New Beer Sunday (Week 633)

Up next is a local breweries celebratory beer for their third anniversary.



Martin City's Age & Wisdom #3.

Pours dark brown with a finger of khaki head. Fair retention with a long lasting rim of khaki foam. Lacing is non-existent. Aroma is boozy bourbon, oak, caramel, butter toffee, and toasted malts. Flavor profile is boozy bourbon, oak, caramel, and toasted and bread malts. It drinks hearty with a surprisingly robust bourbon note that really tastes a little boozy. No boozy burn though. Mouth feel is medium-thick with a filling, slightly grainy texture. Overall, this barleywine really strikes a firm balance between a bourbon barrel imperial stout and a quality English barleywine.

Score: 4 | 4.25 | 4.25 | 4 | 4.5 | BA Score: 4.26 | rDev: +0.0% (first review/rating)

Personal notes: This beer packs a lot of presence. Almost surprisingly so. It's a tap room exclusive 6 pack, and now I'm regretting not buying more. I'm starting to think they are the best one-off brewery in KC. Alchemy is delicious. Monk in Scotland and BBA Abbey were both fantastic. Coffee Cowboy was alright, but would be very much appreciated by peaty scotch fans. I hope to drink Age & Wisdom 3 through 100. I guess I need to swing by and pick up some of their exclusive bombers. I've looked at them, but wasn't sure if it was worth diving into.

 

Other half daydream in green. Juicy imperial IPA. Soft, creamy, juicy...really well done. I traded for a bunch of the green series from them recently, and they are all good, but this is my favorite so far. Well done.

 

Cheers to all the NBS'ers out there. Wanted to say big ups to @cjgiant for the great start today.

My first new beer today comes from a trade box I received from @Blackop555.

Founders Frootwood


Had to hurriedly mow the yard today to prepare for a family BBQ, some great weather here in central CA for some carne asada.

Now the review:
L: Clear and dark amber color, great look. No head on this, but since the wife poured it, that might have something to do with it.
S: I get oak and cherry and some vanilla.
T: Sweet cherry flavor with a lot of oak and maybe a hint of vanilla. Super sweet, but as like the only one who liked Lizard of Koz, I enjoy this.
F: Light to medium for something barrel aged.
O: I like this, if I could find it in 4 packs here I would probably indulged a time or 2.

 

Glo Worm a botanical Wit from Twin Elephant. I don't care for the name Glo Worm but this is a pretty good Wit. This beer is brewed with Pilsner malt and 3 flaked grains wheat, oats and rye. The only hop used is Wakatu. the "botanicals" used are Orange peel, Coriander, Ginger root, Spruce tips and Juniper berries. Glo Worm looks like most other Wits look but the aroma is very different a mix of the spices and the grains. The taste is about the same expect the Ginger stands out. The mouth feel is a little full for a Wit and has that oats softness. This will be a nice Summer beer hope it's brewed again in July.

 

As we all know with IPA's, freshness and keeping them cool always play a role. I think this beer is amazing, but being shipped in a warm box for a week, you can only hope that 80% of it at best gets translated.

 

Seems we agree on the honey like malts and the dank/piney finish, but our flavor descriptions vary quite a bit. I will agree with @Roguer that I was trying to figure out if it was just really good, or amazing. I'll also agree that if there are citra hops in it, they don't shine. I should admit that I am biased toward Mosaic characteristics, so I probably would enjoy this more than some. When nothing in particular jumps out at you and that can happen. In other words, very well made, balanced beers can get overlooked. Sorry, today it's under hyped

 

Speaking of 80% translation via shipping, this next beer comes at me courtesy of @LeperJim and his stowaway.

Cigar City-
Jai Alai IPA



A: Already my kind of IPA. A classic semi-clear light amber with a fluffy and sticky white head.

A: Smells of citrus, pine, and faint traces of papaya and sweet malt dancing in the background.

T: Citrus and tropical fruit blend seemlessly with a touch of sweet lightly toasted biscuits, followed by a mild pine presence.

F: Smooth, medium carbonation, and some good bitterness make this dry finishing IPA something to cherish in this day and age.

O: It's nice to see other breweries still focusing and getting the attention they deserve on classic and clean, bitter IPA's like this in today's changing scenery. I'm no one to argue, as I love all the styles, but I always get a warm and fuzzy feeling when I get to taste a new-to-me beer like this, as it is what I was raised on in the beer world, and still love more than most. Cheers!

 

Gorgeous day here for a beer and some baseball.


Bolero Snort Rotatabull #7 IPA with citra, mosaic, equinox. Picked up a few 4 packs from this brewery when I was back home.

Appearance: Nice bright orange color with a white head. Too dark to see through 4.25
Smell: Citrus and juicy fruits with some pine notes 4.25
Taste: Fruity at first with a little pine flavor and nice bitterness that lingers in the finish. 4.25
Feel: Light bodied and thin. 4
Overall: An amazing ipa from Bolero Snort. The rotatabull series has been great for me, but I only tend to pick up ones with hop combinations I enjoy. I should probably get another 4 pack of this because it's great. 4.25

 

Poured into my favorite Lost Abbey long stim tulip canned on 3/23/17 7.2%ABV. Pours very a hazy dark yellow with a solid 2 finger sticky white head that leaves behind plenty of lace. 4.25 Smell is papaya, guava, tangerine, pinapple, and grapefruit rind. 4.75

Taste follows so tropical upfront guava, passion fruit, tangerine, mango, papaya, fresh squeezed pinapple juice, and a bold grapefruit presence that lingers on the tongue awhile after each juicy sip. 5

Mouthfeel is bigger than medium, light carbonation, not dry but slightly sticky from all the fresh hops, and the drinkability is off the charts. 5

Overall this is absolutely fabulous, how will put this upost against any head to head. Thanks @TheIPAHunter for this and your boy Sergio may finally fit into that green jacket. Cheers man. 4.75

 

It's not ... or not enough to cry about. But we all have our favorites, and we all have allegiances, and I think the thread's major theme is why buy barrel-aged stout A when you can buy barrel-aged stout B,C,D,E, et al. And these days there *are* options.

Golf practice, lunch, shower are over -- time for a new beer:

Real Ale Brewers' Cut No. 26 -- "Embittered Brown" with meridian hops


(didn't exactly get on this one early, did I? )

Short version: tastes more or less like a peachy American IPA with some mango, orange, caramel and slight bitterness to offset some malt sweetness. It's nearing six months old (looks like Nov. 16, 2016 birth date), and the hop flavor is impressive. Fresh out of the vat, this one probably did some kicking and screaming. No brown ale notes anywhere save for an early hint of bread malt in the aroma.

Longer version:
https://www.beeradvocate.com/beer/profile/458/265058/?ba=Premo88#review
3.68 (+1.1% rDev)

Pretty good beer, not a brown ale. And at almost six months old, the malt flavor of a brown surely should be more present, no?

Back to The Masters for me. And checking out the NBS crew's good work.

Cheers!

 

Glad you liked it! I always keep a case or two on hand. First week of June I'll be in Bamberg enjoying it at the Braueri!

 

Meant to add this to my original post.

 

Happy NBS, gang. John Lennon famously quipped, "I hope we passed the audition." Well, @lordofthewiens and @cjgiant certainly have! Another great opening! Until two weeks ago, I'd never had an offering from Oddside Ales. Thanks to @superspak, I've become a big fan and, frankly, spoiled as hell. This is Mocha Munt, which is like drinking mint chocolate chip icing followed by a bourbon chaser and a cup of strong coffee. I'm not normally a fan of mint taste in beer but this one really works. Here's my review:

4.17/5 rDev -0.5%
look: 4.25 | smell: 4 | taste: 4.25 | feel: 4 | overall: 4.25

Bottled 10/24/2016. Poured from 12 oz. bottle into stout glass. It pours an opaque mahogany with nearly two fingers of fluffy, khaki-colored head and extensive lacing that resembles gelato. It smells of roasted malt, dark chocolate, and whiffs of mint and bourbon. The mint really comes through in the taste. It's like drinking mint chocolate chip ice cream. There is also some subtle coffee and more than a hint of bourbon. There is a slight bitterness at the finish. It's medium in body and moderate in carbonation, and you can feel the 10% ABV. Overall, it's a delightfully different Imperial Stout; it's well-crafted and enjoyable.

 

What a great opening!

 

Probably my last nbs entry here players. Will be switching over to the wbaydn thread. For me reviewing beers becomes to redundant and robotic. I'm not knocking it if that's your thing to have all the numbers lined up and shit. I'm mostly concerned with if I enjoy drinking the brew or not. Sorry to vent but I've got a few in me.

Anyway, nbs beer # 3 is Chief Hopper, dipa w/ vice secret, simcoe, and centennial hops, from Short's brew once again. And once again, 8.4% according to this site and wow a pretty distinct bottle date f 2/13/17. Thanks @foundersasap for the opportunity to try this beer. I'm not too familar with stranger things but it does remind me of chief rocker from the lords of the underground.

A golden amber pour with hazy clarity and a fluffy white head. I get hops and malt on the nose and not terribly floral. Nice and hoppy upfront with a smooth flow and rather smooth finish to boot. I mostly get the simcoe on the hops. Nice citrus tones of melon, grape, apple, and mango. The hops are a tad muted by the balance of the malt backbone. I also get a sort of bubblegum flavor on the hops. The mouth feel is medium bodied with a dry/balance feel to it.

Overall, It's decent but just not my favorite ipa for sure. A bit to much balance and the hops really don't shine as much as I would like. I'm in the 3.5 range at best here. Sorry to knock it Jeff,

 

New beer number 2 Bellefonte Old New Castle Brown Ale, didn't do a full review at the bar, but I would say it's 4s across the board, pretty much what you would want out of a nice, clean brown ale. A little nutty, toasted malts and some hop bitterness.

Now up Blackrocks The Murray Project, thank you @Blackop555 for this. Now this is a review of an older can, @Blackop555 told me after I received the box that he learned that it was canned in November, he through it was fresher, but it is still a solid IIPA, would have loved to try it fresher.

4.08/5 rDev -1.9%
look: 4.25 | smell: 4.25 | taste: 4 | feel: 4 | overall: 4

Thank you Blackop555 for this
12 oz can poured into a snifter

A- A hazy orange amber with a three finger white head.

S- Somewhat tropical, floral, herbal tea, some caramel malts, some sweet oranges, somewhat piney.

T- Piney, some resin, herbal tea, floral, some hint of caramel malts, sweet oranges, some tropical fruits.

M- Smooth, medium body.

O- A solid IIPA, would love to try it super fresh, still enjoy it being an IPA canned in November.

Cheers!

 

Wachusett's Wally IPA. A solid and refreshing IPA, this could be a good summer beer...

 

I've always appreciated your perspective. I do understand what you mean. I love beer, but in no way do I take it too seriously. What I really enjoy about this place are the stories and real personalities that evolve through time. Beer is way in second place to the people that inhabit this nook of many a Sunday!

 

I guess I have a bit in me too, and sorry to see you go, but couldn't leave this unanswered.

Personally I like reading reviews, and doing reviews, because the opposite is "getting numbers lined up and shit", and personally I don't give 2 f***s about numbers, they are meaningless (unless we are drinking buddies and I can get a clue what the numbers mean). Personally I don't care if some one else likes a beer, I want to know if I might like that beer, and some one else "getting numbers lined up and shit" is just a total waste of my time to look at them. Just my .02.

WBAYDN is a great thread I enjoy to participate in too. Cheers!

 

Happy New Belgian Strong Dark Ale Sunday!

Pretty nice day here on the Western Slope, around 50, sunny, windy. Did a nice little hike. Having another pretty tasty brew from this brewery, thanks to @thebeers via NBS BIF#5. Watching the Rockies game, down by 2, bottom 6th. Should be back with another.

https://www.beeradvocate.com/beer/profile/28091/230315/?ba=Wasatch#review

Cheers!