New Beer Weekend #69

Elk Valley/Prairie Collaborate and Listen IPA, 7.0% ABV; 4.38 overall

Made in Collaboration with Prairie, has Watermelon, Cream Cheese, Graham Cracker & Lactose. Zero head retention & lacing

Pours a hazy amber with minimal beige colored head.

S: Watermelon in spades, a little citrus, vanilla notes
T: Follows the nose, also lactose sweetness & dryness up front. More watermelon, a little citrus, hints of coconut & a little dryness. Finishes with a touch of sweet orange, strawberries & watermelon

MF: Medium body, minimal carbonation

Not a pretty beer, but plenty tasty/drinkable

 

I liked it too!

 

Double the fun with Uerige's DoppelSticke on this New Beer Sunday #873. Is this version worth splurging an extra $0.50 over the standard?

Uerige Obergärige Hausbrauerei DoppelSticke



Bottle Notes: 11.2 oz bottled 4/28/21 based on L11821 bottle code. 8.5% ABV. $5.49 + $0.56 tax. Brewed and bottled by Uerige Bergerstrasse, Dusseldorf, Germany. Imported by B. United. Hausgebraut Und Abgefullt. Altbier. In der Dusseldorfer Altstadt. Worom Wat Angeres?

Appearance: Single pour into a half litter willi becher glass, brown bronze somewhat clear base, nominal carbonation, creamy light tan head recedes leaving faint lacing and a creamy cover over the base. 3.75

Aroma: Roasted malt, black licorice and raisin, mild in strength. 3.5

Taste: Taste is stronger, overwhelming brown sugar blunts any complexity, sweet caramel malt and raisin noted at times, this is a cloying mess. 2.75

Mouthfeel: Medium body, the excess sweetness results in the sensation of a syrupy texture. Carbonation negligible, sweet and cloying, some offsetting dry and bitter qualities, the latter cannot keep pace. Sweet malt aftertaste. Drinks consistent with the ABV. 3.0

Overall: This was a disappointment when compared to the Sticke version. Just far to sweet and imbalanced for a repeat purchase. Need to stick to 6% or less European offerings to stay in my wheelhouse.. 3.0

Don't want to end on this note, so I am ready to enter the cold for a couple more today.

 

#2 is a local brewer's attempt at an Altbier.

Lakeville Brewing Alt-ernative Medicine Altbier
ABV: 5.2%
IBU: 36



Weak aroma. Vaguely roasted malts. Nutty.

Clear reddish brown from the front, clear red/ruby with a back-light. Ample carbonation. With a fairly vigorous pour, it forms a 1/2 inch off-white head with short retention, leaving no lacing, while quickly ending with a central island of thin bubbles and a ring. The body of the beer is quite good looking, but the lack of any head retention detracts.

The taste is strongly roasted malts with a coffee-like bitterness that starts right away can carries through to the finish and aftertaste. Roasted malts, little flavor contribution from either the yeast or the hops, and a bitterness that, as I stated, is more like bitter coffee than hoppy.

The body is thin.

Overall, it is just has little character and no complexity. While technically it has no brewing faults that I detected, it also has little to recommend it. It is not bad, just bland and mediocre.

I've had a number of beers from this brewer, and while none would be considered world class, they were all competently brewed and enjoyable, and I would not hesitate to order any of them with a meal at the brewpub. Not this one, though. This is the first one that's been so completely disappointing.


L: 3.75 | S: 3.25 | T: 3.25 | F: 3.5 | O: 3.25 | Rating: 3.31

 

A rare day home alone seems like a good excuse to jump back into NBS after other things pop up seemingly every weekend.
What to snag from the fridge...
I've got this Amarillo Export lager from Heater Allen that's been staring at me for the last month or so while I was distracted by FH season. I think that will do quite nicely.



Pour is a classic crisp clear gold, the colour of apple juice. Just shy of a finger of foam, it's sticky, lacing the glass as it recedes to an archipelago of tiny bubbles, and then again as the liquid drains into my eagerly awaiting jaws.

Nose is initially sweet and clean, with elements of honey and grass. As it warms it adopts more of the malts and a character that I'm still not entirely sure what it is specifically that I'm tasting/smelling, but it is undeniably 'lager' to me. I've historically described it as 'stale' (but in the way that barnyard can be a positive descriptor, not as a complaint about freshness), and now that I'm digging I could find excuses to use words like straw or biscuit dough or cracker, even though I know those all have specific and discrete meanings and I'm not sure that those meanings are fully applicable here. I dunno. Anyway, it smells like a lager with a touch of sweetness and some grassy hops.

Flavour brings the hops much more to the forefront. There's still a clean bed of lager-flavour and cracker/biscuit dough malts, but the hops are much more assertive here brining forth flavours I'd call grassy and a bit floral with a distinct bitter bite that leans more to the oily citrus side of hop bitterness.

Clean and drinkable, but with a lingering oily bitter finish.

This is really straightforward and enjoyable. HA is known for making high quality lagers, and I feel this is no exception.

Cheers!!

 

A new one for me here and WOW is it great. I'm usually not found enjoying sour beers but this lovely drop is exceptional indeed. As the beer warms (it's a sipper) the overall flavor and feel become a bit more round for lack of a better term. They remain sharp. I really like it and am glad I picked it up. Here's my take on it. Cheers!
Duchesse De Bourgogne Flemish Red Ale
4.28/5 rDev +1.4%
look: 4 | smell: 4 | taste: 4.5 | feel: 4.25 | overall: 4.25
11.2 oz bottle EB Euro dated 2022/09/16 into a 12 oz ale glass.
L: Pours murky dark amber/brown with a fizzy head that is gone in seconds down to edge foam, well carbonated, no lacing.
S: Sour, over-ripe apple skins, vinegar, cherry, red wine tannins, red wine cork, leather, dark fruit.
T: Tart, sour, sharp acrid sweetness, full flavored dark fruits, oak wood cask, cranberry, cherries. It is fairly intense tasting.
F: Medium-light bodied, lively with carbonation, acidic and moderately drying. It has an intense and compact mouthfeel that is puckering.
O: A complex beer that is almost like dark cider meets tawny port wine. Very sour with cask aroma and a lively taste along with deep fruits. A sour beer to sip and it is excellent in it's style.

 

Hey what's going on!

Taking in the last charming day of this great Fall weekend.

Let's just get down to a new beer shall we?



Poured from the can into a Spiegelau IPA glass.

Pale and opaque lemon body, solid but not quite turbid. Head creation is really lacking for an IPA. There's a bleach white classic color, but barely a two finger head and a real seltzery sounding bubbles and virtually no retention.

Good solid aroma that seems to hint more to classic hop flavors. Sticky resin like pine and a light mix of tropical fruit that leans towards mango. Good hits of citrus zest too, making for a good hop diversity. They all seem to jump out randomly on the nose instead of complimenting each other, and fight for your olfactory senses. Still it's pleasurable and good, with a neutral malt and yeast presentation.

Palate is really set back from what was already appeared to be a problem detected earlier on, lack of body. Light touches of citrus hop but a nearly seltzery and overly tap water like body really takes away much of the pleasure. The hop angle is there, giving a good mid palate of citrus and tropical fruits, even some resiny sticky pine on the finish, but lacks total depth.

Drinkable but strangely comes off like a weakened session IPA, or even near beer like quality strangely.

look: 3.25 | smell: 4 | taste: 3.5 | feel: 3 | overall: 3.5 | 3.56/5

Cheers!

 

Boulevard Sugarwood Baklava BA Imp Brown, 14.2% ABV, 4.57 Overall

Pours an effervescent brown/crimson with one finger of mocha colored head. Some head retention & lacing

S: Maple syrup & pecans, a little brown sugar & booze

T: Wowsa, Brown sugar, maple syrup, honey & dryness. just just bit of Pecan as well up front. Dryness, Maple Syrup, Vanilla & a little Caro Syrup mixed in along with some cinnamon, very French Toasty as this warms. Finishes dry with Maple Syrup, honey & brown sugar & pecan

MF: Chewy, low carbonation, warming

Another BA Homerun from these guys, highly recommended

 

Half Acre Tend Winter IPA (Simcoe/Mosaic).

Pours a very slight cloudy burnt orange, copper color. Produces a tan, frothy dense 1.5 finger head that dissipates slowly. 4.25

Aroma is hop forward, but with a decent malt backbone. Hops bring lots of bright pine and spruce, orange marmalade, sweetened grapefruit, herbal tea, and floral. Malt brings some caramel, light honey, and toast. 4.25

Taste stays hop forward like the aroma. The malt presence is there, but I’m surprised it’s not more significant. Pine resin, bright spruce, orange marmalade, grapefruit pith, little herbaceous dank, toast, caramel, brown bread. Kiss of sweetness from the malts up front, but descends into a dry, piney bitterness. 4.25

High medium body. Soft, chewy, oily, slick. 4.25

As a few others have said, this reminds me of Sierra Nevada Celebration. That’s not a bad thing at all. A little drier and hoppier than expected, but then again, this is Half Acre we’re dealing with. A very enjoyable beer. 4.25
Overall: 4.25

 

We dropped the kids off at Mrs. Phisher's parents house at lunch time, first time we've had a few hours in a long time. Got some chores done and now I'm relaxing with a perfect afternoon beer before we go over for dinner and pick them up.

Sadly I never made time to go out and get brown ales that I forgot to buy last weekend. So instead of exploring that style I'll explore another style I don't drink often. One of the last two beers I brought back from Seattle back in September, my one remaining is another from the same brewery.

Fair Isle - RB Waldo

*4.6% saison refermented on marionberries and boysenberries



Very pretty red color, almost had a pink like hue when held to light. The head has a slight pink to it as well. Pretty quickly disappeared to foamy bubbly islands and around the glass.

Nose is tart and sour, to me it lemon like tart smelling. There is a sweet smell masked underneath as well. Now it’s making me think of like a sour berry candy of some sort. The sour comes off as apple cider vinegar like but it’s nicely cut by the berry smell.

Taste surprised me, I expected much more tart than I got. This beer has some sourness to it but it’s actually very subtle. It almost tests like a really watered down lemon juice with a dash of berry juice.

Mouthfeel is very light and refreshing, almost radler like refreshing and lightness. A perfectly bright and zippy carbonation make this beer all the more refreshing.

I'm no expert on this style but I enjoyed this beer, I could imagine this being a great beer with a salad, seafood, or something else light. Glad I grabbed this beer to try, marion and boysenberries in the same beer, not sure I'll ever come across that again. I may have one more new beer hiding in the fridge, but if not I hope everyone has a great week. Looking forward to seeing what other great beers everyone is drinking today.

 

Greetings fellow NBSers! A windy, rainy, very Novemberish day here in the Fourth Corner as we are in the middle of an Atmospheric River. It's just like a regular river, but in the sky. Big fun. But at least the temps are in the mid 50's, so it's not too bad out.

I worked security at the theatre last night for the Loudon Wainright show. It was an older crowd, so I didn't really 'work'. For you kids, he had a big hit back in the 70's, Dead skunk in the Middle of the Road: .

So, I thought I'd start my NBS with another creature often spotted in those circumstances, a frog. Hoppin' Frog Re-Re-Pete, a 15.6 version of Petes Wicked Ale:

https://www.beeradvocate.com/beer/profile/14879/463606 Courtesy @Ozzylizard and NBS BIF #14

 

G'afternoon NBS-ers!

Been a while since I joined in on this thread. So, let's get to it.
Picked up a 4-pack of this at my local ABC Fine Wine & Spirits. Which since they remodeled has cut their beer selections in half, at least by half.


Walking Tree IPA

Brewery located in Vero Beach.

Poured from a 16 oz. can into a Snörkel tulip.
Canned on 10/25/21.
Clear golden body with thick white head. Plenty of lacing left behindnin the glass.
Aromas of citrus, mild cat piss and pine.
Taste is all pine and citrus with a bitter finish that lingers. A rather soft feeling to the body, not quite thin, but easy to drink.
Overall, this one is a decent IPA that is bitter like it should be and easy to drink.

Pretty damn crushable!

Cheers!

 

Might just be one new beer for me this weekend, 2SP/Wawa Winter Reserve Mocha Latte Stout.
4.18/5 rDev +1.5%
look: 4.25 | smell: 4.25 | taste: 4.25 | feel: 4 | overall: 4

16 oz can poured into pint glass

A- Black with a two finger mocha head

S- Roasted coffee, dark chocolate, some dark fruits, hints of caramel malts.

T- Roasted coffee, dark chocolate, some dark fruits, touch of caramel malts.

M- Smooth, light to medium body.

O- I enjoy these collaborations with Wawa and this year seems to have some more dark chocolate flavors than past years.

Cheers!

 

Greetings All from the Great Northwest where we are awaiting the return of Russell Wilson to the Seahawks lineup.

Today we have Juicy Sunrise IPA.
https://www.beeradvocate.com/beer/profile/8/434493/

It is juicy and fruity with good balance for the style. Not a great fit for a cool damp blustery November day, but very tasty.

Until next time

 

Good Sunday afternoon, New Beer Swiggers and commentators. I'm still struggling under the sheer volume of beer with which @FBarber assaulted me in the BIF. Yesterday, I moved many of his cans from my beer fridge to the wine captain so I can purchase local beer for Thanksgiving. While I try to be a generous host, I don't want my guests guzzling the wonderful brews that Frank sent me. I'm trying to work through the IPAs while they're fresh. First up today: Cosmic Juice, a DIPA from Transient Artisan Ales in Michigan. Transient must guard its recipes carefully because I haven't been able to discern the hop bill. But man, is it fruity and good!

Poured into a pint glass. It pours a dense orange-apricot color with two fingers of foamy, milk-white head and lots of sudsy lacing. A very attractive pour. A big, fruity nose featuring pineapple, tangerine, fresh cantaloupe, and floral hops. The taste is big and sticky and sweet with ripe melon, pineapple, and lemon, along with oaty sweetness. I cannot find the hop bill on the can or the website but they provide more fruit than bitterness. This is very tasty! The mouth feel is moderately creamy with appropriate carbonation and for 8% ABV it's almost crushable. I drained the can quickly. Overall, Cosmic Juice is a very fine DIPA. If Transient distributed to my area, then I'd certainly buy more.

4.42/5 rDev +0.7%
look: 4.5 | smell: 4.25 | taste: 4.5 | feel: 4.25 | overall: 4.5

This is a mighty fine beer! I'll be back with another shortly. Cheers!

 

I've totally screwed up this post. Let me try again. Kudos to Revolution for brewing this style. It's a very versatile brewer. And the can art is excellent!