New Beer Sunday (week 798)

Well I guess I'll give it a shot. This'll be my first time participating in New Beer Sunday. Be gentle if I do it wrong.
Fremont - Stayin' Alive DIPA

Finally getting around to this crowler I bought last weekend and I'm glad I'm here.

Pretty, clear, with a big head off the pour that collapses to a ring and a few minutes and a few sips. Leaving behind some sparse and string lacing. Smells like lemon and pine and honeysuckle. Maybe a little bit of breadiness. Bitterness dominates the first sip and builds as I go along, but after I acclimate to that a little bit I get a lot of honeysuckle/malty sweetness, too. Maybe if I think about it, I get a little straight up booze, but that 8.1% abv is pretty well hidden. Dangerously well hidden. I could go through this crowler almost like water. Mouthfeel is smooth, light, with just a little bit of that sticky/chewiness. Overall, this is a really good IPA that takes me back to the WC IPA days.

Man...this feels like a lot more exposure than writing similar stuff in a review. It's easy to believe no one will ever actually read a review, it's not so easy to believe it'll go unnoticed on here! Makes me nervous that I've been enjoying beer wrong all along and I'm outing myself!

 

It used to be on Main Street in Plymouth In the 1800’s where Carriages and horses Would pass over it, not very dignified. They moved it , cracked it , cemented it back together and put it by the waterfront

 

I wish, it would make everyday conversations alot more interesting .

 

Nice take. There’s actually an occasionally brewed, DIPA “White Label” version with more body (and higher ABV).

 

First off, we're generally pretty gentle here (excepting my first post today, perhaps ). Secondly, we're glad to have you participating and you did quite well for the thread, if you ask me. As long as you're enjoying the beer, it's not wrong. Cheers!

 

Two new dry-hopped lagers and a fruited sour on order today. First up is Mast Landing's new Simcoe Noble hopped Sunspotting.



Pours a fairly-clear cider-like appearance with a foamy, stable head of bone-white foam. Some slight soapy lace, but overall pretty much looks like a standard, clean lager. Nothing wrong with that, though!

So, Simcoe Noble hops, huh? I'm not really sure what this truly entails, but it seems like some kind of gimmick marketing thing that exists as a result of the Cryo Hops separation process or something? Anyway, the aroma is grassy, herbal, and slightly grapefruit-y. Has a little bit of Simcoe character in there but it's like a Hallertau-ized version of it. Very interesting.

Good flavor profile with some crackery malt flavor, lemony hops, a touch of herbalness and grassy notes in the back end. Very refreshing and nicely detailed with some woody notes and a little grapefruit as well. Overall, quite good stuff. I would buy it again for sure, but I'm not really convinced by the Simcoe Noble thing other than it just being done to be unusual/try something new but it would probably make just as much sense to dry-hop this with actual traditional Noble hops. Shrug.

 

Wittorfer Trick 17 American Pale Ale


Pours a slightly clouded, golden color with a huge, froth white head atop.


Smells of a good amount of hops being used in this, leading with fresh cut limes, lighter oranges and tropical papaya among a hint of caramel.


This drinks light and refreshing with a present, vivid mouthfeel, inheriting a mineralic note.


Tastes of an aqueous softness, suddenly interrupted by a rumbling lime bitterness, gently accompanied by bread rind, orange zest and a drop of honey. Turns just a little bit sweeter then with some toffee cutting through, balanced by dry garden herbs together with prevailing lemons. Finishes light with sweeter malts and lighter turning lemons with a bready aftertaste, maintaining a decent bitterness.


Light and refreshing Pale Ale with a convincing bitterness to it.

 

Hey what's going on all?

So I've been coming to NBS for years sayin that, and honestly I've never felt those words be so meaningful now in the times we are in.

It has been tricky to kind of come back here with all the injustice and suffering we have been dealing with in the past week, that to partake in some sort of pleasure just doesn't seem as fun anymore.

I am grateful for @Todd 's recent message, and not letting the Elephant in the room if one were to say still not be noticed.

Being a DC area native for the past 20 years has also made things particularly tough to witness as well. Still there are many good things going on and I am getting a bit more positive of late.

New beers interestingly are coming just not as frequently. My selection is reduced to almost nearly micro regional I would jokingly say, but ironically that doesn't mean I cant find new beers to enjoy. In reality I've found some real good nuggets out there!

With that said, I am done my exercise and I am thirsty and this feels good right now so what's new for our hero today?



Poured from the can into a wheat ale glass.

Big booming, and frothy rich forming off white colored head, big as a fist, but all under control. Quite a bit of staying power and retention surprisingly as well, head also hints a little dark brown possibly strangely. Body color is an opaque muted dark yellow, with perhaps some lighter color towards the edges.

Tart aromas easily hit at first. Light sense of peach fuzz, and a touch of faint sour quality. There's a hint of wheat like chew and classic pils malt possibly going on. Fruit angle is a little subtle but is present. Otherwise pretty solid.

Palate brings a real nice tangy treat. Juiced up a bit flavors, but mostly of just basic lacto sourness mixed with a good malt density. Hints a little bakery bread and density flavors particularly on the finish. Peach angle continues a little bit of faint accent, not so much the star of the beer.

Overall it's listed as a Berliner and on that it excels real nicely. If you didn't tell me this was with added fruit I never would have been able to tell. However, it comes out as just a very good solid tart drinker for sure.

look: 4 | smell: 4 | taste: 4 | feel: 4 | overall: 4

Cheers!

 

Lupulin Sophistry #6 IPA, 7.5% ABV, 50 IBU. Pours bright and slightly hazy orangish yellow, with a 4-finger white foamy head that left decent lacing. Nose is tropical fruit and lemon zest. Taste follows with slight sweetness and moderate bitterness. Excellent mouthfeel, overall excellent. Had hoped for more fruit flavor.

4.09/5 rDev -1.2%
look: 4.5 | smell: 4.25 | taste: 4 | feel: 4 | overall: 4

Finished up installing new outlets in the kitchen today - yes, before cracking a beer. Besides matching the decor better, each of the non-GFI outlets also has two high-power USB charging ports.

 

Pretty pumped for this one. I like Post Shift but never really buy it so this was a definite way to get me to purchase this... dry-hopped with Hallertau Blanc which I really appreciate as a unique hop varietal for a pilsner, mostly because it's also one that I rarely enjoy in IPA recipes featuring it.

Pours a clear-ish golden color with quickly-rising carbonation and a thin-ish, soapy head that leaves behind a little bit of sudsy lace here and there. Definitely a pretty good pour.

Nose is grainy and crackery with a nice hit of gooseberry, grassiness, melon, mineral touches, and bread crust. A great smell, really working the Hallertau Blanc hop addition to its logical maximum. If you're into hoppy pilsners, this one should really scratch the itch.

First few sips are awesome, really flavorful and complex with immediate upfront flavors of melon, berry, tropical white wine, grassiness, surprisingly-heavy biscuit-like graininess. Hallertau Blanc is truly a great choice of hop for this recipe; it brings a ton of complexity out of the base beer which I've always felt is good but kinda basic (which I understand is probably the point). That said, it still isn't "overly hoppy" and it doesn't cross the line into IPL territory like some of JA's main-line brands... it stays firmly rooted in a kellerbier-ish territory in my opinion. Awesome stuff; I would crush more of these any time!

 

Nice review! See you back next Sunday?

 

Good NBS, all.

Enjoying a beer in my seat at Target Field, under a clear, bright sunny sky on a warm day, now into the 3rd inning, Twins leading 3-1 over the Angels.

Yeah, no, sadly, I'm not.

(Yeah, I'm missing baseball ... and the back and forth between the owners and the union is not looking good for any kind of season ...)

Some weeks ago, when the lock-down began, I focused most of my beer purchases on 3 local very small breweries who were providing curb-side delivery. I'll be reviewing 2 more of those today.

First up is a Helles from a German-style-focused brewery 20 or so miles SW of me, in the relatively small town of New Prague, MN.

Giesenbräu Bier Co. Hildy's Helles
ABV: 5.1%
IBU: NA



Clear, bright yellow-gold color, lightly carbonated, and a short, fizzy, fast disappearing white head (10 seconds, gone). It was a good thing I had the camera all set up ready to go, or I would have gotten no head at all in the picture!

No lacing.

The color is very good, but the meager level of rising bubbles and no head after 10 seconds (or less), and no lacing at all is not a good look. This did not start well. No head, no lacing. Strike 1.

Faint aroma, hardly anything at all actually, but what there is is bread (maybe), perhaps I can detect a bit of light fruit, if I convince myself it must be there. Nearly imaginary aroma. Strike 2.

Wow! I'm almost shocked: very, very good flavor; bready and bright, crisp and very lightly bittered. Nice malty flavor with a crisp hops presence and finish. The aftertaste is flavorful and hoppy and has excellent balance from the bready malts. A clear base hit by the Twins Max Kepler (born in Germany, of course!)

Feel is appropriate for the style: moderate-thin body and good presence on the tongue.

Overall, flavor is king for this beer. Very crisp, good malt flavor, subtle bittering, easy drinking. Great summer beer. It is good enough to overcome my criticisms of the look and aroma, hence what may seem like an overly high "overall" number.

An easy single, tempting to try to stretch it into a double. But, I do have another beer on tap for today, so starting with two crowlers of this one? ... No, play it conservative. Single it is.

L: 3.0 | S: 3.0 | T: 3.75 | F: 3.5 | O: 3.75 | Rating: 3.50

 

We've been trying to buy direct local from breweries, but my son wen to the store Friday. He did buy Connecticut beer though. Two from New England Brewing and I'll be reviewing the other one later. NEB has a lot of respect around here, I've enjoyed Gandi Bot before the renaming, I've sought out Fuzzy Baby Ducks at bars and dropped quite a few Imperial Stout Troopers in some winters. With so many choices out there today I feel I have let NEB down in the past few years. Well here we go Supernaut.....

3.94/5 rDev -9.4%
look: 4 | smell: 3.75 | taste: 4 | feel: 4 | overall: 4

Poured from a 16oz can stamped "Wolves run in packs BB 9/6/20" to a Nonic.
Fairly clear gold body with a 1-1/2" large bubble white head. Head fades during session, lacing is decent but not spectacular.
Mild grapefruit, mango and dankness on the nose.
The flavor seems like a bridge between East and West coast. A little tropical in the front, hoppy IBU hit for mid and finish. Alcohol is noticeable despite the 5.8% designation. Medium body with decent carbonation.
Respectable beer from a brewery that earned respect a long time ago (relatively speaking).

Entertaining blurb on the back of the can-

 

@herrburgess is conducting social distancing bier gardens but for the time being I will be enjoying his beers by way of crowlers at home. Today I am drinking his fastenbier. I had it on tap the last time he released it. This version seems to have a little more hop flavor.

Mahogany with lighter segments, clear. One finger cream head with large bubbled carbonation quickly subsided to a full ring and spotty lacing. Still appearance after a few minutes.
Nutty, shading towards smoky, light fig and plum, tobacco aromas.
A lot of flavor to unpack: stone fruit, nuts, faint smoke, less than in the nose, caramel, light floral hops.
Light hop bitterness to start, fruit notes across the tongue, not sweet, carbonation was quickly dispelled.
4.09/5 rDev -5.3%
look: 3.75 | smell: 4 | taste: 4.25 | feel: 4 | overall: 4

I don't know anything about this style, but I never met a dark lager I didn't like, so take it for.what it's worth. Prost!

 

On a very pleasant Sunday I'm enjoying Barrier Lomax. A tasty IPA that has a very grassy smell that is quite different from the juicy IPA's I've been drinking. Reasonably low ABV makes this refreshing with some onion\lemongrass finish. Perfect for hanging on the patio and thinking about as little as possible.

 

I get it. It is not a favored style for many. I would have enjoyed that one ( if I had seen it for sale). -good job reviewing a brew that is not in one of your favored slots. It is always a tricky task.

 

Let's not forget Sosus, although it's a DIPA.