New Beer Sunday (week 516)

To those who are used to seeing my reviews on NBS: I'm on Beercation in Bainbridge Island, just outside Seattle. I've had 24 new beers in 48 hours, including stuff I'll not likely see EVER again. Enjoy your NBS, everyone, I know I will. For me, it's more like "New Beer Day that Ends In "Y"."... for 9 straight days.

 

Suburban Me... great track. Long live old In Flames. Their newest? Just... no. Playground Fading was cool, but what have you done, Anders... what have you done?

 

Citra from Oddside Ales. And technically, that was a "new beer Saturday deal", since it was sampled yesterday*.

*We brewed ten batches on some turkey fryer frankensystem, with Citra being the single hop in the SMASH batches, so it was a good brew to use as a guide for what we wanted out of the session -- eventually.

 

New English Porter Sunday

...and it's actually a beer I've never had before, for once!

Heavy Seas Deep Six



Appearance: Pours a pitch black color. The head is a finger high, with a tan shade. Retention isn't that great, nor does the head leave any lacing behind. (3)

Smell: Wow, this has a load of dark chocolate - combined with the additional coffee notes, it completely smacks of a good mocha. I'm also getting some more general roast, tobacco, and even dark fruits. I have to say...Heavy Seas absolutely nailed the aromatic qualities of this.(4.25)

Taste: The taste isn't far off, either. It opens up with a combination of mocha and dark fruits, with roasted flavors building up slowly but surely. I'm getting a good amount of tobacco and caramel on the back end. Not supremely complex, though it doesn't need to be. It's absolutely delicious, enough said. (4)

Mouthfeel: It feels fairly light, airy, and bone dry. It's carbonated well...perhaps even too well? The fizz takes away from the feel of the beer slightly - honestly, it hurts the drinkability a bit. (3.5)

Overall: This can easily be mentioned in the same breath as Fuller's London Porter. Only flaw is that it's somewhat over-carbonated. Really, I don't care - this is probably the best Heavy Seas beer I've had yet. (4)

3.95/5: A welcoming addition to the HS lineup

 

On to my review. Last week I said I would post more pictures, but due to the recent move and wifi trouble I failed to do so.
So I will combine two NBS's into one post.

Last week
The Wheelhouse- Imperial Coffee Stout, Four Fathers Brewing


Pours a milky black with a light tan colored head. Not much head retention, but a nice ring around the outside of the glass. 4

Huge coffee on the nose. Nice nutty, caramel, roasty, chocolatey coffee. Beautiful. 4.75

Taste follows the nose. Nutty coffee, caramel, slight bitter chocolate, nice sweetness that isn't over the top. Malts are well balanced. Finish is lingering with a slight sweet coffee, not bitter black coffee, but like coffee with some cream added. Enough sweetness to cut the bitterness. Great flavor and finish. 4.5

Mouthfeel is creamy and slightly rich. Mild carbonation. 4

Overall this was an amazing beer. Glad that I can be proud in an awesome local brewery. Went by the brewery for the first time today. Small place, but I was the only customer. Got to go back and talk with the brewers and see what was in store for the future. Really looking forward to more from these guys. Gotta love a place like this that is cranking out amazing brews. 5

Now this week
#Calypso- Single Hop Pale Ale, Figure 8 Brewing


Pours a golden hay color with a chalky white head. nice crisp looking beer. 3.75

Smell is grassy with light pear notes. Lots of grainy malt smell too, almost sweet breadiness. Not much though. 3

Taste begins with a grassy, earthy, tea like flavor that mellows into more of a sweet pear, green appple. Finishes with a lot of bready, grainy malt character (and grainy sweetness). Reminds me more of a bitter black tea upfront than a pale ale. I like it as it mellows and coats the palate, but its nothing super special. 3.5

Mouthfeel is crisp and dry. 3.5

Overall a good quaffable beer for this chilly afternoon and Lazy Sunday in NW Indiana. 3.5

 

Back with my second of the day, a Rye IPA from Bellevue, Washington. Bellevue, on the eastern shore of Lake Washington, is often called by Seattleites "the east side," a nickname eastern Washingtonians use for everything east of the Cascade mountains. People from my state can't even agree on Washington's geography.

http://www.beeradvocate.com/beer/profile/30532/128552/?ba=woemad

Drinkable, but of muted flavor. Apparently this is a summer seasonal. It says it's part of a "Seasonal Series," but doesn't make clear which season, and there's no bottle dating. Perhaps it's age explains why it tastes the way it does, but at the same time it's very well balanced between the hops and the rye malt, and the older reviews don't seem that different from mine, so maybe it's just normally a little bland.

 

IMO there is a German word which applies here of süffig; German for "drinkable".

Cheers!

 

PORTERS - 2 New ones
Anchor & Sierra Nevada - 2 large CA brewers neck and neck in porter category.
Founders & Carton are slightly better.
Experiments like Purple Monkey not as good. More follows...

G.O.R.P. (Good Old Raisins & Peanuts) - Carton
4.3
Gotta rate this one highly for originality and execution. This is the direction Carton goes where no one else is going. In this case it really works. (Gotta try their Shipwreck Rum (10%) and Swisher Porters (5%) also)

A: Nearly perfect porter look, with rings of lace, body, and staying power.
S: The chocolate, raisins, and peanuts rise off the beer in subtle charred format.
T: The taste astounds for being completely original, true to trail mix, and yet a real solid charred, roasty porter without being cloying... finishes dry and long. A great flavor ride.
MF: Excels in body, tingle, finish.

You must try this beer, it's now my favorite porter, which says alot. Compares well with Chocolate Stout and RIS.

Founders Porter 4.2
4.23/5 rDev -0.7%
look: 4.25 | smell: 4.25 | taste: 4.25 | feel: 4 | overall: 4.25
Founders always seems to be on the podium.
Offers a creamy malt feel with spicy, peppery American hop finish.
A Just like a stout. Dark tan head, fades too fast but laces to the extreme.
S Feel like I am in Dublin between the peat, roasted coffee, tea-room, the salt Liffey wharves, and Guinness brewery. Complex, earthy, old wood, with grass, pine, pepper in the finish.
T Coffee dominant, followed by roast coffee, brewery, old wharf wood, cedar. then bit of cocoa and sweeter notes mixing with the peppery hay of the hops. Complex and better as she warms.
F The sweet body, dries to a powdery finish. Almost a bitter sweet, baker chocolate feel. A dry chalky finale. Again complex and a great beer to finish the evening, great in the winter half.


Sierra Nevada 4.1
look: 4.5 | smell: 4 | taste: 4.25 | feel: 3.75 | overall: 4
Appearance: Dense mocha head lasts a very long time and laces well, atop a reddish brown body, redder than a stout. perfect.
Smell: Dark fruit, ripe, coffee, dark chocolate, and English toffee. Some toasted walnut and malt.
Taste: Follows the smell, with more ripe fruit salad, then robust roasted coffee, malt, hay, wood. Smokey.Finishes dry, with peppery hop, and bitter.
Mouthfeel: Medium body with a lot of carbonation. Wish for more cream, weight.
Overall: Love it. If you love smoke, you'll love this.

Anchor Porter 4.1
4.1/5 rDev +1.5%
look: 4 | smell: 4.25 | taste: 4.25 | feel: 4 | overall: 4
A: Cola brown-black, with lasting head and lacing.
S: almost a cola/root smell, coupled with roasted coffee, wood, peat, smoke, backed by malt with over ripe fruit, raisins, bananas, plums.
T: Follows smell with more coffee and more roast, and a hoppy long happy dry finish.
F: Less carbonation that Sierra, thinner than most, a bit creamy, nice dry finish.
O: Great mass porter

Evil Genius - Purple Monkey
3.7 rDev -1.1%
look: 3.5 | smell: 3.75 | taste: 3.75 | feel: 3.5 | overall: 3.75
A: Arrives pitch black for a porter, flattish, with a thin head that laces only a little - not sticky enough for this style.
S: Reeses cup, almost a candy store, halloween bag. Chocolate and peanut butter, German rye bread.
T: Black bread and a lot of char, then the chocolate and peanut butter, roasted wood, char, smoke in finish. A bit too "Plastic" or candy wrapper for me.
F: Too thin for style, with moderate carbonation
O: Gorp and others are better. Too candy, too sweet, too in your face.

 

that looks so incredible im so Jealous

 

Welcome to This Machine.

3.89/5 rDev -4.7%
look: 3.75 | smell: 3.75 | taste: 4 | feel: 4 | overall: 3.75

Released 24 days ago. Purchased 1 day ago in 12oz 4pk format. This Machine was named for the slogan "This Machine Kills Fascists" written on legendary Oklahoma musician, Woody Guthrie's iconic guitar.

This Belgian-style IPA pours a chill-hazed bronze color topped by a thin white cap of foam leaving behind scant lace on a tulip glass.

Pronounced aromas include pineapple, tangerine, Belgian yeast funk, and fresh grass. There is some bread dough and a slight phenolic vapor.

Tongue is assaulted with sharp grapefruit bitterness, caramel, candy sugar, citrus and pine. A lot more hop band than you'd expect from a Belgian-style IPA. Understandable given the hop varieties used - Nelson Sauvin, Citra, and Amarillo.

Feel is medium bodied from the stickiness and smooth gentle carbonation. Pretty dry due to 7.8% abv.

Overall, this is a good, but not a great IPA for me. If the hop recipe were scaled back a little to more resemble a Belgian, I may like it better. It's good to see Marshall Brewing stepping out from their comfort zone. Glad I got to try it.

 

I need to find that beer. The only Gose I've had is Anderson Valley's attempt, and I didn't much care for that. Maybe I don't like the style, but what you had seems to be one of the higher rated examples of it.

Nice pic - the view from my place is primarily of I-90, so I'm jealous, and if you are a Panthers fan I'm sorry about the new avatar - not trying to rub it in, just super impressed by Cam's performance last night.

 

I too prefer Joel to Mike. Some of Joel's Commentary is absolutely flawless, even by today's standards. MST3K will always be my favorite show.

 

Howzit party people, hope you all are enjoying your Sundays. Today will be full of football and good beer for me and I'm starting off with a new offering from Sierra Nevada.

I've passed on this beer so many times just due to the availability of Narwhal, but I finally pulled the trigger and am glad I did.

4.18/5 rDev +2.7%
look: 4.25 | smell: 4 | taste: 4.25 | feel: 4 | overall: 4.25

This one pours about a finger head and a rich brownish color. The lacing is quite nice, and the head is still visible even after about 10 minutes of pouring the beer. On the nose I get some peppery smell, along with roasted malt. I'm tasting chocolate, some fruit, a hint of coffee, and more malt and roasted flavor. Really think this beer shines through in the aftertaste as well. The feel is an easy drinking stout that has more carbonation than most stouts I drink. I tend to think of stouts as more of a meal than a beer due to the intense creaminess and thickness, but this one drinks more like a beer than a meal. It is quite carbonated, has some bitterness to it, and isn't bold whatsoever. Overall I'm actually enjoying this more than I thought I would and am very impressed with this beer.



Cheers all!

 

Trying my first Victory Hop Ranch. So far, I'm impressed. Love the pale color, slight berry/peach aroma, and nice bitterness but with a "juicy" quality.

Not getting the onion or vegetal aromas/tastes that others have mentioned. With the amount of onion comments regarding this brew, I was expecting Devil Dancer Lite. Good thing I was disappointed in that respect.

$9.49 well spent!

 

Another cold and crappy day her in CT. Decided I'd finish up some shopping(hint hint) with a little excursion south. Very nice little nano here also picked up some goodies while there

Think I'll start out with the growler of p^2 porter. Very tasty & chocolaty. Overall all 5 I tired they had on tap where quite good. (These aren't all for me some are for friends)

 

Happy New American Porter Sunday!

Cloudy, but the sun does pop out once in awhile, about 39 today. Went out for a nice little hike, still some snow at higher elevations, and north facing trails. Could not believe when I saw this at the SLS, there was only 2 bottles, I picked up one. Still a pretty tasty brew, it's been awhile since last I had it.

http://www.beeradvocate.com/beer/profile/63/123623/?ba=Wasatch

Cheers!

 

lots of bourbon almost no coffee slightly dissappointed after BCBCS but still a nice BA brew not worth price for admittance...but still the abv on this beast is well hidden I got no over powering boozyness and was very drinkable. Was nice to finally try something BA from Avery not an awful price at 12 but not to put the beer down but Ive had a lot better for a little more and got more my 2 cents haha still was a fun drink and that bourbon hit the spot not gonna lie.

 

So you're saying I should buy this..?

 

Beer **** for real! POV style!

 

You DO enjoy a good porter, right?