New Beer Sunday (Week 783)

Good evening NBS and thanks @cjgiant for the reminder of how easy it is to make me feel old!
15 yrs ago I was certainly in craft beer full swing, with local breweries up and running here in WMass, a few excellent and still operating brewpubs, it was easy. Retail offerings included a lot of Otter Creek Copper ale, Allagash, all this while bemoaning the loss of Catamount in the first wave implosion.
We spent an overnight in Cambridge seeing some live music, Had to as always stop at CBC, as we do whenever we are in town, They had a great list, including a pitch perfect dark English Mild.
Today we are exploring a delightful IPA from Honest Weight in Orange Ma. Funcrusher is hefty and delicate, avoids being overhopped.
Cheers all
Funcrusher

Honest Weight Artisan Beer
American Imperial IPA | 8.5% ABV

3.99/5 rDev +2% | Average: 3.91
look: 3.75 | smell: 4 | taste: 4 | feel: 4 | overall: 4

Poured from an undated can into the test glass
A - Hazy, muted goldenrod color, gentle carbonation supports a thin white cap. Lacing is abstract and interesting.
S - Peach, White grape, melon rime, hints of pine and pine apple mingle seemlessly
T - A fun little vanilla kiss in there, with all that fruit forward in the aromatics this was a suprise. The fruit parade is enhanced with some lovely apricot flavors, Amarillo I suspects. The malts a sweet and only participate as a canvas for the hop display.
M - Excellent tactile feel, soft water, sweet start, then a move to the middle with just enough bittering to keep this from being to sweet. Linger is tropical and almost fruit punchy.
A - A very good offering on the palate and aromatic, not a beauty to look at but in all other respects a delight

 

Howdy NBSers!
It is once again Sunday and I once again have a new beer for you folks. My wife got a new job recently and a big part of it is philanthropy so she had her first fundraising event today. Luckily it just so happened to be very close to home and so I was able to help and participate this afternoon. Cool to see it all go smoothly. It involved exercise though, so needless to say I've worked up a powerful thirst.
My (first?) beer this evening is one from a 100% Brett brewery that I've reviewed on here before. It is a blend of their brown ale and their porter, both of which I like pretty well. The difference here is that the porter was aged in Ardbeg barrels. I usually am really cautious with scotch-enhanced beers as I think they get a little out of hand and taste horrible if I'm being honest. But we'll see about this one. It could go either way. The scotch beer is only 30% of the blend so either it is designed to be mellow or they tried to age it and it was so god-awful overpowering that they had to blend it to not lose the beer. Only one way to find out which it was.

It pours pitch black with a billowing, rocky tan head that is around for the duration. Good lacing. The nose is most definitely scotch-twinged. Some faint chocolate, caramel and red fruits underneath though. Flavor-wise it is also quite scotchy, but not bad compared to some similar beers I've had. Not boozy for one. The porter flavor is hollow though. Some hard water and toasty flavors overlaid with mellow smoky scotch notes. It honestly tastes a lot like a scotch and soda made with water from a mud puddle. Not terribly porter-like I'm afraid. It is fizzy and pretty thin with a lingering barrel astringency that isn't detrimental but which doesn't do it any favors either.
All in all this is an okay beer that I will finish and enjoy for the most part but which I don't feel did a great job of being what it is supposed to be or wowing me. It is nice to have a measured scotch presence, but other than that this is just another on the list of beers where I don't feel like the scotch barrel helped any. Oh well. Can't win 'em all.

Slainte!

 

15 Years ago I was months away from stumbling upon this website that certainly changed things for me ( wish I found it when I was still stationed in Germany, it would have been an awesome resource ) I was in Colorado enjoying the great beer scene there. I caught the good beer bug in the late 80s down in Florida & then 5 years England sealed the deal. Here's a new beer;

Crane Guava Weisse, a Berliner Weisse, 4.5% ABV; 3.67 overall

Pours an effervescent & sparkling gold with a pinky of beige colored head. No head retention or lacing

S: Sourness, guava, grassyness

T: Follows the nose, much dryness as well, a touch of green apple up front. green apple sweet tart & dryness dominate as this warms, just a little guava now. Finishes tart & dry with guava making a comeback

MF: Medium body, delicate carbonation

This started strong, but failed to gain any real complexity. Easy to drink

 

Firestone Walker XXIII Anniversary Ale 2019 Vintage American Strong Ale, 11.5% ABV. Pours black with a one-finger tan head which left some sticky-looking lacing. Nose is sweet caramel, roast malt, and chocolate. Taste is bourbon, sweet caramel/toffee, chocolate, roast malt, cola, and nuts, with a slight bitter close. Excellent mouthfeel, overall outstanding. This is an incredible mix of Stickee Monkee, Parabola, Bravo, BBA Helldorado, Velvet Merkin, and Tequila Barrel Helldorado. This beer is as "busy" as Abyss, developing more flavors as it warms. Included is a note from the brewer, which I didn't read, just checked "I Agree".

4.31/5 rDev -0.7%
look: 4.25 | smell: 4.5 | taste: 4.25 | feel: 4.25 | overall: 4.25

I've been disappointed with most of the Firestone-Walker I've had to date, but I'm really liking this one. Should have gotten more.

 

Still fighting off an annoying sickness and wasn't going to post today, but seeing all these great reviews inspired me to plow through and have a beer anyway.

15 years ago I was living in Des Moines and drinking a ton of Boulevard Wheat. Still love that beer, although I never see it here in CT.

Today's beer is Selective Pressure by Speciation Artisan Ales courtesy of @FlintB from the recent Rookie BIF. Not sure how I didn't stumble on the BIFs sooner, but better late than never. It's great to be able to try out beers that I otherwise wouldn't have been able to.



Pours with almost no head / head retention / lacing. Looks like grapefruit juice, but I suppose that’s the pomegranate, which also comes through in the smell. Taste is not overly sour, and again features the pomegranate, with subtle hints of vanilla. Not picking up the blueberry, but as usual, that may just be due to my lack of ability to pick up on most things! Overall a very nice sour that I’m happy to have been able to enjoy.

4.21/5 rDev 0%
look: 4 | smell: 4.25 | taste: 4.25 | feel: 4 | overall: 4.25

Post script - @woodychandler we share a birthday, although I'm 7 years behind you. Our birthday has to be one of the lamest around in terms of famous people with whom we share it. When Carrot Top and Sally Jessie Raphael are in the top 10 famous people, it's a lame date! Regardless, make the most of it. If you are turning the double nickle, according to my German friend that makes is a Schnapps year (22 / 33 / 44 etc.), which is really just another excuse for people to buy you Schnapps. Regardless, enjoy!

 

Happy New American Double IPA Sunday!

Pretty nice day here on the Western Slope, the rain never came. At the trailhead, it was cloudy and breezy, around 45. The trails at this elevation are also drying up pretty well. Still feeling shitty from the dirt, dust, bugs, gnats, chill on Tuesday's ride. Having a very tasty brew, always a joy to have something from this brewery.

https://www.beeradvocate.com/beer/profile/23222/297776/?ba=Wasatch#review

Cheers!

 

Welcome to the best thread on this site, IMHO. Your post is outstanding - we look forward to seeing you here regularly.

 

This new beer is from @FFFjunkie. I’m onto my second pour now and enjoying it immensely.





Look: Hazy and translucent amber color with an off white head that eventually disappears with no lacing left behind. No visible carbonation. Some chill haze at first as the beer brightened up almost completely after sipping on it for an hour. A wee bit of sediment in the bottom of my #properglassware.

Smell: White (bright acidity) and malt (sweetness, acetic, buttery) vinegar. Lemon juice acidity. A faint barnyard funk with whispers of manure when I take a deep inhale. Barely. It doesn’t define the nose. Sweet oak. Vinous and some dirty earth. Nothing screams gin but the nose is sweet and floral. Quite botanical, to borrow a word from the label. A bit powdery and pushing perfume. Sweet tart candy. A lot of tart, fresh berry including blackberry and raspberry. A lot of apricot as well.

Taste: There’s as much going on here as the description is long. That’s not a bad thing. A lot of stone fruit. On the tip of the tongue you get some fruity sweetness like apricot. The acidity is in the peach/nectarine/plum realm for me. Some buttery oak toward the middle and end. The beer is not as tart and citric acid as the aroma suggest. I really get a lot of lemon juice on the nose, but not the palate. It’s more sweet and sour acetic here. A dry, woody and vinous finish. The white wine has a big impact on the flavor.

Feel: Very low carbonation. I’d love some more liveliness to the feel, but it doesn’t detract from the enjoyment. A semi sweet beer. Doesn’t dry out too hard on the finish.

Overall: A really great beer. The Brett takes a back seat to the white wine, grapes and gin. There’s some citric acid on the nose, but the beer for me is defined by acetic notes on the nose and flavor, but it never goes full apple cider vinegar overboard. A lot of buttery oak on the finish as well, especially as the beer warms up. A really delightful and complex beer.

Dan, thank you.

 

Foam Brewers Think I'm In Love. Now, this is what I was hoping for from Foam. Appearance is a translucent peach, with a foamy (!) head that lingers. Aroma is citrusy but herbal, promising a greater complexity than the Built to Spill I had earlier. Taste confirms my suspicions: peach and pineapple up front, then giving way to dank, herbal, even cheesy undertones. Savory notes rise as it warms, for a really unexpected, almost self-contradictory earthy juiciness. Still not as eyebrow-raising as several Finbacks I've had lately, but several notches above very good.

BTW, the baby shower is over, settling in now with lots of leftover finger foods FTW. Sunday night cable TV coming up.

 

I have a couple of beers for your perusal on this gorgeous evening in Northern Indiana, NBS friends. Both are from relatively local brewers to me, and one of them will be sent to my target in the soon-to-begin NBS BIF XI. Actually, multiple beers from the brewery I’m referencing will be sent to my target.

You’ve been warned.

The first is a collab IPA that s probably the best beer I’ve had thus far this year. Absolutely love it.





4.43/5 rDev +4%
look: 4.25 | smell: 4.25 | taste: 4.5 | feel: 4.5 | overall: 4.5

The color after an aggressive pour reminds me of the color of sunshine when it has tinges of gold before it shifts to that magenta color when true twilight sets in. There’s the smallest amount possible of hop haze under a soapy off-white head that provides some lacing. Gorgeous beer.

The nose is Sergeant Dank hop aromas - that almost oniony aroma you get from Mosaic hops, bright juicy oranges that you get from Citra hops, earthy notes like you find with Simcoe hops. And what’s the hop bill? Warrior, Simcoe, Citra, Simcoe & Citra Lupulin powder & Mosaic Leaf. Bingo!

The Citra and Mosaic hops are the the dominant participants in the flavor profile (full disclosure - probably because I’m so partial to those varietals), with waves of ripe oranges and an almost garlicky flavor. This is my flavor sweet spot in an IPA, so I’m pretty much in heaven.

The mouthfeel is full and very dry, per the West Coast-style referenced on the bottle. If this collab beer from two of my favorite breweries was regularly available, it would always be in my beer fridge. World-class, IMHO.

 

Approaching a February sunset in Minnesota. Even though today was warm (low 40's qualifies as "warm" in Feb in MN), my early evening selection is a winter warmer, specifically,

Bell's Leaves of Grass V: Song of the Open Road Winter Warmer
ABV: 8.5%
IBU: 35



Aroma is weak, but a bit funky. Touches of sweet bready malts in the aroma, but it is hard to pick up too many nuances, since it is not a strong aroma. Perhaps I needed to let it warm more, but it came out of my refrigerator at 44° F, and I let it stand for 5+ minutes, maybe 10.

Brown/ruby, slightly translucent to clear with visible bubbles rising to a light tan, thick and bubbly head. The head recedes moderately quickly, but leaves a thick wall of lacing.

Taste retains the funkiness from the aroma and adds slightly sweet caramel and bread. Roasty. A bitterness begins shortly after the initial taste and continues through the middle and into the aftertaste, growing a bit in intensity. The bitterness remains in the aftertaste, resulting in the next sip starting off with the bitter hops at the beginning. It seems to be higher than the claimed 35 IBU to my palate. In fact, for this style, I consider that to be a bit of a negative. The alcohol is well hidden, but becomes obvious half way through (not in the taste, but in the effect).

The body is moderately thick and the feel is smooth.

A nice, but not great, winter warmer. Compared to the best winter warmers I've had, it could use more rich maltiness, spiciness, and less bittering.

L: 4.0 | S: 3.5 | T: 3.75 | F: 4.0 | O: 3.75 | BA rating: 3.73

 

Sorry to hear this, but they do leave an imprint, and make us more human.
Cheers

 

Sorry to hear of your loss.

 

Can't wait to see that in cans down here!

 

Firestone Walker 2019 Mole' Merkin, 7.8% ABV, American Imperial Stout 4.07 overall

Pours an effervescent mahogany with a thumb+ of mocha colored head. Average head retention & lacing

S: Cocoa, a little vaniila & faint figgy notes, all fade a bit as this warms

T: Coconut, vanilla, cocoa powder, just a little chili heat up front along with dryness. Dryness, toasted coconut, vanilla, cocoa & a little cinnamon & chili heat as this warms up. Finishes with powdery cocoa sweetness, chili heat, vanilla & still coconut

MF: Medium body, subdued carbonation

Easy to drink, probably one of the lower ABV American IMP Stouts I've ever had, still delivered flavor, but more body & barrel would've impressed me more

 

I think we may share the same sweet spot- you got me drooling over here!

 

Beer mail me your address, I’ll send you a couple of bottles.