New Beer Weekend #19

Good afternoon NBW
Today's new beer is from a recent trade with @basaywhat

Central Waters Brewer's Reserve Vanilla Bean Stout
12oz bottle with 2019 notch poured into a snifter at fridge temp, no ABV listed on label. The beer pours dense, extremely dark brown with minimal light penetration and light brown head. The head recedes to an irregular ring of bubbles of various sizes. Minimal spotty lacing. The aroma is mild with a mix of vanilla and charred malt along with hints of bourbon and oak. The taste is bittersweet malt featuring chocolate, bourbon, oak, vanilla and moderate final bitterness. The mouthfeel is medium bodied with average carbonation and a mostly dry finish. No alcohol in the aroma or flavor, but it's slightly warming to let you know to proceed with some caution. Overall, very good. For a stout at least a year old the vanilla has held up well. Would jump at the chance to try one fresh.

Thank you so much Chris for this box. I thoroughly enjoyed each beer. It's hard to believe that Central Waters sold here for about two years then pulled out...

Cheers all and enjoy the new beer in your glass today!

 

a mere 75cL

 

Ended up at Local Group Brewing for a quick lunch and a beer before heading off to my friends place for an in house concert (well backyard concert).

You Had Me At Hello, Belgian IPA. 6% ABV



Pours with just a touch of haze at first, which clears up quickly. A golden/orange color. A one finger white head forms and recedes to leave some spotty lace.
Citrus, melon, light berry aromas. Very modern American IPA in the nose. There is not anything that I would describe as Belgian here, but a decent IPA.
That citrus, melon, berry medley going on taste wise again. There is some sweetness, I think it is a bit of candied sugar. Other than that a nice lingering bitterness.
A medium body and good crisp carbonation. There is a bit of a soapy feel, which detracts just a bit for me. Though overall a good IPA to drink.

Outside of some candied sugar like sweetness, I'm not really sure what makes this a "Belgian" IPA. As there is no discernible yeast characteristic. I took a few points off for that, but that being said it is an enjoyable American IPA that I would be happy to get again.

Overall score 3.57
https://www.beeradvocate.com/beer/profile/58735/499167/?ba=champ103#review

Had some "Tex-Mex" Poutine for lunch, which was awesome.


Side note: My friend is a local jazz musician, and basically lost all the revenue he could make cause no restaurants and bars will hire bands right now. So he created a stage in his backyard for any local musician or theater group to perform. Its been a great way for them to make a little bit, while doing all the social distancing stuff, and being safe. Tonight they are playing Sonny Rollins Freedom Suite. This will also be the first time I have seen live music in a long time, so really looking forward to it.

 

Pure Project collab with Moska. 8.5% Dipa with oats and wheat. Hopped with citra, Nelson, and Simone.

Aroma and taste is huge notes of citrus and orange. I could smell the hops as soon as I cracked the can.I get mostly citrus with a blend of white grape, pineapple and a touch of dank (pine and grapefruit). Body is full and creamy with moderate carb and bitterness. Minimal sweetness from the malt. Touch of alcohol burn. Overall fantastic.

 

Howdy all! Today for NBS I have three new beers on deck, and they're all wildly different from one another. Love when that happens, as it means I'm not just gonna drink three sorta-different IPAs or what have you. Two of these new beers were given to me by my good friend Pat, who works as a canning line operator at Widowmaker Brewing in Braintree, MA. I figured we could start off weird and then get slightly more normal with the second WM beer, before finishing in a spectacular manner with a big ol' adjunct stout from a brewery with a good reputation who I've never had beer from before... without much further ado...



Up first is Bastards in a Basket, a 7% ABV "peanut butter & jelly sour" brewed as a collaboration with Second Wind Brewing Co. out of Plymouth, MA. I've had a couple good SW beers which I've split with my aforementioned friend in the recent past, and I actually think I trust this to be pretty good. The peanut butter beers I've had from Widowmaker are actually really damn quality, even though I mostly think their IPAs are boring and one-dimensional. Let's see what this is like.

Holy fuck, that pour! It's like liquefied grape jelly with a surprisingly-retentive head of off-purple foam that leaves behind some really nice lace. I'm downright impressed by the way this looks in my glass, at least after I get by the initial "what is happening right now" phase. It builds up with a super-deep and characterful, memorable burgundy/purple color that just looks overall awesome. Also, kudos to whoever did the design for the label, as the colors present there match the beer itself superbly well. I'm ready for this one... and I really hope it doesn't suck.

Incredible smell, and I'm suddenly having a really good feeling that this will be a beer I'll want more of. I don't know how, but the combination of incredibly-apparent roasted peanut elements and slight, subtle grape/raspberry jam somehow comes together here, and almost nothing else really exists here. I don't think there's really any room for any "traditional" beer aspects to come out if I'm being honest, and I guess I'd prefer this to dedicate itself 100% to such an over-the-top concept than to relent a bit and see the involved brewers saying "well, shouldn't it smell kinda like beer, though...?" I almost pick up some light notes of mint, graham cracker, and blueberry as well. It's a lot, but it's pretty focused, all things considered.

I expected this to totally bomb on the palate, I reaaaaally did. Perhaps I subconsciously thought it would be some kind of minor tragedy if I thought this was a good beer. But it is amazing. This is exactly what they set out to do, and I love it because it's both tasty and successful beyond my expectations. It's kind of in the middle of a fruited sour and a milk stout or something, but I don't think the grain base is overly-dark at all, because if it were, this would probably be kind of roasty or something. Instead, it's just pure dark-fruity jam and peanut butter in a crazy-cohesive congealing of disparate things that absolutely shouldn't work together. Feel is kinda slick and generic (thanks lactose, though honestly without that element this would probably be less good, which pains me to admit in a sense), but it's a decent vehicle for the cool flavors that continue to impress even part-ways through the glass.

Of course, my buddy who canned this hates it (doesn't really like sours other than more traditional lambic, and doesn't like peanut butter beers, so there's no way he'd even give it a fair shot without bias coming into play immediately ), but I am grateful to have had it. And now I want more. Also, this makes me want to pick up some Gunner's Daughter to do weird black-and-tans (black-and-purples...?) with... super fun and intriguing stuff, but obviously not for everyone, especially not for the more close-minded. I love traditional beer as much as a lot of y'all, I'm sure you know that if you read my reviews or pay attention to my posts, but there's something so playful and enjoyable about things like this, especially if they're actually tasty. Back soon...

 

Good Sunday afternoon, New Beer Samplers and commentators. I hope everyone has enjoyed the holiday weekend. It's been unusual without either of our kids this year but more restful than usual. While I've started the transition to Christmas - winter themed beers, I have several fresh local IPAs to review today in honor of Small Brewery Sunday. The first is Stratospheric Rays of Haze from Untied Brewing in New Providence, New Jersey. This ale is a variant of the brewery's flagship DIPA Rays of Haze, and is hopped with dry hopped with African Queen, Strata, Motueka, Amarillo, and Ekuanot. Some brewers use Strata hops to create a strong cannabis influence; in this case it's subtle and the grassy herbal notes nicely balance the bold orange, lemon, lime, berry, and stone fruits. Untied's recent DIPAs have excellent mouth feels - creamy and surprisingly lite for 8.3% ABV. This is a very nice beer from a brewery that continues an impressive run.

Here's the score:

4.32/5 rDev 0%
look: 4.25 | smell: 4 | taste: 4.5 | feel: 4.5 | overall: 4.25

Up next is a locally-brewed West Coast IPA. Cheers, everyone!

 

Deer Gauntlet from Other Half
DIPA Hopped with Mosaic and Galaxy and then dry hopped with Galaxy, Riwaka and Bru-1
3.72/5 rDev -9.9%

From a 16oz can, dated 10/27/20. Served in a cervoise.

Pours a cloudily opaque apricot color with a finger-plus of soft, lathery suds. Retention is just pretty good but leaves a creamy, silky cap and collar and a solid blanket of lacing. (4.25)

Super-muted nose of I’m-not-even-sure-what. Sweet-ish, creamsicle or candy-like something. (3.5)

Taste is a bit of a muddled jigsaw puzzle of flavours - tangerine and lime, grapefruit juice and sour booze, caramel, pineapple syrup, pine bark, orange peel and black tea. Grapefruit and sour booze aftertaste lingers. (3.75)

Feel is dense and sticky, medium-hefty bodied, vaguely syrupy but with decent enough carbonation. (3.75)

Overall, heavy, boozy, just marginally better than just alright... but I’d have expected Other Half to pull off something more impressive with all those hops. (3.75)

 

More new brews...

=4.67

=4.32

 

NBW #2: Loft LIfe, a West Coast style DIPA from Hackensack Brewing Co. As you can see from the photo, this is a malty, darker version of the style, which is rare in this area and something I really enjoy. It's not what I expected. The recipe includes Nelson Sauvin hops which we don't see often in this style. The ale has a great balance of malt sweetness, tart citrus from the Mosaic hops, and an herbal dryness from the Nelson. I'm really impressed by it. Here's the full review:

4.24/5 rDev 0%
look: 4.25 | smell: 4 | taste: 4.25 | feel: 4.25 | overall: 4.5

No date on can but appears to have been released in October 2020. Poured into a pint glass. It pours an unusual color for the style: a cloudy dark iced tea color with a half finger of creamy, ecru-colored had and thick, clinging lacing. It's an attractive pour. The smell is rather subdued; it's primarily malty. The malt carries forward into the taste and provides initial sweetness that's immediately balanced by bitter, biting Simcoe hops. What's intriguing about this recipe is its use of Nelson hops, which contribute a dry, herbal taste that works well with the malt. While initially malty and bitter, as it warms I can taste some earthy, piney citrus. This ale finishes with lots of bitterness; all 70 IBU worth. It has a moderately creamy mouth feel with a pleasant level of carbonation, and the 8.2% ABV gives it good substance. Overall, Loft Life is a fine offering that manages to blend malt sweetness, tart citrus, and hop bitterness with finesse. This is a well-conceived and executed beer.

I gave it a 4.5 overall to reward the brewer for brewing a beer like this - you don't see it often in New Jersey. "Style points," as it were.

 

Now for something completely different...

Augustinian Ale by Nethergate Brewery
Listed as an English pale ale here on BA

The review: 16.9 oz bottle stamped L0218 (presumably bottled 8/5/2020 - about 3 1/2 months ago) poured into a nucleated nonic pint glass at fridge temp 5.2% ABV. The beer pours with explosive egg shell colored head. It took 10 minutes to get a drinkable pour. The beer itself is mostly bright honey amber in color. Amazing retention with a volcano style island atop a half inch of head and complete lacing. The aroma is surprising with lemon and coriander leading the way before a subtle pale malt note. The taste is semi tart with more coriander, lemon, floral, honey notes before the malt shows up. The finish is dry, barely tart and only mildly bitter. The mouthfeel is thin to medium bodied with average plus carbonation. Overall, weird. The label mentions bottle conditioned and a "touch of coriander." Pretty much all I get is coriander and if by traditional style they mean letting a few random yeasts or bacteria in the mix, then they went medieval on this one. Beautiful beer & happy to have had the chance to review. Would not purchase again, but would recommend for the tick and experience.

If I could homebrew an English ale that looked like this, they would probably ban me from WBAYDN for loading the pages. However, the taste is a complete 180 from anything I expect, and while I'm not opposed to coriander, I do not care for tart / sour beer. I have to wonder if that was intentional.

Happy Birthday!

Cheers all!

 

They also make a hell of a black IPA, although I haven't seen that one show up in cans yet.

 

I'm going to bend the rules, but just slightly. I've had this beer before, but it has been so long ago that I probably hadn't even started writing reviews.

Anchor Steam Beer.

12oz can served in a tulip. Date on the can is 040120. I don't remember where I bought this.

Pours a deep clear amber with a medium sized head. Smell is rich and grainy, honey and bready yeast.

Taste is also rich and grainy with a lot of honey and bready yeast. But, there's also a bit of a bitter bite -- not too much, so maybe more like a nibble, just enough to let you there are teeth here.

Mouthfeel is surprisingly full, though also surprisingly low on carbonation. Overall, this is a much richer and more interesting beer than it was in my memory. I'm glad I decided to revisit it.

 

Might have had a little too much fun the last few days, but I’m recovered now and focusing on lighter beer. First up Tired Hands Rasbberrison, one of the 3 new fruit variants of Ourison that where just released.

4.47/5 rDev 0%
look: 4.5 | smell: 4.25 | taste: 4.5 | feel: 4.75 | overall: 4.5

750 ml bottle poured into an Ourison glass

A- A clear ruby red with a three finger pink head.

S- Sour, raspberry jam, wheat, lemons, oak, musty funk.

T- Tart, raspberries, lemon, wheat, oak, some musty funk.

M- Smooth, soft, light body.

O- At first the raspberries don’t seem to be the best fit for the base but as I drink it everything comes together beautifully.

I love Ourison but some of the fruit variants they have put out haven’t been as good as the base beer, but this one brings together the flavors quite well. Cheers!

 

I feel like the last few NBW threads I have remarked on the relative quietness of the proceedings, and again I feel like it's something of note... I hope everyone is doing alright and is in a good place. Seems to be a lot fewer entries recently. Anyway, on to my next one, another Widowmaker beer called Coastal Delicacy. This is a 5.7% ABV India Pale Lager brewed with Galaxy and BRU-1 hops. Nice hop combo, solid ABV, and recently packaged. Hope it's a good'un.



This pours a hazy (okay, it's essentially-opaque) yellowish golden color with a solid head measuring two fingers at its highest point, though it quickly sinks to a half-finger. As it does so, though, it leaves behind excellent, consistent sheets of lace that give the beer some solid character. Legs are good, too. Everything is pretty much in order here. I usually expect IPLs to be less hazy (this is apparently lagered for six weeks, so I'm not really sure how it still has so much chalkiness in the body), but whatever. At the end of the day, this is going to define itself by how it tastes and drinks when it comes to that definition, right?

The nose has an initial sniff of cantaloupe and tangerine followed closely by dank pine resin, apricot, and intense grapefruit rind with a hint of pilsner maltiness kind of cleanly supporting the hoppy aspects. Maybe some light tropical elements of mango and passion fruit (thanks, Galaxy!) as well. Dankness comes out even more as it acclimates to being in my glass. Some touches of spice and doughiness, but nothing obtrusive at all.

First sip is a muted citrus (grapefruit/pomelo) mixed with passion fruit and pineapple notes that fade out quickly. Similar flavors come out upon subsequent sips, though I'm definitely enjoying the slight bitterness and pine-y focus this seems to have. This is very drinkable and thirst-quenching with some supporting elements of dank earthiness, soft baking spice, melon, and guava flesh that really give it a decent amount of character. A lot of Widowmaker's hoppy beers I've had seem to feel kind of plain and homogeneous on the palate (a lot of time, in spite of positive perception of the nose), and this does have a bit of that to it, unfortunately. It has a nice, complex nose that translates unexpectedly-weakly on the tongue, in other words. It's slightly more crisp and less-yeasty than their stronger IPA offerings, but I assume six weeks lagering will have that kind of effect (since it's an IPL, duh). I'm confused as to why it's still super-hazy, of course, but whatever. Feel is solid... well-carbed, well-structured, and with a good heft for its low-medium ABV. I'd drink it again, but I wouldn't go out of my way for it.

 

Goose Island Bourbon County Brand Kentucky Fog Stout, 14.1% ABV. Pours black and thick, with a one-finger head that left no lacing. Nose is bourbon, honey, and tea, taste follows with some sweetness and light bitterness, with some bourbon burn. Excellent mouthfeel, overall outstanding. I'll adjust my review as it warms, based on other's observations. A tea beer is a bit odd, but it works. I'm liking it a bit more than the #4 Oatmeal.

4.46/5 rDev +3.2%
look: 4.25 | smell: 4.5 | taste: 4.5 | feel: 4.25 | overall: 4.5

A good day to drink some Bourbon County, watch football, and put up the indoor Christmas decorations.

 

That's a good one and the wife's favorite. I need to check their site to see when it will be available !

 

Very tasty brew, glad I picked it up.

https://www.beeradvocate.com/beer/profile/23222/136674/?ba=Wasatch#review

Cheers!