New Beer Sunday (week 515)

I had a New Belgium Accumulation (white IPA) this afternoon. It won't blow your face off with amazingness, but it's a solid beer. Something else is in store for later, but I'm not sure what.

 

Ha! axsTV has Quadrophenia: Live concert on right now, and since I have been somewhat disgusted at the playoff game so far, I have been watching it here and there myself .

 

So after an epic beer night for me in which me and a friend cracked open my first heady, HF Anna, Jack Daniels Barrel Aged Mexican Cake, and FW Agrestic he sent me home with some beers he had to spare which included this and a few others.

I expected this to be good but wow. It was canned 11/21 and it tastes super fresh. The hops are still bright and have a nice bitter bite. Reminds me a lot of Schlafly AIPA but much juicier and tropical. Excellent

 

My second beer for this week's NBS.....

Stone Cali-Belgique IPA...



Pours a very attractive hazy gold color with a moderate head that dissipates rather quickly. Tiny bit of sediment floating around. Smells fruity and hoppy, the yeast adds a pleasant note. Taste is impressive, a very flavorful mix of sweet fruit, citrus, and rather bold hoppyness. It is also slightly grassy, and the sweet aspect falls off in the finish to leave a satisfying bite. Medium body, active carbonation. A very pleasant, enjoyable spin on an IPA. I'll probably pick up another bottle in the near future.

 

first new beer of the new year. carsons brown cow. just what i want in a brown ale and just what i want in this winter weather. lots of caramel, light chocolate and a slight fruitiness.sweet up front then dry at the end. delicious.

 

After getting my wisdom teeth out just before Christmas, recovery has been more drawn out and frustrating than anticipated. I had to miss a couple of extra days of work, and as such will be adding a week onto the end of my orientation period. At least that means I don't have to switch over to night shift for another week! The jaw is still pretty painful (can't really be taking effective painkillers working in a hospital...) and frustrating, and the gaping chasms in the back of my mouth require constant attention with a nasty looking hooked syringe that I use to rinse them of any... anything really, but at least I'm getting to the point where I can eat a little bit more than just soup and yogurt. Even ventured into bread territory today!! Missed last week as I did not feel up to drinking anything so maybe I'll double dip today.
Still beyond amped for the BIF. I've picked up about 60% of my target's haul, just holding off on grabbing the hoppy one(s) to closer to shipping time to maximize freshness (since we all know how crucial that is!)



(pro tip: any time you take a picture in the bathroom is a good one to share with people. Nothing bad ever comes of it)

My first new entry today was found in my stocking on Christmas morning. Port Townsend's Porter is listed on BA (and elsewhere) as Brown Porter, but I don't see the word brown anywhere on the bottle. *shrugs* This porter is not a worldbeater: it's not going to make anyone's 'you have to drink it before you die lists or anything, but it is a thoroughly enjoyable porter. Primarily roasty and sweet but with a little bit of bitter towards the end, but almost more of the milky bitter/sour variety than the true hopsy type. Something like that. I dig it.
Oh, man, speaking of christmas: this may end up making this post pretty damn long (my apologies) but I wanted to shout out my brother for giving me one of the coolest most creative/memorable christmas presents I've gotten in a long time. Mica is a fisherman up in Alaska during the summer, so he makes his full years salary during those four or so months of (hard) work. Subsequently he decided to spend the winter months living on a different island (we grew up on and island), and spent the last couple of months living on a friend's couch in the US Virgin Islands (why not!!). Knowing of my love for the zymurgical arts, he wanted to bring me back something local to the islands. While he later realized that the 'local' brewery he had tapped into may have actually been contract brewed in Maine, the thought still prevails, and really that's the important part. Anyway. Too much preamble. My present was a small envelope containing a cryptic piece of paper with a note (written in pirate yarrr, and with burnt edges and everything) that led me to subsequent notes and treasure maps, taking us all on a trek through the forests and swamps that encompass my parents house. He was even thoughtfl enough to include dog bones at each new map for my puppy!!

This was the collection of the beer (it was... meh. But I love the thought and the effort that went into the gift!), the bottle holder (Captain Jesus) and all the notes/maps.

This is what the beer and Captain Jesus looked like when I found them. (Mica was considerate enough to warn me that I was going to need rainboots).

Anyway, late pass, I know, but I wasn't around for the appropriate week, and I was just so enamoured of the whole process that I wanted to share


Cheers!

 

First NBS post here folks. Trying a Mammoth Brewing Company Lair of the Bear...a Barrel-Ager Imperial Stout. It says it's been aged in a combination of Heaven Hills, Jack Daniels, Jim Beam and 4 Roses barrels for up to 11 months. 9.5%. On the back of the bottle it refers to being a Russian-Style Imperial Stout. Well here goes...

L- Pours nice and thick, slowly building a dark, burnt orange colored head. Looks delish.

S- Bourbon, not overpowering but right there. I think I can even identify the Jack, kinda sharp, really nice. Dark fruits, cherry, licorice and cocoa, def cocoa.

T- Def get a bitter alcohol right away. Cocoa, coffee, strong dark fruits...very strong. Maybe some vanilla. The barrel lingers for a while reminding you what it is your drinking.

F- Fairly thick, creamy...swishing it gives lots of head which adds a lot to the mouthfeel.

O- Pretty enjoyable BBA Imp. Stout. A good representation of the style, big and bold, yet still presenting many subtleties...not one dimensional at all. I'd probably pick another one up to age for a year or so...might do wonders.

Prost!



And a little Purple to enjoy it with....saw them on this tour...

 

I ahve never taken clown shoes seriously before today. Never even picked up a bottle . So I grabbed a bottle of Undead PArty Crasher and I am absolutely in awe of how smooth, flavorful, and at 10 %. I know im late to the game on this one but it is GOOD.

 

Well shit! I can almost see you from here! Let me know next you head out to the islands, maybe we can meet in Anacortes or somewhere for a beer!

 

Oddly enough I just had 'Savant,' the rebranding of Idiot Sauvin after that luudicrous suit for the first time a day or two ago. Above average, but not enough to break the spectacular barrier for me. Do love the label, though...

 

Definitely! I'm down in Seattle nowadays, but I return to the islands (via Anacortes... duh) often enough, and even make it up to B-Ham from time to time (for some reason I have it in my head that you're based out of the the City of Subdued Excitement... right?)... We'll definitely have to cheers in person at some point!

 

You're right! A bit out of the format, but I hope utopiajane and cavedave will show some New Year's leniency..

New Baltic Porter Sunday Wednesday

When a package arrived on my doorstep a few weeks ago from Bellingham, I knew I was in for a treat. While I had done nothing to deserve it, @beertunes tipped me off that a beer delivery was imminent, and by the timing I knew it would probably include this recently-released and recently-discussed beer. I'm in love with the Baltic Porter style, combining the dark roasty character with the fruity notes found in dark Belgian beers. I knew I wanted this to be my lead-off for my planned NYE share, hitting it with a fresh palate.

Global Mutt by Wander Brewing of Bellingham, WA



Pouring a silky black with off-white head, we raised our glasses to the end of 2014 before each of us retreating to the beer-geek ritual of initial sniffs, holding it up to the light, and swirling. My moments of solitude revealed a coffee aroma, legs with minimal residual sugars, and no fusel booziness. A first sip brought cocoa and coffee roast, but little of the flavor of the Baltics. As it warmed, this fruity note peeked out a bit, but remained faint behind the choco-roast. Mouthfeel was slightly thin, though it came across more lithe than just lacking body, and no booziness detectable at 7%. The finish was dry, inviting sip after sip, and I was reluctant to move on to the next beer. I like to give new breweries 6-12 months to find their groove before making any generalizations, but a style like this from a new brewery demonstrates they're ready for the full scrutiny, and with no handicaps for newness this beer is a solid 4/5.

 

Yup, still in Hamsterham. If you haven't been up in a couple years, we've got some new spots for you to check out.

 

Don't feel too bad, I passed on quite a few Clown Shoes beers myself when I first saw them. But now I'll make a point to pick up their brews, more often than not I've liked the ones I've tried.

 

I was up there this past spring for Ski to Sea, but was pretty wrapped up in the event, then for a day or two in the middle of the summer for some NCLEX prep stuff, but was again so focused on the task at hand, so didn't take much time to explore the city. Look forward to checking out the newer spots that seem to be emerging of late! BHam seems to be working hard to go from enjoyably beautiful spot with some solid local options to brewery hotspot in pretty short order.

 

Late start for me here NBS. Busy as hell on this wet and dreary weekend here on the island. Although it was actually pretty warm today it looks like winter will start be hitting pretty hard this week.

My new beer is another offering from Knee Deep brewing with their Hoparillo triple ipa. I don't see any dating but being pretty new around here I'm assuming its pretty fresh.
The pour is golden amber, nice clarity, and a fluffy head. Tangy citrus hops on the nose and very floral. I can't stop smelling it. The taste comes across as tangy, fruity, and hoppy as hell. Subtle bitter finish but not much of a bite to it at all. At 11% it really stays away from the barley wine quality. The fruitiness of this ipa really stands out. Not really as smooth or dank as some of the other top ipa's out there but I'm really impressed by this one. Solid 4.5 and I plan to buy a few more bottles,

 

Yeah, I'm generally swamped S2S weekend, lots of work to be done. The day after, Bellingham is the most peaceful town in the state, cuz everybody either raced and partied, or worked and drank after!