New Beer Sunday (Week 782)

One of the coolest dogs I've ever known was an English Setter named Joe. I lived on a farm in the middle of 75 acres and he would show up about twice a year and stay for a week or two. We never knew who owned him and it was always a joy when good ol' Joe visited. What a dog!

 

Good afternoon wassup NBS? Thanks @lordofthewiens for the opener. Personally I love dogs but after losing my last one in one of the strangest ways you could imagine Ive found it hard to get another, but Im ready. She was a Golden and super itelligent and loyal. Would lay in the corner every night and "talk" to me- Id say hello maia! And she would woof woof back to me every time. One night I got home from work and she was a little hesitant to go out but she did. As I was walking down my driveway she was running around as usual. I turned walked and when I spun around again she was running torwards me and romping. All of a sudden in mid stride she flopped to the ground. Me thinking she wanted a belly rub I ran over. It was was then I was shocked to realize she was dead. I actually tried to give her mouth to mouth but her eyes were open and she was gone instantly. Never did find out the reason. Must have been an aneurysm or something. My saving grace was she died happy- running towards me to play. That being said all my animals, dogs and cats, have been rescues. I have 2 cats presently. A (what used to be feral) female living downstairs and my 18 yr old blue/cream calico who follows me every step of the way...and absolutely loves ham. Dog me.
Todays brew:
True New Englander DIPA. Dry hopped with Galaxy and Sabro.
Pours a hazy golden orange with a two finger head that thins to a cap and ring leaving plenty of sticky lacing.
Aroma is peach, tangerine, passionfruit, pineapple, grapefruit and yes- I get this with this hop (Sabro) coconut.
Taste follows with stone and tropical fruits, some pith bitterness and raw bitter coconut. The bitter is on the soft side like most of Trilliums IPAs but theres a green edge Im not sure Im liking. No sweetness or less than Id expect to provide a little more balance.
Feel is a little soft but with a super dry edge with very tiny carb. Not oily or creamy.
Not sure if I wasnt ready for this but it seems a bit off. Its not terrible by any means just not what I was expecting from typical T's IPAs. Ive had a few Sabro hopped brews and liked them so I dont think thats the issue. Anyhow OK....not great. Heres Lucy-

 

A-Pours a hazy vibrant orange golden color with a nice head and lacing
A-Aroma has a generous citrus and Nelson Sauvin hop hints
T-The taste follows the nose with a citrus, malt, wheat and intense Nelson Sauvin hop flavor
M-A medium bodied well carbonated beer
O-A great DIPA

 

Ahhh, to have it for the first time again.... LFdM is a really great beer! If you haven't had other beers from Unibroue they are mostly all worth a try. Eau Bénite (Holy Water) is their other tripel and is actually better than Fin du monde in my opinion. It was kind of on a hiatus for a long time but over the last couple years they started periodically bottling it. No idea if it makes it the states though. Keep an eye peeled.

 

It's no secret that IPA's are not among my preferred styles, but I do know how a good one of supposed to taste. Keeping that knowledge fresh means I need to occasionally drink a good IPA.

That's why I'm having Good Fortune from Common Roots Brewing.


From the brewer:
This modern style IPA is brewed with Galaxy, El Dorado, and Amarillo hops for a tropical aroma and citrusy finish.
Other than the 6.5% ABV, there's no other information provided.

It's a about 8 weeks old so some of the edge of off.
It looks like a thickish, cloudy grapefruit juice and smells like pine needles mixed with grapefruit and orange zest.
Sipping this beer gives you flavors of sweet grapefruit, tangerine, bitter orange, and pine while a full swallow loses the pine and adds pineapple. This becomes more noticable as the beer warms (in taste and aroma).
The finish is dry with a slightly astringent tingle and a mildly citrus rind aftertaste.

I won't be abandoning my lagers for IPA's, but I must say that this is an excellent beer and hits all the marks for the style.

 

Howdy, NBSers! Found a new beer today after golf:


11 Below Brewing's Dublin Me Luck Irish red ale, 5.7% ABV, 19 IBUs (2/3/20 born-on date)

It's good and at the very least does brush against if not outright hit the style's major notes ... malty, sweet, pinch of dirt-earth hops. As it warms, the malt flavor gets closer to peach than just cracker/bread. I most like the pinch of earthy flavor that never really grows, keeping it from becoming medicinal or overly bitter but balancing the light sweetness. If the ABV were 4% or if the flavors were dialed up from 6 to 8-9, I'd love it. As it is, I'm happy enough to work through this six-pack and keep 11 Below Brewing on the "good" list.

The review:
https://www.beeradvocate.com/beer/profile/39953/329678/?ba=Premo88#review
3.78 (+4.4% rDev)

Huevos the Puppy Dog has been in my care since September.

His mother was having some trouble with him and was close to shipping him to her parents in Brownsville. Huevos moving from the Houston area seven hours south wasn't going to work for me, so I nabbed him. Likely he will be in my care the next however long he has on Earth ... he's about 10 years old and a small dog, so who knows? A year? Five years? Ten? I know not to worry about it and enjoy each day the best we can. Today has been one of those best days ever (trip to the dog park!):

Huevos leads at the dog park. He does not follow.

Great topic again! I missed last week's (or two weeks ago) and meant to chime in that I drink mostly one-off beers out in the wild but stick mostly to old standbys when stocking the fridge. Now that I've become a whisk(e)y drinker, the only new beers I buy for the house are for New Beer Sunday, which IMO is the best reason.

Cheers, beer & dog lovers!

 

Well, a banner NBS for me. Checking with not just one new beer (earlier) but TWO freakin' beers today.
This one is Cumbre's Terminally Chill NEIPA. About 7.2% from what I gather online. Canned 1.29.20 which is damn fresh for our distro around here (no complaints).

Appearance - 4 - plays the part with its thick (not chunky) murk. This is not a turbid style a la Weldwerks or TH. Good lacing on the glass, but oddly not much head. Hmm...

Aroma - 4.25 - Tangerine-meets-grapefruit on the street, they fall on tough times and have to sell some weedy dank buds on the side. Life is hard, often bitter, but they carry it off in balance. (and... *scene*).

Taste - 4 - Good grapefruit pith impact on this, full palate up front, then it carries off too quickly. Drops off the pith-cliff but has good back-end throat (yeah, that's right).

Mouthfeel - 4.25 - Good balance, creaminess, sustains good acids all the way through, some good fizz in dis here juice, peeps.

Overall - 4.15 (if I may) - A very good effort, but I think, for the ABV, I like Sun Fade better. And this is no Big West (see previous). Still - I won't kick this off the side-table next to the couch.

Cheers!

 

A-Pours a hazy orange golden color with a nice head and lacing
A-Aroma has citrus hints
T-The taste follows the nose with a citrus flavor
M-A medium bodied well carbonated beer
O-A good IPA

 

Where I grew up was semi-rural back in the sixties (but not anymore). Our Setter Poncho would get loose and run across Route 10 to see a lady friend when she was in heat. Back then, Route 10 was one lane in each direction; today, it's a divided 4-lane highway. The owners of his lady friend would politely call my Dad and say, "Poncho's here" and Dad would go and get him. One time, Poncho got away and came home several hours later with a piece of door screen around his neck. It seems he went right through someone's screen door. Quite a dog!

 

Poured into a 16 oz Snulip glass canned on 2/14/20. Pours a very hazy orange with a 2 finger sticky off white head that leaves a bunch of thin lace with excellent retention. 4.5

Smell papaya, melon, orange hard can’t, pineapple, and apricot really pleasant and strong. 4.25

Taste follows really big papaya, orange, melon, pineapple, and apricot really balanced nothing taking over and really easy drinking at 10.1% ABV. 4.5

Mouthfeel is big, with gentle life, a tad sticky but not dry, and goes down really easy. 4.5

Overall this is exactly what I was hoping it would be from this amazing your brewery. 4.5

 

A-Pours a dark color with a slight head and lacing
A-Aroma has chocolate malt and rice hints
T-The taste follows the nose with a chocolate malt and rice flavor
M-A light bodied decently carbonated beer
O-A good Brown Ale

 

I got a single when it was a few days old. Took about half the beer to wrap my head around it, & get mentally adjusted. Then I liked it. Enough so that I went back for a full pack. Had one at 5? weeks, & liked it slightly less than when fresh , contrary to what I expected. Still 3 to go . Hoping it gets better with more aging.

Cute cats . Welcome to NBS.
I loved that beer, but it did take about 1/3 of the bottle to get used to it. It was only 2 years old, so maybe try another, younger model?

Love that one . Could drink that all day! (If it wasn't 9% )

Dogs? Not at the moment. I do have some occasionally adopted/borrowed canines, & that's good enough atm. Just got done with a 3 day pet-sit. My work is dog-friendly, so I also get to visit with some customer dogs on occasion.
Brea, 9mo old, & pretty well-behaved - thinks she's my dog when around. One of the above-mentioned pet-sitees.


The other Rocket-The-Wonder-Dog , my dog-neighbor/nephew.


Mabel , my occasional work pup (Amy, pleeeeeeease let me take her home?)


Beer? Oh yeah........ a new-to-me, & new-period, TIPA from Finback : Acid Green.(10.0%) Released 2/7/20
Short version : Smells & tastes wonderful. Maybe just the tiniest bit young, re alcohol &green hop presence. In both aroma & taste, it's of the stone fruit/kiwi/melon side of the spectrum, rather than citrus. Maybe a tiny bit of tangerine. Very smooth, and actually feels a bit lighter than it's 10%abv would indicate. All-in-all , top-notch! Also was 1/4-1/3 less $ than the usual $/oz for Finback ($7.50/32oz)
Annnnnnddd pics won't upload for some reason. Old SD card? Anyway, typical opaque pinky-orange , that looks like peach puree added to pink grapefruit juice.
4.52/5 rDev 0%
look: 4.25 | smell: 4.75 | taste: 4.5 | feel: 4.25 | overall: 4.5

https://www.beeradvocate.com/beer/profile/33901/466911/?ba=mikeinportc#review

 

Stonecloud Orbit II

Happy Sunday, BAs. Hope you all get a three day weekend and can enjoy some tasty adult beverages today.

I won’t comment too much on our dog other than to say he’s a rescue and is a fantastic addition to our family. I strongly encourage people to get dogs from a shelter or some other form of adoption, rather than buying them outright.

To celebrate the 15th anniversary of NBS, I’m opening a bottle gifted to me in the last NBS BIF by a generous Texan who goes by @r0rschach. While not 15.0% on the nose, believe it or not, this one does actually round to 15% if you go to the closest whole number.

Orbit II pours a tawny-hued black with a fat finger of soupy mocha-colored head that dissipates fairly slowly into an lovely soupy mess, leaving some lacing that slides back into the liquid. It’s quite a pretty display for the ABV.

I’d be remiss if I didn’t also point out that the artwork on the bottle is actually a removable patch. I don’t believe I’ve seen that done on a beer before.

Chocolate, red wine and alcohol show in the nose.

This is one of those beers where the aroma is fine, but the taste is a magnitude better. Amazing, semi-bitter baker’s chocolate steals the show, partnered with more of the red wine character, a little caramel-laden bourbon, a slight hint of cola and some alcohol burn.

The feel is on the lighter side of medium bodied, oily and slick, with just a little carbonation.

Orbit II is just shy of boozy. The chocolate in it is delicious, and complements the red wine and barrel aspects very nicely. Thanks for sharing it, John. Much appreciated.

 

Good evening NBS and thanks @lordofthewiens for the start today. I have been around dogs all my life. We currently are enjoying te company of a lovely 8 yr old shelter Heeler/Kelpy mix. Tough start but we are all good now. Spent the day at the Harris Hil Ski Jump. Always a good time
Todays offering is from Tree House Brewing. A really good unfiltered Helles Lager, crisp, lots of malt in the best way, herbal hops. I hope they continue to make this
Cheers all
Wanderer

Tree House Brewing Company
German Helles | 5% ABV

4.12/5 rDev -3.5% | Average: 4.27
look: 4.25 | smell: 4 | taste: 4.25 | feel: 4 | overall: 4

Poured from a 16 oz can dated 02/03/20 into the pilsner glass.
A - Lovely straw color (3-4 SRM). Excellent carbonation feeds a loose knit, snow white froth. The head quickly dissipates.
S - Pilsner malts, cracker, a bit of grassy hops. Lemon Verbena , some lily as well
T - Follows the nose well, add some corn and earthy grains, excellent flavors
M - Crisp on the palate, sweet start, excellent water feel. Dry finish
O - A very good Helles, feel is delightful, flavors run a narrow and true to style track.

 

Paired this with homemade gumbo


Scent of fresh chocolate hits the nose right away. The flavors are complex; there are certainly earthy notes, with sweetness from the malt giving to an almost salty finish. I presume this is the oyster component, but been a while since I last had one. Finish is chalky and dry though not heavy. I purposely selected this to pair with spicy food, and also because I was going to crack this on Valentine's Day and out plans changed last minute. I'd recommend this, and it was an inexpensive pickup when I was at Zupan's in Portland.

 

I love dogs. We just adopted two former strays about a month ago after our last dog passed away. As an adult, every dog I've had was a former stray. Adopt!!!!

Meet Lily and Wilbur







Enjoying a Parish Pure Tropics from @The-Adjunct-Hippie. It's a 2019 gold medal winner at GABF. Described as an ale with pineapple, guava, and mango. This makes three great beers from this brewery for me from Hippie.





Channeling my inner @M-Fox24 with an empty beer...





Pours an opaque bright yellow/orange with a small white head and sticky lacing.

The smell very sweet fruit, mostly mango and pineapple.

The taste is less sweet than expected. Pineapple comes through along with green mango. There's a strong, earthy hop flavor that's nice.

The mouthfeel is slightly sticky/oily, medium body and high carbonation.

Overall, this is excellent. The smell is probably the best aspect, but the taste delivers.

 

Hmm I don't have pet + beer pics but we do love our cats. Enough to spend a few days a year making their cat food. It's a beer worthy 5-6hr endeavor of boiling, grinding, and supplementing.
This time I started with this chelada that peeked my curiousity, and as I just couldn't finish it, switched to a wonderful brew from Bearded Iris.

asus shift key not working

 

greetings all and thanks to our host for the dog centric intro! We are dog sitting our friend's pooch (on the right) and she and our dog are like cousins who are psyched when they see each other a couple of time's a year. Both are 3ish year old rescue mutts. They are high energy dogs but a 4 mile off leash hike (during which they probably covered 12 miles) seems to have done the trick today!



I have a truly, fully new beer waiting in the wings, but I'm hoping I can cheat ever so slightly in the meantime. I bought a 4 pack new beer on Friday that I intended to debut today, but my will is weak, and I ended up drinking - and very much enjoying - one of them that night. But I'd really like to give this the proper, full NBS scrutiny today so I throw myself on the mercy of the court.

This is Notch's new Single Series Kolsch style ale which, if the ABV is any indication, is different from their previously released Kolschs. It's 4.5% and was canned on January 14th. Man do I take terrible pictures.



Look: Clear, light straw color with a very slight haze. Loose head that slips to a ring fairly quickly.

Smell: dry white wine, a bit of hay like malt, and very mild lemonish citrus peel

Taste: follows the nose but with that clean, hay-like maltiness playing a larger role and adding a little doughiness. Mild but sharp bitterness on the finish along with a slight aftertaste that reminds you of those wine notes

Feel: crisp and clean all the way through. Feels full in the mouth but in no way heavy.

Overall: Fantastic! My new favorite Kolsch (style ale), taking the spot from Exhibit A's Goody Two Shoes. The latter has the crisp and clean part down pat, but I don't think it's as flavorful as this one. I'm certainly no expert on Kolsch's, but everything I've ever read about what a Kolsch *should* be seems to be on full display here. You could pound this or savor it and be equally happy both ways.

 

Well, I just wanted wanted to quietly watch the Daytona 500, and have a few beers. Well then, how has that worked for me so far?

I've had a couple beers, none new, but there's hope I can post at least one. I have no hope the 500 will run today.