New Beer Sunday (Week 665)

My family?
My youngest brother, and his wife, & her whole family, excepting her mother, like the "weird" beer. (As my other brother calls any non-AAL.) That happened independently of each other. We do exchange beer, that can't be had from our respective homes. (He lives in eastern MA.)

Also, my sister's son. He's a chef in RI, that's very interested in the whole ground-to-glass/plate thing.

As for today , if you like porters, this is a good one. Nothing fancy, or added, just an old standard, very-well done.

It was nice to be able to get it at the farmers' market yesterday. A lot closer to home (than the brewery), and no distributor to sit on it for days or weeks. (One slight advantage to the late fall/winter season - I have time on Sat. morning. )




4.38/5 rDev 0%
look: 4.25 | smell: 4.25 | taste: 4.5 | feel: 4 | overall: 4.5

From a bottle, from the farmers' market, yesterday, so assume it's fresh.

Pours very dark, chestnut-brown. Short-lived light tan head that leaves a ring, and a dusting of foam on the surface.

Described as "a classic porter", it smells that way : nutty roasted malt, with hints of chocolate (brownies?) and cold black coffee.

Taste pretty much follows nose, plus a touch of brown bread crust sour tang, and light, pleasant bitterness on the finish.

Feel is on the light side of medium, slightly oily, with very fine carbonation tingle on the finish.

Overall, very good . Could drink this all day. Highly recommend it.

 

Amen. I have been super aware about the danger of ticks since the early 70s when I lived in an area very heavy with ticks of all types. Between Winston-Salem and Durham, along I-40, north to the Virginia border. The pastures nearby had strands of grass that literally had hundreds of ticks draped upon every one. Anything walking by would be covered. I was breeding Goldens at that time and struggled to keep them somewhat free of ticks. I hate fucking ticks and am damned lucky to have never contracted either Rocky Mountain Spotted Fever or Lyme's Disease. Oh, I like the new rendition of Sierra Nevada Celebration! Also, @JackHorzempa, that Sierra Nevada visit is really nice and I'm glad you made it by. I have a good friend that did a bunch of that beautiful metal work all over the property. It is a lovely place made for the duration.

 

... or, I can do both at the same time:



Mikkeller Ramen To Biiru Yuzu

This is a great looking can... and it's a cute, squat 11.2oz can. The problem with it is that it’s impossible getting the name of the beer from the can. I had to do an image search on the web to figure out the name of this beer.

This is a weird one. Bills itself as a Belgian pale. It’s a gorgeous amber. It’s prickly and thin. Taste is dry and sour. It’s got a strange dirty earthiness. I don’t know what yuzu tastes like. I wouldn’t be shocked to find out that this has brett in it. Not bad, but a little odd.

 

Great kickoff from our host today. So...Thanksgiving at the Casa Rose...ummm... Circus? Chaos? We cook. Lots of stuff. Only a couple of formal invites to people who don't like casual. People show up if and when they want. Typically random, moreso this year with the son, girl, grandson at home. Can be fun, but can get to be a frustrating day. Although we have run this way for almost thirty years, some people dont really dig the casual, hang loose sort of deal.

As far as beer conversions, I don't actively try and convert anybody. I will show them to the water, they can drink if they like. I generally wont talk beer unless somebody asks, and even then I try and keep it to a minimum. My wife is the partner in crime, will try any beer and has real likes and dislikes. My son started with flavorful beer, managed the beer section for a small store for a while. Whatever is in the house is up for grabs, but I will suggest a tasting pour at times. If you like it, drink on.

The beer to go with a pot of chili is 14th Star's Tribute DIPA.



It is pretty much pumpkin colored, thin white cap, halfway decent cling after the head falls to a few rafts. Citrus punch in the aroma, mostly grapefruit but a little orange sneaks in. Sweet malts, and a little resin, a little floral, a little earthy. More or less checks all the DIPA boxes. It drinks smoothly. Surprisingly not overly bitter, it is citrus heavy, but adequate malt to keep things in check. Gets a bit more floral as it warms up. Sticky, but dry finish. Seems a tiny bit watery to me. It is a good beer, not really upper echelon in the style to my palate. I'm feeling this comng in around 3.8 or so. Good beer.

 

A: hazy amber color. Poured from a bottle into my totally sweet Snorkel glass as shown here.
S: cloves, banana, spices
T: Cloves, bananas. Malty. Not at all bitter. Minimal to no hoppiness. Milder than I expected. Sort of like a hefeweizen but not exactly. About 9% alcohol but doesn't taste very boozy.
M: Full bodied. Very nice mouthfeel.
O: Quite a good beer. Seems to scratch the same itch that a hefeweizen or Vitus scratches. Slightly different though. I like it but I don't love it. I may try again in future.

 

Checking in a bit late, but originally I hadn't anticipated reviewing anything today. My brother and I sprung for a bottle of something of his choosing while we were out. Now we're quietly sipping through this brew together. Here's my take on it.



Lindeman's Peche Lambic.

Pours a clear amber-yellow with a finger of white head. Head retention is good, with no lacing left behind. Aroma is fleshy peach with a touch of apricot. It smells candied and sweet. Flavor profile is even sweeter, delivering a huge dose of ripe, fleshy peach. Sweetness cannot be understated. It's sweeter than even the ripest and juiciest of peaches. Mouth feel is medium in thickness, with a still, smooth texture. Overall, a sublime lambic featuring peaches - as the bottle suggests. It never grows complicated or over done, just peaches on peaches on peaches.

Score: 4.25 | 4.25 | 4 | 4.25 | 4.25 | BA Score: 4.15 | rDev: +5.3%

 

Thank you, @cjgiant for the excellent opening post - I have (I state humbly) influenced a number of people - friends, acquaintances, co-workers, complete strangers, and yes, family members - on the ways of The Beer Nerd. Some have ventured into deep beer nerd waters, some stay in the shallow water, but all hear a common theme from me: drink what you like, like what you drink, and respect what others choose to drink. That, to me, is the definition of beer advocacy.

Probably the most surprising conversion for me was my bro-in-law. An inveterate "Big Beer Light Lager" drinker since I met him in 1989, we attended ..... hundreds of family events together over the years: holidays, birthday parties, anniversary parties, graduation parties, family reunions, funerals (sadly), literally every imaginable reason for family to gather. And at all of these gatherings, he was pounding Coors Light. Or Bud Light. Or Miller Lite. Or Mich Ultra.

By pounding, I mean 4 or 5 - we don't drink heavy, never have. But after 4 or 5, he'd complain that all he felt was bloated, so he'd stop and I'd stop. This was a recurring theme for 20 years or so.

Then I embarked on my beer nerd journey in earnest in 2005 or so. His wife (my wife's sister) picked up on this via LOOOOOOOONG conversations she had with Mrs O (they have talked dozens of times for 3+ hours on the phone - thank the godz for "Anytime" minutes), and that filtered through to my bro-in-law until around ..... 2010 or 2011 when they visited us in Minnesota for Thanksgiving.

I had my fridge crammed with my stuff (my avatar pic), and I had a Mrs O's Miller Lite for him to enjoy. So imagine my surprise when he asked what I was drinking on Turkey Day whilst we watched football. I had picked up Pilsner Urquell for that day, and he asked to try one. To say I was shocked would be an understatement of mythical proportions. But I grabbed him one, and suggested he pour it in a glass. He did. Took a draw, winced a bit, finished it, said it was "pretty good," had a couple more, then it was dinner. Step One complete.

The next day, I had picked up Surly Abrasive for the IU game (we're both IU grads and HUUUUUUUUUGE fans). He asked to try one. This time, I came as close to demanding he pour it into a glass as I could without actually demanding, and coached him a bit on getting the nose first, then to enjoy it slowly - this isn't a pounder, unless you want a bad case of "Dads Gone Wild!!!" on your hands.

He popped the top. A hop farm exploded into the room. He poured it. He got the nose. He took a nice sized draw.

Hook. Line. Sinker. Today, he texts me pics of what he's drinking or a pic of the beer menu wherever he's at with a polite request for suggestions.

He's one of us now.

Today, I have a couple of beers for your purview my NBS friends. First up, a session IPA from one of my favorite breweries.



3.99/5 rDev +0.5%
look: 4 | smell: 4.25 | taste: 3.75 | feel: 4.25 | overall: 4

The pour is a brilliant straw color, almost clear, with a couple of fingers of fluffy bone-white head.

Aromas are grassy hops and large quantities of citrus - lemon, tangerine, grapefruit. The taste is astringently bitter at times, with grassy hop flavors yielding immediately to the lemon and grapefruit flavors. There is no - zero - discernible malt.

That’s the issue I’ve had with the session IPA’s I’ve had. The malt is diminished, with an abundance of hops (IMHO) replacing it, leaving a beer that’s more bitter than is necessary, again IMHO.

The mouthfeel, though, is excellent with an oily feel I’d expect from a much bigger beer than this flavorful 4.8% ABV beer. This reminds me of a lighter version of Hop Hunter, which is not a bad thing. I just wish this (and other session IPA's) had even a smidge of malt present.

 

Greetings All from the Great Northwest.

I am easily the biggest beer geek in my family. My son (who will be home on Wednesday) raids my DBF occasionally, usually looking for ambers, which are kind of rare around here. He does not show a lot of interest in the old man's home brew. Whatev'. More for me.

Today we have Sam Adams Oatmeal Stout, part of a winter sampler, which I buy for the Old Fezziwig. Those are stashed away for the Christmas holiday.
The stout is not bad.
https://www.beeradvocate.com/beer/profile/35/24343/

One of the better beers in the sampler.

Cool and gray today. Temps in the low 40's. No precipitation, but there is a hint of winter in the air.

Until next time,

Happy Trails!

 

Super late to the party but well prepared with a New I Wasn't Even Looking For An Oktoberfest But Wound Up With A Sixer Of Some In My Shopping Cart Sunday:

So I bought this 6-pack because, well, why not reload the fridge so full you can barely put *FOOD* in it?

But sometimes the madness works out, and boy, does it here. This Marzen is fantastic! Super fruity sweet nose, mainly dried apricots with a load of bread malt, followed by an earthy-hop punch to your face in the flavor ... a dirt-hop bite like almost none I've encountered. It's so bitter at first it borders on medicinal, but just a few sips and a little warming later and it's all smooth driving on a tasty dirt road of earthy/black pepper hops, hints of that fruity apricot sweetness peeking in here and there to help you on the way.

The review:
https://www.beeradvocate.com/beer/profile/76/234/?ba=Premo88#review
4.3 (+8.9% rDev)

Thanksgiving has and likely always will mean two things to me (and my family) having grown up where I grew up: Texas-Texas A&M football and the Dallas Cowboys' game. Sadly one of those no longer exists. And you Eagles-Giants-Redskins fans can fill in your own jokes, but let me start off the comedy set with the obvious: And DOUBLE sadly, this year the other one might as well not.

My Thanksgiving is a semi-normal work week, so there's no turkey with family for me. In fact, I'll be busting my hump at the salt mine Thursday pumping out the final regular-season Game Day — Texas A&M football is the No. 1 thing our sports staff covers. But two quick (and wonderful) things here on turkey day:

1. Because of a quirky promotion thing my newspaper does each year for Black Friday, I have an unusual window of time that allows me to run over to the Continental Club in Austin on Thanksgiving Eve to see Jon Dee Graham's boy, Jon Dee Graham and James McMurtry. I did it last year for the first time and plan on doing it again this week.

2. Yes, @cjgiant, I have one family convert to the good beer: my mom. And next Sunday, weather permitting, we're going to celebrate a little late Thanksgiving at Stanley's Farmhouse Pizza and Jester King.

Now ... I gots some catching up to do.

Cheers, NBSers!

 

Sorry to hear about this diagnosis. I pulled enough tick off of me since I moved here that I am a bit paranoid about tick-borne disease. Suppsedly no Lyme here. Just a disease that makes you allergic to pork & red meat

 

It will be ugly - many stupid mistakes...

 

A Cowboys fan & even I cringed at that fold job...

 

The screen pass (?) to nowhere/intentional grounding sent my wife over the edge.

 

#2, I've been looking forward to this for two weeks ......



4.17/5 rDev +3.2%
look: 4.25 | smell: 4 | taste: 4.25 | feel: 4 | overall: 4.25

Black body, chestnut colors on the edges, sturdy tan head. Nose is rich cocoa, English toffee, maybe a note of vanilla.

Taste has a tart component with stone fruit notes, and then the cocoa flavor and toffee flavor sit mid-palate, giving this a full-bodied flavor that borders on luxurious, which surprised me a bit in a 6% ABV beer.

If Guinness adds this to their regular lineup, I'll always have it in my beer fridge. This is excellent, IMHO.

 

I appreciate the clearance for landing. That beer terrifies me.

BTW, I just gave Little O a bottle of Doom I've been holding for him for couple of months. His reaction after the first drink: "Whoa."

Yep.

 

New Beer #2
Much like @Roguer, I couldn't decide on an appropriate vessel for this brew. Lacking a drinking horn or the skull of my enemies, I choose a thrift store special.

330 mL bottled 5/30/17 poured into a tulip glass at fridge temp 6% ABV. The beer pours dense very dark brown with sticky chocolate tan colored head. The head settles to a ring and thin cap leaving substantial lacing. The aroma is coffee, chocolate and roast malt intermingled. The flavor is rich dark roasted malt with dark cocoa. Mouthfeel is thinner than medium, adequately carbonated and roasty dry in the finish. Overall, very good. This is a quite complex and enjoyable porter. I had skipped over this brewery in the past believing they would be a gimmick (from Iceland), but this is well crafted.

I only answered half of the opening question today. I work a 4 on 4 off schedule at a steel mill that operates 365 days a year. This week I work Wednesday through Saturday. I will be celebrating Thanksgiving with my crew (beerless) and see my wife and kids when they get back from a family Thanksgiving in Bloomington. I've been blessed with steady work for my adult life and my family gets it. Looking forward to Beer Turkey Day and NBS #666. Cheers all!

 

3.61/5 rDev -8.4%
look: 3.75 | smell: 4 | taste: 3.5 | feel: 3.25 | overall: 3.5

A: Beer pours a cola like black color. Head quickly went away and very little lacing while drinking.

S: Smells were a nice subdued mixture of Christmas. Cinnamon and nutmeg stood out. Neither aroma was overpowering and mixed well together.

T: Tastes were similar to the smells. However the subtle smells that I liked turned to a muddled mess while drinking. Nothing stands out.

M: Very thin and watery like. The weak spot, in my opinion, on a very average beer.

O: Just an average beer. I normally enjoy Christmas beers but not this one. The nose stands out over the other areas. I doubt I drink anymore of these this winter.

 

The one I had was better than expected if that helps