New Beer Sunday (week 579)

Greetings All:

Checking in a bit late on this NBS evening to report on White Bluffs brewing in Richland. WA.
http://www.beeradvocate.com/beer/profile/24517/

Today my new beer is the Biere de Mars.
http://www.beeradvocate.com/beer/profile/24517/78138/

A good presentation of the style, and I'm not sure it was the best beer in the tap room. The Cliff Hanger Pale Ale was incredible.

We got the trailer off the ranch this weekend and did a little overnighter to the Tri-Cities. A 75 mile jaunt. It was good to get an early spring outing in, and White Bluffs made it all the worth while. I'll be back and it won't take an RV trip to get me there.

Until next time.

Happy Trails!

 

Definitely agree that there are some good qualities to Fort, but it is like fresh World Wide Stout, just not worth the $10 price tag. As far as DFH's high alcohol beer 120 and Raison D'Extra are the only ones I enjoy fresh.

 

Gonna get through the 5 pages a little later, been busy with family in Santa Fe this Easter Sunday.

I did have a few new beers this afternoon but couldn't document them or take note as I was busy enjoying company. Imagine that. Haha. It's just a reminder why I enjoy drinking quitely at home though.

Anyway, today's beer was sent to me by @TongoRad simply for commenting in a thread that I really wanted to try it but wasn't going to see distribution to New Mexico. I've said it before, he is a gentleman and a true BA (and also will be on the receiving end of NM goodies here soon).

Anyhow, today's beer is Schlenkerla Fastenbier which is a lentenbier and I guess one I should have been drinking during Lent, not now that it ended but hell, I rarely go to church so who am I to quibble?





Here are my thoughts:

4.38/5 rDev +3.1%
look: 5 | smell: 4.5 | taste: 4.25 | feel: 4.5 | overall: 4.25

500mL bottle poured into a seidel.

Okay, I probably shouldn't have given it the vigorous straight pour that I often do with other beers when using an oversized tulip. Bad idea here. Haha. This thing's got head on it. Tons. Sudsy like a kitchen sink with half a bottle of dish sap and frothy like a root beer float. Deep caramel body with lighter brown hues at the base of the glass. 5

Schlenkerla does an aroma like no other. If you take a whiff of their brews and don't think smoked ham, bacon and campfire, then you're probably a vegan that's never left the city and that's still no excuse. This fastenbier is no exception. All types of smoked sensations reach the nostrils. It's aggressive and I'm always a fan. Love it. One thing I note here aside from the smoky characteristics is an earthy, lightly floral hop aroma. Love that too. 4.5

The flavor is a departure of sorts from the nose in that it's not as unapologetically smoky as the nose. Caramel malt flavor, sweet bread and even some dark fruit notes and hints of ark chocolate. The finish lingers with smoke and bitter earthy and grassy hop notes. A little warmth really opens up the malt flavors. 4.25

As I've found with all of the Schlenkerla beers I drink, the feel is full, rich, creamy and yet still very satisfying and refreshing. Where some might be taken aback by the smoky feel on this that is slightly accentuated by the bitter hops, this is the appeal for me. But don't be mistaken, the smokiness isn't overwhelming or egregious, it's as measured and thoughtful as one can expect from German beers. 4.5

This beer just does it on all levels. Rich, full, dare I say aggressive flavors that would and should satisfy the current American palate. But as I drink this, it occurs to me that while this beer is everything an outstanding, distinct, memorable and highly sought after beer should be, it lacks in one department and that's the rarity/hard-to-obtain area. That's fine with me.

 

If your experience with the beer is like mine was, you've now found out what it is like quite young. It ages very very well so you can tuck the next bottle away in a cool quiet place for a couple of years and I think you'll find it has improved a lot.

Some years ago I had a 750 ml bottle that had about 3 years of age on it and we served it as the last beer of the evening at a tasting party. Several folks were having it for the first time and thoroughly enjoyed it.

Edit: BTW with the aged bottle try to pour without disturbing any sediment in the bottom of the bottle so that it all remains behind. Should be less "muddy" looking.

 

I forgot to mention; I showed this to the owner, and he was pretty happy. Said he doesn't even have one anymore.

 

White Bluffs makes some good stuff. I wish I could stop there more often.

 

I have a strong feeling that being served as the "last" beer after several brews made it 'awesome' lol jk.

 

Must be nice! I'll owe Uncle Sam... Womp Womp

 

I always see Tool beers and wanna buy them but they're hard to keep track of and the price can be a bit much.

 

If you haven't already, you should try Baladin Xyauyu Etichetta Oro. Very, very, very Port-like.

 

I know I speak for most BIFers in that we like new beers of all kinds and if it's something that can age or that's been aged, all the better!

I am with you here. If I enjoyed the beer, I am more than happy to send it to those that participate in BIFs and NBS because I know I'll get their honest, thoughtful opinion as opposed to taking a 1 ounce sample of something and giving it a quick rating.

Paging @beertunes and everyone else in our current BIF. Seems like this guy is ripe for some BIF participation. We really, really, really, really, really, really need some Canadian participation. I personally need some Canadian beers in my life.

I think @beertunes might like that glass.

Just curious, are you still alive? Please check in.

I enjoy the Florida Man twitter feed. Tragically comedic.

 

Possibly next year bud, I was laid off 2 months ago so I don't have the extra cash lying around

 

Sorry to hear that, sir. I noticed you mentioned Hamilton in a follow-up post. I was looking at a map for a cross country drive and was looking at how I could possibly get to New York City and still visit Michigan (Grand Rapids is the objective, for beer of course). One option I noticed is that I could cut north to Grand Rapids and rather than return south, cut directly east into Canada and pass through Hamilton and Toronto. Long story short, if I do so, I'll have beer for you if there's any possibility of meeting up.

 

you would just have to give me a day, I'm in Montreal so its a 5 hour drive, However if it ended up being worth it and doable at the time, Bring me a couple beers from your travels and I could get you some quebec micros, ( special Dieu du Ciel bottles, Le Castor Yakima IPA ect...

 

Well hell, y'all are making it easy on this paralytically indecisive soul on when and what to contribute to this here weekly wonder. First @SawDog505 shows me the way to the Juju and now the man the myth the Mr. Mantooth himself gives me guidance as to my next foray into Sunday fun.

Roller Blabe. That's the plan.
-Pour is the haziness. Peach meat colour with a head whiter than ivory. Stiff shiny egg whites see this head and get jealous. Good retention. Less lacing than I anticipated, but nothing to scoff at. Beautiful.
-Nose jumps in with sweet sweet tropical fruits. Pineapple stands out. Other sweet juicy tropical fruits involved, but pineapple is the big soloist here.
-Start drinking it.... pineapple still present, but mango seems to be the leading lady in this step of the performance. some star fruit, some orange juice (but like the sweet pulpless kind the kids like). Guava and that step in? Memories of POG juice float from the depths. Light, but not light on flavour. Dangerously drinkable. I feel like this should be accompanied by saturday morning cartoons and a big bowl of cereal.
Incredible execution of the current IPA-style-du-jour of fruit juice and haze. Mucho mucho much gratitude dude. If I had one complaint about this beer.... the only one I can think of is that the can is plastic-wrapped and not printed on the metal, so it does not have a future as a part of my armour. If that's the biggest complaint I can come up with, well, damn.

Now, I needs be off to decide what I want to stuff down my gullet.
The hard choices in life.

 

Montreal!!! Even better! Haha. I have many a fond memory from Montreal trips when I lived in Boston and NYC. I'm actually trying to convince a friend of mine to do a Bachelor party that entails going to NYC and hitting breweries through upstate NY, VT and finally ending in Montreal. I'll keep you posted as well if that pans out at all.

 

sounds good bud

 

You're more than welcome in New Mexico. Locals are generally the biggest bashers of our local beers, so no one will crucify you for disparaging words about New Mexico beers. You'll fit right in.

 

Hoppy NBS Late Nite
Again, big thanks to @Ozzylizard for hooking me up with more hops to enjoy the beginning of spring in our NBS BIF#3.

Weyerbacher's Double IPA #II (Waimea, Wai-iti, and Galaxy hops)
3.63/5 rDev -4.7%
look: 3.5 | smell: 3.5 | taste: 3.75 | feel: 3.75 | overall: 3.5

Pours a murky orange to amber hue. Couple fingers of head retreats to a loose film on top.
Interesting nose. Kind of all over the place with the tropics. Pineapple and earthy mango maybe. Taste has more going on. Definitely runs the gamut of tropical. Pineapple, mango, peach. But also moves a bit citrusy. Orange zest? Kinda hard to nail down. Pretty good, but doesn't always come together. As it warms, a bit more pine and citrus comes through, as well as a hint of malt backbone. Mouthfeel is slightly oily and that's a good thang.
Overall, I'd like to try again. I found it constantly changing. So I'm sure my tongue would find it different today than it would another day.

 

Actually, Field 41 is a regular visitor to my fridge. But no matter how good something is, if you look far enough, you can find something that matches or exceeds it. That's just life.