New Beer Sunday (Week 719)

Taking notes - have this same box in my basement and have been looking forward to drinking it...

 

Good evening NBS hope all are enjoying their Sunday. Next few weeks working in the restaurant will be a living hell so my attendance may very spotty on both WBAYDN and NBS. I will be working while you all are enjoying your Holidays. Probably wont be able to keep up this pace for long at my age. We will see. Anyhow theres always good beer to brighten your day.
Wasnt gonna crack this one unless the Giants pulled off the upset. They did by the skin of their teeth as usual.
Toppling Goliath Mo Zee
IPA with Nelson and Mosaic.
Pours very hazy yellow with a decent 1/2 head falling to a thin ring with spotty lacing.
Aroma is fantastic! Lots of fresh pineapple, grapefruit, mango, peach, white grape, grass, pine resin, damp mushroomed earth and dankness. Awesome.
Taste follows suite with a complex mouthful of flavors featuring tropical fruits, white wine, gooseberry, grapefruit rind and pine resin. There is also an underlying herbal cannabis quality. Honestly probably could drink a number of these and find a different aspect almost each and evertime. Simply delicious.
Feel is medium but drinks lighter than you might think with its crisp carbonation and dry quenching pine and hoppy/rind bitterness. For the complexity it sure goes down easy.
Overall the best of had from TG and one of the best IPAs Ive had in recent memory. And as many know I do drink many- probably too many. As a Nelson lover this has renewed my faith that there are still brewers out there that can really make this hop sing with its complexity. Prior to this Trilliums Stillings St DDH and Dialed in SB were tied in second. Alpines Nelson was my top. And I plan on having Beer'd Hobbit Juice very shortly. This moved into second although I would dream of a side by side with Nelson which is single hopped so not sure if that counts. Bottom line seek this and buy it and dont be afraid to spend the 11 bucks. Fantastic brew!

 

NBS x2. pFriem, CDA (Cascadian Dark Ale).





CDA pours a deep stained black walnut color with amber and olive oil highlights. Clear looking, but deceptive and unwilling to expose itself entirely. A massive and wavey cream colored foam rests on top like a fresh blanket of snow over a hilly backdrop and as it descends, so does a sheet of lace.

Classic aromas of wet pine explode from the glass. Toasted grain and burnt rubber follow, even a hint of orange rind, but ultimately, this is Cascadian Dark Ale to the fullest... pine saturation overload.

Surprisingly, the flavor does not follow suit. Much more rounded flavors with the inclusion of dark fruit, like plum and blackberries, along with a brown sugar based dessert bread. The finish is pine, through and through, but not nearly as abrasive as expected.

Along with that, the overall feel is much less harsh. Quite well balanced in fact. An overall experience of sweet, toasty, and bitter all at once from start to finish. The carbonation is light and soft, so is the body.

One of the less intense CDA/Black IPAs I've had, but overall has a comforting aspect about it. Personally, if love to see a much bigger slap of evergreen and bitterness to it, but I'm not complaining.

After my official review, I gave CDA a rating of 4.09 with an rDev of -0.7%. Cheers.

 

Looking over the styles it would have to be listed as a German Schwartzbier, which would be the closest fit. I guess that's where all the black lagers go these days, although Schwartzbier is a specific type.

It's definitely a great beer, and they totally nailed that velvety feel. The spiciness from the hops may play just a bit strong at first, but after about 10-12 oz. it really gets into a groove and doesn't let up through the rest of the liter.

 

Nice!!! It is a very nice box!

 

Happy NBS. Full disclosure, I have had this gem in the past. Review, freshly penned moments ago. I'm nuts about these Avery big beers and this is no exception. Only weakness imo is a near total lack of head (...so many childish jokes....must resist). Cheers all.

https://www.beeradvocate.com/beer/profile/30/280473/?ba=StraightNoChaser#review
for me, a 4.71.

 

That's pretty intense, dude.

 

Continuing the cjgiant Portland Sunday. This is the beer I was really looking forward to trying and it did not disappoint! Thanks again to @cjgiant and his lovely girlfriend!



A-Pours a very dark brown color with a slight head and lacing
A-Aroma has a strong Bourbon hints and more subtle toasted malt, vanilla, toffee and caramel hints
T-The taste follows the nose with a generous bourbon flavor, and a more delicately balanced toasted malt, vanilla, toffee and caramel flavor
M-A medium bodied decently carbonated beer
O-The best Barleywine beer I have ever tried!

 

It has been a persistent thorn in my side that Untitled Art does not distribute to MN... yet I can find their beer in fucking Florida when I'm on vacation. So irritating!

The always generous @azuelke sent this one my way, and I genuinely appreciate it - love those hazelnut beers...



It should come as no suprise that any collab with Mikerphone would be super sweet - the nose gives it away immediately, along with an abundance of hazelnut and cinnamon. Loving this one - the mouthfeel is ever-so-slightly thin, but we're not sampling BA beers here, so that's to be expected. Even so, the taste is quite rich - the cinnamon pops, and the hazelnut (shockingly) manages to finish clean. This is such a terrific stout - I'd drink it daily, were I able.

Again - terrific bottle. Thanks again, Adam.

 

Happy New American Pale Ale Sunday!

Snowy day at the trailhead, around 27, really nice hike. Having a very tasty brew from a trade @tzieser, always a joy to drink something from this brewery. Going to watch some Star Trek Discovery. Will be back shortly with another new brew.

https://www.beeradvocate.com/beer/profile/30654/198903/?ba=Wasatch#review

Cheers!

 

Another brand new MI can. Outstanding Berliner. Great fluffy head retention/lacing for the style. Aromas and flavors of huge sour/tart/tangy cranberries, fruit skin/pits, lemon, lime, orange, grapefruit, peach, plum, pear, melon, red/green apple, red grape/wine, hay, straw, grass, vanilla, cream, wheat, cracker, white bread, light pepper/lacto funk, and yeast earthiness. Light-moderate fruity/lactic tart/sourness, fruit tang, and light spiciness on the finish. Medium-plus carbonation, light-medium body, and fairly crisp finishing. Balanced creamy/bready/grainy wheat/lactose, lactic acid, and fruit tang/tannins in the mouthfeel. Light-moderate increasing acidic/tangy/tannic dryness, no pucker. Very flavorful/refreshing, 3.8%. Not overly lactic. Amazing balance of juicy/jammy cranberries and Lacto complexity; with a nice lactose and pale/wheat malt backing against acidity. Spot on stuff all around. 4.15


Awesome DIPA. Great fluffy head retention/foamy lacing. Crystal clarity. Aromas and flavors of huge red grapefruit, tangerine, lemon, lime, peach, pear, pineapple, apricot, passion fruit, papaya, mango, melon, guava, blueberry, citrus peel/rind, wood, peppercorn, and pine hops; with moderate honey, toasted biscuit malts; and herbal, floral, grassy hop earthiness. Light-moderate pine, citrus peel/rind, herbal, floral, woody, grassy, peppery bitterness on the finish. Medium carbonation/body, and fairly crisp finishing. Balanced bready/grainy malts and sticky hops in the mouthfeel. Some resinous/rinds, light-moderate increasing bitter dryness, no hop astringency. Very drinkable, not overly aggressive, minimal warming 8.5%. YEP, knew I'd love it. Outstanding Centennial, Chinook, Citra, Columbus, Mosaic, Simcoe profile. Super vibrant, juicy, dank, and earthy balanced hop complexity; great bready malt backbone, with minimal residual sweetness from crisp resin dryness. Rarely been disappointed by their IPAs. Will gladly buy again. Classic Cs + Mosaic/Simcoe is all I need in an IPA. 4.1


Cheers

 

New Beer #2. A friend gave me a mixed 4-pack of beers from 2 Dogz and a Guy Brewing in Montrose, Pennsylvania. I had never heard of this small brewery but my friend and her husband raved about it. Of the 4 pack, Black Beer Ale is the only can with a "real" label. The others are written in black sharpie. The label states that it has the "flavor of a stout without the full feeling." Actually, it tastes nothing like a Stout. Rather, it's something between an American Brown Ale, a Black Ale, and a Rye Beer. I can't describe it any better. Having spent some time in Pennsylvania, I will say that this. It is a fine beer for drinking with friends while talking football or wrestling. Here's my review:

3.44/5 rDev 0%
look: 3.5 | smell: 3.25 | taste: 3.5 | feel: 3.5 | overall: 3.5

Poured from undated can into a pint glass. It pours a dark cola color with a thin, ecru-colored head and thin coating of like-colored lacing. There's not much on the nose; mostly caramel malt and a whiff of spice. This is a hard beer to describe. The description is "built on a Stout grain build but fermented with an ale yeast." I'm tasting little sweetness. Rather, it has an almost rye-like taste. It finishes bitter but without the hop profile I'd expect in a Black IPA. It is light and crisp, pleasantly carbonated, and sessionable at 5.2% ABV. Overall, this Ale is built for casual drinking with friends. It would benefit from either more caramel, like a Brown Ale, or more hop bitterness, like a Black Ale.

 

Firestone Walker Velvet Merkin, 7.8% ABV. Pours Very dark brown to light black, with a half-finger tan head. Nose is sweet malt, light chocolate and bourbon. Taste follows, with almost no bitterness. Excellent chewy oatmeal mouthfeel, overall outstanding.

Trivia question: Do you know what a merkin is? Hint: not a small animal, though is furry.

 

New Beer #3
@bbtkd said to get weird, so how about an old ale brewed with star anise, aged on wood with brettanomyces...

The review:
11.2oz undated can poured into a tulip glass at fridge temp 8% ABV. The beer pours mostly bright and light to dark copper in color depending on the light. The head is khaki colored and recedes to a film leaving tight lacing behind. The aroma is tart cherry so the bugs have been doing their thing. There could be licorice or it could be suggestion. The taste is pineapple and barely tart cherry juice over a hint of pale malt. I start to get the anise and wood as it warms to room temp. Mouthfeel is thin bodied with less than medium carbonation and a very dry finish. Overall, conflicted. I know that Brett was used in some old ales historically, but I think this goes to far into the wild category. Tasty beer and surely unique.

The first review of this collaboration is dated May of this year, so I don't think the Brett should have taken over to the extent I'm experiencing. I may have one more in me. We'll see. Cheers all!

 

Liked that brew, buts pretty pricey here. No longer a problem, as Victory has un-assed our market

 

Next up is a beer sent to me by @JBowenGeorgia you may have seen this earlier today as @CanConPhilly was enjoying this as well. Atlanta Brewing Kentucky Beer Dad. It made me want to open mine and I am glad I did, this is a wonderful Barleywine. I am a HUGE Revolution Straight Jacket fan and this is not far behind, I have a couple of cans and started to do a side by side but I have a few other beers to open tonight so I decided not to. If I recall I think this has a touch more brown sugar and is a little sweeter which is just fine by me. Give me a smooth easy drinking 12% beer and I am impressed, excellent balanced flavors and just makes you smile when you take a sip!! Thanks again John for sending me this!!






Appearance 4.25- Pours dark ruby/rust color with nice off white head that quickly settles to a rocky ring around the glass. Few spots of lacing around the glass.

Aroma 4.25 - Lots of dark fruit plum, raisin, fig, brown sugar, hint of bourbon.

Taste 4.75 - Dark fruit again dominates plum, raisin, toffee, oak and bourbon. The flavors are all very balanced. The bourbon flavor is there not overwhelming at all. Brown sugar is strong but balanced and adds to the punch of the dark fruit and bourbon for me.

Feel 4.5 - Really smooth almost creamy feel, soft carbonation medium bodied. Nice warming from the alcohol.

Overall 4.53 - I am really digging this one, a top BW for me. Excellent flavors very smooth and easy drinking