New Beer Sunday (week 585)

There are individual state maps too. My friend Justin has the WA, OR, and CA ones, not sure if every state gets one. That ND map would be a sad panda.

 

I'm with you. One of the few I don't like from OC. Due to that perfume character and too much coriander

 

Happy Mothers day NBS players. I'm finally home and able to sit down and knock out a few beers. Finally getting some major sunshine too after pretty much a whole week of rain here on the island. A bit windy but it looks like temperatures are really going to pick up this week.

My first new beer today is LaGrave, a triple golden ale, from Troegs brewing. A bit out of my comfort style but that's what this thread is all about right? Trying new beers. It comes in at 8% abv, and the bottle date is pretty hard to read but I think it's 12/31/15.

The beer pours out a beauty of a golden/peach color. Hazy clarity with light sediment, lots of fast carbonation, and a big fluffy white head. The nose is yeasty, and bready with light fruit notes. The drinking starts off light, crisp, and dry with a major fruity quality to it. The Belgian yeast is there but its seems a bit tamer than on the nose. The fruit notes are delicious and I really get a sort of light fruit salad quality with light syrup. Flavors of apple, banana, peach, lemon, and even mango. The mouth feel is rather interesting. It is light, airy, and pretty heavily carbonated. It really almost feels like a sparkling wine.

Overall, a pretty solid beer that I rather enjoyed. I'm not saying this will convert me to the style but I have three more bottles that I at least know now that I can drink. I'm pretty much around a solid 4 on it.

 

Tapping into another Magnify Brewing beer with this Low Visibility Pale Ale.

Normal picture first



Now a liquid tension picture


And finally, discovered the limits of said tension.



As you can see, nice foamy head, nice hazy orange color.

Bright, piercing bitter nose that's got a touch of grapefruit and maybe a bit of pine.

Tastes just phenomenal. For being a low abv beer, this actually had nice balance. Immediately I get that bitter mango, maybe papaya thing that fades off slightly sweet in a dry, pine bitter exit. Not too much aftertaste wise, but all around this is just terrific. I'd never have guessed it to be 4.8% if you spotted me the 4 and 8.

 

She's new to me.

 

Taking a detour now from NBS-related beers to hit a local DIPA that has it’s first review courtesy of me:


http://www.beeradvocate.com/beer/profile/30743/172464/?ba=woemad#review

No re-invention of the wheel here, just a very tasty, somewhat big-bodied DIPA from a N. Idaho brewery that deserves a little more notoriety, in my opinion. Hopefully, I’ll begin to see bottles of this locally (despite being brewed about 30 miles from my home, I had to buy this bottle in the Tri-Cities, approx. 150 miles to the SW). Enjoying this while listening to the Mariners play the Astros and eating a Quesedia assembled from leftovers from last night’s taco-fest.

 

Overall this one is great but not as great as the brewery and the billing live up to. Glad to have tried it. Happy Sunday all!

 

Hi everyone and Happy Mother's Day to all the Moms! After a week of cool drizzle, it's finally a beautiful afternoon. My contribution to NBS is the vintage 2015 of Stone's Southern Charred. This is quite an ale - nice flavors of caramel, molasses, and char - but it's very boozy. Here's my review. Cheers!

4.31/5 rDev +1.7%
look: 4 | smell: 4.25 | taste: 4.5 | feel: 4 | overall: 4.25

Poured from 22 oz. cork and cage bottle into tulip glass. It pours a cloudy, medium-brown color with a one-finger, ecru-colored head and lacing. It has some semblance of apple cider. Most fragrant, it smells of oak, caramel, molasses, and bourbon. When sipped, the first taste noticed is the char: heavy, burnt, and bitter. Then, on the tip of the tongue is the sweetness of the caramel and molasses. The finish is quite boozy with a nice hoppy bitterness. The tastes blend very well and the result is very pleasing. This ale nicely chewy, moderately carbonated, and a beast at 12.7% ABV. It's definitely a sipper. Overall, the 2015 vintage is well made and deserving of its outstanding rating.

 

Thanks!

BCBS has rocked my beer world. It is as perfect as I've heard over the years and has exceeded my expectations.
I'm gonna get at least 12 pours out of this bottle. Thank you!

 

Ooooh! I love Tripels, and I love Troegs! What could possibly go wrong?

 

I too have to work today, in fact, I'm at work right now. The best part? I still get to partake in NBS. On deck for this evening- getting paid to drink and review Enjoy By Tangerine. Awesome, right? Stay tuned.

 

Thanks for the report, Dennis. Chatham is close to where I live and I've know about the opening this weekend but wasn't able to stop in. Hopefully this week. It's right on the way home from work.

 

Thanks for your review, @woemad. I agree that Regular Coffee is unique. It's coffee taste is not burnt as in the case of many porters and stouts - but it's like freshly-brewed coffee. It's one of my very favorites from Carton.

 

Mmm. Love Baltic Porters. Sounds like a great one.

Interesting to know the robot from Lost In Space is enjoying it's retirement in your yard!

 

After a nice long hike with the dogs I had some lunch and went to work in the yard. After spending a few hours in the sun I was able to finish up and enjoy the best part. Beer break! @jhavs sent a can of Lawsons SoS, which is quite fitting for today.

Poured 16oz can into snifter. Canned on 3/5/16 so just over 2 months old. Golden orange and very hazy with a big 3 finger white head. Great retention and loads of foamy lacing cling to the glass. The hops are dominant at first crack of the can. Piney, bitter citrus, a some tropical notes showcase this beer. The nose is quite pungent. Waves and waves of hops hit my palate. Pine hops, bitter citrus hops, and even slight notes of tropical hops. A subtle sweetness peeks in every now and then, but the hops push it back. Full bodied and sticky with awesome carbonation. Goes down easy even at 8% ABV. I really enjoyed this and believe the can helped preserve the hoppiness.

 

I'm sure that the glass makes it taste better. As it happens, I'm currently knocking off a 22 of ESB that comes from that Bham brewery, but, alas, no way in hell is that even remotely "new" to me. Plus, ISO some Trickster brews.

 

I really enjoyed the can I got from @jhavs too. The rare beer that met its hype.

 

Carton self-distributes. I live about 40 miles from the brewery and it is almost impossible to find cans around here, although many local bars and restaurants serve Carton on draught. I stop at the brewery every couple of weeks or when they have a new release. My friends think I'm nuts but at least my wife has gotten used to it.

 

Might be able to locate some for you, but I'm hesitant to fully commit because I don't seem to have much luck at it myself! I asked at the brewery when I was there a few weeks ago, and they didn't know themselves where to find them outside the brewery.

 

Oh, no worries, I still owe on some trade stuff. But, my busy season is about to kick into gear, so, perhaps, soon. Plus, my friends who make the Idaho runs will be alerted as to the presence of this brewery.