New Beer Sunday (week 532)

New Barrel Aged Stout Sunday

Hey NBSers,

Had to be up early all this week, so it was pretty quiet on the beer front, but I still managed to sneak in my first Alpine Nelson and a Pliny. We also wrapped up the sponsorship phase of COBW, which as a mediocre salesperson makes me happy. It's a necessary part of producing the event, but asking people for money twists me into knots. Also, the sunny warm weather has me daydreaming of floating the Deschutes soon.

Tequila Barrel Noir by Almanac Brewing of San Jose, California



Tequila Barrel Noir pours silky black with a voluminous beige head. In the glass, no light bleeds through the edges when held up. The legs show a fair amount of residual sugars. The aroma is more like a barleywine: carmel, brown sugar, booze. The flavor is surprisingly sweet too. I swore off tequila in my mid-20s, so while I have a decent idea what's from the base beer vs. the barrel, I probably couldn't have identified these "brighter" barrel notes as being from a tequila barrel. There's some sourness too, though the bottle doesn't indicate if any lactobacillus or other bugs were purposely added. At any rate, it's pretty restrained, enough so that it's fuzzy where the tequila ends and the sourness begins. I guess that means it's a well-integrated beer if the transitions from stout to tequila to lacto flow without any rough edges. The finish is a hint of roast with the sourness; the 10% peeks out a bit only as it warms.

I received 4 Almanacs in a trade (3 of the fruited Farmer's Reserve and this one), and this has been my surprise favorite. It's dark and bright and a little sour all at once, which is pretty ambitious. 4.5/5

 

Nicely said. Truth is, music is part of our living, and to make as much room as possible for it's exhibition is our duty.

 

Hey all! I'm back from my Portland Beer trip ....and what a trip it was! 6 breweries in a day and a half. Fantastic beers and people and just a really nice vibe in Portland and the surrounding areas. Brought some goodies back that I'd like to share with you all but gotta a ton to do to get ready for the work week tomorrow. I always take my time and put some thought into NBS so I'm not taking short cuts. Enjoying all your posts and I'll be back next week with some good stuff.
Cheers all!

 

Happy Sunday. Trying this Sweetwater 18. Not bad at all.

 

Yeah, the bitterness seemed out of balance with the brew. I enjoyed the aroma though!

 

What is it like? To make me want some. ..

 

Definitely. The little blue blob in the background of my last beer post is a speaker upon which we are listening to a Spotify channel. It is what we are doing, having beer and listening to music (and enjoying a fine evening). I am guessing others are as well. Cheers to us all!

 

Enjoyable Tripel. Doesn't really knock your socks off enough imo. Nice enough but maybe not deserving an anniversary slot.

 

one of my favorites and agree on the rating, reminds me of The Abyss with the bourbon/wine barrel combo but with a strong ale instead, only got 4 this year and managed to save only one of them lol

 

This is what we all on NBS are looking for:

http://www.beeradvocate.com/beer/profile/273/156776/?ba=cindyjeffsmith

;^)

 

Copy that! I will do better next time. Cheers.

 

I had their Party Boat IPA yesterday, and it was tasty as hell. It looks like you guys have a really good local brewer out there.

 

No worries! Cheers!

 

Greeting NBSers...

Finally getting around to reviewing a beer from Connecticut on my quest to review a beer from all 50 states (and DC). Nine left at this point.

Today's beer is Neighbor of the Beast from New England Brewing Company, a Belgian-style Golden Ale. It was enjoyable if not mind-blowing (it's okay for beers to be that, haha).

3.89/5 rDev -1.8%
look: 4.5 | smell: 4.25 | taste: 3.75 | feel: 3.5 | overall: 3.75

12 ounce can poured into a Belgian tulip.

Interesting to have a Belgian (style) in a can. Not something you find too often.

The pour produces a substantial frothy white head, with layers of chewy and pillow-like foam. As the head slowly recedes, patches of laces line the sides of the glass. The body is a golden haze with a straw-like color at the base.
4.5

Smells very nice, resembling sweet grapes or a sweeter white wine. It's got a sweet floral aroma, grain/oatmeal sweetness and notes of melon and honey. 4.25

Drinks pretty true to the nose, exhibiting a white grape-like flavor, sweet malt and floral qualities. The yeast is more pronounced on the palate and lingers a bit more potently than I desire it to. Just as on the nose, I find a slight resemblance to white wine. 3.75

Great body on this beer, thick and smooth, but the yeast is a little overzealous and lingers for ages. The sweetness is moderate and enjoyable and works hard to offset the yeast and is almost successful. 3.5

Smelled great and showed real promise, but that pesky yeast... Still was a beer I enjoyed though.

 

New Barrel-Aged Barley Wine Sunday!

The work day went by fast, which I dig when that happens. Now onto the brew MOFOs!



Let's get things going. I'm a huge fan of BarleyWines and Barrel Aged BarleyWines. Let's get an ideal on what experience this brew gives me. For starters the appearance is clear (see photo). Nice deep Amber body with Copper hues. Head doesn't last long, what was there just became some off white/light khaki ring around the top. Looks great! Now for the aroma coma! Deep Toffee caressing the nose hairs in a pleasant fashion. On the backend some notes of Wet Oak...like oak lumber that was left outside after a rainstorm. Hints of toasted grains and faint coconut. Very pleasing to my nostrils! Taste test time! First hits the palate with malt sweetness that's followed by a Licorice appeal. Then turns itself into a caramel/toffee battle for supremacy! This finishes with a vanilla and coconut flavor with a balanced dryness to cut the sweetness of the brew. Aftertaste there's a melange of dried fruits with Whiskey notes that linger. The feel on this brew medium-light body with ample carbonation.

Overall: I am digging this brew a lot! This is miles beyond Barrel Aged Big Foot (Comparing the two, since fresh Old Ruffian is a hopped up BarleyWine to begin with) the flavors are balanced and not a whole lot of booze or bitterness. Very enjoyable for what the beer is telling me.. The only negative I have with this brew is that damn Price Tag! I'm not saying I am El Cheapo but the quality matches other Barrel Aged BarleyWines that are closer and (cheaper) to snag. It's a tasty brew but I'm not feeling it's price this time. This Brew is worthy!

Grade: B+

Cheers my fellow New Beer Sunday Crew!

 

Weather is finally starting to show signs of summer in the north east. It was about 74 today and just absolutely beautiful.

Spent the morning tilling the garden and getting in some peas and beans. I know its early for beans but I'm hoping if I do it now it'll force summer's hand! Also planning on expanding the asparagus bed.



After a busy morning I was able to sit down and enjoy this before dinner:



As for the review:

Appearance: Beautiful dark blackberry juice. Medium size head due to the high carbonation (starting in the bottle once I cracked the cap). I was afraid I was in for a "gusher" but it held off.

Smell: Wow, blackberries to the max. Jammy along with a strong acidity right from the nose. I could smell this brew for hours.

Taste: SOUR! Before the blackberries could hit I was struck by a huge sourness that got you right in the jaw like a Sour Patch Kid. While I do love sours, this was a but much right off the bat. As the brew warmed the sourness subsided (or maybe I was just getting use to it). Aside from the sourness you get, you guessed it, tons of jammy blackberries. As it warmed I got a slightly buttery and briny flavor as I sipped. Interesting and I liked it.

Mouthfeel: This was dry, but not intensely dry. It had a nice body and as noted it was well carbonated.

Overall this was my first experience with something from Side Project and I was very pleased. If you like fruited sours (and I'm talking intense sours) then I highly recommend.

Overall rating: 4.43

 

Just recently saw some regular Old Ruffian 4-packs around here, and recalling I liked the beer, grabbed one. First bottle hit me right, although I got _some_ roasted notes, sorta chocolate-y, which worked quite well for me, but seems a tad at odds with a barleywine. Regardless, I bought another 4-pack because me likes. Have to find a BA version sometime. If the price is like the BA Hibernation I found in NC, maybe I can stick with the regular.

 

Here I got this for 28. I wouldn't do it again, not when it's about as even with Weyerbacher Insanity...just less hot.

 

Warmed up today while I worked my ass off in the yard reminding me of what's to come. Still, I appreciate mild days like this. I wish I still had my old convertible Mustang. Guess I'll have to settle for this Midnight Ryed instead.


4.21/5 rDev n/a
look: 4 | smell: 4.25 | taste: 4.25 | feel: 4 | overall: 4.25

First off - very cool name. I ran across Elk Valley Midnight Ryed Ale while beer hunting in Stillwater. Based on previous experience with Elk Valley, I had to buy it. Pours a dark cola color framed by a thin red corona (gasp) capped off by some toasted marshmellow-colored foam. Lace is very fine and sticks nicely for the duration. The aroma from this beer is not something I've encountered much - almost a butterscotch thing right off the bat. Other aromatic characteristics include milk chocolate covered toffee, some coffee bean, and grassy hops. Flavors really follow the nose here - buttery toffee, milk chocolate, cappuccino, all backed up by a peppery rye/hop bite. Very nice. Nice silky medium body as indicated by the very fine bubbles that never go away. I was quite impressed with previous output from Elk Valley and this just raises their bar a couple of notches. This young brewery is headed down the path of great beer. Cheers folks!

DelMontiac, Today at 04:46 PM

 

Yeah, I'm not sure it could be THAT much better than the regular, which is about 1/3 the price (can you rate something a 13 ).