New Beer Sunday (week 564)

Seems strange to have this one be in NBS but after walking past it hundreds of time before reading the label and then walking past a few more hundred times and then reading about it in "A Brewer's Tale " and then walking past it some more and somewhere along the line being pretty enamored with most of DFH's offerings it wasn't until a great deal at the co-op actually got it into my hands.

A pleasant and fun to drink beer. Could it be the Lucy of beer? There are hints of lagers in the aromas and Berliner Weiss in the look and taste. Don't know if it would not work as well without the strange alchemy but somehow it bounces you all over in a funhouse sort of way and racing back to get in line again.
3.75's across the board.
Also it inspires some great songs too.

 

Picked up a single of this to try out. Good stuff!

 

^ They have it in 16 oz cans this year... really loving having a pint of it at a time. Good stuff!

 

Torch Pilsner - Foothills Brewing Company



4.04/5 rDev +8.6%
look: 4.25 | smell: 4.5 | taste: 3.75 | feel: 4 | overall: 4

Torch is a nice-looking pilsener: a giant creamy white head with reasonable retention sits atop a crystal-clear, effervescent pale gold beer, leaving fair rafts and blotches of lacing. The nose is light-medium in intensity: sugar cookie dough malt against a subdued backdrop of Noble hop spiciness, lemon notes and slight alcohol overtones; if the aroma itself (and the spicy hop character in particular) were a bit more pronounced, this would be a perfect nose for the style. On the palate, the spicy hops are more assertive, weighing a bit heavy in the balance against the lager-grainy malt foundation; the bitter lemon notes from the nose are present here as well, providing an interesting contrast to the spiciness of the hops. The finish is slightly hoppy with a nice carbonation bite, then washes clean; the hoppiness rebounds as a modestly bitter spicy/grassy hop linger that sticks around for a minute or two. The mouthfeel is biggish for the light body, and the texture is slightly creamy and quite peppery from the properly-expressed carbonation. Taken all around, this is a solid, well-executed Czech pilsener. (12 oz bottle, illegible code date)

★ 1,157 characters

 

Naw, middle of no where Balitimore County.

 

Well, home now, and settling in, popping the beer I threatened to try, DFH Higher Math:


The pour is quite decent: dark amber, with a creamy head that is scared of the middle of the beer, but sticks to the edges. At 17%, surprised there's much of anything. Nose has some alcohol medicinal notes, but not overpowering. Cherry is the most dominant, and it almost seems like an alcohol barrel aged beer.

Taste initially is a bit strong. I went very slow initially, and once cellar temps were reached (per my approximation), the edges smoothed a bit. That said, there was a sharpness in this beer still. Cherry mostly, chocolate flavoring, and medicine. Yeah, this one just never comes around for me.

Gotta agree @WesMantooth - the Fort had some redeemable values, but this one is a bit of a mess. @beerloserLI - I'm pretty much in agreement with you on this one.

 

Greetings, NBSers and welcome to "New Michigan Imperial Stout Day/Let's Decorate the Tree Day" day. First in the barrel, this iconic imperial stout I somehow managed to avoid all these years.



Bell's is one of the breweries that kicked my beer nerdery up a few notches. I was firmly planted in "Fat Tire/Boston Lager" territory for a while, and wanted to stretch my boundaries. I asked for input from some more advanced beer nerd friends, and they suggested Bell's Two Hearted Ale.

My local just happened to have it, so I bought a 6er - and was B-L-O-W-N away. Since then, I've purchased pretty much anything Bell's brews, from Hopslam (first time I tried it, I had 3 and commenced to speak in tongues to anyone that would listen) to Batch 9,000 (did not appeal to me) to This One Goes To 11 (LOVED it) and everywhere in between.

So on to Expedition. Beautiful beer with the milk chocolatey color in the head I love. Aromas are overwhelmingly dark chocolate and stone fruit, and the taste is even heavier with dark chocolate - dark chocolate everywhere, with a bit of fruity flavors to edge the bitterness down just a bit. I'm really enjoying this on a damp, chilly Minnesota evening. Rated 4.25 here:

http://www.beeradvocate.com/beer/profile/287/1444/

 

You can save me one too!

 

I agree on both counts - the snifter is heavy enough that I know it won't break when I stuff my hand and a dish towel in to dry it.

 

Good evening NBS nation. @smakawhat sporting sensational substitution skills kicking things off!

Compared to what it has been here in paradise, today felt cold and raw. Cloudy and damp day, but no ice or snow. Good deal for as long as it lasts.

Yesterday was more or less spent shoppin, mainly groceries and a couple small gifts. I am definitely not feeling rhe spirit of the season this year as it feels more like something that has to be done than anything else. Started to snap out it a bit yesterday, but then....cue ominous music...CRAFT stores...well, this cant be good. Did visit a couple bottle shops and broke my cease fire on buying beer, but only a few bottles.

So...crafts...the missus has pine cones, felt, cotton, and other assorted stuff. I got to go out and cut some holly and green things. Bad thing about this weather....woods are crawling with ticks. Fresh deer sign on the path, but i digress. Elves are being assembled as I practice mad ninja skills and camo myself perfectly into the couch.

Fresh haddock, oven roast taters, broccoli, and a new beer each. The missus enjoyed a Harpoon Winter Warmer. She says malty, a little sweet,accurately picked out the spices, but thought a touch too much cinnamon.

For me, beer from a brewery I will miss. Pretty Things Beer and Ale Project's East Kent Saison graces my glass. the pour of the 22 oz bittle produced in October is liquid gold capped with a white, soap bubble head that falls to small white rafts. Lots of cling. The aroma promises malt, then some floral notes, bright fruitiness, and earthy herbaceousness. Not strong, but very pleasant and promising. I read up on the hops, and this beer delivers the characteristics perfectly, following the aroma. Mildly earthy, floral, herbal, just a bit of lemon. Middle of the taste starts with some spicy phenols, and there is a short, sharp burst of bitter on the finish. And oh we are not done yet...spicy pepoer lingers well after the swallow. Everything hangs over the clean malt. It isn't a super-dry saison. Liking this a lot and I am feeling the 4.1 or so score coming on. I am glad to have had this beer, but know it isnt one i can stockpile like some of my Pretty Things...so one and done.

Pats game coming up...cheers, my interweb friends.

 

Now up Tired Hands Pourison.
4.37/5 rDev +4.8%
look: 4 | smell: 4.5 | taste: 4.5 | feel: 4 | overall: 4.25

500 ml bottle poured into a teku

A-Slightly hazy golden straw with a fluffy two finger white head.

S- Slightly tart, peach skins/faint peaches, lemons, peppercorns, some hay/funk, nice light malts.

T- Tart, peach skins, lemons, some peppercorns, slight funk, some oak, peach is mild, but nice.

M- Smooth, light body.

O- A well done Saison, pretty standard for Tired Hands saisons. As far as peaches go I would have liked You Are The Emptiness to be released again, but this is still worth trying!

★502 characters

 

Happy New American Wild Ale Sunday Again!

Decided to have another NBS. Another very tasty brew!

http://www.beeradvocate.com/beer/profile/2210/73023/?ba=Wasatch



Cheers!

 

Hope you like it.

 

Just cracked open a beer from a brewery that I will buy any beer I see from. Grimm Bourbon Barrel Double Negative. The regular Double Negative is a wonderful imperial stout. The bourbon barrel aged takes this up a notch. The barrel is a flavor that complements the base beer.

L: Appearance is pitch black with a small khaki colored head that disappears into a small ring around the glass.

S: Huge roasty chocolate malts overpower my nose upon smelling this. There's a faint oaky, vanilla scent that is there, but I really need to look for it. This smells more like a standard imperial stout as opposed to a bourbon barrel aged beer.

T: Those huge chocolate malts come through in a big way. There's a bit of smoke towards the back end that give way to a bit of oak and a hint of vanilla. The bourbon barrel is there, but it's present in a way that makes me think that the intent was to not overpower this beer like many other barrel aged stouts do.

M: This is a thick, chewy beer. This is the epitome of a heavy stout. The alcohol content is not present all. While this beer is a big stout, I think I could polish off the entire bomber. This is quite the sipper though.

Overall: It's good to see that a brewer can make a bourbon barrel aged beer that lets the base beer shine. It doesn't feel like I'm drinking straight bourbon with a bit of stout added. There is a nice depth profile to this and I don't think that I've ever had a bad beer from Grimm. These guys have kind of come from out of nowhere to making really great beers. This is the fourth beer that I've had from them and I'd really love to get my hands on some of their IPAs because if they're as good as the beers I've had then I'll be in for something special.

 

Unseasonably warm day in these parts, so spent some time catching up around the yard, and shopping for some Christmas presents. Took the wife for our weekly visit to Cracker Barrel - Sunday fried chicken is a staple for us!

Today's new beer is Stone / Sierra Nevada's NxS. Looks to be popular on NBS today...

After reading the description on the label, I was a bit unsure about this one. A lot going on with multiple barrel components and competing flavors, but decided to give it a go anyway...

Got a lot more gin than rye whiskey mixed with a well executed IPA. I really enjoyed it, and look forward to Stone's next experiment.





http://www.beeradvocate.com/beer/profile/147/197777/?ba=richj1970

 

#2, I was gonna review Bell's 30th Anniversary, but I thought it would be too close in flavors to Expedition and my palate would be out of whack, which would impact the review, so like any good self-respecting beer nerd, I improvised and went with this .....



This is a Berliner Weiss on PED's - gorgeous on the poor, it looks like summer in a glass with bubbles. The aroma is fruity, but ramped up 3 notches with the Brett. At 7.4% ABV, you'd expect to taste the alcohol a bit, but there is none - the taste is all tart fruit and Brett, with a heavier feel than you expect in a Berliner Weiss.

I purchased this a year ago, and I'm glad I held onto it - it's magnificent. And I've got a couple more from the series in the beer fridge (Dawn Of Aurora and Starkeller Peach), so I've got more of this magnificence to look forward to. Rated 4.50 here:

http://www.beeradvocate.com/beer/profile/417/155391/

 

I don've have much experience with bourbon barrel aged beers but my general impression is that are complex, high alcohol beverages for sipping and savoring. This one on the other hand went down really fast and was downright quaffable. So I wouldn't recommend it as an alternative to some big guns out there like BCBS but it is quite tasty on its own merits.

 

Good evening NBS'ers. Saved this one just for the occasion..It says bottled on Sept 24, 2014.

Bourbon County Barleywine Ale Aged In Bourbon Barrels
11.7% ABV , Goose Island



Pours a very dark brown, a thin cream ring for head and I can tell you I already pick up the wonderful scent of dark fruit and malts. I am letting this sit while I upload the photo and the aroma is smokey and outstanding. I am picking up figs, raisin, bourbon, caramel.

First sip: Wow. A lot happening. Again, the fig, raisin is there along with a tinge of vanilla, caramel, brown sugar and oh that bourbon. The booze is masked well, but you will eventually smell, taste and feel it in all it's smooth and mellow blissful glory. The barrel aging did a wonderful job of blending all the complex flavors and making this one of my now all time favorite barleywines.

This is an enormous beer and I am sipping on it but can't put it down. The taste going down is sweet with a bit of bourbon warmth making it a nice choice for cold weather. In closing, I can't say enough about this one. The 4 pack was pricey, but well worth it. Again, this just became one of my favorite barelywines on the very first sip. I can't wait to get to the bottom and see how the blend tastes after it's been sitting out but it won't be sitting for very long. Cheers.

 

Jumping in again with a beer I've been staring at in the fridge thinking yeah its another gimmick......but I purchased it didn't I? Well as PT Barnum said "theres a sucker..." But I digress.

21st Amendment Brewery Toaster Pastry India Red Ale

Pours a Ruby reddish brown with a tinged tall head that settles and leaves some nice stratus lacing.

Aroma is of piney hops bread crust and dark berry. There is also a coffee/toffee slightly burnt note from possibly from the dark Crystal malts? No BS I am amazed a to how similar this smells to a toaster pastry...

Taste follows wow. I wasn't expecting this. There is crustiness, a jam like quality. A slight sweetness thn a nice burst of hoppiness. It's a well balanced malt based hoppy brew that is quite tasty. I have to say I am floored by how reminiscent this is of a toaster pastry. Nice job.

Feel is medium bodied with nice carbonation and a full dry finish that makes you crave another sip.

Well I'll say I'm not one to call for many of the gimmick beers. But this is a well made brew that without adding 20 pounds of pureed toaster pastry per barrel they were able to come so close in this beer to that taste. It's a finely crafted well thought out that definitely sets a standard for where this brewery is going on their new abode- basically thumbing their noses at tradition. Risky but when it works man its good. Hey if your looking for a beer with fluky ingredients added for schtick look elsewhere. If you're looking for a well though out challenging out of the box brew give it a whack.
Happy NBS

 

Welcome back New Beer Sunday. After a 12 hour day at work, training in the new guy, I NEED it. He's trying, and improving, but still has a ways to go.
So, here's the first beer.

Abita Pecan Harvest Ale - 5.2% ABV
As you can see, when poured, there's a thick head. It eventually dissipates. The nose is hard to describe, but pleasing

Taste - bland. There's a bit of something, but I really don't know what. Not much more to say. I hope the next one has more to offer.