New Beer Sunday (week 583)

Good Morning NBS
A big thanks to Maria @utopiajane for the warm welcome, as well as an informative tutorial/opining on the pils.
It's a glorious time to be a beer fan. So much good experimentation going on resulting in amazing nontraditional takes on styles. However...there are also some wonderful beers out there where the brewers really do craft a beer traditionally.

Speaking of what I find to be a pretty traditional take on style, I have this wonderful offering from @Ozzylizard 's amazing NBS BIF #3 (box 2):
Commissar Russian Imperal Stout by RealAle Brewing Company from Blanco, Texas.

Pours a deep mahogany with a finger plus of mocha colored head. Lacing is sporadic, leaving gaps between sliding islands.
Aroma is a glorious tribute to what I think of as a traditional, no frills, Russian Imperial Stout. Roasted malt, charred wood, and ever so subtle hints of baker’s chocolate and leather.
Taste follows suit to style. A blend of charred wood, roasted malt, coffee, peat, and a hint of earthy hops that almost dries out the finish. Mouthfeel is a tad thinner than I prefer.
Overall, a very good straight up RIS.

Really appreciate Mr Lizard's effort to get this beer. He incorporated his travels to Texas into my fun fermentations. Thanks for thinking of your BIF victim while on vacation!

 

Thanks for digging into that one Jack. Interesting read.

 

Rain looks like it will be ending and the warm front is moving in! I pulled the trigger this year on a bottle of Tweak and let's just say I loved it to the tune of a 4.95 score.

Vintage 2016. It is obsidian black with a 2 finger tan head. Gorgeous lacing coats the glass and there is a thin collar. This aroma is divine with coffee, dark chocolate covered espresso beans, and caramel. Big on the bourbon, vanilla, with hints of marshmallow and molasses. Flavor is dominant espresso, cappuccino, and coffee with a huge dark chocolate taste. Bourbon, vanilla, caramel, molasses, and some roasted marshmallow. It's a slow sipper since there isn't a way to hide that 17% ABV. Smooth, rich, velvety and decadent. Carbonation is superb and really adds to the feel. This is awesome and reminds me of 2013 BCBCS. Looks like I'll be buying a bottle each time it is out even at $10.

 

I cracked this beer and began a review last night, only to have our power go out thus ending my drinking session and review. Woke up to restored electricity and felt with the extra sleep time achieved due to lack of entertainment, that I could take this big beer on this morning. It's Central Water's 18.

Believe it or not this pic was taken this morning when I poured the beer from the bottle which had spent the night uncapped. Don't ask me how it kept carbonation for so long.



Here's what it looked like last night:


4.09/5 rDev -9.1%
look: 5 | smell: 4 | taste: 4 | feel: 4.25 | overall: 4

Bomber into a snifter.

Love the viscosity on the pour. Thick black body. Cocoa head that sticks around for quite some time. Settles into a persistent film. This beer looks big.

Delectable aroma. Bourbon, oak, vanilla, dark chocolate. A dose of coffee that becomes more apparent with warmth.

Lots to enjoy here. Dark chocolate, brownie, vanilla, spicy bourbon, roasted coffee. Also some solvent flavors that I don't welcome, but aren't entirely ruinous to the beer.

Aside from still showing some signs of booze, this is really rich and full-bodied. Creamy with a light spice feel. Clean-drinking overall.

This is nice but I think I'd give it a little bit longer in the cellar.

 

$10?!? That's a bargain. Generally this sells for $12-13 if not more everywhere I see it.

 

Quick strike from my today as I have an important appointment with my pillow beginning in... 12 minutes.
Today's beverage of choice is Dark Apparition from the incredible BIF box that @WesMantooth sent along (well, from the first box he sent along anyway ).

Dark Apparition is a big beautiful RIS from Athens' own Jackie O's and man is it a treat.

First impression on breaking it out of its glass cage is just how gorgeous it looks in the glass. Borderline jet black with a big soft brown head that just makes me think dirty thoughts.

Nose is a little understated, but what IS present is quite enjoyable. The label promises, "deep flavours of coffee, chocoate, caramel, and molasses" and the nose does nothing to dissuade this impression.

Flavour continues to hew closely to the promises made by the dust jacket, but to a much fuller more satisfying extent. Rich and creamy at its heart, chocolate, molasses and coffee are the prominent players here. These become increasingly intertwined as it approaches room temperature and the asymptote that could be derived therein approaches nirvana.
The first two things that jumped out at me about the body were 1: how creamy smoothe it is, and B: there was considerably more carbonation than I would have thought. I find this often, though. I guess my initial thought about big RISs is a serene motor oil ancient spirit in contrast to the spritely nymphs sent dancing across the tongue by some of their lighter kith and kin. That's on me. This beer presents with big creamy oily prominence, but only a medium body, the aforementioned carbonation, and not much in the way of chewiness. Y'all sewing oats out there?

Heresy perhaps, but my ode to Mr. Nelson is going to come from one of his more recent releases as that is oddly enough the song that keeps looping. Amazed I could find ANYTHING on youtube, with his insistence on protecting his copyright...

 

Hello NBS. Happy Sunday, sunny but cold here. Hit Fiddlehead on Friday to pick up some Second Fiddle and got a tasting and growler of one of their new brews.


Rarefied Air
BEER INFO
Brewed by:
Fiddlehead Brewing Company
Vermont, United States | website
Style: American Pale Wheat Ale
Alcohol by volume (ABV): 7.70%
Availability: Rotating
Notes / Commercial Description:
No notes at this time.



My Review.

4.35/5 rDev +10.4%
look: 4.25 | smell: 4.75 | taste: 4.25 | feel: 4 | overall: 4.25

Tasting at brewery, then reviewed from a purchased growler poured into snifter.

Look: Straw colored, pretty hazy, foamy white head that settles into thin cap. Lots of lacing sticks to the glass.

Smell: Lots of hops up front, some citrus zest, tropical fruit, but the main player is pine and resin. Great aroma, very enticing.

Taste: Big and bitter, tons of assertive hop flavors, get the faint tropical sweetness, big bitter and earthy pine with lemon zest and rind. The big hop flavors are gently mellowed by the wheat, bringing the flavors to a nice balance despite the aggressiveness of the hops.

Feel: Moderate level of carbonation, medium body. Not light on the tongue, the bold hops bite a bit.

Overall: A very tasty brew. Basically a DIPA in terms of IBU's, flavor, and ABV. That was told to me at the brewer, not my own idea, but I agree. Tasty, maybe a bit like a big brother of Cone Head from Zero Gravity.


Side note, ended up dumping a second fiddle all over myself. Pulled it out of the 4 pack holder and the whole top came off! About half the can made it.

 

New Schlafly Beers Sunday

I'll buy a beer from a brewery I don't know if it's a style I like... and I'll also buy a beer in a style I don't like from a brewery I do like. It's a good way of expanding your horizons. Today, 2 out of 3 fit the latter category.

Having three "new to me" beers from Schlafly is a good day. I was excited when their distribution footprint reached my area a few years ago. I've enjoyed their beers when traveling. Unfortunately, the results were less than grand. It's very hard to find their beers within an acceptable date around here... unless you only want their TIPA. I'd be happy if I could buy their kolsch within date and if I saw their old winter ESB - don't know if that's still bottled and just doesn't reach me or if it's no longer bottled.



The first beer is their "Farmhouse IPA." When I saw that they were releasing this I was very pleased. I was even more pleased when I heard that it was more "farmhouse" than "IPA." There are already enough satisfying choices in the IPA arena.

The beer is hazy. The aroma upon bottle opening suggests IPA very strongly, but tasting the beer suggests saison. Perhaps it is marketing that causes the label to read IPA in big/bold and "farmhouse" in itty-bitty. The beer is classified here as an American IPA. To me, it's a saison. The Belgian-esque yeast profile is intense. It dominates the experience. The beer is very fruity, somewhat sweet, and slightly tart. The hops either complement the yeast or simply stay in the background. When I drink Tank 7, I really enjoy the beer, but I feel that the character is too amped up. The yeast profile explodes. I don't know if this is done intentionally to compete with the hops. The Schlafly beer falls into the same trap. If it had more subtlety, and if it was drier, it would be a winner. As it is, it's just too loud. The hops (Chinook, Centennial, Mosiac) say IPA. The yeast (French saison) and the malt (pils, wheat, Cara 8) say saison. In this beer, the malt and the yeast win out. It's a saison rather than an IPA. Belgian saisons certainly come hoppier than this anyway.



Next up is the Reinheitsgebot enemy, their Raspberry Hefeweizen. This isn't a beer that I would ordinarily purchase based on my own tastes. The beer has an other-worldly pink hue to it that the photo just don't successfully convey. Schlafly attempted to make this beer drinkable rather than overly sweet, and they wanted to use real fruit puree rather than a flavor substitute. I'd say they succeeded very nicely in this regard. It does in fact taste like real fruit was used and the impact on the beer is measured. Nonetheless, raspberry explodes on the first sip until one gets acclimated... but the Hefe is never totally lost. My wife would really like this beer. I'm not saying this based on gender stereotypes, but rather, her own preferences and the quality of the resulting beer. Ultimately, this isn't a beer that fits with my own sensibilities. It's a winner if the concept is appealing to you.



Last up, their "Double Bean Blonde." "Double" refers to coffee and chocolate. This is a beer that had an uphill battle with me. I rarely like a beer with coffee. I usually feel like the resulting beer fits on a Starbucks menu, or that the coffee was used as a substitute bittering agent instead of hops. Coffee without beer... or beer without coffee is gonna be better than a combination of the two... and coffee beers rarely feel like anything other than a combination of the two. I'll give Schlafly credit in that they aren't marketing this as a "cream ale." That's a huge irrational pet peeve of mine. They're just calling it a blonde. The beer is the clearest of the three I had this morning. The coffee is huge, the chocolate disappears in the fight. I like this beer better than other examples that I've had - it's slightly better balanced, but my bias is still intact. I found it more drinkable than other examples.

 

Chris,

Schlafly uses a bottled on date on their bottles. What do you consider is "within date" for the Kolsch?

Cheers!

Jack

 

Good afternoon NBS and thank you @utopiajane for the wonderful start, I love the Pils comparison.
I agree with you about the malt base, there is something about a Pilsner malt base that has a signature.
Today we reset some stones at the cemetery, and checked in on our arborist's spring work. Looks great down there.
This is #700, and a true delight, Hill Farmstead and Brasserie Thiriez collaborated on a Works of Love, the offering is so delicate, and yet packed with tone, undertone, it almost symphonic.
We are off to a beer cheese pairing in Northampton this afternoon, affectionately referred to Fromage a' Trois cute!
Works Of Love: Brasserie Thiriez

Hill Farmstead Brewery
Saison / Farmhouse Ale

4.09/5 rDev -1.4% | Avg: 4.15
look: 4 | smell: 4.25 | taste: 4 | feel: 4.25 | overall: 4

Poured from a 375ml bottle into small tulip glass, bottle states brewed July 2015, Bottled January 2016.
A - Sunlight through high cloud yellow, a bit of haze, gently rising stream of carbonation accumulates, and holds a short meeting before adjourning. A lacing clings.
S -Green grape skin, summer grains, a hint of lactic, the aromatic is spring in texture. Lovely floral component, includes lemongrass, lily, and apple blossom. A trace of hop blends seamlessly with oak and Loire valley white wine.
T - Surprisingly neutral on the way in, then a slow unfolding of oat, citrus, Meyer lemon, wheat, a full experience. The taste here is very old world in the way it presents itself. Graininess, mineral components are chalky and a bit tart. Complexity here cries out for pairing with poached fish and fresh greens from the garden.
F - Gentle, incredibly soft on the palate, the grain bill and the water concoct a stunning soft feel, the carbonation is equally delicate. The introduction is polite and cordial, the sides of the tongue are caressed with a tart wisp, after a short time the offering exits with a chalky finish. The longing for another sip is immediate.
O - This offering beguiles, lures you to another place. A fabulous and gently presented beer. There is a strong graininess, minerality, right up against a tart citrus canvas, and yet so very soft on the palate.
I am glad to have had the experience.
Cheers

 

I would happily buy any from this year... but will pass on the ones from '14 or (early) '15.

 

I am happy to report that the last of my spring yard work was completed this morning. I'm sure all the homeowners know how much work is involved in the upkeep of the house and property. Anyway, it's done and this week our 25 year old driveway will get refurbished.
Last week on NBS I reviewed Dormancy, a porter from Deciduous Brewing with fig. This week I am reviewing the sister Dormancy, this one brewed with tayberry and coconut. For those of you (like me) who don't know, a tayberry is a cross between a blackberry and a red raspberry.
The beer was a dark brown color with a moderate size tan head.
There was a sweet fruit aroma with roasted malt. Couldn't detect the coconut.
Sweet fruit taste, some chocolate, and I think a hint of coconut.
Medium-bodied, a little bit of a sharp edge to it.
I am ambivalent about this beer. Not certain I will want to try it again.

 

Good afternoon all, watching the Caps Flyers game, hoping for a game seven if for no other reason than to wear down the Caps before they play my Pens. Course it could be Flyers moving on, but that's still a tall order.

Speaking of tall orders, my first NB for this S is a tall bomber from Draai Laag Brewing, their Simou Girty (sp???? That's what the script looks like)



First off, this thing gushed on like a proud grandma. Very tough to pour without losing too much. Once it settled down, we were left with a mountain of beige foamy time. Further settled, it's a bit more of a creamy head that is stubborn to leave lacing but will in reluctance. Beer itself is a murky, brownish opaque orange with active little floaties that eventually peter out.

First noticed on the nose is a vinous thing. As I delve further along in the aroma, I start to get some honey before the heat component plays in a bit more. Last thing I get is a very faint hint of orange candy.

Tart, puckeringly so, at first. Need to let the tart shock dullbefore I can really get down to detecting much more...... Ok. Got some other things happening now. Directly after tart is when bitter orange peel steps in to pave the way for a not very well hidden heat. Mid way through a touch of sweetness does a drive by before the "tastes like the smell of rose" finish wraps things up.

Thin, maybe deceptively so when you consider the abv. Virtually no aftertaste whatsoever. Nothing left on the tongue, throat, nose or anyplace else.

Very interesting beer despite it being a style I rarely investigate.

 

Roly Poly Pills, A Czech style Pilsner from one of the oldest NJ craft breweries. A very nice brew but a cut below the best craft Pilsners.

 

Good afternoon NBS, still working on finishing my BIF box from @strohme2. First up today Griffin Claw OB.LIV.I.OUS, a bourbon barrel aged wheat wine. I haven't had a ton of wheatwines but I've enjoying everyone and this is no exception, cheers!

4.38/5 rDev +5.5%
look: 4.25 | smell: 4.25 | taste: 4.5 | feel: 4.5 | overall: 4.25

Thank you strohme2 for this
22 oz bottle poured into tulip

A- A clear copper color with a two finger white head.

S- Sweet, caramel malts, vanilla, bourbon, oak, some toasted wheat, some earth spice.

T- Sweet, caramel malts, toasted sweet bread, vanilla, bourbon, touch of fruit, some nice oak and earthy spice, well balanced.

M- Smooth, medium body, creamy.

O- A well balanced and very easy to drink wheat wine, 10% ABV is not noticeable. Nicely done!

★458 characters

 

OK, now this is one is a mystery. Blackstone Brewing Co., Laughing Crow Ale from Amherst, New Hampshire. It has a 5.7% ABV. This one and a Porter appeared unannounced at select beer stores in New Hampshire a couple days ago but doing an online search - you would think this does not exist! There is a Blackstone Brewing Company in Tennessee. This one is not that. There is a Laughing Crow IPA from Wynbridge Farm Brewing in Pennsylvania. That is also not it.

This NH brewery has no website, no Facebook page, no Twitter feed, and is not listed here on BA or any other similar website. I would add it but there is not enough information for me to justify its existence (which is a BA prerequisite). Not even a phone number for the place.

But here is the bottle! And by NH State law the label has to be approved before distribution.

I found listings on the New Hampshire Secretary of State's website for new Corporation and L.L.C. applications and I discovered that the application was filed in September 2015 with an address of 7 Austin Road in Amherst, NH. I guess I'll have to drive over to Amherst one day to find out more.

As for the beer it reminds me very much of an ESB with is medium amber pour and lingering off-white head. Slightly cloudy. The aroma brings out a toasted malt and toffee character with a more subdued earthy of hay-like hop presence. Medium, smooth body. The taste has the same toasted toffee malt sweetness followed by a mild to moderate earthy hop finish that lingers momentarily. It is not a bad beer but I wish I know more about its creator.

 

Musicology is such a good album.

 

Greetings NBS friends from Four Winds Field in sunny and warm South Bend Indiana. It's bark in the park day here and bought the mutts out for some socialization. Going with something I normally wouldn't buy, but the server at the Tiki Hut was nice enough to invite us to the patio and provide a table and ice water for the pooches. The least I can do is take one for the team! A large draft pour of Leinenkugel IPL in a souvenir plastic cup. Let's have a taste of this roadshow beer!

Pours a dark gold leaving a large finger of creamy white foam. I'm not getting much of anything in the smell. Some spicy hops and cereal malt. The initial flavor is spicy-citrus in nature including grapefruit, pine and a hint of floral notes. It's complemented by a hearty dose of slick malt. Feel is creamy smooth and extremely drinkable. I hope the abv. is under 6 because this going down fast!



A pretty solid easy drinker with a nice balance of hops and malt. While there are better beers available here, this is a solid alternative to macro lagers. I believe I'll have another today! My score was 3.46 / rDev +1.2%.



Here's the review, I'm hoping to check in later when my hands aren't quite so full with beer and dogs. Play ball!

http://www.beeradvocate.com/beer/profile/710/141751/?ba=Prager62#review

 

I wish I had this input a couple of days ago. I was at my closest Total Wine & More (Claymont, DE) two days ago and there was a 6-pack of Schlafly Kolsch that I was eyeing up but it was bottled the very beginning of January 2016. Since that 6-pack was over 3 months old (soon to be 4 months old) and generally speaking the Kolsch style is a delicate style I did not purchase that 6-pack.

Cheers!