New Beer Sunday (Week 795)

Bought a single recently to see if I like this new IIPA from Founders - “4 Giants”:



At 57 degrees poured deep amber with excellent clarity; fluffy off white head; long cap retention; solid ring and medium heavy lacing. Nose is caramel malt, lemons, pine. Taste is bitter citrus rind; sweet caramel malt foundation; lemon, orange, grapefruit, pine. Sticky pine resin feel; medium minus body, light plus carbonation; some hop astringency and alcohol burn; warmth in the mouth from 9.2%. Overall, not “hot” per se, but the alcohol is definitely noticeable; otherwise, good balance between aggressive bitter hops and sweet malt base; looong bitter linger; a very good IIPA, but one and done for me.

4.75 | 4.0 | 4.25 | 4.0 | 4.0
Score: 4.15 rDev: +0.5%

 

Thought I'd have some fun with this one since I have small children (an excuse for me to be one I guess!) Barebottle Jurasic Juice!



4.55/5 rDev +4.1%
look: 4.75 | smell: 4.75 | taste: 4.5 | feel: 4.25 | overall: 4.5

L: Nice. A milky opaque tangerine with a slight green hue. A pile of dense ivory froth with average retention to a long lasting thick ring and sparse but interesting lace pattern.

S: More complex than many in the same vein, there is significant dankness, tropicals including unripened pineapple, plum flesh, I think I also find tangerine, lime, mineral, and strawberry notes in there.
More aroma than a lot of bare offers. As it comes to temp even a little bubblegum comes out.

T: Mostly follows the nose with a nice bitter tang and only a residual sweetness.

F: On the weightier side, very resinous, and mostly dry. Lower carbonation.

O: My last few Barebottle brews were sadly underwhelming. I thought maybe they surprised me with the first few and then my expectations rose, but this one came along and I'm impressed again.

 

I had another beer in mind for #2 today, but because @SABERG reviewed Fuller's London Porter, I went with the same beer. Likewise, @SABERG, I have no excuse why this beer is still new to me, except that it is.

Fuller Smith & Turner PLC Fuller's London Porter
ABV: 5.4%
IBU: 37




330 ml bottle into a 20 oz nonic.

Dark black-brown with lighter brown edges through the light. 1/2 inch light tan head after a gentle to begin, vigorous after half way when I saw the head was slow to develop, pour. Medium carbonation bubbles are almost visible through the darkness. The head retention is decent, but not overly long-lasting. Spotty lacing.

Roasted malts are first in the aroma, but there is also an earthiness and light chocolate and coffee. But, the roastiness dominates.

Taste has the roasted malts first, as with the aroma. The other flavors are present, but kind of mingle together below the roastiness. There is chocolate along with other less discernible flavors. Don't get me wrong, the flavor is very nice, it is just that I am unable to parse out the components that underlie the roasted malts and chocolate. The middle and finish are smooth, somewhat earthy, and mild. A controlled bittering presents only in the aftertaste.

The feel is moderate-to-thin, with the earthiness and bittering giving it a dry finish.

Overall, a very good English Porter. It is milder (i.e. less bitter) than I was anticipating. Whether that is good or not depends on what you are looking for. For me, it was good.

My sample was no doubt suffering from age... it was past its BB date by a couple of months. Since I ordered it for curb-side, I was unable to check the date before getting it home. My opinion of the well-regarded craft beer store where I bought it just took a hit.

L: 4.0 | S: 3.5 | T: 3.75 | F: 3.75 | O: 3.75 | Rating: 3.71

 

Order a "chelada" in Texas and you get a cold glass with a salted rim filled with ice and lots of lime juice on the bottom and your beer of choice on the side. Great combo on a hot day.

 

Good Sunday afternoon New Beer Samplers and commentators. And thanks to @jkbir for starting the thread today. This was the last Sunday of easy traveling up the Garden State Parkway from the Shore. Next week the drive becomes a lot slower and infinitely more annoying. While I love spending summer weekends there, there's a lot to be said for off-season.

Last Sunday, I reviewed a "White IPA" brewed by Man Skirt Brewing in Hackettstown, NJ. It's a hybrid Belgian Wit-American IPA and I liked it enough to buy another pack. I also bought a pack of Man Skirt's new Black IPA, "You Made Me Ink." I'm a huge fan of Black Ales and was ready to be underwhelmed. But I wasn't. This is quite good. Not at the level of Carton's Epitome (which could be my favorite beer) or Twin Elephant's Chingas, but really well done. It opens with some sweet chocolate malt and coffee but ends very earthy and bitter. It's great when a local brewer flicks the proverbial switch from mediocre to really good and Man Skirt may have done so. This is a solid Black IPA that I would easily buy again. The brewery is canning more and I'm excited to see what is next, as well as to visit again when the restrictions end. Here's my full review:

4.08/5 rDev 0%
look: 4 | smell: 4 | taste: 4 | feel: 4.25 | overall: 4.25

Canned on 5/6/2020. Poured into a pint glass. It pours a very dark cola-mahogany color with a think creamy, light khaki-head and creamy, clinging lacing. Its fragrant smell features roasted malt, chocolate, leather, tobacco smoke, burnt nuts, and earth peat with lesser notes of vanilla/caramel. This is quite good! It opens with freshly-brewed coffee and bakers chocolate that has both sweet and bitter qualities. There is a nice base of roasted malt. There follows a blast if bitter, burnt nuts and tobacco ash that nicely balances the initial sweetness. In fact, it finishes decidedly bitter. I didn't detect the advertised citrusy flavors. This ale has a great mouth feel; it's surprisingly creamy for the style. The level of carbonation is just right and at 6% ABV it's easily drinkable. A second pour is not an issue and is welcome. This ale is big enough to pair with a burger, ribs or steak but it's lite enough for casual drinking. Overall, this is a well-executed Black Ale. It's a notch below the leaders of the style but Man Skirt has a great recipe here to work and improve on. It won't take a lot!

I have a Stout from @woemad warming up (literally and figuratively) in the bullpen. Cheers, NBS!

 

Good afternoon NBS, starting my afternoon with some Pilsners then will be moving on to something stronger. My first beer comes from @TheGent, Kane Sideshore.

4.1/5 rDev +8.2%
look: 3.75 | smell: 4.25 | taste: 4 | feel: 4 | overall: 4.25

Thank you TheGent for this
16 oz can poured into a pint glass

A- A fairly clear golden straw color with a small white head.

S- Sweet bread, some pilsner malts, earthly, touch of citrus, a little herbal.

T- Biscuits, some sweet malts, touch of light fruits, hints of citrus, earthy, herbal.

M- Smooth, light body.

O- A well brewed Pilsner and easy to drink. Hallertau Blanc hops work very well in this.

Cheers!

 

Congratulations and best wishes to the @WunderLlama family!

I'm having a nice May weekend and thankfully the weather has been cooperative. Yesterday my wife and I took a day trip to visit our older son in CT, took a little nature hike, and even cooked a nice meal together. It almost even felt like things were back to normal again, at least for a little while.

This afternoon the younger son and I have been working in the yard, and even planning future projects around the house. So today's new brew was selected with that kind of casual sunny weekend in mind:

Cape May Lager. And they are definitely marketing this one as an easy drinker with crossover appeal; and certainly not the kind of beer to geek out over. No real style is suggested, and I honestly couldn't even tell you if it's all malt or not.

All that being said, I am digging it, so they majorly succeeded in the one area that there couldn't be a misstep: it's very pleasant overall. No off flavors, nothing even remotely obnoxious, but not flavorless and bland either.

Sure it's fairly generic, with no regal hop or malt profile to speak of, but again, that seems to have been the goal here from jump street. Right off the bat with the crack of the can there's that aroma that just screams "old school beer": a touch of corn, another touch of slightly coarse grassy/lime peel hop, and the interior of a baguette's doughiness. The palate is sturdy, with a solid snap of bitterness, and the finish is surprisingly long with the baguette's crust at this point, and even a hint of toasted cornbread.

If I try to imagine what some regional AALs of 75 years ago were like, this is exactly the kind of thing that comes to mind. And it's pretty all right by me! It's going down fast and easy enough to nudge it just over the line from B+ to A- (4.0). Time for another can...

 

Good fuckin god, TG, what did I just pour into my glass? Dragon Fandango is a "beer with mango, passion fruit, and dragon fruit," and the can also implores the drinker to "raise a glass, dance the fandango, and celebrate these tropical fruits." If I can get over how ridiculous this looks, maybe I will.

As you can see, this pours just about the densest fake-pink looking beer I've ever goddamn seen. The can says nothing about artificial colors, but it also doesn't tell me the ABV (this is a common issue with TG, though) so I don't know what's really going on here. I'm just gonna assume this is actually somehow natural, though, cuz TG doesn't seem like the kind of brewery who would dose their sours with anything artificial. The head, like with most quick-sours, dissipates pretty much instantly to a very thing (less than a half-finger) in my glass. This is definitely something else, I can already tell.

The nose is, well... yeah. It's a tropical fruit bomb. It's super juicy and saccharine; I can feel my enamel peeling off my teeth as soon as I bring it to my nose. Guys, holy shit. A lot of dense passion fruit here, with some sweaty mango juice and whatever dragon fruit is supposed to actually be compared to. I guess it has somewhat of a kiwi-like element to it but a lot of websites that have done research into its actual flavors seem to denote disappointment that it isn't as interesting, taste-wise, as it looks like it'll be. I get a little bit of lychee and cantaloupe here as well. I'm kinda scared to sip it, but whatever, here goes nothing.

Oh... uh, yes this is very acidic indeed. Almost too much tartness; it totally inhibits drinkability for the most part. Super dense feel with almost no room for anything actually "beer-like" to survive among the tropical fruit juice assault. I feel my stomach turning at the thought of finishing this whole can. Honestly, this isn't bad, but it's just not my style of sour. It's too thick and rich with almost no "refreshing" element to it despite it having canonically-"refreshing" fruit flavors infused within. Worth a shot if you want to be straight-up assaulted by tropical fruit and don't mind having this be the only thing you taste for a half hour after finishing it.

 

Lupulin Straight Hash Homie DIPA, 7.7% ABV, 60 IBU. Pours slightly hazy orange with a 4+ finger white head that left lots of foamy lacing. Nose is faint citrus and pine. Taste is sweet orange/tangerine and lemon, some pine, moderate bitterness. Excellent mouthfeel, overall excellent.

4.11/5 rDev -3.1%
look: 4.25 | smell: 3.75 | taste: 4.25 | feel: 4 | overall: 4.25

 

Hey what's going on?

Still enjoying beer that's what! Not gonna stop me! Having a pretty good weekend, my garden which I get to spend a good deal of time with is doing good and looking promising. Good plus being near it all the time these days.

nothing beats a good brew in hand outdoors either. So what's new for our hero today??



Brookeville Beer Co. Spin Out IPA.

Poured from the can into a Spiegelau IPA glass.

Deep orange amber body, mostly opaque with a light touch of fine carbonation. Good lengthy three finger off white head, almost khaki in color with a good amount of lacing too. Solid standard looking IPA, not so much turbid or hazy for New England though.

Real enjoyable aroma. Hop fronted with a juicy sense of tropical fuit and exotic sweet mint earth that's hard to put into words. A faint sweet dank quality seems to linger off on this too, which is chewy sensing possibly from the first whiff. Faint touches of biscuity malt possibly as well.

Palate seems a bit more leveled. Light bodied juice with a distinct malt backbone that gets through the hops. Hits cookie biscuit dough sweetness with touches of light orange and passion fruit like flavors. Finishes fruity with almost menthol like aftertaste but none of the heat. Quite clean tasting for an ale surprisingly too.

A decent IPA, with a somewhat neat hop aroma. Probably not gonna make the NEIPA fan bros excited, but certainly a good one.

look: 4 | smell: 4.25 | taste: 4 | feel: 4 | overall: 4 -- 4.06/5

Cheers!

 

You made this identical comment when I reviewed the Modelo Limon version, which was a very similar beer.

 

My 57 year old self wants your beer

My 5 year old self wants them Dinos

 

Little Rock's Rebel Kettle Brewing's Easy Roller IPA, 6.3% 4.13 over all, I would but this again

From the can: Pours a hazed gold with one finger of cream colored head. Great lacing & above average head retention

S: Orange peels & grapefruit

T: Green melon, oranges, bready dryness & a little kiwi up front. Oranges, lime & kiwifruit mixes with dryness as this warms. Finishes dry, citrussy fruity with mango showing up late to the party

MF: Medium body, low carbonation, nice balance

Solid, easy drinker, juicy enough

 

Lol. Thanks for the perfect reply, and a good laugh!

 

Thanks for the compliment, much appreciated as I'm still pretty new to trying to articulate reviews instead of just rating. That image on the glass was designed by Leeds, UK based artist Drew Millward who has actually designed a number of event posters and t-shirts for Phish(along with other American bands like Melvins and Foo Fighters). The glass was released by Leeds based brewery Northern Monk and was bought for me by a friend who was living there for a number of years. I didn't expect to enjoy this glass so much based on it's shape, but it's become one of my favorites functionally and sentimentally.

One of my old college buddy's younger brother had his first child last week. They live in the NYC area and were nervous about how everything would work out with the current distancing measures and regulations. She ended up being scheduled for a c-section and he was allowed to be in her room after the procedure. We clearly helped raise him right because he managed to sneak a few beers in with him. His first post indicating that Holden had entered the world was an Untapped check-in at 2 am where he was pounding a Heady Topper in her hospital room bathroom and commented that it was his first beer as a father.

Glad you enjoyed it(even with semi-local glassware). Big Hop is admittedly one of the weaker offerings that I sent along to you, but it's representative of where Pittsburgh craft brewing began almost 20 years ago. They've been making Big Hop the same way all along and your review is spot on. Most of the other beers better represent what local brewing has evolved into over the years.

 

Happy NBS everyone!

Figured I'd do a 3 for one post here, all new brews for me today. First I started off with a new (to me) Against The Grain Bo & Luke Variant, their Hazelnut Cocoa:

https://www.beeradvocate.com/beer/profile/26850/386797/?ba=bluejacket74#review




Next up was a decent "Low-Cal Saison" from one of my local breweries. I think I'd rather have a regular cal saison next time but this wasn't bad:

https://www.beeradvocate.com/beer/profile/37078/484554/?ba=bluejacket74#review




And then finished with a Key Lime Gose or 2 from one of my favorite Ohio breweries:

https://www.beeradvocate.com/beer/profile/40297/180603/?ba=bluejacket74#review





Got to try out my new BA Teku glass so that worked out well. Cheers and have a good night everyone!

 

Congrats Advocate! Cheers to your newest family addition!

 

NBS #2 Shiver, a Coffee Stout brewed by Bombastic Brewing Co. in Idaho, courtesy of @woemad's NBS BIF #12 box (the sweet glass came in the same box). Fred's review was so spot-on that I could have simply cut and pasted it but he may have copyrighted it so I wrote my own. This is an interesting, and very tasty, coffee stout. I can best describe it as a high ABV (10.5%) version of Ballast Point's Victory at Sea. Lots of coffee and vanilla bean although the mouth feel is more akin to a lower ABV Porter. Here's my review:

3.94/5 rDev +1.5%
look: 4 | smell: 3.75 | taste: 4.25 | feel: 3.5 | overall: 3.75

I received a can from @woemad in an NBS BIF. No evident canning date. Poured into a tulip glass. It pours a very dark walnut approaching black, with a small, foamy, lite khaki-colored head and thin film of creamy lacing. On the nose there is roasted malt and freshly-brewed coffee, along with earthy nuts and vanilla bean. As it warms I'm also smelling some faint tobacco smoke and leather. The taste is decidedly espresso-forward and it's freshly-brewed. The vanilla bean is also readily apparent up front. Toward mid-palate it becomes more bitter with earthy char and burnt nuts. There is also a very faint cola taste. For a 10.5% ABV Stout the mouth feel is rather thin. You can feel the warming of the 10.5% ABV. Overall, Shiver is a bit hard to rate. It reminds me of a high ABV version of Ballast Point's Victory at Sea. I give it high marks for taste (the most important attribute of any beer) but the mouth feel is watery and a disappointing. If Bombastic Brewing could cure this deficiency, then this would be a very good coffee dessert Stout.

Thank you, again, Fred for you excellent Northwest beer offerings. You really know how to play the BIF game!

 

I'm usually pretty punctual, but every so often showing up fashionably late to the party is in order. After watching so many fellow BA's indulge in whiskey day yesterday, it left me craving a little myself. I had already had it in mind that I wanted to lean heavily on some local IPA's yesterday, so why not get my taste of whiskey today? This is one of those classic's that I'm sure most here have had, but this was my first dance with it. The promise of a rainy afternoon seems to have just been an ugly rumor, so 4 Hands' Madagascar was sipped from a snifter on the back porch with some of my favorite companions(wife not pictured). Best wishes to everyone else partaking in NBS or just partaking.

4.33/5 rDev -2.9%
look: 4.25 | smell: 4.25 | taste: 4.5 | feel: 4 | overall: 4.25

Look - Pours a jet black color with absolutely no head on a rather aggressive pour. Small bubbles of carbonation meander to the surface, but don't collect.
Smell - In order of intensity: bourbon, vanilla, chocolate, roast.
Taste - The bourbon is very forward in this beer. While sweet, it is not cloyingly so. Intense vanilla is present throughout. More subtle notes lean towards chocolate and roast with maybe a touch of marshmallow(as indicated in the description).
Feel - Madagascar is rather thin, but nicely carbonated. It's slick and smooth going down, but doesn't really compare to the body of many other BBA stouts.
Overall - This was a delicious BBA stout that did not lack in the promised vanilla. The bourbon barrel took center stage to accompany that sweet vanilla flavor, but was balanced by some deeper notes of chocolate and roasted barley. Nice to check this classic off the list, and I'd happily have another.