New Beer Sunday (week 573)

Good morning NBS and thanks to @JackHorzempa for the kick off and the focus.
@lordofthewiens you hopeless romantic! Cheers to all you lovers today. I know the first
time I saw my sweetheart, all he light in the room bent to attach to her. Today I have the pleasure
of Barrel Aged Everett from Hill Farmstead, I have had this 1 time in a sample prior to
this writing. The delicate use of barrel aging/blending shows real skill. Not o boozy, no masking of the base beer.
Cheers all

Poured from a 500ml bottle dated 12.9.15 into a HFB large goblet.
A - An aggressive pour yields a mocha cap, a swirl displays a slick coating around the glass. The color
of bakers chocolate, lets very little light through. Carbonation labors through the body in support of a
ring of froth.
S - The barrel component is the welcoming, then once the party starts, cocoa, dark fruit, are the coat check
followed up by vanilla, toffee and sun dried broad leaf tobacco. Incredibly, in the mix lurks blackberry, planed
cherry wood and even more dried dark fruit. Pleasantly lacking alcohol fusel elements the barrel notes are orchestral in their presentation.
T - Remarkable and few other choice descriptors! Refined chocolate element, caressed lightly by wisps of bourbon, dark wood mixes with dark fruits, dark berry, and a lone vanilla bean. Enough toffee, caramel, without tilting to the sweet side.
M - A full bodied offering, starts sweet, changes in time to luxury. The palate rejoicing in the pleasure. A refined carbonation keeps things swept along. The finish takes time, but the conversation does not become tedious.
O - "That is somethin" quote from my sweetheart. Pretty much sums this up. Everett already wonderful gently developed into a treasure.
Worth seeking out

 

Hey what's going on?! It's freezing... this sucks..

But however, I am inside with much tasty brews.. Very happy about that... I love beer!

So it's some Hallmark greeting card day or something, one of those that makes me gag or something... oh yeah but I prefer beer!

That being said what's new for our hero on this Sunday. Always looks to put a dent in the beer fridge so off we go.

Moneytree$ - Stillwater Artisanal Ales


Stillwater - Moneytree$ Gose Style Session IPA by imbibehour, on Flickr

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Poured from the bottle into a wheat ale glass. A gose IPA huh? What a surprise that is...

Deep green yellow, with a light cloudy character but also quite glowing and some clarity. Thin classic carbonation through a very greenish yellow body, matching to a thin bright white, but very small head that dissolves quite quickly.

Hop forward aroma accenting real nice lemon and a tropical to floral note. Hard to pin this one down, but some base cardamom like aromas also come out as well. Hints at chewy sweetness slightly and gives off a good mouthwatering effect. Exotic citrus oils really explode on this beer real nicely.

Radler like body feel on first sip, but also some real peppery and tingly notes. Heavily fruit forward, thick grapefruit and lemon oils with very soda like tight carbonation. Malt depth seems to forego classic chewy wheat body and is pushing definitely hop flavors instead. Real peppery almost pink peppercorn light flavors and popping on the tongue. Flirts with session IPA character, but a touch of salinity does come out on the finish which is a neat play with the accenting pepper quality strangely.

It's a style blur for sure, but a pretty tasty beer. Does manage to leave out some of the classic Gose characters behind in favor of hops. Would love to see more malt depth and chew on this though.

look: 3.75 | smell: 4.25 | taste: 4 | feel: 3.75 | overall: 4 | BA Generated Score: 4.02

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That's our first one! Meanwhile beef short ribs for dinner are already stewing!! Can't wait!

Cheers!

 

Happy VD to all !!! How you guys doin today? Gotta say here in CT we broke some records last nite, with the wind it hit -30's ??? When I went for coffee at 7:30 the car said -7 that's no wind !!! Good day to sit by the fireplace and drink beer. So today's choice comes from my buddy @Yourahoser I'm not the biggest fan of saisons cause a good one is few and far between, but this is close to a like for me. A little over carbed for my taste almost champagne levels. But flavored are right there. Smells lemony yeasty goodness, my friend also sent me this beer with Brett which I can't wait to crack open, but it's gotta sit for a spell still. Hope everyone enjoys their day and I'll probably be back later!!

 

Poured into a 16 oz Woodstock Inn Brewery snifter once again near room temperature, bottled recently not sure when, unusual for Stone. Pours a gorgeous ruby red, with a 3 inch off white head that settles into a ring of foam, leaving a little lace behind. 5

Smell caramel, apricot, dark fruits,vanilla, bubble gum, pine, and grapefruit. 4.5

Taste follows very well, loads of caramel up front mixed with vanilla and dark fruit and then you you get a wallop of apricot and grapefruit, with a little alcohol burn in the long somewhat bitter finish. 4.5

Mouthfeel is a little above medium, moderate carbonation as it should be, a touch dry, and for 11% drinkability is amazing! 4.75

Overall I love big American Barleywines, Regular Old Guardian, Bigfoot, Old Horizontal, Old Numbskull, and Old Ruffian. This thing is truly special, may drink more like a triple IPA right now. Way to easy going down for 11%. Stone you are as hot as any brewery going right now! 4.5

 

That's a beer I've long wanted to try. Glad to hear you enjoyed it.

 

Good morning NBS and Happy Valentine's Day, getting the day started with a beer that always intrigued me but I never bought (until they marked it 35% off). So lets get started.

This is a collaboration between Shmaltz and Terrapin called Reunion Ale 2015, based on the not too clear date it looks like it was brewed in August 2015 it is 8% ABV.







Pours - Deep mahogany brown pretty clear decent head that quickly dissipates to nothing no lacing.



Smell - Ok it is a little busy but the pumpkin and cinnamon stand out to me first I get a little of the chocolate and some of the chili as well.



Taste - Once it warms a little the main thing I get are the pumpkin and cinnamon and some nutmeg. I get no burn or really much taste from the Mexican chili pepper I was hoping for a little heat. I also do not get much chocolate, i do get some of the ginger however.



Feel- a light to medium feel fairly pretty well carbonated.



Overall- It was a very interesting beer that is not bad it I just wish it had a little more heat and the chocolate came out a little more it basically reminds me of a plain pumpkin beer.

 

Happy Valentines NBS! I kind of went with a themed beer, BB Temptress.

The first aroma I pick up is slightly tart akin to a cherry skin. There is also a sweetness to it along with some whisky. Surprisingly the flavor is not tart to begin, but more sweet malt and caramel with a vanilla and whisky flavor. A bit of tartness is in the finish, which I feel is more of the barrels used than the beer developing off flavors because this is almost 2 years old. Feel is on the thinner side of medium, but has nice carbonation. Overall it was flavorful and the light tartness did not detract from the overall taste.

 

I have tried a Robust Porter AG homebrew leaning toward Everett also, your right a few months makes a huge difference.
Cheers

 

New Oatmeal Stout Sunday; Irish Style, American Made!

Greetings from the frozen landscape here at The Jersey Shore. The thermometer (aka my phone ) indicated a temp of 1 degree earlier this morning. There was no morning jog along the water today. There is new beer, an offering from a local brewery, Rinn Duin Black Irish. Some of the beer is in the oven as an ingredient in a sauce making for a slow roasting short ribs delight. Some of the beer is right here:
http://www.beeradvocate.com/beer/profile/33301/206318/?ba=NiceTaps






All the best, everyone!

 

Hello, New Beer Valentines Day Sunday people. Well, it's cold as all get out here in NJ today. I'm enjoying a fire, a spooky book and some new beer from Stone today. Stone has always been one of my favorite breweries and probably the one that I buy the most bombers from. Today I'm starting off with a new variation on an old fave, Old Guardian, with Pekko hops. Planning on being back later with the red IPA.





Here's my review:

http://www.beeradvocate.com/beer/profile/147/210042/?ba=DrStiffington

 

This brew pours black, so dark that looking into the glass is almost like looking into a mirror, with a 1.5 finger mocha head; most of which lasts until the end and moderate to heavy lacing.

The smell is earthy and woody with lots of roasted, toasted malts. There is also lots of coffee and chocolate.

The taste is almost all lightly toasted malts backed up by coffee, like chewing on a coffee bean, and chocolate with just a bit of hops on the back end. There is also a woody, earthy taste, just like the smell. The feel is thick, rich and filling and a little dry at the finish.

Overall another winner from Heavy Seas. If you want to try an Imperial Stout that is not too hoppy then try this one.

 

How's the new job?

 

Pretty good so far!

 

And a warm good afternoon to all the NBS followers and thank you to @JackHorzempa for doing a great job in kicking things off. It's on days like this I'm glad I live in NE because we all know give it 24 hours and the weather will change. It was -16* this morning here in Central NH and has warmed all the way up to 7* right now but that's in the sun and less the wind which is averaging 15 mph right now. The romantic stories from all the regulars here are heart touching to say the least. I've been married twice and they didn't work well for me but my current S.O. of over 5 years now was truly meant to be my partner for the rest of our lives. If it had been better weather today we had plans but way to cold for them so were just hanging out at home me drinking some good beer and she is sampling some good wine of her choice. Life is to short in the end and I hope that everyone finally finds the right person to share there life with. I know I finally have!
My new beer for this Sunday comes from a rather large box of beer that someone named @ohyeahitsmuff had dropped on my porch. His return box will leave tomorrow as this frigid weather is supposed to break. And the beer I am reviewing today is Café Y Churro from Carton Brewing. I've tried a couple of there beers since his box arrived and have found them all enjoyable.

4.19/5 rDev -9.3%
look: 4.25 | smell: 4 | taste: 4.25 | feel: 4.25 | overall: 4.25

This beer poured a darker orangey color into my tulip glass. Almost no head at all even with a fairly aggressive pour. I think this has to do with the style and also the 12% ABV for this beer. The nose contains a wonderful mix of aromas, coffee, cinnamon and a very faint vanilla. The taste to be exceeds the nose a very smooth blend of the coffee, cinnamon and still there is a vanilla taste that lingers in the back of your mouth. This beer grows in flavor as it has warmed a little in my glass. The mouth feel is creamy and smooth and low on carbonation. This is a really good beer to be sipping on this cold afternoon. But at the 12% ABV I won't need to many this afternoon.

I have another variant of this beer I'll try to review if time permits this afternoon. But have a Leg of Lamb to get in the oven here shortly so it may take a little while.

Cheers to all and for the fellow New Englanders try and keep warm!

 

Happy New Beer Sunday and hello from sunny but cold Baltimore!

My beer this week is Trillium's PM Dawn.

4.5 | 4.25 | 4.75 | 4.5 | 4.75 | 4.59 overall | + 5.3% rDev

The beer pours a deep dark brown with 3/4" sandy colored head.
Smells like a sweetened medium roast coffee with hints of chocolate.
Tastes of big bold coffee, dark bitter chocolate, a touch of vanilla and a milky sweetness.
The mouthfeel reminds me of a latte but with an appropriate amount of carbonation.
Overall another great beer from Trillium and especially appropriate for the brunch hours.

Would be great with some old school cake doughnuts or pancakes with some spicy pork sausage.

Cheers!

 

Brunch is done, and now for another new beer. Figured I'd go with this one, as there is the whole fresh IPA thing and all.


Pours fairly nice, especially the head which is a mix of froth and soapiness that lasts in the nucleated SA glass. Thanks to the generous sunlight, however, I can see microscopic (oxymoron intended) floating elements in the beer.

The nose on this beer is mainly piney at its base, with maybe a little of that note's true love companion: grapefruit pith. The ginger does throw a wrench into the relationship, however, interloping with it's distinct smell. If I am not seeking the notes, the pine becomes more holiday-like, resembling a fresh wreath on someone's door. (Actually, the nose changes up to me constantly as this beer warms, to varying degrees of my enjoyment).

If only the the distinct notes that were detected in the nose stayed more distinct in the taste. This beer ends up very muddled to me. I get a more balanced (and even reversed) pith/pine note to open. The ginger comes in very earthy/root-like without much spice pop to let you know what it is. It acts to dull the classic IPA flavors the beer started out with. All the notes add to a drying beer to me.

The GF, who loves IPAs thinks it is pretty bitter. I think I see where she is coming from, as somehow that "rootiness" adds another similar flavor and feel onto a fairly bitter base beer that is likely unnecessary. I am looking for a spicy bite and can imagine a little, but I think it could also be the decent level of carbonation. So, while the beer is definitely finish-able, I would rank it in the adjunct addition failure category.


Oh, and here's what the boy cat thinks of the beer and V-Day in general .

 

Good afternoon NBSers, and Happy Valentine's Day! It's another cold one in eastern Kentucky, with the high for today lingering around 13*F with the wind chill. Sounds like a perfect excuse to stay inside and drink some new beers! Hopefully the wife will feel up to a stay-in movie night later on. We did our Valentine's thing yesterday, opting for a late lunch at the Portsmouth Brewery, just across the bridge in Ohio. Not to say anything bad about their beer, but I'd go there just for the food. Hands down, my favorite place to eat that has good beer on tap within a 30 mile radius. Ok, enough of that. On with the beer!

Da Beer
Ballast Point Fathom
IPL (IPA Style-Lager) 7.0% ABV.





Da Re...view

12 oz. can poured into a pint glass (blasphemy, I know). Light gold in color with outstanding clarity. About a finger of bubbly white foam on top that fizzed down to a thin lacing after a few minutes. This beer looks like your standard, filtered lager - not a bad thing. Interesting nose on this guy. I get tons of lemon & orange peel, along with light spice, citrus, grapefruit, mango, bready malt and hops. The aroma isn't necessarily assertive, but it's pleasant and balanced nicely. On the taste, the first thing I pick up is the fruit (orange, lemon, grapefruit) followed immediately by a crushing wave of citrus and pine. Not a huge hop presence until you get to the finish, which is a good mixture of modest hops and bready malt. There are some final touches of zest lemon and orange spread around in there as well. Bittersweet aftertaste that's more reminiscent of an IPA than anything. In terms of the feel, this beer is what you'd expect out of a Ballast Point IPL, that is, light (but dense enough to carry that 7%), smooth, and inherently drinkable. It doesn't have the body of a good 7% IPA, but it's not supposed to.

Overall, a very good beer. I could sit at a bar and drink this while eating wings and fries all day long.

Da Scores

look: 3.75 | smell: 3.75 | taste: 4 | feel: 4.25 | overall: 4
Weighted Score: 3.95/5 (+1.5% rDev)

And that's it! A pretty good offering from the nautical nerds at Ballast Point. I'll buy it again if I see it around. I paid $10.99 for a 6 pack, which in my opinion, was a good deal. This would make a great grillin' beer, for anybody out there brave enough to be outside today. Cheers!