New Beer Sunday (Week 717)

Saison Sunday

This beauty won "Runner Up - Best in Show" yesterday at FoBAB and won Gold in the "Wild Beer (Sour)" Category. Finishing in front of Crooked Stave and The Rare Barrel in the Wild Beer category and behind Bottle Logic as "Best in Show".

Hopewell - Crudites



"A wild saison aged in oak barrels and dry hopped with Hallertau Blanc..."

Crudites is a beauty of a beer. A bright peach flesh hued liquid fills the glass. The touch of haze throughout diffuses the light to accentuate the glow. This beer looks like sunshine. The foam is eggshell white with the same sheen. It's bubbly off the bat before lazily receding to a thin cap and taking on a silkiness. Erratic, thin lacing is left in its wake. She's pretty. (4)

Whew! There is some serious depth and deft handedness on the nose. The dry hopping brings immediate notes of white peach flesh, at its perfect ripeness. White grape skins bring about the salivation. A soft wheaty twang and melange of orchard fruits make up the malt base and yeast profiles. Pear, more peach, and apricot come across nicely. The deft handedness I was referring to comes from the barrel aging. It's fresh oak, crisp, bright, and softly sweet. The barrel aging compliments the soft lactic acidity to a tee. (4.25)

The flavor profile follows where the nose leads. White peach and white grapes bring brightness to the start along with that soft lactic acidity, somewhat yogurt-like. It's got some wheat vibrancy along with doughy malt characteristics and a well rounded orchard fruitiness. Again, the barrel aging is expertly handled bringing the oak, a mild sweetness and some tannic dryness. This is a complex sipper. (4.25)

The mouthfeel fits the body well. It's spritzy upfront with this lighter bodied beverine. That spitzyness awakens the tastebuds allowing the tartness to grab hold. It's dries up rather quickly on the finish while leaving behind some of that stone fruit. Drinkability is sky high and each drink brings about a yet undiscovered nuance. (4.25)

Hopewell pulled off a gem with this beer. It was brewed, barreled, and dry hopped with the utmost care and understanding. It's bright and vibrant, nuanced and ripe. The carbonation and feel are well dialed in. It will be interesting to see what this one does over time in the bottle but as is, that dry hopping shines. (4.25)

4.24/5 rDev 0%
look: 4 | smell: 4.25 | taste: 4.25 | feel: 4.25 | overall: 4.25

 

@papposilenus , the name of your beer clearly shows that it’s your porter.

 

This edition of New Beer Sunday just got off to a terrible start

Clown Shoes Octofest

2.74/5 rDev -18.5%
look: 2.5 | smell: 2.75 | taste: 2.75 | feel: 2.75 | overall: 2.75

I hate being lied to. I was really looking forward to this since I'm a big fan of marzens and fest biers. And, with the nice artwork on the 16 ounce can, I figured I was in for a real treat. My first clue that things weren't as they should be was the haziness of the amber body. Second the smell was lacking the sweet caramelish bready notes. Finally the taste confirmed everything: this is an amber ale or something other than an Oktoberfest. I don't know if it's always been like this or someone screwed up the ingredients in this year's batch but this is the last purchase of this.

As if that wasn't bad enough, in the meal I was eating along with this, the chicken breast I bought turned out to be a thigh.

 

Another Beer'd.
Frank & Berry DIPA with Mosaic hops
Pours a beautiful orange-gold with an off white head that settles quickly yet leaves decent lacing. Again a beautifully clear beer.
Aroma is tropical in nature, lots of ripe pineapple, citrus, some berry, onion and pine.
Flavor follows with dank tropicals, grapefruit and orange and damp earthy pine.
Feel is medium bodied, nice carb. Has a slight oily slickness from hop oils but finishes with a pleasant dry bitterness. No hint of the 9% abv.
Another dynamite beer from the hairy ones. I love the clarity of these brews. Really well done. AND I have another from them!

 

Sorry for your beer. Cant win them all. However thigh for a breast? That could be a win....

 

Half the meat, double the flavor.

 

Very good APWA/braggot. Nice head retention/spotty lacing. Flavors of big clover honey, orange, lemon, peach, pear, melon, red apple yeast; with moderate wheat, white bread dough, lightly toasted biscuit malt sweetness; light herbal, floral, grassy hop, and yeast earthiness. Similar/muted aromas, a bit too fruity/yeasty. Light herbal, floral, grassy, peppery bitterness on the finish. Medium carbonation/body; creamy/bready/grainy wheat/honey; light sticky hops in the mouthfeel. Slight slickness. Lightly increasing lingering bitter dryness, no cloying. Very smooth, pretty refreshing, 4.7%. Not watery for the ABV. Great balance between rich honey, pale/wheat malts, fruity yeast; and mild earthy hops against sweetness. Reminds me of mead a lot, definitely a significant amount of honey in the beer. Worth picking up again for a session ale. 3.78


This was fantastic! Great fluffy head retention/foamy lacing. Aromas and flavors of huge milk/dark chocolate, cocoa, toasted marshmallow, coffee, caramel, brown sugar, toffee, vanilla, coconut, oak, nuts, and dark/brown bread; with light notes of bourbon, smoke, char, herbal/grassy hops, and yeast earthiness. Mild herbal/grassy hop, roast/char bitterness, and bourbon/oak spiciness on the finish. Medium carbonation/body; creamy/silky/bready malts; light sticky hops, chalky roast, and oak tannins in the mouthfeel. Lightly increasing lingering bitter dryness, no cloying/acrid flavors. Insanely smooth, 6.5%. The bourbon isn't huge, but the vanilla/toffee/coconut barrel notes are all there. Perfectly balanced rich malts, cocoa, lactose, and marshmallow flavorings. Tastes like s'mores as a beer perfectly. Will grab singles if I see them. 4.25


Cheers

 

Puppy Love

Branch and Blade Brewing
American Imperial Stout / 9.20% ABV

4.06/5 rDev -1% | Score: 4.1
look: 4 | smell: 4.25 | taste: 4 | feel: 4 | overall: 4

L-The beer pours black and thick with a one finger mocha head. The head recedes to a thin ring with large central island leaving minimal lacing.
S-The nose is heavy with chocolate and accented with a lighter peanut note.
T- On the palate it is not as sweet as the nose would lead you to believe. There is dark chocolate, some smoke/char, and a light saltiness like peanuts from the can.
F-Mouthfeel overall is on the higher side of medium. There is a decent slickness to it. Carbonation is light. Its a filling beer.
O- It's a good example of an American stout, neither cloyingly sweet nor overly hoppy. I would have like the peanut aspect to be more like peanut butter and a little stronger on the palate than it is. Worth a shot if you like stouts and want one with a slight twist.

 

This Eagles-Saints game has me torn, at the end of the day I want the Eagles to win and won’t stop cheering for them but this is getting ugly and Brees and Kamars are on my fantasy team so I can find a silver lining hopefully moving to 9-2 in my league.

Enjoying The Veil Skeletonz thanks to @vabeerguy

4.09/5 rDev +0.5%
look: 4 | smell: 4.25 | taste: 4 | feel: 4.25 | overall: 4

Thank you vabeerguy for this
16 oz cans, dated 10/22/18, poured into a tulip

A- A hazy golden straw with a small white head

S- Peppercorns, melons, citrus, pineapple.

T- Pineapple, peppercorns, some melons, citrus, earthy, a little dank.

M- Smooth, medium body.

O- An interesting DIPA, some great fruity hops battling with earthy/dank hops and peppercorns. Easy to drink and enjoyable.

Cheers!

 

More classics as I push to try more Beers of Fame. Like the Belgian Faro from earlier, this is one I've seen on the shelves around time since the start of my craft beer drinking experience, and yet never purchased. In fact, I've only ever had one Fantome beer. Eager to add to that list.



Fantome's Pissenlit.

Pours a copper-amber with a light fog to it. Head formation is a finger in height and white in color. Aroma is honey, barley, wheat, herbal and floral hops and toasty, biscuity malts. Yeast esters are light, but show their hand right at the finish. It smells a touch sweet. Flavor profile is a pleasant blend of sweet, bitter, and smooth. Honey, grapefruit, and white grapes add the sweetness, with dank, herbal, and floral hops and toasty, biscuity malts adding the bitterness. It has a good blend, with a well shaped dynamic. It's not a blast of flavors that fade, but rather a well-written melody of notes that wax and wane through a story, with dank hops clinging onto the finale solo. Mouth feel is still, and when combined with the medium-thickness, derives a rather heavy mouth feel. It's like a heavy comforter laying over the tongue, free of lumps and grist. Overall, a splendid saison with a lively bit of hops in the background. It carries a rather prominent sweetness which balances out well with the hops and standard saison notes. The low head formation and still feeling are a bit disappointing though.

Score: 3.75 | 4.25 | 4.25 | 4 | 4.25 | BA Score: 4.2 | rDev: +3.4%

@ovaltine @joe1510 this is the saison I put in my fridge earlier today. Thanks for pushing me to finally pull it out of the box and put it in the fridge!

Cheers.

 

Evening fellas went a little too strong last night so taking today off figured I'd drop in and see what's what. Some nice beers getting tagged gotta try that BBA bells. Cheers and enjoy

 

New York New York Saison Sunday
As usual, I’m one step ahead of @joe1510 Finishing up this new one from @PatrickCT


4.04/5 rDev +6.6%
look: 4 | smell: 4.25 | taste: 4 | feel: 3.75 | overall: 4

From a 16oz can stamped 10/23/17

It is a hazy/unfiltered straw darker gold with a thick egg white froth.

Rye is very evident in the aroma. Smells like rye bread with a very earthy, slightly musty, wet barn boards aroma. A little bit of fruity esters and baking spices underneath.

I get a bright pear and lemon like burst of flavor initially. Then it’s a bit floraly follwed by some banana, cloves, coriander, and rye before the funky yeast rounds it out. While the rye takes a back seat compared to the aroma, it is definitely there in the finish with a lingering dark bread and earthy, straw aftertaste.

It is crisp up front, then fairly full bodied. Even slightly creamy at times. A bit of pepperiness throughout with a nice bit of spice in the end.

I am a rye junkie whether it’s food, whiskey, or beer, and this one delivers on that front. I think it is a little heavy in body even taking that into consideration for the style, and the banana and clove combo swings it in the Hefeweizen direction a bit, but overall a very nice beer.

I will leave you with some pictures all taken in the span of 14 days

 

I think I liked that one a little better than you did, but then again I was just in the mindset to drink a tasty brew at the time and it certainly delivers on that end. But, yeah, it's one of those odd ducks that you could find multiple ways to tweak, yet still winds up being an enjoyable experience nonetheless. Maybe you just have to look at it as a 'casual' brew- I'd even buy it again.

 

I usually try to 'vet' a local beer before I send it out, but that was available on my second to last spot on a recent pub crawl, so I had to pick up a few blind. Glad you enjoyed it. I did as well. Very unique, and still flavorful for sub-4%.

In fact, I had a sub-4% table beer on recent travels from NYC and really enjoyed it. I'm thinking more breweries should try the style, although it takes meticulous brewing ability to make the style pop.

 

I need to find that BBA Expedition. Sounds like it's drinking great.

All the best. I may have to take tomorrow night off after this, no - wait - the Chiefs are playing. That's not possible.

Cheers.

 

Mangalista pig porter by right brain brewery. It's made with pig heads and bones. Looks like a stout, has a smokey, roasty smell. Like only the black charred piece of ham was dropped in a porter. Taste follows. Has a classic porter backbone with the smoke added from delicious pig parts. It tastes like the burnt charcoal pieces in the smoke flavor. It's a pretty thin beer, quite dry. An imperial/BA version with some sweetness added would be awesome(its 7%). They could call it mangalista pig candy. I'll be the Guinea pig (pun intended)

 

NBS x2. Thing #2 nap time over, shed painted, laundry did. Thirst quenching time.

Natian
UnDun- Blonde Ale





UnDun Blonde Ale pours an inviting enough golden to very light shade of orange. Capped by a creamy and fittingly cream colored foam that stubbornly sits above, but eventually gives in to gravity, but not without leaving its mark from head to toe.

Pretty unique and rustic aromas come off the surface. Wild flower honey, and an abandoned dusty old barn. A blade of grass or two puts an end to the brief profile.

Even the flavor tastes "old". Broom swept floor dusty and dirtiness come through. A sweet and completely fermented honey taste takes a back seat. Stale biscuits, woody and dried grassy hops with a pinch of white pepper spice finished it off.

There's a malty sweet heft to this initially, but an earthy and spicy finish keeps things even. It crisp enough for a blonde ale, with a lifting medium carbonation. Very easy to draw sip after sip.

"Traditional" and "Colonial" are used to describe the beer per the can. I could get on board with that. It has a dirty, rustic feel to it all around. It actually tastes like it would be a historical beer. Wether that's a good thing or not, I kind of like it. It grew on me.

After my official review I gave UnDun a rating of 3.54 with an rDev of +2.3%. Cheers!

 

That would make a great tattoo

 

I can’t think of a much better beer to try in a tequila barrel. On paper it sounds great.