New Beer Sunday (week 576)

I'm a little behind him as I have only had one replaced. And that brought on the switch to the snow board they are much easier on the knees.

 

Good afternoon all. Sunny but still a bit of chill out there, not entirely springlike yet. Makes it easier to go with a darker beer this afternoon, one from up the east coast - this is Ithaca Anniversary 18 - a Baltic porter aged on oak.


Bottle:
Pour is inky black, with a nice light tan head as you can see, with some larger soapy bubbles suspended near the edges. Loads of recuperative ability when the head does die down and spotty lacing.

Nose and taste evolved as I sip this. Initial nose is a combination of roasted malt and dark toasted bread. Initial taste is bitter roasted malt and charred wood.

Next set of sensations were a nose that had baking chocolate and/or unsweetened cocoa, and a taste that started getting some of the unsweetened chocolate notes coming out later in the taste and lingering.

Then I started noticing more in the nose, in the way of minor notes and subtones: the charred wood I was getting in the taste, a little prick of cherry, and maybe something like fig or date. I also finally started getting a little bit of a sensation of sweetness I expect from a Baltic porter. It came out later in the taste, not early. About the same time, smoked meat became noticeably in the nose more distinct from the char.

The last note that came out n the taste to me was the oak. It differentiated itself from the generic charred wood and slowly began to linger more and more on my tongue. This sensation feel a little raw to my tongue, even though the beer never posed a challenge to enjoy due to mouthfeel.

I appear to like this beer better than most, one of only people going over my rating being our own @utopiajane.

 

I recently had the Mosaic IPA from Lost Nation. Taste and feel were very much in the Belgian category for me rather than American IPA. It really threw me for a loop.

 

Great first post! I look forward to NBS all week. It's a great group of BA's. Please post often.

 

Really enjoy this beer, although in my own version of the lines that define porter and stout, this is a stout .
Feel this and the Biscotti Break (which is more porter-ish to me, for the record) both do a job of giving me the impression of their name, which deserves at least some credit.

 

A man after my own heart. I keep my Swiss Army knife next to my chair in the family room for easy opening. Most of my photos are taken in the kitchen where I have a different opener but my Swiss Army knife gets the bulk of the action!

 

Happy New Russian Imperial Stout Sunday!

Pretty nice day here in GJ, cloudy, sun comes and goes, probably upper 40s. Storm is coming! Having a pretty tasty brew, really did surprise me, my 2nd from this brewery.

http://www.beeradvocate.com/beer/profile/30450/152158/?ba=Wasatch

Cheers!

 

Maybe this will be it for the day, as I've been piledriving through beer pretty steadily.

Olde Mecklenburg Dunkel



What was once a two finger off white head recedes to a thin layer with underwhelming lacing. Nice color, as deep and dark burgundy prevails.

Roasty malts and maybe dates? Really not a ton else happening with the smell.

Taste is bright with that whole roasty malt dates thing but add in a little caramel.

Incredibly thin, like water.

 

As you can tell from my buddy's reaction to smelling this beer from the bottle before we poured it, this is a hefty one that likely will bring us pain. Oh well, c'est la vie!



Pours a viscous, terrifying black capped off by a tan-ish/khaki head. Lace is pretty awesome.

Nose is stiff oak, bourbon, vanillins/tannins and jammy dark fruit. Some molasses. No hops notable, as expected.

On the palate it seems to be focused big-time on fruit notes. As some other reviewers have stated, it does have a little bit of "tartness" with some prune, plum and apple sticking around long after the finish. Slight barrel char and tannins but I seem to lose the vanilla and bourbon from the nose here. Interesting.

Feel is a big give-and-take... seems oily and viscous, even chewy, but then the finish is dry and slightly tart, losing a lot of momentum it seems to want to build up. Kinda iffy.

Pour and nose on this are excellent but it feels, instinctively, a little bit underwhelming. Both my brewing partner and I feel it might be a bit over-attenuated. This seems like it would be better at 12% with more body and chew, perhaps a different malt character to bring out more robust roastiness. Pretty good stuff... is it worth $22? Nah, probably not. Cool to try though. Anyone know if this gets any better with age?

EDIT: woops, forgot the music pairing. This is the perfect album to listen to while drinking this beer. Hr. Høyem is a fantastic, sultry and emotive singer with an amazing depth of character to his voice. The songwriting is excellent here and the album throws some surprises the listener's way with a few upbeat songs and a few that lean towards the soulful. Instrumentation is interesting and diverse, but the album retains a consistent feeling. One of the few dark-leaning pop-ish/singer-songrwiter albums I've enjoyed immensely.

 

The Terror is a very unsettling, eerie, memorable, and great book. Historical and fictional, it is a classic.

 

I agree there's a fine line between an porter and a stout. Doughnut has a stout-like viscosity. My biggest issue with Doughnut is its lack of carbonation. I also bought a bottle of the Imperial Petit Four Break today. It's supposed to be a lot lighter than the Biscotti Break. I'll have to post a rating of it.

 

My third NBS entry for today goes back to the great state of NH and my favorite brewery therein.



Hopulization

Stoneface Brewing Co.
American Double / Imperial IPA / 8.90% ABV

4.59/5 rDev +4.6% | Avg: 4.39
look: 4.25 | smell: 4.5 | taste: 4.75 | feel: 4.5 | overall: 4.5

Bottled 02/24/16

L-Pours hazy and gold with a 3 finger fluffy white head. The wheat in the malt bill is apparent. Lacing is excellent.
S- The nose is citrusy and sweet. A beautiful melding of the Galaxy and Calypso hops.
T- Many DIPA's run the citrus route. The addition of the Calypso hops to this beer give it a unique finish that makes my palate scream out like Mr. Koolaid after bursting through a wall. To say that this DIPA speaks to me does not do it justice. The 8.9% alchohol is hidden expertly. I'm glad I got a couple more bottles when I did.
F-The carbonation is soft and the mouthfeel is full. This beer coats the tongue allowing the great hop flavor to linger.
O-This beer moves into my desert island category both for it's uniqueness and the execution by the brewer. It's fantastic. I recommend this beer highly.

 

I've had the Mosaic from Lost Nation and like the Lost Galaxy better. Mosaic is a weird hop for me. I loved Lawson's Mosaic IPA. Focal Banger for me seemed very catty. I didn't find Lost Nation's Belgian like, but I didn't really care for it that much either. I'm not sure why it seems so variable. Maybe where it's grown plays a role?

 

Side by side time! Evil Twin Retro IPA vs Modern IPA.

Retro:
3.98/5 rDev +7.9%
look: 4.25 | smell: 3.75 | taste: 4 | feel: 4.25 | overall: 4

12 oz can, batch 1, poured into a snifter

Retro:
A- Clear golden amber with a three finger white head

S- Piney/earthy spice, grainy, biscuits, floral, some faint citrus

T- Caramel malts, biscuity malts, pine, peppercorns, floral, faint citrus

M- Smooth, light to medium body.

O- Delivers on the idea of a Retro IPA Definitely bitter.

★ 340 characters

Modern:
4.18/5 rDev +2.7%
look: 4 | smell: 4 | taste: 4.25 | feel: 4.25 | overall: 4.25

12 oz can, batch 1, poured into a snifter

Modern:
A- A hazy golden orange color with a two finger white head

S- Citrus, tropical fruits, mangos, piney, hints of grass, hints of sweet malts.

T- Tropical fruits, pineapple, some mangos, citrus, piney finish, light malt backbone.

M- Smooth, light to medium body.

O- A solid IPA, definitely has that super fruit not super bitter vibe that's all the rage right now.

★415 characters

I would call Modern the winner for me, but both are great examples of IPA, funny to see how IPAs have changed!

 

The beer sounds outstanding the the prop is pretty cool, too!

 

New American Double Pilsner

Greetings NBSer's,
And another thanks to our gracious hosts cavedave and utopiajane.
SCMN is seasonably warm and very windy. I have wind. Still snow on parts of the ground but it'll be gone if the predicted highs at hit this week. We'll get a storm or two this month, but for all purposes the worst of winter is pretty much over. Now just mud, wind how long until we get some sustained warmth.
In honor of the end of winter I'm hitting a lager today. I'm a sucker for a good well-made imperial pilsner and this is a good one. Nice grainy malt character and interesting hopping in aroma, taste and bittering. All while holding a good lager crispness and drinkability.
http://www.beeradvocate.com/beer/profile/29223/98158/?ba=garymuchow

Enjoy the light lengthening evenings that will get much longer next week.

 

Enjoying this Cascade Blueberry. Cheers all.

http://www.beeradvocate.com/beer/profile/2391/77945/?ba=cindyjeffsmith

 

Really good never had a Belgium IPA before and it's sour! The best of all worlds. Bitter hoppy yeasty sour!

 

So much beautiful apple flavor melded with deep, dark chocolate! Best Prairie beer I've had!



Cheers!

 

It counts as new if it changes every batch, right?