New Beer Sunday (week 562)

Solid beer from Mispillion, if you get a chance give their other beers a try.

 

Will definitely make a point of it now, thanks.

 

There's a cadre of BAs who seem to like to hit up the aforementioned Max's, and from what I see, there's good reason. The GF and I have it on our radar to head there one day, sometime. Maybe if we plan ahead I could ping the community, as I consider doing on occasion.

 

...I've been wanting to try this beer for a few years now. Now that Ballast Point is finally here (in Michigan), I CAN TRY IT. $3 12oz bottle poured into a Sam Adams Perfect Pint. Evidently bottled November 18th ... holy hell. 11 days ago. Can't get too much fresher than that, no?

Appearance: Looks stouty -- pitch black. There's about two fingers of a brown head with a soapy consistency. Quite a bit of thick lacing. Very nice looking beer.

Smell: Dark coffee, roasty malt, and then just a little bit of vanilla on the "aftersmell." Nothing else to it, but I don't think there needs to be.

Taste/feel: Bitter black coffee when it's straight out of the fridge -- like really, cold, bitter black coffee, just with a little more depth of flavor and a slightly thicker mouthfeel. Almost like coffee grounds, but not in an unpleasant way, fortunately. There's only a very subtle vanilla flavor in the aftertaste. The feel is very porter-ish -- that is to say not very thick, too drinkable (especially at 10%), and pretty well carbonated.

Very good stuff -- doesn't taste like I imagined it would though. I pictured a thicker feel (despite being labeled a porter), a little more sweetness and vanilla, and a bit less coffee. That isn't to say I'm disappointed -- I'm definitely not. This is one of the best coffee beers I've had, and it comes at a fabulous value. This beer really becomes special once it warms up, so make sure to enjoy it after it's been out of the fridge awhile. Everything seems to come together even better at that point: the vanilla comes out more, it's a little less bitter... it's just a treat. Seek this one out and try it as soon as you can if you haven't already. Very good, dangerously easy drinking stuff.

4.33/5

 

Just hit me up in advance. I'm there early (Just So You Know). I avoid crowds so I get there in the morning.

 

No problem, it's nice to have another good brewery in DE besides DFHsince Evo left for MD.

 

If I lived close to Baltimore, I'd go to Max's all the time. The one time I went there, I had a great time!

 

Next up, a Cherry Doppelschwarz from Leinie's.



I will admit, I approached this with some trepidation, but the cherries sucked me in - and I don't like fruit in my beer. But cherries are my favorite fruit, and it was the cherries that made this very good. The schwarz lent the inky black beer a smoky flavor, and the sweetness and flavor of the cherries kicked this up about 3 notches. I'm not a fan of Leinies' "base" beers, but the Big Eddy series is very good, and this beer fits into that category - very good. Rated 4.0 here:

http://www.beeradvocate.com/beer/profile/710/134395/

 

Worked through two I've seen the dynamic duo (among others) post over in WBAYDN. Both are Michigan beers from breweries I was interested in trying more from: Short's and Odd Side. Both are officially courtesy of 1/2 of said duo, @beergorrilla.


The Queen Bee is beer that brings two styles I can do without together in a beer. Honey beer and amber ale. It actually does a good job. It's a strange beer, but has the notes from honey beer (little sweet, but actually more floral in nature) and amber ale malt profile. There's an extra bitterness in this beer that seals the "wouldn't turn this down ever", as it adds an interesting spicy note.

I Want My HTV is a really solid pale ale. I assumed with a silly name in might be a crazy beer before looking at it. Citra Pale Ale - count me in. The look (head more so than body) and nose are quite impressive. I had to remind myself "pale ale" after the nose, as I was expecting IPA. The checkboxes are filled for a Citra hopped pale ale (presuming it's the dominant if not sole hop), although the citrus notes took some time to come out. Really it's the unripe grapefruit pith and pine that makes me think Citra, anyhow. However, be patient and let this get above fridge temps before making a final verdict, yourself.

 

Hello NBS peeps. Long day at work today. I spent 7 hours (off and on), of my 12 hour workday stringing a new ethernet cable. It was a total pain in the ass! I was longing for a good beer the whole time. Hopefully this is one.


Brynhildr's Gift Minnesota Farmhouse Juniper Ale 2014 from Olvalde Farm and Brewing Company in Rollingstone, MN

I like the pop of the top of the bottle. It almost pours like motor oil, but has a beautiful golden/amber color to it. There is no head. The nose is very fruiy. I would wager it's the hops and the juniper berries.

Taste - Oh, my gosh is my first reaction. This is delicious. It's got hint of a sour, but not overpowering. I'm not very good at describing all the flavors, but I do know when I like something, and I do like this.
4.5 out of 5

 

Cool. Glad my instincts steered me right. Between Mispillion, DC Brau and maybe some additional Forgotten Boardwalk beers I hope to have many nice things to look for when I'm in that area.

I do have a new one that caught my eye tonight-

Anchor Zymaster Series No. 6- Saaremaa Island Ale

This may be a bit old, but I took a chance on it because it's more yeast-based than hop based. First impressions are: I really, really like it! Very fruity with an undercurrent of spices, but most of it seems to be coming from that supposedly distinct yeast. Second impression- this has aspects of English, Belgian and German yeast signatures, and is really hard to pinpoint which is which, yet it's immediately familiar in a strange way. I'm getting bananas, apples, berries, slight cloviness, coriander, grapes (hell, yeah, grapes- midway through and white grapes/sauternes is coming on big time!), orange peel, cotton candy(!!!), vanilla. Damn, this is crazy in a way but it's also all so complementary with one another that the shifts are seamless. Big props to Anchor for making this a straight pale ale type recipe and letting this stuff do its thing. 3/4ths of the way through I'm picking up remnants of Steam's toasty malt/minty hop signature, so I suppose there is the house signature, but it's quite nuanced.

Just because I'm left wanting more it gets an A (4.5). I would happily drink gallons of this beer right now; I can't imagine how good it was fresh! Anchor please use this yeast again!!!

 

Good evening NBS BA's. Wrote the review for this, but browser crashed when I tried to post. So, will keep this one short. Been wanting to try this for a while, so here goes!

Black Xantus Imperial Stout 11% ABV | 60 IBUs
Humboldt Brewing Co.



Pours pure black with a thin tan head that was gone by the time I took the picture. Smell is that of coffee, raisins, bourbon and vanilla. First sip, roasty coffee, caramel, vanilla, dark fruit blend wonderfully with bourbon for a nice bitter finish. Not much carbonation and not a coffee bomb in any way, which is good because you can easily taste all the elements on the very first sip. Overall, I really enjoyed this one, and I am finding that as you go down the glass, you will feel a bit more of that 11% ABV heat, but not too much. I would definitely buy again! Cheers!

 

New Beer Sunday: A Belgian Quad.

Evenin NBSers, with special greetings to those quaffers of quads to be sipped rather than slurpped.

The day started of with gentle scattered showers which just happened to blanket the area where we live so today was chilly, damp and dreary. Spent a large part of the day puttering around the house working out ways to deal with that vagrant mouse that is trying to make our casa his casa. This little guy (or gal) has developed some sophisticated tastes and so far has resisted the temptations of peanut butter on the mouse trap triggers (which is usually the most certain bait I've ever found), preferring to go instead after chocolate and chips. However, we think the creature is cornered and will soon be out of the house. (I hope... ).

This evening's new beer is the Straffe Hendrik Quad from De Halve Maan Brewery in Brugge, Belgium. While not as well known as some of the other Quads or Belgian breweries my feeling is that this beer and Brewery are in a position to establish a name for themselves. (This is my third beer from the Brewery and each has been well worth drinking.)

As usual my review (which is subject to revision until the beer is finished) can be found here:

http://www.beeradvocate.com/beer/profile/268/63185/?ba=drtth

The beer is nicely complex, has the dark orchard fruit qualities we've come to expect from a Quad and displays some interesting changes as it warms to room temperature. Just as I think I've got the flavor profile nailed down it changes on me. (Hmmm, a bit like trying to catch this mouse in the house.... )

To match the mood of the afternoon/evening I've had some music by Grieg on the player. One of the very first, if not the first, pieces of classical music I learned to enjoy was the Peer Gynt suite No. 1, with its well known and widely appreciated segment "In the Hall of the Mountain King," which is even liked by folks who don't think they like Classical Music. (Also, in some ways this piece captures the spirit of the mouse hunt currently taking place in this house... )

The Peer Gynt Suites by Grieg.

 

Late to offer 3 new beers: all great early winter brews. Wookey Jack & Moralité tie for best new IPAs.

Wookey Jack - Firestone Walker
4.24/5 rDev 0%
look: 4 | smell: 4.25 | taste: 4.25 | feel: 4.25 | overall: 4.25
Black IPA, Hoppy Stouts and Strong Ales - these are among my favorites. Firestone delivers.
A: A two-finger off white, dense head over a dark body with lots of lacing.
S: Very hoppy with pine, grass, pepper and a bit of tart citrus. The roasted malts are mild.
T: Roasted malt core with great chocolatey mouth feel and flavor on which ride the hops - mostly pine, earth, and grassy, with floral and fertile over ripe layers. Good meditation beer.
M: Good feel, full body and lighter carbonation. Nicely dry late in the finish.
O: Firestone builds a great Black IPA long with the best.

Moralité - Brasserie Dieu du Ciel
4.19/5 rDev -1.4%
look: 4.25 | smell: 4 | taste: 4.25 | feel: 4.25 | overall: 4.25
On tap at Bier Market Montreal.
A slight haze in a golden body, a few lazy bubbles that sustain a finger of foam that laces crazily.
S Odd fall grass and hay with peaches, tangerine, guava, pine, and toasted caramel.
T Follows the smell with more prickly, pine, hay, wet fall leaves, peppery bitterness all the way to the finish. Chalky in as great european beers.
F Chalky medium bodied with a bitter snap, lots of grit, low carbonation.
O Another odd but great, chalky, bitter IPA from Quebec.

One-Eye - Horny Goat Brewing Co.
3.93/5 rDev +5.9%
look: 3.75 | smell: 3.75 | taste: 4 | feel: 4 | overall: 4
I'm pleased to write the 4th review of One-Eye. I like it more as it warms.
A - Pours hazed, golden-orange, with a half finger head that slow fades, leaves initial but later not much lace.
S - Mild aroma, which grows as it warms, into white bread with piney and tropical fruit.
T - The taste is big and sweet up front, and then the hop presence asserts to balance, earthy, spicy, peppery, piney and floral. Overall, earthy and fall like flavors.
F - finish offers long, lingering grassy floral hops with a resin and earth. Medium bodied, and oily mouthfeel.
Original and true to a one-eyed goat shaman.

 

Yeah, you may be correct. I didn't consider their tiny populations and I know Oregon has a ton of breweries as does Washington.

 

Beer #2

http://www.beeradvocate.com/beer/profile/24745/103950/?ba=GRPunk

3.74/5 rDev +1.9%
look: 4.25 | smell: 4 | taste: 3.5 | feel: 3.75 | overall: 3.75

Jake's Vanilla Porter
12oz. Bottle ($1.79 from Copper Vine), no date, poured into a nonic pint

A- A normal pour creates 1 finger of light brown head. The body is very dark brown, near black. The head keeps to a medium film and leaves awesome rings.

S- Roasted dark malts mix with vanilla to create a French vanilla coffee aroma. Hints of dark chocolate.

T- Pretty flavorful. Roasted and charred malts with light vanilla sweetness. Hopping is lighter, but comes across in the end as slightly minty.

M- Medium full body. Moderate carbonation. Pleasantly grainy.

O- It's a really solid porter. With vanilla on the lighter side, it's an easy drinker, but it doesn't set itself apart. I might not choose it over an Edmund Fitz, Bell's, or Founders, but it's not too far off.

4.25 4 3.5 3.75 3.75

★ 805 characters

 

Hmm, was this Glasboro? If so, have you found Hops and Grapes yet?

 

In support of your plight I have chosen to boycott buying BCBS and variants indefinetly. (Especially since I've tried the base BCBS and don't find it enough better that what I can buy off the shelf around SEPA. )

 

Just take care you don't drink it too young. There are some who'd suggest that @Sixpoint was commiting "infanticide" drinking last year's bottling.... .

 

Yes! I did see that one over the summer when we moved my son into the dorm (we were eating at the sushi place nearby), and it looked promising, so thanks for the pointer. I just felt the need to hit up Canal's first. This is probably only going to happen when it's just me; when the family is all together I can't see having the time to go beer hunting. Still, a couple of times a year isn't so bad .