New Beer Weekend #148

Skydance Brewing You Cray Hazy DIPA with Sabro Hops, 8.0% ABV; 3.79 overall

Pours a hazy gold with one finger of eggshell colored head. Good lacing & average head retention

S: Faint oranges & some vanilla, nose the weak point in this beer

T: Tangerine, some green melon & lime, plus dryness up front, a little pineapple as well. Some vanilla, raspberry, Lime & Pomelo are more assertive as this warms up, a touch of vanilla & pineapple as well. Finishes with Pomelo, a touch of lime & pineapple

MF: Medium body, moderate carbonation, good balance. Carbonation gets creamier once warm, more acidity too

Good, flavor solid offering that belies its heft

 

Every now and then you get surprised. Schenker Beer Company is something I've never heard of. I saw their Helles in a store and picked it up because my wife loves the style. Amazing beer. Had to look up the brewery of course. The beer is brewed at contract brewery 12 Percent. The owner helped open Torst among other credentials. I have to look out for their other 2 beers, yes only two others at the moment, but this Helles is a winner.

4.48/5 rDev +4.7%
look: 4.5 | smell: 4.5 | taste: 4.5 | feel: 4.25 | overall: 4.5
Poured from a 12oz can stamped 054/21/23 to a Pilz glass at fridge temp.
The body is clear gold with plenty of rising bubbles visible. A mild pour resulted in an amazing pure white tall puffy head.
The aroma is sweet and grassy, a very pleasant smell.
The taste is clean, not overly sweet. Hops make themselves known on the swallow.
The mouthfeel is light but slightly oily.
This is one of the best Helles I have had in a long time.

BTW I thought this label was a little pretentious. But maybe it's correct.

 

After cleaning up the deck and washing the family cars, I’m firing up the grille for a belated Mother’s Day celebration.

cracked open the Cherry version of Oberon. I didn’t go in with any expectations, but it’s exactly what I’d imagine. The head retention was a little lacking, otherwise solid characteristics. The cherry is definitely there, both sweet and tart. Not overdone, and enjoyable on a warm, West Mi, spring evening.

 

I’m heading to Lagerville on this gorgeous evening in Northern Indiana, courtesy of my friend @Roguer and Fox Farm.

I’m so happy, I could cry.



4.24/5 rDev +1.7%
look: 4 | smell: 4.25 | taste: 4.25 | feel: 4.25 | overall: 4.25
Pours a beautiful golden straw color with a sudsy white head that provides minimal lacing. Floral hops, lemongrass, and white bread notes on the nose elicit an immediate salivary reaction, which is a fancy beer nerd way of saying, “My mouth is watering.”

The floral hop flavors have a bit of spice, accompanied by the lemongrass, then giving way to a slightly sweet bready flavor at the back of the palate. This beer is the picture you see when you look up “summer crusher” in the beer nerd dictionary.

The mouthfeel is crisp and refreshing for this Helles lager, as expected. The Fox Farm lager game is truly world class, IMHO.

 

Congratulations!

 

#2, also from @Roguer, this is The Cottage’s smoldering older sibling.



4.35/5 rDev +6.4%
look: 4.25 | smell: 4.25 | taste: 4.5 | feel: 4.25 | overall: 4.25
This beer pours a slightly unfiltered golden straw color with a creamy white head that coats the glass. Smoke is immediately notable when you pop the can open, and is present on the nose after the pour, along with lemongrass and a bready note. Very nice.

I was worried that the smoke would dominate the taste, but it lingers in the background like a skilled supporting actor/actress, letting the lemongrass and bready malt flavors assume their starring role, and adding depth and character to the beer as a supporting flavor. This is exceptionally well executed.

The mouthfeel is very crisp, making for an exquisitely drinkable lager. I could drink this for days.

 

This gem is from @sulldaddy Eredita Athene Nocua Baltic-Style Porter, 8.25% ABV; 3.98 overall

Oh yeah, the notes

Pours an effervescent ebony with one finger of tight mocha colored head. Some head retention & lacing

S: Super roasty, cola notes once warm

T: Roastyness, a little Baker's Chocolate& molasses up front, fairly dry & a little Chicory. More roastyness as this beer warms up, hints of smokeyness, carob & chicory, plus woody hops. Finishes dry, roasty with a little bit of woody hops & Chicory

MF: Medium body, smooth carbonation

Classic Baltic Porter with much drinkability








was a little distracted while posting these pics

This was part of my BIF 17 haul. Chris absolutely destroyed my porch, twice

 

Dentist Brendan?
Cheers

 

So, Pickle Beer and now, Lager with Corn Tortilla
Both very good.
Thats a great weekend
Cheers

 

Sorry @FBarber I took a break from your beers for this local one; just felt too right not to. A beautiful day, lots of it spent outside, an AAL it is…

Tonewood did an AAL with corn for winter and super early spring, this one they describe as it’s lighter counterpart; if I remember their post correctly.

Tonewood - Low Season (AAL w/ rice 5%)





Lemon hued pale, white sudsy head that dissipates quite quickly; thin film remains, though that may be different in a non nucleated glass; mostly clear with minor haze.

The nose immediately brings bright refreshing citrus to mind; minor sweetness and generic cereal, with some graininess.

Taste is a balanced combination of white bread and grain, touch of lemon like citrus, tamer dash of spice; aftertaste lingers pleasantly softer refreshing yellow and green citrus.

Light body; smooth medium carbonation, moderately dry, however; the hop notes helps bolster it a bit into “give me another sip now” mode; neutral and clean finish.

A tasty AAL that is very refreshing to drink for me; my only knock is that it somewhat misses the effervescence and bite that I wish it had. A small knock though because I will easily and happily drink the rest of this four pack.

—————

Well that’s it for me this weekend…let the countdown to Memorial Day weekend begin. Hope you all have a good week.

 

Last one, also from @Roguer, I need more dark lagers in my beer nerd life.



4.42/5 rDev +6.5%
look: 4.5 | smell: 4.25 | taste: 4.5 | feel: 4.25 | overall: 4.5
Pours a dark cola brown and settles in the glass as black with a creamy light tan head that provides significant lacing and serves as a cap on the beer the entire time it’s in your glass. Absolutely gorgeous beer.

The nose has a bit of roasty char, some cocoa, and grassy hop notes, and those notes are where the taste lands, with the cocoa and roasty char forward and the hop notes at the back of the palate.

The mouthfeel is nicely crisp, adding to the drinkability of the beer and placing it squarely in world class range, IMHO.

 

Greetings, New Beer Weekenders! This afternoon I have a neat beer from a brewery that's new to me, and this might be my first review for a beer from this particular state. Onward!



(Haven't posted a review yet. Still working on the numbers.)

Fonta Flora Steinbock (collaboration with Zillacoah Beer Company)
12-ounce can purchased at Uptown Beer Co. and poured into a nonic half-pint glass. No date stamp. Label indicates the ABV is 8%, while the Fonta Flora website puts it at 8.1%.

Look:
This beer is a gorgeous deep amber-brown color with orange-amber highlights. A careful pour raises a finger of rich eggnog-colored foam which dissipates rather quickly and leaves only spotty lacing behind.

Smell:
Starts with rich, sweet malt, followed up with a rather aggressive punch of alcohol. It has an undercurrent of caramel and dense brown bread, along with notes of cherry cola and black tea. A little floral hop character breaks through as the beer warms.

Taste:
It's even sweeter than the nose promised. Starts off densely malty with prominent flavors of caramel and toasted brown bread. Cherry notes are more prominent than in the nose, and are complimented by a bit of orange peel. Remains sweet into the finish, which is dominated by malt, Grape Nuts cereal, and some dark brown sugar. Floral hops attempt to curtail the sweetness with a little earthy bitterness but don't make much headway.

Feel:
Medium-heavy body with smooth texture that's broken up by low-to-moderate carbonation. Slight alcohol warmth at the end, but nothing I wouldn't expect from an 8% beer.

Overall:
Steinbiers are pretty rare. It takes a particular kind of dedication to use hot stones to bring wort to a boil, and I'm happy to support that brand of craziness. Especially when the results are this tasty. Fonta Flora Steinbock is sweeter than I prefer, but has good malt depth, richness, and tasty caramel notes.

 

Oh, that sucks. I had such high hopes for that beer, but it looks flatter than the Kool Aid the kids are drinking. Guess I should have tried one before giving away. Every beer I’ve received from you has been excellent, and haven’t even popped the Pliny.

 

Will there be a three day (Saturday - Monday) or four day (Friday - Monday) thread next week for the Memorial Day Weekend?

Cheers!

@FBarber @Roguer @sulldaddy @Snowcrash000

 

The one and only