New Beer Sunday (week 521)

Farmhouse ales usually not my thing....can go either way on them but this one is really good. Gracias to @Doublechar0517 for including in a trade.

 

Out of all the ones in that box, believe it or not, this is the one I was most curious how it would go over- so I'm really happy to see you enjoyed it! Yards isn't really well-distributed (they aren't even in NY, iirc), but they do seem to have a winner on their hands with Brawler within the immediate area. I probably should have sent two, but I didn't want to tip my hand on that end . Cheers!

 

Work finally slowed down enough this week (after working last weekend - 10 days in a row) after big jobs and traveling, to finally get away with my lovely bride to celebrate our last 32 years together. We were able to escape to the mountains for a couple of great days of skiing, had great weather and good beer the whole time. Now it's back home again and back to normal life again. Sure is nice to be able to get away and enjoy the good things in life every once in a while. Speaking of enjoying the good things in life, Ballast Point's Victory at Sea really is one of those good things!


Ballast Point Victory at Sea
Appearance: Poured a very dark opaque almost black color. Nice half inch head with great retention and lacing.
Smell: Aroma has a lot of coffee, with some slight dark roast malt and chocolate notes.
Taste: Very coffee forward, with great vanilla punch on the back end. Some slight roasty malt flavors also.
Mouthfeel: Nice thick and chewy, very full bodied for a porter.
Overall: Just an outstanding brew, really like the coffee and vanilla combination.

 

Something new to me, style and brand.. North Coast Brewing Company Old Rasputin Russian Imperial Stout

Same thing i posted on what i am drinking today

 

Boy, Yards needs to get that brew out there! It's tame enough that a BMC drinker should be able to handle it but flavorful enough to keep many a craft beer drinker interested. Personally, I really do love lower ABV brews, and across styles, Brawler might be the best pound-for-pound (or ABV percentage point) beer I've had on that end.

On to the next one ...



Straub's doppelbock is legit ... loads of dark-malt sweetness in a very crisp, clear, lager-looking brew. I'm not a big fan of raisins, which makes me the odd type who prefers Paulaner's Salvator to Ayinger's Celebrator -- sure, both are good. Great even. But I like Salvator better ... less raisins.

I'd swear Straub's dopplebock finds a ay to split the middle between the more raisiny doppelbock and the the less raisiny (more straight bread malt) doppel. Maybe I'm nuts, but this thing really comes off like a piece of buttered raisin bread. The butter seems to come and go, but the dark-malt sweetness is always there. No hops, nothing bitter and the mouthfeel is fantastic -- crisp but full, almost like a well-carbonated porter or non-imperial stout.

http://www.beeradvocate.com/beer/profile/880/105698/?ba=Premo88

3.89 (-3.5% rDev)

Anybody ever wash a tent? I am! Hope it doesn't turn into a million tiny tent pieces

Cheers!

 

Bo Ryan's gotta take those Badgers past the Final Four this year, and take the championship. It's gotta happen.

 

Maybe we should call it NCESBS (New Cheap Evil Smelling Beer Sunday) as an homage to the classic Sam and Max comic 'Let's Play Fizzball':

(click to embiggen)

 

Happy NBS Again!!!

Look forward to this each week. (Even the weeks I don't contribute).
Big Thanks & Maximum Respect to frequent NBS contributor @JNForsyth for reaching out and sending me this beauty that wasn't on my radar....Perfect for NBS

Troeg's Troegenator Double Bock

Pours a rich avocado honey color.
Smell is a mix of nuttiness and bready malt.
Taste is a bit sweeter than I expect for this style but quite tempting. Again a bit bready or biscuity, nuttiness takes a back seat.
Finish is consistent with the whole journey.
Finish is slightly sticky which keeps that sweetness clicking litley in the back of my mouth.
Solid.

 

Glad I was able to snag a 6 pack of Hopslam for not a horrible price.

Smells like a great double/imperial IPA. Lots of citrus in the nose mostly grapefruit, orange peel, lemon, tangerine and I also pick up a decent malt backbone.

Taste is hop forward (hence the name!) but not as overpowering or quite as bitter as I was expecting. Don't get me wrong, it packs a hop punch and the finish is somewhat dry but not that much. The honey is kinda detectable and to me just keeps the bitterness in check so that it is a pleasant run through the palate.

Glad I got a pack of this and will be enjoying the other 5 in due time!!!

 

BA Blackout stout 2015, much better on tap than in bottles but still excellent. I call it BCBS lite

 

3 new beers this Sunday..ending on Ranger Creek's Small Batch series no. 8

 

It really does. My brother didn't want the bottle he got in his stocking, so I've got it sitting in my fridge for exactly that purpose, just waiting for me to pick up some ice cream...

Mountains? West Texas? Unless you refer to upside down mountains as mountains, specifically Palo Duro, I'm confused
Cheers, though! Sounds like fun!

 

The Davis Mountains and the McDonald Observatory.

The tallest mountains in Texas are a bit further from me, so this summer I'm going to check out Mt. Livermore (8,378 feet) ... I'll save the Guadalupe Mountains for 2016.

 

Still have time to get in a new beer on Sunday DIPA
Got a chance to try New Glarus scream tonight for the first time thanks to @mndanika

here is my review
http://www.beeradvocate.com/beer/profile/590/123810/?ba=SammyJaxxxx

 

Ahh... down on the south side. That makes more sense. I spent a couple of years in Lubbock, so my mind automatically jumped to the wide and the flat. It seems I forget there's anything past Midland/Odessa. Sounds like a blast! Have fun.

 

Thanks!

I've never been much of a camper but love being outdoors, grew up hunting and fishing, play lots of golf, walk a bunch. It's well past time for me to partake of our state parks ... and I generally just want to see more of my home state (including Palo Duro, in fact -- that place looks incredible considering what it's in the middle of).

"West Texas" can mean too many things for sure ... and I'm lazy. If you're west of Austin, you're West Texas to my Gulf Coast-bred brain.

 

Haha no doubt. I've felt the same way recently about the state I am originally from which is the state I currently live in again. Been trying to branch out and explore some of the natural wonder we've got so readily available.
Palo Duro is amazing. I went up there once or twice when I was in the 806, and always wanted to get a camping trip out there but never ended up with more than an afternoon.
It's true west texas is a broaaaaad term, and really anything west of ATX is a legitimate descriptor. It's just that Texas is so damn big, that even with geographical specificities, it's still going to cover a lot of ground!

 

I'd make a comment about how I'm interested in Short's Cup A Joe, but I'm afraid you'd send that as well.

 

I missed this one at my local shop in Brea, thanks for describing it...I'm still curious.

 

Thanks for putting this Chris Stapleton link up. Good stuff.