New Beer Sunday (week 567)

Of their Ancient Ales I've had, I like this one the best. It actually taught me what myrrh tastes like , but it's also well-incorporated into the brew. Good to see it's still around.

 

I had no idea it had that many years on it, I bought it because I never had it. I've only been sitting on it for 2-3 months.

Cheers!

 

I just meant that they are still making it; I didn't mean to imply it was an old bottle.

 

I know. I have no clue if they are still making it, or if the last bottles were made back in 2013, when my bottle was made.

Cheers!

 

Happy Sunday & Happy New Year. Before reality returns tomorrow why not try a new brew for the new year. Cheers to my non-BA beer friend Tom C for finding this for me. A good example of the juicy hop-forward DIPA breed, beautiful aroma, nice orange-yellow color and a very fruity taste. A tad sweet but the bitterness arrives after a lemony-grapefruit phase, nice, thick mouthfeel and a very nice finish. As it warmed it got even better - highly recommended if you can find it - cheers!

 

Web site says "Limited" for availability. Myrrh? Does it smell like church?

 

4 Down the middle new beers this week. All but 1, hovering near a 4! All worth trying if you can find them:


Dont Panic - Carton ESB - 4
look: 3.75 | smell: 4 | taste: 4.25 | feel: 3.75 | overall: 4
Served on cask at Carton's tasting room.
A: Pours a clear bronze into a tulip at room temp. Thick head lasts and laces.
S: Bergomot! You can smell just Enough. Cross between Earl Grey and gun powder.
T: Follows smell, but more so. Unique, complex. Would try another. Caramel, biscuity like most ESBs but smoother, less cloying. I like it.
MF: Great finish. Medium bodied with moderate amounts of carbonation. Slightly creamy.
Another style - ESB - that is one notch above most US brewers AND with an original flavor tweak.
The Carton signature. (I'm biased as Carton is in my home town).

Vital IPA - Victory
4.04/5 rDev +4.4%
look: 4 | smell: 3.75 | taste: 4.25 | feel: 4 | overall: 4
Love the brewer. (Dirtwolf! Stormking!)
Try 24.
A: Hazed deep lemony light gold body beneath a two finger dense head of bright white with very good head retention and lacing.
S: Got the bright right. But too laid back. Grassy, earthy, grainy, floral, with some cattiness.
F: Follows smell but more full. Hoppy: citrusy, grassy, pineapple, tropical fruit, spicy. On a base of pilsner malt with caramelized malts. Bitter, dry finish with grassiness and piney resin.
F: Medium bodied with crisp, drying carbonation and finish. Clean.
O: A solid offering. The Victory center of IPA victory lap. Try 24.

Hop Oddysey: Citra Session Ale - Green Flash
3.93/5 rDev -0.3%
look: 3.75 | smell: 3.75 | taste: 4 | feel: 4 | overall: 4
I'd call this a session IPA in line with all the best ones such as All-Day and Carton Boat. Try 6.
A - Orange-gold, light colored, hazed, fine bubbles, 1 finger short lived head, decent lace for a session beer.
S - "Citra" forward with tangerine, grapefruit and tropical fruit. Only a bit of bread, mostly tangy, juicy and bright.
T - Follows the smell but more going on. Backdrop of biscuit body balances the hops which roll from ripe citrus and tropical fruit into a forest of leaf, pine, hooch and herb. As good as Boat!
F - Fine, smooth with pithy bitterness and a minerally, drying finish that cleanses the mouth.
Fine effort. Buy 6. Better than the reviews here.

Tröegs Solid Sender Ale - Tröegs
3.73/5 rDev -3.6%
look: 3.75 | smell: 3.75 | taste: 3.75 | feel: 3.5 | overall: 3.75
What more could you want in an APA? In my case: bit, bitterness, body. But worth a shot. Try 1.
I will return to taste this against Dales Pale Ale.
Alot going on here, perhaps too much? Caramel Malt + Mosaic + Cascade Hops + ?
A - A standard pour yields one finger head... Modest retention yeilds modest lacing... The color is perfectly clear pale gold.
S - Lots of clean hoppy freshness upfront. Aromas of sweet citrus, tropical fruit, fresh hops...
T - The hops a great cascade of flavors, on top of malt base - biscuit, bread crust and caramel sweetness. Flavor is better than the aroma for me.But it lacks the bite and backbone of a Dales.
A bit soapy and metallic mars the experience
M - Light bodied, perhaps too much so. Ample carbonation. Aside from soapiness, it's dry, clean and crisp, but bit thin. Fin et bon.
O - Mid-pack American Pale Ale from Troegs. Definitely one you could session, but a bit too soapy and thin for me to be a regular.
Try 1.

 

Not to me, but like I said, to me it is similar to a BSDA, with a twist, that twist could be the Myrrh.

Cheers!

 

I had that this week, too. I also found it to have that weedy/body odor dankness to it (in a good way, of course ).

 

Trying this Bruery Tonnellerie Rue. Very nice once i cleaned the kitchen of geyser fallout. Cheers.

http://www.beeradvocate.com/beer/profile/16866/184722/?ba=cindyjeffsmith

 

Thanks! I'll definitely check it out fully. Just sampled it and it sounded excellent.

 

Onto another IPA, from Founders, their Azacca IPA. The back of the bottle age says tropical fruits, hints of citrus, and a caramel malt-induced sweet backbone. Let's see on this 3-week old IPA.


Pours like quite a few DIPAs, more orange than "pale" or golden. This beer is very clear, however, with a nice buildup and lasting in the whitish head. I am getting some fruit, but it's more melon, as well as some green/unripe tropical fruit, and actually some squash or gourd-like vegetable. There is one particular note that stands out that I can't quite describe; it is somewhere between an earthy to light anise-like spice and coconut (huh?!? Told you I couldn't describe it).

Opening is kinda light and watery even, a seeming cleaner bill for the hops than I'd have thought from the color. I get a little more toast than caramel out of what is there. The construct of malt to bitterness reminds me of an less malty ESB - again an indication that the hops are given a place to play.

A little citrus-like pop opens the flavor profile. Tropical fruit, I can see it, but more of the tart variety than the sweet variety, maybe tart-sweet versus the reverse. Light tang-to-tart holds thought each sip. A little filmy fruit-rind/skin like bitterness builds on my tongue with each sip.

Warmth opens up things as it usually does. Little more fruitiness on a warmer beer, but still not what I would consider too juicy, maybe due to the feel. Personally, I'd like to cut this with a little classic American hop or juice it up with maybe Mosaic or El Dorado (although either could fail). This seems in between the classic IPA and juicy varieties that I've had.

 

Hey folks. Everything looks fantastic. And I'm in NJ with my brother not in a position to properly post- you know how I tend to overdue things.... Or at the least keep my form. It's important to me to keep my content consistent. So I'll tell you I've had at least 10 new beers and I'm bringing things home. So I'll catch up next NBS! Bottoms up! And may you have a happy and successful 2016!!

 

New Imperial Coffee Milk Stout Sunday

Happy NBS everyone! I got some new Spiegelau stout glasses for Christmas, so I figured the first beer I drink out of one would be Left Hand's Bittersweet Imperial Coffee Milk Stout: http://www.beeradvocate.com/beer/profile/418/182398/?ba=bluejacket74



I liked this a lot, but I thought the coffee flavor was stronger than the chocolate. Seems more like a coffee stout than a milk stout, but it was enjoyable regardless. I'll be back on here in a little while with another new beer review.

 

Now trying some barrel aged Scotch Silly. Cheers all.

http://www.beeradvocate.com/beer/profile/804/192733/?ba=cindyjeffsmith

 

Big notes of toasted bread and caramel along with a nice malty aroma. Savory with some soft chocolate and toffee. Starts off with a big malt caramel and toffee flavor. Has nice subtle touches of biscuit and toast coming through, even a touch of chocolate and dark fruit. Feel is medium and creamy. K4 made a nice malty red ale to sip on any day of the year.

 

New Gose Sunday

Who would have guessed that I could buy a Gose at a local Tennessee gas station? Not me, but it happened today. Makes me feel like craft beer is alive and well. It seems strange drinking one of these in January, but it's fresh and the sun is out, so what the hell?
This is Otra Vez from Sierra Nevada, brewed with Prickly Pear and grapefruit:



look: 3.75 | smell: 4 | taste: 4 | feel: 3.75 | overall: 4

The beer was a very hazy, pale straw color with a one-finger white head that retreated fairly quickly. On the first whiff I noticed some lime followed by grapefruit, white bread, dough, and a salty sensation if that's possible. More lime on the first taste, with grapefruit, kiwi, and floral notes, and a hint of dough. A nice pleasant acidity that left my mouth watering but not puckering. The saltiness was definitely noticeable and also seemed just right, leaving me wanting more. I've had only a handful of different Gose beers, but the sour/salt presence seemed restrained but definitely there. Appropriate for style? I don't know. For me, this is more sessionable than Victory Kirsch Gose, for example. I really enjoyed this and will get more. Cheers!

 

Good afternoon NBS'ers! Taking a little time to be part of the very first NBS of 2016. So, today it's a coffee stout, which appears to be straight forward, which I am in the mood for! I hope to participate more in NBS this year and expanding the journey that is beer...oh and life.



Coffee Stout
Sierra Nevada Brewing Co.
6.2 % ABV

Pours a slick jet black with a nice beige head. Aroma is very much that of coffee, chocolate and slight caramel. First sip, coffee domination, dark chocolate bitterness with a bit of milk and minimal amount of sweet caramel.
The feel is pleasant, it's a crisp stout and the booze is almost un-detectable. I prefer the 'heavier' coffee stouts, mainly because they seem to always have more complexity, but this is what I was hoping to get today, a straight cup of joe with decent amount of ABV. The coffee in this IS pretty good and I think paired with eggs and hash browns, this would be the way to go if you want more coffee and less booze. Again, despite my preference of heavier coffee stouts(Speedway, Founders, Cappucino Stout, etc.) I would buy this again for sure for those days where I want to keep things a bit lighter. Cheers!

 

Howdy, everybody. Happy New Beer Sunday. Lots of good looking beers being drunk so far. Might as well join in.
It is snowing harder and harder here. I know a lot of people like to gripe about winter but I'd much rather have cold with snow than cold with bare ground.
Now I figure it is time to get into this bad boy. I really like most of LTM's beers, but this is one that I have never tried. I am excited to give it a shot. Before I do, though, I want to take a minute to point out (to no one in particular) just how great their labels are.



Just look at all that infoI Hell, it's practically a beer specs sheet or something.



Here's my review:

Service: Bottle
Bottled: 2015

A:
Pours a lightly hazy amber red with two fingers of tiny-bubbled beige head that seems content to hang around just the edges of the glass. OK retention; little lacing. (3.75)

S:
Holiday spices and doughy yeast. Cinnamon, spruce boughs, nutmeg, random baking spices, Christmas potpourri. (4)

T:
Smooth spruce sap. Smooth piney sweetness engulfs your mouth followed by a light piney bitter twang and spicy biscuit yeast, root beer. (4)

M:
Medium bodied with light-medium carbonation, and a slightly sticky feel/aftertaste. (3.75)

O:
Pretty good, spicy Christmas beer.
It pours nice enough, but nothing spectacular. Everything else kind of follows suit. Everything about it is says Christmas. It is earthy, sappy, spicy, warm, doughy. A little over-the-top with the spices. It is amazing at first, but not super drinkable after a while. Defintely one to share for a toast or something. There is a real root beer character to the flavor that is damn tasty, but a little much for my tastes.
Good beer. Not really my style, but I would have it again. (3.5)

 

Interesting cat/Florida/Literary history:
http://www.hemingwayhome.com/cats/

Not at all. I agree completely.

I feel guilty saying it to people, but I prefer the Les Claypool Animals to Pink Floyd (who's the heretic now, @TongoRad ? ). It is the same songs, but with a bigger bass and rhythm component, I also feel like it has more energy due to being live. One thing I never liked about Pink Floyd was how uptight, by the books, and non-improvisational they were live when compared to other bands (in the studio is another story). The Frog Brigade performance strikes a good balance I feel. Just my .02.