New Beer Sunday (week 602)

Greetings All from the Northwest.

Today we have a cream ale from Bridgeport, cleverly named "Cream Ale."
https://www.beeradvocate.com/beer/profile/43/222826/

A nice easy drinking variation on the style, with wheat malt and oat flakes in the brew. It's given me an idea for a recipe change on one of my spring brews. I'll give it a try in January.

So this weekend we pause to recognize the fruits of our labor so to speak. Apples in the picture are from the back yard orchard. They won blue ribbons at the local community fair this weekend. Good year for apples, and a pretty good year for beer, so far. I'm starting to look around for red ales, ambers, Oktoberfests. The season is changing.

Until next time,

Happy Trails

Trails!

 

Good evening NBS, hope everyone is enjoying the middle on the holiday weekend. Thanks to @cavedave for getting us started this morning. Not much going on here, just did a bit of mountain biking yesterday and had some work reports due that I submitted on Friday. Been a while since I posted a milestone in NBS itself, but it just so happens that today is one of them.

New beers:

Nice adjunct lager. Aromas and flavors of lightly tart lime, sea salt, cracker, corn, biscuit, and light herbal/grassy hops. Minimal bitterness and light lime tartness on the finish. Light-medium bodied; fairly grainy mouthfeel, light salinity and lime acidity. Fairly crisp and dry. Pretty clean lagering, a touch yeasty. Refreshing with a nice amount of flavor for the 4.5%. 3.68


This was excellent! Aromas and flavors of big tart lemon, lime, passion fruit, guava, tangerine, grapefruit, orange peel, hay, straw, musty funk, and pepper; with light-moderate wheat/crackery malts; and floral/grassy hop earthiness. Moderately sour and spicy yeast finish. Light-medium bodied; crisp and dry; acidic and lightly grainy in the mouthfeel. Really impressive complexity, similar level of some Gueuze I've had in the past; but I know this is unblended, like all of the "Spontan" series. Nice level of sourness without being puckering. 4.1


Excellent saison! Huge head and thick lacing. Lots of carbonation as it should be. Aromas and flavors of big lemon, orange peel, pear, apple, and peppercorn yeast; with light-moderate wheat/crackery malts; herbal/floral/grassy hop and yeast earthiness. Spicy yeast finish with slight yeast tartness; light-medium bodied; very crisp and dry; light grainy wheat creaminess in the mouthfeel. Highly drinkable and refreshing for 6.1%. I am actually surprised they properly went about carbonating this beer to style levels with bottle conditioning, even with the regular stubby bottles. Very impressive. 4.06


Review 4600. This was crazy! Insane head retention/lacing for a beer of this ABV. It lasts the entire damn glass. Aromas and flavors of huge dark chocolate, cocoa, coffee, fudge brownie, molasses, bourbon, vanilla, coconut, toasted oak, and dark bread; with lighter notes of raisin, prune, date, licorice, tobacco, soy sauce, smoke, and char. Moderate roast/char bitterness and bourbon/oak spice on the finish. Huge full body; balanced creamy/silky/slick and sticky/chalky roast malt mouthfeel. Drying finish from boozy bourbon/oak and chalky roast malts. Very warming but a smooth slow sipper. Wow, this is just insane. I am amazed at the amount of complexity that is opening up as it reaches room temperature. Lots of barrel, but also a shit ton of malt to back it up; so it doesn't become too dry on the bourbon notes. Never cloying or astringent. Glad I have another bottle, will definitely be getting more come next Spring! 4.53


Cheers, have a good night NBS

 

Well, the sun is low but not down so...
Good Evening NBS Faithful!
I've been enjoying some cool breezes for a change. But it still broke into the 80's today, with some pretty intense sun also. But, thankfully we had SOME clouds today. Don't get me wrong. My mama didn't raise no fool!!! September is our hottest month, and I'm sure summer has some serious heat still to come.

Well as many of you have heard the interwebs are quite abuzz with the long awaited NBS BIF #4 Monkeys with Knives.
I for one, am giddy. Can't wait. Can't wait. Can't wait!!!

Did I mention that I CAN'T WAIT?!?!?

A chance for a glorious circular firing squad, with beer as ammo.
I swear this idea was forged in the heavens.

Today, I had the good fortune of cracking another great beer sent to us by BIFer extraordinaire @SammyJaxxxx
IdonteverwanttoBU! by The Veil Brewing

Canned 07/26/16

Pours a deep, hazy, overripe peach hue with a somewhat lackadaisical forthy white cap that rises slowly, swirling to 2 fingers high, and then slowly recedes to a half a cm or so. Sticky, icky lacing grabs the glass like a long loss love. (I know that last one was cheesy, but...).
Aroma is actually malt forward with a jump outta the gate with orange blossom honey and a biscuity note following. Then a gentle resin saunters forth, followed by some pine, and a sweet floral orange. Ever so subtle allusions to some alcohol warmth come through ever so slightly. As it warms, I also find some stoney apricot and peach notes. A lot of beauty here.
Mouthfeel is nice and full, but slick and almost oily at times. All good to me. Mild carbonation tapers off slowly. Overall, I really like this one. Now that I read the label, I see 9.3%. Well, I would've guessed lower. So smooth. I'd hit this every week if it were a local.
Highly recommended!!!

 

Wow, great pics as always, Jim. I wish you and yours many more weeks of mild moderation in weather. I know those winters can be rough up near the Shore.

 

Hello all! My duties as taxi-driver dad are overwith and now I can take the time to enjoy a beer (or two ).

It's been a busy weekend so far, but I'm still happy to add another day to it. Yesterday my son and I took a chance that the weather would improve, bagged the Star Trek Convention, and headed to Action Park, a water park a little less than an hour and half from me. We had a fantastic day; and I think the beer gods were telling me to stick with the family stuff. I did keep an eye out for any new growlers to bring home from along our journey, but the timing was just all wrong. Oh well, at least I still have a backup plan in the beer fridge-


Fort Collins Oldwyn, Olde English Style Ale.

I was attracted to this with the hopes that it could be a real sleeper- these kind of beers can be among my favorites as long as they are in their purest form and not messed with too much. Since there is no mention of a barrel or other nonsense on the label, I consider that a big plus.

So, now that the surprisingly dense head has settled down, what's going on under it? Not what I expected at all. This is no malt monster. It's tart and smells of cherries, leather and marigold plants (catty). We have an infected beer here, folks.

The taste is coarse and tart, full of conflicting elements. A big horrible clash. No need to go any further...

C'est la vie! I have no other new beers for today, sadly, but I think I'll just head on over to WBAYDN and have some fun with steins.

 

I passed this one up on the shelves numerous times. I couldn't wrap my head around Anderson Valley not conforming to the trend of a light colored summer seasonal in a race to out hop the others, or infuse a wheat ale with citrus rind, or gose (which to their credit they do plenty of in their other offerings).

The color belies that this is an easy drinking and light. It's definitely a unique take on a summer beer. A few of my favorite beers all year are winter warmers due to come out in a couple months or less. Caramel, spice, creaminess. A.V. Summer Solstice is faintly reminiscent of that style, but admittedly an average substitute (at best) for the real thing.

Not a great beer, but good. Higher marks to Anderson Valley for the novelty of trotting this style out in the summer than for the beer attributes itself.

 

Count me in for the BIF.

And here's a new one for me, a saison brewed by an Austin-area brewery I only recently learned about -- Oddwood Ales:




Oddwood's saison is sour, sweet and earthy with lemon/lemon peel and a generic sugary sweet note dominating. It's as clear as water, stunningly clear, and the aroma is fantastic. Lots of sweetness in it, strawberry and cherry candy sweet. The flavor has a cough syrup aftertaste at times, but it doesn't ruin the whole deal ... it doesn't seem to ruin the upfront flavor notes of lemon peel and tart cherries.

The review:
https://www.beeradvocate.com/beer/profile/37083/141489/?ba=Premo88#review
3.93 (-5.3% rDev)

Cheers!

 

Now things are taking a turn for the noir! I have pseudo-Great Uncle Raymond, Pops & Akashic Books to thank for:

https://www.beeradvocate.com/beer/profile/22844/182462/?ba=woodychandler#review

 

Busy, wonderful day. Seeing lots of great posts, and amid the chaos that is my beer drinking life, a moment to share some thoughts...

Tonight as we unwind, I dip into my mini cellar and - 'Old Embalmer' Barleywine Ale (2014) from Widmer Brothers' 30 Years/30 Beers series:



A Barleywine Ale that pours an Amber (15+) plus with a semi loose ecru cap that disappeared quickly leaving a slick thin top; spotty lace; excellent clarity. 4.0



Sweet caramel candy nose, and wet hops? 4.0

Caramel candy with bitter hop bite; some booze on the exhale; bitter hop finish after 2 years?! 4.25

Medium lite mouthfeel with a bitter bite on tip of tongue (alcohol?); moderate minus carbonation and a lite resinous tongue coating. 4.0

Overall, still hoppy and the bitterness presence counter balances the malt base...reminds me of a smoothed out, weaker, well balanced DFH 120 that has had a few years (and without the gravitas) on it. A quirky hoppy barleywine...I like! 4.25

Cheers!

 

Yep, you've had It before, in that box I sent when they first started bottling (and probably at fests as well) . I threw it in largely for ballast purposes. FWIW, they've subtly tweaked the recipe a bit, per Greg Brandt, one of the owners/brewers. I think the juiciness up front has a bit more pop to it than earlier versions.

 

And it's time for LATE NIGHT NBS...

Lawdy Lawd, I'm back for a second. That's a bit rare for me due to the fact that I'm usually finishing lesson plans/paperwork/torture plans for our future on Sunday nights. "It's all for the children."

Anyway, I'm grateful again to Mr New Jersey, @SammyJaxxxx who took it upon himself to give me a chance to become with a brewery that I've heard our very own @cavedave chime in on.
Rushing Duck's CFKM (Consumer Friendly Keg Mover) I love the name.

Pours a hazy, straw colored swirl of bubbles and a tad of chunkage. Was going to mark appearance down for some of this, but then I saw what happened with the tight white cap of foam. And the sticky lacing that followed. This is going to be interesting.

A bright, floral lemon aroma pounces first. It then goes in a slightly tart yeasty direction, then comes back around with peach cobbleresque sweetness that immediately surrenders to the citrus/yeast melange. First impression was quite good, but the yeast is a slight distraction for me.

Taste is quite the nice mix of an earthy bread, slight peppery note, and some more of the bright citrus. As I continue to drink, I pick up a very pleasing peach skin type of taste that kinda hovers mid tongue. I'm searching for descriptors to be more detailed, but...to no avail. Finishes on the drier side.

Mouthfeel is one of the great surprises here. This "Hoppy Lager" is actually pretty chewy. I enjoy the mild heft it brings. Also, finishes a bit slick.

Overall, she might not be too pretty at first. But, the sticky lacing was carried like a tiara. My own personal bias would like to have slightly less yeastiness in the profile.

 

Happy NBS everyone. It is nice to have a NBS that preceded a NWM (No work Monday)

I have to thank the great and overly generous BA @smanson56 For this one. CC Hunahpu


Here's my review:
A 2016 bottle courtesy of @smanson56

A: Pours dark and thick with a finger's width of light brown head.
S: Cinnamon and cocoa
T: Plenty of bitter chocolate and toasty coffee. The cinamon hovers. In the background throughout. The chillin become more pronounced as it warms. There are hints of tobacco that seem to come and go. There is some vanilla but it gets displaced by the heat. There is a taste of prune throughout.
MF: thick and chewy. The cinamon and peppers leaves lingering burn. Tobacco tastes lingers as if one was smoking a fine cigar.
O: fantastic beer. A great toasty stout that has a plethora of flavors competing for your taste buds. So we'll done.