New Beer Sunday (Week 661)

Yeah, generally, we wait for one of the, unofficial, hosts to start it. The opening post generally reminds folks of the guidelines, and, sets a theme for the the day. NBS isn't just a variation of WBAYDN. We encourage folks to drink a beer that is new to them, and prefer that actual reviews are submitted to the site, but a casual overview as you've posted is fine too. And, we tend to get a bit more personal. Plus, it's barely even Sunday out here on the other edge of the continent.

@lordofthewiens , the ball is in your court as to whether this stands as this weeks opening salvo.

And (finally) in the long standing tradition of @malty (originator, and OG host) of the thread, and, carried on by his disciple @mattcrill , then handed off to @utopiajane , @cavedave , we talk about the weather, and what else we have going on. It's fine that you're excited, just maybe follow tradition a bit. Welcome aboard!

 

I reported it, no need to bother making any dispensation

 

Good Morning, Beer Advocates, and a hearty welcome to New Beer Sunday!! This is the weekly thread where we encourage you not just to have a new beer, but to describe it to us. Yes, this does require a little effort on your part, but that effort will be appreciated by many of us that read this thread. Want more appreciation? Transfer your thoughts from this thread to the beer's main page so others can learn from your experience.

I was up early yesterday to join a my friend of multiple decades in a trip down to Charlottesville to watch the UVa football squad get to 6-1. Our team has exceeded expectations this year, but for those of you who don't follow middling NCAA college football teams, the team fell weigh whey way (forgive me a somewhat inside joke) short of expectations yesterday. In fact, the product on the field was so bad, we left the game in the second quarter (though we watched the remainder of the debacle on TV over lunch). If I am to understand things, my fellow steward of NBS @lordofthewiens might have some differing thoughts about the game. At least the Yankees didn't make the World Series; but I digress.

So how about you? What have you gotten into since we last met? What new beer did you find this week? How did you come about it? Do you know a little something about the brewery or beer you care to share?

For me, yesterday's game was the football fan's equivalent of a "drain pour," and we hope to not see any of those here today. We hope that as you pour the beer, it looks like you expect it to look, with the proper body color and a nice cap of foam. Hopefully the smell isn't off-putting, and evokes impressions of pleasant things, allowing you to get to the taste. May no bad flavors come to you as the beer feels welcomed by your palate. Are you getting the same notes as the nose? Do the flavors remind you of anything in particular? Now that we've experienced the full range of senses, does it remind you of other beers you've had? So many questions, but overall, we hope the beer leaves you with a good experience and that the drain doesn't get to write its own review.

Of course, we'll only know if our (and your) hopes for your new beer are met if you tell us. Don't be shy, in fact we're willing to cede the floor to you for a couple paragraphs, if you are willing. Let's hear all about that new beer!

Cheers!!

 

A nice start, as usual, Craig.
I am not a huge BC fan, other than they are a New England team. They have had a terrible football team for the past couple years (really terrible). And yet they beat Louisville and UVA in successive weeks. Who woulda thought!
I am also happy the Yankees didn't make it. Go 'Stros!

 

Cheers Craig and thanks for getting NBS underway today! We are looking at unseasonably warm weather and I am looking forward to my beer today. I am trying hard to keep the oktoberfest in the spotlight but true to last years form the grocery is already out. There was no spaten not even one bottle all year. I have been doing some cooking as usual and I am starting to think about darker beer as we move into the colder season.

Happy New Last Oktoberfest Already ? Sunday

Zero Gravity Oktoberfest



Clear and perfect amber with an off white head of foam. A light sweetness on top of rich malt and lots of hop spice. A sweet flower petal.

Drinks softly and elegantly . Breaddy, smooth and dry. Firm malt, soft and generous bubble. Plentiful spice tickles the finish and leaves with just a whisper from bitterness. Clean. No citric flavor form the hops but they practically vibrate with it. Their spice seems to twinkle.

Cheers you all and Happy new Beer Sunday!

PS - If you gave up on the emoticons because they weren't blue then please check them out again. There is a plentiful assortment under more faces. I think I can work with them.

 

New Beer Sunday: A new Oatmeal Stout with a Belgian twist. (But no woods…)

Mornin’ NBSers with a special call for seekers of a fruity, creamy stout. Also special thanks to @cjgiant for this morning’s start. If he can take any consolation from watching his team lose perhaps it will come from the fact that they were beaten by some Eagles and that is shaping up to be a good name in pro football this year.

The weather here today is expected to be mostly sunny with moderate temperatures in the mid to upper 70s. (A perfect day for running errands and finishing off some outdoor chores to prep for the upcoming less pleasant weather, rather than sitting around drinking beer and watching football. ) Not being much for restricting myself to basing my beer choices on the outdoor temperatures today I expect to have two recently released stouts to talk about (neither of which should be stored for long periods of time

This mornin’s new beer is Ommegang’s Lovely, Dark and Deep Oatmeal Stout.

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

https://www.beeradvocate.com/beer/profile/42/185155/?ba=drtth#review

The aromas and flavors of this beer make it plain that it is brewed with Belgian yeast. Not only are they filled with the expected coffee, roasted malt, chocolate and a touch of bitterness from an oatmeal stout, there are dark fruits blending in nicely. The ending is slightly dry but even there there are touches of the dark fruits. However I don't think it's the type of flavor profile that would work well if having two in a row.

This morning there’s no music on the player, if only because “…I have promises to keep, and miles to go before I sleep." (But I do expect to make it back tonight to report on another new Stout.)

Cheers, all!

 

The comments in your linked review are timely considering this current thread:
https://www.beeradvocate.com/community/threads/belgian-stout-beer-style.542016/

 

3.89/5 rDev -6.7%
look: 4 | smell: 3.75 | taste: 4 | feel: 3.5 | overall: 4

Elysian Punkuccino

Good morning beer friends. Autumn is finally here in Kansas, with colorful leaves and cooler temps — I mean, if 78 degrees is considered cooler LOL. Oh well. Maybe by December it will be in the 50’s. I do love the beers on the shelves this time of year, and rare is the time I can find a pumpkin-flavored stout but I did for today’s NBS offering.

Poured into a Duvel glass.

Look: A very dark brown body, as brown as can be without being black. The head is light cream colored and settles to a nice thick film, with spots and squiggly lines of lacing.

Aroma: Notes of dark milk chocolate, cinnamon, allspice.

Taste: Milk chocolate and cinnamon really attack the palate right off the mark followed by the bitterness of dark coffee roast and pumpkin spice. This is definitely sweet as well.

Mouthfeel: Almost perfect, but it is on the light side, if it were a touch creamier I’d be delighted.

Overall: I kept wanting to give this beer a big score but it just didn’t get there in any category. Don’t get me wrong, I like it a lot, but for one $8 bottle I wanted just a little more. Also, I expected more coffee, I tasted and smelled mostly chocolate. Excellent use of pumpkin spices, it definitely is a pumpkin beer. Glad I tried it, but perhaps only once unless they sell it in other formats, thus the love/hate relationship with bombers.

 

Interesting. But I'd suggest that entire problem discussed in that thread could be resolved quite easily by simply adding a short sentence to each existing stout description. E.G. "If Belgian yeast is used in brewing the beer expect some fruity flavors, such as dark fruits, as well."

 

I got a new cookbook that I can't wait to try out. I'm going to make a mushroom/herb roast for later today.

Before getting to my beer, I have a leftover joke from last week:
Mickey Mouse goes to his lawyer because he wants to divorce Minnie. After listening to Mickey, the lawyer says "Mr Mouse, I'm not sure psychological problems are grounds for divorce." Mickey says "I never said she had psychological problems. I said she was fuckin' Goofy."

On to the beer. Today's new beer is Kiwi Rising from Jack's Abby in Framingham, MA. They call it a double IPL, and it has an ABV of 8.5%.
It is a hazy gold color with a big sticky white head.
Nice aroma. Floral, citrus, tropical fruit. Some sweet malt.
Great taste. Pineapple, grapefruit, and melon.
Light to medium bodied. Quite hoppy, but sweet hoppy, not aggressive hoppy. Great beer.

 

Poured slowly down the middle and got a massive 3 finger sticky white head that leaves tons of sticky lace behind, covering the entire glass. Not sure when it was canned, but knowing it came from JZ it is fresh. 4.5

Smell is guava, papaya, pineapple, faint coffee grounds, and grapefruit rind. 4.5

Taste follows guava, papaya, pineapple, a hint of dry coffee, and a nice balanced grapefruit finish, really great stuff. 4.5

Mouthfeel is a big medium, gentle carbonation, juicy but a tad sticky from all the fresh hops, and at 9% ABV way way to drinkable. 4.75

Overall this the best in this style I have ever had. The coffee is very restrained, but present and the NEIPA part of this makes it absolutely incredible. Thanks @jzeilinger fir this incredible can. 4.5

 

Perhaps you'd like to add your idea to the discussion over there. Since the makers of this site plan to modify the existing style list, they might appreciate your idea.

 

A guy walks into a bar and says ouch . . . it was an iron bar.

Enough 'jawin, let's start drinking.





Score 3.87
look: 3.75 | aroma: 3.5 | taste: 4 | feel: 4 | overall: 4

Hazy light gold color with solid white cap and lacing.

Aroma of homemade yeast bread with something slightly sweet and fruity like a ripe pear in the background.

Taste is a beautifully complex melange of flavors that to me match the aroma yet the whole is more complex and elegant. It took about half a glass to realize the ABV is 7.5% but that was in feel as there is no apparent alcohol in the flavor. Hops are just enough to provide a balancing bitterness and become a bit bolder by the finish and into the aftertaste.

Full texture and balancing carbonation.

Overall another fine Belgian Blonde that upholds the traditions of that remarkable brewing Country.

 

Good morning New BSers! Getting ready to head to Texas this week on a beer run. Possibility of rain for the first part of the week so it's time to burn off the garden, despite it being illegal to burn on Sunday here. Today's NBS New Breakfast Beer, courtesy of @Dragginballs76 and NBS BIF #6:



(This link may not work since I had to log onto IMGUR today - if not, I'll repost it!)


Received from @Dragginballs76 in NBS BIF #6 – thanks Michael!
2017 vintage stored at 42 degrees and served at 45 degrees in a hand washed and dried Jester King snifter.
Aroma – Cinnamon and nutmeg with just a hint of cloves. No vanilla. Lasts. The second pour produces more of an earthy, pumpkin-y smell with less spice.
Head – Large (Maximum 4.2cm, aggressive pour), tan, medium density, average retention, diminishing to a four mm ring fed by effervescence and a complete layer with a large rocky center island. No drag marks.
Lacing – Poor. A single arch of tiny bubbles remains from the initial ring. No additional lacing is formed as the level drops.
Body – Garnet, chill haze, effervescent.
Flavor – Nutmeg and cinnamon predominate with some clove tagging along. The earthy tones of the pumpkin are well hidden behind the spices, so well hidden they may not even be there. No hops, no alcohol, no pumpkin, no vanilla, no diacetyl. The second pour seems less spicy but still doesn’t accentuate any gourdy goodness.
Palate – Medium, watery, lively carbonation.

Impression: A spiced ale, too low in alcohol (8.8%ABV) to be considered a winter warmer. The cloves do counteract the nutmeg well, pushing the flavor into the drinkability range. I’m not sure, from personal experience, how allspice is supposed to smell or taste so I can’t determine its presence. I would drink this as a spiced ale, but not if I wanted a pumpkin ale.

Appearance 3.75, Aroma 4, Flavor 3.75, Palate 3.75, Overall, 3.75. Rating 3.81, rDev -10.8%.

 

Happy October Everybody!!

My favorite beer to drink during the month of October is Oktoberfest beer and I am lucky to have a new Oktoberfest beer to drink today: Zero Gravity Oktoberfest.

I was gifted this beer and heretofore I was unaware of the Zero Gravity brewery. I decided to educate myself about Zero Gravity:

“Zero Gravity Brewery began in 2004 out of their Brewpub at American Flatbread Burlington Hearth in downtown Burlington, Vermont. Since then, they have expanded to a 30-barrel brew house located on Pine Street in Burlington’s South End Arts District. Opened in spring of 2015, their Pine Street Brewery offers a full canning line, tasting room, retail shop and sun-drenched beer garden.

One of the distinguishing elements of Zero Gravity beer is an adherence to the outstanding qualities of classic beer styles. This requires painstaking attention to technique and recipe. Using the best malt and hops, their beers are matured to completion. They strive for internal balance above all. This mode—call it an unwavering commitment to the level of quality found in the great beers of the world—is not at odds with experimental brewing. It quietly underpins the work of the best creative breweries of America that serve as the foundation on which their beers are built.”

Well, I am a fan of “adherence to the outstanding qualities of classic beer styles” so I am very excited to try this beer.

Served in my Spiegelau Lager glass:

Appearance:

Amber colored with a BIG white head.

Aroma:

A toasted bready aroma is the first thing I smell; there is a hint of caramel sweetness in the background.

Taste:

The flavor very much follows the nose. The toasted bready flavor is noticeable along with a very subtle caramel sweetness. There is low-moderate bitterness.

Mouthfeel:

Medium bodied, a smooth mouthfeel and a dry-ish finish.

Overall:

This beer is very good; I enjoyed drinking it. IMO this beer is consistent with “adherence to the outstanding qualities of classic beer styles”.

@zid @rotsaruch @RobH @KOP_Beer_OUtlet

 

Happy New Beer Saraunacday (Week 661)!

I apologize for not having made it to last week's forum. I left LNC on F afternoon to head to PHL for The Grey Lodge's F the Firkenteenth celebration, then went on to BAL for Das Best Oktoberfest on Sa, then came home on Su morning to go for an Autumn drive with my uncle. There is a portion of State Game Lands that straddles Dauphin & Lebanon Counties & which encompasses the bed of an old coal freight train route that they open once a year to drivers. Last Sunday was the day & so off we went. It was extremely slow going & when we finished, we stopped at Snitz Creek B.C. in Lebanon, PA for beers, meaning that by the time I got home, I did not feel like participating.

As to the rest of the week, it was spent ramping up to yesterday's culminating event at TJ's Restaurant & Drinkery in Paoli, PA when/where I achieved "Uber" status on a different, unnamed site/app. I have now (at least) sampled 10K recorded different beers, ciders, meads & other assorted beverages & I have the badge to prove it! My sports day yesterday was pretty good as my alma mater, Pitt, beat Duke & my desired grad school, Wisconsin, beat MD. I was also happy to see HOU advance to the WS as I lived through Dodgers/Yankees in the late-1970s with Tommy Lasagna & Billy (R.I.P.) Martin. No need for a repeat, IMHO.

Today, I will be delving into some Saranac beers! I have some that I recently procured as singles, plus some that came to me courtesy of my local, in-person trader, @tone77 who always brings interesting beers for me.

It is barely light out, so I am starting Light & going from there:
https://www.beeradvocate.com/beer/profile/99/4793/?ba=woodychandler#review


I'll be back as the day progresses!

 

Happy New Beer Sunday everyone, I hope everyone is doing well on this chilly, cloudy Sunday. Today I am drinking a beer that I heard about a few times on this forum and have always seen on the shelves of the local grocery store here. I finally decided to check it out and see how it tastes. Today I am drinking the Tannen Zäpfle Pils from Rothaus:



The apperance is a bright golden/yellow color with a one finger white head and that sticks around and provides a great lacing to the glass. In the photo the beer isn't completely translucent but I think that is coming from the "chill" haze, as I just took it ouf of the fridge.

The aroma is hoppy and herbaceous up front with some malt/alcohol sweetness to balance it out. I also can smell a bit of lemon and citrus fruits.

The taste is a great balance between hoppy bitterness and malt sweetness. There is also a bit of citrus fruit in the taste but over all it it's a tasty mix of hops and malt.

The mouthfeel is medium to light medium and it is an extremely drinkable beer.

Overall it is one of the better Pils that I have had. I'm usually not a big fan of Pils since they all seem to taste the same to me but this one seems noticeably different. The characteristics of a Pils all seem to be amplified with this beer yet at the same time balanced with it and it just tastes like a "clean" beer, if that makes sense. I wonder why I can only seem to find it in 330mL bottles here though, when most other beers come in 500mL bottles.

In any case it is a beer that I probably would not have tried if it wasn't for this website, and now I'm glad that I finally tried it out. Hopefully everyone else is enjoying a tasty, new beer today!

 

That looks like an excellent cookbook. I cannot wait to see what you make form it so I can copy it! Cheers!