New Beer Sunday (Week 738)

I'm glad you liked it and I had pretty much the same reaction. Interboro is generally good enough that I'll buy a 4-pack without having tasted it. Bass in Your Face took a little getting used to but it also grew on me. I really debated whether to include it in the box but I wanted to send you something from the City and I have a love-hate relationship with Other Half: I love their beer but I hate schlepping into Brooklyn.

 

Well it's time for another beer! After all need to get psyched up for the hockey playoff games here...



Poured from the can into a Spiegelau IPA glass. Canned on March 7th 2019.

Very rich and bubbly forming head. Off white and color and a big bubblebath foamy looking appearance, the head settles with soapy thick bubbles and a nice creamy island. Body color is a bit opaque and solid, going for a bit of just murky brown tinged orange color.

Real impressive hop nose. Bright fresh tangerine orange with lots of oil and zesty aromas. Spritzy sensing. Mixed pine and rich perfume like sweetness as well mixing in. Stone fruit, peaches make a good impression as well. Hop angle is heavily dominant, giving no malt impressions. However, a good neutral and un-faulty base is letting the hops shine.

Palate makes a good impression. Juicy in body and in taste, but without excessive sweetness. Mild sensing bitterness of orange peel and rind, hitting over a very nice tropical and citrus orange flavor. Full bodied with a real nice zesty citrus quality, gives to juicy like flavors but without the heavy sugars. Earthy and faint pine like flavors that hint like a nice mint on the finish.

Great tasting IPA. These Solace guys are real dialed in with their beers.

look: 4 | smell: 4.5 | taste: 4.25 | feel: 4.25 | overall: 4.25 | BA Generated: 4.3

Cheers!

 

On to a mystery beer I received from @thebeers

Pours completely clear, golden, frothy and active head is just off-white.

Head sticks around, but eventually settles into a thin layer of tiny bubbles with a thick and still foamy collar.

From appearance and first whiff I’m thinking lager. Aroma is grainy, cracker, but if I get my nose down in there I sense something floral and sweet.

Flavor is clean, lightly sweet, dry. I get a bit of classic AAL flavor, but with more depth. No big yeasty or doughy flavors. Clean malt. I’m thinking Pilsner.

Dry, moderate and crisp carbonation. Medium body.

Overall a clean and refreshing brew. I could see myself putting back a few of these after yard work. Or sitting on the beach.

I’ll let it warm a bit and continue sipping. Will reveal the brew in a separate post.

Thanks Arthur!

 

Thanks for your intro today. I have to say that I've enjoyed following your move. It strikes me what an amazing country we call home. Such a difference between Maine and New Mexico. I'll have to get out there some time; it's one of the states from which I haven't had a beer yet. Keep your great posts coming!

 

Cheers, @Roguer - and related to the NE IPA portion of your response, I am having one right now I struggled on the taste rating, ironically enough...



The pictured beer is an Ocelot collaboration with Union Craft our of Baltimore, called Grand Royale.

This beer avoids the floaties issues and has a nice dense fog of a body, for a NE IPA (note, listed as a DIPA at 8% here). The stacked white head leaves nice curtain sheers for most of the glass.

The nose and taste both show the malts and oats (pretty sure) used, but the nose showcases the orange-leaning citrus/tropical notes better. The oats almost seem to produce as much bitterness as the hops, replacing the pithiness with a dry husk-iness.

Overall, this fits into what I call the “new American Pale Ale” category, thicker/smoother feel and more floral scents, but as balanced as the “old school” style. I personally have come to enjoy the APA Classic more and more as I try beers like this. I liked it well enough, but I’d feel pretty confident saying that in a blind (literally, due to look category) tasting of similarly ranked beers, I’d pick the old school version.

https://www.beeradvocate.com/beer/profile/40090/406174/?ba=cjgiant#review

 

Okay, the goddam site jumped and posted while I was trying to post the pictures, and it took so long to post the rest of them thru postimage that it exceeded the time to edit. Fuck it. Maybe I'll try again later.

 

I very much admire you for your self-sacrifice to serve your community, your friend, and a cause you are passionate about.

 

Nice review. I enjoyed that beer as much as you.

Side note: Their best beer is a dark beer. Oatmeal Stout. IMO of course!

 

@Coronaeus #3. Awesome NEIPA. Fantastic rocky head retention/thick foamy lacing. Aromas and flavors of big tangerine, grapefruit, lemon, lime, peach, pear, pineapple, apricot, mango, watermelon, red apple, berries, citrus peel/rind, wood, peppercorn, and pine hops; with moderate wheat, cracker, white bread dough, lightly toasted biscuit malts; and herbal, floral, grassy hop earthiness. Light-moderate pine, citrus peel/rind, herbal, woody, floral, grassy, peppery bitterness on the finish. Medium carbonation/body; balanced creamy/bready malts, sticky hops, and some resins/rinds in the mouthfeel. Light-moderate increasing bitter dryness, no hop astringency. Very smooth, nicely soft, not aggressive, minimal warming 6.5%. Awesome El Dorado showcase. Very juicy, vibrant, and fairly dank/earthy hop complexity; with a great balancing wheat/oat/malt backbone. Light residual sweetness with lingering dryness. Very impressive. 4.13


Cheers

 

I was pretty close, will need to review what I said last time!
@thebeers mysteried a beer that he also sent me as a non-mystery. He sent me the awesome matching stein too!

Thanks Arthur! Fun way to mystery!

 

Back at it with another new(ish) IPA, a can of which I had last night for the first time.

Now that we’re getting Cape May Brewing Co “up here” I’m planning to try their beers more. I’ve heard good things about them over the years, but have had only a couple until now.

Bounding Main Double IPA



Look: Translucent, murky, pale golden yellow and straw to amber. Bone white heat that settles from a couple fingers upon pouring to a thin layer across the top. Some lacing left behind. No visible carbonation. It looks like a NEIPA.

Smell: The nose is very nice on this beer. It does not pop out of the glass, but presents very noticeable notes of tropical and stone fruit, including guava, mango, peach and apricot. Orange and lemon citrus as well.

Taste: Tropical fruit and stone fruit flavors including mango, guava and peach. While somewhat present on the nose, the orange citrus really defines the flavor of this beer. Sweet, freshly sliced, juicy orange. There is a sweet, bready malt profile.

Mouthfeel: Medium body. Pretty soft mouthfeel. It leaves a tickle in my throat. I have a friend who get that’s a lot with certain NEIPA IPA. I rarely get it, and this is one of those times. I believe it is the yeast.

Overall: An enjoyable IPA at a reasonable price. It’s well crafted without trying too hard. A lot of NEIPA’s feel forced. This one does not. If you like easy drinking, soft bodied IPA that don’t fell too heavy and are not overly sweet, you might like this one.

Cheers, BA!

 

Hello NBS friends. I’d share an NBS BIF Nein Beer, but my stupid a$$ forgot the share date was today and Mrs O and I are in Minneapolis visiting Little O, so I’ll be sharing new beers from that magnificent BIF in the coming weeks.

We visited Surly and Fulton on this trip to MSP, and today we’re at Barrel Theory, probably the best brewery in the Twin Cities. This is Swipe Up, a hazy, juicy IPA featuring Mosaic, Nelson Sauvin, and Vic Secret hops. My apologies beforehand for this short review - I’m literally typing this at the bar.

Because that’s how I roll.



Golden yellow color with a billowy white head, very hazy. Pineapple and passion fruit aromas dominate the nose, and there’s also some juicy oranges.

The pineapple is most prominent on the taste, but the passion fruit and oranges are also present. Really well done by Barrel Theory. Rated 4.25.

 

Manhattan Beer Co. Half-life Hazy IPA, 6.2% ABV. 3.69 Overall

Pours a hazed straw color with a thumb of fluffy ivory colored head. Alright head retention & lacing

S: Grassy, faint citrus

T: orange juice, a touch of grassyness & dryness up front, a long with a little lemongrass. Orange, a little lemongrass and a little powdery dryness as this warms. Finishes dry with lime, & a little grassyness

MF: Medium body, fairly creamy carbonation with a slight grittynesss, decent balance

Had a higher expectations for this, but drinkable enough

 

NBS beer #1



Wee Heavy

14th Star Brewing Co.
Scotch Ale / Wee Heavy / 8.90% ABV

4.12/5 rDev +0.5% | Score: 4.1
look: 4 | smell: 3.75 | taste: 4.25 | feel: 4.25 | overall: 4.25

canned 03/7/19

L- The beer pours a slightly hazy brown with a two finger off white head. The head recedes to a central island and ring. Lacing is spotty.
S-The nose is mostly earthy. Some malt sweetness intertwines with peat and a bit of dark fruit.
T-The palate mimics the nose with the sweetness cut by an earthiness which balances the beer nicely. At nearly 9% the alcohol is hidden expertly.
F-Mouthfeel is a solid medium. There is a subtle slickness. Carbonation is on the lighter side of medium. The excellent balance and hidden alcohol make this one dangerously drinkable.
O- An enjoyable wee heavy. Worth a purchase if you see it an enjoy the style. Recommended.

 

Oops, fat finger. Ignore