New Beer Sunday (week 605)

Howdy and happy NBS to everybody.

The leaves are starting to change and the weather's getting cooler here. It's definitely a nice change. And as a result I have definitely found myself enjoying stouts a little more than I had been. Nonetheless for this week's thread I am going to give a proper review to something that I had a little sip of a few summers back.

This is a beer that I have had a taste of once before when it was just called Saison fleurs. I had a 2 oz pour of at a beer festival a couple years ago and loved it. So I am excited to finally have a chance to try it sober, it in a bottle (not me, the beer), with the time to really enjoy it and pick it apart. Also, this is indeed a different beer. The flowers in this one are different and obviously the recipe has evolved since then.



All that said, it is a 'Flower Saison' brewed with wild flowers (sureau, framboise et berce*) from the Gaspesie region of Eastern Quebec and honey from an apiary near their brewery.
*Elderberry, raspberry and Cow parsnip(?!)

The flowers came from here:


Now on to the important stuff.






It isn't the most beautiful beer in the glass, but it has a nice color and almost retains a head. The aroma starts off sweet, earthy and vegetal but as it warms up it really 'blooms' (*pa dum tiss*). Lots of floral and honey sweetness come out. Honeysuckle, clovers, herbal tea, the slightest hint of tartness. The flavor is along the same lines, but much sweeter and doughier. The yeast is actually a little much for me in this one. It isn't stopping me from drinking it, but if the taste was a little lighter on its feet I would probably rate it a little higher. All-in-all this is a good beer. Dunham makes some great saisons. Good enough that I might opt for other ones over this one, but it is nothing to sneeze at, either. It may not have lived up to my memory, but I drank the whole thing and it sure did quench my thirst!

Anyway, enough rambling, I hope you all are having a great Sunday!



Cheers!



Here is my real review.

 

Greetings all,
Nice send-off by Maria once again! No beer today, but I'd love to try those Pennsylvania Oktoberfests- Straub, Sly Fox, and Lancaster. Genesee Altbier looks very nice.
No beer today, but here's a quote that I have rediscovered. From Vladimir Nabokov.
"Unless a film of flesh envelops us, we die. Man exists only insofar as he is separated from his surroundings. The cranium is a space-traveler's helmet. Stay inside or you perish. Death is divestment, death is communion."
I know and feel this viscerally, but I'm not sure explaining it would be so simple.
Have a great day out there in NBS land, east and west, north and south, and check out" Yuge" by Garry Trudeau.

 

First new beer today comes from the land of @gopens44, and is courtesy of him:



https://www.beeradvocate.com/beer/profile/41018/223064/?ba=woemad#review

Apparently one needs to travel to Richmond, VA, for a NE style IPA with a more bitter, PNW style backbone. I could drink this all day, and man, would I be drunk at the end of it. The Veil is the real deal!

Saw this via a friend on fb, and cannot now unsee it. This is the weirdest shit I've seen for some time, and I'm a Spokaneite who's spent a lot of time in Detroit and on the internet! Seriously, wtf was up with the 70s?!

 

Great description Doc! And for what it's worth, I thought she was a pretty beer.

 

I need to ask the Bros. how to award 5 "likes" for the first ever use of "Stretch Armstrong" innards as a scent description.

 

Everybody's saying saline rinse. I am assuming that is another way of saying neti pot, which was going to be my suggestion.

I did my last one last Sunday. Yours looks much bigger, greener and happier than mine did.

 

Cool enough in southern CT with the breeze to justify the fire pit. Finally picked up 12th of Never.

This is a hoppy one. Head is pretty nice in the picture. It faced to about 1/8" but made all the way to empty glass. The carbonation actually works well with this beer. Lots of mouth bubbles pushing that bitterness around.
Citrus rind comes to mind.
Nice light gold color. Super dry finish as one would expect. Nice beer and only 5.5% ABV.

I know my comments above are slightly unorganized but what's with Lagunitas new marketing by means of word blabber. Maybe some English teachers like it but to me either the marketing copy writers are drunk on the job or they employ an infinite number of monkeys typing and use anything resulting that looks like English. I don't get it but I'm not a word person. Beer's still good though.

 

Both those are awesome!! They make (made, I don't know if they are anymore) a version of fierce with yuzu, absolutely amazing!

 

In the precious few nights I've had off of late (a combination of loading my schedule a certain way to facilitate the trip I am currently on and picking up a bunch of extra shifts while we've got a favourable compensation package until our new contract is negotiated has left me with precious few opportunities to get out into the city) I've been doing research and collecting specimens for the 4th incarnation of the NBS BIF.
In the course of said research, I found myself at Cloudburst Brewing, one of the darlings of the current Seattle scene. While there I picked up a howler of Glitter Pop IPA (they only do prefilled, and that was what they had available the night I was there). I had intended to send this along as part of the BIF package, but two factors precluded me from doing so. First, as much as Cloudburst have earned a monumental level of faith as to the quality of their product, I'm always hesitant to send out a representative of my city without having tasted it first. So I wanted to have had it before I sent it along. And second (and most importantly), it simply didn't fit in the preliminary package I sent off. So instead I brought it to Texas with me to help celebrate my little brother hitting the quarter-century mark!
As to the second point, there is no further resolution, but as to the first point, I feel pretty confident that my target would have enjoyed the brew had I sent it east.


(apologies for the vertical orientation)

Glitter Pop pours a murky opaque pale gold that seems in line with the theme that seems to get the kids all excited these days. Reminds me of a paler shade of apricot. White head is prim and cut and settles not into a recessive ring, but just kind of a net-like layer over the entire top. Lacing turns out better than I'd anticipated.

Nose jumps out immediately like fruit bursting forth from a golden cornucopia. Mango and melon and tropical fruit goodness. On pouring I swear it gave whispers of blackberry, but I may just be smelling what I wanted to hear. Fantastic.

Taste does not burst forth with the enthusiasm and pomp presented by the nose, but instead leads in with a soft blush of apricot that blossoms into a melange of pastel colours one blending into the other. The final blossom brings forth a pithy bitterness that carries us through the finish and stands staunchly astride the tongue as the rest fades to memory.

Lighter bodied, and with a jubilant carbonation befitting its joyful exuberance, this is another fantastic creation from Cloudburst. While just under 7% isn't some 'lite' edition, it's not especially high either, and there is nothing to suggest alcohol in the feel or the flavour, but I surprisingly find my head holds a little more weight when it turns, though I may not have eaten enough before starting my drinking. By the bottom of the glass the sweetness starts to wear on me, but that's the only thing that precludes larger volumes from disappearing more quickly.



My little brother took us out two-stepping last night (as one is wont to do when one is in Texas), and the band played this tune, reminding me how much I enjoy it, even if country is a genre that does not favourably move the needle for me.

Cheers!

 

Happy New DIPA Sunday!

Sad day in baseball!

Pretty sunny day here on the Western Slope, low 60s, colorful. Having a pretty tasty brew today, always a joy to have something new from this brewery. Thinking I should have opened it at least 3 weeks ago.

https://www.beeradvocate.com/beer/profile/147/239085/?ba=Wasatch#review

Cheers!

 

Pours black with small one finger head. On the aroma I get mostly dark chocolate, and dark roast coffee. The flavor is largely dark chocolate cocoa powder in front with a nice bitter coffe finish that plays really well with the sweetness. Overall it isn't my favorite stout but I'm glad I gave it a try.
4.1 overall rating

 

Schell's Oktobertfest, 5.5% ABV, 25 IBU. Pours thin and orange, with four finger off-white head, and OK lacing. Nose is sweet malt, caramel, and a touch of alcohol. Taste is malt, sugary sweetness, caramel, a bit of grassiness, and a slight bitter close. Excellent mouthfeel with perfect carbonation. Very drinkable, overall excellent.

 

Hi everyone. And thanks Maria for a great opening review of day. My NBS contribution is Mother's Milk, a Milk Stout brewed by Keegan Ales of Kingston, New York. Going back a ways, I had family in Ulster County so I was excited when Keegan began distributing in New Jersey. Unfortunately, I was a little disappointed. The appearance is fine; the smell is okay if a little subdued. The taste has an oddly bitter finish that is inconsistent with the sweet cream. Here's my review (and I'm happy to say I'm able to cut and paste again!).

3.79/5 rDev 0%
look: 4 | smell: 3.75 | taste: 3.75 | feel: 4 | overall: 3.75

"Batch #217 16." Poured into stout glass. It pours nearly black, with dark cola hues when held to the light, and one finger of creamy, khaki-colored head and lacing with nice retention. It smells of roasted malt, cream, dark chocolate and strong coffee. The taste juxtaposes sweet cream with burnt coffee grounds. There is also a subtle taste of baker's chocolate. It finishes surprisingly bitter. This stout is moderately bodied and fairly creamy, lightly carbonated, and the ABV of 6% gives it some substance. Overall, it is a decent milk stout but too bitter at the finish for my taste. It would be interesting to try it on nitro. Given the choice, I'd prefer Left Hand's or one of the English-brewed Milk Stouts.

 

Boundary Bay Octoberfest, courtesy of @beertunes. Hat courtesy of Janet at Boundary Bay.

This isn't listed on BA, so until I get it so and do a review, I'll just say this is hitting all the right buttons for the style. Thanks to Terry and Janet for getting it to me!

 

Now up more Tired Hands beer and watching the Eagles. Added the first review for Indivduation: Florid, very gueuze like, kind of feel like it is somewhere between Cuvée René and Cantillon Gueuze. Tired Hands has all of this hype with their canned IPAs but I feel that their bottles should receive the same hype!

4.43/5 rDev +1.4%
look: 4.25 | smell: 4.25 | taste: 4.5 | feel: 4.5 | overall: 4.5

750 ml bottle poured into a teku

A- A hazy golden orange with a three finger white head.

S- Sour, oaky, barnyard funk, light fruits/pears, nice earthy spice, some malts. It smells like a Gueuze.

T- Lemons, sour for a saison it not too intense, oak, nice barnyard funk, some earthy spice, light fruits and touch of wheat

M- Smooth, crisp, dry, light.

O- This is a blended Saison, but it is very gueuze like. Really hope is ends up hitting the shelf as much as Ourison. Very tasty and easy drink, I would say this would hold its own against some well blended gueuzes, highly recommended.

 

Super, super review. Thank you! I'm already looking for this on Beer Menus. I'm really impressed with some of Genny's seasonal offerings. It used to be just the cream ale, Bock, and 12 Horse around here but the Salted Caramel was great!

 

New Festbier Sunday
This is a beer from my NBS BIF #4 MWK box from @ovaltine and it is a good one

4.24/5 rDev +5%
look: 4 | smell: 4.25 | taste: 4.25 | feel: 4.25 | overall: 4.25

Canned 8/24/16

Pours a slightly opaque dark copper. Decent sized, dark tan, thicker soapy head. It didn't last long, but there it does retain a fine ring.

Smells very malty. A lot of darker bread, earthy yeast, and rye. Almost has some rye whiskey like notes. Some lot of spicy, floral smelling hops.

A good amount of rye kick up front in both flavor and feel. There is a solid malted grains taste throughout. I would call it a dark toast. Very nice amount of grassy/floral hops. It is similar to Noble, but with more kick. Some lingering yeast flavor and maybe a baking spice like cloves.

Went down pretty easy for a 16 oz beer. Body is not too heavy for all the malt is offers.

I have seen some mixed reviews, and I will admit that is is a bit of a different take on a Marzen, but it doesn't come across as overly sweet/caramel like many American styles. I would gladly add this to my short list of non imported Oktoberfests.


Below are some pics from this week. I went to Jackie O's on Thursday. Picked up a new sour that I had last night. After some good reviews from the rest of the party I am going to throw one in to my BIF box along with some Columbus Brewing items

 

I'm having one more because I'm apparently a little stupid.

Champion Fruit Less



Hazy, orange and sporting about 1/2" of off white head.

Onion, garlic and some tangerine followed up by some sweetness when I take a good whiff of it.

Very much garlic to start that fades off into a weird rubber orange peel cilantro thing. I'd bet this thing is fairly polarizing.

Body starts off a little syrupy and then thins out a bit. Aftertaste is very much bitter with some hint of grapefruit lingering.

 

Pours a very attractive bright yellow, with a 2 inch fluffy white head that leaves loads of lace. Bottled on 7/23/16, poured near room temperature, and 7.5% ABV. 4.25

Smell is clove, biscuit, banana, bubble gum, with hints of chilli peppers, and sage. 4

Taste follows clove, banana, bubblegum upfront, with a little spicy peppers, sage, and biscuit in the very pleasant finish. 4

Mouthfeel is above medium, fairly moderate life, a little dry, and excellent drinkability for its complexity. 4


Overall this is a really nice Belgian Strong Ale, that really has a lot to offer and this is not my favorite style. 4

 

Thanks for the great review! I'm going to be in North Carolina next weekend and will look for this. You're fortunate to get the distro now. Fortunately, both my kids live in NC and I expect a big load of Wicked Weed and Old Hickory beers at Thanksgiving.