New Beer Sunday (week 533)

Greetings fellow NBSers! It's been a very nice week here in the Fourth Corner. Nicely warm temps and clear blue skies. I had to work a couple hours this morning, and took the little red dog that I'm currently house sitting with me. He loved getting attention from the ladies, but then his bad habit of barking like crazy took over, and I had to take him to another area and hook him up to the fork lift. Last night I did my security gig at the local roller derby, and had a couple beers there, then stopped at Kulshan Brewing on the way home, and had 3 pints of their Bastard Kat IPA, dry-hopped with Citra. If I didn't have to get back to Red, I would have kept slugging them back until they kicked me out.

Count me as a traditionalist about NBS. When Malty started the thread it was his thread, he started, set down the rules, and posted first each week. He had Mattcrill as his backup for the weeks he couldn't do it. Malty then passed the baton to Matt, and Matt carried on in a similar manner. When Matt's life became occupied with other things, all us long timers had a chat about the direction of the thread, and decided that having two folks share the load would make things easier. I strongly believe having a couple "leaders" kicking things off each week is the way to go. If Dave or Maria isn't available, then they can pass it off to the person of their choosing for that week. The opening post needs to state the rules, and also set an open and welcoming tone for the thread. I don't often join in on WBAYDN, because, IMHO, it's mostly about showing off, and not as much community as NBS is. Lets keep NBS unique, and adhere to our few simple rules.

Seattle Beer Week is under way as I type, and I grabbed a can of the SBW beer brewed by a top Washington brewery that, like many of our breweries, doesn't get much recognition out the region, Silver City. Sieben Brau is a nice, easy drinking Pils: http://www.beeradvocate.com/beer/profile/959/165480/ I might be back in a bit with another beer, or, I might be heading to a cookout. We'll see. Cheers NBS!

 

Mill Street Organic Lager (Toronto, Ontario). Once in awhile all I look for in a beer is simplicity. Crisp and refreshing to be exact. Mill Street Organic Lager has to be the best Euro style lager that doesn't come straight out of Plzeň, Czech Republic. Malty with minimal hop presence. No complications. Just a simple, great tasting lager.

 

What's up NBS. Beauty of a Mothers day here on the island. Breaking out the shorts, watched the Mets get another win, and just a much needed lazy Sunday.

My new beer today is Southern Tier Mokah. A stout brewed with chocolate and coffee with a bottle date of 3/30/15. I've had plenty of their variants in the past but for some unknown reason never the mokah.

The pour is a slick black color with a tan head. The nose is very floral with sweet milk chocolate. Smells like a damn chocolate cake. On the first sip I get an immediate chocolate and malt blast of flavor. A bitter finish with a sharp coffee grinds feel. The mouth feel is pretty medium. Not too heavy or sticky but not light at all. I find that the chocolate really dominates the brew in terms of flavor while the coffee really seems to be a bit muted. The 10% hides very well but I am feeling it for sure.

Overall its a good beer. I liked it, but I'm not in love with it. I'm in the low 4s all around despite its 94 ba score,

 

Thanks :-) I'll do my best. I was feeling terrible last Monday and I'm too much of a stubborn ass and waited until Thursday to go to the doctor. And my meds aren't too nice to me but I'm halfway through the treatment so I'm looking forward to being done. Actually feeling fairly decent today so it's looking up. Today I'll drink vicariously through all of you.

 

My first Crooked Stave offering. I have been going down the rabbit hole of sours and I am loving every second of it! This is Crooked Stave Nightmare ON Brett St. A dark sour aged in Leopold whiskey barrels.

Easy pour produces a small chocolate brown head that dissipates quickly. Smell some light sugary sweetness with just a HINT of oaky bourbon. Some currant and a little chocolate from the barrel character.

Medium carb that really allows the tartness to really shine. Not a hugely sour beer, but tart enough to make its presence felt but still sweet enough to balance it all out. Extremely well made beer.

The barrel presence is very subtle, adding some hints of oak, vanilla and black currant. There is no added heat to beer.

I really really enjoyed this beer. it wasn't an enamel peeling monster but it was definitely had everything you can ask for in a good sour.

 

Round two

"New" beer might be a stretch here, but it's my first bottle since I started reviewing so many years ago.

http://www.beeradvocate.com/beer/profile/335/7056/?ba=GRPunk

3.97/5 rDev +11.2%
look: 4 | smell: 3.75 | taste: 4 | feel: 4.25 | overall: 4

12oz. Bottle from Copper Vine ($9.99 sixer) poured into a tall, pils glass.

A- 1-1/2 finger, foamy white head settles into a well sustained 1/4 finger. Clean golden body exhibits heavy carbonation. Good stick.

S- Really clean. A little fruity (berry-like) with cracker malts and grassy hops. Classic, maybe a little light, though some warmth amps it up a bit.

T- Bready/Ritz cracker malts. Berry sweet and tart flavors. Clean, grassy and slightly floral hops make for a slightly tea-like flavor. Hopping gets a little spicy and black-peppery, making for a dry finish.

M- Crisp, clean, and refreshing. Nicely dry.

O- A thirst quencher and great session beer. Love to down a couple of these after some yard work. It's been a couple of years since my last one, but it stands the test of time. Still tasty.

 

Enjoying a new IIPA, Papa Silenus while making dinner for Mother's Day.

Aromas are blod and hoppy with green and bitter notes. Mangos, grapefruit, and a bit of pine intertwine nicely with the sweet malt.

The taste follows the nose with a big bitter big on the front. Taste is quite green with flavors of grapefruit rind, mango, pine notes. A mild sweetness creeps into the middle but the finish is mostly bitter.

Medium body with excellent carbonation. Certainly dry on the finish from all the bitter hops. Very nice IIPA.

 

Get well soon, Roguer.

 

At the Surly brewpub in MSP celebrating Mother's Day with Mrs. O and Little O, loving Mole Smoke. Spicy greatness.



4.25/5 rDev +1.7%
look: 4.25 | smell: 4.25 | taste: 4.25 | feel: 4.25 | overall: 4.25

Look: pour at the Surly brewpub yields one finger of tan head. Body is onyx black. Beautiful.

Smell: the smoky tones come through, a little chocolate, and a sense of the pepper heat.

Taste: the smoke and cocoa flavors come through immediately, and the the pepper heat kicks in - in triplicate. More heat than Habanero Sculpin. Simply exquisite.

Feel: well carbed, creamy, hot, smoky.

Overall: I like Smoke, and Mole Smoke whips Smoke's buttocks, IMHO. The smoke, cocoa, and peppery heat is a great combination. Rating = 4.25

 

Greetings from the great northwest.

Today it is Backseat Blonde from Laht Neppur down in Waitsburg. I'm not much on the style and this one didn't do a lot for me. A really thick and unmanageable head on a light beer.
http://www.beeradvocate.com/beer/profile/15504/90609/

Gorgeous day here, apparently unlike much of the rest of the nation. Sunny with temps in the mid 70's.

This bottle represents the last of my new beer stock, so a trip to the bottle shop is in order for this week.

Until next time,

Happy Trails!

 

New American-made Abbey Ale Sunday:



Adelbert's Brewery Dancin' Monks

http://www.beeradvocate.com/beer/profile/27934/79214/?ba=Premo88

3.43 (-5.5% rDev)

It starts of with a classic Belgian-looking pour, nice fruity smell and a decent wine/fruity flavor, but by sip three Dancin' Monks shows its American roots and ceases to taste like a good dubbel. I'm not sure why almost every American-made dubbel I've tried has the same nutty/peanut flavor, but every single one except Ommegang's does. My best guess is yeast. Dancin' Monks is better than some, for while it has that nutty flavor, the fruit and wine-like flavors are trying real hard to keep up with the peanut flavor.

If Belgium didn't exist, I might give this beer a B+ or A-. But Belgium does exist, so poor Dancin' Monks is no better than a C- compared to the Rochefort 6s and Chimay Reds of the world.

Cheers!

 

Well, Red's dad isn't going to be back for a bit yet, so I'll have time for another brew (or two). Next up is another NW Pilsener, from an excellent brewery in Hood River (and, no, I'm not just saying that because I know the owner/brewer from when he brewed in my town): http://www.beeradvocate.com/beer/profile/29573/93481/

 

Happy Mother's Day! Got this one-off from one of my night cleaning crew - he knows I like beer and he picked this up while in Germany - his brother is an engineer at the brewery. Excellent example of the type - crisp, clean and delicious - a perfect thirst quencher for a summery Mother's Day - cheers!

 

Hello all and happy Mothers Day! Strangely enough, this is my first time posting in NBS, happy to be here, let's hope I don't screw this up. First up today is a new to me Crooked Stave offering, I've had a few others of theirs, but grabbed this one on a bit of a whim. Having just left Colorado and moved to Washington, Crooked Stave was a brewery that I honestly never expected to see again outside of Colorado. When I got word of their arrival I was very excited, I love what they are doing, and am thrilled to have their stuff available here.


Brewery: Crooked Stave Artisan Beer Project
Beer: St. Bretta – Citrus Wildbeir 100% Brettanomyces
Batch: Winter / 2014 / Batch 6
Seasonal Citrus: Satsuma Mandarin
Cost: $7.89

4.2/5 rDev +8.2%
look: 3.75 | smell: 4.25 | taste: 4.25 | feel: 4 | overall: 4.25

Appearance – (3.75) Pours a deep, dark, honied amber color. Settles to a rich ruby brown in the glass and is overall much darker than anticipated. Head is initially tan and fluffy, but disappears pretty quickly and leaves behind minimal tracing down the inside of the glass. Thin, tiny bubbles lay around the edges of the glass.

Aroma – (4.25) Light notes of oak, citrus, oranges, mandarins, lightly tart grapefruit, sweet and bright citrus, lightly funky and yeasty, little bit of a vinegar tone as well, dry and sharp notes of oak and orange pith.

Taste – (4.25) Sweet and tart, lightly fruity, some berry tones here as well, raspberry, strawberry, lemon, orange peel, mandarin sweetness, yeasty dryness, funky sour and bitter vinegar notes, light malt sweetness, very nice balance of initial sweetness with a dry and tart finish.

Mouthfeel – (4.5) Medium bodied, a very nice and light effervescence to it, coats the inside of the mouth with a little bit of residual sweetness. Leads to a long lasting finish that highlights some of the vanilla and sweet oak tones.

Overall – (4.25) Very nice offering from CS, this poured a bit darker than I expected and tasted a tad richer as well, still a fairly bright, clean, crisp, funky, and enjoyable brew, this highlights the citrus very well and balances it out with a lightly sweet oaky tone. I'll have to do this NBS thing more often.



I'm off to a work meeting this evening, may pop back in to review another brew for NBS, I've got a HotD Adam (#93), in the fridge that I've been dying to try and it might just make for a great nightcap.

Happy NBS to all, and cheers!

 

Another week, another NBS! Apparently a humid day here in North of Boston, unfortunately I was stuck inside at work at the hospital all day. Why were so many people presenting to the Emergency Room today? I don't know, but at least the time went quick. My hops have been needing and getting a lot of water and they have shot up to ~3 feet, so grow baby grow. Wished my Wife a Happy First Mothers Day, and have some pulled pork to have for dinner tonight to celebrate. The weather has chilled out, and between the neighbors grilling and the forest blooming, life is smelling good out here in the Boston 'burbs.
Tonight Im drinking Melcher St IPA from Trillium Brewing. I think Ive learned more about the streets in Boston from this Brewery then I had by looking at maps. Melcher is a Mosaic hopped IPA, and Trillium makes an excellent IPA! The Mosaic gives this cloudy brew a lemon, earthy, almost stone fruit smell and flavor. Great head retention, and like everything from Trillium, a great IPA. This is going to go really well with my tangy BBQ pulled pork, and the Wife enjoys it too (most importantly).
Hug your Wife, call your Mom, and Happy Mothers Day!

 

Cool.

 

Another entry from Hood River, a top notch Saison: http://www.beeradvocate.com/beer/profile/29573/92615/

 

Arcadia Ales Ship Wrecked Porter (BBA @ 12%), very disappointing, and it cost $9.99! Almost no flavor from the bourbon barrels, the beer itself had no notes to speak of, like a watered down dark beer with a wee hint of vanilla, THAT'S IT. That makes 3 beers from Arcadia that I thought absolutely sucked! No more!

 

New Beer Sunday: Finishing Mother's Day with a new Gose

Evenin NBSers with special greetings to all you guzzlers of gose and gueuze.

Well the Mother's Day dinner and family gathering is now over. For a while the house was filled with kids and parents and a few selected gifts for the mothers in the group. It seems a good time was had by all, so now its time to relax a bit, listen to a bit of music and review a new Gose, the Anderson Valley Gose called "The Kimmie, The Yink & The Holy Gose." For those who don't know, Anderson Valley in CA has its own "insider" language called Boontling and the play on words in this beer name seems to be a combination of English and Boontling. If you spot the word play in "Gose" then unraveling the two Boontling words (Kimmie & Yink) is pretty straight forward.

As usual my review is in progress here (and subject to revision as I finish the beer):

http://www.beeradvocate.com/beer/profile/193/99790/?ba=drtth

Since the modern recreation of what was once a dead beer style first took place in Leipzing, Germany, where the style was once common, tonight's music is by a Baroque Composer named J. S. Bach, who is widely considered to be one of the greatest ever. Bach spent the final years of his life living and working in Leipzig so it seemed appropriate to listen to some of his music. So what I have on the player are a recordings of his Brandenburg Concertos. While these were not composed during his time in Leipzig they are some of his finest works. The 5th of these 6 Concertos is thought by many to be one of Bach's finest works and among the top 10 pieces he ever composed.

In that other thread (WB.....) there is a link to a performance of the 5th Concerto by a group which has gotten high praise for the authenticity and quality of their performances on period instruments. Since we've been asked not to post links to music videos in the NBS thread, you can find that link here, if interested:

http://www.beeradvocate.com/communi...u-drinking-now-932.290250/page-8#post-3631559

Bach's music is from the Baroque period which often doesn't mean a blessed thing to people. I personally could never keep it separate from some of the other historical musical periods until I heard someone point out, that "Baroque is when you have no Monet."

Cheers All!