New Beer Sunday (Week 633)

Doing a flight of 4 new BA beers.
Whiskey barrel Imogene Irish red
Sourn dipity, sour whiskey BA stout, bourbon BA barleywine and scotch barrel schwarzbier.
Imogene
Pours amber red with head that dissipated by the time it I got to my table.
The aroma is sweet caramel malt, sweet fruitiness followed by a strong boozy whiskey that might be overdone.
Overall it's good, I think the BA version is better than the base beer, but I'm glad I only bought a 5 oz pour.
4/5

 

Happy New Bock Sunday, BA's! I'll try to keep this short,as I've been typing and picture collaging all night and morning to close out the award ceremonies for Rock Out With Your Bock Out: Drei. Welp, today is my BA birthday along with the awesome @SawDog505 . It's been great being so much more involved with everyone this last year, as I've really gotten to know quite a few of you. Thanks for putting up with my insanity.

As I've said over in WBAYDN, I wasn't quite ready to put my bock away, so my new buddy Navin and I decided to reach into the Biergarage fridge, and try out a brand new Kristal Weizenbock from the world's oldest brewery:

Weihenstephaner-
Kristal Weizenbock



A: Pours brilliantly clear dark straw with an insanely foamy bone white head that stays a quarter inch thick in this Special Edition Weihenstephaner stange. Laces exceptionally well.

A: Smells of banana, soap, crackers, even a hint of leather and a floral and grassy finish.

T: Light toast and banana dominate at first, followed closely by floral and spiced hop goodness.

F: Pretty well balanced. I'm on my second one now, and believed it to be sweet the first time around, but am definitely sensing the earthy bitterness taking shape now. Insane that this is 7.5% abv, as it feels almost as light and crisp as a pilsner.

O: Despite the positive review, I don't think I'll buy another six pack of this. It was fun to try and enjoyable, but overall... Just not quite my thing. Prost!

 

Scotch barrel aged camp fire lager, it's a schwarbier.
Wayyy to smokey, I think scotch might have the wrong choice of barrel. The base beer is already very smokey and this just takes it to a level that it shouldn't hit. I'm not really getting much else. Not good
2.25/5

 

Well its on to another new brew.

Davey Murray's Best Scotch Ale | Lagunitas Brewing Company

Lagunitas Brewing Company - Davey Murray's Best Scotch Ale by imbibehour, on Flickr

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Poured from the bottle into a wee heavy glass.

Big nice off white creamy to khaki colored head, makes a good easy three fingers on an aggressive pour. Good retention with a little bit of lace, settles easily to just under two fingers. Gorgeous body color, deep ruby and chestnut brown red, fairly clear too, just very dark.

Faint accents of sticky malt, a bit of toffee quality, but a very noticeable hop quality though. Hints earthy, and maybe a touch of citrus in there as well. Quite pleasuable, and a slight hint of berry like fruit. Pretty solid.

This is a very different scotch ale. Takes some big chances and definitely twists the style on its head. Light crisp toffee but a very big fruity hop mix that comes out like jellied candy. Hints of lemon, orange, grapefruit like warmth with a light malt toffee sweetness in the mid palate. Hop centric, but turning out in a very different way, with a good complimentary angle. Juiced finish almost like gum drops tasting.

Now this is what a real well crafted take chances beer should turn out like. Nice flip on the style that really takes it to a whole new direction.

look: 4.25 | smell: 4 | taste: 4.25 | feel: 4 | overall: 4.25 | BA Generated: 4.17

Cheers!

 

New Who are you calling a lush? Sunday

While I have more new beers than I can shake a stick at (man, I am starting to sound like my grandma), I went with this one that @Lingenbrau sent me. Seemed more than appropriate on this beautiful spring day with a lush green yard.



4.18/5 rDev +1.2%
look: 4.5 | smell: 4 | taste: 4.25 | feel: 4 | overall: 4.25

12oz can stamped 2/28/17

It is a deep gold color and slightly transparent. With a moderate pour, it produced a large, frothy white head that leaves a lot of sticky residue on the sides of the glass and a solid film on top the entire time.

It smells fairly malty and earthy. A slightly sweet bready grain and some raw fruit rind. I get some mango and a bit of apricot. As it warms, there is a faint cannibus weed in the background. The aroma is fairly sublte overall, but in a good way. It strikes me as being balanced.

Flavors of spicy mango, melon, grapefruit, and peach/apricot and pine up front followed by a light colored bread slathered in honey. A lingering taste combo of grains and a dank even keeled bitterness. I can't stress the overall raw, earthy/dull (good kind) tone of this enough. It is very Mosaic hop forward.

The body is very smooth and somewhat creamy and feels a lot lighter than the ABV listed.

An outstanding IPA that is incredibly balanced while still providing a ton of flavor.

Snack pairing

 

Sour'n dipity, whiskey BA sour stout with cocoa nibs.
The aroma is chocolatey with a rich roasty malt character and a very slight tart fruitiness.
The flavor is very good, tons of dark roasted malts, an outstanding chocolate flavor from the cocoa nibs and a nice light tartness on the finish.
It's pretty damn good, but I think it needs to be a bit more tart and could probably use a fruit addition. If they ever make a cherry version, or blueberry or really any sweet fruit I'll be all over it.
4.2/5

 

It's finally warm enough weather here in the Mitten where the boys finally convinced me to ride bikes. They're still learning and, .....it's frustrating. A good time for a NBS!



I haven't had too many Gose but this one seems to fit the bill. Appears to be a golden color. Lemon, grains and a saltiness on the nose. Taste is lemon, lime, sweet then tart. I think it's a solid, drinkable warm weather beer.


And, yes, I really did buy my Jeep at Bud Weiser.

 

Very well written and great start to another NBS!

 

Hey NBSers! Not great at posting pictures but had a bottle of Last Snow. For the ABV it was once of the more flavorful and enjoyable beers I have ever had! The coconut and coffee are both delicious and well balanced. Wish I could have it more often!

Sorry for the shameless plug but I wanted to also share this BIF thread with everyone - it is a raffle for charity where the prize includes a bottle of parabajava, HF Works of Love: Tired Hands, Lawson's Apple Brandy BA Fayston Maple Stout, AND a very limited Atwood Ales Bier de Garde!

Cheers!

 

A wonderful beer I would never see here in south central PA. The funk is present and up front. It reminds me of an easier time. It is a beer that is probably easily made, yet demands respect. This is truly a Sunday surprise.

 

Enjoying a gorgeous day with the windows open and the Masters on. I wanted a beer to fit that mood. And for some reason, this beer feels like spring to me. Been excited to try it for a while, but was waiting for the right moment.

Allagash Avancé.



Murky, muddy reddish brown in color. Little off white foam that recedes quickly and leaves no lacing. Aroma is funk, molasses, and strawberries. Jam-like and with mild notes of oak. The taste starts with tart funkiness, which is then blended beautifully with strawberries, slight molasses sweetness, acidity, and a touch of bourbon character. Medium-light body, moderate carbonation, and an extremely dry finish. A very complex beer with waves of different flavors. I'll savor this one.

Happy Sunday BAs!

 

G' afternoon NBS-ers! Since my best friend has been in town for the past week from PA we have been keeping him busy with stuff on the weekends and he's been hitting the beaches during the week.
So today we hit up the Spring Festival in a local town with a great revitalized downtown called Winter Garden, which is also home to Crooked Can Brewing.
So of course we eventually made our way down to the brewery and had a couple of beers!
Sorry no pics today, it jut completely slipped my mind.
So the brewery has pet rescue events on the second Sunday of every month and this Sunday was for Paws 4 A Cause and their award winning Freedom Ride Stout was on tap and a portion of the proceeds goes to the charity. So ya know what I was having, right?

Had to borrow this pic from the Crooked Can facebook page.

Had it on tap and eventually purchased a special T-shirt to since proceeds went to the rescue, too!

Appearance: Poured dark brown to black body with a full finger's worth of head into a clear Crooked Can imprinted Solo cup.
Aroma: Real strong roasted malt aroma with hints of smoke.
Taste: Follows suit with the aroma. Plenty of roasted malt goodness in this one!
Mouthfeel: Not a real heavy feel to this one, very light bodied and doesn't coat the tongue too much. Very easy drinking stout.
Overall: A pretty flavorful stout from CC. I like the roasted, smokiness this one had to it. Would have like it bumped up a little bit more in the mouthfeel and abv%, but all in all this was one I would definitely have again.

Plus, this one needed to be added to the website as well.

Cheers!

 

Moving right along here players. Straight lounging on the deck soaking up some rays. Got the yanks/orioles on the radio, and watching the birds, squirrels, and chip monks come and go at the feeder.

New beer number 2 is Aorta Ale, double red ale, from Short's brewing. Another brew thanks to the great @foundersasap . The beer checks in at 9.6% as per this site. Why doesn't short's at least list the abv on their bottles?

A dark red color on the pour with no clarity and a frothy off-white head. The nose I get mostly malt and sugars. Very malt forward on the very first sip with a rush of sweet earthy tones. A rather smooth flow that finishes hoppy and slightly bitter. Earthy tones of nuts, grass, and herbs along with nice sweet flavor tones of caramel, brown sugar, bread, oats, and smoke come on the more I consume. Additional notes of dark candied fruits such as raisins, fig, and plums. Not to mention some pretty distinct hop notes of citrus fruit and pine. The mouth feel is moderate to full bodied. It really offers very nice balance between the earth and hops.

Overall, one of the better red ale's I've had in a while. It seems to offer all the traditional flavors of a red just hopped out. The result is a pretty good flavor balance that drinks very well. I'm right around a 4 here

 

Last one
Benedict Stephens old Kentucky barleywine
Pours dark amber with no head.
The aroma is very caramel forward with some dark fruits and a very mild vanilla from the bourbon.
The flavor is just outstanding, the base beer is one of my favorite barleywines and this is a notch above that. The rich caramel malts are dominate up front giving way to a dark fruitiness that is just perfect. The barrel really isn't pronounced until the finish where I get a very balanced vanilla oakiness with a light hippiness keeping the sweetness in balance and keeping the finish dry.
This is just an outstanding beer, I'll be buying a bottle to go for sure.
4.57/5

 

Howdy all!
I usually don't do multiple NBSs but I figure that today is so beautiful that I might as well do another. Especially considering that this is my 700th logged beer on here and a new lager from Quebec that had no reviews nor a picture.
This is another Vrooden beer. Their Altbier.



Another nice lager from Granby, QC. It pours crystal clear with a nice ruddy copper color and a substantial head that you can take bites out of. The aroma and flavor walk hand-in-hand with spicy malt and herbal hops over a sweet bready middle. There is a long-lasting, clean, caramelized sweetness and a dash of hoppy bitterness to tie it all together. This is another nice take on the style from these guys; however, once again, I think it is a touch too sweet for my tastes. Regardless, though, a nice beer at a very nice price. I would have it again.
Cheers!

Here is my review for anyone curious.

 

Greetings BAs! Thanks to @cjgiant for an absolutely stellar kick off to this week's NBS. It's been a beautiful, fun, sunny and warm spring weekend here in middle TN. Yesterday I managed to post a few Bock pictures (never thought I would type that) before and after attending a fantastic local beer fest. I tasted a few whalez but I most enjoyed the growing number of outstanding local brews and breweries, who have made some remarkably creative and well-crafted beers. I was a bit foggy this morning but managed to get my work done in time to settle in for some Masters action this afternoon. My new beer today is another beer courtesy of @jhavs and is the perfect beer to enjoy while easing back into things:
Elaborative #4 by Hill Farmstead Brewery

According to the website, this was "originally brewed in August of 2015 with our friends Brad Clark of Jackie O’s Pub & Brewery, Chad Yakobson of Crooked Stave Artisan Ales and Cory King of Side Project Brewing." They also note that this beer was "inspired by the German radler—with ample amounts of grapefruit zest and juice, wheat, and oats."

Nice looking beer, despite the pour into a slightly dirty glass . A hazy yellow-straw color with a delicate and rocky snow-white head. Bright carbonation produced a thick foamy top that slowly settled, leaving splotchy lacing in the glass. Complex aroma: hay, grass, grapefruit, lemon, and white bread. There was a mild tartness on the first sip with fresh grapefruit and lemons. The farmhouse qualities were clearly there, with grass, hay and peppery notes. The funk was also there, Bretty and a bit subdued like the bready malt presence. This felt and drank a bit much bigger than the 3.2% ABV, but still finished somewhat dry and clean. Really amazing! Overall, tart and totally refreshing.
Cheers!