New Beer Sunday (Week 645)

One of the first stouts that got me into beer (Mother's Winter Grind) has been beefed up. Sharing my impression of this beer over in the NBS thread!



Mother's Imperial Grind.

 

Greetings, fellow NBSers, and thanks to @cjgiant for getting us going this Independence Day weekend.

It's hot, at 87°, but not nearly as hot as last Sunday. I don't know how those Hoopfest players that remained undefeated were able to stand it. Incidentally, the finals on Sunday afternoon were graced by the presence of none other than Kevin Durant, who made a supposedly surprise appearance (renowned basketball players usually turn up at the finals for Hoopfest, but it's generally known in advance and they're usually former players). He made all the right noises to the local media about liking the PNW when he played here and about how Seattle needs a new NBA team, but, of course, that means nothing.

It's been a strange and surreal week for the humble scribe of this post. Most of it has been occupied by jury duty, which has been rather discombobulating. I normally go to work in the wee hours of the morning and get off shortly after noon, then do whatever errands or maintenance needs doing, with post-5pm times reserved for dinner and leisure. Getting home (I've been giving the car a break and riding the "shame train" to the courthouse all week) at nearly 6pm and still having to do important stuff is rather unpleasant. Don't know how y'all 9 to 5ers do it!

Only one new beer was consumed during
week - a quad from the midwest (no, not from the Quad Cities-that would be too perfect):

https://www.beeradvocate.com/beer/profile/423/39621/?ba=woemad#review
A nice American Quad with a fairly friendly price compared to some Belgian alternatives, but not quite there in terms of quality.

Today I'm begging the court's indulgence with the third tallboy of a 4-pk's worth of a beer from @beertunes that I hadn't gotten around to reviewing until now:

https://www.beeradvocate.com/beer/profile/20680/278665/?ba=woemad#review
Can't believe how subtle and balanced this is for what it is. The trick is letting it warm up for a few minutes.
As often is the case, I might be back, but might not. If the latter, have a great week!

 

Happy NBS everyone! I only had 2 new brews today, so I'll make sure to post those here instead of the WBAYDN thread later. (I'll only have one extra beer on there).

Everything I drank today was local, started off with Zaftig Brewing's ZBS (Zaftig Bourbon Stout): https://www.beeradvocate.com/beer/profile/34018/120010/?ba=bluejacket74#review

I really liked this, definitely one of the better bourbon stouts I've had lately.





My next new brew was from a relatively new brewery that's a short drive away from me, Combusiton Brewery's Ever The Other Sessio IPA: https://www.beeradvocate.com/beer/profile/48801/286127/?ba=bluejacket74#review



My next brew was another one from Combustion, but since I had a pint of it last weekend it's not technically new so I'll post it on WBAYDN in a few minutes. Cheers everybody!

 

Thanks to Cjgiant for kicking things off with an ode to the heat this week. It is indeed hot here but it is thankfully much less humid than it was yesterday. And as someone who has lived in the Southwest, the Midwest, and the Northeast I can say that there is no truer aphorism than "it's not the heat it's the humidity"! I am a complete and utter baby about humidity. I hate it the way most people hate being extremely cold. And I like to know my enemy so I can tell you why dewpoint is a much more informative measure than relative humidity. Needless to say, I'm a lot of fun at outdoor gatherings during the summer...

Anyway, there's nothing better on a hot day than a pilsner (or maybe a Kolsch...or a Helles....or, nevermind) so that's what I've got today. This is a little bit of a cheat because I have had this beer before a couple years back but (a) I don't really remember anything about it and (b) the recipe has been tweaked considerably since then. I bring you Jack's Abby Sunny Ridge Pilsner. The can doesn't specify but BA (and the JA website) says they're going for the German style. I know the boundaries are a bit vague (trust me I'm well read on the recent mega thread!) but I'm someone who tends to prefer the crackery crispness most commonly associated with German pilsners so I'm hoping this will be right up my alley.



It pours a very clear light straw color that basically looks the part, but the head is fairly crazy. It's so thick that it actually almost has soft peaks the way whipped egg whites will get! Not sure I've ever seen anything quite like it. It hangs around for a while too. The nose is actually pretty muted until the head finally gives way and I can really get my nose down in the glass. A nice light maltiness with some grass and lemon but also a bit of what I think of as a vaguely sour sulfury smell that I associate with Pilsner Urquell (which I do not care for).

Taste is more interesting than the nose but to me this feels more Czech than German (or more Pilsner Urquell than Rothaus if we want to avoid that thorny distinction). It's doughy rather than crackery, has a somewhat soft vs. a crisp mouthfeel, and there's a bit more of that sulfury, sourness in the after taste. As it warms a little there's a pleasant grainy maltiness that begins to become more noticeable and buries that sulfur note a bit. Not in any way a bad beer but not in my pilsner sweet spot. I'll likely stick with JA's outstanding House Lager as my go to light and summery offering from them.

Also of note in the aftermath of the AAL tasting a couple weeks back is that the last sip of this is still good (and arguably even better on some measures) instead of having turned into a flat, strange tasting mess of one type or another.

Happy 4th of July all!

 

Happy NBS x2, BA's! Technically, I've tasted this beer but never reviewed it, buy seeing as how @joe1510 really enjoyed a bottle of it last week, perhaps I should go ahead and compare notes. Granted, the guy is a ninja with words, but I'll just do my (cave man like) thing and give it a go.

Cellador Ales
Saison- Ex Luna: Dry hopped with Ekuanot and barrel aged.





First things first, as Joe mentioned, they clearly miscalculated the ratio or left something out. Last time I checked, 30+30+15+15 equalled 90 not 100 . Anyhoo...

A: Pours bright gold, slightly opaque, with a foamy tightly bubbled white head that lasts. Minimal lace.

A: Wonderful lemony tartness, grass, hay and the "sweaty horse blanket" and "barnyard" aromas we've been trained to smell in such ales.

T: Flavor follows with an abundance of the lemon tartness taking center stage. One thing I've noticed in both flavor and aroma is that barrel presence is minimal to no end.

F: Light, well carbonated, tart, and refreshing come to mind first and overall. Slightly soft and prickly. Dry but not too dry. Perhaps I would like it to be more dry.

O: This is an outstanding Saison, but not exactly classic to style. Very enjoyable, and the added tartness make it a wonderful beer for this hot day
Cheers everyone, and I will see you all soon!

After my official review, I gave this a rating of 4.4 with an rDev of +0.5%.

 

Wow Roger. What a concise, thoughtful, descriptive writeup. I loved that line, "They mostly fade on the back end, lingering along with the cinnamon to remind you of the spice level without declaring their presence - almost like a ringing echo."
My emphasis. This concisely sums up what I have tried to describe countless times before and and feebly came up with "balanced" or some longer phrasing that probably sounded like an eighth grader trying to stretch a report. I might plagiarize you in the near future.

 

I was wondering the same.

 

Wow, sorry that your experience with that one was quite the opposite of mine. I wonder if part of the issues could've been exasperated by the age on the beer, tr perhaps inconsistency. I recently tried another batch of one of their beers that I had been pretty impressed with, Dig My Earth DIPA, and was a little disappointed for round #2.

 

new beer here for a nice sunday afternoon!i don't review too many new beers because my taste buds don't always cooperate





appearance 4.0 smell 4.0 taste 4.0 feel 4.0 overall 4.0

poured light straw, no head
notes of mango upfront, fruity.citrusy
good initial tartness on the tongue, light,nice sour touch.Citrusylemon, fruit shines
thin mouthfeel as I expected,crisp and clean
an easy drinking beer that I am enjoying with some food prep work! cheers!

 

Happy NBS. Trying this very nice Crasher in the Rye. Cheers.

https://www.beeradvocate.com/beer/profile/22951/150537/?ba=cindyjeffsmith#review

 

New "I'll Be Back"... to the Dentist Sunday

Just got back from our second afternoon in Wooster as my oldest has been swimming there all weekend. His summer isn't exactly going how it should times wise, but hopefully he will catch up quickly this winter when his senior season starts. Somehow I managed to not stop by JAFB for any beer either day, but my 2 youngest will take me back there in a few weeks so maybe next time. Did find some decent BBQ as we checked out Omahoma Bob's for the first time. They also have White Rajah bottles on hand, which is never a bad thing. Speaking of a great ipa...

My wife should appreciate this label since she does fillings for a living, though not with that material these days. It is appropriately named because it probably stripped the enamel from my teeth.




4.4/5 rDev +1.4%
look: 4.5 | smell: 4.5 | taste: 4.25 | feel: 4.5 | overall: 4.5

Poured from a 6/6/17 stamped 12oz bottle into a tulip.

It is a glowing gold to orange color. Just slightly opaque. A beautiful thick white foam that has very good retention and leaves some sticky residue behind.

This beer smells phenomenal! I dialed it back from 4.75 just to try to remain objective, because it is right in my wheelhouse. Very dank/pungent hops. If they aren't Mosaic, then they are some killer Citra. A little bit of body odor, medicinal green leaves, guava/stone fruit, grapefruit rind, a bit of pineapple, and a lighter pilsner like grain.

There is a tangy/spicy bite up front with some tropical fruit flavors. Musty/earthy fruit rinds that come across like guava and pink grapefruit with some fermented pineapple. There is also a pink bubble gum note mixed in there. It is followed by some green weed and a little bit of scallions. A lot of lingering piney/florally resin. Fairly aggressive with the hops. Although there is some sweet white bread malt to help out, it is still very bitter.

It has a prickly feel from the hops, but the carbonation is even keeled. Tons of oily resin left on the tongue. Nice amount of body. I would say it feels a bit more like an 8% beer than a 7, but not enough to make you scream imperial by any means.

I love this one. It is a true west coast IPA. That being said, it is not for the faint of hops. Very aggressive. I would say more so than Fat Heads Head Hunter which is toward the top of my list of face ripping IPAs. Not one that I could probably drink 4 or 5 of just because of palate fatigue, but I would probably put it in my top 10 non-imperials off the top of my head. Thanks @Lingenbrau

 

My nbs is an old one.
I had this on the shelf since last May and on the advice of the brewery only aged it for a year
Pours dark almost black, creamy head that thins out and moderate lacing
It's aged in rum barrels and is unit boozey smelling.
I got cocoa and roasted coffee taste followed by a slight alcohol burn
Fairly carbonated for a stout but very smooth mouth feel.
Finishes a bit dry, I tasted chocolate, roasted malt maybe and then a hint of rum.
It was really drinkable all and all with the alcohol semi pronounced but not over bearing. Nice stout, I wish I got
more

 

I'm back from a quick bout of work and ready to try a new local IIPA while I make dinner. Nothing quite like working with the public to make you hate people and need a beer...

Mons Regius (the Latin name for the mountain that is Montreal's namesake) is a new brewery that started out focusing on table beers. They have recently started doing a couple hoppier beers and I've heard good things. One thing I know for sure is that they have a nice cohesive look to their labels and a really nice design for their caps.


So this one pours an incredibly murky honey color with an over-active, dirty-looking head that never quite disappears. Not very nice-looking (and I am pretty easy to please). The aroma is apparent when I open the bottle. Pretty fruity in that way that IPAs now seen to be being. On closer inspection it is fairly spicy from the yeast as well. Tangerine, phenol bite, grass and "grass". Underneath there is a pervasive caramel malt presence and a bit of alcohol.

It tastes more bitter than the nose would suggest but not tons. There is a hint of the same tropical fruits but definitely more bitter hop flavor, to the point of having a touch of astringency. It is not the easiest drinking beer and is pretty big-seeming beer (and big being, I guess).
All in all this is a fine example of a IIPA. It is nothing crazy but it is a solid beer. Fruity aroma and dry bitterness in the flavor. All pretty well balanced with a noticeable malt.
It seems like it may have been fruitier when it was fresher but I have no gauge for that as they don't bottle date. Also the malt was pretty thick, even for a IIPA. I didn't mind bit I could see where it could be better with this part dialed back.

Cheers to a good upcoming week and to a happy Fourth for everybody!

 

Bravo! Bravo! Nice review.

That's some good beer.

 

Sounds good.
I haven't done a side-by-side (consumption) of spruce tips, but I'm guessing that you'd get some noticeable differences, depending on which you used. White Spruce (Picea alba) has a noticeable cat piss element to the aroma. I'd guess that would be closest to hops. The other species that would have been used in colonial times is Red Spruce (Picea rubens) and Black Spruce (P. mariana). Besides the Colorado/Blue Spruce (Picea pungens), the most common one in modern use (in the east) is Norway Spruce (P. abies) In moving/planting them, P. pungens gives off the least aroma, i.e, is less "sprucy". Maybe that's why your beer is so appealing?

That said, I'd guess that the "spruce" in colonial times was often fir (Abies sp.) , or pines, especially in your neck of the (non-sprucy) woods. (Look at the range maps.)

 

Zaftig is a great name for a big bodied beer. I might've gone with a different label for it, though (and probably been criticized for it).

 

Almost forgot it's Sunday since I'm on vacation across the country, enjoying a flight of beer for my NBS post!
In Olympia, WA at Three Magnets Brewing.
Belgian Table Summer Farmhouse Ale, little tartness and mild funk, nice for 3.5% ABV. Would rate around 3.75-4 range
Paint The Moon IPA, solid classic IPA, citrus, some tropical fruits, piney finish. Would rate in the he 4-4.25 range
Little Juice IPA Smoothie Edition, nice take on the NEIPA style, citrus and tropical, finish is a little more piney than dank. 4.25
Seastorm DIPA, bright juicy hops, more citrus than tropical, a little dank. Around 4.5
Hackenschmidt Baltic Porter, classic heavy Porter with some notes of roasted coffee, 4.25

Cheers!

 

Hey what's going on?!

Post hike beer drinking goodness OH YEAH!!

I was just enjoying Patapsco State Park and some of the hiking trails. Long story short, hot but great day to be out. LOTS of people taking a dip. Unfortunately the original parking spot we were told was closed and that was that, so I mean uh what? There's people here? Went up to an area at a different trail head and what do I get? Taking a risk, I get a $50 dollar parking ticket..

oh well.. I need a beer.

Actually probably more than one. Not hating, but there has to be a better solution for people who want to use the park.

So with a good stop in nearby Ellicot City, we start with a new beer.

What's new for our hero today?

----------------

Dust Up Pale | Manor Hill Brewing


Manor Hill Brewing - Dust Up Pale Ale by imbibehour, on Flickr

Poured from the can into a nonic pint glass. Bring a Broom!

Hazy body color, a murky nearly full turbid appearance of dull yellow and orange. Minimal head creation. A short half finger of white head is created with little retention, settling to a thin puck and fairly good tall bubbly collar.

Large juiced hop aroma. Large amounts of tropical hop and fruit pineapple quality, but an excellent example. Screams Mosaic possibly?. Hits herbal a bit, dank slightly, with a controlled sweetness, light dusting sugars a bit as well too. Malt bill seems just a hair thin, but at 4.6 isn't that surprising.

Palate brings a pretty solid pale ale experience. Light bodied but just enough malt backbone to stay out of wet session territory. Fruity fronted tropical hop with out overly juicy sweet tones. Does bring the pineapple, but stays away from grocery box juice flavors. Floury, but almost crackery malt like bill, in the mid palate. Hop angle gets into a sticky herbal quality, with a good lingering bitterness.

A pretty solid new hop varietal pale ale, NE turbid beer fans will be happy.

Look: 3 | Smell: 4.25 | Taste: 4 | Feel: 4 | Overall: 4 | Final Score: 4

Cheers!

 

Thank you, @cjgiant for the magnificent start to my favorite thread on my favorite board. It is SO HOT in Texas that Ranger doesn't want to go outside (that's pretty scary in and of itself), and I had to break out my secret weapon to cool down my new beers for this week: the Schell's beer bucket .....



Of all the things I miss about Minnesota, Little O is #1 through #100, and Schell's is #101. Mrs. O and I took the Schell's tour three times (I picked this up on the 3rd trip), and I've had 56 different beers from that magnificent brewery that happens to be the 2nd oldest family-owned brewery in the USA (Yuengling is the oldest). I miss the easy access I had to their well-executed "German Craft" beers.

My offerings tonight, though, are from the Sierra Nevada Beers Across The World collab pack, otherwise known as "the gift that keeps on giving, part duex" (NBS BIF#5 WGNaBP is part uno). First up, a big ol' barleywine .....



The beer pours a deep, copper color, slight hop haze, and a tan head. The aromas are really malt-forward, with rich toffee and caramel aromas pushing the hop aromas to the back of the bus.

The taste initially is REALLY boozy, with the toffee and caramel flavors cutting the booziness. As this warms, the booziness fades a bit, and the hops come forward, with piney notes really shining through.

I think this is still pretty green, so I'm glad I have a second bottle I can sit on a bit. I think this is very good, but I think in 6 months or so, this could be phenomenal. Rated 4.02.