New Beer Sunday (week 578)

New Dubbel Sunday
Hey NBSer's,
I'm back. But not with the beer I had originally planned on. Instead will go up the North Shore to a brewery in Knife River, MN. Seems to make only Belgians, which is in my wheelhouse for style and beers I like to brew.
"...enjoy this beer while dreaming of the perfect day wading in the river." Okay, I will.
http://www.beeradvocate.com/beer/profile/28748/82423/?ba=garymuchow
More funk in this than typical for style. Lighter fruits (not dark and dried). I like both qualities.

Have a great week.

 

Making cool stuff out of wood in my garage, listening to some Deftones. Sipping on this brew I got as an extra from a trade.
Good and sour, BIGTIME cherry as you can imagine, but kinda skunky on the nose. Overall, makes time in the garage staining this project that much more enjoyable!

 

I think this was your last... where does it fit in the 5 collaborations from the 12-pack? My review had this a little on the sweet side, but a solid stout "despite" the adjuncts, which did play their part (the things I could recognize). I gave it a pretty good rating, it seems.

 

Well it on to beer # 2 for the day. Had to get right to it because that first one was underwhelming. So I pick a beer from my BIF #3 box from @foundersasap.
Beer # 1 from Michigan box-

Witch's Hat Brewing Co. Rez Gets Smashed DIPA,

Upon pouring this brew I first notice the unusual but beautiful color. A burnished gold with a slight rosey tint. I nicely formed head dissipates rather quickly due to the 9.5%. There is a thin ring and some spotty lacing.

Wowzers! The aroma on this beer is fantastic! Pure tropical fruit goodness with passionfruit, mango, pineapple and peaches tinged with a piney like smell. Man you pop the can and the room fills with this luscious aroma.

Taste is all that juiciness supported by very little malt and passionfruit pineapple and pine. Hop oils coat the tongue and there is a slight hint of the 9.5% but its almost unnoticeable. There is a slight underlying sweetness but it just enhances the whole experience.The flavors all linger for a good long time and I'm reminded as to why Simcoe is such a sought after hop. This is one damn good DIPA.

Feel is a rounded mouth filling medium to heavy body like a hop dessert. Slick with hop oils. Carbonation is perfect for this hop beast.

Well first may I say thank you to @foundersasap - my first beer from your box has blown this hop lovers mind. Great selection man. This is one of the best DIPAs I've had in recent memory. And trust me I've had a few. I just spoke of Epiphany as being one of my tops. This is up there. Might not be as diverse in its hop bill but when it comes to Simcoe who the hell cares. The whole SMASH hop thing has been hit or miss for me but they nailed this one. The glory of Simcoe supported by 2 row barley.......MONEY

 

Well I finally pulled the trigger on this one and figured I'd join in with a review for this sunday.

4.08/5 rDev -1.7%
look: 4.25 | smell: 4.25 | taste: 4 | feel: 4 | overall: 4
The pour is really good looking. Midnight black with a frothy mocha colored head. Smell is of a typical coffee stout to me. Coffee, vanilla, charred oak, and of course huge chocolate notes. Taste to me is (big surprise ) very bitter for a stout / porter. Besides the bitterness there is a ton of chocolate and smoky flavor. This would be awesome with a cinnamon roll or some cookies. The feel is on the thin side and for how thick it pours it was really surprising the lack of body on the beer. Overall this is a solid beer but it doesn't quite do it for me. Probably will not be buying it again. It really reminds me of Narwhal in a lot of ways so I would rather just buy that for the 10 dollar a 4 pack price. Cheers!

 

Love the Krueger tray. Krueger Brewing, Newark, New Jersey. And great music paring. I saw Nick Lowe, Dave Edmunds, and Rockpile shortly after this album came out. '79?

 

Home from my shopping adventures. BIF box is packed and ready to ship at 30 lbs. Hope my target's porch is reinforced.

Settling in for some Boomsauce from my BIF box, courtesy of @TongoRad

Very nice IPA. More pine than citrus, but very enjoyable.



http://www.beeradvocate.com/beer/profile/40249/170124/?ba=richj1970

Also from the same box, was my first Heady. I didn't manage to wait until Sunday to try it, but outstanding beer!

 

Train To Mars - Get Radical (Brasserie Thiriez Collaboration)

Amazing example of Saison... Great grassy hop aroma, very floral, a great pilsner malt character and great body for the 5% abv. Super refreshing and surprisingly bitter with a very dry finish. Highly recommended...

http://www.beeradvocate.com/beer/profile/32947/116243/

 

I still see bottles of that one around. I haven't pulled the trigger yet, and I still don't know just why. The draught was awesome, though. Somehow I bet that when I finally do commit to getting one, they'll all be gone .

 

That's right Newark NJ and I do have Rockpiles "Seconds of Pleasure" on vinyl.

 

I'm back for a second go round on this NBS and after taking care of a little yard work this afternoon, yes you heard that right I'm doing yard work in NH in March. I didn't have time to get to Kelsen Brewing for the release of the BA Vendel Stout on Friday but got there at opening on Saturday and was happy to learn that they had a few cases left. This brewery is really killing the darker beers IMO. There Vinatta RIS is ranked in the top 20 here on BA. So I was very happy to get my 6 bottles of this BA Vendel Stout. I've had the base beer before and it was good perhaps my only problem was it seemed over carbonated when first poured but did settle out as you let it sit a little.

4.46/5 rDev -0.4%
look: 4.25 | smell: 4.5 | taste: 4.5 | feel: 4.25 | overall: 4.5

This beer pours a dark black color with a light tan head.
The nose is covered by a dark chocolate overtone and some of the barrel aging following and a mild sweetness in the end.
The taste is of dark chocolate but not overwhelming the beer and the bourbon barrel aging though not as strong as some does mellow out the chocolate and produces a very smooth drinking BA Stout.
The mouthfeel to me is good I think better than the base beer which to me has a little to much carbonation when first opened.
I was lucky to be able to pick up a few bottles today and hope to see them doing more with this barrel aged stout.
This is perhaps the best local BA Stout I have had here in NH. I'd love to see them do a BA version of there RIS Vinatta.

 

Have you ever heard a bear sing falsetto?
Well, this is the result of that nonsense...



"ee House wing Co.!"



Slow pour yields a 1/2 inch head, nose of, of, of Ovaltine? Tastes of malted milk balls!! Nice mouthfeel, just a tad thin. Overall? I'll drink that 2nd can I rec'd today along with these from a very generous customer, Thank Rob!!!:



1/2 gal. Green, 2 Bears, 2 Bright, 750 ml. Haze (X2). Growlers filled yesterday.

 

Don't feel bad the beer is like gold to find even when you have a brother that lives in Maine. Everytime I visit the brewery in Portland its at a time they aren't brewing that so I rarely get any. Stuff sells out quickly because its like a quarterly brewing.
Last time I had it my brother brought me a 4pk over the summer and he hadn't stored it correctly and it was old. I actually had to drain pour a whole 4 pk. I tried.....I really did.

 

Round 2 today is Heavy Seas / Maine Beer Co. Red IPA



Pours a deep burgundy, opaque with a bit of head on top.

The malts really come through on the nose. Caramel, a bit rustic, some citrusy hops.

This is actually very nice. Big malt presence, this is not a hop bomb. Caramel and an earthy malt flavor are followed by a touch of citrusy hops. The hops start to come in more as it warms.

Medium body with medium carbonation. This one lingers for a while.

Very nice collaboration. This is comparable to some of Maine Beer Co shelf offerings (I haven't had much from Heavy Seas to compare). Not a hop bomb, but if you're looking for a nice balanced hoppy red (the second I've had this weekend after Smuttynose's equally enjoyable Kindest Find), this is a good choice.

 

Glad to hear you got some!

 

Will definitely try it if I see it. Thanks for the info!

 

Zip Line Barrel-Aged Chocolate Double Stout, 11.5% ABV, 35 IBU. Pours moderately thick, somewhat dark but not fully opaque, nose is mostly chocolate and a bit of whiskey, palate is mostly chocolate, not much whiskey/alcohol taste, no bitterness. I just had the non-barrel-aged version of this on Friday, and they are both pretty good. Too bad this is bomber only - I'd keep this stocked if it were in 12oz - so I'll stock up on the non-barrel-aged and get the barrel aged occasionally. Pretty decent day in South Dakota, only 42 degrees but sunny and a rare NO WIND! Perfect for a walk, then some homemade chicken soup, and planning for an upcoming cruise.

 

Hello everyone,

I'm pretty late to the party today but I had a busy Sunday. Got this one from Magnify Brewing. They're cranking out some nice stuff here in NJ. This one is a Belgian Tripel aged in red wine barrels. 500 mL bottle with wax top. Size is perfect since this one's 11.5% ABV and I have work tomorrow.



Pours a hazy golden color with a decent head. Get a bit of the red wine in the aroma, combining with a touch of sweet candy. Tastes interesting. It's drier than I expected. I had a small sample at the brewery that seemed a bit richer and sweeter. This has a similar taste to the nose, but it's not too heavy on it's Belgianyness (I know that's not a word). Don't get the usual banana clove taste. Alcohol is pretty well hidden despite the high ABV. Thick feel but not too much. Good beer overall.



Cheers!

 

Hey again NBS. I'm here with my first Against the Grain brew. Only one I'd seen around before was the Brown Note but I just never picked it up largely because the can artwork isn't exactly appealing to me. First time in a long time I've had such a high deviation from the average in a while. Guess I just don't like this one as much as others. Cheers!




3.15/5 rDev -22%
look: 3.75 | smell: 3 | taste: 3 | feel: 3.5 | overall: 3.25

Poured from 16 oz can into an IPA glass. Thin foamy head forms and recedes to a ring almost immediately. Amber, almost copper in color with some fat carbonation and minimal lacing.

Nose is light on hop - boozy notes come forward as well as some additional sweetness from the malt. There are definitely some ripe fruit notes here - not what I expect coming out of a double IPA.

Flavor follows. This is sweet. While I definitely get some of the sweeter fruit notes that are mentioned in the notes for this brew, I do not really find this enjoyable for a double IPA. The pungent bitterness that comes with that fruity aspect of Nelson hops seems entirely absent. It reminds me of the aspects of Hopslam I don't really like - the malty sweetness that seems to more than balance the hops, it basically overwhelms any bitterness. I get sweet ripe banana, pineapple, and definitely some big malt sweetness on the finish.

The feel is fine. It's a bit more viscous than a lot of double IPAs, almost syrupy in a way. But the carbonation and body are just fine. Mouthfeel is on the soft or gentle side - definitely not abrasive but not surprising given the rest of the brew.

 

Thanks so much for the compliment, means a lot coming for you! It really was an enjoyable beer - I spent about two hours drinking it. Hope you get a chance to try it!