New Beer Sunday (week 518)

Back to visit my good friends at White Birch brewing this Sunday. There new small batch ale this week is An Oaked Wee Heavy.
This beer pours a dark brown color maybe with just a hint of cloudiness. A thin light brown head arises to the top when poured into my tulip glass. (No Styrofoam cups for me)
The oaky smell most surely comes to the nose at first smell with a slight hint of bourbon and a little smokiness at the end.
The taste is most surely brings the oak and the smokiness out with a very smooth finish. With a 10.5 ABV this ale drinks way too smoothly.
The mouth feel is smooth.
Overall this Wee Heavy is a very smooth drinking ale. I'm hoping it will age well as I bought a few bottles besides the growler from which I am drinking this.
I also got to sample another stout not released yet yesterday, it was I believe going to be called Birchwood Smoked Stout. It was to say the least very smooth but will say that for another Sunday probably about 2 weeks from release right now.
Well for now my tulip glass is empty I must venture out into the bright sunshine and clean the left over snow from yesterday to prepare for what they are saying may be 2 feet of new snow Monday into Tuesday. I hope you all are able to enjoy the rest of your Day as I'm sure I will.
Once again this old guy would post a picture if he can ever figure it out how to do it. May be one of the grandkids can help me out with that.

 

Happy NBS to everyone. !!! Today is the day I've been waiting for. The close of the first NBS BIF. I've been waiting to dive into this beer for over a week now. So which glass should I use?? I Went with the hardywood chalice. Suiting. The growler is raz stout thanks to @gopens44. This guy killed me (see posts in BIF hints)
Overall GOOD. I'm not a big fan or raspberry but this beer is MUCH better than founders big lush. Not overly sweet, raz is there but not killer, almost taste like a shot of chambord was tossed into my beer. The stout on the other hand is a little lack luster for what I usually seek out in a stout. A little thin for my taste but still damn good. I can't wait to tap into the Hardywood GBS that I also got from @gopens44. Again man big THANKS

 

Edit: forgot the other pic

 

Happy NBS (Not Blowing Suddenly in So California)

Yep, we've had a windy start to this weekend. The famous Santa Ana Winds (Devil's Wind) gave us a wallop. Good thing I can move beer drinking indoors. The first, was good (although not my preferred style) but the second was amazing.

And thanks to @WesMantooth , I have 2 new ones to try from NBS BIF #1. Yay!

Black Rajah
http://www.beeradvocate.com/beer/profile/2470/86195/

Pours like dark roast coffee. Citrusy hops notes leap from the swirling tan froth, immediately followed by a subtle roasty smell.
Taste follows the same path. Starts with citrusy hops, lemony and maybe a bit tropical. But then the roasted malt comes in right away.
Finishes with the roast and the hops, but the hops take the driver’s seat.
Mouthfeel is a bit on the fuller side.
Overall, I think the Brew Kettle executes this style well. They definitely get a melding of both the hop characteristics and the roasted malt to be evident in the profile. Probably the best I’ve had of this style, although I must admit, I still find this style a little perplexing. The mix of hops and roast is still not my thing. Having said this, this one is pretty good. Fans of this style take this review with a grain of salt.

White Rajah
http://www.beeradvocate.com/beer/profile/2470/62722/

Wow, golden swirl erupts into frothy pure white tight foam that tapers back to the most graceful thin layer of tightly packed bubbles launching a floral mélange of tropical fruits, grapefruit and lemon zest that leans toward pineapple.
Taste is very juicy and forward with grapefruit, lemon, mango, and a clear malty clean sweetness that is still part of the mix. This one is similar to a DIPA, really deliscious.
Mouthfeel is juicy.
Finish lets the sweet dance with all of the hop zest. Blissful.
Overall, this is a floral, juicy, and citrusy frolic through happy hoppy fields.

 

I think I agree with your assessment on the raspberry, especially the part where the raspberry is an accent and recognizable, but not the main player. Awaiting your thoughts on the Gingerbread Stout (you got both regular and BA, if I recall the pic, no)?

 

I found this one very interesting.

 

Greetings to all the NBS participants, viewers, and site lurkers!

Trying some Radio Action IIPA (9.7 abv) today from Four Fathers Brewing in Valparaiso Indiana. There was a bottle release yesterday which I couldn't attend, so I figured I'd try for leftovers today.

Draft version served in a 10oz. snifter. A dark hazy gold in color with a generous amount of white foam. Very attractive looking beer.

Aroma is very tropical in nature. A mix of passion fruit, grapefruit, and floral esters.

The flavor is tropical fruit forward, with notes of grapefruit, passion fruit, and mango. There is a hint of spiciness in the back, that tastes a bit like rye. Perhaps from the hops?

Mouthfeel is slick with a tingle from the gentle carbonation bubbles. The alcohol is very well hidden.

In all a very enjoyable beer with many of the attributes I look for in a IIPA. This brewery is flying under the radar with the success and hype from a couple other regionals, but is a welcome change of pace from that scene. The beer seems to get better with every visit. All said I'm giving it a 4.05.

Hope everyone enjoys their new beers today!

 

I'm out running some errands which happily includes some beer shopping. I made time for a quick pour of Hop Hunter. Goddamn is that good!

http://www.beeradvocate.com/beer/profile/140/148052/

 

Stone Enjoy by 12-14-15. I've heard about this beer since the first Enjoy By but hadn't seen it in store until yesterday. I'm not a hop head (or a big fan of DIPAs] but this is a very nice beer. Very hoppy of course but I taste a nice malt background also. This beer shows how important freshness is for IPA's. Well done Stone

 

trying these new babies right now

 

Time to really dig to my BIF box, and starting with Bent Paddle 14* ESB. Big thank you goes out to @Stillyman11 for this awesome beer. This a great example of a beer not needing being really big or hoppy to be good. Can wait to start drinking my other goodies!

4.16/5 rDev +4.5%
look: 4 | smell: 4 | taste: 4.25 | feel: 4 | overall: 4.25

Big thanks to Stillyman11 for this!
12 oz can poured into a pint glass

A- A clear amber with a three finger off white head.

S- Pine, toasted malts, bread, a nice herbal quality, very nice balance.

T- Hint of toffee, toasted bready malts, some pine hops, herbal tea, pretty good balance, slightly hoppy for the style, but still very nice.

M- Smooth, medium body, nice carbonation, but a little more than I tend to like in English styles.

O- I really enjoy this beer and could easly drink a few of these in a day. This is a style I haven't had many of and I feel this fits the style well. I would love to get more of this!



Cheers!

 

The is my first post in the New Beer Sunday thread. My review for today was of Kona's Big Wave Golden Ale. While it is not a beer to smash you in the palate, it is a decent, enjoyable brew.

Tasting notes:
Appearance: pours a thick, sudsy white head that falls slowly with some light lacing. Color is a very clear light golden. Mild streaming carbonation.
Aroma: mild citrus(lemon), grass, and hay. Some light toasted barley.
Mouthfeel: light, fairly crisp, with a an easy dry finish.
Flavor: not too complex, but more malt forward than the aroma. Caramel, bread crust, a bit of lemon, and grass.
Overall: a good brew, not outstanding, but very enjoyable.
I scored it 3/5

 

So I've got a Sea Hag courtesy of @Homebrew ready to be reviewed, but first I'll do this one, since it's what I grabbed to drink first. Just in from Minnesota, fortunately this is not one of the cans that had a carbonation issue (though I was lucky enough to get 3 backups just in case )

Excellent hoppy aroma coming out of the can from the moment I open it, and really coming out during the pour. A pretty copper color with a couple inches of frothy head, dissipates but not too quickly. The flavor is much maltier than the aroma would suggest, but with a significant amount of bitterness to go with it. Not nearly as much hop flavor as there is aroma, but I find this experience common in DIPAs. Mouth feel is pretty smooth, drying but not overly so, with a stickiness that hangs around a bit. Overall a very nice DIPA, lots of bitterness and a powerful malt backbone.

edit: I'm getting over a chest cold that I fought with all last week, so the lack of hoppy flavor may also be in part a symptom of this.

 

Oh man oh man. I had seen Ballast Point Grapefruit Sculpin pictured here on the forums before, and I thought, "that could be tasty. I'll have to check it out one day." Little did I know how much I was cheating myself by not trying this earlier. This beer is almost perfectly calculated to appeal to me; but for a little bit of harshness in the finish probably brought around by the grapefruit itself, this is an awesomely tasty tropical treat. I will definitely be nabbing some sixers of this the next time I come across it again.

I gave this guy a 4.48, which is damn high on my scale.

 

Well, my fears are holding true. UVa can't make a freaking shot, and their attempts leave something to be desired. Va Tech is shooting pretty damn well, themselves, which hurts more. Hoping a new beer from NBS BIF helps me out, at least. This one is Short's Brew Aphasia, at 9%, an old ale that has a nice rating here on this site.


Looks are spot on. Nose is dark candy and cola, but not too strong. Taste is also spot on, dark fruit and berry, some candy, a little bit of fortified wine notes. And then in the end and for a long feel, I get some woodiness. This makes me wonder what the BA version would taste like. My GF enjoys this beer, and she's not a huge fan of the style; I might have trouble getting enough sips for a full review. Another solid offering from @strohme2, one to sip for the end of this game.

 

Is this the official NBS BIF#1 NBS? Either way I have one if those BIF beers!

Today I chose the GABF gold medal Chuckanut Dunkel Lager courtesy of @beertunes.

This pours a deep mahagony with brilliant red highlights, a beautiful beer when held up to the window. Solid inch or so creamy tan head. Aroma is that of malty grains, coffee and chocolate undertones. Taste is similar caramel malts, smooth coffee with a subtle hop bite in the end. The beer ends with a clean, subtle fruity finish.

I can't say I've had a lot of dunkels but starting with a gold medal winner to set the baseline seems like a good start.

 

This is a new one for me. Time to prep for the big storm coming to Boston.