New Beer Sunday (week 517)

Finishing up week #1 of NBS BIF #1 New Beers. Previous post stated I was doing the IPAs today, but the last beer was an APA, actually (and the best of the bunch, IMO). Both of these were from Odd Sides Brewing out of Grand Haven, MI; thanks again to @strohme2:


First beer is on the left, and I liked the Black Citra, although I wished the citrus was a tad stronger. I don't think I'd like a black IPA with too much citrus, but I got a bit of it in Black Citra, enough to make me intrigued. I thought it was a solid black IPA, regardless (note, my GF, not a black IPA fan was unimpressed, sadly).

The second beer was very good! It was an APA that wasn't masquerading as an IPA (or vice-aresa?) The beer was very well balanced and had enough tropical and citrus hop flavor to cut the malt opening nicely. The beer is lightly drying in the end, enough to get me to another sip (that is when my GF was not hogging the glass).

I noticed a little similarity in the two beers, mainly the light use of citrus flavors to accentuate more than dominate the beers. The Black IPA, being more robust in its malt I think required a little more citrus, but the level worked better with the Pale Ale. I believe in each case, the beer would benefit from a hint more, but only a hint.

 

Welcome Aboard @mecmd !!! Thanks for putting this one on our radar.

 

Big fan of Green Flash . Seen this one at the local Giant Eagle this morning , grabbed a 4 pack. Glad I did

 

Feliz Cumpleanos @RichD !!!

 

I wish this was better than it was. White Rajah and this both have the same nose you could go on smelling it for days, that's where it ends where the tropical goodness in the nose washes over you with a White Rajah the black with the roast from the malt mute the taste and add a layer of bitterness not found in White Rajah. I just really don't see the point in this beer White is so good the way it is why mute the taste with the malts.

 

Not looking too good for Seattle right now. Your beer on the other hand...

 

Suprisingly never had this before and i'm kicking msyself, so damn good!

 

Now something from the north and aged in bourbon barrels, Le Castor Wee Heavy Bourbon.

4.04/5 rDev +3.3%
look: 4 | smell: 3.75 | taste: 4.25 | feel: 3.75 | overall: 4

Thanks BlogueDeBieres for this!
660 mL bottle poured into a tulip

A- A deep red/burgundy with a two finger off white head.

S- Bourbon, oak, vanilla, caramel malts, dark fruits, kind of boozy and a little weak for 11% ABV.

T- Dark fruits, cherries and figs, vanilla, bourbon, oak, sweet malts, nicely balanced.

M- Light to medium body, carbonation is very high.

O- Smells like it is going to to be too boozy and would be like drinking bourbon, but taste is much more balanced. Worth try if you get the chance.


Cheers!

 

Local Beer!

 

Sorry about that. Surprised I didn't add it when the first batch came out back in the summer. It's in the list now though!

 

Funny, I was just at a local beer-friendly establishment with some friends and we completely forgot to toast Edgar Allan's birthday today, shucks~

And Poe is kind of a big deal around here, anyway..
The beer list had a lot of HIGH ABV selections and I wanted to start light. Local brewery "Midnight" had a Kolsch that arrived *sans* head or foam, and I was prepared to send it back but after trying it I found it entirely flavorful. Not lacking in carbonation as expected - - honestly I haven't recalled a beer so un-bubbly before. Here I was enjoying it with a Fresh Spring Roll and peanut sauce while waiting for others to arrive, the glasses holding water show the establishments' related eateries/ brewpubs' logos.

Maybe I could find a link of someone reciting one of Poe's classics, I will start by trying to locate a clip of John Astin doing his portrayal of the author - - which I was lucky enough to see performed here live some years ago. Cheers~

EDIT: found a link to Astin's reciting of "The Raven." Not as dramatic as his show as I recall, he wore a red-lined cloak and he did justice to his resemblance to the pictures we know of Poe today.

 

New Flanders Red Ale Sunday

Happy NBS everyone! For my first new beer today, I had some Rodenbach Caractère Rouge: http://www.beeradvocate.com/beer/profile/216/74778/?ba=bluejacket74





I thought it was pretty good, a bit sweeter than I expected but it was still fruity and tart. If you like Flanders Red Ales and Rodenbach beers in general, then this one is for you! I'll be back on here with another new beer review or 2 in a little while. Cheers!

 

This was an extra from a trade, and is quite delicious!



NBS!

Cheers!

 

Greetings fellow NBSers! A rainy night and and morning has given way to some skies that are lightening up a bit, but it's still cloudy. Last night my friend Beav had a house warming party, with a keg of Bale Breakers Topcutter IPA, some brisket, some pork shoulder, and a bunch of bottles that we brought to help fill his cellar. It as pouring the above mentioned rain on my walk home (he and his wife's new house, while very nice, is nowhere near anything else in town) took over an hour, and I was thoroughly soaked upon arrival home.

My first entry this week is not from the NBS BIF, as so many are today, but one my buddy Chuck gave me last night at the party: a nice little brew from Tejas: http://www.beeradvocate.com/beer/profile/143/144286/ .

One of the things about the NBS BIF is the sheer amount of beer. Included in the box I got from @Shroud0fdoom was a 750of Barleywine, that I knew I wouldn't want to tackle alone on a Sunday afternoon, so I too it over to OKComputers house a couple nights ago, and we put it down together: http://www.beeradvocate.com/beer/profile/29377/98488/

 

This beer courtesy of @Shroud0fdoom this man does more for my alcoholism then anyone else....I'm getting teary eyed

This damn beer is something else Evil Twin does this series very well. In the nose I would probably not picked out cherry but the berry jam smell was huge at the front. The taste is like chocolate covered cherries with liquor added very pleasant. I don't usually like fruit beers but damn thank you @Shroud0fdoom . The only thing I have against this beer is it doesn't aver the wonderful viscosity of regular IBB.

 

The Oracle by Bell's



Saw this on the shelf at my beer store. I was kind of stunned and went ahead and grabbed a bottle and put it in my basket. After looking at the bottling date, I put it back ... and then suddenly decided to put it back in. Bottled 8/08/14, and poured 1/18/15. $4 single.

Appearance: Hard pour gives half a finger of creamy head with a lot of lacing on the glass. The beer is a very hazy yellow-orange color. Pretty awesome looking beer if you give it a good hard pour. (4.5/5)

Smell: A "sharp" malt sweetness... crystal malt? I get a really big sweet maltiness on the start with a then herby/grassy hop character with a fair amount of fruitiness -- I'm not sure what fruits exactly, but I wouldn't call it tropical or grapefruity like Hopslam is by Bell's. Now that I think about it, it's sort of like a lemon tea kind of aroma. It's probably safe to assume that this beer's aroma now isn't quite what it was when it was first bottled, but I really enjoy that sugary sweet malt with the hops. (4/5)

Taste/feel: Pretty awesome, surprisingly ... and this bottle is over five months old. That sweet, inviting aroma is a bit misleading, because this one packs a nice wallop of bitterness. On the front it's a little sweet, but as it goes down, it gets more bitter, and there's a pretty significant drying bitterness by the time the aftertaste comes. That lemon tea sort of flavor (all I can really explain it as) is what I'm really liking about this beer... that and the slight spiciness and bitterness makes The Oracle quite the gem. There is a little bit of alcohol in the flavor, but that's not especially uncommon in a DIPA that's 10%. The mouth feel is moderate-to-full with a not-too-intense carbonation. (4.25/5, 4.25/5)

This beer is a completely different animal than Hopslam, which of course, is Bell's other well-known 10% ABV DIPA. Hopslam is sweet all-around and has a tropical fruit kind of vibe, while The Oracle has a very high level of bitterness and a completely different hop profile. I'd really like to try this beer fresh to see the hops shine like Bell's intended them to, but I'm not sure how much brighter they could be, even in this "old" bottle. Ideally I'd like a bit more balance from The Oracle, but it is still a delicious beer.

(4.25/5)

4.21/5 (+0.5% rDev)

Cheers, BA! (and thanks to Seattle for taking down Green Bay)

 

New Coffee Imperial Oatmeal Porter Sunday

Hey NBSers,

We're a couple weeks into January, which means the Central Oregon beer event calendar has ramped up to full speed (if it ever ramped down for 2014). This week, I attended the opening party for a new museum exhibit on brewing culture, and yesterday was a high gravity beer festival at the local McMenamins brewpub. The museum exhibit was very well done, and the event featured 10 breweries pouring , live music, and a panel discussion with a local beer blogger and 2 local brewers. I'd be surprised if the museum had ever seen a crowd like that for any of their exhibits, but they figured out that anything beer will work in this town. The week ahead holds 5+ more beer events I'll have to prioritize amongst work and family, but I love that there's always someplace good to go when one is thirsty.

Today's new beer is a gift from @milesmayhem. A group of us in town like to put bottles/cans in each other's hands when we get multiples of something good from trades, etc. Shares are fun, but there's something cool about handing somebody a beer they've never seen before and saying "take it home, tell me what you think." Not a 3oz taste of something, but a free, new-to-you beer present. Miles isn't on BA much, but he's one of the best advocates I know.

Brewers Gone Wild: The Devil Made Me Do It by Tyranena Brewing of Lake Mills, Wisconsin


The weather is so nice, I had to change my normal background

Pouring into a trusty Duvel tulip, the shade of dark brown reminds me of a chocolate lab. No light penetrates, the khaki colored head fades after a minute or two, and the legs show moderate to high residual sugars. In the nose, malty sweetness hits just before the coffee, which is balanced rather than pungent. Coffee is stronger in the taste, but thankfully this not a coffee bomb. Porter flavors of roast and dark bready sweetness match the coffee, and the oatmeal softens the edges. The oatmeal also contributes some lightness to the mouthfeel, making the flavors float a millimeter above the tongue on its way back. Some coffee bitterness lingers, but it's relatively mild. The coffee profile seemed to be a lighter roast than average, maybe(?), which complemented the oatmeal and sweeter porter elements to achieve balance. 3.75/5.

 

Really nice pale....perfect balance. These guys are doing it up right now

 

Alright, with distractions out of the way, it's time to see what @Shroud0fdoom has for me next from the Magical BIF Box (tm, Lagunitas, don't make me take you to court!): http://www.beeradvocate.com/beer/profile/898/25755/