New Beer Weekend #36

Good NBW, everyone!

A cold(er) and rainly Saturday evening here, so it seemd like a good time to try this beer that I saw pop up while looking for some porters from the UK a few weeks back.

McEwan's Scotch Ale
ABV: 8.0%
IBU: NA



A beer of Scotch heritage, now brewed in England after passing through a couple of owners and brewing locations.

Sweet aroma. Toffee and figs.

Clear dark ruby with bubbles (visible with a backlight) rising to a 1/2 inch off-white-to-tan head with relatively short retention. Thick lacing lines the glass.

The taste does repeat the flavors from the aroma, toffee and figs, but more assertively and with more complexity. There's an earthiness, a peatiness, a very slight bittering in the initial taste that retains throughout, but fades in the aftertaste. Bready malts make their contribution. The beer is a bit on the sweet side, but not overly so.

Mouth feel has a moderate body with a restrained carbonation. Creamy.

Overall, this is an easy-drinking, tasty scotch ale. Perhaps not as substantial in the body as some of the more modern examples of the style, but an nice traditional example. I only just this evening had this beer for the first time, so I can't comment on whether it has changed. I can say, though, that it seems to have come through the jumble of owners and brewing locations as a very nice scotch ale.

L: 4.0 | S: 3.75 | T:3.75 | F: 3.75 | O: 3.75 | Rating: 3.77

 

McEwan's was my gateway to Scotch Ales a *long* time ago; I can still remember thinking "Dear God, what have we here?" Glad to read it has survived.

 

Saint Arnold Brewing's Double Down DIPA, 9.2% ABV, this was a lucky find; not been blown away with any of the other beers I've tried from these guys. 4.37 overall, enough said

Pours an effervescent honey color with a thumb of cream colored head. Better than average head retention & lacing

S: Cakey, pineapple, green melon

T: Follows the nose, plenty of grapefruit as well, plus dryness up front, plus a little pine. Pine, grapefruit, cakey sweetness and a little mango as this warms, plus dryness & pear. Finishes cakey, piney & dry with a kiss of tangerine

MF: Medium body, fairly subtle carbonation, lovely balance

A drinkable, but potent DIPA that is well worth a go. Easily the best beer I've had from these guys

 

Sorry to burst your tick bubble, but that beer essentially has zero ties to Hawaii at this point. It’s owned by AB InBev and brewed in multiple mainland states. The only thing Hawaiian about it is the branding. The Kona that’s made and only sold in Hawaii is owned by a different company now.

 

Hello New Beer Weekend!!!

Another work week in the books, and it's time for new beer. Tonight it will be something I picked up at work today.


Blue Moon Iced Coffee Blonde.

I'm actually enjoying this a lot. The coffee is very mellow, and it's backed up by a sweet malty biscuit, and honey flavor. Very easy to drink, and I'm glad I bought the 12 pack. One more thing I'd add is to make sure it's not too old, because I can easily see the coffee turning into green pepper.

Review:
https://www.beeradvocate.com/beer/profile/306/366057/


3.53/5 rDev -3.3%
look: 4.25 | smell: 3 | taste: 3.75 | feel: 3.5 | overall: 3.5

Pours a clear golden color. There's a 2 finger slightly off white head. There's pretty good retention, and some nice lacing on the glass.
The nose is minimal.
Taste - a nice mellow coffee flavor that hits on the front. On the back I get a malty biscuit sweetness. A hint of honey.
Light bodied, as expected.
Tasty, and easy to drink. I like it.


I'm going to have another one of these before bed, but I'll be back tomorrow for more.

 

Happy New Beer Sunday #839!!!

OK, pulling an audible from my originally planned two from local brewer Off Color, saving one (Space Tiger) for the newly announced Saison / Farmhouse Ale Day on April 10th, and Beer for Burgers for the Bock tasting April 23-25th.

So today, I am going with two from California. The first I picked up in the Fall, the last one in the shop, but it ages well so this morning is the day to enjoy.

Firestone Walker XXIII (2019 Vintage)



Bottle Notes: 12 oz, 11.5% ABV, store at 40 F, serve at 55 F. Always keep refrigerated.

Scroll Blend Notes:

• Stickee Monkee (10.4% ABV, IBU 34) Aged in Bourbon Barrels 28%
• Parabola (14.4% ABV, IBU 56) Aged in Bourbon Barrels 28%
• Bravo (11.5% ABV, IBU 28) Aged in Bourbon Barrels 20%
  
• Bourbon Barrel Helldorado (11.5% ABV, IBU 17) Aged in Bourbon Barrels 15%
  
• Velvet Merkin (9.0% ABV, IBU 22) Aged in Bourbon Barrels 5%
  
• Tequila Barrel Helldorado (11.9% ABV, 175 IBU) 4%

Appearance: Dark brown pour with light creamy tan bubbly head which dissipates relatively quickly, leaving a cream ring around the rim and covering most of the top. 4.25

Aroma: Lots going on here after letting this warm for 15 minutes from refrigeration. Smooth bourbon emerges first, nice fruity flavor follows, raisins, plums and fig. Light oak, molasses and tobacco. 4.5

Taste: This is absolutely bursting with flavor. Bourbon and sweet mix kicks off the festivities, the bourbon smooth, chest warming. Creamy milk chocolate, syrup, coconut, cinnamon, figs and raisins follow. Getting barleywine working my way through this excellent offering. Truly diverse and excellent. I am so pissed I slept on this until one bottle remained. I don't believe you can improve on this, so five it is! 5.0

Mouthfeel: This is a medium to full body, very creamy, faint fizzy carbonation complements well. The booze will hit you quickly, feels stronger than the 11.5% ABV. Very enjoyable, nice bursts of sweetness throughout, primarily the chocolate and syrup. The bourbon smooths things out, overall sweet but very enjoyable. 4.75

Overall: This is another outstanding offering from the great team at Firestone Walker, and the group they assembled to select this year's blend. Strong flavor, alcohol, aroma, very pleasant, don't drive afterwards, enjoy immensely! 4.75

NBS #839, WBAYDN #3081

See you later with a rare Haze for me.

 

Good day BAs! For today's entry into the NBS portion of NBW, my thanks go out to @nc41 - already told Mrs. Lizard that we'll be making a side trip to NC on our next TX run.




1516 Heller Bock from Red Oak. Received on 25/3/21 in a LIF from nc41. 16 oz can. Stored at home at 42 degrees. Reviewed 28/3/21. Note that I use DD/MM/YY protocol.
Bottom stamped “CANNED ON 02/24/2021”. Served at 47.8 degrees in a hand washed and dried Jester King snifter. Final temperature 54.3 degrees.
Appearance – 4.
First pour – Pale Gold (SRM 4), clear.
Body – Gold (SRM 5), slight haze. When rear-lite, same but effervescence evident.
Head – Average (Maximum 3.5 cm, aggressive center pour), white smoke, medium density, average retention, diminishing to a one to two mm crown fed by effervescence and a thin partial cap.
Lacing – None.
Aroma – 4 – Sweet, lightly toasted malt and a bit of yeasty bread, no hops.
Flavor – 4.25 – Taste follows nose exactly. Again, no hops flavor but a slight bitterness that cuts the malt sweetness is apparent. No alcohol (7 % ABV, as marked on container) taste or aroma. No dimethylsulfide or diacetyl.
Palate – 4 – Medium, watery, lively carbonation.
Final impression and summation: 4.25 An excellent heller bock! If I close my eyes and sip, I can see the skyline of Bamberg through the chestnut leaves. Who says a 600-year-old rule doesn’t still work?
Rating 4.15, rDev -3.3%.

 

Oh, this is just what I needed, to be spending more money before 8:30am on a Sunday. Seriously though, this is what I love about this thread. I had this beer advertised to me on Tavour yesterday, and really considered it. In the end, I ended up passing. After reading the review of a trusted BA like @Roguer I immediately went back into the app and added a can to my open crate. Can't wait to try this now.

I've only had four beers from Revolution and they were all part of their barrel program, but they've all been absolutely incredible. One of these days I'll have to try their other offerings, but so far they can do no wrong in my eyes.

This thread is always a great read on a Sunday morning, and this weekend is no exception. I spent yesterday laying low because of some lingering aches and pains after my second vaccine Friday evening. Hopefully by later today I'll be able to join in the fun.

 

I found a feature about New Beer Weekend that I really enjoy. Yesterday I split this beer with 3 friends and did not have to review, but today I have time.

Poured into a 16 oz Snulip glass canned on 3/24/21. Pours a hazy yellow orange with a finger plus sticky white head that leaves thick streaks of lace with excellent retention. 4.5

Aroma passionfruit, mango, peach, tangerine, and apricot. 4.25

Taste follows passionfruit, mango, peach, tangerine, and apricot really balanced and low on bitterness. 4.25

Mouthfeel is medium, soft gentle carbonation, not dry or sticky, and at 7.1% ABV really easy going down. 4.25

Overall a really nice and slightly different NEIPA that during the summer will be really nice. 4.25 Enjoy your Sunday all.

 

I'm aware of CBA & Kona (note the Bud glass), but BA gives a Hawaii tick all the same. Not as funny & ironic as California being my most ticked state up until this week with 161 beers. A quick review of my numbers show 114 of those beers are brewed in Virginia, Illinois and North Carolina by Stone, Lagunitas and Sierra Nevada respectively. I guess I'm trying to say state ticks are a joke, but I'm somehow still compelled to get them all. If only INbev could buy a brewery in Nevada, Arizona, West Virginia and Nebraska I'd be set.

I'll be back with a new beer once my yard work is complete...

 

They do 4 seasonals a year now with Hopgarten being shifted to July only. They do an Old Oak in Oct which is their Marzen, Black Oak which is their winter Bock, plus the 1516. Still think dropping the Pils from the rotation is a big mistake, but I’m guessing it a time and space problem, it’s not exactly sprawling for the amount of beer they produce 23,000 barrels right now.

 

Well, it's time for my first new beer of the day.

Supergiant from Able Brewing - 5.2% ABV.

I like how it looks, but that's about all I like about this beer. Not impressed at all.

Review:
https://www.beeradvocate.com/beer/profile/43011/230841/

2.6/5 rDev -28.6%
look: 4 | smell: 3.25 | taste: 2.25 | feel: 2.25 | overall: 2.25

Pours a clear golden color. There's a nice looking 2 finger white head. There's pretty good retention, and there's some beautiful lacing on the glass.
The nose is very minimal. There's just the faintest hint of a malty sweetness here, but nothing else.
Taste - Slight malty sweetness up front. There's a slight creamy taste as well, but on the back there's a bitterness, that isn't pleasing at all.
The body is light. The bitterness leaves a bad feeling in my throat.
Not impressed at all. sorry.


I'll be back in a bit, after I choke this down. I think it will be time to pop open Surly 14 next. I can't see that one being bad.

 

Not sure if they distribute to your area, Maui Brewing makes some good beers in Hawaii, Coconut Hiwa Porter and Pineapple Mana Wheat are pretty delicious I think. Cheers!

 

I've had Straightjacket, Ryeway to Heaven, Deth's Tar, and Ten Year Beer from their barrel program. I actually had to look it up and found out that I had their Freedom of Speech fruited sour way back in 2018, but I have zero recollection of that at all.

 

Pours a hazy orange with a 2 plus finger sticky white head that leaves loads of thin streaks of lace with excellent retention. 4.25

Aroma ripe melon, mandarin, guava, apricot, and grapefruit rind. 4.25

Taste follows cantaloupe, mandarin, guava, apricot, and grapefruit really well balanced and bold. 4.25

Mouthfeel is big, soft gentle carbonation, a tad sticky but not dry, and at 10% ABV it drinks big, but still really approachable. 4.75

Overall this is a really impressive NETIPA. I would highly recommend it. 4.25

 

Time for Surly fourteen.

Whiskey Barrel aged Barleywine - 11% ABV.

Ok, am I drinking whiskey here? This sure as hell isn't a barleywine at all, or very minimally one.I'm disappointed here. It's not bad, but not right either.

Review:
https://www.beeradvocate.com/beer/profile/13014/506117/?ba=Victory_Sabre1973#review
3.36/5 rDev -10.9%
look: 4.5 | smell: 4 | taste: 2.75 | feel: 3.75 | overall: 3.25

Pours a beautiful golden color. There's a nice slightly off white head. The head retention was damn good for such a high ABV beer. There's some really nice spiderweb lacing on the glass.
The nose has a bit of caramel, a malty sweetness, toffee, and a whiskey aroma, from the barrels.
Taste - Am I drinking some Buffalo Trace, or Crown here? Yes, there's tons of whiskey, but where's the barleywine? Where's the sweet malts, the caramel, dark fruit, toffee? Not bad, but not a barleywine.
Body is decent. There's a ton of booziness here. A good burn from the alcohol.
This is billed as a barleywine - It is not, I'm disappointed here with this.


Hopefully my next beer will be where it's supposed to be.

 

Pours burnt orange with a generous fluffy white head. First whiff hits with spicy clove and, what can only be described as, a bag of freshly opened Nerds. Tastes of banana and spices. Overall a refreshing spring brew helping me look forward to summer.