New Beer Sunday (week 615)

Good morning New BSers! Maria, I wholeheartedly agree with you about no cinnamon in beer! In fact, I find the entire spiced "Winter Warmer" category an obnoxious addition to the beer pantheon. Other than nutmeg: nutmeg is OK. Today's New Breakfast Beer is:



$ 6.48 (Including tax)/11.2 oz bottle ($0.579/oz) at Central Market, Alamo Heights, TX
Batch 11, 2014, at 42 degrees into a hand washed and dried JK snifter
Aroma – initially vinous but it fades as the head drops, weak yeast
Head large (Maximum six cm, aggressive pour), light brown, frothy, diminishing to an irregular four to six mm ring and rocky partial layer
Lacing poor – a couple of very tiny islands of tiny bubbles
Body – medium brown, cloudy. Sediment layer present. No hops, no alcohol, no diacetyl.
Flavor sweet and fruity, no maltiness. No hops, no alcohol, no diacetyl, no banana, no yeastiness except weakly in the dying aroma.
Palate medium, creamy, lively carbonation bordering on fizzy

Unimpressive, perhaps because of the honey. One and done.

Appearance 3.5, Aroma 3, Flavor 3, Palate 3, Overall 3.25. Rating 3.03, rDev -19.8%

Is this one of the real trappist beers or is this one of the fake trappists? I neither know nor care - dubbels and quads are two of my favorite styles of beer, no matter who makes them. This is not a good example of a dubbel, at least not to me.

 

Howdy y'all!

Last night I tried to make Chef's magical Chocolate Salty Balls. I am torn on how they came out. The recipe I found called for a disgusting amount of butter, so next time I'll probably cut significantly down on that, and I overcooked them a bit and, despite Chef's pleas to the contrary, I burnt Chef's balls. Those two issues aside they came out really good and I look forward to Tweeking and perfecting them because the flavour is there...
Tangentially related: I was fortunate enough to see Isaac Hayes perform in my younger days at an event that they used to hold out here called WOMAD (World Music And Dance I think? [no relation to @woemad, I've asked]). That whole weekend actually was a... memorable one let's say for teenage me working some of the food booths... But back to Isaac Hayes. He performed Chocolate Salty Balls and the response from the crowd was incredible. It was predominantly middle aged+ people who were fans of his from his Hot Buttered Soul days, and when the baseline started thumping and he started listing ingredients they were grooving along and loving it. Then the hook starts and he implores everyone to suck on his confectionary delight and the jaws in the crowd just dropped. Good times.



Anyway, the beer this morning is from my recent trip out to Nashville and is a tasty little concoction that faithfully delivers what is promised on the can.

Peanut Butter Milk Stout from Tailgate Beer pours a beautiful near black with a silky smoothe brown head that sits around before settling into a thin cap. Initial promise of lacing soon slides to rejoin the rest of the liquid in repose.

Nose promises creamy smoothe sweetness in the form of chocolate and lactose and a definite nutty edge to it all. Incredible.
Flavour uses the same framework, but is not able to deliver quite as pure of an experience. The sweet creamy delictitude is tempered by a roasty malt that is almost more porter than the sweet cream of the nose. The peanut butter also takes a more bold step to assert itself. It is still quite tasty though.
It is a little thin and much more carbonated than I would prefer, however and that roastiness ends up completely pushing the creamy milk aspect of the stout out of the scene by the end.
Ultimately if what the can promises excite you, I don't think you'll be disappointed in this beer, even if the aroma built my hopes up a little higher than they should have been. Enjoying it quite a bit all in all.

The promised song.



Hope y'all are enjoying your mornings or whatever time it may be by now, cheers!

 

Greetings friends,
Thanks to Maria for the tasty start to another Sunday of delectables from near and far.
A week ago, @Ozzylizard and @kemoarps spoke of the death of a friend and death as a part of life. I was moved by both of their posts, the personal and the philosophic. This past week I have had two friends from childhood die a day apart. Bob was ill, but Joe's passing was a terrible surprise. We were/are childhood friends, close neighbors, high school classmates (1969), and have shared a great many days trying to grow up, but often failing. I played hundreds of rounds of golf with Joe and Bob was one of four inseparable friends to this day. Yesterday was for funerals and I'm a bit fuzzy today.
July 1, 1970 we received our draft lottery numbers. Viet Nam was all too real. My Dad- a decorated infantry officer from operations in the Philippines- urged me to not get involved in any Asian conflict. I'll admit that we were truly afraid. Our student deferments were going away. Our friends returning from Viet Nam told us to please not go, no matter what. Steve drew 337, I drew 301, and Bob drew 285. 365 days of the year were tossed into a hopper and drawn out 1 to 365. Everyone under 230 was nervous. So, by luck we did not get drafted. These were different times, there was no volunteer military, and the ranks were dwindling. Steve's brother had just returned from Viet Nam- he died in July- and Steve, Bob, and I were eagerly anticipating a journey that weekend to The Atlanta Pop Festival (Byron, Georgia). We had a wild ride to Byron in Steve's 66 Mustang, packed to the gills with Schlitz, some food, some herb(s), and unlimited 19 year old enthusiasm and adrenaline. That weekend of utterly mind-altering music, people from everywhere, 100 plus temperature for 3 days, camped next to the "Flippee Tent"- don't do the purple acid!- and our new nurse friends from Pennsylvania two cars over, added up to memories we still recall every time we get together. Jimi Hendrix, The Allman Brothers, BB King, 10 Years After, Bob Seger System, It's a Beautiful Day, Grand Funk RR, Procol Harum, The Chambers Brothers, Richie Havens, Mott the Hoople, and many more .....with Hendrix playing The Star Spangled Banner at midnight on the Fourth! We had enough beer to share and it was a legendary weekend. But, Procol Harum was transfixing, we were stunned. Bob was a salty dog! More on that later. I have these strong memories; I miss Bob but we have this past which will never leave us, the bonding for a lifetime and Steve and I are carrying on. So, I'm at the point where certain platitudes ring like new truths: Every damned day IS a gift and do not forget it!
Today's beer is Wicked Weed Milk and Cookies Imperial Milk Stout With Golden Raisins, Cinnamon, and Vanilla 8.5% bottled on 11/14/16
This baby pours a deep ruby/brown/black tossing a thick meringue-like khaki colored cap. This is a very pretty beer.
A roasty, malty nose with a pure cinnamon lift wafts across my beloved Adnams pint. This brew is made for sniffing and sipping. Nicely done with subtle cookie-like nuances, a not so thick milky texture, followed by chocolate, vanilla and most notably, cinnamon. A lighter style dark ale, folding 8.5% beautifully within the many flavors. This one glides down so smoothly. A lovely, spicy, unique milk stout for sure. This beer is fun, well made, and is a great seasonal choice from the novice to the most jaded taster.

This one is from just around the time we saw them (Procul Harum). We were mesmerized and this was Bob' favorite from the weekend. A truly great band! Cheers to you old friend!

 

Maybe Tired Hands Brewing should change their name to Tired Feet!?!

Tired Hands had a can release earlier this week (Wednesday) of three collaboratively brewed beers: Inner Edges (a DIPA brewed with Half Acre), Heist Decoder (an IPA brewed with Monkish Brewing, and Intensely Juicy Dank (an IPA brewed with Hill Farmstead).

They sure come up with some ‘interesting’ names.

Well, this release by all reports was another shit show. People started lining up their chairs to save places in line at noon for a 5 pm release (which got moved back to 6 pm due to canning mechanical difficulties). @beertunes has a active thread going entitled “Chairgate”: https://www.beeradvocate.com/community/threads/chairgate.469990/#post-5143860

As a tribute to those Tired Hands fans who are believers of Extreme Exuberance and were willing to wait for hours in the rain to buy beer, today’s beer is Tired Hands Pineal (needless to say not from this week’s release).

Below is a description of Tired Hands Pineal via the Tired Hands:

“Tired Hands Pineal IPA

Tired Hands Pineal IPA Fruity IPA brewed with a portion of oats for a creamy texture. Flavors of melon, blueberry, tangerine, light pine, and tropical fruit. Dry finish with moderately high hop bitterness. Hops: Amarillo, Simcoe.”

Sure sounds tasty; let’s drink!

Served in my Spiegelau IPA glass:

Appearance:

Pours a hazy golden/orange color with a two finger white head.

Aroma:

Wow! There are lots of fruity aromas here! I am picking up some tropical fruit aromas, there is some citrus as well. I am only picking up a hint of pine.

Taste:

The flavors follows the nose: a tasty combination of tropical fruit & citrus with again just a bit of pine. Just enough malt to provide some balance.

Mouthfeel:

A nice soft/creamy body with an off-dry finish.

Overall:

This is a very tasty IPA. I enjoyed the combination of tropical fruit & citrus while the hint of pine provided some extra complexity. The highlight of this beer for me is the soft/creamy mouthfeel.

Cheers!

@KOP_Beer_OUtlet @rotsaruch @mythaeus @SFACRKnight @RobH



A BA posted a picture of the below chair that was part of the chair lineup. He declared it as being a Best of Show.

 

Dick, I am very sorry to hear about your losses. This must have been a challenging week for you.

At least you have some fond experiences/memories to fall back on.

You mentioned: "Every damned day IS a gift and do not forget it!" Truer words were never spoken!!

Cheers to you sir!

 

If only. But they weren't. The whole thing's bizarre. I gotta say, Tired Feet is just about perfect!

Regardless, your beer sounds really good. Maybe not wait-in-the-rain good, but definitely good.

 

Great story. Thanks for sharing. And Peace to you and your friends families.

 

Fall is still holding on here and this one suits the weather . . .


Score 4.06
look: 3.5 | smell: 3.75 | taste: 4.25 | feel: 4 | overall: 4.25

Light golden color, large white fluffy cap.

Smells nicely beery, a bit floral, very lightly citrus, a rounded, gentle scent.

Taste is uncomplicated and clean. It's fuller and more nuanced than what we usually think of as a "light beer" being both flavorful and refreshing at the same time. The body has heft without weight and a nice nutty undertaste. Just a touch of hops in the finish and aftertaste, in fact the whole thing is light handed yet the parts come together beautifully. Nothing stands out, everything fits in, and you're left with the warm feeling of having made a new friend.

It takes skill to pull off a brew that looks so easy. Others do it as well but these lighter styles leave little room for mistakes and this one is nigh flawless, a good example of what craft beer is all about. This beer was made for refreshment and does it well. I can't think of any reason why I should pick this one over a selection of well made craft wheat ales, but then again I can't think of any reason why I shouldn't.

 

What a beautiful story!
I'm sorry for your losses and will raise a toast to you friends.

 

It is great to have the good memories with friends to look back upon. Hopefully by holding these memories close you will be able to overcome the loss of such great friends.

 

We live in a log home with a post and beam addition. Our living room has a cathedral ceiling that gathers a lot of dust. So today my wife decides that it is time to get the Swiffer out and do some dusting. And that means I'm going out on the beams, dusting along the way, and spending a significant amount of time on the windows. Now, I don't like heights, not even ten feet off the ground. I practically crawled out, wishing I had a safety belt or something. My wife said not to worry, she'd catch me if I fell. As if. Long story short, I survived, the dusting is done for a few months, and I want a beer. Not just any beer: I want something strong. I opted for Java Cask from Victory, and found it to be a very worthy choice. It is a coffee stout aged in bourbon barrels.

It poured a black color with a small tan head that retained well.
Great aroma: mocha, coffee, oak. A little vanilla and a good deal of alcohol.
The taste followed the nose. Milk chocolate, coffee, and oak. Very noticeable alcohol, but in a complimentary way.
This is definitely a beer for sipping. It will probably last me at least until halftime of the Patriots game.





Have a great Sunday!

 

Sorry to hear your loss, we're close in age and it really sucks losing old friends. I've shared this feeling but know they'll always be with you in spirit.
My wife always says "you can not make old friends so hang onto them no matter what"
Milk and Cookies always makes me feel better too

 

Good morning to great group of people that come together here on Sunday to share there thoughts and a good beer or two.
It has been a busy week here trying to get caught up here after our Thanksgiving visit to my daughters in PA. My significant other and 3 of her girl friends spent most of the week in Quebec City on a holiday shopping expedition. So yesterday was our day to get the house decorated for the holidays. Erecting the tree's and hanging all the other inside decorations takes most of the day and a few good beers.
This is tree #1

And on to tree #2

And after the decorating was done I decided I might as well relax with New Beer a little early but one I needed to share. It is No Rules Vietnamese Porter.

This was a 2016 bottle denoted by the purple bowling ball. Gifted from a way to generous fellow BA.
This beer poured a dark black color with a very thin dark tan head on top that disappeared very quickly.
The nose is where this beer starts to shine lots of real wonderful aromas going on here. I got some molasses with lots of great bourbon and that sweet coconut aroma with maybe just a hint of coffee.
The taste is even better than the nose. It is sweet but to me not overly so. Lots of great coconut and bourbon here with the sweetness of turbinado sugar. You might want to think a mounds bar soaked in bourbon but maybe not quite that sweet.
The mouthfeel is smooth I have to remember this is a porter not a stout but to me thicker than your average porter.
To me a great beer. Love the way bourbon and the coconut work together in this. To me you would never know this is a 15% ABV beer.
4.62/5 rDev +2.9% | Avg: 4.49
look: 4.25 | smell: 4.75 | taste: 4.75 | feel: 4.25 | overall: 4.5

 

Poured near room temperature best before 4/7/17 and weighing in in at 8.2% ABV and 45 IBU's. Pours a very dark brown with a two inch tan head that leaves plenty of streaks lace and very nice retention. 4.25

Smell is roasty coffee, vanilla bean, baker's chocolate, toffee, and a hint of Ameretto. 4.5

Taste follows expresso beans, vanilla bean, biscuit, chocolate, toffee, and once again a tiny hint of those little Christmas chocolates filled with Ameretto not complaining. 4.5

Mouthfeel is a little bigger than medium almost creamy, moderate carbonation which is fine, not really dry, and excellent drinkability. 4.25

Overall this is a very one dimensional beer, but it is absolutely a delight. I will purchasing this again. 4.5

 

Popped the cap on this to start the day...

Pretty good - pronounced blueberry impressions reminiscent of sweetart candies in a relatively light-weight stout body. The bourbon accents are mild, and the vanilla is rather inconspicuous.

I'd put it on par with most of Founders' bomber releases (don't know if they were all considered part of their Backstage Series or if that's even a thing anymore). Worth the buy, but I don't imagine going back for another.

For the record, I never had CBS or Better Half, but of the Founders bombers I've had, Doom was my hands-down favorite, with Bolt Cutter probably coming in second; Frangelic Mountain was my least favorite.

 

Regrets on such recent losses and condolences to the families.

While I never had the pleasure of meeting either of your friends, I know from my experiences with one of their close friends that they were great people to have known. You can be assured that some of us share a small piece of your grief.