New Beer Sunday (week 505)

I love a good ESB. This beer looks lovely in the glass as it leaves good foamy lacing on the way down, and that thick film on top never goes away. Unfortunately the beer smells a tad bit better than it tastes. There's a good balance between caramel and tea leaf earthiness in the aroma. The taste profile is missing a lot of that malty sweetness I love in a good balanced ESB. However, this beer was worth the $4 I spent on it. And boy, it was really difficult thinking of which song to pair it with.

 

Yesterday I took a trip down to Croydon to Neshaminy creek for some samples and misc. items and came across they're
The shape of hops to come, brewed with 5 different hops: apollo; newport; simcoe; topaz and citra.
It was very very fragrant with citrus and herbal notes. Taste swell too with lots of hoppy flavor similar to the nose but with some piney resin in the background.
It's a big ABV but drinks smooth and sweet.




and in the glass




I also found a rare interview of John Bonham from the Led Zeppelin

 

Starting this NBS(505) with the last of the growler from Lighthouse Brewing 'Seaport Vanilla Stout'

, http://www.beeradvocate.com/beer/profile/2385/143125/?ba=LampertLand ,

what to watch now , Lions-Falcons or Man U-Chelsea , hmm

 

Good day, drinkers...

Great fall football weather - partly sunny, breezy and cool - leaves in trees rotating through their pigment line-ups while a few brown leaves have already started to skitter across the ground...

I'm up and running with Left Hand's Wake Up Dead Nitro RIS...

...watching some early morning football from across the pond...

Earlier this week picked up some noteworthy new brews from Grimm Artisanal Ales...


Including one actual new release, their Shapeshifter Scotch ale...

Attempts to integrate some characteristics of a Belgian ale - interesting but not stunning.

Their Bees in the Trappe tripel and BFF DIPA, on the other hand, were quite impressive...

Bees in the Trappe tasted like Hopslam and a tripel rolled into one...

...lots of bitter pine and honey, but with the feel of a Belgian tripel...

And BFF was a strongly hop-forward DIPA that also had some tripel character...

The Falconer's Flight hops were stunningly employed - excellent drinking...

And then last night, also from Brooklyn...

Hand & Seal bourbon barrel barleywine...

Top-flight drinking - ranks with the big boys, like King Henry and Sucaba

Latest new music fix (meaning, new to me, not the world )...

Australian melodic death metal thrash from 2011

Here's to new beer in your glass: Cheers!

 

Very Good Morning,
It is another lovely day here in the Northern Piedmont. It is very dry and crisp and leaves are beginning to fall in earnest. This is a hardwood haven and I've rarely seen such color and profusion of acorns and hickory nuts. The squirrels are acting funny. We took a long hike through the woods with the hounds and this damned beer looks good!
My God, this beer is delicious, a fresh marvel through and through. It really reminds me of some of the ales I drank as a young fellow travelling through England. Excellent hops for sure, but a balance that doesn't SCREAM hops. I love this beer and could drink it anytime. I urge each of you to give this one a try!
Eric Burdon is great in this Santanaesque piece.
Cheers everyone and make people happy.

 

Good afternoon!

The weather is slightly warmer than in the past couple days, but it's a nice low/mid 70's today, sunny, and I'm enjoying what little time I have to sit outside on the back porch and watch the wind blow the leaves off the trees already.

Enjoying this new gem- not new to Wicked Weed by any means, but new to this beer.

Briars and Brett- a brett farmhouse ale, using local malt, local blackberries, with lemon zest and basil, and aged in local Gin barrels.

Not being much of a liquor drinker, I can't say I've had gin enough to remember the flavor. The beer has a nice color to it, and has a smooth tartness to the aroma. Juniper, mint, and fruit, and some slight funk come through.

The flavor is different, not very beer like, the funk is very restrained, the berries come through with some nice tartness, and you pick up the barrel flavors. The gin gives it a very minty- floral flavor that works well with the lemon zest and berries.

Interesting beer for sure, and mighty tasty.

 

Good Sunday all, Thanks UJANE for the kick off.
We sponsored a family/friends event last night that included Edward and George from Hill Farmstead.
The George is our focus this morning, A right and fine Brown Ale. That keg never had a chance.
It was so nice to hear folks wonder about the style, the dark beer discussion was quickly muted
upon the first sips.
Cheers all

George
Hill Farmstead Brewery
American Brown Ale / 6.00% ABV

3.89/5 rDev: -5.4% | rAvg: 4.11
look: 3.75 | smell: 3.75 | taste: 4 | feel: 4 | overall: 3.75

Poured from 6 day old 30 liter keg into British pint glass.

A - Beautiful brown, slightly opaque. Carbonated extremely well, leading to a
wonderful caramel colored cap.
S - A touch of roast, some hazelnut and caramel. The floral component sets off
an interesting medley of light citrus, lightly roasted malt and brown sugar.
T - Right in the sweet spot, a brown ale that is structured well. Elements of dark fruit,
slightly dry roasted malt, and a fantastic hop finish. Every cylinder is firing on this beer.
The malt, hop structure borders on genius.
F - Medium bodied, starts with a delicate dance from carbonation, leads into a creaminess
that almost befuddles, then a tight dry finish.
O - A wonderful version of brown ale, with the tightly defined signature of Hill Farmstead.
The balanced approach and refined touch make this a favorite.

Cheers all

 

Greetings high-gravity headless horsemen, saison sappers, pumpkin pike men, and gose grenadiers, it’s time for one of my sesquipedalian summaries on NBS. We’re 5 in off of NBS 500, and show no signs of slowing down. Today’s offering? DuClaw’s Super-mega-ultra-freakin’-gravity creation… Colossus.

DuClaw’s Colossus


Poured into my Lucifer snifter

Let the record show I have an irrefragable impuissance for boozy beer. That said…

Sight: After poured into my glass, I see a golden, honey like brew with a stark white head. It settles down to a thin cap in top. The lacing present on the sides of the glass resembles that dot game where you try to connect them to make more boxes than your opponent, and put an initial in it. I mean it has lots of small dots, not the boxes.

Smell: Booze, booze, and a little more booze. I also detect faint hints of yeasty esters and a touch of malt.

Taste: I’m so confused. Zippy spices, apricot (I later looked at the bottle and saw peach as a perceived flavor so I was in the ballpark), malt, and well… more booze. When it warms up I might get the apples and honey.

Mouthfeel: Slick and oily, teeth-coating. Not much carbonation, but I do see tiny bubbles regularly make their way to the top, in a relaxed, Sunday-driver sort of fashion.

Overall: Well, I’ve had few as big as this one. It drinks almost like a barleywine. Aside from DFH’s 18% nonsense, I’ve not experienced anything quite like this. I bet this would age well, and the alcohol end up less pronounced. It felt lucky to try it, but you won’t see my buying another unless the jack it back up to 20+ abv.

And now, a newly discovered artist apropos of aforementioned beer in my review:

 

Kelsen Draken Ribust Porter from Derry New Hampshire (USA). 6.8% ABV. Beautiful dark brown pour leading up a full and foamy tan head that lingers and tickles my upper lips. The roasted malt character is present in the aroma and there is also a milk chocolate and raisin feel. Medium body. Sweet roasted malts at first gulp and then an earthy bitterness explodes on the palate to linger at the end.

I am not sure I expected that bitterness after giving it a sniff. It was no where to be found in the aroma. Kelsen is one of about a dozen new nano-breweries that have opened in New Hampshire in the last two years. Kelsen won a couple big deal medals earlier this year for their Paradigm Brown and their Double Battle Axe DIPA. So far everything I have had from this brewery has been enjoyable and I look forward to every release.

 

Great pictures. I'm jealous you get to try the LH WUD Nitro.

 

An addendum to my review: Yes, as it warms up I taste the apples and honey. Neat.

 

Sorry about doubling up on Eric Burdon above. I'm a technical rookie. Cheers.

 

I liked it too, but felt it didn't live up to my expectations of a good ESB. I mean, for cryin' out loud, it's Iron Maiden... you think they'd want to produce an EXCELLENT ESB.

 

Hi all, so this is my first NBS post but I'm pretty sure it will not be the last

So my new beer was an Innis and Gunn Toasted oak IPA. I had pretty big expectations for this beer as I tend to be a fan of the work they do over there at Innis and Gunn and the toasted Oak did not disappoint.

The story behind this one is pretty boring but I'll share anyway. My wife and I went to the Biggest Tesco in Ireland, yesterday, which has just opened out about 8 miles from where we live. We were in the town and thought we would go and check it out, I was happy enough as I wanted to check out if the beer selection was better than in the existing store. To my immense joy the selection is great! The old store was fine if you wanted to drink well known British beer all the time but now there is a great selection of European mainland beers just on my door step. I was over joyed and was about to leave without purchasing anything, as my monthly beer budget is gone, but I was content in the knowledge next month will be a lot of fun.

As I walked out the salon style swing doors I saw one single bottle of Toasted Oak IPA in the reduced to clear section. For me it was too much to resist... a beer by Innis and Gunn I had never tried before and REDUCED, I was having it. It looked so lonely there all by itself I had to give it a new home with someone who would appreciate it.

So home it came with me...

Those of you who have been on WBAYDT will have seen this already as it became my pumpkin carving beer today.
Still here is the review.

http://www.beeradvocate.com/beer/profile/10272/101877/?ba=BeerDrinkersWorldTour

It is a shame to think this beer is no more and I really hope there are a few still lurking on the shelves out there so I can snap them up quickly and also give them a good home...

 

I spent some time across the pond. Ah, memories of shopping on Sundays at Tesco. Welcome to the fold.

 

Welcome to the show. I was unaware of this beer. I really enjoy Innis and Gunn stuff too, so I will be keeping an eye, or 2, open for this one.

 

Howdy and happy NBS. I hope everyone is having a terrific weekend. It's gorgeous in S. WI today and I spent a good amount of time cleaning up the yard this weekend. I've been fighting off a cold the past week and have limited my beer intake to mostly lower ABV.

Beautiful shot of the day.


Today I have the chance to try a can of DC Brau OTWOA IIPA. It's a good one and full of flavor. The aromas are nice and fruity, with some melon and malt sweetness. Notes of citrus, tropical, with apricot and pineapple. Hints of caramel and a bit of pine. The flavor begins with sweet and fruity flavor. Dominated by caramel and citrus, tropical notes. I find the apricot, but not the pineapple from the aroma. Some grapefruit and caramel make an appearance. Finish has a nice pine bite to it.

A very nice IIPA and a pleasure to drink.

 

New American Black IPA Sunday (week 505)

Greetings fellow NBS'ers from up on the ridge in Mid Hud Val NY. A cool cloudy day, with sun breaking through occasionally. In other words, quintessential fall.

Ithaca's Box of Hops 12 pack variety landed at my local, 25.00 seemed a bit high, but couldn't resist its charms. First up is the Black IPA, which I loved right off because it doesn't call itself Cascadian Dark, or Black Ale, but the name I prefer, a full on unashamed BIPA. Nice beer, but truth told I hope the other two I haven't tried in this box are better, this one is good not great.

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

http://www.beeradvocate.com/beer/profile/651/101972/?ba=cavedave