New Beer Sunday (week 579)

We haven't firmed up a date yet, but it'll be Sept-Oct. Right now I'm thinking of announcing it maybe the week after Labor day. Then a week or so to get people signed up, a few days to set the pairings, then a couple weeks for shopping/hints, then a shipping week, gives a share/posting date in early October. Anybody with thoughts, feel free to reply to this post.

 

Man, this place is awash with musical diversity this AM: R&B, bluegrass, Jefferson Starship, and @utopiajane's bringin' da funk.

 

My issue is that a few Local Breweries are random on their releases. If it falls on a few dates (2-4weeks) of releases (you know how beer geeks are on IPA/DIPAs). I can send. Malted Goodness I can extend time. I do miss the NBS BIF, I like trying Local Beer from the Mid-West and West Coast Breweries. I'll let you know when my Shopping List is done with a few people I need to send.

 

Ok, I had to decide which of the hoppy offerings @RoninTK3 sent to go with. After checking out the options, it seemed obvious. Not only is it listed as an APA (so I can work my way up), it is also dry-hopped with Mosaic hops. After this AM's brief introduction to the hop, I'd see what Garrison City Brewing could do with it, so this is the simply named Mosaic Dry-Hopped Pale Ale.


Beer pours a lightly cloudy dirty golden - maybe with a slight lean towards being orange-hued. Medium bubbles tighten up as they are fed by the nucleated glass.

Nose hit me as the seal on the can broke, mostly with some dank to vegetal notes. These casts a little shroud over the tropical and melon like scents I also get. Fresh vegetable garden like green notes come in mid drink, and a little oniony note creeps in late.

This thing early leans toward the IPA category. There is a little bit of earthiness to open, but really the hops dictate the taste. The herbal greenness meets my palate first (before they make an impression in the nose), but then I get some tropical notes. Late mid-tasate, a lightly piney woody note grabs hold and lingers into the end taste. Warmth, however, seems to muddle the flavors more than I'd like - and balances out the brew as that earthy to fleetingly grainy opening starts to work its way deeper into the sips.

Thoroughly enjoyed my first sips. I think my palate may have adjusted more than the beer changing as I sipped through the glass. For a lower ABV beer, this has a nice feel to it. I liked the opening, and hints of torpical/melon notes started showing up again near the end, but so did a little onion-like note. Regardless, definitely would like to give this one another go.

 

It is New Beer Sunday and Easter Sunday at the same time. Happy Easter to those who celebrate it. I have my small shoulder ham going in the crock pot smothered with brown sugar, cloves, and pineapple.

My new beer of the day is a collaboration between Heavy Seas of Maryland and Maine Beer Company of Maine. It is the Partner Ships #1 Red IPA. 7.3% ABV. It came out only a few weeks back. I bet a lot of folks in the mid-Atlantic region are pleased to get their hands on something that has the respected Maine Beer Company logo on it. I see Maine Beer everywhere here in New Hampshire but we don't get Heavy Seas. I picked this bottle up in Massachusetts.

This has an attractive amber-red pour with a tremendous, foamy, and long lasting cream colored head. The aroma has a number of characteristics including a bit of bread, tobacco, an herbal quality, and a melon or citrus like note. Medium to full body but with an acidic texture too. The taste has a quick sweet malt taste that is quickly usurped by the more powerful hop notes and it ends mildly dry.

 

Found a bunch of these on the shelf last week. Thought I'd grab a couple. I'll probably save the other for next Christmas.



4.25/5 rDev +1.4%look: 4.25 | smell: 4.25 | taste: 4.25 | feel: 4.25 | overall: 4.25

Poured from a 12 oz bottle into a stout glass. Poured black with no head, even with a vigorous pour. However, there is good carbonation. Smell from the bottle is instant, strong chocolate with cinnamon and other spices present. After pouring the spices become more prevalent than the chocolate. There is also a vanilla note. The taste is still very boozy, even for 11%. The chocolate is there but overshadowed by the cinnamon and chili spices. Aged a year, this would probably be better. Still a great beer and would be very nice in the winter. Not as good as BOMB! but worth visiting at Christmas (or Easter).

 

I feel you. There are a lot of decent brews from the NoVa/DC area (mainly VA side for me) - but not a lot of "you gotta try this" types that are actually packaged for delivery. As an example to your point, DC Brau had no OTWOA - a staple I try to send out - the weekend I headed out to get it for the BIF. Seems to me the area is just starting to get into trying to make offerings for the more "beer geeky" styles than the crossover consumers. Countering that, however, is the fact that you get to send out what the area is producing, be it exciting or solid (hopefully not bad). I like the NBS BIF for that reason - more about discovery - good, amazing, or indifferent .

 

I had the fresh IPA conundrum this time out. A lot of regional breweries don't date their bottles. I finally decided to just send stuff I would have no problem buying for myself from places I trust. While I, of course, want to send the best stuff I can get ahold of, it is free beer that my targets are getting, after all, so I'm not going to overthink it to the point of paralysis.

 

New Weizenbock Sunday (week 579)
Greetings fellow NBSers from on the ridge in Mid Hud Val, NY, and a Happy Easter to all. Back from work, yes, work, and very thirsty. Worst thing is I told the Town Supervisor (my "boss") opening today would be foolish, he insisted I should, and there were plenty of customers, so he was right. Will not be admitting this to him though.

This extremely tasty beer is doing wonders for my thirst and state of mind. How have I not tried this one that literally has stared at me from shelf for ten years??? Tap 6, I think, is the last of these that I haven't tried, and let me say these "Tap #" beers from Brauhaus Schneider are all just delicious, and if you have passed any by here is a reminder not to put off this delicious enjoyment. This is a great beer because it has lots of flavor, very tasty clove/spice note to it that doesn't build on palate, nice sweet caramel to balance and not overpower by any means, and finishes just juicy enough, and is super refreshing.

http://www.beeradvocate.com/beer/profile/72/224/?ba=cavedave

Hope you have a Great Beer in your glass! Cheers!



I joke with the singer of Evidence Black, and call him my instrument, since I can't sing. Too Many Not Enough (they shortened it to Enough for the disk) is his favorite.

 

This brew pours a cloudy orange with a fluffy two finger head and lots of lacing. The head sticks around for a long time.
The smell is sweet, (bubble gum), fruity and floral. Lost of straw and earthy smell. Floral hops, mild grapefruit and lemon.
The taste follows the nose with lots of peach, lemon, light grapefruit and floral hops. Light sweet malts and floral hops in the finish. A little peppery too. A nice complex brew that is perfect for summer.

 

Beautiful day here in N of Boston, went to a farm (Drumlin) and walked around with the 11 mo old and wife looking at animals. So fun watching the baby giggle at these animals, must be mind-blowing to her.
Anyways, I went to a new brewery the other day that just opened the doors to the tap room this month. Bent Water Brewery out of Lynn MA. They use water straight from a local reservoir and that is what they claim makes there beer better. I had some tasters, and everything was pretty good. I brought home a growler of a Brewery Only release, called Crazy Chester. A blend of there flagship IPA, APA, and Porter, then dry hopped. Very god tropical flavor which is now expected here in NE. Look is a little muddy, probably from the Porter. It's great beer, and a easy sipper today while sitting on the deck. Happy Easter to those celebrating!
Cheers

 

Prairie Artisan Ales Pirate Bomb! Recently found this in South Dakota and snapped up four. Usually I drink alone because I am the only beer drinker in the house, but my son is visiting today and he'll be sampling some along with me. I would like to compare Pirate Bomb! to BA Bomb! sometime, but thinking I prefer regular Bomb! over Pirate. Pirate is decent, but the rum covers up the chocolate taste a bit. Still an excellent beer though. After a late spring snowstorm yesterday, it will be in the 40's today (60's tomorrow) and melting off. Not worth shoveling. We parked the gas Weber today, and broke out the charcoal Weber for turkey breasts. Also having homemade twice-baked potatoes and homemade cheesecake. And beer!

Update: The Pirate has warmed a bit, and the chocolate is now coming out. Or I'm warming, whatever.

 

sorry. i don't really do "reviews". i don't think i have the vocabulary, imagination & other creative talents to articulate anything captivating. what i got from the Expedition Stout:

cacao, deep malt, hefty roast but clean. also tasted some darker fruit with very slight bitterness on the back-end.

the above was well balanced, with nothing being overbearing. the real disclaimer here is the Expedition was enjoyed right behind an FIS - which, truthfully, i was prepared for it to maybe come off thinner or handicapped in contrast. it didn't disappoint. highly recommended.

 

Thanks!

Talent and/or reviews for NBS aren't the issue, but what distinguishes the sharing on NBS from the WBAYDN thread is we try to give others some information about what we've experienced with the beer, first reactions, second thoughts, etc. Very helpful to have the perspective of others when faced with a purchasing decision.

Hope we see you here again!

 

Greetings, fellow NBSers, and thanks to @utopiajane for getting us underway once again,

Mid-40s, with a silvery sky and some light rain here in the ‘kan. Happy Easter, to those who observe it, and Happy NBS to the rest of us. I’m not much for organized religion and don’t have little munchkins who expect colored eggs and candy, so after a night and early morning of insomnia, I slept for a few hours and took it slow this AM, with a light breakfast (yesterday’s breakfast was a massive breakfast burrito, so it’s time for a little restraint) and some coffee. I missed out on last week’s NBS as I was making a visit to the parental units, who reside approx. 150 miles from me. They’ll be gone for much of the spring on a big European trip they’ve been planning for a couple years (my Dad in particular has always wanted to visit Paris), so I wanted to hang with them for a weekend before they went. While in the town where this is a thing…


…I grabbed a couple crowlers for my target in the current NBS BIF. He has some specific likes, stylistically, and none of the local crowler-fill options had anything that was a) his cup of tea, b) at least semi-local and c) was of reputable quality to the point where I would want to receive them, so I had to go a little farther afield. Oddly enough, in the past few days, that has suddenly changed, so it’s perhaps an Easter Miracle that my box of stuff got so jammed with beer that a couple bottles had to be left out, and I can send out more stuff – crowlered and bottled - that he’d probably dig in a couple weeks time, along with some more swag.

Speaking of the BIF, I’ve already received a porch-killer of a box from the great @Ri0, filled to the brim with mid-western goodness. The official reveal date is April 10th, but you’ll see at least one preview today. In order to make room for all this beery bounty, I’ve had to commence Operation: Clear Fridge. Here are the highlights.

A couple days before I left town, I had a bottle of Older Viscosity that had been given(!) to me by a tremendously cool local bartender named Anthony: http://www.beeradvocate.com/beer/profile/13839/34094/?ba=woemad Really great stuff, but BIG. So big, I actually forgot to drink the last 2-3oz in the bottle…

This week, hearing that @Ri0 was sending me 220 Ounces of beer, I’ve had to do some drinking. So, a “French Quad” from San Francisco - http://www.beeradvocate.com/beer/profile/24940/190692/?ba=woemad – and a Wild Ale from wild White Center - http://www.beeradvocate.com/beer/profile/18081/140317/?ba=woemad – had to meet their doom.

Just now I’m polishing off the last of the coffee, and will soon be hitting something that is only in my possession due to the tremendous generosity of @Ri0.

 

that's the plan,,, now. i did get a second bottle but, the funny thing is the Expedition were in ready carry 6 packs. i actually removed 4 of the Expedition because my priority was grabbing another 4pk of FIS, which the bottles accessible were all on the shelf as singles.

EDIT: one thing i should state which i doubled verified before doing so. there was no price advantage on buying 6 or 4pks as opposed to singles. fortunately their pricing is very favorable by the bottle.

 

Deschutes The Abyss 2015 Reserve, 12.2% ABV. This is bourbon/oak/wine barrel aged. Really good, pretty complex in taste, seems like I pick up something new every sip. Might regret cracking this right on the tail of the Pirate Bomb! above since my son declined (buzzed from the Pirate) so I'm tackling this one alone. I have another in the cellar to try in the fall, maybe a side-by-side with a 2016. In recognition of Easter, I used my Popener to open it. Almost ready for our Easter dinner!

 

Happy Easter and New Beer Sunday, everybody!

I'm enjoying another one sent by @Josholson666 as part of the BIF, this time it's Indeed's Let it Ride IPA-


This beer seems to come from the same mold as Victory's Hop Devil, with a touch of Founders Red's Rye thrown in for good measure. It's old school in a way, but so am I .

Nose is a blend of citrus (blood orange, mostly) and pine, with toasty malts underneath and some tropical (papaya, passionfruit) elements bringing up the rear. The palate adds a serious dose of spiciness and dark caramel, but the finish is very dry and toasty. Bitterness is clean and prominent as well, and lingers for a while along with the evergreen and a hint of fruit. It's got strong flavors, but never becomes overbearing- great balance and construction, overall. By the end of the glass those tropical fruits are beginning to show themselves more, so the name seems appropriate; there is plenty of complexity here to allow for multiples in a session. Very nice A- (4.1)

 

New Fruit / Vegetable Beer Sunday

Hello everyone and Happy Easter! Around 50 degrees and very wet here in Milwaukee today. Today's brew was from Founder's - Mango Magnifico. While it certainly isn't "bad", I think I would have rather have split the 750 ml bottle with someone (or two). It's pretty much as described - mango, habanero and alcohol. It begins with mango then turns to strong habanero in the finish. Alcohol shows throughout (though not too hot for a 10% abv beer). I scored the appearance and smell 3.75 and the other categories 3.5's - resulting in 3.58, which is lower than the current average of 3.68.
Here's the link:

http://www.beeradvocate.com/beer/profile/1199/96814/?ba=jwc215

Cheers!

 

What a great show! Pretty sure I've seen every episode a half dozen times. Such a talented cast. Ernest T. Bass, my absolute favorite. Sorry for the hijack, NBSers.