New Beer Sunday (Week 649)

Good evening, NBS party crew. I have a trio of beers for you on this hot Texas evening, the first two from that beer nerd extraordinaire, @beertunes, and the most recent NBS BIF, WGNaBP. This is from Skagit, a poundable pilsner.



3.52/5 rDev +7.3%
look: 3.75 | smell: 3.5 | taste: 3.5 | feel: 3.5 | overall: 3.5

Light straw color, the clarity makes this beer shine underneath a bone white head. Bready malt notes dominate the nose, with the slightest note of grassy hops.

The pilsner malt really shines one the taste, but I wish the hops were a bit more present. Still , a nice little quencher that, at 3.7% ABV, you could pound like a 16-penny nail.

 

My weekend is here!
Stowe Brewers Festival brought the beer geeks...
...and the weather brought the tourists.
A big thanks to Nick from St. Pete for stopping in today for an IP trade and for numerous others who made working on the weekend worthwhile while coming in to ease the pain of the neverending Heady Topper inquiries.

Oh yeah, the beer!



Moderate pour yields a 1/2 inch white head over yet another hazy, cloudy body with some sticky lacing. Head is gone in couple minutes, down to a ring. With a swirl, head comes back for a few seconds with no lacing. Nose of citrus, slight tropical fruit, and slight dank pine. Very nice flavor of papaya and yuzu, nice dry finish, but that feel is lacking as the carb is replaced by: "particulate matter?" Overall, another beer with a "soft" mouthfeel that really bugs me to no end. More carb and less detritus, please. Rant over. Cheers!

3.97/5 rDev -8.1%
look: 3.5 | smell: 4 | taste: 4.25 | feel: 3.5 | overall: 3.75

https://www.beeradvocate.com/beer/profile/33136/291481/

 

#2, from Skookum Brewery, one of the best-named beers I've seen ..... ever.



3.71/5 rDev +3.9%
look: 4 | smell: 3.5 | taste: 3.75 | feel: 3.75 | overall: 3.75

Deep amber color, semi-translucent, light tan head. Heavy caramalt aromas, which I expected, but a slight vegetal note I did not expect.

Fortunately, that does not follow through to the taste, which is caramel and toffee notes accompanied by a slight hop punch that is really nice. This would be a great fall beer to enjoy in quantity at a tailgate.

 

My new beer came in a neon can, I tried Ninja vs Unicorn for the first time

Appearance
amber/ gold with a white fluffy head tha laced nicely down the glass
Aroma
Tropical as in mango and citrus and maybe peach
Mouthfeel
Slightly carbonated and dry with a bit of stickyness
Taste
Fruity and smooth with a dryness in the back of the mouth
Overall
This is a really easy drinking nicely balanced DIPA worth seeking out.
In light of the opening comments I felt the need to post this

 

Imdonewithu, a 0 IBU TIPA from The Veil brewing in Richmond VA.

L: Light orange yellowish color. A little less than a finger of white head. Looks like orange or fruit juice. 4.5
S: Tons of orange, mango, papaya, and pineapple. 4.75
T: Fruit juice, mostly mango and pineapple. Minimal bitter or tart taste on the first sip with no bitterness on the finish. 4.75
F: Medium carb and body with some heat on the finish due to the 11% abv. 4.5
O: An interesting TIPA with the supposed 0 ibus that delivers in all the categories for me with minimal hop bitterness. Easy to drink but you will definitely feel the abv as you sip on this. 4.66

 

Hey what's going on!?

Hope everyone is having an excellent day today, as I certainly am/did.

I decided with this AWESOME weather we had today, that this was the day for the big beer cycling run!

I had mapped in my head, to ride from my house in Maryland all the way down to the NOVA areas of the W & OD trails which contain access to 3 very close breweries, Caboose, Beltway, and Ox Brewing. Also in between but not quite on the trail, but not too hard to get too luckily logistics wise, is Aslin which I thought I'd take a gander at to see how things were going. It's a very popular place, and last time I checked their Twitter feed before I went to bed, it seemed like they were still going to have beer to sell.

However, by the time I had nearly killed myself through NOVAs mountainous bike lane suburbs of hell, I noticed the parking lot even 50 minutes after they opened was kind of quiet which had me thinking. Sure enough, they sold out of everything the previous night, and posted on their home page and FB that Sunday they would not be open.

A brewery runs out of beer and has to close? The heck man that's like a sign of the apocalypse from where I come from There should be like riots or something...

Oh well, no problem because a beer hero ALWAYS HAS A BACK UP PLAN!!! or just a PLAN to drink beer, which is not hard!

Caboose was an option and boy was it hopping!! Lots of riders and families, dogs on the patio, it looked swinging, but I decided to go to Beltway who is actually a contract brewer, dove into a Kolsch, but just felt like resting than reviewing.


Brackish Brewing Co. - Brackyard Kolsch by imbibehour, on Flickr

Grimm Artisinal Ales - Sumi Cacao by imbibehour, on Flickr

However, a taster of another beer demanded a growler fill, that I could provide in my knapsack of joy. I just needed to have that extra weight to ride the other 32 miles home of course.

In the end, after every 20 minutes telling myself, this would be a great place for my wife to come get me with the car, legs throbbing, little kids diving into my lane, AND missing the turn off and getting slightly lost, I managed to slug through DC and bring home the goods.

Our hero is full of dinner, a good shower, and has crispy chicken wing arms... but I got my beers... and now ladies and gentlemen it's time for reward.

What's new for our hero today?!

Grimm Artisanal Ales - Sumi Cacao


Grimm Artisinal Ales - Sumi Cacao by imbibehour, on Flickr

awww! look at the growler tag, it's SOOO cute... like Hello!! my name is BEER.. wont you be my friend.

OH HELL YES!!

what's going on here?? let's find out.

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Poured from the growler, after a good taster at the Beltway Brewing Co Sterling VA.

Light tan head, quite creamy even a solid two fingers is made even from a recent tapped growler pour. Real tall collar, thick and nice looking, with some good cling to glass sides. Body color is a very dark walnut brown, and classicaly opaque, maybe slightly muddy and red also. Real solid looking stout.

That nose is filled with goodness. Creamy roasted malts and vanilla really jump out nicely. Cocoa angle seems to angle more towards a good coffee bean roast, which makes for a good play on the vanilla tones I think much more nicely.

Very nice palate. Rich amounts of malt roast, and a good coffee like punch. Faint bitter chocolate that's really accented on the finish by some very strong hop bitterness that makes for great bitter cocoa flavor. Slightly less creamy than fresh on tap for the mouthfeel, but fully supportive of the transpiring flavors. Faint dark whoppers like candy quality but stays away from being too sweet and artificial tasting, sort of taffy sticky like. Vanilla and creamy tones seem a little muted compared to on tap from what it seems like, but still makes a good presence.

A good solid real rich Imperial stout. Like how this seemed to go into a coffee direction out of nowhere. Delicious stuff.

Cheers!!

 

"beer like" is a great way of putting it, and that's undoubtedly why it worked for me as much as it did- it never lost its "beeriness".

 

New Beer Sunday: A new Cream Ale

Evening’ NBSers, with special call out for folks who expect to enjoy a cream ale every little once in a while.

Well the weather today has been as close to ideal as one could ask.

This evenin’s new beer is another from that local brewery I’ve described in a past NBS, Saint Benjamin. It’s been gaining a lot of local recognition since the opening. The new beer is the Saint Benjamin Inca which is described as being an India Cream Ale (or Inca).

As usual my review, subject to revision until I finish the beer, can be found here:

https://www.beeradvocate.com/beer/profile/34779/155215/?ba=drtth#review

My goodness how Cream Ales are a-changin'. It used to be any noticeable hops in a Cream Ale were only in the background. It’s nice to know there can be a market for beers such as this one. With this beer the hops and their aromas/flavors occupy center stage with the malt flavors in the background. The aromas/flavors are definitely filled with grapefruit softened a bit by the malt and the touch of sweetness it brings to the table. As the finish begins, the hop and malt flavors both recede leaving some very light dry but still citric bitterness to close out the show and invite the next sip.

This is definitely a beer for drinking when you are having more than one. I’d also say it’s an excellent choice for a social evening with good friends—solid, enjoyable, not overly complex or intense and so quite easy to drink without being distracted from your social situation.

This evening I’m concluding my series of Bach-to-Bach comparisons with the 6th and last Brandenburg Concerto.

Bach Brandenburg Concerto #6

Cheers, all!

 

Last one, this is from Tupps Brewery here in McKinney. It's a big, chewy RIS with coffee, cocoa nibs, ancho chiles, and vanilla bean, per the label.

#DrinkLocal



4.19/5 rDev 0%
look: 4.25 | smell: 4 | taste: 4.25 | feel: 4.25 | overall: 4.25

Pour is nearly jet black, minimal amount of leakage around the edges, and a dark tan head. The coffee and cocoa dominate the nose - I get no chiles or vanilla at all.

The chiles appear on the taste, though, accentuating the heavy coffee and cocoa flavors, but the vanilla escapes me, but in a beer this big and chewy, it's really not missed. Very nice offering by Tupps.

 

MIA Beer Company's Mega Mix Pale Ale, knocked it out of the park! 4.53 overall

https://www.beeradvocate.com/beer/profile/36536/175615/?ba=russpowell#review

Will converse more later, heading to the hot tub to shake off, what seemed to be 12 straight days of driving on vacation; hip is killing me

This beer may be the best I've had & will have from this trip!

 

SHHHHH! Don't talk about Fort Hill Brewery! People will find out about them and the excellence will disappear! Obviously joking but these guys are an absolutely killer new-ish brewery and their hoppy ouvre trounces almost every other local NEIPA producer in terms of availability and price. Glad you're on the boat... one of us, one of us...

 

Equilibrium Fluctuation DIPA

Brewers Notes:
Fluctuation pours a very hazy tangerine color, releasing bright tropical notes of passion fruit, mango, pineapple, and lychee with an undercurrent of sorbet and cream. Fluctuation tastes highly resinous and tropical with an assertive yet soft bitterness. We consider Fluctuation to be perfectly unbalanced.

My Notes:
Let me put it to you this way. No longer will Treehouse and Trillium be used in one breath for me, it will now be Treehouse, Trillium and Equilibrium, all in one breath.

 

Deschutes The Abyss (2014)
Imperial Stout - 11.1% ABV



4/5 rDev -10.7%
look: 4.5 | smell: 4.5 | taste: 3.75 | feel: 4 | overall: 3.75

22oz bottle with a black wax seal. 2014 vintage. Best after 11/11/15 printed on the label.

Poured into a snifter. Pours a pitch black color. The fruity grape and oak notes from the wine barrels are immediately evident in the nose and the vanilla and sweet molasses also come through. Licorice comes through in the nose as the beer warms up. The taste is some sweetness up front that lingers into a roasty and bitter finish. The mouthfeel is medium-full bodied. Overall, a solid imperial stout that I enjoyed.

 

Yeah, I like the straight ones, such as Westbrook & Lost Nation better, but Sea Quench is pretty good. Probably like it better if it was hot .(..Outside. Unlike last year, been stuck in a 75/60F rut for a long time. [I'm sure y'all are feeling bad for me. ])

 

Back with a beer I've actually had before, but it had been ruined by having been left on shelves for many months (an IPA with no dates). I found a newer, canned example and did a new review.
https://www.beeradvocate.com/beer/profile/2098/237472/?ba=woemad#review

Still nothing great, but a far cry from the totally hop faded horror show of last February.

 

Hello New Beer Sunday!!!

What a perfect day to be stuck indoors all day at work! Ok, NOT! Oh, well. What can I do about it? Not a damn thing. All I can do is enjoy the new beer. I think it's time for breakfast.


One Barrel Brewing out of Madison, Wisconsin - Breakfast Beer.

I'll be honest - I've had way better examples of this style of beer before. This is ok, but really lacking in flavor, and thickness. Very watery. Well, I will, for sure, finish off the bottle.

3.68/5 rDev 0%
look: 4 | smell: 3.5 | taste: 3.75 | feel: 3.5 | overall: 3.75

This beer pours a nice dark brown color. The head is a nice tan color, frothy, and one finger. Good head retention, and nice lacing on the glass.
The nose is somewhat weak. I do get a hint of coffee, and maybe some milk/lactose.
The taste is mellow. There's a hint of coffee on the backside. Some biterness from it. Some milk/lactose flavor.
Somewhat on the watery side. Just not as thick as I would have expected from the ABV.
Not bad overall, but I've had beers that are way better examples of this style.

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Will I have another new beer tonight? I really don't know. I do know that my next week is going to be pure hell - The Benton County Fair is going on, and I own one of the booths there. It's going to be running my ass off from 7 am till midnight everyday, hoping to make a decent profit. See you all next Sunday if I'm done here tonight.

 

Thanks for lighting the way , @cjgiant . I was going to go with a different beer & location, but maybe 2 non-rainy days in a row, and that strange self-luminous-body-in-the-sky has f***** with my head?
Pretty good. Similar to Fleur de Houblon, but with some added fruit & spice elements. Seems almost
a hybrid of a Citra-heavy IPA & a saison. (As I've mentioned before..) I like clove in very small doses. More than I'd like in this, but not overwhelming, or a deal-breaker.
The "sage" I mention in the review is what I usually get from beers with Soriachi Ace. Given the lemon flavor also present, I'd guess it's a possibility here. Overall, I like it, but given the limits of time,$, & brain/liver cells, I'm glad I only got one. I didn't put any of the groundcherries in it, but that might be a good idea. Just forgot to do it before using them otherwise.


4.06/5 rDev +3.8%
look: 4.5 | smell: 4 | taste: 4 | feel: 4.25 | overall: 4

Bottle has 6 | 16 along the bottom front of it, ~1/4" below the label. Not sure if that is the bottling date, or the "Best By" date. Anyway.....

Hazy (fresh) lemonade yellow, with moderate long-lasting head and lacing.

Aroma is mostly citrus, with some unidentifiable tropical fruit mix and a bit of sweet(ish) malt .

Flavor is grapefruit/lemon, clove,black pepper(tiny amt),mango, some other fruit, and a very brief hint of sage (from the hops?) , finishing with a nice, drying bitterness.

Feel is light, slightly oily, slightly creamy, with very,very fine carbonation, lending a tiny prickle, that adds to the drying finish.

Overall, pretty good, not great. I'd like it better without the clove element. A nice summer one at 75F (today)> Might like it better if it was 15-20 degrees warmer. (Like last year. ~ )

 

I agree. Fluctuation is one of the best DIPA's I've ever had. It's extraordinary!

 

Evil genius peanut butter porter,wierd and don't need to repeat the experience