New Beer Sunday (week 483)

NEW DISAPPOINTING BARREL AGED IMPERIAL STOUT SUNDAY​

Greetings, fellow NBSers,
High 60s in the Inland NW, wind picking up and clouds gathering. This is my one day off this holiday weekend, so I thought I'd have something special. I thought this would fit the bill:

http://www.beeradvocate.com/beer/profile/15922/77382/?ba=woemad

Although a great looking beer, this Kiwi import proved less than stellar, with muted flavors that didn't compliment one another all that well and a thin, watery mouthfeel. I was planning for a one and done today, but I may be back to erase this from my taste buds' memories.

 

You said quaff

 

Today's new beer is a dubbel aged in brandy barrels, Holy Sheet, from Heavy Seas

Pour number one went into a goblet/chalice glass out on the balcony this fine spring morning.

The dubbel elements, dark fruits and spices, et. al., are all there, complimented nicely by drier wood notes and brandy.

Pour number two went into a large snifter and revealed much of the same fruit, spice, and barrel characteristics.

I'm not a big drinker of the dubbel, being more partial toward the paler tripel (and a select few quadrupels), but the 2013 and 2014 Uncharted Waters barrel-aged series has been very rewarding and very affordable, so I pick up whichever one is currently on the shelves. This was no exception, and the brandy barrel-aging was a great choice for this light but deep beer.

New metal from super-group, Killer Be Killed: "Wings of Feather and Wax"

Cheers!

 

Well, I'm not a wordsmith when it comes to beer but the hops were mild and the beer was enjoyable.
While the hype is noted and beer was no doubt fresh, I think there are other not as hyped that are on-par. In fact Blind Pig to me is far superior to Duet.
I'd order it again, sure, but if there are other IPAs on tap, I'll go there.

 

Fare thee well spring. It is officially (unofficially) summer up in here. Another perfect day to sit on the deck and enjoy a cold one (or 8) and getting off to a late start with this NBS entry.

As you can see, this is a very clear beer. Had me worried initially. At first sip, I was thinking more like a Helles or Pils. May have had Sumpin' on the brain though. It started to show a little bit of crisp bite, but not much. Get a real nice mash aroma especially for just being in a pint glass. I find it really similar to a thinner/ lighter Boston Lager. Not sure how they got so much malt flavor in such a light colored/ bodied beer. Overall, I would give it around a 3.75.
Very drinkable and only 5.1%.

 

I was thinking about tossing this up on the trade boards to help complete a MW-GM-CR-BT horizontal since I'm headed to Brussels in September anyway...but I just couldn't do it. A beautiful mid-to-late afternoon brew!

 

The. Weather. Is. Perfect. Today.
I have spent almost all my time outside this weekend. Just gorgeous, sun splashed days that have made up for the cool start to May. Last night the wife and I went out to an Italian Steak house. I have spent most of today doing yard work, riding my bike, and going for a walk with the family. Time for a refreshing wild ale.

GI Lolita is tasting great out on my porch. The flavors meld together with notes of strawberry, tart raspberry, notes of cranberry, and a dry Cabernet Sauvignon. Tart and dry with not much alcohol make this a great one to have today. Cheers to everyone and I hope you are having a terrific Sunday!

 

Inspired by @Homebrew let's give this a go:

New Saison Sunday...

Stone Saison - Stone Brewing Co


Stone Brewing - Saison by imbibehour, on Flickr

Review here: http://www.beeradvocate.com/beer/profile/147/118062/?ba=smakawhat

look: 4 | smell: 3.75 | taste: 4 | feel: 4.25 | overall: 4 | Final rating: 3.98

A bit of a different trip on the Stone realm here. Hints at first towards sweet Belgian Pale ale, but then the herbal and floral quality just blasts through, with much dryness still staying hey I am a saison. I am not getting so much the lemon and citrus angle on this, but it's a fun beer, but this is not a brett heads beer though as much of the herbal/spice aromatics really dominate. Enjoyable for me either way.

Now hopefuly this should go well with the chicken paprikash on deck!

 

New Brewery/Farmhouse Ale fermented in Oak Barrels Sunday!



Went to the shop Friday before last and one of the clerks said, We have a new beer in from Prairie Artisan Ales. Well enough of my story, time for the details of this brew! This brew pours a gorgeous shade of golden blonde with what was a tight bubbly white head. Looks Fantastic! Now the aroma on this beer. You can smell all kinds of magic from the yeast. It's aroma of lemon citrus even the tartness of lemons. There is hints of wheat grains, oak and funk. Almost like liquid pledge was sprayed on mildewed wheat bread. Hey, it's not as bad as it sounds. Now for the taste. First hits is a collage of flavors. It's a warped loop of oak, lemon tartness, funk and some spiciness. There is a nice dose of bubble gum flavor as the beer finishes slightly bitter and dry. More bubblegum in the aftertaste. The mouthfeel on this brew is light with very decent Carbonation.


Overall: I'm not a huge fan of funky beers, I would be happy with just a 6 oz. serving of this. This is balanced with a nice sweetness so it's not just dry and tart. Would I drink again? Probably if I want a change of pace from all the Malt and Hop Bombs I tend to on the regular. It's not bad. If I were to grade this beer fresh it gets a B+. This brew is worthy!

 

Happy Memorial weekend to the NBS world.

Starting out with another new beer from a familiar brewery. Green Flash black ipa. So far, I think their 'hop odyssey' series has been really solid. I think my favorite so far is road warrior, but I also had the imperial west coast and I've seen the pale ale which I may pick up soon.

It drinks nice and hoppy with plenty of roasted malts. The mouth feel is a little thin on the finish but still very smooth and enjoyable. I think the 88 ba score is a good reflection of this ale, but I also think it can compete with any of the top bipa's out there,

 

Howdy all, This is my first time reviewing a beer so be nice if it doesn't sound right

After going to a coffee shop and reading Game of Thrones for an hour or so I decided to pick up this at my local plaid pantry, a good price for 3.84 a bomber



Lagunitas is one of my favorite breweries as of late, sucks might be one of my top 5 favorite beers, and a Little Sumpin Sumpin is becoming a go to as well. That being said the past few times I've had Lagunitas IPA from the bottle I have been disappointed. And I am not too big a fan of their dark beers, their Imperial Stout and their Cappuccino stout just don't do it for me. With that said lets get started.



It pours a beautiful dark black with a darker head than an IPA but not a mocha brown you'd see on a stout. It's a pretty beer in the glass and looking at it through the sunlight it shows just a tad of brown around the edges. Not the pitch black, used motor oil of a stronger stout.

The smell is dank, juicy and full of tropical hop notes, mango and pineapple for sure. I'm not getting a strong roasted malt presence here. As it gets warmer the alcohol smell becomes more evident but not by much

The taste is oh my goodness, reminds me of the first time I had sucks, just delicious hop flavor, you get everything I mentioned in the nose. A delicious amount of tropical, fruity, juicy, dank flavors going on. As you finish a sip, it has that dry, very pleasant bitterness that I love in IPA's. The roasted malts and malt flavor come in at the very begining and end and allow for this beer to have a unique dimmension to it.

Overall I am so pleasantly surprised by this beer, I've had black ipa's, CDA's whatever you want to call them before and never have I been this impressed. If you love Ipa's or sucks, I can guarantee you will love this beer, it's lighter on the roasted malt and malt flavors than I would expect, but that's alright with me because it is a delicious beer that any hophead would love.

Stouts and Ipa's are my favorite styles and this is a very pleasant middle ground even if it leans more towards the ipa side than the stout/porter side

4.5/5

Cheers! And I listened to this while writing, very relaxing music to go with a fine beer

 

New Russian Imperial Stout Sunday

Happy NBS everyone! My first new beer of the day is Against The Grain's Bo & Luke, originally a collaboration brew with De Molen but ATG has made it again a few times since. It's an Imperial Smoked Stout Aged in Bourbon Barrels:





I thought it was a pretty good brew, nice and tasty! Here's a link to my review: http://www.beeradvocate.com/beer/profile/26850/85986/?ba=bluejacket74

It's really easy to drink for being 13% ABV, and the barrel aging didn't overpower the flavors of the base beer. Everything mixed well together and I liked this brew a lot. I'm still debating what to drink next, but I'll make sure to post it on here later. Cheers everyone!

 

Howdy NBSers!

Today in Chicagoland, sitting in the backyard is just an absolute treat! The sun is shining, and the birds are all around. While doing my bird watching, I was able to have a beer that was new to me, and it had summer written all over it! I'm currently reporting in about half way through my 4th bottle of Allagash Saison, and here are my thoughts about this bad boy:

Pours a very hazy blonde color, but there is still plenty of visible carbonation floating upwards in the glass. Pouring a third of the bottle in my snifter at a time produces a finger and a half of creamy white head that does dissipate at a fast pace, and it leaves a minor amount of lacing on the glass. The dominant feature in the aroma is the "traditional saison" yeast that Allagash uses, which is a lot of hay and funk, but orange peel, pepper, and bready/cracker malts also make an appearance as well. Taste is full of the yeasty notes, but the aftertaste produces a lot of peppery and tart lemon and orange flavors to produce a long and satisfying finish that lingers. At 6.1% ABV, the body is on the lighter side of medium, and the carbonation is on the average side as well.

Overall, I'd have to say that this fits in with my perception of what a saison style beer is supposed to be, and it has a summer afternoon of birdwatching written all over it! I'd highly recommend this to any fans of Belgian styled beers!

With this weather, it's time for the surf rock!


Have a great week everybody!
Cheers!

 

Went to the Decordova Museum this morning, on the way back to WMASS we stopped at the Gardner Ale House.
Thoroughly enjoyed their Vienna Lager.
Malt was dialed in, carbonation was spot on, and the hop profile tilts toward tradition.
All in all a fine example, plus a new beer that I can contribute to NBS.

On a side note Hill Farmstead 4th on Friday we were able to try Zombie Dust on draft.
First time for us quite nice, but it was no Le Serrasin both were stellar.

Cheers all

 

Let us know how it was!

FWIW, I think there's a winery up here in the PNW called 4 Hands, though I could be wrong.

 

I love surf! Thank you for this! The Ventures are my all time favorite Surf Music!

 

I love The Ventures! I'll keep that in mind the next time I post surf rock on here.