New Beer Sunday (Week 660)

Cigar City Dis Legomenon
Tequila Barrel Aged Triple/American Gooseberry Sour Blend





4.19/5 rDev +16.4%
look: 4.75 | smell: 4.5 | taste: 4 | feel: 3.75 | overall: 4.25

750ml bottle poured into a Cigar City El Catador club snifter. Pours a golden yellow/orangish color with a head with great retention qualities and leaves a ton of lacing around the glass. Dis Legomenon is an interesting blend between a tequila barrel aged tripel and a sour. The nose and taste feature a smooth tripel with fruity notes with just a tinge of the sour adding a nice layer of complexity. The tequila barrel also adds some woody notes. The finish has a certain creaminess without the heat that I was expecting making this one dangerously drinkable. This is something I would not have purchased if it was not a part of the El Catador club bottles but is something that I did enjoy because of it's uniqueness.

 

I had a bottle of the base beer in the box that was lost, and when I went to get a replacement they were out (had a problem with the latest batch). Hoping to include one in the next box.

Glad you enjoyed this one!

 

Happy Sunday NBS players. Coming to you a bit late this evening. All my fault, as I got into to it pretty heavy during the Jets game. The fiance went out with her friends to some bullshit wineries and I fell asleep on the couch for much of the late games. Just coming out of it, and realizing where I am, and picking up on my new beer choice. I actually popped half of this and corked the other off before passing out. I'm sorry, and I know it has nothing to do with reality and just mindless football, but that is one of the worse non-touchdown calls that I have ever seen.

My new beer today is BBA Black Cherry Porter, fermented w/sweet black cherry puree, from Short's brewing. Are Michigan brewers not required to list abv? I've found Short's to do this a lot. The brew checks in at 11.3% abv, according to the site listing and no apparent bottle date. A very thanks to @superspak for this beer in the NBS bif.

A pure and thick black pour with low carbonation and a fast off-white head. The nose is sweet with malt, sugars, and berry flavors. Pretty floral. The drinking start with a mix of rich chocolate malts mixed with the sweet cherry puree. A very smooth flow and finish follow. The puree is super sweet and really comes as it warms to really dominate the brews flavor. The barrel is there but really not that strong at all. It really seems to add more so to the abv and the mouth feel. Which adds some decent alcohol warming and a rather sticky and lingering flavor mouth feel.

Overall, it's ok but not great. The cherry puree is really overpowering, and it really leaves me lingering to simply drink the base bba porter, which seems to be really well done.

 

It's likely too late to help you this trip, but, here's this thread: https://www.beeradvocate.com/community/threads/fresh-hop-season-2017.532981/

 

A tourist walks up to our store.
He see’s a dog laying at the feet of my boss,
who's sitting on the bench outside our front door.
He asks “Does your dog bite?”
My boss answers ”Nope.”
The tourist bends down to pat the dog and the dog bites his finger. ”I thought you said your dog doesn’t bite!"
My boss replies, ”He don't…that's not my dog.”

https://www.beeradvocate.com/beer/profile/45019/292879/



Moderate pour yields a one inch plus white head over a hazy, yellow-orange body with some sticky lacing. Nose of tropical fruit and orange. Flavors follow aromas nicely with a pretty even finish. Good feel and overall, not much wrong with this little number. Cheers!

4.04/5 rDev +7.2%
look: 4 | smell: 4.25 | taste: 4 | feel: 3.75 | overall: 4

 

Weyerbacher Sunday Molé Stout, 11.3% ABV, 20 IBU. Pours black and thick, with a one finger brown head that left little lacing. Nose is chocolate, cinnamon, and coffee, taste follows with slight sweetness, some pepper burn, and very little bitterness. Light carbonation, excellent smooth mouthfeel, overall excellent.

 

One thing, I've come to realize over the years while on beer forums is that "it's just beer." We come to terms with realizing it may be just beer and has brought so many people together. However, I'm sure you have formed some great bonds with trading and drinking buddies. Keep your buddies close!

Cheers and remember sometimes an Imperial Water is just as tasty after a hard day shoveling snow or mowing the lawn as any other drink out there. (I couldn't find Imperial Water as an emoji, but if ya don't mind think of that emoji as a fine glass of Imperial Water).

Best of luck to ya.

sidenote: slight suggestion - please don't close your account, just let it float in cyberspace if ya have to.

 

Had this late last night and the coffee drove the beer early (almost espresso-like). About halfway through I think I think I was getting the notes in the relative weights you were getting them.

 

Happy New American Impy Stout Sunday!

Back again with another brew from @MastaaaGrillaaa from NBS BIF#6. Pretty interesting brew, my first from this brewery. Really enjoying this one as well. Definitely looking forward to try the others soon. Watching a little bit of the NLCS game.

https://www.beeradvocate.com/beer/profile/1432/61781/?ba=Wasatch#review

Cheers!

 

One more tonight thanks to @Roguer - Imperial Mexican Biscotti Cake Break. A collaboration between Evil Twin and Westbrook.

I’m a huge fan of Mexican Cake and even given its price I would always be willing to buy more than I’m able to. We usually see a couple of cases with a single bottle limit.

I swear I’ve tried this one before, but didn’t record a rating or review, so here we go...



Poured from 22 oz bottle with no visible bottle date.

A: Pitch black with two finger mocha head with lasting retention and moderate lacing.

S: Cinnamon, chilies, cocoa powder, and vanilla. Subtle hints of espresso and almonds.

T: Rich chocolate fudge with a healthy dose of spices. Cinnamon and habanero. Finishes with vanilla, espresso, and almonds.

M: Full bodied and coating the tongue nicely. Well carbonated for the style. Finish is just a touch sweet.

O: I’ve always been a fan of Mexican Cake, and this is a nice twist on that beer.

 

Love the joke - I had a prof from HAAvard!

 

Opening one of the bottles I was most excited for from @Grizzarky, he sent me tons of great beer and Cigar City Good Gourd has been a beer I’ve been wanting to try for years!
4.39/5 rDev +2.8%
look: 4.25 | smell: 4.5 | taste: 4.5 | feel: 4 | overall: 4.25

Big thanks to Grizzarky
22 oz bottle, dated 8/18/17, poured into a tulip

A- A clear ruby red with a small off white head.

S- Vanilla, pumpkin, cinnamon, cloves, some nutmeg, touch of caramel malts, some graham cracker. Very much like pumpkin pie with vanilla.

T- Pumpkin, cinnamon, vanilla, sweet caramel malts, graham crackers, cloves, some nutmeg. Very well balanced pumpkin beer.

M- Smooth, medium body.

O- Quickly moved to the top of my favorite pumpkin ales. With I could find this around me, I would definitely grab two or three bottles every year.

 

This thing weighs in at 11.5% ABV, not sure when it was canned but it came from @jzeilinger so I know it is fresh. Pours a slight hazy orange with a 2 plus finger sticky white head that leaves some thin wisps of lace as it slowly settles into a solid layer of white bubbles. 4.5

Smell is apricot, stone fruit, mango, mellon, pineapple, tangerine, a little alcohol, and grapefruit rind. 4

Taste follows apricot and stone fruit start the party and hits you with tangerine, pineapple, alcohol, and slightly sickly sweets hit of grapefruit. 4

Mouthfeel is pretty darn large, a good amount of life especially for its heft, kind of dry and slightly sticky because the insane amount of fresh hops this thing is packing, and for its size crazy drinkable. 4

Overall this thing is a monster, that for a Hop head can be tamed. A tad sweet and slightly boozy, but it should be. Thanks JZ for this one man. 4

 

First of a couple tonight as I drown my sorrows after the Rodgers injury...

Courtesy of @Bum4ever



3.98/5 rDev -5.5%
look: 4 | smell: 4 | taste: 4 | feel: 3.75 | overall: 4

Poured into a tulip glass from 12 ounce can dated 8/6/17.

Pours a dark orange with only a slight white head that dissipated quickly.

I notice oak and pine and just a bit of tangerine.

It's a bit dry, but still easy to drink for a tad-higher ABV beer.

Pretty good beer. I didn't notice the base beer as much as I thought I might, which shows that it really can live on it's own. Definitely something different, and glad to have tried it.

 

I'm back from Michigan with way too much beer! I'll have to post a photo soon. But first, I have a couple Aslin beers from @cjgiant that are more over a month old.

Also, it's my tenth anniversary on Thursday, so I'm getting ready for our trip next weekend.

Almost forgot a joke:

How does a magician count to three in Spanish?

Uno
Dos
Then he disappears without a tres!

Another great very from Aslin. This had two listings in the database - one for regular and one for double dry hopped. Anyone know if there's a difference?

Aslin Brewing
Dunley Place
Double Dry Hopped
DIPA
8.0% abv



Poured from a can dated 9/13/17.

L - Totally opaque, the color of grapefruit juice with a huge white, fluffy head and tons of lacing.

S - Immediately upon opening I was slammed in the face by grapefruit juice. A closer snif also shows orange and a strong, underlying bitterness.

T - The taste is more of that Aslin combo of bitter, fresh hops and citrus fruit. There is a strong finish of grass, but only a little lingering bitterness.

M - As usual, it's very thick and smooth.

O - Another nice, easy to drink beer from Aslin. The nose is incredible with less citrus flavor than smell.

 

Great good fortune to you! I've loved your commentary and conversation. I have curtailed my time here too, but I cannot completely stay away, I've found...I have re-oriented my daily schedule, have stuck with it fairly closely, but this place cracks me up. No one has told me to stay away. I honestly think there's lots of good spirit around here, just when it's needed most. My wife puts up with me mostly, and that's most important!

 

Cirtusy up front, on the hoppy side,almost like a mix of APA and IPA. Slightly more bitter on the finish that I would prefer. I have not really had a lot of examples of the APA style to compare it to. I've had Sierra Nevada Pale Ale and Country Boy Brewing's "Halfway Home" APA, both of which I like. "Crash" ranks third -- I think -- but it's still pretty good. Further testing may be required.

 

For my second and final beer of NBS, I present Foolproof's Federal Hill Ale, a pale ale brewed with saffron and blood oranges and then dry-hopped with Citra and Mosaic. It clocks in at 5%. I guess Federal Hill is a big Italian-American cultural community in Rhode Island, and this beer was made in collaboration with a chef who is apparently well known there and uses two of his favorite ingredients. We'll see how they work in the base! Foolproof is a little hit-or-miss in my opinion, but they can do some very solid stuff when they put their minds to the task, so I expect something at least enjoyable here.



Pours a very light golden color with a lot of haze. I'd say this is somewhere between 5 and 6 SRM when held up to light, so it's a couple shades lighter than most pales I've seen recently. Perhaps there's a majority of pilsner malt here, or they used a lot of oats instead of focusing on pale 2-row barley? Guess we'll figure that out from the flavor profile and feel. The head is a bit weak here, only ever building up to about a single finger and leaving behind no lace to speak of. Not a great first impression, but we'll see what it has in store for me overall before passing total judgment.

The nose is quite nice with floral, dank, herbal and citrusy elements that almost remind me of a hoppy saison or wheat beer crossed with a modern pale ale. Perhaps the saffron is contributing some of those floral and earthy tones? I get a lot of the Mosaic/Citra combo, though, with prominent green onion/scallion, pine and complex tropical fruit. The blood orange definitely comes through as a citrusy component, bolstered by the intense dry-hop. Nice aroma here. I'm impressed.

On the palate, this is chewy and robust for only a 5% beer, which lends credence to my assumption that a heavy helping of oats (and/or wheat, as there's no real requirement to be exclusive about flaked grains in a hazy pale beer these days) is featured in this one. I get a hefty upfront hit of earthy and almost savory flavors before the light berry and dank/sticky/pine notes of Mosaic take over, handing the torch off to Citra which crosses the finish line with aplomb. Blood orange sweetness kicks in right at the terminating moment of each sip, balancing the swelling bitterness with a nice counter-punch. I'm surprised and impressed that this actually has a unique and complex flavor profile. Foolproof surprises me once again. I remember being a little bit taken aback by how good they were at the NEIPA with their entry, The Grotto. This feels similarly impressive.

The feel is medium-heavy bodied for a smaller 5% beer. I feel this would be a somewhat prohibitive aspect if you were trying to drink more than one in a session, but it's fine for a one and done. That said, I don't mean that this is a beer you have once and are done with. On the contrary, it's a perfectly solid pale ale with Mosaic and Citra, the Ur-Combo of modern hops, to boot! I just think it's a bit too heavy bodied to support wanting more than one at a time. If it were in the 7% range, I'd understand the need for the extra body, but I think this one would benefit from being just a little bit more crisp where it stands. I like that the adjunct ingredients make an appearance, however. Foolproof continues to surprise!



Potentially the best album I've heard from this year... spectacular death/doom metal with a cryptic, occult atmosphere and a boatload of catchy riffs spun throughout. This is my jam!

 

Well one last beer to sink my teeth into...

Devil's Teeth Aged In Bourbon Barrels | Modern Times Beer


Modern Times Beer - Devil's Teeth Aged in Bourbon Barrels by imbibehour, on Flickr

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Poured from the bottle into a snifter glass. Bottled Sept 12th 2016.

Creamy topped faint tan to khaki colored head of two fingers, and a small settling. Creamy thick bowled collar and a faint thin puck. Quite an opaque body appearance, with dark mahogany brown for the color. Fairly aggressive, and with a real nice presence.

Real nice nose. Fruity sensing caramel quality with a very thick woody quality. Vanilla barrel notes, mixing with some milky and fruited chocolate as well. Pretty fascinating if a bit different than expected.

Excellent palate. Rich and thick with a real interesting mix of flavors. Berry and roast quality that comes almost with a very fruity flavorful coffee. Silky but a hint of milky palate that brings out a condensed milk flavor but without the huge sweetness. More cream continues. Custard pie like flavors and texture seem to kick in out of nowhere. Chocolate but not quite, sort of milky but more of malted whopper candy flavor. Soft cedar and woody tones it seems too, like a woody sweetness.

Real neat marriage of styles that taste fantastic.

look: 4.25 | smell: 4.25 | taste: 4.5 | feel: 4.5 | overall: 4.5 | BA Generated: 4.43

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Cheers!