New Beer Sunday (week 630)

Maria, I downloaded the PDF and I just use that.

Cheers!

Jack

 

@JackHorzempa
Congrats! Your homebrew looks excellent. Dare I say I actually prefer the appearance of your beer, although they both look fantastic. They both sound great, your descriptors sound right up my alley. Enjoy and cheers.

 

Good morning, NBS! The day of mourning over my UVa men's basketball team's untimely and gruesome demise has begun. I didn't expect them to get too far in the tournament, even though the fact that they would be facing an 8-seed instead of the top-ranked team in the tournament gave us an easier path. I also didn't expect them to lay such an egg against any team, just sad.

To cheer me up, maybe I'll look at the internet for beer **** and cat pics!!


Our girl cat likes beer, we have found. She at least likes to lick whatever spritz is on the bottle caps we accidentally leave out. Then of course, she plays with them instead of the cat toys that she and her brother have.

Anyhow, apparently the coffee and chocolate stout with which we are starting this NBS seemed to meet her approval. Wicked Weed El Paraiso is listed as a 9.5% imperial coffee stout on the bottle (9.0% on this site).



I noticed that my review of this beer dragged the beer from a 90 to an 89 overall. I wasn't as enthralled by this beer as much as others, including @Buck89 who reviewed it earlier this weekend and Jason.

I found it interesting that as I poured this, it was obviously a lighter brown than I expected but Jason listed it as "black as night." It is obviously clear when the volume is lowered to see more easily through. Head retention was nice, with a few spots of lacing.



Overall, this came across to me as my definition of a porter (in the epic porter versus stout debate). The dryer feel and bitterness levels that do not seem to be all from roasted malt is one thing. There's a somewhat woody bitterness involved. The fact that I get a little more toasted grain notes versus roasted to charred in most of the taste is another.

The coffee and chocolate are more integrated than commanding the flavor and nose, which will appeal differently to different palates. I agree with @Buck89's assessment that the coffee flavor comes up front, and combines with chocolate notes before the latter wins out in the end. I also agree with him in that you won't notice the high ABV.

I might end by saying if you like bitter American stouts, you might like this as long as you aren't also tied to a rich, full mouthfeel.

 

Good morning NBSers! Today's new beer is one from an amazing box that I received last week from @jhavs for NBS BIF#5, packed full of glorious brew from Hill Farmstead (!)


I'm traveling all this week and actually have a few meetings this afternoon, but I couldn't resist bringing one along and kicking my day off properly:


The beer was opaque and somewhat viscous on the pour. A very dark brown color with a thick and creamy tan head. The first whiff brought milk chocolate with a bit of roasted coffee, some roasty malt, and a tiny bit of char. The malt was slightly sweet and it gave the sensation of chocolate milk. The first thing I noticed on the drink was the incredible silky feel of this one. I mean this beer just flowed effortlessly across my palate. Not thin, not sweet, just right. Carbonation was lower than most ales which seemed perfect for a big porter. The taste was huge dark chocolate, some coffee, some toast, mild char, and a pleasing floral bitterness on the finish. A big, complex beer that approaches imperial stout territory. This beer was 7.2% but I never noticed it. I'm finding out that these HF beers certainly stand up to the hype! Thanks to @jhavs for sharing this one with me! Here's to new beer in your glass today!

 

NBS! NBS! NBS!



Mother's Brewing MILF Imperial Stout

Glad to be joining you on one of the most magical days of the year, BAs.

I have a ton of barrel-aged beers to choose from today, thanks to the generous @jdell15 and the WGNABP NBS BIF. Had to go with this one, not only because it's already perfectly aged, but because I was dying to use the new #proper glassware.

I'm pretty sure this beer has touched more barrels than any other I've had before. According to the label, it's "Brewed with cocoa nibs and raisins and then lovingly aged in rum, sherry, bourbon, brandy and whiskey barrels, [taking] on flavors from the spirit and wood of each barrel."

Here's my review...

MILF pours a thick, chocolatey dark-brown color that approaches black. Has a finger of somewhat-soupy tan head that hangs around for a good while and leaves decent lacing.

Big, complex aroma of raisins, bourbon, red wine, sherry, vanilla and chocolate. Can't say I can pick out every individual barrel here, but you really can notice a bunch of them.

The taste is a little less pronounced, with the barrels really blending together here. The raisins do stick out, though, and there's a slight nuttiness to the chocolate. Mild warming alcohol on the backend -- not too hot, just about perfect. Red wine character does linger in the aftertaste.

Smooth tasting, a little on the thin side, with nice carbonation coming through to aerate each sip.

With just over two years on this bottle (it's got a 2/25/15 bottle stamp), this is tasting delicious. Huge thanks to jdell and all the BIF organizers.

I look forward to reading your reviews as I ponder which bottle to choose next.

 

Love your descriptors- and dig the beer.

 

Fabulous story and I love John Prine. Agreed he gets over looked as one of the greatest story tellers of Americana.

 

@beerloserLI thanks

4.62/5 rDev +2.2%
look: 4.75 | smell: 4.5 | taste: 4.75 | feel: 4.5 | overall: 4.5

Pours hazy gold. Thick, medium, white head lasts a while, good lacing.

Smells Tropical, citrus, juicy. Light earthy and dank with hints of malts.

Tastes surprisingly not as sweet as smell. Citrus peel and unripe tropical fruits. Some bready malt, light herbal, light piney and hints of vegetal. Finish is dry with a lingering piney citrus taste. Medium body and creamy medium carbonation

 

Good morning, NBS!
I picked this up on a recent trip to the Bay area

I also enjoy wine so I'll admit I bought it based on the "blurs the line between beer and wine" on the label. Unfortunately this falls into the category of not judging a book by its cover. I was hoping for some wine influence and anticipating this would remind me of the Golden State, but all that does that is its color.

Instead of the Pacific I'm transported across the Atlantic to Belgium. Not necessarily bad, just not what I expected. The one time the label is true is there's definitely honey influence. But all of the flavors/spices of a Belgian ale are here. Also for being a "sparking ale" there's very little carbonation. Again neither good nor bad just another way the label provided a different description than the liquid inside. I bought a few local bottles/cans yesterday so I may make another contribution this afternoon.
Cheers!

 

Good (late for me) morning...stayed up watching bball last night...

Today's new beer is "Barrel Aged Bible Belt", a Prarie Artisan Ales collab with Evil Twin Brewing, 65 IBUs and 13% ABV.

Poured at 54 degrees, black with a reddish dark tan foam that disappeared immediately;



A little clarity under non-existent cap; thinest of rings; no lace and tiny spotting; moderately heavy legs. 4.0



Big bourbon nose with a whisper of chilies and cinnamon. 4.5

Flavours of bourbon and chocolate up front; spicy chilies and cocoa nibs middle; slightly boozy; a little creamy vanilla/oaky vibe as liquid continues to warm; bitter roast chocolate malt finish. 4.75



Smooth, medium plus mouthfeel; light silky tongue coating with alcohol/peppery bite on tip of tongue; lite carbonation and warming. 4.25

Overall, more chocolate and less hot peppers than BOMB! with the addition of whiskey nose and flavor; actually, pretty well balanced; worth 1/3 more price wise than regular BOMB!? No. A worthy variant? Yes. 4.5

 

Good morning NBS, lets enjoy the last day of winter! My sweetheart has the date circled every year, as it is the day my beard goes away. Kind of like an ice out but a sure date to bet on.
Thanks to @cavedave for the intro and description of last weeks storm, snowed like hell here as well. Not the same accumulation though.
Today's offering is Drop In Brewing in Middlebury VT. A very flavorful, aromatic 5% Scottish ale.
Enjoy your NBS all
.
Heart Of Lothian

Drop-In Brewing Company
Scottish Ale / 5.60% ABV

3.86/5 rDev -0.5% | Avg: 3.88
look: 3.75 | smell: 4 | taste: 3.75 | feel: 3.75 | overall: 4

Poured from an undated can into the test glass
A - Deep red oak colored, gentle carbonation moves purposefully in support of thin white cap.
S - Peat and medium roast malts, some smokiness, a bit of caramel, burnt butter and brown sugar. Earthy hops Kent Golding and Fuggel maybe? The nose is wonderful, cries out for warm meat pie and gravy.
T - Sweet roast malts, light molasses, earl grey tea, and thin threads of, toffee, brown sugar, dark toast.
M - Light in body, washes across the palate, leaving a delightful sweet linger. A bit of smoked malts hang on the longest.
O - A really nice Scottish Ale, all the attributes are involved, but with a lighter touch. Well done.

 

Great story and great song!

 

The use of "amber" to describe Kellerbier is very misleading. I suspect the BJCP folks pushed hard to have some sort of differentiators and "settled" on those. Has very little to do with the realities on the ground (and in the glass).

EDIT: not sure if that was the point you were expressing, but I have heard a lot of people think they have to go for the color of a basic "amber lager" when they brew Kellerbier, and that is actually misguided.

 

I'll guess that other beer is Brooklyn Black Ops. One of my favorite brews.

 

yes! I loved that beer even though, at the time that I tried it, it had a lot of criticism. (if I remember right) people saying things like that champagne yeast made it taste funny and the champagne yeast did not go well with the chocolate malts.

 

Happy NBS on a bright and sunny, yet cool day in WI. The University of Wisconsin had 3 sports (football, basketball, hockey) make it to the Big10 tournament title games, and each team managed to lose. Ah well. The basketball team sure closed out on Nova yesterday and advanced once again to the Sweet 16!

I'm enjoying a nice import before I head outside to clean up the yard a bit. Schneider Weisse Tap 4 Weisen Edel-Weisse pours a brownish yellow with a fluffy 2..5 finger white head. The cap lasts and does not fade away. Aroma is wheaty with soft banana notes and some grain, clove, and just a touch of grassy hops. Flavor is rather soft bread and wheat with some additional banana and clove. Maybe a hint of citrus or orange. It is medium bodied, with a soft mouth feel. Made for a nice change of pace as Spring arrives.



Cheers to a great day!

 

Greetings, fellow NBSers and thanks to @cavedave for powering through his snow fatigue and getting us underway today,

Been a while since I could say this, but there's no snow around here except on the tops of the mountains at this point. Yesterday the temperature nearly reached 60, but with high winds and at times torrential downpours, things are still unsettled. I've been M.I.A. for the last few weeks due to a virus that made the rounds locally, and then a severe case of bronchitis piled on top of that. Finally, I'm off antibiotics and can drink alcohol and caffeine again!
Just in time, too, as I need to clear the fridge of all I received from NBS BIF #5, courtesy of that highly generous BA, @MacMalt, so I can fit other things in there, like, say, food.

Here's what @MacMalt used to blow up my porch:




Still savoring my first morning coffee in a while, but I'll start chipping away at that mountain of beer soon, as well as packing up a 2nd box for my target in the BIF, so I can get it moving tomorrow.

 

The BJCP style guidelines details two versions of Kellerbier:

“Kellerbier: Pale Kellerbier”

“Kellerbier: Amber Kellerbier”

The BJCP details that a Kellerbier does not have to be amber in color.

Cheers!

@utopiajane

 

good morning. decided to play today. i've had this in the fridge a couple of months now waiting for i don't exactly know what. firstly, my interest & therefore experience in the sour genre is fairly limited. i do like to try though & have been pleasantly surprised by a small few.

so not to preramble on further, i selected The Rare Barrel's "Forces Unseen", label has a "16" on it & i assume this indicates its vintage is 2016 (in case that's relevant & these differ much per release - not sure).

as can be evidenced in the image below, this doesn't hold much of a head/collar. for my personal like, that was a slight disappointment. the nose aroma is very floral with scents of ripe fruit. i am enjoying the taste. there's the hints of the oak it's slumbered in, a bit of a light citrus zest & a nice crisp breeziness in the mouthfeel. it is however just tad more acidic than i prefer (big surprise there - right?! ). i have a feeling i'd find it even more enjoyable accompanying the right food - something spicy?

anyway BAers, thanks for letting/getting me to play along.

 

Happy Sunday BAs

Posted in WBAYDN but wanted to share in NBS too!

Tired Hands HopHands, my first TH brew ever! Canned two weeks ago so pretty fresh especially considering I acquired this in a trade and it took 4 or 5 days to ship here to Idaho. This beer pours beautiful a hazy yellow/orange almost like a combo of Pinnaple juice and OJ. The nose is of fresh pinnaple and other light tropical fruits like mangos. A bit citrus in there too. Taste is very smooth and packed with Pinnaple, mangos, lemon and grapefruit rinds. Some light grass there too with a very small but yet still discernible malt presence. Medium silky creamy body that coats your mouth. Finishes fairly dry with a nice crisp citrus pith like bitterness. I really enjoyed this and was surprised to see the Bros' gave it a 64? To each their own I suppose.

Cheers BAs and drink well!