New Beer Sunday (week 528)

Trying out my new Defiance Brewing glass for #properglassware (watch out @Highbrow), I will pair it with a new brew, their Origami Spaceship Saison. 7.5% ABV.

It has been a crazy three day weekend. Friday morning my neighborhood was hit with a 90 mph Kansas windstorm, and our yard has been destroyed. 17 hours without power on Friday as well. That photo does it no justice, it's worse I promise. And with that, I woke up on Easter Sunday to think about the things we take for granted, and try to realize how good we have it most of the time. I also offer my Beer Advocate apology for the crass, snarky comments I make on most Saturdays when I drink all day and let my tongue run wild on the interwebs with comments about how I hate beer snobs. I swear I'm not the jerk that I appear to be here. Anyway, let's get away from confessions and such and focus on BEER.

Defiance Brewing is a tiny little brewery from Hays, Kansas who have yet to disappoint me. I'm trying their saison today for the first time, accompanied with a paper airplane I constructed that doesn't fly very well.

The beer is a clear golden color with continually rising bubbles (always love that!). The white head recedes to a light film leaving a good amount of lacing initially.

The aroma brings fruity esters and a good amount of yeast, and it's a little boozy. Banana notes are very, very subtle but present. A lot of white pepper spice notes and just a touch of apple tart.

The taste is a little different from the aroma, as more green apple tart appears, little or no banana. Centennial hops emerge, reminding me that this beer is in fact brewed with hops -- not something I think about in the few saisons I've had. The warmer the beer is the easier it is to taste the actual hoppy element. This may be one of the best beers to explain how beer temperature matters ... The body is composed of green apple tartness and cherries. The finish is dominated by spiciness and faint peppery heat. The 7.5% ABV comes out a lot.

Overall? I rated this a 3.93 which is good for a + .8% rDev. Oh, I'm only the second person to rate it LOL. I like what Defiance are doing, they only can their beers, and I look forward to their releases. Now for some appropriate music, and I love both of my choices.

 

2.25/5 rDev -28.3%
look: 2.25 | smell: 2.25 | taste: 2.25 | feel: 2.25 | overall: 2.25

Forbidden Traveler Apple Ale has a thick, white head, lots of heavy lacing left on the glass, and a murky, orange-gold appearance. The aroma is of white bread and Jolly Rancher. Taste is the same, with some paper, underneath. Mouthfeel is medium to heavy, and Forbidden Traveler Apple Ale finishes semi-wet and fairly drinkable. I would never actually care to drink a fruit flavored beer, and this just confirms that. But, it's worth trying, I suppose.

RJT

 

Happy Easter one and all hope this fine NBS finds you all well... been out of the loop for a bit house hunting. But in a few short months I will take residency in a fine Irish cottage on the banks of the Lagan. The same river that birthed the Titanic. The cottage is older than the ship and thankfully still standing...

So As I holiday in the Netherlands I drink something sweet and smooth


3.94/5 rDev +7.4%
look: 4 | smell: 3.75 | taste: 4 | feel: 4 | overall: 4

Appearance – Cloudy straw like colouration with a very decent head of tightly cropped white foam (some rocky patches) that last a very good amount of time, 5 mins by my count. This head finally dies to a healthy lace that has an interesting patchy nature but still looks great, however it leaves little evidence of itself in the glass afterwards.

Smell – Sweet malt that is bready in character but there is also plenty of orange aroma in here too. Some pepper and clove style spice. Pretty good but not the best bouquet I have found in the style.

Taste – Sweet and mild but very good all the same! The taste is best described as almost flora in its subtlety. There is the same orange and spice combo as the nose coupled with a funny sourness that perfectly offsets and balances the sweetness. As I drink I even get tiny flourishes of banana.

Mouthfeel – Full and creamy! This one is very smooth with a lovely tingle and a lightly drying end.

Overall – This one goes down a treat and I only wish it was easy to find in the UK but as it is I will drink my fill here in the Netherlands. Another winner from Belgium!

 

I bought a pony keg of Chillwave. I absolutely love this gem. Great balance and fruit juicy forward without a strong astrigent finish. Great pricing and distribution. Between Sucks, Enjoy By, and Chillwave, I really don't need any other IIPA. It's not a Hop Bomb it's just da bomb

Cheers NBS BA's !

 

Spoken like a man who has a healthy ego.

 

Another Chillwave fan. Pony keg? Sweet.

 

For a hot minute, I thought it was a typo. Defiance is not the same as Defiant. Right. The small establishment up in NY may can their stuff, but I've yet to see it. Defiance... different story, huh.

 

Yeah I understand your confusion. It used to take a while to even find Defiance on the BA database, it would bring up Defiant as well.

 

I appreciate your honesty on a brew that I'd "expect" to be decent because of the brewery. Don't get me wrong, I like Traveler's pumpkin and lemon offerings. But, hey, ever establishment has their clunkers. Now I'll know to steer people away from this one where I work.

 

I am a bit of a purist when it come to Belian tripels, so I am not a fan of the barrel aged ones..

the style is also just far too diverse it doesn't really need a barrel in my opinion.

 

Oh, I completely understand. 9.5 times out of 10, I am too. However, my first BA beer that was a pleasant mind-screw was Mother Earth's Tripel Overhead. My mind said, "Oh, wait, it's what? But... it tastes like alcoholic cream soda."

 

New American IPA Sunday!

Easter Sunday, that is. Greetings from a warm and bright Jersey Shore. It's been a nice couple of days since Friday's rain. I had golf clubs in my hands yesterday for the first time in months. Yesterday the practice range, tomorrow the course, perhaps.

Easter and Spring renewal , the time is right for new beer:
http://www.beeradvocate.com/beer/profile/3/134574/?ba=NiceTaps



Here comes the Easter bunny:


All the best, everyone!

 

Today's beer is Aecht Sclenkerla Rauchbier Fastenbier, from the good old Roman part of Germany. My son brought me this one last night, knowing well that it comes from exactly where we came from.
This is a really smoked beer, deep and roasty, making me smell like I camped for a week in a burning beech forest. Jeez, this is a statement that needs food! It's a great beer, beautiful in the glass and a testament to German brewing. I will have one rauch beer and one gose, (and a shot of Talisker in tribute to John Lee Hooker) and then I'm good! Cheers. This is our salad from last night- with fresh redbud and violet blooms. A true joy with my family from part of our yard.

These songs are to me amazing pieces of American culture. The girl is beautiful and reminds me of my wife when I fell head over heels for her spirit, humility and beauty. I am a lucky dog!

 

Decent IPA, i.m.h.o. Not my favorite by Abita, but still something to be enjoyed.

 

Bought this over a year ago in an attempt to get my wife to try a craft beer. She declined. My 6,4, and 2 yr old are bouncing off the walls from Easter candy so I needed a beer, and all the sweets and chocolate this morning made me think of this so I went for it.



look: 3.75 | smell: 4.5 | taste: 3.75 | feel: 3.75 | overall: 3.75

Bottled 6/11/13

Pours dark brown, one finger head. Remains afloat for sometime.
Holy vanilla and burnt sugar! He nose really hits what's its label says. Strength if the vanilla is unlike any aroma I've ever I've had in a beer.
Taste is big rush of vanilla with caramel mixed in. Sweet cream starts to blend with the vanilla. A little alcohol bite in there too but this is liquid dessert.
Feel is smooth and very creamy. Carb is on the lower side but it's what's needed with the profile.
I saw that this was going to be sweet but I wasn't prepared for the prominence of vanilla. They really hit the mark on what they were trying to accomplish, but it's definitely a novelty type beer that I probably won't go for again. With all the candy and chocolate his Easter morning, I was compelled to finally open this and satisfy my curiosity.

hopflyer, 57 minutes ago Edit Delete

 

That settles it, I will buy one of these.

 

@JMS1512 A pony keg is also known as a Stubby keg. It's a quarter barrel or 7.75 US Gallons

 

I know what it is- we sell them, I'm pleasantly surprised you got it in a 1/4, usually good brew is in sixtels.

 

Happy holidays BA!

After temperatures in the 80s, the weather has cooled down enough to trying something higher ABV.



3.85/5 rDev -2.8%
look: 4.25 | smell: 4.25 | taste: 3.5 | feel: 3.75 | overall: 4

Labeled Brewmaster Reserve 2013, ABV 9.6. Poured from 22oz bomber into snifter.

Aspect: Black with medium tan foam and good retention. Leaves behind good lacing.

Smell: Beautiful smell of caramel, malt, barrel, vanilla and booze.

Taste: Tastes less rich than it smells, the malty sweet is still there and the chocolatey bitter, but the vanilla is gone and the barrel is muted compared to what I expected after the 12 month of aging the label mentions.

Mouthfeel: Creamy, medium strong, medium carbonation. The finish was somewhat dry for the style.

Overall: After taking in the beautiful looks and smell, the taste was somewhat of a let-down.



I picked for my first NBS post one of the beers that has been for a long time on my wish list, and maybe I had too high expectations.