New Beer Weekend #181

I shall look away!

 

Good evening all! Hope the day has been good to everyone.
I normally have one beer a day for a few reasons, but today I am having two- mostly because my first wasn’t what I thought it would be. So I needed something definite:

Now *that’s* what I’m talking about!
Look at this beer, just beautiful with the tall, mocha colored head and light blocking stout black liquid, looking good.
The taste, I think it’s likely morphed a little in the last couple of years, I got tons of molasses and coffee and fudge and dark fruits to be named later, but no coconut. It’s almost, but not quite, pastry stout sweet. And it’s really, really good.
The feel is mouth filling with viscous goodness, this is a sipper, and the body almost insists on that.
OA, if I see this on the shelf I will buy it again, and not sit on it for two years next time.
Cheers all, this is my nightcap.

 

Anthem Brewing Hunting For The Sun Imperial Stout aged in Bourbon Barrels for17 months, 11,0% ABV; 4.41 overall

Pours an effervescent chestnut/mahogany with a sliver of fast-falling mocha colored head. Minimal head retention & lacing, viscous

S: Molasses. dark fruit, coconut, Bourbon & Vanilla once warm

T: Follows the nose, Bourbon & dark chocolate up front, some vanilla, & a little bit of woody hops. A touch of hazelnut, caramel & milk chocolate comes through as this beer warms up, along with leafy hops, a touch of oaky booze too, some coconut presence as well. Finishes with Carob, dark chocolate, oaky barrel rawness & some treacle

MF: Chewy, low carbonation, warming. Becomes silky luxurious as this beer warms up

A best from these guys IMHO, this hits all the notes, flavor starts to come through once near room temperature & just expands

 

I was going to review this beer tomorrow, but as you often accomplish, your review is enticing me to savor the beer more quickly than I originally anticipated. So I shall wait no longer.

 

Hubbard's Cave - Coco Van

16oz can served in a stemmed pilsner glass. Can says PKG 080222. Bought it at the brewery last May.

Pours black with a small ring of rich tan colored head, small, thin island in the middle. Smell is Mexican chocolate, cinnamon spiciness. Definite coconut notes. Smells sweet.

Taste is coconut, chocolate, cinnamon, and generalized sweetness.

Mouthfeel is thick and chewy. Overall...it's not bad, but I don't love it.

 

Today marks 20 years on Beer Advocate for me, how about another beer?

Summit Saga Imperial IPA

Appearance: Clear amber, good head, nice carbonation bubbles.

Smell: Grapefruit, mild sweetness.

Taste: Starts with some sweetness, then hits with some old school grapefruit and citrus bitterness. Retains a balance between sweetness and bitterness throughout. Medium bodied.

Overall: A 12 pack of double IPA for $16 is pretty good value these days. Summit's got a pretty good old school style DIPA, with a good mix of sweetness and citrus bitterness. Solid beer.

 

Are they a gypsy brewery?

 

Saw this the other day and passed on it. Your review has convinced me to pick some up next time I'm at that bottle shop.

 

https://www.beeradvocate.com/beer/profile/44979/654904/

Poured a375ml can into a tulip. A one finger head soon diminishes to a thin layer. A cloudy deep peach. Some patchy lacing.
Fruit smells. Strawberry.
The taste is fruit forward. Complex fruit flavours. Berries. Strawberry dominates.
Light body. Good carbonation.
An interesting and refreshing dry hopped sour.

3.75|4|3.75|3.75|3.75

 

Good Morning and welcome one and all to New Beer Sunday #985!

Back with a beer I am really looking forward to, from a brewery I don't believe I've had a chance to try before.

Hair of the Dog Matt



Bottle Notes: Obtained via trade from Dave, @beergoot on Beer Advocate, on May 12, refrigerated thereafter until this morning. Vintage 2022, 12 oz bottle, 11.5% ABV, bottle conditioned commemorative ale. Brewed and bottled by Hair of the Dog Brewing Company, Portland Oregon.

Matt VandenBerghe and Matt Bonney personify the spirit and dedication that has helped American brewing become the vibrant industry it is today. This final bottling is a tribute to their support and friendship. Made with various dark malts, smoked grains and candi sugar, it has notes of apple, chocolate and gratitude. Alan Sprints, Brewmaster

Appearance: Full bottle poured into a snifter. Completely still pour, a few bubbles of carbonation emerging from the near black dark brown base, and that is it. Never seen this before, all impacts of bottle conditioning AWOL. 3.75

Aroma: First impressions cold are plums and raisins. This one stayed very cold long after pulling, so cupped for a while and the aroma stayed the same, light to mild in strength, sweet in nature. 3.5

Taste: Now that it's warm, this is near identical to drinking a red wine, strictly sweet malt like a barleywine without further complexity, or any of the bottle tasting notes beyond gratitude. 3.75

Mouthfeel: Creamy, rich full body, near syrupy. I would have appreciated even light carbonation to provide some backbone. Drinks strong, at or above the ABV. Sweet, just red wine at this point including through the lightly dry finish. 3.75

Overall: I've never had a completely still beer, and also never a strong or barleywine ale like this. If I drank out of a sippy cup and didn't pour it myself, I would have guessed this was wine, not beer. All that said, I am enjoying drinking this as I like red wine, and have gratitude for this and other trade bounty from Dave. Glad I pulled this one today to celebrate Orthodox Christmas! 3.75

The next two editions of New Beer Sunday will emerge from Las Vegas Nevada, and could be any type of beer from any local, regional or international brewery. I like experiencing Vegas in this manner. Have a great beer Sunday!

 

On the topic of “Italian pils” @TongoRad keep an eye out for Tonewood’s called Moped it is quite tasty.

Really neat and unique orangey citrus pop, big hop presence that doesn’t inhibit drinkability, very refreshing.

Only knock would be the excessive abv for a pils of 5.8%, if brought down I bet it would be even brighter.

 

Matt is my favorite Hair of the Dog beer, so a quick glance at the numbers in your post had me initially mildly disappointed. Although we all (or most of us?) know everyone has a different palate that prefers different things, it's weird how we can sometimes want to see others find the same enjoyment we did in something.

Anyhow, I decided to check my rating (4.5+) and review (from 2019) and found we had more similar notes than expected - though it would seem I found the beer to be more complex and/or have more nuance than you did. Might be some batch variance, as well. I was able to pick up some of the 2022 batch back when they closed, and while I still loved it, I don't recall the pure enjoyment of that original tasting. Then again, it isn't a completely uncommon occurrence that it's the combined experience and product that makes the tasting.

Anyhow, I rambled more than intended. Cheers!

 

Poured into a 16 oz tulip glass canned on 12/29/23. Pours a very attractive hazy yellow with a solid finger plus sticky white head that leaves thin streaks of lace with nice retention. 4.25

Aroma is peach, mandarin, pear, white grape, mango, and apricot. 4

Taste follows peach, mandarin, pear, white grape, mango, and apricot. 4

Mouthfeel is average, gentle carbonation, not sticky or dry, and at 8% ABV it goes down very easy. 4.25

Overall this is solid, but nothing stands out. Worth a shot, but for me not memorable. 4 Cheers all.

 

Innis and Gunn Original
https://www.beeradvocate.com/beer/profile/10272/525875/

Poured a 330ml bottle into a tulip. A one finger fine light tan head on a clear amber. Excellent head retention. Lots of fine lacing.
An initial waft of whisky is apparent on opening. Grainy malt smells.
Malt forward. The whisky notes are less prominent in the taste. Vanilla. Toffee. Caramel finish. More caramel as it warms.
Creamy texture. Very smooth. Light body and medium carbonation.
A fine and unique Scottish Ale. Well worth a try.

4.25|3.75|4|3.75|4

 

Good Sunday morning and thanks to @AzfromOz for the delightful start to this weeks event.
Well we finally got snow here in the 413, and its lovely to be inside on a Sunday watching the snow fall.Tomorrow working outside will change my thinking.
Todays offering from Poland is a very good, straight no frills Barleywine.
Excellent texture, flavors and aromatics.
The back label has a flavor projection for up to 36 months, as this one is at 24 ish, they certainly are correct in thier suggestion

Cheers all

Komes Barleywine

English Barleywine | 12% ABV
Browar Fortuna in Miłosław, Poland

Reviewed by SABERG from Massachusetts

4.21/5 rDev +3.4% | Average: 4.07
look: 4 | smell: 4.25 | taste: 4.25 | feel: 4 | overall: 4.25
Poured from a 2022 vintage 500 ml bottle into the test glass.
A - Beautiful red/brown color, nice clarity allows for a look inside. Gently carbonated, so a thin rng resides during the experience. A sheen hangs on the glass as you tip the glass, sign of sweet or viscosity.
S - Bread pudding, toffee, brown sugar, orange marmalade, hint of tobacco and fig.
T - Toffee, and oddly a bit of pine, again an orange marmalade element, then with some time spent, more dark bready threads with brown sugar, hint of vanilla
M - A bit slick but not bad, sweet start moves toward center, with an almost dry finish. There is an obvious 12% alcohol exhale.
O - A very good barleywine with plenty of depth. Pleasant on the palate and full of flavor.
I appreciate the back label that illustrates the brewers projection of flavor over a 36 month storage.

 

No. I got this in my Beer Drop subscription. Beer Drop has broadened my horizons.