New Beer Sunday (week 581)

Good morning New BSers! Maria, thank you for the resounding start to today's festivities. I have to say that I think El Sully is an excellent AAL (think I rated it at 4.00) Unfortunately, the AALs in general just taste bad to me. So, no more of El Sully for me.

Today is (I think) Reveal Day for NBS BIF #3. I've patiently waited until today to try the new brews @superspak sent me from MI, although the IPAs have been carefully stored in my reefer awaiting today. First up is:



Gotta say I'm not much of a fan of black IPAs in general and for me this is no exception. If I'm going malty, give me a RIS, a stout, a porter, a German bock, doppelbock, or altbier, or a Scotch ale (or a Scotch whisky, but that's another thread). I really didn't care for this, but HEY, if we all had the same tastes and desires, we'd all be drinking BMC. Anyway:

Received in NBS BIF #3 from @superspak
Bottled 02/03/16, at 40 degrees into hand washed and dried JK snifter
Aroma somewhat piney, weakens but lasts
Head small (<two cm, aggressive pour), light brown, creamy, rapidly diminishing to two mm ring and partial layer
Lacing fair – narrow complete ring of tiny bubbles with short legs
Body dark brown/black, opaque
Flavor moderately bitter but more of roasted malt than hops; no alcohol, no diacetyl
Palate medium, almost creamy, lively carbonation approaching fizzy

Appearance 3.5, Aroma 3.25, Flavor 3, Palate 3.5, Overall 3.25. Rating 3.19. Avg 4.16, rDev -23.3%

However, my second MI beer of the morning is much more to my liking:



From @superspak for NBS BIF #3
Undated can at 40 degrees into hand washed and dried JK snifter
Aroma of pine with some floral, lasts with only slight weakening
Head large (Five cm, aggressive pour), off white, frothy, diminishing to irregular five to eight mm frothy ring and heaped frothy layer
Lacing – wide frothy rings of mostly tiny bubbles
Body medium yellow, hazy
Flavor of pineapple, light and fruity, very low bitterness; no malt, no alcohol, no diacetyl; very sessionable
Palate light to medium, almost creamy, soft carbonation

Appearance 4, Aroma 3.75, Flavor 4.5, Palate 4, Overall 4.25. Rating 4.19. Avg 4.04, rDev +3.7%

This was a very sessionable brew I'll be looking for next month when I'm back in MI pouring at the World Expo of Beer. Maybe I can find a case or two to bring home!

 

Good morning, all. I'm continuing my second childhood through beer reviews and Transformers (through my first childhood contained neither). There were enough likes and messages about Grimlock last week that my giant Optimus Prime needed to enter the scene. As a giant man-child, I assure you that I have no end of robots in disguise to continue this trend.



This week's presentation is brought to you via a box from @Justdoit1234 He's an absurdly generous trader that I look forward to dealing with again. The box contained a number of fantastic items, including Hop Forest from Bent Paddle Brewing Company.



As you can see with your highly evolved visual optic system, Hop Forest has the caramel visual characteristics of a shiny new penny. It's not entirely hazy, but I wouldn't want to try and read a book on the other side of the glass.

The nose is awesomely complex, perhaps to a fault. Pine, sweet malts, tropical fruits, a touch of toast, you name it. The only issue I have is that it was sort of difficult to really key in on one particular scent.

Taste is definitely hop forward, with that sticky pine and bright citrus that attracts so many of us to particular DIPAs. The backbone keeps that hoptacular bitterness with a washing of bready malts. At 8.9%, it'll get the job done, but you don't really notice that until you get up to perform complex tasks that normally seem easy in a more sober frame of mind. The finish is fairly dry, and you really just want to take another sip after you swallow

Personally, I enjoyed this brew tremendously, but I can see where it wouldn't strike the fancy of so many other hop hounds. At $12 for a 4 pack you really want to enjoy it so I have to wonder if some of the disappointment that others have expressed is due to a skewed perception of what $12 should taste like.

 

I'm glad you liked the blackrocks, looking forward to your opinions on the other beers. I was unaware that you did not like black ipas, but I did follow the style preference outline you gave to @beertunes, so there was no way I could have known. All of the beers I sent you have been reviewed by me, and are ones I find to be 4 or more area scores; but I know your reviews sway quite largely against the rDev, so I already knew that there will probably be a few things that don't meet expectations. Cheers!

 

Like @utopiajane I'm going with a craft take on a Mexican style lager. She summed up all of my very own questions so very well, so I won't say the same thing, I'll get straight to the beer.

Lone Tree Mexican Lager (Although the BA database lists it as Summer Siesta Mexican Lager)

The beer is poured into my Victoria tumbler, and its a rather pretty golden color with slowly rising bubbles. It has a white foamy head that recedes to a nice soapy film. It leaves random bands of lacing that come and go as I drink. It really reminds me of the way we all expect a good classic beer to look -- golden and sudsy.

The aroma is super sweet, and at first it certainly smelled like sweet cereal grains with a hint of grassiness, lending the notion that maybe this is heading toward that pilsener quality. But the more I smelled and tasted this, I thought of the good ol' rice adjunct being a possibility.

The taste is spot on with the aroma. It's super sweet up front with a huge malt or grain bill, but tastes so much like it could be brewed with rice adjuncts. There's a subtle tangy finish that adds a nice balance to this.

The mouthfeel is super smooth, almost creamy.

Overall: I have to admit, the more I drank this, the more I liked it. I would say it's almost too sweet, if it has a flaw. My overall rating is 3.79 which sounds about right. The bomber cost $3.99 so I also felt that was appropriate. I appreciate a craft brewery trying this style, but it's rather ironic to me. If I want a Mexican style lager, I think I'll just buy the real thing and save some money, right?

 

Morning, NBS! Today is the official NBS BIF (#3) reveal day!! I have some errands to run, but a morning brew shouldn't interfere with that. Today I bring to you from Grimm Artisinal Ales (out of NY city) an American wild ale - Subliminal Message (a sour red ale with cherries conditioned on oak):


The bottle says enjoy at 45-55 in a tulip or wine glass. Unfortunately, taking the beer outside for photos didn't help bring it down from refrigerator temps (and might have hurt). Either way, I had time to stage the photo and start this writeup.

The beer is a muddy brown, and appears as if it may be lightly cloudy by perusing the edges of the glass. Head is a tannish-white and sticks around well enough for a wild ale.

Nose wafted towards my slowly growing cold nose as I poured the beers shown outside. Not strong enough to get the details, but its general sour/barrel nature could be discerned. Closer inspection has the sour leaning fruity - like sour peaches and smashed tart green apples (to me, not really getting any cherry nor the oak I thought I was getting upon opening). The sour doesn't seem overwhelming, and there is a little regular fruitiness to this beer as well.

Taste starts a little more tart than expected. I was thinking maybe Oud Bruin from the nose, and there is a general impression of what I think of for the style, but it really does lean more tart. The opening has enough carbonation to make me think of a sour soda (like the old grapefruit sodas I used to enjoy) - though the sweetness of a soda is obviously and thankfully lacking.

A wooden undertone to a puckering apple and nectarine like sour (still not cherry-like to me) open the taste. The sour bite dies fast, but a lingering tartness drags itself through the beer. Really all the excitement is up front. The flavors mute themselves after an initial run for glory, but do stick around a little while. Earthy notes seem to be the palette for some tart to bland fruit notes (like one of those peaches you get that just seems to lack any flavor). Warmth does help to expand the tart notes more and more.

So, to my palate I wasn't getting much cherry in the sour and tart notes. In my experience, specific sour cherries might not be very cherry-y and could be producing a more generic sourness that I am perceiving as stone fruit and tart apple. Either way, this is a fine ale that I fell is missing just a little something to bridge the burst of sour/tartness and the more bland earthiness of the end taste.

Thanks to @RoninTK3 for this beer. I think I have turned the corner and am just over halfway through his wonderful BIF box. I'll be back with a couple more this afternoon, if things go as planned.

 

brought home a few things off my normal beaten path during the week.





solid. nothing fancy at all but i found it very refreshing. possibly from chasing behind bigger, heavier stuff earlier but this first pour is reminding me quite a bit of Blanche de Chambly (Unibroue). the "hoppy" quote, is more of a clean one to me, what i guess is to be expected in a wheat brew. certainly not "IPA" hoppy. $9 i would probably entertain another bottle in the future. we don't have HBO so can't proper it completely.

 

5.2% alcohol. 13 IBU. Brewed in Nebraska.

4/5 rDev +3.1%
look: 4 | smell: 4 | taste: 4 | feel: 4 | overall: 4

Eos Hefeweizen has a thick, fluffy, off-white head, an opaque, orange-gold appearance, racing bubbles, and minimal lacing left behind on the glass. The aroma is of pungent, full, sweet, white wheat bread and coriander spice, with background banana. Flavor is the same, with some bubble gum, and just the faintest hop note. Mouthfeel is medium and soft (or, fluffy), and Nebraska's Eos Hefeweizen finishes on the dry and mellow side.

RJT

 

Nice! I had Subliminal Message on draught a month or so ago, and pretty much found it to be just the way you described, with a really nice balance of fruity/earthy/woody/tart qualities. I wasn't expecting cherries, though, so maybe that's why my overall impression was a bit higher; all I knew was the name on the blackboard and a vague description like 'Wild/ Sour'. Now I'm wondering if it's better to know, or not know that sort of thing ahead of time.

 

Yes, I wasn't thinking cherries at all until the GF read it from the bottle. I didn't let that affect my much, if at all. I found it an enjoyable beer but it seemed like a little dichotomy between the opening notes and the longer taste, one that I would have liked smoothed out a little more.

 

A Hoppy Birthday Beer!!

My wife received a present of a can of Heady Topper (a good friend was recently in Vermont and brought it back for her). My wife is a rapid hop head so this beer is indeed a great present! She decided to save this beer for her birthday and she generously offered to share it with me.

I am sure that most BAs know about Heady Topper and its cult status. I do not think a big description is needed here so let’s just drink!!

Served in her April birthday wine glass & my Spiegelau IPA glass:

Appearance:

Pours a pale yellow color with a fluffy white head. There is a bit of haze to this beer.

Aroma:

Wow! A complex combination of tropical fruit aroma with plenty of citrus as well. In the background there is some pine as well. Simply wonderful!!

Taste:

The flavors follows the nose: a tasty combination of tropical fruit flavors, citrus flavors and that bit of pine. Yum! There is just enough malt backbone to provide some balance but permit the hop flavors to be prominent.

Mouthfeel:

Medium body with a dry finish.

Overall:

This beer has a complex and enticing aroma/flavor profile. An EXCELLENT DIPA!!

Cheers to the brewers of The Alchemist Brewery!!

@KOP_Beer_OUtlet @SFACRKnight

 

He would approve of his name sake then!

http://www.beeradvocate.com/beer/profile/7773/31941/

 

Yeah, it's too bad they closed. It would have been a great picture.

 

It was a sad day..​

 

Thanks to @beerloserLI , who sent a generous 17 beers in BIF NBS 3. Mind you the recommended number to send was 6!

2016 Central Waters Bourbon Barrel Barrleywine Ale

Pours a dark mahogany hue with a one finger head, dissipating to a ring of lacing at the glass edge, and eventually dissappearing entirely with no sign of carbonation. The last half of the glass looked like straight up liquor which was quite beautiful. Nice sophisticated look. The taste was initially very sweet, toffee, fig, butterscotch with just a hint of bourbon, but the profile changed 180 over the hour or so that I sipped this. As it warmed, the sweetness too a backseat and the bourbon stepped up, becoming the primary and warming quite nicely. I suggest drinking straight out of the cellar, no fridge on this beauty! One of the best barrleywines, I was nicely buzzed after this one!

 

Double Barley Steak Cake Stout
Imperial Stout - 10% ABV



3.96/5 rDev +1.5%
look: 3.75 | smell: 4 | taste: 4 | feel: 3.75 | overall: 4

22oz bottle poured into a snifter.

I picked this bottle up last summer in Asheville, NC on vacation. I was intrigued by the beer name and label that features a slice of birthday cake and a large steak. The story behind the beer name and bottle art is explained on the back of the bottle: "There is a battle in our family that lead to the name. Larry, the sweet tooth, prefers to pair this beer with a sweet treat. While, Cheryl, the carnivore, insists that is pairs best with a big, juicy porterhouse steak."

There is a lot of carbonation in the bottle, causing an extremely slow and careful pour. The aroma is sweet and not overly roasty with notes of cocoa and faint hints of coffee. The taste has a lingering sweetness into the finish that is smooth with bittersweet coffee and some roasted malts. The mouthfeel is medium bodied with prickly carbonation. This imperial stout is more on the sweet spectrum of stouts as opposed to being more roasty. Overall, Steak Cake is a solid stout that is worth a try.

 

Happy NBS to all, and thank you Maria for the great start to the thread!
My wife and I just returned from the Los Angeles area after visiting our daughter and grandsons. She is a reliability engineer for The Spaceship Company, and has the task of making sure the ship doesn't crash. The highlight of our trip was a tour of her workplace. Once all the testing is done they will start offering rides to civilians. It certainly is a stunning vehicle.



We flew back yesterday and find ourselves back in the deep freeze that is springtime in Maine. I am drinking Obsius, a stout from Gneiss Brewing in Limerick, ME.
It poured a black color with virtually no head.
Aroma was roasted malt and fruit.
The taste followed the nose. Some chocolate, some licorice. The fruit appeared late.
Light to medium bodied, quite drinkable.



Cheers!
Looking forward to an exciting final round of The Masters.

 

Jack, did you decant or swirl?

 

Happy NBS BIF Reveal Day

Morning, BAs! Thanks to @utopiajane for hosting and to @beertunes and @LehighAce06 for organizing an amazing NBS Beer It Forward.

I've been up for a while now enjoying another delicious New Mexican stout from the extremely-generous @ONovoMexicano. Before starting this BIF, I'm not sure if I'd tried any New Mexican beers. Now I've had the lion's share of New Mexico's top ten.

This morning, I've been enjoying La Cumbre's Cafe Con Leche while helping my daughter with some homework. Gave my lovely wife a heads up I'd be imbibing today, and she made me a fuller breakfast than my usual oatmeal. Yesterday was snowy here in southeastern PA, but today the sun is shining. Life's looking good!





Cafe con Leche pours a ruby-tinted black with a finger of tan head that leaves heavy lacing. There's definitely a creaminess to the aroma -- you can smell it's a milk stout. This is coupled with a little nuttiness and dark-roasted coffee behind. A little muted though.

Wow, tasty. Great fresh-ground coffee taste up front. Full, creamy mouthfeel with just a touch of graininess. There's a little fruitiness to the malt, too, maybe cherry and plum. And definite cream flavor, too. This one lives up to its name.

Thanks again to @ONovoMexicano, and all the other great NBSers out there. Looking forward to digging into this thread throughout the day.