New Beer Sunday (week 455)

So I'm no stranger to NBS, but that is what I'm having today! Left Hand Stranger is an interesting take on an APA. It has a nice twist using rye and hops that have citrus notes. I picked up the rye, along with what seemed to be a woody oak flavor to go along with the floral and citrus hops. It was an easy drinker! I thought the overall score was a bit low, because I did enjoy it.

 

RACER X DOUBLE IPA

Hello, all!

Motorhead, from their 21st studio album...


Sooo excited to get this beer here, on finally-feels-like-fall Long Island...

Racer X found it's way onto my "beer wish list" (yes, I have a beer wish list) a little less than a year ago, but then it was basically forgotten.

Saw it on the shelf my last beer shop, but I was already buying a Box of Hops (yea!) and a 4-pack of Backwoods Bastard, so I had the manager put it on hold for me, figuring I'd either get it later that week or the next week.

Box o' Hops was so fun to drink, I was low on football beers, so I figured I'd pick up the Racer X (and AleSmith YuleSmith) that I'd had the store manager put aside for me (labeled with my name taped to them, behind the counter, but visible to customers at the counter). The Dragon's Milk was a very wise impulse buy .

When I went to buy them, I was told that someone else came in, spotted (presumably the Racer X) and said they were me, trying to buy them! lol

Good thing they know me at the store. As it turns out, it was the last Racer X in the store.

This was a grand-slam DIPA in my opinion. Different than Stone's Enjoy By, Heady Topper, and Pliny the Elder, but just about right there in terms of delivery.

Looks like one o' them candles ^ with three different scents...

My "official" pic: lol



I had poured most of the bottle into my initial pour.

But really, that's it? That's all that's left?

Absolutely wish I had another.


Still rockin'...


Cheers!

 

New Wet Hop German Pilsner Sunday

Greetings NBSer's,
And yes you heard me right. This is the second year that Schell's has used wet hops in a pilsner recipe. Last year the hop was Citra and this year it is Mosiac. I think it is a unique take on the wet hop trend. It's also unique in it's flavors. This isn't everyone's fancy, but I like it.
http://beeradvocate.com/beer/profile/417/104633/?ba=garymuchow

Best to all this week.

 

Happy Beer Sunday All!
FINALLY had my first Founders Backwoods Bastard yesterday..second new beer of the week. Just about all it's been cracked up to be. It didn't disappoint in the vanilla/bourbon flavors and wonderful warming qualities that everyone had described. Glad I bought two additional 4 packs for some aging. This was JUST a touch behind my other new try, North Coast Old Stock Ale. This had many of the same qualities as the BB, but I found it just a bit more pleasing for the hour-plus time it took me to drain the glass. Thanks to two great brewers: Founders and North Coast! Now on to football..

 

This is a really nice brew. Is it a Belgian IPA or a Hoppy Saison? Whatever it is, Stillwater made it packed with flavor.
I get the classic Belgian yeast funky profile, but there are added hops, and the classic spicy pepper finish.

 

Since stout day was Friday, I thought today would be a good occasion to pop open my bottle of Terrapin Wake n' Bake imperial stout that I received a couple months ago from Kfordham281.

Appearance- Pours a dark brown with a reddish tint. Small tan head that recedes quickly and leaves little lacing.

Smell- Not as much coffee in the nose as I would expect. I get some mocha, along with some bittersweet chocolate, maple syrup, alcohol and a bit of a dark fruit smell in the background.

Taste- Starts off tasting like creamy mocha ice cream. As it warms it transitions to dark chocolate, caramel flavored coffee, a bit of vanilla and the alcohol becomes more apparent. The sweet flavors and the roasty bitterness go back and forth.

Mouthfeel- A bit on the thin side but very smooth and creamy. Good carbonation.

Overall- Very nice stout. I think I preferred it a bit more when it was colder, a weird thing for a stout. Definitely worth trying.

 

NEW IMPERIAL STOUT SUNDAY

Happy NBS on this raw and blustery day. Not much to do today but putter around the house and play with the little guy, which suits me just fine. I helped cut several 40lb. blocks of ten year old cheddar at work this week. What a treat. It had crystallized just a bit, making for a kind of sharp cheddar pop-rocks. Good stuff. Headed for Troegs tomorrow in search of their mushroom porter. Its more morbid curiosity than interest, but I have to try it.

But as for today I'm taking a break from Celebration to thoroughly enjoy this

http://beeradvocate.com/beer/profile/423/56469/?ba=DIM



Cheers everyone!

 

New Beer Sunday with a lesser known Wisconsin brewery. Chameleon brewing company is run by Sprecher brewing. An okay beer, not quite convincing as an APA.

http://thebeercyclist.com/2013/11/chameleon-brewing-company-hop-top/

 

New... Old... Sunday?
Grozet by Williams Brothers

Greetings all! The weather is certainly a bit chilly (or maybe that's just because I'm in a basement apartment with a stone wall as the outside wall), so I've had to keep the heater on pretty high all day.
Had a moment yesterday at the hospital that was super sappy, and normally I would laugh off, but just struck me. Maybe it's because I was so exhausted my defenses were down, or maybe I'm just getting soft in my old age. I was taking care of a patient who was not wearing his seatbelt. He has been completely non-responsive to outside stimuli for the past month, and I couldn't even get him to open his eyes for much of the day. He had multiple family visit throughout the day, but what struck me was when his dad came in. I was explaining what we had been doing throughout the afternoon and kind of giving him an update to what I'd observed. The dad made some comment on how he at least looked a little better and the patient, who I will remind you had been non-responsive to outside stimuli, even from family members, up to that point gave a Terminator thumbs up. The only interaction I saw from him with the outside world all day.
Anyway, sappy stories aside, today I went with something somewhat out of left field. I picked it up on a whim as it was pretty cheap when I was at the liquor store. Reminds me of certain white wines I've had, for some reason I keep coming back to Gewürztraminer. I was pleasantly surprised with this one, especially after the first sniff made me think of musty old storage rooms.
Watching the Seahawks finally stop putzing around and just bury someone, even with 60% of our O-line missing and several other notable injuries.
Hope everyone is enjoying their afternoon and their drink. Cheers!!

 

Trying out my first Baltic porter and a delicious winner from Victory!


http://beeradvocate.com/beer/profile/345/40443/?ba=jhartley

 

Next up is one I got yesterday from Jloomis, Cigar City's Cubano Espresso Brown Ale. Good beer, but that taste was a bit underwhelming compared to what I was expecting.

Appearance- Pours a very dark brown, on the verge of black. 1 finger tan head that lingers for a minute, leaves little lacing.

Smell- Like opening a bag of espresso beans. Chocolate and vanilla in the background. Very good smell, strong but not overpowering.

Taste- Not flavorful in the beginning, but as it warms up I get a good taste of chocolate covered espresso beans. Pick up a bit of caramel and a slight tart taste that I can't put my finger on.

Mouthfeel- Nice body, smooth and creamy. Good carbonation.

Overall- Definitely let this one warm up as it is much better. Lots of espresso and chocolate with some caramel thrown it. Kind of a mix between a porter and a brown.

 

Greetings fellow NBSers! A cloudy day here on the shores of the Salish Sea in the Fourth Corner of America. We had some truly Novemberish weather a couple days ago, hard winds driving hard rain nearly horizontal, but overall, we've been getting off easy so far this rainy season.

I'm housesitting again, but this time it's kitties, not dogs. My friends don't have TV, so I can't watch the NASCAR race, but I'm following along with the lap-by-lap online. My friends live just outside the city limits, and the only bar within walking distance is sort of a sports bar, and they might have the race on, but I don't have the willpower to sit in a room full of drunk Seahawks fans.

My first entry of the day is a very nice Gueuze I recently grabbed at the local Food Coop: http://beeradvocate.com/beer/profile/212/5212/?ba=beertunes . While my friends left a fair bit of beer in the fridge, I took the precaution of bringing some of my own stash, including a few from a fellow NBS regular, and I'll be back in a bit with more. Cheers all!

 

New American Porter Sunday (week 455)
Greetings fellow NBS'ers from a crazy day of bright sun and almost warm to wind and a bit of rain at times here on the ridge in Mid Hud Val NY. Picked a beer from Leinenkugels, love Big Eddy, and this porter is not the greatest but pretty tasty. will be switching to a Bell's porter for the next one, so glad we get Bell's here now. Hope you have a Great American Beer in your glass. Cheers!

http://beeradvocate.com/beer/profile/710/86776/?ba=cavedave



If you are an acoustic guitar lover, give this man a listen. Possibly the finest guitar player in the country.

 

New White IPA Sunday!

Gorgeous fall day in NE Florida. Mild, dry, and sunny. I've got a home-brewed American Wheat in the brew kettle and a pork shoulder on the smoker. Once the pork's done, some base malt will go on the smoker for a future smoked porter or bock. Opened my first winter seasonal of the year - New Belgium's Accumulation white IPA. While I really like this beer, I'd prefer a bit more citrusy hops to balance the dank, resiny character this one has. The dankness detracts from the "festive" character I want in a winter seasonal.
Cheers!

http://beeradvocate.com/beer/profile/192/99699/?ba=CASK1

 

Welcome to the Hoosier State Oskar Blues!

 

New American Porter Sunday (week 455)

Greetings NBS'ers. As the sun sets through the trees and toward the crest, across the valley, of the Shawangunk Mountains that first captured my soul so long ago, and lo these many years later still do. this Porter has captured my heart as well.

I love a staunch Robust Porter and this one is staunch, robust, bright, clean, and delicious. Glad there are 5 more waiting their turns, that's what I'm talkin' about.

Hope you also have a Great American Beer in your hand. Cheers!

http://beeradvocate.com/beer/profile/287/1287/?ba=cavedave

 

NEW BELGIAN STYLE ALE / AMERICAN IPA HYBRID SUNDAY!!!

Greetings from a warm and windy Jersey Shore. Temps easily hit 60 today here in Ocean County but the wind made it an indoor day. So I did some chores, hit a store with my wife, fit in a workout, then finally sat down to this fine brew:http://beeradvocate.com/beer/profile/16456/39951/?ba=NiceTaps



I was in Vermont last week. I played some golf on the nice days, I drank all the goodies, I paid visits to the Alchemist and the Prohibition Pig like I always do. I also picked up some beers that I'd never heard of and today's beer is one of them. It was cheap, fresh, and a good find. I wish that I'd bought more than one. Oh, well...next time. I was lucky to sneak in a quick cache of Heady before the 15th. Whew...

All the best to the NBS group. Cheers!
And thanks to all Vets, past and present, for keeping us free.

 

Love the Saxon video. Great song!