New Beer Sunday (week 610)

If you are in the mood for a tart fruit beer then you should, it seems to me more like a summer beer so drink it while it is warm!! (the weather not the beer) Let me know what you think.

 

Hello and happy late afternoon! I think we have some serious rain moving in, because the skies are getting dark and my chow-shep is under foot (she is scared of the rain).

I have been reading the amazing reviews and reflecting on Cave Dave's question about the overall rating of a beer. I have always found it difficult to write about the overall part of the rating because I felt that I encompassed everything about the beer in the description of aroma, appearance, feel and taste. I realize now, however, that the overall description is how all those things work together to create a great drinking experience.

To add to that, there are things that I consider about my personality when I am rating a beer, and I think someone mentioned this point earlier. For example, If I am anxious, I look for something with a low ABV that I can drink to take the "edge off". If I am relaxed and settled, I may look for a stout or a porter that has a high ABV I can slowly sip. One more factor that plays into my analysis is the season. I'm definitely a seasonal drinker and I know I am not in the mood for a pilsner or a blonde this time of year!

So, maybe a person should know them self before they know a beer? Didn't Shakespeare say that?

Anyway, this is turning into a long post, so, without further adieu, let me get to my new beer . .

This beer was bought in a supermarket near Jacksonville, FL, and traveled to me by way of my parents' RV. At 6% ABV, it is smoothly drinkable.

Poured into an almost pint glass, it revealed a creamy head that only seemed to get creamier as the beer warmed. The body of the beer was a cloudy amber brown, making the slow-rising bubbles difficult to see. Lacing coated the glass with persistent retention.


The aroma was fresh, nutty, with notes of caramel. The taste followed this. Like the foamy head, the aroma and taste seemed to intensify as the beer warmed. The feel was seltzer-like, with some tingling on the tongue. It left my thirst quenched, but not my desire for another one.

Overall, this is a fun beer. I sipped it while working on an outside project, so the time span of this one almost pint was about an hour. This is how I discovered it only improved as it warmed. I also found the warming notes of caramel perfect for this time of year, as they are reminiscent of candied apples.

Until next time, cheers!

 

I agree with you with regards to this one not being a tongue lasher. really flavorful, but the mouthfeel was a bit creamy...in a great way for me.

 

Not sure what CAN you are referring too, but here in GJ CAN probably means something different.

http://www.thecannabist.co/2016/09/28/colorado-marijuana-grand-junction/64161/

Cheers!

 

Alright, here comes the second installment!



I've really enjoyed everything I've had from Great North, so I hope this is no exception. Any brewery that has a year-round canned rauchbier available in six packs is absolutely worthy of support!

Pours a kind of ruby red grapefruit juice/orange crossover color a thin and nicely-formed ring of white head. Surface is very murky and there's plenty of tension there, keeping this whole thing looking very solid in my glass. Pretty much totally opaque but with some sunburst-orange highlights peeking through if held up to natural light. Lace forms in sheets as this sips. Nice looking stuff!

Nose is, as expected, that of a very modestly-spiced witbier with a bit of background tartness from the cranberry addition. Definite orange peel and other fruity aromatics. Slight estery funk. Seems a bit thinner and less wheat-heavy than some others I've had, and it feels like they may have held back a bit on the coriander inclusion as well in order to bring out the cranberry element.

Drinks very smooth and exactly as advertised with a nice, juicy and tangy bite from the cranberries following through each sip. I really like how punchy the fruit addition is here. It doesn't feel like an afterthought by any means, and some subtle notes of citrus and herbal hops, along with the trademark Belgian yeast, allow this to come together gracefully. Feel is low-to-medium bodied with the requisite moderately-bubbly carbonation that witbiers typically have. Malt body is appropriate, so my fear of the dumbing-down of the wheat malt base that I thought I detected in the nose has been decidedly allayed.

Some new dark Finnish-born death metal to obscure your Sunday evening in a black morass of decrepitude... enjoy!

 

That sweet spot for well hopped beers sounds pretty familiar. I've been buying a fresh case of Nugget Nectar every year for about 8 years now. On that one I find the sweet spot to be between 2 and 6 weeks. Before 2 weeks and there's a bit of harshness showing. After 6 weeks some of the hop flavors have faded enough that it doesn't quite have that clarity of flavor that I like so much.

 

Good day NBS friends! Please excuse me if this post comes off less coherent than my usual ramblings. I woke up at 3:30am to venture into Chicago to run the Hot Chocolate 5k. It's been a few years since I ran it in Chicago, so I decided to give it a go. I forgot how popular this race was drawing around 30k people, so it was quite the wake up navigating the mob. Race conditions were near perfect with cloudy and cool temperatures, but the stiff north wind was a bit of a factor. The couch with some ice on the legs and a beer in hand is feeling really good right now! Let's move on to the choice.....

A bomber of Three Floyd's Lazer Snake IPA that I purchased a couple of weeks ago. The smudged bottle date appears to read 9/26/16, there's no abv. listed on the label, but says it's a good old fashioned IPA brewed with Bavarian hops. Sounds interesting, let's check it out.

Pours a dark gold with an amber tint leaving a finger of creamy white lingering foam. A bit of lacing is left in it's wake. The smell is grapefruit and orange zest, heavy floral, spice, sweet malt. Taste is grapefruit zest and spicy floral notes along with a peppery cracker taste. There is a very hearty malt finish. The feel is creamy and thick and reminds me a little of their Apocalypse Cow.



As Three Floyd's IPA's go this is good, but not their best in my opinion. It leans more on the floral and malty side versus the dank juicy hops I'm accustomed to. The feel makes it quite filling as well. Worth a look if you're able to snag it, otherwise don't fret. My score is 3.94 / rDev -0.8%.

Going to relax this tired ass, watch some football and hopefully stay awake to see if the Cubs can at least prolong what I perceive is the inevitable. A great season, but the kids are looking overmatched right now.



They've obviously been neglecting their own advice in this series!



Hoping for another one of these, if not, a tip of the cap to the Tribe. It's well deserved! Have a great Sunday. Here's the official scorecard......

https://www.beeradvocate.com/beer/profile/26/214481/?ba=Prager62#review

 

Woody, I have always enjoyed our articles in the Ale Street News.

I took note that in the Oct/Nov issue it was titled "Woody Passes the Baton". I will miss your musings but I also look forward to reading what Bryon Kolesar has to say.

Cheers!

Jack

 

That was almost Dr. Seuss like!

Cheers!

 

Thanks again to @thebeers and the fun round of NBS MWK, I never thought I'd have a chance to get my hands on a Hill Farmstead brew but the generosity of BAs here is awesome.
Brasserie De Blaugies - Hill Farmstead La Vermontoise
Saison Farmhouse Ale 6%, 750 ml bottle
A loud pop of the cork and just a little gushing, poured a lovely pale gold, with a huge white pillow of a head, smells of earthy grains, floral notes and the expected slight funkiness. Taste follows nicely, a peppery, dry bitterness on the tongue, very light feel and an easily drinkable beer. Glad to have had the opportunity, thanks Arthur!

 

Back for 2nd New Beer of the day this time digging deep into the cellar for this one.
New American Barleywine Sunday
Uinta Anniversary Barleywine

I actually bought this in Cable Bev. about 8 months ago and have been lucky that it aged so well

4.22/5 rDev +9.6%
look: 4.5 | smell: 4.25 | taste: 4 | feel: 4.25 | overall: 4.5

From the cellar
12oz bottle into Libbey Tulip
Bottled 1/7/13 (3 yrs 9 months old)
L- dark brown almost black, with tints of red, thick tan head that is here to stay, leaving gorgeous rings of lacing
S- sweet enticing malt, sweet dark fruits such as dates & figs, caramel and incredibly some hop bitterness as well
T- rich chocolate malt, the dark fruit on the linger, with a spicy finish that has the a slight (expected) oxidation
F- rich and full bodied, heavy carbonation, drinking exceptionally smooth without a trace of the 10.4% alcohol
O- this beer has aged incredibly well, as mentioned in the feel drinking real smooth, only slight trace of oxidation, will definitely make an effort to seek this one out again

Cheers!

 

New Beer Sunday: A New Saison (with a CA tweak).

Afternoon NBSers with special salutations to all you seekers of special Saisons.

Well the weather here has been unseasonably warm but we may have some rain moving in tonight to change all that. This morning, after making a trip to the gym and then running a few errands I did a quick inspection of the new concrete slabs that were just poured for the patio and they seem to be curing as they should. (He says as if he knew what he was talking about. )

After lunch I settled in to do some miscellaneous housekeeping on the lap top in preparation for working on a new consulting gig and spent a lot of time watching some football and taking notes for a review. After tiring of football I'm taking a break now in anticipation of the Eagles-Cowboys game this evening. These two teams have a pretty serious rivalry going on so it should be interesting to watch even if the odds makers are giving the Cowboys a slight edge.

Using this break time to pull together and finish my review of a new Saison called Dolores that comes out of CA from the Almanac Beer Co. They take a bit of pride in how they have tweaked the beer and also in using at least some locally grown ingredients (e.g., some wheat).

My review, based on notes taken during commercial breaks, is mostly finished now that I've almost finished the bomber, can be found here:

https://www.beeradvocate.com/beer/profile/24940/132380/?ba=drtth#review

This is a bit of an unusual Saison in that it includes some rye in the grain bill and is dry hopped. I definitely enjoyed this beer for its differences from the normal as the flavors and aromas are complex with the rye, touches of fruit and citric zest that all end dry with a bit of white pepper and hop bitterness on the back of the palate.

Since @cavedave asks about ratings, I'll say up from that I don't try to rate to style as I give a slightly different interpretation to the Bros request that we review with the style in mind. For me that means that I don't ding an 11% Imperial Stout for not having a thick frothy head with lots of lacing, etc., but if I like it's looks compared to others I've tried it scores fairly well. My personal biases do come into play but the more I review the more I'm aware of them and take steps to deal with them.

I don't worry much about not using 3s as a personal average since I learned many years ago on a professional project that the only time 3 would be the expected mean is when there is a normal distribution of the "real" scores. No way that is happening on a site like this or with most rating systems in general. (Effectively the real mean is what we say it is through our collective ratings.)

I'd say my reviews have gotten better with practice as I've established an anchor point to use for each rating category for each of several styles and that anchor point is my average score. (Which is actually the way most ratings systems actually work. )

Since I thought today's new beer a bit unusual but I still enjoyed it, the beer has done fairly well in my ratings. Also, with an "unusual" Saison named Dolores, I thought it might be nice to have some unusual music by a woman named Dolores.

Dolores

Cheers, all!

 

Why thank you. Hopefully I can get a few in before they go brown .

 

Good evening BA. Got one side of the roof shingles today, starting to look like a house.



The label for this brew started floating around on the internet a little over a year ago and it finally came out of the barrels last weekend. Foundation Dark Side Corruption. A barrel aged dark ale weighing in at 10.8% ABV.



The pour is a rich brown, bordering on black, red Brown edges when heald against the light. It boasts a frothy foamy beige two finger head that hangs around and sticks to the glass leaving awesome lacing, especially for the ABV.

Aroma is big robust oak and toasty toffee, lighter notes of vanilla, chocolate, and coffee.

The taste leads with coffee and chocolate, warming alcohol and oak develop, then fade with bitter tannins, where the vanilla, dates, and raisins come to fruition. There is more in there too.

Mouthfeel is a little thin, carbonation is light and bright, and the finish is quite dry from the tannins.

This is a big rich and hearty brew. It holds nothing back, unwavering in its complexity and brutish in its strength and alcohol. It is a bit boozy, the alcohol is not hidden, but I think it's within reason. Other than that it is dann near excellent. Definitely worth a try if you like strong ales or quads or big barrel character.

Cheers!
Marc

 

Thanks, @Wasatch! You actually made my day. There's still a lot of East Coast beers I haven't tried, including some brewed less than 30 miles away. But man, that Alaska stout is good!

 

Ballast Point Habanero Sculpin, 7% ABV, 70 IBU. Pours medium viscosity, cloudy orange, with three finger white head, leaves decent foamy lacing. Nose is malt, pine, and peppers. Taste is piney bitterness, closely followed by a habanero bite. OK mouthfeel, and overall decent. I am not a big IPA fan, and this is hotter than I expected, but hey I knew it was a habanero IPA going in. We don't get Ballast Point here in South Dakota yet, but they have a lot of beers I want to try, so well worth the short drive across the border to Minnesota.

 

Greetings from middle Tennessee where it looks like a beautiful fall day with great colors but feels like late summer with temps in the high 80's. It's been a great day, starting with a brew session this morning. The brew went smoothly, with my buddy diligently checking the mash temp and the propane reserve:


Today's new beer is a black IPA from Neshaminy Creek - a new brewery to me:



look: 4.25 | smell: 4.25 | taste: 4 | feel: 4.25 | overall: 4.25

This was a very nice-looking beer. Nearly opaque dark drown on the pour, producing a really thick light tan head. The foam demonstrated tremendous staying power and left some nice tracks. This is a pic about 4 minutes after my first pour:

I always close my eyes when I smell black IPAs in order to really get the hops. There were bright aromas with pine, lemon, tangerine, orange, and a hint of brown bread. The beer was sharply bitter on the first sip, but not harsh. There was a slight roasty note at the beginning, which quickly yielded to grapefruit pith, lemon, and pine needles. A nice creamy mouthfeel, reminiscent of a NEIPA. All in all, I generally don't like this style, but this is one of the best examples that I have tasted. Cheers, all!

 

I completely agree with you on NN!! And when it starts to drop off in week 6, it goes quickly downhill.

 

I've only had the beer twice but to me that was a perfect assessment of that brew.

 

Well Hadn't read your take before I posted mine but I totally agree. Also your take on age is something I completely agree with. I find many IPAS to be better with some age to blend the flavors and tame some of the "hot hops" Well said.