New Beer Sunday (week 584)

I hear you. @Ri0's box to me isn't going anywhere fast, as I've already eliminated all the lighter and hoppier beers from it, and have nothing but big, dark, boozy boys left. I figure I can ration those to 1 per NBS without any degradation in quality (and guarantee something very cool for NBS for some time to come). I do need to hit a few things fairly soon from @SammyJaxxx, though, plus I went a little IPA mad recently, so I may have to hit several today.

 

First time posting on NBS
figured with the cold rainy weather perfect time to bring this one out of the cellar

look: 4 | smell: 4.25 | taste: 4.25 | feel: 4 | overall: 4.25
2014 edition bottled 10/1/14 fro the cellar
12oz bttle into libbey tulip
L-inky black with slightest hint of brownish-red, tan foam head about finger thick, good retention turns into lacing
S- sweet malty aroma, jumps out at you, enticing with hints of warming booze as well
T- starts off sweet and strong with the alcohol hitting in you the face, but in a nice warming way, slight bitterness, surrounded by the bourbon, all coming together for a finish that begs for another sip
F- full-bodied, warm and heavy on the tongue, a real sipper
O- This beer is warm and inviting while keeping you real honest with bourbon-barrel taste along with some hop-bitterness. i'm really glad i got to try this one

Cheers to the new week and month BA's

 

Very happy to hear Old Pro is better than Westbrook, guess I don't need to try to trade for Westbrook. I love Old Pro, it's the best summer beer in my opinion, perfect beer to drink while grilling!

 

Ok, cutting the BIF box remainders in half with this review. This was one of the beers that got some notice when I posted the "haul pic" in the BIF thread. I received two Sebago beers in the package - and the other one was the second I reviewed here (a winter warmer), so I guess it's sort of a bookend to have the other second to last. After our stop at Sebago's location down near the waterfront in Portland, I would not have expected this beer from the brewer - a BBA Barleywine, in a can no less:


I was in the mood to shoot pours today, so see below for how that went. A bit of off-white to rusty head rose to the surface, but didn't last long. Thin rim grew a tad with each tip of the glass, leaving a fleeting trail of bubbles along the side of the glass on each sip. A nice amber/auburn clear beer that colors the items below my glass a thick maroon color.

Nose fades - and I am not getting much now, but there is a woody nature to the nose (perhaps the barrel itself). Bourbon notes were more present when I first was taking whiffs from the glass - hints of char, lightly toasted coconut, and maybe a little leather. I also think there might be a little hop bitterness from the base beer in the taste - though I can't really say I notice anything in particular to describe.



Taste starts with a little unsweetened berry juice to which is quickly added a dose of woody to piney bitterness. The melding of the notes is the key flavor, not either one individually. The sweet bourbon notes show up at the door just as it was closed after letting the first two notes in. This newcomer soon becomes the life of the party. Even though I let this warm considerably before even taking sips, the bourbon and related alcohol notes were strong. As is fairly common, the flavors melded a little better with added warmth.

At its peak flavor, for me, the bourbon still plays the lead role - but the heat is easily ignored. The barrel woodiness and hop bitterness join nicely to prevent the bourbon from dominating the conversation. A milk caramel maltiness lays a nice foundation for the whole party to feel comfortable in.

A nice beer where each sip provides interesting little nuances with each sip that join the flavors mentioned above. Oak, toasted coconut, leather, singed sugar, and maybe even anise all pop in to add brief thoughts to the larger conversation. I must say, the people who indicated this was a good beer to receive were right. So big thanks to @RoninTK3 for including it.

A little spring-like framing of the promised pour photo(s), even though it's actually mild and rainy today:

 

Happy New Old Ale Sunday!

Pretty nice day here in GJ, partly sunny, low 50s. Having a nice brew, the bourbon/oak can definitely change the taste of this style. Still a nice brew. Nice hockey game.

http://www.beeradvocate.com/beer/profile/140/179862/?ba=Wasatch#review

Cheers!

 

I finally made to number 17, and the last NBS BIF, courtesy of @beerloserLI !

Spider Bite Beer Co.
Boris the Spider, 10% ABV, RIS

Poured into Kuhnhenn snifter, a black beauty, with a small head that disappears quickly leaving a little ring on the outside. Smells nice and rich chocolate, coffee, roasted nuts. Taste is very chocolate, very nice example of the style. Would recommend this one for sure.

 

Welcome to NBS, and nice to see you chose one of my very favorite beers with which to join us. It sounds like you had patience to cellar this without having it fresh? Kudos on that, but I hope you get a chance at a fresh (or months-aged) version at some point as well (if you haven't). Cheers!

 

my new beer sunday offering

an IPA with mangos apricots and ginger
poured out a beautiful copper, almost like an imperial red! dissipating head and many tiny bubbles
some sweetness on the nose, but not over the top. Fruity and the mango hints are very well done.
a bit of medicinal sweet ginger too.
medium feel on the tongue, and pleasing hop bitterness.zesty and carbonated .

only one on the shelf, what a shame! I would buy a sixer of this beer.

cheers!

 

Good Sunday afternoon, everyone. Carton had two releases this weekend. For NBS, I'm reviewing SS-Cream, a collaboration between Carton and Barrier Brewing Company. I became very fond of Genny Cream Ale when I was in college and this style has always had a warm place in my heart so I was anxious to try this one. I don't agree with some reviewers who consider this to be a DIPA. As it warms in the glass, it really tastes like a cream ale to me but with a nice hoppy finish. Here's my review:

4.18/5 rDev +1.7%
look: 4 | smell: 4 | taste: 4.25 | feel: 4.25 | overall: 4.25

Canned on 4/26/2016. Poured into Carton teku glass It pours a hazy orange with a thin, ecru-colored head and lacing. It smells of biscuit, cream, vanilla, pine, and a whiff of citrus. The taste is just as advertised: a hoppy cream ale. You taste the sweetness on the tip of the tongue and the hops on the back of the tongue simultaneously. The tastes blend really well. I think it became sweeter as it warmed in the glass. This ale has a nice full, creamy body, with moderate carbonation and its 8.4% ABV gives it some heft while allowing for easy drinking. Overall, the more of this I drink, the more I enjoy it.

This seems like the ideal musical paring.

 

Here is a link to another new one on WBAYDN because I am tired of fighting this site
http://www.beeradvocate.com/communi...-drinking-now-1289.412033/page-4#post-4734362

 

Sunday already? I've tried quite a few new beers this week but managed to save one for you guys this is L'affriolante (tempting) by Le Bilboquet. This is a spiced beer brewed with honey and wasn't to bad but I feel it could have been executed slightly better Cheers!

3.75/5 rDev +0.3%
look: 3.75 | smell: 3.75 | taste: 3.75 | feel: 3.75 | overall: 3.75

Appearance - This beer pours a light brown/dark amber in color with 1 finger of off white foamy head which faded fairly quickly. I see a few specs in the glass also and im not sure if its yeast or protein. Carbonation look lively!

Aroma - Bread and honey up front followed by plum, some light caramel. coriander, peppery spices.

Taste - Coriander and peppery spices tickle the tongue first followed by honey on white bread, plum and finishing off with a spicy bitterness.

Feel -Lighter end of medium body with tingly fresh carbonation sweet up front with a dry finish.

Overall - This is one of those rare beers that gets the same rating across the board. It's a fairly decent beer but could have been executed better in my opinion, At times it feels to spicey and other moments the honey seems to dominate. I want one flavor to take control here and the other one to be submissive and light but otherwise a very interesting beer. Cheers!

★945 characters

 

Thanks for your great review. I'm salivating!

 

Casey Brewing & Blending East Bank Farmhouse Ale

Christos anesti to the Greek BAs and all other Orthodox NBSers. The ham is in the oven (no lamb this year), and I always enjoy a saison on Easter, so I'm going with this corked-and-caged beauty from @ONovoMexicano.

There's a label on the side that says "Honey Ale. Bottled 1/6/16." Time to pop it open.

It pours a hazy, pear-orange color with two fingers of white head formed with tiny bubbles. It definitely has a sort of honey glow to it, and the head leaves sheets of white lacing.

It has a funky, dry aroma with just a hint of hard-to-place fruitiness or white wine character, and the oak barrel-aging is quite evident.

It's deliciously tart with a smooth, lush mouthfeel for the style. It hits you with a mouth-puckering tartness right upon sipping, followed by that white wine fruitiness, some apple and pear cider notes and a perfectly-allotted oak character. There's a slight honey-like quality to both the taste and mouthfeel, and there's then a lingering funky barnyard aftertaste.

This is much tartness isn't what I expect from the style, but it's freaking delicious nonetheless. Once again I'm thankful that I joined the NBS BIF and get to try amazing beers like this one. Enjoy your evenings.

 

Thanks for this review. I've seen this once or twice here locally and I've been wondering whether it might be worth the expense. I just might pop for it now.

 

The day has turned pretty cool here and it looks like we are in for a rather wet week. Not exactly what I had expected for the start of May. A rather slow day on ba too.

Well, I'm onto my second new beer of the day and given it's quantity and abv it might be my final beer of the day. The brew is Bitches Bank, ris, from 18th street brewing in Indiana. I received this from @Prager62 and the nbs bif #3 trade. It has an abv of 9.5% and no apparent bottle date.

A black oily pour with a fast tan head. The nose is a mix of malts, sugars, and roasted tones. Big time sweet malts smack me right in the face at the very first sip. Lots of robust flavors, with good flow, that ends smooth, sweet, and spicy. Nice notes of chocolate, vanilla, smoke, oak, and a major cinnamon spice flavor to it. The mouth feel is moderate and slightly sticky. The beer really coats the palate and the flavors seem to linger more after every sip.

Overall, a very interesting beer. I wouldn't call it the best ris I've ever had but it's solid and very well made. The cinnamon spice taste is big and it can really dominate the flavors at times. I'm pretty much in the low 4's here,

 

I decided to spend a couple hours on a beautiful afternoon trying Lost Forty Brewing. It's the popular brewery in Little Rock, and they sell their beers everywhere. I'm trying a flight so I won't do a full review of each, but I'll give you my impressions.
Barrel-Aged Rock Candy - This is their Belgian farmhouse ale aged for nine months. It is VERY whiskey forward. I'm not sure I would have been able to identify it as a farmhouse ale. 11% abv, 20 ibu. It's good if you live whiskey-forward BBA non-stouts.

Bare Bones Pilsner - I've been told this is a near clone to Victory's pilsner. I've never had that, but this is very good. I'd say it's better than the SN Nooner I've been drinking recently. 5% anb and 40 IBU. It's very crisp and malty with a good hop balance.

Crystal State Rockhound IPA - This was malty and flat, at least to my taste. Yet, I actually still liked it. It had enough hops to create an interesting flavor but it's still pretty bitter. There is enough citrus coming through underneath to make it interesting. The citrus lingers on the end longer than the bitterness. 6.2% abv and 62 ibu.

Cowboy Coffee Stout - This is all coffee, both on the nose and the taste. Very strong coffee flavor with a hint of chocolate coming through at the end. 5.5% abv and 24 ibu. The carbonation is a little heavier than I expected, but it's OK. The coffee overpowers anything else, but it's well done if that's what your looking for. Probably be a good substitute for iced coffee.

Forest Queen Chocolate Milk Stout - 5.3% abv and 8 ibu. This has the consistency of water. It's very sweet with minimal chocolate flavor. The sweetness and thinness are really a turn off. The sign says this is the last keg. Probably good idea.

The pilsner is definitely the winner for me.

 

My Dallas Stars *suck*!

Fortunately, there's GOOOOOSAH!!!!!



I didn't have any of the previous version(s) of Jammer, but this new version is definitely a winner by me. It's salty, grainy, tart and has a little something different in it that fits in well ... I can't place it ... it's like an herb, maybe cilantro or parsley, and only a mere hint. The overall effect is like drinking a carbonated pizza crust -- I freaking love it!

No official review from me yet, but I'm thinking at least 4 (look), 4.25 (smell), 4.5 (taste) and 4.5 (mouthfeel) for what will definitely be an A+ score. I freaking love gose. Hadn't had a bad one yet, and Jammer is yet another fantastic edition to the style.

*sigh* Back to the TV to watch the Blues keep forechecking my Stars into little green meatballs.

Cheers!

 

Congrats to Diesel. Good job! What a treasure dogs are. Hope things are back to normal for you. I enjoyed your review.

 

Hi NBS gang!

Today I was going to drink a beer that has been talking to me from the fridge everyday since it arrived from @Prager62 four months ago.

I was going to drink it! ...but then I panicked....and now have decided to wait until next NBS, which means it will talk and talk and talk to me for another week.

****************

Instead I'm drinking this beautiful gift from a very well trained nephew, pharmacist, great father of two, nice home, beautiful wife, loyal and mentally stable husband, or pretty much everything I'm not, though I've lucked out in the wife(s) category.
But I digress!

My NBS today is:
Schneider Weisse Tap X Meine Porter Weisse | Weisses Bräuhaus G. Schneider & Sohn GmbH.

It's from a great Bavarian brewery and thus I know I will no doubt love it. For our fearless and dependable leaders Lady @utopiajane and Sir @cavedave I will try to describe this beautiful rich beer without word-wandering off.

Just the word Weizenbock gets me a little damp and wiggly however, the word Porter, well, not so much. So this has sat around a couple months. And now I'm gonna use the word that some BA's apparently find annoying...but GODDAMMIT this is "COMPLEX"!!!

Every flavor you would expect in a great Weizenbock are combined with the roasty robustness of a porter. All of you amazing NBS beer aficionados (not nerds) know what I'm talkin' about. A spectacular Porter Weisse as named on this big beautiful bottle. It's has a hang tag too! Limited edition. Brewed once and sadly only drank once by moi.

If you happen see one sitting lonely somewhere, give it a nice home.

Here's mine:

 

Welcome to NBS =)