NBS BIF #13: Peninsular Envy 2 (The Rocket-Ball Inception)

Finally joining the barleywine party. Cross-posted from the NBW thread.

Poured into a snifter, Summer Life was a cloudy mahogany with only a thin head covering the surface. I got a lot of bourbon on the nose with dark fruit and graham cracker crust beneath it. The taste gave me sweet bourbon up front before sinking into the depths of prune, toffee, and oak. I did not get hops on the nose, but I did experience a bit of a bitter finish. This helped to balance the sweetness up front, and kept me wanting more. Although sweet, it never felt sticky or cloying. The body hovered right around medium with enough carbonation to lighten it up a touch. It was quite smooth for the abv. This was a quality barleywine in an easy to drink size. Very enjoyable.

Thanks again for this, Christine! I wish I could have noticed the same hops on the nose that you did, @Roguer. I wouldn't be able to pinpoint the source, but as I noted I did get a bitter finish. I refrained from rereading your review before writing my own, but going back and looking at it now I can definitely see leather being in there as well. It won't be happening tonight, but I do have one more barleywine from this BIF from @FBarber that I'll hopefully get to tomorrow. Decisions, decisions...

 

If you did mention it, I completely missed it, but no worries. I don't think it made much difference to how it tasted, and that's the important thing.

 

Mystery beer or no, it's nice to get a Heady Topper. Last night my buddy Mark was talking about wanting to brew a clone of that, but is concerned the recipe he's come up with will do the trick (like many Washingtonians, he's only had a small number of encounters with HT).

 

If it's a UPS Choice issue, I'll be happy to reimburse you for the return shipping charges. UPS Choice has added many more delivery sites locally since I originally signed up - then the only options were Erie and Butler, but then only if they couldn't deliver it to my house. Since the original signup, I've signed for many boxes at home. UPS in general sucks, at least when it comes to delivery here in NW PA. I've shipped beer around the US and into Canada with only one package (to my knowledge) being damaged.

 

I posted in the NBW thread, but I think this is awesome.

What a great idea and a bummer that it didn't play out. I have one fruited sour in my fridge that if it was poured for me blind I probably would not recognize it as a beer.

Unrelated to the above, but it's great to see our little informal barleywine theme rubbing off onto other members of the NBW thread. I've got one more lined up for today, I believe.

 

Thank you so much @woemad for this beer. I'm really digging this on this Sunday morning.

 

@Ozzylizard I appericate the offer but no need to reimburse anything just get your porch ready for the 2nd hit should be there tomorrow. My fight is with UPS (fun trying to get blood from a stone)

 

I'm working today but don't worry, I've got a barleywine lined up for tonight:



I had one of my @LehighAce06 mystery beers last night (the "old" one), will write that up when I'm done working. Was an interesting task trying to figure that out, given that I wasn't sure how old it was...

 

Just poured my Mystery Beer from @Pinz412 . It's looking rather stout-ish. Back in a while with the reveal.

 

Here's my review before I peel the foil:

A Mystery Beer from Pinz412, as part of NBS BIF #13. Consumed and reviewed blind. 16oz can (no date visible on bottom, rest of can is covered with aluminum foil) poured into 12oz goblet (also courtesy Pinz). Poured a solid black color, with ¼ inch of tan head that immediately dissipated and left no lacing. Very stout-ish looking. 3.5


Solid roast at the front of the nose, almost bordering on coffee. Some malts underneath, and no real hop presence. 3.25


Very similar on the tongue, with the roast being even more notable. No alcohol presence. Maybe more towards a Porter than a stout. 3.25


The body was smooth, had good carb, and a medium finish. The roast lingered at the back of the palate for a few moments after each sip.It was maybe a bit thin for a porter, but not for a Baltic Porter, or a dark lager. 3.25


Drinkability was good, even with the roast being a bit distracting.


Overall, a nice and enjoyable brew, and worth a shot if you see it. I’m going with a Baltic Porter 3.5


AAAAANNNNNDDDD:

It's a Black and Tan!!!! From Shubrew, a B&T that's 50% Dry Irish stout and 50% Irish Red. 4.75%, and very easy drinking. A great mystery beer, I was leaning DarkLager/Baltic Porter, and I suppose in a way, i wasn't too far off, but I never woulda guessed this! Great job Pinz!

 

I did, too. I'm gonna post it on NBW today, anyhow, and also hit at least one other from @JayORear (I should hit several to ease the burden on my fridge, but I'm also trying to ease back on beer consumption; lousy timing, I know!).

 

Cracked into my blind beer from @FrankenMiller and it's a big one. It's also a blue one...



Will be back later with review and a guess.

 

Damn, that's something to look forward to right there. Now that we can start traveling with a bit more ease, Kane is one of those breweries I need to hit up next time I'm visiting my north Jersey family. Looking forward to hearing about that one.

That seemed like the perfect mystery beer when I saw that Shubrew released it. Also, I don't think I've ever had a black and tan that used an Irish Red, so I found it pretty unique. Glad you enjoyed!

 

Just reviewed my mystery beer from @Victory_Sabre1973 over in the NBW thread. An amazing choice for a mystery beer, as even after reviewing it blind, looking at the can, and looking at the brewer's website, I'm still not entirely sure what style of beer it is. The answer may be that it's a beer that refuses to conform to any style, and I'm a-ok with that!