New Beer Sunday (week 525)

Good evening NBS! Hope everyone enjoyed their weekend once again. Not much going on over here, probably going to be bottling my White IPA next weekend, and I have a Kolsch lined up for my next keg. Been getting kind of worn out drinking heavy beers lately, but I'll be switching it up soon. Here is today's new beers:

Good Session IPA. Very pleasant overall. Aromas and flavors of grapefruit, lemon zest, orange peel, pineapple, melon, berry, and pine with some light-moderate light caramel/toasted bread malt presence. Floral/grassy hop earthiness present as well. Light-moderate pine/grassy bitterness on the finish. Nice complexity of hop flavors, but not quite as vibrant and pronounced as I would have liked them. Good balance of bitterness with the lighter malt presence. Smooth, crisp, and lightly sticky mouthfeel and finish. Light-medium bodied, but not watery feeling. A fairly short finish, but not too dry overall. Overall very tasty and enjoyable, I got a 6 pack and will have no problem putting these down. Canned on 3/6/15. 3.68


Very nice Scottish ale. Aromas of raisin, plum, apple, caramel, toffee, toast, biscuit, brown sugar, nuttiness, light smoke and herbal hops. Good complexity of yeast and malt flavors, but the fruitiness is a bit over to top. Taste was much more balanced. Caramel, toast, biscuit, toffee, brown sugar, plum, apple, light nuttiness/smoke and light herbal hops. A minimal earthy hop bitterness present on the finish. Very nice malt complexity with restrained yeast fruitiness; zero cloying sweetness. Very smooth drinking with a moderately creamy mouthfeel; light-moderate carbonation. Really enjoyed this one. Nice malt complexity and yeast character(fruit/smoke), that does not overwhelm in the flavors. 3.88


Great milk stout! Big aromas with dark roasted coffee, dark chocolate, cocoa, caramel, toffee, toasted oats, vanilla, cream, and light smoke/char. Taste follows suit with the aromas. Some light-moderate roast/coffee bitterness on the finish. Very robust and balanced malt and coffee flavors; with a great bitter/sweet balance of roasted flavors. Very nice creamy mouthfeel; with some slight stickiness from the roast malts. Delicious with zero complaints. 4


Cheers, have a good night NBS!

 

In Search of Hops: Stumbled Upon Cherries (NOT)! NBS


#proper

12 oz. bottle poured into a Flying Dog chalice (196B15, but this just came out so it's fresh)

A (3.75): Looks like a golden rosé, with an effervescent head that really just leaves a collar and no lacing.
S (2): Earthen with a decent tinge of tartness and cherries.
T (1.5): Blech! There is nearly no cherry hear. It is all earthen with a weird kind of funk to it. There is nothing redeemable about this beer.
M (3): A bit aggressive on the carbonation. Quite bubbly.
O (2.5): I wish this was a Brewhouse Rarity, but they probably got this from their previous Sour Cherry Ale that was a Brewhouse Rarity. A bad beer has now taken a seasonal spot. This'll probably make some great pancakes.

D- (2.11): There is nothing to say about this one. Pass on it or use it to cook with. Sorry not sorry. Darn bad/mediocre local beers, which seem to be the norm around here.

You gotta love it when your review changes the rating # of the beer. It went from 76 to 75 upon my review.

Found the perfect clip for this:

 

Ozzy, relax. It was only a half-serious statement. But, those whom I speak of understand how a sub-community is capable of creating a sense of belonging.

 

Correction- Sucaba.

 

Hadn't tried Southern Tier's Un-Earthly until today. It's solid.

 

Late to the NBS party as well but I always show up eventually. Sitting here after the wife and little one have headed to bed, got my TENS unit blasting away at it's highest setting on my back. Decided to crack a beer that @ajaylock sent me as part of the current Stouts BIF that is going on right now. This fine gentleman sent me what he calls a "warning box" before the actual stouts box, it ends up being a 20+ pound monster with all of this goodness in it:


If this is what he considers a "warning shot" then I'm a little scared to see what the actual stouts box will be like.

Feeling like something light tonight so I went with Karbach Brewing's Weekend Warrior:


This is a real solid pale ale. Clean, crisp, and a nice little citrusy hop kick, it's working well for my current mood but would be even better in the summer time sitting on the deck at the end of the day. Thanks again Ajay!

 

New Weizenbock Sunday

Hello all! It's been a beautiful weekend here in Milwaukee. Today's beer was interesting. A weizenbock with a twist. From Southern Tier - Goat Boy. A hoppier version of the style. Being a "hop-head" I don't normally complain about hops...but here I think the way the hops were used kept it from being outstanding. I'm very comfortable in putting in the "very good" category... doesn't quite hit "outstanding" and not one of the best from this great brewery, it still was a very enjoyable brew.

http://www.beeradvocate.com/beer/profile/3818/116590/?ba=jwc215

Cheers!

 

Hello fellow nocturnal NBSers. Been excited to try this one. Guy at the shop said this was the first time 3F bottled this one and was going to sell out quick (not a bad selling scheme ). Live a Rich Life by Three Floyds Brewing. Says on the bottle that its dedicated to Rich Sheppard. BA description says that was a former employee. This may be the first belgian IPA I've ever had so I wasn't quite sure what to expect. The nose was definitely beligian yeast and hops with a little funk. Almost saison-like. Taste is definitely unique. Belgian yeast, predominately, with hops and a slight funk. Not sure the belgian yeast really works with the bitter citrus from the hops. Almost too much beligian yeast flavor. Mouthfeel was medium and fairly crisp with a clean finish. Overall, it was definitely different but not quite up my alley. It was great to try...I wouldn't turn it down if it was offered to me but I won't seek it out again.

Can't say I didn't buy this bottle just because of the Freddie Mercury likeness

Cheers!

 

4.06/5rDev n/a
look: 4.25 | smell: 3.75 | taste: 4.25 | feel: 4 | overall: 4
24 ounce bottle poured into a Sierra Nevada Hop tulip glass

A: Clear with a creamy white head, incredible lacing, lots of carbonation, it's a light orange color, pretty good head retention.

A: Malts, not picking up much of the hop aroma, some alcohol on the end, but smells really malty, more like a lager smell than an IPA smell.

T: Like the nose, malt dominates, slight bitterness comes through, slight apricot tart-bitterness, not getting any piney or citrusy flavors from this beer.

M: Medium mouthfeel, juicy.

O: Very easy drinking, goes down smooth, on a blind taste test I would not think I was drinking an IPA but a slightly hoppy lager, it tastes good, but I think it lacks a little bit of bitterness and I would like to have the apricot tart-bitterness highlighted better. It's very drinkable and I could imagine this beer as thirst quencher on a hot day. Buying again is up in the air as I think there are better SN IPAs than this.

 

In Search of Hops: NBS, Are They in Cans!?

I love me some Mikkeller cans! I spied a new one across from my spot at the bar yesterday at Max's 2nd VSB/K Event.


(perfect can expression for shots like this)

Imperial versions of any style are always interesting, and usually make me like styles that I normally don't (the case here).

12 oz. can poured into a Flying Dog chalice (no can date, but it is limited and was just added to BA)

A (4): Hazy bright yellow straw color with a nice foamy head that leaves some nice lacing and a prevalent collar.
S (4.25): Beautiful confluence of spices here. They pretty much dominant, and the hops can't really get picked out, they kind of just blend in with the spices.
T (4.25): This really amps up the normally mild and tame witbier. Lots of herbaceous spice that goes beautifully with the hops in here. Horse-blanket funk spice!
M (4): Nice level of carbonation that is just a bit foamy and relaxing.
O (4): I'm a sucker for imperials of normally tame styles, but that's Mikkeller for you. Delicious and full of spice. It's like a spiced/herbed IPA, but that's what I imagine an imperial wibier to be like though. It isn't super hoppy though, which is to style.

A- (4.16): Deliciously imperial with lots of amped up herbs and spices.

The answer to my post title question:

 

Very citrusy. A little roasty on the back end. Love it

 

Deep Ellum: IPA


4.14/5 rDev +3%
look: 3.75 | smell: 4 | taste: 4.25 | feel: 4 | overall: 4.25

Look: 3.75 Orangey gold with off half finger of white head.
Smell 4 Lots of peach with a hint of orange and grapefruit.
Taste 4.25 Like the smell lots of peach with a hint of orange and grapefruit balanced nicely with sweet malt. Alcohol is completely hidden.
Feel 4 Medium carbonation, slightly sticky, medium thickness.
Overall 4.25 I really like this and can definitely be considered a goto for peach flavor forward IPAs.

 

Hey All NBSers,
I just signed on, and haven't had the pleasure of reading a single righteous post yet...except for Maria's opening. Brilliant as always BTW.
I won't be posting much because I just got back from a phenomenal wedding in Santa Barbara. And yes, it was as beautiful as most people hear it is.
Just downed a Sure Bet from Pipeworks, with my brother who came in for the wedding, and we found this gem to be pure tropical hoppy bliss. Thanks to @Kevinpitts for sending it my way. He has treated me way to nice in the past, and this one far exceeded expectations...mango puree and all. I highly recommend this one folks.
Cheers to All,
I'll be reading more later.

 

So glad you enjoyed that one with your brother. One of my top 5 IPA's ever. Cheers!

 

Ok so earlier today, a short time before I was supposed to get off of work, some homeless guy tried to steal from us at work. He literally walked out with a Heineken 6 pack in each hand, casually. I was right next to the exit and watched him walk outside, and proceeded to call the cops.. Anyways, after a small chase, waiting for the cops, and giving my police report, I was finally able to go home (2 hours after I was supposed to be off).

I got home and remembered I had bought a steak a few days ago and needed to cook it. So I made myself a nice little dinner to pair with a nice beer. Here are the results:


Sprinkled some sea salt and black pepper on the sirloin, along with a touch of extra virgin olive oil. Let it sit for about 20 minutes to absorb the salt and get closer to room temp before I cooked it.


Decided to pop this bad boy. (2013 Dogfish Head World Wide Stout)


Added a few ounces, for flavor.


FIRE!


Cooked the fat, to get it a little crispy.


Added a little more beer to baste the steak in and get a nice caramelization


Cut up this nice Wisconsin cheese while I let the steak cook


Plating..


Finished pouring...


#DatPink..


Final shot. World Wide Stout Sirloin with brown rice, salad, and some cheese.

The beer was incredible. So much alcohol but not too boozy. Was super balanced. Oaky, smoky, chocolatey, and a good amount of barley. Dates, raisins and chocolate. Of course as it warmed up it just kept blowing my mind...
Cheers to you all! Happy Sunday

 

Actually had the opportunity to try two new beers this Sunday. Drove down to Salem to visit my little sister, who's currently in her last semester at Roanoke College; I'd been meaning to visit her down there ever since November, but car trouble and being so busy with work have kept me from getting around to it until now.

Anyway... after a nice long walk across campus and around town and visits to a duck pond and some local stores, we dropped the stuff we'd bought off at her dorm room and then headed to a restaurant that she and my dad have been to a lot when he's visited. They had an entire (front and back!) menu page for the beers they had on tap, separated out into several different sections based on overall categories of styles (Belgian-style, lagers/amber ales, IPAs/pale ales, stouts/porters, etc.), so of course I had to order a beer or two with my food.

First new beer I tried was Dam Lager from Sunken City Brewing, which is located right in the Roanoke area. My sister's had this one before and liked it--it was one of the first beers she tried and liked when she was first starting out, actually--so I had to have one too at some point. This one was pretty good! My sister mentioned thinking it tasted like Triscuits once before, and after I had my first sip the first words out of my mouth were "wow, you're right, this really does taste like Triscuits." XD There was definitely a toasted biscuit/cracker (or Triscuit-like) sort of thing going on here rather than just the plainer "breadiness" I get from a lot of lagers. Also some sweetness that reminded me of... either raisins or a sort of raisin/brown sugar blend, hard to narrow down. The Triscuitiness was the flavor that stood out more. No clashes with my food (basil pesto chicken sandwich and fries), either, which is always good.

Second was Purple Haze from Abita Brewing Co. out of Louisiana. I basically ordered this one as "dessert" after my sandwich and my first beer were gone. It turned out that this wasn't as raspberry-ish as I had been expecting; the beer was cloudy and had a bit more of a reddish hue to it than a standard wheat beer, but the actual raspberry smell/flavor was pretty mild. Still not bad, had some good wheatiness with the raspberry in the background making it a little different from just a plain wheat beer, but not quite what I had expected from a beer made with raspberry puree.

(And as a side-note, my sister had a glass of Highland Oatmeal Porter, which she described as "very oaty," "good mix of sweetness and bitterness," and "really, really good.")

Looking back, I really kinda wish I had gone for the "flight of four 5-ounce pours" option the restaurant offered (for $7) rather than buying full pours of two beers for $5 each--but the selection was just so huge, and made up of so many beers I wanted to try, that I was a little overwhelmed!

 

GG Patton