New Beer Sunday (week 597)

My new beer today is Kerkom Reuss - a lambic blended with a "Belgian pale ale."
You can read my reactions to it here.

Cheers!

 

I gotta admit, being a couple beers in by now, I read the name "Irwin Allen" as "Irwin Corey", and, I wondered what the hell the good "Professor" had to do with Time Travel movies:

 

Good evening NBS,Thanks Maria for an elegant, eloquent start to the day.
We are quite thankful for some rain here in WMass, the landscape has a look
I cannot recall in my many years in this beautiful area. We enjoyed a fine exhibit of black and white photos from 20th century masters in Springfield today. Then to keep culture in check saw the latest Star Trek! Back home and enjoying an old friend with new variant. I have had the pleasure of experiencing nearly every release of the dry hopped pale ale Dorothy from Hill Farmstead. Started out a few years ago and with time and touches, the offering continues to evolve. This limited batch resided 1 year on white wine barrel. What a transformation.
And now submitted for your approval Dorothy from the Barrel Zone.
Cheers all


Dorothy (Wine Barrel Aged)

Hill Farmstead Brewery
Saison / Farmhouse Ale / 7.00% ABV

4.34/5 rDev -1.1% | Avg: 4.39
look: 4 | smell: 4.25 | taste: 4.5 | feel: 4.25 | overall: 4.25

Poured from a 750 ml bottle into a Hill Farmstead goblet.
A - Color of lemon zest sprinkled across honey. Gentle carbonation wanders upward. The refined cap of almost crystalline structure melts away, leaving one ring to rule the glass.
S - White grape, oak, floral hops add tangerine and orange reduction. Warm wet straw hides in the back. a slightly sour tang rises as the offering warms.
T - Light grains mingle effortlessly with tropical fruits. The barrel aging is the host of the party, in taste the white wine and oak are debutantes. Burgundian quality in the notes, rich and assertive, yet polite to the guests, Pineapple, lemon tart, grape skin and light oak.
M - Medium in body, full coating of the palate well beyond the introduction. Slightly tart the palate rolls out that response, and is rewarded with just enough sweetness to smooth things out. The carbonation acts as Maitre D for the evening. The feel is delicate, nuanced and to be experienced.
O - This Dorothy is masterwork. The white wine barrel aging touch adds complexity and some genuine wonder. The body and feel are very much in the white burgundy mold, rich, a bit fat. All that and the dry hopping adds so much floral aromatic. An experience I will remember

 

#2, this is ..... transcendent.



If I was tasked with creating an imperial stout that was accessible for all levels of beer nerds, this would be that beer. It pours a pure jet black with 2 fingers of dark tan head. The aroma is toffee, caramel, dark chocolate - and vanilla. Loads of vanilla.

The taste is heavy on the dark chocolate, but the vanilla balances it, then continues to come forward as the taste settles in the back of your mouth. At 13% ABV, I kept waiting for the alcohol burn to light me up, but it never happened. This drinks so smooth, it's almost silly - how can a beer with this much flavor and this much alcohol not pound you into submission? This is spectacular, IMHO.

Rated 4.52.

 

Locally, Orlison did this as well. I think it was called Two-Finger Pour or something of that nature. I've only had their barrel-aged version and only once. It was good but not something I wanted to drink more than a glass of per encounter.

 

Had this on tap a few years ago, my wife loved it. I'm going to grab a few this week.

 

Great album! I saw Dave Edmunds and Nick Lowe and Rockpile at Irving Plaza in NYC after that album came out in '79. It was a great show!

 

Hey, everybody! I'm backfrom a rainy weekend in the Catskills. Here are some scenes-

Cheap Trick's set at Bethel Woods. What a fantastic facility they have there! I look forward to more shows when it's not during a constant downpour. I'm getting too old for that stuff. My 14 year-old isn't, however, and since this was to be his first real rock concert we just made the best of it. The lawn seating is actually better than this shot makes it out to be, and the vid screens show everything you need to see.

All that rain has been good for my dad's garden, though-

suffice it to say that I now have a refrigerator shelf full of chard, kale, collards, etc. And I didn't even make a dent!

So, now that the weekend is winding down, it's time for a beer I've been looking forward to all week-

Trinity Saison Man- fermented with brett and aged in white wine barrels, 4.9%.

I'm immediately hit with a white wine aroma, and it's just too clear and strong to be the result of any sort of suggestion. Breaking it down further I'm getting more fruits- particularly apricot and apple, both straw and slight horseblanket, and a gentle yeasty spiciness. The palate is full at first, before finishing crisp, tart and dry. Apple juice and white raisin are struggling for dominance, but the brett is trying to fend them off. Spices, bread crust and toasty oak settle out on a long lingering finish. It's an addictive yin/yang that's going on- full, round and juicy for a moment, before the quick slam of dry tartness takes it the rest of the way. Midway through the oak is becoming more prominent, while the horseblanket plays a consistent supporting role throughout. It's crazily drinkable, though some more complexity and definition would bring it to the next level. Still, I will happily clear out the shelves just to have the pleasure of drinking several in a row next time. A- (4.25)

 

New Beer Sunday: A low ABV APA

Evenin' NBSers with special greetings to all you lovers of lower ABV beers.

Well this morning's weather forecast seems to have been off the mark and fortunately we've not seen any pop-up Thunder Storms and High Winds today (knock on wood).

Our guests are on a road trip and moved on about an hour ago to get to their Motel over near Harrisburg. In the end dinner was not at a place with any new beers but otherwise there was good beer (some old stand-by's and favorites.) Not surprisingly the final decision of a location was based on a local Philly specialty which just doesn't get done properly more than about 25-50 miles away from Philadelphia. There's a neighborhood family type restaurant and Pizza Parlor not far from here that does Cheese Steaks that are truely Philly style. So most of us wound up having a Cheese Steak wit' and a couple of us added in some fried sweet peppers and mushrooms. I also had the version with Swiss Cheese rather than Cheese Whiz.

For those of you disadvantaged folk who don't know the subtleties of Philly cuisine, a Cheese Steak wit' includes the right kind of hoagie type roll (made by the right bakery from secret recipe) filled with thinly sliced chopped and fried meat with that includes some fried and glazed onions on the top but before the cheese is layered on. (BTW if you do get to have a proper Philly Cheese Steak some day, don't bother to mention or describe it to your Cardiologist. )

Now that our friends have left I decided to have YANB (yet another new beer) and picked a nice low ABV offering to end the day.

This beer is an APA from Bell's called Oatsmobile Pale Ale, and is a nice comfortable wind down for the day.

As usual my review is in progress (subject to revision until the beer is finished) here:

https://www.beeradvocate.com/beer/profile/287/215145/?ba=drtth#review

Not surprisingly for an APA this beer has very light flavors and aromas but offers a reasonable range of things to suit the palate (at least mine ).

There's touches of grapefruit and tropical fruits along with some herbal and almost woody notes. The light bitterness is kept under control by an equally light sweetness and they all just fade away into a slight dryness at the end.

On the whole this is a nice well made beer, but that said I'll probably not be going out of my way to have it again. The locally made Yard's Philadelphia Pale Ale also suits me when in the mood for a low ABV APA and I think I actually enjoy the Yard's just a bit more (but that could be because I've had many more bottles of it than of this one ).

My friend left behind a gift CD which I'm listening to now that includes music from the era between WWII and the onset of Rock and Roll. Some refer to this as the era of the girl singers as this is when a number of talented women were very popular and recorded lots of music.

Included on this CD is some of the work of Rosemary Cloony, who to my ear and way of thinking/listening/hearing had one of the finest voices among the girl singers. In the linked music she sings one of the signature songs for which she was well known.

I'll be seeing you by Rosemary Cloony.

Cheers, all!

 

Damn I have to have that beer. I really dig wine barrel aged beers...

 

BBA imperial Porter. Great stuff! Aromas and flavors of big dark chocolate, cocoa, coffee, caramel, toasted dark bread, vanilla, oak, bourbon, and light smoke/charred grain; with some light herbal hops and dark fruity yeast. Light-moderate herbal/spicy hop and roast bitterness on the finish. Medium bodied with a really awesome creamy/silky mouthfeel; with lightly drying sticky/chalky roast notes as well. Super smooth and really complex. The barrel notes are really well integrated into this, and they don't lend any boozy bourbon counterparts into the beer at all. Worth the $13? Maybe. I got the BA Tripplebock and Quad as well. 4.05


Been way too long since I tried a new Tripel, getting nearly impossible to find new ones. I'm at 117 now. This is really nice. Aromas and flavors of big apricot, lemon, pear, apple, white grape, pepper, clove, and light banana yeast; light-moderate cracker/biscuity malt; with some herbal/grassy hop notes. Moderate spicy yeast finish. Medium bodied with light grainy/sticky notes in the mouthfeel. Nice drying finish, with no cloying sweetness or astringency. Minimal warmth of 9%. Well attenuated for the ABV. Definitely a well made Tripel. I was a big fan. Cranker's has been has been doing really well with increasing their quality as of lately, especially with these Bomber series releases. I've been really impressed. 3.9


Cheers, have a good night NBS!

 

That is Yasgur's farm, no? The actual site of Woodstock? Some of y'all may remember a few weeks ago, I mentioned a story that involved dynamite. That location also plays a role in that story. 3days, so very long ago now, and still, the stories.....

 

Seen it. Excellent movie!
Also just to keep this beer oriented my final thoughts on FFF Apocalypse Cow is it reminded me a of DFH 90min which is one of my all time favorite IPAs. Gotta lot of movies I need to watch again thank to NBS today.

 

The very place. There's a museum, show pavillion and all that there now-


I'm sure you'd love re-visiting the area!

 

Hate to admit to being old enough to understand Woodstock and its impact.

 

Didn't see the doc, but it doesn't surprise me.

 

You should be good since at least you'll know people, but you might want to also put a tasty beer (or two) in your wife's purse just in case.

 

Greetings All:

Checking in from Eastern Washington with a Canadian brew from a recent trip to BC. Probably the best Canadian beer I had on the trip Hopgood IPA.

https://www.beeradvocate.com/beer/profile/674/97292/

A good IPA and I liken it to an English style, beer with a good malt presence. A hop bomb it is not.

 

Yep. Although Mary Steenburgen in"Goin' South" had one of my favorite roles (although I had to look her up - totally a Jack Nicholson fan!)

 

The Foremost Authority!