New Beer Sunday (Week 720)

Tired Hands I’m Sad

Happy Sunday, BAs — and season’s greetings, too.

I’m chimed in earlier in the thread about my Christmas movie preferences, so I’ll jump right into the beer. Today’s first is an Imperial Coffee Porter (ie, stout?) that came courtesy of @CanConPhilly when we met up with @JamFuel. Thanks, Matt!

It pours dark brown with a slow-building, fat finger of dark tan head. The head leaves solid rings of lacing.

Clear breakfast-roast coffee stands out first in the nose, along with roasted malts, a hint of vanilla, lighter chocolate and a whiff of carbon dioxide. It has a dry, Irish Stout character to it.

The taste is pretty similar, with lighter coffee than the aroma and stronger malts. There’s a definite creaminess to it, too, while maintaining a dry, roasted malt, slightly-nutty finish.

It’s full bodied for a porter, with a nice slickness to the feel, and fairly strong carbonation.

This is a great, normal coffee beer. Fifteen years ago it would have been world class. Today, it’s a fine example of what the style should be, without trying to push any boundaries (except maybe the can art, wtf?). 11/05/18 canned on date.

 

Man, you partyin' like it's 1999! Sorry, someone had to say it.

 

New beer #4. Thanks @FlintB !

Vacillate - Transient
American Wild - 6.5% abv
Score: 4.36 (+1.9% rDev)



Review:
https://www.beeradvocate.com/beer/profile/34258/359633/?ba=CanConPhilly#review

Synopsis:
Incredibly tart berries in this one. Not a beer you can guzzle. Puckeringly sour as well. I’m loving every small sip. Thanks Brian!

 

Hey what's going on!?

A rocking Sunday that's for sure! I've been laying low.. taking it easy... dodging what looks like a whole bunch of snow so no worries there.

Been noticing my beer fridge hasn't been stacked lately, so I worked on a couple goodies. And boy what goodies they have been.. got a real winner right now.

What's new for our hero?!?

Origin Of Darkness - Kex Collab | Collective Arts Brewing


Poured from the bottle into a snifter glass.

Big dark and inky, just a big dark monster. Appearance goes for a nearly midnight black and pouring out of the bottle like a broken fountain pen. Head creation is smooth and fine, but is a few pencil widths tall, before settling on a big bubbled collar. Head was a real nice mocha chocolate whipped brown color. Just a great overall looking stout.

With much of the added flavors, the dominant aromar are actually not the additions it seems. Thick charring roast hits the nose first, and a faint smoke and almost bacon quality. Spicy dark chocolate nibs with powdered cocoa flows next working an excellent rich texture. A perfect mix of excellent roast and sweet chocolate powder bitterness.

On first sip… oh my god this is so well done. Silky rich velvet mouthfeel. Been a long time since I had one of those on my palate for a stout. Rich powdered cocoa with dark touches of rocky salt accenting it just so perfectly. Woody salt and touches of leather and faint malt roast. Flirts with coffee, with milky vanilla and feels like you are blowing cocoa powder rings of smoke. Buzzing tongue with playful and rich mixtures of roast qualities, everything seems to come out. Soft vanilla, salted dark chocolate, leather, roast malt, espresso, liquid cream.

Wow what a winner of a stout, I feel like rushing out to buy another bottle and just devour it again.

look: 4.5 | smell: 4.25 | taste: 4.75 | feel: 4.5 | overall: 4.75 | BA Generated Score: 4.59

Cheers!

 

Field Artillery a Russian Imperial Stout and it's the 1st beer ever for me from Two Ton Brewing in Kenilworth NJ. This brew was 10 ounce pour served at the brewery in a snifter. It looks just the way one expects an Imperial Stout to look jet black with a thick brown head that leaves a nice lacing. The aroma is powerful full of roasted malt. The mouthfeel is full almost thick. There is a nice dry long lasting finish. Well done a very good RIS.
Two Ton brewing open 2 years ago in Linden NJ without a tasting room. About 2 months age they moved to Kenilworth and open one up. I also had a very nice Barleywine and a good IPA. Be trying more of their bees soon.

 

Poured into a 16 oz Snulip glass canned on 8/27/18. Pours a very attractive near pitch black with a solid finger plus light brown head that leaves spotty lace. 4

Smell is a huge hit of maple syrup, vanilla, coffee grounds, and maybe a little cinnamon. 4.25

Taste once again the maple syrup is the star, really dominant but vanilla, expresso, and cinnamon lend a hand, one dimensional but tasty. 4.25

Mouthfeel is a little bigger than medium, gentle carbonation, actually not very dry, and exceptional drinkability at 8.3%. 4

Overall this a tasty and well crafted beer, if you like maple syrup you will love it. 4

 

Good afternoon NBS, very happy to have the time sit down, have a few beers and watch some football. It’s been a very busy week with work and wrestling, ended up work 70 hours this week. I’m starting with some Scofflaw Dirty Beaches thanks to @JBowenGeorgia

3.86/5 rDev -0.5%
look: 4.25 | smell: 3.75 | taste: 3.75 | feel: 4 | overall: 4

Thank you JBowenGeorgia for this
12 oz can, dated 8/31/18, poured into tulip

A- A slight hazy golden copper with a large white head

S- Citrus, wheat, some pears, touch of cotton candy, some wet grass.

T- Citrus, wheat, touch of wet grass, some cotton candy/bubble gum.

M- Smooth, light to medium body

O- A nice wheat ale, easy to drink

Cheers NBS!!!

 

Yup, as mentioned above: Hazy Jane.

I discussed this beer in a past NBS thread:

https://www.beeradvocate.com/community/threads/new-beer-sunday-week-688.570589/#post-5996076

I personally was not a big fan of this beer. I bought a 6-pack last spring and after this drinking experience I have not purchased another BrewDog beer.

After reading the discussion about the BrewDog Grapefruit juice beverage I will not be buying this beer either.

I wonder if it is anathema for the BrewDog brewing staff to provide a sense of balance to the hoppy beers they brew?

Cheers!

 

I saw that recently and next time I'll get one.

 

Hmmm, for some reason both pictures not visible here....

 

Nah, watching the patriots vs the Dolphins. I have a PROVEN theory that if I drink a New England beer , it helps the Patriots win games. I am just trying to do my part, remote in one hand, teku glass in the other...

Dialed Up by Trillium


4.51/5 rDev +0.9%
look: 4.25 | smell: 4.5 | taste: 4.5 | feel: 4.75 | overall: 4.5

Canned on 12.7.18 opened on 12.8.18

Poured into teku glass

Hazy orange , one finger off white foam cap, some sticky lacings , quickly settles to a ring

Huge aroma off the pour , citrus , tangerine, oranges, grapes , vine & wine

Taste is fresh citrus with white wine

Soft and creamy mouthfeel, 11% abv is well hidden

Good beer extension to the Dialed in series

 

Yikes! I haven't had that one yet, but every other pint can I've seen from New Trail has gone for around $11 per 4-pack here close to the source.

 

Sometimes it helps if I refresh the page on my browser when I don't get certain photos.

 

Ugh, you lost me at Cheese and meat, I don't think I want that combo in my beer.

 

Thanks to @lordofthewiens for another great kickoff. Not a huge Hallmark fan. My Christmas spirit can best be described as manic/depressive. I can be the Grinchiest of Griniches and out-Scrooge old Ebenezer when I get pissed off about the commercialism and Christmas seemingly starting in August thing. The I can out-elf Will Farrel at a moments notice, decorate the hell outta things, and ya best lock me out of the Amazon Prime account. Been somewhere in the middle this year...I have the joy of watching the sheer innocence of a just turned two, three foot tall elf wearing a Christmas light necklace and elf hat with ears, playing a set of jingle bells dancing like mad singing "ho ho ho, who wouldn't go".

Today is an it depends day for beer. My wife and I direct the bell choir at our church and it is our annual concert this evening. My wife and I have been musicians almost our entire lives. We have two other people in a 10 member group who can even read music. We have one who reads well, but is elderly and showing some level of dementia. Rehearsals are akin to herding cats and a true test of patience. Performances are like Forrest Gump's box of chocolate. Perfect in rehearsal, train wreck live or vice versa, or completely random.

So it will either be something heavy, something fun, or maybe nothing depending how it goes. It is wicked pissah this weekend, and I am hoping the Trip in The Woods Narwhal is still striking my fancy round about 8:00 tonight.

Carry on, ye gentle men and ladies.

 

Poured into a 13 oz Weyerbacher tulip glass not sure when it was canned. Pours a hazy orange yellow, with a solid finger of white head that leaves thin lines of lace behind. 4.5

Smell is guava, papaya, pineapple, tangerine, and some grapefruit rind. 4.25

Taste follows guava, papaya, pineapple, upfront with some tangerine and grapefruit rind in the extremely balanced finish. 4.5

Mouthfeel is pretty big, soft on the palate, a touch sticky but not really dry, and at 9% ABV this stuff goes down insanely easy. 4.5

Overall this is a great beer that a local friend gave me that I had never even heard of, but this a excellent NEDIPA! 4.25

 

I’m probably an outlier, but I enjoy that savory taste in an ipa. I’d much rather meat/cheese than a sweet bubblegum mess.

 

Funny that the discussion this weekend has been spruced up a bit... I myself have a new spruce IPA to try, but it's coming second. First up I have a new DIPA from Decadent Ales that utilizes tangerine and orange zest. 8.7% and hopped solely with Citra... yum!



The can is a little beat-up, it seems, but the liquid inside seems to be in good shape I think this beer's name and additional ingredients are inspired by Ecto Cooler, an orange-tangerine juice drink from my childhood. I half expected this beer to pour green, but instead it pours a nice, light orange-yellow. Decanting the entire can into my glass after taking a few sips seems to up the haze and dull the color a little bit. The head is pillowy and soft-looking with lots of microbubbles crammed very close together, and this foam formation leaves behind excellent sticky lacing. Overall, a nice looking beer!

The nose is very citrusy with bright tangerine, tangelo and grapefruit combining with the dank cattiness Citra can be known for. It's very slightly grassy and almost peppery, but that note is quickly overtaken by more juicy citrus fruit and flesh. Slightly rind-like, which makes sense given the use of zest, but it's not overly aspirin-like in scent, as I typically fear with the use of peel/zest from citrus. Solid, kind of one-note, but it does what it says it's going to do, and I can't fault them for that!

Strong bitter flavor on the tongue with a very well-defined malt base. Carbonation is soft and numbing when combined with the high ABV. Lightly oily with lots of orange juice and slight notes of tropical fruit... guava and mango for sure, but this switches over again to a smooth citrus flavor toward the finish. Bitterness is well-tamed during the finish, as well, which is good. I'd say this is very well-constructed, but it's not quite as exciting as some of Decadent's other beers. It's a little safer than, say, their Pacific Punch or Double Toasted Marshmallow, but sometimes I want something slightly more dependable. This works for that hankering... I also really like that I can barely notice the nearly-9% ABV... sneaky!

I'll be back in a little bit with that new spruce-infused IPA I mentioned...