New Beer Sunday (Week 653)

Good Afternoon NBS
I have a new* Indiana beer in my mug this afternoon.



The review:
12oz canned 7/25/17 poured into a .5L krug at fridge temp 5.7% ABV 23 IBU per website. The beer pours bright light amber in color. The head is off white and lasts for about 90 seconds. No lacing, no head after that. The aroma is faint caramel and yeast. The flavor is faint caramel up front transitioning to a slightly bitter lingering aftertaste. Mouthfeel is thin bodied, moderately carbonated and dry in finish. There is a oily/soapy aftertaste & feel that suggests issues with fermentation or lagering. Overall, not good. This beer is brewery distributed to my local and was purchased cold within a month of canning. Sun King cannot brew a lager to save their business. This is the third lager I've had from them and they have all been flawed.

*Further thoughts:
I had a single of this 2 years ago before I rated or participated on BA. It was so bad I drained half of the 16oz. It smelled and tasted like sour rotten cabbage. I have vowed to review every single Oktoberfest I can this season so I gave this a second chance. Never again. I am further distressed to add that this beer is currently sitting at #65 on the BA top 100 marzens list. Right ahead of Weihenstephaner fest beer. Really? I know the ranking metric was changed up to give small breweries with outstanding product a chance to get some notice, but it also allows for a local brewery to produce something similar to Bud dark, and get recognized for an outstanding Oktoberfest.

Hope you all are enjoying the new beer in your glass!

 

Happy Divide the Great New Beer Sunday (Week 653)!

A house divided cannot stand, but since a lot of people can't stand me, I don't give a darn! Oh, he plays shortstop. I won't stand for comedy, either, as beer is serious business. Great, Bro. Woody. Howzabout a beer?

I was made aware that my Heyday may have passed when I attended yesterday's Lancaster Craft Beerfest. I have become reclusive in the past year & I do not relish being in crowds + I don't like people touching me without asking. I actually left with 30" remaining, but I had reached saturation. On that upbeat note, here is my first entry of the day:
https://www.beeradvocate.com/beer/profile/158/91519/?ba=woodychandler#review


From a Witbier to a Saison. Not much of a leap:
https://www.beeradvocate.com/beer/profile/158/222186/?ba=woodychandler#review

I am going to attempt a feat of derring-do & have one last one before shoving off for 2nd shift:
https://www.beeradvocate.com/beer/profile/158/47440/?ba=woodychandler#review


Things are changing for me. I read an article in the local fishwrap that a) there is a shortage of teachers (well, no duh! If I had been a student who had been endlessly tasted coming up, I would also avoid the profession) & b) by extension, there is a dearth of substitutes to the point that they are ponying up serious $ to entice people to come in on a daily basis. That would be me! I have given my two weeks' notice to Yellow Taxi with 10 September to be my last day. That will mean that I am again free on weekends & can indulge more freely on NBS.

 

My wife bought me lunch at York River Landing today.
The bartender wanted me to try Two Juicy I was reluctant because the few beers I've had from Two Roads were just OK. In the interest of science (who am I kidding?) I went with it, and I'm glad I did.

In a snifter the beer was a hazy gold color. There was a small white head that left a bit of lace.
Mostly citrus aroma. Some pine. Nice sweet malt.
Grapefruit and tangerine taste. A little bit of pine resin. Caramel.
Medium-bodied.
Even though it's 8% ABV it drank like a session beer.

Cheers to the weekend!

 

Thanks to Cjgiant for kicking things off for us. It's crazy to think some of you folks have been at this for almost 13 years! I was drinking craft beer back then but wasn't at all plugged in to the larger culture/scene, so it must have been quite a ride to be here all along watching things change so much and so quickly over the past decade plus.

I'm going to cheat a little this week (if I may) and review a beer which I have actually had before, but it was well before I was paying attention to, and actually enjoying beer: Busch. We bought this a lot in the late 80s due to the price, and just like every other AAL back in the day, I never actually cared for it much and was only drinking it for one reason. I don't believe I've had a can of it though since Metallica cut their hair. So when I saw a freshly dated single sitting at the liquor store yesterday for $.85 I figured what the hell!





Taking a whiff right off the can gives a suprisingly pleasant nose of crackery malt. Pouring it reveals a pretty typical clear straw color with one inch of fluffy head that disappears very quickly to a ring. Once in the glass that crackery goodness in the nose is largely overshadowed by a kind of bland sweetness. It feels a bit tingly on the tongue but then falls sort of flat in the overall mouthfeel. It's almost as if you can watch the beer go flat in real time. I'm not even halfway through the glass and even a vigorous swirl doesn't bring back much of a head.

Taste is pretty bland - just what I think of as that generic AAL light, sweet, flavor that I can't exactly put my finger on. But nothing about it tastes at all bad, and it finishes very cleanly with nearly no aftertaste. My biggest gripe would probably be how lacking in carbonation it is.

If you're thirsty there's nothing specifically off putting about this beer, but it doesn't really offer anything at all to the experience beyond simply being something to drink. This is actually better than my memory of Budweiser from the AAL tasting a while back, but not nearly as good as Miller High Life which I think is actually worth paying attention to while you drink it.

Cheers all!

 

Greetings all and welcome to the last weekend in August. Man! Where did the the time go? Labor Day next weekend? Yikes!

Anyway, this is a brand new beer from the great state of New Hampshire. It is Big Water TIPA The Iceberg (Get it? Tip of the Iceberg - ba-dum-dum). It is classified as a Triple IPA and is 10.0% ABV. It was so new that I added it to the BA database. But unless you live in New Hampshire, you won't be able to buy it. Such is life.

When I saw "Triple IPA," I kind of thought it would be busting at the seams with tropical fruit, grapefruit, pineapple, etc. For good or for bad, that is not the case. This nano-brewery, which opened in 2015, tends to brew sour/wild ales and a few Belgian Abbey style ales. And this is how I would better describe it. But I added it to BA as an Imperial IPA because that is how the brewery defines it.

Opaque, murky, milky looking copper-amber pour with a quick eruption of white fizzy head that dissipates at the count of ten. Lots of sandy sediment coating the bottom of the glass. My nose picks up green apple, maybe some pear esters, and a zesty yet tart overripe fruitiness. I also pick up a little booze, which is not surprising considering it is 10% ABV and has only been out a week or so. The mouthfeel is in the medium to bold range and it is quite smooth. The taste has a pucker-up tart zing to it. But I will say that as I make my way through the 650 ml. bottle more citrus characters seems to step forward.

I really like this brewery's Belgian Abbey style ales but their sour/wild ales can be a little bit of a challenge to enjoy. Unless, of course, you are a sour and wild ale fan. Then you should get your hands on their beer.

Be seeing you.

 

I never object to taking the kids to the Toledo Zoo knowing that a beer run is a guarantee. Picked this up along with many other new beers. Unfortunately, this shall be my only beer today.



Brewed and canned on 7/31/17 from American's armpit, Ohio.
Pours a clear amber, garnet highlights with 1 finger tan head. Fresh squeezed ruby red grapefruit nose.
Taste is sweet grapefruit, floral notes, then more bitter grapefruit. Taste is pretty much one flavor profile but it's done so well.
Crisp mouthfeel,low carbonation but easy drinking.

 

Founders 2014 Oak Aged Rye IPA, a beer brewed for the AHA National Homebrew Conference. I was gifted this beer and it sat in the cellar and never got around to drinking it, does this sound familiar?? One of the reasons I never got to it was its age, and i can say it held up VERY well, poured a nice deep amber with a creamy one finger head that stayed around, like eye candy, very nice floral aroma with deep complexity with the oak and rye giving a spicy and bitter finish. Very impressed with the sustainability and enjoyed greatly. Cheers

 

Greetings, fellow NBSers, and thanks to @cjgiant for kicking things off and doing the NBS math for us,

Last week I had to abstain from NBS as I was camping and eclipse-watching on the Oregon coast, with extremely patchy phone coverage (mostly due to my crappy cheap phone provider; another case of getting what you pay for). Before heading out of town for my parent's place in south-central WA (staging area for above mentioned trip), I stopped by River City Brewing Co. for a growler of their root beer for float purposes (my parents had been hosting their 7yr old granddaughter for nearly a week by then, so I thought I'd do them a solid with a dessert she might be willing to behave 24 hours for!). While there, I had their newish IIPA, epically titled Kung Fu Death Monkey:

Perhaps a little malty, like a lot of big IPAs, but not distractingly so. The 8.9% abv was extremely well hidden.

Although passing within sight of hallowed beer geek grounds such as Pelican and Fort George, I only managed one new beer this week, from a brewery in Astoria that I'd never heard of. Conditions for beer reviewing were not favorable, but I've got a can of it that might make an appearance today. I've also got a couple cans from a recent box from @jhavs that need to soon meet their fate, plus grab some random sleep to make me get through a graveyard shift I start at midnight, so I'll be back at a time and way that cannot currently be forecast!

 

Another week gone by, another new beer to review! The ebb and flow of life as time keeps ticking away. I'm in denial that summer is winding down, but the signs are all around me including leaves that are slowly changing and week 3 of preseason football. A party sunny comfy day with a 75 degree temp makes for some great patio drinking. Let's pop one open!

I picked up a bottle of Imperial Mexican Biscotti Cake Break in Ohio when I was on my way to Pittsburgh back in late June. It's been sitting in the fridge waiting for a lazy day like this. It has a laundry list of ingredients including coffee, cinnamon, almonds, cocoa nibs, vanilla and habenero peppers. I can't locate a date on the bottle, the abv. is 10.5% and I'm pouring it a dailyware stout glass for the grand occasion.

It pours a thick looking dirty motor oil black producing a thin finger of creamy tan foam. It slowly settles to a thin layer with no lacing present. The smell is chocolate cake along with cinnamon, vanilla and mild tobacco. Taste is sweet chocolate forward followed by cinnamon, tobacco and a hint of vanilla. There's a slight earthy taste and bit of pepper heat in the finish. The feel is oily and creamy, but thinner that it appears pouring.

This is a decadent chocolate cake of a beer! I'm not getting any coffee, almonds, or pepper heat which is surprising considering habanero's were used. Perhaps an older bottle? That observation aside, it's still a high quality stout with a well disguised 10.5% abv. My score is 4.21 / rDev -0.7%.

Time for the second half of the Bears-Titans game. The Bears looked competent in the first half which is scary, but suffered what appears to be a major injury to Cam Meredith. A big blow to a very thin receiver corps. Enjoy your Sunday of new beer adventures! I leave you with the official scorecard....

https://www.beeradvocate.com/beer/profile/24300/218803/?ba=Prager62#review

 

A summery yellowish color with little head and little lacing.

Lots of fruity and sea salt aroma.

Taste follows the smell with a fruity key lime sea salt flavor and a slight sourness.

Key lime, sea salt and a slight sourness.

A well made gose.

 

Thanks! I picked it up in the spring at the Prairie Brewpub.

 

Happy Sunday ba. Another lovely day here on the island. Sunny, and warm with a good breeze and after a very cool evening there is not a hint of humidity. Can't help but think about all the shit Texas is dealing with that bastard hurricane Harvey. I, and many ba's in this area, remember hurricane Sandy all too well. Might hit the beach, but may not. Other than that watching mindless baseball and grilling is about all I'm up to today.

I have a few new beers today but we'll see how many I actually get to. My first new beer today is a bit of a mystery and I will attempt to explain as short as possible. The beer is called The One that Just Kicked, dipa, from Blank Brewing which titles it's name as literally a blank line or space. The problem is there is very little information on this so called Blank Brewing. There is no story or location info on the can. The only info provided on the can is that it's brewed/canned by Overshores Brewing in ct. And that it is distributed by 12% which does eviltwin etc. I can't find a website or any social media pages. A fellow li ba @guinness77 ran a thread about it and it did not yield much to the mystery. The store I bought it from had no idea either. So it's either a cool little marketing thing or just really fucking stupid. Depends on your view I guess. Anyway, the brew checks in at 8% abv and a canning date of 7/20/17. It's suppose to feature citra, somcoe, and wa-iti hops but that could be wrong.

A lovely blonde color with amber highlights on the pour. Hazy clarity with a thick and frothy white head. On the nose I get hops, citrus, and fruit. The drinking starting with subtle hops upfront and a rush of fine malt. A pretty clean flow that finishes nicely bitter. The fruit notes really do not carry over from the nose at all and are rather muted. Notes of orange, melon, lemon, and peach but very subtle. Notes of bitter pine and resin hit more on the finish. The mouth feel is moderate with decent balance.

Overall, it's ok. It seems pretty well done but I am far from being in love with it. The flavor notes really don't pop and it really lacks depth. The malt is a bit heavy for the hazy style but I do like that it includes bitter. I'm right around a 4 here and I doubt I will repurchase so I guess it doesn't really matter who the hell black brewing is.

 

Something local. Really nice dark amber color,medium carbonation which helps create a nice feel. Aroma is cereal,malt,then a mild hop/bitterness. Taste is identical,grain then malt comes through and finishes slightly bitter with a lingering after taste from the hops. Easy going beer that stays in the middle of the road in a good way.

 

We're having a beautiful late summer Sunday afternoon here in northern NJ, and my mood is starting to turn towards Oktoberfests. I stocked up with my faves yesterday, and that should get me by until Sly Fox comes around. The only new one I'll be having is right in front of me now, the latest Sierra Nevada collaboration with Brauhaus Miltenberger

While I'm enjoying it, I also don't find it up to par with previous years. They hit all the right notes, and avoid the major blunders like you'd expect. However, I have a couple of quibbles that keep it from hitting the elite level.

First off, the malt character is fairly subdued- nicely bready and toasty with a hint of light caramel, yet not as rich as it could be. And the second issue probably has something to do with that. The hops just come off as out of place, particularly the bitterness. It hits me before the finish, and seems to stop any lingering malt flavor from continuing. I get the sweet malt flavor, then sudden bitterness, and then very late the toasty dryness comes on - kind of disjointed in a way.

Stylistically, this is in Ayinger's ballpark, and is as easy to drink; just a touch hoppier. But, oddly enough, I'm getting more enjoyment out of it by approaching it as a hefty Vienna, with its elegant austere qualities. Still a very fine beer, just not tops in the class A- (4.0).

Enjoy your days, everybody!

 

So it might be the "Run to the Hills" NBS. thread.

 

Another new beer from @GreenBayBA, Odd Side Ales Dirty Dank Juice. I love how this lingers on on my tongue.

4.12/5 rDev +4.3%
look: 4.25 | smell: 4 | taste: 4.25 | feel: 4 | overall: 4

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

A- A slightly hazy golden straw color with a two finger white head.

S- Oranges, some tropical fruits/citrus, floral, some wet grass, resin.

T- Citrus, some oranges, hints of tropical fruits, some caramel malts, floral hops, resin/dank finish. Hops linger nicely, very bright and citrusy after taste.

M- Smooth, medium body.

O- A solid IPA, but not really a NEIPA. It does seem influenced by hazy IPAs, definitely with how it lingers, but the hops just aren't as big and juicy as the NEIPAs I'm use to. Does get better as it warms.

 

Sierra Nevada /Brauhaus Miltenbeger Oktoberfest. This is the 3rd that SN has brewed brewed an Oktoberfest with a German brewery. The first 2 were excellent brews so this beer is being held to a very high standard . Long story short this beer meets the standard. It pours a light golden amber color with a thick white long lasting head. It has a malty aroma . The taste is malty and a bit sweet. There a bit of hops in the finish. This beer was the 1st of what will be many Oktoberfests that will enjoyed this fall. I'm sure it will be one of the best of them.
By the way i noticed that the list of of year around SN beers on the bottom of the 6 pack carrier no longer lists the Stout or Porter. Did i miss some news?

 

How about coffee? The lack of it was a bigger 'disappointment' for me. It was very chocolate forward for sure. They must have used a ton of cocoa nibs!