New Beer Sunday (week 508)

Greetings fellow NBSers! A startling crisp and clear week here in the Fourth Corner. Highs in the mid-upper 30's, and lows below 32 brought the first frosts of the year to the lowlands here near sea level. I'm a certain amount of anticipation anxiety, as there's a large brewers conference happening in Bend OR this weekend, and a nice chunk of my change went to Bend without me. I'm expecting a few bottles of Ching Ching, some Ale Apothecary stuff, and whatever other goodies my friend can scoop up for to be in my grubby little mitts tomorrow.

On a very personal note, my birthday is next Sunday, and I have secured a facility for a bottle share. I have confirmations from the brewers from at least 6 breweries, and a lot of my friends are reaching deep into their cellars. Best of all? ALL Y'ALL ARE INVITED!!! Just make your travel arrangements to Bellingham, let me know you're headed in, bring a couple 22s (or a growler) to share, and I'll give ya the details. I expect all of you to show up! Just don't expect much posting from me on next weeks NBS.

My first entry for today, a somewhat sub-par IPA from a regional brewery: http://www.beeradvocate.com/beer/profile/29553/110009/

And, since the superb Richard Thompson has been a topic of discussion upthread, I'd like to share this dark version of a Top-40 pop song:

 

Made the quick trip out to New Republic to try a pint of Windlass, their sweet potato porter:



http://www.beeradvocate.com/beer/profile/27400/109601/?ba=Premo88

Gave it a 3.93 (+7.4% rDev).

First and foremost, it's a decent porter, and I've been craving some stout/porter something fierce. So it's a good brew with plenty of nice dark malt flavors: sweet, slight coffee, chocolate, oak, burnt wood. It's also got that American hop bite that many American browns and stout/porters have ... burnt, bitter hops that never show up in English brown ales ... like a black IPA thing.

As for the sweet potato, it's hard for me to say how much it adds -- or is even present. It seems to tame or mute the darker notes in the aroma, but I can't honestly say I smell sweet potato. And I don't taste sweet potato. It's very reminiscent of pumpkin ales, which by and large smell and taste like a dirt shake -- very, very bland and earthy, kind of like real pumpkin (which has very little flavor, IMO).

Overall good brew, whatever's in it. Definitely worth the drive out to the brew barn for some bye week beer.

 

Since Richard Thomspon-fest has commenced, here's one of my favorites...



Now there's just way too many Fairport tunes that I would consider "favorites." Too many to pick just a few, even.

 

I agree. That music made a difference to me.

 

OK, now for a couple brews I had earlier today, while avoiding Puntball: http://www.beeradvocate.com/beer/profile/959/140659/

Since we're on the acoustic side of things, this is the second best guitar player I've ever seen live (SRV is #1):

 

New Porter Sunday-

I'm starting to get these porter and stout cravings lately, the kind you could drink all night long, but unfortunately I don't see too many on the shelves these days. Reconnecting with Sam Smith's Oatmeal Stout was a great treat the past few days, but it doesn't hurt to see if there's anything else out there. With that in mind, I grabbed this handsome guy from Mexico-


This seems to be called Pay the Ferryman Porter, and the label also says Day of the Dead Beers. Definitely eye-catching, but let's also see what's on the inside...

Good nose for a Porter- chocolate malt dominates, alongside caramel and dried flowers. It kind of falters a bit on the palate. The caramel malt comes to the fore while the cocoa takes a back seat. No real yeast signature, either, which would have added some other points of interest. Bitterness is on the light side- too faint, really. After 3/4ths of a glass it starts to take on a cola-like quality. It's certainly drinkable- nothing is really cloying or undesirable here- but my ultimate impression is that of punches being pulled. Put this in a typical Mexican Restaurant's lineup and it would be an easy pick, but under normal circumstances I will just go with something more reliable. Good effort, though- B- (3.25).

Van sure loves to name-drop in his songs, but that's just fine with me. I've done the same thing; "Cleaning Windows" inspired me to pick up my first Sonny Terry and Brownie McGhee record, which I then proceeded to wear out

 

Whoops. I had actually typed a slightly longer post out at first (at least double the length of what I ended up posting with the picture), but ended up trimming it down! XD

Anyway... today was kind of a rough day (car trouble that ended up canceling a planned trip to Roanoke to visit my sister--something snapped when I hit a bump a little harder than planned and the car now only reliably goes into first gear... I have some replacement transmission parts coming in the mail) and I didn't feel like washing a bunch of dishes so I could cook something myself, so I headed over to the local Mexican place. As mentioned before, I had planned on trying a couple new beers while I was there, since they have more than half a dozen Mexican beers (plus the regular Bud, Miller, Coors you can find everywhere) on their menu. I'd never seen Bohemia in the stores around here, so I figured I'd go with that one. I was considering trying Dos Equis as well (they apparently had it on tap there, offering 12 ounces for a dollar cheaper than the price for the bottled version!) but figured that I'd have other opportunities to try that one since it's pretty widespread.

Aside from the struggle with how to pronounce the name when ordering (...are they expecting it pronounced like a German word or a Spanish one? is that a silent H or not? I ended up going with "pronounce more like German but point to the name on the menu while doing so" and had no problems), the first thing I noticed was how nice the bottle looked. And then, I noticed how different the taste was compared to other beers I'd had--not as much of a "bready" flavor as most of the others I've tried, but even though I like the "bready" flavor this was still good. I'm actually not entirely sure how to describe what this tasted like, but there was definitely something lemony in there (and I know that wasn't just coming from the lime they served them with, as I had one with and one without lime and definitely picked up on a lemony flavor in there both times.) It surprised me a bit just how quick I emptied the first bottle--the food had only just arrived and it was nearly gone! So when the waiter came around with the plate of tortillas, I went ahead and ordered one more. I was almost tempted to have a third bottle when the waiter picked up my plates and asked if I wanted another, but in the end I decided against it (mainly because money's already a little shorter than usual, what with having to pay to have the car towed earlier today and all.)

Looking it up on the site afterward, I see that it's classified as a German-style pilsner. I suppose that explains how different this was from other beers I've had--I've never had a pilsner (German or otherwise) before this point. This was definitely a positive experience, though, so I think I'll be trying more of them in the future, and I'll probably order this one again if I spot it on the menu at a Mexican place and feel more like going with something I already know that I like rather than trying something new.

 

A big thank to my sweet friend Whitney K for grabbing this (unexpectedly) coffee and roast tasting beer for me on a trip back to her home town: http://www.beeradvocate.com/beer/profile/7406/17189/

Speaking of guitarslingers who play Martins:

 

Happy NBS fellow brethren of the barleywine and sisters of the sahti!

For this edition I have chosen a barleywine I picked up recently. Mikkeller Big Worse.



Sorry for the grainy picture, but you get the idea.

The beer pours a hazy, deep copper color. Head doesn't last for long, leaving foamy film on the top.

Smell is rich. Lots of noticeable hops, but not as prevalent as other American barleywines. Pine resin battles for supremacy with toffee notes. As it warms a boozy smell becomes more noticeable.

Taste is sweeter than I expected. Great caramel and toffee flavors with a lingering bitterness on the finish. Good hop bite balanced by the malt. Warming up a little, buttery toffee comes out even more. Overall I am very surprised.

Mouthfeel is rich and creamy, but surprisingly smooth.

Overall a very good barleywine. I go into most Mikkeller beers expecting to be a little disappointed, but in this case bravo. This is a good barleywine, but for the price generally paid for Mikkeller beers there are a few better options. Would definitely buy this again though with that being said.
3.7/5 rDev:-1.9%

 

Good writing. Reminds me of Down and Out in Paris and London by George Orwell, except that he was getting ready to go to Spain during the revolution and his innocence disappeared.

 

been saving this one for awhile:



Southern Tier's sugar-loaded imperial milk stout as only an American brewer could do ... holy crap! The vanilla in this thing is off the charts. People say bourbon-barrel aged brews have vanilla notes, and they do -- it's part of why I love them. Creme Brulee doesn't have vanilla notes; it has vanilla. Period. It's like walking into an ice cream shop. So much sugar.

http://www.beeradvocate.com/beer/profile/3818/43687/?ba=Premo88

My 4.06 is actually over the average (+4.4% rDev), which surprises me. I'd expect this to be much higher than my 4.06 because it's big, bold, sweet and just a bit boozy. Probably it's too sweet? I'm guessing so.



I don't normally pay attention to the gravity, but 25? That's freaking huge, right?

Cheers!

 

And, the last of the ones from earlier today. Is it bad that it took me the length of writing 4 reviews (as well as checking in on the rest of the intratoobz) to finish the pint that was my first entry? Turns out, I didn't much care for that brew: http://www.beeradvocate.com/beer/profile/701/145987/

Seriously, y'all thought I'd mention him without playing him?

 

The Allman Brothers will always be part of me! When I was 17 the Allman Brothers played at The End Zone in Greensboro (circa 1968). I was a junior in high school and we were on Walker Ave at The Pickwick drinking tall Blatz drafts, 35 cents a pop, eating great cheeseburgers, wondering what was happening next door. It was The Allman Brothers setting up and practicing a touch. These guys were my age and were beyond great. This fellow carries on a great tradition.

 

Well, turns out there was a 20th Anniversary ImpIPA on tap, from a brewery that I love. Sadly, I got some disappoints from it: http://www.beeradvocate.com/beer/profile/1066/137685/

What does the world need now?

ANOTHER BILL HICKS!!!!

 

Did you just drink a milk stout??? you drank a milk stout... geez dude...

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Milk Stout Nitro - Left Hand Brewing Company


Left Hand Brewing - Nitro Milk Stout by imbibehour, on Flickr

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Poured from the bottle into a nonic pint glass.

An aggressive pour, brings a one finger super cream cocoa tan looking head. Thin fine almost perfect nitro bubbles in its make up. Supper dark mahogany brown, nearly dark walnut body color, solid, and totally opaque.

Great aroma on the brew. Cream coffee, sweet milk with a light dry and almost husky roasting grain character. Mellow sweetness and not overboard either. Very nice.

Palate brings a fairly solid character. Milky sweetness without overly sugary or soda bubbly. Mild milk chocolate notes and a cream mellow sugar note. Slightly acrid but nicely balanced with a mellow nitro classic mouthfeel, if not quite perfect if it were off the tap.

Overall. A fun beer, and even one of the better regular milk stouts that I've had for a style I don't really care for too often.

look: 4 | smell: 4.25 | taste: 4 | feel: 4.5 | overall: 4

Rating: 4.1

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Pardon my indulgence, but...

I hit 750 beers this week

It's amazing, even after all those beers, there are so many that will still blow me away...

Started my countdown to 750 with this pick-up...

Selected with the knowledge, but also knowing, all good stuff, y'see?

Never got around to a Fuller's ESB before...

This was a stunner. Should be required drinking.

...I didn't know...

Then:
Velvet Merlin and Bell's Special Double Cream Stout...

When I go stout, I want something dense and strong. I don't go for porters or medium-abv stouts often.
These were both medium-weight kinda stouts, full of roasty flavors; smooth; both suggested espresso and dry cocoa. The 'Merlin was drier and slightly smoother; the SDCS was sweeter, but not "indulgent" in any way - both were rather straightforward stouts, by my reckoning - oatmeal and American-styled, respectively...

All o' this led up to #750...

Tongue Buckler

Great shit.
An Imperial amber, it basically marries darker "amber ale" malts to a bruising array of IPA-esque hops.
Gotta love it.

Now today, post-karma bump and all (*ahhhh* ...wiser...), had a great IPA...
Nothing that's taking a run at Heady or Pliny, but nonetheless, simply excellent.

And (!) a great RIS - immediately in any "Top 10 RIS" conversation...

Immense and impressive.
So glad to see Bell's in NY...




Finishing up my Expedition Stout with some smoked English cheddar...

Picked a NE win tonight, but that's just flippin' a coin, y'know?
Still, I'll take Brady and Belichick 9 times outta 10.
This'll probably be a tightly-contested game...

Rockin'...


Cheers!

 

Congrats @Greywulfken

 

Happy NBS to everyone! My new beer for today is Terrapin's Wake &Bake Oatmeal Coffee Imperial Stout. This is a hugely coffee-forward stout, with the coffee dominating everything else. Burnt coffee grounds is what I'm mainly getting, though I suspect there's a very high quality base beer underneath, but just can't say for sure on the first try. Will have to revisit this one for sure. Very enjoyable if you like coffee-forward beers (think BP Victory At Sea and Smog City Coffee Porter). The coffee in FBS is way toned down by comparison. I think I'd like to try this beer another day to see if the coffee blends in better to the base beer than what I'm tasting now. Definitely worth a try, and maybe a return visit.

BTW, if there's one brewery I'd like to re-brand, it's Terrapin. Some really good beers floating on a sea of mediocrity. The names and artwork are way too cutesy yet somehow completely forgettable. Someone at Terrapin clearly knows how to make some good beers, but they are being lost under blankets of fluff

Music for the evening: Eric Satie.