New Beer Sunday (week 565)

A double smoked ham now this I have to try maybe a new xmas dinner!!!!

 

Happy NBS! I have been cleaning in preparation for the upcoming holidays, so now it is time for a well deserved break. Onward to today's new beer from my neck of the woods Madison, WI.

One Barrel Brewing just started to bottle some of their tasty offerings. Breakfast Beer is one fantastic coffee stout. The aroma is fresh coffee and espresso layered in with a nice base stout of roasted malt and dark chocolate. The flavor is big on cold brew coffee and espresso. The stout notes are of roasted malt and bitter chocolate. There is also a nice sweet lactose flavor to mimic sugar and cream. Feel is very velvety and rich. This was a well executed beer and I hope to find a few more bottles.

 

This brew pours a solid copper color with ruby highlights when held up to the light. There is a white one finger head which hangs around until the end and there is a pretty good amount of lacing.

The smell is a base of toasted malts and some caramel with some bubblegum and dried fruits, smells like apples, on top.

The taste starts with toasted malts and caramel along with some spice and a fruity taste. Everything is well balanced but nothing really pops. The finish is dry; leaves your mouth puckered.

Overall this is a pretty good ESB; it is worth trying.

 

New American IPA Sunday

Greetings to all NBS folk
And a glorious day I hope it has been and will be. Nothing to report other than the usual shenanigans in preparation for Christmas. Played trumpet (poorly) for church today and had large gathering of family on my mom's side yesterday. It seems odd how people seen mostly rarely can still be so easy with whom to converse.
Anyway, for the centerpiece today and the reason we are here, a generally kinda' hard beer to find that I stumbled on locally, which is nice (I don't like chasing down beers much anymore). I can see why people search this one out. Great tropical aroma and this moves nicely to a more complex taste and a both sharp and smooth taste and feel. One of the best beers I've had this year.
http://www.beeradvocate.com/beer/profile/23222/89586/?ba=garymuchow

Not sure if I'll be back later, so if not, Merry Christmas to all NBS players. Enjoy a good beer as you enjoy all else that goes with this time of year.

 

This was a gift or I should say it was given to me by some one that got it in a beer of the month club and would not like it. It is hard for me to review cherry beers as almost every cherry beer I taste has very artificial cherry flavor even when brewed with real cherries. It is a personal flaw of my palate which is a shame as I love cherries..

Beer pours an amazing mahogany color. The smell is all raisin caramel and dark fruits with a hint of sour. The taste is as expected the same as the nose with a very artificial cherry taste that is not overpowering so does not completely ruin it for me. Mouthfeel is very rich. Overall a decent beer that if the cherry taste was better would be very good. The two people I am sharing it with like it much more than me.

 

A gorgeous day here. Our grad student has been loading up his stuff and I've been helping? and sipping on this and taking notes - Brooklyn Brewery's Black OPS (2015):





Black pour with tan/brown thick, tight head; thick lace encircles the glass; a little clarity under the cap.

Smells smokey and oaky. Surprised with this first impression-it's almost meaty...

Tastes smokey with burnt toast and chocolate malt up front, bourbon on the exhale; vanilla and oak middle. Second pour:



Still sipping on this at 12:40...vanilla has given way to amaretto cherries and dry, cocoa dusted bourbon balls. Finish is dry and I'm getting the champagne yeast on the tongue - reminds me of sparkling wine tastings...dry and vinous ...

Medium mouthfeel, moderate carbonation; lite, dry cocoa powder tongue coating and I am feeling the drying champagne yeast.

Overall I wish the dark fruit had been stronger, but have to say that the more this opened up and the two of us warmed up to another, the usual oak and bourbon notes became an afterthought and I enjoyed the fruit and bittersweet candy malt I was hoping to enjoy. Another? Even at $20.99/bottle, I'm intrigued with the prospect of a second date...so yes!

Cheers guys!

 

Hey what's going on all?

It's the last weekend before Christmas, so I am trying to get things all wrapped up and done around the house (no pun intended)...

It's dipped below freezing for a change but they are already talking about it being 70... SEVENTY on Christmas DAY here... Crazy man. Ironically I am going to be in California on a much needed break/vacation starting soon and I can't wait.

Other odds and ends. Doing some things around the house... needed to find a cable. Had an idea so I was going through some old boxes and trying to find one. So I am in the basement.. dodging boxes... oh look what's that.. oh kitty landmine left from.. uh... I don't know when... ok mental note.. clean that up later.. gag.

When I find a box of some my old hats and baseball caps

Hey I always wondered where I put these how are these looking.. Open the box and what do I find..

Lots of weird dust... and bugs... and holes in my hats!! Holy smoke my box was attacked by carpet bugs!! And some of my caps were SHREDDED!! yikes what a mess!! At least I got them cleaned up.. but it was kind of like... well that was nasty...

Ergo lunch and after play work is done so it's time for a beer. I managed a small run to get some new goodies and don't know how much I'll be getting in before I leave.. but can't wait!

So what's new for our hero today?

Harvest Wild Hop IPA - Neomexicanus Varietal


Sierra Nevada - Harvest Wild Hop Neomexicanus 2015 by imbibehour, on Flickr

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Poured from the bottle into a Spiegelau IPA glass. Packaged November 20th 2015.

Bright glowing crystal clear orange body, with a bit of transparent carbonation slowly streaming up the middle in a packed line. Head retention is a mix of creamy and thick froth. Fine bubbles and small mountain puck topped valleys through and easy making three finger head. Pill like lacing rings the glass making for a classic West coast IPA looker.

Hop aroma indeed. The experimental variety comes off to me dank and a mix of earth and spice tones mostly. Grassy a bit too, perhaps a touch of florals squeaking in. Everything else is pretty neutral as to just let the hops be the star, which is a good thing in this case.

What an interesting palate. The mouthfeel nearly gets into juicy territory so close, but then hearkens back to a lighter almost session IPA feel. Slight juiced tropical notes, and a light bubbly crisp finish. Very dry beer in the aftertaste, with hop aromas of mint and juiced melon tropics quite a bit. Real playful feeling carbonation that makes for interesting drinking, and lots of lingering hop aromas after the swallow. Sharp. Even a bit of spicy earth as well.

Real fun interesting hop varietal, and good to see Sierra Nevada put it to good use.

look: 4.5 | smell: 4.25 | taste: 4.25 | feel: 4 | overall: 4.25 | BA Generated Score: 4.24

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Onward!

 

The Christmas countdown is approaching "all zeros". I'll probably be putting together a My Little Pony play set or inflating a football when the clock in the background strikes zero. If I can make the 5 of these I have left last, I'll probably be sipping on one of these too. I saw some great reviews of this lately on here so I had to go after it. East Coasters take note and grab some! Have a great Sunday NBSers.



Bottled 11/10/15
Pours rich copper, amber color with one finger head which recedes quickly. Limited lacing. No visible sediment or haze. Good clarity.
Heavy on the apple initially in the nose and blends with vanilla and caramel.

Taste follows on que with sweet/tart apple and a pleasant caramel-toffee like sweetness. Light vanilla notes backstage. Not much in the way of bitterness given the 70 some IBU's but some is definitely there to balance the sweet maltiness. This certainly is a big sweet barleywine but there is a perfect amount of tart and bitterness to balance things out. As it warms, some dark grape flavors come thru with sweetness and tartness similar to the initial apple. Alcohol nearly invisible.

Medium body with a syrupy texture. Odd that it has this texture, but the body isn't overly heavy. Low to medium carbonation and seems just right. No alcohol heat and the lingering flavors are in no way overbearing.

Really impressed by this one. I'm not a huge barleywine fan but this one is certainly the best I've had and makes me want to go after more beers of this style. The sweetness and tartness blend is seemless and the finish is semi clean for such a big brew. Highly recommended!

4.44
look: 4.5 | smell: 4.25 | taste: 4.5 | feel: 4.5 | overall: 4.5

 

Opening a special beer that I got from @warrendietrich2001 as my fantasy football team is in the playoffs for the first time in many years. Drinking this while I most likely lose as I am down 23 points early and saw OBJ drop a gift and Devonta Freeman finally score after I bench him.

Anyway, cheers everyone and here is my NBS beer.



Here is my less than expert review.

4.3/5 rDev +1.4%
look: 3.75 | smell: 4.25 | taste: 4.5 | feel: 3.5 | overall: 4.5

Dark in the glass but some light can get through which shows the color to be a ruby brown. The head is tan and has good staying power with a thin layer staying throughout the consumption. The smell is amazing. I am picking up chocolate, toffee, coffee, roasted malts and bourbon. The taste is mainly sweet coffee, chocolate and bourbon with a bit of boozy heat and bitterness at the end. This is a really well done beer.

 

Nicely done - I live about thirty minutes from OHB, know the owner/brewer well. They absolutely kill it.

 

Greeting NBS friends and Happy Christmas/Holiday's to all! Going with something I've had my eye on for a while and stumbled across it in Michigan a few weeks ago. My entry today is Oddside Ales Bourbon Barrel Aged Imperial Mayan Mocha. The bottle date is 10/19/15 and I'm pouring it in my trusty 13oz. snifter. Let's unwrap this beer!

It pours a rather thin looking black oily liquid that leaves a short finger of beautiful mocha colored foam. A bit of lacing clings to the sides as it settles. The aroma is cinnamon, some faint coffee and finally a hint of bourbon. The flavor once again favors cinnamon, a little coffee, and then it brings the HEAT. Damn this is one spicy-hot beer! Mouthfeel starts on the oily side and then gets punished with heat.



Overall it's a pretty good beer, but I'd enjoy it more if there was a greater coffee presence and less heat. The label name includes 'mocha' but it's not listed on the label ingredients. Not sure if there's any cocoa nibs or chocolate in here, but it would benefit from some, or more if there is. I'd personally choose Bomb or Xocoveza over this if given the choice. I bought three, so we'll see what cellaring does to balance this? My score was 3.95 / rDev -5%. Link to review.......

http://www.beeradvocate.com/beer/profile/22564/143664/?ba=Prager62

A beautiful sunrise this morning to start the day. I thought I would share as it always puts me in a better mood. Have a great Sunday!

 

Happy New "Brett" Beer Sunday everyone!
Love Sunday's a excuse to eat a ton and drink all my good beers lol

Got up early to help a friend measure for and begin fabricating a rollcage for is s13 240sx he will be drifting this season. Always fun building race cars
Once I got home I cracked a few Sixpoint sweet actions and starting preparing some chili.

Now that the Carolina game has started I cracked a new beer!

-Allagash confluence dry hopped and brettanomyces fermented
Bottle is from April 2014 which with Brett is awesome! Dry hopping, not so much.




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4.09/5 rDev +1.5%
look: 3.75 | smell: 4 | taste: 4.25 | feel: 4 | overall: 4

April 2014 bottle.

L: Pours a super hazy yellow-orange very little head on a light pour... Looks like juice.

S: Dry dusty fruity Brett character ..some orange, tangerine some pear I assume from the dry hopping. Some peppery grass too.

T: A lot of dank basement funk same fruitiness as smell tho very light. Brett is mostly dominating here. Any hop character that was there seems to have faded.

F: Juice like for sure ..kind of sparkly too.

O: Great beer amazing brettanomyces flavored and smells.. Do wish I got a fresh one for more of the hop character.

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Be back later with another Brett beer!

 

Happy Game Day Sunday NBSer's

I have recently moved back to my hometown of Green Bay, WI from Baltimore, MD. The beer scene has certainly grown since I have left and I'm enjoying all the new offerings.

Time for a morning coffee!


One of the the most coffee forward beers I have experienced! Huge nose of fresh brewed coffee and the flavors follow suit. The fact that it's a brown ale contributes to the lighter body which makes it incredibly drinkable and allows the coffee flavors to really shine!

Great stuff!

 

November packaging, nice. The Wet Hop I had recently was an August date (and wasn't Neimexicanus). I recall enjoying their non-wet (pretty sure) offering with that hop, so may have to see if I can find this.

 

OK - messed up and didn't think to get a picture. Just back from a local taproom, where I tried a Grand Teton Milk Stout. While I don't prefer bourbon barrel stouts, this was excellent. The bourbon was subtle like Backwoods Bastard, not in-your-face like Dragon's Milk. Low ABV of 4.7, not much nose other than bourbon, not bitter. Really good stout. I'd have to try this side-by-side with Backwoods Bastard to see which I like better. They actually had the beer in my avatar on tap (O'Dell Mountain Standard) but I passed on it to try this new one for 'yall. Glad I did. I'll be heading to another bar soon for the late game (Packers) and will see if I can score another NBS.

 

New Schwarzbier Sunday

Good afternoon, BAs! I'm celebrating the conclusion of my Christmas shopping with this new offering from a local/regional brewery in Huntsville, AL: Lost Highway Black Lager from Yellowhammer Brewing. This is a new style for me and it sounded like a great winter style.



look: 3.5 | smell: 3.5 | taste: 3.75 | feel: 3.5 | overall: 3.5

Poured into a pint glass that my bottle shop gave to me yesterday. Not exactly #properglassware, but I'm digging the glass! Clear brown, dark cola color on the pour. There was only a thin light tan head despite a fairly vigorous pour. What foam appeared actually stayed for a while. The nose was full of roasty malt and nutty smells. There was also a funny, slightly tart smell (like sour cherries) that became more prominent as the beer warmed. No diacetyl or funkiness. The taste was all dry roasted malt, with dark bread, toast, a bit of charcoal, and bitter coffee. As expected, no chocolate flavors at all. Dry, clean finish. Medium-bodied and lightly carbed. Overall an interesting beer but I'll be looking for other offerings. Cheers!

 

another tripel for me from Belgium in my tripel journey

poured into duvel tulip. lemon pie filling yellow, super large head despite conservative pour

scents of lemongrass, banana bread, pineapple.and a nice white head still after 10 mins



good malt sweetness and I like the clove spice(just right!)
I also get pineapple tangand the banana (malt) i'm drinking at 55 deg.

I don't notice the alcohol. some carbonation. fruity aftertaste lingers for awhile

in my tripel tasting, this was a great stop, i'll drink more of this, so should you!

some of you will remember these Chicago guys

I went to the ides of march show at the arcada theater in st chrales ill. Friday
super great show, they still have it! cheers!

 

Delirium Noel
This beer seems to had made a good impression on a lot of BAs during the on line tasting on Friday. I couldn't make that so I'll try it for NBS. My bottle opened with a loud pop and some smoke like a sparkling wine.hat could have meant trouble but the beer seem fine with a nice creamy head, pretty orange/amber color. There is a lot going on with both the aroma and the taste dried fruit some malt some some spice all blended well together. This beer seems a bit light bodied for BSDA but is very enjoyable.
1/2 a hour later (making a pot roast with Celebration Ale gravy) this Noel has warmed up a bit it seems a little sweet and has a lot more body.

 

Greetings, fellow NBSers, and thanks to @utopiajane for getting this caravan moving across the desert,

It’s a snowy day here in the Lilac City (apparently I’m subconsciously trying to bring on spring). Right now it’s a cloudy 38 when I look online, but 31 according to the TV. There’s supposed to be snow sometime today, but it hasn’t happened yet. About 4 inches dropped on Thursday night. Much of that was converted into slush on Friday (and I did a lot of shoveling at work-something my back is getting too old for). Saturday saw a bit of snowfall, but not much accumulation on the ground.

Although much of the week was spent working out Xmas gift “strategery (like what the hell do you give to a 6mo old) ,” my mind has been rather unsettled, as my folks informed me that a rather grim murder-suicide in my hometown had involved a couple they were very close to and that I had met on numerous occasions. Apparently no one saw it coming, and there was no note left behind. It’s one of those things you can’t help but try to work out why it happened, but the truth is, there’s no reason for it, no sense to be made.

I spent yesterday drinking a fair amount of new beer, so I’m gonna be slow to work up to a new beer today. River City Brewing had its “International Marmot Beer Festival,” which involved 11 different versions of their Midnight Marmot Imperial Stout. I grabbed a grunt of the version aged on scotch barrel oak chips, which was my favorite of the ones that could be taken home (they also had a nitro version; one aged a year; one aged a year with oak chips and cocoa nibs and on nitro; a version with raspberries and aged on French oak; a version aged on oak chips from Irish whisky barrels; one aged on American bourbon barrel oak chips; one blended with rootbeer[!]; and a firkin with a version brewed with vanilla and coffee). Then I decided to head east to do some Christmas shopping and beer drinking in northern Idaho (okay, mostly the latter), stopping by Slate Creek in CDA and Selkirk Abbey in Post Falls. Both beers I had at Slate Creek (an IPA and a scotch ale) had diacetyl issues and became a chore to drink as they warmed up, but Selkirk’s beers were home runs. The Cuvee de la Nuit was amazing – I can’t even describe all the stuff that’s going on in that beer, and can’t wait until it’s bottled (though I’m also afraid it’s gonna be hella spendy) and the IV (a light, saison-ish table beer that maxes out at 4% and is actually being brewed for on-tap sales in Utah) was something I could drink all night without complaint. Oh, and I finished at Jones Radiator with a Rodenbach Grand Cru (sadly the keg blew midway through the pour) and a Logsdon Seizoen (not new to me but always awesome).

In addition to the grunt spoken of above (no longer a new beer as of yesterday, but I'll be putting it in the database and reviewing it), I've got an IPA from Deschutes that is new to me, plus plenty of other things should my liver not cry uncle at that point, plus I'll be doing some Seahawk watching.

 

Happy NBS everyone! Sunny day here in N of Boston. The Baby got me up early this AM, so am glad it has warmed up since then. Since I was so rudely awoken this AM by the 7mo old, I decided I deserved to go give my friends over at Jacks Abby a visit. As I have said before, the new location and set up is AMAZING. Triple the size, easily, of the past location. Went there for one reason, I am a Hammerhead, meaning am a fan boy of there BA Framinghammer series. I have one of each, in multiple years, in my basement. In fact, my baby was born on PB&J release day and I was still there (priorities!)(and a awesome Wife)! Today, I am trying the BA Framinghammer Italiano. Espresso, Star Anise, and Vanilla. I get a lot of nutty coffee sweetness. As it warms there is more espresso roast to it. LOVE LOVE this one. Sadly will not see a bottle, but am glad it is available at the source.
Happy Last Weekend Before Xmas-palooza.