New Beer Sunday (week 569)

New Belgian Pale Ale, American Style, Sunday.

Greetings from the snow-dusted Jersey Shore! Today marks my first visit to NBS since October. Gladly, it's with a good 'un: http://www.beeradvocate.com/beer/profile/4/85884/?ba=NiceTaps



Here's the scene from out the front door a couple of hours ago....



Today I'm shoegazing:


All the best!

 

Happy Sunday my fellow NBSer's. Its a rainy = blah sunday here in Jersey but no complaints - its warm for the middle of Jan. I have a lot to look forward to tomorrow morning. You're probably thinking " Monday morning - WTF " Let me explain.
I have a co worker who lives just over the NY border in Warwick NY. I travel that way on a regular basis to score beers that don't distro in Jersey. I had to work yesterday and a great bottle shop was doing their grand re opening sale and release of some great brews so I called in a favor. FYI: This is the wife of a co worker who doesn't drink at all but is such a great person she hooks me up all the time - many thanks Fran Lawrence. About 1/2 an hour after I start work yesterday she sends me a text - she was able to pick me up some Grimm BBA'ed Double Negative ( she got the 2nd to last can and the person behind her got the last - whew ! ) she also picked me up some Lizard King. I'm a happy guy. Then later in the day I see that Kane just released BBA'ed Silent Nights. I text my buddy who lives nearby and his reply was perfect. " Already on my way bro - I got you covered " Shortly after he sent me a pic holding bottles and letting me know they ran out about 2 minutes later. Again, perfect timing. Beer Karma was smiling on me for sure. I have that to look forward to as well.
Now, onto my new beer for this week. After getting out of work I get a random text from an X and we decide to meet at the Ambulance Brewhouse in Nanuet for a drink. While in Nanuet I stop in Cable Beverage and pick up a Growler of Other Half IPA, some Lost Nation Gose and some more Lizard King. Head over to Ambulance where the beer list is always killer. I get a warm hello from Chris the manager and as always the beer list is so good its tough to decide what I want first. When the list has Hill Farmstead, Tired Hands, Other Half and Kent Falls just to name a few it can be tough. I start off with HF and as usual its awesome. As I'm enjoying it my X walks and we're chatting over old times etc. As I thought she loves everything about the place even though she's not a huge beer fan. She finds a Pinot Grigio she likes and all is good with the world. I decide to have a Tired Hands Saison next - amazing - and right after pouring it Chris pulls the ladder over and starts erasing several brews that have kicked. He starts to write in the replacements and Hop Showers from Other Half is one of them. Well now - a already great day just got better. Knowing me Chris says " should I just pour you one now or wait until you finish that " - we wait. Well worth the wait I must say. What a outstanding hoppy brew in true east coast style So fruity and easy to drink. Wonderful aroma and mouth feel. I've been spoiled living here with access to so many amazing brews and this is another. Wow what a great time to be a craft beer fan in general and even more so a hop head. Life is grand folks. Enjoy all. Cheers

 

Not working tomorrow, so...

"Hey Honey, it's NBS and I'm going to get DRUNK tonight."

"What? I'm upstairs, I can't hear you!"

"I'm going to get DRUNK tonight!!! Did you hear THAT!?"

"Did you say you're new shirt shrunk?"

"ohforfuckssake."

"What?! I can't hear you..." [ she mumbles more ]

"Oh never mind... okay, hey, wait. I SAID. I'M GOING TO DRINK A VERY VERY LAAAARGE BEER AND IT WILL F**K ME UP! I'M JUST LETTING YOU KNOW IN ADVANCE so, you don't have any... uh, any 'expectations' later.

"What are you talking about?" [ as she comes down the steps ]

"I'll be too drunk."

"Seriously? Just drink your beers."

"I'm just going to have one. We're off tomorrow, right?"

* * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * *

Thirsty Dog Bourbon Barrel Aged Cerberus Belgian Tripel

Aged 11 months in Bourbon Barrels.
12% ABV.
750ml bottle.
It's f**king big. (And no that's not what she said.)

I was expecting bourbon in my Cerberus and that's what I got! Bourbon, followed by in no particular order, succubus sweetness, fruity banana, a little hint of vanilla that tickles my fancy, mild carbonation makes my dirty potty mouth feel clean. I'm also starting to get some pretty lights and unusual thoughts & ideas.

Hmm, TDBBACBT is working its magic...




Drinking this slooowly...

Cheers Gang!

 

Happy NBS. Playoffs. Unexpected snow. Ridiculous amount of beer. No work tomorrow. I can't think of a situation that would make me happier. So, one of my new beers today is X Reserve, Saucony Creek's imperial Coffee Stout.



Wow, this is a pleasant surprise. Pours ink black. Looks really thick. It's got an aromatic coffee smell. Very coffee-centric flavor. This beer is like drinking a cold coffee, black with sugar. Really thick and viscous. The 11.5% alcohol is well hidden, except maybe in my inability to coherently review the beer. Really impressed with this one. No hype, low cost, great taste.
Cheers!

 

All right, this actually almost becoming a game. At least it held my interest slightly. I am onto a milestone beer. This will be my 1,000th beer review (1,400 overall ratings, FWIW), and I wanted to choose a moderately special beer for it. Since I can only choose things that the GF will have a chance at eventually, I am glad I bought two of these:


I open the bottle wondering if any little green aluminum shards entered the beer. Pours with fairly low-viscosity, but a nice amount of head is generated. Next comes the positioning of the beer, lighting from the window streams in nicely, but is hard to get behind the glass. Snap off a few, and get into the review.

Soapy bubbles last while I type some stuff up. In the background, Carolina finishes off Seattle in the NFL playoffs. Glass to the nose, letting the lower lip of the glass graze my upper lip, using it as a guide to waft the beer container under my nose. Nice vanilla bourbon scents rise from the surface, overpowering any normal stout base notes. This thing is on par with the nose from any other highly rated BBA beer out there.

Lower the glass a half an inch and tip it horizontal slowly to let the liquid contents roll over my tongue. Nice! Lick my lip, and go in for a larger drink, letting the liquid grace my upper lip on its way to my palate. Ok, this is tasting a little more like an old ale than a stout. It's almost certainly influenced by the bourbon barrel, but the roasted notes seem absent, or at least uninterested in visiting my taste buds.

To validate my latest assessment, I take a few more sips. Cola, root, vanilla (in certain sips, I can imagine a craft cream soda flavor), and the lightest hint of the bourbon itself all mingle together at a moderate volume. I little bit of woodiness seeps in later in the taste, and lingers in the background after the other parties have moved on.

As I ponder the feel, the two cats start fighting. A quick yell and I receive two looks of "what??!?". So another nice pour of beer into my mouth and a little swish around. This beer is not viscous at all, light in feeling, buoyed by a lot of miniscule carbonation bubbles (it would seem).

So, final assessment so I can let you who were nice enough to stay and listen is that this is a very enjoyable beverage, but I wouldn't go into it thinking too much about the "stout" aspect of the label. To me it is a nice, balanced bourbon barrel old ale with the vanilla also nicely integrated. I can miss vanilla at time, and I did a little in this beer, but when I specifically searched for it, it was pretty obvious.

Thanks for indulging my posts today, folks.

 

Second up is Moerlein OTR



Looks very nice. Nice frothy yet demure head, just a touch of haze in this otherwise dark copper beer.

Nose isn't huge but there is some sweet caramel happening.

Respectful amount of bitter right away, and a bitter that doesn't favor any one hop characteristic, yet a little earthy. Malt backbone is all enveloping as it provides not only sweetness but maybe a tangy edge as well.

Somewhat full bodied for the style, lots of carbonation and a pretty wet, sweet finish. Like sweet tea aftertaste sort of.

Refreshing and highly drinkable, this one could almost be a beer that you could introduce to non craft friends as well as enjoy yourself.

 

Congrats, @cjgiant, on achieving this milestone. Cheers!

 

Okay, so when you write 'Barrel aged lambic style with peaches' on the label you set certain expectations:



Expectations not met...

750 into a snifter

L - Pours slightly hazy golden with almost no head
S - bright crisp with a touch of stone fruit and a very slight hint of funk
T - bright acidity, mostly lacto but soft. Some fruit coming through, but a bit subdued. Not much funk to speak of
F - crisp, smooth, with soft carb (almost too little).

Overall a solid effort, but really nothing to make it stand out. Not much funk, and could have done with more fruit in the beer to make it more than a subtle undertone - when I read Peche on the label, I expect peaches; not just a touch, I was hoping for more.

Frankly my biggest issue is the labeling and the price. Don't tell me it is a lambic style barrel aged Peche, and then serve me up a mild Berliner weiss with a touch of fruit and almost no funk at all... Pissed I paid $17 for a bottle of this - not cool Oceanside... not cool...

Rating 3.55

 

Afternoon, BAs! After a moderately productive weekend, I'm settling in for the last game. It's nice to hear "Omaha" at the line of scrimmage, although I'll be sick of it in about 5 minutes. On to the beer, which I noticed @cjgiant also reviewed today. My impressions were similar:

Sierra Nevada Beer Camp Tropical IPA



Looks like a typical hoppy IPA, which I like. A nice hazy amber-orange color with a wispy white head. The foam receded quickly but left some nice tracks behind. Great smelling beer with scents as billed but not overpowering: mango, tangerine, and guava. Probably the fruitiest, non-citrusy IPA I've tasted with mango, guava, and blueberry. The malt presence is muted, but just enough to give this some body. Moderately bitter with a soft-feeling bitterness. Medium-carbed and light on the palate. A great IPA for sure, but I prefer a bit of dank, resiny, piney presence. If you like tasty, hoppy fruit bomb IPAs, pick some of this up - it's a great value here at $9.99 a sixer. Cheers!

 

This is pretty much a spot-on expression of how I thought the tropical notes behaved in this beer.

Yeah - this beer actually has a nice bit of bitterness in it, I think, but it's not ripping your tongue out of your mouth and painting it with pine tar by any means . And I think that's why I like it .

 

On to another style altogether with Parallel 49 Salty Scot



Foamy beige head with generous lacing rides this unmuddled and dark brown beer.

Nose has a ton of almond with a sharp sweetness to it before cherry becomes the evolution of the aforementioned almond.

Taste follows the nose with all the cherry but I certainly can pick up a balancing saltiness. Not overpowering whatsoever but there nonetheless. There's a tartness hiding there as well.

Body goes oddly from syrupy to thin pretty quick. Finish is not too horribly dry, but maybe a bit.

 

another local, finally broke down and bought for 7$ a bomber



poured amber with dissipating head 4/5

big citrus hop scents like grapefruit 4.25/5

complimentary malt and hop flavorsi get honey, just sayin. 4.5/5

medium body, creamy smooth finish, a little carbonation. not chewy 4.25/5

reminds me a little of hopslam (poor mans version) I like and glad I tasted. 4.25/5

 

WEIZENBOCK!!!

And I sometimes forget to do this, so here's a hearty thanks to @utopiajane (this week) and @cavedave for being on that NBS wall, right where we need them ...

It's a New American Wild Ale Sunday here in the Brazos Valley as we enjoy a postgame celebration beer (took mom to see Episode VII):

Biere de Syrah by Jester King
"Blend One -- June 2015"
ABV: 7.3% FG: 1.001 pH: 3.2

Mom loved the movie and loves the beer . How could she not?!?

Biere de Syrah pours out red, smells like wine and tastes like Jester King. Those Syrah grapes, added for refermentation, have seemingly reached deep into this beer and pulled out the musty barn/aged-hop foundation. It's out front and center, dancing around and putting on quite a show. Much of the flavor is like a big sack of old Fuggle hops that's been lying around in the attic of a Texas barn through all manner of weather, then dried out, chopped up and turned into beer. The grapes don't show up much in the flavor, but they don't need to ... they seem to be doing a ton of heavy lifting in terms of accenting the farmhouse-like base, adding a little here, a little there. The subtleties are tricky to describe, but a little sour grape flavor and sweetness works as bigger, clunkier terms.

The review:
http://www.beeradvocate.com/beer/profile/24018/184060/?ba=Premo88

4.54 (+0.2% rDev)

Mom and I had our pregame meal at Village Cafe in Downtown Bryan, and I couldn't help myself ... here's some art, painted by a local middle-schooler:


Cheers!

 

New Sour Beer Sunday

With the temp looking to hit single digits tonight here in Michigan, it is not exactly ideal conditions for the release of this beer, but since I love Sierra Nevada, and I just finished working out, something light and refreshing sounded perfect.


Bottled 12/29/15

I don't know why I love my poor man's teku glass for sour beers, but for me it just always works. As many have noted, this beer is not as salty or sour as some within the style (I admittedly have only had a few) but I think that only adds to its potential as a go-to summer beer for me (especially in cans!). I get the tart and salinity pretty good when it is ice cold, but as it warms up the finish actually gets more refreshing and the grapefruit makes itself known. Quaffable, yet interesting. Overall, this is another winner in a not so prevalent (although increasingly popular) style for Sierra Nevada.

4.21/5

It went down too easy, so expect another post from me real soon. Until then, I am back to NFL playoffs. And what a weekend it has been so far!

Cheers, BA!

 

Keep on keepin on!

Crony - No-Li Brewhouse


No-Li Brewhouse - Crony NW Brown Ale by imbibehour, on Flickr

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Poured from the bottle into a nonic pint glass.

Giant, foamy, rich thick soapy tan head that is beyond the scope of my fist. Outrageous head creation, but not a gusher forming with a giant thick cap that takes over the glass, and IPA thick like retention. Body color though is a very beautiful mahogany red, with some nice clarity and excellent polished like appearances. Too bad about this crazy creation which makes the drink impossible to enjoy for a long time.

Very nice aroma and balance. Toasty malts, a little bit of brown bread and a nice caramel softness with milk chocolate. Hop angle follows next, slightly juicy but not as prominent. Excellent chocolate and toast angle which stands out.

Unexpected. IPA Cascadian like body, with a noticeable hop push on first sip. Small toast flavors at first up front, then comes to a somewhat juiced hop angle, mixing with much of the chocolate like malt character of the brew. However, more brown toast like qualities take over, which take the beer to a different place altogether, nearly crackling malt but not quite in terms of flavor. Finishes hop dominant with a mix of pine and needles, toasted aired grain slightly burnt as well. There's almost a sharp peppery mineral quality to this as well.

Interesting take on a brown ale, not mind blowing but decent enough.

look: 3 | smell: 4 | taste: 3.75 | feel: 4 | overall: 3.75 | BA Generated Score: 3.79

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been awhile since I had a No-Li brew, although was hoping for something a little better.

 

Sup again! #2 is Stone/Sierra Nevada NxS IPA.



I wasn't convinced this would work, but it really does. Kudos to Stone and SN for pulling it off with aplomb. Review:

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look: 4 | smell: 3.25 | taste: 4 | feel: 4 | overall: 3.75

Pours a slightly chill-hazed copper color. The head is two fingers high and barely off-white in shade. Its texture is fluffy yet durable, and the retention is decent enough. A ridiculously thick ring of lacing sticks to the glass, giving it some brownie points.

The aroma isn't quite as interesting as I anticipated. I definitely get the standard IPA here, and it's done well - plenty of lemongrass, pine, and grapefruit show up. As it opens up, I get a touch of gin, but only a touch (the more it opens up, the more the barrels come through). Some caramel malts also show up. While it doesn't come together amazingly, it offers something a little different to the bog-standard IPA.

Its flavor opens up with touches of lemon and pine. I get some caramel malts near the middle, and even touches of tropical fruit. Near the back end, some of the barrel aging sneaks itself in there. I'm picking up mostly rye whiskey, but also a touch of vanilla, gin, and bourbon. Despite seemingly featuring a lot of aggressive, bitter hop qualities...it really isn't very aggressive or bitter. As it opens up, juniper berries really start coming on strongly. How about that - a barrel-aged IPA that actually works!

While the texture is fairly full and even creamy, it finishes fairly dry - might I add, without relying on excess bitterness. Drinkability is quite good, and carbonation is medium.

This beer is a lot of fun to drink. The aroma made me a little hesitant this would work, but it did - quite well, at that. Sure, some *cough* will want for more barrel, but this has absolutely enough for my tastes. Even better, the barrel notes blend with the the base IPA extremely deftly. This beer does a good job of showing that a barrel-aged IPA can, in fact, be successful.

3.77/5: A clever showcase that melds two seemingly apocryphal qualities well

 

Damn! Somebody is learning something in college!

 

nice job! well done. cheers to a clean glass too!

 

Back again NBS with a classic that's been around a while. I've always passed on this before because of the bomber format, but I've recently seen this come out in 12oz. 6 pks.



Bottled 11/30/15
Pours honey golden color with off white, frothy head which dissipates quickly to a sparse top layer. Large bubbled collar. Very small particles in suspension.
Nose is tropical fruits with grapefruit and ample bread, cracker. As it warms, the malts overtake the fruity hops in the nose.
Taste is hop bite of grapefruit with hints of orange and lemon. Bold cracker malt in tandem with the hop acidity. Strong bitterness on the back of the palate and tongue but allows some sweetness through. Similar to the aroma, the malts come into balance with the hops as it warms up and the palate adjusts to the initial citrus bite.
Wouldn't say it is clean or crisp as the bitterness lingers quite a bit, but it's on the lighter side in the feel. A touch sticky.

This one has been around a while and finally brought myself to get some now that it's available in 6pk 12oz bottles. Very solid with all the right characteristics of citrus, bitterness, and bready malt. It's a true classic with a great showcase of how malts can compliment rather than detriment a hoppy IPA.
4.29/5 rDev +0.2%
look: 4.25 | smell: 4.5 | taste: 4.25 | feel: 4 | overall: 4.25

 

Happy NBS!

Late to the party usually have my new beer as my first on Sunday.
Decided this beer would fit well after the Carolina game and after feasting all day.
Just by the description of this beer I convinced my self I would t like it. The idea of fruit and stouts was and still is odd to me. Plus I haven't liked any chocolate stouts I've tried. Still I always try new things, especially local.

Westbrooks 5th anniversary chocolate raspberry imperial stout.


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4.16/5 rDev -3%
look: 4 | smell: 4.25 | taste: 4.25 | feel: 4 | overall: 4

L: Jet black, viscous looking. Heavy pour produced a layer of tan foam.

S: Roasty malts, chocolate and sweet raspberries almost tart.

T: The raspberry sweetness up front combines with a super decadent chocolate. Fades a bit bitter.. some roasted coffee. Not too sweet like I thought it would be tho.

F: Smooth ..maybe towards thin? A bit dry also.

O: Seems like a really good fruity chocolate stout.. perfect amount of sweetness, not overpowering IMO.

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