New Beer Sunday (Week 656)

Happy NBS friends! Neighbors text last night that our power was restored! Hopefully Jose and Maria will turn out to sea and not effect any of us. I'll be back later after we get home and settled in with a new beer. Have a great day and be thankful!

 

Good morning NBS
On the rare occasion that I have a Sunday off with nothing planned, I try to put together some related beers for NBS. First I needed some sustenance.

Do you see the pattern? It's sell out Sunday! Today will mark Oktoberfest reviews 27 - 29 for the season.

12oz bottled 8/9/17 poured into a.5L krug at fridge temp 5.7% ABV. The beer pours bright light honey in color with off white head. The head recedes to a thin ring and a few bubbles with no lacing. The aroma is faint sweetness, bread and yeast. The taste is semisweet caramel up front that slowly tapers off to an undry finish. Mouthfeel is thin bodied, very carbonated and finishes with a seltzer like bitterness with no signs of hops. Overall, not a fan. I detect no off flavors or flaws, but this is a very generic amber lager, not a Marzen.

This was my first beer from Blue Point and probably my last. I was cautiously optimistic since their flagship beer is a lager. Oh well. Enjoy what's in your mug (or stein) today BA!

 

Perennial Artisan Ales' "Abraxas", poured at 56 degrees. Bottled 10/16:



Pours black with ruby edges; fizzy, thin Nestles' Chocolate brown and cream head that dissipates quickly; solid ring, quick slick with some clarity underneath; ring and spotty lacing last to bottom of the glass. 4.25



Aromas of cacao, hot peppers and alcohol; cinnamon as liquid continues to warm. 4.75



Hot pepper sauce, chocolate, cherries, prunes and leather. Again, cinnamon as liquid warms. 4.75

Thick, rich almost chewy, velvety smooth body; medium minus carbonation; cocoa powdery tongue coating; warmth in the mouth and sinuses; tingle of pepper/alcohol burn on sides of the tongue. 5.0

Overall, a fabulous drinking experience. There are complex layers of fruit and pepper, cocoa and tannic flavors; less pepper bite, and more alcohol than Cake; subtle cinnamon notes are nice compared to Xocoveza; the linger is bittersweet chocolate with a hint of chilies pepper - just how I would want it, present but not overpowering the other flavors; the feel is what elevates the experience - despite the thin fizzy appearance, this stout has the gravitas of a big stout - rich, full, creamy, satisfying! 4.75

It seems to me that some of the big stouts that I have drank over the recent years just don't seem to have the heft I love, and Brewers who make darn tasty RIS or BBA stouts, the beers are somewhat thin...I, for one, would encourage bigger stout Brewers to make some tasty and lux feeling offerings.



Enough ranting, I still have 1/2 glass of bliss to enjoy - Cheers!

 

WTF happened here?

Reminds me of the first time I poured a Duvel... lol...

From Mikkeller in San Diego (that's a thing?), Waves IPA... 7.3% abv...
--> (Bølger means "waves" in Danish)

Ridiculous carbonation - a normal pour immediately filled the glass with foam - had to really manage that shit... also spotted what I assume to be a dating code of "15617" which would indicate a canning date of 6/5/17 - putting this a bit past its prime for a first tasting, so I was prepared mentally for something less than perfect...

After letting that head settle and pouring in more beer - ever-so-slowly - I was looking at a bright gold body (looks more muted in the picture than in front of me) with a light haze, and a clean white head with lotsa laciness... Plenty of grain and citrus and herbal impressions - the beer was remarkably crisp and clean - very impressive, especially considering the dating... Hearkens back to simpler IPAs, neither east nor west coast, certainly not a NE-style IPA - almost comes off like a pilsener, but with a lot of bright hoppiness... Feel is light and smooth; moderately bitter, barely sweet - and amply carbonated, too... lol...

Really good stuff. Recommended, even with 3 months on it!

Enjoying what looks to be some nice weather outside - but I'm staying in with the a/c and football today - stunned at the results of last night's Golovkin-Alvarez fight - but I'll get over it - seems like a lot of talk of corruption and incompetence (judge Adalaide Byrd being called out for her outrageously lopsided scorecard) - but hey, I'm a Golovkin guy, so I'm glad he keeps the belts and the titles that go along with it...

Crazy idea: At the end of 12, take the - what? 60 seconds? - to tally the cards, and if its a draw - at least in a championship fight - go another round - I mean, geez, the NFL has done a lot to eliminate ties, and they don't happen in playoff games - so put something into effect for boxing, too... I didn't see the whole fight, so it's hard for me to say too much, but Alvarez did look good in what I saw; however, all the post-fight data seem to have indicated a pretty conclusive Golovkin win...

Got one more new brew in the fridge, so I'll be back with that shortly... Cheers...

 

Thanks to @lordofthewiens for the intro! The DKE's at my NESCAC school were renowned for their occasional Sunday gin 'n' juice party. We had no inter-house drinking competitions.
My new beer is Prairie Artisan Ales' Phantasmagoria, a double IPA
-hazy amber-orange can pour with 1.5 cm foam cap. Aroma is strongly and sharply citrus. Flavors of sweet, sticky malt are topped by tropical and citrus hop bitterness and a raft of pine. The finish holds an alcohol note. This DIPA is unique, but not a favorite.

 

I LOVE your bottle opener! Where did you get it?

 

Happy New Minnesota Beer Sunday (Week 656)!

As promised last week, I will be delving into my stash of Surly CANs in recognition of the Viqueens visit to Pixburgh today. I always try to work my way up from lowest ABV to higher/highest in CANducting a brewery horizontal. As such, I have already reviewed the first three & so my entries for today will not happen until later in the day. C'est la guerre!

 

Roughtail puts out a ton of hoppy beers. Everything Rhymes with Orange is another good one. They also have some tap only versions of beers like double dry hopped Hoptometrist. I live closer to Tulsa so I spend more time in those breweries. This upcoming weekend, however, I will be in OKC and likely will stop at Roughtail at some point.

 

Round #2

12oz bottled 7/1/17 poured into a.5L krug at fridge temp 5.7% ABV 23 IBU. The beer mostly bright honey colored amber with short lived off white head. The head recedes to a thin ring (barely) and no lacing. The aroma is semisweet caramel bread with maybe a hint of hops. The label calls out Hallertau Tradition hops. The taste is pretty sweet and caramelly(I made up this word but it seems fitting). There is is somewhat vague hoppy finish. Mouthfeel is medium to thin bodied, well carbonated and the finish is undry with a definite oily/soapy aftertaste reminiscent of cheap AAL. Overall, not good. Another amber beer masquerading as a Marzen. If you're going to buy noble hops, lager the beer properly so they are not covered up in off flavors GI.

I noticed on the labels of the Blue Point and Goose Island beers both contain wheat. That struck me as strange.

@woodychandler the opener is branded as a Hallmark product, but I bought mine in the local Schnucks supermarket, in the beer aisle.

 

Hello NBS crew! Starting out today with this one that was sent to me by the very generous @vabeerguy . I've been looking forward to trying this beer all week! (Spoiler alert: it's really good).


Triple Crossing - Surprise Valley
Lupulin Powder DIPA - canned 8/31/17 (17 days ago)
Score: 4.44 (+2.3% rDev)

L - 1 finger head is packed with large bubbles that dissolve rapidly. Deep orange body.

S - orange, grapefruit, and just the slightest hint of booze.

T - Sugared grapefruit at first, followed by a wall of bitterness. The sweet-to-bitter transition is more rapid than I'm used to, but I find it enjoyable. I wonder if that is a side effect of the lupulin powder?

F - the usual for the style. Lower carb, medium body.

O - This is my second ever beer from Triple Crossing, and I like it a lot more than the first (Ivory Tower). I'm still getting used to the hop powder additions, but here it is used to great effect. I rated this one higher than any of the Veil beers released the same week. I want to try more from Triple Crossing!

 

Your photography skills and that stack!

Like your (and likely all of our) first encounter with Duvel, I learned the hard way on Big Carb, but I always seem to like the end result. Prairie Artisan brews often do that. Gentle is the pour setting.

P.S. Ties do, indeed, suck. They're fine for regular-season soccer. And personally, I wouldn't hate the NHL returning to the true tie, but like Kramer says, the cat is *aahhhhhhnnnn* outta the bag on that one.

 

5 Oktoberfests
My top 3 Marzens are Sierra Nevada, Left Hand, Paulaner. However, the harvest style is too sweet for me to get above a 4.0. Enjoy!

Sierra Nevada Oktoberfest
3.96/5 rDev -0.3%
look: 3.75 | smell: 4 | taste: 4 | feel: 3.75 | overall: 4

Tasted vs Ballast Point, slight edge to Sierra at first, but a tie at cask temp.
a) Body is gold with 2 fingers of dense tan head, but scant retention and a bit of lace. Edge to BP.
s) More ample, grassy, bready, than BP, less sweet, more inviting.
t) Dryer and more lemon up front, with pears and apertif dryness.
f) Medium body, nice feel, less sweet than BP
o) Two different approaches. where BP is sweeter, more woody and complex, and Sierra more traditional style.

Left Hand Oktoberfest

3.9/5 rDev +4.3%

look: 3.75 | smell: 4 | taste: 4 | feel: 3.75 | overall: 3.75


Perhaps the best American Oktoberfest I have tried. Stronger 6.6% with more aroma, weight, body.


Appearance: Pours clear, deep Brown-Amber body with a modest, frothy, white head. Fair lacing.


Smell: Toasted, bready, malty grains in the fore of the nose with a Apple, Spice, Hops, and wet fall earth in the finish.


Taste: Follows the smell. Earthy, spicy and leafy hops combine with malty, caramel softness and then finish as a wholesome, clean bitterness. Finishes dry. Toast and jam. Great with food! In this case, shrimp, soft cheese, the last pepper from the garden which has turned yellow, lemon olive oil, and whole wheat baggette. A must try.


Mouthfeel: Medium-light body and carbonation. Feels just right.


Best in class American Marzen? Must try. Eager to share with friends. A bit more alcohol than others.


Paulaner Oktoberfest
3.9/5 rDev 0%

look: 4 | smell: 3.75 | taste: 4 | feel: 3.75 | overall: 3.75


Happy to rate this classic Marzen. Buy 1.


A: Light country amber body. Good clarity. One-inch head settles quickly leaving lots of dotty lace and a few bubble islands behind.

S: A sensuous aroma of earthy malts, pretzels, biscuits, and a pinch of yeast. As it warms, more honey and caramel.

T: Honey and cinnamon-raisin toast upfront, followed by a dry (though earthy/

grassy) hop finish. Nicely balanced.

F: Medium-light body. Prickly on the tongue.

O: Simple, classic, fresh, flavorful, and light. Buy 1 or 6.


Dead Ringer Oktoberfest | Ballast Point
3.8/5 rDev +4.1%

look: 4 | smell: 3.5 | taste: 4 | feel: 3.75 | overall: 3.75


Tasted vs Sierra Nevada ocktoberfest.

Much better as it warms to cask temp.

A: Pours a clear, dark ruby brown body ringed with interesting streams of visible carbonation up the edges of the snifter. Dense tan head that reduces to a film and doesnt lace my snifter

s) Sweet dark malts with caramel and toffee and toasted malts. Earthy hops balance. better as it warms.

t) More and abundant as in the aroma: Sweet dark malts with caramel and toffee and toasted malts. Earthy hops balance with bitters. better as it warms.

f) Medium bodied, smooth, crisp carbonation and finish. Great food beer.

o) Edged out by Sierra Nevada, but grew on me as it warmed.


Brooklyn Oktoberfest
3.6/5 rDev -1.9%

look: 3.75 | smell: 3.5 | taste: 3.75 | feel: 3.5 | overall: 3.5


Hard to get excited about Marzen as it's sweet, light, very malty. Yet it's that time of year - Oct-Nov.


Appearance: Pours a mahogany brown body with a creamy off-white head. Medium lacing.


Smell: a too subtle malty aroma, toasty, with hints of fruit and tea. Not enough of it.


Taste: Malty, sweet at first that follows the smell. A flavor that's doughy with hints of mint, citrus and peaches... tea like finish.


Mouthfeel: Medium- to light-body, ok, not creamy enough.


Drinkability: A mid-pack Oktoberfest, like most of the Brooklyn efforts.

 

Lucky! This is #1 on my all-time wants list. I've been lucky enough to try Huna several times, but never Abraxas. I'm always 5 minutes too late to catch it before it sells out/kicks. Your tasting notes are making my mouth water!

 

Nelson from Other Half. Pours a very hazy orange with a one finger head that hangs around for a long time and leaves tons on lacing. Smells of citrus and tropical fruits, pine and a bit of funk. Tastes of grapefruit, orange rind, apricot, pineapple, a hint of lemon, grass and onion. Medium bodied and carbonation, creamy mouth feel, finishes with mild to moderate bitterness and slightly dry. The onion comes put more as the beer warms as well as some funk on the finish.

 

Getting ready for my new beer with a little coffee after a trip to the gym. Three straight weekends!! (Which is still kinda weak, need to get a mid-week trip in there, but better than nothing).

I sort of agree with @Greywulfken on championships/playoffs, as long as the competition continues the same as regulation. I agree with @Premo88 on allowing ties (I am fine with ties in football, too). But one of the reasons I dislike hockey regular season OT and both hockey and soccer's shootout concepts - they aren't the same game. They don't actually prove who's better at hockey/soccer. At least hockey does away with that crap come playoff time.

 

Good afternoon fellow NBSrs! I would like to give credit where it is due first. A big thanks to @Dan_K for going through the trouble of finding this beer and then shipping it on ice! Due to the fruit being added after fermentation, I was told there is a risk of refermentation if not kept cold. So cheers Dan, and you've got goodies coming your way!

The beer:




My feeble review:



What a unusual take on adding fruit and what an excellent Gose! Thank you again Dan!

 

OT playoff hockey can only be tied , cannot be beat. Greatest thing there is.

TV, I'm assuming, is to blame for the non-hockey hockey OT we now have. It doesn't bother me because 3-on-3 is fun as all get-out to watch, but it's clearly not hockey. Hardly even related.

If I could be the Tie Czar for a day, I'd institute full 10-minute OT periods in the NFL for the playoffs. Team leading at the end of the first OT period wins. Still tied, play another 10-minute period. If 10 minutes is too long, it could go down as low as 8 or even 7:30.

And if a team receives the opening OT kickoff, runs the fullback dive 20 times and drains all the clock then kicks a 20-yard FG as time expires, too F-ing bad to the losers, you losers! Shoulda stopped 'em (or let 'em score more quickly, so you could get the ball back).

 

Weyerbacher Dallas Sucks

Happy Sunday, BAs. I may be back with a new Oktoberfest for stein day a little later on, but first thing's first. As @lordofthewiens can attest, beer and sports go together like... well, beer and sports.

Football fans should immediately get what this beer name is about. Go birds. It's (mostly) all in good fun though. A portion of the brewery release proceeds of this beer were redirected to hurricane relief efforts in Texas.

As for the beer... Dallas Sucks pours a hazed orange-ish color with a fat finger of off-white head that leaves thick lacing.

I had low expectations for a gimmicky beer, but it smells really good: pine boughs, caramel malt and a strong peppery bite. Old school aroma.

The taste is different. You get some of the flavor from the nose up front but then a strong white-bread impression from the malt. There's a touch of corn in there as well. There's a hint of orange too, but it has a pretty clean finish. It strikes me as very lager-like.

Medium bodied with the right amount of carbonation.

I was expecting an inoffensive, watered down, mildly bitter APA, and that's not what this is. The breadiness, corn and clean finish caught me off guard. Perfectly drinkable and fall-like, though. I'll enjoy the six pack. 9/5/17 canned on date.

 

Happy New Beer Sunday everyone! Today I am drinking a Kellerbier from Mahrs Bräu: their "ungespundet hefetrüb".



The apperance is a hazy, golden/ruby orange color with a slightly off-white head.

The aroma is yeast, herbs, sweet malt, a slight sour-ness and a tiny bit of alcohol.

The taste is quite sweet and fruity at the beginning. There are some citrus flavors that give way to sweet malts, cream from the yeast and a bit of hops/herbs. The beer balances out quite well at the end.

The mouthfeel is medium. There was a bit of yeast in the bottle but not too much and the mouthfeel reflects that.

Overall it is a tasty, easy-drinking Kellerbier. One of the more fruity/citrus Kellerbiers that I have had and it makes me wish I had bought more than just one. Definitely a great beer and I hope to have it again one day.

Hopefully everyone else is enjoy their Sunday with a new beer!