New Beer Sunday (week 500)

Going for a second one tonight. Picked this up during our recent trip to Seattle for our 20th anniversary. Both of the Hair of the Dog brews that I brought home were fantastic but a bit expensive.

I liked Adam a little more than Fred...







http://www.beeradvocate.com/beer/profile/173/945/?ba=richj1970

 

I always thought I would like Rauchbiers - but not this much.

Smooth, smoky bbq notes in the aroma and taste. Not a bit of acridity. Beech wood in the right hands is magic.

 

Happy New 'Out of the Blue' Beer Sunday!

So, my brother's High School Reunion was last night. Very nice for him; he got to see friends from all over, and they even brought beer with them to share. Thankfully (for me) they brought too much, because look what he showed up to my house with today-

God bless him! And I didn't even have to get dressed up in a suit and tie to partake .

My first thought is- are two word reviews acceptable? You know, like "Shit sandwich"? Now, that's the complete opposite of what I was thinking; it's just a hypothetical. 'Cuz the only words running through my head right now are "holy shit!". Maybe there's a third word squeezed in between them there...

These guys really are pushing it to the limit with this beer, but manage to do it with style and class. It's dangerously drinkable for such an intense full-on hop-and-malt assault (well...mostly hops, but you are not going to get this kind of saturated fruitiness without a certain amount of residual sweetness)- and it seemingly hits all of the notes simultaneously. Citrus. Tropical. Dank. Piney. Melons, etc. Check, check, check, check, forever check. And, one by one, they each come to the forefront for a while before giving way to another. And, that luscious mouthfeel and meticulous balance, well...that seals the deal.

Come to think of it, scratch those previous two words, and use these: A. Plus.
(maybe keep that third word in between, though...)

 

out of the bunch shown the only one I would recommend would be Anderson valley
it had a good balance of malts and spice. all the other we're good but not worth more then a sample bottle.
they tasted like a spiced malt beverage and not like a beer

 

Howdy NBSers!

I indulged in a brew that was new to me today that was brewed by a brewer that I do admire quite a bit. Here's what I thought of zed brew:

http://www.beeradvocate.com/beer/profile/42/121975/?ba=offthelevel_bytheplumb

While I'm not the biggest fan of either one of these cats, they do combine (with the other guys playing, of course) to create a terrific cover of this tune...


Have a great week everybody!
Cheers!

 

personally my favorite autumn beer to date is Sierra Nevada octoberfest. it was roasty and hoppy and I could see adding some black malts to make a dark harvest come all saints day

 

Sorry TongoRad, got excited. I'm glad you like HD'nR. It is a great beer and getting more rare daily. Seek out this one.

 

Holy cow Tongo, how did they find room for water in such a beverage?

 

Hell, you're from Alabama (and most of my family). It's canned sunshine and part snake oil. Works wonders!

 

Like everything else about it, there's just enough . That's what really excites me about it- it's so well-made, on top of everything else. I hope you get to enjoy some, some day.

 

Good evening NBS! Missed you guys last week being in the hospital and all. I got discharged on Friday evening and I have been recovering very well. I already have no issues walking and do not need narcotic painkillers. Glad I could be a part of #500 this week.

New Beers today:

Very nice! Taste of milk chocolate, cocoa, coffee, roasted malt, toast, dark bread, cream, and light char. Light roasted bitterness on the finish. Very smooth and moderately silky/creamy mouthfeel. Well balanced roasted sweetness/bitterness. Really well done, and it has a plenty of flavor robustness considering the ABV. Another nice full 6 pack impulse grab. 3.9; 88/100


Very nice old ale. Taste of caramel, toast, brown sugar, brown bread, raisin, plum, cherry, apple, herbal, grass, light leather, light nuttiness, and yeast earthiness. Fair amount of earthy bitterness on the finish. Very well balanced malt and yeast ester flavors. Good complexity. Smooth and fairly creamy mouthfeel. No booziness at all. Very enjoyable 3.9; 88/100


Brandy barrel aged. This was damn good. Taste of big wood smoke, chocolate, toffee, toast, brown sugar, rye bread, raisin, plum, cherry, brandy, oak, light char, and some oaky earthiness. Brandy notes are very prominent but not overpowering to the rest of the beer. Great malt complexity with well balanced brandy and dark fruit notes. Very smooth for the big ABV, and a great creamy and lightly slick mouthfeel. This was very delicious. 4; 90/100


Cheers, have a good night NBS.

 

Right now I just wish I had a way to get a good dubbel at this hour on a Sunday night with no car. And some good French onion soup, some chewy bread with butter. And some poached pears with real whipped cream. Delivered by a good looking man in a kilt. (Since we have officially arrived in the land of make-believe. )

 

Beer Haiku? Thanks for the opening @Roxie_B

A beer for me, please
A beer for you, certainly
Sharing is divine

 

Just pulled up from a road trip to Alabama for an Oktoberfest. Got a nice haul that included some of my favorites, but this is NEW beer Sunday. So to my surprise I walked into a local bottle shop in AL and found shelf full of jester king brews. So I bought a case. Super excited about this, so I figured NBS #500 would be a special enough occasion.


I know the date is from last year, but here we go. Yay for bottle conditioning!
Smell is light. Some lemongrass, a little white pepper, little bit of earthiness. Taste is light, with the lemon being noticeable upfront. Mellows a little bit but then you get a little funkiness from the Brett. Flavors that linger on the palate are a slight sourness that finishes nice and crisp with some pepper notes. This beer wasn't as funky as I was expecting, no hop character noticeable, but I'm gonna assume that is because it is a year old.

Cheers! Up on deck later tonight is clown shoes ride the lion and Avery 5 monks. Looking forward to those!

 

For me it depends on the game. If it's a local-ish game and the bar is full of people interested in it, I don't resent the sound on. If it's just a game that's on because the TV happened to be on and a game started, that's completely different.

FWIW, my wanna be alone or just don't wanna watch tv bar and my sports bar are two different places..at least for now. The former is changing hands, and the latter only gets used by me when I can't watch it at home - the best sportsbar I know, and the only one where I can watch in my underwear and scratch myself with no repercussions

 

Although I am relatively new to contributing to NBS, the 500th edition calls for something special and I had the perfect choice staring me down in my cellar stores.

The one...the only...Orval



Amazing. Never have I experienced something so complex. I seem to pick up something different each and every time I take a sniff and sip. As the beer warms up different flavor profiles are unmasked. The nose welcomes you in with a pungent bouquet of flowers, lemon zest, juniper spice, and yeasty musk. Overall, its very dry and tart from start to finish, but the lingering dryness and high end carbonation further enhances the flavor profiles. Starts you off with a nice sweet caramel sweetness and then you get consumed by a unique yeasty musk which later fades into a cider like tartness.

Unbelievably complex. At first the musk might seem abrasive...leading you to question if things can turn around...and oh yes it does! The seemingly abrasive nature sets the stage allowing the flavorful subtle qualities of the yeasty phenols and citrus zest to shine. Never had I experienced a beer which exhibited such extreme flavor qualities that melt away to the subtle flavor profiles underneath. Everything in this beer plays off each other superbly. This beer exemplifies perfect harmony in my books. Very unique. Truly exceptional.

EPIC!

 

Happy Happy Happy 500 NBS!!!

What a grand tradition we have here. Thanks to all who have hosted...malty, Matt, cavedave, utopiajane, and the others who have pitched in. And to all who partake. I, like some other BA's I know, tend to usually gravitate toward the obscure or stronger offerings when thinking of what I wanna share with this astute audience.But, I know that NBS is all about trying something new and sharing. So I decided to share something from a category that usually bores me. It's not barrel aged, it doesn't have tiger blood, nor some Homer's beard yeast mating with Brett. It's just a Vienna Lager. Like I said, normally a pretty boring one for me...and not very "sexy" to commemorate 500 NBS's, but here we go..

Sierra Nevada Vienna Lager It's pretty damn good.

http://www.beeradvocate.com/beer/profile/140/50671/

3.75/5 rDev -1.6%
look: 3.75 | smell: 3.75 | taste: 3.75 | feel: 3.75 | overall: 3.75

I find this to be one of the most enjoyable Vienna lagers I've had. Most are a blur in the memory.

This one however has a beautiful straw-amber color with a clean white frothy head.
Smell is a bit bready and lightly sweet with a hint of clean hop dryness.
Taste has the bready malt, a slightly crisp, dry hoppiness that has a hint of...is that a nut. Not sure but slightly nutty-in a good way.
Mouthfeel is...a Vienna lager. One doesn't expect a chewy beer here.
Finish is clean, with a lingering malt sweetness and clean hops.
Respectable!

 

Not truly able to judge the good looking part, but I've got a friend who is generally a hairy guy with a kilt. I could call him up and send him to the store with your list, but I gotta think the commute would be a killer...

 

Glad to hear you're out and able to have a beer. Hospitals suck. I've found it's been really hard to enjoy a beer whenever I've been in one.