New Beer Sunday (week 583)

This week saw Cassian Sunset from Central Waters brewery find its way to Milwaukee. It is a barrel aged stout with coffee, vanilla beans, and cinnamon, and I was fortunate to have it both on draft and from the bottle. On draft at Burnhearts, from the bottle at Draft & Vessel (see pics below for D&V).

My worry with cinnamon beers is that the spice profile will completely take over the overall experience of the beer. We've all seen similar issues with adjuncts/etc from many of our favorite breweries, and it seems to be getting worse with the constant need for brewers to distinguish their products. That said, I couldn't be more pleased with the balance of flavors in this beer. There's a lot going on with the cinnamon, vanilla, coffee, bourbon, and dark malts, but CW has really made is all work with this absolutely delicious mix of happiness.

On draft I felt that the cinnamon and coffee popped in the notes and taste a little bit more than in the bottle, but the bottle seemed to push the vanilla and bourbon for me. This is of note since so many comments regarding this brew are related to the lower notes of coffee and cinnamon in the bottle. At the same time, I’ve head a few folks speak of opening up bottle of cinnamon bomb, which leads me to wonder if the spices had settled in the tank to give us some unevenly filled bottles. The mouthfeel for both is a little thinner than most CW BA stouts, but nothing that would drive away an enthusiast, or even a novice.

Regardless of draft or bottle, I thoroughly enjoyed this latest offering from my favorite Wisconsin brewery. Central Waters is making their mark on affordable and delicious barrel aged offerings, and I hope to enjoy this mark for years to come.

Cheers,
Angerhaus

 

Hello New beer Sunday. I normally don't start this early, because I'm usually at work Sunday morning. Wait, shouldn't I be drinking at work? Nevermind. Off to NBS.

I picked up quite a few new beers yesterday. My first entry is one of them.

And here's my review.
3.94/5 rDev n/a
look: 4 | smell: 3.75 | taste: 4 | feel: 4 | overall: 4

This beer pours a murky golden color. The head was very thick, but dissipated fairly quickly. The nose is somewhat sweet smelling. The beer is fairly mild tasting. There's some sweetness to it. There's a slight citrus feel to it. Not bad. It would really taste good on a hot sunny day.

Now, back to treating my sunburn.

 

Central Waters / Local Option De Kliene Dood

A collaboration from Central Waters and Local Option. A Belgian inspired Weissenbock. With Central Waters involved I was pretty confident this would be a tasty treat and it did not disappoint.

Poured a deep brown like tea and had a sweet aroma. Very inviting. The taste had a good barrel presence while not overpowering but really let the bourbon shine through. Fair carbonation with a medium to mild head that rather quickly dissipated.

I rate this a solid 4 across the board.

Try it if you can find it. Another very solid, respectable offering from Central Waters. I greatly admire this brewery.

Cheers!

 

6.5% alcohol. Brewed in Rhode Island by Foolproof Brewing.

3.17/5 rDev -17.2%
look: 3.25 | smell: 3 | taste: 3.25 | feel: 3 | overall: 3.25

Raincloud Robust Porter has an unusually foamy, beige head, a dark brown appearance, and heavy lacing left on the sides of the glass. The aroma is of black cherries, chocolate powder, and dark-roasted malt. Taste is of char, dark malt, black bread, faint coffee, and faint chocolate powder. An acidic note is present, as well. Mouthfeel is low medium, and Raincloud finishes on the dry side of it.

RJT

 

Poured into a 16 oz snifter at close to room temperature bottled in 2016. Pours old motor oil black, with a 2 finger tan head that settles slowly into a thin layer of gorgeous bubbles, leaving behind a gorgeous ring of lace.4.5 Smell is roasty coffee, charcoal, leather, dark chocolate, vanilla, oak, and very faint bourbon and I am fine with that. 4.25

Taste follows smoky charcoal first, roasted coffee grounds, vanilla, oak, leather, tobacco, dark chocolate, and once again the barrel aging is very subtle and mild, but for me I don't mind that at all.4.25 Mouthfeel is a big medium, a nice amount of carbonation for the style, yes I would say fairly dry, and the drinkability is very good for this style. 4.25

Overall once again @jzeilinger hits a home run in the trade department. This is a very complex BA Imperial Stout that has excellent drinkability and is far from a one trick pony. The bourbon is hard to detect, but that just shows you a well rounded and impressive beer. I would and will recommend this beauty. 4.25

 

Thanks Maria for kicking off today's NBS. Your thorough knowledge of the Pils is impressive and I need to expand into this style more often. My new beer comes from the most awesome @beerloserLI and NBS BIF 3.

Barrier Brewing, Oceanside, NY
Mortician, Imperial Stout, 10%abv, 500 ml bottle

Pours a black motor oil color, with a beautiful creamy 2 finger head that looks like a stout should. Smells of chocolate, roasted malt, coffee, taste follows the nose in perfect harmony. The feels is thick, creamy coating the mouth very pleasant. This is a stout that I'd rate right there at the top, with FIS, Ten Fity...

 

Something old is new again!?!

Pabst has resurrected another old timey beer: Old Tankard Ale

On the back of the can it lists:

“Old Tankard Ale: 1937 Brewery’s Log Recipe.

Craft beer in cans isn’t a new idea. In fact, it’s over 80 years old. 1935 was the first year beer was ever packaged in cans and the year that Old Tankard Ale in its proprietary KEGLINEDTM Tap-a-can to retain freshness.”

I found several aspects of this write-up to be intriguing.

The aspect of “1937 Brewery’s Log Recipe” intimates that this beer was brewed per a 1937 recipe; more discussion on that topic later.

Since the term of “craft beer” was used it would seem that Pabst is of the opinion that they are producing a product of “craft beer”. I personally would not argue this point but I wonder what the Brewers Association would say about this? Likely nothing since the Brewers Association refuses to define “craft beer” but…

Lots of discussion about the history of beer cans including a reference to KEGLINEDTM. I suppose to ‘justify’ the use of cans for this newly introduced beer? There is absolutely no need to justify this package choice to me since I have the opinion that cans are a superior package to bottles for a variety of reasons.

Whew all of this jibber jabber has worked up a powerful thirst. Time to drink!!

Served in my Nonic Imperial Pint glass:

Appearance:

Clear amber colored with a BIG fluffy off-white head.

Aroma:

A combination of malty caramel and citrusy hop aroma.

Taste:

The flavor of caramel malty sweetness is in the fore but there is noticeable hop flavors (mostly citrus stands out for my palate) there as well.

Mouthfeel:

Medium body with a semi-sweet finish.

Overall:

I think this a tasty hoppy American Amber Ale.




So, let’s discuss the brewing of this beer a bit. In the below video the 1937 logbook is shown for a few seconds. I think it is of interest that the hop details are:

· 70 lbs. Washington State

· 90 lbs. Goldings

· 65 lbs. Oregons

So a combination of domestic hops (Washington State, Oregon) and imported hops (Goldings – Great Britain) were used to brew the 1937 Old Tankard Ale. The Pabst website lists: “Brewed with 2-row, imported Cara-Munich and Cara-Aroma malts with Nugget, Liberty, Willamette and Cascade hops…" All of those hops are US grown hops and none of those hops were available in the 1930’s. It would appear that the Greg Deuhs (Pabst head brewer) took some artistic license in the brewing of Old Tankard Ale. For those of you who are purists and are seeking an ‘authentic’ 1937 beer then this contemporary version of Old Tankard may be a bit of a disappointment. For folks who are seeking a hoppy American Amber Ale, this just might be your beer.



Cheers!

@KOP_Beer_OUtlet @Crusader @LuskusDelph

 

Happy NBS! It is currently raining outside, but should be a beautiful afternoon in S. WI. Starting off with a BIF #3 treat from @Stillyman11

Ride that Goat is brown/dark amber in color with a thin tan head. Minimal retention and lacing on the glass. The aroma is very bready with some banana, dark fruits, Belgian yeast, full of toffee and caramel sweetness. The barrel gives it notes of vanilla and bourbon. The flavor is sweeter bread, banana followed by caramel; mild and dark fruit; and vanilla and bourbon. It maintains a rich, full-bodied mouth-feel with decent carbonation.

 

Happy New Raspberry Berliner Weisse Sunday!

Tallgrass Raspberry Jam -- 4.3% ABV

Poured into a Tallgrass tumbler.

Look: Semi-hazy burnt orange, on the lighter end. A white head dissipates quickly leaving little else than a thin collar with no lacing -- spot on for the style.

Aroma: Raspberry tartness with other sharp fruit notes like lemon peel and orange zest.

Taste: A pretty sour affair with just a touch of fruity sweetness for balance. Ultimately much like the aroma with sour lemon and tart raspberry dominating. Perhaps a bit of earthy dried lemongrass in the finish.

Mouthfeel: Light, semi-dry, tart aftertaste.

Overall: A good representation of the style and the raspberry doesn't overpower the beer. Pretty easy to drink if you're in the mood for sour and fruit in your beer.

This is my second Berliner Weisse in the last 3 days. One with lemon, one with raspberry. I will seek out this style in the future -- easy drinking and I like the use of fruit. I'll be back later with another new beer that sounds like a full blown meal .. from Ballast Point. Cheers.

 

Thank- You! What a fantastic post!

 

Wait a minute. I must have missed the memo. Is this national " best posts you've ever seen on NBS" day???
People you are killing me! Absolutely fantastic photos and info already - and its early. Wowzer.

 

Back again this week with another after midnight beer. For this week's beer I found an intriguing choice in a local shop that is known for cellaring some beers to release years later when the new rendition comes out. It combines my favorite style, Russian Imperial Stout, with one of my favorite flavors. That said, as you will see, this is an odd addition to a beer so there is a high likelihood that this will either be amazing or atrocious with little middle ground. With all our pleasantries out of the way, I now present to you:
Stone Brewing Co. Belgo Anise Imperial Russian Stout, 2011 release.

A: Pitch black color with a small head. Some lacing. All in all this is what I expect to see out of my stouts 4.0
S: This is...different. As expected, anise is the most readily discernible scent. There is a definite sweetness here as well. I wish the anise was a bit stronger here; I love stouts and I love black licorice and this doesn't quite smell like either. 3.0
T: Licorice is at the forefront of the flavor to start off with hints of typical stout notes. Fresh from the fridge there is a good bit of sweetness, which combined with the odd flavor combination makes this a slow sipper. The problem is, the warmer this gets more the other flavors fade and you're left with what amounts to a glass of liquid licorice. 2.0
F: Some thickness, but not quite on par with other RIS I've had. 3.5
O: It pains me to say this as I am a huge fan of licorice and I love my absinthe served strong, but, well, lets just say this beer misses the mark. It's very difficult to get through an entire bottle alone. 2.0

I've come to two conclusions after polishing off this bottle: 1) Just combining two great things is not sufficient to produce a stellar final product. 2) Friends don't let friends drink bad beers alone.

Hope you've enjoyed and may all your beers be world-class.

 

In the wee hours of the morning I had the pleasure of cracking open a crowler of juicy bits from weldwerks brewing company. As of late the NEIPA fad has been making its way west, popping up in cities across the midwest, and some have made it to CO now. It was this style of IPA that gave me my first enjoyable trip on the lupulin railroad in the form of heady topper, and I have been excited to try these beers as they pop up around the area. This is the ultimate example of the style for me. Its local so I can get it fresh, and it rivals my beloved heady in flavor and aroma. The yeast esters and hop oils are magic once the beer opens up, and I consider myself lucky to have tried this beer.
@JackHorzempa The Hype Is Real....

 

Morning NBSers!

I brought back three fruit beers from Birra del Borgo on my latest visit to Jester King and had this one, the strawberry, after getting off the late shift earlier Sunday morning:



Birra Del Borgo Fragus (sour ale brewed with strawberries)

The review:
http://www.beeradvocate.com/beer/profile/14046/158003/?ba=Premo88#review
4.19 (-0.7% rDev)

You can smell the strawberries as you pour it out of the bottle, and while it has that distinct "sour" aroma of fingernail polish remover, the strawberry aroma is very sweet and at times like a kind of strawberry candy or syrup. But it's not strawberry soda, and if it is syrup, it's deftly used, for the first sip is super, super sour ... my face nearly caved in it was so sour. Two years ago I would've cried, dropped the beer and called 911, but instead I let that first taste linger a minute and sure enough, the strawberries and a little sweetness kicked in on the back end. The lemon-sour base beer is quite the foundation, but as the palette continued to adjust and the beer warmed a bit, the fruity sweetness grew more and more. It often tastes like a sweet-sour strawberry-lemon candy, but there is also an occasional musty barn flavor.

I've also got a beer with cherries and another with rasberries from Birra Del Borgo, but this strawberry version will be tough to top.

Cheers!

 

My first NBS beer of today is poured from my growler (not pictured).


Fat Ten-er #27

New England Brewing Co.
Saison / Farmhouse Ale

3.73/5 rDev -0.5% | Avg: 3.75
look: 4 | smell: 3.5 | taste: 3.75 | feel: 4 | overall: 3.75

L- The beer pours a clear golden with a modest one finger bone white head. The head recedes to a thin film leaving patchy lacing.
S- The nose is all fruity belgian yeast character of modest intensity.
T- The beer starts off with the fruity aspects present in the nose. Spicy hops take over mid palate and the beer finishes quite dry.
F- Carbonation is high as you would expect for the style and make the mouthfeel light. The high prickly carbonation also contributes to the beers dry finish.
O-This a a standard saison with no added bell's or whistles. Its a very good representation of the style, but doesn't really stand out as something that you must try.

 

I can't believe it. A beer from Evil Twin that was added to the site back in February and over two months later (batch 2 per the bottle!) I'm the first person to review it?? It doesn't even have a single rating sans review! Talk about the perfect candidate for inclusion on NBS...

Evil Twin Liquid Double Fudge
To be quite honest, I'm kinda surprised this doesn't have Jesus somewhere in its name as it definitely falls into that Evil Twin style. As you can see in the picture, pitch black with a dark creamy head. The smells are full of coffee and cocoa which leap out of the glass. If it's fudge it's coffee fudge but nonetheless it smells fantastic. The taste is surprisingly bitter- both bitter coffee and bitter cocoa; I expected it to be a bit sweeter and creamier. It doesn't matter, it's still quite bold and tasty, just not reminiscent of fudge. I ended up pairing this with a chocolate muffin for breakfast and both complemented each other nicely. It certainly is a big beer clocking in at 12% but the bitterness makes any alcohol nonapparent. Folks, go out and find it! Doesn't quite match the name but is a great beer that I'm sure will get big scores, mine ended up a 4.33 once all was tallied.
Cheers!

 

Singlecut Is This Real Life IPA

I've got to agree with @tasterschoice62 that people are killing it on NBS today -- @SawDog505 , @JackHorzempa and others have had amazing posts.

Thanks especially to @utopiajane for kicking things off with a fantastic exploration of one of my favorite styles. I've been enjoying Turntable Pils and 1516 Kellerbier this week, and wish I had a new lager to offer up today, but alas, I'm going to have to go with a boring old IPA.

Well, maybe not so boring.

Is This the Real Life pours a very hazy, but vibrant, pale orange-yellow color with a thick finger of sudsy white head with good retention. The head slowly dissipates to leave behind thick white lacing.

There's a huge grapefruit aroma immediately upon cracking the bottle. Behind that is a sweet pineapple and malt combo that reminds me a lot of a pineapple upside down cake. This really smells delicious.

The taste is much thinner than the smell, but still hits many of the same notes. There's a very muted version of that pineapple cake up front, along with some peach and slight white-bread malt, and then bitter grapefruit rind and some lemon in the aftertaste. The mouthfeel is soft, with medium body and good carbonation.

Singlecut has been hitting them out of the park with its IPAs, and this one doesn't disappoint. The nose and the taste don't align in perfect harmony to make this a world-class beer for me, but this is still really excellent.

Enjoy your Sudsday, BAs.

 

Ballast Point Thai Chili Wahoo // 4.5% ABV
Wit beer with Thai chili, lime, and natural ginger flavor

My favorite Ballast Point beer so far has been Habanero Sculpin. My eyes lit up when I saw a bomber of Thai Chili Wahoo for $3.99. I generally love pepper beers, so I'm excited for this one.

Look: I'm probably using unfavorable glassware, but regardless, the beer is a hazy pale straw yellow with a white cap that settles to a light film and solid collar around the edges. Light spots of lacing, if that.

Aroma: Dominated by Thai chili -- smells hot and dry, not unlike any habanero beer I've had. Very subtle lime notes, I really have to search for it. Ginger is also subtle and in fact could add the the spiciness. This really does smell like a full blown entree.

Taste: Lime is immediately more evident as it adds a nice citric sharpness to the oncoming heat. Thai chili is the main star again as it coats the tongue and throat with lingering heat on each sip. By the time I get to the finish, I'm reminded that this is a wit beer and the ginger flavor comes in. I believe all flavors advertised are represented in this with Thai chili being constantly present.

Mouthfeel: Medium to light, but also has a creaminess about it.

Overall: I like it a lot. More affordable than Habanero Sculpin, and equally hot. I keep sipping this and finding the flavors coming out at different times. I guess "complex" is a word I always like to use with a beer like this, or maybe "depth" ... Definitely interesting.