New Beer Sunday (week 565)

Burdock White Peach Berlinerweisse, YES!!!

 

Burdock Session Saison, another excellent offering form Siobhan! Wow, near perfect!

 

Lastly, their take on an American Pale Ale. Reminiscent of Lost Nation's Mosaic IPA. Very Nice!

 

New Heartburn Inducing Beer Sunday



3.73/5 rDev -10.3%
look: 4 | smell: 3.5 | taste: 3.75 | feel: 4 | overall: 3.75

Interesting looking pour. It is black, and fairly viscous with an initially very red, cinnamon colored head that changes to a tan color quickly. If you agitate it a little you can see some of the paprika like redness reappear. I hope it isn't like those "don't eat me" warning signs like a dart frog.

Tons of cinnamon and nutmeg aroma, and a little bit of peppers. I am not getting much else. Not nearly as complex as I would have guessed.

Pretty sweet tasting up front. A quick hit of cinnamon and vanilla, then the peppers bring the heat. Lip tingling spicy. It really drowns out a lot of the flavors. There is some lingering coffee and and charred malts, but very subtle.

Overall, this is a very good beer, but just not balanced enough to be in the Bomb, Xocoveza, Oro Negro category. It really doesn't show any bourbon, or much coffee character. It has more potential for sure. I realize that spiceyness is a very subjective aspect, but this one has to be pretty hot to the majority of people. It is the hottest beer I have had for sure so far.

 

I'm late to the party but am enjoying this new beer:



Ranger Creek's Small Batch No. 11, an "apricot sour"

It's an impressive wild ale ... very earthy, some musty barn flavor, as it warms the tartness is taking on a lemon flavor at times, and the apricot shows up both early in the aroma and flavor but doesn't overtake the base beer. And there's very little sweetness here. Vinegar definitely comes to mind. This one also has a lot of that fingernail polish/remover aroma and flavor, a lot like a Jolly Pumpkin beer, but like JP's brews, it somehow works. The apricots really tease you ... you think at any moment it's going to push through a couple spoonfuls of sugar sweetness, but it doesn't. The fruit flavor has a very authentic feel in that regard. My sweet tooth would like a pinch more sweetness, but as a burgeoning fan of the wild/farmhouse ale, I love the earthy dry flavor of this base beer.

The review:
http://www.beeradvocate.com/beer/profile/23672/191961/?ba=Premo88
4.05 (-1% rDev)

Had a little Texas country Christmas fun yesterday ... the photo doesn't show much, but that site -- the barn on the left and Grandma's little house in the background -- is a special spot for my family:

Off camera to the right is my aunt and uncles' home ... and hidden from view are about 10 cats who run mouse patrol on the joint ... mouse patrol and snake control, actually. Some bad-ass farm cats.

Cheers!

 

How's it going, BA?! The craziness of the holiday season has me feeling like I haven't had any time to kick back and relax with some craft brews. Thanks to NBS and some newly-bought goodies in the fridge, that's all about to change right now.

My new beer for tonight is something that used to be a regular on the shelves in my area. Then, about a year or two ago, it disappeared and I never got a chance to try it. I'm at a local store a few days ago and there is that quirky, brown, German bottle back on the shelf once again. So I snatched it up and immediately decided it would be my next NBS beer. Bonus points for the swing top bottle so I can reuse it for my homebrew!

Uerige Sticke Alt



Pours a murky, ruby-brown color with an off-white head. The aroma is filled with sweet caramel, dark fruit, and toffee. There are hops, but they are somewhat muted by the malt. There is a heavy breadiness in the flavor with plenty of hop bitterness for balance. Medium bodied, soft carbonation, thick texture and a bittersweet finish.

Overall, this is smooth and highly drinkable with layers of flavor and plenty of body; the trademark and beauty of so many classic German beers. Prosit!

 

Finally back with a review of that beer I mentioned earlier: River City's Scotch oak aged Midnight Marmot:

http://www.beeradvocate.com/beer/profile/34277/206627/?ba=woemad

It's making a very nice after dinner beer as I watch the Cards pummel the Eagles and gaze out at the inch or so of snow that fell this afternoon, on top of the snow we already had.

I'll probably not be taking part in next week's NBS, as I'll be hanging with family, so Merry Christmas everyone!

 

A second new beer today, DFH's "Higher Math". I've been waiting to open this beer until I could spend time with it, putting the second bottle into my "age it" box...



I've been nursing this glass for awhile now and overall it's as boozy and big as when I opened it. I keep coming back to this thought - if I had a slice of German Black Forest cake and soaked it in a bowl of DFH 120 Minutes (FYI my favorite beer), I'd have the recipe for this sipper...

Amber brown (18) to brown pour with reddish hues; off white to beige head; cap disappeared immediately; little to no lace. Very good clarity.

Boozy cherries - I drink tart cherry juice for my gout, and this smells similarly with the added aroma of rum soaked fruit cake (tis the season, just opened one from my brother the chef yesterday).

The up front flavor is boozy Black Forest cake, with hot alcohol on the initial exhale (ok, I'm in heaven...); chocolate with sour cherries in the middle with boozy fruit cake flavors mingling with sour and sweet; chocolate cake and Brandy finish.

Moderate carbonation and full minus mouthfeel; the liquor is drying and leaves a sour/sweet cake-like tongue coating; odd combo, but it works for me given my sweet tooth...

I'm still sipping after an hour taking notes...bottom line for me, if DFH was going for "cake" in its anniversary beer, then in a big boozy way that goal was nailed; and there is a sweetness notwithstanding the sour cherries, and I keep enjoying a chocolate cake linger. This beer is likely not for everyone, but me, I will rate it Outstanding. Cheers!

 

If you have not given Ommegang Rosetta a try yet, I recommend doing so. I thought the cherry flavor in that beer was really nice and subtle, and not artificial tasting at all.

 

Was the 11th labor ACTUALLY getting the damn thing open?

 

Done!

 

Well Hello (Late) NBSer'.
A thousand thanks to Maria for the typically elegant start.
I have enjoyed reading y'all more than I've been imbibing...until I snuck over to the Bruery for a few

The Rice & Beans (a version of Or Xata with spices and coffee) was quite good. Lite in mouthfeel, but a gentle mixing of the horchata leaning beer with some mild roasty coffee notes yet the cinnamon comes through beautifully.

Humulus Terreux (a hoppy Brett Belgian ale) did not particularly impress me. Golden in color, clear as glass, slight loose white foamy head that qiockly dissipates. Smell is a mix of belgiany yeast, some bready malt, hints of hops (not identifiable). Not distinctly Brett in nose. Flavor is Belgian golden meets a slightly peppery APA with hops hinting at grass. Nothing very distinct.

While not new to me, finished up with the ever-stunning Chocolate Rain. This was the 2015, so I guess it was new to me. Decadent. Smell is deep, complexly sweet. Waltzing from fudgy chocolate, to bourbon dipped chocolate granache. Alcohol heat more hidden than in the past. But she's big, graceful, and slightly chewy. I still love her.

Cheers All.