New Beer Sunday (Week 653)

4 unusual new beers you probably have not tried...
Uflaffen | Shelter Island
4.47/5 rDev 0%
look: 3.75 | smell: 4.25 | taste: 4.75 | feel: 4.25 | overall: 4.5

This one-year old brewer calls this German IPA, which fits the style. It's one of the most exciting beers I have ever tasted out of 1000.

A: Hazy, opaque golden body that resolves into a cap and a bit of lace.
S: Orchard, fall fruits, ripening late season apples, hay, earth, fallen leaves, the sea, the fall beach.
T: On a Germanic, Munich malt backdrop rise all the flavors above via Bavarian hops... (Orchard, fall fruits, ripening late season apples, hay, earth, fallen leaves, the sea) resolving in a bitter, pungent, yeasty, cidery, drying finale.
F: Suitably bright and chalky. Clean, lean, cidery, cleansing finish. Great food beer.

I tried 8 of their beers in flights and settled on this one to take home with us. Great beer, great artisan brewer. Much to be said of a small batch, local, herbal, local ingredient, over infused craft brewer. A true confectioner, gardener and flower shop. Bravo.

Overall, this brewer packs its small batches with herbs, which are mostly native to Shelter Island, and seasonal. Fantastic tea-like brews to be found here along with good spirits, food, and craft.

Proud to be 2nd reviewer of this brew and this wonderful place.

Two Dragons | Empire
3.97/5 rDev +12.5%
look: 3.5 | smell: 4 | taste: 4 | feel: 4 | overall: 4

Happy to be 7th reviewer of this fine Kombucha inspired/ infused beer.
Loving Empire Brewing, East meets West, Kombucha, and all things fermented... I love this original beer.

a) Looks a real beer, a completely hazed, copper yellow body with a short head, but scant retention or lace.
s) Delicious authentic cross between kombucha and a sour beer. Fermented tea dominant sour, earthy, musty with hints of fruit, yeast, flowers. fecund and pleasant, subtle.
t) Follows smell with sweet malt, simmered by earthy, yeasty, and musty flavors, sour as in classic sour beer, hops providing nice balance that land the beer balanced and refreshing. Good session and summer beer. Perfect with all Chinese, Japanese, raw, and acidic (eg tomatoes/salad) food.
f) medium-light bodied with low carbonation and a clean fresh finish.
o) One of my favorite new beers. Original. Try 24.

Dune Cottage | Shelter Island
3.96/5 rDev 0%
look: 3.75 | smell: 4 | taste: 4 | feel: 3.75 | overall: 4

Overall, this brewer packs its small batches with herbs, which are mostly native to Shelter Island, and seasonal. Fantastic tea-like brews to be found here along with good spirits, food, and craft.

Proud to be 2nd reviewer of this brew and this wonderful place.

A: Pours a honey golden color with a tight white head that results in a lace and a cap all the way down.

S: Like all SI brews, the aroma is of herbs. Lemon thyme and lemon verbena brighten first impressions, along with grass, hay, seaweed.

T: The taste follows the smell in being very herbal, flowery and lemony. There's malt that's lightly bready, but mainly its layered with flowers, and a bitter, lemony zest. This will be great with Mexican or Sushi.

F: Moderate weighted body with low carbonation. Sweet on the palate but then its herbs and hops dry into the chalky finish.

Lots of fresh, organic additions make this beer a great way to get your vitamins and minerals. In sum, it's a 4. Try 24.

Ephémère Sureau (Elderberry) | Unibroue
3.84/5 rDev -2.3%
look: 3.75 | smell: 4 | taste: 3.75 | feel: 4 | overall: 3.75

What marks it down is that it doesnt get much better as it warms, and I would expect it to be great at cask temp.

A) Unibroue "Éphémère (Elderberry)" pours a totally hazed violet body. Small head, persistent ring, scant lace - consistent with a fruit beer. Nice color.
S) Quite nice. Fruity and floral. Elderberry and white grape, more shandy like than wine-like.
T) Nicely tart, and abundantly fruity... aspirin, mineral tempers it rather than hop, lingering tartness lands in a dry finish, a bit too candy like, but otherwise a good finish.
F) Acidic, effervescent, fine-bubbled, a bit like a tart chalky candy, a Smartie. *(Smarties Candy Company, formerly known as Ce De Candy Inc., since 1949)
O): An enjoyable apértif, dessert beer, or digestif, as much juice / shandy as a beer, paired well with grilled scallops. Try 6.

 

Late start today for me, and while I won't go into explicit details, I can say this much; performing a brake job in a gravel driveway sucks giant assballs. That's all I have to say about it.

Anyhoo,...... Enjoying this Modern Times Hoppy Wheat



Crystal clear, foamy head. Nice lacing. Has a slightly weak yet pleasant fruity thing happening it tails off with a bit of an earthy, almost grass like finish. Taste starts off with the grassy thing and doesn't really go anywhere else as far as hop profile goes, but there is a fairly decent malty, as in sweet caramel even though it's a pretty thin, lighter side beer.

 

Michael, last night my wife asked me to take her to the Sly Fox brewpub for dinner (she loves that place). Oktoberfest was on tap. I tried my best to resist ordering a pint since I really do not want to drink Oktoberfest beers until September but what can I say, I am only human. Not only did I order one I also got in in a 20 ounce Willi Becher glass.

That beer drank beautifully. IMO that beer is just a perfectly balanced beer (regardless of style).

Yup, I will be buying a case of this beer in 5 days.

Cheers!

@Seacoastbrewer

 

The next beer up I picked up while in Pennsylvania on work 2 weeks ago. Einstok Icelandic Toasted Porter, the bottled on date says 1/17/17 the best by date is 1/17/2019. I am just seeing this and while I picked up a 4 pack I gave 3 away, wish I had saved one to see how it aged. I was not expecting much from this I actually got it at a grocery store while waiting for my boss to find some Bud Light to take back to the hotel. I really enjoyed this beer, nice chocolate flavor I also liked the smoke aroma and taste.


Appearance 3.75 - Pours thin black cola like with decent off white head that vanished before I can sit the glass down. There is not much lacing at all.

Aroma 3.75 - Roasted malts, coffee, a touch of smoke, chocolate and a little sweetness.

Taste 4.25 - Very nice flavors a little more smoke and some charcoal in the flavor. Rich chocolate Roasted malts and coffee grounds.

Feel 4 - The feel is pretty creamy with some tingly carbonation. Slightly dry finish.

Overall 4.03 - I was not expecting much from this but it has very nice flavors.

 

Witches Hat, Furious Ginger, BB Spiced Stout, lots of adjuncts here, cinnamon, ginger and peppers, pours motor oil black and generates huge head that sustains leaving a nice cap to the finish, not much on the nose, first hit is wow there's the cinnamon and then pow, peppers kick in, some sweetness too but heavy pepper. Thick and coating feel to it. Pretty nice beer but lot of things going on here. Decent

 

Congrats on the new gig! Down here subs get about $66/day or about $8.25/hr so I'll guess the shortage hasn't hit here too bad yet. Glad to hear some areas are actually paying more!

 

I didn't notice any batch or date code? Help! I hate having to sleuth a bottle for simple info.

 

Had planned to be driving back from an Oregon volcano climbing trip today...but the fires necessitated lots of improvisation over the past week. Since I'm fortunate enough to be at home with computer access I thought I'd contribute to this great recurring thread. Many thanks for @cjgiant for getting things started today!

First beer is a new beer to both Beer Advocate and myself. New Glory Liquid Grove. New Glory is transitioning into one of the Tier 1 establishments in the Sacramento metro beer scene. This is aided by snagging one of the assistant brewers from Moonraker, Kyle Leddy, to take the wheel of the New Glory ship as head brewer. To that note, Liquid Grove does not disappoint.

Slightly hazy with quickly dissipating head. Very enjoyable tropical nose, plenty of mango, apricot and citrus. Taste follows nose with more citrus prominence. Limited bitterness and astringency, very juicy. Complete rating link, with my overall at a 4.26. Looking forward to many good-great things from them in the future.



Second contribution is a beer that was gifted from my relatives in Portland. The original plan was to crack this one on the summit of Black Butte during the eclipse. As I alluded to in my intro, the numerous fires prompted lots of improvisation in what was originally planned as a 10 day volcano climbing trip.

After relocating to John Day Fossil Beds National Monument, we found ourselves closer to the line of totality and smoke-free. This beer augmented an already incredible experience. I was quite happy to have saved this one for an event of comparable significance to imbibe.

Bottle was dated 07/29/2015 into an insulated stainless pint. Both the nose and the taste were a spectacular balance of both the barrel and base beer. Whiskey, oak, and chocolate in complimentary abundance. Incredibly easy drinking for the 12.4% ABV. Complete review link, overall for my palate a 4.64.

 

Huevos looks like a real trouper! You guys stay safe down there.

 

Back at it with a new one from Bearded Iris - Jigsaw.

It's a galaxy hopped DIPA. Simply put, this is an excellent DIPA. Nice tropical citrus flavors and aroma.



Poured from 16 oz can dated 8/15/2017

A: Hazy orange with one finger white head. Moderate retention and leaving some light lacing.

S: Pineapple, mango, and passion fruit. Trademark Galaxy hopped DIPA.

T: Nice clean tropical citrus with passion fruit, mango, and pineapple.

M: Medium body with average carbonation. Dry and crisp finish.

O: Another outstanding offering from Bearded Iris. Really glad that I found the last four pack in the store.

 

Another New Beer for me from a half growler:

(512) Pale ... an American pale ale

Hoppy aroma rises off the pour that first looks flat then percolates into the creamy little head shown above. "Hoppy" here is both "green" and grapefruity ... green as in a bit of grass, cilantro and lime. The grapefruit aroma quickly takes over. The flavor is much maltier but not overpoweringly malty, the hops still shining nicely in grapefruit form. Most of the bitterness arrives late in the aftertaste. The malt backbone is like a thin layer of sugar cookie dough wrapped around sharp fresh grapefruit.

Love it. The mouthfeel is very ale soft, and I don't know if that's a brewer's choice or if the beer lost some carbonation overnight in the half growler. Doesn't matter because it's not hurting the overall presentation -- and while that soft feel is not my bag, it easily could be considered perfect by some.

The review:
https://www.beeradvocate.com/beer/profile/17863/43534/?ba=Premo88#review
4.07 (+9.7% rDev)

I almost poured this beer indoors but then said what the hell? Let's keep up NBS-level appearances. What's going on around that pour:

just a little water; nothing like poor Rockport or Houston or others along the coast

Not sure what the hell Spieth just did hitting into No. 18 green, but still advantage Spieth.

Btw, the beer in here today is classic NBS-level awesome, as always, but some of the glassware seems to be catching my eye more than normal. Especially @VABA's Prairie Artisan stick (what a glass!) and @larryi86's squat little DFH snifter/goblet thing (beer always looks so dang good in that one! ). And that's just two of many.

Cheers!

 

New Richard, do I have a mark on my face? Sunday

First, keep safe and speedy recovery to those in Texas.


Today's new brew is courtesy of my dad, who doesn't even drink beer. He just got back from antelope hunting on some friends ranch in WY. Just a little 20 sq mile place outside of Casper. I had planned to go this year as I haven't been out since 2013, but some unexpected financial issues arose, so I watched a partial eclipse instead.
At least I still get to drink some locals from @Bitterbill 's local liquor store.

Love the artwork on their stuff. Reminds me of cheesy movie posters, or appropriately, these:




Back to the beer.


4.29/5 rDev -1.2%
look: 4.25 | smell: 4 | taste: 4.5 | feel: 4.25 | overall: 4.25

From a 7/13/17 stamped 12oz can

It is a cloudy/unfiltered vibrant orange-gold. There's a decent amount of egg white to cream colored head on top. Fairly frothy, and it settles into a 1/4" thick film that never goes away.

It smells really sweet. Doughy malts with a bit of a berry like aroma. There's also some orange and fermented pineapple, and a bit of pine sap.

The flavors pop a lot more than the nose. If it weren't for a little bit of alcohol flavor, I would bump this score another notch easily. I get some spicy/prickly mango and pineapple, a lot of marmalade/jam like orange, some melon/cantaloupe, a Jolly Rancher like strawberry (so not actual strawberry) or passion fruit, sweet Hawaiian like bread, and at the very end, some piney hops and bitterness. The bitterness builds through the aftertaste and through the entire beer.

A lot of pricklyness and a bit of alcohol bite, but otherwise, this thing is pretty easy drinking considering it's 9.9%.

This is a very tasty, very intense beer worthy of its name and reputation.

 

Good afternoon fellow NBSrs!

Its been a long weekend so far and finally winding down.....
I managed to sit down , put my feet up and dive into this one.

The beer



The review

 

Joining late today with a few new beers. The wife and I have a chance to go out alone, which is quite rare. Had lunch and a beer at Great Dane Brew Pub.

Four Quarter Five is a dark gold with a foamy 2 finger nice white head and decent lacing. Light grain, cracker, lemon zest and hints of bubblegum. Not much funk or yeast to it. A hint of tang and some wet hay, light cracker, bubblegum notes. I pick up the yeast in the flavor with a very slight funk. Light body with excellent carbonation, crisp and refreshing. Reminds me of a Belgian Pale ale and Saison hybrid.



I also enjoyed Primátor Premium at home. It pours a deep gold with a 2 finger white head that leaves a foamy cap and minimal lacing. Biscuit malts dance with light spicy hops along with some grain and hints of grass. The flavor is heavy with malt and some cereal grain. There is a mild spicy and bitterness to it that manages to balance the malt. Light bodied with soft carbonation that finishes clean and crisp. A nice and enjoyable Czeck Pils.

 

I had to spend Friday and Saturday on the road for work, so I'm experiencing a delayed weekend. I put out the bucks for the NBC Sports Gold Cycling coverage, so I slept in, watched the Spanish Vuelta stage, and, switching to EPL, caught the end of the butt whipping Arsenal caught.

When on my way home from New York I picked up a six pack of MIA Mega Mix.



I think I got it in a Wegman's. It's from Brew Hub, and was about a week old when I bought it.


4.29/5 rDev +2.9%
look: 4.25 | smell: 4.5 | taste: 4.25 | feel: 4 | overall: 4.25

This looks like every IPA I've had,so it's pale like Dale's is a pale ale. Beyond that, what a great tropical blast aroma when you crack a can. I thought that the flavor was a little more restrained, but so smooth. The hop/yeast combination reminded me of Lagunitas IPA's, which I usually enjoy. I would buy this regularly if available. Nice start to my day.

 

Wow, surprisingly busy NBS today! Glad everyone's having some great beers. I'm about to start an epic grill session, so I figured I'd check in with a new beer just beforehand! I'm gonna be grilling up some sausage for jambalaya I'm prepping later on tonight along with Korean BBQ marinated pork and both sweet bourbon + teriyaki chicken breasts! I've got mandatory overtime this week, so I need some easily-reheated meals as my lunch at work will be a little bit shorter than usual in order to get the work done. Excited to be outside with some great beers listening to music and manning my station!

My solitary entry for this NBS of August 27th, 2017 is a wonderfully-complex "table" saison by Honest Weight out of Orange, MA. This tiny little brewery is fairly new but has definitely impressed me with several on-tap offerings I've enjoyed in the Greater Boston area. This is my first packaged beer by HW, however, and I therefore have high expectations. A dry-hopped, rustic saison refermented in French oak with Brett and lactic acid bacteria, Overly Dedicated seems to be quite true to its name. Though this bottle was about $14 for a 16.9 oz serving, I felt obligated to purchase and consider it critically. This is the kind of project craft beer is all about, in my opinion!


Pours a fairly-hazy golden/medium-amber beer with a retentive yet small-ish head that builds up fairly moderately with each small pour. I would say it took about 3-4 pours to get this to fit in my glass. Compared to most Brett-influenced beers, this seemed to have less initial formation of foam, but it very adequately holds onto what it does end up having. I assume the red wheat helped with the head stability here, kind of counteracting the lacto and pedio bacteria (which can oftentimes have a negative effect on head, as I've detailed many times in previous NBS and main-site BA reviews of kettle-soured ales and goses alike). Pretty great looking stuff!

Nose has a lot of diverse and impressive elements, ranging from rustic Brett funk and hay to some slight fruity esters, florals, lemon peel, lime juice, apricot and fresh-cut kiwi. Very fruity, overall. It's a little bit tropical with some guava and passion fruit-like notes probably coming from the interaction between the Brett and dry-hop. The label states that the beer was brewed with Cascade hops (grown locally at Four Star Farms!) but dry-hopped with "a blend of our favorite hops from the Southern Hemisphere." I would be shocked if Rakau and/or Motueka hops (both from New Zealand) were not part of the dry-hop here, as I definitely get some prominent stone fruit, lime and tropical fruit. As an aside, I'd consider myself a Motueka fanboy... it's probably one of the most distinct hops I've ever experienced in beer, a title it shares with such distinctive varietals as Chinook, Summit, Sorachi Ace and Saaz, among others.

This presents with bright citrus (lime, white grapefruit and lemon peel), kiwi, passion fruit, guava and moderately-chewy wheat on the tongue. Some funk and rusticness is present but it feels mostly eclipsed by the sour and tart fruit flavors. Some tannins from the oak aging here, but the strength of the beer keeps this from being overly toasty and oaky. I think that's a good thing and feels very moderated, but some who read that this was refermented in French oak may desire more of that element on the palate. The beer is moderately-carbonated, with a chewier-than-expected mouthfeel for its low ABV. It bears a slick and oily mid-palate-to-finish transition with lingering hoppy bitterness and a mouth-coating tart/funky aspect. I really like the refreshing and complementary flavors here, and feel that this is quite a well-balanced little beer which showcases a lot of, well, dedication. Recommended for sure!

 

Happy New American Impy Stout Sunday!

Pretty nice hot/sunny day on the Western Slope, around 91 at the trailhead. Having a pretty tasty brew, really picking up on the currants. Picked up some chicken tacos on the way home. Might be back with something else.

https://www.beeradvocate.com/beer/profile/140/254126/?ba=Wasatch#review

Cheers!

 

https://www.beeradvocate.com/beer/profile/140/254126/?ba=ichorNet#review

Hey, I guess I thought this was sliiiightly better than you thought it was! Then again, I reviewed it about 7 months ago... wonder if longer aging had anything to do with the increased maltiness you perceived. I really felt like the base beer lost out to the tart currant notes. I tend to rate things a little bit higher than most people, anyway, honestly. Cheers!

 

Now up DFH Lupu-Luau IPA, a very different IPA from DFH and a fun beer.

4.1/5 rDev +5.9%
look: 4.25 | smell: 4.25 | taste: 4 | feel: 4.25 | overall: 4

12 oz bottle, dated 7/8/17, poured into a snifter

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

S- Coconat, some tropical fruits, touch of citrus, herbal tea, slightly floral, touch of sweet malts.

T- Toasted coconut, some tropical fruits, hints of melons, herbal tea, oats, some citrus.

M- Smooth, slightly creamy, medium body.

O- A solid IPA with coconut. Very enjoyable and easy to drink.

 

This one I just snagged at a random c-store in Michigan because it had a pretty cool name. Heart full of Napalm from Tapistry Brewing



Murky copper colored body with a moderately fun sized tan head. Nose seems unusual, as cheese and cherries seem to be it? Taste holds on briefly to the cherry, but thankfully there's no cheese. It's sweet up front before the sweet becomes more defined in the shape of like candy tangerine grapefruit. Finishes a bit more harsh than it started, like it takes on a rough tobacco inspired finish. Feel is probably pretty medium-ish with an after taste reminiscent of sacharin sweetness amongst the harsh bitter. I guess I'm pretty cool with this one, as it's certainly unique.