New Beer Weekend #39

Ah, Malört. I once read a description of it from a Chicago-based writer, saying Malört tastes of "pencil shavings and heartbreak."

 

A friend of mine did a scene with James Faulkner as an extra in a film partly filmed locally. That was about 18 months ago, before the world changed, so I've no idea if it's been released.

 

I thought it was okay. A friend of mine, suffering from a recent breakup, was, in roughly his own words, deliberately punishing himself by drinking a large amount of the stuff. I personally came away with the impression that a Malört hangover would be worth avoiding.

 

Yeah, barrel aged Malört is new to me. I'd try it if I came across it.

 

Hubbard's Cave French Toast Imperial Pastry Stout, 12% ABV. Pours thick and black, with a one-finger brown head that left no lacing. Nose is cinnamon and maple, taste follows, quite sweet, moderately bitter. Couldn't detect the vanilla that's supposed to be there, probably overpowered by the cinnamon and maple. Excellent mouthfeel, overall outstanding.

4.42/5 rDev +1.6%
look: 4 | smell: 4.5 | taste: 4.5 | feel: 4 | overall: 4.5

 

Yesterday I tried out the Kent Falls version of this beer and wasn't a huge fan. Today it's time for the Fox Farm version. This is Second Derivative, an IPA brewed with Strata, El Dorado and Zappa hops.

3.79/5 rDev +31.6%
look: 4 | smell: 4.25 | taste: 3.5 | feel: 3.75 | overall: 3.75

Golden & hazy with two fingers of foamy white head. Good head retention & lacing. Aroma bursts from the glass. Tropical notes of mango & pineapple, along with citrus notes. Really good smelling beer. Taste is an interesting blend of the Strata, El Dorado & Zappa hops, but I'm not sure it fully comes together. A hoppy bitterness dominates the palate. It's not overwhelming, or entirely unpleasant, but it could have used a little more of the tropical notes from the nose to balance it out. Medium feel. Solid, but unspectacular.

These beers are for a great cause, and I'd buy them again for that reason alone, but neither have hit the spot for me.

 

Good afternoon NBW
Another 4 pack that I picked up in Bloomington. Hop Audit: Comet by Taxman

Hop Audit is a rotating single hop IPA series using farmhouse yeast. Sometimes they're really good, other times they are less good. I couldn't resist a 6 day old four pack, so here we are...

12oz canned 6 days ago poured into a snifter at fridge temp 6.5% ABV 50 IBU. The beer pours hazy, not murky, in a honey amber color with off white head. The head recedes to thick sticky ring and irregular cap. Lots of splotchy lacing. The aroma is moderate in strength featuring grapefruit, pine and spicy yeast. The taste is peppery saison yeast up front with the grapefruit and pine rolling in behind. There's a nice malt backbone with the tiniest hint of toasted malt before the final moderate bitterness. The mouthfeel is medium bodied with average carbonation and a mostly dry finish. Overall, excellent Belgian IPA. This particular beer melds my favorite parts of American IPA & saison without getting confused or muddled.

I may have one more review in me for later. We'll see. Cheers all!

 

Thanks @tasterschoice62 for sharing. This gem is so very fine, all the way from Tilted Barn in Rhode Island y'all. A New England Double with a hint of West Coast in it. Slightly dry and bitter on the finish.



Today's "Thirty Seconds Over Tokyo" Anniversary movie fans and wingnuts. Doolittle's Raiders launched B-25 Mitchells off USS Hornet CV-8, that was sunk in 1942. They had to find a place to land.

 

In the store today I had my hand on a Connecticut classic, Cone Flakes from Fire Fly Hollow. Next to it was this Oatmeal Nitro Stout, clocking in at only 5.6%. Had to grab that also.

3.7/5 rDev -4.9%
look: 3.5 | smell: 3.5 | taste: 3.75 | feel: 4 | overall: 3.75

Poured from a 16oz can dated 12/08/20 to a diagonally cut tumbler at room temp.
While the pour stream looks like Coke, in the glass this is black with hints of brown on the edges. There was a nice tan head of hilly topography but it does not last. There is not much in terms of lacing, just some bubbles riding on an oily film as the glass is rolled.
The aroma is of composting wet leaves with some conifer mixed in.
Taste is baker's chocolate with only a hint of sweetness up front. While the head lasted, it was the best part of the taste, light, bitter, airy and what you would expect from a nitro beer. The finish is mouth puckering dry.
Mouthfeel is medium-creamy and coating. There is no indication of the “nitro” aspect, except for that ephemeral head.
I do like a dry stout. This one maybe would be better fresh or on tap.

 

Heady Topper, it was good, in the rain!
Corrected for you

 

Good Sunday afternoon, New Beer Samplers and commentators. It's time to review my second mystery beer from @Roguer's huge box of big bottles. This one also sports Andrew's art work with the ominous title "Peninular Manslaughter." This has me a bit worried as my wife is away and I have to work tomorrow. I don't think it's a stretch to assume it's from Florida given the peninsula reference and Andrew's fondness for his home state. I took it out of the fridge an hour ago and will use my favorite all-purpose tulip glass.


It certainly looks like a Stout. Walnut in color with some dark cola hues, and a large, foamy, medium-mocha cap that dissipated slowly leaving extensive and elegant lacing. Appearance: 4.50. There is bourbon on the nose, along with roasted malt, caramel, brown sugar, char, tobacco smoke, and some nice dark fruit, perhaps raisin. Smell: 4.25. Could it be a Russian Imperial Stout?

The flavor opens BIG and BOLD. I'm tasting roasty, dark chocolate and freshly-brewed coffee up front with notes of toffee, cigar smoke, and some delightful dark fruit (I'm getting black cherry and raisin). There is barrel influence but it's quite delicate. It compliments - rather than distracting from - the other tastes. This is fantastic! One of the best Stouts I've had in quite some time. It reminds me a little of Parabola. The taste is a solid 4.50. The feel is rich and creamy with a pleasing level of carbonation. I'm a little concerned about the ABV. I'll bet it's high but it drinks so smoothly that I barely notice. Feel: 4.50. Overall, this is sublime drinking. The whole is greater than the sum of the parts. I'd give it an overall 4.75. Let's see what it is.


The Whole Cigar, a Bourbon Barrel-Aged Imperial Stout from Cigar City. It's "Spanish Cedar-rested." I checked the other ratings and there seems to be a wide divergence. The average of 4.13 seems absurdly low to me. I definitely side with those who love it. It's interesting that now that I know about the cedar aging I can taste it. I figured the ABV was elevated but I wouldn't have guessed 13% This is dangerous for sure. And absolutely delicious! I think I'll cap this and drink more after dinner. Thank you, Andrew! We actually get some basic Cigar City distro here in New Jersey and occasionally I'll see a bottle of Marshal Zhukov. But the Cigar City Stouts in @Roguer's box are really impressive. Cheers, NBW!

 

Next up is a bottle of Apropos, from Eponymous Brewing in Brookings, South Dakota. It is (incorrectly in my opinion) listed in the database as a Fruited Kettle Sour. This was sent to me by the extremely generous @Victory_Sabre1973 in our latest BIF. I have to admit, I have high hopes for this beer due to style bias, the fact that I love apricots in beer, and (irrationally) the fact that it's one of only 750 bottles made. Technically that doesn't matter, but it is cool knowing there are so few of these out there.

Photography note...kudos to those of you who take beautiful pictures (someday maybe @M-Fox24 will join this weekly thread, his pictures are always awesome). I on the other hand went not at all out of my way to take this one in front of the computer and with the ever-classy dancing hula girl in the background.

4.29/5 rDev 0% (first review)
look: 4.25 | smell: 4.5 | taste: 4.25 | feel: 4 | overall: 4.25

Bottled on 10/1/2020. Bottle number 71 out of 750. Served a Hill Farmstead stemmed glass.

Glowing, semi-translucent yellow in color. Two fingers of loosely formed, short-lived head receding to a thin ring. Very lively in the glass, and an attractive beer. Aroma is fantastic, with a really nice blend of complex funk rounded out by the apricot notes. The aroma is exactly what I hope for in wild / farmhouse ale. Smells great, but could go anywhere in terms of actual taste.

Taste is wonderful. The apricots are prominent, but not in an unbalanced way. The funk is surprisingly less than what the nose implied, leading to somewhat lower overall complexity to the beer, yet not to its detriment. Low acidity makes this go down extraordinarily easily. Feel is relatively light, and carbonation is less than the appearance let it on to be. Really enjoyable beer.

James, thanks for sharing this with me. I LOVE this style of beer. Could drink this all day long.

 

Okay, I need a palate cleanser after the amazing Stout I just reviewed. Sometimes you have to purchase a beer on its name alone. This is one of those occasions. @augiecarton is as big a homer as I. Carton has a series of "NJ IPAs" based on the premise of brewing a New England IPA with Carton's favorite Kolsch yeast and its local water, which is surprisingly "hard" given its proximity to the Shore. I live in North Jersey and have a home on the South Jersey Shore and believe me the water is totally different there. Now I'm not a big Springsteen fan but you have to love the use of his lyrics in this beer. New Jersey is a beautiful state. The area occupied by refineries is quite small. But it's what people associate with out state (Bruce hasn't helped with this btw). Anyway, this is a very good IPA and I will keep the can in my Wall of Fame.

4.28/5 rDev 0%
look: 4.25 | smell: 4.25 | taste: 4.25 | feel: 4.5 | overall: 4.25

I have the honor of the first review. Canned on 4/6/2021. Poured into a pint glass. It pours a hazy, golden, lemony tangerine color with a half finger of fluffy, bright white head and lots of thick, creamy lacing. The nose is highly floral and dank with tangerine, lemon, lime, a whiff of peach, and the familiar smell of the Kolsch yeast that Carton uses so effectively. Wow, nice. It opens with tart lemon and grapefruit balanced by notes of sweet clementine and something tropical (lychee?). The Citra and Mandarin Bavaria hops really shine. It finishes with a fair degree of bitterness (seems more than 35 IBU to me); I'm assuming that Carton used the Amarillo as the bittering hop. For 7% ABV it has a really nice, creamy mouth feel. The carbonation is just right. This is a great multi-purpose IPA: it's lite enough for a couple of pours but it's big and flavorful enough to pair with some fresh seafood. This is a very nice beer from Carton. I love the concept of this series of "NJ IPAs." It isn't a soft, NE fruit bomb. This has attitude.