New Beer Weekend #166

Just one new beer for me today, I liked The Bruery's Chocolate Rain a lot:

https://www.beeradvocate.com/beer/profile/16866/53728/?ba=bluejacket74#lists




It was new to me even though it was a 2020 bottle. Plan on drinking some more new brews for tomorrow, cheers everyone!

 

Happy Autumn Equinox - enjoying this gift from a friend. The name reminded me of Ninkasi's Maiden the Shade, although the beer not so much. Enjoyable none-the-less:

4.04/5 rDev +4.7%
look: 4.25 | smell: 4 | taste: 4 | feel: 3.75 | overall: 4.25

Likely packaged less than 2 months ago, but no date. Poured from a pint can into my Dogfish Head shaped pint glass.

Bright, clear amber liquid with a soft ivory cap. Fine soapy lacing, good retention.

Woodsy aroma with citrus and hints of white wine grapes/minerality. Hop forward yet mild with a hint of biscuit.

Pine and orange on the palate with hints of scallion melding into the crackery malt. Moderate but fleeting bitterness. Finishes dry with a hint of spice/resin.

Medium-light bodied, decent carbonation, slightly sticky/oily but with a little tannic bite as well.

More than the sum of its parts - good synergy if not particularly complex.

 

Thanks, @WunderLlama for kicking us off this week. I believe we're both in London currently, but lacked the foresight to coordinate to meet up. Apparently @snaotheus did a better job of stalking you.

Since landing Thursday morning I've enjoyed a number of new beers, but I'll stay true to the thread and only comment on the ones from today. It's Cask Ale Week in England, which I intend to take full advantage of.

First up today was Red Fox from Fuller's Griffin Brewery, served on cask. I enjoyed this one at Viaduct Tavern, which is across the street from the infamous Newgate prison. They took us down to the basement of the bar where there is a small room allegedly used to hold prisoners prior to their executions. As for the beer, it was amber with a thin head. Light malty caramel on the tongue that was slightly artificial. The aroma was fairly muted. Smooth, soft and creamy (the feel was the highlight of this one)

 

Next up was Landlord, an English Pale Ale also served on cask, this time from The Cockpit, which is a pub that used to be **** fighting venue. Didn't take any pictures of the interior, but the old balcony that used to house the bettors still rings the pub floor. Beer was a clear, light copper. Excellent lacing. Medium bitterness with no real malts to speak of. Full feel. Solid, but unspectacular.

 

After that it was over to the Blackfriar, which sits on the site of a former friary that was destroyed on the orders of one crazy king or another hundreds of years ago (I can't keep all my King Richards, Edwards & Charles straight. Anyway, the pub has been our favorite so far. The beer I enjoyed there was Hepcat, from the Gypsy Hill Brewing Company. I think this is the first IPA I've had this year, and I went that route because it was the only cask beer they had that I hadn't already tried over the last couple days. The beer was surprisingly tasty. Orange yellow with a thin white head. Aroma and taste were both very citrus forward (must have been loads of Citra hops used in this one). Beer was full and creamy with a much fuller mouthfeel than what I am accustomed to with IPAs. Very tasty at only 4.6%

 

Apologies for the multiple posts...two picture per post limit is making this challenging. Here are interior shots of the Blackfriar.

Good day, sir

 

Ended the day at the Caxton Bar in our hotel. The SOE used the hotel as their headquarters during WWII, Churchill used to frequent it, and the Cambridge Five used to meet their Russian Handlers here. The beer was Fuller's London Pride, and it was utterly forgettable. Light copper, tan head and strong AAL vibes. Not much of a nose, and taste was thin and meh.

 

Great seeing everyone's beer tastings on their travels. I've been taking advantage of the fall weather to get some stuff done around the house and finally made it back to NBW. I'm happy to report that with Todd's instructions for posting photos from the BA discord, I'm a curmudgeon no more--at least on that front; I still am on pretty much everything else.

I've been slowly finishing off my summer beer purchases and am looking forward to getting into my falls beers next weekend.

[Side note: I used to drink brown ales, porters, and stouts right through the summer, but with the decline in variety for those styles (I don't like pastry stouts and tend to stay away from BA stouts due to the high ABV and often large bottles) I've been on a pale lager kick this summer. I certainly now see why folks like them so much and have come to appreciate the subtleties of pale malt and the wonderful aromas of noble hops.]

For now though, only one new beer for the week:

Jack's Abby Czech Pale 11°
4.2% Czech pale lager



Pours a straw yellow with a two-finger white head that dissipates quickly.

Aromas of bread dough and floral hops fresh off the pour, becoming more pronounced as the beer warms. There was also a hint of lemon zest that disappeared with the head.

As another reviewer mentioned, there is a surprising amount of hop bitterness at the start of the sip that, for me, lingers throughout and becomes more pronounced again near the finish. In between this bitterness, there are somewhat subtle expressions of pale malt: cracker, white bread with honey, biscuit, bread dough. As expected, the malt characteristics hit their stride as the beer warms. There is a good bit of malt sweetness from the double decoction to balance out the Saaz hops, but I'm not picking up anything from the open fermentation. The hops come to the fore again with a floral, peppery finish.

The finish is sem-dry with floral notes lingering on the aftertaste. Light-bodied and smooth, but with fairly high, fine carb that backs off just before it becomes unpleasant for the first half of the beer. As it has some time to sit, the carb quiets down and is more more drinkable.

This is my first Czech-style pale lager (as opposed to Czech Pils) so I can't speak to how it compares to style. For my taste, I prefer pale lagers a bit heavier on the malt with less hop bitterness than this one. Overall, though, another good pale lager from JA that gets better the longer it sits in the glass.

 

Apologies for the multiple posts!?!?? @Roy_Hobbs

Make us feel like we’re over there with you and keep ‘em coming

I’ll join you all a little bit later today.

 

Just got back from my kids’ soccer tourney. They are really tuckered out, so I’ve planted them in front of the TV with a late lunch/early supper. My son’s team was kind of stacked and they won gold handily. It’s a recreational under-7 house league. I think they should have switched up some players earlier in the season to make today a little more fun for everyone. My daughter’s team was a girl down all day, and finished a respectable 2-2. She scored twice and was quite proud of the accomplishment. Hot dogs and face painting rounded out the event.

My reward for shuttling back and forth between games since 9 AM? Angry Chair Apple Brandy Barrel Select French Toast.



Pours a viscous, deep dark brown with minimal head that dissipates to nothing in seconds.

The nose is sweet maple, boozy wood and a hint of vanilla.

The taste is a little more complex. The apple brandy barrel cuts through to open the proceedings. Maple follows with a little candied apple. It’s sweet, but not too sweet.

The body is lighter than expected. Medium. Slightly boozy.

This is nice. I’m trying to work through some stuff that has been languishing in the cellar. I’m guessing this has mellowed slightly since when fresh. That is fine by me. I’m looking forward to the other ones that were in this set.

Cheers!

 

Hello New Beer Weekend!!!

On the road today headed to Lake of the Woods for some fishing tomorrow. Right now we're on a pit stop at Bemidji Brewing for a beer or 2.

New Beer, and new to the system.

Riverfestbier - Festbier - 4.4% ABV

The biggest surprise with this beer is how it feels. It is a lighter, yet so full bodied. Tons of flavor from the malts, and a hint of sweetness. There will be a couple of crawlers coming out of here of it.

Review

https://www.beeradvocate.com/beer/profile/30017/671919/

3.92/5 rDev 0%
look: 4.25 | smell: 3.5 | taste: 4 | feel: 4.25 | overall: 4
On tap at the source

Beautiful clear golden pour. The head is white. Decent retention. Great lacing on the glass.
Grain biscuit aroma. Hint of sweetness, like honey. Light aroma.
The beer has a ton of flavor. Lots of malty grain in it. Biscuit is the main flavor, lots of cereal. Hint of sweetness.
The beer is light, yet,has a very full body.
This is damn good.

I will return for more later from the resort.

 

Awesome on the kiddos accomplishments today that is really neat, all our activities were cancelled for this washout of a weekend.

PS...that is a nice label...

 

@Roy_Hobbs I heartily second this, keep the posts coming!

Been craving an IPA after going Festbier/märzen heavy. Not quite sure this hit the mark I was wanting, but it was decent.

Golden Road - Ride On 5 Hop Citrus



Purchased at local grocer for $3

Best by 10.11.23

Poured at fridge temp into my Pretentious-adjacent glass

Pours hazy with a large and loose foam head. 3.75

Mostly herbal and earthy hops, a tiny bit of citrusy dank mix in there too. 3.75

Big pine and resin, followed by some citrus punch. I get orange, grapefruit, some lemon and pineapple core. 4

Fairly dry finish and moderate carbo, good but nothing standout/noticeable. 3.75

Overall it was decent but think I was searching for something a bit different. 3.75

Cheers!

 

Beautiful day at the lake, pregaming before Notre Dame/OSU, which is kind of a big deal here in Northern Indiana - we live about 10 minutes from Notre Dame Stadium, but are an hour away here at the lake, and there’s actually a lot of OSU fans here because we’re maybe 15 minutes from the Indiana/Ohio state line, so the campground is gonna be hopping.

One and done tonight, I was in Boston this week for work, but didn’t have an opportunity to visit this iconic brewery, something I hope to correct on a future visit. Let’s do this.





4.35/5 rDev +0.5%
look: 4.25 | smell: 4.25 | taste: 4.5 | feel: 4.25 | overall: 4.25
Pours a very hazy orange color with a beautiful, fluffy white head that provides the expected TH lacing (it coats the glass). Looks delicious in the glass. The nose has some nice citrus notes and LOADS of juicy peaches, which is no surprise.

It is a bit surprising how well all of that peach works with the citrus flavors on the taste, and it’s the slightly sweet oat flavor at the back of the palate that helps this delightful beer avoid Cloyingville, with an assist from the soft, pillowy mouthfeel.

Another winner from the hazy masters, IMHO.

 

Kinn Bryggeri Slatteol. A Belgian farmhouse ale. Acquired in Norway by my uncle, who I am splitting this beer with. The look is beautiful golden sunflower yellow. Pristine. It has a tall light-white cloud covering. The smell is yeasty lemon, white bread, a bit of lime, cracker, and butter. The flavor is strong with tart lemon, yeast, butter, cream, and vanilla. The mouthfeel is creamy, smooth, light, and crisp, with a slightly bitter aftertaste. Overall, this is wonderful beer. A great representation of the style.

 

Thanks.

Despite the Blue Jays being in a tight wildcard race, sports radio here is about 75% talking about your Leafs intra-squad scrimmages the last couple days…. You’d love it!

 

Thanks for opening the Weekend and continuing reports from your travels @WunderLlama ! I'm going to join @kp7 with a review of a Jack's Abby offering. My weekend theme are two gift beers, also collaborations between Jack's Abby out in Massachusetts and Goldfinger sitting in the far western Chicago suburbs (Downers Grove). One each canned by the two, starting with the local canning today, my final can from awesome local Beer Advocate Jake @brewskis

Goldfinger & Jack's Abby Dortmunder Lager



Can Notes: Gift can received 6/9 from Jake @brewskis , refrigerated until opening today. 16 oz canned 5/8/23, 5.8% ABV. Collaboration between Jack's Abby and Goldfinger brewed and packaged by Goldfinger Brewing Company, Downers Grove, Illinois. Dortmunder-Style Export Lager: Bready. Crisp. Bold.

Water in Dortmund contained high levels of calcium and sulfate leading to pronounced hop character. We brewed our take on this style with our friends at Jack's Abby.

Appearance: Slow poured the first half of the glass into a tall slender pilsner glass. Golden clear straw base, steady carbonation throughout, bright white generous head leaves clumpy lacing and significant soapy cover over the base after several minutes of pouring and settling. 4.5

Aroma: Pepper salty cracker and freshly cut grass my primary aroma flavors, smells great. 4.25

Taste: Barley malt takes the lead here, like barley soup. Still getting the aroma notes in and out. I believe this is to style, being my first go with this particular style. Works well, despite my aversion to malt styles. 3.75

Mouthfeel: Light, clean and crisp. Easy drinking, lighter than the ABV. Malt leads, but enough hop presence to keep me interested. Barley salty cracker finish. 3.75

Overall: I typically don't select malt type styles, but glad I was gifted this beer. Like the hops presence, wish the aroma taste lead as well. Reading the style notes, this beer is consistent and is enjoyable. Overall, solid selection, thank you Jake! 3.75

Have a Polish Lager on tap for tomorrow from @FBarber which I am looking forward to enjoying.

 

That is amazing haha and yes I would! Best time of year is right around the corner, heck, I’m excited for Monday night.

 

Folks - I have an old beer. I bought it for a buck. In fact I bought two of em. One about a year ago was oxidized and a drain pour… this isn’t.

Victory - Baltic thunder think it was ‘08



It’s a sharp, punchy malt body balanced against a very accessible malt bill. Sweet, sugary, malty. Clean. Really tasty stuff. I got lucky. Don’t buy 15 year old beer. But if you do maybe gamble on this? I dunno

Cheers!