New Beer Sunday (week 598)

Good morning @cavedave and NBS! I have been up. I always rouse to the excitement of New Beer Sunday. Either that or it was the damn rooster. My beer today is Against the Grain's Coq de la Marche. It's comes in a pint can and that's fine by me; if a brewer thinks that his beer is so delicious that only a little bit might insult me.

Happy New American Late Hop Addition Saison Sunday

This is a saison that uses spelt malt and a late hop addition.

Beer uses two kinds of hops. Bittering and flavor and aroma hops. Bittering hops are added at the begining of the boil and that usually lasts between 60 and 90 minutes. 60 minutes is less bitterness than at 90. For late hop addition the idea is that the oils from hops are delicate and they boil off leaving mostly bitterness. So to add flavor and aroma without bitterness you need to add the hops later in the cycle. Flavor and aroma hops are called late hop additions because you do not add them to the brew kettle until just before the end. Some brewers do more than one hop drop let's say at 15, 10 and 5 minutes before flameout. "With an earlier addition, the flavor/aroma contribution will tilt toward flavor. With a later addition, the flavor/aroma contribution will tilt toward aroma." You can add hops at flameout too and you can stand them after flameout for a period of time before you start chilling your wort. All these different hop schedules will tweak the aroma and flavors just a bit and the oils that blend from the hops you add can create new flavors or exciting combinations.

Spelt malt is usually used in full bodied top fermenting beer. It is a distant cousin to wheat and imparts dry tart, earthy character and improves head retention.

The pour is sultry yellow with a big head of white foam that dwindles. The color has a little golden edge to it. A stream of bubbles, soft haze. Fruity with melon husks sweet grasses and light lemon. It's fragrant with a soft flower petal and the nutty perfume from the spelt malt is like the musk on this citrusy fruity beer. Sharp little bit of pepper. Drinks softly and very elegant. The malt sinks into a bit of crackery softness with a touch more flavor than you were expecting. the citrus becomes prominent in the drink but it's heady with dry lemon. Sweet grasses and alight touch of sugar finish this one dry and with a subtle cheek from bitterness. It's put together very well and has the perfect bubble. You don't notice any bite and the malt is very lush to the palate. I think there is a little dry funk on this beer too but I can't prove it.



This is a lovely, malty saison with a bit of nutty flavor from the spelt malt and a vivacious late hop addition gives it presence on the nose. What I like about this style of beer is that it has a hearty character. The fruit is not easy to name and has a quality that sometimes I think you can only define by a color. Cool green like melon, mixed with a peppery herbal , lemon, a touch of tartness - its' all compliments and that's balanced. The bittering hop is strong and could take you to the aspirin like bitterness in a DIPA like heady topper, but in this one it's softer than that. It does have a sharpness. This is not a big IPA with lots of slick feeling to the body so a crisp sharp bitterness accents dryness. It lingers but not longer than the faintly nutty malt and with the light lemon in the aftertaste. Your palate is not all the way reset because of the spelt and the sugar. You want to pair this beer with aged or soft cheeses and a variety of artisan breads and sandwich boards, smoked turkey with melted cheddar and apples.

No Swinging in Your Walking

 

Good morning New BSers! @cavedave, thank you for starting the thread reasonably early! @utopiajane, Maria, another well thought out, delightfully stated, in-depth review! Where's the breakfast photos? And I noticed it's now sweater weather 'way up north in NY.

Here in NW PA it's a bracing 60 degrees F. I wore my big boy pants and shoes while picking up apples in the back yard an hour ago - time to put away the shorts and sandals. The dew is also quite deep making the grass very slippery.

Following the KISS policy, here's todays New Beer for Breakfast:



$ 14.68 (Including shipping)/magnum ($ 0.290/oz) from Blackwell’s, San Francisco
Magnum at 42 degrees into a hand washed and dried JK snifter
Aroma – subdued spices
Head – large (Maximum 5.8 cm, careful but somewhat aggressive pour), light brown, frothy, diminishing to a two mm ring and layer
Lacing excellent – wide band of tiny to small bubbles
Body – dirty brown, opaque
Flavor – very well-blended spices, not overpowering; no malt, no hops, no alcohol, no diacetyl
Palate – medium, watery, lively carbonation

This is actually an excellent winter warmer, a style I don’t particularly care for. Unlike most that I have tried, this is not a spice bomb – the flavors are well blended and subdued. Since this is nearly two years old, I obviously can’t comment on what it was like when it was fresh, but I’m certainly willing to try this year’s batch. And that’s why I constantly try examples of styles I don’t like – sometimes I find an example of the style that I DO like – so far that’s two lagers, one marzen/octoberfest and one winter warmer.


Appearance 4, Aroma 4, Flavor 4, Palate 4, Overall 4. Rating 4, Avg 3.75, rDev +6.7%

Now to make some chex mix to eat after my daily breakfast of corn chips and salsa.

 

brown angel by clown shoes. Since it is retired i will write my review here. Nice brown color. Medium malty flavor that went down very smooth. Would be worth drinking again if i can find it again.

 

And away we go. Searching for something Pilsner for today I found this little gem which is probably the last remaining Pilsner labeled beer around here I haven't already reviewed. The brewer says this is made with honey but that must be prior to fermentation because I can't detect any post brewing sweetness that late added honey brings. The photo shows a settled head but look closely and the lacing is apparent.

Wiseacre Tiny Bomb Czech style Pilsner
4.5 ABV, 35 IBU.





Appearance: Light lemony golden yellow with white cap and classic lacing.

Aroma: Sweet malt forward with touches of bread yeast and light floral hops.

Taste: Malt forward quickly followed by floral, spicy hops. The hop influence builds to the finish and lingers in the aftertaste. Clean finish invites a repeat sip. Nicely balanced malt/hop flavors that work together rather than fighting each other for dominance.

Texture: Light medium.

Overall: The brewer calls this a Czech style Pislner and that works for me. Like many American Pilsners this one doesn't quite reach the sophistication of the Original Czech version. The elements are there but the final polish isn't as bright. Waffle House should serve this as a breakfast beer.

 

You know how you cannot resist honey? That is just how it is beer too. Cheers! =)

 

New Beer Sunday: A new collaborative Oktoberfest

Mornin' NBSers, with special greetings to all you optimistic and organized Oktoberfest seekers.

Thanks @cavedave for the thoughtful start to the day. It's always nice to think about what beer is, means and how it evolved into what we enjoy today. As usual there are a few "tough acts to follow" descriptions of beer that lead off today's NBS. Today, here, is one of those days that is a rare day when lots of things conspire and come together in my favor.

After a day of "feels like 106 degrees" with "threats of severe thunderstorms" weather here, the sky is not only sunny and clear, the temperature and humidity are back down to a comfortable level. Also, for reasons I won't detail, I'm finishing up cooking a large breakfast. While doing some of the preparation I took the luxury of having a new beer to celebrate the morning.

The new beer this morning is the Sierra Nevada-Mahr's Brau Oktoberfest. As usual my review, which is now basically finished except for possible revision during another bottle in a day or so, appears here:

https://www.beeradvocate.com/beer/profile/140/226764/?ba=drtth#review

Basically I think this is a very nice Oktoberfest that will also make some of the Uniformentarian traditionalists a bit less than happy with the beer.

According to the description provided by the brewers, they have used heritage German malts and an almost forgotten German grown Record hop in putting this one together. While it didn't have the flavors I first expected in an Oktoberfest I've decided I like it quite a bit.

The beer not only has some bready malt and floral, grassy flavors there's also a bit of spicyness to the beer (which has to come from the Record hops I think). One thing that seems to me unique about it is the balance between malt and hops is for me truely a duet of flavors with both the bready malt and the grassy, spicy hops shareing center stage together and complimenting each other in a complex interplay of flavors from start to finish. So those who favor the malts centerstage with the hops playing second fiddle off in the wings may not like this one too much.

BTW, the breakfast I'll soon be eating includes potatoe pancakes (with a bit of onion and chive mixed in), some grilled pieces (not strips) of thick cut bacon, two fried eggs over easy, all with some sour cream on the side. So now I'm off to pay close attention to this late breakfast (but not late enough to be brunch).

Cheers, all!

Note: Just realized some probably will not recognize the term "Uniformentarianism."

Uniformentaianism is a term coined by Geologists to describe the theories of those among them who strongly believe that by understanding the earth as it is now we can simply move back in time and understand what the earth was like aeons and aeons ago. Now just collapse the time scale to a human life span.

Applied to the world of beer, a Uniformentarian traditionalst is one who believes that by knowing what things, e.g., beer, are like during in our lifetime, we can also understand what things, e.g., beer, were like a generation or even a few generations ago.

 

Thanks to @cavedave for getting the thread started today! I will definitely be checking in later at least once as since I have a couple of "newbies" in the fridge from last weekends haul to choose from!

 

Ballast Point Dead Ringer Oktoberfest
6% ABV


Pours a nice dark amber/copper color with a cream colored head that disappears completely with no lacing. I'll probably have to edit my review later on, because even though I used a clean glass, perhaps there was some soap residue screwing up my beer. I rarely have this problem.

The aroma starts out with roasted malts and baked bread before getting really sweet. Melted caramel and toffee come out as expected. The back end of the aroma is somewhat earthy and a touch spicy.

The taste starts out malty and sweet, really sweet. Toffee is a little more noticeable than caramel before the middle and end of the beer get touched with cinnamon-esque spicy hops. Mouthfeel is medium, slightly dry.

Overall, my rating was somewhat low considering how tasty thus beer is and that it has all of the flavors I love in an Americanized marzen: caramel, toffee, cinnamon spiciness in the finish.

Final rating 3.73 for +1.9 rDev

 

Good day NBS afficianados! A pleasantly sunny and cool start to the day along the southern shore. It hardly feels like we're in the dog days of summer. These comfy conditions have put me in stout mode to begin my morning and nothing screams that more than one weighing in at 13%. I picked up a Prairie Birthday Bomb in my travels a couple of months ago for the 'bargain' price of $10.99 and threw it in the fridge. The hot summer weather tempered my mood for such a complex beast of a beer. Let's unleash it today, pour it in a 13oz. snifter/tulip and party like it's @aoampm 's birthday!

Pours a medium thick dark brown/nearly oily black leaving a couple of centimeters of tan foam. There are some small floaties suspended in the viscous liquid. The smell is dark roast coffee, chocolate, earthy fresh picked chili's and vanilla. Taste is a chocolatey coffee mix along with vanilla, wood, chili's and dates. The feel is oily, medium thick and sticky with a substantial but not overpowering heat from the peppers.



While this is another solid Bomb from Prairie the addition of vanilla beans makes this a little messy for me. I prefer the more straightforward coffee flavor of regular Bomb. The smell is great, but the vanilla beans seem to take over and walk all over the other flavors. The old adage of less is more immediately comes to mind. Still a solid beer that I'll purchase another single of in the future. I'll spend the rest on the 'lower' priced regular Bomb. My score was 4.21 / rDev-3.9%.

Going to savor my last few sips and listen to the birds chirping away on this peaceful morning. I'm looking forward to reading about your new beer endeavors. Have a great day. Here's the official scorecard.......

https://www.beeradvocate.com/beer/profile/30356/221289/?ba=Prager62#review

 

That is no doubt one of, if not the best Christmas beers brewed. Your assessment of it not being a spice bomb is spot on! I look forward to the subtle nuances in the recipe every year and usually try to stash one away to cellar as they age magnificently for a lower abv. beer. My local store has one magnum from last year left that I should buy. Thanks for the motivation!

 

This Pours a very attractive reddish mahogany at near room temperature with a 2 finger light tan head that settles rather quickly into a thin layer of bubbles, leaving behind little lace. 4.5 Smell is oaky, woody, dark fruit, brown sugar, vanilla, toffee, and a hint of warming alcohol. 4

Taste follows but for me much better. Oak, vanilla fig, dates, upfront with brown sugar, toffee, and some alcohol arriving in the wonderfullycomplex finish. 4.5

Mouthfeel is a solid medium, moderate carbonation, slightly creamy at this temperature, a little dry, and excellent drinkability for 10.8% ABV. 4.25

Overall this is really excellent. Thanks @jzeilinger for yet another winner. 4.25

 

A green bottle...

 

4/5 rDev +18%
look: 4 | smell: 4 | taste: 4 | feel: 4 | overall: 4

Blue Moon Belgian Table Pils has a thick, frothy, off-white head, a mostly clear, very bubbly, gold appearance, with fairly pronounced lacing left on the glass. The aroma is of honey-topped wheat bread, white bread crust, and a vibrant pungency. Taste is of sweet brown bread, spiced bread, and just a shade of hop oil. I know it has orange peel, but I never could pick it up. Mouthfeel is high medium, and Blue Moon Belgian Table Pils finishes crisp, refreshing, and incredibly drinkable. RJT

 

Good early morning NBSers! Just a quick howdy before I head in for a couple hours work, and I have at least one bottle lined up. Also, a couple breweries in town have recently dropped new brews, and I'm going to try to catch at least one. Speaking of new brews, as I mentioned last week, a local blog has asked me to start writing reviews of new brews that are released in my town, and my first two efforts are on-line. I'd appreciate it if you'd take a moment to read them, and give me some solid feedback;

#1 http://www.taptrail.com/fairhaven-stones-throw-smash-cascade/

#2 http://www.taptrail.com/bellingham-brewed-reviews-boundary-bay-galaxy-single-hop/


I've submitted #3, but it hasn't posted yet. Thanks for looking, and I'll be back later!

 

Good morning to all the NBS followers and thanks to Dave for the great start this beautiful Sunday morning here in Central NH.
We were out early for a quick walk around our usual 4 mile loop. And with the change in humidity from yesterday it made it a much more enjoyable time. We spent a little time in the garden enjoying some of the beautiful flowers that are in abundance right now. The Morning Glories are just starting to bloom.

And the rest of the garden is showing some beautiful colors as the Gladiolas are at the peak

And the rest of the garden will provide a nice backdrop for my beer for this Sunday which is Secret Stairs Boston Stout from Trillium

And now on to the review.

This beer poured black color into my Locals taster. There was a nice creamy tan head on top.
The nose of this beer shows it complexity, smooth roasted malts coming through with some nutty overtones and some hints of bitterness lingering in the end.
The taste is also complex, once again a nice roasted malt flavor with some cocoa and also some nut flavors found here also. Not a sweet stout but fairly dry with just a hint of bitterness.
The mouthfeel is smooth and dry, this is not a thick syrupy type of stout but a smooth drinking stout that's easy to finish a glass of.
This is another great beer from Trillium and I hope it ages well as I have a few more bottles in the cellar.
4.16/5 rDev -1%
look: 4 | smell: 4.25 | taste: 4.25 | feel: 4 | overall: 4

Well as I loaded the kayaks earlier this morning we're off to enjoy the rest of this beautiful Sunday doing a little paddling on the river with some friends and sharing a few more beers.

 

Looks great! I like how you combine your review with some general knowledge points for less experienced people in the first one. Also, I am glad to hear you defending the importance of appearance.

Sorry to hear about your sense of smell, though.

 

I have that one on deck, but will be at a party for most of the afternoon or I would have joined you already . Hopefully I don't get back too late...

OMG! That beer is absolutely gorgeous! There's something about that saturated mahogany brown that bocks can have, that just can't be duplicated any other way.

 

Good morning NBS and thanks as always to @cavedave for the splendid introduction.
Our work at the cemetery is complete, we continue the good fight against knotweed by the river bank. I hope Will Meyers at Cambridge Brewing scales up his Knotweed tip saison then I can drink it to extinction! Well that is a bit of a pipe dream for sure. We are headed back to Boston for a show #2 at Fenway Park with our friends from Seattle, Pearl Jam!
Today's offering from Casita Cerveceria is a bit of a delightful conundrum. The ingredients point toward a conifer experience and the shear delight of a slightly tropical, tart offering with cedar tones was quite a surprise.
Cheers all





Del Arboles

Casita Cerveceria
Saison / Farmhouse Ale

3.99/5 rDev n/a | Avg: 3.92
look: 3.75 | smell: 4 | taste: 4 | feel: 4 | overall: 4

Poured from a 375 ml bottle dated 06/22/2016 into the modified tulip glass.
A - Opaque orange blossom honey colored backdrop. Refined carbonation meanders skyward, participating in the accumulated cap of off white.
S - Aged orange, cedar plank mingles with green grape skin, young spruce forest and lightly toasted oak. A gentle coaxing from floral hops finish this aromatic experience in the tropics. Warm melon, papaya and pineapple.
T - Completely unexpected based on the ingredient list, slightly tart start, warm cedar, light grains, a touch of wheat? The conifer component is balanced well with orange and kisses from lemon.
M - Gentle on the palate, water display is soft and luxurious. The start is a bit tart, then a bit of oiliness moves in, nudging from carbonation moves through that element, leaving a sweet/tart calling card.
O - A delightful offering from Casita Cerveceria. I am struck at how pine cedar and spruce are the base for a wonderfully citrus forward offering. Well done

 

Good morning, BA! Are you ready for some football? I'm sipping this now watching the Olympics but heading to Canton later tonight for the Packers-Bears game to kick off the NFL preseason! This definitely warms you up and as I said in the overall I've had many from this line of beers and this combines the highlights of each variation into one

12oz bottle poured into a snifter
A: Pitch black with a thin brown head that quickly settles
S: Rich, complex with coffee, cocoa, chili, dark malts and toffee
T: Matches the nose. Lots of cocoa/chocolate up front followed by a fairly hefty dose of chili pepper then coffee and malts/burnt sugar to round it out
M: Full bodied, viscous, a bit spicy from the chili, only a hint of the heat is from the 12% abv
O: I've had many from the Eviltwin Jesus lineup and this combines the focuses of all of them into a concise yet complex brew
Cheers!