New Beer Sunday (week 549)

Greetings my fellow NBS afficianados! Many thanks to @cavedave for getting the beer flowing. I saw a lot of Michigan love for the beer I'm reviewing today, so I decided to make a border crossing on Friday to seek this out and see how it measures up.

Reviewing Short's Sticky Icky Icky American IPA. It's a twelve ounce bottle with no abv. or bottle date listed. I'm not a fan of buying undated beer, but I know this is a very recent sought after release. Let's pour this into my twelve ounce tulip and break it down!

It pours a hazy gold color with a minimal amount of quickly settling white foam. The aroma is both tropical and dank. It has flavors of guava, passion fruit, and mango. There is a grassy and/or earth-like quality to the finish that reminds me of a wet hop ale. It's very crisp and refreshing!



I read a lot of posts surrounding this beer from my neighbors in Michigan. I'm always a bit skeptical about local love for beers that aren't widely distributed, especially Short's which is Michigan only. I'm happy to report that the love for this beer is warranted. It's definitely my favorite IPA from Short's, if not one of my top beers from them. I'm certainly going to enjoy the rest of the six pack.

Have a great day of beer exploration! Full review and score here......

http://www.beeradvocate.com/beer/profile/9629/102922/?ba=Prager62

 

Good afternoon NBS, looks like everyone is having a good Sunday so far. Starting my Sunday with a local lambic, Free Will Kriek.
3.86/5rDev n/a
look: 3.5 | smell: 3.75 | taste: 4 | feel: 4 | overall: 3.75

500 ml, 2015, poured into a flute

A- A slightly hazy lighter red (almost pink) with an orange tint and a small quick fading pink head.

S- Really nice barnyard funk, sour cherries, some sweeter cherries, grainy.

T- Tart cherries, lemons, some lacto, funk is a lot more mild than the nose, faint grians, finish is sour over riding the funk this beer has.

M- Smooth, light body, nice amount of carbonation.

O- This is a decent lambic and has potential. It is a little grainy compared to high end lambics. Could use some more cherries in it. I don't think I would pick this up again do to the price, but I am curious to try there other lambics. (649 characters)


Reading other reviews from past years it looks like they fixed the carbonation issue from the previous years.

 

Smuttynose Vunderbar Pilsner on tap. Smuttynose calls this a German Pilsner so I will too. Nice bready aroma and taste, clean, crisp, hoppy finish and very refreshing. I've been drinking a lot of Pilsners of late and this is an excellent one. I haven't seen this in bottles yet but if I do I'll buy a 6 pack.

 

I would be willing to wager that 99% of people who say they don't like the Doobie Brothers don't because they just associate the band name with the Michael McDonald era.

 

New beer this fine sunday is Allagash's Mattina Rossa.

So this one is in their specialty 375 ml bottles that i love so much, and the beer is brewed with raspberries fermented with their house yeast, then aged somewhere around 2 years in red wine barrels w/ lacto and brett. They also add some raspberries into the barrels as well and then blend for balance.

Aroma is tart and jammy raspberries, plenty of lactic sour notes going on, gives me that lemon and sour apple type thing. Past that you get some citrus notes dancing around along with some oak and a pleasent vinous quality. Certain creaminess as well.

Taste you get some super tart raspberries, and plenty of sour. More spice with some dry oak. The sour notes punch you up front, but they fade...which is real nice as it doesnt feel like its destroying you. And it also allows some other flavors to come forward. Of course, there are tons of subtleties....but tried to hit on the main points at least.

Overall, admittedly im not the biggest fan of the lacto sour in these beers. But because i love Allagash so much i definetly gave this one a try. Very pleased, nice and balanced, nice fruit, and nice barrel. Nice nice nice. I think i prefer just the brett beers from allagash without lacto, but im glad i tried this and its a great end of summer beer. I would probably give this a lower score than it deserves so i wont do it, as i assume stylistically this is off the charts good.

Cheers everyone.

 

That ABV is a sneaky Devil. I was more impressed with the hidden alcohol than anything else, well the flavor isn't bad either..

 

This brew pours a cloudy golden color with a 1.5 finger head, some of which hangs around until the end; good carbonation and lacing.

The smell is citrus, orange, grapefruit, lemon and honey with a little graham cracker mixed in. There are also lots of floral notes present.

The taste, fortunately follows the nose with the grapefruit dominating but not overpowering like say Sculpin. This is followed by the lemon and orange. There is lot of graham cracker malt with an oily, piney hop finish. It is an interesting finish being slightly dry and very oily at the same time. The hops are ever present is large numbers but they are tame, not palete shredding.

Overall this is a fine IPA and a good introductory IPA for someone who is on the fence regarding whether or not they want to try an IPA.

 

New Fruity Herbal Pale Ale from The Great Lakes State

It's a weird day in West MI. Hazy and muggy with temps in the 70s.

I know y'all can't feel too bad for me, but it's also the end of my 90-some-day weekend that we call summer vacation. This morning I treated the family to doughnuts, we divided and conquered grocery shopping with our boys, and I swung by my classroom to get more organized before meetings kick in tomorrow morning.

Now it's time to chill with a new brew before heading to the zoo, and hopefully back to our pool to squeeze out the last hours of summer. I'm hoping to get in a second review tonight.

Solid beer. Review linked.

12 oz. bottle from Copper Vine ($2.09). No visible date, but lots of visible sediment (going to shoot for a careful pour into the nonic pint glass).

A- Silly label (along with the name, probably somewhat offensive to some). The careful pour creates 1-1/2 fingers of foamy tan head that settles into 1-full finger. The body is a little hazy, somewhere between Amber and copper. Light carbonation is apparent through the haze. The head settles further to a light film, and leaves good stick on the glass.

S- Lots of that apricot at first. Another whiff and I get the chamomile. That said, I could mistake it for peach and jasmine if the label didn't tell me different. All the same, it comes off as quite tea-like (in a fruity and herbal sort of way with almost a honey sweetness even).

T- Much as the aroma suggests. I get the sweet fruits up front, the herbal flavor in the middle, and a sour/bitter fruit again in the finish. I'm wondering if this would be better classified as a fruit/herbed beer, because those flavors much supersede the beer base at the start. Maybe some hints of caramel as it warms.

M- Medium body with moderate heavy carbonation. It's quite dry with a good bite from the carbonation, and sour and herbal flavors.

O- A solid beer. Again, more of a fruit/herbal beer than a strict pale ale. I bought it more for the catchy label than anything else. As it's not totally in my style wheelhouse, I'm probably not buying it again, but it's worth the try.

A- 4.25 S- 4 T- 3.75 M-4 O-4

http://www.beeradvocate.com/beer/profile/1471/84141/?ba=GRPunk

 

Well I'm back with my NBS post a little later than expected as our bike ride turned out to be a little longer than planned as my significant other was leading and decided she wanted a different route so we riding from Hampton beach to York Me. and back for a total of about 60 miles today. It was a great ride with a sea breeze that seemed to aid us for once. Had a nice lunch at the new Hayseed restaurant at Smuttynose on the way home.
My new beer for today comes from yesterdays trip south which allowed me to make a Night Shift stop on the way home. I brought back a good load of beers and in the haul was a few bottles of there Harborside a Gose style ale made with Island Creek Oysters and coriander. Now I'm not usually a gimmick type person and would usually avoid a beer like this but #1 I love a good Gose and #1 I love a good Oyster so what beeter than put the 2 tighter which is what Night Shift did by actually adding the Oysters during the boil.

As you can see this beer pours a pale golden yellow color when poured into my tulip glass. A this white foamy head disapated very quickly
The nose has hints of coriander and that great salty brine smell you get from a great oyster on the half shell. Nope no hints of anything fishy in this beer.
The taste is right for this style of beer with the spice and saltiness that a good Gose has it is clean and sharp but there is a difference as the briny salty taste is different than your normal salt used in a Gose. I really enjoy the difference from the briny salt and a normal salt.
The mouth feel is crisp and tart as it should be for the style. No big lingering after taste just a crisp easy drinking beer.
Well I enjoyed this beer actually much more than I thought I would. I am glad I bought a few bottles of this while I was there. I was thinking that perhaps a certain fellow BA might like to try this one also. I've got a couple of other Goses put away for him at this time and will add this to the box in a week or so. All in all a great Gose style ale from Night Shift.

 

New Beer Sunday: Tarte Session Beer

Afternoon NBSers with special greating to all those tasters of tasty tart beers.

Getting a rare chance to take a break this afternoon and have a beer while watching the final round of play in the Little League World Series. We have a PA team in today's final game.

The new beer I have at the moment is the Weyerbacher Tarte Nouveau which is intentionally made lacto tart and brewed at session strength.

As usual my review is in progress here:

http://www.beeradvocate.com/beer/profile/392/114787/?ba=drtth

The review is subject to revision until I finish the beer.

This is an ideal session beer for a hot humid summer afternoon such as the one we are having today. The tartness is refreshing and I could easily have several of these at an afternoon cookout with friends and family.

In keeping with the official start given us today by @cavedave I thought I too would throw in a bit of poetry from one of my favorite poets. I first encountered this man's poetry when in an Animal Husbandry class in High School (don't ask, the whole story is too long and complicated). One day the teacher came in and introduced those of is in the class to what he called "he-man" poetry.

Here's a bit from one of my favorite poems and I thought it might be fun to see how many of us there might be who could recognize the poem and the name of the man who wrote it.

There are stange things done in the midnight sun
By the men who moil for gold;
The Arctic trails have their secret tales
That would make your blood run cold;
The Northen Lights have seen queer sights,
But the queerest they ever did see
Was that night on marge of Lake Lebarge
I cremated Sam McGee.

Cheers, all. Expecting to be back later with a very different new beer. The PA team just hit a Grand Slam Home Run bringing the score to 7-2 in favor of "our" team.

 

Greetings, fellow NBSers,

It’s a refreshing 59 degrees with a soft rain falling on the currently empty construction sites of Spokane. Each morning this last week involved new ways of getting to work, thanks to seemingly random paroxysms of road work happening towards the tail end of summer around the part of the city where I live. I can’t help but things could have been planned better.

I was originally planning to drive the 2 ½ hours to my folks’ place on Saturday, but I decided I didn’t want to drive through the near-holocaust level of wind that was being predicted. Sure enough, at one pont yesterday I was able to look out my front window at what seemed like a “white-out”, but with dirt instead of snow. Sounds like it was a bit grim on the fire lines, and there were quite a few people left without power for a time on the west side of the state. Hopefully, today’s weather is a bit more congenial to the efforts of the many firefighters hard at work.

I didn’t do too much drinking of new beers during the course of the week. I did have Bennedito’s Sigrid Kolsch for the first time, but it came just after I’d eaten a fairly spicy sandwich, so I didn’t attempt even a half-assed review beyond agreeing that they seemed to have checked all the appropriate boxes for the style.

Since the day is a relatively cool one, I’m going with a beer that has some heft to it. One of the last survivors of the bif box courtesy of @LehighAce06

http://www.beeradvocate.com/beer/profile/287/1891/?ba=woemad

Bottled in early October of last year, I think this had probably mellowed a bit from when it was fresh. It was a little boozy but very drinkable, a lot less brash than it might have been when new. I’ll have to try another one that is fresh to test my hypothesis. In fact, I’ll have to have another one, period. Come on, Bell’s (and Founder's)! Distribute to WA, already!

 

What a fine start Dave. Cheers to All.

I surely concur.
This heat leaves me in a blur.
Autumn, please come sooooon

 

Well it's a gray rainy day in the low country today..yesterday was the fiancee's and I 6th anniversary so needless to say I woke up today in a good mood haha.
Decided to crack open a new one for nbs!....love child no. 5 from boulevard' s smoke stack series.
First impression was it was going to be super Carbonated due to the enormous "POP" the cork made ..however could not get much of out head out of it.
Smells of cherries and wood with of course the inherent sour smell!
Taste is about the same with some funk thrown in but with more sour than I expected almost puckering for me and I LOVE sour stuff!
In all it reminds me alot of the biere De mars from jolly pumpkin I tried earlier this week same cherry wood like flavor but defiantly more sour.
I also think I could have done with a bit more carbonation would have helped get the sour down easier IMO.
Anyways happy nbs everyone enjoy what's left of the of the weekend!

Of course the obligatory pic

 

Good afternoon NBSers, I hope this Sunday finds you well. It's been a long, productive week at both work and home and next week looks to be the same.

Today I join the conversation with my first taste of Weyerbacher's Sunday Morning Stout, a stout aged in bourbon barrels with coffee, clocking in a t 11.3%. I, like many of you, am ready for fall/winter and therefore have been stalking up on these bourbon barrel bombs. It's still hitting the high 80s here in Albuquerque but the mornings have recently had a cool breeze that assures us the heat won't be around for too much longer.

This brew is being enjoyed alongside my latest book purchase, Shadows In the Vineyard, and the downtempo magic that is Hotel Costes vol. 6.

Alright, on to the beer!




A: black as night with an espresso-colored frothy head and tiny bubbles racing up the side of the glass.

S: huge aromas of coffee and bourbon dominate the nose. There is also some alcohol present, which isn't surprising considering this is still quite fresh.

T: bitter coffee and strong whiskey. Coffee, coffee, and more coffee. Then some bourbon, then some boozy heat, then more coffee as it's swallowed down. A bit of vanilla sweetness is trying to make an appearance but it's quickly overpowered by the bitter coffee notes.

M: thick and creamy, which is exactly how this type of stout should be in my opinion. My tongue and mouth are well coated in bourbon-and-coffee goodness, making me long for fall even more. Outstanding mouthfeel.

O: this beer is outstanding, right up there will all the other solid hitters (KBS, BCBCS, etc). Weyerbacher hit a homerun with this beer and I'll definitely be seeking out more. The only complaint I have is the heat, but I'm confident that'll subside with time, making this a 100/100 beer. Delicious!

Score: 98/100

 

Lovely photo =)

 

well, here is my 2nd offering from destihl

pours bright amber with thin tan head dissipating into thin ring

I get awesome scents of apples and cherries

oaky presence and surely sour on the tongue! I love the stuff already!

crisp and clean,great funkiness due to that downstate ill. microflaurathe barrel did a good job with this

I highly recommend this to sour pale ale lovers cheers!

 

You made me laugh...Thanks.

 

Happy NBS. Surprise of a day for me as my Wife unexpectedly got the day off! Beautiful here in North of Boston, 80s, medium humidity, and you can tell all the kids on my block are getting the last of the summer crazies out as are all running around screaming. Went out with Wife and Baby Gemma to a beautiful farmers market this AM and got ingredients for what I am hoping will be an epic lasagna later tonight. As for beer...talked the wife into stopping at a new tap room for Slumbrew based out of Somerville MA. I've had a lot of their offerings, but went for a new brewery only release, a Saison with Nelson Sauvin and Sorachi Ace. Pours hazy, as everything seems to in the NE, with a really nice bright citrus from the hops. That citrus pulls thru the taste and finish leaving it dry and still able to find that "farmhouse" flavor one seeks in Saison's. Happy that the new tap room is open, great vibe, and kid friendly (!). Off to pick up pasta and meat for the lasagna, which means another post later for when cooking. Cheers!!

 

Hello, NBS peeps. So today I'm drinking the Terrapin/Cigar City collab Vapricot DIPA. Sounded like a very interesting beer, what with the ginger and apricot. Well, it looks great: dark amber with a big fluffy head. Somehow manages to smell both of ginger and apricots. Good job! Tastes much the same, with these two battling each other for prominence. Can't say I love this beer. It's interesting as in I'm glad I bogut a 4 pack but that's as far as it goes. Cheers!