New Beer Sunday (week 535)

I agree 100%. Good beer but too much fuss. I would never say no, but I'll buy other off the wall beers to steer the ship on course. I do love Wicked Weed. Gonna be in Asheville soon and I will spare no expense. Cheers all!

 

@cavedave leads off with a homer! Rickey Henderson and Craig Biggio would be jealous ...

Down here in Texas the off-and-on monsoon continues. Here in Bryan-College Station, we're almost at 70 days of measurable rain so far in 2015 (almost a .500 batting average). It's crazy and at times annoying, but it's much better than the alternative. And it let up often enough this week for me to get in some practice at the golf course, including today ... look at all the green:



For a public course in Texas, that's like Ireland emerald turf right there. Let's hope by August it's not all the color of the Texas A&M dormitory buildings in the background.

OK, on to the beer and another New Texas-Made Belgian Sunday!



Adelbert's in Austin specializes in Belgian styles, and Black Rhino is one of the less prevalent among the assortment of imports we get in Texas -- the Belgian dark ale. As in the NOT STRONG dark ale, just dark.

At 5.6% ABV, it's definitely not strong, and the flavor notes are all on that same level, well short of the big sweet, dark-fruit notes of the strong dark ale. Black Rhino has some fruitiness to it with some peat and smokey wood flavors joining in to form an earthy finish, almost like it's hopped with English hops. But the bitterness is minimal, and the aftertaste is a slightly sweet smokey flavor. Baker's chocolate comes to mind ... iced coffee with no cream, milk or sugar ... a watered down wee heavy ... peat ...

The bottle conditioning is no joke. The beer keeps a thick skin early and a fantastic collar throughout.

Collar shot 3/4 into the glass:


Funny sidenote: I'm playing hurt today. Stupid refrigerator problems forced me to come up with a NBS audible ... I went with the ice bags/cooler/beer I already owned play.



It's working out nicely, but tomorrow is new refrigerator day come hell or high water (and we already got the high water).

Thanks to all you servicemen and women, active, reserve or retired!

Cheers!

 

Greetings NBS friends, and Happy Memorial Day weekend. My contribution to NBS is Elevation Apis IV quad, which I picked up during a trip to Colorado this this November.



Decanted into a goblet, Teku, and snifter. Pours a clear, brilliant ruby red with a foamy off-white that settles to a wispy collar. Aromas of hard candy at first (my wife said apple Jolly Rancher), but opening up to a more complex profile of bready malts, plum pudding, and candy (not candi) sugar. Taste largely follows the most, with sweetness dominating. But more of a Wonder bread sweetness from the malts than added sugars. Honey does seem to become a bit more apparent as I work through the bottle. Mouthfeel is light carbonation and a touch of slickness. In sum, a rather simplistic (i.e. American) take on a difficult style. But that single note is a doozy, and its a very enjoyable beer in the end, which is all that really matters. I suppose it has something in common with many Dubbels in that way.

I picked up Elevation's offering False Summit and look forward to trying that one next. Cheers in the meantime. As for a soundtrack, I leave you with Jethro Tull's fantastic 1978 live album Bursting Out.

 

Happy Memorial Day weekend, and good to see @cavedave back with us!

Today's new beer is Freckle from The Bruery.

Nice rich chocolate flavors and some gentle chilie heat. Very easy drinking, and quite tasty, but not on the same level as Xocoveza, Mexican Cake, or Huna.

Thanks to @SanFranJake for sending it my way!





http://www.beeradvocate.com/beer/profile/16866/163229/?ba=richj1970

 

Greetings fellow NBSers! forgive me for not reading through the whole thread before I post this. I've had a long couple of days and I'm just now starting my first brew of the day, although it's not a new brew.

The point of my post is this: NBS BIF #2 is on!!!!!!!!

We had a bunch of fun in the last one, and it's time for another go. If you don't know what a BIF is, it's basically a big, circular beer trade, and the most funnest part is, you don't know who is sending you beer! If you've never checked it out, here's the BIF forum, read through and get a feel for things:http://www.beeradvocate.com/community/forums/beer-it-forward.26/ If you are interested in participating in this BIF, "LIKE" this post. I'll put together a list of people who are in, and send out a group message in a couple days.

Quick and dirty details: you would ship 66-72oz of beers that are new to your target, with the focus being on locals. The "drink on" date we're looking at currently is 6/28. that is a week after Fathers Day, and the Sunday leading into Fourth of July weekend. Here's the hints and hauls thread from NBS BIF #1, to give any new folks an idea of the fun we had: http://www.beeradvocate.com/community/threads/nbs-bif-1-hints.238494/

Again, ONLY "LIKE" THIS POST IF YOU WANT TO PARTICIPATE

Thanks all, and happy NBS!

 

New American Porter Sunday

I think this will be my last new beer for today, it's Hoppin' Frog's Barrel Aged (Rum) Silk Porter. Here's my review of this one, I thought it was a lot better than the base beer: http://www.beeradvocate.com/beer/profile/14879/153432/?ba=bluejacket74



It's a mostly sweet and rummy tasting porter. I didn't know there was a barrel aged version of this beer, but saw a bottle yesterday morning so I figured I might as well buy it! NBSer's, have a great weekend and I'll make sure to check on here later to see everyone else's new brews. Cheers!

 

Trying out some Ballast Point Big Eye and enjoying it immensely. I'm new to
the site and rating beer but all I can say is it's rich and satisfying

 

Went to the store in shorts and a t-shirt, but it is 57 and raining. Not the best attire, but I found new beer to keep drinking into the night.

I drank Ale Asylum's Pantheon pretty quick because it was tasty. Sweet and roasty malts. Caramel with some nuttiness. Not a huge aroma in the glass.
Much bigger flavor that the initial nose would indicate. Plenty of big sweet malts with some earthy notes. The roasted flavor yields to some caramel, toffee, and sugar coated almonds.

 

Hello to all my favorite BA's in my favorite thread every week. First off today on this holiday weekend Sunday, a local brewer that is one of my favorites with a superb take on a black lager.



4.19/5 rDev +1.2%
look: 4.25 | smell: 4 | taste: 4.25 | feel: 4.25 | overall: 4.25

Look: aggressive pour into a Schell's snifter yields 2 fingers of tan head, body is chocolatey brown in color.

Smell: toffee and caramel, whiskey as it warms.

Taste: smoke up front, then roasted notes with caramel/toffee and cocoa, and a very modest whiskey note at the end. Superb.

Feel: a little creamy for a lager, which is very cool.

Overall: I looked at this as I poured it and thought, "Big porter/stout." But it's neither of those, it's a black lager first, then it's aged in whiskey barrels. Schell's is one of my Top 5 favorite brewers, and this beverage is a perfect example of why. They crushed this, IMHO.

 

Greetings and salutations from the Fourth Corner fellow NBSers! A cloudy morning has turned into a beautiful, sunny afternoon here Bellingham, perfect for the conclusion of the big Ski-to-Sea race, and the ensuing festivities. I had two busy days at work the last couple days, with ensuring that our end of said festivities went well. We hosted a block party for about about 600 of our friends and racers Friday, and yesterday was a fund-raiser benefit for the Bellingham Firefighters Pipe and Drums band. Worked about 20 hours over the 2 days, with a combined break time of about 20 minutes. My legs are really feeling it today, but, hey, BEER!

I'm expecting another BA to roll into town in a little while, and we're gonna hook up for beer and eats, so this might be my only official entry for the day. An ISA from a local brewery that celebrated their 1 year anniversary last weekend: http://www.beeradvocate.com/beer/profile/31399/167313/

Cheers every one, and join NBS BIF #2!!

 

Saw The Avengers: Age of Ultron today with the family, it was damn ("watch the language") awesome!
Went to the Allentown Brew Works for dinner and had their TimeBomb IPA. Just tapped on 05/21!

Sorry for the poor quality pic, my cheap LG Tracfone ain't that great.

Was a deep golden orange to brown body with a thin film of a head on top.
Smelled nice and strong of hops (brewed with Citra, Centennial and Chinook). Dank and piney.
Tasted great! Bitter, pine, peaches with a nice spicy bite, nice amount of malts on the end to even it out.
Overall a tasty winner from a local brewing establishment producing some tasty beers for many years!

Cheers!

 

New Michigan Wheat Ale

It's another great Sunday in West MI.

We've had off and on light rain and temps well into the 70s all day long. Watched the last weekend of EPL soccer, hung out with the family and got in a short bike ride during the day. Hoping the rain holds off for a fire pit in a couple of minutes.

Today's brew is made with MI sourced ingredients. A refreshing brew for sure. Full review is linked.

http://www.beeradvocate.com/beer/profile/11814/125191/?ba=GRPunk

 

Good Afternoon folks of NBS! Glad to be here today. I'm starting to see a pattern of me missing every other NBS. Having too much fun on Saturday night usually dictates whether or not I can walk amongst the living on Sunday and last night was definitely one of those nights. Thankfully, today isn't the end of my weekend and I can do it all over again today...starting with this guy. Thanks to @ddskos for this whale from an IP trade at DLD. Thanks Mike and congrats again on your daughter's success getting into the school of her choice.
I used to never go for BA barleywines. I think my introduction to the style was a bad experience and I don't remember which one it was but the alcohol heat on it was crazy and the flavor of the beer really turned me off from it. I finally got to try BCBW and I couldn't believe how much I liked it. I wanted to find more BA Barleywines that hit that mark. This one is not it. That being said, it's still a very good BA Barleywine. The vintage is 2013 and its very smooth. The appearance is darker than I expected. Aroma is bready, malty, sweet, not much alcohol on the nose. Taste follows the nose but with alcohol added. Its there but definitely in the backseat, well hidden. I don't have a whole lot of barleywine experience so I guess the main flavors that stand out to me is bread and malt. Everything is really toned down and smooth. Mouthfeel is full. Overall it's not the sweet and viscous animal that is BCBW but I would never turn this down.
Thanks again Mike. Happy Sunday guys!

 

Third and final entry for today's NBS.
Elysian Superfuzz Blood Orange Pale Ale


Poured a murky unfiltered orange with a 1/2 finger's worth of head. Left a small amount of lacing in the glass.
Picking up on very little aromas. What I do get is (of course) that orange peel and a small amount of hops.
Taste, isn't quite what I was expecting. Was looking more for that citrusy orange bite. Not really there. More dank than I would expect. Just the right amount of sweetness on the tail end, though!
Super easy to drink and does leave a small amount of orange coating the tongue!
Overall, not impresses, it's ok. Would I buy it again? Most likely I wouldn't. Would I turn it down if offered to me. No.
It was definitely worth the try and tick tough.

Cheers Big Ears!

 

#2, let's crank things up a notch with this iconic beverage.



4.69/5 rDev +1.5%
look: 4.75 | smell: 4.5 | taste: 4.75 | feel: 4.75 | overall: 4.75

Look: aggressive pour into a Schell's snifter yields one finger of tan head. Body is jet black. The stuff of legends.

Smell: bourbon, chocolate, caramel. Didn't pick up the coffee, but I'm not a coffee drinker, so I may not know what I'm doing.

Taste: the bourbon is prevalent, but as a guy that DOES NOT LIKE BOURBON, it's not oppressive - as a matter of fact, it blends so well with the chocolate flavors that it is virtually masked to this non-bourbon drinker. And I taste the coffee. Simply magnificent.

Feel: smoooooooooth, like a good sippin' whiskey, a little creamy.

Overall: I've been holding a bottle of this for 2 months, but when I received #2 in a trade this weekend, I decided to crack one open (Little O is a lucky budding beer nerd - he'll get the 2nd bottle). It lives up to the hype and more. Impeccable balance for an 11.5% ABV beverage, Founders shows again why they are a world-class brewer, IMHO.

 

Beer number three, Freigeisr Köpenickaide. Brewed with spelt and barley malts, Köpenickaide is a clean, fresh twist on old Berlin's unique, sour specialty Weissbier. I am really starting to love the trend of low alcohol beers and I am happy to see more breweries outside the U.S. hopping on board.

3.69/5rDev n/a
look: 4 | smell: 3.75 | taste: 3.5 | feel: 4 | overall: 3.75

500 ml bottle poured into a weizen glass

A- A hazy golden straw color with a two finger white head.

S- Wheat, hints of cloves and bubblegum, lemons, smells like it is half way between a hefeweizen and berliner.

T- Slightly weak, wheat, tart lemons, cloves, hints of lemons.

M- Smooth, light body.

O- Not really sour, but still a nice easy drinking low alcohol beer.

 

Greetings All from the Great Northwest.

Today it is Worthy IPA, a very fruity brew from another brewery down in Bend, Oregon. I have got to get to Bend one of these days.
http://www.beeradvocate.com/beer/profile/31004/99083/

Interesting weekend so far. We took a little Groupon brewery tour of Spokane yesterday. Two breweries (English Setter and Iron Goat) then we went to an Anthony's Beach Cafe for dinner.

Today it's all about yard work ;-) Gorgeous weather though.

Happy Trails!

 

Wait, they got a beach in Spotucky? Who knew? BTW RJ, gonna represent the dry-side in NBS BIF #2?

 

What the heck, it's a holiday weekend, #3 .....



3.75/5 rDev +2.5%
look: 3.75 | smell: 3.75 | taste: 3.75 | feel: 3.75 | overall: 3.75

Look: aggressive pour into a Schell's snifter yields one finger of tan head. Body is cloudy golden beautifulness.

Smell: estery goodness - HUUUUUUUUUGE estery goodness.

Taste: the esters come flying through - this is more like a witbier with extra boozy goodness.

Feel: tangy, well carbed.

Overall: I like these guys, and this is a nice tripel, if maybe a bit too estery (is that a word?).

Ladies and gentlemen, ovaltine has left the building.