New Beer Sunday (week 608)

My appearance on Sundays is apparently important enough to warrant my involvement in the upcoming NBS BIF. I have enough of a crushing backlog that I CAN easily give it a pass, but my agent/publicist/co-lyricist says that I should never turn down an invite. I ONLY want new (to me) CANs & I will only ship locally available CANs, so if that negates me, so be it. I am merely throwing my hat in the ring.

 

Greetings, fellow NBSers, and thanks to @cavedave for getting us going today,

It's 50 degrees, cloudy and damp in the city perched on the right side of Washington. Like most of the PNW, it's been a rainy and blustery week. Power went off in some parts of the city but not downtown, which is close to where I live.

Just got done watching the Seahawks escape with a win over the Falcons. It would've been a pretty good game even if they fell short, but now I'm feeling pretty good about them defeating the most potent offense in the NFL.

I've only one new beer today, but it's a good'un. It's also an enormously influential beer, having been pretty much the template for the modern Saison:


https://www.beeradvocate.com/beer/profile/637/1717/?ba=woemad#review

The only criticism I can muster is that things get a little too astringent to my taste at the finish, and that's a small quibble.

I wasn't talking to the wind this last week, I was swearing at it. At least I wasn't camping in it, unlike my folks.

Have a great week!

 

Boulevard Saison-Brett

2016

This being my first Brett beer, I was not sure what to expect. But I do love a good saison, and was intrigued by the supposed increase in funk it can provide. The carbonation on the beer was quite aggressive, but I anticipated that and was able to semi-control the head on the first pour. The aroma was very inviting. The funk presents, no doubt, but blended nicely with the fruitiness and spiciness expected for the style. The taste is where this beer kinda lost me. Like I said, I'm not versed in Brett, but there was this medicinal taste that came quick on the first sip that I wasn't quite digging. It wasn't horrible, but since so little of what I picked up on the nose was coming through, it seemed like the only player. The carbonation on this beer was extremely high; as close to champagne as I have had in a beer. This actually detracted from it's drinkability for me. As the beer opened up, and some of the bubbles faded, I did find that I came around some, but it is not something I will buy again when I can get a 4pk of Tank 7 of Sorachi Ace for less than this 750 set me back. Glad I finally got to try it, though.

3.61/5

Cheers, NBS!

 

Hey what's going on?

Man a crazy day. I got back in from Minneapolis this morning and quickly headed out to a tailgate for more beer and sports.

I report it did not suck...

However, I have been up since 4 AM CST and I am starting to get a little bagged out. What a great beercation that was and foodfest!

In the meantime here's what I am starting off, and also looking at how the homebrew is doing...

Berry White Ale | Soaring Ridge Craft Brewers


Soaring Ridge Craft Brewers - Berry White Ale by imbibehour, on Flickr

Poured from the can into a Hoegaarden tumbler.

Pale golden yellow, almost brass but with a faint purple hue coming out of the can. Gusher on the open, of a big foamy fistfull head that gets a little out of control. While able to be tamed, it has big IPA like retention and a bubbly top that doesn’t budge. Large amounts of carbonation as well.

Aptly named for the aroma. Slight candy Belgian sensing sugar with a mountain/blackberry like fruit quality on the nose. Muted lemon and perhaps a touch of wheat density coming through and all nicely balanced. Quite pleasant so far.

Palate is kind of unexpected but tolerable. Grainy and slightly bitter fronted hop mouthfeel with an indistinct sort of pine like bitterness. Finishes with a hint of tart berry fruit which is quite nice. Decent body and supportive, but not much adding wheat flavor or sweetness in the mix. Slightly flour and grain malt finish, and missing the sort of light sugar and fruit quality of a witbier.

A drinkable interesting take on a witbier, but sort of goes in a bit of unexpected direction.

look: 3.5 | smell: 4.25 | taste: 3.25 | feel: 3.5 | overall: 3.25 | BA Generated Score: 3.53

---------------

 

Don't wait - drink it nownownow!

 

Greetings All from the Great Northwest where Fall is upon us. Breezy, rainy and cool this weekend, but still short of the deep frost which turns the trees.

Today we have Harvest Patch Shandy.
https://www.beeradvocate.com/beer/profile/710/129261/

Just OK in my opinion. A little too much of the 'malt beverage' flavor for my taste. I like my Fall ales with a bit more body than a shandy would be expected to render.

Until next time,

Happy Trails!

 

Hey BA, I made the beautiful three-hour drive to NW Arkansas earlier today. Once again I have my kids in tears because I have to leave for the week. It's tough for them when they're so young. Only two more weeks then I'm home for a while. After getting here I got in a good workout then grabbed some Jimmy John's for dinner. Now in flipping between baseball and football while I catch up on NBS.

My new beer today was delivered by courtesy of the BIF and @WesMantooth. (Happy Birthday and welcome to the club. I just learned the handshake last week. I can teach you later...) I'm drinking the Lambic from Rivertown Brewing. This is actually only the second lambic I've ever had, so I'm very excited. It's been in ice water for a while, so it should be cold after the journey. I recall Corey mentioning it really opened up as it warmed, so I'm going to do three pours on this one. I may be back with more as it warms, but the review for now is below.



Poured from a 22 ounce bottle into a tulip. Pours orangish/ brown almost like apple cider. There is no head and no lacing. The smell is strong oak, peach, and funk. The smell combination is actually really unpleasant to me. The taste shows a lot of barrel and stone fruit, but the sour is first and foremost in the flavor. The slightly unpleasant funk taste is underneath the sour, fruit, and oak. The mouthfeel is highly carbonated with lingering sour and oak. Overall this is a really interesting beer. Lambics are new to me and I probably need more experience with the style. After all that, I actually really enjoyed the beer and would buy it again if I had the opportunity.

 

While visiting friends for lunch today, I was treated to a Mosaic Dry Hopped PseudoSue. This is one of the two beers that I have rated 5's across the board (the other being Rochefort 10). It was murky and hazy, and the last pour had a lot of sediment in it. I must have spent several minutes admiring the look and the aroma (behavior which did not go unnoticed ) I had not noticed the degree of murkiness the first time I tried this beer, due in part to condensation on the glass resulting from a cold pour on a warm day. The "floaties" might be off-putting to some, but to me it's just another characteristic of the beer. If I had rated this less than 5 on appearance to begin with, I'd go back and change it to a 5.

And this is why I will drink Heady out of a glass if I ever get the chance.

 

Hello my fellow New Beer Sunday participants. It is a, rare, good thing that the Meteorologist was wrong - it was supposed to be rainy and stormy, instead it was a beautiful weekend here in Minnesota. Now that I'm back home after my nephew's 17th birthday celebration, it's time for a new beer

Prairie Artisan Ales Apple Brandy Barrel Noir. This beer is a sipping beer, but it doesn't feel like a high octane beer. Delicious is a good word for it. I doubt I'll have anything else tonight, but who knows. If I do, you know where I'll be.

Review
4.68/5 rDev +5.4%
look: 4.5 | smell: 4.5 | taste: 4.75 | feel: 4.75 | overall: 4.75

This beer pours very dark, pretty much pitch black. There is minimal carbonation in this beer, and no head. The nose really is strong with the smell of the barrel. You can also smell that this is a very strong beer. The taste of it is, well, for a second it didn't taste strong. There was hints of apple, then the heat from the alcohol hit. It has a rich, complex flavor, which, isn't hidden by just an overwhelming alcohol feel, or taste. This is another very delicious offering from Prairie, and a beer I highly recommend.

★ 524 characters

 

Drie Fonteinen, Oude Geuze
&
Tilquin, Oude Gueuze

These two aren't 100% new to me. I've had a decent "sample" of each... but the Tilquin I sampled was the "draught version" - which is a different beer... and a sample isn't a serving. This is certainly the first time I've properly had either beer. I'm very happy to have them together. Notice the spelling difference between these beers.

I love Michael Jackson's comment that lambics are the color of onion skin. On @cavedave 's topic of appearance, I think appearance doesn't matter much and appearance also matters tremendously... it depends on your angle. I am of the opinion that appearance influences how we perceive something tastes. When they say that we eat with our eyes first, they weren't kidding around. Why should beer drinkers act like there isn't already tons of work and thought put into this topic? When I do blind tastings, I like to use opaque vessels to hide the appearance a little. When I also say that appearance doesn't matter, there's some truth to the idea that appearance isn't necessary for our enjoyment of a beer (I've fallen in love with beers I barely saw)... but it can certainly help (or hurt) a great deal.

I felt like I was living large with these two tonight. I started with the Drie Fonteinen beer. It was wonderful. The carbonation and feel was perfect. Soft but alive. It was cheesy, funky, dry, sour, and a green apple delight. It was wonderfully complex and never mundane for a second.

The Tilquin beer felt like it started in the ballpark of the Drie Fonteinen beer but then amped certain things up. It was funkier, hoppier, and woody. This increase resulted in a decrease in drinkability. A remarkable beer in its own right but I preferred the Drie Fonteinen. Not that I want to sell the Tilquin short... I don't recall enjoying Cantillon's Gueuze as much as either of these.

 

Short entry today as I still haven't slept since my shift last night.

Captain's Daughter, by Grey Sail is a tasty DIPA that @TongoRad included in his awesome NBS BIF#4 box (well the second box anyway).



Pour was a light pale golden colour with a big soapy white head. Sticky on the glass, and decent retention.

Nose starts out with big fruity notes of orange and mango and maybe some papaya, but kind of fades as the head settles in.

Presents a nice balance initially between the sweeter fruits listed above and an acidic grapefruit bitterness before giving itself fully over to the citrus bitterness.
Soft body with decent carbonation and that lingering grapefruit tone.

I like this beer. If you are really into grapefruit you should LOVE this beer. Thank you again Michael for your generosity and for finally allowing me to try this one!

 

My only "new" beer of the day is a whopper! I was inspired to go into the depths of Chez Woody's cellar for this one, but it was worth the CaveDave-like spelunking:

https://www.beeradvocate.com/beer/profile/287/26238/?ba=woodychandler#review

 

Can Colorado swag include edibles?

 

Pours a 1/2 inch head, gone in a minute.
Nose has strange sourness that I can't quite pinpoint at the moment.
Taste is sour, real sour as in lemons, real sour lemons.
Moderately nice feel.
Overall, I will try again.



3.93/5 rDev n/a
look: 3.75 | smell: 3.75 | taste: 4 | feel: 4 | overall: 4

 

Didn't I see hop lollipops in one package? So sending hop-like plant edibles might be ok - but I wouldn't trust me for any actual "rules" on this .

 

Since there is the side topic on appearance, I'll mention that if I saw those beers in front of me, I wouldn't think Kolsch (although it could just be the photo). If the appearance doesn't meet my expectations, the beer might have to work harder to meet other expectations. There's probably a greater chance that I would be looking for ways in which the beer took a misstep - even though I can be very open-minded about styles and appearance.

 

One of my favorite DIPAS. I get alot more lingering fruit sweetness and just enough bitterness. For me it's not a grapefruit bomb although it shows for sure. I've had alot of this brew and my feeling on this one is it should be consumed as soon as possible after canning ( this is not my feeling on all IPAs). Just had one canned 10/4 last night and it was excellent.

 

Pours a large, fluffy, white head which leaves a sticky lacing after each sip. Real nice classic Brett funk on the nose. Taste follows somewhat as the hops come forward to reveal their characteristics. Not being familiar with Belma hops at all, I'm guessing they impart more on the palate than the nose as there is a flavor of almost sweet flowers and bubblegum (?) going on here! A real softness on the feel. Overall, I will definitely be picking up a couple more of these for sharing!



4.19/5 rDev +5.3%
look: 4.25 | smell: 4.5 | taste: 4 | feel: 4 | overall: 4.25

Waxy, bubblegummy, almost sticky, near the end.

To be continued...

 

Saw some bottles of odell jolly russian and picked em up post haste. I haven't seen a barrelaged stout from odell since the ba stout they released that suffered infection issues and was excited to give this a try. Ris aged in rum barrels, sounds good to me. Pretty much what I expect from them here. Beer poured black with ruby highlights, two fingers of tan head that quickly receded to a ring of sticky bubbles. Aromas of roasty malt, fudge, carmel and burned sugar waft from my tulip. Taste follows close, front is sweet malts, a little roast, followed by thick fudge and toffee that fades to boozy rum and barrel. The alcohol is hidden for the most part, and the sweetness balances well off the roast and booze.
All snobbiness aside, I wish there were more beers around like this. Its just so goddamned good.

 

Everything looked great tonight ya'll! Unfortunately not able to drink any of my beers from @SammyJaxxxx due to a weird quick cold and a shit ton of homework. Maybe try and crack one tomorrow. Cheers all!