New Beer Sunday (week 563)

Good morning New BSers! Thank you Maria for the official start, in effect throwing out the first beer of this one day season. Saranac is a brewer we don't see a lot of in my neck of the woods, but I do remember a few years back (prior to my BA days) they made Black Forest and Caramel Porter, both of which I really enjoyed.

While the strange yellow light in the sky is blinding me, keeping me indoors while waiting for the HVAC guy to fix my furnace, I decided to try another beer from a brewery that really has not impressed me. True, I've only tried 17 of their prodigious lineup, but the best personal opinion so far has been "OK".

This is the initial pour:




Corked and caged 25.4 oz bottle for $ 22.99 ($ 0.905/oz) at Consumer’s Beverage, Lancaster, NY
Bottle labeled 1125 BQE Q2 2015 at 42 degrees into Triple Karmeliet chalice. Opened with a resounding “POP”. Allowed to warm to 50 degrees.
Aroma of sour fruit, faint alcohol, and a light organic solvent. No trace of bourbon, rum, or any other barrels.
Head enormous (Ten cm, slightly aggressive pour), light brown, frothy, slooowly diminishing to frothy irregular five to 15 mm ring and heaped frothy partial layer
Lacing poor – just whatever legs remain from the retracting ring, typical for barrel-aged brews
Body dark brown to black, opaque to my beer LED flashlight
Flavor begins sweet with a hodge-podge of flavors, none of which are bourbon, rum, or oak. Some of the ubiquitous “dark fruit” flavors of the typical Belgian quad style are present, but nothing remarkable, fades to a generic sweetness. The alcohol burn begins shortly after ingestion.
Palate medium to full, creamy bordering on sticky, lively carbonation

Appearance 4, Aroma 3, Flavor 3, Palate 4, Overall 3.5. Rating 3.26, Avg 3.56, rDev -8.2%

Final exit thoughts: Not a good quad, just "Eh" in my private ratings system, certainly not justifying the cost/oz. As far as I'm concerned, the fact that it's only brewed once fits perfectly with my drinking goals - Fool me once, shame on you.
Fool me twice, shame on me.

 

Yet another spectacular opening NBS post from Maria. I'll start with a beer that I didn't intend to use today -- my anticipated new beer is still in the fridge, I'm just not ready for it.

Last night was spent drowning in Christmas ales and egg nog, oh .... and tree decorating. It is amazing that I woke up so early, but taking the dog out to pee is always the natural alarm, right? A cup of coffee and starting a fire in the fireplace later (after and Avery Old Jube) I'm ready for NBS.

I found this beer from the brewers of Hobgoblin -- such a great beer -- Wychwood Brewery. Their "winter warmer" is Bah Humbug, a brew clocking in at 5% ABV.

Look: Deep rusty cinnamon body, with a frothy cream colored head that has great retention. Decent bands of lacing in the Sam Smiths nonic pint glass.

Aroma: Lots of dark fruits here, pear, apple, cherry. A spicy cinnamon spice follows.

Taste: Dark fruity tart notes emerge immediately -- cherry, fig, raspberry. A sweeter, malty middle levels out the profile with a dry, woody and slightly spicy finish.

Mouthfeel: Medium bodied, slightly dry.

Overall: You know what? It's a really likable beer that has all of the holiday beer components in it. Sure, a higher ABV would make this better but as a one-off I feel my money is well spent. I did not mention it in the review but there is a slight European-musty undertone in this. Hardly noticeable as I keep drinking. A very fruity, spicy beer. Spot-on for holiday drinking.

Rating: 3.88 +10.9 rDev

 

Wow, talk about an early start!
Thanks for the intro and start Maria. I too am a fan of Saranac, even though it's rare I can get it. Not every beer hits the mark but they are highly drinkable beers and they are like a diesel locomotive, they just keep chugging along.
Be back later with a local beer.

 

No sweat Maria - HVAC guy said he'd be here today between 0800 and 1000 - he's usually pretty good. The house remained 65 degrees overnight with only a small electric heater running - guess doubling the ceiling insulation three years ago and adding wall insulation, house wrap, and new siding this year is paying off.
As far as Brooklyn's rationale in sequential barrel aging, who knows. It definitely didn't work for my palate. Prosit!

 

BTW - I see Maria is now a Poobah. Maybe I'm late to the party but congrats

 

So far, other than a few flurries, no snow. Although I remember last year saying the same thing at this same time, and then getting absolutely hammered in the new year.
I love having four seasons, and feel a little sorry for those that don't. I find I anticipate the arrival of each season and enjoy each one while they are here. It might still be fall on the calendar, but there is a winter feel to the air.
Today is a nice lazy Sunday. I'm relaxing, reading newspapers, My wife and I are going to the movies later, then will do a little Christmas shopping.
As befits the holiday season, I am drinking Smistletoe from Smuttynose. It's billed as a Christmas Ale with natural flavors aged on oak chips, and it is a very nice beer.
It is a pretty dusky rose color. Nicely carbonated, but not much of a head.
The aroma is mostly sweet fruit, with a little spice and oak.
The taste followed the nose. Sweet cherry and plum, some spice, and some vanilla.
Medium-bodied, a little spritzy.
I am looking forward to drinking more of this this holiday season.

 

Good morning Sunday gang. Overcast and cool for us (64) in north Florida; a pleasant morning to sip/talk about beer.

Today I'm trying "Labyrinth Barrel Aged Quadruple Black Ale" (not to be confused with the Labyrinth Stout), part of the Crooked Line series from Uinta Brewing Co., Salt Lake City, Utah.



A black ale brewed with licorice and aged in oak barrels. Bottled 12/05/14 with an ABV of 13.2% and an IBU of 56:



Black as oil pour from 750ml corked bottle; brown/tan head; cap reduced quickly leaving thick lace that rings and clings to the bottom of the glass; no clarity.

Some bourbon and caramel, but mostly oak nose. No Belgian aromas (this is supposed to be a quad - something/anything?).

Flavors of bittersweet chocolate, caramel and oak; there's a dry bitterness alongside a semi sweet toffee; no licorice or Belgian yeast flavors can I find...

Moderate carbonation, dry almost full mouthfeel and somewhat wooden tongue coating.

A big ale, but little evidence of the 13.2% alcohol or for that matter any licorice. My guess is that the licorice faded in the year this aged, the oak mellows, and the malt picked up the slack. A solid 4, but not much more. Cheers!

 

Hey what's going on?!

Geez what a week. Knocked out with a big head cold that killed my sinuses for a week. Couldn't smell nothing for days ergo I had beer I wanted to drink yet could not give it a proper review which really sucked. I am finally though back and in the fold I think and ready to get started. Christmas decorations are up, and let's see what other cheer is available.

What's new for our hero today? This looks interesting and definitely I am overdue for a brew from these guys so this is a good candidate. Belgian style brew with Jalapenos and Piloncillo.... ok...

Señor Saison - Coronado Brewing Company


Coronado Brewing Company - Señor Saison by imbibehour, on Flickr

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Poured from the bottle into a tulip glass.

Great rocky and bright white foaming head, with very bubbles standing at an easy creating three fingers tall. Clumpy retention, and a thick one finger puck that isn't going anywhere. Body color is a slightly opaque lemon to darker apricot yellow, almost kind of orange with just enough fine carbonation to witness through particularly in the middle. A real solid good looking Belgian like brew.

Excellent aroma. Mild pepper heat, and a sweet sense of fruity esters. Slight candi sugar a bit but real nice play on the senses and balance of hinting flavors. The peppers angle is warm, even a bit smokey but totally tolerable and just mouthwatering. Real nice work here on the nose.

Palate brings even a little more surprises and delivers nicely. First sip brings lots of lemon and a touch of sweet like sugared fruit just dusted so slightly. Mid palate fills with a very controlled warm pepper oil that is very complimentary and even soothing. Real nice bready sweetness on the finish giving to excellent fruity peach and almost tropical like qualities. Peppers are more of an accent, as the beer is not hot at all, but does contribute little bursts in places. Mouthfeel is a little flat and milky, but is supportive and lacks a bit of carbonation feel and the classic crisp and dryness is more turned down in favor of malt and estery sweetness.

A pretty neat take using peppers in a different style. This is nicely incorporated and put together, very well done.

look: 4.25 | smell: 4.5 | taste: 4.25 | feel: 4 | overall: 4.25 | BA generated score 4.29

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Nice to have something out of the ordinary once in awhile

 

This one seems to be a bit of a rarity.

3.73/5 rDev -3.1%
look: 3.75 | smell: 3.75 | taste: 3.75 | feel: 3.5 | overall: 3.75

Belhaven Scottish Oat Stout has a thin, beige head, a dark brown (almost black) appearance, and minimal lacing left behind. The aroma is of dark malt, char, smoke, oats, and black licorice. Taste is of dark-roasted malt, sweet bread crust, oat meal, and molasses, with just a touch of bitterness at the end. Mouthfeel is light to medium, and Belhaven Scottish Oat Stout finishes wet and not at all boozy. Without knowing, I’d never guess it was 7% alcohol.

RJT

 

Wow- that sounds like my kinda beer! Love those floral English hops in a porter. I must be on the lookout for it now- Thanks!

 

5.4% alcohol. Introduced in 1996. From England, with love.

 

Who likes to go on a Party Boat!?!

While up on Long Island (NY) for Thanksgiving, my wife and I had a chance to visit Port Jeff Brewing located in Port Jefferson, NY. They have a small tasting room adjacent to the brewery. We shared their sampler which consisted of small pours of all of the beers they had on tap; about 10-11 different beers. I enjoyed drinking all of the beers except their Radler; I guess I am just not a beer & soda kind of guy. My wife was especially pleased with Party Boat IPA so we ended up buying a 6-pack of cans of this beer. Port Jeff just recently installed a canning line at their brewery.

The owner of Port Jeff Brewing is Mike Philbrick and he was working the tasting room that day. He is a great guy and I enjoyed talking brewing with him as I drank the samples. The other brewer there is Matt Gundrum who I know very well since he was formerly a brewer at an Iron Hill Brewpub located near me; Matt is a very talented brewer. You can learn more about Matt here: http://beerlovescompany.com/now-head-brewer-for-port-jeff-brewing-company-matt-gundrum/

Below is something about Party Boat from the Port Jeff website:

“Party Boat IPA
ABV: 7.7%
IBU:
Availability: Year-Round
Format: Draft, 12-Ounce Can
Tasting Notes: Big malty backbone up front, stands up to the aggressive American piney citrusy hop finish. 10 different kinds of hops”

On the back of the can there is a very interesting write-up:

“Fishing, swimming, naked diving contests, paddle boating, canoeing, milf hunting, water skiing, tubing, knee boarding, sailing, family reunions, clamming, wake boarding, picnics, barbeques, dealing with inlaws, walks on the beach, paddle boarding, meat, surfing, concert going, island hopping, marriage proposals, happy hours, bamping, archaeology, scrap booking, scuba diving, skim boarding, sightseeing, love, fly fishing, friendship, family!

*This beer is approved for all of the above”

Whew, I wonder how many drinking sessions that Mike and Matt had to come up with that list!?! The only thing I think they forgot was cow tipping.

I must confess that I had to google what bamping means. My guess is that they included that just to check to see if people are conscientiously reading their literature?

So, I had a little bit of this beer already; basically a small sip since my wife had a pretty tight grip on this particular sample glass. Now I get to drink a whole 12 ounces!!

@zid

Served in my Spiegelau IPA Glass:

Appearance:

A deep gold color, with a 2 finger off-white head. This beer leaves a thin lace on the glass as it is consumed.

Aroma:

The aroma contains hop aromas of earthy, citrus and fruity. There is some caramel malt aroma in the background.

Taste:

The flavor follows the nose with hop flavors of earthy, citrus and fruity. There is a nice malt backbone to provide balance.


Mouthfeel

Medium body, light-to-medium carbonation, finish is clean.

Overall

What I appreciate about this beer is that while it is hop forward there is a substantial malt backbone to provide balance. I really enjoyed drinking this beer!!

If you are ever in the Port Jefferson area I would suggest a visit to the Port Jeff Brewing tasting room. It is not fancy but they serve quality beer and a conversation with either Mike or Matt would be worth the visit just by itself. Tell them that Jack sent you.

Cheers to Port Jeff Brewing!!

 

One of the best, for sure.

 

Greetings friends,
Frosty morning and the hounds have been antsy, wanting to just run. It's in their blood and I love the danged beasts!
Today's beer is Foothills Jade in it's new beautiful 12 oz package. I usually drink this one on tap, and this one is just recently bottled. Light golden, with a persistent bead and beautiful white cap. This is a dry beer with a finely done malt base and I love it. It weighs in at 7.4%, but it does not seem that strong. We had Chinese with this one, spicy, and it worked well. Two of Foothills Jade is very satisfying. It is a spicy hoppy beauty. I would recommend this brew to anyone anywhere. It is a beautifully rendered IPA and a credit to modern brewing!


Speaking of Poobahs, here is the uniform! Congrats Maria!



This is another under-rated piece from the sound track of my youth. It has infectious energy and still fires me up!