New Beer Weekend #284

The third one is a beer that I bought for the Holiday tasting thread and found it today when organizing my cellar a bit.

A lump of coal seems about right for me this year, maybe it will encourage me to fire up the forge and make stuff again. Of course I use coked coal, not regular, but I digress.
This was nothing like I expected but it was enjoyable just the same.
Dark coffee pour and reasonable lacing from the manilla colored head.
The taste is coffee and cacao and dark dried fruits; not exactly complex and no spices could I detect but it was a good solid, if simple, stout.
The feel is a bit thin, and I think that might have contributed to the gulps I drank it in.
OA, probably not going to buy it next year but I did rather enjoy it today.
And now I’m done. Cheers all!

 

Merry Christmas to everyone, and especially to @ChicagoJ for starting this thread. All I want for Christmas is...a New Beer. Like this one:



Threshold Casimir the Great Imperial Stout

Look:
Under ambient lighting, the beer shows a rich brown-black body with burnt umber highlights. Strong backlighting reveals a clear, dark reddish-brown body with gorgeous ruby highlights. The head of fluffy tan foam shows very good retention. It is still a solid disc of foam 10 minutes after pouring, and it wallpapers the glass with elaborate lacing.

Smell:
The nose is heavy with roasty, bittersweet malt. Notes of plums and prunes rise from that malty foundation, along with high-percentage cacao dark chocolate, fresh-brewed coffee, and a mild whiff of licorice. A hint of alcohol emerges as it warms.

Taste:
Huge flavors of roasted malt and dark chocolate dominate. There is some sweetness, but this is NOT a sweet beer. Char and black coffee notes harmonize with the dark chocolate character. Bitterness accumulates in the middle and never backs down. There are hints of smoke, toasted black bread, dark cherry preserves, and a fleck of herbal licorice that's almost minty. More of the dark fruit notes from the nose come through in the finish and linger through the long, bitter aftertaste. When the beer warmed up almost to room temperature, I got a little caramel and a faint nutty flavor in the mix.

Feel:
Slightly-less-than-heavy body with a velvety texture and graceful carbonation. Substantial enough to support the bold flavors, yet soft enough to beguile with every sip.

Overall:
Casimir the Great is an excellent, straightforward imperial stout with no barrel-aging and no added flavors. It's a big, roasty beast for stout lovers who don't need sweet additives in their imperial stouts and aren't frightened off by proud bitterness. It has an exceptional depth of unsweetened dark chocolate flavors adorned with char, dark fruits, black coffee, and other delights, all wrapped up in an exquisite body. It displays power and grace, candor and subtlety. It rules without raising its voice. It is my second unexpectedly excellent Threshold beer in a row. Casimir the Great is, indeed, great.

 

This is from earlier, enjoyed with Christmas dinner and for several hours thereafter. Thomas Rutherford from the Bruery—listed on here as an imperial stout but it hit my palate way more like a wine than a beer. Anyway, I don’t make the rules. Review below. Cheers!
______________
4.49/5 rDev +5.4%
look: 4.25 | smell: 4.5 | taste: 4.5 | feel: 4.5 | overall: 4.5

750mL bottle into a tulip. Pours completely still, deep reddish mahogany, completely transparent.

Aroma is mostly a mix of vinous and chocolatey notes. Oak, red currant, black grapes, vanilla, pipe tobacco, spice.

Taste is decidedly vinous with the stout characteristics playing backup. Cabernet Sauvignon, oak, chocolate. A touch of smoke.

Mouthfeel is smooth and slick—zero carbonation but it goes down like a fine red wine. Coats the palate nicely.

Overall, though it’s difficult to review this beer to style, it’s definitely delicious and well made. I’d it an imperial stout? I don’t know. But it’s one of the most unique beers I’ve ever had. And 5 years of aging doesn’t seem to have harmed it either.

 

This is a really nice hot pepper beer courtosey of @Blogjackets ! Cheers!
Review to come late today.
Masthead Ice Melter IPA w grapefruit and habanero peppers.
4.03/5 rDev +3.9%
look: 4 | smell: 3.5 | taste: 4.25 | feel: 4 | overall: 4.25

 

Helles from Newark Brewing Company

Poured 473ml can into a pilsner glass. A three finger fine white head on a slightly hazy yellow. Good head retention. lots of foamy lacing.

Malts and bread in the nose. Sweet malts up front. Some lemon. A bit of sourness maybe adds to the dry mildly hoppy finish.

A medium/light body and good carbonation. Overall a fine Helles. Not spectacular. Just good.

3.74/5 rDev +4.5%
look: 4 | smell: 3.75 | taste: 3.75 | feel: 3.5 | overall: 3.75

 

Ename Pater from Roman N.V.

Poured 330ml bottle into a tulip. A big rocky, Three finger white head on a hazy dirty gold. It might have been more clear but I didn't handle the bottle well before pouring. Excellent head retention. It slowly diminishes but sticks around until the end. lots of fine lacing.

Spice and some mild esters in the nose. Tastes of mild fruit up front. Sweet fruit in the middle, Slight citrus. A dry, delicate, almost imperceptible hop finish.

A medium/light body and good carbonation. Very smooth and balanced. Overall a top Belgian Pale Ale. Well worth a try.

3.93/5 rDev +8.9%
look: 3.75 | smell: 3.75 | taste: 4 | feel: 4 | overall: 4

 

Started off my new brews today with this good collab barleywine from AleSmith and Masthead:

Coffee & Beer (Masthead Brewing & Six Shooter Coffee) | AleSmith Brewing Company | BeerAdvocate



I liked this one but was hoping for more coffee as the flavor it wasn't as strong as I expected it to be. Should have another new beer or 2 here in a little bit, cheers!

 

Sorry, no pictures from me today. Hope everyone is enjoying the holidays and spending time with family and friends. Things have finally calmed down enough to think about putting together a review, but with an admittedly dulled palate. Some nice brews the past few days that I'll need to revisit for a proper review for BA.

Hopefully back with one more quick review later today.

Von Trapp Dunkel
5.7% Munich Dunkel

Pours medium brown with light amber edges and a two-finger off-white head.

Aromas of brown bread and grassy hops off the pour with some cocoa as it warms.

The taste is brown and black bread, cocoa, slight milk chocolate, some toffee and brown sugar. On the finish, earthy hop bitterness comes through to balance things out. The finish is moderately dry.

Medium-light bodied with fine but active carb gives a frothy feel.

Overall, nice and easy to drink Dunkel.

 

Remedy Cocoamancer BBA Imperial Pastry Stout, 11.2% ABV. Pours thick and black with a ring of brown bubbles that left no lacing. Aroma is bourbon and chocolate. Taste follows, slightly sweet, equally bitter, some pleasant bourbon burn. Decent mouthfeel, overall excellent.

4.29/5 rDev 0%
look: 4.25 | smell: 4.5 | taste: 4.25 | feel: 4 | overall: 4.25

Not sure this is sweet enough to be a pastry stout.

 

Next up today was this tasty collab barrel aged barleywine from Humble Forager and Barrel Theory:

Cedar | Humble Forager Brewery | BeerAdvocate





I liked this one a lot, but it's more for people who like the sweeter tasting brews!

 

Well that didn't go to plan. Had a barrel aged porter lined up and it was infected. Ended up a drain pour and went with a tried and true Shed Mountain Ale. Maybe I'll see you all again this weekend.

 

Hope tomorrow's and Sunday's brews are better!

 

It's a chilly, rainy, gray day in Portland. Excellent. Think I'll get out and have a New Beer or two. Two trains and a bit of walking have brought me to the pFriem Tasting Room in Milwaukie, OR.



pFriem Baltic Porter (collab with Beervana)

My phone light shows me this beer has a very clear body of dark, dark reddish-brown color with ruby highlights. Up top is a cloud of pudding-like tan-colored foam that marks off every sip with distinct rings of lacing. The nose is dark chocolate malted milk balls with hints of coffee, burnt brown sugar, and sweet cherries. Flavor is largely the same. Good malt flavor, nice chocolate notes, but a touch more roasty and bitter than I prefer in the style. Not too sweet. The lengthy finish is full of roasted malt, toasted multigrain bread, dark chocolate, and a morsel of dried cherries. Medium body with a creamy texture and low-key carbonation. Very nice beer that would be immediately improved by bringing down the roasty bitterness a notch and pushing up the fruity notes by the same amount.

 

Well Happy Holidays and LONG NBW....Thanks @ChicagoJ for the jump off.
I got a nice start Jungle Green a collaboration between ISM and Burgeon

16 oz can stamped 12/08/25 BIG GAME
Beautiful golden color with a fluffy, loose white head. gorgeous. Would be a 4 but the head retention was low.
Nose is GREEN! Weed meets grass meets scallions meets light pine.
Flavor is more nuanced. Still definitely green but lighter on the weed. A smooth bitterness that rides on all the aforementioned green notes with a smooth crackery base.
Mouthfeel is fine for style, moderate carbonation and a drying bitter finish.
3.87/5 rDev 0%
look: 3.75 | smell: 4.25 | taste: 3.75 | feel: 3.75 | overall: 3.75

 

Good Friday afternoon, New Beer Weekenders. Today, I'm reviewing my first Cold IPA: Haze Bro Intervention from Sunken Silo Beer Works in Lebanon (Hunterdon County), New Jersey. When this style was added to BA a couple of weeks ago and I looked at the style examples, I was surprised how few East Coast ales were included. It seems much more prevalent in the Western and Midwestern parts of the country. When I learned that Sunken Silo had one on draught, I stopped by this past Tuesday. I enjoyed it and managed to purchase the last pack of cans at the brewery. They are about 3 months old but I was told that a new batch is being brewed.

Despite its name it pours an attractive, crystal clear, grassy-golden with a half finger cap of milk-white foam and sheen of lacing. Its smell features lemon, grapefruit, and a whiff of sweeter tropical fruit. The taste opens with tart citrus, including lemon peel and grapefruit rind, crackery malt, and some balancing tropical fruit sweetness. It is quite well-balanced. This ale is lite and crisp and the 6.5% ABV allows for very easy drinking.

4.03/5 rDev +2.3%
look: 4 | smell: 4 | taste: 4 | feel: 4.25 | overall: 4

I like this beer a lot and I suspect that if it were fresher, then my rating would be higher. I hadn't been to Sunken Silo for a couple of years and they have made great strides. I'll have to get back there soon. Cheers!

 

I ain't gonna judge, I can't post pics anymore with my "duct tape and pocket lint" approach. I did not enjoy Imgur and found a weird way to email my pics, drag them to desktop, drag them to a google doc, then copy from the google doc and paste into BA. I know, I know, why so many steps? It was actually easy and worked. Up until a few month ago. I'm not sure if it has to do with some of the updates to BA, but it no longer works for me. I guess I need to try one of the image hosting sites again...