New Beer Sunday (week 575)

New one from one of the best small local NY breweries: Sloop Juice Bomb

Tasty, easy drinking IPA at 6.5ABV, would definitely drink this one again when want an IPA. Looks somewhat hazy, nice yellow/orange, not too dark. Smell is not overwhelming, but some nice hop in there. Taste and mouthfeel is juicy, not bitter at all, but also not too thin "hop water" like some of the session IPAs, so seems like enough malt to back up this IPA. I normally get worried when I hear juice or fruit with IPAs as I'm not into the "grapefruit" sculpin or other ones that actually try and add fruit flavor, but this IPA just has the nice fruity hops.

 

Green Bench Sunshine City IPA
American IPA - 6.8%



4.04/5 rDev -5.6%
look: 4 | smell: 3.75 | taste: 4.25 | feel: 4 | overall: 4

12oz can poured into a snifter. This beer is brewed with a great trio of hops in Mosaic, Citra, and Azacca. The aroma is filled with a lot of citrusy notes from the hops. The taste has a nice malt backbone with tropical fruits in the finish. Very tasty and an easy drinking IPA. I will definitely pick up some more of this when in the need of a hop fix.

 

A nice one inch head with a normal angled pour. Tree House signature IPA haze. Nose of O.J., ruby red grapefruit, pine and other tropical fruit. Taste so juicy and yummy. Mouthfeel is near perfect. This was gifted to me at the store today along with a 750 ml. growler of this and 750 ml. growler of Very Hazy. Well, I guess I should pop that one next!

 

The Dark Woods (2015) by cigar city



Had some friends from a weekly bottle share I go to grab me this when they took a trip down south. Caramel leading into molasses and a light (well, maybe not so light if you're not into that kind of thing) alcohol heat through out ending with a kind of burnt caramel/molasses bitterness. So damn good.

 

Happy Leap Year Eve, NBSers. Today's submission comes from my hometown (Indianapolis, IN). Or birthtown. Or whatever the city you're born in is called.



This is Saucy Intruder, a wonderful Rye IPA from Black Acre Brewing Company. This is the 2nd beer I've enjoyed from these guys, and they've both been world-class-esque-ish (how's that for a $5 word?). The 1st one I had was actually at Taxman Brewing in Bargersville, IN (Natural Liberty, a magnificent American Pale Lager), with my bro-in-law over the holidays. Convincing him to make the trip to Bargersville (20 miles south of downtown Indy) from Zionsville (20 miles northwest of downtown Indy) to sample Taxman's brews and their guest taps in a mini snowstorm was one of the greater accomplishments of my life.

Anywho, this is a really good rye IPA, if you like rye and IPA's, which I do. It pours a gorgeous murky amber with 3+ fingers of tan head. Loads of resiny/piney hops from the Falconer's Flight - and then the spice of the rye kicks it up 2-1/2 notches. This reminds me a LOT of SN Ruthless Rye, which is a big compliment from this SN fanboy. Rated 4.25 here:

http://www.beeradvocate.com/beer/profile/26934/100266/

 

Greetings All:

Checking in with this brew, Locale Skagit Valley Alba, made entirely with ingredients grown in the state of Washington. I was intrigued by that, but it's not a great beer.
http://www.beeradvocate.com/beer/profile/365/175739/

Tastes a lot like a macro-lager, a pilsner or a Stella. None of which I am particularly fond of.

Tale of two days here this weekend. Yesterday was a fantastic spring day, sunny with temps in the mid 60's. Today a 'typical' spring day, blustery with a mix of sun and clouds.

Until next time,

Happy Trails!

 

New Beer that will be Distributed in Ohio SHORTly Sunday

Just got back from a jaunt up to the Lake for the Nut Smasher release at Willoughby Brewing. Also read this week that Short's will begin distro to Ohio soon, so this seems like a good new beer for my new glass.
Thanks to @beergorrilla for this one.

3.99/5 rDev -1%
look: 3.75 | smell: 4 | taste: 4 | feel: 4 | overall: 4

A moderate head produced from the pour, but it was gone before I could even frame it for a picture. Just a thin tan ring around the snifter.

Smells pretty sweet. Milk sugar and some vanilla. Some robust malts are noticeable, along with a Nesquick like chocolate. Reminds me of one of those scratch n sniff stickers for chocolate when I was a kid.

Tastes very sweet. Cocoa, fairly bitter chocolate, and condensed sweetened milk. Surprising amount of lingering bitterness along with a charred aftertaste. For as sweet as it is up front, it really finsihes on the other end of the spectrum. A lot of lactose sugars on display here though.

Body is pretty creamy. Average carbonation

There could be a little less extremes from start to finish for me, but this one wouldn't need any description on it. It is a well made milk stout.

This was my burger at the brewery, covered with white cheaddar, pork belly, and a fried egg. Picture doesn't really do it justcie.

 

Wow. I don't even know where to start. Much later post than usual. Last weekend I didn't post here though I should have since I was in NYC and enjoying Grimm and Other Half beers on tap. After a hellacious trip back to CLE on Wednesday I was looking forward very much to NBS. (Especially since overall beer has been mostly on hold recently since I have a Dr appointment in two weeks & I'm a bit above my employer's weight threshold). Gorgeous spring-like weather in Cleveland today. Today's journey follows...


I love Revolution and was looking forward to this collaboration w/ Wicked Weed. Way too sweet. Maybe a bit past its prime per other reviews but I purchased it fairly recently. Drain pour #1


New beer/drain pour #2. Local favorite but the piney hops were nice as was the vanilla but those flavors did not jive. at. all.


New beer/drain pour #3. Never so many in one day *sad face* Just completely flavorless.


New Beer #4. Finally something drinkable! Not the best ever but a unique hop profile, much more earthy than fruity.
Here's to hoping your NBS was better than mine! At least there's a bit more room in the cellar. Sadly no more beer for me until next Sunday... but watch out come 3/14!!

 

Well, well, well! Yet another new one (for me) from Tree House and thanks so much to Rob for standing in line yesterday!
Pours a nice one inch head, (do I sound like a broken record here with the look of TH IPA's?) Citrus on the nose with pine. Tastes echoes nose with some added tropical fruit. Mouthfeel is superb. Overall, I have to say, TH is producing the juiciest IPA's on the planet!

 

New Wee Heavy/Scotch Ale Sunday.

Evenin' NBSers, with special salutations to you seekers of special Scotch Ales or weary wary weighers of the merits of Wee Heavies.

Well not surprisingly there were lots of chores on the "honey-do" list today, some had been accumulating for quite a while just waiting for a day like today. It was very springlike here today with lots of sunshine and temperatures near 60. Made me really begin to doubt the calendar.

We'd had a family member here for a one night visit and lots of good conversation over a couple of beers last evening. Once we got him off on his way I starting finishing off some furniture repair and made another pass through the yard picking up sticks and branches that had fallen during the last wind storms. My wife and I did manage take a break to get in a bit of a walk in the sun while doing some window shopping at the nearest business district to where we live.

This evening's new beer is the Wee Heavy Scotch Ale (Kilt Flasher) from The Devil's Backbone down in Virginia. Not too long ago I got a gift of a six pack that included a few singles and 3 bottles of the Devil's Backbone Vienna Lager. This Wee Heavy being the longest lived of the four different beers now finishes off that six pack.

As usual, my review is in progeess until I finish the beer and can be found here:

http://www.beeradvocate.com/beer/profile/18539/81099/?ba=drtth

Quite honestly this is an good beer but not one I'll be going out of my way to find in the future. Both the Traquair House described above and the Traquair Jacobite are much more enjoyable, more complex and better balanced beers. The Kilt Flasher has several of the right flavors/aromas and other qualities (carmel, toffee, dark orchard fruit, and earthy hops) but doesn't seem to me to work quite as well as some of the other Wee Heavies I've had. (On the other hand if Devil's Backbone was my local, nobody would have to twist my arm to get me to have more of this beer. )

Earlier @lordofthewiens mentioned he'd be going to a performance of Mozart's Cosi fan tutte where his niece had one of the leading roles. That opera by Mozart has in it what some pros regard as being one of the most beautiful pieces of music ever composed.

So earlier today lordoftheweins was listening to his niece sing in this Trio from the first act of the opera (and if his niece sings even half as well as the two female leads in this performance she will have a bright future).

Cheers, all!

 

Good evening NBS, hope everyone is enjoying the end of the weekend. Thanks to @utopiajane for getting us started off once again. Not much going on around here, I made a modest beer haul this afternoon to get my singles back in stock with new beers. Also grabbed a couple I wanted to revisit for a while now, first done almost 5 years ago. I will probably squeeze those into my new beers during the week. Really warm day today, I believe the temperature got right about 60. Here are today's selections:

This was a very good DIPA. Awesome head retention, and dense lacing. Aromas and flavors of grapefruit, tangerine, pineapple, apricot, mango, lemon zest, orange peel, citrus rind, light pepper, and pine hops; with some moderate honey/toasted biscuit malts and herbal/floral/grassy hop earthiness. Moderate pine/rind/spicy bitterness; very smooth finish with balanced sticky/resin and bready creaminess in the mouthfeel. Light-moderate dryness from bitterness that increases through the glass a small amount. Very well balanced bitterness and malts; not overly sweet or heavy. Medium-full bodied; lightly warming finish. Had all the character I expected from Chinook/Columbus/Cascade; with a nice bit of tropical/stone fruit vibes due to the malt bill. Very enjoyable. 3.81


Outstanding! Aromas and flavors of big milk chocolate, cocoa, caramel, brown sugar, brown bread, molasses, toffee, raisin, fig, date, bourbon, vanilla, toasted oak, and coconut; with lighter notes of coffee, tobacco, and leather. Light-moderate roast bitterness and bourbon/oak spice; with a bittersweet/oaky balanced finish; fullish body with an outstanding silky mouthfeel with minimal chalky roast character. Touch of dryness from roast malts. A bit of booze as it warms on the aromas, but nothing significant. Pleasantly warming finish with minimal booziness. This is not your typical motor oil BBA stout. It seems to have flavor characteristics of a darker barleywine of sorts; but still remains roasty enough to feel like a stout. Tons of complexity going on across the board; with great balance of the malt/barrel characteristics. I really loved this a lot. 4.25


Excellent Brett saison! Aromas and flavors of big lemon, lime, grapefruit, pineapple, pear, peach, peppercorn, wheat, cracker, hay, straw, herbal, grass, light musty funk, and yeasty earthiness. Light hints of vanilla and oak. Moderate peppercorn yeast spicy finish; with a crisp medium-high carbonated finish; with a touch of wheat creaminess on the finish keeping it from being bone dry. Nice well rounded brett complexity on a solid pale malt foundation; with still having great dryness and spiciness after the finish. Big fan. 4.1


Cheers! Have a good night NBS

 

Well Hello NBS!!!
I'm only 2 pages deep in reading and I have read about some very intriguing beers. Well I'm not officially kicking off NBS Late Night or NBS the Late Show, or whatever you call it (I can't depend on @kemoarps anymore, schedule changes and all ). But I am coming in with a beauty from or esteemable @SammyJaxxxx .

HI-RES by Sixpoint Brewery

Amber to gold pour. Starts a tad opaque, but quickly clears up. A finger and a half of tightly packed white foam recedes with good lacing. Aromas of citrus and pine are present but following along is a subtle soapy, rose scent. 3.5 Taste brings forth a zesty orange rind, pithy grapefruit, some biscuity malt, and a kiss of alcohol warmth. Finish is quite nice. Great balance of pine, citrus, and malt, a bit slick. Mouthfeel is perfect, slightly fuller than is typical, but I love it.

Weather has been on the wartmer side here. So this hoppy number sure fit the bill. Thanks again G!

 

New to NYC and new to my tastebuds. Very tasty pale ale that makes me wish it was warmer outside. Very crisp with a nice grassy hop bite

 

Poured into my favorite glass, pretty sure it was bottled in December of 2015. Pours almostpitch black with a 3 finger light brown head that leaves wonderful lace on the sides of the glass. 4.75

Smell is coffee, dark chocolate, vanilla, hints of pepper, toffee, and bourbon. 4

Taste follows very well, but more aggressive. Coffee is more roasty, dark chocolate more in your face, light vanilla and peppery spice, and toffee and bourbon in the dry finish. 4.25 Mouthfeel is less than medium, a good amount of life, a little dry as it should be, and excellent drinkability for its girth. 4

Overall I don't see anything wrong with this one, Stone stated it wasn't what they wanted it to be, but I think it is very solid. I did treasure the regular one this year, but I like this plenty. 4

 

Avery Raja is my new beer for Sunday. I really smelled like big brother, Maharaja, but the taste was something different. It didn't punch you in the face with hops. It was much more subtle. More more smooth.

 

What a great early spring day here in paradise! Mid fifty degree range, pulled the motorcycle out, rinsed 'er off but she needs a true scrubbing...the undercarriage needs a bit if a how's your father. Even after the subzero episodes here, she fired right up with one push of the starter. Slapped on the registration sticker, and looking forward to the first ride to work tomorrow...wait...only looking forward to the ride part, but the motorcycle cures a lot of the ills of the day.

Weird week...our solar panels are installed, now waiting for the electric company to e-mail the project manager to tell her the meter is installed. Ummmm....ok...that must be difficult. Bought a car to replace my aging diesel Suburban. One of our dogs passed away, and my boomerang daugter moved out again to a very nice place in Providence. Broke some stuff at work, but I swear it wasn't my fault...I followed the directions exactly....oh snap...you mean I can't really read Chinese? Hmmmm....maybe I did do that....

So I was all psyched for Dogfish Day and totally missed it...I did read some of yesterday's WBAYDN and participation looked great. Day late and a buck short, fearful that @LeperJim will summon Cthulu from ancient R'lyeh to seal my fate. I selected Dogfish Head Kvasir from my shelf of doom. I generally like the Ancent Ales, as much for the story and how they are created as for the adventure in tasting. Well this one has some stuff in it that I can only assume make up the flavor. Wheat, honey, and kind of a mixed red berry flavor are obvious. Honey forward aroma and flavor from this bronze, hazy beer with a lively but short-lived head of beige color. There is a mild bitterness, cetainly an herbaceous overtone, a bit of a punch from the 10% alcohol. I know a bit about cranberry, and while I am not getting the distinct flavor, the phenolic mouthfeel is there...somewhere behind the honey. But I am also getting something that reminds me of gose...not salty, but that similar twang. The mouthfeel is on the heavy side, coating just a bit. There is a lot going on here, and I am not sure it is all playing nice in the sandbox, yet I am diggin' the stuff. I mean, who the hell knows what this stuff is supposed to taste like? How can I saw it is "wrong" or untrue to style? More floral and earthy herb notes are emerging as it warms, and the alcohol has tamed down substantially. A little sour catch develops in the aftertatse that helps cut the syrupy feel from the actual swallow. And damn I swear I am getting a saltiness...

Obviously this beah confuses me, but overall I am enjoying it and I better since I have two bottles. I am feeling the dice rolling in around the 3.7 mark just because it is playing havoc with the taste buds and I actually like it. World class...no. Outstanding...nope. But definitely a worthy experiment.

Cheers NBS, and thanks to our hostess with the mostest @utopiajane for the fabulous kickoff!

 

Innis & Gunn Limited Edition Highland Ale
Scotch Ale - 7.4%



3.74/5 rDev -1.8%
look: 4.25 | smell: 4 | taste: 3.5 | feel: 3.75 | overall: 3.75

Poured into a snifter. This beer is packaged in a box creating a visually appealing packaging and label on the bottle. The aroma is faint malts, sweet honey, tea leaves, and some notes from the oak aging. The taste is very much on the sweet side like the aroma with a lingering sweetness well into the finish. Overall, decent beer but it would be better with a little less sweetness and a little more character from the oak aging.

 

Rich...did you go to the release in Canton? If you did, how was it? Heard some ugly rumors. Made my first visit last Saturday....like the Terminator, I'll be back!

 

Having one of the last two untried beers in the Devil's Backbone collaboration pack tonight... and it's a big one.



Yep... the highest-ABV beer in the box, Seven Summits Imperial Stout, which is a collaboration with Wicked Weed (which I believe is from North Carolina if I'm remembering right, so while not "local" they're not as far off as the breweries for the other collaborations.)

Looks... stouty! Black, no light penetrates it as far as I can tell, with brown foam on top (not a huge amount, but a thin coating and a thicker ring around the edge seem like they're going to be hanging around for a while.) Also smells stouty! Roasty with a good amount of sweetness, and some (okay, a pretty noticeable amount of) chocolatiness popping in there too. I got a good whiff of it as soon as I opened the bottle, but it smells nicer after pouring.

Taste is also very stouty! Specifically, lots and lots of roasted barley, almost coffee-like in roastiness, filling my mouth after just a little sip. Maybe a teeny bit of alcohol warmth in there, and an interesting "something else" hiding out in the background that I'm not entirely sure how to describe just yet. Wondering maybe just a hint of alcohol taste or something from yeast? Sort of a sweetish but not quite sweet sort of flavor, if that makes any sense. Not really getting the chocolatiness as much as the smell, but there does seem to be some really really dark chocolate flavor in there -- definitely more like dark chocolate vs. the sweeter milk chocolate type flavor. Actually, yeah, after a few sips the chocolatiness is definitely pretty noticeable. Not noticing anything hoppy or bitter, but considering this is apparently only 20 IBUs for a 10% ABV beer that doesn't come as even the tiniest bit of a surprise. Mouthfeel has a fairly nice thickness to it but may be a bit fizzier than I'd like -- just a bit, though, and it seems to be calming down a bit as time goes on. Definitely doesn't get into the "prickly" range at all. Something on the end seems almost salty-ish? Like more noticeably salty than the cranberry gose Devil's Backbone did (that was all sour/wheat/fruit to me, didn't really detect any salt despite gose being salty generally from what I've read), but still not full-blown salty salty, just a hint.

This is pretty good so far. It's still fairly cold at this point, so I think I may slow down and let it warm up some (it is a big stout, after all) and see what difference that makes.

 

Oh, Sure! Finish Early On New ChiCANgo Beer Sunday & Take It In the Short's During Late-Night NBS!

I have scoured the backlog & I CANnot find even one more ChiCANgo beer being held in abeyance. That being the case, I kissed sweet Rosa (& by extension, ChiCANgo) goodbye & boarded a train bound for Bellaire, MI. We recently began getting distro of Short's B.C. beers here in south-central PA & I am pretty excited about it! I have known those guys for years, between BA fests in BOS & my (usually) annual excursion to Madison, WI for the GTMW.

Upon arrival, I was met by the Earl of Brixom:

http://www.beeradvocate.com/beer/profile/9629/101071/?ba=woodychandler

I don't know what gives with the weather in this part of the state, but it was like we were in the midst of the London Fog:

http://www.beeradvocate.com/beer/profile/9629/113903/?ba=woodychandler

At this point, knowing that I had spent a long day, the Earl dropped me off at the home of my Couchsurfing host & we agreed to meet again tomorrow.