New Beer Sunday (week 630)

I love Pliny as well, and I agree it's peak life is regretfully short.

 

Yes!



4.56/5 rDev -0.7%
look: 4.25 | smell: 4.5 | taste: 4.75 | feel: 4.25 | overall: 4.5

Canned 2-22-17
Moderate pour yields a 2 inch white head over a not-too-hazy body (yay!) with very nice, sticky lacing that has lasted at least 20 minutes now. Nose of tropical fruit, citrus, and some pine. Taste follows nicely clean, smoothly bitter, dry, and crisp. Feel is very nice and overall, the best of the 5 Aslin beers I've tried!

 

I got two bottles of Pliny the Elder. Both were about two months old when I hosted a tasting with someone with a beer opinion I trust through and through. I cracked open my first bottle of Pliny with him, and after my first sip just sort of stared across at him to read his face. I found it woefully disappointing. And his face didn't indicate any better.

I'd like to try some fresher Pliny, but after that, I'm just not sure. I don't think a two month old Trillium would be any better. Just not a great first experience.

 

G' evening NBS-ers!
Back again with another one of those Jersey beers from @SammyJaxxxx

Kane Sneak Box APA

Poured from a 16 oz. can into a Snorkel glass. Plenty of carbonation in this can, it overflowed a little into the top of the can. Not over the top though.

Appearance: Thick cloudy-hazy body with a fluffy white head that leaves a moderate amount of lacing in the glass.

Aroma: Slight grassiness and a decent amount of pine. Just a hint of onion.

Taste: Let me say that this is just what I want from a Pale Ale. A little dank, some pine, citrus and orange, subtle onion to garlic on the end.

Mouthfeel: Medium mouthfeel with a with a juicy finish. Reminds me of Tired Hands.

Overall: Another delicious beer from NJ! I like everything about this one. Super easy to drink, not heavy at all. Would definitely love more of this one.

Cheers!

 

Enjoying this fine offering while reading your post.
I appreciate your viewpoint.
Cheers

 

Hi all NBSer's out there. I am currently driving as fast as possible home to cali from Idaho (visiting a friend for his bday) to get home and open my BIF box. Will definitely post a new brew later. I did however stop at knee deep brewing to grab some fresh hops and I had a new one for me called

Knee Deep Hop De-ranged

On tap at the brewery

Wow this is the harshest IPA I have ever had.
look: was clear and orange with a small light head
smell: right away told me this was full of hops and they were over-powering
taste: was literally a punch in the mouth of hops and I just couldn't taste anything else.
feel: was nice for a Quad IPA, I guess but this might be my first one.
overall: I really don't know how I feel. After a few sips I thought I hated it because it was just too much hops and almost had like an alcohol after burn to it. Then I maybe adjusted and started to really like it. By the end I think this is a super slow sipper of an IPA that you should only drink if you love hopped up west coast style IPA's.

 

I've had the pleasure of 10 day old Pliny, but it's hard to get first, and triple tough to get that young. Even where there's a lot there's doesn't seem to be a lot available. Pliny is an old school IPA which I definately appreciate, but I can't say it's better than easier to get east coast beers. But it most definately malts up fast, I'd put Zombie Dust in the same boat as Pliny. I'd agree that Heady ages incredibly well, can't say ive ever had one that turned malty with age, every single one has been stellar. And there's been a ton of Heady pass my way.

 

Breckenridge Nitro Chocolate Orange Stout, 6% ABV, 13 IBU. Pours thin and black with a one finger tan nitro head. Nose is malt, chocolate, and slight orange. Taste is malty and slightly sweet, some chocolate, no notable orange, slight bitter close. Good mouthfeel with the nitro. Overall very good.

 

Thin mints are yummy but I'm a big fan of Samoas, toasted coconut and caramel gloriousness!

 

Greetings All:

Nice Spring day here in the Columbia Basin, sunny with temps in the low 50's. Best weather in months, and the grass is starting to turn green.

Today we are cleaning out the last of the 'winter' brews. I wasn't sure why Bonfire Blonde was include in a Winter Sampler, but after I opened a bottle I got it.
https://www.beeradvocate.com/beer/profile/35/225610/
Smokey. Winter smokey. Not exactly my kind of brew. I'd rather have my liquid smoke in a porter or a stout.

So winter officially ends before the sun rises again. GOOD RIDDANCE!

 

They are outstanding, I still haven't made the trip to the brewery. How are their pilot batches if they do them?

 

I'm getting jealous looking at all these BIF boxes. I'm already starting to set some stuff aside for #6. After that giant stout, I'm going with another big beer, this time from @jzeilinger while I surf some Netflix.



Poured from a 12 ounce bottle dated 11/14/16 and provided by jzeilinger.

The beer pours a deep, almost orangish brown with a one-finger head on a vigorous pour Tha last about five seconds leaving almost no ring or lacing.

The smell is deep dark fruits, raisin, plum, and some oak.

The taste follows with tons of raisin and a little barrel. There is also a lot of sweet toffee flavor that compliments the dark fruits well.

The mouthfeel is effervescent and medium bodied.

Overall this is very nice, complex, balanced, and a great barleywine.

 

Ohhh. Those damn things. There were some of those in the break room a couple weeks ago. I ate several. It's a good thing I run over my lunch breaks.....

 

Schafly Ibex Cellar Barrel-Aged Imperial Stout

Evening, BAs. Sharing one more tonight from @jdell15 as part of the NBS BIF.

For some reason the bottle design and name really appeal to me. The fonts, the color, the ibex all sort of remind me of 1970s euro-wannabe sophistication. I like it.



The beer pours black with a slight red hue, generating a finger-and-a-half of tan head. It dissipates into a thin wisp across the top and leaves decent lacing.

Dark chocolate in the nose, some doughy malt, just a flash of bourbon sweetness and a hint of vanilla -- like some sort of delicious chocolate pastry.

Bitter baking chocolate is up front in the taste, with vanilla again in the background. The doughiness is gone, but there's a pleasant bitter-sweet balance from the barrel aging. Warming alcohol is present throughout, with a little burn on the backend.

The mouthfeel is just a tad on the thin side, with a slight spicy prickliness that couples with the alcohol.

This is a class-act beer. Thanks again, jdell. You sent one hell of a box. Much appreciated.

Enjoy your weeks, everybody.

 

I agree with you about having only one delicous flavor, rather then a few flavors that are well intergrated together. For example Lagunitas Hop Stupid gives me multiple levels of hop flavors (citrus, tropical, once, resin), but most Trillium, treehouse, and other NEIPAs give me one flavor. Its one of the reasons I think Heady is still a better hoppy beer then most of these new overly hopped IPAs. Great review

 

The guys at The Alchemist even bragged about their beer still being great as it ages. The light orange turns into a more bronzed look as it ages. I've been fortunate enough to have had Zombie Dust as well, and thought it was great even at a month old. I hope to try Pliny again when it's closer to fresh, but after everything else, I'm not sure it's worth chasing.

 

Thank you. I tried to disregard my inner-BA member thoughts and review it as an IPA, and not as a hyped beast. While it was still pleasant, I didn't think it was the top of the World Class. I'm glad I'll get to enjoy another as a second glance at the beer. Perhaps my perspective will change slightly.

In all honesty, I think that's one of the best brews coming out of Missouri this year. No, I haven't had BA Abraxas, although I have had some of the other upper level Perennial and Side Project stuff. That Ibex Cellar is sublime and butting heads with the other limited stuff. The packaging is great with a unique twist. The four pack carrier is unique. And best of all, the beer inside the bottle is absolutely delightful. I have only seen one four pack available of the regular edition and (regretfully) passed on it due to price. I 100% believe that beer will make a wholesomely awesome cellar beer. If I some how have the fortune of colliding with another four pack, it'll be mine.

Now I did pick up a four pack of the coffee one, as I knew better after passing on the regular edition. If it's even 4/5s as good, it'll be well worth the price tag.

 

New Sunday Bloody Sunday




3.5/5 rDev -5.7%
look: 4 | smell: 3.25 | taste: 3.5 | feel: 3.75 | overall: 3.5

From a 12oz can dated 3/7/17

It is a clear, very deep ruby red color. There is a cream/light tan colored soapy head that is pretty thick and leaves a bit of lacing. So far so good.

It smells like orange rind, bready caramel malts, and some leafy floral hops.

There is a zesty, sour orange and peel flavor along with some bitter, resinous pine that all gets drowned out by a solid backdrop of sweet, toasted bready grains that linger.

A soild medium body. A bit pithy with a definite spicy rye like bite.

Pretty much a hoppy red. Much like the show after season 2, nothing worth revisiting.

 

My first Narrow Gauge beer courtesy of @LehighAce06

Sorry, I don't do the sophisticated reviews. Let's just say that it smelled like a wonderful, juicy and citrusy IPA. Taste was very pleasant and clean with no burn. It had a good carb to it. Overall an excellent IPA. Wonderful, refreshing, and you wouldn't know it was 7% by drinking it.