New Beer Sunday (week 543)

Double IPA rounding out at 11%. $11/bottle but I'm sad I didn't grab more. They were like a week old and so tropical; you couldn't taste the 11% at all. I agree the label is awesome. I don't save bottles or anything, but am going to peel this label off-too good to throw away.
http://www.beeradvocate.com/beer/profile/31408/164707/

 

First new beer of the day. In honor of my own late start, I made it a Founders Breakfast Stout, courtesy of @LehighAce06 :

http://www.beeradvocate.com/beer/profile/1199/11757/?ba=woemad

I get the hype.

 

This is a very nice Russian Imperial Stout. It's not at the level of BCBS or KBS, but it drinks well.

 

Happy NBS. Trying a Not Your Father's Root Beer. I guess this is a love it or hate it deal. After a 14 miler in the Ga suburbs of Hell, it's damn tasty and refreshing. Cheers.

http://www.beeradvocate.com/beer/profile/24798/86621/?ba=cindyjeffsmith

 

Hey NBS-ers! My first post here as MUTINY as opposed to the now-retired WineGuy3000. This shall be an X, X post with the St. B tasting thread & WBAYDN.

My new brew for this Sunday is St. Bernardus ABT 12 Quad:


First, some BA stuff:

A: 4.25, S: 3.75, T: 4, M: 4, O: 4, BA says: 3.96

11.2oz bottle into a Belgian-style tulip.

A: Pours a surprisingly clear brown/amber with 1/2" white/khaki head that lingers. The retention on this brew is unreal, among the best I've ever seen. Lacing is nonexistent.

S: Nuttiness, slight booze, caramel. Roastiness. What I'd first taken as oat bread but now see clearly as pumpernickel. Some pitted fruit as well.

T: Quite boozy. Pitted fruits, what I'd call roasted caramel & then more booze through the mid-palate. The finish is off-sweet with candied fruit balanced out with yet more booze.

M: Carb is higher than expected. The body has a rich, yet light & delicate feel. Much like a fine Italian red wine.

O: This is a truly deep, moving experience to consume. Glad that I did.

I don't typically drink quads, but after consuming this fine liquid...that may have to change.

So, my overall feelings here are quite positive. I feel lucky to have been able to share this particular new beer experience with so many of you over at the St B tasting thread! Thanks to everyone who participated, I was able to see more in this brew than I would have otherwise.

Cheers NBS-ers!

 

I would say entertaining fits the bill rather then the aforementioned. Get well!!!!

 

He actually turned out to be a fiend!

 

Well, I failed at picking up a St. Bernardus Abt 12 to join in today.

Prairie Somewhere has a sour lemon and vinegar aroma with minimal funk that I look for in a Saison. The notes are mainly unripe soured citrus and other fruits. I'm not finding much spice.

Flavor-wise, it starts off pretty sour with lemons and vinegar. The lactic has some orange-citrus notes with sour unripe stone fruit. If I pay attention I can find the Saison yeast, but it is buried layers of sour fruit. Funk and spice are non existent.

 

Nice! Abt 12 was my first Quad and still my favorite of the style, but I've never had the oaked version.

 

Ha ha! I wondered if that was simply a misspelling or a Freudian slip!

 

It seems the site has begun the transition back to reviews being given higher priority and ratings only no longer counting.

 

I posted about Narragansett Lager in the “Why no love for AALs” thread. Since this is a new beer for me and it fits the @cavedave theme of being a hot weather beer I figured I would post it here as well.

Below is a description of this beer via BA:

“We brew our lager with six row malt, seedless hops, corn from Iowa, our lager strain (the same one the brewery has depended on since just after Prohibition), and the purest water from Lakes Ontario and Hemlock.

12 IBU”

So, as we can read this beer has a very low level of bitterness (12 IBUs) which is consistent with what an AAL beer is.

I will not post a formal review but I will provide some impressions/observations.

It is straw colored like a typical AAL and it provides nice Belgian Lace as the beer was consumed. There are no perceptible off flavors so this is a well-made AAL beer. The aroma is pleasant; sweetish malt and maybe just a hint of hop aroma. The flavor is predominantly sweet malt flavor. It has a firm(er) malt backbone which is more than I can say about BMC type AAL beers. It is certainly a half-step up from BMC type beers and given the economical price provides this beer with a discriminator.

Cheers!

 

Great reading here as usual. It has been new beer week for us. A week in Harpswell, ME with a trip to Portland and a stop in Portland on our way to a couple days in Ounquit where we are watching it rain outside the hotel room. We have tried more new beers and breweries this week than we ever have. Some old faves, some new hits, couple of misses, and one in particular will probably cause controversy... I'll have to figure out where to post from my absurdl copious notes and how to break things up, maybe by brewery in the New England forum. New breweries, new styles, tons of fun!

Keep up the good work here. Nice to be back where the Internet exists, but I will be damned if I open my work email!

 

I saw that.

Cheers!

 

Before getting to my "Not a Day Gose By" tasting, I ran out to pick up some beers I need for shipping and to grab a box at Home Depot.


I stopped in at Chama River Brewing, a place I've pretty much always despised for the bar feel, overpriced food and lackluster beer. However, I'd heard good things about their New Mexico IPA Challenge entry and went in for a visit (I've been slowly been tasting my way through the entries worth trying). I was wowed. This IPA is awesome. I want more already and would have filled a growler if my fridge didn't already look like a Dr. Dre video.

4.39/5rDev n/a
look: 4.5 | smell: 4.25 | taste: 4.5 | feel: 4 | overall: 4.5

Served in a nonic pint. Chama River's New Mexico IPA challenge entry.

Frothy and sticky pale white head. Lace is everywhere. Copper body with blonde hues. Cloudier than we're used to in New Mexico and that's cool. 4.5

Yum. Smells like something from out East. Mango, passionfruit and pineapple. Sticky fruit flavor with touches of vanilla and malt. 4.25

Yessss. The aroma carries over to the nose. This is the flavor profile I've been seeking locally to no avail. Very mango-like before giving way to pinier and floral hops. The finish becomes noticeably orange juice like with complementary touches of vanilla and caramel. Man, that mango flavor up front is killer. 4.5

Okay, there's one thing keeping this from greatness and it's the bitterness. Damn this thing has bite. Too much unfortunately. The malt presence, the sweetness and the body are all on point and it drinks much easier than the 7.7%, so on every other account this beer is spectacular. 4

I love the NM IPAs but they're starting to all taste the same and this tastes much more like the East Coast IPAs I've fallen for (and yes, those are all starting to taste the same on that coast) and gives me hope that I can have the best of both worlds and not need to trade so much. This beer is great!



Next beer up is Evil Twin's Mission Gose, I promise.

 

Hey, that's a really great quad - I've never had the Westy 12, but I' thinking this is in the same league - and, ah! WineGuy3000! Driving me nuts trying to figure out who you used to be - it was like, who's been missing? lol

 

New Black Lager

It's a beautiful day in West MI. Blue skies, temps in the mid-80s with a light breeze. However, much of that's lost on me, as after wrapping up a weekend with friends at the family cottage, it was a long drive home and I'm really looking forward to a shower and bed.

I specifically thought of @gopens44 when I saw this one on the shelf. I really liked the play between the inverted Shorts logo and the Danzig skull.

Today's brew is pretty solid. Lots of chocolate and raisin flavors without getting overly sweet about it. While I'd have another, "Twist of Cain (doesn't) drive my brain" as Glenn would say. A full review to follow unpacking and my long night's rest.

 

Man, I'm so glad to see that reviewed. I knew it would be good!

 

My philosophy is that ratings should count, but not nearly as much as reviews, where someone has put in the time to say why or why not they like a beer.