New Beer Sunday (week 518)

As @aoampm readies my BIF box for shipping (and I can't wait as the guy has been doing some serious due diligence on my haves and wants ), I thought I'd join NBS with a beauty that's been hiding in the fridge since coming back from Chicago over thanksgiving, Three Floyds Alpha King Christmas Porter.


Pours almost black with half inch of coffee cream, long lasting head. The nose is predominantly bitter cocoa with hints of coffee and spice, nutmeg maybe? The mouthfeel is perfect for a porter. The taste is bitter chocolate and slight spice and smoke. Definitely hop bitterness above a regular Porter but so damn tasty with all the chocolate notes. 4/5

 

What's up NBS players and ladies. Clear skies, lots of sunshine, and rather warm here on the island. Gassing up the snow blower and bracing for what looks like a hell of a storm into Tuesday this week.

My new beer today is the Golden IPA from Sierra Nevada with a bottle date of 12/4/14.

The pour speaks to it's name with decent clarity. Not much of a nose and I get subtle hops at best. The taste strikes me up front as being very bready while the finish switches to bitter and hoppy. Really seems to be well balanced. The mouth feel is pretty light but it holds up and seems to go fine with the beers style. A very interesting take on an ipa but nothing fantastic either. I would probably put it in the 3/3.5 range but I'm glad I tried it,

 

THIS BEER IS SOOOOOO GOOD!! untappd- crhb

 

Bigfoots are a very good beer with which to do verticals. The changes are so apparent and at each stage it remains a great beer.

 

Good Afternoon!

Mayflower - Alden from the Cooper's Series.
Big fan of their porter (regular roatation brew). So I was excited to try this given the amount of buzz.
Pours a deep gold with a good sized white head. Fades quickly leaves moderate lacing. The nose is everything I want in a DIPA. piney, earthy and a little dank. The taste doesn't disappoint. I love a DIPA full of pine resin. This one is thick with it. It coats the palate and lingers letting you know you're experiencing a special brew. My only regret is that I only bought a single of this. I'll have to go back and get a 4-pack. Cheers NBS'ers. Enjoy the rest of this lazy Sunday.

 

I didn't realize I had had this beer (probably b/c I had it on tap, so I didn't recognize the bottle). I had to laugh at my review after reading others, but apparently I enjoyed it (overall 4.25), even though my ratings might have been skewed by the listed Weizenbock style (that I admittedly am not very versed in). Might have to add a want so I know to re-try this.

 

Hello to all!

Another one trying for my new beer the Stone/Baird Japanese Green Tea IPA. I was skeptical about whether this would work, but count me among the converted! This is a big beer at 10 ABV, but you would never know it. Tastes to me a lot like Enjoy By with, of course, the green tea added in, which to me seems to lighten the mouthfeel and get rid of any resinous quality. The taste starts out light with citrusy hops, and for me the green tea comes in later and at the back of the palate, with a tea aroma working its way from the mouth up through the nose (if that makes any sense).

Music selection: Juan Luis Guerra's Ojala Que Llueva Cafe.

Cheers!

 

Okay, time for number two...

Another beer from @cjgiant through the NBS BIF.

Lickinghole Creek Three Chopt Tripel Ale.

Poured from 750ml bottle into my Mad Fox snifter (thanks again, CJ!).

A: A beautiful golden color, very cloudy. Quick, active head of white foam that dissipates quickly.

S: Not very strong, but very appetizing. Sweet fruit, citrus (lemon), hops, all very well balanced. I can tell I'm going to like this, I'm already pouring a glass for my girl because she's going to dig it, too.

T: Wow. Beautiful. Fresh fruit explodes on the tongue. Citrus upfront, but a more tropical, peachy note takes over quickly. It's not very sweet, but rather satisfyingly sour/bitter. Hops shine in as well, and it all finishes super cleanly. A lot happens quickly, but this is simply fantastic.

F: Light and refreshing, very active carbonation. A feel that lends itself perfectly to this beers other qualities.

O: To say I loved this is an understatement. It presents itself beautifully and hits all the right notes. This bottle never stood a chance, my girl and I can't put our glasses down right now. This is one that I would love to have more of.



Cheers!

 

NBS BIF #1.5: Mosaic Golden Showers. Smells like the Bomb!

Since the atomic bomb attack on my porch courtesy of @2beerdogs (Don't worry, revenge is near my friend!) I haven't been drinking the brews until Sunday. Today is going to be fun! Enough jibber jabber, let's get down to business!



I've had Nelson and Galaxy and both were good, favor goes toward Galaxy though. Let's see what Mosaic is talking about. First she pours that classic Californian Sunset orange with the nice white clouds crowning her glory! Hazy as all get out yet looks phenomenal to me! Let's get with the aroma. Huge floral notes step up first with notes of under ripe stone fruits. It's a mesh of Lavender and Mango/Peaches with some hop spice in the background. Malts are sweet in nature with that crackerish vibe. Very, very entertaining! Now for the taste. The first wave is of floral nature causing bitterness to creep on the palate. Then flows with malt sweetness that's carrying some dried mango fruitiness. There's a cracker flavor from the malts toward the finish. This finishes semi-dry with a clean bitterness that lingers for a while. Aftertaste of Floral and Hop Resin with faint booze. The body on the brew is medium-light and carbonation is on point helping the flavors to pop on the palate.

Overall: Color me a fan of Mosaic Hops! The aroma is off the fugging charts! The flavor is just as great except some booze, yet there's enough going on in the beer that makes you forget about it. I enjoy this brew, Noble nails a hop variety with a passion. Next, I want to see Noble do a DIPA with Mosaic and Galaxy hops. With all this said, this brew is Recommended!

Grade: An easy A!

Thank You @2beerdogs this was a treat killing this Bomber!

Musical Selection:



Cheers my fellow New Beer Sunday Crew!

 

NOOOooooooooooo!!!!!!! Poor Dave. I'll be drinking my first one for you, buddy!

 

New American Pilsener Sunday (week 518)

Another delicious Texas-made beer from @Premo88, thanks man.

Spent the after work time getting the driveway ready as possible, blizzard warnings are up for tomorrow and Tuesday, and built up a pretty good thirst. Will make this short and sweet as I don't know how long I have until the computer starts f**king up again. Very light and refreshing Pilsener, clean as a whistle with zero flaws, definitely hit the spot. Hope you also have a Great American Beer in your glass. Cheers!

http://www.beeradvocate.com/beer/profile/26762/73576/?ba=cavedave

 

Hello one and all! Special thanks to @beertunes and @LehighAce06 for organizing a successful BIF, and it's great to see things are already underway in fine form. Tonight's the night, gonna be allright!

@rgordon sent me some very fine beers from his neck of the woods, and it was tricky picking which one to start with, but I eventually decided on this beauty-


It's a wild (brettanyces) IPA by Wicked Weed and Terra Locale.

The nose is complex and stunning- pineapple, kumquat, honeysuckle all dominate the fruity/floral tapestry, but there is a substantial earthy/spicy component underneath. It mainly comes across like a glass of liquid sunshine, and each swirl seems to bring forth a new element; I just got a hint of strawberry just now.

The palate features a lot of the same flavors, but instead comes across much more grounded in nature. The citrus aspect is more like the peel and less like the juice. Bitterness is high, resiny, and dominant. Flowers seem powdery and dry. The finish is dry and almost woody, with the slightest touch of barnyardy musk. It's an interesting yin/yang play on the aroma- two distinct ways of seeing the same components.

I really like this beer, and I especially love how it's got me going back for another hit just to see what's coming next. This one wants you to be engaged; it's no wallflower in the background, that's for sure.

Just an excellent beer all around: A+ (4.7)

Here's some more Chris Stamey for @rgordon , one of my faves:

 

Sorry to interrupt, but for those of us who came in late, what does "BIF" refer to?

 

Ask, and you may receive .

Glad you enjoyed it, and that you saved what I think (based on your posts) was the best for last.

 

Again no participation from me this week. We just get a very very very very limited new brew's here in UT. Now, we do not too bad a bourbon selection, but still no Four Roses, Willett, Pappy,.......... and other's within the line of what we do get.

Cheers!

 

Really loving this NBS BIF #1! Almost through my box and deciding to go with the big bottle with the badass label and white wax, Surly Eight!

4.5/5 rDev +7.7%
look: 4.25 | smell: 4 | taste: 4.75 | feel: 4.5 | overall: 4.5

Big thanks to Stillyman11 for this one!
750 ml bottle poured into a teku

A- A murky reddish brown with a two finger off-white head.

S- Bourbon, sweet dark fruits, cherries, brown sugar, caramel, some oak, barrel heavy.

T- Damn, this is good, pretty sweet but balanced, dark fruits, oats, vanilla, bourbon, oak, brown sugar, molasses, very nice complexity.

M- Smooth, creamy, full body.

O- This is an awesome Barelywine that is sweet but still balanced. Very happy I got to try this beer. I would love to get another bottle or two, worth seeking out. Love the label and love this beer, another great beer from Surly!

This box has shown me that Surly is not the only good brewery in MN, and I would love to see some of them make it to the east coast!



Thank you @Stillyman11, cheers!

 

Awesome man, glad you've enjoyed everything so far. I had to do some serious work to get that Sunny Side Up, it's become very scarce around here recently.

Cheers!

 

So now onto my second BIF box peer!

Troegs Nugget Nectar! Excited by this one. Thanks @JNForsyth!



Pours a nice copper amber color. Small off white head that doesn't stick around.

Smell is a great balance between rich malts and piney hops. Some floral notes, but I love the way the hops and malts play against each other. NIce rich carmel malt smell, and I can detect some booze too.

Taste is juicy and slightly sweet. Moves from a rich malty caramel flavor that gets cut through by the hops. The taste definitely has that "imperial" flavor, I'm guessing from the alcohol even though its not super high (7.5%). It's a definite flavor that I notice in Imperial ambers and reds. Don't really know how to describe it.

Mouthfeel is medium bodied.

Overall this is a great beer, and definitely the best I've had in the style.

 

Beer It Forward

Cheers!