New Beer Sunday (Week 728)

That was a very good succinct review. Cheers...

 

A-Pours a very hazy amber color with a very generous head and lacing.
A-Aroma has malt, hop and honey hints.
T-The taste follows the nose with an abundant malt flavor and less pronounced hip and honey flavors
M-A medium bodied decently carbonated beer.
O-A good DIPA

 

Heading to the airport after a great weekend in SF and Santa Rosa. Had a few Pliny the Youngers as well as many other outstanding beers. In my mind, PtY lived up to the hype. Yes, there are many great 10% IPAs, but this one is right there with them. Also Russian River is pure class, top to bottom.
We went to some other outstanding breweries in SR, including Cooperage and Henhouse. Both are highly recommended! This is an oyster stout that hits the mark:

A deep brown color, nearly opaque. Even in the hotel glass, there was a persistent tan head with great retention. Aromas were chocolate, roasted grain, and coffee. The taste followed nicely: no char at all. The coffee and chocolate notes played well together. There was a slight hint of sea salt and minerality which may just be my bias from the description. Dry and clean on the finish. Outstanding.

 

Good morning and happy New Break of dawn Sunday, BAs. Yup, I said morning. I'm not typically here this early, but I just finished my shift and a little night/ morning cap before bed sounds like a good way to start/ end my day. Whatever… you know what I mean.

Yup. This should knock me out. Ex Novo is one of my most local of locals who I am proud to support, and these heavy hitters of theirs never seem to disappoint. This type of Scottish ale really tends to rank high on my taste buds, so here is hoping this one continues that trend.

Ex Novo
Wooden Teeth- Whiskey barrel aged Scottish Wee Heavy



Not the prettiest beer. I've seen uglier, pretty much on a daily basis around these parts, but Wooden Teeth is somehow appropriate enough of a name. It's a ruddy brown color with an unfiltered cranberry juice red tint to it. Lazy bubbles eventually support the beauty to this beast, a smooth and creamy looking foam like that of a fresh latte. It's stubborn, like a true Scotsman.



This is already a winner in my book. Candied figs can be smelled immediately off the unveiling of the cap. Caramel and wood, a dash of vanilla, and a hefty cinnamon roll give me enough reason to never stop inhaling.

But the inevitable takes place, and what a pleasure it is. More raisin like than fig. And these raisins have gone through some royal treatment. Drenched in whiskey, rolled in a light dusting of chocolate and cinnamon, wrapped in old leather, coated in caramel, placed in an oak barrel, then smoked with a hint of peat moss. The linger long after gives an impression of a whiskey spiked cream soda.

Lighter on the tongue than expected, with a sweet and spiced start leading to a smooth burn of alcohol and a dry, nearly crisp finish. A smoky hint and wood influence bring balance to what might be an overly sweet beer, but as to be expected with the style. Even at 13.4% abv, this is remarkably easy to drink. Dangerous, in fact.

I obviously have to compare this with Backwoods Bastard, Wulver, Central Waters, and Captain of the Coast. Well, I'd have to say it's right up there with the likes. Sold. Glad I did. Need to grab more. Go Rams.

After my official review, I gave Wooden Teeth a rating of 4.43. Slainte!

 

I rather like this one . . .




Slightly hazy rich gold color with lasting white cap and lacing.

Aroma of rich malt and piney, herbal hops.

Taste is hop forward with bright, juicy hops springing forth from the glass and caressing the taste buds. This is a clean, shining hoppiness that emphasizes the piney and herbal aspects presented with a slight firmness that tapers off toward the finish. Malt is ever present supporting but not quite equaling the hop citrus brightness.

Medium full texture with balancing carbonation.

Overall this is a very good example of an American Pale Ale in the mode of Sierra Nevada and others while providing a bit more flavor and character. I wish they would add this to the year round schedule.

 

Good morning to all. I’m not just drinking beers this weekend, I’m drinking Monuments. Dogfish Head 120 Minute, Weihenstephaner Hefeweizen, and now Orval.

There was a scant amount of head raised by a normal pour, and the scent and flavors seem muted, so I am wondering whether the bottle was mishandled, or requires further aging. The bottling date was May 2018, so no age on it.
Review: https://www.beeradvocate.com/beer/profile/37/129/?ba=Reef#review

This bottle is crisp, the flavor is pleasant, and I could drink it all day, but at $7.00 for an 11.2 oz. I'm looking for more flavor. This may not be the best representative, or it may need more aging. I'm going to try it again to find out.

 

Alright y'all I'm digging into a box (actually it was a series of boxes. You cannot fathom the deluge of beer bequeathed upon me by Brian, unless you too have been the victim of a Boike strike) from Flint Michigan from a full BIF and a half ago for what is my first ever brew from Kuhnhenn (he sent a couple of them, but this is the first one I will actually crack into).
It's a 2017 bottle of BA 4D. I'm excited. @FlintB

Bourbon Barrel Aged 4th Dementia from Kuhnhenn Brewing Company



I poured pretty damn aggressively, knowing the tendency for olde ales to require a bit of assistance in rising from their torpor. Yes I'm still talking about beer, what do you think?!?
Anyway, an aggressive pour yielded an initial upswelling of off-tan foam that you could tell was shortlived for this world. The body of the beverage bridges an almost ruddy leather or rich brown raisin colour.

Nose is the classics of old stock ale... leather and raisin and then some distinct wood characteristic followed by a spicy bite. I attribute the latter characteristics to the bourbon portion of the proceedings.

First sips while cold reveal a surprising level of sweetness to accompany tobacco and chocolate covered raisin notes as milk chocolate and vanilla and sure I can get on board with their description of marshmallow char. I expected the sweetness to emerge even further as it warmed, but I was wrong. As it approaches room temperature, the classic old ale characteristics push more readily to the forefront as leather and toffee and bourbon spice step forward to claim the limelight alongside the previously revealed tobacco character that continues to blossom forward (I think the spice from the bourbon helps reinforce this impression/flavour).

While this is every bit of the 13.5% listed on the label, the alcohol, in expressing itself honestly, not lying to itself, (which, my friend, is very hard to do) it is not overpowering or harsh. It's definitely a sipper, but it feels natural and at home. The sweetness reemerges on the back end as well as some bittering and what I always describe as a 'stale' type characteristic, but is not intended to carry the negative connotations that cannot be avoided with that adjective.

I'm really enjoying this and am quite grateful to Brian for sending it along. I can't wait to dig into the other Kuhnhenn bottles he sent my way. Thanks man!



Cheers

 

New beer #2. Had to add this one to the db.

Let’s Fly Away - CT Valley
NE IPA - 6.3% abv
Canned 1/25/19 (8 days ago)
Purchased for $3.99 at Monde Market
Score: 4.22 (0% rDev - first rating)



Review:
https://www.beeradvocate.com/beer/profile/85/396397/?ba=CanConPhilly#review

Synopsis:
This is a wonderful Citra showcase. Super clean, so all you really taste is the orange and grapefruit hops. The body is impressively creamy too given the low abv. I will continue to buy all CT Valley brews if they maintain this high quality and low price point. Perhaps the best-value ipa that I have access to. (Roughly the same price as HopHands, but better.)

 

Happy Not-New Beer Sunday for lawbreakers. I’m doing something different today - I’m featuring two not-new beers. I hope enough of you will not shun or shame me. I’m not being a lawbreaker for no reason though. This is a follow up to a NBS post I made some weeks back. That post was about a foudre fermented lager from Threes, and it led to some discussion about what Threes was doing. I thought the comparison in the pic above would be a worthwhile post.

Vliet is Threes' flagship pilsner. Production of this beer has now moved to Industrial Arts as a contract brewer. Beer drinkers have surprisingly embraced Vliet. I seem to enjoy it much more on draft for whatever reason. I'm not always thrilled with the cans, but there were three times when I had this beer and was really loving it (all draft).

At one point, Threes acquired foudres for their saison production and initially put their pilsner into a new foudre in order to get some sacrificial liquid into it to strip it of some of its oak character before using it for saisons. They ended up liking the oak character that the pilsner picked up and decided to change the plan. They now have that foudre dedicated to lager production... even though that oak character has now been reduced due to its use.

Kicking & Screaming is their variation on Vliet that they produce in the foudre. I decided to do a side-by-side with these two beers.

Kicking & Screaming has a slightly richer and more amber color. It has lots of rising carbonation. It's a little sharp and a little rough.

Vliet has more assertive hop character - and this is one element that makes Vliet so nice. The strong grassy hop bitterness is so confident in its presence... and it provides smooth depth and interest. Kicking & Screaming is lacking in this department.

Having the two together has allowed me to recognize the oak contribution for what it is in Kicking & Screaming. I was not able to identify this in the past, but having them together has revealed it (not that it was hiding).

On Friday, I stopped by the Threes brewery and had two beers side-by-side - Vliet and their 4th Anniversary foudre pilsner - In Limbo (a new-to-me beer).



My reactions were exactly the same as my reactions above to Kicking & Screaming. I preferred Vliet and it’s hop character.

Is the hopping different between these beers or is the foudre influence obscuring the hop character? I couldn’t say. Let’s not forget that canned Vliet is brewed at a different brewery - but what about draft Vliet at Threes brewery? Is that from in-house or is it coming from Industrial Arts?

@ichorNet

 

First NBS beer for 2019 comes from Resilience which is the ale arm of Schilling Beer Co. of Littleton NH.



Combover

Resilience Brewing
American IPA / 6.70% ABV

4.02/5 rDev -1.2% | Score: 4.07
look: 3.75 | smell: 4.25 | taste: 4 | feel: 3.75 | overall: 4

Canned 01/10/19 7.0% abv rather than the 6.7 listed here

L-The beer pours a light hazy yellow orange. The head is modest one finger of pure white bubbles. The head recedes to a thin film leaving no lacing.
S- The nose is moderate in intensity with wonderful sweet orange and tangerine aspects. Very nice.
T- The palate is much less sweet than the nose but is similarly citrus forward although with a pithy linger. Bitterness is low moderate leading to a balanced overall profile.
F-Mouthfeel is medium to medium high. The beer is fairly thick bordering on chalky.
O- Overall I'd say it's a good but not quite great effort. The chalkiness detracts some. I'd have liked a little more citrus in the flavor and a little less pith, but a good quality IPA from Resilience.

 

Agree with your points, there’s absolutely nothing in this beer to get excited about, it’s a bit bland on the nose and on the finish. It’s obviously drinkable, but I get more flavor out of most aals. It doesn’t give you a reason to buy it again, and imo that’s a huge flaw, if I was a brewer I’d be terrified of making a beer that’s a one and done.

 

Good Su*er B*wl Sunday all (gotta watch out for those trademark laws...). Have my menu set (wings, White Castle copycat burgers, chimis, nachos, pigs in a blanket and.....veggie tray); viewing set (Russian Red Army, Puppy Bowl, big game) and my beer sort of lined out. I'm not a fan of either team but lean Rams, so I will not be featuring any NEIPA's today.

First up is Hop Gun from Funky Buddha



3.73/5 rDev -2.1%
look: 4 | smell: 3.5 | taste: 3.75 | feel: 4 | overall: 3.75

Good looking beer, dark golden with a big, fluffy off white head that leaves a decent sticky place. Nose is bread malt forward with a soapy and floral follow up. Taste begins better than the nose as there's a nice up front floral bitterness that opens up further into a sweeter, earthier bitter that finishes fairly dry and with a massive dandelion sort of bitterness lingering on the tongue. Overall its a rather decent beer.

 

Dale, it will be 'interesting' to see if Sierra Nevada decides to produce their Brut IPA again in 2020 as a 'spring' seasonal. And if they decide to do this, will they brew it the same way?

Cheers!

P.S. I am surprised that you did not find Sierra Nevada Brut IPA to be "completely stunning".

 

Friday night was no big deal, just got to see my favorite band and from the front row no less. It was surreal. Of course their trip through town coincided with the Ohio release of their beer. I think they were charging $14/can at the show, I rarely drink at events due to the price. I found it yesterday for less than that per six pack. The “enhanced experience” swag included a sweet bottle opener that naturally I couldn’t put to use on their beer.



I wrongly assumed a quality band and a quality brewery would make a quality collaboration. This didn’t quite do it for me.
16oz can dated 12/28/18 poured into a pils glass
A: Pale yellow with a one-finger head (4)
S: Light fresh malts, yeast, bread (3.5)
T: Average at best. Malts, some hops, lemongrass but it doesn’t quite jive (3)
M: Light-bodied, bitter (3.25)
O: The abv is too heavy to be a session IPA which is what this wants to be... too heavy for a pilsner which is how this is billed... I love Metallica and get that correlates to heavy but this hoppy pils just isn’t coherent to me & doesn’t taste or feel balanced (3.25). Overall 3.26/5 rDev -11.9%

No worries, the concert was great and I’ve got better stuff lined up for the game tonight. Cheers!

 

A-Pours a very hazy yellow golden color with a very generous head and lacing.
A-Aroma has abundant citrus and hop hints.
T-The taste follows the nose with abundant citrus and hop flavors
M-A medium bodied decently carbonated beer.
O-A good DIPA

 

Wet Gravity is a DDH pale ale with Azacca and Citra from Foreign Objects BC. -this pale yellow-orange can pour hosts a 1/2 cm foam cap and is quite cloudy. The aroma is intensely tropical, orange and guava, and the flavor is similar, with some pineapple added. The finish is dry for the style with low to moderate bitterness. This is really good, but not super.