New Beer Weekend #210

Schell's Northland Gold

Appearance: Clear gold, big head.

Smell: Very nice fresh bread/bakery smell.

Taste: Mildly sweet to start, then the fresh bread kicks in with a nice balancing kick of grassy and slightly herbal hops. Medium bodied, a little syrupy.

Overall: Part of the Schell mix pack, this was a nice surprise. Schell makes good-to-great lagers so not too surprising, I suppose! Really great aroma and good taste, gets a little too Grain Belt-syrupy in the finish, but solid. I'll have to keep an eye out for 6 or 12 packs.

 

Komes Barleywine


Serving Temp. 53.9*F
Copper with a 1/2" tan head, fades to a wisp. Moderate lacing. Aroma is malty, caramel, toffee, vanilla. An intense maltiness on the palate, caramel, toffee, raisin, vanilla. Full body, light carbonation. Sticky, semisweet finish. A damn good Barleywine. The Poles know how to brew beer!

L: 4 / S: 4.25 / T: 4.25 / F: 4 / OA: 4
4.16/5 rDev +2.2%

 

Love the name of this beer; reads quite tasty too one of those breweries I really hope to visit one of these days.

 

Sierra Nevada — Cool Little Thing

It looks like an old-fashioned IPA — the dark orange beer with the big off-white head.
It smells like one too — hops and dank.
The taste is exotic hops, like craft IPAs circa 2015.
The mouthfeel is velvety rich full-bodied IPA.
Overall nice, not hazy, well-balanced IPA, but it is somewhat heavy, especially for the summer.

 

Trendler Hefeweizen
Tired Hands Brewing Company
5.2%


I added this beer to BA yesterday thanks to a trade with @Braunmeister_1943. Thanks Dave!

Poured from a twelve ounce can, the body was a slightly hazy yellow with large fluffy white head. Excellent lacing.

The aroma was standard Hefeweizen, a style I enjoy in warmer months, with the expected light banana and clove.

Taste follows nose but adds a citrus flavor so it tasted like a lemon slice was added as is customary in some places. I normally do not add lemons to my Hefs, but it was a nice addition on the beautiful summer night we were gifted yesterday. Despite the citrus, the wheat base was still shouldering the taste.

Mouthfeel was good. The carbonation was quite strong on pour, but did not feel overly carbonated when drinking.

A very nice take on the style that I might mix in the summer rotation if available here. Would be interested in sampling from tap.

 

At Icewind Brewing in Mapleton, ND, and enjoying this

Hop Tub Time Machine - American IPA - 6%

Delicious. Not as hoppy and bitter as I would like in the style, but tasty.
https://www.beeradvocate.com/beer/profile/60622/539350/
3.67/5 rDev -1.1%
look: 4 | smell: 3.75 | taste: 3.5 | feel: 3.75 | overall: 3.75
On tap at the brewery.
This beer is a mostly clear pouring beer and golden in color. There's a white head.
Nice mellow hop aroma. Some tropical notes and some hints of pine.
The flavor I'd somewhat mellow, but is hoppy. There's a pine character up front. The backside has a bit of a tropical flair. There's a lingering of the bitterness.
There's a slight sticky feeling to this beer. The hop bitterness lingers a bit.
While not an extreme hop bitter bomb, it is a delicious beer.

Be back more from North Dakota.

 

Fair Isle Leila, 5.0% ABV, Saison.

Notes from the brewer: Leilia is a saison brewed with Purple Egyptian barley grown by Palouse Heritage in Endicott, WA. Created with ingredients farmed and foraged in the Pacific Northwest. Fermented with our house blend of wild and feral yeasts and bacterias. In the tradition of saisons, we recommend drinking this beer fresh.



Pours with a touch of haze, golden/amber color. A dense white head rises to over two fingers. Excellent retention, and lacing for days. This is a looker.
Aroma is a bit dusty/musty. Earthy hay, and cut grass. With some fruity esters of apples, and light lemon.
Taste wise, I wouldn't call this full on "funk" per se, but again a light dusty/musty character. That mingles with the fruity esters of apples. Lemony, grassy and earthy. Toasted cereal/malts are in there, but light. There is a lingering drying tartness that is really enjoyable, and everything is so well balanced.
A medium body that is well carbonation. Crisp, and finishes pleasantly dry. Which all leads to something that is very enjoyable, and very moreish. I can drink a lot of this with ease.

A really good, and all around well done example of a Saison. Beautiful balance, plenty of wonderful yeast characteristics. Highly recommended, and that should be expected from this brewery. They are consistently one of the better American Saison makers I have come across.

Overall score is 4.17, easy A- and maybe should be scored a bit higher than that...
https://www.beeradvocate.com/beer/profile/57519/477337/?ba=champ103#lists

Weather permitting, I might make it to Equal Parts tomorrow, for another Sunday afternoon ha. They have a new smoked lager I want to try out. It has been raining a ton though, roads might be a bit flooded trying to get other there Will see...

 

Dogs walked early, helped my wife clean out the kitchen cabinets, now watching Olympics.
New beer for today is Insane Rush, an IPA from Bootstrap Brewing in Colorado with ABV of 7.6%.
Amber color. Thick, sticky off-white head that leaves plenty of lace.
Caramel aroma, faint earthy hops.
Mostly caramel taste, late peppery taste.
Medium-bodied.

 

At Junkyard Brewing in West Fargo, ND. This is their second location after their place in Moorhead, MN.

Enjoying the hell out of this.

Simacoe - Imperial IPA- 8.5%

Damn good. I love this new spot for them. I love this beer.
https://www.beeradvocate.com/beer/profile/31764/164203/
4.15/5 rDev -2.6%
look: 4.25 | smell: 4.25 | taste: 4 | feel: 4.25 | overall: 4.25
On tap at the brewery. West Fargo location.
Clear golden pouring beer. There's a white head and some lacing on the glass.
Aromais quite strong and it is hop based. I get a good pine aroma and a hint of dank.
There's a lot of hops here. The pine starts it off. There's a dank backside. I am not the biggest dank fan, but it is restrained here. There is some bitterness, but not extreme.
Resin feeling. Clingy. Full bodied.
Damn good, and good to style

Be back later for more at Drekker.

 

Now at Drekker on Fargo, and wow!

Good Company - Helles - 4.8%

Light, biscuit, and refreshing.
https://www.beeradvocate.com/beer/profile/37051/711054/

3.77/5 rDev 0%
look: 4 | smell: 3.75 | taste: 3.75 | feel: 3.75 | overall: 3.75
On tap at the brewery.
Clear golden pouring beer with a bit of a white head.
The aroma is a smooth cereal.
So much grain in the flavor. The cereal just builds.
Smooth, grainy body. Light.
Tasty and easy drinking.

See you later today. Cheers!

 

That is a beautiful beer! Hope all is well!

 

I am still venturing deep into the cellar, trying to keep a rotation. As I was doing this, I realized that I had bought too much beer in the past. It is the plight for the day. I started today with two Bottle Shop Series: Highball Drifter (which needed a bit more depth in the malt department, IMHO) and Nemesis, a lovely American Barleywine. I am unsure what I will drink next from Founders; I still have a few to drink from them.

 

Enjoyed catching up with the thread before embarking on this Scottish selection for my international beer weekend. Two comments first.

• I haven't tried a Bitburger Pils (or any others) yet @JackHorzempa but I'm inspired to pick up a single or four pack and dive in after I work through my current stash of new beers.
• @Beersnake - When I saw your Bottle Logic haul, I became very curious as to how they brew beyond imperial stouts. I am glad the first one this weekend was a winner!

I've come across this on tap lists in the past, but for whatever reason did not pull the trigger. Bottles at Woodman's finally had me make the jump last Sunday. This is only my second formal English Stout review; and away we go.

Harviestoun Brewery Ltd. Old Engine Oil

4.29/5 rDev +3.9%
look: 4.25 | smell: 4.5 | taste: 4.25 | feel: 4 | overall: 4.25



Full review linked above. I hesitate at times when I smell a very malty beer, but this one is turning out great. Very strong aroma, taste strong as well and hits a roast malt, caramel, chocolate desert level enjoyment. Think I'd enjoy this with a little cooler weather, but the AC is on, and all is well in my beer cocoon.

Looking forward to an excellent beer triple play tomorrow with my "Prime Time" selection.

 

It’s a @Whyteboar beer reviewing weekend!

Bell’s bba coffee expedition stout


4.28/5 rDev -2.3%
look: 4.25 | smell: 4.25 | taste: 4.25 | feel: 4.5 | overall: 4.25

Brewers notes : Russian imperial stout aged in bourbon barrels with coffee beans. expedition Stout has traveled all around the world, but this adventure takes it to a new place. After making a year-long stop in bourbon barrels, we’ve added a little something to complement the deep, rich notes brought in from those barrels. Enjoy the flavor journey.

Bottled 1.11.24,opened7.26.24

Bottle received from @Whyteboar in a LIF affiliated with bif18 , poured into a snifter

Dark brown black syrupy liquid produces a pencil thick dense brown foam that soon fades to a ring with a few bubbles clinging to the glass walls

Aroma is sweet bourbon whiskey , coffee , whiff of toffee

Taste is subtle sweet bourbon,fresh roasted coffee without the acridic burn lingers on the tongue , slight char , coffee beans on the finish with bourbon

Smooth , thick , luxurious and a well hidden 13.3%abv,

Good beer

 

4.48/5 rDev +0.9%

look: 4.75 | smell: 4.25 | taste: 4.5 | feel: 4.75 | overall: 4.5

2023 vintage- 10.5% abv

Poured from a 750ml bottle into a snifter at 52 degrees.

Look- Black, opaque, dark brown frothy head, above average head retention, average lacing.

Smell- Predominantly vanilla, ancho chili, cacao, cinnamon, medium strength of scent.

Taste- Vanilla, cacao, ancho chili, cinnamon, moderately sweet, mildly spicy, high strength of flavor.

Feel- Between medium and full body, average carbonation, highly silky, moderately sweet, mildly spicy, moderately bitter, moderately creamy, moderately mouth warming.

Overall- Black in color and opaque with not sign of particulate. Bouquet was pleasant, but to dominated by vanilla. The flavor was also vanilla forward, but was much more balanced than the nose. The feel was very creamy and silky with a moderate amount of mouth warming property. Overall this beer provided an excellent and interesting drinking experience, but was not nearly as good as the original.

 

Some of you all sure do make the wide rounds.