New Beer Sunday (Week 665)

Bell’s Arabicadabra Coffee Milk Stout

4.25/5 rDev +4.2%
look: 4.25 | smell: 4.25 | taste: 4.25 | feel: 4.25 | overall: 4.25

Poured into a nonic pint glass.

The beer is the color of dark chocolate with dark ruby hues coming through the edges when held up to a light. The dark cream colored head is so thick and foamy that it reminds me of meringue. The head does not recede or dissipate like it does in most other milk stouts I've had. Lacing on the glass is extremely thick bands of tan foam. The aroma is thick with chocolate, cocoa powder, medium roast ground coffee, and subtle lactose sugar notes that remind me of marshmallow creme. The taste follows the aroma with a very solid cocoa base lathered in medium roast arabica coffee. The finish has just a touch of bitter tanginess. The mouthfeel is creamy and smooth, not as watery as I find a lot of other milk stouts to be. Overall, this is easily one of the best milk stouts I've come across, and the touch of coffee is perfect.

 

Good morning Craig and Happy Thanksgiving week to you and to all of you! I have not converted any family to beer . Alas they have said things to me like " If you had spent that money on mascara instead of beer you'd have a husband by now." I think beer tastes better than mascara so . . . harumpf. I have however, managed to convert many friends and strangers on the internet to drinking craft beer. And to tasting beer and food, wine and spirits as well. Of this I am glad. I am cooking my brains out for the holiday of course. Today I am doing turkey number two as one is not enough. Rather than try to season each turkey differently I decided to feature the pan sauce instead. I was going to bone the thing and do some brining but I decided I could do that with chicken. By leaving the turkey to salt and pepper only I have left it open to anything I want to do later. I won't commit to a unique spice rub or anything too different because, frankly, that is a lot of meat and if I am not crazy about the spices after then I am stuck with it. This week I have been featuring bourbon along side the pislner. My best pairings were shrimp with walnuts and apple and zucchini salad with the german pils and bourbon. Angry apples with the bohemian pils and bourbon and baked eggs with aerogarden tomatoes and leeks with the pilsner and bourbon!

Happy Month of Dark Beers Sunday!

Today I have Otter Creek Drip Drop Coffee Stout.



Nose is bold espresso and the sweet breath of chocolate.

Black with walnut hues. Sumptuous color with faint lighter hues around the edges. Tan head that fell softly. Pepper from the hops is clever with the robust and roasted coffee taste. Bitter malt and a perky bubble. Comes to the finish dry enough with a clean and gently lasting bitter. All that coffee flavor! The chocolate is like dry cocoa powder. There is caramel but it doesn't weigh out the finish. It's firm and a bit nutty. Black burnt malt and rich dark coffee. Robust and earthy. Shows a light herbal from hops that tastes like the green that used to be on that coffee bean. Balanced by a light sweet chocolate and hearty with hops.

Cheers you all and This was so good I almost poured cream in it!

 

Happy New Victorkugel's Beer Sunday (Week 665)!

Before I begin to delve any further, may I ask/suggest that a standardized start time be established for this weekly thread? A couple of weeks ago, a newbie (no offense) jumped the gun by beginning the thread of his own accord & a merge needed to be done. I think that if you have had a week to ponder your opening salvo, then an early start is not out of line, after which you may retire to the comfy-coziness of your bed, leaving us early birds to do our thing. Just my $0.02, but it would alleviate the desire (of some of us) to begin without you. Just sayin'.

In response to the Q posed at the beginning, my family is scattered hither & yon. I retired early, in 1998, from the U.S. Navy to come home & be with my father who had been diagnosed with a terminal illness. He passed in 2001 & only my maternal uncle & I remain in Lancaster County. We will probably get together to go out for dinner on Thursday, but it won't be a special Norman Rockwell-like gathering. He makes his own homemade wine, but he is not averse to beer. On the other side of the family, my paternal cousin is Colby Chandler, VP of Ballast Point Brewing & Spirits & he definitely shares my love of beer. Cheers to my Westie cuz!

My opening salvo for the week is a bottle (gasp!), but it is one that I will be lobbying to have in a CAN for the coming summer:
https://www.beeradvocate.com/beer/profile/345/271991/?ba=woodychandler#review

 

New NEIPA Sunday (Week 665)
Goood Morning to all you praiseworthy practitioners of perfectly poured porters and wickedly willing wild ale worshippers, from on the ridge in Mid Hud Val, NY.

Chilly morn but the rain stopped. It started yesterday within seconds of my pulling from the parking lot at Equilibrium Brewery after a wonderful three hour bottle share, and a short wait in a well organized, raindrop-free line that yielded me this beer. dhop1, a delicious IIPA from a newish local brewery that is destined to be a future force in fine beer fortunes. Or, as my inner voice puts it as I sip this beer, these guys fucking rock.

If one can get past the petty fear of every beer that isn't clear, and recognize the welcome sight of a turbid beer's immense delight, than this will give one awesome pleasure when at last one gives its look a measure. Ample head tops murky gold, a pleasant vision to behold.

A general mosaic hop funk, doughy sweet, citrus pith, grapefruit, light pine, and even hints of blueberry and floral notes, make this full aroma an absolute dream to hold near nose and inhale. Great anticipation is provoked, manifesting physically by salivary glands involuntarily charging in response. Dreamy aroma.

Not so much blueberry in the taste but you can sense it at the end of the sip. Otherwise it is a faithful, full flavored rendition of the bouquet. Sometimes the "hop funk" in mosaic overruns all the other flavors, here it is an equal player. As it warms I get mango. End of sip is all about hop funk, light pine, citrus pith, and lightest blueberry.

Soft on palate, clears out well, low carb. medium viscosity, highly refreshing, and a finish that is the perfect fit for this NEIPA.

Wow, yet another beer from EQ that makes me glad to live close enough to get their brews easily. Highly recommended, go get some immediately.

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

 

Good morning BAs! It's a sunny warm (70+) brilliant cloudless afternoon here in the mountains of southern Spain. The hunters came through the surrounding hills with their dogs earlier, chasing rabbits...

My kid brother (the other half of DoctorZombies) is a homebrewer that specializes in meads. No one else in my family gives two hoots about beer...

My wife Lisa did join me during my beer tasting/meeting with microbrewer Jamie at La Jerezana in Jerez (and Lisa had a good time) a few weeks ago. From that meeting, here's a Sherry cask (Pedro Ximenex/or "PX" grapes added to the regular fino to produce the sweet figgy/raisiny cream Sherrys) aged Ale - "Petranera", ringing in at 6.7%, and 25 IBUs:



Bottle #83 of only 129, aged 3 months and bottled 9-9-16 to continue bottle fermentation:



Pale amber (9); quick white cap leaves thin ring; a spot or two of lace; excellent clarity. 3.75



Sour fruit, clove, and lite spice nose. 4.0

Subtle notes of sour pear, peach; clove, spicy yeast; oak, bitter Sherry and semi sweet raisin from the grapes/cask. 4.25

Medium lite feel; moderate minus carbonation; dry, crisp finish. 3.75

Overall, another well-balanced pleasing sour from this small batch brewer; subtle sour fruit/white wine co-habitates nicely with the barrel oak spicy yeast notes. A great starter sour beer for the beginner palate before moving in to say Jester King or FWs wine barrel aged sours. 4.0

This brewer is hard to track down - by day he works at one of the larger local Sherry bodegas (Lustau), but most Saturday mornings he is at his microbrewery/tasting room. A must visit when you are visiting the town of Sherry production.

FYI, he told me Brooklyn Brewery recently bought 500 used American oak Sherry barrels from the winery, and had them shipped to NY. I'm looking for good things to come from that transaction in the future... Cheers from Iznajar!

 

Mornin' NBSers and a special thanks to @cjgiant for the idea behind his starting para. In some ways shared family experiences are a very important tie that binds us to our roots and helps us decide our own paths in the future while also helping to create a braking influence on some of the impulses that can lead us into troubles we don't need. (Having had, in part, a misspent youth, i don't like to reflect much on what I might have done without family "looking over my shoulder." )

So this year we'll indeed be going to a fairly large family gathering that will include grandparents, parents, and lots of children. We'll probably leave with a strong sense of pleasure at having seen some of them again and with a mild sense of irritation with a few of the others. But the benefit of that irritation is that it can promote reflection on what we ourselves are like. A wise man once pointed out, "it's easy to spot things you don't like about someone but we are almost totally blind to the things about ourselves that might have triggered their behavior."

At the moment I'm sipping on a fresh cup of coffee rather than a fresh new beer since the sheer quantity of errands and chores dictate "no morning beer."

I'm expecting to be back this evening with a new beer crafted in partnership between a well known brewer and a well know PA based company.

While I expect to be here next week with another new beer my limited imagination has not yet come up with any ideas consistent with the proposed theme (that I'm williing to inflict on y'all ).

 

Happy Birthday Sierra Nevada – 37 years old!!

I have been on a road trip the past three weeks with the principle purpose of visiting family and friends in Texas. This past week was the return leg with a route of Texas to New Orleans (2 nights) to Asheville (2 nights), Virginia (1 night) and then home.

On the way to Asheville we stopped off at the Sierra Nevada Brewery in Mills River, NC and luckily we arrived at the taproom at 8:50 pm (10 minutes before closing time). I was informed by the bartender that earlier that evening they celebrated the 37th Anniversary of Sierra Nevada: a speech from Brian Grossman and free pretzels and free chicken wings. I was bummed out that we were late to the party. The good news is that at least we could buy a beer (or two) and eat some dinner. I saw their extensive tap list (20 different brands) but I immediately zeroed in on the Kolsch – one of my favorite styles.

So how does a draft Sierra Nevada Kolsch taste to a weary traveler (the drive from New Orleans to Asheville was long!!)?

Appearance:

Straw colored with a one finger white head which dissipated fairly quickly.

Aroma:

A bready Pilsner malt aroma with something else (a yeasty aroma?).

Taste:

Wow! A BIG Pilsner malt flavor nicely accompanied by spicy flavors from the hops. Moderate bitterness.

Mouthfeel:

Medium bodied with a dry finish.

Overall:

This beer is excellent! If this beer was packaged (bottled/canned) this would be a regular purchase for me.

For dinner I ordered a Trout Almandine Salad (which was very, very good!) and as luck would have it this salad paired very well with this Kolsch beer.

P.S. I had the opportunity to take a 90 minute guided tour the next day and boy was that worth it. It is the best brewery tour I have ever been on. All of the Sierra Nevada staff was very knowledgeable and very friendly. I would highly recommend a visit to the beautiful Sierra Nevada brewery in Mills River, NC.

@ecpho @rotsaruch @GreenKrusty101 @KOP_Beer_OUtlet @sierranevadabill

 

Happy New Beer Sunday everyone! I'm one of the only people in my family who is interested in beer but that's not too bad since we all get along and don't have to dread family gatherings. Unfortunately I won't be in the U.S. for this Thanksgiving but I hope you all enjoy your Thanksgiving if you are celebrating! Today I am drinking a Saison from Orca Brau, which is a small brewery based in Nürnberg:



The apperance is an opaque, bright orange/ light brown color with a small white head.

The aroma is huge. Mainly the aroma is dominated by hops, green/white berries and citrus fruit but there is also notes of funk and a bit of sour/tart-ness.

The taste is green/white grapes upfront along with a classic sasion funkiness that leads to a slightly bitter, herbacious hop taste. The finish is well balanced and quite dry.

The mouthfeel is quite full.

Overall it is one of the best sasions that I have had. As soon as I opened the bottle I was hit with the beautiful aroma. Tha taste lived up to the expectations of the aroma and the dry finish left me wanting to always taks another sip. An extremely well made saison and I'm glad to have had the chance to try it. Hopefully everyone else is enjoying a new beer on this fine Sunday!

 

Convert friends and family members. Good Lord, it takes energy enough to keep them out of the stash. Today I took a step away from the Porter and went with something interesting, or at least interesting to me. Over the years I've tried different versions of Celis but not this one . . .



Label shot is the best I can do at the moment. Here are my thoughts . . .

Score 3.66
look: 3.25 | aroma: 3.50 | taste: 3.75 | feel: 3.75 | overall: 3.75

Light lemon yellow color with small white cap.

I get a zesty, citrus like aroma that leans more toward lemon-lime with a spice influence which may be coriander.

Taste on entry is mildly floral with most of that in the back of my palate. This is a refreshing light ale with the barest hint of tartness that's mildly spicy and very easy drinking. Would I grab this one over Blue Moon? Not really, it's just not enough difference to distinguish this one over others of this ilk.

Light medium texture with balancing carbonation.

Overall it's a good effort without noticeable flaws.

 

Good morning New BSers! Well, another Sunday has rolled around and it's time for a new beer with my surrogate family. I'm not having much luck converting the masses. My brother and sister-in-law (In New Braunfels, TX) will try any new beer I haul in and join me for trips to Jester King, but still are committed to Shiner Bock. I did get my local brother-in-law to switch from Heineken and now he buys better beers, i.e. Flying Dog and Penn Brewing. This turkey day he and I will be drinking whatever I haul down but every one else will be drinking wine or BMC.

Speaking of which, today's New Breakfast Beer is this delightful brew from Westbrook Brewing, courtesy @Dragginballs76 and NBS BIF #6:




Received from @Dragginballs76 in NBS BIF #6 – Thanks Michael!
Bomber bottled on 6/8/17. Stored in 42 degree reefer. Served at 57 degrees in a hand washed and dried Jester King snifter.
Aroma – Cocoa predominates, followed by cinnamon and peppers.
Head – Average (Maximum 2.6 cm, aggressive pour), light brown, creamy, average retention, diminishing to an irregular four to five mm ring fed by lively effervescence and a complete layer with a few small rocks.
Lacing – None, as expected for this higher alcohol (10.5% ABV) brew.
Body – Dark brown/black, opaque, effervescent.
Flavor – Begins with cinnamon and habanero flavor followed by a burst of habanero warmth. The cocoa from the nose is absent as are any traces of malt or hops, hidden behind the habaneros. I always have trouble detecting vanilla and this brew is no exception. No alcohol and no diacetyl. The habanero warmth has a long hang time.
Palate – Medium, approaching creamy, soft carbonation.
Impression: A very nice use of habaneros in a beer. I’ve had some where the apparent goal was to test one’s tolerance for heat – Mexican Cake is hot and flavorful but is not challenging for the heat intolerant. Overall, it seems somewhat more of a porter than a stout but whatever you call it, it’s still called “Good”.

Appearance 4.25, Aroma 4.5, Flavor 4.5, Palate 4.5, Overall 4.5. Rating 4.49, rDev +2%.

 

Thanks for the great start, Craig.
My family is scattered all over. Two of our six kids will be sharing Thanksgiving with us, and we will meet the boyfriend of one of them for the first time. Could be interesting. Other than my wife and me, we are not a beer drinking family. My wife has quite the nose and enjoys a wide variety of styles, particularly IPAs.
Now, on to the beer. I am drinking Guinness 200th Anniversary Export Stout.
It is very black with a large tan head that retains well.
Roasted malt and chocolate aroma.
Sweet chocolate/cocoa taste up front, with some char at the end.
Medium-bodied and smooth. Very nice beer.

 

Firestone Walker Mocha Merlin
Coffee Infused Oatmeal Stout

Funny story — I actually forgot I bought this. I was debating on drinking Bell’s Christmas Ale now, but I’ll save that for Wednesday night and make this my last entry today.

As for the excellent intro by @cjgiant ... alcohol and family is a touchy subject with me, and I cannot answer that question without being completely honest and I don’t even want to write this but here goes. Other than my alcoholic uncle who I never see, I’m the only one in my small family that drinks, and yes I too am stricken with alcoholism albeit in the form of binge drinking. I only drink on the weekends and I don’t even crave a drop of alcohol during the work week, but when Saturday rolls around it’s all or none. I apologize for breaching a sad, touchy topic but I’m an honest, real person so nevermind, I shouldn’t apologize. I’m thinking about trying sobriety again in January, last time I made it 5 months. Now that I’ve darkened the mood LOL let me review this beer I forgot that I bought.

4.49/5 rDev +12.8%
look: 4 | smell: 4.25 | taste: 4.75 | feel: 4.25 | overall: 4.5

Poured into a Duvel glass.

A black body with dark brown edges (through light) holds a light tan head that recedes to a light film. Lacing is a picture of a craggy foamy world map. The aroma is divine with a real hearty oat flake aroma doused in chocolate and light roasted freshly ground coffee. The taste is equally superb with once again, a very hearty oatmeal base surrounded by milk chocolate and light coffee — avoiding bitterness. The finish has a touch of dry wood and light hop bitterness. The mouthfeel is exceptional, medium bodied, slightly dry. Overall, an exceptional beer.

One last thought: When I first got into craft beer, the oatmeal stout immediately became my favorite style. This beer is exactly why. There is a “heartiness” about it that is not found in any other style. I can’t put it into words. I just love it. As for next Sunday, I still have an appropriate beer for the mood waiting for NBS, it should be fun.

Also, I suddenly realized that I no longer have a favorite brewery. I used to worship Breckenridge until they sold their soul. Now I only have breweries I respect, there is no favorite. Firestone Walker is way up there on respect though.

Cheers.

 

For me it's the opposite, concerning that same touchy subject. I drink 1-3 every day and save all my bingeing for get togethers with friends. It is pretty much every day for me, or none at all when I stop completely every year for a while. Not sure I am capable of enjoying great beer only on weekends. Then again I'm retired so the whole week is a weekend.

 

Hermit Thrush Party Guy.

I featured another Hermit Thrush beer for NBS once before (link). I'm a sucker for historical brewing methods. This beer is a 3% ABV sour "small beer" made via the parti-gyle process (hence the name Party Guy) along with a sour barley wine (I think). Thing is, this historical method might be pseudo-historical. I'm not sure, but I think @patto1ro 's research indicates that the descriptions of parti-gyle brewing spread from contemporary US sources aren't a reflection of what was actually done commercially in the UK. Seems like those commercial practices had a more complicated blending aspect, but I'm out of my league here.

Regardless, Hermit Thrush is motivated by adopting historical methods and being environmentally conscious... and the motivation is definitely praiseworthy.

This beer doesn't impress me as much as other Hermit Thrush efforts. It's a pretty burnt sienna (surely there are some Bob Ross fans here, right?). The beer tastes like unsweetened cranberry juice with some seltzer. I'm not putting it down by saying that, but it is lacking in complexity (and yeah, I do realize that it's 3%). Speaking of the 3% ABV, this beer is also lacking the drinkability that can make such beers great. It doesn't feel like 3%. For me, this is actually an undesirable thing, but I can see how others would find this to be a great accomplishment instead. If my reactions sound very negative, I'm painting the wrong (Bob Ross) picture. This is a good beer, but I'm not really digging it. I think others could love this if they love low ABV beers with acidity that are very flavorful.

 

Rogue's Cold Brew IPA
-honey- brown can pour with a slight haze. Thin, tan foam cap disapates quickly. Aroma is of deeply roasted coffee and pine hops.
The coffee- IPA balance is spot-on. Toffee and hop-resin combine with some woody notes for an enjoyable mix of bitterness.
I start each work-day with cold brew coffee. This would be a preferred substitute, but I'll reserve them for weekend-days for now.

 

Thanks for the great start for NBS @cjgiant. Will be back later on with a new brew.

Cheers!

 

Poured near room temperature and got a massive 2 plus billowy brown head, that takes for ever to settle into a fairly thick layer of brown bubbles and leaves plenty of thick patches of lace all over the glass. Gorgeous beer....! 4.75 Smell is dry roasty coffee grounds, deep dark chocolate, vanilla bean, cocoa, char, leather, toffee, and a healthy shot of bourbon. 4.5

Taste follows very roasty coffee, dark chocolate, char, vanilla, leather, pipe tobacco, toffee, and smooth bourbon. 4.5

Mouthfeel is a little bigger than medium, moderate carbonation, a little dry as you would expect, and drinks fairly easy at 10.5% ABV. 4.25

Overall this is a very nice Stout, will be picking up a few more to age. I hope they will continue dazzling me now that Harpoon owned them. Always Brewing excellent BA beers, especially stouts. 4.5