New Beer Sunday (week 573)

New Americano Stout Sunday

I figured I'd try Stone's Americano Stout today: http://www.beeradvocate.com/beer/profile/147/199849/?ba=bluejacket74

I liked the combination of the coffee/espresso and citrusy hops, I might have to buy a 6 pack of it.





Still have a couple more new brews lined up!

 

Kicking on to something more poundable pre-dinner:



Pours slightly orange golden with fluffy white head
Big grapefruit on the nose with clean and crisp citrus
More of the same on the palate with firmly bitter finish. Grapefruit is pronounced but not gimmicky or overdone.
A bit sticky in feel, but medium bodied
Rating 4.29

Overall a very drinkable and well made grapefruit IPA. Not sure where the love is on this one - it is excellent. For some reason I think Sam Adams gets the shaft from some BAs for being too big, or too mainstream. I don't understand it, as I have never had a bad beer from them, and all of their stuff recently has been really good. At $9 for a 6-pack this beer is a steal, and I think it is just as good as the Sculpin version which is $5 more.

 

There was a set of numbers on the neck, but not an obvious date. Julian maybe, but I'm not familiar with the translation. Even so the beer was excellent, and I'll revisit it again fairly soon.

 

Sorry to hear. Wishing good health on all members of your family, pet or otherwise.

 

I am a big proponent of blind tastings for the reason you describe above---bias for against certain beers.

 

Love that label!

 

I can't remember who, but someone on here tries to sneak a Sam Adams into all their tastings (blind) and it always does really well apparently. I know it isn't the Whalez bro, but anyone who can put world class beer in the cooler at every convenience store and super market in the country for ~$8-9 a sixer is a fucking hero in my book. Jim Koch is a legend; I would love to have a beer with that guy. I mean, they shared their hops twice in the last decade with small brewers when the harvests were bad. He is the Peyton Manning of beer.

 

I only had it at about 2 1/2 yrs. I do have one 2013 bottle left, so I will know next year. My Expedition supply is doing better. I have not found the peak on it yet, but unfortunately I am down to 1 bottle of '12.

 

I think Expedition goes through a weird akward teenage phase for years 2-3, and then comes good. I had a Black Chocolate that was ~5 years old that was great - I think they both age really well.

 

Awesome write up and review!

 

mmm... good fun beer day today!!

Rewired - 8 Wired Brewing Co


8 Wired - Rewired Brown Ale by imbibehour, on Flickr

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Poured from the bottle into a nonic pint glass.

Comes out silently.. This has me a bit concerned, but also with an excellent aroma right off the pour (to get to later). However, the body color is a simple dark mahogany brown, and manages barely a thin puck while being poured. Still manages a collar, and some life, but the beer looks a little flat and dead on arrival.

Aroma though is quite impressive. There is a very big note of cocoa powder on first examination, then followed with a bit of cola like sweetness. Invigorating with a unique twist. Some faint toast, a little small though, but otherwise a very unexpected angle for a brown ale.

This is very different, and a real unique take on a brown on the palate. Where do I begin? Light bodied roast character more like a porter with some quick char, then the mid palate fills with milk chocolate and slight toasty aromas. Mouthfeel is pale ale and light as feather but does have some malt depth and is in the right territory. Finishes with blasting cocoa dry warmth, even some hop oils as well of mild grapefruit and citrus tones. All of these flavors are also real well balanced and surprisingly integrated excellently.

What an odd take but delicious angle on a brown ale. This might be old but it's still drinkable, but there's no way I can tell. Either way it’s a really neat brown ale and drinks easily, this will be gone in no time, too bad it looks a bit lousy.

look: 2.75 | smell: 4 | taste: 4.25 | feel: 4 | overall: 4.25 | BA Generated Score: 4.08

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Dinner time shortly... going to get the fire going and have some nice possible heavy hitters and good beers too hopefully!

 

Greetings all from the great northwest:

Today we have Troll Porter from Hale Brewing in Seattle. A very good porter.
http://www.beeradvocate.com/beer/profile/932/22497/

This one is probably going to close out the porter and stout season for me. As winter fades into its final month I'm gravitating toward the red and the brown ales. I had some Dog Fish Head Indian Brown last night at an area pub that was quite good.

Today it's cloudy but unseasonably warm (51) here in eastern Washington. I've been bottling a Bavarian style hefe, and contemplating pitching additional yeast to an American wheat ale that stopped fermenting at about the 80% mark. It tastes OK, but I'd love to drop the gravity a little more before going to secondary fermentation.

Until next time.

Happy Trails!

 

Good day today. Kegged up my second ever brewed Pilsner. Did some brewery cleaning/organizing and brewed a porter this afternoon. Currently enjoying a beer while watching the jungle book with my two kids. I need to catch up on all the posts in here today.
Happy NBS
On to the beer:
Look:Brownish red, fast fading head, not much lacing 4
Smell: Sour cherry 3
Taste: Sweet and finishes sour, all cherry 3
Feel: prickly carbonation 4
Overall: tastes too much like a cherry soda like beverage to me. Was hoping for more. 3.25

 

So sorry to hear that. Hope things turn towards the better for you.

 

True Love! Very poetic!

 

It should be clearly evident that this is not a new beer, but it will be a new experience. This one comes from my "experimental shelf" (aka low expectations shelf). I put the last bottle of my second 6 pack in the cellar last year. This one was bottled 1/21/15. My wife's birthday. Let's see which one has aged better.

Carbonation is no issue. Smells very, very sweet. Candied sugars and that barleywine like caramel malt. Faint hops. The taste is a curve ball. Much, much hoppier than I would have guessed. A significant amount of grassy/floarl green hops with honey graham crackers and a bitter pine finish. The flavors do come across a little flat in the aftertaste to give it away some though. Interesting. If this was packaged as an American Barleywine, I believe it would score as well as Bigfoot. Would be really fun to blind pour this at a bar for people and see their take.

Here is a car beside me the other day in Canton that I laughed at

 

New American Amber/Red Ale Sunday

Continuing with the Stone brews, just finished a bottle of their Pataskala Red X IPA: http://www.beeradvocate.com/beer/profile/147/199848/?ba=bluejacket74





I'm thinking I'll still have one more new brew to go. Won't be a Stone one, but another IPA.....

 

I see that upgrade in progress every time I visit my brother. It does seem rather neverending.