New Beer Sunday (week 544)

First NBS post to go along with my first review. Figured I'd start attempting to put my thoughts and opinions into reviews after all that has unfolded last week.



4.2/5 rDev -4.3%
look: 4 | smell: 4 | taste: 4.24 | feel: 4.5 | overall: 4.25

16oz can poured into a Spiegelau IPA glass.
Pours a nice clear, amber color with very little head retention. Faint hint of mango and tropical fruit on the nose. Drinking I get a nice combo of mango first followed by a bit of pine with a perfect hint of alcohol, but not overpowering. Well carbonated with a perfect presence of a peppery sensation. A solid beer that's worth a try if you're a hop lover and come across it.

 

It must be new "How High Can Your Head Get?" for me. I sort of expected it from my first beer, but not this one. Took me a while to pour two beers, and I definitely noticed a big pop/gush of air on the second.


This is Trinity from Rinn Duin - a smoked Scottish ale (70 shilling), clocking in at 4% ABV. This was the other beer brought to me from NJ by a co-worker (Sidewinder IPA enjoyed Friday)

In sucking up the head to fill out the beer, the smoke notes were evident. In the nose, the smoke is more subdued, but present, and I definitely get some caramel and Scottish ale "metallic" notes (yeast?).

The taste comes across more smoke heavy than I imagined, but somehow not overpowering. I think the smoke isn't that powerful, but the other flavors are just light in nature. Light caramel malt, a hint of watery tart bitterness (that may be from the smoked grain) and a bit of herbal hops can be detected, but I had to focus for them. Not surprising that the carbonation is a bit too much, but not to a completely distracting level.

This particular bottle definitely had some issues, but the flavor of the beer was actually ok to me. Being lighter, u didn't expect a full bodied counter to the smoke. However, given this, the smoke could have bee a little lighter to work with the rest of the beer.

 

Digging some new beers today, and enjoying the review process quite a bit too:


Anchor Double Liberty - 4.24

L - Bright and crystal clear golden amber with a quickly dissipating 1 inch off white head
S - Old school tropical fruit and pine resin with a hint of malt sweetness
T - Grapefruit and candied peel with malt sweetness and a soft bitterness on the finish. Very well rounded
F - Full bodied with a heavier malt bill. thicker and more traditional old school style DIPA that I am really enjoying

Overall this is an extremely well made classic beer. Nothing about this is showy or flashy, but everything fits perfectly. An excellent beer all round.

 

New Texas-made Saison Sunday:



Walloon is a big mix of banana and spice with the aroma a bit sweeter than the flavor. The spice is clove and all-spice, very witbier-like but also a big player in most of the American-made saisons I've tried. The banana is prominent, almost to a hefeweizen level, and I can taste a little bit of grain. Also some white wine/sour grapes.

I left a good 1-2 oz. in the can because Southern Star is locally famous for its debris. Needless to say, they do not brew lagers.

Southern Star says they brewed Walloon in the tradition of the "grisette", an extinct style from Belgium whose closest living relative is the saison.



The review:
http://www.beeradvocate.com/beer/profile/16759/69109/?ba=Premo88

3.65 (-2.1% rDev)

The numbers represent my general feelings for the style more than anything. I know ... we're supposed to review "to style", and I'll start doing that when the Top 250 includes German and Czech pilseners, English pale ales and beers under 6% ABV that aren't sours.

Soap boxes aside, Walloon is very solid. The banana seems a bit different from other saisons I've tried, but it seems to work very well here.

Cheers!

 

this is my 2nd and last of the day, another 3 floyds, a surprise for me, a kolsch, lite and crisp, pours straw and has grass roots.i love this kolsch even more than sierra Nevada, and that one is , to me, delish!. enjoy your sunday eve! till next weekend

 

At least Four Corners' Local Buzz:

http://www.beeradvocate.com/beer/profile/30364/99042/?ba=Premo88

I'd swear I've seen another full pull-top can, but I can't remember which one. Hmmmm ...

 

Afternoon BAs! My day's been busy, with work early followed by a homebrew session. My youngest dog Sammy then assisted me with bottling duties (a Citra/Mosaic IIPA). I have high hopes for this one.


Now I'm relaxing with a new regional beer. I've been on a non-IPA kick all weekend, trying to get more familiar with all the great old styles out there. In contrast to my youth when I didn't bother to taste all the AALs I was drinking, I now find that I can actually appreciate and enjoy all kinds of brews with less than 50 IBUs. Anyway, I picked up this Gateway Kolsch from French Broad Brewery in Asheville, NC, and I'm glad I did.


Poured into a Pilsener glass. Good looking beer with a clear straw yellow color and a 3-finger white head. Nice complex aroma with grass, dough, white bread and some floral tones. On the taste, I noticed white bread and cracker up front, followed by a sweet grassy note and a subtle spicy bitter clean finish. The beer had medium carbonation and felt light on the palate. Overall, a great regional brew. Really hits the spot on this hot July day.

Hope everyone is having a great NBS!

 

I,m going to seek this beer out, my wife is from san fran, so I love anchor brews!

 

Good Evening all and thanks Maria ( can I call you that now?) For starting up this am with that luscious Pilsner review.
Well another late start- up and I'm off today which rarely happens. Thing is I got side tracked and decided to visit my local friends @ Proclamation Brewing and I'm glad I did. Tried three beers, which is all they had available. Dark Sprout a dark session ale @ 4.1 % that , well doesn't taste dark. Derivative their Galaxy Pale and Peachlander a Farmhouse saison. A tiny operation that I hope will expand. They know sours and wild ales, for sure. And they are all unique. Good stuff.
This has been a very strange week around here. We had marble sized hail friday- amazing for these parts and an earthquake earlier in the week. Not what you'd expect in NE. And today's offering-

FOLEY BROS CITRENNIAL IPA W/ CITRA AND CENTENNIAL HOPS
This beer pours a burnished gold color with a nice white 2 finger cap that lasts leaving "world map" lacing on the glass.

Orange , grapefruit, lemon-lime floral and pine notes in the aroma. There is also a slight dankness to all the fruity aroma.

Juice orange, lemon, tropical guava touched by green grassiness and pine all within a frame of juicy sweetness-though malt presence is miniscule. Orange and lemon pith are present. Pine coats the tongue and there is a little pepper in the finish. Alcohol is not noticeable.
Depth and length of flavor are excellent. Nice hop bitterness. A hoppy Citra juice explosion.

Sappy pine coated orange pith is washed away by tiny bubble carbonation. Finishes dry and refreshing.

My second go around with Foley Bros. The first being Fair Maiden which I found to be more of a Maine/Vermont style - more of a sweet malt backbone. A beer that any true hophead or Citra lover will enjoy in IMHO. Give it a go- I don't think you will be disappointed.
And back to NOVS (new old Vinyl Sunday): XTC Skylarking. A great mellow summer afternoon album. The track of chosen today is Grass. Check it out if you can- along with the brew. Have a great week. It's been a pleasure reading all your posts.
And as always- Thanks for taking the time to listen.

 

I hadn't drank a lot of kolsch beers when I first had this, but I thought the same of this one as you and probably wouldnt change my mind at this point.

This is a fantastic beer that does not seem to get much attention for some reason. It is in my top 3 or 4 in the style so far for sure.

 

I agree great beer. I'm sure you have tried the Kriek! But if you haven't that's a fantastic brew IMO

 

Such a lovely thing to find an unexpected surprise in the bottle shop. Brought home a bottle of AA La Tache from a recent visit to your extraordinary part of the world.

 

I really disliked Rubaeus yet really enjoyed Blushing Monk, but damned if I know why. A beer lover's paradox!

 

Okay all you pizza guys out there just took this baby off my egg cooked over charcoal at about 700* and it was great.

A fresh homemade crust topped with grilled eggplant and zucchini and greek olives and topped with some fresh goat cheese . And this is my 2nd beer for this Sunday a 2012 Bolt Cutter from Founders Brewing thanks to my NBS BIF box from @strohme2


This beers leaves nothing on the table to say the least a great big Barley Wine Ale. At 15% abv it drinks way to smooth to be close to that. I'm a big fan of this type of beer and have never had this one before. I'm great full to have the chance to drink
this great beer.

 

Welcome to NBS!

 

That's a fantastic lookin pie. I used to cook pizzas in a wood fired oven in a restaurant. That's the key: super hot temps and a good dough recipe. Personally I like OO flour and wheat flour combo. Gotta get an Egg too. They are not cheap!

 

Enjoying a new beer on the deck with the wife, lovin summer drinkin