New Beer Weekend #75

Another new North Carolina beer: Blair's Breakfast Stout from Wilmington Brewing. This is the first non-IPA I've had from this brewery and I'm impressed. It's roasty with lots of acidic bitterness; like a good Jersey diner coffee.

Canned on 10/13/2021. It pours a deep walnut color - nearly black, with a thick, creamy, light mocha-colored head and thick, clinging lacing. The nose features freshly-brewed coffee, milk chocolate, vanilla, and nutty, earthy char. For a Breakfast Stout it's on the bitter side - in a good way - with roasty, burnt coffee and charred nuts balanced by cocoa, vanilla bean, Carapils malt, and oats. The use of roasted barley and Blackprinz malt adds a dry, earthy character that is very appealing. The mouth feel is moderately thick and creamy with lite/moderate carbonation, and it drinks quite easily at 7% ABV. Overall, this is my first Stout from Wilmington Brewing Company and I'm impress by a fine recipe, well-executed. This is a lovely Breakfast Stout.

4.25/5 rDev +0.5%
look: 4.25 | smell: 4.25 | taste: 4.25 | feel: 4.25 | overall: 4.25

I usually don't give the same rating across the board but this Stout is solid in every respect. Not quite Founder's Breakfast Stout but pretty damn close.

I hope everyone enjoys this inter-holiday week with lots of good beer and friends. Cheers, NBW!

 

Greetings All from the Great Northwest where we are mostly sunny and cold. Temps only in the mid 20s. We had snow earlier this week, but a lot has melted.

I love the day after Christmas. There's nothing like having that holiday in the rearview mirror. So today we have Sam Adams White Holiday Ale.
https://www.beeradvocate.com/beer/profile/35/514788/

It's OK. A lot like the White Christmas Ale of a few years ago.

Until the new year

 

Another Thank You to @jonphisher for another from Tonewood, EMD English Mild Ale. Quite smooth and enjoyable, with a lot of different flavors happening.

https://www.beeradvocate.com/beer/profile/46284/373305/

 

I love that beer, it has such a nice color to it too. Glad you enjoyed it, I had a feeling you would like it.

 

Bramblestar from E9. All you non-locals, pay no heed to this brewery. Try not to notice that they keep rocking out stellar wild and sour stuff and have an incredible lineup of very well made lagers and ales. Nothing to see here.

500ml corked/caged bottle served in a E9/Zwanze day tulip. Bottle is batch #1, doesn't seem to have a date on it. Left a substantial amount in the bottle for the initial pour to avoid any sediment that might be in there.

Pours a very clear, pretty, dark purplish-red with a fairly small head that settles into a perfect ring of head with a perfectly round little island almost exactly in the middle. Almost no visible carbonation. Smell is rich tart, jammy, oaky.

Taste is quite tart, again very jammy, berries that I cannot specifically identify. Something that reminds me of grape must, green or stemmy, a kind of fruit skin bitterness.

Mouthfeel is very light, clean, dry. Overall, this is really good.

 

Only 364 shopping days until Christmas, BA’s - so it’s one and done for me. This beer was only available in the Hoppy sampler pack, so I resisted for a while, but a trip for some charcoal to grill some country style ribs led to the purchase of this excellent one off (and three other beers I enjoy immensely) from the brewery whose beers I’ve reviewed the most.

Let’s go!!!





4.27/5 rDev +4.7%
look: 4.5 | smell: 4.25 | taste: 4.25 | feel: 4.25 | overall: 4.25

Pours a nearly clear golden color with an off white head that provides significant lacing. Absolutely gorgeous beer. The nose is led by a dank tangerine note that leads to a nice bitter pine aroma and some malt sweetness.

The taste features that dank tangerine flavor, and the bitterness from the pine works nicely for the hoppy side of thing, but it’s the sweetness from the honey (thanks be to the Google godz) that balances this beer so well. Delicious stuff.

Medium mouthfeel on the dryer side, so more towards the WCIPA side of things, and there’s no alcohol present in this 8.2% ABV beer.

I was dubious at first and very pleasantly surprised afterwards. A really nice spin on Torpedo, I’d love to see this offered occasionally as a sampler pack one off on the regular.

 

Hat tip to @Dimidiata - I think it was her that posted "On Sundays, we drink Barleywines"
Received courtesy of @ovaltine in NBW BIF#14
Poured dark reddish brown with minimal head that dissipated quickly, no discernible foam either, but continuous bubbles appear from the depths of the glass. Shining a bright, white light shows ruby red transparent.
The aroma was bourbon and malts, taste is almost sweet but isn’t, not sure how that happens. Figs, raisins, plums all swirling in the bourbon.
The taste rather follows, just more intense, amazing flavors and the 15% ABV is well hidden. Really, really good.
The feel is viscous enough to carry the weight of the flavors without being cloying. Great sipper!
OA, I think I need to find this whenever it shows up and get some if I can.

 

I will submit to this esteemed collection of beer nerds that Revolution has the best barrel program ….. anywhere.

 

I thought you wanted him to come to Chicago, Frank? Stop trying to deter him!

 

I've tried to segregate tastings of cellar beers into two categories, with the focus for NBW/NBS to beers regularly produced, and pairings like my reviews this weekend of the 2020 and 2021 Trader Joe / Unibroue annual Vintage Spiced Ale. Early next year I plan to try my first North Coast Old Rasputin (bottled 8/22/19) and also rate De Molen's "Old Rasputin" called "Cease and Desist" consistent with their warning from North Coast (my beer bottled 3/28/14). I have several more that I feel are appropriate within this thread, including regularly produced beers from Prairie Artisan, Jester King, Firestone Walker and a few others.

I post the remaining beers which I don't feel are as relevant for treatment here in the cellar review thread, along with beers not new to me but at various stages of cellaring (1 year, 2 year, etc.). I have intentionally reduced my daily at home beer consumption a mostly 2 a day pattern in 2020 to my preferred 1 beer per day target this year. I'm happy that I knocked off a third of my cellar inventory (453 taken on 1/23/21 vs, 298 today) and plan on continuing to be very selective of future beer purchases until I get down to an ongoing 30-50 beer stash at any given time, sometime in 2023 at this rate. Many beers are BA Imperial Stouts, which I will rarely drink in the warmer months.

Looking forward to this event Frank!

I ended up closing Revolution on Milwaukee on the way home from meeting up co-workers downtown the night you and Guy were at Kedzie when from your posts the lights went out. Hopefully we can have an outing there sometime in 2022!

 

Well, three home runs in a row would have been too good to be true. I'm not a fan of Order of Magnitude from Edmund's Oast. Luckily my wife is, so she can finish my half.

16oz can served in a pair of WABL tasters. Dated 08/31/21. I think I bought it in NYC and brought it home with me a couple months ago.

Pours murk amber-orange with a small flash of head that disappears and leaves no trace. Smell is kettle sour and tropical fruit.

Taste is tropical juicy, with a strong (but not deadly) dose of kettle sour.

Mouthfeel is thick and dry. Overall, it's not bad, but it's definitely not my style.

 

Just got home a little while ago and cracked this new one from Colchester, VT

https://www.beeradvocate.com/beer/profile/51090/582795/



16 ounce can.
Canned on 12/07/21.

Moderate pour yields a one inch white head over a hazy golden body with sticky lacing.

Great nose of tropical fruit and sweet citrus.

Taste mirrors nose quite well with all kinds of fruitiness caressing your palate.
Mango is at the forefront with kiwi and lemon/lime, just as in the brewery's description.
They ain't lyin'!
Finish is ever so slightly bitter with a hint of citrus pith and kiwifruit.
So tasty!!

Nice, soft feel; and so easy to drink for a 7.5%er.

Overall, I don't usually go for most "soft" IPAs, but this juice bomb is so damn tasty!
There's nothing "green" about this beer!!
Cheers to the "Ripe" Empire!!!

 

FTFY. The stores are closed on Thanksgiving.

 

My last New brew of the day (but not my last, I don't have to work until Tuesday) is also courtesy @jonphisher and is quite the unique brew, Kane Malus. The label calls it a "Apple Cider Ale", and it is quite apple-y. An interesting blend of spices and yeast help this bad boy out a fair bit.

https://www.beeradvocate.com/beer/profile/26676/77330/

 

All Cats are Gray in the Dark from Fat Orange Cat.

16oz can served in a big snifter. Dated 03/21/21. Gift from a friend. I poured a little bit in a glass for my wife and then poured the rest for me, and mine is super hazy and hers is pretty and clear. I'll judge based on hers.

My wife's pour is clear, bright golden, small head. Smell is medicinal, herbal, not very pleasant. Kind of an aggressive cut vegetation smell.

Taste is much better. White chocolate, still has some of the herbal / cut vegetation flavor, gives it kind of a bitter finish.

Mouthfeel is moderately thick. Overall...it's not bad if you don't smell it. It's also not great.