New Beer Sunday (Week 715)

New beer #4. @JBowenGeorgia gave me this one at the share yesterday, since he knew I liked the earlier version. Thanks for thinking of me John!

Alpha Abstraction Vol. 3 - Wild Leap
DIPA - 8% abv
Score: 4.33 (+1.6% rDev)



Review:
https://www.beeradvocate.com/beer/profile/49548/375366/?ba=CanConPhilly#review

Synopsis:
Vol. 2 tasted like tasty, tasty meat to me. Vol. 3 does not. This is straight blueberry and pineapple mosaic juice. Great body and appearance. I’d love to try future volumes of this since so far they’ve all been great (albeit totally different from each other).

 

Singlecut - Heavy Boots Of Lead

This beer is my goodbye to Halloween. Singlecut usually has great names for their beers. They are typically from rock lyrics. This one is from Black Sabbath’s Iron Man. I really like the band but never cared much for that song since it always felt like the horror equivalent of a novelty song. Like a chain of homage names, the band Black Sabbath took their name from the Mario Bava movie of the same name. It’s one of my favorite movies ever. Drinking this beer is not nearly as good as watching Black Sabbath. For me, the beer is easily the weak link in this trio.

This beer has a great reputation, especially when one considers that it is lacking the usual lauded treatments and that it comes from a NYC brewer more known for their IPAs.

It just doesn’t do it for me. It tastes of black cherries and black licorice (and I guess all other “black” food things ) but the flavors are melded rather than distinctive. There’s an unpleasant oxidized quality and it feels hot. Couldn’t officially tell you how old the bottle is. The beer starts with a really sweet and bitter mix and then finishes in the super bitter territory. This is a sledgehammer of a beer, and I can’t help but think that that’s why it’s so praised (not that there’s anything wrong with that). This has been a chore to get through so far and I’m not done with it yet.

When it comes to beers indirectly connected to Italian horror movies, this one falls somewhere in the middle of the group for me... but it’s also the only beer in the group.

Cheers.

 

It feels like a quarter of this thread is New Vermont Beer Sunday. Cheers everyone.

 

Good afternoon and happy New Barleywine Sunday. That was easy. Well, the Stay At Home Rad Days are numbered as I start work again Monday after a 1.25 year retirement. So as one last hurrah of freedom, the Brau's took a trip to my favorite destination brewery once again, Thunder Island in beautiful Cascade Locks. The Gorge is looking good a little over a year since the big fires, and hiking being once again allowed in the spring is starting to look promising. At least the falls are still a sight to see.



A good friend of mine did her own adventuring outdoors yesterday too, and her awesome foraging skills landed me a few delicious chanterelles (paging @cavedave ). Made for an awesome topping on some sourdough biscuits last night...





Now it's time to celebrate. Hoping I'm not going a bit overboard here, but with @joe1510 's influence, tomorrow might end up being an awkward, or at very least uncomfortable first day.

Central Waters
Y2K- Barleywine





The color of this beer alone is worthy of immense praise. Sure, at first glance it looks like a deep mahogany brown. Nothing mind blowing, right? But when held to light it glows a gorgeous crystal clear cranberry red. Don't believe me? Look:



A thin ring which never had a chance to be something more curbs the coastline with wisps of islands stretching around the vast middle.

The smell is divine. Burnt caramel, fig, and cherry syrup guarantee a sweet beast. A splash of medicinal and earthy hops promise balance. There's a deeply rooted bready influence I can't quite put my finger on, but it's definitely in the decadent dessert portfolio.

The flavor delivers. Sweet dark fruits hit first. A splash of cherry flavored cough syrup and red grapes. Lightly toasted bread, no… scratch that… a cinnamon roll without the cinnamon comes in next, though there is a holiday spiciness to it. A light dose of chocolate, and an even lighter hand of roasted almond come in just before the backhand slap of a spicy and flowery end, while prunes take on a lingering presence as it warms.

Thin bodied, though this manages to retain a syrupy linger on the tongue. A light carbonation carries the sweetness from front to back, and with each sip an intense bitter bite puts it in check. Boozy? Sure, but it almost goes unnoticed it's so smooth. And just as a reminder to what kind of beer your drinking, a sticky residue calls for constant lip smacking.

This is one hell of a Barleywine. I wish I had saved it as it's just about MoaS season. I'd loved to have done a side by side with that and perhaps Sucaba and Bigfoot, as I think this could hold its own against the formidable heavyweights, barrel aged or not.

Thanks again Joe. You stumbled upon quite a goody here. And by stumbled I mean most likely actually stumbled.

After my official review I gave Y2K a rating of 4.04, with an rDev of +4.9%.

Cheers!

 

Courtesy of @Franfab and a big want now just need the strawberry

4.32/5 rDev +1.6%
look: 4.5 | smell: 5 | taste: 4 | feel: 4 | overall: 4.25

Pours beautiful hazy purple with juice head that holds. Smells light vanilla berry. Drinks very smooth vanilla front that fades into the berry flavor. Very smooth and clean not overly sweet.

 

I received this in a BIF box recently and it is one of the best beers I’ve had this year.

 

Afternoon folks hope everyones having a great beer Sunday- looks it. I may not be joining in today. If I do it will be short and sweet. Plenty of new beers just exhausted from my first week at my new job in the restaurant including back to back doubles. Beer on!

 

Thats awesome! Good luck and a great philosophy. Just do what you normally do. It will make the first day seem like everyday....

 

A-Pours a hazy orange amber color with a nice head and lacing
A-Aroma has abundant tropical fruit and floral hints
T-The taste follows the nose with generous amounts of tropical fruit and floral flavors
M-A medium bodied well carbonated beer
O-A very well balanced beer

 

This is the headliner from the trade with @SouthernSips. Ghost in the machine from parish brewing. I’ve heard about this brew from some of my friends for a couple of years but never had the occasion to try it. My wife saw my last couple of photos and decided to teach me a little about lighting so maybe this picture is better.



This beer has a bright golden yellow orange appearance. No chance of light passing through this thing as it only lightens the colors of the edges. The aroma is YUUUUGE. Pine, pineapple, grapefruit, the hops are singeing? The hairs in my nostrils as I sniff this joker. Taste is fantastic and follows the nose exactly with a nifty hop burn which begins on entry and last throughout. Mouthfeel is on the fuller side of medium with good prickly carbonation. Overall this is an amazing beer which is worthy of its status and acclaim. Thanks James for this gem

 

Remind me next season. I have a real good local one I will send you. @TongoRad may vouch for it

 

Hello, and a good NBS to everyone!
It is a beautiful day here today. It's sunny and fairly warm with some nice fall colors still hanging on in a few places (but mostly on the ground). This past week was insanely busy and chaotic for me so I have been trying to take it easy this weekend as much as possible.
My new beer for today is one that comes to me by way of the always excellent @papposilenus . It is a collaborative gueuze (?) from HF and Cigar City. And it has a very cool cap the likes of which I've never seen before.


This is a nice sour, but as usual I am kind of at a loss for how to describe it. It has a faint hint of earthy barnyard character to it, but is predominately a beer with a thin, bright, clean, citric tartness that crescendos on your tongue until you're left with that lovely lingering tingle at the back corners of your mouth and the mouthwatering sensation that accompanies it. The most intriguing part to me with beers like this is that even though there is a simplicity to the profile that makes it easy to just say, "meh, it's sour", there is more depth to the overall beer than you will find in a lot of fruited sours or kettle sours and that speaks to the importance of going through the pain in the ass of using a coolship, etc. It is fairly drinkable and is quite enjoyable.

Here is my full review.

Cheers!

 

I'll vouch for both of those . Of all of the American made ones I've had this year, those are #s 1 and 2. (I'm not counting Industrial Arts' Autumn Landscape an an O'fest, however).

 

New beer #5. Thanks @larryi86 ! Second review on this one, after Larry. Glad I didn’t need to wrestle you for this beer...or did I?

Fuzzy Math - 2SP
Lactose sour - 5% abv
Canned 10/11/18 (24 days ago)
Score: 4.04 (-0.7% rDev)



Review:
https://www.beeradvocate.com/beer/profile/40976/378378/?ba=CanConPhilly#review

Synopsis:
Quite the easy drinker. This is actually very similar to the Sixpoint Smooth Raspy I had earlier, although this one is a tad more tart. One-dimemsional by design. The blackberry taste here is at the forefront, and is quite delicious.

 

I have that this beer a few times, and enjoyed it immensely, but your review was clear, precise and to the point (and much better than I could ever have reviewed it), in other words spot on!

ps-I am glad you enjoyed it!

 

Then I spied this in the fridge.....
Live Oak Hefeweizen from return fire BIF#8.
Pours a slightly hazy golden yellow with a snow white mousse like head that lasts for a few and leaves spotty lacing.
Aroma is clove, banana, bubblegum, hay and mild yeast and grains.
Taste follows with clove and banana, tart but not bitter lemon and a nice bit of sweetness. Yummy brew.
Feel is super clean and crisp with snappy carb lasting throughout. Lots of lingering flavors that beg for another sip.
A beer that is just a joy to drink and savor but that is hard to stop. Just a spot on rep of the style. This would be in my fridge all the time if it was available. Thanks @Dwood1466.

 

A-Pours a very nice amber color with a slight head and lacing
A-Aroma has tropical fruit and floral hints
T-The taste follows the nose with nice tropical fruit and floral flavors and a nice bitterness
M-A medium bodied well carbonated beer
O-A very balanced made beer

 

Death by by coconut
..solid black color
Just below average body with light carbonation
..aroma is toasted coconut, roasted malt and a bit of black coffee
..taste was toasted coconut first followed by roasted malts. There was a sour acidic taste which really took away from this. They really nailed the toasted coconut but the body was thin and again there was this off putting sour taste

 

Poured into a 16 oz Nordic pint glass canned on 10/26/18. Pours like a glass of pineapple OJ with a half inch sticky white head that leaves a thick wall of lace as it slowly settles into thin layer of white foam. 4.75

Smell is passionfruit, papaya, pineapple, tangerine, and white grapefruit rind. 4.25

Taste follows passionfruit, pineapple, tangerine, and a nice balanced shot of grapefruit. 4.25

Mouthfeel is a big medium, soft with enough carbonation, a tad sticky from all the resinous hops, and goes down very easy at 8% ABV. 4.5

Overall another bold, juicy treat from this awesome young brewery. 4.25