New Beer Sunday (week 571)

750 ml. growler filled yesterday.
Look: Pours a beautiful 3/4 inch head
Smell: So nice and tropical.
Taste: Julius's twin, only a tad boozier.
Feel: This is where it lacks a bit...
Overall: So glad I got to try this and gladder still that I have another 750.

 

Howdie, NBSers, and welcome to Ovaltine's 53rd birthday NBS edition. Tonight's beverage, this sublime red ale.



I thought long and hard about the beer I wanted to enjoy tonight with my NBS brethren - you only turn Don Drysdale once ......



so you've gotta make this new beer a good one, and Red Wheelbarrow is outstanding. I had my first Maine Beer Company brew a couple of months ago, and I was floored, so now, any chance I get, I grab their stuff. And my trips to Chicago provide that opportunity, so when I was there a couple of weeks ago, I grabbed this.

It pours a beautiful red/amber, semi-translucent, with a couple of fingers of tan head. The bottle is very forthright in stating this is NOT a "red IPA," and it's not - there's a really nice citrusy hop aroma and flavor, but the caramel and toffee malts are what kick this up another couple of levels. It isn't a "red IPA" because it doesn't want to be a red IPA, it just wants to be a really great beer that is imminently sippable and very refreshing all at the same time. Mission Accomplished. Drink well, NBSers.

Rated 4.28 here:

http://www.beeradvocate.com/beer/profile/20681/103142/

 

Well all I can say is check your date. I must say I haven't had it since it first came out but when I did I did enjoy it. And I did get enough caramel malt to me to make it a "red " IPL. But then again we are in uncharted waters since this style is somewhat of an experiment. One IMHO that was a success the first time I had it . Different tastes make the beer world go round!

 

Time for another great bottle thanks to @bstyle. Now up Transient/The Beer Cellar Neckbeard Nectar. Had a lot of great new beers this weekend and Tired Hands Ourison was the only one better than this.
4.51/5 rDev +3.4%
look: 4.25 | smell: 4.5 | taste: 4.5 | feel: 4.75 | overall: 4.5

Big thanks to bstyle for this
22 oz bottle poured into a teku

A- Black with with a two finger deep mocha head.

S- Vanilla, some roasted malts and coffee, molasses, mild cinnamon, dark fruits, chocolate, the slightest hint of coconrt.

T- Molasses, dark chocolate, some cinnamon, vanilla, hints of coconut, bitter coffee finish, some caramel. Great balance between sweet and bitter.

M- Silky smooth, full body.

O- Second beer from Transient and both have been great. Very easy drink, wold have like the coconut to be big in this beer, but still a great stout.

★564 characters

 

Just tried Guinness Nitro IPA for the first time. I have been reluctant to do so, because I have yet to find a Nitro beer that I enjoy. I don't like to try beers that I know I probably won't like, as I don't see the point. I finally convinced myself to give it a go, but alas, I was disappointed once again. If anyone reading this IS a fan of nitros, please tell me why. I just don't get it, they promise so much with the plethora of bubbling head, but then they always taste like a flat soda to me.

Here is my review:

Poured (or should I say exploded?) from 12 oz can into nonic glass. Appearance: pours 100% frothing off white head that gradually calms down to reveal a cloudy amber beer with no visible streaming carbonation left. Moderate lacing on the glass. Aroma: nice aroma with a balance of sweet malts with a healthy citrus hop. Mouthfeel: medium bodied, creamy, with a dry finish but tastes like a flat soda. Flavor: sweet, bready malt goes head to head with the citrus hops and balance nicely. Overall: hard to rate this one. The appearance is strange (due to the nitro), the aroma is very nice, the mouthfeel is unpleasant, the flavor is nice. I admit I have yet to try a nitro beer that I like, and this one is no exception. I just don’t get the hype over nitro beers. I prefer standard carbonation and beers that do not taste flat. I would love to try this beer made without nitro.

 

Interesting. That's actually my favorite New Belgium beer and I find it plenty funky. Sorry to hear you didn't get that experience.

Happy Birthday!

 

Palate wasn't quite clean as of this morning. Had my first beers in 25 days on Thursday night, starting with Founder's Azacca IPA. My experience was much like what many people's first IPA experience is like---the beer was undrinkable to me. Haha. Overwhelmingly bitter and I wasn't finding any flavor to it. Hard to know if it was the clean palate or the beer, but it was interesting.

 

Yeah, I'm more open to it as a finishing aromatic hop than as a "whole" beer hop.

 

Happy NBS! It's been a few weeks since I've been able to post on here, but I'm back this week with a beauty from one of my favorite breweries. After getting blasted with 24 inches of snow last weekend it has been very mild around these parts lately and all but about six inches has melted. I stocked up on reinforcements before the blizzard, but never got around to drinking this one. Little did I know when I picked this up that I've never had an Oud Bruin before, so as I try this today I am doubly excited for both a new beer and a new style!

Ommegang Rosetta




This beer is actually brewed in Belgium at Liefmans (note the 11.2 oz / 330 ml bottle size). From Ommegang's website it is a "blend of old (aged on cherries at least three years) and young Flemish brown ale (or oud bruin) with a lively and fruity kriek, or cherry beer." Sounds good to me. Let's dive right in.

Pours a ruby-brown color with great clarity when held up to the light. Off-white, creamy head with good retention and sparse lacing on the glass. First impression from the aroma is that this is a complex brew and not an overly sweetened "fruit bomb." Light caramel malt sweetness followed by waves of fruity aromatics like raisin, fig, and cherry. I got a little bit of port and brown sugar as well. The flavor really hits on those raisin, fig, and cherry notes with a big sour/tart and sweet finish. It's dominated by malt and yeast with no hops present at all. Medium-light bodied with lively carbonation.

I drank this beer incredibly fast. It just hit on all the right notes for me, without overdoing any of them. One of those beers that's just hard to find many faults with. The fact that Ommegang made this a year-round offering in 2016 makes me a happy camper. Cheers!

look: 4.25 | smell: 4.25 | taste: 4.5 | feel: 4 | overall: 4.25
Overall score: 4.33/5

 

That's for sure, and I did acknowledge that age could be a factor. How do you read the date on these bottles, anyway? I see some numbers that end with 102815 (Oct 28th?), so I assumed it was 3 months old (borderline, I suppose), but that could just be a coincidence.

 

Happy Birthday, and Maine Beer Co seems like a good option for any birthday .

 

Gorgeous Photos!!!

 

Happy Birthday @woemad !!!

 

Maybe the 2016 is different idk never had any other. But just didn't get much funk. I'm also obsessed with funk bombs so albeit biased I guess.
Remember loving la terrior tho!

 

Yes you are correct. It's on the neck in the place it frequently wears off. Then there are some numbers with the last few digits being the date. I sent some off and was worried about the age actually. I haven't seen it recently with new bottling dates- could be a one timer? Too bad if it is because when I had it super fresh it was very good. Maybe they'll start canning like they did with Calyptra and Hoponiuous Union. That would be fantastic.

 

Fwiw- I had it a few years ago and don't remember any funk either. I do remember the sourness, though, which was pretty freakin' intense.

 

Hello New Beer Sunday.

I missed last Sunday, because I had no desire to have anything in my collection, or drinking in general. I thought for sure I'd miss this Sunday also, because I caught a nasty cold Tuesday. I am almost back to normal now, so, here I am.



Mobcraft Cervezarita - 7.5% ABV

I haven't had many of their brews. I do like their BatSh!t Crazy, which is very delicious. I know I've had one other of their beers, and wasn't impressed, just don't remember the name.

A medium golden color, and a moderate head, that goes away quickly. The nose, ok, still not 100%, but is smells really funky to me. It smells like booze, and bad booze, at that.

Taste - ahhhhhh?????? There's a lot of flavors trying to get to my taste buds. They're fighting, and competing, and it's really kind of a mess. I don't know if agave syrup, lime and sea salt should be used to make beer. Maybe it's the cold. I don't know. If this were Kitchen Nightmares, Gordan Ramsey might refer to this as a "hot mess".

1.7 out of 5
Might be a drain pour. We'll see.

 

New Beer Sunday: Imperial American Stout

Evenin' NBSers with special greetings to all you seekers of surprising stouts.

Didn't get to join in last week since nature decided it was time for the east coasters to get hit with some remarkable weather. All day Saturday a week ago we were in a Blizzard (i.e., heavy snow, high winds and extremely limited visibility). That meant Sunday was devoted to recovery from the storm. By the end of the day I was in no mood to sample a new beer and so I just relaxed with a bottle of Nugget Nectar from this year's release by Troeg's.

Today we've been in a warming trend and are currently expecting some temperatures this coming week to be in the 50s and even the low 60s. Quite the change from the last couple of winters. Mostly today was devoted to running errands and I even got in a quick stop at one of the new bottle shops that have begun to appear, almost like weeds, in this region of PA. After my visit I left with a mixed six pack of mostly new beers and one I've not had a chance at for lo these many years (the last 5 anyway .

This evening's new beer is the last of the Bell's Planets series, Neptune (The Mystic). I didn't seek out this beer it was just sitting there a couple of weeks ago in a rack in a different bottle shop (and over 6 mos after release when most sources seem to have sold all they had). As it sat there I could hear its siren call, even though I've not seen or tried any of the earlier ones. It seemed so lonely and unappreciated that I decided to give it a good home. After giving it a couple of weeks rest I've now opened it tonight.

As usual my review, in progress until the beer is finished, can be found here:

http://www.beeradvocate.com/beer/profile/287/181519/?ba=drtth

While sipping and writing I've tried to think how to best describe this beer. If I were to use only a single word it would be "complex." Also, while the ingredients list looks to have included almost everything but the kitchen sink it all works amazing well together to create an incredibly complex beer where the flavors and aromas never seem to sit still long enough to be clearly identified. Its definitely a stout but its not anybody's father's stout. I like it.

In keeping with Larry Bell's apparent inspiration for the Planet's series I put a recording of Holst's "The Planets" on the player and have also been repeating the Neptune segment while finishing off this beer. I do have to say that I'm beginning to "grok"* what the Brewer was trying to present in the form of a beer.

Here's a remarkable recording of the music, Neptune (The Mystic).

Cheers, all!

*"grok" a term coined by Robert Heinlein back in the 60s that basically means "to understand something at an intuitive level, sometimes to the point that the observer and observed become as one."

 

Greetings All:

Checking in from the great northwest on a gorgeous sunny, but brisk day.

I've seen the spring seasonal brews rolling out the last couple of weeks, including one of my favorites, Deschutes Red Chair among them. So today I ditched the porters and stouts of winter and opted for Beer Camp Tropical IPA.
http://www.beeradvocate.com/beer/profile/140/182256/

Super fruity, light, crisp and wet. I may cellar some of this stuff for warmer weather. One of these, ice cold, would great after a round of golf.

So, as I said sunny but cool with temps in the upper 40's. I spent the day doing some minor remodeling in our travel trailer, and thinking about spring adventures.

Until next week,

Happy Trails!

 

I kicked things off today by jumping into the Creek with a Hefeweizen.

http://www.beeradvocate.com/beer/profile/29021/125010/?ba=woodychandler

Inspired by Doctor Who, I am traveling back in time for the rest of the day. This wheat beer will begat another, which will begat another after that until the CANminoes begin to fall (Fall?) in a way that I will CANnect the dots for you at the end of the day. Be seeing you!

I was initially given shock treatment to CANsure that I was CANgiznant.

http://www.beeradvocate.com/beer/profile/29/130010/

My eyes bulged out like Alex's in "A Clockwork Orange", but I survived and ran to my TARDIS & headed back to this past fall. I was shocked to find a pumpkin waiting for me upon my return.

http://www.beeradvocate.com/beer/profile/29/72412/

I was then picked up by a UFO and force-fed another pumpkin.

http://www.beeradvocate.com/beer/profile/98/71325/

My return to Earth suggested that I may have sired a child.

http://www.beeradvocate.com/beer/profile/30437/98438/?ba=woodychandler

In a panic, I ran to my old pal, Buffalo Bill, to see if he could help me.

http://www.beeradvocate.com/beer/profile/205/643/?ba=woodychandler

As it turned out, she was out of her gourd! A paternity test showed that no matter how many of my (pumpkin) seeds that I had shared with her, the seedling was not of my lineage.

http://www.beeradvocate.com/beer/profile/18134/98299/

She then tried to render me headless, but being a wily (Wylie) fellow, I had an Uber standing by.

http://www.beeradvocate.com/beer/profile/30791/197559/

I need to close at this point, lest I be rendered a headless horseman, but once Late-Night NBS begins, I will make a return!

That does it for the moment, but I plan to return for LNNBS. I hope that you enjoyed my New Beer & New CANned Beer Sunday as much as I did!