New Beer Sunday (week 619)

In celebration of the first day of the month, which I look forward to because that's when the first of my retirement checks is direct deposited, I trotted out this one. . .





Score 3.69
appearance: 3.75 | aroma: 3.5 | taste: 3.75 | feel: 3.75 | overall: 3.75

Dark reddish brown appearance with bountiful tan cap.

Aroma of rich dark malt.

Taste is richly satisfying. This is not a complex brew, almost single dimensional, but it's a good dimension. Upon entry my first impression was a bit of sweetness but that passed so quickly I question whether it was ever there. The malt is full on dark conveying a sense of richness with hints of chocolate and a bit of roastyness without any hint of bitterness. Roast malt lingers in the brief aftertaste but hops are no more apparent than in the usual Lenie line. Very easy drinking stuff.

Medium to full body depending on who's counting.

I bought this almost as an afterthought when cruising through the beer isle figuring if I didn't like it that much it would appeal to the Guinness fan in our household, which it did. Very similar to Shiner Bock but with more flavor.

 

Happy New Year/Beer friends! Thanks @utopiajane for the excellent opener today.

I too am grateful for this gang of garrulous geeks graciously getting together here every Sunday, so thanks to you all.

It occurs to me it is a time when many are regretful of things that have happened and people that have passed in 2016. I mention this because we are a select group here that can honestly say that for this thing we share in common, this hobby we love, last year was the best year for us fine beer lovers in the history of the planet Earth!

Let's make 2017 even better, whatayasay? Cheers!

 

Great review, man, I really dig your reviews. I have this feeling now I really know this beer. Could be they always were of this quality, but I really think you have improved and gotten to a great place in your reviewing ability since I started reading them.

 

Your tease on WBAYDN drew me over here

 

Mornin' and a Happy New Year (HNY) to all you NBSers,

Sunny here today with a touch of chill in the air, but there's a good chance we may be flirting with close to 60 by mid-week. Expecting to have a day and evening full of watching that Philadelphia institution, the Mummers' Day Parade on TV. You may have heard of this Parade, but the only way to really grok what a big deal it is for Philly natives, and for the city as a whole, is you gotta be there in person at least once in your life. Even if you only manage it once, a TV broadcast of the Parade takes on a whole new meaning. As with a line up of good beers, these Mummers' Day Parades offer lots of interesting new experiences despite that fact that they are all "just" Parades.

Expecting to also catch a bit of football and the Rose Bowl Parade as well, so there'll be a whole lot of channel surfing goin' on. (Given the New Year's Day line up of snacks and goodies, I'll probably have to make an extra visit to the Gym this week to deal with the extra calories. ) But I am planning on making it back this evening with a new Winter Warmer to talk about.

I'd also like to echo some of the sentiments expressed by @cavedave. Since we can't change the past let's all spend the New Year helping to contribute to a better future for both our children, for the beers and the brewers whose work we enjoy, and for the world around us.

Cheers, all!

 

Good morning New BSers and welcome to the New Beer Year! It's a sunny Sunday here in NW PA as we use up the first of our 30 sunny days/year. Today's New Beer Sunday beer is:



It's been described on BA as "polarizing". Granted it is a tad sweet initially, I can't wait to age a few bottles (Actually, I HAVE to wait in order to age some). Good thing I finished off a case of bombers yesterday and now have room for these.

$ 196 (Including tax)/case of bombers ($ 0.742/oz) at Franklin Beer, Franklin, PA
Undated bomber (Case marked “Packaged 10/31/16”) at 42 degrees into a hand washed and dried JK snifter; allowed to warm to 50 degrees.
Aroma – chocolate leads with a fruity after smell
Head average (Maximum 2.8 cm, aggressive pour), light brown, dense and creamy with a few surface rocks, diminishing to an irregular one to three mm ring and thin layer with a single rocky island. Retention is not great – reduced to a thin layer in less than four minutes.
Lacing excellent – wide complete bands of tiny-bubbled dense lace
Body – dark brown/black, opaque
Flavor – Very heavy chocolate followed instantly by sweet blueberry cascading across my hard palate. Vanilla not so much initially, but as the brew warms, the vanilla pushes forward. Bourbon barrels? Not seen at this time; perhaps as it ages? The blueberry remains in the aftertaste. No malt, no hops, no alcohol, no diacetyl.
Palate medium to full, creamy, soft carbonation

Appearance 4, Aroma 4.25, Flavor 4.25, Palate 4.25, Overall 4.25. Rating 4.24, rDev +8.7%

The question arises, is this really a stout or should it be a fruit beer. Well, to my taste the malt is definitely missing as are any hop hints. Palate-wise, it's definitely a stout and a very good one. Flavor-wise, not so much. The flavor is more consistent with a fruit beer with added chocolate. I may have to go borrow some insulin from my neighbor - did I say this was sweet?
There are only two berries I actively seek out as a food source - blue and cran. I find that both can be used in both tasty and foul beers. This one is tasty, so far the only tasty blueberry beer that I've tried. The sweetness, the blueberry flavor, the lack of malt or hops presence, all make me lean toward a fruit-vegetable beer rather than a stout.

Prosit!

 

Well done! Will heed the advice, new beer today!

 

Hello NBS, or also known as my favorite day of the week. I'm at work at the moment, and when done in a half hour, off to the weather delayed Christmas with the fam. After I'm sneaking over to Wisconsin on my way home, to pick up some goodies. I'll be back on later today with said goodies. I'm hoping I can still find Spotted Cow Grand Cru there. We shall see. See you all later today, and enjoy NBS.

 

Maria - I just actually READ your Auld Lang Syne - Nice!

 

Winter of Pilsners

Firstly: Happy New Year’s Everybody!!

As I am sure many of you know, last summer I took it upon myself to try new (new to me) Pilsner beers and report on them every week in the New Beer Sunday thread. I must confess that when I started that quest I really did not think I would be able to find a new Pilsner to report on every week of the summer but to my surprise (and glee) I was able to find enough beers. I even had some ‘spill over’ where in the fall I discussed some as well.

Well, I must have been a good boy this year since I have had the good fortune to be gifted with a number of new Pilsners over the Christmas holiday season. So, I will take it upon myself to have an assignment to report on some new Pilsners over the Winter season. I will not make this Winter solely a Pilsner operation but I will discuss a number of Pilsners.

To para-quote the Blues Brothers: I am on a mission for Pilsners!

I will start things off with a homebrewed Pilsner from a very good friend from Michigan. He sent me some of his homebrewed beers as a Christmas present and among my stash is a Pilsner. I have had the pleasure of drinking a number of his Pilsners in the past and those beers were excellent!! In fact he won a ribbon for one of these beers at the Michigan Home Brew Festival.

Needless to say but I am pretty excited to try this beer!!

Served in a new Christmas present – Firestone Walker Pivo Pils glass

Appearance:

A nice golden color with a big fluffy white head. Nice Belgian Lace as the beer is consumed.

Aroma:

A distinctive sweetish Pilsner Malt aroma with a hint of herbal/spicy hop aroma.

Taste:

The flavor very much follows the nose. The slightly sweet and toasty Pilsner Malt flavor is noticeable along with hop flavors of herbal/spicy in the background. A firm bitterness.

Mouthfeel:

Medium bodied with a pleasant crisp finish

Overall:

A very tasty beer which featured am engaging Pilsner malt backbone but there was hop aroma/flavor to provide balance. In German this beer was süffig!

Cheers to Jim for brewing another wonderful Pilsner beer!


I have three other new Pilsners in my existing inventory and I have another locally produced Pilsner ‘on my radar screen’ for purchase. Stay tuned!!

@RobH @rotsaruch @nc41 @KOP_Beer_OUtlet @premierpro

 

Any improvement of my work is due to following the fine examples on this Board.

 

Happy New Year!

I have a new brew lined up for this afternoon, not a new beer, but a new vintage. Looking forward to trying it out.

Cheers!