New Beer Weekend #119

Time for another new beer.



Poured from the can into a Spiegelau IPA glass.

A very creamy disposition, with a lathering rich off white topped three to four finger head, that can be picked with a spoon. Thick lacing chunks as it settles on an opaque and solid but not turbid body. Simple colors of a creamy custard dark lemon and hints of orange showcase themselves.

Aroma is really pleasant and surprising. A fantastic mix of sweetness and earth pungent dank character. Floral candy mixing with sweet weedy earthy tones dance real nicely together. The earthy character really starts to dominate but leaving a hop bonanza to explore. Described as heavily fruited sensing but not getting that at all on the nose, but certainly not complaining here.

Palate definitely goes a wicked direction. Juiced up highlights of pineapple and orange, with an excellent tropical fruit flavor in the middle. Flirts with punch bowl like flavors but luckily stays away from being too sweet. The finish has a faint hint of bitterness to cut nicely, stashing mint and tea like bitterness to match this fruity diverse combo. Mouthfeel manages to stay simple and supportive.

Another impressive IPA example from the OH.

Final Score: 4.44

Cheers!

 

Hello New Beer Weekend!!!

Well, it's been an interesting day, where I enjoyed some old beers (2017 Surly BA Darkness, and 2017 Founders KBS) at a good friend's place, that were amazing aged. I'm so grateful for his generosity for allowing me to sample these great beers aged. I did try them fresh, back in the day, but never aged.

Now I'm home - and can actually post properly beer pics on my computer - and here's my new beer, well new to me -


Stickee Monkee (2021) - Firestone Walker - Quad - 12.3% ABV

What surprises me the most about this beer is that I get a creamy flavor in the mix. It's not lactose, so I have no clue what I'm tasting, or as to why, but I do think the flavor works well in this style. Tons of dark fruit hit and hard in this beer. I love a good Quad, and this, while isn't a Belgian, is a good Quad.

Review:

https://www.beeradvocate.com/beer/profile/2210/63249/
4.44/5 rDev -0.7%
look: 4.5 | smell: 4.25 | taste: 4.5 | feel: 4.5 | overall: 4.5
2021 Vintage consumed on 10-30-2022

A bit of smoke on the opening of the bottle. Dark brown pouring with a 2 finger tan head, with a fairly aggressive pour. The retention is decent, and there's some lacing on the glass.
The aroma is strong with dark fruit - I get a lot of plum and raisin in the nose.
Taste - Tons of plum and raisin hit up front. There's a hint of caramel and toffee on the back. I also get a creamy flavor mixing in, almost a lactose flavor. This last thing surprised me, probably not getting it right.
The body is very thick and full. Smooth, and very little alcohol burn.
I love this beer, and so glad I bought it.


I might try to pluck off one more today, and this weekend. See you all down the road.

 

Firestone Walker Kentucky Mule 2021 American Barleywine, 11.8% ABV. Pours dark brown with a one-finger light-brown head that left no lacing. Nose is ginger, bourbon, and lime. Taste follows, lightly bitter, slightly tart. Decent mouthfeel, perhaps a bit heavy on the carbonation. Overall very good. The lime steals the show as lemon and lime often do if not offset or limited.

3.69/5 rDev -2.1%
look: 3.5 | smell: 3.75 | taste: 3.75 | feel: 3.75 | overall: 3.5

Though I'll try/review pretty much any beer, I'm glad my intuition told me to only buy one.

 

I Like The One That Says Extra Pulp!

North Park Beer collab with Magnify Brewing

Triple Dry Hopped Hazy Triple IPA featuring Citra, Mosaic, Cashmere and Strata hops.

10% ABV

Pours a turbid yellowish pale orange hue with some large forming bubbles that appear like soapy froth. Only a few spots of lacing noted, oily slick down the glass. The nose brings forth very tropical and fruity aromatics; most prominent being peach, mango, pineapple, papaya and some sweet SunnyD orange juice. The flavors exhibit more of the same with a flourish of tropical fruits and orange pith. Mango, peach, orange and pineapple in a delightful medley. Malt base is subdued saltine cracker carrying the load of ABV's which is a mere afterthought here. Moderate fullness, somewhat light and creamy on the palate, with a tingling bitter and dried out finish. Overall another dangerously well executed TIPA from North Park with a dazzle of great hop flavors BA!

 

New Belgium Voodoo Ranger Hop Raider DIPA, 8.1% ABV; 3.79 overall

Pours an effervescent & bright gold with 2+ fingers of eggshell colored head. Stellar head retention & lacing

S: Bready as all get out, not much else. Some pine once warm

T: Cakey, with limes, pine & a little green melon, plus dryness up front. Pine, some caramel, dryness green melon & lime as this warms. Sweet dry finish with a little pine & lime

MF: Medium body, moderate carbonation, nice balance

Solid but not memorable DIPA, drinks just fine, but not one I'd re-purchase

 

I've got a can of that in the fridge as well. Truth be told, I wasn't familiar with the brewery at all until accidentally during the BIF! They're located over in Interbay, I think near the old Urban Family spot.

 

Sticking with the Baltic theme
Komes Russian Imperial Stout


500mL bottle Lot Number 53/50/21/1 poured into a tulip pint glass at fridge temp 12% ABV. The beer pours opaque nearly black in color with very short lived brown head. No retention, no lacing. The aroma is mild with roasted malt being prevalent. The taste is semisweet toffee and caramel combined with an earthy, moderately bitter roasted malt base. The mouthfeel is full bodied with less than medium carbonation and a semi dry finish. No trace of the ABV in the aroma or taste. Overall, good.

Cheers!

 

Good Sunday afternoon, New Beer Samplers and commentators. It's another beautiful day and I'd prefer to be drinking on the deck but my MacBook Pro died last night. I bought a new one today but it will take a day or so to transfer my data so I'm trying to do NBS from my work computer. Let's see how it goes.

First up is a Quadruple (12%) IPA from The Drowned Lands called All the Terra. It's hard to do such a high gravity IPA well but DL kept it simple with a complimentary hop bill of Mosaic and Zappa and lots of oats. It's definitely sweet but still very tasty. The mouth feel is killer.

It pours a murky, dirty tangerine color with over a finger of creamy, bright white head and copious thick lacing. The smell offers lemon, grapefruit, mango, tangerine, and oat cream. The taste is sweet and strong with hints of tart citrus competing with ripe mango, berry, tropical fruit and sweet oats. There is an earthiness beneath the fruit and a hint of pine but only modest bitterness. It's a fairly simple recipe and the Zappa hops compliment the Mosaic nicely. The mouth feel is super thick and viscous with moderate carbonation, and it drinks big at 12% ABV. It may not seem high at first but it catches up. Overall, this is a well-made QIPA. Drowned Lands kept it relatively simple and succeeded. If you don't like IPAs of this gravity, then All the Terra may not be your thing. However, I really enjoyed it!

4.22/5 rDev -1.4%
look: 4.25 | smell: 4 | taste: 4.25 | feel: 4.5 | overall: 4.25

Next up will be a stout. Cheers, NBW!

 

We had a dip three times rule for my daughter growing up. It certainly developed her palate and hopefully taught that beer and wine are more than deliverers of a buzz.

 

Another visit to a new brewery around me. At Back Page Brewing in Houston.

Troubadour, English IPA, 6.3% ABV.



Pours a orange/reddish color. A two finger white head forms with good retention and lace left behind.
The aroma up front is resin like with citrus pith. Toasted malts, bread and just a touch of buttery character. Earthy and floral hops mingle in there as well.
Taste wise, like the nose, at first it is resin like with citrus rind/pith. Toasted malts, baked bread, lightly buttery and sweet English biscuit flavors. The sweetness builds, but a lingering earthy bitterness helps to balance.
A medium to full body. There is a heftiness and chewiness from the malts, also slight sticky/resin like. Well carbonated and finishes semi-dry. This is very easy to drink and come back to. Enjoyed this a few times in a sitting.

Definitely to style IMO. There is just a touch of buttery diacetyl, but not enough to really detract (a friend of mine that is a brewer at Saint Arnold says I can detect diacetyl from around the block, so its probably not really an issue for most people ha). Other than that, a well balanced and all around enjoyable English IPA, and a style that I hardly ever see anymore, let alone done well. I'll be getting this again.

Overall score is 3.94, an easy B+
https://www.beeradvocate.com/beer/profile/63888/624835/?ba=champ103#lists

Side note: Really enjoying Cormac McCarthy's new novel The Passenger. Got about 50 pages left...

 

An excellent saison courtesy of @BBThunderbolt. The perfect beer to enjoy this cloudy Sunday afternoon.

Pours a hazy but bright amber gold with a substantial bubbly head reducing to a decent cap. Excellent retention and plenty of lacing. Nose is grapefruit, tart and funky lacto, with a tangy and bitter finish. Taste follows suit to a tee. Mouth feel is crisp overall but not acidic or biting. Excellent beer. Cheers fellas.

 

Welcome to a late start for me to New Beer Sunday #923! Second of two very fresh IPAs (yesterday's beer was canned nine days before enjoying), this one is six days older and was brewed with fresh hops from a brewery which goes under the radar here for the most part, but has risen among the Top 4-5 breweries in terms of volume in Chicago (GI, Revolution, Half Acre, not sure if any others surpass), though much of this brewing is performed by their contract brewer Great Central Brewing Company, which I have found to be also right up my alley.

Maplewood Brewing Fresh Hop Idaho 7 India Pale Ale



Can Notes: $5.25 single 16 oz can purchase at room temperature at Beer on the Wall, 16 oz canned 10/14, guessing but not certain this was brewed at the actual Maplewood Brewery. 6.0% ABV. Ale brewed with fresh Crosby Farms Idaho 7 hops, within 24 hours from harvest. Brewed by Maplewood Brewing Company, Chicago, Illinois. Refrigerated upon returning home until opening this afternoon.

Appearance: Multiple pours into a shaker pint glass. Light golden tan crystal clear base, light carbonation, egg-white head lingers a few minutes leaving soapy lacing in its wake. 3.75

Aroma: Tangerine the clear lead, a dank piney aroma complements in the background. Fresh, strong, pleasurable. 4.25

Taste: Follows the nose, though the dank pine is a slight leader over the tangerine. Like the play between these two sensations, the Idaho-7 hops shine well with this offering. 4.5

Mouthfeel: Dry, nice bitterness, sweet tangerine contained and surpassed by the bitterness and pine, really up my alley. Drinks at the 6% ABV, definitely crushable unless one is adverse to the dry and bitter profile. Perish the thought. Dry bitterness lingers wonderfully on the finish. 4.5

Overall: This is a wonderful Fresh Hop offering by Maplewood. Hops fresh, bold and produce a wonderful feel and flavor. Really glad I picked this up, will definitely seek out their fresh hop offerings in the future. 4.5

Miss being out West for Fresh Hops season this Fall, hopefully will be present next Fall for the bountiful amount off great offerings. That said, glad we have a few solid options like this one and 3 Floyds Broo Doo to enjoy in Chicago.

Cheers!

 

I almost picked this one up today:

 

Yeah! Apparently they're like a block away from Dirty Couch, which I visited last weekend

 

Always amazes me how quick and fast frosts come just a few hundred miles away, we've had a few early minor ones but those we're early this year. I hope Trösten shows up here soon, it did get to NJ last year but not at the stores I frequent, hope that changes this year.

That is what I hope too, it is hilarious to see his face and hear him say "mmmmm I love beer." But as you said and I hope to instill it is about enjoyment, stress release, and taste.

 

Grab some this week and join us next weekend

 

Back for my next round, and the final of the weekend.
Sugarfoot - Swing Barrel Brewing - Moorhead, MN - Oatmeal Stout - 7.5% ABV

There's a good deal of a lactose feel in this beer. The vanilla works well in this style. There's a creamy feeling to it that just makes everything taste delicious. I'm so glad my co-worker brought this back from Fargo/Moorhead for me.

Review:

https://www.beeradvocate.com/beer/profile/59556/540295/


3.64/5 rDev -2.9%
look: 4.25 | smell: 3.25 | taste: 3.75 | feel: 3.5 | overall: 3.75
Pitch black pour with a brown head. The head retention is pretty good. There's good lacing on the glass, and it sticks to the side like superglue.
The nose is not too strong. There's just a slight hint of roasted malts.
Taste - There's a good deal of chocolate and vanilla up front, and some creamy lactose also hits there. The back turns slightly bitter from the hops used.
The body is ok. Somewhat creamy, but a bit lighter.
This is a tasty beer.

I will call it quits for tonight. See you all next weekend sometime for the next New Beer Weekend. Cheers.

 

I did get these,though:

 

I've got that book on order because of you. It's your "fault" and I really do appreciate you letting us know. Did you snag a first edition? His writing is sometimes quite magical,