New Beer Sunday (week 541)

I really want to go to a brewery named Castle Danger!

I think they are easily available in Seattle, not so much elsewhere.

 

Happy 4th weekend nbs players. Beauty of a day here on the island. Spent the first half at the beach and I'm about to get dragged to a two year olds bd party. So getting my first nbs in before the hell storm.

My new beer is yet another from @rgordon and it's Jade ipa from Foothills brewing co. Down in nc.

Beauty of a pour with a strawish yellow color. Nose is decently floral with hops and tropical fruits. The initial sip is big time fruity and smooth as hell. The hops give just the right amount of punch and I can barely taste the 7.4%. Lots of tropical fruit notes carry over from the nose. I really get a mango/ citrus feel. The smooth mouth fell is unbelievably good.

Overall, this is a top tier ipa well worthy of its 95 ba score. I'm in the mid/high 4's,

 

Good afternoon and happy NBS! I hope everyone had a great Independence Day and any hangovers felt today aren't too terrible. I myself didn't make it to bed until around 3am after a solid day of festivities with some very good friends. I probably indulged a bit too much - beer, brats, burgers, and far too many desserts - but hell, it was for freedom!

Today, I felt a little hair of the dog remedy was in order and this bottle has been in the fridge for a few weeks now. I had planned on taking it to a share since I am not normally a big smoked anything fan, but after checking out some stellar reviews I decided to give it a shot. Long story short, I am glad I did!

Midnight Sun Bar Fly - Smoked Imperial Stout: brewed with smoked malt, molasses and brown sugar, aged in oak bourbon barrels



My review as written:
A: Pours inky black and heavy with motor oil viscosity and pitch. Virtually without any head, maybe 1/8" dark brown and gone before you can even really notice it. Thin khaki color and layered lacing remain.
S: Heavy sweet chocolate and molasses, charred wood/smoke, roasted barley, and hints of Bourbon.
T: Lots of coffee and milk chocolate up front, definitely wood char/smoked malt element but not overpowering, caramel/vanilla/Bourbon in the middle and a big burnt sugar/whiskey finish.
M: Low carbonation paired with a full body give this beer a very creamy, dense mouth feel. It's thick and syrupy but not in a cloying way, it coats the entire palate and lingers there long after each sip.
O: Very impressed, I went in expecting a smoke bomb but this is incredibly well balanced and well crafted!
rDev +3.9

Cheers!

 

My buddy, a Bavarian Dead Head, used to love coming to the US during the summer to follow the Dead for a few months. His birthday is July 3rd, and he used to joke about how much fun, and how nice it was, for the US to have fireworks for his birthday.

 

I do understand that "good" is a relative term. In this case I was asking what you consider good rather than asking you try to define what I might consider good.

 

I'm in the huge city of Wichita. There are many nice little towns around here such as Newton. But yes, Wichita is the only place you can get anything in the craft arena, but let me tell you, some of the outlying areas are starting to get microbreweries. it is remarkable.

Your advice is priceless. That's exactly why I wanted to stop reviewing. I have this "collecting" element in my soul, and I need to get rid of it. I'm not a hoarder, but I like keeping track of things I guess. As a runner, i have Nike Plus, which is an app that tracks every mile, every run, every distance ... I'm a slave to it. I cannot run without it. It is hard for me to imagine freedom in certain ways. I'm a follower and not a leader at times ... Anyway, I can still drink every new beer, but I need to get away from the slave mentality I have put myself in. Yeah, Untappd doesn't mean much to me, the honest reason as to why I have it is to track my consumption ... I track every single beer I drink there just to let me know how much I drink, which is binge-drinking alcoholism in my mind. I thought keeping track would be a preventative measure but it isn't much help. Thank you Dave.

 

Happy Birthday to @cavedave!

Needed to pull something lighter out of the fridge this afternoon. I have a 32 oz. growler of mystery beer to open and enjoy today courtesy of the ongoing 12 Days of Summer BIF, won't be able get into that one until I'm home this evening and everyone is settled in.

In the meantime I'm enjoying this, which is one of the many beers I received from @smanson56 in the NBS #2 BIF:


Lost Nation Brewing Gose

This is an excellent warm weather beer for sure, very complex flavors for a Gose actually. First thing taste is a bit of sweetness, that doesn't last long though. Almost immediately tartness takes over and the salt is there on the back end. Overall this is one of the tastiest of the Gose style I've had a chance the try, Sandy also sent me a bottle of the dry hopped version of this beer (The Wind) and I can't wait to crack that one open as well.

I'll be back later this evening to tell you what's in my 12 days growler!

Cheers!

 

Not to worry, I don't have any intent to try and define what you consider good.

My interest was in more getting a better idea of what you'd want to know about as I organize my thinking about the varous AALs and some of the other comparable imports I've been sampling (e.g., Euro lagers which are often quite similar to AALs).

Apologies if I wasn't particularly clear the first time around. I'll be including some comparative remarks, etc.

 

Hey what's going on?!

Time for a new brew this weekend, just like we try to make every good beer consuming day for our hero. 4th of July treated me well, so much so that I am still digesting it as I speak. Man that was just a ridiculous amount of food and freedom and fireworks... I am still stuffed!

Loved the weather too, not horribly humid, I'll take that rain delay and cool temps anytime in the DC area than the usual 99 humid days it always is around July and August.

and happy B Day to cavedave of course too!

So what's new for our hero today? Lots of fun goodies in store I think...

Evil Twin Aún Más A Jesús - Evil Twin Brewing


Evil Twin Brewing - Aún Más A Jesús Imperial Stout by imbibehour, on Flickr

Poured from the bottle into a large snifter glass.

Deep thick and two finger tall very dark rich mocha brown head on top from the pour. Comes out quite viscous and slightly oily, with dark black walnut color and not a speck of light getting through. Head settles slowly to an almost milkshake like collar, with a nice top that is shiny but not too slick or oily looking. Excellent super dark looking brew.

Nutty and charring dark aroma fills the senses on first whiff. Velvety and rich creamy flavors fill the nose with a bit of spicy tones of clove and to some degree almost like a hot pepper. Dark cocoa powder, fudge sundae cake and roasted dark malts just come out rich and big.

Palate makes some nice pleasantries. Solid and almost easy drinking porter like feel, with a slightly milky texture on first sip. The nose leads on to give what the palate expects with some differences. Lighter chocolate roast, and a very interesting almost spicy chocolate pepper character. Aftertaste lingers with warm coffee qualities as well, and a mild tinge of tobacco sourness slightly. Almost charring woody smoke a bit too, with a lingering pepper like tingle as the beer warms up.

Real interesting, and I am liking this spicy angle to this beer with no added pepper like ingredients. Real fun and tasty stout.

look: 4.75 | smell: 4.25 | taste: 4.25 | feel: 4 | overall: 4.25 | BA generated score : 4.26

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More to come I am sure. But right now getting psyched up for Women's World Cup final!

Cheers!

 

I think everything I have left from the BIF (which is a friggin lot) is pretty big, heavy stuff and I still need to safely operate a grill later, SO, mixing in some NB's that won't wipe me out so quick!

Can't believe I somehow haven't had this before

Six point Bengali



Nice looker here with a nearly stark white foamy head and proper lacing atop crystal clear golden orange fun.

Nose is earthy, piney and a little biscuity.

The biscuity part serves as the cradle for the rest of the taste, which is heavy on malty, little bit of citrus and some deep down chardonnay quality before the bitter pine comes back around.

Mouth feel is a touch thin but nothing cloying or otherwise taxing on the way out.

@cavedave I am honoured that some of RVA's finest gets to help celebrate your birthday! Hope your day is nothing but the greatest!

 

A happy post-4th, you patriots of Perle and minute-men of Magnum. Now back on the east coast, and happy to be in our cozy apartment, it’s time for my second favorite part of Sunday, NBS. It’s a drink-inducing 75 outside in NWNJ. The sun is out, my windows are shut, and my A/C is scowling at me. Oddly enough, these temperatures are not much different from our recent foray into Alaska via Carnival cruise lines. My wife and I hopped a ship after she spent a month in Tacoma, WA due to the U.S. Open. And what a match, right up to the end where Johnson blew it. Did you know he’s married to The Great One’s daughter? They call her The Hot One. So, now you have a family with larger than life titles: The Great One, The Hot One, and The Choker. [Crickets]

Anyhoo, on with the show:

On the docket: Terrapin’s Maggie’s Blackberry Cobbler

Poured into my River Horse that features their humble hippo in a cow costume complete with neck-bell.

Aroma: An initial whiff of berries with a pleasant cracker-like component, a hint of alcohol.

Sight: Ruddy orange with the slightest purple highlights dwell underneath an off-white head which first builds then recedes. I’m looking down at an outside ring of bubbles and a small islet in the middle of my glass.

Taste: The beer opens with berries. In the middle you get a bit of malt, light and cracker-y, but the main feature is the dry, refreshing tartness that shows up in the middle third and rides out to the finish. It’s not exactly sour, and it really reminds you of blackberries. Did they use hops? Surely they did, they’ve got to be in there somewhere. There’s also a slight coppery aftertaste, I’m not sure of the source. Maybe the yeast?

Feel: Tiny bubbles accompany every sip, but don’t spring from the bottom of the glass. Medium/medium minus on the tongue. The bubbles are a bit scrubby, making the beer easier to drink, and scour away some of the sweetness.

Overall: I’m not a huge fan of fruit beers, but I found this one pleasant to drink. Straw hats off, Terrapin, tell Maggie I said hello.


As this is the thick of summer, and a beer based on food one might enjoy at a cook-out, I suggest a pairing of Rush’s cover of Summertime Blues.

 

An addendum to my review:

The best beer I experienced while in Alaska? No, not Alaskan Amber. No, not Alaskan Summer. Give up? Anchorage's The Tide and it's Takers, a Belgian Tripel w/ brett. I found it in the hole-in-the-wall liquor store in Skagway. My wife and I consumed the whole 22 oz. cork and cage beauty while sitting in a small park that overlooked a salmon-filled stream. We enjoyed the beer, gourmet caramel corn, the magnificence that is Alaska, and was truly one of the best moments of our cruise. The fact that the beer held the same name as an album by 36 Crazyfists is no coincidence. Awesome beer, awesome band, awesome moment.

 

This brew pours a solid copper color which is mostly opaque with a two finger off white head and good lacing.

The smell is floral hop heavy. There are also grains as well as thick caramel and sweet malts in the smell. However I cannot pick out any specific hop flavors in the smell.

The taste has some orange peel with a thick malty backbone however the hops all run together and I cannot really pick out any particular hop taste. This is definitely an Imperial hop bomb but I cannot detect any distinct hop flavor. Everything just seems to run together. There is a nice, grainy feel but too much booze leaks through and makes what is a palette shredder, or close to one, just a little unpleasant.

 

New Amber Ale Sunday

First off, happy birthday to cavedave! Since The Bros. defused my mass online tasting (for today...it WILL happen at a later date (and properly this time, Bros.!), trust me ), I'll just stick with my typical find-a-beer-and-review-it silliness. This Sunday:



12 oz can into a teku.

Appearance: Pours a dark copper color. The head is a finger high and off-white in shade. Retention isn't anything special, neither is the lacing that sticks to the glass. (3.25)

Smell: This has an interesting smell. At first, I think it's surprisingly estery, bringing a good amount of peach and apricot. A bit afterward, some tropical hops appear. The malt backbone is rich and sweet, with nice definition of caramel and brown sugar notes. I must saay, I'm intrigued by this new-school amber... (3.75)

Taste: Aw man. That's a letdown. It starts off with some light tropical fruits, only to be quickly overpowered by the malt backbone. I'm getting huge amounts of caramel and toffee, and the finish is almost mealy. You know when you're chewing tough, flavorless bread? That's what the back end reminds me of more than anything. It's balanced I suppose, just in a really boring manner. (2.75)

Mouthfeel: This beer feels somewhat flabby and bloated for 5%. What makes that so disappointing is how this starts off fairly crisp. Carbonation is a bit below average, too. Drinkability is okay, but it could have been so much better. (3)

Overall: I want all Maryland breweries to make great beer, not just so I can have something to trade for, but also because I want more great offerings that are also easy to find. Some do make great stuff (like Union and Evolution), while others like Jailbreak...don't. This is another unimpressive offering from these guys - the malts are too heavy yet too undefined, and the hop flavor (while nice) is too timid. I probably won't return to this one. (3)

3.1/5: Another letdown from Jailbreak

 

Aw man, that's a shame about the simul-tasting. I've got mixed feelings though, 'cause this means now I might have a chance to actually participate! :-)

 

Happy New German Pilsner Sunday!

Happy Birthday cavedave!

Today is a cloudy/sunny/muggy day, around mids 70s. Having a pretty tasty brew though and doing some grilling. Watching some baseball as well. Nice to see this new brew from this brewery in UT.

http://www.beeradvocate.com/beer/profile/2210/83473/?ba=Wasatch

Cheers!