New Beer Sunday (Week 742)

Congratulations to your son. I've heard this is a good year for graduates and job opportunities. As for you, relax and enjoy the sense of pride tomorrow.

 

Today was supposed to be primarily about stress relief type activities. I had it all planned out. It's been in the 80s all week while I've been at work, so when I got home this morning I was going to grab my hammock, ride up to the canal and nap off and on all day. Then I step out the door and it's 60 and drizzling. So much for that. The best part is I wake up from sleeping off and on throughout the afternooon (at home) and it turns out it cleared up and all I see is blue skies anyway! Missed opportunity! Talk about stress.
Anyway, I've got my best friends from nursing school coming in to visit in a couple of weeks. One of them lives in Nashville, and that seemed like a good enough reason to pick up a four pack of Straight Outta Mashville!, billed as an english style brown, from Matchless, a newer (couple of years now) brewery that I have grown to trust and will probably grab something from them if I see it.
I have no idea what the Nashville connection is to this beer other than a clever name, but I don't need to know, I guess. I think there's also supposed to be some mild connection to local legend Jim Parker (RIP) as well, but I'm not sure exactly what, nor if that has anything to do with the pun in the title.



The pour is a deep brown with little cola bubbles along the side. Maintains itself even at the edges, not succumbing to lightening or rubification or any such nonsense. The head is not large, but it is rich and velvety and seems content to express the languid nature so personified in some of our warmer states. Initial stick lacing is eventually washed away as I tilt the glass and leaves more polka dots than spider webs.

Nose is immediately less sweet and nutty than I would expect and much more roasty and dry. There's almost a level of char to be found. It leans way further into the darker more burnt side of the dark malts which dominate than I would typically associate with a brown.

Flavour does nothing to change this impression with dark roasty malts that hedge into ashy char and dry burnt offerings. This really reminds me more of a dry porter or irish stout than a brown, so take that as you will, but when I approach it in that mindset it's an enjoyable drink when you get to the bottom of it all. For only 4.6% it's got a ton of flavour to it as well and I look forward to the other three cans I have in the fridge.



Cheers!!

 

Tree House Curiosity 64



Look: The beer pours a yellow mango color on the edges and a murky gold to amber color in the middle. It is opaque. There is no visible carbonation. There is a lot of lacing on my glass as I drink the beer.

Nose: The beer is not bursting out of the glass. It’s sweet with over ripe fruit. Mango, pineapple, banana, honey, honeysuckle, sweet bread, white raisins, strawberry. The ripe fruit and bread notes are dense.

Taste: “Honey covered biscuits.” Banana nut bread. Over ripe mango. Banana. Bubble gum. White grape. White raisin. Candied orange peel. Spicy and even some cinnamon. Flash of bitterness on the finish.

Mouthfeel: Low carbonation, slick, oily, and heavy on the palate. Dries out quickly and offers some bitterness. Not my favorite for the IPA style but I’m enjoying it more and more as it seems to complement the sweeter fruit flavors nicely.

Overall: Based on the description from the brewer, this beer is dead on. And I appreciate that the brewer is making this beer and most importantly explaining its intent and idea behind it.

4.29/5 rDev -2.9%
look: 4.25 | smell: 4.5 | taste: 4.25 | feel: 4 |
overall: 4.25

 

You wouldn't have to chose between the Bell's or Troegs beers because they aren't putting bottles of Consecrator into distribution this year.

 

Good evening NBSers! Another great beer from @Rub_This_BBQ

He just absolutely crushed my porch with awesome northeast goodness.



Treehouse I Will Not Be Afraid Imperial Milk Stout with Coffee and Chocolate

This thing is like chocolate covered espresson beans. So nice and sweet without being too rich. The coffee is light and not your typical dark char roast. This beer is just phenomenal. Can't say enough good things.

About to start game of thrones and HOLY SHIT KAWHI LEONARD. Big Spurs fan and it was so sad to see him go, but can't help but still root for him. Apologies to the 6ers fans on here, heartbreak city.

Cheers guys!!!

 

That’s mine from your Rookies box last round. Hope you enjoyed it.

 

Hello Late Night NBS
Thanks to @foundersasap for sending me this interesting take on a stout.
Java Chip Mint Stout by Odd Side Ales in Grand Haven, MI

https://www.beeradvocate.com/beer/profile/22564/95097/

An interesting, understated mint stout. I didn't find it stellar, but a pretty good one that takes an ingredient, mint, that often goes sideways for me, and made it a subtle part of the beer.

 

I did! Sorry about the mislabeling.

 

Hello folks. I had Mother's Day plans today, so I decided to do something different this weekend - I drank the beers I had lined up for NBS yesterday. Call it New Beer Saturday. I saved one for a proper New Beer Sunday entry and I'll get to that one before I go to bed. Meanwhile, here's a compilation of my yesterday:




Harpoon Rec. League

This beer is pure product design. The can says: “hoppy hazy light, 3.8% ALC/VOL 120 calories." To anyone paying attention, it's obvious what they are going for.

Looks like an average NEIPA. Tastes like one too (in a quiet way rather than explosive) but without a characterful body. I do like the simple crackery malt character that manages to come through. Tastes of chalk and leafy herbs, but mainly dulled down mango. The real strength of this beer is that it doesn’t really feel like a compromised product due to the ABV. They’ve done a great job with this beer. For what it is and what it’s trying to be, it’s a big success. I don’t know how Harpoon is selling and pricing these, but if they can package this in an attractive price per ounce at high volumes… and if they put the correct marketing muscle behind it… I bet they’ll have a winner. I can see this being very attractive to people, but I doubt they can beat Founders at their own game. Too bad. It’s not what I personally will be buying again though (not due to ABV, but rather, the style).





Allagash Darling Ruby

They call this a “farmhouse-style ale with grapefruit zest.” The beer is a slightly hazy yellow. I can’t help but think that consumers will be disappointed in the color given the name of the beer and the look of the label. Upon tasting it, I wouldn’t know there was grapefruit zest in this if it wasn’t on the label. It’s grainy, the yeast character comes through, and there is a little generic citrus. Overall, this feels like a step down from their regular saison. If this is how they need to sell beer these days then it’s a shame.




Jack’s Abby Citra Brau

This is very pale yellow. Head disappears quickly. Very slight but still off-putting vegetal aroma. Oily texture. Hop character is surprisingly subdued given the beer name. Not digging this. It has a mucousy character. @meefmoff I hesitate to use that term again at the risk of being repetitive from last week and drawing attention. It's just something I get in beer A LOT these days. Like any other quality that people use to describe beer, sometimes it works in the beverage, sometimes it doesn't. Here, it doesn't. Regarding it's use as a descriptor, I think it's safe to say that more people on BeerAdvocate have had a cold than have smelled a horse blanket, so I say it's fair game.




Lagunitas Hop / Hoppy Refresher

I can’t tell what to call this. Last year, it was called “Hop Water” or “Hoppy Sparkling Water.” This label makes me want to call it ‘Hop” but Lagunitas’ website calls it “Hoppy Refresher.” This is a “zero alcohol, zero carbs, zero cals” beverage. It’s also got zero fat, sodium, and sugar. Maybe Lagunitas should have called it “Hop Zero”… but wait, it has dried Citra, Equinox, and Centennial hops in it. This carbonated water also has nutritional brewer’s yeast and natural flavors. Gotta wonder if the yeast is really there for the novelty factor, but Lagunitas claims it’s there to “biotransform-ate” the hops. I kinda believe them. I’ve heard people compare this to seltzer or a watered down session IPA. Between those two, I’m going with seltzer. It really does have a certain hint of beer flavor to it though (albeit really, really light). It’s hard to pinpoint what’s going on here but it goes down easy. I saw someone in a store buying this by the case (and it wasn’t at a store that does a lot of by-the-case business… as far as I can tell). The price per oz was lower than typical “craft” beer, but higher than buying a big bottle of flavored seltzer. This was surprisingly tasty, but not my first choice for beer or seltzer.




Evil Twin - 90 Days Dry Aged Stout

This is a milk stout brewed with dry aged malt. Not sure what that means exactly. Nice fluffy head. Smells of roast. Dry. Slight hoppy finish. Not getting lactose sweetness. The power of suggestion(?) is probably the reason why this tastes like burnt meat to me. I don't mean that in a bad way... this beer is rather nice at first, but it also wears out its welcome before the can is empty.


Cheers.

 

Good evening BAs and happy New Blend Sunday. Mother's Day. Hope yours was a success. Mine went well, and will be potentially the last Sunday I ever have to work (with exceptions of course). Recently was promoted, with the best benefits being weekends and holidays off from now on. Perfect for the family life.

Anyway, been a few weeks since I've contributed here, but my good ol' pals @WesMantooth and @SomethingClever recently sent me a box of goodies. This one caught my eye right away and I knew it was destined to be exposed here on NBS at some point...

Pretentious Barrel House
Derisive- (1/10. Blend of Red and Brown Sour Ales aged in White Wine Barrels)





One thing I love is a well made, oak aged sour ale. One thing I love more is when it comes out looking like this. My favorite color for a beer. Any style, doesn't matter. Garnet red with Auburn and chestnut highlights with perfect clarity. A thin, just off white head takes no distraction away from the gorgeous body yet still reminds you this is no silly juice or wine, it's alive.

The smell is simply intoxicating. Blackberries freshly squeezed into an oak cask with red wine vinegar infused just enough to be noticed but not overtaking. Green grapes skins and dashes of brown sugar and cinnamon add equal balances of sweet, spicy, and sour.

And those aromas translate perfectly into the flavor. Wine, both red and white, are taken by a wonderfully intense wooden barrel. Raspberry and blackberry come in next with just a pinch of sweet brown sugar, and a dried grassy earthy blend with a touch of savory spice to fade it all out.

As above descriptors might indicate, this beer has it all. Sweet, sour, earthy, oily, slick, smooth, sticky. The tartness is mild. Not overwhelming in the least, and quite pleasant as the sweet element still demand sip to be savored before next sip.

This is a wonderful wild ale. Honestly, it makes me believe more of the style should drive towards the darker side. The punch of sweet and spicy notes bring it to another level. Simply delicious. Just wish it was in a bigger bottle! 8 oz just might not have been enough.

Thanks Corey and/or Dave!

After my official review, I gave Derisive a rating of 4.48. (First review.)

 

Destination Unknown Beer Company (DUBCO) w/ Spider Bite - Ryeno

Alright... here's my Sunday beer. This is a collaboration between two Long Island NY brewers. It's a 12% barrel aged barley wine with rye. Ugly can.

Great appearance. Decent head. Pretty deep chestnut color. Taste is wood, rye spice, and bitter hops. The beer is too overwhelmed by the mentioned components. There's some caramel that is trying to peak through the rest. The beer isn't bad but could have been much better. OK, I can't resist - I need a grilled cheese. This is some good grilled cheese. I'd trade the remaining half of this beer for another grilled cheese. At least the nursing of this beer resulted in me hearing the raccoons getting into my garbage.

 

glad you enjoyed it! i do believe its been bretted so you had that right in your initial thoughts!

 

As a non fan of Session ipas as well, I look forward to trying the new brew. Personally I didn’t think it was broken, so it’s risky to change the formula in a popular beer. I wouldn’t feel that the inability to drink vast quantities of any beer should be a driving force in the brewing process. I felt his reasoning was a bit strange, but I never felt Prima was overly hoppy or created palate fatigue, but again I never felt the urge to drink a six pack in a sitting either. If I see it I’ll try it.

 

Spreadsheet + haul photos.