New Beer Weekend #75

One of the beers I received in a Christmas package from @jonphisher: Stratacaster from Tonewood.

16oz can served in a tulip. If there's a date on it, I don't see it.

Pours a murky dark orange-amber with a fairly large head. Lots of active carbonation. Appears to be forming some heavy lacing. Smell is orange julius and tropical juice.

Taste is super, super juicy. Moderate pine resin and grapefruit zest. Vibe is mostly tropical with a twist of something sharper, but I'm not sure what. Star fruit was the first thing to came to mind, but I doubt that's really it.

Mouthfeel is medium, light to moderate chalkiness. Overall, this is a really good beer.

Thank you, Jon!

 

Merry Christmas fellow sots.

Founders KBS Espresso



Picked up a single of this a few weeks ago and decided this would make a nice holiday nightcap. Lots of lacing as the head dissipated. Smell of coffee dominates everything including the 12%. As it warms up a chocolate sweetness asserts itself but the coffee is still predominant in the smell and taste. Mouthfeel is very rich in a creamy kind of way. Founders probably bothers some by banging the KBS monkey excessively but they all are good imo.

 

No date, not sure why cause they always do but they’re recent stuff it’s missing. Maybe their labeler broke?? But it was canned 2-3 weeks ago, when it showed up after a long absence.

Glad you enjoyed it, I’m very fond of them.

 

Merry Christmas to all of you, even if you've already called it a night and turned in for more dreams of sugar plums. Or whatever it is you may dream about.
I thought the day needed an appropriate beer so I went back to beer I received from @Mbgreg in NBW BIF #13

Westvleteren 12: The Quad
BB date was 12/22 so I am guessing it was about 4 years old.
Poured the color of cold brew coffee and sports a manilla color head which leaves copious lacing.
The aroma was stone fruit and malts, I tried to find spices (not sure why, too many Christmas beers lately? Nah) but failed. Still, excellent aroma.
The taste, wow; while it pretty much followed the aroma, the layers and power of flavors is impressive. Stone fruit mingling with biscuit like malts and they made an excellent dancing pair.
The feel was very good, way too easy to drink. I expected something more viscous but this really works.
OA, excellent beer and so glad I got to try it - Thank you Mark!

 

I'll trade you a jar of my yet-to-be-made giardiniera for a slice of that meatloaf

 

Rogue - Santa's Private Reserve Kringle Krusher (2021). I love the idea of Santa as a luchador. This was a gift about a month ago from my friend the Alaskan math teacher.

16oz can served in a big snifter. Canned 08/19/21.

Pours dark brown with a medium sized head that collapses to a thin, lumpy layer with a fairly tall ring climbing up the side of the glass. Smell is tea, herbs, light toffee and raisins, maybe a little bit of cola.

Taste is sweet, herbal, strong tea flavor, raisins / grape must, maybe some vanilla (I think that explains the vague sweetness).

Mouthfeel is medium to light, slight watery texture. Overall, it's interesting and not bad, but definitely not great.

 

I'd put a lot of money on the idea that they'd go really well together, too

 

Good morning everyone, and welcome to New Beer Sunday #879!

Have one for home today, depending on weather, may hit a few new ones later today at Spiteful and/or Hopleaf. This is part two of my weekend comparison of the annual Unibroue brewed Trader Joe's Vintaged Spiced Ale offering.

Trader Joe's 2020 Vintage Spiced Ale



Bottle Notes: Purchased last Fall at the Park Ridge Trader Joe's ($5.49 + tax IIRC), best by 9/4/23, so assuming bottled 9/5/20. 9% ABV 25.4 oz, corked large bottle.

Appearance: Review based on the first approximately 8 oz poured into a chalice. Pitch black base, nice creamy generous egg-white bubbly head lingers for a minute before receding to leave a generous creamy lawyer over the base, leaves thin lacing as I drink. 4.25

Aroma: Bold clove, banana, cinnamon. Nice. 4.0

Taste: Consistent with the aroma, clove, pears, banana, lighter in strength than the aroma leads. A bit more mellow than the typical fresh version. 3.5

Mouthfeel: Light to medium body, faint fizzy carbonation, drinks lighter than the 9% ABV, light and easy, clean finish. 3.75

Overall: This is a good offering. Flavors more subdued than drinking fresh, which is what I recommend for those considering cellaring. Taste less bold than expected based on the aroma, light and easy, clean finish.. 3.75

Perhaps others have different experiences, and perhaps this offering is slightly different from the current year version, but prefer the fresher version, aging only muted flavors and aromas. Still enjoying the beer, but like 99% of all beers released, best to drink fresh.

Looking forward to what the rest of the day brings in terms of reviews and comments, and food ****! (That Meatloaf looks excellent @FBarber !)

Musical Accompaniment - 10,000 Maniacs

 

Wow! Lot of posts thus far this weekend! Thanks @SawDog505 for starting this thread - I'll go back and read the rest of the posts between today's festivities.

Today's New Breakfast Beer comes from @Roy_Hobbs in NBS BIF #14:



Oude Myrtille sauvage Tilquin from Gueuzerie Tilquin. Received from @Roy_Hobbs in BIF #14. 375 mL corked and caged bottle, imported by Twelve Percent, LLC. Stored at home at 38 degrees. Reviewed 26/12/21. Note that I use DD/MM/YY protocol.
Printed on rear label “Best before: 21/03/2029”. Served at 54.1 degrees in a hand washed and dried Jester King snifter. Final temperature 58.6 degrees.
Appearance – 4.
First pour – Pink, clear.
Body – Maroon, opaque. When rear-lite, blood red and murky. Bottle-conditioned.
Head – Average (Maximum 3.5 cm, aggressive center pour), light pink, fizzy with short retention, diminishing to a zero to three mm bubble ring fed by effervescence and no cap.
Lacing – None.
Aroma – 4 – Decidedly vinous and fruity, no malt, no hops, no yeast, no barrels.
Flavor – 4 – Vinous and slightly acidic, no malt, no hops, no yeast, a bit of tannic acid tang. No ethanol (6.6 % ABV, as marked on container) taste or aroma. No gastric warming. No dimethylsulfide or diacetyl. Dry finish.
Palate – 4 – Thin, watery, lively carbonation.
Final impression and summation 4. To get the full effect of the color, drink in a brightly lit area. The blueberries do not pop out, the flavor is subtle but unmistakable. The nose is fruity and vinous, but not particularly reminiscent of blueberries. Overall, a decent fruited lambic.
Rating 4, rDev -4.8%

Thanks Ross! I believe that this marks the end of your absolutely overwhelming generosity in BIF #14 - now I'll be able to return my son's overflow reefer! So many new beers from so many new (to me) brewers!

 

Good morning NBS/nbw and thanks to @SawDog505 for starting the holday weekend off.
I hope everyone made the most of Christmas in whatever way you celebrate.
We had a video chat with our #1 family with grandchild. They live in Taiwan so we participated in Claires first Christmas in that fashion. We are meeting Team #2 today in person and look forward to this.
Todays offering is from the basement, And thanks god i waited, this must have been hot as hell fresh.
Cheers everyone.

Uncle Jacob's Stout

Stout - American Imperial | 14.9% ABV

Avery Brewing Company
Boulder, Colorado

4.38/5 rDev -1.4% | Average: 4.44
look: 4.25 | smell: 4.25 | taste: 4.5 | feel: 4.5 | overall: 4.25

Poured from the 12 oz bottle into the test glass. Bottled on 6/27/2013.
A - Slate black, Lively carbonation assembles into a lovely tan cap. and lasting rings of lacing.
S - Dark fruit, 90% cocoa, char, anise to start. Then notes of burnt brown sugar, molasses, vanilla, and exquisite cigar wrap tobacco. Blackberry reduction.
T - Bourbon notes forward, with all the usual elements, add a minty thread. Dark Chocolate, anise, the char is so good. Less of the dark fruits on the palate, more of the barrel elements, with that boozy thread raising all boats here.
M - Surprisingly this is medium in body, Slick on the palate, sweet start, with alcohol exhale with every sip. Linger is dark cocoa, and char Outstanding
O- What a big delightful treat. The body is solid without being a palate wrecker.

 

Now I *know* Ross completely trashed your porch with beer ordinance, how on earth did you finish it all so soon?
I’m still trying to get through beer sent to me 3 or 4 BIFs ago! (Fear not, almost all stouts that are resting comfortably in a root cellar)
Maybe I need to quit waiting for a special occasion for them.
Cheers all, back with more today, and Happy Boxing Day!

 

A beer a day keeps my liver at bay!

 

We need to create a “drink it now” thread. It would be cool for a tasting event too but that is for another thread.

I think if we just had a thread dedicated to cellar clearing posts it would end up with some neat posts, and help people have a reason to drink some beers they’ve been holding onto.

 

We had a very nice Christmas; Santa was very generous. Slept in, then my wife and I cleaned out our closet. I wasn't expecting to do any work today other than opening beers, but I'm happy with the results.
Today's new beer is Kill the Sun from Ex Novo brewing, an imperial stout with an ABV of 11.7%. Canned on 12/08/2021.
The beer is pitch black with a small tan head and a little bit of lace.
Aroma of roasted male, molasses, and anise.
Taste of coffee, molasses, and anise. Sweet
A big beer.

 

Inspired by @SABERG I will also pull an Avery Brewing Uncle Jacob's Stout from the cellar. At a little short of 5 years old, mine is distinctly younger than his, which was closer to 8.5.

4.05/5 rDev -8.8%
look: 4 | smell: 4.5 | taste: 3.75 | feel: 4.25 | overall: 4

Bottled 2/24/17. Served at 50 degrees with an aggressive pour into a tulip. Appearance is an opaque, dark dark brown with three quarters of an inch of short-lived beige colored head that leaves behind a thin ring and decent legs. Aroma is wonderful and bursts from the glass. Sweet molasses, alcohol and chocolate. Really enticing on the nose.

Initial taste is very bourbon forward with chocolate mid-palate and some char notes on the very long finish. There's some alcohol burn, and even after aging for almost five years, this one is still plenty hot. Smooth, with a nice medium body.

Overall, this is a good sipper that checks lots of boxes, but the heat / alcohol burn is enough to keep it short of being "great" in my opinion.

 

There are 2 stores I know of that might have some; one locally, one in Indiana. I’ll check both when I can.

 

I believe I proposed that as an upcoming tasting. No specific styles, just drink what you’ve been saving. It would be lots of fun.