New Beer Sunday (week 616)

Outstanding review, and so glad you liked it! I'll be following up here soon I hope, with my eyeballed NBS. Cheers!

 

I've moved on to a local Blackberry Porter from Riverwalk Brewing in Newburyport, MA. It is an 8.5% abv porter with blackberry puree added.

This beer pours deep black with reddish brown hues under the light and a creamy dark tan/light brown foam head.

My first impressions of the smell were like a blackberry wine, with jammy blackberry puree, dark chocolate, coffee, vanilla, caramel, mild coconut, molasses, dark brown sugar, toasted bready malts, some graham cracker, with earthy grassy piney hops.

The taste is well mixed blackberries with the smooth luscious imperial porter base of dark chocolate, roasted coffee, creamy vanilla, caramel, molasses, brown sugar, toasted bready malts, graham cracker, with earthy grassy pine hops.

The beer is medium-light bodied, creamy and slick with moderate carbonation.

This is the first dark beer I've tried with fruit added that I'm aware of (aside from coconut, and oops forgot about Lizard of Koz too). The flavors work well together, and this example is natural and not overpowering. It's definitely not sour or too fruity. You still get that nice porter base with hints of fresh blackberry. Overall this is a really nice beer that has got me excited to try some more dark beers with natural fruit added. Cheers!

 

Here's the second Against The Grain brew - Bloody Show.

There's some philosophical similarities to the first beer. It says it's a tart pilsner brewed with blood oranges. It's more amber than expected. There's some white sediment in the beer. I bet this undated can is months old.

It doesn't taste like a pilsner at all, but this beer has more of a lager character than the festbier. It's shocking how little blood orange flavor is in this given the packaging, the brewery, and the current marketplace. It comes across as an uninspired lager with citrusy hops. There's a nice roundness to the beer underneath the hops. I don't find it tart at all, but it is bitter.

 

So our son just returned from New Zealand, and he brought back a somewhat random beer that sounded interesting for us to try. He had other beers from Yeastie Boys over there that were good, so why not?


Cool! I like strong ales and I like peaty whisky. Sounds great!



Wait...A few red flags here.."they said it would be undrinkable...," "100% peated malt"

Poured into a snifter. A somewhat hazy golden-amber color with a thin off-white head that settled into a wispy cap. The smell - where to start? I imagine that this is what 100% distilled peat essence/oil would be like: astringent, medicinal, herbal, woody. It's honestly like smelling a bowl of Chloraseptic. When sipping this, I had to close off my nose in order to get myself to swallow this. And wow: it's like licking a boggy underbelly of a tree after it was sprayed with antiseptic. It was so overwhelming that I couldn't taste any other notes. This was the most undrinkable and phenolic beer I've had - unbelievable! I would be interested in a beer with about 1/20th the peated malt; I bet that would be nice!

 

Wow. Strange. Sounds like an I'll conceived idea right from the start.

 

A second exhibit from me today. I have a stock of new beers, so I need to clear some of the less compelling brews out,

Ginger Beer from the Boston Beer Company.
https://www.beeradvocate.com/beer/profile/35/241782/

I guess there is a difference between Ginger Beer and Ginger Ale? I think I'd rather have the Ginger Ale.

 

Good evening NBS, hope everyone is enjoying the end of the weekend once again. Thanks to @cavedave for getting us started off this morning. Pretty bad snow storm going on out there right now, it is looking increasingly likely I will be staying home to work tomorrow already. They said we could get up to 11 inches before midnight. These past 2 weeks have been nothing but a constant influx of new beer finds, plus I am getting a trade soon as well. It's getting hard to decide what to drink haha. Anyways, my 4900th beer review will be on Friday night, and I will probably choose the bottle the same night. Rye Abyss is getting to it's "Best After" date next Sunday, so it might be that; but we will see.

New Beers:

This was incredible! Aromas and flavors of big raisin, plum, cherry, fig, date, apple, pepper, ginger, coriander, cinnamon, nutmeg, and clove yeast/spices; with balanced caramel, brown sugar, brown bread, toasted biscuit, and light roasted malt sweetness. Light-moderate herbal bitterness and peppery yeast spice on the finish. Medium-full bodied and well carbonated. Lots of bready creaminess in the mouthfeel; lightly silky and sticky/chalky from hop oil/spice. Extremely well balanced. Just a bit of drying character from the lingering spice/oils. Very drinkable, very mildly warming alcohol. Truly amazing levels of yeast complexity. The spices work in seamlessly. This reminds me of a lot of Corsendonk Christmas ale on the yeast/malt flavors; obviously a different array of spices than it. 4.37


Great American Barleywine! Fantastic head retention, and lasting lacing on the glass. Nice clarity. Aromas and flavors of big tangerine, grapefruit, pineapple, apricot, peach, plum, pear, melon, white grape, lemon, berry, orange peel, light pepper, and pine hops; with moderate honey, caramel, brown sugar, toasted bread, and light toffee malt sweetness; with herbal, floral, grassy hop earthiness. Light-moderate pine/herbal/spicy bitterness on the finish. Medium-full bodied; balanced bready malt creaminess and hop stickiness in the mouthfeel; lightly resinous, silky, and slick. Increasingly drying resin finish; zero lingering hop astringency. Pleasant warmth of 10%, no booze. Really enjoyed this! Had a really unique mix of fruity hop/yeast character. Good bitterness without being overly aggressive. Hits all the style notes great. A bit paler than I expected on pouring, but the malts came through nicely. No complaints. 4.03


This was outstanding! Aromas and flavors of big milk/dark chocolate, cocoa, caramel, toffee, vanilla, fudge, cream, brown sugar, and toasted dark bread; with lighter notes of coffee, smoke, nuttiness, molasses, dark fruit, and licorice. Light herbal/spicy hop and roast bitterness on the finish. Very full bodied; with an amazing creamy/silky/rich mouthfeel. Slight hop stickiness and roast malt chalkiness. Just ever so slightly drying from roast/hop notes. Pleasantly warming 12% finish; no booze. I loved this one! Definitely dessert stout style. Not very charred/roasty, but definitely has a lot of sweeter roasted/chocolate flavors; with deep sweet malt caramelized complexity. Very smooth. They really pulled this one off extremely well. 4.15


Cheers, have a good night NBS

 

New Holiday Porter Sunday

For my next brew, I had a good local porter from Zaftig Brewing: https://www.beeradvocate.com/beer/profile/34018/150320/?ba=bluejacket74#review





I think that's it for the new brews today. I'll check back on here later today or tomorrow morning to see what everyone else has been drinking!

 

Vanilla? Hazelnut?

 

Greetings all, on a snowy Sunday evening here in northern NJ. Thankully I got the laundry done just before the flurries started. What's that got to do with laundry, you wonder? well, the washer done died, so I had to do an emergency load in the sink and afterwards I was on the back deck doing my best Pete Townshend windmill impersonation spin cycle. Thankfully the dryer still works, but I didn't want to overload it.

I was inspired by @utopiajane 's review this afternoon to see if I could get some Temporary Permanence for myself. And lo and behold, the beer Gods wanted me to have it as well because I was able to procure some by chance-

I just can't resist a brett farmhouse-style beer that features new world hops! And this one ranks with the best of them.

Aroma is bright and airy, beguilingly potent yet delicate, coming across with lots of quince jelly, wildflowers and tangerines. Just below the surface some sweaty barnyard resides, but it's just a gentle hint that serves as an intriguing counterpoint. The palate is much wilder, where the barnyard makes itself known, and the fruit takes on a much more citrusy quality. Peppery spice comes on as well. Bread and straw provide a sturdy foundation, and citrus peel lingers in the long crisp dry finish. The mouthfeel is nicely austere and flinty like the best saisons, and although the bitterness is potent, it's just a quick clean snap that doesn't interfere with the overall impact of the beer.

This is an extremely enjoyable beer, and I'm thrilled to have been able to find it. I think if the airy floral quince quality made its way to the palate a bit more it would be truly outstanding, but still, I'd happily grab some more as long as I can find it. High A- (4.35). Thanks, Maria!

 

Good evening NBS, Thanks to @cavedave for the start off and for another thought provoking subject.
We were in the northwest part of WMass for some live music this last few days. Bright Ideas Brewing operates in the Mass Moca campus. The offerings are quite good, in our most recent visit. Heritage was an offering that uses one of 3 hop varietals harvested and tested by Geneticist at Williams College to identify "heritage". These are all old plants from Vermont. The brewery used this years harvest to brew an APA. I don't know if production of the varietal is in the offing but a great one off for sure.
I like the concept and the product, no gimmicks here, simply a flavorful APA with some unique ingredients.
Cheers all


Heritage

Bright Ideas Brewing
American Pale Ale (APA) / 5.70% ABV

3.93/5 rDev n/a | Avg: 3.93
look: 3.75 | smell: 3.75 | taste: 4 | feel: 4 | overall: 4

Enjoyed on draft, took a Crowler home, enjoying that as I write.
A - Translucent deep yellow. orange backdrop. A loose kit cap off snow white. Carbonation trickles its way skyward.
S - Earthy notes, wet birch, or cedar. Some sweet malts, and wonderful melon rine.
T - Warm biscuit, with some sweet orange jam, hops add a peppery element, pineapple dried and unsulfured. very interesting.
F - Soft on the palate, just the way an APA should be, no real edges which I like quite a bit, carbonation is gentle and helps lead to a dry finish.
O - A wonderful APA, using a distinct New England heritage hop. The offering showcases both the hop, think spicy pineapple, and the craft of this brewer. Very nice on all fronts.

 

Greetings, NBSers. I'm raising this glass in honor of my friend @WesMantooth and his son, for the state record young Mr. Mantooth set swimming yesterday. This choice is also appropriate because we got snowhammered yesterday - plus I'm a Schell's fanboy, so that's the beer nerd trifecta.



One of my favorite breweries, and one of my favorite "series" beers each year, I've liked all of the Snowstorms. This one is no exception.

This iteration is an English Strong Ale, and it's a malty winter treat. Loads of toffee and caramel - and some fruity flavors like dark cherries and stone fruit to really elevate this. I wish Schell's would offer this year-round, because I'd buy it regularly.

Rated 4.19.

 

I know it looked familar.

Cheers!

 

It's been almost a year since the last time I had PUNGE, but what you just described does not sound like what I remember having. I don't remember any booziness and only a small amount of malt sweetness, it's a shame that this latest batch was off.

 

Cheers NBSers, and happy New Belgian Sunday! I was going to pull a cellar beer courtesy of @tasterschoice62 's awesome porch bomb, but when I saw this and reflected at @utopiajane 's review a couple of weeks ago, I bought it and decided to experience the "sunshine" on my own, and share back with you all from my perspective! The front door has two new fresh coats of black paint, the Christmas tree is up and decorated, and the sun is going down, which means movie time for the kid, and reflection time for dad. So now I give you Wittekerke Wild!

Belgian Wit beer with Natural Flora from Oak Foeders.
5.0% abv, poured from a 16.9 oz can into my favorite Christmas glass, the Weltenburger-Kloster Winter Traum stud of a handled Mug!



A: This beer pours a lovely and evenly cloudy "sunshine" yellow with a nice compact white bubbly head that sticks very nicely. The appearance is wonderful to look at, as I get lost trying to gaze through it, but it's just opaque enough to deny the pleasure.



A: Mild tart apples, a hint of oak, a touch of clove, and a deep breath allows an earthy grassiness and sweet and simple grain to arise.

F: A mellow oaky funk, and an herb or spice so familiar, yet I can't quite put my finger on. Slight white pepper, then granny smith apples. Very interesting.

F: Surprisingly, texture has become my favorite of the senses recently, and this does not disappoint. Smooth, silky, and easy to consume, brings you back for sip after sip! Leaves a nice slick coating throughout, a mild acidity that lingers, and just enough earthy bitterness to balance out the whole experience.

O: This is a great, easy, slighty funky beer to keep you going while working hard. Refreshing and unique enough to keep all the senses balances and happy. Thank you @utopiajane for your lovely review! If it weren't for it, I would have kept passing this up never realizing what I would have missed.

Cheers everyone, and I will see you all soon!

 

Started my day with two new beer from Bellefonte with @CanConPhilly. First up was Selfie King IPA. This is one of the better IPAs Bellefonte has brewed, very hop forward, dank, citrus and some tropical fruits, fairly dry, came out to almost 8% ABV and it really worked for the beer. Not really a NE Style IPA, but seems to be leaning that way with the flavors. The second was a black lager, 7.5%. ABV, some chocolate and roasted malts, hints of caramel malts, smooth balanced and clean. Both are around a 4.25, cheers!

 

Good Sunday evening!

Finally got the chance to see Doctor Strange. With a 7mo old we're still trying to figure out how to do things around the baby. My wife got to see Fantastic Beasts and tonight was my turn. Anyways, the reason you're on this thread.

Trying out Founder's Lizard of Koz tonight. Picked it up on a whim as the combination sounded interesting. To sum it up, it certainly is interesting. The appearance was great and smell was about right, chocolate and blueberries but the flavor was a bit off. It's a little overpoweringly sweet and slanted towards the blueberry side. Every now and then there is a taste of what the beer could be, more balanced and less sweet, but alas it doesn't stay. Much unlike the aftertaste of blueberry syrup that lingers on the tongue too long. Can't say I recommend it or plan to buy it again myself but it's been interesting. Certainly not the worst of beers.

 

New Beer Sunday: A new Gose Gone Wild (on a World Tour)

Evenin' NBSers,

The weather here today has been cold and cloudy but so far without precipitation. However tonight I get to sleep through a wintery mix that turns to rain well before I wake up to tomorrows warmer temperatures.

With the chores and errands finished a while back it's been time to turn to a new beer. As I suggested earlier in the thread might happen, tonight I'm enjoying the Stillwater Gose Gone Wild World Tour - Phuket.

As usual my review, subject to change until the beer is finished, can be found here:

https://www.beeradvocate.com/beer/profile/22150/236802/?ba=drtth#review

Lemony tart, fruity and lightly salty and spicy this is an interesting beer to have tried. Wish I'd had it in time to drink side by side with the base beer that my friend and I had a couple of weeks ago but before he and I each found a lonely bottle of this version. If pressed I'd probably say the difference between this and the Gose Gone Wild base beer is the touch of fruitiness and the hint of spiciness that I didn't find in that beer. It also seems the citrus is more lemony. This one is easily a 4 or better.

I've been listening this evening to the music of a group called the Highwaymen that includes stellar performances by Willie Nelson, Waylon Jennings, Johnny Cash, and Kris Kristofferson. Among the various tracks is one that became a youthful favorite of mine while I was spending the best part of a month living and working on a Nevada cattle ranch (learned how to ride a horse and use a post hole digger to put up new fence posts while repairing a barb wire fence, among other useful life skills ). The performance linked to here features Willie Nelson and Johnny Cash, with the other two assisting in the backup.

Ghost Riders in the Sky

Cheers, all!

Edit: After looking at the Brewer's website for a description of this beer (and reading the fine print on the label ) I see that the fruit is mango, that there is also some lemongrass and Thai chili pepper in this beer. Quite honestly I didn't find any of them strong enough in the flavor profile to for me to have been able to easily identify them, and there certainly isn't any real heat from the Chili peppers.

 

The third Against The Grain beer is a collaboration with Amager - Minor Axident.

The name of this IPA is clearly referencing the well known Surly/Amager beer. Against The Grain knows that they should be careful about this and are playful about it in the description (blaming Amager).

The beer is an orange color and it has an orange flavor as well. It also tastes of melon. The finish has a pleasing bitterness. The feel is great. It's soft and thick.

This one is made with Amarillo, Mosaic, wheat, and oats.

This is a very nice beer. I could see it being more loved with more exposure.

 

And I agree whole heartedly. There has been plenty of discussion on the monthly Tired Hands threads in the Mid-Atlantic forum about the lack of quality consistency of the various Tired Hand batches. And for transparency I have commented on this topic as well. Hopefully things will get back to 'normal' here? I sure hope so.

Cheers!