New Beer Weekend #147

Ha! For me, it needs the char bitterness, otherwise I'd think it was too syrupy sweet! Nice review.

 

The Frogtender's Secret Libation Old Fashioned Inspired Ale



12% Brown Ale
Hoppin' Frog

As a fan of old fashioneds, they had me at concept level.

Poured from tap at the brewery's tasting room, the body was an opaque brown. Not much head and no lacing.

The body is a sweet malty ale that nails the bitters flavor without overdoing it. According to the bartender, the beer was briefly aged in angostura barrels. No sign of the 12%. Super easy drinking.

Coating mouthfeel, but minimal carbonation resembling a cocktail. I'd prefer more carbonation.

Overall a nice attempt but despite the 12% it needs a bourbon or rye element to pull off the imitation. A barrel aged version of this beer might be great.

 

Oh man! I used to buy a lot of Pete's Wicked Ale. Cheers!

 

Happy Sunday and hopefully everyone is enjoying their Mother’s Day or treating their mothers and the mothers of their children to a nice day.

I had this one the other day and took notes in anticipation of knowing today was gonna be a full day with not much time to dissect beers.

Tonewood continues to brew some great English can conditioned beer at great prices, currently three available locally $10 four packs in stores. This one is a bitter and collab with a Philly brewery.

Tonewood - Binfield (Bitter 4.2%)





*here you go @JackHorzempa (label)

Light leathery brown in color, cloudiness, of white head that leaves a nice little film.

Nose has some dark fruit, rich maltiness, doughy and darkened biscuit; lightly grainy.

Taste is rich in darkened biscuity malt; impressions of light apritcot, as it warms gentle hints of chocolate, touch of earthy hops on the finish.

Light body; soft creamy and light carbonation; touch of bitterness and pretty drying on the palette.

Another great English beer from tonewood; their can conditioning of these beers takes them up a notch, lucky to have them around.

—————

Im guessing today may be a quiet new beer Sunday, let’s just make up for it next weekend. Everyone in??? We’ll pull a double shift?

 

Big starter for today now that breakfast for the Mrs is done.

Thanks @Whyteboar for this cellar special!

Bells - Third Coast Old Ale (2021 vintage)


Bottled 9.21

Poured at about 40° into a stemless wine glass.

Pours a caramelly bourbon brown with slight clarity and a deeper sandy tan head. 4.25

Big malt and boozy aroma, surprised at how boozy it still is almost 2 years later, though not overwhelming, just clear and forward that it's a boozy one. 4.25

Malt bomb but not un-dynamic. Caramel, boozy heat and burn, and slight creaminess. 4.25

Body is warming, subtly carbonated and has a syrupy thickness to it. 4

Overall an excellent Barleywine that though I haven't tried fresh aged terrificly. 4.25

 

Welcome one and all to New Beer Sunday #951! Touring a few suburban breweries, starting at Tighthead brewery I had a bomber if this in my cellar, but was sadly one of I believe three that fell and broke over the years.

Tighthead Boxcar Porter



Brewery Notes: $6 16 oz pour into a nonic glass. 5.6% ABV, 42 IBU, SRM 35.

A Robust Porter with hints of roasted coffee and mild chocolate. Featuring a traditional English grist bill of Maris Otter pale, black patent, light and dark chocolate malt, and East Kent Golding hops. The name pays homage to the many freight trains that pass by the front of the brewery day and night!

Appearance: Pitch black base, dark creamy tan head leaves razor thin cover over the base. 4.25

Aroma: Dark chocolate, rich fudge, dark roast malt, medium to strong and very pleasant. 4.0

Taste: Very nice bitter roast malt takes the lead, complemented by dark chocolate and nice fudge sweetness provided great flavor and balance. 4.25

Mouthfeel: Dry and bitter, the latter leads but does not dominate the sweet malt flavors. Light and easy drinking, lightly chalky, a nice chocolate fudge lingers nicely on the finish. 4.25

Overall: This is a very solid English traditional Porter. Dry and bitter balanced with the bursting flavor sweet profile, really enjoying the deeper I go. Think I need to bring some to go cans home.4.5

 

That's a good-looking crew!

 

Happy Mothers' Day! We're having a little party here: my wife and our youngest, our daughter, and her two boys.
I'm drinking Double Hopnosis from Firestone Walker.
Gold color, faint haze. One inch white head that persists, some lace.
Aroma of citrus and pine.
Taste of grapefruit and pine.
Medium=bodied, nice bitterness.

 

Equilibrium Peanut Cloud Imperial Stout, 11% ABV. Pours thick and black, with a nice 4+ finger medium-brown head that left solid foam lacing. Aroma is really strong peanuts, chocolate, and marshmallow, then they apparently double that. Taste follows, moderately sweet, equally bitter. Excellent creamy mouthfeel, overall outstanding.

4.49/5 rDev +2.3%
look: 4.75 | smell: 4.5 | taste: 4.5 | feel: 4.25 | overall: 4.5

Fruit pizza for later.

 

Second new to me brewery visit, though like the first I’ve had their beers before. This one one of my favorite styles.

Roaring Table All-American Burger



Brewery Notes: $6 pint draft poured on a slender tower glass. California-style IPA, 7.35% ABV. Pine sap, grapefruit and berries.

Appearance: Clear straw golden pour, minimal carbonation, minimal head on the pour but the lacing is fine razor thin, bubbly off white clinging around the rim a partial thin cover over the center. 3.75

Aroma: Pine front and center, grapefruit backs, medium strength, good. 3.75

Taste: Taste much stronger, creamy pine sap leads, pine grapefruit mix after digging in further. No darkness. 4.0

Mouthfeel: Light and easy with ANV, medium to full and creamy body, no carbonation, velvet touch bitter and dry. 4.0

Overall: This is a good WCIPA, one perhaps you would consider to a newbie not expecting a full blast of pine bitter, dank and bone dry. It’s good, but give me the real McCoy. Their Concision is close to form. 3.75

I’m considering a second and final pour here, will check the local thread for existing recommendations.

 

Sierra Nevada Hazy little thing IPA, I don’t know why I haven’t had this brew in the past since I usually try ever Sierra Nevada beer as soon as I see it. My loss because it’s a fine beer. Poured into a tall Tulip it has a hazy gold body with a thick long lasting white head. Nice mild aroma of malt and hops. The taste is malt and fruit. The mouthfeel is soft thanks to the oats in the grain bill. The finish is off dry and lasting. Overall an excellent, refreshing beer.

 

How many of you have had this happen? You buy a beer during the week specifically for NBW and discover you rated it 4-years ago. Well, luckily I had a backup.
I went down to my local brewery Little House yesterday because the town suspended the open container ordinance for the charity duck race. In addition to their annual Maibock release they had cans to go of a collaboration with Tribus Beer Co. Here are the Tribus website notes-
One of our perennial collabs with one of our favorite breweries, Little House Brewing in Chester, CT.This time we are bringing the thunder with a special yeast that releases “Thiols” (compounds that smell like passionfruit and guava). Then we dry-hopped it with Talus and Columbus Cryo to bring out the dankness.
Hops: Talus, Columbus, Cryo
Adjuncts: Flaked Wheat
Flaked Oats,Phantasm

4.1/5 rDev +1.7%
look: 4.5 | smell: 3.75 | taste: 4.25 | feel: 3.75 | overall: 4.25
Poured from a 16oz can stamped CANNED ON 04/20/23 to a Nonic at fridge temp.
The body pours out a light hazy yellow/gold. A puffy 1.5” white head sits on top. The foam is persistent with a rolling, uneven topography. There was even a high altitude floating mountain island for a while.
The aroma is both dank and lemony.
The taste is exotic fruit in the front, guava is definitely there. I get some hop bitterness on the finish, but the fruit persists.
The mouthfeel is medium to light.
I like this and I’m glad I have three more.

 

The Zwickel and Maibock are available to go, so trying this Czech Dark Lager to likely close out my drinking day.

Roaring Table Accordance



Brewery Notes: $5.5 16 oz draft poured into a mug. Dark Czech lager, 4.6% ABV. Cocoa powder, nutty, creamy, crisp.

Appearance: Dark chestnut brown to black base, creamy dark tan head leaves razor thin tan white cover over the base and fine thin lacing while it last for a hot minute before most slides back into to remaining glass. 4.25

Aroma: Milk chocolate and roast malt combine for a nice blend. Walnuts and pecans, overall medium in strength, but stronger in enjoyment. 4.25

Taste: Consistent with aroma though even fuller and packed with enjoyment. A maple covered nutty pecan walnut leads, the milk chocolate making the sweetness unavoidable, but all within proper measure. Roast malt and perhaps a hops I cannot isolate in the taste component keeps the beer from exceeding my strict sweet aversion. Overall, I don’t recall from memory a similarly sweet sensation, primarily the maple and nuts that I’m really digging here. This is is top shelf Czech Lager, at least in terms of my preferences. 4.75

Mouthfeel: Light easy drinking, light body with the sweetness providing possibly perceived creamier thickness. Thinest of faint carbonation, drinks a molar like an NA chocolate shake than a 4.6%. 4.25

Overall: I don’t recall by memory other Czech Dark Lagers having this level of sweetness or nuttiness, both contained by a solid roast and buttering offset. I am so glad I ended this session and day with this awesome pour. Just a perfect beer if you want to chill on a cooler easy day. Highly recommend! 4.5

Loved three of the four today, the fourth being a good beer. Hard to beat that on a typical day, but Tighthead and Roaring Table are perhaps my two favorite Suburban Breweries. Glad I made the trip up here.

@FBarber @steveh @GuyFawkes

 

Good afternoon NBW
First up today

Hi-Wire 10W-40
16oz undated can poured into a Spiegelau stout glass at fridge temp 8% ABV. The beer pours dense impenetrable black with medium brown colored head. The head recedes to a thin cap and leaves a few spots of lacing. The aroma is dark chocolate and coffee with some spice notes I wouldn't tag as vanilla. The taste is bittersweet roasted malt with coffee, Hershey's syrup, slight vanilla and some slight green pepper notes. Moderate bitterness. Mouthfeel is medium plus bodied with just less that average carbonation and a mostly dry finish. Overall, good, but I imagine it's a bit faded from fresh. Would drink again if I found it fresh.

Cheers all!

 

Hubbard's Cave Peanut Butter Cup Imperial Stout, 12% ABV. Pours thick and black, with a slight ring of brown head that left no lacing. Aroma is slight peanut. Taste is peanut butter, slightly sweet, slightly bitter. OK mouthfeel, overall very good.

3.79/5 rDev -4.5%
look: 4 | smell: 3.75 | taste: 3.75 | feel: 4 | overall: 3.75

Pales in comparison to previous Hubbard's Cave pastry stouts or the Equilibrium Peanut Cloud I had earlier today.

 

Hello New Beer Weekend!!!

While I wasn't a part of the insanity at 3 Sheeps yesterday, I was in Wisconsin Friday, well, a couple of miles in - Hey, Casanova Liquor counts. I did get a few new beers that I was interested in, and I also found some others that I had never seen before. So, let's get to it.


Pilsner - New Glarus Brewing - Unknown ABV, though guessing around 4

I am quite impressed with this beer. Very tasty malty beer, with a nice grassy,earthy flavor to boot. I am happy with this one, and I think a couple of bottles might make it on my fishing trip next month.

Review:
https://www.beeradvocate.com/beer/profile/590/652261/

4.21/5 rDev -0.9%
look: 4.5 | smell: 4 | taste: 4.25 | feel: 4.25 | overall: 4.25
From a bottle:
This beer pours a very clear golden color. Tons of carbonation bubbles rising in the glass like a carbonation tornado. The head that's produced is 2 finger and very white. The head looks quite frothy and fluffy. Decent head retention and there's some lacing on the glass.
The nose is quite full of bread and biscuit. I also get a grassy earthy aroma on this beer.
Taste - Up front, right away, there's a slight hop bitterness. This gives way to a malty flavor - bread/biscuit. I also get the earthy grassy flavor I was getting from the aroma.
The body is quite decent. I get a very crisp and clean body. The carbonation tickles my throat going down.
This is a solid effort by NG. Very delicious and easy drinking beer.


I will be back later for one more, now I just have to decide what to enjoy. It's a tough choice, to be honest between 3 different beers.

 

Casanova is only a few hundred yards into Wisconsin (from the middle of the river)! My favorite stop when in the area, was just there last Sunday.

 

I did go about 8 miles into Cheese land eventually, after Casanova, before I returned to the land of 10k taxes.

 

Gotta get some cheese!