New Beer Sunday (Week 663)

Elysian Night Owl Pumpkin Ale
6.7% ABV

I am holding onto a bomber of a beer that I am extremely eager to try, but it’s almost or is 10% ABV and I don’t want to get wrecked today on my last day of vacay, so I’ll save it for another time. I did hold onto this pumpkin ale all weekend for today’s festivities, and I’m always eager to try a new pumpkin ale, I haven’t tired of them yet.

4.06/5 rDev +2.8%
look: 4 | smell: 4.75 | taste: 3.75 | feel: 3.75 | overall: 4

Poured into a Irish-style pint glass.

Look: A body of cinnamon-amber hues, not unlike a rusty burnt orange. The head is tan colored and recedes to a patchy, bubbly thin film. Lacing is small random lines or spots.

Aroma: Cinnamon-heavy with a very true canned pumpkin pie filling aroma that also has notes of whipped topping. It smells sweet, spicy, and delicious.

Taste: For all the aroma offers, the taste is a little more straight to the point with a lot of cinnamon spice, and not a lot else (you can tell there is no earthy pumpkin meat in it). The pumpkin flavors are reduced to the general pumpkin pie spiciness. There is a tangy, slightly bitter finish not unlike a lot of pumpkin ales.

Mouthfeel: Medium bodied, slightly dry.
Heats up a bit as it warms.

Overall: If the mouthfeel could be a touch creamier and the taste mimic the aroma, thus would be a smash hit with me. As it is, I still like it because of the cinnamon-heavy nature of it.

 

PLUS, the Bros. might not go for it.

 

Nice start for NBS @cjgiant. Will be back with a new brew, should have drank it last NBS.

Cheers!

 

Yuck! You actually like spiced beer?
.

 

Funny, had the first pumpkin beer that I really liked, a BA version from Bottle Logic.

You put my usual problem with them perfectly when you said, "The pumpkin flavors are reduced to the general pumpkin pie spiciness."

 

From last night's share. Not pictured are Hoptotem and World Wide Stout.

 

Big thanks and curses to you. I am now going to try to seek this one out even though I'm also trying hard to reduce beer purchases right now.

 

Cloudy, grey, and cool football Sunday getting kicked off with this entry in Firestone Walker's Leo v. Ursus series, Inferos, an imperial rye IPA coming in at 8.2% abv...

Presents aromas of dark, dank citrus and spice with earthy, herbal pine undercurrents... Flavors follow suit, with rye character apparent up front, providing spicy and sharp notes in the sea of mulled citrus and sweet resin... Husky body, medium-weight with a bit of chew muting the carbonation somewhat on the tongue - perhaps a bit too heavy in feel, but I did enjoy the tingle of rye... Didn't know this was a rye DIPA when I purchased a couple of cans - I'm not often partial to rye beers, and while this was no exception, it was hard not to appreciate the merits of a well-made beer... 10/20/17 canning...

Here's to new beer in your glass, cheers...

 

Howdy, NBSers!

Our so-called cold snap last week in the Brazos Valley turned into a heat wave, and only my bougainvilleas are enjoying it. I made the quick road trip over to Huntsville yesterday before work to see the first half of my Sam Houston State Bearkats sharpening their claws against poor little Incarnate Word, and it felt like August. So hot.

But I digress ...

Actually, I'll digress again and say in 2017 I would not like a New Beer Sunday seven days a week. I mean, of course I'd absolutely love it, but by New Beer Monday or New Beer Tuesday I'd be out most weeks. In 2012 when I got back into beer I could've made it to Friday or Saturday; every beer-buying trip was a wild new adventure then and I constantly filled my fridge with new beer. But five years later — and 650-plus reviews later — my fridge is typically 70-90% full of beer I've already had. In fact, NBS arguably is even more important to me now, because it encourages me to seek out new stuff and continue the journey into the great beer unknown.

Did somebody say something about spiced beer? Right on time:

Martin House's Cuvee Pumpkin Spice Latte, a pumpkin ale with coffee

It's full of spice. No doubts there. The can and the word "latte" had me thinking it would be more stout than anything, but it's obviously a pumpkin ale first and foremost as you can see (sometimes I read what I want, not what's there). It's also super nutmegged/gingerred up, so spicy, but the base pumpkin ale flavor comes through nicely, and at the end of each sip the flavor is exactly like eating the soft gooey bottom crust of some pumpkin pie with the pie crust dough, some pumpkin filling and a little bit of whipped cream combining for a sweet treat. It's a fleeting note, but it's super tasty.

The review:
https://www.beeradvocate.com/beer/profile/31272/249506/?ba=Premo88#review
3.69 (+3.4% rDev)

Not a big number, but these pumpkin ales ... they're not easy to score IMHO.

Sam Houston State, needless to say, had no trouble beating Incarnate Word yesterday. Talking to the school's sports information director (went to school with him) and the athletic director (worked for him while at school) on the sideline, we reached a consensus opinion: Our biggest problem will be staying interested before the FCS playoffs begin. I had to bail at halftime with SHSU up 36-14. We won 57-20.



The halftime scoreboard:

Hope your alma mater won this week, and if not, have another beer. Make it a new one!

Cheers, NBSers!

 

That is some good writing. Truly visual images!

 

Happy Sunday, NBS crew! I personally stockpile as many new beers as I can for Sundays, as discussing beer with you all has become a pleasing part of my Sunday routine. I only started reviewing this year, and this thread gives me a good excuse to practice. I actually have 6 new brews saved up for today! We will see if I get to all of them.

Starting with this one:

Veil - Lord Lord Shredder Shredder
Double Blood Orange ddh ipa - 6.3% abv
Canned 10/16/17 (20 days ago)
Score: 4.02 (-5.2% rDev)



L - 2-finger offwhite head recedes fully in 2 minutes, leaving behind gobs of sticky lacing. Body is murky orange, just like most Veil ipas.

S - blood oranges are very prominent. Candied citrus. Slight bit of booze.

T - orange sweetness on the front. This is way sweeter than most Veil ipas. A slight sour tang in the middle. Some dirt. Ends with a very low bitterness.

F - medium body and carb. Very dry.

O - Not getting much of that classic Veil ddh taste here. The hops are hidden behind the orange sweetness. I prefer the other Shredders greatly over this one.

 

Thanks, wish I could take credit for the photos but with deteriorated eyesight I can no longer use a camera. Can still make out color pretty well if I hold the glass carefully against the light and seek out stock photos (usually from the brewer's web site, with their permission) that reflect what I'm seeing.

The words are mine though.

 

Now where did I say I liked spiced beer???

Seriously though, I deal with my beers as I deal with people. Evaluating their strengths and their weaknesses on an individual case by case basis and then deciding whether there is any point to continuing a further relationship when I look at my own strengths and weaknesses.

 

From my visit to a true microbrewery last Saturday, La Jerezana:



In the heart of the old town, Jerez de la Frontera, the brewmaster/owner brews and bottles small batches of 11 styles of beer, 5 gallons or less at a time:





Today's new beer is "ME" a sour beer aged/fermented in a cask that previously held Sherry made from Muscatel grapes, for 2 months, then bottled on Feb. 2, 2016 to condition, per the owner Jaime:





Pours an orange amber (12+) with a tiny white head;

https://imgur.com/a/JaICI

Not quite opaque, with a thin incomplete ring; spotty lace at best. 3.5

https://imgur.com/a/cogWo

Grape must and sweet Sherry nose. 4.0

Soft sour fruit notes from the wild yeast in the cask; white grapes; a bit of bitterness from the Sherry. 4.25

Dry clean crisp feel from the oak cask; lite carbonation. 4.0

Overall, a softer lighter beer than say a similar wine barrel aged sour from Firestone Walker; well balanced and a pleasure to drink; notes of grape and Sherry set the tone from start to finish. 4.0

A welcome change of pace from the corporate lagers I now drink on a daily basis. Cheers and have a great Sunday, we are headed back into town for dinner.

 

Poured ice cold, not sure when it was canned and 7% ABV Belgian Style Double Wit. Pours a hazy dark yellow, with a 2 plus finger sticky white head that leaves some attractive streaks of lace. 4.25

Smell is clove, coriander, candied sugar, banana, bubble gum, and some orange peel. 4

Taste follows a huge shot of clove, coriander, banana, orange, caramel, and a hint of fig. 4

Mouthfeel is on the big side, plenty of life, not really dry, and drinks very easy. 4

Overall this is not my normal style, but this actually very nice. It isn't really a Belgian IPA, but the mouthfeel reminds of it. Very surprised how much I enjoyed it. 4

 

3 Stars' Pounding Trees DIPA...

Deep gold leaning toward amber, not quite clear; off-white head a few fingers high, and plenty of lacing left behind... tropical and muted citrus on the nose followed up with a rather unexciting flavor profile - the malts are fairly forward, adding a big body to the mild citrus and resins from the hops... I'd swear I'm picking up banana among the vague tropical impressions, and the citruses are dark and fleshy, but edged with something earthy and dull... Medium-full feel, low carbonation, moderately sweet and mildly bitter... A decent enough DIPA, but didn't do anything special for me...

Cheers...

 

I assumed @rgordon was talking about the images your writing conjured in his head.

 

Happy NBS. It's rather gloomy in Southern WI. Had to work yesterday and watched some of the NCAA football games. I'll be taking it easy today.

So it Happens Its Tuesday pours obsidian in color with very foamy 2 finger tan head that produces a stream of bubbles upward that maintains, leaving some lace on the glass. The aroma is so wonderful. So much cocoa and brownie batter. Hints of vanilla and bourbon with caramel and roasted malt. This is rich and decadent, sublime and mellow. The roasted malts in the stout have chocolate brownie, and waves of gooey caramel flavor. The barrel presence is divine with vanilla, bourbon, and marshmallow. Alcohol is not overbearing. Soft carbonation, full, velvety body make this a pleasure to sip.