New Beer Sunday (week 581)

No doubt. The barrel was definitely quite prominent, but it didn't overshadow everything else, and was actually impressively... mellow isn't the word I"m looking for, but it had the sharp edges rounded off. Really tasty stuff. Now if only I could get my hands on some CBS (and another bottle of black maple) to compare and contrast....

Thank you again!!

 

That was the well seasoned bottle, check the date, was already 4 years old!

 

Oh, I've had it, thanks to @Ri0. Just thought there might be a few of us who hadn't had the privelidge. Of Zombie Dust, that is...

 

As usual, our hostess sets the bar high! What a great kickoff from @utopiajane !

It has been a long week in the kingdom, not helped any by the bizarre but relatively harmless weather. Three days of training in Six sigma and oh by the way you are a team leader with all priveleges (zero) and responsibilities (yay...more work in addition to the day job) associated therewith. I tried to go Seinfeld...but i don't wanna be a cowboy...to no avail. We saw the musical Ragtime on Friday night...tremendous show, thought provoking and a message we sadly still need to hear today. The male lead...incredibly rich bass voice, yet able to deliver nuance,gentleness, anger, strength. Awesome. Today we left the pleasant confines of our holdings and trekked into the foreign land of Boston to visit the mother in law in the hospital recovering from "minor" surgery...I love the terminology...no surgery is remotely minor for an 84 year young person - but she is looking good and ready to go home as soon as the physical therapist signs off. Beautiful sunny day here, so not a bad ride and traffic was not heinous, but no time for any brewey stops...

So sometimes things fall in your snifter. That is the case with tonight's victim. I am not much for chasing beers, and I remember when I was but a wee BA seeing this beer on the shelf and walking right by it without a second thought. A good friend was given two bottles and he gave me one. If I had a beer bucket list, I suppose this would have to be on there just for the hoopla it creates every November. I am working....verrrrrrry slowly like Elmer Fudd hunting wabbits...on a 2015 Goose Island Bourbon County Brand Stout. So I cant comment baed on experience, but can only see what my tongue tells me to say before the ABV makes my typing even worse.

I will say this beer will land in the 4.0 to 4.5 range when I get through. It pours black, thick, oily. In the snifter there is no head, just a very light ring of coffee colored bubbles that vanish. I can smell the bourbon from the counter top. No doubt about this. Closer sniff...massive dark fruit, a molasses like sweetness, bourbon, vanilla, alcohol. Initial taste seems very sweet, heavy on the figs and dates, that brown sugar or molasses, vanilla, bourbon. As it warms, more notes show. Cherry, oakiness, some bitterness and a coffee aroma. It strikes me as sweet, but not as boozy as the first whiff/taste suggests. There isn't much coating on the tongue, but there is a stickiness on the lips like when you have maple syrup on waffles...ok, maybe that is weird. Not a sugar bomb, just a sense of sweetness. A little charred taste shows up...almost smoky but not quite. The coffee is more on the nose than the taste, but there is a lot of change as this beer warms. Maybe there will be more to come. Seems to be a bit of licorice (not a favorite beer flavor of mine) and tobacco, which I do like...pipe tobacco. Things swirl, not staying constant, the dark fruits in the initial taste back off as it warms. Dried cherry comes out, a little bitter residue. Coffee comes and goes.

There is a lot going on, and it all seems to play nicely together. It certainly evolves. Undoubtebly a well made beer that I will score highly. But at risk of loosing my BA citizenship and being relegated to the dungeon, I dont find myself loving this beer. It has been sitting here for a few months, obviously, so I wasn't in a rush to drink it and tonight seemed to be the right night. Objectively, this is just that damned good...no doubt, end of story. Subjectively, I am enjoying the flavors as they morph and emerge, but honestly it is a couple fries short of being a personal happy meal for me. Poured half and still nursing the first pour, so I got some work to do, but the night is young!

Cheers, friends!

 

Good evening NBS, hope everyone is enjoying the end of the weekend once again. Thanks to @utopiajane for getting us started off this week. Not much else going on here, it snowed pretty heavy this afternoon out there. Now it's raining. I am just looking at another long work week once again. Today's new beers; I don't have too many left from the BIF.

This was really damn good. Aromas and flavors of big roasted coffee, grapefruit, lemon zest, orange peel, pineapple, mango, citrus rind, and pine; with some light caramel/toasted bread malt; with floral/grassy hop earthiness and light chocolate/vanilla notes from the coffee. Moderate pine/rind and light roasted coffee bitterness; with a sticky/resinous mouthfeel; with some light chalkiness and bready creaminess as well. Moderate increasing bitter dryness; with zero hop or coffee astringency after the finish. Extremely well balanced between the coffee and hop flavors, once you let it warm up a bit. I'll be grabbing some singles of this one again. 4


BIF beer from @tasterschoice62. Excellent English barleywine! Aromas and flavors of big caramel, brown sugar, toffee, maple, molasses, wood, vanilla, raisin, plum, apple, fig, toasted brown bread, and light chocolate/nutty malt and yeast notes; with some herbal/light peppery hops. Light-moderate herbal bitterness and wood spice; with a full-ish bodied creamy/silky mouthfeel; with light hop stickiness and slight chalkiness from the wood/roast malt. Very light dryness from hop/wood spiciness and sticky/chalky notes in the mouthfeel. Mildly warming finish; with no booze at all. English barleywines are my favorite style right next to Tripels, and this one definitely hit the spot. Amazingly well balanced and highly complex. A lot of maple wood character, but not overdone either. Love it. 4.1


Excellent hoppy Brett wild ale! Aromas and flavors of big lemon, tangerine, grapefruit, orange peel, peach, pineapple, mango, melon, passion fruit, berry, peppercorn, pine, hay, straw, grass, and light musty funk; with some light toasty/bready maltiness. Moderate peppery brett spice and piney hop bitterness; with a very crisp high carbonated finish; with some hop stickiness and light grainy malt notes in the mouthfeel. Light-medium bodied. Good dryness and highly drinkable. All around awesome complexity of citrus/tropical hops with the fruity/spicy brett notes. El Dorado, Mosaic, and Chinook hops; and they are all very well showcased in flavors. 4.1


Cheers, have a good night NBS

 

hello NBS folks... my NBS is courtesy of @beluga92 ...
again, many thanks to him for hookin up this brew!
i'm so glad i participated in the recent NBS #3 event, and picked a great brew to represent my new beer for the day... here're my thoughts:
right up there with the current wave of juice bombs, and Trillium is makin some of the best of em. has all the obvious taste & aroma characteristics of the NE-style hazy IPAs.. this one, in honor of Trillium's 3rd anniversary, was brewed with sauvignon blanc grape juice. the grape juice could be teased out of the taste profile, but it seemed almost synthetic - probably because it was grape juice, and not necessarily the grapes? ..but at least it helped to mask the 'double' IPA-ness of it, clocking in at 8.5%abv, with more fruity sweetness. the mix of the sauvignon blanc and the 'higher' 8.5% also lended to a sort of kick that seemed a sorta 'spicy', but was probably due to the higher abv kick.
nevertheless... definitely a great great beer, and i could never get enough of Trillium and their IPAs. i like how they classed it up for one of their 3rd Anny brews, and would seek this out again -- and grateful i got to try this fresh (this was bottled 3/18/2016) even though they had sold out. ...even got to drink this out of some #properglassware via Trillium's cute taster glass.

this is my first NBS, and hopefully will be able to get more Sunday reviews in -- and/or even partake in more NBS swaps!!!

disclaimer: today evolved from a cold day into a beautiful/sunny day in NoVA... ..and i had just finished a 21-mile run... sooo was lookin to for a 'treat yo'self' brew -- so while i could've drank anything, and i woulda enjoy it... ...turns out this was both an amazing beer.. and got to sit back, recover, and watch the Masters (3 hole-in-ones on 16 today!), while combining libation and relaxation!

cheers, all!

peep the pour

 

I can say that I much prefer it after 1-2 years as the hops are spicy and the bourbon too forward for me. I may also be the only one on NBS that has had the base of this beer Y2K, which is no longer bottled. It is only used to make BBBW, which is too bad since I enjoyed it over BBBW. I still have 3 bottles of it.

Here is my review of Y2K

 

Still have a few more beers from @strohme2 to killer, including a few big boys aged in bourbon barrels. Deciding to take down one of the barrel aged beers as a night cap, Arcadia Bourbon Barrel Aged Shipwreck Porter!
4.33/5 rDev +5.1%
look: 4 | smell: 4 | taste: 4.5 | feel: 4.25 | overall: 4.5

Thank you strohme2 for this
12 oz bottle poured into a teku

A- Black with a two finger light tan head.

S- Bourbon, vanilla, dark fruits, oak.

T- Bourbon, fudge/chocolate, vanilla, dark fruits, figs, hints of coconut, big and complex.

M- Smooth, full body.

O- An awesome, heavy barrel aged Porter. Holds it own against other big barrel stouts. This is on my rader now, worth seeking out!

★393 characters

According to seekabrew.com Arcadia is available in Maryland, so I guess I need to be on the look out for more of their beers!

 

Due South Oak Aged Pico Duarte
Imperial Stout - 9.0% ABV



4.05/5 rDev +0.2%
look: 3.75 | smell: 4.25 | taste: 4 | feel: 4 | overall: 4

22oz bottle poured into a tulip glass. I picked this bottle up at the brewery back in January. Pours a dark black color with a light tan head. The aroma is roasted malts and bittersweet chocolate with a touch of hops. The taste features some roasted cocoa up front with a lingering sweetness well into the really smooth finish. The mouthfeel is medium bodied with a good amount of carbonation. The oak has a mild presence in both the aroma and taste but the notes increase as the beer warms.

 

If anyone here hasn't had Zombie Dust, just ask. I would be happy to send some your way next time I grab some.

 

Got a few Y2K myself still, great beer.

I've had alpha king, but never Zombie Dust. Would make it worth your while with some MN stuff!

 

So onto the next round...


Von Trapp's Dunkel

Dark body with a light tan head. Smell has a sweet roast as well as a smoky quality to it. Taste follows the nose closely, a slight roast and smoke play in the background to a malt sweetness. Slight bitterness on the finish. Body is light for how dark the beer is. Nice.



Grassroots Brewing Arctic Soirée
Collab between Hill Farmstead and Anchorage Brewing

Ruby red grapefruit juice colored body. Slight funk/barnyard nose. Herbal quality to the nose. Slight citrus. Taste is dominated by yeast esters and a slight sour funk. Lemon and lime mingle with floral notes. Body is light and fluffy.


Bone Shaker brown by Moat Mountain

Pour is a murky amber. Slight off white head. Smell is of roasted malt, with a slight...sourness? Taste begins with roast and nutty sweetness followed by an astringent bitter. Not sure if something is off about this or if it is just me. Mouthfeel is medium plus with a nice richness to it without being overpowering. Seems like a nice beer could be somewhere there, but maybe something went wrong.

All of these are courtesy of @jhavs

Cheers!

 

Alright, so I've had a crazy busy day. The bike shop was insane today, as it was almost nice outside and people seemed to come in hoards to get their stuff tuned up. I got home around 6 and have been doing homework ever since, only to have the website I need to get information from suddenly freeze. I sent my teacher an email, and now all I can do is drink away the pain.

I too participated in the NBS BIF, and I got absolutely demolished by @2beerdogs! He sent three of the most generous boxes someone could ever ask for!


I seriously don't even know where to begin with these...

First up is Smog City Amarilla Gorilla.

Amazing hop aroma, great taste to follow. Not in the mood to do a full review, suffice it to say I really enjoyed this one!

Now onto one of the big boys...Kern River Class V stout

Woah. Boozy, chocolate, oatmeal stout, milk stout, hop stout. This thing is nuts! HUGE fan!

Derek (@2beerdogs) is a frickin exemplary BA who has humbled me with the beers he chose to give me. Way above and beyond generous, and my tastebuds will be happy for quite some time with these (until NBS BIF #4!!!).

 

Ummm. I'm gonna say that's up there in contention for top prize BIF #3. Just saying.

 

I agree...unfortunately I'm not permitted to vote for my sender, otherwise Derek would have my vote!

 

Although IMO you're up there in contention too

 

I figured I just try and come out with a bang!

 

Today's beer is one from Narragansett's Lovecraft Series - I Am Providence... an "imperial red ale."

I've had two beers from this series so far: Innsmouth Olde Ale (loved the novelty of a barley wine in a can from a non-craft company, didn't love the metallic taste) and Reanimator Helles Lager (loved this one... fruity, hoppy, tasty).

The I Am Providence can looks a lot like a late 80s Santa Cruz skateboard deck. It's very attractive and punchy. It appears to be Cthulhu gripping a Rhode Island government building. What a fuzzy thought.



I drank this beer straight from the can while doing some pre-sunset weekend yard work. Opening this can immediately released a strong "beer" smell. I know everyone is rolling their eyes at that. When I say "beer smell," I'm referring to that smell that you get when you walk into a bar that's had lots of beer spilled on the floor. This can be good or bad, but in this case, it's good.

When I see the words "imperial red ale," I usually think to myself, "That's code for an IPA." If I was handed this beer blind, there's a good chance I'd say it was an IPA. There's a piney quality to it. The hops are there but they are also kept in check. There's a slight caramel quality underneath it all. The high ABV (8%) is not felt by the taste buds, but it is by my noggin. The nice thing about this beer is how easily it drinks. Back in my younger days, I'd sometimes have a beer at home just before going out to a bar... to set the mood. This beer would have been a very nice fit for that. I glanced at some reviews of the beer here after I made up my mind about it. The reception was very lukewarm. I think this is partially due to the hop profile of the beer. It's not the kind of beer that will make a drinker say "wow" because of an assertive personality, but for me today, it was the kind of beer that went down very easily... and that's something I value.

For all the readers who feel cheated because I couldn't show the appearance of the beer since I didn't pour it into a glass, I leave you with this:



A drop of water can be totally clear, but a lake can look black as night... so it's silly for me to comment on color by looking at beer pooling on the top of a can, but here goes. In this context, the beer is quite amber rather than reddish. On a superficial level, I don't understand the box used here that groups "amber / red ales." To me, "amber / pale ales" would be a logical pair barring the idea that you can have pale malt and amber malt. Anyhow, the drop of beer on the top of the can looks like your average pale ale, but looks can be deceiving. Maybe it's reddish in the glass.

I should go. I keep hearing this odd sound... as if a big wet suction cup was against my window. I should check it out.

 

Just shoot me an address and I will send you some next time it's available at the To Go kiosk.

 

didn't think it would be this long between beers.

Back on the NBS-BIF cycle
Wiseacre Brewing Gotta Getup to Get Down Coffee Milk Stout


Thank you @BigRedDog

A nice East drinking coffee stout

Here's my review:
3.87/5 rDev -2.3% | Avg: 3.96
look: 4.75 | smell: 4 | taste: 3.75 | feel: 3.75 | overall: 3.75

A: Looks like a stout. Almost black body with a finger of mocha foam. Lacing all around
S: Light coffee and roasted malt
T: Coffee with very little bitterness. Some roasty malt.
MF: thin easy drinking. Slight coffee linger
O: Good milk stout with some coffe flavor. A very nice drinkable beer.

Spend a nice chunk of time listening to the New Peter Wolf album. Great listen