New Beer Sunday (week 616)

Good morning Dave and thank you for getting going on this very cold New Beer Sunday. We don't have much snow but darn if it did not take me quite a while to baby step it across my parking lot to where I like to feed my birds each day. Usually they wake me up like roosters, only crows, at first light because they expect me. Today they were a little slow and somewhat clever. They started squawking after I went out today.

I can't say I have a real commitment to any one kind of container for beer. I like cans instead of bottles because they are lighter and I walk everywhere. Growlers are a great idea but I have not caught on yet.


Morning!

 

Good morning everyone!

Foudre - - a generic French term for a large wooden vat between 20-120 hectolitres in size (hectolitre = 100 litres). These large oak barrels vary enormously in size but are significantly larger than the normal oak barrels. Happy New Beer Sunday!

Temporary Permanence by Urban Family Brewing Co.




What's wonderful about these two words , temporary permanence, is that they explain a complex idea without needing to say a whole lot more. You give of yourself to the idea which is to illustrate the place change has in our lives and in our perceptions. Beer is a good illustration of this ideal. From the grain in the field to the foeder and into the glass, beer is constantly changing.

Happy New What's that word Sunday!




The appearance is approaching opaque at first but it does let just enough light in so that you are not too quickly discouraged. Some of that is chill haze I think. Shows you bubbles on the rise and a bright lemon or banana yellow hue. White head of Belgian style foam with uniform bubbles that fall slowly.


Nose is funky, bright and tart! Herbal and lemon. Cracker from the malt. Hops are tropical. The Belma is a tropical lightness at first behind the big prickly azacca hop. Why do I say prickly? Well, because the herbal form this hop reminds me of cactus and agave, stiff succulent plants like aloe, and herbs that have dank pungency. The dankness in this beer is restrained although it is tantalizing. The malt is outstanding and a positive understatement to the beer. It is persistent, unchanging and not too full.


Drinks better warmer than colder. The malt is a soft round middle that shows you juicy hops with their tartness and peppery finish. Your mouth waters as you taste all that almost sour funk that stays earthy and in check but explodes with sweaty citrusy tartness. Pineapple delights and gives it a touch sweeter flavor. The berry like qualities of the belma hop linger as your palate is cleansed by the combination of hop bitterness and the funky tartness that's lets you see the herbal character of these hops against a not too woody flavor. The wood in this beer does not come up to dominate over the fruits or herbal form the hops. No warmth until after the swallow and as you drink you will notice a touch of sweet sugar in the finish that seems to disappear as the beer warms to reveal a more subtle and light for all the malt, mouthfeel. It drinks with a west coast IPA mouthfeel after it warms. Am I completely accurate in that statement? Who knows. Try it too cold and taste that bit of sugar at the back of your throat and then wait and try it again 15 minutes later. Faint bubblegum, pepper spice, grass and a touch of pinot grigio! As the chill haze wanes the beer is less opaque or I am less apt to notice.

Because the beer did not go over 6 percent the alcohol did not interfere with the finish and left only a whisper of it's own bitterness. It's the firm dominant malt that shows you every facet of these powerful hops. Belma is sweet with grapefruit notes, azacca is dank with hints of stone fruits that help to create that softness in the motuhfeel that reminds me of the west coast style mouthfeel.


As far as temporary permanence goes, Beer Advocate is a wonderful reflection of that idea as well as all the beer we drink! If it weren't so pleasant no one would do it.

The Drifters

 

Mornin' NBSers with special thanks to @cavedave for the start up.

With a full schedule of errands and party preparations to be completed today I'll be passing on a morning beer but have a treat for myself in mind for this evening. My long time friend visiting a couple of weeks ago brought with him the Stillwater Gose Gone Wild. Well....., just before he left us to continue on his way he and I found a bottle shop not far from here that was having a sale on large format bottles. Buy one, get the second one at half price (naturally the half price applied only to the lower priced of the two ).

There on the shelf, waving at us, there were these two lonely bottles of the Stillwater Gose Gone Wild World Tour -Phuket. Soooo........, three guesses what's waiting in my fridge to be popped open tonight (and the first two guesses don't count ).

@cavedave don't forget to give us a link or pointer to that article you found. I'd for sure be interested in reading it, if only because as a glassware collector specializing in a few patterns of Early American Pattern Glass (late 1800s) I've a long standing interest in how these things evolve over time.

I'd also say there's no coincidence in the fact that the rise to fame of the orignal Pilsen Pilsener and it's many imitators in other countries took place about the same time that clear glass tableware became affordable to the upper middle-class (merchants, etc.) for use both in personal use in drinking and for use in entertaining and/or hosting dinners for each other (some of the more cynical folks would say to show off their growing wealth and their growing ability to show off for the nobility of the time :-)). I'd bet dollars to donuts they each had an effect on the popularity of the other.

Later.

Cheers, all!

 

What's your best guess as to how this beer would hold up and/or change with a bit of bottle age?

 

I was reading the breuery's notes on brett beer actually,

http://www.bjcp.org/cep/AmericanWildAle.pdf


and according to the bjcp this beer should dry out even more because of the brett fully attenuating the beer over time and the base style is less important because it can vary. The funk can turn to barnyard but the finish should never be too thin and should never be truly sour. In the few reviews that are already up for this beer you can note that there have already been changes to it that I could not possibly be aware of. If I could go back to the store right now I would buy several of these and age them to see all that!

 

Good morning to all on this yes cold morning here in central NH. It's a little early for me to crack open my chosen beer for this Sunday.
But I'd like to take this moment to chime in on the container style. I actually feel that I prefer the 16oz can format for most beers. I think my exception is when pouring a nice Barrel Aged Stout out of a can it just doesn't feel right. I know there is no difference in taste but I just feel that they should be in bottles.
I'll return later this evening with my review as I have a retirement party for a friend to attend this afternoon.

 

Cross post from the "other" thread...

I was creating a mix-n-match 6 pack the other day when after 4 beers I realized that there was nothing else that looked good. So out of necessity I decided to pick this can of Bronx Belgian Pale Ale and a can of Spellbound Pale Ale simply because I had never had any beers from these breweries. And what do you know, they ended up being absolutely amazing. The Bronx BPA tasted absolutely delicious, the spiciness of the Belgian yeast and the fresh hop aromas combining to create something that could have come straight out of Tired Hands. Spectacular. No idea how fresh this can was but I bet it was no more than just a few days or weeks old. Similarly, the Spellbound PA was surprisingly good: Very balanced but with insanely fresh hop aromas that made you want to drink more. Neither of these beers are sold in PA as far as I know (at least around my neck of the woods) so I may have to go to NJ to get more.

 

So this arrived from @jzeilinger yesterday, you know you have confidence in a trader when you put the fate of NBS in his hands and delivers enough quality suds to close out NBS for the remainder of the year. You are what being a BA is all about my friend. So the second I poured this absolutely gorgeous beer, I knew it wasn't going to be just good, but incredible! Poured slowly down the center of the glass at near room temperature and got a massive 2 plus finger mocha head that leaves behind little bubbles of lace all around my favorite Lost Abbey long stim tulip glass and settles slowly into a thin layer of bubbles. 4.75

Smell is roasty coffee , vanilla , dark chocolate, molasses, toffee, and a little hint of alcohol. 4.5

Taste follows a huge hit of fresh coffee, vanilla, dark chocolate, molasses, toffee, and just a little hint of alcohol in the amazingly balanced finish. 4.5

Mouthfeel is almost large, very creamy, moderate carbonation as you would expect from a beer with 11% ABV, fairly dry, and excellent drinkability. 4.75

Overall this is a master piece. I was wondering if Singlecut was a one trick pony, they brew amazing IPA'S, but can they branch out. Answer is simple, yes they made an exceptional Imperial Stout. Really an amazing imperial stout........ 4.5

 

Good morning New BSers and welcome on the cool and snowy morning. @cavedave, it kind of sounds like the old chicken-and-egg conundrum. In my case, I've always preferred glass over cans because i didn't really enjoy the metallic taste of can-flavored beer. Now, with the markedly improved canning practices, I kind of prefer cans because they stack better. As to the lip-touching container, I must say I choose a snifter over other glassware because it allows better detection of aromas and now I even travel with one. Will I drink from the container or from some other style of delivery system? Of course, depending on what's available. Today's NBS entrant said it should be consumed from a chalice so I used the closest thing I have to a chalice:



instead of my favorite JK snifter.

Received from @Josholson666 in NBS BIF #4
2015 vintage at 42 degrees, allowed to warm to 50 degrees, and served in the closest thing I have to a chalice, opens with a slight hiss
Aroma – sweet, toffee
Head large (Maximum six cm, semi-aggressive pour), light tan, dense froth, diminishing to a three mm ring and layer
Lacing - none
Body – amber, muddy with tons of suspended bubbles
Flavor – sweet but not cloying, toffee; no hops, no alcohol, no diacetyl
Palate – medium, creamy, soft carbonation

A very drinkable brew, lightly sweet, and no trace of the alcohol in smell or taste and no alcohol after burn. Without reading the bottle, I’d never have guessed that it was 10 % ABV. It loses some points for lack of lacing, but overall quite good.


Appearance 3.75, Aroma 4, Flavor 4, Palate 4.25, Overall 4.25. Rating 4.25, rDev +1.8%

And, just for those of you who keep score, this is review # 1400 for me, and my average rating is 3.643.

 

Nice to see some quality beers being brewed in the upper peninsula of Michigan. I've had some solid offerings from Upper Hand (Bells), and Blackrocks out of Marquette.
51K, 7%IPA, smells of pine and some floral notes, a bit on the dank side, not a citrusy one. Nice bitter dry finish. Cheers BAs

 

Congrats on 1400! =) cheers Ozzy!

 

Something bright and beautiful this morning . . .



Score 3.98
look: 3.75 | smell: 3.75 | taste: 4 | feel: 4 | overall: 4.25

Nice clear light golden color with moderate white cap and lacing.

Aroma is primarily resinous hops with a darker, stronger hop under layer that is pungent and sharply herbal. Floral scent is present in a heavier way but not intrusive, something almost spicy but with a quick cutoff.

Flavor is certainly hop forward and lasting throughout with a tapering off in the aftertaste. Malt is present and carries the hops along but contributes more to the body than the flavor. It all works together but this is a hop show and the hops do sing out. Malt appears as the brew warms and hop flavor develops more fully. Not more hop flavor but one of more depth and intensity. For all that the hops don't cross over into bitterness territory but stay within bounds which is a rather neat balancing act.

Texture is light medium but is certainly no lightweight.

Brewer says they use 6 hop varieties for a combined total of 69 IBU. This combination works well to produce a rather pleasant if limited dimensional flavor. I mean, it is labeled Hoppy Birthday so one shouldn't be surprised that it's a brew that features hops. Billed as a session ale at 5.25% it is that and a refreshing one as well. Sometimes I think "Session IPA" might be an ingenious solution to a non existent problem but as session ales go this one works well.

 

I agree - I've had some Blackrocks brews, and they've all been above average. Maybe next trip to TX I'll be able to make the Marquette loop coming home.

 

When I tell people about Hoppy Birthday and say it is a session beer, the are immediately turned off, thinking it will have no flavor. Boy are the wrong! A standout session IMO.

Cheers

 

I don't tend to hang out in the NBS very often even though 90% of my beer consumption is "new" beers. Anyway, here's another one from me: I was extremely excited to find this on the shelves of a beer shop in Cherry Hill, NJ, the other day. I didn't think that one could find Boon products so easily in the US. However I was very underwhelmed by the product inside. I know that lambics are not known for their heads but this thing was as flat as cherry juice. The aroma was nice and sweet, full of cherry, but with no hints of tartness or any other funkiness. The flavor was very uncomplicated: Relatively sweet and with only the faintest hints of sourness/acidity. No funkiness. Virtually no carbonation at all too. Finally, even though I know that this is a barely 4% ABV product, I personally have such a low alcohol tolerance that I can usually "feel" the alcohol even at such low ABVs. This was not the case with this product however. It didn't only taste like cherry juice, but it also gave me the same buzz that cherry juice gives me. That is to say, none whatsoever. I'm now wondering whether it's worth buying Framboise Boon (it was available in that store too). Maybe it's just better to buy a Lindemans product instead (for the same price more or less).

 

Heading up to Brunswick to visit my mother. We'll go out to lunch, then watch some football.
I'm sharing Imperial Biscotti Break Raspberry Umami with Mrs Wiens. She's not a big stout fan, but was intrigued by the raspberry umami.
The beer was black in color with a very tiny dark tan head.
Aroma of sweet fruit, roasted malt, and molasses.
Sweet changing to tart raspberry taste. Dark chocolate and espresso. A lingering taste on the palate, which I guess is the umami.
Medium-bodied.
I liked it, Mrs Wiens didn't.

 

With a name like “Punge” it’s just gotta be good, right!?!

Tired Hands sure selects some ‘interesting’ names for their beers!!

Below is a description of Tired Hands Punge via BA:

“Our new hyper fresh and pungent Double IPA. Brewed with oats. Heavily hopped with Nelson Sauvin and Motueka. Beautifully bright and juicy for 8.3% abv!”

Sure sounds tasty; let’s drink!

Served in two smaller goblets (I shared this can with my wife):

Appearance:

Pours a hazy golden/orange color with a very thin white head which dissipated very quickly.

Aroma:

Hmm? There is some fruitiness from the hops but also a sweet booziness aspect.

Taste:

The flavors follows the nose: a combination of some fruitiness but also that sweet booziness as well.

Mouthfeel:

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

Overall:

This is one of my least favorite of the numerous Tired Hands beers. I would summarize with the word of OK. I have not had this beer before on draft at the Tired Hands brewery(s) but I suspect that this is just an ‘off’ batch from Tired Hands.

As I made mention, I shared this 16 ounce can with my wife so we each got an 8 ounce pour. My wife couldn’t even get herself to drink 8 ounces of this beer. She had a little bit left in her goblet and was walking over to the sink when I yelled: “Whoa! What are you doing there?” She had a wry smile on her face as she started to tip her glass in the sink. I quickly ran over and snatched that glass from her hand; I drank the last two sips from that glass. IMO this beer wasn’t so bad that it was a drain pour. Needless to say but my wife sort of had a differing view here.

Cheers!

@KOP_Beer_OUtlet @rotsaruch @mythaeus @SFACRKnight @RobH

 

I'm a big fan of that Spellbound Pale Ale, and would get it on the regular. I just wish it was available near me; I can only get their beers when I visit my son down in Glassboro at the moment.

 

New Fins Up Sunday

Allow this dad a minute to brag. A big night last night for our family. My oldest son broke the high school record for the 100 breaststroke at a local invite (1:14.08 meter time, 1:06.73 yard/America time for any aquatic fans out there). He flirted with it his sophomore year, so we knew it was going to happen sometime this season as he put on about 10 lbs of muscle in the weight room over the summer. The best part is I was timing, and he ended up in my lane. You can't get a much better seat than this.

A state tournament appearance is on the horizon if he can trim another 4 seconds before he graduates. Of course he was blessed with a 5' 8" height so far, so the hill is steep.

On to the beer...

Pipeworks Blueberry Cichlid DIPA


3.84/5 rDev -1.5%
look: 3.75 | smell: 4 | taste: 3.75 | feel: 4 | overall: 3.75

Poured into a tulip from a 22oz bottle

It is a very dark, purplish/brownish red if that even makes sense. Take a dark copper beer and put a drop of blue food coloring in it and you would probably be close. It is clear enough to let tons of light through, but not enough to make anything out on the other side. There was a frothy cream collred head, but it dissipated into a fine ring pretty rapidly.

If I didn't see Blueberry plastered on the label, I don't think I would have really picked up on it in the aroma. Maybe a bit when it warms. It mainly smells like very strong mango, some dank body odor, some sourness, a noticeable alcohol, and a pretty solid bready malt base.

The initial taste offers a noticeable honey like sweetness and caramel like malts. Then there is a very, very, very strong tartness, ok, let's go ahead and call it puckering sourness, followed by spicy mango and pineapple. On the back end I would shout out blueberry for the first time. It is mainly noticeable in the lingering aftertaste along with a fairly sharp bitterness.

The body is not quite chewy thick, but substantial. It has a very nice airy/fluffiness to it. A ton of lingering oily resin coats the tongue, and the alcohol that seemed really noticeable in the aroma didn't jump out at me at any point while drinking it.

Overall this is a very good beer that I really enjoyed. I am not a blueberry fan in any way, but also not immediately turned off by it either. I think it is really nicely integrated in this beer. My biggest knock on it would be the sour aspect.