New Beer Sunday (week 613)

Haha yesterday I was complaining to customers at the recycle center I should have worn shorts as the mid 60's temp.and crazy crush of business was making me overheated. Woke up to 5 inches snow this morning, had to clear branches from my driveway, drive on unplowed roads to work and avoid the downed branches and trees, and even worse it ended up to be busy at work so I didn't even get to relax and read a book as I was hoping to do in such nasty weather.

Have a few chores still to do and a new beer to try so will be back to join the fun in just a bit.

 

Wow. They really have all their bases covered, huh? Either that or they came up with the name and then set up their business to reflect it. Or something...

Mmmm. That looks and sounds delicious.

 

Well Hello NBS Friends and Fans.
We're finally getting a bit of cooler weather. Of course, that follows some Santa Ana winds. For those of you unfamiliar with So Cal, the Santa Ana Winds come sweeping down over the high deserts into the greater LA basin and adjacent coastal plains and mountains. They are usually warm to hot, yet sometimes cold, but ALWAYS dry. This time it was only about a day of blowing here.
Thankfully, my brother blew into town as well. Many a beer has been shared. We had an early Thanksgiving last night due to his timing. And of course, I'm swimming in wonderful New Mexico beers. He brought some Elevated IPA from La Cumbre, one of my faves. And many others. He brought some really fresh cans. Some of them are looking for boxes as I type...

Anyway, was happy to share some Sump from Perennial, thanks to the generosity of @Hopgoddess312 . A very rounded out coffee stout. No barrel aging. Nothing fancy. But a damn good beer. Thanks, Lorena!!!

Now we're having a little brunch barleywine.
Sebago Single Batch Series Barleywine 2015

I must admit. I forgot, but I believe (99%) this beauty was sent by jhavs.

This gem pours a burnished amber to almost crimson or ruby in hue. Absolutely gorgeous. A slight head develops with tiny, tightly packed, bubbles that are oatmeal colored. This recedes to a perfect ring with wet, mobile lacing that slowly meanders down the glass.
Smell is definitely a blend of Bourbon, caramel notes, subtle drying out hops, and ever so shy dried fruit akin to dates. Based on the nose, I'm not sure if this is going in the American or English direction.
Taste is warm and sweet, embracing my whole mouth. Here's where I'm thinking I'm dealing with an American Barleywine. The Bourbon is definitely there, but it rounds out in the mouth, brings some warmth, brings some Bourbon sweetness. But...There is also caramel, toffee, an earthy hop note that trims the sweetness a bit. Not picking up any dates now, but a slight woodiness on the finish.
Mouthfeel is full enough for style, slightly slick, and warm.
Overall, a very solid American Barleywine. I enjoyed the smell a bit more than the flavor.

I hope my brother, @hophound ,will pipe in today.

 

Happy New "Beer?" Sunday

I hope to get a few posts in today as I work on my basement. Up first is:

Blue Point Brewed Tonic - South Shore Blueberry



This one looks like seltzer, tastes like blueberry flavored seltzer, and has the carbonation and feel of seltzer. Why post about it? Because Blue Point claims that this is beer. Take a look at the can:


It claims that it is: "Beer. But Bubbly Like Tonic" and it also states: "This Is Beer. Please Day Drink Responsibly." I know why there's a warning. This thing is 5% ABV but it drinks like seltzer. Taking a look at the Blue Point website, here's what they claim:

"It’s brewed just like any of our other beers except we use Belgian Rock Candi to form the alcohol rather than malt—so it’s naturally gluten free."

That doesn't sound like beer. There's also no mention of hops in the ingredient list. Then they go on to call it a tonic. This doesn't taste like tonic water either, nor does it feel medicinal. I don't think this beverage is listed on BeerAdvocate. I'm OK with that status.

 

This is another one of these New Hampshire beers that is so new I had to add it to the BA database. Happy anniversary to Oddball Brewing of Pembroke NH. One year ago they opened their doors for the first time and I was actually there! Of course.

This is their Anniversary Brew 1, a Belgian style Tripel brewed with Brettanomyces. The ABV is 10.5%. It was released on November 18, 2016 and I checked it out today.

Unfiltered pale yellow color with a small white head that fades to a ring. Toasted bread and pale malts are on the nose along with a slight lemonzest ester and of course that overripe fruit and sour character of Brett. But it is more subtle than I expected. No booze for 10.5% I have to say. Smooth medium body. The taste begins with the same toasted bread and biscuit character and a little bit of spice while the sour Brett notes are also played down some. Oh yes, they are there but it is not as in your face as some of them can be. This beer can be found at the brewery and in the 650 ml bottle in select New Hampshire stores.

 

The wind keeps a coming - and it seems many are dealing with it (and the cold weather it brought along). After lunch, wanted to start with something light, but wasn't sure I had anything that fir for NBS. However, the GF had recently purchased this beer, so I am able to join you at the virtual tasting table at this moment. And I brought with me Wicked Weed and Jester King The Parking Lot - a Grisette:


First thing I noticed is that this is a collaboration with Jester King, which I believe has a reputation for wild and funky beers. Next thing I noted was the date: 1/15/2016, and not sure how this might affect the beer. Then I noted that the beer is in the database 3 times for Wicked Weed, and once for Jester King. So annoying when people don't take a little effort to find the beer before adding it (which apparently happened at least twice).

Onto the beer itself, the label indicates a "tart farmhouse ale dry-hopped with Mandarina Bavaria and Huell Melon." These are two hops I know of (and have had a little more experience with the latter), but not overly sure of what their characteristics are.

The pour gives me a body that is a little murky. It almost looks like some of the NE IPAs that aren't milkshake-like in nature. The head bubbles up nicely before condensing into a nice foam cap (glass has nucleation points at bottom).


Nose pretty much backs up what the first two things on the bottle's tagline indicate: tart and farmhouse. Hay, musty wood, a white grape and sour apple tartness, and a little grass bitterness. I ended up enjoying just sniffing it for a while.

Initially I thought this beer was a little weird, and I wasn't overly certain I would like it. It opened lightly tart and funky - lemon/tangerine spritzed granny smith accenting a dry farmhouse beer. But then the beer seemed to enter a watery stage, with the tartness just barely hanging on - almost like someone added just a little bit of unsweetened Kool-Aid to a large amount of water. This flavor sensation thankfully faded, although the force of flavor in this beer remained up front. The relative lightness on the palate later in the taste did make it quite refreshing - and entice me to grab another sip.

Well, this is one of those weeks where one of my key players goes down on play one of the game, so one of my fantasy squads is pretty much done for. Oh well, maybe it will spur me to another new beer sooner .

 

It's the ultimate business for a college town. I've only done my laundry there a couple times, and while their food is actually very good, it's still mainly sports bar food, so I've only eaten there a couple of times. The gem is that they're this little craft beer oasis ... cycle in lots of good stuff, clean their lines well and keep a well stocked fridge of rare bottles/cans with a big emphasis on Texas stuff. I love em.

 

I had a bottle of this on election night and honestly found it to be a total mess. Boozy, sweet, and totally without structure. I genuinely couldn't finish the bottle.

 

Happy NBS, everybody!
It feels like it has been forever since I was free to participate here. In reality I think it was only a couple weeks, but you know how it is. This is such an enjoyable part of my Sunday that I miss it when I can only look in at your posts while I drink a non-new beer. Work's been busy, winter's a comin', the beer's a flowin', it's cooling off outside and football's on so I'll get right to it!

This week I am going to try a new beer from MBC that was given to me by an awesome BA this past week. I have loved everything I have ever had from these guys (and that guy, too) and obviously I am excited to be able to try this one since it is so well-regarded. I already ate, but there is nothing wrong with two lunches.



It looks orangeish-gold in the glass and has a nice compact bone white head. At first whiff it is a grapefruit dropped in the woods. There is a lot of orange and other citrus, it is a little earthy and there is a little malt, but the aroma is mainly a clean, almost tart citrus pungency. Taste-wise it is less sweet and dryer than what the aroma lets on, which is nice. Resinous hoppy bitterness with some aromatic sweetness and a really tasty finish. And then, the feel is just about as good as it gets. Like carbonated milk (but actually good).



This is a truly fantastic beer. These guys make some incredibly solid beers and this one is no exception. Great in every way. Just what I look for in an IPA.



Have a great Sunday, NBSers.
Cheers!


Here is my review.

 

I thought to include it today since I found it interesting myself. It didn't resemble a gluten free beer either because it just doesn't resemble beer.

Cheers.

 

Happy Sunday NBS players. Windy, overcast, and just downright cold here on the island today. Mostly just watching football all afternoon and as a neutral viewer thanks to the Jets bye week. Taking it pretty easy on the drinking today too. I only have three days of work and wed should be an early leave day for what is the greatest holiday ever invented. Eat, drink, and watch football all day long. Try and beat that xmas!

My new beer today is Liquorice Confidence, an imperial stout with licorice and chili peppers, from To 0l brewing in Denmark. Not sure how the hell you pronounce it but these guys seem to operate like Gimm does. The beer checks in at 14%abv and no apparent bottle date.Thanks to @newjack this is my final beer out of my BIF#4 box mwk.

An oil slick black pour with a fast tan head. The nose is booze, malts, and sugars. Lots of dry malts upfront on the first few sips. A smooth and slick flow that finishes slightly bitter. The chili peppers stand out right away and present a slight burn to the back of the throat on every sip. Additional nice flavor notes of malts, chocolate, vanilla, dark candied fruits. The licorice is there but I'm finding it to be rather subtle with a more of a candied sugary tone. The mouth feel is full bodied and slightly sticky.

Overall, very nice stuff. Different, but the flavors really seem to work well. I will not hesitate to purchase this if I ever see it. I'm in the low 4's all around.

 

LIC (Long Island City) Beer Project - Dutch Kills

I've featured a LIC beer on NBS before (acronym overload).

Here's what I said:

I also mentioned them in my saison thread:

Now they are canning. What gets beer geeks excited? Answer: 16oz canned "New England" IPAs that you buy at a brewery. LIC Beer Project has been brewing a kolsch and they decided to can it and release it along with their IPAs. I guess the kolsch didn't sell as well (go figure), because cans of it have actually seen distribution. Crazy. I love a good koslch. I saw that a store by me got some of this kolsch in stock, I went out today to pick some up for this thread. I wish I didn't.

I heard this was a good beer. I was figuring that it was gonna be of the American-hop variety, so I didn't initially seek it out, but when I looked into it I saw that it was lagered and made with German Pilsner malt, Vienna malt, White Wheat, and German Hallertau Mittlefruh hops. OK - sign me up.

This damn beer drinks like it is just plagued by DMS. I had my first pour at a high temp, so I chilled the second half to ice cold hoping that it would help. Not really. The recipe actually seems like it works in terms of the malts and hops, but everything is just hidden under a DMS blanket.

I bought a damn 4 pack of this stuff at boutique beer prices and went out of my way for it. I thought I would do a blind side-by-side with a Gaffel, but now I think that it'll be a waste of a bottle of Gaffel. Damn "local" beer and the attention it gets. I should have known from the misspelling of Hallertau / Hallertauer on the can.

 

G' afternoon NBS-ers! Thanks again to Maria for the start this morning!
So after spending about and hour at the Farmer's Market this morning and vacuuming the house and a long talk on the phone with Pops....It's finally time for a beer!

I should have opened this one soon after I got it, but better late than never!

Paradise Creek Brewery: Over The Hop IPA

Poured from a 22 oz bomber into a Snorkel glass, and to borrow a line from @Ozzylizard : hand washed and dried. No visible date on the bottle.

Appearance: Semi-aggressive pour produced a 2 finger's worth of sea foam bubbles that took about 5 minutes to die down; TONS of lacing in the glass. The body shows off hints of being a red ale: dark reddish-amber body.

Aroma: Spicy and earthy hop presence. Soft malt aroma towards the end. Almost like a smokiness is there as well. Not over the top hop bomb smells, but got that Yakima Valley hop presence for sure. Picking up on some orange and tangerine as it warms.

Taste: This has to be one of the mellowest IPA's I have ever had! So smooth and tasty. It's almost a little too malty, perhaps due to age? But in my opinion as of right now this one is super balanced. The hops are there to add some bitter and earthiness, while the malts end up bring in a balanced not-quite sweetness but even-ness to the bitter hops. Crushable as Hell!

Mouthfeel: Quite a bit of carbonation in the glass, but doesn't really seem to be the same in the mouthfeel. It has quite a full feel to it, but such a light and delicate finish. Slight lingering spicy tartness.

Overall: A great drinking IPA, reminds me of a less bitter SNPA. Drinks just as easy, if not easier than that one. I like how some citrus comes out as it warms a little and the malts even and balance this one, too. This was really tasty!

Thanks again for a PNW IPA @beertunes !

Just check out that sick lacing folks!

 

New Christmas Beer Sunday



Delirium Noel

Happy Sunday, BAs. So, normally I'm not a big fan of the whole "Holiday Ale" genre, but the spirit hit me while I was out shopping this weekend, and I bought a bunch of Christmas classics that I've seen for years, but never pulled the trigger on (and a couple newer ones, too).

Yesterday, I had the Sly Fox Christmas Ale, which was fine, but still not totally my cup of tea. Today, I'm trying Delirium Noel. I've never actually had Delirium Tremens, either, always passing it up for more "serious" Belgian ales. Gotta say, the fake clay bottle and Christmasy elephants are pretty cute, though.

This bottle opened with a mighty pffft. It poured a relatively clear, dark amber color, highly effervescent, with an overly huge and lasting near-white head that leaves heavy webbed lacing. Once the head went down a bit, it actually looked great, but I'm not a fan of sitting around all day for a head to subside to manageable proportions. This is why I need to invest in a flared-lip tulip instead of my usual snulips. Let the beer sneak under the foam, eh, @TongoRad?

Anyway, it's got a traditional "Belgian yeast" aroma, with banana, clove and light ginger the most prevelant.

The taste packs a punch, with similar flavors from the nose, as well as a very light splash of spiced-brandy alcohol and some raisiny apple cider sweetness. It's quite dry on the backend, though, with some mild alcohol burn and just a subtle hint of lingering Christmas spices.

It's got a highly-carbonated prickliness to the mouthfeel.

Is this a world-class Belgian? Maybe not. But I enjoyed it more than others' scores led me to believe I would. I definitely appreciated how it wasn't over the top in the spices either.

Happy Thanksgiving, y'all. Go Eagles.

 

Good afternoon NBS, Maria we are on our way for the holiday!! What a great introduction and many thanks. Today we enjoy a bit of fall here in WMass, #1 son is in town for the Thanksgiving holiday. The offering today is the last of the Sinner Series from Amager, concludes with Wrath.
I certainly hope they consider a revisit this series.




The Sinner Series - Wrath

Amager Bryghus
Saison / Farmhouse Ale / 6.50% ABV

4.1/5 rDev +14.8% | Avg: 3.57
look: 4 | smell: 4 | taste: 4.25 | feel: 4 | overall: 4

Poured from a bottle from the basement, into a stem tulip glass.
A - Marauding carbonation slices through a copper backdrop to pile miles high into a heavens reaching froth of off white.
S - Warm wet cedar, spiced with cinnamon, dark maple and warm honey, red grape skin, broad leaf tobacco and finally crushed walnut. Amazing.
T - Varies widely from the nose, wheat toast spread with late blossom honey to start, then musk melon, mashed with red wheat, overripe plum and finally a touch of pressed apple skin.
F - Medium in body, that carbonation is relentless, you know that person, we all know that person relentlessly trying and in the end just fine. The palate is struck with a bit of sweet grains and autumnal reminders. Oranges and browns with a refined welcome.
O - This bottle was aged, and for that I am glad, with time the honey notes darkened, the base malts are spot on, with just enough bitterness to show the craft of the brewer. This is the last of the Sinners Series for me and I am glad to have postponed the Wrath.
Worth seeking out

 

Greetings, fellow NBSers, and thanks to our hostess with the mostest, @utopiajane for getting us going.

It's been a decent week for new beers. I had a nitro stout from Bennidito's on Friday and two N.Idaho beers yesterday: a Tripel from Selkirk Abbey called Atonement (I wasn't able to review it but will when it's out in bottles) and a porter

from Mad Bomber while I watched UW beat ASU (first time since 2001!):
https://www.beeradvocate.com/beer/profile/33323/237829/?ba=woemad#review

Today, as a light drizzle is falling, I'm drinking coffee while using the WiFi at Huckleberry's, where I picked up an IPA from a new (to me) brewery in eastern Oregon, about 45 minutes drive from where I grew up. Boardman, OR, has primarily been known for a U.S.Navy aerial bombing range south of town that at one time I drove alongside a lot (my Grandma had a cabin down in Heppner, OR, and that was the quickest way down there in those days). Hence the name Ordnance Brewing. This is their EOD IPA, which I matched with a glass from Mad Bomber, a brewery in Idaho started by ex-EOD personnel:
https://www.beeradvocate.com/beer/profile/40408/203508/?ba=woemad#review

This was a bit long in the tooth but still decent, an IPA that dances on the boundary of being an Imperial IPA.

Now I'm off to grab a growler of something to take to a friend's house to watch the Seahawks.

Sorry, Eagles fans!

Have a great week!