New Beer Sunday (week 576)

Nice! I'd love to see Steven Wilson live!

 

Yes very true!

 

Greetings, fellow NBSers, and thanks to @cavedave for getting us underway,

47 degrees and cloudy in the city where Gonzaga fans have their fingers crossed regarding the WCC tournament, as the 'Zags will pretty much have to win out to advance to the Big Dance. Although it's supposed to be a rainy day, there's been no rain for hours. I've been tearing through a book by Dan Simmons called The Terror, set during the Franklin expedition in the Canadian Arctic in the late 1840s. Since details of what happened to it are relatively few, the author has a fairly blank canvas to play with. It's actually inspired me to pull out the dvds of a mid-1980s UK TV production, The Last Place On Earth, about the race to the South Pole between the British and the Norwegians. Rather gripping stuff, though sadly without subtitles, making the Norwegians (with the exception of one Swedish actor - Max von Sydow - all the Norwegians are played by Norwegians) at times hard to understand as they all speak in English. Incidentally, among the supporting actors are a rather young Bill Nighy (in his 30s) and a super-young Hugh Grant (must have been in his 20s). It's amazing what horrific stuff people will subject themselves to just to be the first to have been somewhere or done something.

I had a couple newish beers this week. On Wednesday I had a Black Butte XXVI on tap, and yesterday I had a 2015 Abyss (both at Jones Radiator), plus a couple versions of Iron Goat's Scottish ale and RIS, both aged in Dry Fly whiskey barrels, at their shindig for the release of the new Inland NW Ale Trail maps.

Today I'm clearing out a couple of winter seasonal beers that have been in my fridge too long, starting with this one, from Colorado: http://www.beeradvocate.com/beer/profile/267/741/?ba=woemad

Quite drinkable, with a restrained (perhaps due to age) flavor profile that is nevertheless very well balanced.

 

For the first time in 10+ years I'll start working a day shift tomorrow, 7a-7p. Not looking forward to it but maybe a change will be nice. It's not by choice but a necessity I guess. So today, my NBS drinking starts a little earlier.
Sent by my Asheville friend comes Hi-Wire Enchanter Baltic Porter. Poured into a tulip.



Dull and dark brown pour, small short lived light tan head. Faded quickly but left a
Tiny tan line of bubbles around the outside of the glass.
Smell is some coffee, smoke.
Good flavor. Dark fruits, wood, coffee and molasses.
Full mouthfeel, smooth and easy drinking.

 

Good Aaaaafternoooooooon NBS!!!! (in my best Robin Williams voice)

Thanks to our gracious host with the most @cavedave !
Well we've moved from summer back to winter this week. Beautiful, solid downpour last night. Voluminous white and gray cumulus cloiuds strutting overhead. Brilliant azure skies with piercing rays of sun warm the skin until a cloud advances. Then the breeze nips at your neck and gives a fresh chill. I love this time, the purity that follows a good rain. More rain expected tonight so I better get the girls out for a bike ride.

Anyway....Who's excited for NBS #3?!?!?
I got my target!!! And I'm already gathering intel.

Well I had a GREAT breakfast beer yesterday courtesy of @SammyJaxxxx Cafe Y Churro by Carton. I am so impressed by these Regular Coffee offerings. Stunning juiced up cream ales that totally hit the target they're shooting for. But that wasn't new on Sunday, so here we go...

War Elephant DIPA by Rushing Duck Brewing Co. gracious Also courtesy of @SammyJaxxxx

Golden to shiny copper with a slight haze.
Wow, the aroma gives a gentle kiss of peach that almost instantly morphs into pineapple, then soft lemon, and a touch of bready malt.
Taste is more tropical. Pineapple, papaya. But some tangerine and grapefruit pith as well. Some sweetness peeks through periodically. Finishes with a gentle pine touch.
Mouthfeel is hefty enough for my liking.
Overall, I like this one…A LOT.
I think I got some bigger guns to fire later...

 

Well done, and welcome to NBS!

 

Hello Again NBSers,
Back with another Imperial stout this one is from Grand River Brewery in Cambridge Ontario Canada, Russian Gun. This is much more of a coffee stout than the Dragon's milk. It is a decent beer but definitely not stand out.

3.72/5 rDev +1.1%
look: 4 | smell: 3.75 | taste: 3.75 | feel: 3.25 | overall: 3.75

Appearance - This beer poured completely black with 1 finger of mocha head,the head faded leaving an extremely small ring and I don't see much carbonation.

Aroma - coffee, a really small amount of milk chocolate and some roasty malts. really not much going on, just a simple coffee smell.

Taste - The flavor is rich coffee, earthy hops, some light chocolate.

Feel -medium bodied, prickly carbonation, not much of it tho. The earthy hops and coffee make this pretty bitter.

Overall - this is a basic coffee stout. Its good has nothing offputing flavors but it just doesnt stand out on its own. Am I enjoying it? yes. Woud I buy it again? I dont think so, there are just too many beers that a better for the same price.

★725 characters

 

Went to Troegs Brewery, did a tour, Giant Nimble (DIPA) on the tour, then went to the Tasting Room, Bourbon Troegnator. Tasty, best drinking at near room temperature.

 

So what do you think of a The Terror? I thought the arctic/historical/maritime elements were quite well done, but the supernatural ice monster nonsense almost ruined it for me. Time for another beer....

 

Good day NBS friends! Another busy day and weekend is starting to settle down and that means it's time to chill with a new beer. I'm going to pop the cap on Perrin Brewing Black Goat Double Black Lager aged in bourbon barrels. A bomber bottle weighing in at 8.5 percent abv. poured in my pilsner glass for science.

Pours a dark and oily black leaving a big two fingers of mocha foam. Smell is bakers chocolate, dark bread, tobacco and yeast. The flavor is chocolate and roast up front with some dark bread and wood following. There is a very slight hint of pine in the back. Feel is oily but very crisp in the finish.



I don't ever recall having this style in the past and I'm happy to report I really enjoyed it. The only minor detractor for me is the lack of any bourbon presence. The wood flavor is there, but the booze took a vacation! That aside, I'd buy again, my score was 3.96 / rDev -0.8%.

Looking forward to the NBS/BIF #3 as I received my target today. Let's have a great day/week gang! Here's the skinny.....

http://www.beeradvocate.com/beer/profile/29952/107888/?ba=Prager62

 

Happy NBS everyone. Just finished bottling a new IPA with my buddy and cracking one of these to celebrate getting the "work" done for the day. Will have another surprise for this thread in a bit.



Picked up a four pack for $8.99. Not a bad deal as far as Evil Twin goes. Can design is attractive as per usual from Jeppe.

Light, mildly turbid golden body. Thin ring of sudsy foam. Sporadic but decent lace.

Nose is sticky pine resin, guava, lightly floral, grapefruit and slight nutty/biscuity malt.

Drinks rather safe with a lightly resinous flavor and some "modern" "juicy" hop notes. Pine is very prominent but there's some fresh-squeezed grapefruit juice-like flavor in there as well.

Easily drinkable with a modest 6% ABV, ET demonstrates once again that he can make a nice, simple beer without much pretense when he wants to. Looking forward to eventually trying the Retro IPA, which the can states is a "1985 style" IPA. Found that rather amusing.

Listening to some interesting tribal-sounding, rhythmic, droning dark ambient from Subtext Records. The sounds were created only from "a single contact mic recording from a remote telegraph pole that connects [the arctic island of Andøya]'s array of military listening stations." Andøya is an outpost 300 kilometers north of the arctic circle.



Very dark, isolated and mildly terrifying. Weirdly catchy in some ways, too. Dig it.

 

Greetings all! It's been quite a weekend of new beers for me, some hits and some misses as it sometimes goes.

Yesterday I had three that I'll just give some quick impressions on-
Jack's Abby House Lager- a pretty damn nice beer in the Munich Helles style. There was some slight DMS that stayed in fair territory throughout most of the pint, but 3/4s of the way through it started creeping towards the foul line. It will be interesting to do a more proper session and see how it goes. Preliminary score would be in the A- range, but could go downward.

Pipeworks Blood of the Unicorn- D is for diacetyl. D is for 'doesn't work for me'. D is for drain, where it went. D is for 'done with Pipeworks'; this isn't the first time they did this to me.

Singlecut Heavy Boots of Lead Imperial Stout- fudgily fudgerrific! Soft, rich and beautiful, alcohol well hidden, takes on more of a toffee/vanilla quality deep into the pint, with a slight espresso bean accent. Fudgy, fantastic, frappacino-like and fudgy- no 'F' though- a solid A. Best part- $4.99 for a 16oz. growler (cheaper than the bottle!)

That brings me to today, out in the bright yet cool sunshine-

Anderson Valley Briney Melon Gose

Bad first impression here- kind of like pickles and bile. The melon is at such a faint point that it is producing secondary weird flavors right off the bat. It's more like an underripe honeydew, too. At least it isn't crunchy . As I get deeper the base beer, with crackery malt, white peppercorn and tart green apple, comes to the fore, but the pickles remain in the finish. Not a very good ride, to wind up where I'd want to be with just the plain version. C- (2.25)

Can't win 'em all, but the good outweigh the bad these past two days. Cheers, all!

 

Welcome to NBS! I would say you are off to a great start! =) Cheers.

 

The UK takes the floor...

Old Golden Hen - Greene King / Morland Brewery


Greene King / Moorland Brewery - Old Golden Hen by imbibehour, on Flickr

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Poured from the brown bottle into a nonic pint glass.

Shimmering tone of a body. Beaming and polished crystal clear body, buttery gold and easy to see through with a bright glow. Scattered streams of carbonation through the body, most of it fine and fast rising. Head is very bright white and soapy, with a good amount of retention for a lighter brew. Bowled puck and soapy thick clean.

Aroma is biscuity classic, with sweet honey hints and beeswax like quality. Tends to forego classic crackling toast for sweetness but with a nice control. Real excellent match of honey and chewy biscuit almost graham like malts on the nose.

Palate sort of escapes everything expected. Toasty but almost mineral flat thin like body in feel, with a mid palate that washes just a bit clean and fleeting on the palate. Mild toast but with a bit of sharp burnt grain finish, mixing with an interesting almost acrid bitterness. Dry crackling flavors, but not in feel strangely.

A bitter that on first whiff an appearance seems to hint at a real good appearance but ends in the middle of the road.

look: 4.5 | smell: 4.25 | taste: 3.5 | feel: 3.5 | overall: 3.5 | BA Generated Score: 3.74

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Cheers!

 

Happy NBS all, should be in the 60s this week in SE Mich, getting the itch to get the mountain bike out!

Picked up a bomber yesterday, can't resist the Founders Backstage Series (avatar). Their beer is readily available, and I'm kind of a fan. However, did not score a ticket for KBS bottle release, but I've got other channels!

Mango Magnifico, an ale brewed with mango and a touch of habanero, clocking in at 10%ABV, pours a nice orange hue, smell is very floral, nice on the nose, first taste is very heavy mango, then the TOUCH of habanero kicks in giving
a nice burn, not too offensive. I'm enjoying this different style brew, Founders calls it a fruit beer. It's a little different in this world of fine IPAs and stouts.

 

Hello NBSer's. Beer distribution is sometimes hard to comprehend. I live, maybe, 30 miles from Evil Twin Brewing but it's been difficult to find their product in my area, although this problem has been slowing improving. I've been wanting to try Imperial Doughnut Break for quite some time and I finally picked up a bottle today. It was worth the wait: one of the best porters I've tasted. Here's hoping for more of this in my future!

4.34/5 rDev +3.1%
look: 4 | smell: 4.25 | taste: 4.5 | feel: 4.25 | overall: 4.25

Poured from 22 oz. bottle into tulip glass. It pours an opaque, nearly black mahogany color with a one-finger, mocha colored head and lacing. It is a very attractive pour. It smells of dark chocolate, caramel, almond, and a distinct alcohol. It has a really interesting flavor. Dark roasted coffee, caramel, nuts, roasted malt, and what tastes to me like cherry at the finish. There is also a very subtle hoppy bitterness. This porter is quite thick and chewy, and only lightly carbonated. Although I can taste the alcohol, there is little burn and it is surprisingly drinkable for 11.5% ABV. In fact, you have to be careful. This one really sneaks up on you. Overall, this is a first-rate porter: big, with lots of tastes that blend together very well. I really enjoyed it and would look for it again.

It brought to mind a former Devils Coach with a Jersey attitude:

 

Moving along, we're trying Obol from Duclaw



Dark ruby, crystal clear brown, something like that under a very white yet thin, white lacey head

Nose jumps out with roasted malts of pretty dull character with maybe a touch of caramel.

Taste is along same line. Sweet caramel, lingering roasty malt, hints of toffee and that is about it.

Dry finish for the most part. Overall, pretty robust body.

 

NBS and #properPROPware



I may have screamed like a little Cro-Magnon girl when saw this at the grocery an hour ago.
I did.

I KNEW there was a reason I bought this prehistoric beast prop about 5 years ago. For some reason,
I think his name is Paul.



Anyway, as for the beer. It's a Belgian strong dark ale and damned if it doesn't tastes like a BSDA!
Fantastic!

Almost 10% ABV and with the first sip you KNOW the booze is there...and I'm happy it is.
Beautiful color. Aroma prominent from afar.

Powerful and, yes I'll say it, COMPLEX!!!

I'm not going to try and compare it to the benchmarks of the style because, well, I'm not that good.
Let's just say the hints of raisins, caramel, chocolate covered cherries, sugary banana, etc., all seem
to be talking to me. Sound familiar?

I'll go back tomorrow and pick up a few more before they become...
extinct.

 

My brother-in-law used to do Tuckermans every year.
That was two knees ago.

 

Well back for a second round here on this NBS after a couple hours out watching the granddaughters in a dance competition. They work hard and danced a great routine. My second beer for today came to via a trade with @brightcloud313 whom I hooked up with a few bottles of Trillium and he shot me back a box of great beers from MI. Including this from Witch's Hat there Well Water Ale aged in Oak Bourbon Barrels. This was bottle in 2015 and bottle #443.This bottle has a nice baby blue wax seal.



Notice the proper glass wear.
This beer pours a dark cloudy brownish orange color into my Teku glass.
The nose is slightly tart with some bourbon overtones. Not really a sour beer but something a little different than your average BBA Ale.
The taste is tart not really sour. There is a nice bourbon taste in the back of this beer but am not really sure of the base beer perhaps something of a Quad. I really like beers that challenge my interest. I am enjoying this beer just having trouble putting my finger on the base here.
The mouth feel is smooth pretty low in carbonation as with a lot of BBA beers.
To me a very interesting beer and really enjoyable to drink. I'd like to find another bottle to give this another go at some point. I haven't put any numbers to this beer yet but I'm looking at a