New Beer Weekend #230

I’m not sure about the west, but I have seen them quite a lot in the south & east, GA, SC, VA…and yes, a visit to the taproom in Fargo is a must! Cheers

 

Continuing my journey into Fortuna's mixed 4 pack:
Komes Raspberry Porter

Appearance: Black, small head fades out quickly.

Smell: Yes, there's raspberries, nothing else stands out.

Taste: Sweetness up front, then plenty of raspberries. Raspberries, with an undercurrent of chocolate to balance it out. Not overly sweet, medium bodied.

Overall: Of the 4 beers in this mix pack I was most suspicious of this raspberry porter. It's actually pretty good! I don't go for fruit beers but this one seems to work pretty well. I could use a little more chocolate base, but not bad!

Komes Imperial Stout

Appearance: Black, starts with a small head but fizzes out quickly like a soda.

Smell: Boozy, a bit of dark chocolate.

Taste: Boozy start, then continues boozy. Vaguely fruity in the middle, but kind of tart. Just small hints of roasted malt or chocolate. Watery body. Fruity boozy finish.

Overall: Underwhelming and possibly infected? One of the worst imperial stouts I've ever tasted. Just boozy, weirdly fruity tasting. Don't think I'll try anything else from this brewery, this mixed 4 pack was a fiasco.

 

Shiner rarely makes me happy.

 

Loads of stuff to do around the house today, but right now it’s Arsenal and a beer. This is Funky Blender - Pluot from Casey Brewing & Blending. I received this a few years ago from @Dimidiata and am finally getting around to enjoying it.

4.09/5
look: 3.75 | smell: 4 | taste: 4.25 | feel: 4 | overall: 4
Bottled October 25th, 2019

Despite the warning on the bottle that this may gush when opened, this did not have a ton of carbonation on the pour, which I’m guessing is due to its age. Highlight of the appearance is the color of the beer, which is a bright rusty orange that’s quite distinctive.

Aroma has loads of funk and fruit, which largely carries through to the tongue where there are clear notes of apricot, with some plum mixed in. Tart, but not overly so to my well adjusted palate. Light, perfectly carbonated and very tasty.

Overall, really enjoying this.

 

Will do. I visited the Green Cheek location just down the street last time when I drove in for a few days from Vegas. Hope to do that perhaps next Winter / Spring, and stay a night at the Hilton or Residence in so I can enjoy both within stumbling distance.

I love this annual release. Not sure if it changes much from year to year, but my enjoyment of it never changes.

Trader Joe's 2024 Vintage Spiced Ale

4.65/5 rDev +9.4%
look: 4.5 | smell: 4.5 | taste: 4.75 | feel: 4.5 | overall: 4.75



Full review linked above. It's going to be hard to top this offering for the weekend Christmas Holiday Beers tasting. Hitting all cylinders this season. This is the best version by memory. Love that I found this beer during my first Holiday Tasting here, and hope Unibroue and Trader Joe's continues to offer this as long as I am alive to enjoy the Christmas and New Years celebrations.

Going to savor this first 1/3 pour, try to have discipline to keep it corked and enjoy the rest later on today. I may have one more Christmas pour beyond finishing this, but it will be a returning Christmas favorite, so I'll check back later today to see what wonderful selections you are enjoying here.

 

Cocoon Brewing Autumn Emperor. A bourbon barrel-aged stout aged for over 12 months in Barton 1792 Distillery bourbon barrels. 15% ABV. This is the brewery's first barrel-aged stout. The look is eternal black, with no foam, besides a light brown ring on the top. The smell is very much that which is stated on the can, which probably influences my perception. Dark chocolate, tobacco, and leather, but also raisin and cherry. The taste also begins with dark chocolate, tobacco, and leather, but it has a strong bourbon flavor, with vanilla, caramel, and graham cracker. It is very good. The mouthfeel is thick, viscous, silky, smooth, and full, with light-medium carbonation. Overall, this is an impressive first barrel-aged stout from my favorite local brewery. I am excited to see what they will do next.

 

A beautiful Saturday, sunny and warming into the sixties. The dogs have all been walked and I'm sitting down with Glycerin, described as a "sour double india pale ale with raspberry and pineapple." Fifty years ago, when I was just starting my beer journey, I would have laughed at the suggestion that such a beer even existed.
The beer is a hazy dark pink color with a light pink head. No lace.
Aroma of raspberry and pineapple. Very sweet.
Strong raspberry taste, somewhat tart, pineapple. Very sweet.
Medium-bodied. The tartness lingers for some time.



Not a beer I would buy, but one I thoroughly enjoyed.

 

This TDH NEDIPA from Spyglass Brewing with Citra, Rakau, & Nelson 8.3%. Pours a very attractive milky hazy yellow with a 2 finger sticky white head that leaves a thin wall of lace with excellent retention. 4.75

Aroma is orange starburst, peach, pineapple, papaya, white grapes, and apricot. 4.5

Taste follows sticking with orange starburst, pineapple, papaya, peach, white grapes, and apricot very tasty. 4.5

Mouthfeel is on the bigger side, soft gentle almost creamy carbonation, not sticky or dry, and at 8.3% it drinks slightly bigger, but it is still crazy approachable. 4.75

Overall this one is rather impressive. I think it stands out as one of the best they have brewed and they have brewed plenty of gems. 4.5 Cheers all

 

Good to see all the new beer experiences rolling in the past few weeks. I'm back at it today with a new one from the stash @jonphisher sent. Another Tonewood and another beauty. This has been the best of the bunch so far and has a good chance of beating out the last one I have planned for tomorrow. Pretty amazing how they absolutely nailed the style at nearly 2% abv below the BA style guidelines.

Tonewood Still Night
4.0% American Stout



Pours completely opaque black with a two-finger brown head that holds well.

Big aromas of damp earth and wood, with an underlying roast graininess. As it warms, I get more roast coffee and dark chocolate, with some citrus notes as well.

The taste is where this excels. At the start there's that hit of woody and earthy hops again, with a quick shift into medium-roast coffee and semi-dark chocolate. Before the finish there's a final shift into roasted grains, pumpernickel bread, and a hint of citrus before piney bitterness joins in and builds through the aftertaste, which is a bit sticky.

A medium-light body combined with silky smoothness from the oats make this go down real fast.

Overall, this is spot-on, nearly quintessential for the style. The lighter body is a easy tradeoff for keeping this beer at 4%.

 

True New Englander by Trillium


.5/5 rDev +1.8%
look: 4.5 | smell: 4.5 | taste: 4.5 | feel: 4.5 | overall: 4.5

Canned 12.9.24, opened 12.14.24, deliciously fresh !!

Brewers notes: Genuine New Englanders are the type of people who are brave enough to take on a long, snowy shoveling session and lighthearted enough to crack a beer in their lawn chair afterwards. This new Double IPA is brewed for those True Englanders. For this beer, we used the new Sabro Hop from the Pacific Northwest.

Pouring a hazy golden yellow, True Englander swirls unique aromatics of coconut, ripe pineapple, white lily, and stone fruit. Full flavored tropical tones of piña coladas, lychee and key lime pie grace the palate underpinned by fresh tangerine, papaya and white nectarine. Medium bodied with a luscious and creamy mouthfeel, True Englander has a balanced and smooth finish.

Chilled pint poured into a trillium class. Three finger off-white creamy foam cap over a pale, orange hazy liquid. Good cloaking lacings.

Fragrant pineapple on the pour, get the white lily and some lime

Taste is pineapple and coconut, a little bit of tangerine on the finish

Soft, smooth mouth feel, medium sudsiness , 8.1% abv is well hidden

Good beer

 

I thought you might really like that one; loved reading your thoughts on it. Their 4% schwarzbier just returned for the season to. I’m basking in perfect beers at the moment.

Hope you enjoy the last one when you do get to it

 

Boulevard Fancy Livin' White Sangria Sour ( Kettle ) Ale, 4.2% ABV; 4.01 overall


Pours a hazed effervescent gold with one finger of cream-colored head. Some head retention & lacing

S: Tropical fruits, a little citrus, fades a little as the beer is consumed

T: White grapes, pineapple, a little hint of banana & plenty of tartness/acidity. Some mango, passion fruit comes into play along with sweet/acidic pineapple & oranges once this is warmer, white grapes fade. Finishes acidic/tart with mostly tropical fruit & a little citrus, plus dryness

MF: Medium body, lively carbonation & acidity

This has certainly got a summertime vibe to it, but drinks easy enough

 

Another new beer from Schenker Beer Co. that brews out of 12 Perrecent in North Haven CT.
This s Che Si Dice an Italiyan style Pilsner that clocks in at 5.2%. Google says the name is Italian for "what's up".

3.96/5 rDev +4.2%
look: 3.75 | smell: 4 | taste: 4 | feel: 3.75 | overall: 4
Poured from a 12oz can dated 07/-824 to a Pilz glass at fridge temp.
The body is slightly hazy, but bubbles rising are visible. The white puffy head is moderate but lacing is pretty good. Fade on the head leaves a pretty good sized island and ring of foam.
The aroma is floral but slightly medicinal. There is a bread sense in the background.
The taste is similar, very floral. Surprisingly quite sweet in the midde. But hops take over on the finish for an almost bitter hit to clean things out.
The mouthfeel is light but hop-oily. Carbonation is not quite what it should be despite constant visuals of the same.
A very different Pilsner. Good for a change. Would not seek it but would drink again if offered.

 

Cross-posting to the Holiday Beer Tasting thread - cheers!

4.13/5 rDev -2.4%
look: 4.25 | smell: 4.25 | taste: 4 | feel: 4 | overall: 4.25

Best before 6/6/2027 - enjoyed on 12/14/2024 - poured from a caged-and-corked 750mL bottle into my Westvleteren goblet.

Bole (very dark but seemingly clear) body supports a beige/bone crown, receding to a lasting collar and surface slick. Fine sandy lacing; thin yet sticky legs; good retention.

Nose is suffused with stewed fruit: figs, plums, candied orange, cherries, and clove. Faint leather with maybe a hint of pipe tobacco. Inviting and festive.

Malty palate entry with further concentration of the fruit noted in the aroma - raisins, toffee, cherry pits, bitter chocolate, and canela. Earthy hops, some esters from yeast, and some residual brandy-like alcohol notes. Finishes medium-dry.

Medium-bodied with full carbonation. ABV is evident though by no means overwhelming.

Well crafted ale from Unibroue, similar but perhaps superior to Trois Pistoles.

 

I really took my time to start my first beer of the day, and I'll be finishing up the 2024 Darkness variants with this one:

Darkness - Cola Barrel Aged - Surly Brewing - Minneapolis, MN - RIS - 12%

This beer looks totally beautiful. I love the head retention and lacing. There, I'm done with all that's good in this beer.
It smells like cola, and no hint of the base. The taste has a hint of the base, but it's quickly replaced with a syrup sweet sick cola flavor. This beer is just terrible, and Surly should not have released it. What a waste of time and money with this one.

Review:
https://www.beeradvocate.com/beer/profile/13014/674557/

2.23/5 rDev +31.2%
look: 4.5 | smell: 2.75 | taste: 1.75 | feel: 2 | overall: 2
From a 16oz can. Canned on 11/06/24

This looks like Darkness. It is a pitch black pouring beer. There's a thick 2 1/2 finger brown head. The head has great head retention, and some damn nice looking lacing.
Aroma does concern me. It does smell like cola, and that's the main aroma. It does smell quite sweet, and I'm really not getting any of the Darkness aromas that I want in this beer.
Taste - Oh, boy. I get a faint hint of the base beer right away. I like it for a fraction of a second, and then it is replaced by a sickeningly sweet cola flavor, that just gets worse as it goes.
The body is thick and full from the base beer. The feeling of the cola part of it is just not good at all. Slightly bubbly feeling.
This is not a good beer at all. I truly don't know if I can finish it to be honest.

Should I drain pour this? I may just do so. Yikes!

 

Today we celebrated our oldest 8th trip around the sun, his actual birthday isn't till Tuesday but his party with friends was today. A successful and fun time for all and hopefully mom and dad get some quiet time as a result of extra tired boys today. Tonight's post is cross posted with the Holiday Tasting thread:

Tonight’s beer, although not international, is international by style. Mudhen is a brewery in South Jersey that is down the shore. I’ve never been but I’ve never had a bad beer from them so I’m excited to give this holiday beer a try. Its a Belgian Strong Ale with cherry and spices…I love the Polar Express looking label on this beer, here is what they have to say about it…

Mudhen - Hero Boy (Belgian Strong Ale 9%)



Pours burnished copper; white head, vigorous at first settles to a nice sustaining film.

Nose is quite delightful; little sweetness, brown sugar, fruity; unmistakably cherry like, Belgian spice character; its underlying and in the background, really blends well with the sweet and fruit notes.

Taste is really well balanced; its perfectly sweet, reminds me of gingerbread cookie without the hit of ginger; cherry skin with that perfect balance and blend of spice, has a little cinnamon bite on the finish; reminds me of big red gum.

Mouthfeel shows medium, full feeling body; the carbonation is appropriate; vigorous yet really creamy feeling; little tannin like bitter finish, super easy to drink at 9 % and no hint of the abv other than a really pleasant warming sensation in the gut.

Yea, this is a very well made Belgian beer; incredibly dangerous given its ABV; the balance is just so good to me; the sweetness, fruit and spice all just work in tandem with none standing out. Mudhen has yet to fail me; gotta get down there one of these days.

@MacMalt

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I'm not sure if I'll be back tomorrow with a new one or not, gonna try and contribute more to the once a year great Holiday Tasting thread.

 

Eibauer helles land bier
...super clearinghouse gold appearance
...body is definitely thin with the carbonation being on the light side as well
...aroma is grass forward then a nice mix of cereal, grain and some crusty bread
...taste is almost identical to aroma,just a bit weak
...overall its a decent beer but not overly impressive