New Beer Sunday (Week 768)

Love ZD, it’s been many years since I’ve had Alpha King. It’s hard for me to judge best of anything, I’d have todo side by sides, my palate isn’t all that educated and my memory not so hot.

 

Well, I'm into my 9th year on BA. I lurked reading the site for awhile before I joined. To say I've learned a lot here would be an understatement. I value the site and (most of) the members. (Let's be honest, some do engage mostly in trolling and name-calling; the ones that do that from a self-righteous perspective usually end up on my "ignore" list, which, I suppose, leaves them believing they have won the pointless debate they were engaged in... but I digress...)

Anyhow, as I said, I value the site, this thread, and the interaction and education it offers.

 

Another one from the lineup!

https://www.beeradvocate.com/beer/profile/158/60832/



12 oz. bottle.
Bottled on MAR 19 2015!!!
Moderate pour yields a one inch very light tan head over a hazy, copper-brown body with some floaties and sticky lacing. Nose of oak, slight citrus, and even slighter pine. Taste mirrors nose somewhat with caramel from the barrel coming forward that lasts right through the finish of a little bit of pine bitterness. Good carbonation and feel; and overall, surprisingly drinkable for a 56 month old IPA, but I'd really like to try this fresh.
Cheers!!!

 

One beer down (Iron Maiden's Sun and Steel European Pale Ale) and just started on the second one of this somewhat-odd pairing. I'm no longer listening to Iron Maiden; just having visions of sugar plums dancing in my head as I savor this! Yes, I've had CBS before; and this is the first time on NBS that I've re-reviewed a beer but it's a new (and last?) release of CBS so I'm going for it because it is so, so good.



Founders - CBS 2019

Having this near Pittsburgh, PA from a 12oz bottled 2019-10-01. My overall rating = 4.47

A - Opaque dark brown with a 2-finger light tan head and really good, sheeted lace.

S - Espresso latte, chocolate, good bit of maple syrup, vanilla, light Bourbon. Rich and inviting.

T - Chocolate cake with dried cherries and maple walnut icing while drinking an espresso latte with a shot of bourbon. Sweet, rich and decadent but also some roasted bitterness to balance things out in the finish.

M - Thick body, light carbonation, syrupy with a soft mouthfeel.

O - Truly excellent. Can't imagine why Founders wouldn't continue to put this out. Perhaps because it is expensive at $120 a case here in PA and there aren't enough buyers since KBS and Backwoods Bastard are on the shelf year-round? For me though, this tops both of them and it continues for me to be top-shelf despite many formidable competitors.

 

First up for me this fine nearly-the-end-of-fall day here in MN is a more of a hot weather beer from California. Odd, but here goes anyway...

Modern Times Fortunate Islands American Pale Wheat Ale
IBU: 46
ABV: 5.0%



I picked this up on a recent trip to the west coast, knowing it was already perhaps getting a bit long in the tooth. But, I wanted to try a Modern Times beer, and I chose this one. So, let's see how it does...

Very IPA-like aroma. Citrus, grapefruit, tropical fruits.

Golden amber with a gorgeous, tall, thick white head, that recedes slowly with a rocky, uneven surface, leaving good looking lacing. Great look in the weizen glass with the rising bubbles.

The malts ensure that this is definitely a wheat beer; the wheat base makes its slightly spicy presence known, but the hops are (as with the aroma) very IPA-like. Tropical fruits, with the citrus elements are more subdued than in the aroma, but still the main show. Moderately bitter through the middle and into the aftertaste, with the bitterness lingering longer than the other elements of the flavor. Refreshing, crisp, and dry in the finish.

The body is thin to moderate, with the carbonation tingling the mouth.

Overall, it is a good, well done, ale, but I guess I'm not sure what the brewer was intending with this beer.

It is a refreshing beer, and I'll enjoy the other 3 in the 4-pack, but it is not what I would buy if I was seeking an APA; additionally, it has IPA elements, but it is not what I would buy if I wanted an IPA, either, and the wheat presence is there in the feel and somewhat spicy flavor, but, again, if I want a wheat beer, I wouldn't buy this due to the IPA flavor and aroma. I guess the combination just does not do it for me.

L: 4.25 | S: 3.75 | T: 3.75 | F: 3.5 | O: 3.5 | BA rating of: 3.71

 

A-Pours a light hazy golden color with a slight head and lacing
A-Aroma has pleasant grapefruit and lactose hints
T-The taste follows the nose with a pleasant grapefruit and lactose flavor
M-A medium bodied well carbonated beer
O-A good IPA

 

Drekker Blueberry Pancakes Slang Du Jour Sour a la Mode, 5% ABV. Pours opaque purple, with a big purple head, make of that what you will. Nose is blueberry pancakes. Taste is tart blueberry and pancake batter. Excellent mouthfeel, overall outstanding.

4.29/5 rDev -1.8%
look: 4.25 | smell: 4.5 | taste: 4.25 | feel: 4 | overall: 4.25

 

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I joined Beer Advocate 9 years ago. Loved to pick up the magazine at my local beer retailers. It's given me insight into new beers & places and I use it a resource to find new beers, styles, places, etc. I remain a member because I use it for my own tasting notes. To remember beers or styles that I like/ dislike. It's a great resource for crowd sourcing new beer styles. My new beer is...

Trick by Treehouse brewing


4.27/5 rDev -2.3%
look: 4.5 | smell: 4.25 | taste: 4.25 | feel: 4.25 | overall: 4.25

Canned 10.31.19, opened 11 9 19, poured into a Treehouse Teku

“ You know its gonna get stranger, some things you just know” ~ printed on the bottom of the can

Quotes Hamlet on the side of the can in some funky “sparkly” silver print underneath the black label

“ To die, to grunt and sweat under a weary life; for who would fardels bear, to say we end the oppressor's wrong, there's the spurns that is the slings and the oppressor's wrong, the whips and enterprises of death, the rub; for who would bear the insolence of resolution is sidekilled o'er with a bare bedskin? Who would beat, to grunt and moment with and the heart-ache and sweat under a weary life, but that makes calamity of something after depth what dream: ay; the unworthy takes, when he himself might be? Nonesuch!”

Two finger off white creamy foam crown, hazy deep orange liquid with streams of micro carbonation, good retention, good lacings

Aroma is orange citrus, tangerine, citrus zest

Taste is orange citrus, orange rind

Hop taste , semi dry finish,

Good beer

 

Light golden yellow color with good white cap and lacing.

Aroma of fresh yeast rolls with floral, spicy hops.

Flavor starts with a firm hop presence that is reined back just short of bitterness. Very solid hop backbone fleshed out by bready malt that rounds things off nicely. The grain has depth and the hops have brightness. Simple flavors presented with complexity, balance and sophistication.

Medium texture with balancing carbonation.

If the Lager world is a base of gravel this is a gold nugget that shines out.

 

Poured into a 16 oz Nordic pint glass canned really recent. Pours a very attractive yellow orange with a massive 2 finger sticky off white head that leaves a thick collar of lace as it slowly settles. 4.5

Smell is pear, boysenberry, apricot, ripe melon, and some grapefruit rind. 4

Taste follows pear, apricot, melon, boysenberry, and some bitter grapefruit in the finish. 4

Mouthfeel is big and sticky, gentle carbonation, not sure of the ABV thinking around 8%, and loaded with flavor but easy sipping. 4.5

Overall this is very nice as always from them, they are very good at brewing this style. 4

 

My next beer and the appropriate glassware comes to me from @FlintB. Speciation's Megafauna.

4.15/5 rDev +5.3%
look: 3.5 | smell: 4 | taste: 4.25 | feel: 4.25 | overall: 4.25

Looks like blood orange juice. There is no visible head or carbonation. Smell hits with a very mild funk, some sourness and cherries. Taste hits with beet juice first, tart cherries, mild to moderate sourness, some funk and a hint of lemon. Light bodied and carbonated, tart and slightly puckering mouth feel, dry finish. This is a quite interesting beer that I am enjoying as is my daughter. That being said, if you do not like beets avoid this beer, if you like borscht seek this beer out. Thanks Brian, much appreciated.

 

Bow & Arrow Brewing Co

Guest of Honor

Belgian-style Pale Ale with Brettanomyces. Dry hopped with Simcoe hops.





Had to get the other side of the label, which I love.



Look: This beer is translucent with a slight haze and a pale gold color. Active carbonation and an effervescent appearance. Off white head that quickly rises and spills over the side of my glass. Streaks and spots of lacing at the beer settles down.

Smell: First impression is sweet and tart peach aroma mixed with acidic lemon juice and some white vinegar. Some earthier peach tea. Vinous and a bit musty. Prominent Simcoe with some catty and citrusy grapefruit pith. Some bubblegum. Very nice aroma. Everything described on the label shines.

Taste: On the tip of the tongue a gentle lemon acidity and dry lemon pith. I wouldn’t expect these characteristics from the Brett so perhaps some additional bacteria picked up during the time spent in oak. Mid palate a definitive grassy and bay leaf herbal bitterness. Shifts to some spicier and sweeter Belgian yeast notes. Some bubblegum and spearmint. Bitter, lemony, grassy and dry on the finish. There is a slight chalky note that reminds me of Piraat and some other beers that makes it definitively Belgian for me.

Feel: Carbonation is low to moderate and slightly prickly. Less than expected based on the appearance. Bright on the palate due to the lemon acidity, with a dry finish.

Overall: I really enjoyed this beer. I was hoping I would since it contains so many favorite descriptors: “Belgian-style pale ale,” “Brettanomyces” and “Simcoe Dry Hop.” If this combination sounds appealing you should check out this beer. It delivers. A soft acidity and prominent Simcoe hop bring some bright and lively character to sweet and earthy yeast driven beer that finishes with some nice bitter dryness. An enjoyable and complex beer meant for drinking.

Piraat meets Orval meets a slightly acidic Belgian table pale ale, if you will.

 

Really a shame the fate of Modern Times beers here, they usually suffer from being 8 months old. They make seriously good beers though and occasionally I’ll find one that’s 3 months or so and I’ll buy it.

 

Sounds fantastic- another Tavour purchase?

 

Happy New CANming Straight Outta The Bronx This Sunday, yo (Week 768)!
"Good news, I'm here!" That phrase, uttered at the top of my lungs as I ascended the staircase at the now-defunct Nodding Head Brewery in PHL, would send owner Curt Decker running for the nearest exit. 8=)

I was unsure, last week, whether I would be here this week due a prior CANmitment yesterday. ICYMI, the mockumentary "Beer CAN: A Love Story" had its premiere at the Queen Theatre in Wilmington, DE & I was a part of the cast. I was able to catch a ride home with Jeff & Lauri Lebo so here I am. Jeff is the owner & proprietor of Eco-Mountain CAN House in York Haven, PA & I am still amazed that two heavily-involved CANthusiasts live in such proximity.

I have been on BeerAdvocate.com for nearly 16 years. I was urged on by my FerMentor, Lew Bryson & once I dipped my toe in the water, I was off & running. A LOT of the old guard have fallen away, but it was @nickd717 & the Late-Night BA (LNBA) peeps that were the impetus for my beginning The CANQuest (tm). Russ "Craft CANs" Phillips & I are widely & generally recognized as the early CANpions of craft beer in CANs. I was roundly booed & denounced when I first made the proposal, but look at how far things have come!

I used to routinely ship up to Boston for the Cyclorama fests, beginning with a hearty breakfast at the nearby ChANdler (no relation) Inn before spending the day with my clonesin (not a clone, not a cousin, but another member of a far-reaching government experiment involving Petri dishes, alien insemination, et al), @bocktech & his merry band of mischief-makers. I made a LOT of friends up there over the years, going home with so many patrons that I became the punchline of a joke. I guess that debauching a monk has its appeal.

Back then, the only way to keep track of one's beers was limited to writing a review. Therefore, I was thankful when Untappd.com came along & @unclejedi put me onto it. I use the two sites CANpletely differently - Untappd is for out & about check-ins while BA remains for thoughtful, often silly reviews, CANducted in my kitchen on my laptop.

BA also played a large part in the Woody Him Forward (WHF) from June 2006 to August 2008 when I traveled to all fifty (50) states & most of the CANadian provinces, drinking & reviewing beers, writing posts about my adventures & even staying with fellow BAs, usually for only a night or two. It was a blast!

My buddy, Samm, CANducts a monthly tasting/get-together at his house the third Saturday of every month & even @JackHorzempa has been known to attend. Samm is a Bronx transplant & he was heartbroken when the Yankees bowed out to the Stroh's so I am dedicating today to him as a fellow veteran, beginning with:
https://www.beeradvocate.com/beer/profile/27035/257302/?ba=woodychandler#review

All right! I'm going to take a break & go over to Iron Hill (LNC) for a Veterans' Day repast & then I'll be back.

 

I really like this picture. Nicely done!

 

It was. I think you’d like that one a lot.

And a New Mexico state tick too

 

Woody, a wish you a good Veterans Day and I thank you for your service!

Cheers!

Jack

 

Yet another new-to-me from my brother who spent a couple days in Michigan back in September and I picked up in NJ this past week.
Cheers!!!!

https://www.beeradvocate.com/beer/profile/21497/300049/



12 oz. can.
Canned 08/29/19.
Moderate to vigorous pour yields a one inch white head over a hazy golden body with some lacing. Nose is very, very subdued with very slight citrus and even slighter pine. Taste brings out a bit more with flavors of citrus and pine, finishing crisp and fairly dry. Nice feel and overall, a good sessionable APA from SE MI. Cheers!