New Beer Sunday (Week 765)

My baseball teams are the Boston Red Sox or the Chicago Cubs, neither of which are in play. Need to pick a team to support in the fall classic. National Bohemian vs Stroh’s. Never had a National Bo but did have a lot of Stroh’s in my youth. Therefore, after scientific and historical BA research, I declare go ‘Stro’s !

My new beer is Miles to go before I sleep by Treehouse

4.56/5 rDev +0.2%
look: 4.25 | smell: 4.5 | taste: 4.75 | feel: 4.25 | overall: 4.5

Canned 9 16 19, opened 10 13 19

Poured into a snifter, jet black motor oil liquid, pencil thin brown solid foam cap quickly recedes to a brown ring

“whose woods are these, I think i know”

Aroma of chocolate, roasted malts, whiff of peanut butter, roasted salted peanuts

Taste is roasted salted peanuts, sweet milk chocolate, roasted malts

Sweet taste, soft , gentle sudsing,

Good beer

 

Continuing (from last week) my tastings of beers from the deep south...

COAST Brewing 32°/50° Kölsch
IBU: 30
ABV: 4.8%



Aroma is light, lemon, slight bready malts.

Color is darkish yellow with a 1/3 inch white head that recedes quickly to a thin cap and ring, leaving some strings of lace on the glass. A slight haze. Lots of carbonation.

Taste is bready with lemon, a little honey-like sweetness, little to no bittering. Fairly true to style. Light on the tongue, but enough going on with the interplay between the malts and hops to keep it interesting. Excellent flavor.

Feel is thin, as expected for the style.

Finish has a little bittering in the finish and aftertaste, with the pleasant malt body and lemon flavor lingering on the tongue.

A very nicely done Kölsch.

 

Allagash’s Haunted House, a Dark, hoppy ale, pours a deep ebony with a thin , beige foam cap. The aroma is of toasted malt and a bit of burnt sugar. The flavor is rich with the same. There is a slight note of espresso. The hop bitterness is moderate and welcome.
The mouthfeel is super smooth. This is a really enjoyable brew.

 

Cheers, NBS! Fantastic start @cjgiant!





Look: The beer pours opaque, a little murky, dark brown. At the narrower top of the glass the beer is translucent with shades of light brown and ruby. A minimal amount of khaki colored head that creates a thin layer of foam on top of the beer. Some visible carbonation. No lacing.

Smell: Sweet rye spice. Earthy wood. Candied orange peel. Luxardo cherry. Some burnt sugar alcohol.

Taste: Up front you get some whisky sweetness and warmth. Some sweet, dark dried fruit including dates / figs and some sweet, dark bread. The beer is dryer than both cocktails. I think the barrels that held orange and cherry bitters comes through a lot. Again, sweet candied orange and sweet cherry. Some rye like spice again.

Feel: Medium level of prickly carbonation. A semi-sweet beer with some hints of bitterness and wood. A lingering warmth and sticky sweetness on my lips.

Overall: I am really enjoying this cocktail inspired beer. As a lover of both drinks, this beer is a success for me. Not too sweet, not too boozy. Reminds me of both, but drinks like a beer.

4.24/5 rDev +1.9%
look: 4 | smell: 4.25 | taste: 4.25 | feel: 4.25 | overall: 4.25

 

Hey all what's going on?!

As mentioned earlier the World Series is set, and I am ready. Mixed feeling this local sports weekend as the Nats are setup for some fun times, and my DC United flamed out in spectacular fashion on Saturday in Toronto for the playoffs. Uggh... more misery to come next year as well.

Very productive weekend, rainy and much stay at home chill time now. Had dinner with friends last night at an Uzbek/Russian place, and then went over to the market for some goodies. Let's mix it up this Sunday shall we!

What's new for our hero today?!

Zhigulevskoe Firmennoe (Жигулевское Фирменное)


Poured from the bottle into a Libbey style pilsner glass. Uh oh the green bottle roulette, will there be the skunk monster?

Fairly dark looking pils/lager, hinting a dark brass but with good clarity. Some nice very fine rising bubbles going to a fairly light fluffy white head. Head creation manages a slightly two finger punch, but settles to a more simple thin puck and good collar.

Aroma detection is luckily avoiding the skunk monster. The brew gives more towards a light Vienna it seems with hints of sweet caramel like malt but with a lighter touch. Not much of a hop presence, but then again wasn’t expecting one. There is something a bit odd coming off this, not bad necessarily but sort of fusel but not terribly. Fairly clean smelling but not totally for a lager.

Palate seems to manage some luck. Light bodied but with some sticky malt touches on first sip. Not too wet and fairly solid mouthfeel for a 4.5 abv. Mid palate hits with a light caramel, but also there's a bit of steely like hop presence. The aftertaste is very much all over and contains the bulk of the flavors which is a bit chaotic. Steel and bitter hop presence, sweet faint banana tones mixed with caramel, lots of carbon dioxide finishing, and some very prickly gaseous heat.

This is an interesting mass market "Euro" lager, while a passable and not really good beer let a lone great, it is far better than some of the mass market offerings I've had from other producers. It does seem to be all over the place though.

look: 3.75 | smell: 3.25 | taste: 3.25 | feel: 3.75 | overall: 3.25 | BA Generated Score: 3.33

Cheers!

 

BTW, re: this year's World Series...

The Houston Astros would be a naturally divisive team for BAs if they had kept their original name! (Thinking malt beverage, not gun...)

 

Toppling Goliath Intergalactic Warrior

Happy Sunday, BAs. Toppling Goliath is now in Southeastern Pennsylvania. I picked up a four-pack of both Pseudo Sue and this one while out yesterday.

Intergalatic Warrior pours a cloudy orange with three fingers of yellowed head. The head dissipates slowly and unevenly leaving thick, soapy lacing.

Melon, light peach and citrus show in the nose. The smell is a little floral and slightly peppery. It’s perfectly pleasant, but honestly, I find this a little boring for late 2019.

The taste follows pretty closely with more melon, light peach ring, creamy citrus hard candies, and finished with some pithy bitterness and pepperiness.

It is full-bodied and lightly-creamy feeling with moderate carbonation.

This is a fine beer, but despite the multiple flavors, still feels a little watery and shallow for an IPA. I do like the creamy candy note and both the head and lacing are really top-notch.

 

Good afternoon and New Blend Sunday, BAs. Fall is in full effect and it's the perfect blend of cool and drizzly, then sunny and colorful. My favorite season. My new beer today is also a wonderful blend between two amazing breweries, The Commons being one that disappeared to many's disappointment only a year ago, but is making its way back slowly through the arteries of the welcoming brewing scene.

Alesong w/ The Commons
Common Nectar- Barrel-Aged sour ale with nectarines





The body glows yellow. The constant streams of bubbles gives it even more of that glowing effect. A thin and wispy white foam makes itself comfortable just around the edge of the glass, and it snaps and crackles as if intentionally summoning the late and great Fred Eckhart to tell me to, "Listen to your beer.".

Never has a beer been more obvious of nectarines. It smells like walking through an orchard of the sweet, succulent fruit, damp barnyard off in the distance and all.

This is magnificent. It begins with a sweet splash of the ripe fruits flesh as if juiced only moments ago. Then, a sharp, perhaps unripened skin gives a pleasantly tart counter punch. An unoffensive dash of vinegar compliments with light notes of wood and a minimal funk.

A wonderful balance of sweet and sour, and a smooth yet bubbly body that finishes nice and dry. This is a wonderful feeling beer, almost velvety soft.

Alesong and The Commons continue to impress with this delicious collaboration. My first thought was how perfect this would be on a warm and lazy summer day. But then I realized, it's probably equally as perfect on the drizzly and chilly day surrounded by the perfect colors if fall.

After my official review, I gave Common Nectar- a rating of 4.57 with an rDev of +7.0%. Cheers.

 

If you decide to give it a try share your thoughts. Go as close to room temperature as your preferences will allow.

 

Here’s a tip for you

The winner of the Nationals - Astro’s series plays Gonzaga in my bracket....

 

Poured into a 16 oz Hop Slam glass canned on 9/23/19. Pours a very attractive yellow orange with a solid finger sticky white head that leaves small little bubbles of lace behind. 4.25

Smell is apricot, pine, tangerine, papaya, and some grapefruit rind. 4.25

Taste is the same apricot, pine, papaya, tangerine, and a big hit of grapefruit in the bold finish. 4.25

Mouthfeel is bigger than average, sticky not dry, very drinkable but drinks bigger than the 6.5% it is. 4.5

Overall this is very nice, I will be drinking this again for sure. 4.25

 

Batter up . . . . . . . .

I just got back from a fun, family gathering to celebrate my Mom's 90th birthday. My 92-year-old Dad was kidding her about getting old. I'm lucky they are both still of sound mind and body, living independently, and still driving. Of interest, they've always been 99.49% teetotalers so I'm playing roulette with my beer "hobby". Be that as it may, my lead off hitter is

Trillium - Illustrated IPA



From a 16oz canned on 2019-09-24. My overall rating = 4.16

A - Hazy straw-gold with a 1-finger head and light lace

S - Vidalia onion, peach and pineapple, light pine, grassy and floral spice

T - Fairly citrus-forward, followed with a good bit of pine, fresh hop bud, light pepper and more welcome bitterness than I expected from the aroma and appearance. Dry, piney and floral finish. Quite nice.

M - Light-medium body and medium-high carbonation. Not a soft feel. It's got some sparkly bunch.

O - West Coast leaning for sure, which is in my wheelhouse. Although it looks like a NEIPA, it doesn't taste like one. I like it.

 

Time for another new beer... Poland in da house!



Poured from the bottle into a nonic pint glass.

Rich and lathery forming beer out of the bottle, making a deep dark walnut brown nearly black body. The head is fluffy and rich, thick with a presence of light tan and mocha hints of brown. Uniform and capped nicely at a booming three fingers, like a good dollop of ice cream. Big thick rich porter shake like looking appearance.

Very fascinating aroma even for a baltic porter. Thick malt chocolate whip sensations, a real creamy almost hazelnut/walnut puree on the nose, really nutty sensing. Faint fruity/twinging berry slight tangy sourness as well (not infected), getting into black forest chocolate cake here but with less cherry and something more exotic. Even feels like here's a touch of wood to this as well.

Palate sort of gets everything back to earth. Very whipped up foamy mouthfeel, feels stuck in the mouth but gives way to some solid flavors. More of that whipped up airy chocolate flavor, but less roast and malt quality in taste. Finishes with a bit of maraschino cherry, and a bit of sugary fruity quality that's just a hair really sweet.

Fairly solid baltic porter, that's just a little sugary for my tastes, but stays away from sour molasses and goo which works for me.

look: 4.25 | smell: 4.5 | taste: 4 | feel: 4 | overall: 4 | BA Generated Score: 4.14



Cheers!

 

#2 today, still from the south... this time, North Carolina.

Foothills Brewing Pilot Mountain Pale Ale
IBU: 52
ABV: 5.5%


Inviting aroma of citrus, apricot, bready malts.

Tall, thick, creamy, white head above a deep amber slightly hazy body, lightly carbonated. The head falls at a slow pace, with a thick, rocky surface and rows of lacing.

Taste is strongly apricot, with a solid bready malt backing. The initial taste is slightly bitter, with the bitterness growing through the middle to a solidly bitter finish and aftertaste.

Feel is moderate, a solid pale ale body.

Overall, a very well done classic American Pale Ale, with an apricot rather than the usual citrus/grapefruit/lime flavor.


L: 3.75 | S: 4.0 | T: 4.0 | F: 3.75 | O: 4.0 | BA rating of: 3.96

 

Greetings fellow NBSers! A cloudy, rainy day (in other words, a typical fall day) here in the Fourth Corner. I really enjoy watching the Astros, but I have to root for the Expos because of my hatred of the Designated Hitter rule.

My first entry today is from the PDX hype machine known as (at least to us denizens of the NW forum) Grape Lotion, Orange Creamsicle: https://www.beeradvocate.com/beer/profile/41869/241480/

 

Went out with co-workers after doing a bit of day drinking yesterday, so I'm gonna try the ol' hair of the dog and see what happens. A few new ones today... let's see here.



First up is Lamplighter's Flight of the Kiwi, which features a hop blend of varietals from where other than New Zealand? NZ hops are awesome, and the "Bruce" blend this uses is comprised of Nelson, Pacifica, Motueka, and Pacific Jade.

Pour here is a pretty typical LL NEIPA looking beer; golden yellow/orange hazy body with a nice, stately head that eventually settles down to about a half-finger. Awesome, consistent lace and decent legs here and there. Not bad but nothing unusual. If it ain't broke, don't fix it, right?

The nose is somewhat maltier than expected, with an upfront rush of crackery grains and biscuit notes before I start picking up orange marmalade, tangerine, and a hint of the "gooseberry" note Nelson can provide. Overall this is a little muted; doesn't have that dank and explosive element that a lot of NZ hopped IPAs have. Maybe even kinda metallic? Hmm. Perhaps it'll improve a bit as I sip.

On the tongue, this is velvety smooth and definitely drinkable, but again, it's a little homogeneous. Definitely a bit more bitter than I expected. I guess Pacific Jade has kind of a Noble-type spicy element (some websites claim "black pepper" notes are prominent), and I guess I can see that. Doesn't quite fit with the Motueka and Nelson, which are kinda brighter and more vivacious varietals for modern punchy IPAs and pale styles. Turns out Pacifica is somewhat similar; a Noble-type hop with Hallertau parentage. Interesting mix of things in this blend, but it doesn't really jump out to me. Some definite citrus undertones and a bit of light guava-like cattiness, but... yeah. Not one of the best LL IPAs I've had. Like Finback, these guys make a ton of IPAs, and only about half of them are anything amazing. Can't say I find this one to be great by any means.