New Beer Weekend #194

Oh, Sure, from Land Grant, thanks to NBS BIF #18 and the generosity of @ovaltine.

12oz can served in a footed pilsner glass. Appears to be dated 24-03-12.

Pours mostly clear, about a finger of dense head, lots of active carbonation. Smell is tropical with some melon and melon rind, maybe some bubble gum.

Taste is following the same script, adds in some juicy sweetness and a nice rind bitterness, bubble gum pops out at the nose more when I drink it.

Mouthfeel is light, quite prickly. Overall, very nice beer.

 

Good evening NBW
Metazoa can make an excellent lager. Our distribution from far away Indianapolis is not great, but I took a chance on an undated single.

Mortal Wombat

16oz undated can poured into a pokal glass at fridge temp 5.4% ABV 40 IBU per label. The beer pours mostly bright very light amber with nearly white head. The head recedes to a rocky cap and leaves patches of lacing behind on the glass. Aroma is mild with soft, sweet pils malt and floral hops. The taste is bittersweet pale male with mineral and grassy flavors. Moderate bitterness. The mouthfeel is thin bodied with average carbonation and a mostly dry finish. Overall, crisp and delicious.

Cheers all!

 

#2, this is a big one (TWSS) from @snaotheus and NBS BIF #18.



4.5/5 rDev +4.2%
look: 4.5 | smell: 4.5 | taste: 4.5 | feel: 4.5 | overall: 4.5
Pours a dark mahogany brown color and settles pure black in the glass with a voluptuous, creamy tan head that settles and forms a lingering cap on the body of the beer. Absolutely beautiful BA imperial stout.

The first note I get on the nose is stone fruit (plums!) and decadent milk chocolate, with oak and bourbon following, and a bit of toffee for good measure. I am slobbering on myself.

That plum flavor is forward on the taste, with a big dollop of milk chocolate and rich toffee following, and the oak and bourbon at the back of the palate with a hefty alcohol warming settling in the chest - but it doesn’t drink as big as a 14% ABV beer, if that makes sense.

The mouthfeel is dense and creamy, perfect for a beer of this magnitude. This is SOOOO well executed - it should be a felony to make a beer this good.

 

New beer #2 today
This is a leftover from my gifted Costco calendar box in a style I don't love.


500mL can stamped EXP 2025/03 poured into a mug at fridge temp 7.1% ABV 25 IBU per label. The beer pours mostly bright light amber with off white head. The head recedes to a thin ring and single layer of bubbles. Aroma is mild with sweet malt, clove and orchard fruit. The taste is semisweet wheat malt with big clove influences and mild bitterness. Mouthfeel is thin to medium bodied with average carbonation and a semi dry finish. Overall, a hard style for me to appreciate. Probably a better example of it's style than most of the other beers in the Costco calendar.

That's it for me today. Cheers all!

 

Good evening NBW. Drying out here before the next rain. House puttering again. Too wet to run the tractor around and pick up the fallen branches. Partaking in the sports-a-thon...Bruins, Final Four, Red Sox if I make it that far...

In the glass is a 13.3% brew I grabbed a couple weeks ago. No date anywhere but definitely a candidate for Cellaruary...2030 maybe.



Weyerbacher Insanity - the barrel-aged version of Blithering Idiot that used to be common around here but one I have not seen recently.

It isn't the prettiest pour. A bit murky and chestnut wood stain brown. I did have a finger or so of that tan head but it pretty much dissapears immediately. A very thin ring of Itty bitty bubbles remains. Liquid does sheet the glass nicely.

Rich malts, drunken dark fruit fairly hefty in cherry, toffee/caramel and brown sugar. Very nice layer of barrel characteristics- oaky, pretty good level of sweet vanilla, whatever whisk(e)y may have occupied the barrels.

The taste follows - flavor waves crashing. This isn't subtle. Robust and sweet malty goodness. Toffee and brown sugar, not so much caramel. The fruit comes to the front more and is mainly cherry with some raisins and dates. Oaky and spicy phenolics weave through, whiskey and vanilla come and go. Minimal bitterness. Alcohol isn't shy but it's not super hot - mildly warming.

The feel is smooth, a little sticky, dry finish. A little above medium viscosity.

I'm in a happy place on this one - it's just hitting right. Spot on for the style. No nonsense, straightforward, nicely layered. North of the 4.0 line for sure. I'll be buying more.

 

here's the pic

 

Wow everybody's drinking in style this weekend.

This is courtesy of my BiF partner @2beerdogs . Pretty tasty IPA that I'm sharing with my buddies. Cheers all!

NBW https://imgur.com/gallery/tH9wYjY

 

Mystery NBS BIF#18 from @FBarber




No clue about this other than it was a sour with some weird nuttyness

It is in fact a Hidden Springs Ale Works Man Child Peanut butter & Jelly Inspired Sour Ale w/Grape & Blackberry, 5.2% ABV; 3.53 overall



Pours they hazed orange/pink with rapidly falling beige head, there are floaties in this. Zero head retention and lacing

S: Fruit punch grapefruit, and nuttiness once warm

T; Hibiscus tea citrus and fruit punch very dry up front. Some pomegranates notes and jamminess as a spear worms and fruit punch and nuttiness. Finish is nutty and dry with some jamminess and fruit punch sweetness

MF: Medium body low carbonation acidic notes with enamel clinging stickiness

Such a strange beer; not easy to drink this definitely was not my jam

 

Closer for today. I wanted a bottle, and picked one out, and saw it was a 15% beer. I was not sure, but the next one was 18%, so I went with the 15% one. This is the final @Whyteboar beer of the day and it's a cracking beer.


Crushing Mass - 3 Floyd's Brewing - American Imperial Stout - 15.1% ABV

DAMN! Amazing is all I can say about this. This beer is highly recommended, and I am so happy and thankful it was sent to me. Thank you Craig!!!!

Review:
https://www.beeradvocate.com/beer/profile/26/574288/


4.59/5 rDev +4.3%
look: 4.5 | smell: 4.25 | taste: 4.75 | feel: 5 | overall: 4.5
From a 12oz bottle. Bottled in 2023. I let it warm up for about 45 minutes.

Nice hiss and a bit of smoke upon opening the bottle. This beer is pitch black pouring. It looks thick when pouring into the glass. The head is brown in color, and 1 1/2 finger in size. Not long lasting, but, considering the ABV, pretty good. The head dissipates to a ring around the glass with no lacing.
The aroma of this beer is very boozy. I get a very powerful, yet pleasing barrel aroma. I get lots of vanilla, caramel, chocolate, toffee, and dark fruit. I also get a faint hint of coffee.
Taste is very powerful. I get a good coffee hit right away, and it lingers. There's also so much caramel, chocolate and toffee in this beer. The dark fruit and vanilla finish this beer off.
This beer is THICK feeling. Very smooth. Very full bodied. The amazing thing is there's no burn. How is this possible? Even without the burn, you know it's a sipper because of the full body.
This beer is very top notch and world class. A pleasure to try.


See you all down the road.

 

This sounds incredible. Hope they still have some on sale this Summer!

Yes, it was my favorite for both their beer and the spot itself including the staff and patrons. Still looking forward to checking out ISM Brewing and a few other places downtown I've neglected over the years due to mostly just parking myself at LB Beachwood and enjoying the afternoon/evening.

This was a one time drop, both cans (undated except for one, hoping they are fresh) and cask for the mid March cask competition. I'll be staying near Amber for part of my long weekend, so hope to hit their two locations later this month.

Hope to see you either at Hop Butcher or somewhere that way, same with Charlie, Jake, perhaps others. Cheers!

 

Fremont Brew 7000—preliminary review below (still working on the beer, might have minor revisions). Cheers!

4.28/5 rDev -4.5%
look: 4 | smell: 4 | taste: 4.5 | feel: 4.25 | overall: 4.25
22oz bottle into a tulip. Pours a murky mahogany brown with a minimal head, leaves behind a sugary coating on the inside of the glass if I tilt it.

Aroma is a blend of brown sugar and sour cherries, instantly giving me flashbacks of a recent bad bottle of 2016 So Happens It’s Tuesday but I’d be surprised if Fremont released an infected beer, I don’t think I’ve had one from them yet. Mostly molasses and caramel, some vanilla.

Taste thankfully has none of the sourness I thought I’d detected on the nose. No, this beer is heavy on the sugars, unapologetically so. Brown sugar, caramel, molasses, toffee, vanilla—a sticky bun in a glass. Rum-soaked figs and dates.

Mouthfeel is chewy and sticky. Nice boozy warmth on the finish.

Overall another great Brew X000 release from Fremont.

 

SUPERBOWL SQUARES payout from @bwhit Thanks!

Kane Sneak BOX APA, 5.4% ABV; 4.16 overall

Pours a haze gold with a pinky of cream colored head. Nice head retention and lacing

S; Citrus and tropical fruit wish the nose was better

T: Follows the nose some dryness lime and green melon. Tangerine and lime, some green melon and a little pineapple as this beer warms up. Dryness tangerine, pineapple and a little green melon in the finish

MF: Medium body with slight carbonation, carbonation picks up as this beer warms up. Nice balance

Easy to drink, nice flavor

 

Hit up the singles section at The grocery store and decided I need to try one from Equilibrium. There wasn’t a date code but it looks like this is fairly new to the brewery’s lineup, so it shouldn’t be very old.

Look - 4.5 Smell - 3.75 Taste - 4.5 Feel - 4.25 Overall 4.25

This one poured an orange gold body with a one finger white head and had great lacing. Initial aromas of pineapple and orange that quickly faded. The first thing I noticed on the taste was apricot, with orange and then a lingering citrus tang. Mouthfeel was medium with some syrupy texture and very delicate, fine carbonation. Really enjoyed this one! Keep shipping them down here, Equilibrium.

 

It's a solid beer, I drank a can of it last night.

 

I’m working this weekend but thankfully the hotel’s brewery has a decent new offering.

Faithless IPA
On tap at the brewery.
Honey, to light, gold and hue, only slightly opaque. Solid white heads, rises to fingers or so, and then settles into a thin film. Clumpy lacing.
Nose is a nice blend of grass, hints of onions, a dab of weed and a light malt note.
Flavor is more subdued but definitely following through with the same notes.
Mouthfeel is just shy of medium. Good carbonation with a smooth, balanced bitter finish.
3.69/5 rDev 0%
look: 3.75 | smell: 3.5 | taste: 3.75 | feel: 3.75 | overall: 3.75

 

Hello denizens of NBW!
Had a couple new beers today, and a few not so new but really potent beers too.
This one was in between New Holland’s Triple Mash and Goose Island’s Bananas Foster.

(The Infinity gauntlet is a cool bottle opener!)
But the beer. Should have had this one first but my friend was anxious to try the Triple Mash. So our palates might have been compromised.
The brewery description postulates that this is a decadent dessert stout. Neither of us got sweet or particularly smooth. It was like a no frills stout and that’s fine with me. It was enjoyable and made more so by sharing it with a friend.
Cheers!