New Beer Sunday (week 619)

Hello! I've returned with this to review:


Stone Xocoveza: A Winter Spiced Mocha Stout

(I've always loved the drawing of the horned-man on the Stone bottles; however, the coloring on this one is what caught my eye: turquoise, brown, and white.)

Poured from the bottle into two taster glasses (had to share with the hubby), the appearance is dark-coffee brown with a thin mocha latte head that disappeared rather quickly. Lacing seemed to follow the way of the head.

In the aroma I detected bell pepper, followed by the intoxicating smell of cocoa and warm coffee.

The initial taste to me was bitter, like strong black coffee, but upon letting it breath a bit more in the glass, the bitterness mellowed to cafe mocha and vanilla. This faded to bell pepper. And, just as I exhaled with the question, "Where are the spices? The label promised cinnamon and nutmeg!", cinnamon and nutmeg arrived.

The feel was creamy, smooth, with a little carbonation.

Overall, it is what I expected of a mocha stout, but not of a winter beer. Perhaps I had in mind a winter warmer that boasted more spice taste or a mole stout, since it was described as a "take on Mexican Hot Chocolate"? But maybe the word "take" meant "an interpretation" with bell pepper instead of chili pepper? I'll have to research it more. Nevertheless, a beer I will enjoy again before the winter is out.

Cheers!

 

Hmmm. I was there yesterday as well. I can confirm, Dan is.putting out some dynamite stuff.

 

Greetings All and a Happy New Year!

On a snowy afternoon here in the Pacific Northwest we are watching Seahawk football and having Hopflake White IPA. Most appropriate.
https://www.beeradvocate.com/beer/profile/35/24173

A good IPA. Long on pine and short on malt and sweet citrus flavors. More yellow or gold than white, but whatever.

Brew kettle fired up this afternoon. Brewing a Deschutes Red Chair clone recipe. I hope it comes in. I really like Red Chair and it's a bummer when it disappears from my grocer's shelves in the spring.

Until next time,

Happy Trails!

 

Happy New Year's Day!

I had occasion to go through Nashville earlier this weekend, and picked up some Guru Gish from Mantra after @Buck89 introduced it to us last week.

As he mentioned this beer was named for a fellow BA (@Volntitan) who lost his battle with cancer. I never got the opportunity to meet Jeff, but having several family members affected by cancer, I raise my glass in his honor.

On to the beer. Simply put, this is a goo-goo cluster in a glass. Not much head even with a fairly aggressive pour, but the aroma and flavors are spot on for the candy. Very nice desert beer indeed.



https://www.beeradvocate.com/beer/profile/43249/223139/?ba=richj1970#review

 

Now up new beer number 3 thanks to @goingbrokeonbeer! Enjoying my first Westbrook Gose. After a long time waiting have to say I'm a little surprised how well it compares to German Goses since Gose Gone Wild and Key Lime Pie Gose aren't the most traditional beers.

4.33/5 rDev +5.1%
look: 4.25 | smell: 4.25 | taste: 4.5 | feel: 4 | overall: 4.25

If thanks to Goingbrokeonbeer for this
12 oz can, dated 9/12/15, poured into a pint glass

A- A slightly hazy golden straw with a two finger white head.

S- Lemons, coriander, wheat, just enough salt.

T- Lemons, touch of lime, wheat, coriander, salt, well balanced.

M- Smooth, light body.

O- A great Gose, taste is pretty traditional for a Gose. Wish I could get this near me!

Ranking the versions of this I've had I would rank them Gose Gone Wild, Key Lime Pie Gose, Gose and finally Gose Gone Wild Phuket. I will say all are great and unique enough that each has their own place, cheers!

 

New Bruce Banner Approved Sunday

Happy New Year Advocates. Last night (and into the morning) I had a great time with the WBAYDN crew as my daughter and I watched pretty much everything that was on tv. Today, I took advantage of the beautiful weather and deChristmased the outside of my house this afternoon. My first new brew of 2017 is also my first from this Dayton, OH brewery. Thanks to @LeperJim for shooting this my way since I never see single options of their stuff.

3.49/5 rDev -9.8%
look: 3.25 | smell: 3.5 | taste: 3.5 | feel: 3.5 | overall: 3.5

Poured from a 16 oz can with what appears to be 12/14/16 stamped on the bottom.

It is an orange color. Somewhat clear. A pretty minimal, dull white soapy head that fizzles away quickly like a cola.

It smells very strongly of candied orange, almost like a marmalade, mango, and green pine with a solid amout of biscuit malts.

It tastes basically just like it smells, other than the addition of some stone and grapefruit. A lot of sweet orange up front, and significantly bitter pine on the back end all with a constant honey covered, biscuit like overly strong malt base.

Fairly heavy bodied. It borders on an imperial feel. Also, the carbonation seems off/lacking. It just feels a tad flat, which jives with the appearance.

This isn't a bad beer overall, but nothing I would seek out again. A little too malty and it reminds me of an older citra hopped beer even though it doesn't appear to be. Maybe something was off with this batch/canning though after reading some other reviews.

Cheers!

 

New Beer Sunday: A New Winter Warmer.

Evenin' NBSers with special greetings to supporters of seasonal spicy sipping.

Boy, was I confused this morning! I got the Mummers' Day Parade (still going on) right but was a whole day off on when the college bowl games and Tournament of Roses Parade are happening. They are all tomorrow! Today was all NFL Football. On the other hand that did mean we got to watch the Eagles beat the Cowboys, which was some consolation for a basically loosing season for the home team. However, with a Rookie Coach and a Rookie Quarterback playing all the games, the surprise would have been a winning season.

This evening's new beer is the Anderson Valley Winter Solstice.

As usual my review, subject to change over the next few days as I finish the remaining bottles from the 6 pack, can be found here:

https://www.beeradvocate.com/beer/profile/193/2081/?ba=drtth#review

Part of what I liked about this beer is that it is a winter warmer brewed for when you are having more than one. The flavors of caramel sweetness, vanilla, and a bit of nutmeg make their presence known but are not so intense as to discourage having that second bottle. While the hops don’t show strongly they do appear and contribute to a slightly earthy bitter dryness in the ending. Easily all 4s across the board or better.


The impressive fireworks show on the Philly waterfront last night were a music and light show where the music was composed first and then the fireworks designed to pair with the music.

While it doesn't involve fireworks, in that same vein here’s Beethoven’s Symphony 7 Second Movement being accompanied by a light show.

Cheers, all!

 

So, upon more research, I discovered that the Pasilla Pepper, which is the pepper they use in Xocoveza, is a chili pepper.
Ooops. My apologies. They did use chili peppers.
In defense of my tastebuds, though, it tasted a lot like bell pepper.

 

Thank goodness you didn't have a rookie RB, too, you mighta won home field advantage .

(Note: Zach Ertz has been a good TE for me in daily fantasy recently ).

 

Moving along:

Awesome mint stout! Fantastic head retention and dense lacing on the glass. Aromas and flavors of big peppermint, milk/dark chocolate, cocoa, cream, toasted dark bread, and light smoke/nutty malts; with some herbal earthiness from mint/hops. Light balancing herbal mint and roast bitterness on the finish. Medium bodied; great creamy/silky lactose mouthfeel; touch of chalky roast and sticky mint. Minimal dryness. Slight lingering mint cooling after the finish. This has a really awesome balance of mint with the milk stout. Not overpowering, but you get a nice presence. Great mouthfeel for a modest ABV stout as well. Really impressive. 4.13


Amazing kriek! Aromas and flavors of huge sour cherry, raspberry, strawberry, lemon, orange zest, green apple, hay, straw, oak, almond, and some wheat/bready malt; with lighter notes of vanilla, leathery funk, peppery brett, and white wine vinegar. Moderate fruity/lactic sourness and yeast/tannic oak spice on the finish. Medium bodied; good sized acidity/tannins and a fair amount of grainy/creamy malt balance in the mouthfeel. Lightly puckering and increasingly drying acidity; but never astringent or overbearing. Very smooth for the level of acidity; slightly warming from 6.5%. Amazing fruit, brett, and lacto presence along with the barrel. Nice solid malt foundation to control the level of acidity. Extremely impressed! 4.32


Cheers, have a good night NBS!

 

Me too. He wound up being more consistent than Gronk for me (helps that he stayed healthy), and was one of the reasons I won my league's SB this year. Good thing too, as Daddy needs a trip to the dentist soon.

 

Hey gang, one more that I'm sharing with my bro before calling it quits here. A Stovepipe I purchased at the Tasty Weasel taproom in Colorado dated 09/21/16 poured in my free Oskar Blues glass. Yes, free with the purchase of regular Ten Fidy a couple of years ago when I visited. Let's pour the pipe in the glass and take the trip!

Pours a dirty motor oil brown with a finger of mocha colored foam. It settles to a thin ring leaving no lacing. The smell is bourbon forward with vanilla, oak and char. A bit of dark chocolate emerges in the back. Taste is smooth velvety bourbon with vanilla, char, oak and some dark cherry. The feel is creamy, oily and smooth as silk.





Damn! This can run with the best of the barrel aged stouts. I had it years ago on tap at the Lyons taproom and remember it being very special. I was fortunate to be passing through Colorado when it was released and purchased a six pack. I'll double down if I'm afforded the opportunity again! My score is 4.62 / rDev +2.9%.

Let's make the best out of the new year and coming week. Time is fleeting, don't waste it! Until next time, I leave you with this.......

https://www.beeradvocate.com/beer/profile/2681/189272/?ba=Prager62#review

 

First Happy New Year to everyone,
This Sunday meeting with you all is a fine thread in my life's fabric. Thanks to everyone who contributes and to our moderators/mentors/muses @cavedave and @utopiajane for the focus, prose and insightful contributions each week.
Today was a whirlwind, finishing off at The Peoples Pint for their 20th Anniversary party, a small WMass brewpub that has and will continue to support the greater community with great offerings, food and purpose. Happy Anniversary to them all, They were pouring a 10 year old RIS, missed out on that one! Enjoyed a 2015 smoked Dopplebock that was fabulous! Live music and great people.

Today's offering was a holiday gift and what a delight, the praise heaped on Stone for the work on this is well deserved. Short review included.
Cheers all

Chris Banker / Insurgente / Stone Xocoveza - Charred

Stone Brewing
Milk / Sweet Stout / 10.00% ABV

4.16/5 rDev -1.2% | Avg: 4.21
look: 4 | smell: 4.25 | taste: 4.25 | feel: 4 | overall: 4

Poured from a recently gifted bottle into the modified tulip glass.
A - Dark, licorice colored backdrop, hides everything, A mocha tinted cap, fed by steady carbonation resides on top.
S - Bakers chocolate, cinnamon, vanilla, cumin and a touch of smoke.
T - Complex, burnt ends, cinnamon, toffee, Belgian dark sugar, plum, roast pepper, and more cinnamon.
F - Silky texture, full in body, a superb dry finish.
O - What a present this was, A delightful offering rich in every phase, full in texture, delightful spicing, and pitch perfect balance.

 

The Urbock is still the best to me, it's just got a deeper and more rounded base malt character which plays off of the smoke beautifully. I generally prefer the gravity of a straight bock to a doppelbock also, hefty enough but with less sweetness and more quaffability- so that range is right in my wheelhouse.

All that being said, one of my regular shops got in a bunch of the Fastenbier last year so I kept on going back for more. I bet I had more of those than any other style that Schlenkerla brews, bottle for bottle. The hops were just so fresh and bright, and it was fantastic taking advantage of it. It's a smoked lager that seems to have a pale ale malt/hop base, so pretty unique in that regard.

 

Good to see you here again! Best wishes on your personal goals.

 

Congrats!! Little sad to hear the extra dollars will be going to something a bit less desirable than new (or old) beer, though .

 

First new beer of the new year...



...and it's one I've heard a lot about before, but never actually tried until now. Sam Adams' Old Fezziwig Ale. The impression I've gotten of this one from what I've heard is that it's a spiced Christmas ale sort of thing, which is not quite like anything I've tried before. I've always thought it sounded pretty good, though.

Certainly smells pretty good -- malty, caramel-y, sweetish. Not noticing any obvious spices, maybe a teeny little bit in there. Actually, taking another sniff I am noticing ginger for sure, maybe cinnamon mixing in with the caramel-y malty smells. Taste is also very malty, lots of nice dark toasty bread and a bit of caramel. Noticing a bit of the spices on the end. I've seen people describe this beer as being like a Christmas cookie before, and it really does remind me of Christmas cookies a bit. Burping brings up some fruitier flavors, something almost banana-ish? Interesting. It's not quite a banana-ish thing, just similar, it reminds me of something but I can't quite remember what. Noticing just a hint of that when I'm drinking the beer now, too, though it's definitely hiding out in the background while the "cookie that's just a little crispy around the edges" malt stands out the most.

Overall a very nice beer! I was halfway worried that after all I'd heard about people buying variety packs just for this one it wouldn't live up to my expectations, but it looks like that was nothing to worry about. Lots of really nice toasty malt in this one, spices that are present but nowhere near harsh or overpowering, hovering on the sweetish end of balanced. I almost want to say it's like what I was expecting Winter Lager to be the first time I tried it, aside from the occasional fruitiness which is more of an ale yeast sort of thing.

 

Went to the in-laws and they had some brew for me. Nice choices sir! (He couldn't wait to show me.) I went with De Halve Maan Straffe Hendrick Quadrupel. I've always wanted to try something from this brewery and it was perfect coming off of the Central Waters quad from earlier.

Wow. No comparison. It's been a long time since I had a "quad" from Belgium. This is the real thing and it shows. The malt character in this is just excellent. The thing that really makes it exceptional is how dry it also is. It ends up making the American beer look bad in comparison - even more so for it being bourbon barrel aged. Where will a brewer decide to put his or her energy?

 

Happy New Year, BAs! Big thanks to the fearless leaders of NBS, @utopiajane and @cavedave, for their dedication and focus on keeping this thread about what matters most... the beer. I love the positivity that this thread brings week in and week out. Life with a toddler doesn't allow me to participate as often as I'd like but I'm always following along. I hope 2017 brings lots of great beer experiences to all.

This week, I had some time to make a beer run over the NY/NJ border to pick up some brews that I can't find in my home state. I loaded up on Germans and Belgians (and a couple of Americans) which I'm excited to dive into. This is one that I had zero clue about but I'm always up for trying a new schwarzbier.

Neuzelle Kyritzer Mord und Totschlag



The beer pours very dark brown with ruby highlights. Despite how dark it is, you can see clarity around the edges when held up to the light. A frothy, tan head sits on top and is persistent throughout the duration of the beer.

Aroma is mostly milk chocolate and freshly roasted malt with hints of coffee and smoke. Freshly roasted malt dominates the flavor but never comes close to tasting burnt. Medium bodied and lightly bitter in the finish with a creamy texture feel to it.

One of the strongest schwarzbiers I've ever had in terms of alcohol strength and roasted malt character. This was downright delicious though and so easy to drink. This year is off to a good start beer-wise. Cheers!

look: 4 | smell: 4.25 | taste: 4.25 | feel: 4.5 | overall: 4.25
Score: 4.26/5

 

Happy New Year, NBSers, and welcome to "polar opposites for Mew Beer Sunday in the New Year." First up, this magnificent Berliner Weisse courtesy of my beer friend @beerloserLI and the fantastic BIF #4, Monkeys With Knives.



This is summer in a glass, which is what I think of when I think of a Berliner Weisse. The beer is a gorgeous slightly murky brilliant straw color with a frothy white head. The smell - oh, my goodness, the smell. I popped the bottle, and I was immediately on a Caribbean beach - just MASSIVE passion fruit aromas, and the pour opened those aromas up even more.

The taste is spritzy and light, with the passion fruit complementing the base beer perfectly. I had just finished working out and this was an excellent thirst quencher - the beer almost had a salty taste like a Gose, but not quite, and this helped elevate the feel to world-class levels, IMHO.

This is my first beer from Grimm. It will not be my last if I have anything to say about it. Rated 4.36.

And at the other end of the beer spectrum, this howitzer of an imperial stout.



I didn't expect to get this beer this year, but when I walked into my local beer store a couple of days ago, they had this waiting for me. I think I'm getting verklempt.

The Bell's website describes this as Expedition and Double Cream, both aged in oak bourbon barrels, them combined. I don't even know what to say to that.

And that description is accurate. This is a big 11.2% ABV beer, but it doesn't drink that way. The barrel is present but not oppressive. The dark fruit of Expedition mixes with the chocolatey creaminess of the double cream as well as a great salsa mixes with perfectly prepared tostada chips - and the barrel serves as the guacamole to elevate this another 5 levels. I could drink this every day for the rest of my life. Rated 4.74.

Ranger agrees with me, BTW, so you know I speak truth. Again, Happy New Year to all of you - this is my favorite thread here on BA, and you wonderful folks are the reason why.