New Beer Sunday (week 529)

New Beer Sunday: Gose goes nicely, nicely.

Evenin' NBSers with special greetings to fans of Goses and Gueuzes.

Today was a fun and interesting day. The weather was outstanding and my wife and I had a chance to share a meal with some old friends. (Old in both senses of the word old. )

My new beer today is "Here gose nothin" from the DESTHIL Brewery in Bloomington Ill. (Ill. is a state where I lived for a few years but don't really long to visit again except for when the sweet corn can be had fresh cooked after being literally just picked from the fields where it is grown. ) This is my first Gose ever so I can't say accurately if it is to style or not, but I'm enjoying it and finding the salt less prominent than expected.

As usual my review (in progress until the beer is finished) can be found here:

http://www.beeradvocate.com/beer/profile/36757/133043/?ba=drtth

During the Brunch time conversation over omelettes and other goodies from a very nice buffet the discussion turned to music of the 50s and 60s and its influence on our culture today. And one of the things I learned was that the very first bit of music broadcast back to the Earth from the Moon by the Apollo 12 Astronauts was a song called "Louisiana Man." recorded by a Cajun fiddler named Doug Kershaw (who by that time had been performing for almost 20 years).

Here is a recording of Kershaw performing that song:




Turns out that once Kershaw became known outside the Country Music scene he had his own TV program for a while and made a number of guest appearances on other variety shows:




The performance career of the "Ragin Cajun" spanned about 50 years and even after he no longer appeared on TV he continued to be very popular doing his standards in a variety of places.



Cheers all!

 

Kind of a new beer, the first bottle of the secon batch of my original IPA, Euclidean Brewery C Summation IPA!

C Summation IPA
12 oz bottle poured into a teku

A- A hazy orangish color with a two finger white head 3.75

S- Tropical fruits, citrus, oranges, hints of pine. 4.25

T- Tropical fruits, citrus, some grapefruit, piney finish, some sweet biscuity malt and wheat. 4.25

M- Smooth, medium body, prickly carbonation, slightly creamy. 4.25

O- I feel I did a good job with this, first batch was good and this batch turned out well. Definitely will be brewing a third batch. 4.25
Final score 4.23/5
Got all the bottles labeled, artwork by my lovely girlfriend!



Cheers!

 

If there is a dessert in a bottle, then this is it. I think ST is making it injustice by not bottling it in 12oz (even at that size it would be something better to share than drink by yourself.

 

First (and possibly only) entry in this weeks NBS for me is this fancy little can:


Due South - Caramel Cream Ale

I can see where they came up with caramel out of this. A hearty read ale with a nice little hint of vanilla on the finish. The more it warms the more it tastes like caramel. I also have a crowler of the Imperial version of this beer, probably won't tackle that tomorrow but I'm interested to compare the two.

Tunes

 

Hey folks. I just enjoyed a bottle of Ballast Point's Grapefruit Sculpin IPA. These are my thoughts:

Ballast Point Grapefruit Sculpin (4.23/5.0)

Straight pour from a 12oz pry-off bottle to an oversized wineglass (Jester King stemware); no bottling date, but this is from the most recent batch—which has flown off the shelves in the last week, since it finally hit this market. It’s been refrigerated the entire time, as far as I can tell, so this out to be freshhhhh.

Appearance (4.5): This pours out with an immediate, three-finger head of dense, custard-colored foam, which caps a perfectly clear, deep orange body. The head fades slowly, with bubbles slowly forming and popping at the top while the rest forms a pock-marked surface, while also leaving collars and thick, arcing webs of foam all around the glass. This is an outstanding-looking IPA.

Smell (4.0): Reeking of sweet, ruby red grapefruit juice, this beer’s hops and malt are nearly lost in the mix. But they’re there, offering a bit of punchy, citrusy pineapple and a moderate backbone of bready malt. That said, this one is all grapefruit. (I can’t complain, though of course it’s a bit one-note.)

Taste (4.25): In the flavor department, the beer’s more dynamic than in the aroma. The grapefruit is still there in spades, but it’s less sweet and offers more bitterness than suggested by the aroma. The hops add a piney component and some weedy resin, but there’s only a suggestion of some pale malt underneath it all. It could never hold its own against the hops and grapefruit, but a light breadiness has been sacrificed here in the name of a subtropical citrus fruit and some dank hops.

Mouthfeel (4.5): Perfectly dry, subtly but thoroughly carbonated, and medium-ish in weight, this feels exactly as an IPA should. The alcohol isn’t particularly noticeable, but it’s present, subtle, and appropriate for the size. Very easy to drink.

Overall (4.25): Surprise, surprise, this beer’s dripping with grapefruit, but it works with the style perfectly well. And I love grapefruit, so of course this is my jam. That said, it’s still Sculpin, an excellent but not quite world-class IPA, with fruit added. That’s not to say it’s underwhelming at all—just don’t expect something mind-blowing, something more than just Sculpin with a load of grapefruit in it. But if that sounds like your jam, which it most certainly is mine, then by all means, give it a shot. ​

I . . . enjoyed it quite a bit. I love grapefruit. I love IPAs. What could go wrong? Evidently, in the capable hands of Ballast Point, the answer is nothing. That said, it is a little gimmicky and one-note—it just happens that I love the gimmick and I love that one note.

Saude, galera :-)

 

As a follow-up the Victoria brew went well with the tacos. The light toasted malt and hint of spice and easy-drinking character of the brew blended well with the tacos.

 

New Big Stout Sunday

Things got in the way of participating over the last couple of weeks, so I'm happy to be back.

I wrapped up some home projects and caught up on work this afternoon. Relaxed in the sun and shared some tasty brews with family and friends this evening.

The brûlée was enjoyably sweet as a dessert beer. The BCBS was bold and boozy, a nice sipper. Full reviews to follow.

 

Happy Sunday NBS BAs! I posted to WBAYDN earlier, but having my last and new one in the evening. I've been putting off changing guitar strings on my Fender strat, popped one today, so a good enough reason to have a new beer!



New Guitar Strings / New Spiced Imerial Stout Sunday

Stone Chai-Spiced Imperial Russian Stout - 10.6% ABV
Pours a very smooth black with a slight crescent on top and immedately...Bam! Cinna-Chai bomb. In fact, I can smell the chai over pretty much anything else, but I also pick up some cinnamon and a bit of ginger. I will say, that pretty much describes the taste. I like Chai tea, so am enjoying the spices quite a bit, but...some of the wonderful things that come with regular version of Stone's IRS, are sort of stuck underneath the chai. For example, to me, there is that IRS roasty malt goodness but it is outright taken over by the spices. You do get that great warmth the regular version brings. With that said, I am enjoying this beer for original taste as well as it does taste incredibly fresh. The sip goes down nicely and again the cinammon remains for while afterwards.

Overall, if the chai was a bit less prominent, this would be great, but again, it's enjoyable if you drink slooowly=)

Off to get tuning....Cheers, a toast to all NBS BAs!

 

Had a little something earlier today called Founders CBS.

It was okay!

 

New Saison Sunday
This is only the second Saison that I have tasted and I think this is a really good beer.

Ovila Abbey Saison - Mandarin Oranges & Peppercorns
Sierra Nevada Brewing Co.
Saison / Farmhouse Ale / 7.50% ABV
4.23/5 rDev +10.4% | rAvg: 3.83
look: 4.25 | smell: 4.25 | taste: 4.25 | feel: 4 | overall: 4.25

Bottle poured into a chalice

A: Pours a nice sunset orange with a creamy white head, the head vanished quickly, no lacing, looks great.

A: Belgian yeast aromas right up front, peppercorns coming through, nice citrusy backend, getting some bread biscuit aromas, slight herbal aromas, smells very complex.

T: Belgian yeast flavors, nice citrus bitterness in the middle, finishes strong with pepper spice, slight heat on the end, very nice.

M: Medium mouthfeel with a strong dry finish

O: I like this, it starts out with that Sierra Nevada Belgian yeast flavor like the Quad with Plums, some bread biscuits flavors, then dips into some citrus bitterness and a great spice dry finish, easy drinking for 7.5%, it has that Belgian beer complexity, will definitely pick up a four pack after having the single.

 

Happy New American Double / Imperial IPA Sunday!



http://www.beeradvocate.com/beer/profile/64/9086/?ba=MadCat

Well today was a wonderful day, my wife and I took my daughter to a local aquarium, as well as a few minutes on the beach. Beautiful weather. Last Friday I managed to squeeze in a visit to a local brewery as well. Overall it has been good. So, up for today, is Dogfish Head's 120 Minute IPA. Can't believe I never had this, but I was never interested when it was easy to get. So when my local shop told me they had a few in the back, I said, sure why not. I was very torn with this, it is an IPA, so drink it fresh, right? The bottle date was less than 3 months ago, so that's what I chose. Plenty of hops there, so it is clearly fresh, but man is it rough around the edges. And I don't find it too hot or boozy, more the bitterness and the malty sweetness that are having a hard time playing nice. So that makes me think a little age might treat it well. Also, is it really more of a barleywine than an IPA? Strangely melding together better as it warms, but it is a wonderful beer to try at least once. But I feel like it's going to kick my ass by the time I finish.

Cheers!

 

Good evening NBS. Hope everyone is enjoying the end of the weekend again. I got out and rode my bike again, got about 85 miles this week. Half were trails and they really wore me out. Got to get my climbing endurance built up again. Here are today's new beers:

This is a damn good session IPA. Good head retention and lacing clinging down the glass. Aromas and flavors of grapefruit, tangerine, pineapple, peach, mango, lemon zest, orange peel, and pine; with some light caramel/toasted bread malt balance. Fair amount of pine/grassy bitterness on the finish. Really great and bright citrus/tropical hop complexity with light-moderate malt presence. Good robustness/not watery feeling in flavors. Balanced bitterness. Smooth and crisp finish with some moderate hop stickiness. Not too dry. Really impressed, no complaints. The website says it's got Simcoe, Warrior, Centennial, Citra, and Motueka; so I knew I would like it based on that information alone. 4


Wow this is delicious. Aromas and flavors of big grapefruit, tangerine, mango, pineapple, peach, lemon/orange peel, and pine; with moderate amount of caramel/toffee/toasted bread malt sweetness. Fair amount of pine/grassy bitterness on the finish. Great bright/juicy hop complexity with a nice sized malt backbone that doesn't overtake the hoppy profile overall. Really great balance of bitterness/sweetness. Very smooth sipping with moderate creaminess in the mouthfeel and some hop stickiness as well. Some light lingering warmth from alcohol on the finish but never boozy. All around excellence. 4.1


This is really excellent. Aromas and flavors of big milk chocolate, cocoa, coffee, vanilla, toast, toffee, dark bread, whiskey, oak, cream, and light dark fruitiness. Zero bitterness but some moderate spiciness from the oak/whiskey is present to cut through the malt sweetness. Great complexity and balance of the malt, chocolate, and whiskey barrel flavors. Very smooth sipping with moderate creaminess. Not too sweet, quite tame actually. Really delicious. I should really revisit the original now that I have this, I probably got an off bottle or something according to my notes of it. 4.1


Cheers, have a good night NBS.

This is still on rotation every day this month.

 

Give it a try with some age. This really gets nice after about 2-3 years.

Cheers!

 

New Dunkel Sunday
This is my second beer from Ayinger, love their Celebrator Dopplebock, and this is really good too.
Ayinger Altbairisch Dunkel
Privatbrauerei Franz Inselkammer KG / Brauerei Aying
Munich Dunkel Lager / 5.00% ABV
4.21/5 rDev +6.3% | rAvg: 3.96
look: 4 | smell: 4.25 | taste: 4.25 | feel: 4 | overall: 4.25

500 ml bottle poured into a Belgian tulip glass

A: Dark brown, light comes through around the edges when held up, vanilla head, lots of lacing, looks like a Coca Cola, not much carbonation coming off the bottom.

A: Sweet German malt aromas, nutty, roasted malts, caramel, a little spice, smells complex, different aromas every time I take a smell, smells great.

T: Sweet malts, caramel, bread, nutty flavors, slight roasted malt flavors, slight bitterness at the end, very easy drinking, smooth, nothing really jumps out, complex, very good.

M: Medium mouthfeel, some minor carbonation, finishes slightly dry.

O: Very good, easy drinking, it's kind of like a porter lager mix, some roasted nutty malt flavors, sweet caramel, nothing big, just really good. I'm not a big lager guy but I do like the slight roasted flavors of a dunkel, probably won't seek this out again but I would definitely not turn it down.

 

Having a new beer right now while waiting for the washing machine to finish -- one of several in my fridge at the moment, thanks partly to my local Kroger's discounted single bottles cart but mostly to @tommyguz who sent me a nice stash of extra bottles along with the Yuengling Bocks I was expecting. This is one of them, and one I've been wanting to try ever since I first heard about it existing -- Yuengling Summer Wheat:



...and that is not my picture but one I found on Google's image search, thanks to my camera running out of batteries when I have none to replace them with. XD

Does pretty clearly show that the beer is very, very cloudy (I can't see through it at all beyond a little bit right around the edges, just enough that you can see some bubbles rising up.) Smells... sometimes kinda banana-y, sometimes kinda generally "beer-y" (more so shortly after opening the bottle), and sometimes there's an odd funkiness that I'm not quite sure what it is. It's not the some "hair salon" funkiness I get a bit of in other Yuengling beers I've had, but still something odd in the smell. Strongest impressions in the flavor are banana-like and very, very fizzy; also a bit of a wheaty bready thing going on in there, but the banana and fizz stand out more. Anything resembling the funkiness from the smell is, thankfully, completely absent. Tasting lots of banana, or maybe even something more like a banana-flavored candy?, when I burp (...which is happening a bit more than usual thanks to the fizz), which seems to be a recurring theme in the yeastier sorts of beers whether they be Belgian-style or German-style.

Interestingly, as the beer line in my glass recedes below the halfway point, I'm now noticing more of a "bready" smell rather than the funkiness from before, which is much more pleasant. The fizziness also seems to have calmed down a little, and I'm noticing more of the bready flavors in the taste now than when the fizz was stronger.

Pretty good! I wasn't expecting it to feel quite so fizzy (I've never had a hefeweizen before this, are they generally super fizzy?), but the fizziness doesn't really hurt it overall, and it seems it dies down a little bit eventually anyway so someone who likes a little less fizz can just wait a bit before drinking. It's really drastically different from every other Yuengling beer I've had -- I definitely can't describe it with some variation of "like the Yuengling Lager, but...", not even close -- which makes it pretty clear that they put an effort into coming up with a completely new recipe rather than just changing around one of their previous lineup. I suppose that might be the reason why I've seen it described from time to time around here as "Yuengling's first real craft beer" and other descriptions along those lines. Nothing against the Yuengling Lager (I like it, personally, and will probably drink many more of them throughout my lifetime!) but it's nice when different beers from a brewery feel like more of their own unique thing, rather than all seeming a little too similar.

 

NEW BREWERY SUNDAY
Posting a little late but I got to try 2 new beers from a brewery that is new to me.
The brewery is Singlecut from Astoria Queens
I tried their Mo Shuggie Soul bender IPA and their Bon Bon TNT Double IPA


Both beers are top of the line
The one thing they share in common is that hazy unfiltered look with a thick fluffy head that leaves big time residue on the side of the glass.
The IPA is more piney and grassy with alot of bitterness on the front end.
The DIPA is more citrusy and fruity.
Great brews and I am looking to try more from Singlecut.

 

Maybe a strong BA Impy Stout would help.
Get Well soon Maria.

 

Hello NBS. Greeting from Spring in California. We finally got a little rain. And the next few days have been triumphant. Crisp clear air with fine fluffy clouds dancing around radiant sunshine. I wish it was like this more often. We've been slaving a way trying to do some spring cleaning, and get ready for my little 7 year old daughter's birthday brunch today...her idea.
Well 2 boxes showed up on Saturday, and as we're trying to eliminate inventory, Daddy is opeening boxes like a 4 year old at Christmas. Some awesome stuff. And I sure do love the tradition of extras!!! Often that's the best part of trading. And that's how this beauty jumped in my maw!!!
Chilly Waters by Tighthead Brewing
Big thanks and Maximum Respect to @egrace84 for this beauty.
4.18/5 rDev +5%
look: 4 | smell: 4 | taste: 4.25 | feel: 4.25 | overall: 4.25

Wow! I can't believe this comes in at 4.8%. Sooo drinkable.
Color is a lite coppery honey. Head pops up a few fingers with a vigorous pour, and settles into a loosely packed half a finger roil.
Smell is a tantalizing meld of slightly tropical fruit that then leans toward floral orange, but then some piney notes are peaking in. And yet a ever so subtle hint of the malt keeps popping in. So much going on, like a brilliant IIPA where the malt is ever present.
Taste starts with a bit more tropical: maybe pineapple, some tangerine, and then a bit of spice brings earthy pine notes, and yet the malt comes through as well. I really love this.
Finish is fuller than I expect for a 4.8% APA. A little viscous and resiny. Damn near perfect. I am thoroughly impressed. I'd love to try this on tap.

Seek it out.