New Beer Sunday (week 559)

New Fresh Hop Lager Sunday

Greetings NBSer's and fellow insomniacs,
I was a great sleeper for the first 45 years of my life but for the past decade+ less so. I need less sleep, which is usually a good thing, and occasional middle of night waking. I too have found getting up is much better than staying in bed tossing and turning. Probably not as productive as many have stated, but I do a lot of reading and listening on the computer.
Sunny and seasonably warm in SCMN, unfortunately it's quite windy...and I hate being outside when it's windy. And I have so much to do. <sigh>.
Picked this NBS beer because there aren't too many fresh hop lagers and this was deserves some notice. Compared to the past few years the German Pils aspect is more subdued - less graininess and a little less bitter. For those fond of Citra a nice little treat.
http://www.beeradvocate.com/beer/profile/417/197023/?ba=garymuchow

Hope the world it treating you well.

 

We just finished a brisk 3.5 mile walk around the loop here at home. The wind was a little cold at times I guess it is expected being Nov. 8th.
I fished another beer out of my Sierra Nevada Snow Pack box when I got back and since it was the 2nd beer in the box that was new to me I decided to give it a try. Sierra Nevada Snow Wit a white IPA according to the bottle.

This beer poured a light orangey yellow color in my snifter glass. A nice foamy white head on top.
The nose is mostly an earthy bready type of aroma. Not much of a hop aroma that I could find.
The taste followed the nose for the most part earthy bready with almost a little funky (a slight Brett like taste possibly) even though they list it as having a Belgian Style yeast. There is a sharp bitterness to the finish of this beer.
The mouth feel is smooth.
To me this a beer that needs to come in a mix pack as I could see no way I would ever buy it again on it's own. I guess when 3 out of the 4 beers in a mix pack are good you just got to live with the 4th. Perhaps they should have called this something other than a white IPA.

 

Well the temperature got a little cooler here today (it's only in the mid 50's but that is better than that 68 degree dew point we had yesterday) so I have decided to try a rum barrel aged monster from Avery that was sent to me by @warrendietrich2001. This bad boy cannot be sold in NC as we have a 15% cap and this bad boy come in at 18%. Needless to say I am sipping this one and will have to follow with some H2O if I want to have more today. Here is the pics.





And here are my thoughts.

A pumpkin pie colored liquid with a light tan head that leaves only a speck of lacing here or there. The smell is reminiscent of a pumpkin pie that someone soaked in rum. There is a crust like bread smell with rum, caramel sweetness, nutmeg, clove, cinnamon and fresh pumpkin. The taste is all of this. At the first sip it tastes like a pumpkin pie brûlée. The breadiness plays with this to round out the whole pie experience. The rum then takes over and brings some of the pie spice along for a fiery ride. There is a burn like you would expect from a 18% beast but the sweetness keeps it in check. This is a great beer that screams for a cold fall night and a raging fire.

4.28/5 rDev +7%
look: 4.25 | smell: 4.25 | taste: 4.25 | feel: 4.5 | overall: 4.25

Cheers all. I might be back with a wet hopped entry later but that depends on how this one treats me.

 

New American IIPA Sunday (week 559)

Greetings fellow NBSers from on the ridge in Mid Hud Val, NY. Beautiful day that had a chilly start but has reverted to our pattern lately of Indian Summer gone wild. Crazy hard day of work. Don't know how anyone could mistake a roll off of plastic with a roll off of steel, but someone put 2 metal exercise machines into the plastic while I was arranging cardboard, and out of sight of them. Hard to get them out, but necessary. Sometimes I wish there were two of me. No record setter today, but a crazy busy day that forced me to stay forty minutes after closing to accommodate it all where it belonged. We recycle with a vengeance 'round here. To all those who also take moments to care for our Mother, thanks!

This beer is another let down from the Harpoon 100 Barrel series, a really hit or miss line of small batch offerings. Had high hopes too, since it was a collaboration with Deschutes. Overpriced, underflavored, no flaws but a beer best left on shelf in favor of other offerings IMO. Haven't had a -21 rdev in a while but this one deserved it. Full details in my review.

Hope you have a better Great American Beer in your glass than this one. Cheers!

http://www.beeradvocate.com/beer/profile/98/186205/?ba=cavedave



Round, Round, Robin run around, gotta get back to where you belong

 

Good day NBS afficianados! It's a gorgeous sunny but cool day along the southern shore of the Great Lake. It's perfect fall weather to review this big abv. Dragon's Milk variant that I picked up in Michigan last week as I chill on the patio and smoke a turkey. Pouring this beast into a twelve ounce snifter and getting my Thanksgiving on early. Hey, practice makes perfect!

It pours a thin looking cola brown with a minima amount of tan foam. The aroma is milk sugar sweet in nature with some faint barrel. Flavor is sugary sweet followed by some bourbon after the sweetness subsides. There is some vanilla and wet cardboard in the finish. The feel is thin with tooth enamel eroding sweetness. A little burn from the 14% abv., but nothing crazy.



Overall not terrible, but it's too sweet for me. The sugary mess kills any barrel complexity in my opinion. I'd rather pony up more money for something better. I'll cellar the rest for science, or pass a couple along. My score was 3.79 / rDev -10.2%.

The turkey is looking good after a couple of hours. Trying something new before feeding it to the masses on Thanksgiving. Have a great Sunday gang!



Full review.....

http://www.beeradvocate.com/beer/profile/335/181811/?ba=Prager62

 

Sierra Nevada Estate Homegrown IPA 2015. Sierra Nevada brews a lot of top shelf IPA's and this is one of the best of them. A nice deep amber color with a white head thick enough to shave with. Very complex aroma grapefruit, pepper and other spices. The taste takes up where the aroma was going and adds a slightly sweet malt flavor. Nice full mouth feel and an off dry finish.
I really like the idea of an "Estate" beer but don't think many breweries will ever be able to brew one.

 

Yeah!

Cheers!

 

So we're going to stray away from the IPA thing for a bit with this

Isley Brewing Boozy Mother



Pours pitch black and glossy with a forced half inch beige head with lazy, gentle lacing.

Nose presents peanut butter and little else.

Taste is very similar to the nose as peanut butter overwhelms with just a touch of nearly unnoticeable bourbon giving small gints.

Aftertaste is nearly nonexistent, as the watery porter just mosies on off with little fanfare.

 

Good afternoon NBS, hope everyone is having a great Sunday. Starting my Sunday with Weyerbacher D'Tango Unchained. This is Weyerbacher's year, so many great new beer with Sunday Morning Stout, Tart Nouveau with Blood Oranges, Jester Choice series, 20th Anniversary, Double IPA #1 and now this! A very nicely balanced sour!
4.36/5 rDev +3.8%
look: 4.25 | smell: 4.5 | taste: 4.25 | feel: 4.25 | overall: 4.5

750 ml bottle poured into a tulip

A- A clear ruby red with a three finger little tan head. Second pour was slightly hazy.

S- Tart cherries, dark fruits, plums, some caramel malts, brett, funky, some oak, very nice balance between sour and funk.

T- Sour cherries, oak, funky musty finish, hints of cherry skins, plums/dark fruits, caramel malts, nicely balanced.

M- Smooth, dry, medium body.

O- Very well done, makes me want want to pick up the base beer. Weyerbacher has been brewing some great new beers this year and this is another great one, definitely feel like I should age a bottle or two.

★603 characters

 

Look, up in the sky, it's a bird... it's a plane... it's a self-indulgent beer advocate doing three beer reviews in one day (yes, the last one!).

Blue

This week's event was a labor of love. If you've got any ideas for me in the future, drop me a line.

Enjoy, everyone!

 

I've had the variants, but didn't want to age those. This is from June 2014.

Pours a deep brown/black with a thin tan head. Head doesn't last long and forms a thin ring around the glass that stays until the end. Some splatterings of lacing around the glass. Soft and sweet bourbon smell, with oak, vanilla and some chocolate. The smell is fantastic. The taste is a nice vanilla and bourbon flavor. I get oak and some bitter chocolate with sweet and roasted malt. Mouthfeel is medium for a porter, but it is creamy and rich. Carbonation is soft and spot on. A delicious and tasty Baltic Porter with good amount of bourbon and vanilla. Ages very well.

 

Had that a few weeks ago loved it wish I could grab another and 'tango to give a try..

 

I am still alive and kicking after the Rumpkin. I have decided to add another new beer today. The perfect thing after a sweet pumpkin beer is... fresh hops. See if you can guess the beer before scrolling down too far.


If you guessed this you win a beer out of your own fridge.



Here is the review.

This is a really nice wet hop beer. It pours crystal clear and amber/copper color with a nice white head. The beer leaves some nice lacing as it disappears from the glass. The smell is fresh vegetable hops, some sweet malt that is reminiscent of caramel and a little bit of citrus hiding in there. The taste is grassy, herbal, citrusy and malty with a nice bitterness that lingers after the swallow. It isn't as bitter as I would expect but that is ok with this beer. It is a decently balanced wet hop beer that I would drink again.

 

Happy New Quad Sunday!

Happy NBSers,

Very nice sunny, probably upper 40s today in the Western Slope. Actually watching some football today (GB/Carolina) game, just under 4m, getting a little interesting, but ...... This brew for me today, is pretty tasty, liking it very much. Especially with the thread about BBA stuff! Might have another later on.

Not The Stoic - Deschutes Brewery


http://www.beeradvocate.com/beer/profile/63/119700/?ba=Wasatch


Cheers!

 

Weyerbacher kicks ass, very tasty stuff.

Cheers!

 

Just got back from my annual trip to Maine. Tasted lots of awesome brews and brought many more back home with me. Here's Foundation Prototype 11/3/15, a Black IPA.



This is your typical delicious black IPA. If you like them, which I do, this one hits all the right notes. Has a slightly roasty, mostly citrus aroma. Taste is very similar. Big citrus taste, especially for a black IPA. I get some hop bitterness as well, with that roastiness on the back end. Foundation is right next to Bissell Brothers, and I'm happy to say they're following in Bissell Brothers' footsteps, from delicious hoppy beers to 16 oz cans. Cheers!

 

We picked up two new ones to try yesterday. The wife is starting with the stout, and I am trying the Avery IPA = sticky, bitter, and sweet.
http://www.beeradvocate.com/beer/profile/30/2729/?ba=Chickenhawk9932

 

I usually like Brooklyn's offerings but this one just misfired.

3.54/5 rDev -13.9%
look: 3.75 | smell: 3.5 | taste: 3.5 | feel: 3.75 | overall: 3.5

Poured from cork and cage bottle into a snifter. The color resembles black coffee with a thin, milk-white head and lacing. The head dissipated quickly. It has a strong bourbon aroma, together with coffee, caramel, and some chocolate. The smell is rather subdued. I expected a much stronger fragrance of coffee. The taste also differs from my expectation: far less coffee and far more caramel and vanilla. It starts sweet and finishes more sour than bitter. Even the bourbon taste is rather subdued. It doesn't feel like a 11.8% ABV. This porter is lightly carbonated and fairly thin. Overall, I may have picked up a bad batch but I'm rather disappointed. This porter should be right in my wheelhouse but the tastes just don't work. I'm surprised because Brooklyn generally produces very good stouts and porters.

 

New Imperial Stout Sunday

We're having a great day in West MI. I got in my run before the frost melted and was happily surprised to return home to a gluttonous McDonalds breakfast this morning. This afternoon I enjoyed another tasty brew with my wife's Guinness stew while my in-laws visited.

http://www.beeradvocate.com/beer/profile/335/119484/?ba=GRPunk

4.1/5 rDev +10.2%
look: 4 | smell: 4 | taste: 4.25 | feel: 4 | overall: 4

Dragon's Milk Reserve with toasted chilies vintage 2015
12oz bottle (100515) from Copper Vine poured into a Stone IRS snifter.

A- Very dark brown body with reddish hues at the edges. A normal pour creates a thin head that leaves great spotting on the glass.

S- A lot of chocolate. Some woody characteristics that creates a whiskey-like aroma. Any chillies are quite soft providing a sweet and smokey scent.

T- Very flavorful. Bold chocolate and lighter whiskey flavor. The chocolate combines with the peppers in the finish and gives a mole sort of taste. Peppers provide slight heat, and more of a delicate, smokey flavor than any burn.

M- Full body. Carbonation tries to keep up. Peppers provide a nice bite in the finish.

O- A really nice sipper. Just how I like my chilli beers, subtle. Heat really doesn't present itself until the end, and it suits me just fine.

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

 

Looking forward to this one once it is available in Madison.