New Beer Sunday (week 612)

Good morning New BSers! @cavedave, excellent idea about the new style NBS - just give lots of lead-time to find one! I won't be joining you today because I'm working my way through a cold and can neither taste nor smell much. So today, like yesterday and tomorrow, will be filled with old standbys and not any new stuff. Prosit!

 

"Say what you want, just say you love me!" - (song lyrics) Good morning @cavedave . If what turns you on is beer good morning. I got beer.

I got lotsa beer.

 

Good morning and thank you @cavedave for getting this ball rolling today. I just came from WBAYDN where they cooked up a storm yesterday. This year I am teaching my son cooking. You know, as fun as doing something is, it's also a lot of fun to show someone else how to do it. =) Anyway I am keeping my weight down by doing all that walking back and forth and today I am ready for my new beer! The holidays are on the way and it's time to get jiggy with some food and beer!

Today I have Ithaca Beer's Midnight Sun! If they didn't surprise me in the aisle with this one. I love the name because I never sleep and do lots of things in the middle of the night. I think it's wonderful that they are showing up with a black lager to go with their helles lager that they just made. When we talk about tasting and reviewing, one question that always comes up is how do I differentiate seemingly minute differences between beers so that all my beer does not come out with the same score? The answer is you do that with a review. The category where you notice even the subtlest thing is the place to tick up or down as excellence should be noted as well as a flaw. At some point, a quarter point and a weighted system will not yield exactly what you thought. That's the place to leave it alone. Let it come out how it does. Happy New Beer Sunday!



Appearance is good but the beer is not clear. The head is darker khaki color almost chocolate and is thick and lasts well. clings going down and then just sits defiantly at the end not letting go. The beer is black and opaque. I can catch only a glimpse of the ruby hue around the edge and on the bottom of the glass. 40 on the SRM chart. Nose is malty with a beautiful peppery hop. No real herbal from the hop just cool earth. A graceful floral. No diacetyl, no fruity esters from yeast. malt is clean and neutral and smells like coffee. Nothing burnt on the nose just this little edge where there is a touch of something sweet. A hint of caramel.




Drinks very well with a lovely creamy malt that takes you right to the edge of bitter but does not throw you over. Hops follow the nose. They offer coolness, a bit of pepper, an earth that is soft and deep with their graceful floral to quietly accent a silken bit of bitter chocolate as it glides to the finish. Small firm bubbles without too much bite and then the hops bitter the finish. Just enough to give a tingle and last as they show you that subtle caramel. The lush herbal teases as the beer warms but never comes out too far. You taste it just at the very end. Dries as it lingers.


Happy New The Lager Bug Has Bitten Sunday

 

Mornin' NBSers and thanks to @cavedave for the kick off. Got some obligatory things to take care of today (read that as ticking off items on the "honey do" list ), so no new beer this morning. But I am expecting to be back this evening with a Tiny review and even, possibly, a musical "side by side" listening as a welcome back of our drinking buddy, @Roguer.

Cheers, all!

 

Ithaca has recently showed up locally for me. I'm hoping this joins it soon as I'm a big fan of dark lagers. This sounds right up my alley.

 

Poured aggressive at near room temperature bottled on 10/24/16. This beer is a blend of Undead Party Crasher, Blaecorn Unidragon , and Billionaire a third each aged in Rum barrels and weighing in at 11.75% ABV. This thing is very attractive, it took around 8 minutes for the soft sticky mocha head to settle into this. 4.5 Smell is rum and coke, leather, tobacco , smoke, a whiff of coffee grounds, oaky vanilla, and dark chocolate . 3.75

Taste is much better than the smell, some rum upfront minus the coke thank goodness. Vanilla, oak, leather, roasty coffee, dark chocolate, and a hint of sweet pipe tobacco. 4.5 Mouthfeel is bigger than medium creamy, moderate amount of life as expected from a beer of this heft, a little dry as it should be, and a sipper that goes down dangerously easy . 4.25

Overall this is another very solid barrel aged beer from Clown Shoes, I love the reasonable price point, and readily available. 4.25

 

When I'm doing my Tiny review, so in due time...

 

Another ‘battle’ of the Vienna Lagers

A generous benefactor was kind enough to provide to me some bottles of Devils Backbone Vienna Lager. While Devils Backbone beer is somewhat available in my home state of PA they are presently only available as a mixed variety pack. I do very much appreciate being able to just obtain the Vienna Lager via this benefactor. This is my first time drinking a bottle of Devils Backbone Vienna Lager.

I thought it would be fun to conduct another side-by-side tasting since I have one bottle of Von Trapp Vienna Lager left (also via a generous benefactor).

So, let’s discuss Devils Backbone Vienna Lager. Below is the description of this beer from BA:

“Brewed using a combination of Northern Brewer and Saaz hops with Vienna, Pilsen, Dark Munich and Caramel malts and allowing five weeks for the lagering process and the flavors to fully develop.”

Served in my Spiegelau Lager Glasses:

Appearance:

Devils Backbone Vienna Lager: Amber colored with a small off-white head.

Von Trapp Vienna Lager: Lighter amber colored with a fluffy off-white head.

Aroma:

Devils Backbone Vienna Lager: Bready/malty aroma.

Von Trapp Vienna Lager: Bready/malty aroma with a hint of floral sweetness.


Taste:

Devils Backbone Vienna Lager: Flavor follows the nose with bready/malty flavors with low-moderate bitterness.

Von Trapp Vienna Lager: Flavor follows the nose with bready/malty flavors along with a subtle floral flavor and low-moderate bitterness.


Mouthfeel

Devils Backbone Vienna Lager: Medium bodied, moderate mouthfeel with a dry finish.

Von Trapp Vienna Lager: same


Overall

Devils Backbone Vienna Lager: A very enjoyable Vienna Lager beer.

Von Trapp Vienna Lager: This is also an enjoyable Vienna Lager; I find it to be quaffable.



These two beers are similar. The Von Trapp Vienna Lager is lighter in color and with its subtle floral quality it has just a tad more complexity.

I am very thankful that I have two hands to enjoy both of these tasty beers!

Cheers!

@rotsaruch @RobH @KOP_Beer_OUtlet @cavedave @cjgiant

P.S. For the interested reader here is the post where I conducted a side-by-side tasting of Straub Vienna Lager and Von Trapp Vienna Lager: https://www.beeradvocate.com/community/threads/new-beer-sunday-week-591.427800/#post-4847430

 

Ithaca makes some really tasty brews, definitely pick some up.

Cheers!

 

After taking the past couple of days off from drinking beer, and a fridge full of choices from @beertunes and @SammyJaxxxx I will definitely be back later with at least one entry for today.
Just got to get the short list of chores out of the way.....

 

Gose was not a "lost" style.... The entire city of Leipzig and its more than half a million citizens have been drinking the stuff since its rebirth (following a relatively brief absence in the grand scheme of things) in the 80s and it has remained immensely popular there ever since.

 

This image does not portray the cheerfulness associated with this brew. Bright Light is a DIPA from Common Roots Brew. Co., one of the newer brewers in the capital area of NY.
First look is a cloudy yellow can pour with fine effervescence and a thin head. Aroma is light and lemony. The flavor is really packed with tropical fruit, citrus and a bit of pine. I waited until after my third can (on three different days this week) to rate this because I wanted a "pleasure check" (-not a euphemism). I have really enjoyed this and will look for it again. (I found some more yesterday during another upstate trip!).

 

Good Morning UtopiaJane! Happy New Beer Sunday to you, and as always, you are a wonderful inspiration! I love reading your poetic posts about the most delicious brews and I love how you cook with them as well. Enjoy passing on your cooking skills to your son. I'll be back later with my own brew and culinary creation.
Cheers!

 

Thank you =) Cheers!

 

New Beer Sunday ala Mode

Like many other "Monkeys" out there, I received an unexpected box from one of our NBS BIF friends @SammyJaxxxx this week. I normally contribute more widely available/distributed beers, but I saved this one for today as it was the most intriguing.




3.95/5 rDev +7.6%
look: 4.5 | smell: 3.75 | taste: 4 | feel: 3.75 | overall: 4

Poured from a 16oz can with no date

It is a slightly cloudy, bright amber-copper. Even with a moderately aggressive pour (at least by my standards) it produced a towering, thick foam like soapy head that is tan in color, and leaves some sticky lacing on the glass. Great retention. Leaves a solid layer on top the whole time.

There are aromas of cinnamon applesauce, sour green apple that reminds me of a Jolly Rancher, and some whole grain bread. I don't notice any distinct hops other than an earthy smell with a bit of spice. More malty overall.

Initially it tastes pretty malty and semi sweet with a decent amount of clove to rye like spice and some bitterness. A little bit of citrus flavor amongst the green apple, but more earthy, pine, bitter. It reminds me a little bit of Two Hearted, or some "old school" ipas. I can only describe it as raw, in a good way. Just a lot of depth.

The apple really carries all the way through and then the cinnamon shows up, especially in the aftertaste. Also some lasting bitterness and resin feel. The lingering flavor is very reminiscent of an Apple Cinnamon Nutri Grain bar if you have had one.

A little heavier bodied for the style and ABV, but the body is fine otherwise. Carbonation is average. It does have a bit of a crispness to it overall that the sour apple probably helps with.

A very interesting beer, but not gimmicky at all in the end. I highly recommend it.

 

Where I usually put my IPA during a meal is at the end with some peach pie. Or I like it with Chinese and Thai food especially. Today I am making a marinated tofu with peppers inspired by the kimchee and all the food posts in WBAYDN and Food and Beer. When I am drinking beer I am usually cooking, eating or thinking about food at least. Cheers again and

Happy New American IPA Sunday

This is Mississippis' Lazy magnolia Southern Hops'spitality. They are using 2 row , carapils - that is for head retention and adds no flavor to the beer. Then they list two malts 40L and 15L. I know from my tour at Genesee Brew House that that refers to the level of kilning on caramel malts. I often talk about the texture that these malts can give a beer and Briess mentions it too in an article on the difference between crystal and caramel malts in beer. They liken it to candy making and the idea that at different temperatures different reactions are present.

"The term caramel really refers to the process of pyrolisis of sugars. When I give presentations on the process, I encourage the audience to envision a candy thermometer. There are different temperature "breaks" where different "types" of caramel are produced and each have unique and very different physical and flavor properties. Crystal style malt is in reality the end process of achieving high enough temperatures to produce a 'hard crack' type caramel inside of each malt kernel, which results in a hard glassy endosperm." With caramel malt there is no crystalization of the sugars and the maillard reaction is present. "There is some caramelization that occurs at the lower temperatures, but the majority of the color and flavor development is due to the Maillard reaction (sugar + amino acid) which provides a different flavor profile and a mealy/powdery endosperm."

The difference between rich and sweet maybe? In my tasting it's more the strength of it and the texture. Firm or smooth or light. Imagine from liquid softness to a ribbon to soft ball and hard ball stage like in candy finally something stiff like hard crack caramel like in toffee and brickles.




Looks pretty dark until you hold it up to the light. Then it's sweet orange candy . With a white head of foam that lasts and clings. A soft haze. Nose is sumptuous with mango and heady with earthy grapefruit peel. A dank hop herbal courts the background and the finish as a touch of icy sweetness goes down with just enough herbal. Soft gentle and not too bitter. It compliments my dish perfectly and I am in love with Southern Hops'spitality! Cheers!




Spacing Out

 

Thank you, @cavedave, for the rousing start. I was hoping to play golf today, but my playing partner couldn't make it and I didn't feel like playing alone (at this time of year there's hardly anyone out there). So I hit the treadmill instead. That's probably better exercise than walking a golf course, right?
I was foraging in the beer fridge looking for an appropriate beer and found this, the last remnant from our Arizona trip last month. The beer is Lost Highway, a black IPA brewed by Mother Road Brewing in Flagstaff.
It poured a very dark brown with a small off-white head. There was a smattering of lace..
Aroma seemed about equally divided between roasted malt and piney hops.
The hops dominated in the taste, dank and piney. Coffee and chocolate background.
Medium-bodied.
A nice enough beer.