New Beer Sunday (week 490)

Ballast Point's Big Eye IPA (<-- reviewed, 'natch )

The goods --> prosciutto, montamore cheese, olives stuffed with ham

Handsome-lookin' ale, eh?
Great hop action - full o' pine and citrus; hearty malts provide nice foundation.

Wasn't gonna be easy to follow up the Femme Fatale Blanc, 'cuz I do dig on bretty beers, but Big Eye was up to the task.

 

Got this one in a recent trade and it is really good!

 

Howdy NBSers!

My new beer for today is one that I've had my eye on for a while, and I've finally pulled the trigger on it. I haven't bought a 6er of this bad boy because a fresh case hasn't made its way into the bottle shop I work at in a while. The last few cases to show up have been pretty old, but a case of bottles <1 month old just showed up. The beer I'm speaking of course is the one, the only, Jever Pilsener! I'm just finishing up my 4th one right now, and here's what I think about it:

Pours a clear golden with a two finger, foamy white head (on an aggressive pour) that dissipates into a cap quickly and leaves a minimal amount of lacing. The aroma is citrusy and grassy with a touch of butter and doughy notes. Taste is a touch sweet up front, followed by a good amount of bitterness from the middle of the tongue to the back. As I continued to drink it, the sweet and buttery notes make much more of an appearance. The aftertaste was quite a bit citrusy. The body was pretty light, and the carbonation level was a bit below average.

Overall, I didn't think the bitterness was balanced out well enough, even for a pilsner. With that said, the lack of balance wasn't overbearing, and I think Jever is a solid brew. I think that it's definitely worth a try if you can find it fresh! A tip for those that are interested, just remember that the shelf life on Jever Pilsener is 1 year, so check the best by date before purchasing!

Last week, I did not participate in NBS because I went to the Naperville Rib Fest. At the fest, I saw a few bands play. I first saw Mr Blotto, and they were stellar as usual. Then I say Blue Oyster Cult, who was pretty good, and they had some badass guitar solos. The final act, though, stole the show, and that is because they F*CKING ROCKED! That band would be no other than...


Have a great week NBSers!
Cheers!

 

Ok, you think she's a keeper. What's she think about you?

 

Snuck this one in this morning as I was doing housework in prep for our baby girl's arrival in October! Beer Geek Breakfast. Great Oatmeal Stout, with great bread and coffee notes. I need to make this one a recurring beer in the house.

 

Thanks Maria! It's good to be back with you cats, especially since the only beers available there were Miller Lite and Summer Shandy.

 

Three daughters, 3 son in laws and two grandsons (one grandchild on the way) shrimp boil Sunday!!! New beer? Firestone DJ...

I'm to tired to rate it properly...I will say this...juicy, sweet, hoppy, yummy liquid that went well with our boil...








Save the stock for gumbo!!!

enough said...

 

Good evening, kids. Another pretty nice day here in MA, but the humidity is building and we are getting some rain for the week. We need it, but does it have to happen when I take three vacation days. On the other hand, maybe I have a future as a rain deity?

Ok. Jacks Abby Barrel Aged Cherry Berliner Braun. The pour is a mahogany colored beer with a fleeting minimal tan raft of foam. Actually resembles the color of bourbon. Deeper color than the plain version. Aroma....hmmm...not getting too much there, but as it warms it comes to life a bit. Sweet, vanilla, not too much on the cherry but it us there. The taste I like. I don't know how this compares to other sours. I would say it is slightly more sour than lemonade and doesn't have the sweetness. Cheery seems back stage to me. It doesn't really show up until the end. The beer is light, dry, refreshing. The sour lingers and the cherry sweetness shows up late to balance things off. Just a hint of the barrel notes just a hint of vanilla. I think it is an interesting build on the regular version. Lively on the tongue between the sour and carbonation. Very pleasant, drinks super easy.

Good stuff. I like it. I will go 3.75 on it.

 

Second new brew of the day. Where have you been my whole life Jackie O's beer? Very glad I nabbed a couple of these while up in Ohio. Very aromatic, floral with some citrus tinge. Beautiful color, strong hop flavors from several different varieties. Damn good beer.
Mystic Mama indeed.

 

Greetings fellow NBSers, and happy World Cup Finally being over day!!!!! We've had a great week weather-wise here in the Fourth Corner, sunny, warm, bordering on hot, and just all-around beautiful. I live in the greatest place in the world!

I had a lot going this week, and I was going to regale you with stories of interest, but, I'm finally chillaxin' a bit, and just don't have the interest. Sorry.

I have a friend who is a mechanic for a pro cycling race team, and he was home for a couple days earlier this week, and dropped off a bag of treats from Quebec. First up is this Barleywine: http://www.beeradvocate.com/beer/profile/21006/55265/?ba=beertunes

There are no more true Ramones. RIP Tommy:

 

Good evening everybody! Time to relax; time for a beer. I have a good one tonight, too-


Bell's Consecrator Doppelbock. Very impressive- nice toasty melanoidin malt quality dominates, with hints of dried figs and raisins underneath. Rich and mellow, yet with a pleasingly dry finish. A far cry from the sweet caramel bombs that tend to dominate the poorer attempts at the style. Dangerously drinkable; leaves you wanting more. Solid A- here, will happily drink again.

My schedule for the next few weeks will involve lots of driving, so I'm getting the tunes ready. This one's a definite:


Happy Sunday, everybody, and awesome job, Germany! Prost!

 

I just dropped the fam off at LAX and the El Segundo Brewery is ten minutes away on my way home. Usually not up in LA very often because I hate all the traffic.

Draft pour of Hop Tanker DIPa into a large snifter that brings a smile to my face. First whiff and instantly I remember why I love IPAs so much. Floral, with that astringent cat pee smell that kinda burns the nose. Appreantly I like the smell of cat pee, weird I know but glad I am not the only one. Also get some tropical notes and a sweet caramel smell.

At first sip my palate is smacked with hops. Mostly tropical, piney and sweet hops. Also get a nice malt caramel balance. A lingering bitterness cuts the sweetness just when I think it's going to be too much. The beer drys out nicely and it's crazy drinkable. I can tell It's a big beer, 9.2% abv, but I get zero booze.

Great dipa but is on the sweeter side. The sweetness is more hops with some malt but the light body keeps it from being syrupy sweet. The bitterness and dryness makes this a great high abv dipa.

I'll be picking up a bomber down the road for sure.

 

Well 20 years and she hasn't kicked me to the curb yet. Thinking I'm good for now...

 

After the World Cup game, we fired up the grill. Some nice steaks with corn from the farmer's market, and squash and tomatoes from the garden. Seemed like a good time for another new beer so I went with Stone's new collaboration - Unapologetic IPA.

Interesting beer and very drinkable, but nothing crazy outstanding about it. Less hop forward and quite a bit sweeter than I was expecting. More in the Pale Ale camp than the big IPA's that we normally see from stone.









http://www.beeradvocate.com/beer/profile/147/122703/?ba=richj1970

 

That looks like an amazing meal! Not a bad beer either.

 

Greetings All from the hot and sunny northwest.

Today it is Apocalypse IPA from 10 Barrel Brewing.
http://www.beeradvocate.com/beer/profile/16873/53808/?ba=RJLarse

A very good IPA. Light and citrus fruity, which goes well on this 100 degree day. I'd have this again, in fact I wish I had more.

Like I said HOT and sunny here in the Columbia Basin. A little haze on the horizon from a wild fire about 100 miles away. A good day to find a shady spot and have a new beer.

Until next week,

Happy Trails!

 

Not only is this my NBS entry, it's also my 100th beer rating; no more "99 bottles of beer..." for me I guess. I think I chose a good one.



A - Coppery bronze color with a very foamy head.

S - Very fruity, mainly orange...maybe a bit of caramel and peach. Some spices there, but I can't identify them.

T - Fruit (orange), malt and spice, but not overpowering in either case; dry finish balances everything out nicely. Very drinkable; goes down easy.

M - Very balanced; not overly heavy, creamy nor watery.

O - I really enjoyed my first taste of Rare Vos; this is a brew I'll be going back to when I'm in the mood for an amber ale with a Belgian twist. I could see this one pairing very well with a wide variety of food.

 

What's up NBS players?

My new beer today is Hop Ticket Session IPA from Victory. I got this out of their summer mixed 12 pack which I mostly bought for the hoppy pils.

I might be expecting a bit too much from Victory but I thought this offering was pretty average/typical of the style. Pours light straw yellow, light nose, with a light, grassy, and tangy taste. Crisp with muted hops with a light mouth feel. The 85 ba score intrigued me but I'm still not a huge fan of this beer or the style,