New Beer Weekend #118

Polishing off the last of a box from @WunderLlama. Much appreciated, Maynard.
This box housed my first three Alchemist beers. All of them really impressed me, this one not least of all.

Pours an oily pitch black with a full foamy tan head. Reduces to a decent ring and thick sheets of lacing. Nose is bitter coffee, earthy hop, and bakers chocolate. Taste follows suit in all the right ways. All the flavors shine through without overshadowing one another. Not sweet at all but well balanced and roasty. Feel is full and chewy with a mouth coating finish. Overall, excellent. 4/5. Cheers.

 

Greetings, NBW party crew. I only have one beer this gorgeous fall evening in Northern Indiana, but it’s one I actually pursued a bit, and finally found at a Binny’s in Chicago this week, when I went on a beer acquisition rampage after flying home from a long weekend in Texas (those of you from Chicago know of what I speak).

My excitement to try this beer is probably overstated, but I can’t help myself when it comes to these big, bitter beers in the WCIPA genre, my single favorite beer style.

Let’s dance, my brothers and sisters.







4.5/5 rDev +7.9%
look: 4.5 | smell: 4.5 | taste: 4.5 | feel: 4.5 | overall: 4.5
A very aggressive (nearly vertical) pour reveals a golden oranges colored beer with some suspended hop haze that settles to perfectly clear after a few minutes with a pillowy oatmeal colored head that laces the glass beautifully on your trip through this beer. Absolutely gorgeous WCTIPA.

The nose is led by a deluge of resiny pine and quickly followed by a dank ripe tangerine aroma and a subtle caramalt aroma. I am bovine salivating here.

The taste is led by that beautifully bitter resiny pine, and followed by the balance of the dank tangerine and caramalt flavors, and there’s no alcohol present in this 9.7% ABV beer, which I appreciate.

The mouthfeel is crushingly dry, perfect for this beer. This is the 74th beer from Stone that I’ve reviewed/rated, and it is as good as any of them, but it’s their (and my) sweet spot - a deliciously bitter, extremely well executed WCTIPA.

 

@Snowcrash000 ill be here soon. We just got back from a kid birthday party, no beer but I definitely had my fill on pizza

 

I haven't been as active on here as I used to be, and much of that is related to work schedule. Que lastima. But! My wife and I made a thing (it's a baby. she's a baby. not a thing. I'm supposed to refer to it as a baby.), so I've got some time away from work and, well, per said wife, that means I got some drinking to do. She's a winner.
I ALSO got the fantastic news this morning that my brother will be joining that parental club, also for the first time! So not only does baby Juni get to get used to the world afresh, she won't even be the littlest one for that long! Needless to say, the whole family is very excited.

Anyway, today I'm digging into one of the few non-FH options I have in the fridge (and the only one that I am 100% I've never had before). American Pilsner Companion is one I picked up, honestly just for the can art. I'm a bird, or at least I'm named after one, so the can art spoke to me. The can art is not a picture of me, but it's in the same broad family, and, well, despite the protestations of the info on the can, birds ARE in fact real. I already told you. I am one.



Lucky Envelope - American Pilsner Companion



The pour is beautiful. Perfectly crisp clear body allows me to still watch the rainy traffic outside my window even through the full glass. A couple of fingers of pure white foam, large bubbles and a rocky build to the cap slowly dissipate, leaving chunky lacing along the rim of the glass.



First impressions were great. The pour: lovely.
Next impression? Probably the least positive one I would have with this beer. And thankfully it's short lived. That impression? Initially the smell is overly sweet. Like it smells like a glass of apple juice sweet. Thankfully this does not last, nor does it rear its head elsewhere.
Once we move past that first blush, subsequent olfactory investigations yield nothing of the sort. Instead it's bready grainy malts, clean with a very light backer of spicy hops.

Flavour leads with the malts as well: clean, it's somewhere between white bread and water crackers. There's a light kiss of honey/nectar sweetness, and then it moves to the hops. They are added with a deft touch, and are primarily of the herbal/grassy variety. Not herbal in like sharp hebacious, but herbal in a much brighter, lighter, airier manner. It might be suggestion based on what I was recently reading, but I could see a description involving fresh mint. But that's the second layer, it's primarily the grassy side of hop-land. A gentle swipe of the bready malts comes back and kind of resets things for the finish which is just kind of the dull ache of earthy hops.

Only complaint I can think of is that it comes across as somewhat thin at points, but then it's a 4.5% pils that is really more at home on a warm summer/autumn afternoon. It's nitpicking to begin with, and a minor complaint anyways.

I dig it. It's not going to go in and knock anyone's socks off, but that's kind of expected with the style. What it is is refreshing and enjoyable, and I'm glad I picked it up.



Cheers!!!

 

Good evening NBW
Another beer hauled back from Ashville


19.2oz canned 03/22/22 poured into a nonic pint glass at fridge temp 7% ABV 24 IBU. The beer pours opaque dark amber with khaki head and chestnut highlights. The head recedes to a thin ring and single layer of bubbles. The aroma is mild with just a hint of malt. The taste is semisweet toasted malt with earthy hop notes and a mildly bitter finish. The mouthfeel is medium bodied with average carbonation and a mostly dry finish. Overall, good.

I enjoy Scotch ales so much that I'll take a risk on a seven month old can in a convenience store. I don't get the low rating on this one. I'm enjoying even though it's average. Cheers all!

 

Decision fatigue was real tonight when trying to decide what beer to drink. It’s a little cooler tonight so I cracked open this beer from @Coronaeus and poured into glass also sent my way.

Four Fathers Brewing Company - Shevchenko 9



Pours a deep dark brown; light brown cohesive head, great retention.

Really strong dark toasted bread; touch of bitter roast and rich like dark fruit.

Taste shows much of the same with more roastiness than the nose; dark chocolate, with a touch of black licorice on the finish.

This beer has some heft to it; feels big but goes down quite quickly. Noticeably dry finish; with a hoppy bitter and roasty bitter finish.

Another really neat beer; this beer is all about leaning as far into toasted without being burnt. It accomplishes that in a beautiful way.

Thanks for sending my way @Coronaeus

 

Hello New Beer Weekend!!!

I've been busy today, between work, then helping out friends all afternoon, into the evening. Now it's time to get to a beer, and it's one I've been sitting on for almost 2 years.


Double Barrel Drop Forge - Milk Stout - Pantown Brewing - St. Cloud, MN - 5.5% ABV.

While this is a low ABV beer, the barrels used really ramp up the heat of it. It seems quite boozy feeling. That being said, what makes the regular Drop Forge a winner does show in here as well, though more on the backside. This is an interesting take on the beer, and I wish I would have gotten at least one more bottle of it back when it came out. I also don't think it sitting in my fridge for 2 years has harmed it one bit, heck, it might have mellowed out it a bit.


Review:

https://www.beeradvocate.com/beer/profile/54849/522868/

3.97/5 rDev 0%
look: 4 | smell: 3.75 | taste: 4 | feel: 4.25 | overall: 4
This beer has been in my fridge for a couple of years.
This beer pours pitch black. The head is tan, but less than 1 finger. The retention for what's there is decent. No lacing on the glass.
The aroma is very boozy from the barrels used in the aging process. I get hints of rye whiskey, as well as notes of standard whiskey. A very slight hint of chocolate and lactose that is in regular Drop Forge, but so slight. The barrels are the main aromas.
The flavor up front is the barrels. Lots of rye and standard whiskey in the flavor. The base beer does come into play on the back with a nice chocolate and lactose flavor. These flavors mix in with the whiskey barrel flavors well.
Decent creamy body, but quite boozy feeling, even though it's only 5.5% ABV.
This is an interesting take on the standard Drop Forge beer. I like it.


This is a big bottle, so I may be done, if so, see you all tomorrow.

 

Its almost late night NBW Saturday...not quite but close. Busy day today. The church choir sang at a memorial service this afternoon, then the show chorus we are in sang the National Anthem at the Providence Bruins game. Bell choir at church in the morning, so we need to be super early for set up, hope everyone shows up, then really hope it all resembles music.

A friend of the missus' went to Tree House last weekend. We sent a shopping list and cash. Not a lot of Tree House beers have been consumed in the mansion, so we are correcting that.

First up from the haul is Island King, an Imperial IPA using Julius as the base beer with the addition of tropical fruit puree and freeze dried fruit to boot, I guess just in case the puree wasn't enough? I do know freeze drying can intensify fruit flavors, so...puree plus heaps of freeze dried fruits, according to the can. It was a pick on the list by Mrs. "I Don't Like IPAs" LeRose. And she liked it...



Pours a pretty, deep golden color with a fairly short, dense white head that leaves pretty extensuve residue on the glass. Looks pretty hazy to my eye.

Massive fruit on the aroma. Mango and guava in waves. Just an assault going down here, very rich and intense primary aromas. There a little green resin smell that I associate with mango, then kind of a Juicy Fruit gum thing that's floating on top.

The taste follows right along. Huge, bright tasty tropical fruit. Mango and guava, plenty of fruit sweetness, a decent little tang to hold it in check and a little touch of bitterness. That fruity gum thing floats along in the aromatics, especially after the swallow.

Feels slick and silky, a tiny bit of chalkiness. I guess the word is juicy and I like the mouth feel quite a bit. Its pleasant, not as heavy as a nectar or fruit slushy beer. A little residual fruity sweetness, but quite clean for something so intensely flavored.

I'm liking this quite a bit, and Julius will be on the next shopping list. The flavors are rich and full, quite intense...yet I don't feel they've gone beyond some reasonable boundary, if that makes sense. They've gotten a really big flavor, yet it feels restrained versus just "more". Well executed. Easy 4 all day long and twice on Sunday, probably in the 4.2 range.

 

Congrats on the pending Tax deduction!

 

American Solera Solera Fes, 5.2% ABV; 4.19 overall

Pours an effervescent honey color with 2 fingers of cream colored head, Some lacing & head retention

S: Grainy, Lemony & Bready

T: Bready, dry, a touch of caramel, grassyness, woody hoops & lemon up front. Dryness, grassy & woody bitterness mis with breadyness as this warms. Finishes dry with breadyness & woody bitterness

MF: Medium body, slight carbonation, nice balance

Super drinkability, as good as any Marzen I've had in a while

 

It's been a hot minute since I've posted in this thread. I've not been in a reviewing (or posting) mood lately, but I'll come around. Pickings were a little slim at the beer store today, but this looked right up my alley. Canned 08/22/22.



Pours a slight orangish yellow with lots of floaties and a lingering, soapy head.

The smell is citrus with grapefruit at the front and lemon underneath. There's a slight hint of floral also.

The taste is bright, tart citrus with a nice floral finish that lingers. It tastes very strongly of grapefruit juice. There's a very slight metallic taste at the end.

The feel is medium body, medium/high carbonation and a bitter finish.

Overall, this is tasty but a bit too tart for my tastes and way too many floaties. To be fair though, the tartness is nearly perfect grapefruit juice flavor. I'll enjoy the four I bought.

 

I thought it was good, on the fence about buying it again though...

 

American Solera Terpy Strata DIPA, 8.0% ABV; 4.13 overall

Pours a very hazed gold with a thumb+ of eggshell colored head. Pretty good head retention & lacing

S: Tropical fruits, especially mango, citrus, fades a touch as it warms

T: Sweet orange, powdery dryness, guava & & a little green melon& lime up front. Dryness, oranges, a little pineapple & green melon as this beer warms, plus a little pine. Finishes dry with lime & pineapple

MF: Medium body, slight carbonation, nice balance

Easy drinker, delivers on flavor

 

The further I go through the first one the better I like it. I love grapefruit and it's loaded with it. But I'll probably be content with a four pack.

 

The weather here was transcendentally beautiful and tomorrow is supposed to be just like it. Got much done outside and was happy I had a sour in the beer fridge to drink on this warm day.
Poured like a strong tea and looked unfiltered, not expected. The manilla colored head was 1/2” at least. Aroma was ginger and bread.
The taste led and ended with ginger, with lime showing up briefly in the middle. Almost like a ginger beer with lime but the lime wasn’t present enough. Still, I enjoyed it quite a bit.
The feel was good, easy quaffing all the way and I could easily have slammed this if I didn’t want to actually taste it.
Decent sour but not one I’ll repeat soon.
Cheers all!