New Beer Sunday (week 616)

A busy and cold Sunday in NJ. spent most of the day hanging outdoor Christmas lights. An Imperial Stout will hit the spot. Santa's little Helper from Port Brewing in San Marcos CA. Imperial Stouts are my favorite cold weather brew and this one is pretty good. Santa's little helper hits all the right notes. The color,aroma, taste and mouth feel are all what you would expect but nothing stands out. It's an enjoyable beer but a number of better Imperial Stout are also on the shelves these days.

 

2nd NBS today. This one has been in my fridge for a long time. I don't really enjoy the winter spiced beers but something about today, the big snow, enjoying my kids; today seems appropriate to open this 8 year old beer.
I have not had this fresh so not sure what I was getting in to.
Ruby brown pour with a few floaties. Decent light tan head. Smells like dates, dark fruits. Taste is really great. After the small initial oxidation, the rye and caraway spiciness comes through. Dates, prunes and raisins also. Slick and smooth mouthfeel, no alcohol burn. Medium dry finish. Makes me want another one to try in a couple of years.

 

Looks delicious but at $15.99 a bottle plus NJ tax I had to hold off
All the reviews are amazing, but that's a bit much for the small bottle format .

With that said , I don't mean to be a downer it's just that I wish I could afford some

CHEERS !!

 

Very Nice Brew!

Cheers!

 

New Sour Ale Sunday

Happy NBS everyone! Started off my new beer drinking with a good local sour ale from Smokehouse Brewing: https://www.beeradvocate.com/beer/profile/1513/229710/?ba=bluejacket74#review





I thought it was an enjoyable brew, but more earthy/herbal than sour. I'll have another new local beer review on here in a bit. Cheers!

 

Happy NBS. Trying a Vanilla Hazelnut Zhukov....holy crap this is great! Cheers all.

https://www.beeradvocate.com/beer/profile/17981/249063/?ba=cindyjeffsmith#review

 

For glassware drinking beer I generally like my pint glass. For a stronger beer, I go for my tulip glass. Sometimes, I also like my glass mug for a beer, as I did for my first 2 for NBS. The next NBS beer I have will be a bigger beer and in the tulip glass.

 

BK in Chatham is selling 22 oz bombers for $6.99. That's a good price but they are also selling Brooklyn Black Chocolate Stout a much better RIS for $10.98 a 6 pack. That's a great buy!

 

Good afternoon BAs! It's been a glorious, lazy day here in TN. Our oldest son just returned from a 3-month trip to New Zealand and we have had a great time catching up with him and hearing some great stories (and viewing amazing pictures). The wife and I live vicariously through our children! We've been watching football all afternoon; it's a rare day when both the Titans and Redskins win, so everyone in the house (especially the missus) is happy. With that positive mindset, onto the new beer!

Vanilla Noir, by Prairie Artisan Ales - Imperial stout aged in oak whiskey barrels with vanilla beans



An opaque dark-brown color with a motor oil-like viscosity. A thin dark-tan head made a brief appearance but it quickly disappeared without a trace. Great smells of whiskey, vanilla beans, oak, coffee, and chocolate. Surprisingly, the whiskey dominated the nose, but there was a nice complexity. This probably changes with age, but I liked it. If you like vanilla, you will love this beer. There was a huge creamy vanilla flavor on the first sip from front to back. Underneath were nice whiskey notes, only adding to the vanilla experience. There was plenty of chocolate on the finish. The beer had a nice heavy, rich, velvety feel. A bit hot on the finish with traces of the whiskey at the end. All in all, the best vanilla-forward beer I've had. Cheers!

look: 4 | smell: 4.5 | taste: 4.0 | feel: 4.5 | overall: 4.25

 

Congratulations!

 

'Tis the season!

 

I agree. Brooklyn Black is a real bargain! I'm glad it's so easy to come by in North Jersey!

 

Greetings NBS friends and fellows! I went a little crazy yesterday and picked up a bunch of dark beers including the new Double Barrel Baptist (quite excellent, split it last night with a friend), Wicked Weed's Hop Cocoa (interesting stuff; hoppy porter with dark chocolate), the Bruery's new entry into their 12 Days of Christmas series beer... and this big bad mutha:



Clocking in at 13.5% ABV, this is a big, bold and rich imperial stout with a sweet yet burly disposition. I've long been a fan of Grimm, especially their funky dry-hopped sours and double IPAs that I've been lucky enough to stumble upon, and I have always found Double Negative to be a great impy stout, though I was not as big a fan of the BBA version as most on this site seem to be. I'm not sure if the base for this is DN or just a similar stout, but this definitely doesn't seem as hoppy right off the bat. Pretty sure DN weighs in at something like 70-75 IBUs at 10% ABV. This is probably somewhere in the same realm, bitterness-wise but about 33% stronger. The barrel aging likely contributes to the less-perceptible hop aspect, along with the vanilla; the flavor here is chocolatey and smooth with less roast than I imagined it'd have. Vanilla ice cream with rich hot fudge is the best comparison I can make on the tongue, though imagine if said fudge had some sweeter, woody bourbon infused into it. Some coconut, oak, toffee and lighter notes of plum start to come out as this warms and opens up a bit, but I still mostly get huge cocoa, vanilla, cream and bourbon (as expected). The finish is very open-ended.

Madagascar vanilla bean, some very slight notes of sweet-hot ethanol and milk chocolate dominate the nose, while the beer drinks on the thicker side of medium with a long, lingering sweet flavor. I actually don't think this even tastes like 13.5%, which is pretty dangerous. I'm also not sure that was intended here; perhaps this picked up more from the barrels than they figured it would. It doesn't hurt the beer or its drinkability by any means, however.

The gorgeous, deep-brown head becomes an ominously darker tone if swirled back to life following its initial collapse. Slight, spotty lace develops a little bit as I sip at this beauty. This is a very decadent dessert stout; an incredible display of the whiskey and vanilla elements it promises. Decadent and wonderfully-crafted.

Pairing this beer with a classic of modern atmospheric progressive metal. Cheers all!

 

Happy New American Black Ale Sunday!

Really nice day here on the Western Slope, sunny, around 43. Did the usual little hike, trail is getting a little muddy again. Another very tasty brew for the price, kinda like Lagunitas. Nice to find brew's like this. Watching the GB/Seahawks game. A few really nice brew's showing up today.

https://www.beeradvocate.com/beer/profile/5316/254261/?ba=Wasatch#review

Cheers!

 

Good evening NBS. Thanks @cavedave for the fantastic wake up call. Just a bit of snow tonight expected and then a 50 degree high tomorrow. Nothing unusual as these swings seem to be the norm now and in the future. Well I'm down to my last from the porch bomb provided by the mighty @Lingenbrau. And what a top quality box o brews it was. And the follow up porch grenade was also stellar. Enjoyed every brew. Thank you again.
Today's brew: Beachwood Brewing
Amalgamator IPA.
Pours a clear amber/gold with an off white head that lasts forever and leaves lots of lacing. Little pockets of tiny bubbles rise through the glass.
Huge aroma- Mosaic tropical notes galore and lots of "dankness" which I personally love. Tangerine and yes Blueberry! Without reading the label I think I may have picked that out. Really works.
Taste follows with a Kaleidescape of flavors -really luscious feel also. Has everything to please the senses. I could go into more but see the label. The notes are perfect to me. This may be my favorite of the box. A super Westcoast style IPA packed with everything you like if you're into the style. And as you all have surmised by now I drink a couple. For NewOldVinylSunday I pulled out this Seger album and damn he had some great rock songs. Have a fantastic week and as always thanks for taking the time.

 

New coconut beer to me; I love coconut beers, so snagged this bottle earlier this week. If I'm reading the code correctly, bottled 11/18/16. Let's go!



Pours black with a ruby hue around the edges; quick dark beige cap; constant ring of thin foam with moderate spotty lacing. 4.25





Strong coconut nose with vanilla notes right behind. 4.0

Cocoa nibs, burnt toast, coconut, lite char, bitter hops and bittersweet dark chocolate. 4.0

Medium body; semi creamy and somewhat slick mouthfeel; moderate carbonation; dry finish. 3.75

Overall the bitter hops and bitter roast malt overwhelm the coconut and chocolate flavors; no hint of the ABV well masked; maybe a little time to allow hops to settle. I would like to drink this again in another month or so...3.75

Cheers!

 

This may be it for tonight, but here goes.

North Coast North Stock Ale 2015

Strong, for sure, good, but I'm not sure it's worth it. Another confused rating.

3.97/5 rDev -3.2%
look: 4.25 | smell: 3.5 | taste: 4 | feel: 4.25 | overall: 4.25

Old Stock Ale 2015

Pours a dark red, almost brown body. The head is bubbly, and 2 finger. The nose is minimal, but I do smell something that I can't really describe. The taste is somewhat mellow, at first, then the booze hits me. Some hints of vanilla. Interesting beer. I don't know if ageing it further would imporve it. Drinking at 62 F, if it matters.

★ 356 characters

 

Greetings All:

Spending the afternoon indoors, and not particularly enjoying the Seahawk game.

Today we have the Toasted Caramel Bock from Boston Brewing.
https://www.beeradvocate.com/beer/profile/35/225611/

A decent seasonal, appropriate for fall or winter. Today we are a lot closer to winter. He piled up 6 inches of snow this week, and now the forecast is for brutally cold temps for the week ahead. Single digits and even subzero by next weekend.

Until next time,

Happy Trails!

 

That's a good one!

Cheers!