New Beer Weekend #132

Evening NBS. Wow the kickoff from @AzfromOz is amazing! Brilliant piece of writing. Thank You Sir.
Bellflower from Portland has been on my radar for some time and now it's available in our area so lets make it a day.
The XVIII The Moon IPA
Nelson/Motueka
Pours a hazy yellow with an avg head and retention, spotty lacing.
Lemon, lime, Blanc grapes, grass even fruity notes.
Taste follows with lots of white wine character, lemongrass, lime, white pepper spicy, bitter pine resin and a bit of rind.
Medium-light in body, light but snappy carb, some resins but really dry on the finish....and really nicely bitter- more than expected.
A very good Nelson/NZ hopped brew.
Anything from this brewery I would grab right now. Cheers!

 

Brilliant opening to the thread, on so many levels!

You're officially closer to 70 than 30. I hit the half-century last year. My maturity level is still somewhere around 11 or 12 years old, though.

You and me both Mike!

 

de Garde - The Archer. A spontaneous wild ale with pinot noir grapes aged in oak barrels for three years.

750ml bottle, capped and corked, served in a footed pilsner glass. Bottled 7/21.

Pours clear, brilliant purplish red with a medium sized head that fades to a thin ring. Not a lot of visible carbonation. Smell is tart, oaky, slight funk or mustiness. Vague fruitiness gives a slight jammy hint.

Taste is dry, light red wine, some grape-y-ness. Wood is still there but not really standing alone, more suffusing everything else. Tartness is a little muted. Fruit skin bitterness or maybe tannic bitterness, reminds me of grape skin and wood. Again, some funky/mustiness.

Mouthfeel is smooth, light, maybe a bit more still than I would like. Overall, it's pretty good.

My wife is the reason we have so many sours in the house, but she's not drinking right now. Today she gave me permission to drink some of "her" beers as long as she gets a sip.

 

New to me, new to everyone, new from Founders - KBS Chocolate Cherry Stout. (11.6% abv, bottled on 12/06/22)

Initially out of the fridge I thought I had grabbed a regular KBS (same color, mouthfeel and bourbon character), but then a mystery background aroma and taste showed up. It wasn't the chocolate or cherry that I expected, but it wasn't unpleasant. Slowly as the beer warmed the chocolate arrived, but I still didn't get cherry. The beer is now at room temp and I'm getting the light taste of natural cherry. Now there's a nice blend of all of the flavors.

Since Valentines Day is right around the corner, I'm guessing this beer was designed with the chocolate/cherry candy lovers in mind, and the timing of the release is also appropriate. I'm thinking the brewer had hoped to show more cherry in the beer to mimic a cherry cordial but without the artificial cherry that comes with those things. Nearly a success. I'm giving it a 4.25.

 

Hey what's going on?!

Time for a new beer! I am a little short on words everyone, but never short for new beer reviews!

Enough chatting. What's new for our hero today?



Poured from the can into a Spiegelau IPA glass.

Deep amber with a mix of copper red orange, and a bit of an unfortunate sense of chill like haze to the body color. Khaki and rich forming head colored head, three fingers plus tall of light bubbles with really good retention and staying power.

Aroma seems a bit malt forward. Pine sensing hop notes a bit but a larger emphasis on malt, with hitting caramel and even sugary light treacle notes that come up more pronounced than hop forward action. Biscuity and strangely smokey??? Really? Not that I don't love a good smoke malt but this is really unexpected. The whole nose just seems strange and slightly out of place, but at least not off putting.

Palate seems a bit more centered. Slightly juiced and pith like grapefruit in mid palate, with a light touch of caramel rich sweetness. Sharp bitter pine and lingering bitter finish seem to make for a nice contrast. Has definitely more of a citrus profile on the palate than on the nose, with a noticeable mix of oily resin of citrus and pith particularly in the aftertaste. Solid malt backbone if pronounced and a little sweet, with a good hint of booze hits.

Comes off a bit all over the place at first but eventually the beer finds its footing in the palate. Runs just a bit too alcohol high, and with a weird nose. Has some real good potential to be a solid delicious beer to style.

look: 3.5 | smell: 3.5 | taste: 3.75 | feel: 4 | overall: 3.75 | BA generated score: 3.7

Cheers!

 

From the looks of that 2nd pic, you were in the right spot & not in that damn long line!!
Sure looked like fun!

 

Next from Belleflower:
Scrugsy IPA with Citra and Galaxy.
Pours hazy pale yellow, similar to my last beer. This has a 1/2 creamy head with decent retention and lots of lacing.
Passionfruit, pineapple, citrus and peach on the nose.
Taste is tropical fruits and citrus with a bit of mango. A hint of honey malts..
Nicely carbonated, sweet fading to rind bitterness. Balanced as heck and highly drinkable- light/med bod.
Another really good one from Belleflower.

 

Very simple. Devil's food cake with vanilla icing.

 

A throw back to my kids at least 10 years ago. I have faith this will make it down here

 

Day 2, I’ve been on a big stout run this past week (thanks to Little O), so I’m gonna reel things back in a bit with a style that I love, but don’t see as much as I’d like.





4.35/5 rDev +9.3%
look: 4.25 | smell: 4.25 | taste: 4.5 | feel: 4.25 | overall: 4.25
Pours a beautiful clear copper color with a dense, creamy off-white head that is Saran Wrap on the glass the entire time you’re enjoying the beer. The nose features spicy rye bread aromas, a bit of floral hops, and a nutty malt aroma. O. M. G.

The spicy rye bread flavor is forward and dominant, with balance provided by the floral hop notes (thank you, noble Hersbrucker hops!!!) and the nutty flavor at the back of the palate. What a delicious Vienna lager this is.

The mouthfeel is medium and very crisp, on point for the style. Maplewood is a brewery that flies a bit under the radar in the Chicago beer scene, but do not underestimate them - everything of theirs that I’ve had has been excellent.

 

Big win for the Eagles today....one more to go! I figured I'd enjoy one more beer while I watch the second game and get some work done.

This is Public Night, a Dark Mild from Kent Falls.

3.43/5 rDev -7.3%
look: 4 | smell: 3.5 | taste: 3.25 | feel: 3.5 | overall: 3.5
Pours a light, clear amber with plenty of foamy, slightly off-white head that receded to a think cap. Very nice lacing. Aroma is light bready malts with some faint caramel.

Taste is heavy on the malts. Sweet, but not overly so with some nice toffee / caramel notes. Zero bitterness. Light and very easy drinking. Not remarkable, but not sure it's trying to be. This is a beer well suited for throwing a few back with some friends.

 

I'm going to Belgium tonight and will try to get three new ones off my to-do list.

https://www.beeradvocate.com/beer/profile/2216/50059/





375 ml. bottle.
Bottle Date 24May17
Best Before 26Oct37.

Moderate pour yields a 5/8 inch light pink head over a dark pinkish-purple body with scant lacing.

Nose of cherries, oak, and a bit of funk.

Taste follows nose closely with sweet (and then quickly tart) lemon flavors coming forward.
Oak and funk take a back seat to sour into a nice, dry finish.
Very nice!

Mouthfeel is a pleasant surprise as back label reads:
"bottle fermentation did not happen though... Still, unfiltered and unpasteurised."

Overall, another delicious offering from 3F.
Cheers!

 

Odd. I think we talked about this a month or two ago. I just scored some the other day. Seems to be more avail than last year. A bunch of places have it, but only a few packs (as opposed to regular NN, of which there are mountains, everywhere).

It was my first beer after a week of semi- dry January, so my opinion might be skewed. But...it was great. Prolly not like last year, but I'm starting to attribute that to false memories. Looks like I'll be on the hunt for more tomorrow.

P.S. Yeah, go Iggles. Weird. Feels like a hollow victory, something I wasn't expecting. But...on to SB. So far KC has sacked Mr. Cool JOE B like 3 times already. Iggles vs. Andy SB 57? Sports talk radio will be a wet dream the next 2 weeks.

 

Next up, this blend coming in at 6.2% abv.

https://www.beeradvocate.com/beer/profile/2216/8773/



375 ml. bottle.
Bottling Date 18Dec19
Best before 26 Oct 39.
6.2% abv.

Gentle to moderate pour yields a one inch white head over a hazy, solid golden body with fleeting lacing.

Nose of funk, oak, and raspberries.

Taste mirrors nose with mostly tart raspberry flavors, oak tannins, and funk.

Wonderful mouthfeel, almost perfect for the style.

Overall, I know it's quite expensive at $29.99 a 375 ml. bottle,
but do yourself a favor and grab one if you see one!
Cheers!!

 

Good Sunday evening to all. Kinda weird day with the choir singing church service in the morning and a memorial service in the afternoon, so somewhat of a disruption in the normal rhythm of life.

First beer from the BA box:



Ecliptic Gravastar oatmeal stout with peanut butter.

Pours like dark coffee, completely opaque, half inch beige head, short-lived. Ends up as a ring with a big island.

The smell takes a bit to open up. Some coffee char, malt roastiness, a faint bit of chocolate and a peanutty smell that doesn't seem like peanut butter, but certainly peanut.

The taste...hmmm...hits the mark for a stout. Nice level of roast malt, minimal hop presence, none of the charred acridity. Small taste of coffee, maybe a touch of chocolate. There's a nuttiness, but it strikes more peanut than peanut butter. A little sweet flavor comes in with repeated sips.

Feel seems a tad thin, and it is very drying. Also coats the tongue a bit. I associate oats with creating a smooth feel and dome richness. Not getting it here.

Overall, this is an OK stout. Nutty - yes, but I'm not feeling it is peanut buttery and maybe that is nitpicking. But the peanut is also relatively weak and I dont get any presence of oats. The feel seems a letdown overall - drinking more like a dry stout to me. I'm feelin' 3.75 or so here.

 

Greetings all from the great northwest where we are having a winter blast. No precipitation but cold, sunny with temps in the lower 20s.

How about some 11% ABV imperial stout to warm up? Winch it Out from Barrel Mountain brewing.
https://www.beeradvocate.com/beer/profile/43866/526704/

Not the most drinkable brew, but today it works.

Until next time

 

Haven't tried much Barrel Mountain, haven't been impressed with what I've had. That sounds reasonably good, so maybe they're not a write-off...

 

Hello New Beer Weekend!!!

Late to the party, I know, but I've been following it throughout the weekend, and mine has started now.

I'll start off by thanking @AzfromOz for the amazing opening to the thread. I will be joining you and @woemad in the 50 club at the end of June.

@GreenBayBA , you're damn right I'm up for the Central Waters 25th. I could also ask a very good friend to join us in it, because I know he would also appreciate it very much. And, yes, I'm looking forward to Pantown that day, and I do have connections with them, so maybe there might be something intersting for us to try. I'd better put in a request for it off work.

I've been working all weekend, and had a very bad start to my day when the fire alarm went off in my apartment building this morning around 9AM. It was real, there was a fire in the kitchen in the apartment above me. No damage to my unit, but I can't tell you how much fun it is to go outside when it's -10. When the all clear was sounded at 9:30, I came back in, made sure nothign was wrong, and said screw it, and went to work. Now I'm home and it's beer time, and new beer time.


Cherry Bourbon Quad - Chapel Brewing - Dundas, MN - 10% ABV

I am realy digging this, though, I do think the body is light for a Quad. It does have a lot of flavor, though, the aroma is lacking in the cherries. The flavor does make up for it by a lot. Very tasty, and I'm really happy I picked it up a couple weeks back before my brother in law's 50th surprise birthday party.

Review:
https://www.beeradvocate.com/beer/profile/50604/496476/


3.8/5 rDev 0%
look: 4.25 | smell: 3.5 | taste: 4 | feel: 3.5 | overall: 3.75
This is a dark amber colored beer from the pour. Very clear when held up to the light, but hard to see through because it is such a dark shade of amber. The head is off white, somewhat tan colored. 1 finger was the size of the head, though it did dissipate quickly. The bubbles did seem smaller in size.
Aroma is quite bread biscuit based. Hints of dark fruit come in the mix. Not getting the cherries that's in the name of the beer, though.
The flavor is where the cherries come into play. It starts out cherry, and lasts throughout. I also get some plum and raisin that kick in with some bread/biscuit flavors. Some yeast comes into the mix also. Slightly earthy.
The body seems slightly light for a quad, but not too far off the mark. Not too much of a burn, but there's a slight one that lets you know to sip it.
Quite tasty, and I'm glad I got it when I was at the brewery.


Since it's a 750 of a 10% beer, I'm one and done. See you all next weekend. Cheers!!!