New Beer Sunday (week 623)

I figured I'd join our friend @BIGPOPPAS with a brew. We'll see in a second whether we agree on the beer, but I can tell you already that we don't agree on who should win the UVa/Villanova game .



Founder's Frootwood sounds interesting, but I'm not sure how I'll like it.

Definitely agree it's a pretty rose color, and very clear. Lovely to see a little stream of bubbles rise from the middle of the glass. A cross of frothy and soapy head, thick at the edges. I'm getting a little lacing, not quite as much as @BIGPOPPAS seemed to indicate.

My initial whiffs did make me think of Backwoods Bastard. Since that's not made with maple, I wonder if the maple is replacing the malty notes from that wonderful beer. The cherry is barely noticeable to me initially, but if I look for it, I can see it in there - maybe a little nod to a cherry soda - maybe a little like Cheerwine.

Funny thing, I actually get a lot more cherry than my fellow Frootwood imbiber. I do get a little bit of a weak tart kriek note, without any complexity. The maple acts more of a brief transition to the bourbon notes, which again brings a little recollection of BB. The cherry never quite leaves, nor does the ever so slight tartness it brings. The bourbon flavor also brings a little heat with it.

Agree here - light and crisp with just a little heat in the end. Not quite as sweet as one might think, I think because of that light tartness.



An emjoyable mix, but not a beer I will probably get more of. Reminds me a little of Rubaeus in its makeup - the fruit is decently represented, with the other notes (hops in the comparison beer) adding interest. I didn't get Rubaeus initially, but it has grown on me a tad. We'll se if this one does as well.

As I typed this up, 'Nova has made the run I feared it might. A battle for sure. Hope we pull it out!!

 

Saw this on draft last night, but had to leave before I got to try it. Picked it up at a grocery stop on the way home. Bottle is stamped enjoy by 04JUN17.
As you can see, this is a light ale, blonde it is. Head is nice, lacing continues to the bottom of the glass.
Aroma is tangerine rind. Front of taste follows the aromatics all the way to the finish, but the malt comes in midway. This is a pretty enjoyable beer, especially at 5.7%. Nice substitute for a big IPA when you can't afford the alcohol.
For all the hop character I can't believe the bottle date. Seems like a pretty volatile taste profile for that longevity to me.

 

I couldn't move on to a bomber of high ABV stout after those last two, so I've pulled out this fun looking IPA from @warrendietrich2001 that also marks my first Nevada beer, so that's pretty cool too.

Bad Beat Brewing Hoppy Times IPA



Good sized head that leaves behind a full curtain of lacing. Beer itself is dark yellow, orange, hazy thing. Nose deals in pepper, green onion and a twist of lemony orange. Taste punches through with a nondescript tartness that almost immediately gives way to a very abrasive, earthy, pungent bitterness that transfers more dandelion than anything else. Mouth feel is monster bitter in a medium bodied dry finish beer. If I were bellying up to a bar in Vegas, I'd be pretty good with some draws of this.

 

Happy New Brewery (to me) Sunday! Crazy week. I was on call, and of course this morning at 1:45 am, I respond to an alarm in which our treatment plant was basically crippled for three and a half hours! Yuck. The kid has no concept of time and tiredness yet, so up at 8:00 and we're off again. Alright, enough complaints! Let's talk about something great. How about a beer from a well renowned brewery in Wisconsin, given to me by a fellow advocate who has my utmost respect, @FBarber . My first from this unexpected porch bomb. Thanks again Frank!

New Glarus Brewing Co.
Two Women Lager





A: Pours a brilliantly clear deep gold, almost amber color into my favorite Weihenstephaner stange. Big, fluffy, frothy bone whit head that persists and laces well. Simply beautiful.


A: Smells gloriously of the timeless and noble Hallertau. Spicy, earthy, grassy... Then the sweet floor malted barley comes through. Fresh baked bread, sweet and grainy.

T: Sweet at first, showcasing the cracker goodness with a touch of caramel. The spice of the hops finishes is out with a nice peppery flavor. Simple. Just as it should be.

F: Smooth and so easy to drink. Good carbonation, almost foams up in the mouth, and finishes very dry. Balanced, but maybe a tad more bitter than its German inspirations.

O: This is a wonderful American interpretation of a classic German lager, in the sense that it lacks a little sweetness in the flavor. Not a bad thing by any means, just a truly American touch. I could drink this all the time and never get bored of it.

Cheers everyone, and I will see you all soon!

 

Rare Sunday when I'm home and can enjoy some beers. I pulled out a Wicked Weed French Toast Stout to enjoy with lunch. Hi



I like the 500 ml. size for this style and ABV. Dark mahogany with a thin head which dissipates to a persistent ring.

Strong toast and cinnamon aromas perfectly consonant with French Toast. Taste is dominated by cinnamon and vanilla, with maple showing up later. Drinks smoothly, flavors deepening as it warms. Perfect for brunch on a cold weekend.

 

Greetings, fellow NBSers, and thanks to @utopiajane for getting us going once again.
31° and cloudy outside. I'm taking things easy today as I recover from a hangover achieved by celebrating my birthday.

Last night I had several new beers. A restrained Coconut Porter at Iron Goat and two versions of River City's Mad Latvian Baltic Porter - the standard version and one brewed with cocoa nibs. Both were delicious and quite drinkable despite packing a 9.9% abv punch.

Not sure if I'll have any beer at all today due to the aforementioned hangover, so in case that doesn't happen, have a great week!

 

Good Morning Maria and NBS Crew.
Wow, I gotta tell y'all that in the midst of all the chaos in our lives, we took a day off so to speak. Went to some deer friends' home to enjoy a house concert. Yes, a house concert.

Our deer friends live in Camarillo, CA. When traffic is good, a hour and a half away. When it's bad, 2+. But, it was sooooo worth it. Y'all gotta check out these great artists:
Cindy Scott is an amazing vocalist. In fact, she's very well known in New Orleans jazz circles, and teaches at the University of New Orleans.

She is partnered with guitarist extraordinaire, Brian Seeger, who is also a faculty member at NOLA. I highly recommend checking them out. Here'a few clips of them:





Oh, and of course, beer was served in spite of the very New Orleans cocktails focus of the evening. Local Camarillo brewery Institution Ale Company

Batch #081
3.54/5 rDev 0%
look: 3.75 | smell: 3.5 | taste: 3.5 | feel: 3.75 | overall: 3.5

Fresh growler poured within 30 minutes of filling at an awesome house concert in Camarillo. Thanks Michelle and Ben.

Golden to copper hued. White foamy head rises and falls to a thin layer.
Smells is lite, biscuity malt. Hops come through as more of a drying out of the sweetness. Just the faintest whisper of grassy notes.
Flavor is very consistent with the nose. Definitely an approachable APA for those who are scared off by prominent hop notes. This one is smooth. The hops provide mostly an earthy drying out component.
Mouthfeel is full for style. Carbonated well.

 

LOVE YOUR REVIEW MAN !!

SORRY about the loss . It was an amazing game though . Truthfully I was breaking stuff in my house during the first half . I wasn't even going to watch the game to the end as my blood pressure was soaring and then Nova went on that 13 point run . Sick game . I definitely feel the pain for Virginia fans

 

Hello everybody. Time for me to stop grumping all over the thread and just have a beer . It's actually a beautiful, sunny January afternoon here, nice enough to get the garage doors open and clean out our guinea pigs' cage. Many of the herbs are still in good shape, too, to the delight of our little buddies, and that brings me in the mood to open this new one from Grimm:


Color Field, a sour ale with hibiscus, rose hips and chamomile.

Grimm's sours are fairly easy to get a hold of because unlike the canned IPAs, they tend to stick around for a bit. And that's surprisingly, to me, because for the quality these beers are a bargain and seem to be priced to move. This bomber was only $9.99, for example.

It's got that gorgeous hot pink color that suggests a heavy hand with the hibiscus, and you wouldn't be wrong if you guessed that. Actually, 'floral' in general is a very apt descriptor here, and it's pretty seamless where the flowers, herbs and hops meet one another. And it's surprisingly bright for what is essentially a dried flower quality, rather than fresh. Deep into the nose there's also a touch of spiciness and stone fruit (a delicate plum comes out upon lots of swirling). The initial sip is a full on sour attack- it stays palatable, but just barely (imagine putting a sprinkle of sugar on a lemon wedge before biting into it.) This beer is helped, too, by just enough sweetness to help you get past the first wave.

But after a few ounces it becomes more complex and bracing; quenching, even. The plum comes more to the fore the more I have, but that slightly tannic hibiscus dominates the finish throughout, bookending the floral nose quite nicely. By the time of the second pour I'm fully aboard and really enjoying all that this beer had to offer. It's deftly assembled, and shows the entirely of its elements, including some natural astringency, while somehow keeping it all in check. I'll gladly buy this one again if it manages to stick around. A- (4.25).

 

I don't think I've ever read a review comparing a beer to Cheerwine! I love Founders offerings but sometimes their fruity beers are overly sweet. I've got to try this.

 

On to more stuff.. better get something big as I will have to slave myself in the kitchen after this.

let's try this one.

Biggie S'mores | Three Notch'd Brewing Company


Three Notch'd Brewing Company - Biggie S'Mores Imperial Stout by imbibehour, on Flickr

---------------------------

Poured from the bottle into a large snifter glass.

Pretty straightforward looking stout, dark walnut brown near to black, actually slightly red almost dark copper hued. Very nice tan creamy one finger head that dissolves to leave a nice creamy collar as well. Very nice looking brew.

Interesting aroma. Whoppers malted candy quality and lost of graham crackers come off on the nose. Milky sensing and mushy crackers in the mix, but a somewhat closed malts presence. Not much hints of chocolate or even roast, but a one note that is actually quite impressive and inviting at least.

Palate provides a bit more diversity. Light bodied hints of char and roast on first sip, with more carbon and char roast like flavors and action in the aftertaste. Quite an interesting sweetness too this, tastes like honey quite a bit as opposed to lactose and milky cream character. Honey and graham cracker with a noticeable roast mix in the mid palate mostly.

Is this a milker? Somewhere in between? I like the graham cracker on this quite a bit, but many of the other flavors suggeseted just don't show up (chocolate, marshmallow, cream/vanilla). Fun beer, but I think this has the potential to be considerably better.

look: 4.25 | smell: 4 | taste: 3.75 | feel: 3.75 | overall: 3.75 | BA Generated Score: 3.84

Cheers!

 

Thanks. Yeah - I felt like we needed to knock down one of those shots during that run, and we kept rimming out. Obviously I wanted to see OT, but I really wanted to see overtime - another five minutes of that game would've been fun.

Now, it's been a long time since I've had Cheerwine, but it jumped to mind. We discussed minds and memories earlier, so consider that. However I think the maple and bourbon-barrel vanilla might've worked with the cherry flavor to give me the impression. It's definitely not as sweet as a soda. I'd say it's fairly similar to Lizard of Koz in having sweet and tart fruit notes, but more light and crisp than the stout (note I didn't find LoK to be as sweet as most seem to).

 

Infinite likes...

 

Hey NBS Gang. My contribution today is Bible Belt, a collaboration between Prairie Artisan Ales and Evil Twin. The best way to describe it is BOMB! with less pepper and more dark fruit. It's really tasty and the 13% ABV is well-hidden. About my only constructive criticism is that it's rather thin in body. Here's my review:

4.35/5 rDev +1.4%
look: 4.25 | smell: 4.25 | taste: 4.5 | feel: 4.25 | overall: 4.25

Poured from 12 oz. bottle into stout glass. It pours an opaque black walnut color with a thin, mocha-colored head and lacing. I expected a foamier head and more extensive lacing but it's still an attractive pour. It smells of roasted, almost burnt, malt, dark coffee, cocoa, wood smoke, and pepper. The taste is not as peppery as the regular BOMB! but there is a really nice dose of dark fruit, including cherry and raisin, which gives it a chocolate covered cherry quality. The coffee is also evident - not quite burnt but not quite fresh either. The peppers are evident but subdued and there is a hint of vanilla, as well. This stout has minimal carbonation and a creamy mouth feel, although not very viscous. The alcohol is deceptive; it doesn't drink like 13% ABV. Overall, I really enjoyed this collaboration between two great brewers. It doesn't feature the pepper heat of the standard BOMB! but the dark fruit is a welcome substitute.

I'm enjoying your reviews this afternoon. Cheers everyone!

 

Howdy NBS! Got a couple entries for you guys today! This past week was busy as hell at work and took a lot out of me, so I was glad to get out last night to go to a barleywine festival at Cambridge Brewing Company with some of my best friends. Had some very awesome vintages of both Arquebus (their blonde honey barleywine) and Blunderbuss (their darker, English style barleywine) along with a pour of 2015 Pretty Things Our Finest Regards! On to today's beer though...



This idea is kind of silly, but I was morbidly curious to see how it came out. I've actually long been a fan of both of the constituent beers for this, but what really sold me on grabbing a bottle of this was the ingredients list on the back... it just says "brewed using 2 ingredients: Rogue Hazelnut Brown Nectar & Rogue Chocolate Stout"...

Pours a very dark brown, almost entirely opaque and black once it all tumbles into my glass. Has a nice cap of khaki head that laces pretty damn well overall. This seems very biased towards the "stout" side of things, but Hazelnut Brown has always been a fairly dark beer in the first place, so I guess I'm not really surprised it's so dark, even with the 60/40 blend of HBN to CS in place here.

Nose is pure Nutella; hazelnut-cocoa with notes of velvety smooth chocolate pudding and roasted nuts. There isn't much subtlety here, but it seems kind of heavier on the nutty note than the chocolate note overall. Perhaps that will change as it gets warmer. Very sweet and decadent. Reminds me of Ferrero Rocher candy as well, of course... y'know, with the whole hazelnut right in the middle? Great stuff. If that kind of thing is up your alley, you'll like the smell of this one!

On the tongue, this is surprisingly bitter upfront, with some baker's chocolate melding quickly into a smoother, milkier chocolate note with the hazelnut and darker malts coming out in the middle. The finish is tempered overall by an additional roasty note that plays off the nutty elements well. This is actually a little less sweet than I figured it would be from the nose and the concept in general. The mouthfeel is medium but finishes watery overall. Has some solid carbonation but it isn't pushy or over the top. Nice balance of the flavors from its constituent beers. One thing I found interesting is that the listed ABV on here seems bizarrely low at 5.7%... I mean, HBN is over 6% and CS is almost 6% itself, so how did this come out lower? And the IBU rating on this seems a bit wacky too; the bottle lists 75 IBUs? I taste very little of that other than some very neutral bitterness upfront that nevertheless seems within the realm of 50 IBUs, as expected for a sub-6% malty, dessert-y beer. Not sure how much I believe these numbers. Regardless, it's a pretty good drink, and a fun one-off that is almost exactly as I expected, in the end. Cheers, and I'll be back again soon with a new sour!



Edit: why not put up a couple photos of last night to make y'all jealous...?

 

I don't really drink sodas much, but I do love Cheerwine from nearby Salisbury. Just in case you may need it some day, a 16 oz bottle of Cheerwine cures a hangover. Really.

 

That is one of our favorites here in WMass, similar to Convivial Saurez (another favorite) with its own angle for sure.
Cheers

 

Good afternoon BA! Today's new brew travelled cross country in just 18 days and is now fresh hoppy goodness in my glass. Russian River Blind Pig.



The pour is a clear golden amber with a two finger off white head. Great head retention and very nice lacing.

The aroma is fairly light all things considered. Piney grassy hops, orange and sweet caramel malts.

Taste is great, big resinous hops, sweet orange and floral hops midpallete, and a piney and grapefruit bitterness on the finish. The bitterness is firm and drying without being cloying.

Mouthfeel is pretty thick and smooth, great carbonation, nice and tingly and crisp.

Overall this is a great IPA. One of the best west coast IPA's I've had. The big west coast hops provide great floral and pine flavors, firm bitterness and a complementary balance of sweet malt. I think the only thing I can knock here is the aroma is all there but not overly impressive. I liked this a lot more than Pliny the Elder, I think the hops and malts are much better balanced here.

Cheers!
Marc