NBS BIF: Decagonal Malignant Yard Sale

My beer nerd friend @bl00, as I did nearly 30 years ago when I married Mrs O, outkicked his coverage by 30 yards. You have game, my friend.

@larryi86 and @CanConPhilly are studs. No surprise there, given their beer shipping prowess.

This is me and Joy right after we got engaged 30 years ago .....



..... and 2 years ago at the Indian Wells tennis tournament .....



Yes, I outkicked my coverage by 730 yards.

 

What was nearly a beer nerd tragedy turned into triumph. I poured this magnificent beer from @larryi86, went to put it down - and nearly tripped over Ranger, dropping the bottle, shattering it, and losing approximately 2 oz of beer.

Fortunately, I didn’t crush or harm Ranger, and had the opportunity to enjoy nearly 90% of Dogfish Head Raison D’Extra. Man, do I love this beer.



4.43/5 rDev +8%
look: 4.25 | smell: 4.25 | taste: 4.5 | feel: 4.5 | overall: 4.5

This pours like a Belgian quad, with a body that approaches mahogany brown, the ubiquitous quad haze, and a tan head that dissipates quickly.

The nose really tees up the raisin aromas, which augment the stone fruit of the base beer, and there’s a decent amount of brown sugar on the nose, too.

Where the brown sugar really shines is on the taste, where the raisins provide sweetness, and the brown sugar provides the decadent toffee-like flavors this ginormous (15 - 18% ABV) beer demands.

With a beer this big, the danger in my opinion is that it will be syrupy, but this beer is anything but syrupy - there’s a creaminess, but it is in no way cloying or overpowering.

Sam of DFH recommends buying a few of these - one to drink now (Mission Accomplished), a few to age.

That is my mission (the few for the aging). I think this is phenomenal, and need more to see how it ages.

 

I think your appraisal could go both ways @ovaltine but I'll take it as a compliment

 

If you were really brave you’d drink the low fill can, lots of O2 in there to age that bad boy.

Can’t wait tomorrow’s the day.

I’ve done lots of stupid stuff, I’ve jumped out of airplanes for beer money, dated ugly women out of immediate need, sober too, but dated I use very loosely, managed to get myself shot twice etc, but taking on that beer, no thanks. With my luck I’d get a case of dysentery.

 

Never thought of that, those old steel cans might really be unsafe to drink. Well, enjoy the tick, should be fun even if it’s not a great beer. That’s a tough tick, there’s not many of those floating around or anyone caring to drink it. Looking forward to it too.

 

Next up from @thebeers , Tired Hands, Alien Church. I can see why it gets so much attention. One of the better beers I've had in this style, and uniquely delicious.





Getting some great use out of my new favorite mug too!

Full pulp orange juice appearance with light brown highlights. A frothy off white head leaves decent rings of lace.

Aroma not quite as intense as I was expecting, but very nice. A mortar and pestal blend of tropical fruits and berries.

What a wonderful blend of hop contributions. Blueberry, orange, and melon, with touches of pine, sweet onion and mango juice. A little burnt rubber deep in the finish. Though it doesn't mention Nelson as an ingredient, I can't help but me reminded of the beloved hop.

Very well balanced and creamy, but not too thick of a feel. Starts sweet, ends a little bitter and a tad earthy.

As mentioned above, this really seems to extract the signatures of each hop profile. Berries from Mosaic, orange from Citrus, onion from Centennial, pine from Columbus, and burnt rubber from Chinook. Perhaps that's just my historical experiences from these hops, but we'll played here in my opinion. Very nice.

Thanks again Arthur. Cheers!

 

I’m dying for a beer but I’m off drinking Sun thru Thurs, gonna hammer a few beers on Fri, I’m off. Feels good drying out a bit though.

 

I so wanna try a Billy Beer!

 

Just got slammed with a massive box from @r0rschach. Opening it, I was excited just to get some cool new packing material...



But then look at all these amazing bottles...





And there were cans, too!





That’s a lot of beer! I’m pretty sure all of them are new to me, too. I’m very excited about the JKs, the BBB, the Fantome, Contrast and, of course, especially the Boyz II Men Party.

The Stonecloud Orbit II is also insane, not just for being a RIS aged in Basil Hayden barrels, but for having a literal patch on the label.



Thank you, John. This is wicked generous. I’m looking into tearing into these soon.

 

Welp, an overly generous LIF gift from @2beerdogs just crashed the party. Thanks a ton Derek!



Excited to revisit some classic Bootlegger favorites, super stoked on the Bottle Logic (that Festbier has my immediate attention), and can't even tell you how excited I am to try The Patsy one last time. Heard recently that Barley Forge was closing. Sad to hear.



And now to throw everyone off, what will I enjoy NOW? How about another gem from @thebeers !

Tired Hands- The Love You Feel is the Love You Hear



(Served in an Anaheim brewery glass that I used to frequent in honor of my latest haul )



The color of orange on this one is unique. Not quite your cardboard brownish yellow, but more along the lines of a shipping envelope yellow. Either way, something to do with packing. Anyhoo, the off white foam above looks like a root beer float worthy frothy, and plasters the glass accordingly.

Aroma is big on the fruits with everything favoring the citrus realm. A splash of vanilla and some neoprene as well. In the finish, a dollop of that classic pine fights to break through.

Flavor is more plush, if that makes sense. Still very much citrus forward, even reminds me a bit of orange Pixie Stix. Sugary, but not too sweet, with blasts of mango and grapefruit. There's a flash of a uniqueness that's hard to pinpoint. A spice in the vein of nutmeg. Interesting. Once again, that light sappy damp pine follows at the end of the line.

Smooth and creamy texture, sweet with just enough bitterness to keep close to balanced, and a creeping alcohol warmth.

Very unique beer once again from Tired Hands. This is another goodie and actually grew on me with each sip.

Thanks again Derek and Arthur!
(Phew... That was intense.)

 

I’ll follow your lead @Lingenbrau and post a review or two from @r0rschach’s overly-generous box here....


Parish Bloom

This one was a “wow” beer. It pours a cloudy, creamy orange with a finger of off-white head that leaves delicate rings of lacing.

Has a big nose with creamy citrus, tropical flowers and a hint of old-school caramel malt.

It’s delicious tasting, even at over five months old. I’m getting citrus, pineapple, mango, cream, passionfruit, guava and a hint again of that caramel malt. The sweet fruity flavors up front mostly fall off mid-palate, leaving just a little residual sweetness to mingle with a touch of pithy and grassy bitterness.

It’s full bodied and creamy feeling with just enough carbonation.

This is an expertly crafted beer. The lightly bitter finish on it plays extremely well against the pineapple and other juicy sweetness, and there is a slight tropical floral note throughout that makes the “bloom” moniker appropriate. Highly recommended and very much appreciated. Thanks, John.

 

I've gotta go jam with the band tonight, but before I do, I'll have a beer from New Mexico from a guy from California as a guy from Oregon who used to live in California. This beer is even better than I remember. Thanks again @2beerdogs ! Cheers

La Cumbre-
Elevated IPA

 

I wasn't sure if you'd ever had the Patsy in a can. (I figured you had tried it on draft thought). I always enjoyed it on draft. But I figured it was from your old stomping grounds, so to speak, so why not.