New Beer Sunday (Week 665)

More Melvin in Massachusetts sightings...this time it is Asterisk

4.56/5 is my rating

look: 4.5 | smell: 4.75 | taste: 4.5 | feel: 4.5 | overall: 4.5

Can dated 10.23.17 with the question, “ may i asterisk you a ?’

Poured into a teku glass

Clear golden yellow, frothy two finger white foam cap , settles to rafts and islands of foam, some lacings

Very fragrant apricot, mango, tropical fruits, citrus

Taste of citrus, pine hops

Low sudsing, hop taste, not a bite, lingers on the tongue afterwards, alcohol well hidden

Wonderful beer

Repeatable

Great beer

 

I kind of wonder in general just why everyone is so ready to throw flavorings into barrel aged beers. You go through all that time, expense, and trouble to tease some subtle flavors out of a liquor barrel and then you want to cover/complicate that with some coffee/maple/etc.

Especially given the recent thread talking about nobody being able to get wet barrels anymore, I can't help but wonder how much actual barrel flavor gets into some of these beers and whether the urge to add flavors is related to that.

 

There's definitely that. But some flavors are more subtle than others; and coffee just has a way of steamrolling over everything else.

 

Guiness Foreign Extra Stout

Happy Sunday, BAs. Greetings from windy southeastern Pennsylvania. With my Sunday chores at least half over, decided it was time to crack open a beer.

Sort of surprised I haven't had this one before, but I don't recall it, so here goes... It pours pretty damn close to black with three fingers of long-lasting, dark tan head that leave solid lacing.

It has a modest aroma of dry, roasted malts with chocolate behind.

Nice dry, roasty taste as well, with just the slightest of sour twangs and a hint of vanilla. Bitterness lingers on the backend, evoking chocolate and coffee. Quite tasty.

Medium bodied with just a touch of creaminess and low carbonation in the feel.

This is a delicious beer. In comparison to the Antwerpen and 200th Anniversary Export this is definitely the most dialed-back of the export stouts in the anniversary 12-pack. It's flavors are drier and more refined, and in some ways, I like it best for that. I rated Antwerpen higher, but among all four, it's definitely the one I'd turn to for a regular-rotation brew.

Not sure I'll be back in this thread today. Have a bunch of old Dallas Sucks to get through this evening. Have a great holiday week.

 

Yeah, I should have been clearer that I also agree that coffee is a particular offender. Many of the other typical flavors are components of whiskey and rum to begin with, so they're more likely to complement than clash.

 

Firestone Mocha Merlin coffee oatmeal stout. Almost solid black,medium carbonation with a nice thick creamy feel which I assume is coming from the oatmeal. Aroma is roasted malt,coffee,and pays with the flavor being almost identical. Tastes better as it warms up becoming much more sweet. An excellent,somewhat sweet version of an oatmeal stout

 

Cheers to @cjgiant for a fine forword and cheers to friends and family that won’t be at the Thanksgiving table this year.
I used to think craft beer was Sam Adams or Blue Moon and then a few years ago friend from work gave me a Heady. About that time my son was introduced to Fiddlehead by someone he worked with, we became beer buddies and hook each other up. My son in law likes good beer and will drink mine but his fridge is full of Bud Light, we can’t get him converted totaling yet. My wife was talking to my sons wife one night and my DIL said she didn’t understand the whole taking a picture of your beer especially in a restaurant. My wife said you’ll get usually to it, does he shoot his food too?
My new NBS is The Roast from Henniker Brewing in NH. Back in the day when I had my own knees and Mrs Gee’s spine wasn’t fused we loved skiing at Pats Peak in the same city

6.5 abv 55 IBU
Appearance Dark like black coffee thin head
Smell Roasted coffee beans hint if chocolate
Taste and mouthfeel It is defiantly coffee forward some sweetness and a bit of a alcohol taste. The finish has a bite you would expect from a strong coffee or expresso
Overall I think it’s a really good representation of a coffee stout, I’d drink it again.

 

I’m starting my Dallas Sucks drinking around 7:00, that should be enough time to squeeze at least one more new beer in! Go Eagles!

 

Hanging around the home front today, getting the snowboards and splitboards waxed/tuned for the changing seasons. Figured I'd contribute to this great recurring thread, many thanks to @cjgiant for getting things off and running.

Contribution today is my first dark beer from the Southern California stalwart Beachwood Brewing. An imperial coffee chocolate porter that checks all the boxes one would expect from such a beer. Jet black pour with good head retention. The nose starts highlighting chocolate and roasted malt, but as it warms it clearly takes a back seat to the coffee. Taste follows the nose well, with perhaps some additional subtle nuttiness aspects. Was very surprised by the coffee prominence given the age on the beer. Good mouthfeel with perhaps just the slightest ABV burn on the finish. Complete rating link, BA score = 4.34, rdev = -0.5%

I've definitely enjoyed Beachwood's hoppy offerings previously, this first (for me) foray into their dark offerings was a clear winner for my palate and preferences.

 

Weyerbacher really should have looked at the schedule for the season before deciding when to release this one.

 

Happy Sunday, NBS samplers and commentators. After yesterday's washout, it's been a lovely day in North Jersey but it's really cooled down. I've been working in dusty basement all afternoon discarding nearly 30 years of accumulated detritus so I'm braving a few minutes on the deck to breathe some fresh air.

Thank you, @cjgiant for your thoughtful intro today. Thanksgiving's all about spending time with family and we'll have a bunch with us this week. And I appreciate your comment about the NBS family. Although I've only met a couple of you in person, I look forward to spending time every Sunday afternoon with you.

My new beer today is Epic's Big Bad Baptista, courtesy of @FFFjunkie's BIF box. Epic distros to New Jersey and I've enjoyed Big Bad Baptist many times but not this variant which uses Mexican coffee as an adjunct. I'm really enjoying it. The flavors and big and bold but they blend really well. I'm hoping we see this variant here some time. Thanks, Dan! Here's my review:

4.43/5 rDev 0%
look: 4.25 | smell: 4.25 | taste: 4.5 | feel: 4.5 | overall: 4.5

2016 Release. Poured from 750 ml bottle into tulip glass. It pours nearly jet black with dark walnut hues and a frothy, medium-tan head that dissipated slowly leaving a thin sheen of elegant lacing. The nose features dark chocolate, freshly-brewed coffee, toffee, cinnamon, and nuts. It's really fragrant. When sipped, the first taste I notice is spice from the Mexican coffee, along with cocoa, earthy tobacco notes, and nuts. You can also taste the whiskey from the barrel-aging. The taste is simply luscious. Every flavor is distinct and bold but they blend beautifully. This stout has a rich, creamy mouth feel with moderate carbonation. It doesn't drink like 11.7% Overall, I'm very impressed. Epic has taken one of the best BA stouts on the market and improved upon it. Baptista would pair well with with a hearty meal or be a nice after-dinner sipper. If you get the chance to try Baptista, then don't pass it by!

My rating is right on the average! I hope everyone's enjoying their new beer today!

 

Great question! While my wife will drink a beer occasionally (she drank a lot more in college) it's usually light, shandy stuff. I am proud the my kids (and their significant others) are into craft. Son and daughter both live in North Carolina. Our son's apartment is less than a block from Fullsteam in Durham; he and his girlfriend spend lots of time there, as well as other breweries in the Triangle. He's a big IPA guy. Our daughter and her boyfriend really like sours and are big fans of Wicked Weed. They could care less that it was acquired by the Evil Empire so long as the beer is good. They should be bringing me a stache when they come up for Thanksgiving - hopefully some Event Horizon and LIndley Park from Olde HIckory.

 

I'm back for another before heading to my bro's for a few. I purchased this next one on Friday at my local store. It's a pint can of Turbulent Times double dry hopped NE style IPA from Bare Hands Brewery in Granger IN. The abv. is 6.5℅, the date stamp reads 11/9/17 and I'm pouring this in a 12oz. tulip to see what awaits us?

It pours a lively turbid dark gold generating a big two fingers of creamy white foam. It settles very slowly revealing moderate lacing. The smell is heavy grapefruit, orange zest, a little pineapple, floral esters and malt. Taste is dominated again by grapefruit, followed by blood orange, floral/spice and sticky malt. The feel is bitter, slightly acidic and dry.

While not a terrible beer, it is a poor representation of the style in look taste and feel in my opinion. The taste was too harsh with grapefruit bitterness. Perhaps this will be dialed in with future batches? My score is 3.81/rDev-7.1%. I'll drink the other three and move on.

I watched Connor Barth blow a chance to tie the game, so Merry Christmas Lions fans. I'm checking out, not sure if there will be another later? Enjoy your new beer endeavors! Here's the official scorecard.......

https://www.beeradvocate.com/beer/profile/27926/306550/?ba=Prager62#review

 

New beer #5. My last newbie this week.

Coffee Stout - Sierra Nevada
Stout with Cold Brew Coffee - 6.2% abv
Bottled 9/21/17 (59 days old)
Score: 4.08 (0% rDev)



L - 2-finger light brown head atop a black body.

S - so much coffee! I can't smell anything else besides that.

T - Coffee-forward, as expected. Also getting some sweet toffee and milk chocolate. Low bitterness.

F - medium body. More carb than I expected.

O - A well-executed beer. Body is a little thin, but otherwise this delivers as promised.

 

Boy, you're a regular at Saturday releases! I've missed the last couple. I've got a nice sour from Cape May to share with you and the assembled multitude.

 

Next up is Hop Debauchery from O'so. Color is a turbid deep gold/yellow with a half finger white head and spotty lacing on my glass. Quite tropical and fruity hop notes with a good amount of pineapple and star fruit, maybe a touch of banana from the yeast. It begins with a pineapple and tropical flavor and finishes up with a bit of bitterness. It is very juicy and doesn't have much for caramel malt in other IIPAs. Nice carbonation and a slightly resinous mouthfeel. Kind of sticky and dry afterwards. I found this to be a well made NE IPA.

 

G' afternoon NBS-ers.
Today's entry to comes from @beertunes

Wander Brewing Vanbier



Poured from a 16 oz. can into a JK snifter.
Appearance: Pale golden clear body. Thin cap of light soapy bubbles in top.

Aroma: Definitely getting that basil and lemon. Basil dominates the nose so I don't get much else.

Taste/Mouthfeel: It's all about the basil. Lemon follows through and cuts through the vegetal flavor. Super light body and of course basil being the herb that it is, it just lingers on and on.

Overall: A lovely looking beer, aroma is there and the taste is spot on. Not one I could drink a lot of, but this would for sure be one you would want to pair with pizza.

Cheers!

 

Besides for the great beer they sell, the shares are incredible, they just get better and better, and all the folks are super nice. Planning to hit the early release (10:00) on Wed. for the Answer collab. Guess I am a regular now haha, they even talked me into joining hazeboiz. Have some things to share with you as well. See you Wed.?

 

Haha, definitely. Hopefully they do another run before week 17!

 

Sorry to hear! Lyme is insidious. I'm glad you're feeling better and able to imbibe again!