New Beer Sunday (week 513)

Greetings all and happy Sunday,
Our routine is unchanged. Long morning hike with the hounds out through the huge hardwoods, watching the latest batch of diving ducks (Ruddy Ducks), with our old friends Mr. Kingfisher and "Old Blue" the heron, amongst many others. It's not quite as cold as yesterday, that was a bit snowy and very beautiful, making this old southern soul feel a bit Christmasy.
Today's beer is Haw River Farmhouse Ales #Noholdies Holdsie Da Deuce. This brewery is located in Saxapahaw, N.C., way out in old Quaker territory about halfway between Greensboro and Chapel Hill. It is part of a remarkable complex of condominiums and businesses built into a very old textile mill, originally Quaker, but which became Jordan Mills, owned by long time US Senator B. Everett Jordan. His descendants and ex UNC All-American Tom Lagarde now are creating a loving and lasting landmark. Anyone visiting North Carolina needs to visit Saxapahaw for the food, vibe, and fun! The brewery is an engineering marvel and truly beautiful. Ben makes great beer.
The beer is a Belgian Tripel finished in not so old red wine oak barrels. Tastes like Cabernet back in there with some spice, maybe Zinfandel or Syrah. Damn, this is real Belgium on the nose, sweetish entry, yeasty flavors, and long fresh malt (fresh Riverbend Malt from Asheville) finish that is super satisfying. The long dry finish begs for the next sip and at 8.2% packs a very smooth punch. A great beer that will open eyes everywhere. There are 2 others- one Chardonnay and one Jack Daniels- same beer base.
I knew of The Five Royales, but never knew that they were held in such high esteem by the musical historians. They were named to the Rock and Roll Hall Of Fame this week and it is a beautiful thing for this legacy group from Winston-Salem.
Cheers and sorry for all of the words!











http://www.journalnow.com/relishnow...cle_2694865a-8526-11e4-ae95-0303bf13d37a.html

 

Hey what's going on?

Oh man... there is just no time in the day... I have had no time, been stressed out, just an insane month and I can't wait for the holidays.

But our hero isn't gonna quit and you can't bring me down, so what's new for our hero today?

District Common - Atlas Brew Works


Atlas Brew Works - District Common Style Lager by imbibehour, on Flickr

Another DC brewery has finally gone the can route, and has put their goodies out on the shelves. Sign of good things to come? Let's see...

Review here or read below: http://www.beeradvocate.com/beer/profile/31212/99966/?ba=smakawhat

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Poured from the can into a nonic pint glass.

Deep and slightly muddy orange/red body, slightly cloudy, but looking fairly alright if a bit murky on the body color. Forms an off tan almost orange/yellow tinge head, at a simple three fingers with a flat top styro puck. Minimal retention, a bit creamy, but otherwise fine.

Nice mild bread notes on the aroma, with some good toasty to match. Faint hint of sticky lager like pasty yeast quality, with a clean sensation. Mild hints of citrus fruit but very small but noticeable. Pretty basic but solid.

Palate washes a little wet, but manages some of the basics. Real interesting notes of fruit on this, almost comes like an ale yeast esters flavor but has to be from some sort of fruit forward American hop variety. Slightly juicy but washes a bit to wet off the palate with some fruit orange, mild spice, and lemon tropics in the mid palate. Malt angle manages a bit of sweetness but fairly subdued, but aftertaste brings some toast. Some warmth seems to bring out some interesting banana as well. Crispness seems a bit downsided, with carbonation being fairly middle of the road but gives some good sticky lager yeast on the finish as well.

It's an interesting take on a steam brew, but is missing I think some of the toasty notes and classic bready character I like from the style. It's still a very solid enjoyable brew though. Hope someday they can NSFW.

look: 3.5 | smell: 4 | taste: 3.5 | feel: 3.5 | overall: 3.5 | Final Score: 3.6

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You really found this at Wallyworld !?

 

Sweet to the beat... thanks for the tip I'll get into that ASAP

 

Happy New Beer Sunday/ Day of the Dark!

I'm just getting out of work mode right now, and into entertaining mode pretty soon-


We're having friends over to the lovely abode for an afternoon of eating and drinking. My leg o'lamb has been marinating since last night and will be hitting the grill soon enough. I think I'm going to let the fellow above carve it, though. It also seems like a good enough occasion to tidy up the place, make sure the air hockey table is ready, sharpening darts, and so on. I did have time for a beer earlier- here's what it was:

Jackie O's Dark Apparition- courtesy of @bambinichole , who couldn't have sent a more appropriate beer. As soon as I saw that bottle this week I knew when I was opening it.

Fantastic aroma- full of dark chocolate, tootsie rolls, blackstrap molasses, dark fruit, and a hint of licorice in the background. Nothing stands out too much, and it has a great balance to it. But, as always with Imperial Stouts, the big question is in how does that all translate to the palate. I am very pleased to report that it really shines- smooth and rich, but not overly so, and easy to sip for such a heavyweight. The cocoa and molasses are the stars here, but each successive sip brings something new to the finish- sometimes it's the licorice, sometimes it's a subtle smokiness, sometimes it's a hint of spicy hops. Alcohol takes the form of a subtle presence, and keeps things from getting too cloying, along with a perfect snap of bitterness. Great beer, A (4.4). Thanks again, man!

Enjoy your day, everybody, I know I will be enjoying mine!

 

Greetings NBS friends, having worked all week in Northern VT, it is nice to be home on this
Day of the Dark. In that vein we have from the basement Goose Islands Big John from 2011.
Imperial Stout with cacao nibs, what a delightful trip this is.
Spoke earlier with our son oversees, now time for some tree decorating!

Cheers all

Big John

Goose Island Beer Co.
American Double / Imperial Stout / 11.50% ABV

4.15/5 rDev: +1.7% | rAvg: 4.08
look: 4 | smell: 4.25 | taste: 4 | feel: 4.5 | overall: 4.25

2011 bottle poured into a modified tulip glass.
A - Dark as this day of darkness, the cap is as short as this day. A mocha colored sunset of lacing thinly lines the glass.
S - Dark fruits, black licorice, bakers chocolate, followed by vanilla, and molasses., buried way in the back is some candied orange note. What a bouquet. Fragrant and inviting, barely a hint of alcohol.
T - Madagascar chocolate, Light figs, hints of orange as it warms. Super complex.
The taste evolution is a joy to experience.
F - Round, oily, thick delightfully rich. All that and a linger that leaves you with traces of delicate chocolate, and desire.
O - This is a wonderfully big stout, complex and with all the right notes. A symphony of flavors, with a delicate touch. I am so glad to have experienced this with some time on the bottle.

Cheers all

 

Sorry for the interrupt but does anyone know why my pics always end up sideways? They're not that way when I upload, but when I post the url to tinypic, they display sideways here.

me = confused

 

Since it is the Holiday Season I figured it would be appropriate for a Christmas time story, with beer!!

As a general rule I am not a fan of Holiday type beers since they are very often heavily spiced. I am not a fan of heavily spiced beers.

Victory makes a Holiday beer they call Winter Cheers and I have avoided it since I figured it was an over-spiced beer. Lucky for me I received a beermail from Maria (@utopiajane) where she discussed this beer. Based upon this input I decided to purchase a 6-pack of Winter Cheers for some Christmas time drinking, and I am glad that I did!

This beer is very good. It has an interesting combination of flavors: some banana, clove and even some citrus notes. I am guessing that this beer is fermented with a hefeweizen yeast strain. It also has a bit more oomph with 6.7% ABV; which is nice for cool weather drinking. This beer impresses me as being a German Double Wit!

Below is how Victory describes this beer:

“Winter Cheers

Wheat Ale

Winter weather may drive us indoors but cannot dampen our spirits when hearth, home and hops meet in jubilation. Hoisted high in its golden glory, Winter Cheers lives up to its name, fueling festive times and chasing winter’s chill. Glowing and glimmering, frothy and shimmering, our celebratory wheat ale features luscious fruity and spicy notes, making it a perfect brew to brighten spirits even on the deepest of nights.

Composition

Malt: German wheat and barley malts, and oats

Hops: Whole flower Tettnang and Citra hops

ABV: 6.7%

Flavor

Light in body, this fruity and warming holiday brew delivers a crisp finish, with spicy hints of banana, clove and citrus.

Food Pairings

Cheese and seafood

Availability

Holiday seasonal in 12 oz. bottles and on draft”

It is also a beautiful looking beer as you can see below in my Weihenstephaner wheat glass.

Happy Holidays and Merry Christmas to the BA community!!

 

You're a genius compared to me. Sometimes mine just disappear!

 

New Darkest Sunday of the Year Stout

Today I am doing something different. I don't think I have ever reviewed a beer with more than 1,500 is ratings. However, I wanted to:

A) Stick with @LeperJim s theme and drink something dark.

B) Try this one specifically because it really intrigues me.

C) Not "cross the streams" with my WBAYDN choice. I was told that was bad



For this first day of Winter, I present this:

and the full, poetically challanged review
http://www.beeradvocate.com/beer/profile/63/34420/?ba=WesMantooth

Final tally 3.86 I don't have many -rdev on barrel aged beers

Considering the ratings, it seems like there are a lot of negative reviews/comments on this beer. It was the first thing that popped into my tiny brain when I heard Deschutes was coming to Ohio last year. In one sentence, I would like to see them commit more of this beer to barrels and sit on it longer.

I honestly thought drain pour at first sip. After hanging with it for a minute, the flavors seems to grow on me. I think it is the initial blast of the wine barrel and licorice combo that really put me off, but they seem to start melding with the other flavors. This includes a lot of sweetness, seemingly from molasses/brown sugar, and vanilla, sour cherry, coffee beans, some definite oak, and a just a touch of bourbon at the end. Finishes pretty bitter and tart.

In all fairness, this beer probably shouldn't be reviewed until it's "best after date" like Mirror Mirror. That being said, Mirror drinks much better right out of the gate. This beer is pretty harsh, and all over the place flavor wise. I really think my score on taste will be much higher when I drink my next bottle a year from now. It is very good, but hopefully it will reach the "world class" status that it has earned. Right now?… Nope.


So, "Cousin Eddie" barricaded the door to my oldest son's room last night.

In the process of returning the treadmill to the storage room I knocked over a bottle that I had set aside to send to a buddy. I only got cut twice cleaning up.


Just a flesh wound

Now off to share the rest of my Abyss with my brothers. Family Christmas time. Enjoy your Sunday all!

I'm Donnie Darko, and I approved this NBS message

 

that sir is alcohol abuse. you are grounded to your room and must drink miller beers.

 

Well finally back home on this NBS DOTD. Finished up my shopping this morning and decided to try what will be some easy apps for xmas day. Here I have some beef braised short rib wrapped in bacon . What better way to start this dark day than with a nice dark beer. ! Up first is dinosmores by off color overall I'd give it a 4.25. Almost had that smore in a bottle taste but missing something ? ? O well still delicious. Up next I try to one up @utopiajane stay tuned. Finally got that damn photobucket to work

 

Good point. Christmas and Pumpkin Ales don't leave much gray/grey? area. Some people want a full out cloves, cinnamon, nutmeg, all spice, etc. assault. Some peple want balance. Ironically, I usually stress,and look for balance in beer, but when it comes to seasonals, I am the exact opposite. I don't care for Pumpking much, yet love Schlafly and Stevens Point. Thirsty Dog's Christmas Ale actually was released before their pumpkin because they use real, locally grown ones. I commend them for that, and it is good, but not what I go for.

No shortage of spices in that one. Also, no shortage of confusion with that movie.

 

Here is my NBS Dark Day entry. An unlikely and fun style of beer.

Surly Pentagram starts off with aromas of malts and moves into the funkiness. Sour cherry and dark grape notes with some light tobacco. The flavor is less malty and somewhat tart. Not sour, but tart with notes of tart cherry. sour dark grapes. I pick up some wine notes and hints of tobacco. A nice change of pace from the stouts and barleywines I have been consuming this winter.

 

Seems like the older versions of this beer where much better, well when they weren't infected. @Bitterbill sent my one and only Abyss. It was a 2010 and had been cellared for 3 years before I drank it.