New Beer Sunday (Week 530)

Visiting in-laws this weekend. Charleston, SC has great dining and recently very good local brews. I've tried several the last two days. This is my first post to this forum and first time drinking this beer, bought at Costco today for the princely sum of $5.49 for 22oz bomber. Reddish brown pour with khaki foam, great lacing as liquid reduces. Sweet caramel nose and up front taste; booze on tongue too. Caramel exhale. Some fruit in middle. Medium lite mouthfeel and creamy boozy tongue coating. Very pleasing and enjoyable "bigger" (9.5%) beer. Cheers!

 

Yikes! Talk about taking one for the team. Your tastebuds were not maimed in vain - we know now to steer clear of this one.

 

While being a darling of the British didn't hurt, I think there's enough weight there he'd have still been a long term favorite for many, even if only for the Messiah. (For 3-4 years I had a chance to see live performances and they never dulled or lost their impact.) But Beethoven outclassed him in several areas I think.

 

This past week has been rough. I've had a serious case of the crud. Been feeling like I was bicycle-kicked in the face by Liu Kang and held under water by Steven Seagal. Not quite as cool as it sounds. Thankfully the pharmacy I work in sells Cheratussin over the counter.

I was debating on whether or not I should participate today but I have been looking forward to NBS all week. Really wanted to try this beer. I wasn't going to let a little virus ruin my plans. Unfortunately, I probably should have went with my instincts. I'm having a difficult time smelling or tasting anything in this. I wish I could provide a decent review here but that's just not happening today. For what its worth, its pretty soothing going down my sore throat. Hope I can come back with resilience and make you guys proud next Sunday. Cheers!

 

Pretty much in agreement with your assessment of this beer. Drinkable but not my first choice.

 

4 Pines is on Sydney Harbor in Manly so I'd guess Sydney. My feeling about Coopers was that it was really good on tap but doesn't travel well in bottle.

 

A recommendation. Make your way to Cremorne area of greater Sydney (you can get there by ferry and bus easily enough from Manly so no car needed). Give a try to Radio Cairo located across from the town hall building. Loved eating there. (You can see my review in the Places directory.)

 

Hey congrats! had no idea you never had this beer before! I figured for sure you did ... what a nice treat!

 

Have you ever seen so many new beers? Holy cow!

You've seen this one before, but it's new for me:


Ballast Point
Victory at Sea
5 (+13.6% rDev)

Yep. I did it. 5s across the board. The beer asks, "What more do you want?" I couldn't think of a single thing, so 5s.

It's super sweet with a ton of milk chocolate flavor, the coffee and vanilla swirling into an ice cream-like treat (hot fudge sundae, vanilla shake with chocolate syrup, chocolate shake). And the dark malt is a force -- super bitter and arguably burnt, but the effect is a fantastic balancing act between the sweeter flavors and the darker bitter flavor. It tastes exactly like what a beer drinker wants when they complain their milk stout/big stout is "too sweet" ... like it's Southern Tier's Creme Brulee perfectly balanced with dark malt bitterness.

I'm shocked. I knew it would be good, but I worried it would have too much of either the vanilla sweetness or that burnt flavor (almost like burnt hops) so many American brown ales/stouts have. It has neither. It's perfect.

Lace shot:


Classical music is mostly a mystery to me, but I know what I like, and I like Haydn's No. 94 (if somebody already posted it, oops ... sorry I missed it ).



And the Joseph Haydn of Texas country/folk/blues:



Cheers!

 

Hey congrats! had no idea you never had this beer before! I figured for sure you did ... what a nice treat!

 

Good evening NBS! Hope everyone is enjoying the end of the weekend once again. I got a nice amount of miles of mountain biking in this weekend. Feels awesome to be back at it. I'll be back in my prime shape pretty soon. I also kicked my scottish ale keg last night so I got some homebrew work to do as well. The Bourbon oak barleywine should be about ready, just need to pull a sample to make sure then I am going to add dry yeast just in case and bottle.

Here are today's new beers:

Really nice Belgian IPA. Aromas and flavors of big apricot, grapefruit, tangerine, pineapple, mango, melon, banana, pepper, clove, pine, light caramel, toasted bread; with floral/grassy hop and yeast earthiness. Moderate amount of pine/grassy bitterness and peppery spiciness on the finish. Really well balanced yeast and hop flavors with a good amount of malt support that isn't overdone. Very smooth with a fairly crisp/sticky mouthfeel and finish. Really enjoyed this, might grab a whole 6 pack now. Really unique with the big tropical hop notes. 3.9


Awesome stuff! Aromas and flavors of big dark chocolate, cocoa, coffee, molasses, caramel, toffee, toast, vanilla, bourbon, oak, and light dark fruits. There is some light booziness in the aromas as well, but it isn't detrimental to the overall quality of the aromas. A fair amount bourbon/oak spiciness and roast bitterness on the finish. Well balanced flavors of the malts, coffee, and bourbon barrels; with a good roasted malt bitter/sweet balance as well. Very smooth sipper, some lingering warmth after the finish but not boozy. Nice moderately creamy finish; maybe a bit thin, but I find most barrel aged beers usually feel reduced in mouthfeel because of the added spirit character. Delicious overall. This tastes strikingly similar to Heresy in the amount of pronounced barrel character that is present in this beer, along with the flavor profile(dark fruit notes, molasses etc). I wouldn't be surprised if it is the same grain bill with more base malt and coffee added. 4.2


Damn good Belgian strong pale ale. Aromas and flavors of bright lemon, lime, pear, apple, white grape, pepper, cracker, bread, and herbal/grassy hop earthiness. Nice spicy and crisp finish with bright yeast flavors and lighter pale malt presence. Extremely drinkable for 8.5% with minimal alcohol presence noticeable at all. Very well attenuated and moderate dryness, but not too much. Very well carbonated. I have zero complaints about this beer, a truly spot on Belgian golden ale. 4


Cheers! have a good night NBS.

Brand new band I just found tonight. Straight up Old School Death Metal that has a Prog vibe to it.

 

Viejo Rojo
Tahoe Mountain Brewing Co.
American Wild Ale / 7.80% ABV
3.98/5 rDev +2.1% | rAvg: 3.9
look: 4 | smell: 4 | taste: 4 | feel: 3.75 | overall: 4

Bottle poured into a Belgian tulip glass

A: Dark mahogany, light comes through on the edges, head quickly vanished, head has lots of tiny bubbles, what's left of it, some lacing, not getting any carbonation coming off the bottom.

A: Tart, sour, vinegar, cherries, dark sugar, leather, blueberries, not getting any oak aromas, smells complex. it's not overtly sour but there is a nice balance between the aromas.

T: Slight sour, tart funkiness, quickly goes into an oaky, leather flavor, there's an off medicinal flavor, finishes sour.

M: Not getting a lot of carbonation, light mouthfeel, dry finishes.

O: I think this is a really good beer, it has a lot of complexity, flavors, there is a strange medicinal, almost like cherry medicine that jumps outs, but it has a nice finish. I will pick up another bottle and let it sit to how it ages, not disappointed at all, would like more sourness and vinegar up front, nice cherry, oak, leather flavors but I think this would be an outstanding beer if the sourness was more prevalent, definitely worth a try if you like sour beers.

 

Never at the right place at the right time, I guess, but it was most definitely a treat. I will be nodding off a happy camper tonight .

 

A Victory Prima Pils for me on this new beer Sunday, Outstanding pilsner, highly recommend!!!!!!!

 

Freckle
The Bruery
Russian Imperial Stout / 10.80% ABV
4.46/5 rDev +6.4% | rAvg: 4.19
look: 4.25 | smell: 4.5 | taste: 4.5 | feel: 4.25 | overall: 4.5

Bottle poured into a Belgian style tulip

A: Black with a nice creamy mocha head, some slight lacing, light does come through around the edges, getting a little bit of carbonation off the bottom, looks really good.

A: Chocolate, a real chocolate aroma, not that powder chocolate aroma, slight spice aroma, roasted coffee, roasted malts, for 10.8% ABV, not picking up any alcohol on the nose.

T: Like the nose, chocolate, spice, mild chili, roasted coffee, roasted malts, it's hot, definitely picking up the alcohol, tastes very robust and full, lots of flavor going on.

M: Heavy, viscous mouthfeel, not much carbonation, finishes dry.

O: I am very impressed with this, chocolate, spice, chili, roasted coffee and malts, creamy mouthfeel, really good, a nice big sipping beer, it's a big beer, if you like imperial stouts with chocolate and spice added, then this is your beer, this reminds me of an amped up Xocoveza, which I love.

 

They really are becoming a great company. Completely underrated due, I'm assuming, to their great distribution.

 

Howdy folks - kinda late getting into the game, and have been away from NBS for a while, but sometimes life just gets in the way. Been on a bit of a roller-coaster ride over the last several weeks, things are finally settling down a bit. I thought I was going to get laid off my job of 14 years, but I got a 11th-hour reprieve, and actually am going to be able to move into some new technology. I guess the last 14 years of bustin' ass did pay off in the long run! Anyway, I'm tired and sore from shoveling the nearly one foot of snow we've gotten over the last few days, but I'm still glad we got the moisture after dealing with fires the last few years. Luckily, I finally found the last of the Great Divide Yeti' that I hadn't tried yet, apparently I saved the best for last, Chocolate Oak Aged Yeti.



Bottled on 3-13-15. An aggressive pour into a snifter yielded a big fluffy two fingered brown head that stuck around for about a good ten minutes. Some lacing. The aroma was very chocolate forward, with some mild coffee and dark fruit undertones. The taste had more coffee up front, with a very solid dark chocolate backbone. I did get some light raisin and molasses flavors as well as dark roast malt. The mouthfeel was thick and creamy, and almost oily as it coated the tongue and didn't fade quickly. Overall, this is just an outstanding beer - my favorite of the Yeti variants, all of which are great to outstanding in their own right. Super good beer Great Divide!

Prost NBSers!

 

Ballast Point: Grapefruit Sculpin


4.28/5 rDev -1.6%
look: 4 | smell: 4 | taste: 4.5 | feel: 4.25 | overall: 4.25

Pours a nice orangey amber. with a frothy 3 finger head that leaves lovely sticky lacing coating the sides of the glass.. Smells of fresh squeezed grapefruit juice with just a hint of lemon on the end. Tastes just like it smells,very juicy grapefruit with a twist of lemmon and a bit of apricot.

Having had regular Sculpin and Habanero Sculpin before, I am surprised I am not picking up any of the wet grassy dankness of regular scupin. The citrus totally covers it here. Even though the burn of habaneros in Habanero Sculpin there is still the sharp herbal flavor in the background. Not here, I am not picking up any of Sculpins regular flavor here. To me that is a good thing, and this is the best version of Sculpin that I have experienced.

 

Pours a nearly blackish brown into my Prairie Artisan teku glass. It's very thick, with only the thinnest mocha brown head. The tequila hits the nose first, but it's quickly joined by chocolate, vanilla and coffee, similar to a Kahlua cake. Those are all present in the taste, but the tequila has more warming presence. Creamy, chewy and thick. I enjoy how Prairie uses barrel aging to compliment their beer without overpowering it. This is excellent.

 

Enjoyed one of these tonight myself, and your review nailed it.