New Beer Sunday (week 577)

Well I had hoped to do a comparison post to Maria's review to start this Sunday off. My spreadsheet said I had 2 bottles of John Courage Imperial Russian Stout but after spending an hour digging into all the boxes marked 2013 I could find I could not locate the bottles. I have either sent them off to other deserving BA's of they have been mislabeled in the mess I call my cellar. Maybe it is now time for me to do a little cellar cleaning. As I stopped counting at 40 cases this morning in the cellar and this didn't include stuff that is fresh and stored in the cooler in the garage.
From that point on today I did something unthinkable for 3/13 here in Central NH I started my spring yard work. The snow is gone and well the daffodils are popping out of the ground already. I have a new rock sculpture that I have started on and am hoping this good weather will make it able for me to complete it in about a month.
So for this RIS Sunday I chose a 2015 Darkness from Surly.

This beer poured a dark black color with a nice thick tan head on top into my snifter glass.
Lots going on in the nose with roasted malts, some dark chocolate and some hints of dark cherries in the back ground.
The taste is oh so smooth. Lots of roasted dark malts with the nice chocolate overtones and the dark cherries that just seem to be hidden in the finish.
The mouth feel is rich and thick the way a great RIS is supposed to be. Even with the large head the carbonation subsidies fast and gives you that nice viscous drinking RIS that I personally love.
This 2015 Darkness is a great beer. Having just had the 2014 which was BA I actually think the 2015 is a far better beer IMO.
Even though I'm not participating in this round of the NBS BIF I've been following along and it looks like there are a lot of great boxes that will be sent and reported upon in a few weeks here on NBS.
Cheers

 

I'm back with another that I picked up in Michigan a few weeks ago. While I'm happy to see Short's coming to Indiana, I'll probably still buy it when I'm in Michigan because our distribution takes forever to deliver the goods. Let's pop the cap on this bottle of Bim Bam Boom stout brewed with cacao nibs, cayenne pepper and orange. A bottle date of 01/07/16 poured in my 13 oz. snifter for the taste drive.

Pours a thin but oily black leaving a half finger of mocha colored foam. The aroma is dark roast coffee which is odd since it isn't listed on the label. Flavor once again is coffee forward with some citrus and a bit of pepper heat in the finish. The feel is thin but slick with some pepper bite.



My two cents? I approach these crazy recipe brews with caution and bought a couple singles instead of the six pack. I'm happy to report this one is pretty solid with no overpowering flavors, namely pepper heat that often derails these experiments. It reminds me of their Cup A Joe with some pepper heat. A tasty enough beer worth a try. My score was 3.92 / rDev +2.3%.

Off to my brothers house to share a couple of beers. Enjoy the rest of your Sunday while deciphering my review.

http://www.beeradvocate.com/beer/profile/9629/110395/?ba=Prager62

 

Thank you. I am thinking my upcoming beer, being from a growler, will limit my staging a tad .

 

New Belgian IPA

It's a bit of a "blah" weekend in West MI. I guess I can't complain too much. Temps are still pretty nice for this time of year, highs around 50 but grey skies and a persistent drizzle is putting a damper on outdoor activities. Today I got in a short run and did some indoor spring cleaning with the family.

I took a little break with this beauty before I start prepping crepes for dinner. It's a solid Belgian IPA. The funk is subtle, but appreciated. Full review is below.

http://www.beeradvocate.com/beer/profile/24678/213610/?ba=GRPunk

 

Hello NBS friends. All I can say is, MacMalt + Russian Imperial Stout + Carton. What a perfect combination. And what an interesting interpretation of my favorite style of beer. The strawberry ice cream really works well as a substitute for the dark fruit I like in a RIS. Very well done!

4.28/5 rDev +3.9%
look: 4 | smell: 4 | taste: 4.5 | feel: 4.25 | overall: 4.25

Poured into Carton teku glass. It pours a deep, dark mahogany, with a one-finger, khaki-colored head and extensive lacing. It smells of roasted malt, coffee, and vanilla. The taste is really interesting. There is bitter, burnt coffee followed by strawberry ice cream. For a RIS, it's quite bitter but the strawberry ice cream is a really interesting substitute for the dark fruit that I usually look for. The different tastes blend exceptionally well and create a great taste experience. This is a medium-bodied stout, not nearly as viscous as Ten Fidy or FIS, lightly carbonated, and easy to drink in spite of its 10% ABV. Overall, this is a unique interpretation of the RIS style that is very well-crafted and fun to drink.

 

Good RIS for sure, but I didn't get any ice cream from my first glass on Friday.

 

Thanks for the review! I usually don't like Gose but I found this one to be okay. However, my wife, who doesn't like any of the beers I do, flipped over it so I now keep some in the house for her. Go figure!

 

New Beer number 2. Aggressive west coast hops on this beer, with a nice pineapple aroma, pine, and tropical notes. Malts are more laid back compared to regular Sculpin. Big pineapple and tropical flavor front, followed by some pine. There's a pleasant malty sweetness that complements it well. I get some lingering bread and biscuit with a solid bitter finish. Medium creamy mouth feel with ample carbonation and a nice bitter finish. It's my first time drinking this and I really enjoy pineapple so this works for me.

 

A few days ago I realized this had finally passed its "best after" date and moved it from the cellar to the beer fridge. I'm really liking it. Nice balance between the soft fruity ripe banana funk of the Brett yeast and the sharp, light citrus acidity of the hops, with pale bready malt playing middleman, holding it all together. Almost a hoppy Brett saison but if Stone wants to call it an IPA, I have no quarrel with that. Cheers!

 

I risked all of $7.99. It's a good option.

 

Happy lazy NBS, everybody!

Earlier today I spent a nice early afternoon reading by the bank of the Hudson while my son was at his band practice. The location is about a half hour north of here, and it just doesn't make sense to drive back home and then up again, so thankfully the weather is improving to the point where I can take advantage of the weather and location. Who knows, maybe soon enough there will be a nice brewery for me to visit up in Haverstraw, but for now spending the down time with that scenery will do just fine.

At the moment I have 4 corned beef briskets cooking upstairs, while I do a little work making the garage ready for spring. #1 son is home for Spring Break, so all of that meat will get enjoyed before too long .

Here is a really nice one by Grey Sail-


Leaning Chimney is right up my alley- imminently balanced and drinkable, with a present but not overdone amount of campfire smoke. The base beer is all bitter dark cacao and French Roast coffee. Some caramel, raisin and lavender play subtle backup duties, but it's really all about that smoke and dark chocolate. The bitterness is also there at just the right level, barely noticeable, the body is medium, and the finish is pleasingly dry. Lingering amounts of wood and coffee stick around for a while, and the next sip brings some of that dark fruit and caramel to the fore if for just a few seconds. My kinda beer- a smoked beer you can easily pull a 'session' with, nothing gets anywhere near the point of being overbearing. Solid A- (4.0).



Cheers, all!

 

That's interesting because I thought it was very noticeable. Did you have it from a can or from a growler?

 

Many thx to @jzeilinger for both, the beer and sweet glass! Poured slowly down the middle and got a massive 3 finger tan head, that leaves behind traces of lace before settling. 4.5 It was bottled on 6/10/15. Smell has lots of dark fruit, raisin, fig, toffee, clove, vanilla, caramel, and a little booze is present. 4

Taste follows huge dark fruit upfront, vanilla, toffee, caramel, clove, banana, and some warming alcohol hits the back your float and makes you happy. 4

Body is not quite medium, moderate carbonation which works fine, I wouldn't say it is dry, and drinkability is excellent for 11%. 3.75
Overall this is a very impressive beer, would highly recommend and am very happy I got to try this. 4

 

Can. Pretty sweet back yard, by the way. Where in Jersey are you?

 

I'm having a great Sunday here, dinking around and enjoying what I can of the BEAUTIFUL weather we are having here in MTL. Once I am done writing this, I am going to retire to the balcony to finish my beer for the first time of the season (still with a coat on, mind you).

This is a beer I have wanted to try for a long time. It is one of the last ones I have left that I picked up while visiting America's Wind Basket a couple weeks back. I seriously love oatmeal stouts. They were one of the first beers that I ever really adored that wasn't yellow and fizzy or German (or sometimes both); and between them and Brown ales, it is what I almost always try at places I've never been to before. I am of the opinion that if you can brew them well, you are capable enough to brew a lot of stuff well. However, being neither a brewer nor an expert, that might just be my own little crackpot theory, though.

On to the beer!



This is a pretty nice looking beer initially, but eventually it just looks like a glass full of coffee. The smell and taste go hand in hand with coffee, toffee, charred wood, brown sugar, and even a hint of some dried dark fruits even as it warms a little. It tastes a little stout-ier to me than some others, but never verges into bitterness or being oppressive. Creamy coffee with some sugar. Simple, tasty, drinkable. While not my favorite of the style, I would jump on it again if I saw it and wish I had another can.

My review: http://www.beeradvocate.com/beer/profile/193/615/?ba=TheDoctor

Good to the last drop.



I hope that everyone out there is enjoying their beers and having a nice Sunday!

¡Salud!

Anyone know if this one is made with Galaxy hops?

 

Happy New American Strong Ale Sunday!

Pretty nice day here on the Western Slope, low/mid 50s, sun comes/goes, slight wind. A storm is heading this way, I hear. I saved this brew for my 3000th review, definitely a very good choice, probably the best ASA I've had to date. Sure is great to be living in CO.

http://www.beeradvocate.com/beer/profile/2210/186131/?ba=Wasatch

Cheers!

 

Nice haircut!

 

Good afternoon NBSers and thanks to Maria for kicking us off with yet another entertaining and imformative review.
Beautiful day today. About 60 plus degrees and that sun peaking through feels very warm. It's very quiet with not many kids yelling from the acres around which is slightly surprising. I'm enjoying the pre spring silence. Think I'm going to stay out here enjoy this beer and nix NOVS today. I've got a solid lineup of new beers so it's probably time to step back and start to drink some of these freshies. I had to choose this beer because it's rare Even around here and I have 2 bottles one which will be shipping to my target in BIF #3. Had this on tap at the brewery last year and it was good. They've been polishing things up for awhile over at Proclamation and they are on the radar people. Again MY particular favorites of theirs are BA sours buts it's all excellent........To Beer!!
Proclamations The Stalk- DIPA.

Pours a dark straw like yellow with a nice white foaming head that eventually settles to a thin ring and generous lacing.
Look is not unlike pineapple juice. This is foretelling.......

Huge tropical aroma of mangoes, pineapples, papaya and passionfruit. A little red citrus peaks in and there is very little in the way of malt aromas. A slight pine finish arrives.

Taste follows those tropical notes with very little in the way of any malt presence. Juicy hops dance around the tongue with just the slightest hint of alcohol that is completely forgiven due to the ease of which this tropical explosion slides down the throat. Hop juice yum yum. Dankness- slightly but with the absence of sweet malt this is short lived.
A thirst quenching burst of tropical goodness. No- not like your NE turbid juice bombs- more refined to an elegant salutation of the Hop.

The beer has a small bubble carbonation that dries and quenches leaving you not much choice in wanting to grab the next sip ASAP. Body is medium and slightly slick.

Well. Happy Hoppy I am. This brewery deserves the acclaim the are building right now. Like I said their sours - though rare are spot on. And their hoppy beers are deliciously refined. Yes hop bomb. But not in a "let's just hop the shit out of this" and see what happens- if that makes any sense. Tongue in cheek words explain this on both this and most other offerings.
Simple, hoppy, clean and damn delicious! I wish I could send you all one....but I know my target will post his review on this beer. (As he does all beers)
Hey enjoy the rest of your Sunday. Have a brew,a great week, a nd as always.......
Thanks for taking the time.

 

One of my favorite movies!
The Coen brothers can do no wrong.

 

Great review for a brewery that has that sit on shelves around here because all anyone wants is Captains Daughter.
Their flagship brew Flying Jenny - cream ale - gets no respect either . Great to see you enjoyed that!