New Beer Sunday (week 522)

The sun finally came out on this cloudy day so I actually was able to get a decent picture! This is another BIF beer that I really wanted to try but wasn't too sure how I'd like it.


This pours a dark rich color with about a finger head to it. I got pretty aggressive on the pour but it seems to have a decent head retention. The smell is pretty mild. I get aromas of licorice and chocolate along with some roasted malt also. As far as the taste goes, I definitely pick up some of the licorice combined with roast and some bitterness to go with it. There are also subtle coffee notes and some mild spice to this one. This definitely has a different feel than most of the stouts that I drink. It is highly carbonated and isn't thick very or creamy whatsoever. All that said, I actually really enjoy this beer. It's a welcome change from the big stouts I usually drink and the licorice works well.

4.13/5 rDev +3.8%
look: 4.5 | smell: 4 | taste: 4.25 | feel: 4 | overall: 4

Cheers mates!

 

I almost did this one instead of Teddy Bear Kisses today, wish i would have. Sounds great!

 

A liver's got to do what a liver's got to do.

 

Good afternoon Golding gladiators and Mosaic Marauders, it’s time for your favorite NWNJ cicerone-in-studying and his verbose, if not entertaining, NBS review. It’s a sultry 41 degrees F out here in Stanhope. The couple feet of snow received a slight blasting of sun rays, and I got myself slightly blasted. Up on the chopping block…


On the docket: 1860 Bock (Žwiec)

Smell- Malty bread, a bit of toffee?

Sight-See-through reddish brown, a stark white head that sits on top, but gradually dies down. Lacing? Erratic due to a non-beer-clean glass, despite a quick rinse, a drop of soap, and another rinse.

Taste- Simple toasty, bready malt, with a bit of caramel. Sweetness present. Hops, where are you?

Mouthfeel- Somewhat oily and coating. A medium.

Overall- Great for when you just want a bock, and you don’t want to think about it. And for the price I paid for the bottle? Right on track for Heineken.


More important- New Beer Study Experience.

We spent (me and my wife) part of the afternoon, after being received as new members to our church, at Hops. It’s a great beer bar in Morristown, NJ. I asked the barman if he’d make me a “blind flight” to enable me a chance to study for my impending Cicerone test in March. I closed my eyes and he poured 4 different 4 oz. pours of things on draft. I asked him not to do anything too crazy regarding styles. As it turns out, I was able to identify (without looking at draft handles or the draft menu) all 4 of them correctly, in relation to style. My wife’s jaw dropped, he cocked and eyebrow and my confidence soared.

BTW- 5 spice Chinese roasted pecans go VERY well with Heresy (Weyerbacher’s BBA Imperial Stout)

When it comes to the tasting portion of the test, it may be that I have a shot as passing it. Now, I need to do the “off-flavor” thing, but who wants to shell out $150 on a tasting kit OR find a group to split the cost?

And now- for the music. Because someday I hope in my dream profession to be...

 

What a beautiful day here in NH! Still had to break out the snowblower this morning but only about 5 inches today, just a dusting in other words. Happy 10th NBS! Made a road trip to Maine yesterday and landed at Bissell Bros, Foundation Brewing and Banded Horn. Brought back some great beers some new and well some tested before.

For this NBS I'm trying Foundation Brewing's first canning run of their Epiphany, A Maine IPA, as the can says.
Poured my first can into my favorite tulip glass, it pours a hazy orange slightly yellow perhaps color. Hazy enough so that if you didn't want to see who or what was on the other side of the glass you wouldn't have too. There was a thin 1/4 head when poured slowly but over time I've gotten real good at pouring into this glass.
The aroma is delightful to say the least there is a big citrus nose with a hint of other tropical fruit.
The taste finds the same citrus flavors with the hints of tropical fruit with a slight hint pine in the end. I didn't find this to be a big bitter hop bomb but very smooth and juicy to drink.
The mouth feel is smooth and even at 8% ABV this beer goes down quickly.
All in all these guys have a great beer on their hands and with it now in cans they will surely grow to find a bigger following.

Still working on the damn picture thing here so no picture of there great looking can. Well there is always next week.

 

This is a good day Ladies and Gentlemen! And I'm back. (I almost never get to play twice.)
Got a little yard work done, so I get to drink something hoppy!
Ritual's Single Rye Ipa (Centennial)
3.75/5 rDev n/a
look: 3.75 | smell: 3.75 | taste: 3.75 | feel: 3.75 | overall: 3.75

Bottle
Picked this up from my bottle shop in Brea. Thanks Hacienda Beverage!
Pours golden, heading in the direction of amber, frothy finger + of tight foam that drops down to a thin film after a minute or so.
Mmm. Nose brings forth a melange of breadiness, and slight centennial hop allure.
Here we go, the hops are in the front, but the bready malt is ever present. Some citrus meets a bit of earth. Floral sits between lemon blossoms and orange, but their is that earthiness that blends right into the malt. Really good.
Wet in the mouth with a slight resiny finish. I like.
Really good. I'm going to find some more!

 

Good afternoon all my NBS friends, happy mathematical birthday to the thread.
Over my short time on BA this has been the most enlightening thread for me. So with that typed, lets keep it up for another 10 years.
Thanks to CaveDave and UtopiaJane for all their work.
Todays new beer is a New World Tripel from Brasserie Dieu du Ciel.
A wonderfully rich, oily delight.

L'Herbe à Détourne
Brasserie Dieu Du Ciel
Tripel / 10.20% ABV

3.89/5 rDev -4.7% | rAvg: 4.08
look: 4 | smell: 3.75 | taste: 4 | feel: 4 | overall: 3.75

Poured from the bottle into a Hill Farmstead goblet.
A - Translucent honey colored, gentle trail of carbonation fights its way to surface. Coaxing can deliver a thin crest of off white froth, lasting some time. Sticky lacing clings to the sides slowly meandering back, returning to the source, not unlike a a rich white wine.
S - Orange, passion fruit lead the way, dried Papaya and honey on warm white toast follow. A thickness, sweet in body run through the nostrils. The tropical candied fruitiness dominates, with some warming the alcohol is gently released.
T - Warm notes of Orange blossom honey lead the way, sweet candied sugars, and the cornucopia of tropical fruits. Oh those Citra hops hold nearly everything at bay. The base malts try to stand up, and are quickly accosted by the sweet tropical, sugary fruits in the best ways.
M - Oily richness frost the entire palate. Slick, sweet and delightful. There is no hiding the Tripel style in this fine offering. The palate remains coated for a long while, gently, slowly receding. The final notes are slight hop bitterness across the top of the tongue and its tip.
O - New world Tripel, hopped up while maintain the styles light sweetness. That very sweetness is rich and complex in this beers. Over the entire experience, at no point was it to sweet. I applaud the challenging approach to the style by Dieu du Ciel.
This has been a real treat to be sipped, explored and enjoyed.

Cheers

 

Been enjoying a great weekend in NorCal...per usual.
A great ride yesterday with @CommanderOfAwesome

And a nice hike this morning with the wife

Enjoying this now, thanks to a true BA, @WesMantooth.

Definitely not a big fruity DIPA but a damn tasty one none the less. Nice and malty, great golden/amber color and great lacing.
And I'm excited for the work week to start because this time next week I'll have my feet in the sand and a cold been in my hand on the beach in Wailea. Yes, that was a humblebrag.
Slaite!

 

What beer is it?!

 

Great Shots!!! You are blessed to live in the Bay area. I too have been on the recieving end of the generosity of @WesMantooth. But which are you describing? It sounds great.

 

Edited!
Seems the allergy meds and the beer got me out of it quickly!

 

New Imperial Pilsner Sunday!

We got a little bit of snow in the 5000 ft. and above elevation yesterday/night in northern utah. Went on a little hike, in some spots there was some snow, not much, but still some. Temps around 30 and sunny, with some gusty winds kickn'. I've had this beer sittin around for about 2 weeks. Not too bad, would buy again if available.

http://www.beeradvocate.com/beer/profile/140/152542/?ba=Wasatch

Cheers!

 

now that...is an epically appropriate retort....love it....makes me thirsty...

 

Now moving onto this. Originally I had packaged this fresh-ish (dated 1/14) as an extra in a box for @WesMantooth but the dicks at FedEx broke a bottle and the box got shipped back. Figured I can't send him an old DIPA

Everything about this visually and nasally reminds me of the beer I just had...but not on the tongue. Is it good...eh. I bet fresh I would have enjoyed it a lot more. Too much malt for my liking and lacks a certain...jena se quois.
Not the most expensive DP but will be one none the less. Too many better beers in the cellar and fridge than to drink for the sake of drinking.

 

So I've made an executive decision; I'm getting drunk today...big time.

My reviews may go from bad to terrible so bear with me .

This is another dark beast of a beer with a lovely mocha colored head to it. I smell tons of coffee and vanilla along with chocolate. I taste milk, molasses, some sweetness, huge coffee flavors, roasted malt, and some spice from either the coffee or alcohol. The feel of this beer is interesting…I'm not sure how much coffee is in here but it's almost like the coffee turns into a spice of its own which leaves a peppery after taste. Overall this is a good beer that really was unique and I'm fortunate to have gotten to try it!

4.38/5 rDev +1.9%
look: 4.5 | smell: 4.5 | taste: 4.25 | feel: 4.25 | overall: 4.5

Cheers!

 

Portsmouth Brewery Royal Impy Stout.
I had this both on tap and bottled.
This is a beast of a beer. 12% ABV.
Lots of toffee and dark fruit.
The bottled version was pretty boozy; the on tap version was much more subtle.
Either way, you can't go wrong. My preference is to wait on the other bottle conditioned beers I have.

 

Wolters Pilsener Premium (green USA bottle) has a thick, frothy, white head, a bubbly, golden appearance, and moderate lacing. The aroma, which was not at all skunked, is of soda cracker and grassy hops. Taste is of sweetness, cracker, and grassy hops. The mouthfeel is medium, and Wolters Pilsener Premium finishes crisp, clean, and refreshing. RJT

 

OLD BEER Sunday
Wait, isn't it New Beer Sunday?
Indeed it is, but today I tried two beers that are new to me, but ancient in the realm of beer releases!
The first is Lagunitas Brown Shugga'

I really started getting into the fine beer world around the same time Sucks was released (and Sucks definitely challenged my hops threshold at the time but made me love DIPAs). Of course that made me want to try what exactly Sucks was a substitute for. I saw this on the grocery store shelf last week and had to pick it up!
Overall I think I like Sucks more- for having such a large malt backbone this definitely lets the hops shine as well. That being said, as tasty as the toffee/brown sugar notes are, I think I like seeing the hops by themselves better.
Visiting the brewery in person last year and hearing their stories about both beers (and most of their lineup, especially Censored & Shutdown) was something I'll never forget. Very glad this is back on the market and glad I tried it. Very solid even if I like Sucks a bit more.

New Albion Ale
Generally considered America's first post-prohibition microbrewery! Obviously no longer around today, Sam Adams re-created the recipe a few years ago. Today the daughter of New Albion's founder is a local NEOhio resident and teamed up with new, local Platform Beer Co to brew the original recipe.

The tap handle is above... from a growler, this certainly has a pilsner/macro lager color and the aromas also remind me of blander days, but the flavors are bold and the hops shine. While this may be a bit mild compared to a lot of what's currently on the market, it's very pure and compared to any pilsner or lager, especially from the macro breweries, I can easily see where this pushed boundaries. I hope Platform continues to brew this during the summer months as this would be awesome during warmer weather. Awesome to get a taste of beer history.

Cheers!

 

Getting Gruesome on this NBS with this bottle sent to me by @jzeilinger a while back. A cold lazy Sunday to finally enjoy such a decadent sounding delight.

Pours a dark brown with ample tan foam that quickly settles. No light visibly passing through.

Aroma is peanut butter forward, dark chocalate, and roast. Smells like a peanut butter parfait.

Flavor is dark chocolate, peanut butter, and coffee roast, followed by more peanut butter. This is liquid dessert in a glass. I could spill some of this on ice cream and be in heaven!

Mouthfeel is on the thin side, but in no way detracts from the experience.

I don't think I've had any peanut butter beers before this one. Being a fan of both peanut butter and chocolate, I really enjoyed this experience. Thanks Jeff! Final score 4.21.

Have a great week gang!

 

Long Trail Farmhouse Series White IPA from Bridgewater Corners, Vermont (USA). It is 6.2% ABV and 40 IBUs. The pour is your basic orange color but there is little to no head. The clarity is quite nice. The aromas are forward with hoppy fruit characters of pineapple, grapefruit, and melon. Behind it all you get a slight toasted biscuit and coriander spice. The body is around medium but it has a smooth texture to it. The taste is about the same as the aroma suggests with those same tart pineapple and grapefruit flavors but it finishes bitter and lingers some. Easy drinking but I am not a big witbier fan even with the added hops. It is a style that I do not go looking for but can drink it when offered.