New Beer Sunday (week 513)

Such a great looking bottle and beer!

 

Back with the best beer I've had this year, and a contender for best I've ever had:
Bourbon.
Barrel.
Aged.
Dark.
Star:
Spice.
Wars.

http://www.beeradvocate.com/beer/profile/20680/143754/?ba=woemad

There's been a lot of hype in the PNW from these beers. I can now tell you from experience it's worth every bit of it. I put off buying any of these beers because at nearly $18 (really, $18+ with WA sales tax), they were more expensive than any beer I had ever bought (though not by ounce - Brunch Weasel I'm looking at you). When I made the decision I could buy Spice Wars this A.M., I was a little bummed out the Coffee version was sold out where I was at. NO MORE. This was fucking fantastic. The only reason it didn't score higher is because I don't believe in perfect ratings for anything.

If you can get this and like this sort of beer, DO SO!

 

Maybe not quite "Day" of the dark, more "Evening" now, but a new beer for me to celebrate a certain football team making the playoffs. Had regular Narwhal, and thought it a fine brew, but this one is considerably better:



Barrel addition is nice, wood coming through early. Whiskey integrates into the slightly sweet chocolate malt flavors, and replaces what I sometimes find as a mildly harsh hop character in Sierra Nevada's darker beers. Yet another beer today where the mouthfeel is an impressive part of the experience.

I think I would give this higher rating if we still could do precise ratings, b/c I feel my individual ratings are fine given the .25 increments (but such is the nature of BA, until they change again).

 

I'm so sorry, Terry. I know all too well what you are going through. I lost my favorite cousin on Halloween night. Whatever rationalization can be used - poor health, better off now, etc., it's still just sad.

 

And what is likely my final NBS entry today is the light version of a beer. I bought a 22 of the 13%abv version, and the lite stile weighs in at 8+%: http://www.beeradvocate.com/beer/profile/24300/147173/?ba=beertunes .

Since we're in a flying mood, I wonder if Orville and Wilbur ever imagined this:

 

Delicious. Piney hops up front, turning into a rich earthy, roasty, finally resiny finish. I was sad to hear no bottles of Red's Rye in 2015, but this sure helps. Cheers NBS!

 

New American Brown Ale Sunday

Hi NBSer's! For my 2nd and last new beer of the day, I have some Alltech/Lexington Brewing Kentucky Honey Barrel Brown Ale: http://www.beeradvocate.com/beer/profile/430/144086/?ba=bluejacket74




I liked this brew, and it's different enough that I would recommend it to people who like and dislike their original Kentucky Bourbon Barrel Ale. I know that brew has it's share of people on BA who either like or dislike it strongly. There's enough differences and similarities in this beer to that one that I'd think a lot of people would like (or at least tolerate) this one.

I'll try and check back on here at some point to see what everyone else is drinking for their new beers today. And I'll have one post on the WBAYDN thread in a little while. Have a good rest of your weekend and week everybody!

 

This was my new beer for the day. My nephew brought it over as a gift for the holidays. This is a foothills Christmas release IPA. It was extremely good. I usually compare my IPA's to the great VT ones. Very few come close and this one did. The aroma wasn't quite as good as the Alchemist gets. The mouth feel and taste compared well to Focal or Heady. The big difference is the after taste. The foothills was nice, but didn't have that long lingering hop after taste. All in all an excellent beer well worth searching out.

 

I give you the like for the label on that beer alone, 'cause well that's obvious!

 

Greetings NBSer's! It's been a while since I last joined in on the fun.

I finished up helping my girlfriend wrap up 132 truffles (dark chocolate, white chocolate and Oreo, milk chocolate and peanut butter, and cake batter) for Christmas gifts for friends and co-workers.

Now it's time to kick back and enjoy a new brew!

This beer is exactly what I look for in an Amber IPA. Everything plays well together. First initial wafts of aroma highlight herbal and pine hops with a touch of caramel sweetness and amber malt. The taste is dead on. The herbal and pine hops are definitely present but does not over shadow the rest of this brew's profile. Amber malty goodness featuring dark bread tones and toffee which sets up nicely for the citrus and pine splash finish.

Great take on a hopped up Amber.

Cheers!

 

Not out to win anything, but I can go along with a gag:



Brooklyn's Black Chocolate Stout, a brew I avoided last year because I just assumed they added chocolate. Seems like cheating. But they don't cheat, just brew up a pretty classic version of the Russian imperial stout.

It's standard fare big stout stuff: lots of dark malt chocolate, coffee, sweetness, vanilla and bourbon. The bitterness and burnt factor are both relatively low here, so I love that, and what strikes me as really awesome about this beer is the fact that I'd have sworn it was barrel-aged. The vanilla/bourbon/oak barrel on the nose hit me without me actually going down to take a whiff -- those aromas just rose off the big head (and yes, I gave it a BIG pour ... probably didn't need to, but what the hell).

Weirdest thing about it, the vodka-like heat/alcohol taste and aroma shows up *AFTER* it's warmed up. Never seen that.

http://www.beeradvocate.com/beer/profile/45/680/?ba=Premo88
4.21 rating (+1.4% rDev)

I might over-rate it a tad, but when a beer this good is this *easy* to find, I actually rate it a bit higher than I might otherwise. Anti-snobbery? Naah, not even. Just lazy. If all I have to do to get a great brew is go grocery shopping, seems like a big victory for me.

Speaking of, here's Midnight the Cat celebrating one of Tony Romo's 4 TD passes:

(look right ... Mids seems to be screaming about something ... and yes, I post pictures of my beer *and* my cat; wanna fight about it?)

Waiting anxiously to see if @utopiajane pulls off the come-from-behind victory in the NBS Day of the Dark.

Cheers!

 

Well, I had no idea about the winter solstice theme, but I did encounter a new beer today, and am slowly working through its 25.4 oz. of goodness still. Earlier I managed to finish (totally) the holiday shopping, which was nice, and I coupled that effort by acquiring some accoutrements for my bathroom which will now be entirely lovely for all holiday visitors (joy). That said, on to the beer, since visitors don't arrive until 11PM Tuesday:

Last month's purchase, today's enjoyment. So drinkable. Sweet, juicy honey-like fresh hops, some subdued pine and citrus rind, really sticky at first with a near-perfect malty smoothness for body. The subdued part starts to detract from it after a few sips. I really wish the honey/pine/citrus would pop more, but they remain on a low level. I'm left with a bright pale with obvious fresh hop notes that just don't stand out enough to make it great. Nearing the end of the bottle, the smooth-honey stickiness is the last impression. I'll take it as a robust pale with noticeable fresh stickiness, and stop worrying about what it could be. Great pale whose ingredients are entirely "homegrown" at the Chico,CA brewery. I'll skip the Terroir Blues here, for lack of familiarity with the reference to JF and co., and stick with an absolute standard, which easily came to mind while thinking about this beer:

Many Cheers to the NBS BAs!

 

Good evening New BSers! It's bad when the highlight of your day is figuring out software but it worked and now I can post photos again. Beyond that, it's been a typical summer day here in NW PA - overcast and cloudy. And we got to spend part of the day at the hospital with my mother.

Today's beer is one that's been cellaring for the last 18+ months:



This is probably the best beer I've had, second to Peche Mortel Bourbon Barrel - I need more!

http://www.beeradvocate.com/beer/profile/5316/135287/?ba=Ozzylizard

 

Yep - save your lungs. Now your liver, on the other hand ...

 

Hello all! This is my first NBS post, I'm also a part of the NBS BIF so I hope to be around here more often.

Tonight I went with something unique in respect with what has already been posted on here, I also had my son Thomas model for the photo to up the cuteness factor around here on such a dark day.



Sly Fox - Whiskey Barrel Aged Nihilist Stout

I had high hopes for this beer as their standard Nihilist Stout is a very solid beer.

Unfortunately I was about to be let down. This beer looks nice in the glass but it is so over carbonated and that's all that I can really taste. Can't get past that, seriously thinking about pouring this one down the drain and that's alway a last resort for me. Oh well, you win some and you lose some.

Until next Sunday, Zum Wohl!

 

I had to wait til dinner for my NBS. My wife and I went to a new place in town that touts it's beer selection. It's pretty good mind you but there is less and less that is new to me. I had Epic Brewing's Double Skull Doppelbock. Poured a mahogany but when held to light it is a pretty amber color. Taste is (as expected) malty, caramel, and molasses. Earthy hops finish it off. This beer finishes really clean with little aftertaste. Although the beer tastes fine, it seemed a little plain.

 

Good evening NBSers with special salutations to all you Admirers of Anchor Ales.

The weather here today was cold and sunny, but not too breezy. My wife and I finished off some Christmas baking so that there are cookies for Santa and Cheese bread for us to toast and enjoy with dinner on the 24th. We also got some presents wrapped and under the tree for various family members to open.

With this being the last Sunday before Christmas I thought that tonight was a good time to be an Advocate of Anchor’s Annual Christmas Ale, the 2014 Our Special Ale. Even though Our Special Ale is not often a great beer it always seems to be is a very good beer and represents a great tradition from an American treasure of a brewery. (I hope the new owners continue to do honor to what Fritz Maytag created as part of his life’s work and dedication to quality.)

The beer poured into my almost brand new Corsendonk Chrismas Ale goblet, which saw its first use last night, is a very dark reddish brown color with a 1/2” brown head that eventually settled down into a thin layer and island of foam with a small ring around the glass with lots of leggy lacing clinging to the sides. Sipping also leaves speckles and small patches of foam on the side of the glass.

The aroma of the beer definitely says “Christmas cheer” with its sugar (brown), spice (some ginger and cinnamon come through clearly) and other things nice (dark fruit).

As expected from the nose, the flavors include various spices and brown sugar. In addition there is some earthy bitterness and dark orchard fruit in here (seems like plums mostly). The finish is lightly crisp and slightly bitter as it fades out to dryness.

The mouthfeel is light to medium bodied with a wee bit of prickle from the light carbonation.

Overall this years version of Our Special Ale is, as usual, a solid, well made beer that I think I’ll try and find a few more bottles of to share with some friends during the remaining holiday season parties. (It might even be tasty to non-beer drinkers.)

Just as a good or great beer consists of a vision realized in multiple flavors all playing together nicely, here is a recording of multiple strings all playing together nicely.

 

I see I didn't exactly do it right earlier. Excuse my noobiness.

New American Black Ale
​

Alaskan Double Black Ale

22 oz bottle. Some was poured into a snifter and the rest into a nonic pint glass.
The appearance was pure jet black in color and in the pour itself. A slim half finger-ed white to off white foamy head rises and falls at a nice pace. Light lacing strings its way around the glass once the head died off.
The smell started off with a sharp pine infused bitter to roasty coffee and as it warmed, a light roasted chocolate enters in.
The taste was pretty much the same as the smell with a light roasty coffee aftertaste leading into a dry finish.
The mouthfeel sat about a medium in body with a sharp bitter pine rolling over my tongue. This wasn't as sessionable as I had hoped it would be, but then again looking at the ABV, I ask myself really, Steve? Sigh, anyways, somehow the ABV does hide itself a little bit.
Overall, an imperialized black ale? Hey, uh...sure, I dig it. I'll have this again, but I think my palate is kinda ruined for the rest of today as there's just a lot going on.

After this one, yeah, I think I need a hell of a lot of water as I feel my palate's been wrecked a bit. Will probably go to Bayview Pub for dinner.

http://www.beeradvocate.com/beer/profile/429/61144/?ba=SitkaSteve

Cheers Beer peeps!



GO SEAHAWKS!

 

For the record, I believe I need to do this and then I'm going to dinner

New Pumpkin Ale
​

I had this on tap at Hangar on the Wharf in Juneau.
This is their "real" pumpkin ale. The other beer is their Pumpkin porter which the lower 48 knows.
Anyways, here's the rest.
This was poured into a pint glass.
The color was a light orange with a decent transparency running about it to allow an even flow of carbonation to be seen rising to fill a rapidly dissipating white head.
The smell was pure pumpkin with a light spice, ginger, I think.
The taste had that again and carried the combination of pumpkin and ginger in the aftertaste.
The mouthfeel sat about a light to medium on the body with a decent carbonation about it. I'd say there was a nice sessionable aspect to this one.
Overall, this is their pumpkin ale, true to style and good. Come to Alaska to enjoy!

I can't speak for ABC, but this is Alaskan's Pumpkin Ale (brewer's intentions, folks).

http://www.beeradvocate.com/beer/profile/429/150766/?ba=SitkaSteve

Cheers, peeps!

How 'bout dem Seahawks!

 

Busy day, so I'm getting a late start on NBS, but better late than never.

Since it is Day of the Dark, I thought I would go with Surly Darkness for NBS. I traded for this one last year, and had been looking for the right occasion to pull it out of the cellar.

Right off the bat, the artwork on the bottle is amazing. A lot of talent and effort goes into it for sure. Extra special since it's not just a label, but inked onto the bottle.



Dat head. Revils Ten Fidy.



Wonderful stout. Dark as midnight with long lasting dense head. Big roasted malts and chocolate notes. Molasses sweetness. Nice creamy mouthfeel and slightly bitter. Everything I want in a Russian Imperial Stout.

http://www.beeradvocate.com/beer/profile/13014/33127/?ba=richj1970