New Beer Sunday (week 557)

Happy birthday to your wife. She is truly a special person! I started to write what was turning into a long monologue and decided against it. Happy birthday to her my friend!

 

I wasn't going to do two new beers today, but whatever.

Another "craft" brew from the dark side -- I'm sorry, but it's all I have left. I promise to bring the goods next Sunday.

But seriously, twisted pretzel wheat sounded good. In fact, the wheat beer offers everything. There's almost no concoction of the wheat beer that i will not try. I don't like fruity beers, but almost any fruity wheat beer is worth a try. My favorite is the dark wheat beer style .... speaking of?

Shock Top Twisted Pretzel Wheat is defined as an American Pale Wheat Ale on BA, and simply a Witbier on Untappd. To me it's APWA, but really a dark wheat which is such a minuscule category that it probably isn't worth mentioning.

The beer is semi-clear amber with a nice light cream colored head. The head stays around, teasingly, but by the time the beer is half-way gone, there's nothing remaining. No lacing.

The aroma is amazing. I scored it 4.25 as it smells exactly like dark roasted bread, salt ... well, okay, it smells exactly like a salted pretzel. I love the aroma.

The taste ... it starts off way too sweet. The sweetness is annoying. Under the sticky candy sugar is indeed a slightly toasted grain component with a dash of salt, so the idea still remains, but the taste is ruined from cloying sweetness.

Mouthfeel is medium, kinda sticky.

Overall, 3.31 rating which is iffy. It's amazing how one component kills a beer. If this beer was a bit more hearty in the taste and had less cloying sweetness it would be pretty awesome. Oh well. I generally avoid anything Shock Top, but I got lured. Just another reminder to listen to the instincts. About time to go watch the Kansas City Chiefs lose, because KC is a one horse town, and clearly the Royals own it.

 

New Norse Ale Sunday



HaandBryggeriet Odin's Tipple Dark Norse Ale

Not only my first Odin's Tipple, but my first Dark Norse Ale.

Pours a plum-tinted black with a thin milk-chocolate-colored head that's slow to build. Instead of rings or columns, it laces in little dots.

There's an intense aroma of plums, chocolate, roasted malts and coffee. First thing I notice upon sipping is the thick, almost chewy mouthfeel. The taste is quite smooth, with the aromas nicely blended, and then a slight bitterness on the back end.

It's like a cross between a doppelbock and a roasty stout. Great beer.

Have a great Sunday.

 

Drinking this Oskar Blues IPA, canned 10/17, watching the game online...

lol I know!
...looks like the Bills pulled themselves back into it, but they seem determined to make as many mistakes as possible...

Dig the color commentary... Do you (or anybody) know who the guys are that are in the booth with Kevin Harlan and Rich Gannon? I like how they're each pulling for a different team - it's fun to hear...

Holy shit! Buffalo just took the lead on a pick six!
Man, however bad Buffalo fans have had it throughout this game, Jaguar fans have had it worse...

Meanwhile...

Had the back-end of the beer with some scallop cakes and sliced avocado...

The OB IPA reminded me a bit of a Two Hearted... It had a faint dankness, with some bite and a hint of chew; citrus elements, akin to grapefruit pith, were woven into a mild, pine resin-like aspect. Grains were clean, fresh, and chewy. Tight bitterness lingers behind the medium-light body. Ample carbonation brings a wash of fizz with it.

Real nice-drinking IPA.

Cheers...

 

SHARK ALERT!!!



Tornado Shark proves our "American strong ale" category is truly a catch-all. It also proves Lone Pint makes fantastic beers regardless of style.

I fully expected this brew to be an Arrogant Bastard knockoff or a piney American DIPA disguised in a darker color. Wrong big time. It's a malt-bomb with very tame hop bitterness and almost no major hop flavor. It's more of a doppelbock doppelganger than anything else ... and so good! Huge sweet malt aromas and flavors dominate throughout with toasted bread malt, dark fruit, chocolate and a bit of oak wood mixing in as the main participants. Seriously, if you stuck this in a Paulaner Salvator label, I'm not sure I'd be able to tell the difference. Amazing beer from one of Texas' best little breweries.

http://www.beeradvocate.com/beer/profile/30380/94220/?ba=Premo88
4.17 (+7.8% rDev)

Lone Pint is known for Yellow Rose, Texas' highest-rated American IPA, and it's fantastic. At the brewery I had a really good pale wheat beer that I hope they make again, and their SMaSH series is one hit after another. I had no idea they could work this much magic on the malt side of things. God bless Lone Pint!

I've missed a few Sundays getting to hang out with y'all but it's been for good reasons: (in rough chronological order) Ray Wylie Hubbard at Texas Reds, Fort Worth trip to see good friends including Sir Admiral Halsey the Cat, and the Texas Renaissance Festival to see Sound & Fury, birds and people dressed up as extras in a bad fantasy movie --

(my Fort Worth connection scored some of this and kindly shared)



Cheers!

 

Good afternoon from a cloudy overcast central NH. So no raking of leaves today as the rain this morning took care of that idea. I did a little beer chasing yesterday as I managed to hit the Tributary release of Mott the Lesser and also the release of Nefarious at Garrison City. My SO was more than kind to go along spent 2 hours in line at Tributary so I could get 4 bottles instead of 2. There was no wait at Garrison City so that was nice. Had a great Lunch at York River Landing between releases.
We did have a scare at Garrison City as there were mobs of Zombies roaming the streets of Dover yesterday.

But we managed to elude them and collected our beer.
Ah yes this is NBS but in keeping with the spirit that is upon us this time of year I decided that todays beer should be Frankenlager from Smuttynose Big Beer Series

This beer poured a slightly hazy golden color into my snifter glass a nice lacy white head on top.
The nose of this beer is quite subdued a lot more of the lager yeast and breadiness in the nose with some faint hints of pine and citrus.
The taste is by far the best part a great combination of fruit, pine and wonderful flavors of the lager yeast. After the week nose I had be concerned but for some reason the nose is soft but the taste is strong and crisp.
The carbonation is on point with a nice smooth mouth feel.
This was my first venture into this member of there big beer series but if I can find a couple more bottles I'll enjoy as much as this I am sure.
I'll be back a little later on but I'm making Chicken and Dumplings for dinner tonight so have some work ahead of me.

 

First time for the topper!!


Now off to the rebellion. It is a very good nbs.

 

Was lucky enough to pick this up at Holy Mountain during my trip to Seattle a few weeks back. Enjoying this after my usual Sunday morning run and trip to the farmer's market (mixing the healthy and perhaps less healthy )






Holy Mountain Brewing
The Seer: Foudre Aged Hoppy saison
6.5% abv (on the bottle)
No bottle date but purchased 10/1/15 at the brewery

A: pours cloudy orange yellow with several fingers of creamy head.
S: get sugary pineapple juice, guava initially and then musty, farmhouse funk from the brett. Get some spices and esters from the saison yeast.
T: Upfront get fruit notes from the nose (pineapple, guava, apple skins) followed by spicy clove and black peppercorns, and funky hay, dried leaves and slight oakiness. finises crisp, lingering bitterness, pepper and slight plastic note
M: medium, initially creamy but there is a crispness in the finish.
O: I really enjoyed this beer, especially the light fruitiness from the hops and brett and complex farmhouse underlying. This sort of toes the line between hoppy saison, Belgian ipa and brett ipa. Only complaint is that the finish is a little bitter if they're going to call it a saison (maybe a combination of the hops and foudre aging?).

Cheers BA!

 

This brew pours a 50% opaque amber, this means it is also 50% clear, . Lots and lots of carbonation. There is a two finger white fluffy head which sinks down to a 3mm head which remains on the top until the end.

The smell is wheaty, yeasty, full of sweet malts and candy, bubble gum, apples and creamy. There is a lot going on here.

The taste follows the nose with lots of sweet malts and candy taste. Bubble gum follows along with apples. The brew is slightly grainy and creamy at the same time. There is also a slight undertone of roasted malts. The feel is smooth and creamy; it goes down easily with no aftertaste. This is one sweet Amber.

 

A good day to you, tripel-treaters and gosey-ghouls, it's approaching that holiday I refuse to celebrate. However, I celebrate every possible Sunday with NBS. It's a blustery, overcast day up here in the hinterlands of nuh-when-jah (NWNJ). I've been on hiatus a few Sundays due to fiscal restrictions, but I'm back for the time being. The good news: two interviews tomorrow. the bad news? UI benefits running out soon, so I'm hopeful on the outcome of tomorrow. Anyone here work in a pet shop and have a love for those things cold-blooded? (Reptiles and amphibians, not lawyers and senators).

As always, I'll plug my beer blog, complete with this week's NBS review. Poke around there, you might find something intriguing (like my interview with my local, favorite brewery Angry Erik). The owner liked my piece so much, she put it on Facebook.

On the docket: Southern Tier’s 2XIBA. Born on date: 7/21/15. Not the freshest, but certainly within acceptable standards.


Poured into: Snorkel Snifter with gusto.


S: A head so khaki it makes my Docker’s look inept. I might say “nice pants.” Thick, uniform, thousands of microscopic bubbles. Thorough but soapy lacing. Underneath this nice set of pants, the body shows off a deep, dark, brown-black with a pleasant orange glow at the base, but you really have to look for it. Set behind the powder blue octopus and yellow lettering on the outside of the snifter, it’s quite artistic.


A: Hops greet you immediately with pine, mango, melon trio. A dark roasted malt aroma follows, with just a hint of sweetness and boozy heat. Faint whispers of raisin or another dark fruit and molasses.


T: I need to describe the experience back to front: Scorpion-shell dryness and a sting of bitter hoppiness. Mid-way through the smooth oats and dark, rum-like sugar sweetness. It starts roasty, with pumpernickel bread which carries into the middle.


F: Medium light, smooth due to the use of oats- definitely sense the “oatmeal stout” fluffiness. Prickly carbonation, enough to lift some of the sweetness away. It’s hard to see the bubble activity due to the SRM that must be about 40 or so. Dry finish, it’s a good thing because of the sugar present in the brew. Despite the 8% abv, no alarming sense of heat from the alcohols.


O: ST beings you a dark party in your mouth. It’s complex, a balance of dark, bitter, sweet, and creamy. These guys seldom disappoint. I’d love to try this fresh out of the tank. I’d call this a one-at-a-time brew due to the intensity of the palate (2IPA strength not withstanding). Fans of Carton’s Epitome or Founder’s Dark Penance would enjoy this (I loved both). Nice spin on ADAs with the addition of the Muscovado sugar, you can taste it.


Suggested food pairing: a tough one, but perhaps tangy barbecue pulled-pork sliders, Danish bleu cheese, bread pudding or dark chocolate brownie

 

Second beer on New Wee Heavy Sunday...


Bottled 09/30/2015 and listed at 11.6%

Founders Backwoods Bastard

Founders Brewing Company
Scotch Ale / Wee Heavy / 10.20% ABV

4.47/5 rDev +5.4% | Avg: 4.24
look: 4 | smell: 4.5 | taste: 4.5 | feel: 4.5 | overall: 4.5

L-Dark, Dark brown almost black with a 1/2 inch off white head. The head recedes to a half centimeter ring with excellent lacing.
S-Malty sweetness with traces of bourbon and hints of roast.
T- a complex mix of malty sweetness, bourbon, caramel and alcohol throughout. Finishes with alcohol warmth.
F- Mouthfeel is thinner than the taste suggests. All the flavor of a stout with the mouthfeel of an ale. A really great combo which makes it stand out.
O-One of the best beers I've ever tasted. My new favorite wee heavy moving just ahead of Old Chub. I'll be buying this whenever I see it.

This was one of the best beers I've ever had. A desert island beer for me.

 

Greetings, fellow NBSers,

Today it’s currently 37 degrees and “fair” in the city by the Idaho city by the lake. I was woken up early this AM (after falling asleep around midnight) by my clue-impaired upstairs neighbor stomping around at around 5:30 and loudly watching Doctor Who (he tends to binge watch various sci-fi things at random times, along with his girlfriend with the hyena laugh). Ah, apartment life…

On Tuesday, I visited Bellwether Brewing, a new, nano-ish brewery in an old auto shop north of the river on one of the north-south arterials. They’ve only been open a month, and are sitting on the approval queue right now. They seem to specialize in old-world styles, like braggots, which I know very little about, and had a surprisingly tasty beer called Albion that is essentially a strong ale brewed with heather in place of hops (listed at 8.4%abv and 0 IBUs!). They also had a great citra IPA as a guest tap from a super stealth nano called Whistlepunk : here’s a little info - http://www.spokane7.com/blog/2015/oct/01/bellwether-report/

My fortunes seemed to prosper football-wise until last night. Thursday, the ‘hawks got it done convincingly against the Niners, though I take no real solace in the fact that their wins are generally against teams that could best be described as Viking Death Ships. EWU won in dramatic fashion with a final seconds FG against the best Northern Colorado team there’s been since they moved up to the FCS level. Oh, and the dude in my avatar caught 20 passes and broke three records, including one by an obscure lad named Jerry Rice. All the Huskies had to do was complete the hat trick, but they were up against Stanford and had to start a QB that hadn’t been good enough to win the starting job over a true freshman earlier this year, so they went down the tubes with a resounding thud.

While listening to that game on the radio and reading Charlie LeDuff’s “Detroit: An American Autopsy” (great read: Kinda gonzoish, former NYT writer moves home and take a job at the dying Detroit News, grim but fascinating stuff about a city I spent a lot of time in as a kid), I had a “Rye India Pale Lager” (description on the chalk board at Orlison’s Tap Room) that’s listed here on BA as an Imperial Pilsener: http://www.beeradvocate.com/beer/profile/20173/124992/?ba=woemad

I quite liked it, and would drink it again, though the $10 grunt price is a little excessive for regular at-home drinking. Now that I know the general tap room hours (still not listed on the door or their website, and by now I suppose never will), I can envision myself drinking a pint of it whenever I stop by.

On deck today is a contract brewed BBA coffee stout from a state that has something that by skullduggery and general d-baggedness is no longer in my state (What? Me? Bitter?). I'll hit it sometime later today in between checking on my fantasy football team (itself a bit of a Viking Death Ship this week) and catching up on some chores.

 

Good day NBS, thanks to Maria for getting us started and keeping the focus.
A bit gloomy here in WMass, but the colors are wonderful! Today is a trip a bit north to
Quebec and the fine folks at Le Trou Du Diable and their version of
the Four Surfers, a nice mash up of styles, a hop forward Wit with a full body.
Quite nice. Enjoy the day.
Cheers all

Les Quatres Surfeurs De L'Apocalypso

Le Trou Du Diable
American IPA / 6.50% ABV

3.88/5 rDev -2% | Avg: 3.96
look: 3.75 | smell: 3.75 | taste: 4 | feel: 4 | overall: 3.75

Poured from bottle into the trusty modified tulip glass.
A - Lazy trails of carbonation meander through a rather clear autumn yellow, congregating in a
loose frothy cap. Lacing clings in white abstract through the experience.
S - Spicy grains, lemon drop, piney notes, and a yeasty warm bread rising. A bit confounding and
rich.
T - Hop forward witbier, true to its label, some white pepper, tropical touch hides in the mix. A pleasant
candied orange flavor, blends well with the hint of deciduous.
M - Medium bodied, has a few edges that keep the palate on notice. The finish takes some time, with a
slightly sweet linger.
O - I quite like this offering, the hop schedule and the graininess are well done.
Cheers

 

What's up my Sunday friends, been a long week of nothingness... weather her in SE CT is a typical fall day here (cold, rainy) just downrite shitty out !! spent the morning tidying up the house for yet another showing today (in fact tomorrow is another one) then doing leaves trying to make the yard look nice. so to make myself scarce i went to my mom in laws to do.... more yard work, yeeah !! at least i get to have this beast first

got a case of these at the store the other day and figured i'd give it a shot:
look: a nice carmely copper color with almost no head on it
smell; i'd be pressed to say that this smells like some of the finest dubbel's that ive tried, malty, bready goodness
taste: see above, technically they call this an eisbeer but i'll be damned if it doesnt go down really smooth and taste all the figgy goodness that i love about some belgian beers

gonna have to say i'd drink this again, gonna put a couple away as well, something strange and new to me here. here's a clip from their website describing it better than i could:


On January 5, 2014 our founders, Brent and Derek, braved the elements during an impressive Newport snowstorm to make our first ever snow beer. Armed with shovels, sleds and a multiple layers of clothing, the crew spent 8 hours transferring 1300 gallons worth of melted snow into our brew kettle. Canadian Wheat and Pale Malt were mashed in with the melted snow and German Magnum and Tradition hops were used to tame this snow beast of a brew. Classic hefeweizen yeast was used to ferment this winter’s harvest and during conditioning a small percentage of water was frozen out of the beer to intensify the unique flavors. Amber hued, this year’s ’14 boasts playful but intense characteristics. The hefeweizen yeast invokes banana and subtle clove aromas inviting sip after interesting sip of this sweet and warming brew.

When it comes to brewing the Annual Release the rules are, there are no rules. However, we made an exception for ‘14 and vowed to use only snow. The countless trips from brew yard to brew house paid off in the end. Correct us if we’re wrong, but we do believe we’ve crafted the world’s first snow beer for you drinking pleasure.

BEER SPECS
MALTS:Canadian Malted Wheat, Canadian Pale Malt

HOPS: German Magnum, German Tradition

YEAST: American Ale

WATER: Hand shoveled snow, melted in kettle

OG: 23.3 plato FG: 4.9 plato SRM:24.7 IBU:15.5 ABV: 11.4%


as always my friends enjoy you sunday's. till next week luv ya bye

 

Hey everyone. First time on the NBS so I hope I don't mess this up.

Today I am trying Alewerks Cafe Royale which they describe as "Stout Brewed with Coffee and Aged in Bourbon Barrels." I will do my best to describe this beer.





Poured into my Duvel tulip it was black with a nice cocoa brown head that is thick and creamy but mostly dissipated within a minute. It did hold on around the edges of the glass and left only minimal lacing. The smell is sweet roasty malts, coffee, chocolate notes and a very faint mellow bourbon smell. The taste follows the nose as the coffee, chocolate malts, sweetness and bourbon meld together nicely without one flavor standing out. This is an incredibly well balanced and pleasant beer.

Here is how I rated the beer for my official review.
look: 4.5 | smell: 4 | taste: 4.5 | feel: 4.5 | overall: 4.5

I had been avoiding Alewerks after trying their regular offerings when they arrived in NC earlier this year and finding them to be average. I will no longer do that. I will just look for special beers like this.

Cheers everyone.

 

Oh, great, now another person I will have to fight for this beer . I may even have to join you on that island.

This has turned into New Snowglobe Sunday - I was not expecting this:


About 2/3 of the way through the moderate pour, I started seeing the stream of liquid turn dark as it came out of this bottle of Dark Horse Scary Jesus Rock Star. I ended up leaving a little bit in the bottom of the bottle, and even tried decanting into another glass, and that helped ever so slightly. The darker beer with the whiter globules I think gives this beer perhaps an even uglier look than the Java Flower Power.

The nose has a hint of apricot but more of a ginger snap spice, funny enough. The Chamomile mixing with the fruit I think mixes to give me this weird scent.

Cold, I got a tart apricot hit up front and a weird taste in back that I thought the beer could be bad. These impressions have faded. Taste is more tea-like overall, and the beer is lacking in feel - although that may be caused partially by the double-pour. The end involves a tea-like dryness and the continued herbal tea notes on the tongue.

Since I wasn't sure this was normal, I will not do a formal review, but this ended up being more tea-like than beer-like. Interesting, probably would end up in the 3.4-3.5 range, but it was a whim purchase, and I don't see a need to take another chance on it.

 

New @cjgiant's Beer Sunday

It had been a few weeks since I have been able to share a new beer here. Doesn't mean I stopped drinking them though. I may link a few recent ones later, but for now...

4.4/5 rDev +4.8%
look: 4.25 | smell: 4.25 | taste: 4.5 | feel: 4.25 | overall: 4.5

Bottled in March of '15. Poured into a Dogfish Head snifter.

It is almost pitch black in color. Slight ruby hues in the light. A frothy tan head that is very impressive and lasting for a barrel aged beer.

Tons of bourbon dominates the aroma. Vanilla, chared oak, alcohol, and even the mash bill junp right out. Their is subtle chocolate and roasted malts in the background.

The chocolate is much more prevalent in the flavor. Especially in the aftertaste. Fairly sweet initially, with oak, vanilla, and molasses. Then some charred flavors along with a lightly bitter milk chocolate and maltiness.

The carbonation is a tad prickly, but otherwise I am really impressed by the mouhfeel. The body approaches those blurred lines (not Robin Thicke and Marvin Gaye style) of stout - porter. Especially considering it is a barrel aged beer.

I highly recommend this one. I think my favorite aspect may be the ABV. You usually don't come across a quality beer like this under 10-12%, and this one comes in at 9. Easy to polish of a bomber on a Sunday afternoon and not time travel to Monday. For me it is as good as Framminghammer, maybe better.

I spent most of the past 3 days doing work for one of our fundraisers for our 17 acre park in our metropolis of 700 people. My chili cook off recipe didn't fare well this year, but I wasn't surprised. I was surprised that my youngest brother took the public vote with his first entry ever. It was too sweet, but I guess that is what the crowd was looking for this year. That, and 6 lbs of bacon probably didn't hurt. I will leave you with a few pictures of the fading foliage.

 

Glad you liked it, and I personally think that's a fine NBS post. If you liked this, and get a chance to try the Bourbon Porter, consider it. I do think AleWerks flagships are pedestrian, but most of the non-standard offerings have been well made at worst to damn good at best (your beer one of the latter). Their Pumpkin Ale is near the top of my favorites for the style (for what that's worth) - and I think they have a small release Pumpkin Porter in spirit barrels that I'd be interested in trying if it makes it up to NoVa.

Cheers!

ROFL - late edit: See!?!?

 

Well Done, @FriedSlug !!! Great pics & an enticing description. Get back here weekly!