New Beer Weekend #38

What was the abv on that? It's a crazy sounding description, and probably the only barrel-aged blonde ale I've ever heard of.

 

13%, it’s much more of a wheatwine than a blonde ale

 

Hmm. Was it a slight short fill, maybe? When I got it filled, the bartender, unbeknownst to me, was working her first day, and wound up having to enlist help in operating the crowling machinery . Perhaps she filled it a little short and it's a little oxidized now. It should drink like an old-school hoppy pale ale, the kind of beer that 15-20 years ago would probably have been called an IPA.

 

I had a good feeling, but wasn't 100%. But I was rooting for you as I was reading it hoping you'd make that guess!

 

Howdy, NBWers!

A friend thrust this beer upon me as I vacation in Houston, TX, and I figured who am I to refuse?

Eureka Heights Neon Moon Belgian Pale Ale • 4.3% ABV • canned on 1/25/21

It's a fantastic little hoppy pale ale, nothing overwhelming, and that's to its credit. It's quite fruity, grapefruit and orange in the aroma with a hint more citrus peel/earthy thing in the flavor, and it's most Belgian aspect seems to be a both grassy/fruity hop buildup in the aftertaste. It's hard for me to describe, but it's like a cilantro-orange jelly.

The official review:
https://www.beeradvocate.com/user/beers/?ba=Premo88
4.1 (+10.5% rDev)

Midnight the Cat made his second trip from Bryan to Houston yesterday and now is fully in charge of his Aunt Anita's home, running stuff and making sure to boss the staff:


Cheers!

 

Poured into 13 oz Teku glass canned on 3/15/21. Pours a hazy yellow with a 2 finger sticky white head that leaves thin webs of lace with nice retention. 4.25

Aroma is cantaloupe, mango, peach, pineapple, and apricot. 4

Taste follows cantaloupe, mango, peach, pineapple, and apricot. 4

Mouthfeel is medium, soft gentle carbonation, not dry or sticky, and at 6% it drinks a tad bigger, but really easy drinking. 4.25

Overall this is a really nice brew, I would recommend this one for sure. 4

 

I was able to enjoy several beers yesterday courtesy of participants in this thread / associated BIFs, but I held off on reviewing any of the beers that @Victory_Sabre1973 sent me in our latest BIF for today, our official share date. This is a mystery beer @ 8%.

When I received this, I was thinking DIPA based on the ABV and omnipresent 16oz can format. Clearly, that's not what this is!

Looks exactly like cola coming out of the can, but then once settled into the glass it takes on a darker tone. Beautiful, dense beige colored head. Really nice head retention and lacing.

I couldn't pick up the aroma from a foot or so away, but once I smelled it up close it was all coffee and dark roasted malts.

Taste very much follows the nose, and is all coffee and roasted malts. No discernable sweetness or hoppy bitterness. What bitterness exists seems to stem from the coffee. It's not the most complex beer, but those dominant flavors do work well together and make this a tasty beer. Body is light, with not a ton of carbonation. Taken together along with the 8% ABV, I'm having real trouble figuring out what style of beer this is. The ABV is higher than most of the styles I would have thought as potential candidates. Given that I can't even figure out the style, I'm certainly not going to venture a guess as to the actual beer.

The reveal?

Gobias, from Oliphant Brewing. It's labeled as a "Coffee Black Ale", and it's in the BA database as a stout, which does not seem correct. I tried to find out more from the brewer, but their website only had a very trippy story tied to it
https://www.oliphantbrewing.com/stories/2016/9/16/gobias

James, this was a fantastic choice for a mystery beer. I still legit don't know what style it is, but it's good!

 

Greetings fellow NBSers! A sunny day here in the Fourth Corner, still a tad chilly this morning as I did some yard work for my landlady, but warming a bit now. Y'all might have noticed that today is the pinnacle of NBS BIF #13, featuring a lot of Mystery beers. Who am I to ruin the flow? my sender was @Pinz412 , and I thought the mystery beer was a Baltic porter. BUT NOOOOO! It was actually a Black & Tan, from Shubrew, and here's my review, written blind:

https://www.beeradvocate.com/beer/profile/32749/543570/?ba=BBThunderbolt#review

 

Since @patto1ro might not see this thread before it is closed, I'll chime in and say that Ron is well aware of this beer style and once stated here that it's been around for a few hundred years. As a traditional sour wheat beer, it is a different type of beer than a Düsseldorf Altbier. "Alt" just means "old" and can refer to an old way of brewing. @SABERG gave a nice open-minded review, but others here have been brutal about this beer because they are problematically taking part in the so-called "rating to style." The BA review just below @SABERG 's states: "This is a pretty interesting brew and good in its own right, but I can't give it high marks because it really isn't an Alt. If it was characterized properly, it would definitely get higher marks from me." In this case, not only is the brewer not getting it wrong, but they should be celebrated for thanklessly continuing to brew such a beer.

 

This is my first beer from South Dakota (courtesy of @Victory_Sabre1973 - you ROCK, James) - and it’s a smoked kolsch!

I had no idea that was even a thing. Just more evidence that you can teach an old beer nerd new tricks.

And I am really digging it (shocker I know). Let’s dance, NBW beer nerds.



4.1/5 rDev +0.2%
look: 4 | smell: 4 | taste: 4.25 | feel: 4 | overall: 4

A slightly hazy straw color with a white head, there’s a smoky brown tint to this beer, and for good reason - a bit of research reveals this is a smoked kolsch! The nose has a nice lemongrass note, and there’s a bit of smoke.

The smoke is significantly more prominent on the taste, at first almost distractingly so, but then as the palate adjusts, it complements the lemongrass flavor, which lingers for quite a while.

What an interesting beer this is. Really glad I had the opportunity to try it.

 

Ya got something else coming today.
I think. Not much just a little pack.

 

Backwoods Loaves from Odd Colony

a kvass brewed with Meyer lemon

Look: Transparent straw gold with a thin white head. Lazy bubbles in the glass.

Smell: White wine vinegar and lemon on the fist sniff. Straw and farm yard. Fresh backed whole grain sourdough and a hint of spicy rye.

Taste: Apple cider vinegar on the attack with notes of green apple, lemon zest, and funk. The body mellows out to a body of lemon curd on whole wheat sour dough. The finish is spicy with prickly carbonation and rye.

Feel: Surprisingly thick for the style. Comes off a little syrupy. But the finish is nice and bone dry. Medium acidity. No alcohol. Mild bitterness.

Overall: A very tasty summer sipper. The only improve my I really see is that strange syrupy bit on the body. But besides that I’d love to have this again.

Score 3.9

cheers BA!

 

Afternoon, all,

It's a mostly sunny 48° right now in my corner of the inland NW. While yesterday was quite blustery, the wind is now very mild, but, coming out of the north, has a bite to it.

Folks are still coming to terms with the fact that Gonzaga, for all their great run this year, fell short, and that great as that run was, it'll be a footnote in NCAA history rather than a talking point.

This time last week I was in north Idaho, tracking down and buying beer for a NBS BIF box, and today is the great reveal day for said BIF. I have thus far received THREE boxes of beery madness from @JayORear, with a fourth still out there, waiting to pounce on my shattered porch (and equally shattered mailman). I will post pics of the total haul (thus far) later, but for now, here is the mystery beer that he sent me in his box number two, which was consumed blind last night:

This is me reviewing it live:
https://www.beeradvocate.com/commun...et-ball-inception.656017/page-58#post-7230201
Anyway, this is
THE REVEAL:

While I could tell it was a milk stout, the lactose kinda led me away from the idea that coffee was the primary adjunct. Still, it was quite delicious! Thanks, Jay!

I'll be back later with...something.
Now I'm headed over to the downtown FedEx, where a non-BIF box awaits me from one of my fellow NW forum degenerates, so I'm probably not running out of beer any time soon.

 

Happy New Beer Weekend, indeed. This conversation between you and @Roguer is a perfect example as to why I love this little corner of BA. Good people, good beers, good conversations. Thanks gentlemen.

 

Nah, without wheat it's much more of a blonde ale. (if I got the ingredients correct) But boy, that beer sure doesn't look blond at this point. Just think of it as what it is - a barrel aged strong ale with a bunch of stuff in it. @Pinz412 - perhaps you've heard of Allagash's Curieux - a barrel aged blond. Their "Barrel & Bean" version would be a good comparison since it's got coffee in it. Barley wines can be quite pale though.

 

I first had the Pinkus Alt in the early 00s, and it did kind of throw me for a loop, having drunk a bunch of Dusseldorf Alts a couple yrs previously while in that part of Germany.

 

Well, they are in Cali...

 

Greetings fellow BAers!
Today is the official share date for BIF #13 (and let me tell you it has been a blast so far and it is still rocking)
Anyway, the beer is from beer nerd supreme @Mbgreg who generously sent me an amazing selection of new to me breweries and beers. Most dominant was Westbrook, so I will begin there.

Poured into the Willi belcher (sp?) that he included a hazy apricot color with an impressive ivory head.
The aroma was all tart, grapefruit? Not quite but what?
The taste was definitely tart, grapefruit or/and lime and a curious flavor after the swallow. Graham and coconut maybe?
I got nothing, no idea and nothing in Westbrook’s list of beer has grapefruit and lime. So I have to look:

Key Lime PI! How was I getting grapefruit from this? No idea, apparently my palate is still in need of much more training.
Tasty beer Mark, great fun trying to guess, thanks much!

 

Thanks to @MacMalt for this one from Slack Tide.
Morning Bite
Pours a deep mahogany in color with a sandy fluff that rises a pretty solid 2 fingers for a moment, then drops to a thin milky head. Decent retention, but spotty lacing.
Nose pushes coffee notes that are both a bit burnt and creamy sweet at the same time. A hint of char and wood peek through as well.
Flavor is predominantly bitter coffee at first, tapering off to woody tobacco, then a tamed nutty sweetness with cocoa.
Mouthfeel is thin enough to make me think "porter." Carbonation is light. It drinks smooth and the ABV is hidden.
Overall, I feel this one hits most of the marks minus the thin mouthfeel.
3.73/5 rDev -12.2%
look: 3.75 | smell: 3.75 | taste: 4 | feel: 3 | overall: 3.5

After reading MacMalt's review from having this one from a fresh crowler I wondered if the recipe changed or just from a can does not match up. Still pretty good, but makes me want to get to Cape May, and do some draft research.