New Beer Sunday (Week 664)

New Casey Jones Approved Sunday

Today’s new brew is a mystery beer from @TongoRad as more collateral damage from NBS BIF #6.

I decided to go with the big snifter for a catch all glass. It was canned 9/22/17. When I cracked it open there was an aroma of coffee.

It poured a thinner viscosity, glossy mahogany brown to black with a thick, milkshake like froth on top. As it recedes some of it clings to the glass. 4.25




There is also a decent amount of chocolate fudge and a cream like sweetness, significantly charred grains and a light stale note that I would probably describe as metallic. Between the head and the sweet note I am thinking this is a Milk Stout, or an American Stout. It doesn’t strike me as a higher abv/imperial beer. 4

It tastes predominantly like coffee. I would say an expresso as it is sweeter and smooth. I get a sugary flavor, with homemade chocolate fudge and molasses, some lingering ashy char and barley. As it gets toward the end it has a more smoky/ashy candied bacon like aftertaste. Very nice. 4.25

The body is thinner, yet it has a touch of creaminess and soft feel. 4

I am going to say somewhere between 4 and 4.25 overall depending on the intended style. No for the reveal. (This will be a much faster process for you)

We have a Canadian bull here, so I am thinking maple was involved


Wow. A brown ale. I was off there. I enjoy a good brown too. Other than the strong chocolate presence I didn’t get that. Probably because it is squashed by the adjuncts. That sounded harsh. Maybe it could shine through a little more, but this still tasted like beer.
The smoked part I only really got only when it warmed near room temperature, but I did find it to be fairly ashy the whole time. The maple is pretty subtle, as it comes across more as sweet. I would have bet money on the Milk Stout, or at least use of lactose sugars, guess. Very interesting. Great beer. Feel free to send me more.
Thanks again!

 

New beer #3. One of the better Tired Hands I've had this year.

Seeds and Stems - Tired Hands/Stillwater
Oak-Conditioned Hemp Seed DIPA - 8.4% abv
Canned 11/1/17 (11 days ago)
Score: 4.35 (+2.4% rDev)



L - 2-finger medium-white head atop a translucent orange body.

S - herbal notes dominate. Some honey, citrus, and booze as well.

T - Wow, a very different taste. A burst of dank fresh bud at first. Also getting butter, oak, dirt, and something like anise? A sweet, bready middle. Mildly bitter finish. There is so much going on here!

F - Medium body and carb.

O - I appreciate this beer because it doesn't taste like every other Tired Hands ipa. If anything, it has more in common with their saisons and sours, having many different flavors imparted from the oak. I'm enjoying sipping on this quite a bit, since my unrefined palate keeps picking up on different smells and flavors that I can't quite identify.

 

New Amer. IIPA Sunday (Week 664)
Greetings fellow NBSers from on the ridge on a finally autumn-like day here in Mid Hud Val, NY. Not much shaking, have another beer for later really looking forward to, one of those 'can't believe haven't tried already' beers. Putting off going up on the roof to cut the roof knocker from the leaning oak in back. Watching the Jets. For some reason. Hope springs eternal.

I know @LeperJim got the rusty wheels in my upper cogitation organ moving, thinking about NBS 666. Hmmmm. How about you?

Finally getting to drink a Vt. IIPA that I have missed numerous times, while having many an opportunity to enjoy its little brother First Drop, which is a very delicious IPA. This IIPA is also very delicious. I can think of little praise better than to say it is as good as the ones made around here.

Big thanks to Jon R. for this delicious beer.

Cloudy, well short of turbid, pour, nice off white two fingers of foam atop a yellowish orange liquid.

Med strength aroma, featuring a really tasty blend of orange zest, sweet grapefruit, citrus pith, doughy sweet, mango, and some nice herbal bitter lurking behind. Alluring for sure.

Pretty faithful rendition of the nose, with some crisper grain notes added, and a more general tropical hop presence as well. Sip ends with citrus pith and orange zest drying things nicely.

Nice med. body/viscosity, soft on palate, but not watery, and carb. level is perfect for the flavor profile. Finish is a clean linger that is especially tasty. Prob. beer's best feature.

Really delicious beer, highly recommended. Very bright and refreshing character.

Hope you also have a Great American Beer in your glass. Cheers!

 

Welcome back!

 

I love beer turkey day! =)

 

Great makes Ohio city oatmeal stout. Solid black,medium body,maybe just a little thin. Aroma is coffee,chocolate,and malt. Taste is all roasted coffee,malt,and some cocoa which made this a little bitter and dry versus sweet. A decent solid oatmeal stout that I would try again

 

I really enjoyed that beer the one time I bought the mix pack to get it. I wish they would make it available in a regular six pack!

 

Picked up this Diversity DIPA at Mindful Brewing last week while in Pittsburgh for a tournament. Brewery was very busy, so my patience to study each available beer was waning, as a result I grabbed a crowler of the first DIPA I saw, hence Diversity.

(Sorry for no pictures, still fighting for a good option...)

Mindful Brewing / Diversity DIPA

3.79/5 rDev 0%
look: 4 | smell: 3.75 | taste: 3.75 | feel: 4 | overall: 3.75

This was billed as an french oak barrel aged DIPA, so there are as expected notes of such a treatment in the nose (fresh, cut and plained wood planks), the taste (undeniable hints of soft, fresh oak) and a pretty silky feel. Taste also carries some sweet tangerine with it right up until a pretty massive blast of alcohol bitterness buries all else. This flavor burial also dominates the after taste, as it gets all bitter with alcohol sweetness on the tongue as each swig is finished off. A little out of whack with regard to balance on this one.

 

Got a New Scotch Ale Sunday blowing and going:

McEwan's Scotch Ale, an 8% ABV wee heavy I'm betting most of you can find and many of you already have

It's one tasty beer, no questions there. Lots of sweet dark-dried fruit aroma and flavor, very quadrupel/dubble-like with dates, prunes, figs ... some plums ... fruitcake. The nose also starts with just a hint of roasted malt/toasted wood. The flavor is arguably "darker" (raisins over dates kind of thing) and has an earthy aftertaste that balances the sweetness. That earthy flavor might be some yeast along with hops/roasted malt.

There's no detectable peat anywhere. Well ... maybe way late in the aroma after it's warmed. I'm about 3/5 into the glass and maybe a little peat is showing up, but it's faint.

The review:
https://www.beeradvocate.com/user/beers/?ba=Premo88
3.9 (+2.9% ABV)

Midnight the Cat is loving his puppy dog-free kingdom again. He says, "Howdy, NBSers!"

Cheers!

 

I've been enjoy my beer today while cooking nachos for the family dinner. After dinner my wife made gingerbread for the kids to decorate. I don't care what's politically correct - boys and girls are different. This is what my 6-year old daughter decorated:



And this is what my 5-year old son did:



Yes, that is gingerbread from behind. "Butt cheeks". I feel like I'm in for a long couple decades.

My new beer today is appropriately high in ABV.

Against The Grain
Stave It For Later Barrel Series
Pretty Willie's Imperial Stout.



Pours like motor oil with almost no head or lacing.

The smell is loaded with bourbon, chocolate, and dark malts.

The taste is awesome. There's tons of bourbon, dark chocolate, and coffee without being overly bitter. It's really well balanced.

The mouthfeel is very thick and smooth.

This is an incredible beer. It's well balanced, thick, with no hint of the 13% abv. My only complaint is price. $27 would buy me six KBS.

 

Hello BA's. I am especially happy to participate today. A week ago I had a ladder slip out from under me, fall to concrete, ambulance ride, 30 hours in the hospital, 5 broken ribs bla bla bla.
Finally off the meds for a significant time and really looking forward to this.
Today I have Industrial Arts Safety Glasses. Irony of the name is not lost on me.


Poured from 16oz can dated 10/12/17 to a tulip.
Foggy amber appearance, beautiful frothy head that laces nicely.
Smells of mild pine, peach and citrus. Not very aromatic actually.
Peach follows into the taste, malt finish, surprising alcohol presence for 5.2 ABV.
Not bad. Good to have a lower ABV IPA of this caliper.

Pretty good beer, but I find it strange they chose "oily" for one of three adjectives.

 

Good day fans of new beer! I'm back home from an overnight in Chicago where I did some damage at FOBAB yesterday afternoon. I slept in, went out for a killer breakfast at Sweet Maple and now feel like I'm in the proper frame of mind to tackle a new beer.

A nod to @lordofthewiens for the start and a topic I really enjoy. I love to cook and my preferred method is over an open flame. The best money I spent a couple of years ago was buying a Primo ceramic grill. It grills, smokes and bakes with perfection. My exploits have appeared here a few times. As for pairing, I usually don't give it a lot of serious thought. I like IPA's or lagers with spicy dishes or pizza and darker beer with beef. I've enjoyed fruit beers with turkey as well. New Glarus Cranbic is money! Enough food chatter, it's making me hungry. Time for the beer.....

I recently picked up a single of Dragon's Milk Reserve Mocha Mint Bourbon Barrel stout. The date stamp is 09/27/17, abv. is 11% and I'm pouring it in a 12oz. tulip for the occasion.

It pours a thin brown that resembles cola producing a couple centimeters of light tan foam that rapidly settles to a thin ring. No lacing is present. The smell is mint, cocoa powder, brown sugar and faint bourbon. Taste is chocolate, cool mint, a dash of bourbon and oak in the finish. The feel is slightly oily and thin with a sensation on the tongue from the carbonation and mint.

The verdict? A drinkable enough beer that tastes like a Girl Scout Thin Mint, but lacks any depth or complexity like most of these Dragon's Milk variants. I understand the popularity of these as they're plentiful and usually price friendly, but they don't deliver enough for me to go beyond purchasing a single. I'm glad my local store thinks they're a 'rare' release and sells them that way. My score is 3.83 / rDev-7.9%.

I'm trying to muster up some motivation to continue the Christmas decorating in the cave as I watch the Bears try their best to make the Packers fans stop crying for at least one day. As I type that, the Bears score on a long pass! Go figure? Have a great day of new beer adventures, here's the official scorecard for mine.......

https://www.beeradvocate.com/beer/profile/335/298213/?ba=Prager62#review

 

Where in ny is this?

 

Drinking a '16 Jackie O's Oro Negro



Cheers!

 

Thank you @lordofthewiens for kicking off new beer Sunday. We share the same passion for cooking. I worked for over 28 Years in kitchens as a chef and in my later years baker. I love to bake, I have a culinary arts degree in baking. When I cooked for someone else as a job it was deadlines and menu constraints, not what I thought it would be when I graduated from cooking school. I have a job now not food related that I could care less about but cooking is fun again. I cook dinner every night, I love not having a plan and raiding the pantry for ingredients to come up with a meal.My standard answer to what’s for dinner is I’ll let you know when it’s done. I agree with you, I crank up the music box and get lost in cooking, it totally relaxes me.
Thanks for another stellar NBS opening, this one hit home for me.

Now my new beer is Marshal Zhukov’s Imperial Stout 2017 from Cigar City

It poured motor oil black from a 1pint 6 oz bottle with no head
Aroma was sweet as in chocolate and molasses with some malt
Mouth feel was slightly prickly but smoothed out quickly
I tasted chocolate, toffee, molasses and some alcohol but it was subtle.
That sounds like the makings of a sweet beer but it wasn’t. It was really full bodied and layers of flavors one didn’t overwhelm the other.
The finish was a bit coffee but really smooth. The stout was really tasty and easy drinking, I liked it a lot and would drink it any time it was available, at 11.2% abv it sneaks up a bit.
Just to close as I’m writing this I’m waiting for my veggies to cook for the 2 chicken pot pies I’m making for my kids dinners tomorrow.

 

Howdy, Sunday folks!

It is officially chilly here in Montreal. I have run some errands, cooked a little (how thematic!) and now I am settling in to dink around winterizing stuff, drink some beer and watch some football.

I went to the guvment store this morning and picked up some international beers for a little something different. This first one I'm gonna have today is the first Danish beer I've ever had as far as I can tell. Admittedly I'm not expecting anything spectacular but I am curious to try it nonetheless and am trying to keep an open mind.



It pours a creepily pink-tinted amber with a soft pink head. It actually shocked me into looking at the ingredients. Blech! Elderberry, glucose, corn and sugar. You can tell. A sweet, pop-like drink that seems nothing more than a neutral malt background splashed with elderberry flavor and sweetener. Honestly I don't think the elderberry is that awful bad but it is too sweet, and the base beer is pretty bland. I really didn't read the label, but I kind of had the impression this was a malt liquor. Anyway, not my cup of tea.

Here is my review if you're curious.

Cheers!

 

Westbury, Nassau County, Long Island

 

It's no secret that I enjoy coffee, particularly the lighter fruity varieties from Kenya and Ethiopia. Based on my long-standing love for coffee, it's no surprise I attribute coffee beers such as Founder's Breakfast Stout, and Mikkeller's Beer Geek Breakfast and Brunch as being the beers responsible for getting me into craft beer. For this reason, some of my most sought after beers are the single origin versions of heavy coffee stouts, so when I had an opportunity to snag a bottle of a stout that meets all that criteria I just couldn't say no. Sorry about the crum-bum cell phone picture. It simply doesn't do this photo justice.

This brew features single origin coffee out of Kenya Karimikui (break down of its properties), which is to say a bold variety with loads of citrus and fruit notes. Enough banter. Time to sip and tell.



Tree House's Double Shot w/ Kenya Karimikui.

Pours black with two fingers of caramel-colored foam forming on top even after a modest pour. Head retention is good with no lacing left behind. Aroma carries a presence, but doesn't give off a super dark vibe. Coffee is right up front, with a medium roast. The coffee carries bits and pieces of citrus, and a twangy fruit. Dark chocolate, lactose, and cocoa powder, with toasted and nutted malts form the remainder of the aroma. Flavor profile is rich and decadent, with notes of dark chocolate, lactose, and cocoa powder opening it up. Soon thereafter, a wash of coffee hits the palate, bringing notes of fleshy citrus, and floral. The switch from rich stout decadence to citrus and floral coffee is a smooth and balanced juxtaposition. An acidic after taste with a dash of honey urges another sip or risk a brief bite of lactic acid tightness in the jaw. While it carries a medium thickness, it delivers every bit of a rich, smooth, creamy, and velvety texture that adds well to the dessert like opening flavors. Overall, a stout that carries the name of Kenya Karimikui well. It offers loads of coffee in both the aroma and flavor profile. Although the transition from stout to coffee in the flavor profile may be a little off putting for some, as it doesn't maintain a strong, stereotypical coffee flavor, this Double Shot variety still retails a fine balance worthy of a "world-class" title.

Score: 4.25 | 4.5 | 4.75 | 4.5 | 4.75 | BA Score: 4.64 | rDev: +2%

Personal notes: It is always my intention to remove as much of my bias from my reviews as possible, and strictly review the beer within the style guidelines it is placed. That said, I don't know that I always succeed. This is one of my grail beers of sort (really any single origin coffee beer is), so it may be a bit biased. Still, I think this is an excellent use of Kenyan coffee within beer despite having never had the base beer. It is rich and charming, and most importantly for any flavorful beer - balanced. So should you get a chance to give this one a whirl - do so. I just wouldn't pick up any that is aged. Although, should you come across any more from this series, or any others for that matter, I'm all ears. Cheers, and thanks for reading.

 

New beer #4. This is very much in the halloween/christmas spiced stout vein.

Abnormal - Cafe Dino
Imperial Milk Porter - 10.7% abv
Score: 4.18 (-1.6% rDev)



L - 3-finger mocha head is slow to recede. Body is only a tinge translucent, otherwise opaque black.

S - oh my! Smells like Christmas. Cinnamon, nutmeg, some citrus.

T - follows nose. Very heavy on the cinnamon, even at almost a year old. Some orange and chocolate there as well. Very little bitterness.

F - medium-full. Low carb.

O - Very much a dessert stout. Reminds me of those chocolate oranges I used to get at Christmas as a kid. Very sweet and spicy, but sometimes that's what you need.