New Beer Sunday (Week 643)

I'm totally with@cavedave on this - kriek beers are among my favorites and I certainly didn't mean my comment as a slam. I used to seek out Morte Subite Kriek before it changed. I'll happily try SA cherry wheat again and hope it tastes more like cherries and less like cough syrup.

 

Happy New Beer Sunday to everyone and a happy father's day to all the fathers on here! Today I am drinking the Mariahilfer Weizen from Kössel Bräu.



The appearance is similar to most other Weizens: golden/light orange, hazy and with a vibrant white head.

The aroma is dominated by banana with hints of clove, citrus, wheat and yeast.

The taste is more citrus forward with hints of banana to balance out the citrusness. Flavors of spice, clove, bread, green apples and a slight creaminess are also present.

The mouthfeel is between medium and heavy and is similar to other Weizens.

Overall it is a solid Weizen that is perfect for the spring/summer time.

Hopefully everyone else is enjoying their new beer today!

 

Ommegaang Abbey ale.

4.22/5 rDev +1.9%
look: 4.25 | smell: 4 | taste: 4.25 | feel: 4.5 | overall: 4.25

Pours brown. Thick, medium, tan head that lasts a long time with light lacing.

Smells bready and Caramel malt, dark fruit, yeast spice and fruit. Faint alcohol.

Tastes Caramel malt, clove spice, banana and dark fruit. Finish is semi dry with a light bitterness and yeast linger. Full body and lightly fizzy, creamy medium carbonation.

 

Happy Fathers Day to all, gift from the kids, damn do they get me. Cross post with WBAYDN. Pours a clear copper color with a minimal head that is leaving lots of lacing. The first note I get in both smell and taste is oak, followed by vanilla. Next the hops become quite evident with a fair amount of pine and bitterness, notes of orange and sweet malts. Medium bodied, lightly carbonated, ABV is noticeable. Finishes moderately dry. The BBA aspect to an IPA is unusual and takes a minute to get used to, a unique and enjoyable beer. Cheers!

 

Happy New Father's Beer SonDay (Week 643)!

Sadly, I am a lifelong bachelor with no offspring (of which I am aware) & my Pops passed nearly sixteen years ago. His having been diagnosed with a terminal illness was the impetus for me to take early retirement from the U.S. Navy at 15.25 years, vice the usual 20. I returned home to be with him, off & on, for the last three years of his life. It was during this time that he encouraged me to fulfill my lifelong dream of receiving a degree from the University of Pittsburgh (Pitt). Although he passed during the summer between my junior & senior years, he knew that I was on track to graduate & that gives me solace.

He was a lifelong smoker who only rarely indulged in alcohol & while I am not a smoker, I am a frequent imbiber. I am in the midst of wrapping up a Sierra Nevada horizontal, thanks to scoring an Around the World 12-pack. My penultimate for this journey is their Sidecar:

https://www.beeradvocate.com/beer/profile/140/259486/?ba=woodychandler#review


and the ultimate, eventual stop on this journey:

https://www.beeradvocate.com/beer/profile/140/251571/?ba=woodychandler#review


Enough of the good times. I gotta go to work later. See yinz next Sunday, 'n' 'at!

 

Happy New Beer Father's Sunday!

The heat and humidity are finally gone and it is an average June day. My garden looks great, except for the carrots which a rabbit decided to munch on. A little over half still remain.

The cooler/drier air allows me to enjoy a heavier beer this morning. Untitled Art Coffee Stout pours a very dark coffee brown with a 1 finger thick light brown head. It fades slowly into a fat collar and the lacing coats my glass. Aroma is a lighter roast of coffee with accents of cream and caramel. Flavor follows aroma and adds some milk chocolate. The coffee never becomes bitter. A nice creamy body that is rich and smooth. A well made base stout with the right coffee flavors.

 

Happy Father's day and happy new single-hopped IPA Sunday to all of you.
I am getting started a little earlier than usual this week. Errands have been run, the week has been slightly prepped and I am hanging out on the balcony enjoying a beautiful day. I'll be heading down to Saratoga Springs on Tuesday for a mini vacation and so if any of you upstate New Yorkers have any recommendations for stuff to keep an eye peeled for in bottleshops, I am all ears.

My beer for today is the latest in a series of "mono-houblon" IPAs from Vox Populi. This one with El Dorado. For the most part they are good to very good. At the very least, I always jump at the chance to get beers like this because I think it helps develop my palate. I don't have tons of experience with ElDorado that I can think of but if memory serves it is one of the pinier, sappier hops so I am really excited for that. If not, well, then memory doesn't serve and that just proves my point about why I like trying any single-hop beers I can get my hands on.

It pours kind of lackluster looking with a muddy water color and a dirty head. The aroma and flavor are both of melon with some piney twang. It is pretty easy drinking. It is not the best of this series I have had but it is pretty food and a nice change of pace from the mango/grapefruit bombs. The hop comes through really well but the malt is too strong for it to really shine. It actually tastes like maybe the base beer is different on this one but I might be mistaken. I'd have it again but It wasn't life-changing or anything.

Here is my full review.

Have a nice Sunday, all!

 

Good morning and happy Father's day to all! Typically we'd have had a morning skate, but a random figure skating event took the ice today. Sleeping in was nice, but we skated on mother's day, so hopefully there aren't any feelings of suspicious disdain amongst our hockey mom family...

So on to the beer....

The Veil Potato Napkin



I have no clue what a potato napkin is. But, I do know what this is - it's a DIPA with a typical Veil orange juice body with a fairly luxurious and foamy white head.

Nose has plenty of up front orange that may fade closer to grapefruit. Not too much after that.

Taste is a cross between orange and a super bitter grapefruit, so very much that the bitter lingers in a stagnant, powdery way. Depth manifests itself in an earthy, veggie kind of way, but man, lingering bitter is off the charts when compared to other Veil beers I've had. Not a west coast bitter per se, it's an almost like an orange peel total tongue domination that when it fades, leaves behind almost an exact aftertaste of orange peel.

Overall, it's extremely well crafted.

 

Epic Brewing Escape to Colorado IPA
6.2% ABV

Happy Fathers Day. I have a rather complex relationship with my dad -- I don't see or talk to him much anymore and that's about all I'll say about that but he did take me to Colorado when I was a boy and instilled in me many things, one being the love of camping and the mountains. I'll be doing that in July with my own son, a true Father-Son trip, and I can't wait! I immediately had to purchase this beer when I saw it, my first beer from this brewery.

Look: Pretty hazy, a very light amber color, perhaps light rusty copper. The white head leaves a nice film on top after recession, and lacing is random soapy patches.

Aroma: Finally an IPA that smells like actual hops! Very piny, very zesty, with an equal amount of grapefruit citrus as well.

Taste: Just like the smell, this beer balances fresh woody pine notes with grapefruit zest. It's perfectly bitter without cutting a hole in your palate. Again -- it tastes like an IPA should in my opinion. The finish has a bit of tanginess to it.

Mouthfeel: Medium bodied, dry.

Overall: I'm a fan. Well balanced, bitter, piny, citrusy. It's about all I look for, pretty basic traits done well.

Today offers up beautiful cooler weather in Kansas, cloudy yet peaceful. Yesterday's 106 degree heat index about did me in. Now if you'll excuse me I'm gonna go make that phone call to my dad -- we have a lot of catching up to do.

 

Good Morning, NBS crew and thanks to @cjgiant for getting us underway, and Happy Father's Day to all it applies to.

Just got off the phone after a very brief chat with the Paternal Parental. The folks were packing for a camping trip to somewhere near Mt. Adams, so time was at a premium.

Today, in the city where Father's Day was created, it's partly sunny with a light breeze. For much of the week it's been unseasonably cold and at times quite rainy, but things should start warming up considerably now.

In the middle of the week I seem to have fallen victim to a bout of food poisoning (I lost 10lbs in a little under 48 hours!), so beer and alcohol were not consumed until this weekend. I strongly suspect the Chicken Korma at a local Indian restaurant was to blame.

This beer came to me through the good offices of @beertunes. Weighing in at 4% alcohol, it's what I would call a "Light Vienna Lager." It's quite drinkable and would make a nice alternative to the more pale lawnmower beers out there. I feel like I could kill cans of it all day.
https://www.beeradvocate.com/beer/profile/42051/233973/?ba=woemad#review

I will definitely be back with more, later.

 

Happy Father's Day. Mixed feelings about my Dad, gone twelve years gone now. How do you judge a generation who survived the Spanish Flu, Great Depression, Genocide, fucking World Wars, and the shadow of nuclear annihilation?

So, drinking something strong.
4.07/5 rDev -6% | Avg: 4.33
look: 4.25 | smell: 4 | taste: 4 | feel: 4 | overall: 4.25.

I can rarely enjoy a big stout this early.
Unpacking this one while watching Portugal-Mexico Confed Copa soccer. The match is reminding me that the US has a ways to go to reach the top tier.

Seems like I never see SMS on the shelves here, while the rest of the Weyerbacher lineup seems plentiful. My first mouthful seemed really hot and dominated by the bourbon. Coffee, fruit and light smoke we're detected as the glass warmed. I'm enjoying contrasting this to other more expensive coffee BBA stouts.
Best wishes to all the Fathers!

 

Chocolate Sombrero from Clown Shoes. Pours black with a thin tan head that dissipated quickly and left no lacing. Smells of dark chocolate and roasted malts. Tastes of dark chocolate, roasted malts, mild chili peppers, vanilla and cinnamon. Full bodied, medium thickness as to mouth feel, moderately carbonated. Very enjoyable.

 

Hey what's going on!?

beer.

I shall cut to the chase...

what's new for our hero today?

Steady Eddie | Union Craft Brewing Company


Union Craft Brewing - Steady Eddie Seasonal IPA by imbibehour, on Flickr

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Poured from the can into a Spiegelau IPA glass. Home Run, canned April 14th 2017.

Slightly cloudy deep orange and almost chestnut brown hued edges for a body color. Thick soapy rich three finger tall head with lots of staying power. Soapy island puck, lots of bubbly clingy lace as well, with a good amount of popping going on.

Very nice hop aromatic aroma. Sweet tea and florals, mixing with large amount of tropical fruit notes. Faint touches of lemon grass and herbs, but also a pungent almost sour dill like herbal quality to it. Very unique hop bent going on here, I am digging it. Slight touches of sweetness as well to round things out nicely on the nose.

Palate sticks to the basics getting the job done. A nice light malt backbone, but with a good light sugary almost brown toasty quality. Works real nicely with the complimenting hop profile. A good chewy hop like flavor mostly of green herbs and some degree of tropical quality in the mid palate. Gets extremely herbal and minty in the aftertaste with excellent aromatics. Bitterness lingers quite a bit, getting a little hot for a bit long though, almost doesn't seem to want to go away. Chewy mouthfeel as well a bit, but flirts with lighter session like qualities.

A pretty solid IPA, one that leaves a mark and packs a unique punch.

look: 4 | smell: 4.25 | taste: 4 | feel: 4 | overall: 4 | BA Generated: 4.06

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Good afternoon NBS, thanks @cjgiant for the wonderful start, sounded like my dad for a minute.
I apprenticed in the trade under my father, a Master Electrician and Seabee so statements like
"stay focused, do whats right, work hard and be true, if I have to show you again you know what will happen, " are part of that rich fabric he imparted on all of us. He also is fun, curious and loves the family without limit. On the beer front he was not much of a drinking type, however years ago my parents purchased a gift card to the local beer making supplier and so started my home brewing. And now he and my Mom are fans of (some) of my efforts, Cheers Dad.
This week has been the second Western Mass Beer Week, the 26 breweries and 40 establishments just knocked it out of the park this year, now time to rest before Solid Sound next weekend.
Today's offering is from North Coast, a well constructed and executed Alt Beer, I really enjoy the malt use, light touch on the roast and a very nice hop use adding both floral notes and spiciness.
Cheers All
Alt Nouveau

North Coast Brewing Co.
Altbier / 5.40% ABV

3.92/5 rDev +1.6% | Avg: 3.86
look: 4 | smell: 3.75 | taste: 4 | feel: 3.75 | overall: 4

Poured from a bottle packaged on 4/4/17 into the test glass
A - Deep copper color, very nice clarity, displays steady carbonation. The off white cap is tight knit and last for a long time.
Lacing is in the form of long strands running diagonally down the glass
S - Lightly toasted malt, some brown sugar, a bit of brown spices, nutmeg, cashew and mint leaf.
T - Semi sweet malt base blend seamlessly with, an underlying spiciness, some pepper (rye maybe). With a rise in temperature more toffee, and light brown sugar are in the foreground.
M - Medium in body, a bit slick with a linger that is semi sweet.
O - A very nice offering from North Coast, the offering is well constructed, beautifully balanced. Well done

 

Happy Sunday, and happy Father's Day, NBS crew! It's been a whirlwind of a weekend so far. Friday was the last day of school, so all of the teachers went out for a celebration. Things got a little out of hand, and we ended up at a club until last call. Pretty sure my liver took a hit. For some reason we decided to keep a tally of our drinks on our forearms. Here was my final scorecard:

(I think 13, but God knows really.)

Anyway, I took a sober day yesterday to recover, and am now back at it with this lovely little brew, hand-delivered to me from the VA burbs by the always generous @cjgiant .

Aslin - Johann the Mango Thief
9.4% DIPA - 5/23/17 (26 days old)

Pours a very dark, murky orange. This is the darkest Aslin IPA I've yet seen. 1 1/2 finger head sticks around for awhile.

As advertised, it's all mango in the nose.

Taste is not what I was expecting at all. I was thinking this would be incredibly sweet, like a milkshake, but it actually comes off equal parts sour and sweet. Very strong mango presence, vanilla only in the background (which I'm thankful for), without any perceivable alcohol. Very impressive for an almost-10% ipa.

Body is full. This might be the thickest ipa I've ever tried. Guessing a lot of mango puree made it into this one.

Overall, it's another super-enjoyable Aslin brew. I've yet to encounter an Aslin that I didn't like, and this one continues the trend.

 

First up today Jack's Abby Bourbon Barrel-Aged Framinghammer.
4.25/5 rDev +3.2%
look: 4.25 | smell: 4.25 | taste: 4.25 | feel: 4.25 | overall: 4.25

500 ml bottle poured into a teku

A- Black with a two finger little mocha head.

S- Cocoa, bourbon, some vanilla, roasted malts, some brown sugar.

T- Bourbon, some oak, roasted malts, some semi-sweet chocolate, some vanilla, some brown sugar and dark fruits.

M- Smooth, medium body.

O- A solid barrel aged porter, bourbon is a little on the heavy side but not overwhelming.

 

Howdy, NBSers!

My dad died in 2009, and I mention it mainly because he would've loved the recent AAL tasting we had earlier this month on BA.com. I've thought a lot about him the past few weeks with my fridge so full of Old Milwaukee and Pearl and Lone Star.

My new beer is one I should've tried long ago (and one dad would've found quite bitter):



anything inside a month always feels like a score for me

Community Mosaic has settled firmly into the No. 2 spot of Texas-brewed IPA/DIPAs. It's been there awhile, just below Lone Pint's Yellow Rose, and just opening the bottle let's you know why: grapefruit.

Yep, it's a grapefruit bomb with malt ... lots of malt and very much a Yellow Rose knock-off, which also uses mosaic hops and, if I had to bet, crystal malt. Community Mosaic is biscuity sweet, and one sip can tell you this isn't a simple pale two-row standard issue malt bill ... it's got crystal malt and *just* the right amount so it doesn't become crazy sweet or caramely. The major aroma and flavor notes settle into a very bitter candied orange/grapefruit.

It's one awfully beautiful brew.



The review:
https://www.beeradvocate.com/beer/profile/30949/97319/?ba=Premo88#review
4.1 (-2.1% rDev)

The malt cuts into the yummy grapefruit flavor a bit too much for my taste, but it's still very, very good. I'm going to keep a lookout for another six-pack closer to two weeks old or less ... and a side-by-side of this with Yellow Rose is probably in order. There will be more Community Mosaic in my future mainly is what I'm saying.

Happy Father's Day, BAs!

Cheers!

 

Today's new beer is "Hazelnut Imp. Stout" by Untitled Art + Mikerphone Brewing, Waunakee, WI:



Pours a dark brown almost black with ruby edges; thin, fizzy tan head quickly disappeared leaving a solid ring and a thin slick; good clarity under oily cap; ring maintained to the end providing spotty lace. 3.5



Nutty caramel malt, and sweet chocolate fudge nose. 3.75


Sugary caramel, chocolate and hazelnut; surupy sweet; as liquid warmed there was a bitter phenolic finish. 3.5

Medium lite body; slick adjunct feeling; medium lite carbonation; drinks light like a porter. 3.75




Overall, starts overly artificially sweet and the a bitter metallic linger that I didn't enjoy distracted from the chocolate fudge flavor. 3.5

I have a sweet beer tooth, but not only was this beer too sweet for me, the bitter metal taste (the 11%?, but it didn't taste boozy) made this one hard to finish. I see others have given this beer much higher ratings...oh, well...Cheers!

 

Taking a departure from my normal IPA adventure in order to enjoy another one I brought back from Ohio.

Jackie O's Oro Negro



Obviously we have a pitch black body, but I'm glad to see the nice and thick tan, foamy head that pulls back enough to showcase a full curtain of foam lacing.

I get a decent amount of spice up front. Like a combination of cinnamon sugar and nutmeg. As it warms, the combination starts to take on a cinnamon sugar graham cracker thing. Beyond that is a hint of fresh brewed medium bodied coffee. Maybe a hint of nuttiness too.

Taste is a smack of cinnamon laden molasses that morphs into kind of a Mexican chocolate flavor before the hop bitterness steps in. Finishes slightly sweet with a decent little lingering burn as this thick, full bodied stout leaves more bitter than sweet on the tongue after a few seconds.

 

For Father's Day, I'm having the Mother of all Storms.

Whenever a birthday or Father's day rolls along, my wife always asks me what I want. I respond: "I don't want any gifts, I just want time to myself." My wife always used to go out shopping for gifts for me nonetheless, leaving me home with the kids. In doing so, she was giving me exactly the opposite of what I wanted... as I stayed home with the kids while she shopped for me. This year was different. She actually took the kids out leaving me alone. For me, this is time to catch up with my threads. NBS is usually a challenge for me because I'm typically doing family activities on Sunday. I've been so behind in my barley wine thread. I've been drinking, but I've had little time to post. Today, I hope to post a ton of backlog thanks to my wife.

As I do this, I'm drinking the Mother of all Storms.

This 2 year old bottle lives up to expectations. It's got the the vanilla and nut bourbon barrel influence, but it also has a black currant and dark berry quality. Everything works seamlessly together. It goes down really well for its ABV. This one works because the malt is capable of standing up to the barrel. I hope to get far enough into my barley wine thread to post about this one today.

Cheers to the mothers who make Father's Day what it is.

Here's my favorite song about being a father from the great O.V. Wright. The lyrics never fail to get me. I won't ruin it with spoilers.