New Beer Sunday (week 580)

Trying this Allagash St Klippenstein. Very nice indeed.

http://www.beeradvocate.com/beer/profile/4/194906/?ba=cindyjeffsmith#review

 

Palate cleanser... not a new beer. Figured I had one bottle left and a pseudo-virtual bottle share would be in order. I read our two reviews, and it appears we agreed on a few things about this beer. My revisit I get a little more from the nose - dark brown sugar and raisin (vs review of cola and fig). I like @garymuchow's line about the feel: "Good fullness ... and soft" - and I think I do get a little of the alcohol in the back he mentions that I didn't get originally. Plus, I shared with similar glassware:


And now, onto round #2 of Stoneface's highly regarded beers brought to me by @RoninTK3 in his lovely BIF box! This is a Double IPA that is rated quite highly. After writing my review I looked at the Stoneface portfolio, and saw they had many more APAs than any other style (granted, most are dry-hopped versions of their base). Given the restrained hop presence in these two beers, I can see that. Now, restrained sounds bad, but I cannot emphasize how much I do not mean it as such. I mean it in that the hops do get to shine, but don't overpower the beer, and I personally find that very tasty.



A little more orange-hued than the regular IPA from before. I did a lighter pour, but still got a nice amount of head.

Nose is tropical in nature. Sweetly fruity in nature, papaya, green pineapple, and maybe some candied grapefruit. From the nose I was fearing this might be a tad sweet. But I can't imagine it will be, given the reviews, right? Actually a little unripe (green) fruit does give me some hope.

The taste manages to flips the nose, which is a good thing to me. I get that unripe tropical fruit bitterness combined with a little dose of grapefruit pith early. There is a neutral malt backbone that seems to act as a nice balancing feature versus the other way around. The back end brings a tad bit of resinous goodness, and it joins the party versus crashing it and shutting it down. It isn't immediate, but the beer does turn a bit dry.

This beer doesn't have that same softness as I got from my recent NH beers, but this is nice and smooth. Regardless, this beer is another solid offering from Stoneface. Both offerings are strong representations of their styles very without being extreme. I rated them within a hair of each other, but I think I liked the regular IPA relatively a little more than the barely higher rating I gave it. But I'll repeat that I'd love to have both in my fridge on the regular.

 

And for my next trick:

Nothing up my sleeve presto!

 

Haha! It keeps one in shape! No one was fat in the 70s. One of these Sundays I have to join this thread. Great posts everyone! Cheers!

 

Hello New Beer Sunday. I was thinking of joining you all for a new beer this morning, before my fishing trip. Sadly, woke up too late. Right now, I'm sitting at the hotel in Baudette, MN, recovering from a skunking. So for NBS, I'm sharing a bottle of BA Narwhal. Of my fishing party, I'm the only one who likes it. It is a nice, rich beer. I do like it.

Here's hoping the fishing picks up tomorrow.

 

Yard work is done and dinner finished, so time for another beer from the @TongoRad BIF box.

Started the day with a smoked porter and coming back with another. This time Grey Sail's Leaning Chimney.

Very enjoyable porter with some nice roasted malts, chocolate, and a touch of coffee. I felt the smoke was a little underwhelming here, and might prefer the Forgotten Boardwalk instead.



http://www.beeradvocate.com/beer/profile/27710/76482/?ba=richj1970

 

Ok- I admit that I jumped the gun on my first can of Todd the Axe Man sent by @Josholson666 , but since it's a part of the BIF I figure it would be acceptable to post my impressions of the second one here. I'm also trying to work on a project in the garage, but somehow this dude is demanding all of my attention at the moment .


The nose starts out so bright and shiny, fresh but not raw. An amazing complement of fruits comes on strong- pineapple, mango, papaya, berries (straw and rasp ), tangerine- although the impression is mostly tropical. It is balanced by a touch more than a suggestion of that dank/weedy/sweaty quality; just enough to keep things from going off of the fruity rails. The malty sweetness augments the aromas to give it a rich, juicy feeling.

The palate is more dominated by the dankness, although all of that fruit is not all that far behind. Mouthfeel is moderately full and rich, and the bitterness is strong yet seemingly intertwined with the residual sugars and malt flavors. Any thoughts of a cloying experience don't even get off of the ground; the sweetness is there for support and has been made to know its place. Pineapple plays a great initial role, but citrus is dominating the second half of the glass. By the end the flash and rind are having an evenly matched tug of war.

According to the can, this beer wants to be really brash, but thankfully doesn't succeed. Instead it is very bold and aggressive yet ultimately balanced; and very, very palatable. Masterfully done, Surly. A (4.6).

 

Now all I need to do is lose the remote, and maybe I'll work off all of these beers !

And definitely join us, I'm sure we'd love to have you .

 

Good afternoon, BA's, and happy New Tangerine Soul Style IPA Sunday! A shout-out to @cavedave for getting the festivities started (and apologies for the Billy Beer/ computer mishap ). Now on with the show.

First, I'll say that this delivers. The tangerine aroma is quite prominent from the second you pop the cap. It advertises 75 IBUs, and gives you every single one of them. I couldn't wait to get this into some #ProperGlassware, as the underside of the cap recommends:


The tangerine is prominent on the palate as well. Notes of orange and a bit of grapefruit pith. Finishes dry, with some lingering resiny astringence and bitterness. My rating for this is off the reservation. I love the tangerine flavors and the interplay with the Citra and Cascade hop character. BB date on this sample, which I picked up as a single, was 05 AUG 16. It's the first one I remember seeing around here, though.

I may be back with another one later. Right now, though, it's back to the Beth Riesgraf marathon (aka Leverage) on ion. Cheers!

Rating: 4.17/5 (rDev +11.8%)

 

My first time trying this I was quite inexperienced and thought it was merely a solid beer. Wrong. Absolutely delightful. I was slightly miffed as I started, but as it warmed it was down right brilliant. I'll make a note to myself that 10 minutes out of the fridge did not suffice. Cheers!
The review:
Founders - KBS
4.68/5 rDev +2.6%
look: 4 | smell: 4.75 | taste: 4.75 | feel: 4.5 | overall: 4.75

L: Pours a near-black, with a mocha-like head that which recedes to a creamy collar. Some lacing is apparent, but not in abundance.

S: Roast, coffee, bourbon, vanilla, chocolate, booze, a slight hint of smoke, and some dark fruits.

T: Similar to the aroma: Roast, coffee. chocolate, oak, bourbon, char, vanilla, a bit of booze and it's accompanying heat, a lingering roasty bitterness that is not at all overwhelming or out of place.

F: Lighter than expected (which is a strength for my palate) Very smooth with moderate carbonation and a stickiness that compounds over time.

O: Fantastic. Brilliantly complex and the flavors are delightfully balanced. The booze is slightly more apparent than I'd like, but I presume a little time will assist in that regard. Highly recommended.

Note(s): Warming this beer before serving is imperative to experiencing all of it's lovely nuances. 10 minutes out of the fridge was not sufficient.

 

You found this one smooth? I admit I have my own personal bias against rum in my beer (will make the one beer I got from @RoninTK3 interesting), but even ignoring that, I found this beer very hot. Love seeing differences in thoughts, which is why I like NBS (especially when I've had the beer). I do see you got the booziness on the nose, did it not transfer to the feel for you?

I really enjoyed this beer, even though I got a can that was "old" at about 3 months. I did seem to indicate there was a decent level of sweetness throughout, but not in a controlling way. I attributed a bit of that to age, but it appears maybe there isn't too much of a dropoff, after all.

 

Greetings, NBSers. First up, this dangerously quaffable single-hop IPA.



I finally found this last week whilst visiting Minneapolis. I grabbed two 6ers and ran from the Total Wine like my hair was on fire. I wish I'd purchased more, but I have a supply & demand issue - my supply of refrigeration space will not keep up with my demand for tasty beverages.

This is a gorgeous beer, golden hues, nearly clear, 1-1/2 fingers of fluffy white head. The aroma is straightforward - dank Mosaic hops, and that's the flavor, too, with a little sweetness from the Golden Promise malt at the end of the swallow. This is a flavor bomb from a world-class brewer.

Rated 4.19.

 

I'm in agreement with you there- slight edge to the Morro Castle. I can appreciate the dryness of the Leaning Chimney, especially if I were to do a session with it, but the smoke is more subdued.

BTW- I'm really glad you're appreciating the smoked beers. A little bird told me there might be another one headed your way .

 

Thanks for that. Interestingly I was just looking at a bottle of that earlier today and thinking I should check out a bit more info about it. Thinking I'll give one a try after my next visit to the same bottle shop.

 

Switching gears with a new local release this week.

This is Blue Pants Brett IPA.

Really excited to see these guys playing around with some new recipes, and this one is a bit hit. Very nice blend of citrus hops and some Brett funk. Hoping they do this one again!



http://www.beeradvocate.com/beer/profile/23966/223016/?ba=richj1970

 

South Street BA Imperial Satan's Pony

All this talk of barrel-aged IPAs made me want to crack one open. This actually an amber ale, but close enough. Say hello to Excaliber, my daughter's toy horse in the background. When she heard I was reviewing Satan's Pony, she thought he'd be a good addition.

This bottle had a best-by of February 2017 printed on the cork. Thought that was pretty cool. Pours a muddy red in color, a shade or two brighter than a Flanders, with a finger of tan head. It dissipates to a pretty thick crown with an island of lasting film in the middle, that spins slowly in the center of the glass due to a modest effervescence.

It has a creamy bourbon aroma with vanilla and oak notes, and sweet malt and just a hint of hops behind. The taste is quite similar -- vanilla, oak and toffee bourbon dominates, with some hints of the heavy malt bill behind and a dull hop bitterness on the backend.

There's a very creamy mouthfeel, with strong carbonation behind it. Was hoping more flavor would come out as it warmed, but honestly, there isn't a lot of depth here. Sort of reminds me of Alltech's Kentucky Bourbon Barrel Ale, which I enjoy a lot for what it is. This is probably a tick worse, though, and it costs quite a bit more. Cool bottle though.

Still haven't had a BA IPA, but this makes me think barrel aging may be wasted on hoppy beers. Will reserve final judgement until I try a highly-rated one (or two or three) though.

 

As I further settle into my new surroundings, I am happily partaking of the expansive beer scene that NYC has to offer and reveling in the difficulty in deciding which bar to visit for the upcoming Jack's Abby city launch. SW Florida, where I was for much of last year, has decidedly less craft opportunities (save for the day-old Jai Alai, but I digress) and it's been a blast to taste and learn about new beers. I unfortunately haven't taken the opportunity to join with everyone here for a long time, but tonight that changes with this offering:



L -- A very nice hazy yellow with a creamy and somewhat frothy white head. Lacing is solid until halfway through.

S -- Grapefruit nectarines are at the front, pine and dank towards the end of a deep inhalation. Minor plum notes begin to emerge with warmth.

T -- A nice resinous flavor comes at me first, the light bitterness plus carbonation causing a tingle on my tongue. The fruits from the aroma come along as well, all melding together in with the bitterness to create something very pleasing. I think nectarine is spot on in describing the flavor I get here, though mango sneaks into that as well. Letting a sip warm on the tongue brings me around in circles, from resin to fruit to resin and back to fruit again. The bitterness is there ever so slightly noting its presence and acting as accompaniment rather than conductor.

F -- Medium to medium-full, but quite easy drinking given that and the strong carbonation.

O -- A very good IIPA. The aroma was slightly muted as compared to the taste, so that gets knocked a little, but if this were available more readily I think it would be a mainstay. There are some IIPAs that do the dank/resin very well, and others that are like drinking fruit juice, but I think this sits very well somewhere in between.


Cheers all, and best of luck to everyone and their favorite teams this summer!

 

New American Pale Ale Sunday

Hello all! Back with my second brew of the day - From Toppling Goliath - X Hops (Gold Series). Another winner from Toppling Goliath! An APA with enough hop presence to lean towards an IPA. I scored the Appearance and Smell 4.5's and the taste, mouthfeel and overall 4.25's. I ALMOST gave the overall a 4.5, but it's not quite there (a bit smoother and it would have hit the next highest, IMO). It's one worth getting! The score is a 4.33, a bit under the current average of 4.5.

Here's the link:

http://www.beeradvocate.com/beer/profile/23222/206803/

Cheers!

 

been wanting to crack this open for 2 months..finally got around to it..great pour..jet black..fluffy brown head..nice lacing..aroma of chocolate,coffee,dark fruits,peat smoke,molasses..super smooth for 12%..alcohol really not noticeable..chocolate,coffee,molasses,smoke and some dark fruits..impressive..would love to try a BA version.

 

Hi, Exalibur!
I went ahead and bought one of these recently, with a little hesitancy. Looks like maybe I could've held off. Oh well, we'll find out at some point in the next couple of weeks.

Oh, and the cork dating I've seen a few times, and I think Blue Mountain Brewing does that in their offerings, and since they bought South Street, this sort of makes sense .