New Beer Sunday (week 556)

Greetings again friends on a frosty Sunday,
Tonight will be the real frost, but all of our plants are back inside, and my back is aching. We took a long brisk walk, the wind driving out of the north.... the dogs were in heaven, animal smells everywhere, leaves are flying and the color in the trees is amazing. We have great seasonal transition here and today is a centerpiece of that truth. It is beautiful and I love these woods that I've wandered around in since I was 5 years old..not much has changed in Hamilton Lakes over my 50+ years living here. I live in the woods in the middle of a city! We spotted a huge beaver that scared the crap out of my dogs. This guy was big. There is more wildlife here now than in 1956.
When I was sophomore in college at The University of Richmond, my English professor-now a friend here in town- introduced us to this poem by Randall Jarrell. What he didn't know was that the author was a family friend and neighbor. I really did not know the work and my professor was outstanding. This is:

The Death of the Ball Turret Gunner

From my mother's sleep I fell into the state,
And I hunched in it's belly till my wet fur froze.
Six miles from earth, loosed from it's dream of life,
I woke to black flak and nightmare fighters.
When I died they washed me out of the turret with a hose.

This poem has haunted me all of my life and Dr. Jarrell was an Army Air Force veteran from WW2 and a truly lovely man that died way too early.


This is Omnipollo Raspberry Smoothie IPA. My son came by on Friday and brought a few oddities, which we love. This fits firmly into that category. I had very low expectations, but fresh fruit aroma exploded from the glass, a real olfactory treasure. It was more than raspberry; it was tropical, floral, very beautiful in the glass, and just damned plain fun. This beer was close to ethereal, an odd combo of sweet fruits, yeasty, drying hops, that simply worked out well. I was shocked by how much I liked this beer. It's originality and uniqueness are commendable to say the least.

 

Thank you, @Bitterbill, for intervening.
I must have had a senior moment and forgot the picture.

 

My first offering for NBS this week is a well known brew in a style that I do not normally gravitate to.

I picked up this beer at Craft Beer Cellar in Waterbury a couple weeks back. It was the first time I'd seen Prairie's beers in VT. Having seen this beer numerous times on this site I figured I'd brave the cringe inducing price point for the 12oz bottle.

BOMB!

Prairie Artisan Ales
American Double / Imperial Stout / 14.00% ABV

4.19/5 rDev -6.7% | Avg: 4.49
look: 4.25 | smell: 4 | taste: 4.25 | feel: 4.25 | overall: 4.25

L-Black with no light transference. An aggressive pour leads to a chocolate half centimeter head which quickly recedes to a thin ring and no lacing.
S-Coffee is the dominant aroma with some chocolate evident in the back end.
T-Coffee punches you in the face up front, but subsides and dark chocolate takes over in the middle. The chilies are obscured until the very end and provide a pleasant warming finish. I detect no vanilla or alcohol.
F-Thick and viscous as a good stout should be. Carbonation is light and appropriate for the style.
O-The coffee flavor was a little strong for me at first, but my palate adjusted and I found myself enjoying this beer. The Chile aspect is well done and is a nice level which adds, but does not dominate the flavor profile. My only complaint is that the Vanilla was obscured by the coffee, but again it's a minor quibble. I enjoyed this beer an although the price point is higher than I would like for a 12 oz. bottle, I'd happily drink it again.

 

Hey, that's what us old timers and Poobahs do. Look after each other. Prost!

 

My second and last new beer of the weekend.

Samuel Adams Pumpkin Batch. A Farmhouse/Saison weighing in at 5.6% ABV.

Hey, why do I keep trying styles on NBS that I do not prefer? The last pumpkin sour I had from Boulevard was not to my liking. I took two sips of this one and immediately liked it. Here's why:

It's a semi-clear light copper or sunburnt orange color with a sudsy off-white head that retains well, leaving thick bands of lacing.

The aroma is absolutely yeasty and spicy with cinnamon and nutmeg coming through. Very aromatic.

The beer tastes like pumpkin pie, and I swear I hardly ever say this about pumpkin flavored beers. There is an excellent creaminess in the taste that brings out that true pumpkin pie element. It's light and dry with a slightly bitter finish and certainly all of the usual pumpkin spice flavors are released, but there is that moment in every sip where it tastes exactly like pumpkin pie.

A very easy drinking beer as it goes down light yet dry.

Overall: Surprisingly impressed. To be honest I'm not the biggest fan of Samuel Adams. I do like this offering and will rate it favorably.

 

Sorry, while editing the music, I zapped the picture. Omnipollo Raspberry Smoothie IPA.

 

Usually a one beer and done as far as NBS goes but ended up having a 2nd New Beer early this PM.

Ithaca Brewing’s Country Pumpkin: I’m an Ithaca loyalist just out of respect for Flower Power and the Creeker but have passed this up year after year as I haven’t been thrilled with Ithaca’s non-IPA stuff.

L: While the bottle sounded super carbonated when I cracked it, and I poured this pretty hard, the head dies super fast. Amber/orange in color. Good looking beer. No lacing to speak of.

A: Mild pumpkin spice aroma. Faint —just hints at pumpkin spice.

T/F: Nutmeg, allspice, maybe maple. Still trying to get my pumpkin spices in order when I taste these things but a very light taste of pumpkin. Taste is almost effervescent like an Alka-Seltzer. You can feel the fizz but the body really lightens up. Spicy, and has a pilsner like feel to it.

O: The pumpkin tastes so-so faint in this. On the plus side that means nothing artificial smelling or tasting. It’s a well-done beer as far as crafting it goes. Almost too clean if that’s possible. “The “touch” of seasonal spices is ever so slight. I probably wouldn’t go for this again, and I don’t know if I’d recommend it for pumpkin beer connoisseurs or newbies. Smuttynose Pumpkin Ale probably takes the cake for a “light” pumpkin beer that still tastes like pumpkin and there are a ton stronger/imperial ones out there. Maybe there is an appeal here for someone who wants just the faintest hint of pumpkin?

Well made beer just doesn't have enough pumpkin flavor. Ended up giving it a 3.64 which is still pretty decent in my book.

 

My second NBS offering is from a brewery which doesn't get much pub on here despite being one of the more venerable breweries in the area.

Now I'd agree that the beer lineup at switchback isn't exactly adventurous. They are decidedly average overall. However I can say that this beer is a very good example of it's style.

Switchback Marzen

Switchback Brewing Company
Märzen / Oktoberfest / 5.20% ABV

3.92/5 rDev -0.5% | Avg: 3.94
look: 4 | smell: 3.75 | taste: 4 | feel: 3.75 | overall: 4

L- A clear amber with a 1 cm fluffy white head and prominent lacing.
S-Clean toasted bready malts, light in intensity
T-Clean and dry malt profile, well balanced. Low in bitterness.
F-mouthfeel is light to medium with the prickly carb keeping it on the lighter side.
O- Honestly I'd rate this beer higher were I rating to my personal taste vs to style. It's a little lighter on the mouthfeel and smell than maybe it should be. It is very drinkable and right in my wheelhouse. One of the better Marzens I've had. This is easily my favorite Switchback beer, one I'd drink year around.

 

hello from Chicago, going with a local from spiteful, I really like their beers



here is a double ipa that poured out cloudy orange with floating particles



malty bread, grapefruit,some funk too, although my dog just got a bath and is sitting next to me



good dipa qualities, thick in the mouth, sudsy



sweetness on the roof of my mouth in the finish, slight bitterness to finish, may I have another

 

good afternoon to everyone..... another week gone by and guess what ? i'm spending my sunday at work... my brother-in-law had his baby on Thursday so me and the wife gave him the day off. started off putting my plow on the new truck watching some flurries start at least I can drink while i'm here so today friends I present this :

looks : a nice golden yellow with HUGE fluffy white head
smell: like a pile of fall straw
taste: well i'll be damned if its a golden sour ale great flavor with a nice sour bite, but not butt puckering sour, just right
every option I've tried from crooked staves has been a perfect example of the style and I believe this one falls right in line
overall I would definetly seek this out if I was you guys, me i'm gonna stash a few away in the cellar
till next week friends, enjoy your Sunday

 

Good afternoon NBS, hope everyone is having a good Sunday, I know should since the Eagles don't play today. Have a few new beer to try today that I'm excited to try today. First up a beer I've been meaning to try, Firestone Walker DBA! When Firestkne Walker first came to MD this didn't come right away, but I did get to try Double DBA when it was releases and it got me very excited to try this, so here it goes!

3.9/5 rDev +6.3%
look: 4.25 | smell: 3.5 | taste: 4 | feel: 4 | overall: 4

12 oz bottle poured into a pint glass

A- A clear reddish/deep amber with a two finger white head

S- Toasted malts, hints of caramel malts, some oak, faint fruitiness, floral.

T- Toasted malts, nutty, some oak, toffee, faint vanilla, caramel malts, slight earthy/floral hops. Nicely balanced.

M- Smooth, medium body.

O- A nicely done English style ale, easy to drink. Past the 120 day mark Firestone says to drink it by, but it still taste and worth picked up. Miss this beer's big brother, but at least this is easier to find.

★535 characters

Cheers!

 

Good afternoon to all the NBS fellowship. Thank you @cavedave for the great send off. I must digress for a moment to last night and the party we hosted for a few close friends none of which are craft beer drinkers. I think after opening the likes of Blushing Monk, Bomb, 2015 BA Narwhal and a 2014 Stoneface RIS I may have made a couple of converts. I'll have to check back later as I had been indulging a little during the day while tending the smoker and preparing the rest of the dinner,
On another note fall has really arrived here in central NH 26* this morning the remaining outdoor plants are now toast. and a few minutes ago I observed some snow falling outside.
Now for the most important part of this post my New Beer for this day. Today I am drinking Foley Brothers Brewing Prospect.

This Bottle was born on 10/14/15
This beer poured a golden slightly hazy color with a very minimal white head in my tulip glass but not actually as cloudy as the picture shows.
The nose of this beer is superb some tropical fruit with an earthy pine aroma. I've let this warm just a bit from the original pour as I think about 48* may be a more ideal temperature for this beer.
The taste continues from the nose lots of tropical fruit with a resiny pine flavor with a wonderful bitter finish.
The bottle says this beer is brewed with hops and barley grown in VT and ME so I'm not sure of the hops in this beer but at this point I really don't care it's an excellent blend.
The mouth feel is great, nice carbonation even with the minimal head.
I haven't put any numbers to this review yet but this to me is an OMG DIPA. IMO this ranks up in the league of Dinner, Double Sunshine, and all the great New England DIPA's . I will be back at the bottle shop I got this from on Monday hoping they have some left. Not sure how long it's been since I've had a DIPA this good but it was probably something from Trillium in the spring.
Well the snow shower has stopped here so I'm going to try to do a couple of more yard chores before I return with a second beer for this Sunday.
Cheers to all.

 

Great Fall day here in New Jersey. After a nice jog and some yard work it's time for football. Of course, with my Giants not playing until tomorrow night, I'm just casually watching. I think the firepit is calling to me.

Inspiration struck me for this New Beer Sunday. I had a disastrous experience drinking Stone's Crime a year and a half ago. I split it four ways but even so it was like drinking hot sauce. I've been holding onto Pinishment ever since. So I decided to use it to make Bloody Mary's today for football. I'm literally dripping with sweat as I type this, but damn, I'm enjoying the beer this way. You can see from the pic that I did also pour some into a tasting glass so that I could review the beer itself.

Well, it looks pretty, a dark amber color. Smells actually really good, with some bourbon fumes mixing with hot peppers. Taste is similar. It starts off with a semi-sweet bourbon taste, quickly followed by the hot pepper kick. Wow! Gotta sip this one verrrrrry slowly. Oooof. Nice mouthfeel, but the burn down the throat distracts.

As a component to my Major Peters Bloody Mary, it gets an A+. As a beer by itself, I'd give it a B.

 

That looks like a Volatov Cocktail! Cheers!

 

Greetings, malt mutts and hop hounds, I've been on a small financial-induced NBS hiatus. However, I'm back with a very complex NBS post including a review, an interview, and a memorial.

Firstly, I say goodbye to a recently deceased and dear friend, and good-beer drinker. The last time I saw him, we were enjoying good brew at one of our favorite locales, in my hometown. Though he was not the beer enthusiast I am, he loved trying new things, and saw the value of a brewer's craft and passion. Why, I remember we both first tried Blithering Idiot and Hop Devil... in the same hour. Whew!!

I raise my glass to Andrew Klaus. Drink well, wherever of the two places my theology thinks you can arrive.

Second, I have an interesting event I'd like to share with all of you. You know my passion for beer, and likely, my passion for writing. This link will bring you to the interview I conducted with the head brewer, Heide Hassing, of my favorite local brewery, Angry Erik. It was an absolute pleasure talking shop with her, and learning a few things about my favorite libation from the perspective of a bio-chemist.

Now... on with the show. You'll find the link to the review on my website here.

On the docket: Saranac Black Forest Black Beer with a date of 1/25/15. Pretty old, I blame the establishment from which I purchased it, and the fact I didn’t look until I got home. Caveat emptor.


Poured into: Sam Adams perfect pint glass


S: A deep, amber-brown body with violet highlights supports a dense, pockmarked beige head. Tiny bubbles zip to the underbrush of the head’s bottom. Eventually, the head subsides into a clearing, a small ring on top. Lacing is sporadic due to the beer’s age, or a non-beer-clean glass, or both.


A: Clean, with a hint of caramel, a touch of sweetness, and white-bready grain. Subtle hop aroma of earth and a twist of lemon.


T: Smooth clean malt, a dash of roast. Sweet start but drying finish. Reasonably bitter and hoppy, with earth and lemon carrying through from the aroma. There’s something a little off, I just can’t quite tell what. DMS? Am I crazy?


F: Medium-light, persistent, tiny bubbles. Sweet on the start, but chalky and drying on the finish. Crisp, drinkable.


O: Consumed fresh, I’m sure this one is fantastic, as evidenced by “the brothers.” Old, it’s certainly drinkable, but not how the brewer’s intended. It does, however, sport all the hallmarks of a well-made Schwarzbier.


Suggested food pairing: barbecue pulled-pork, fruit tarts, Münster cheese

Suggested music pairing: German polka

S: 4 A: 4 T: 4 F: 4.25 O: 4

 

Wow, way to proofread. Obviously I meant I'm drinking Stone Punishment.

 

Tier de Garde Belgian Style India Pale Ale brewed with grapefruit peel from Southern Tier Brewing.
Very nice stuff, I'm enjoying it a lot more than I expected to. This brew is very well balanced . The Grapefruit and hops work well together to give this beer a awesome bitter/tart taste and finish. I'm glad I picked this out to try.

 

Good day my fellow NBSer's. Like most of you I woke up to some chilly temps today and even had to turn the heat on in the house. My cats looked un happy and they are way to cute for that. Went below 40 last night here in Jersey and its still only 45 and windy as hell. Met win last night did warm me up though. Lets Go Mets !
I hope this counts as I'm not drinking a new beer today but one I haven't had in awhile. As a big Founders fan I look forward to Breakfast Stout every year and it never lets me down. Maybe its me but I think this years is the best yet. I really love this beer. CBS and KBS get most of the talk but to me FBS is right there with them and much easier to find, atleast in the cold months. So I see one of my favorite watering holes has it on tap. IMO its even better on tap than from the bottle. I check their site right before I headed over there and it says they are doing 14oz pours for $4. Are you kidding me ! This is the deal of the century. So I go and right as I sit down the one bartender says to the other " can you believe Breakfast Stout for that price ? " as she points to their chalk board. That's right - a full pour of FBS for $4 . Needless to say I'm all over that. I'm on my second and my phone go's off with a alert from same bar. Headline says " Special until the keg kicks, 64oz Growlers of FBS for $10 " Sadly I only have 1 empty Growler after a trip to Kane yesterday but damn skippy I'm filling that one up and heading home to enjoy. Its a good day. Cheers .....

 

a afternoon offering



an American wild ale
poured golden straw with bubble ring reducing to nil
scents of pear, lucky charms cereal dust, bubble yum gum



starts out sour as hell,but pear sweetness is trying to break out
but it remains mainly sour, that's the point , right?


finish reminds me of sweet tarts! great wild ale from three floyds! i'll buy again!