New Beer Sunday (week 583)

That's a great way of putting it, and I'm really happy you enjoyed the ride! I enjoyed reading your reviews along the way, and thanks for being so thoughtful with them. I bet you never figured that the positive review you gave Smoke and Dagger would open the floodgates for a bunch more smoked beers to be sent your way .

Anyway, that one does seem to be a little bit of a cross between a Helles and a Vienna, which you don't see too often, and definitely makes for a very drinkable beer; it looks like we're both on the same page with it. Cheers!

 

just got this last week in trade..nice blend of 5 different beers..BB Dark Appariton,BB Brick Kiln,BB Imperial Amber,BB Matriarch and Cognac Barrel Apparition..little boozy up front but gives way to really intense flavors of coffee,chocolate,caramel,vanilla,dark fruits,toffee,bourbon,licorice..well done

 

Wow... by the look of today's NBS offerings, you'd think it was winter in most of the country... I would have thought more of those hit by old man winter would be excited to work in the yard and have an IPA rather than some of these dark stouts... Nonetheless, I do appreciate the education I am getting from all the dark stout reviews... keep drinking and keep'em coming.

 

Enjoy the rents while you can... beers will be here when you are able.

 

I can't speak for anyone else, but with spring weather all week I was out of new IPAs by the time NBS rolled around.

 

Last one, Mrs. O saw me take this and accused me of Bogarting her brew, since she is the self-described "sour master" of the house. No, my beautiful bride, I just let you think that.



This doesn't look like a sour (too brown), but it sorta smells like a sour, and it absolutely tastes like a sour - and the sweetness of the malt (that gives it the color) cranks it up a couple of notches. Well done by one of my favorite brewers. Rated 4.10.

 

I'm going to go into reading mode to close out the week, and thanks to @Josholson666 I have plenty of high gravity goodies that should be perfect accompaniment. Tonight's is a BBA Barleywine, Lift Bridge Commander-

Those are not peanuts down at the bottom, btw- they are cardamom pods (green and black). I was getting the ol' sniffer ready because I read this on the label:


Needless to say, my interest has been piqued.

And the aroma right away shows the spices. It's subtle and well-incorporated, which aligns with my preferences, and I honestly don't think I could have identified it as cardamom if it wasn't on the label. It smells exactly like a spiced holiday cake, drizzled with honey and a touch of bourbon. Oh man- so well-knit; so evocative. Sure, if I wanted to pick it apart I could come up with some of the separate components, but that would just seem to be against the spirit of this beer. It's that dessert-like.

My first few sips do bring me back to beer territory, though. It's rich with caramel, molasses, vanilla, nuts, citrus peel, bourbon and dried cranberries, but somehow isn't as evocative as the aroma. There is also a good hit of warming alcohol and substantial bitterness cutting through it all. The finish is dry, with a lingering caramel/nut sensation, and just the faintest amount of spice.

For such a big beer, there is a lot of subtlety in how it is all put together. I am really enjoying it, and strangely enough the more I drink the sweeter and more dessert-like it is starting to come across. Very nice stuff, very nice indeed! (A, 4.4). Thanks again, Josh!

 

Greetings All from the great Northwest.

Today it is Wisdom Seeker Imperial IPA from Black Raven of Redmond, WA.
http://www.beeradvocate.com/beer/profile/19765/54350/

A very clean and dry Imperial IPA. Very good indeed.

Unsettled here in the Columbia Basin, a bit of a departure from our incredible early spring weather. But I'll take it.

Until next time,

 

I love Lift Bridge Commander. It's a very delicious Barleywine.

Well, now to my next entry into NBS. This is another find from yesterday. I stopped in a liquor store in Somerset after I went to Oliphant. I was looking for a beer called Northern Lights from Shouth Shore Brewing in Ashland, WI for a friend. They didn't have it, but I saw this.

Below the price there was a sticker that said "Not available in MN". Well seeing that is like driving a moth to a flame for me, so I bought it. It's ok. I was expecting more, I guess, but it's not bad.

3.54/5 rDev -2.2%
look: 3.75 | smell: 3.5 | taste: 3.5 | feel: 3.75 | overall: 3.5

This pours lighter than I thought it would. It is an amber colored beer. The head is frothy, and does last. Thee isn't much nose to it, but what's there, I get notes of the barrel. The taste is somewhat sweet to me. There's booziness aftertaste. I guess I was expecting more from this beer.

 

Moving on to the second of my NBS BIF beers from @thebeers.
This was one I was definitely looking forward to.

Dark brown pour, smallish head. Smell is spot one Reese's Puffs, lots of artificial peanut buttery goodness, and grains. Tastes like pb cereal but with a title more depth. Cocoa, bakers chocolate, maybe some fig undertones, corn cereal, artificial peanuts. Slightly metallic, tinny and dry finish.
Honestly, it was better than I describe here! 1 of the better pb/chocolate beers I've had.

 

What a beautiful head on this beer!
The picture does not do it justice.
Too much glare on the middle of the glass.
Look on the sides of the the head that pink kind of looks like it.
Intense pink head dissipates to a ring in a couple minutes.
Smells like fresh raspberries forever!
Tastes sour, raspberries, real nice.
Feel is more than adequate.
Another very, very nice offering from Crooked Stave!
Cheers!!!

 

Lagunitas The Waldos' Special Ale

Took my daughter to see The Jungle Book this afternoon. Wasn't too bad. It had a lot of the same scenes as the cartoon, but it didn't have the vultures based on The Beatles or my favorite line: Shere Kahn singing "that's what friends are for." At least it wasn't as racist as Rudyard Kipling's writing and a lot of Walt Disney's earlier work.

On the way home, we stopped at a fancy bottle shop near the movie theater and I picked up a couple of these, among a few others. One was Misspillion's Space Otter APA. Started reviewing it for NBS, and I was turned off by the buttery flavor. I decided to take a second look at the date on the bottom, and saw it was "Enjoy Before 3/19/16" instead of the "Bottled On" I thought it was. It was only one can, so I can't get too cranky about it, but it still bothers me when bottle shops that charge an arm and a leg for beer can't pull old stock off the shelf of their hardwood, walk-in cooler.

On to the next one... Waldos is a hazed orange color with a finger-and-a-half of yellow-tinted foam. Big citrus aroma with grapefruit, some pineapple, a touch of alcohol and biscuity malt behind.

The very heavy and flat mouthfeel stands out first upon sipping. The alcohol is also very present. That gives way to a muted dankness, a little pineapple sweetness, some citrus and a piney and strong hop bitterness. A syrupy mouthfeel lingers with the bitter aftertaste.

This is quite good, and I wouldn't hesitate to buy it again. But after drinking some Chillwave last night and Hi-Res earlier in the week, this has a hard time competing. All whining about freshness aside, this is definitely a wonderful time to be a beer drinker.

 

Hi again NBS crew. My second new brew posted of the day.


Some BA stats:
Brewed by:
Sole Artisan Ales
Pennsylvania, United States | website
Style: American Double / Imperial IPA
Alcohol by volume (ABV): 7.50%
Availability: Limited (brewed once)
Notes / Commercial Description:
No notes at this time.
BEER STATS
Reviews: 4
Ratings: 11
Avg: 4.36
pDev: 9.4%

And my review!
4.36/5 rDev 0%
look: 4.75 | smell: 4.25 | taste: 4.25 | feel: 4.5 | overall: 4.5

Fresh can poured into a snifter, labeled an Extra IPA, which basically seems like a double IPA based on the ABV.

Look: Orange/golden color, thin, kinda creamy looking white head that dissipates quickly into ring around glass and floating islands of foam. The lacing is definitely clingy and sticks all over the sides of my glass.

Smell: The aroma is mostly fruity and kind of sweet. Lots of tropical scents blending together, bit of earthy grass too.

Taste: Not as in your face hoppy as many of the "hip" DIPA, but still full of flavor and bold. Has a sweetness underneath the tropical, fruity hops that brings it together nicely. Not a ton of bitterness, but you can tell there was a good amount of hops added at the tale end of the brewing process.

Feel: Moderate level of carbonation, medium body. Coats the tongue a bit, a little bit syrupy.

Overall: Lots of flavors blended together, the sweetness surprised me, and the pleasantness of the sweetness surprised me even more. Overall a tasty brew. I would buy more if available to me.

 

Two new beers for me this Sunday. I've had this little beauty sitting in my beer fridge since the beginning of March, and I'm disappointed now that I only have one!

Siren/Cigar City Caribbean Chocolate Cake
4.73/5 rDev +13.2%
look: 4.75 | smell: 4.75 | taste: 4.75 | feel: 4.5 | overall: 4.75



Simply put, this beer was incredible. Huge aroma of chocolate, and the taste followed suit. I'll be on the lookout again for sure. What a great way to end my weekend!

 

Nicely done! Smell: "...drizzled with honey and a touch of bourbon." : )

 

Good evening NBS, hope everyone is enjoying the end of the weekend once again. Thanks to @utopiajane for getting us started off this week. (noticed you are getting close to 1000 beers, looking forward to seeing what your choice will be!).

Over the last 2 weeks I have stopped buying 6 packs and my fridge and closet are not as overly crowded as they were before. I figured it would be better if I just buy mostly mix 6 packs now, since I love having so much variety around. I was buying multiple 6 packs per week, which wasn't very sustainable without huge amounts of overstock building up. Feeling better about my beer stash status now.

With the weather warming up, I am going to start riding mountain bike trails again this week. I need to get back in shape, indoor training just isn't good enough. After I bought my new car, the old hitch wouldn't mount on the underbody, so I need to go buy a new one this week.

Here are today's new beers:

Very nice black DIPA. Nearly opaque dark brown body; great head retention and dense lacing around the glass. Aromas and flavors of juicy grapefruit, tangerine, pineapple, peach, mango, lemon zest, orange peel, and pine hops; moderate chocolate, cocoa, toasted dark bread, and light nutty malts; and floral/grassy hop earthiness. Medium sized pine/rind and light roast bitterness; medium-plus body, with balanced bready creaminess and hop stickiness in the mouthfeel; with a slight touch of chalky roast. Light increasing dryness from bitterness. Very drinkable, minimal warming ABV. Really well made all around. I'll grab a few more singles while its around. I love Citra as always. Interesting note, it appears that they have put a nice helping of Munich malt into this beer, which I liked(I love Munich in Porters anyways). Upped the malt complexity and body a bit; but was not overly sweet or anything. This was not anywhere near as roasty and dark/dense as something like Goodnight Bodacious(same ABV). More hop focused. 3.9


Very nice IPA. Aromas and flavors of big tangerine, grapefruit, mango, melon, papaya, peach, pear, pineapple, berry, and pine hops; moderate caramel/toasted biscuit malt; and herbal/floral/grassy hop earthiness. Moderate pine/herbal/spicy bitterness; smooth finish with balanced hop stickiness and bready creaminess in the mouthfeel. Moderately dry, increasing through the glass; zero hop astringency. Very juicy feeling on hops. This had some pretty unique hop flavors going on, which I really enjoyed; all set on a good sized malty backbone that isn't too sweet. Very drinkable. I'm glad I got the 12 pack, looking forward to the session IPA next. 3.9


Excellent Belgian dark ale! Crystal clear dark brown pour; great head retention and lacing. Aromas and flavors of big raisin, plum, fig, date, orange, apple, peppercorn, and clove yeast; balanced caramel, brown sugar, toasted biscuit, chocolate, cocoa, and nutty malt; with some light herbal hop and yeast earthiness. Moderate amount of peppery yeast spice and slight roast bitterness; medium bodied with a very creamy/silky mouthfeel with slight stickiness. Lightly drying from spicy yeast notes. Incredibly easy drinking. This opened up a TON as is warmed to room temperature. Initially very spicy and roasty; but later, tons of complexity came out in the glass. Very well balanced between the yeast, malt, and flavor additions; with plenty of classic spicy Belgian character. I love it! 4.15


Cheers, have a good night NBS.

 

I picked this bottle up at the brewery yesterday - Jester King Brewery, Austin, TX, made with wild Texas yeast and with yeast from and in collaboration with off Color Brewing, Chicago, Illinois and Side Project, Saint Louis, MO - "Intersection of Species", A farmhouse ale brewed with Texas wildflower honey and tangerine zest and juice, and lite at 4.7%. Batch #1, bottled 12/22/15:







And the second pour:



Deep gold (6) with thick, tight white foam; slightly hazy; long lasting cap and heavy clinging lace. 4.5

Sour and spiced fruit; just a hint of clove; honey and citrus nose. 4

Spicy citrus up front; lite honey combe; I get citrus, not sure if it is tangerine, but there is a juicy taste; just a whisper of clove on the exhale. 4

Zippy, highly carbonated, lite mouthfeel; honey tongue coating. 3.75

Long lasting lite honey linger - I can feel the smoothness of the honey against the roof of my mouth; overall, lite and refreshing. Not very tart, and very little funk despite the collaboration of wild yeasts. 4

An enjoyable light ale. Cheers!

 

Good evening, all! The work weekend is finally over, so I'm winding down with a couple of new styles. First was this Baltika #9, a Euro Strong Lager that I picked up in Ohio last week. I was expecting this to be darker in appearance, but the crystal clear pale yellow pour is quite appealing. Nice flavorful malt character, but I think it's better cold as the alcohol (8%) starts taking over as it warms.


Now this Adnams Southwold, an English Bitter. Seems to fit the style hallmarks to a tee: light bodied, coppery colour (sic), moderate hop bitterness, low carbonation, alcohol barely perceptible. Quite good, very drinkable,


Cheers!

 

Late night review here... Busy past few weeks for me, but I'm trying to do my part.

Another great beer from @jhavs



Also as a glassware nut, I love being able to proper the new snifter. Not that anyone can tell...

Onto the review:

Pours a dark, pitch black with a very slight mocha colored head. The head doesn't stick around much.

Smell hits with a roast right off the bat, followed by a sweet vanilla, oak and ever so slight maple.

Taste begins maple forward. Not overly sweet. Not too bitter. Moves to a roast mid-sip, and then mellows and allows the flavors to meld before bursting out with a spectacular sweet, vanilla, maple and rum infused finish that lingers ever so delicately on the palate. A slight bitterness and alcohol warmth follow.

Mouthfeel is creamy, yet not rich. Heavy enough to support the intense flavors as well as the nuances. Not overly heavy, but the barrel did not thin this out considerably.

Overall the most surprising part of this beer is the roasted character to it. I was expecting a rum/maple/vanilla bomb. What I was met with was a roasty stout with nuanced flavors abounding. One second vanilla, the next some cocoa, the next a healthy does of maple. Very nice.

Looking forward to rewarding through everyones's Sunday!

Cheers!