer Vivant Velvet Stud

An oak aged Belgian style stout courtesy of @Smokesnotes from the can can BIF



3.74/5 rDev -1.3%
look: 3.5 | smell: 3.75 | taste: 3.75 | feel: 3.75 | overall: 3.75

Appearance: A vigorous pour yields a ton of brown airy foam. I had to a wait a minute or two for the head to settle so that I could pour the remaining beer from the can. Over time the head completely disappears. It leaves no lacing.



The beer itself appears very dark brown, almost slick black, and viscous as I pour from the can. It’s brown around the edges as it catches the light. No visible carbonation.



Smell: Coffee, dark chocolate, some dark dried fruit. Definitely getting the oak. A dry, woody aroma.

Taste: Unsweetened, black coffee. Cocoa powder. It’s a dry, woody, and nutty finish.

Mouthfeel: This beer is thin to medium bodied with small, prickly carbonation. It’s not as carbonated as some Belgian style stouts I’ve had, but it’s pretty well carbonated. As the beer warms up the feel improves, becoming more smooth, rounded, and velvety as suggested on the can and by the name.

Overall: The more I drink this, and the more it warms up, it grows on me. I think it’s a very good oak aged stout and I very much enjoyed drinking it.

 

Ouch @lordofthewiens ! I'm sorry to hear about the injury. Wishing you a speedy recovery.

I've, very fortunately, managed to avoid any stress fractures from running, but most of my friends have spent time in a boot at one point or another. It does not sound fun in the slightest.

 

A-Pours a hazy amber color with a slight head and lacing
A-Aroma has cocoa and chili pepper hints
T-The taste is snivel balanced but somewhat subdued cocoa and chili pepper flavor
M-A light bodied moderately carbonated beer
O-A decent cocoa and chili pepper beer

 

I don't have much going on today. I may clean the car. I may go shopping for photo props. Only thing for sure right now is that I have a new coffee beer in my glass, and I'm going to dive into it, then make me some proper coffee to sip through on this sunny Sunday morning.





Tree House's Abstraction Coffee.

Pours black with a finger and a half of caramel-colored foam. Head retention is fair. Aroma is roasted, toasted, and nutty malts with medium-roast, light-bodied coffee. The nuttiness from the malts drys up the aroma a bit, with the coffee delivering a slightly acid and bitter hit. Flavor profile is a sweet sip of medium-roast coffee layered together with milk chocolate and toffee, and then fades into the underlying roasty, toasty malts and sugary caramel. Flavor profile's starting point is akin to a morning cup of gourmet African coffee, and then fades more into a dessert-like experience as if you took a bite of a lightly sweet milk chocolate bar after each coffee sip and allowed the two to melt and mingle on the tongue. Viscosity is a shade light of the 'heavy' category a lot of big stouts (i.e. Tree House's Double Shot) carry, but as this is in the 'American Imperial Porter' category at the time of review, I'll classify it as 'heavy'. Mouth feel is velvety, when cold, but starts to break apart into grainy strands as it warms. Overall, coffee here is superb, but the entire story isn't coffee. It maintains a little diversity outside of the added coffee, welcoming and encouraging each and every sip.

Score: 4.25 | 4.25 | 4.5 | 4.5 | 4.75 | BA Score: 4.48 | rDev: +0.4%

 

Happy Sunday, NBS crew! @lordofthewiens I’ve never broken a bone (knock on wood), but I would lose my shit if I had to use crutches. I walk everywhere, and I can’t imagine having to do it with a cast! I think I’d end up taking off from work, and just lie on the couch getting fat on takeout

My first new beer today is courtesy @Jimmy_Kneecaps . He noticed this beer on my Wants list and kindly sent me one to try. What a tasty Mosaic showcase this is!

Homestyle - Bearded Iris
IPA - 6% abv
Canned 10/8/18 (20 days ago)
Score: 4.27 (0% rDev)



Review:
https://www.beeradvocate.com/beer/profile/39925/225774/?ba=CanConPhilly#review

Synopsis:
I gave this a 5 for appearance. It’s gorgeous. Lots of bitterness hiding in this one, and devoid of sweetness. This is my type of IPA. JT, I prefer this over the TrimTab you sent me, but they’re both super-solid beers. Thanks again for the chance to try more Bearded Iris brews!

Also, I’ve stopped cross-posting on WBAYDN. Thom Yorke summarizes my feelings nicely.

 

Yeah, I was definitely hoping for more from that beer when all was said and done, not so much from boldness than from complexity, I suppose. From mid to end of bottle it just seemed like it was all surface and nothing underneath- what it presented initially was all there was for me; which was surprising, considering the underlying 'wild' nature of the Kriek that was used.

Thanks for tagging me on this- it's always nice to see different takes on the same beer, and especially where the overlap is when that tends to happen. Cheers!

 

Troegs jovial
..cloudy murky dark ruby brown color
..above a medium body with just below average carbonation
...aroma is raisins,dates,dark fruit,yeast and malt. Aroma wasn't overpowering but it was still nice
..taste followed aroma,some spice and hop bite. Very mild sweetness and similar to aroma it wasn't overpowering as far as tast..overall it was definitely above average andi would get this again

 

Now I’m really glad I sent you that one, since I can make better sense of the weirdness I was tasting in it last night when I drank mine. I got sulfur but your description makes more sense to me. And agreed on the incredible tartness. I wasn’t expecting that from the innocent-looking can! Oh Grimm, you tricksters.