New Beer Sunday (Week 668)

Pours pitch black with quickly fading tan head.
The aroma is bourbon forward with some roast, molasses and chocolate. There is also a mild black licorice note that is weaker than the base beer, but still present.
The bourbon is stronger on the flavor than the aroma, but is still very well balanced. The oakiness vanilla and booziness plays really well with the light roast chocolate dark fruit and licorice.
The mouthfeel is somewhat thick with more carbonation than normal in this style.
Overall, it's a very good beer, but not quite on the level I was expecting for a beer this highly rated. It's still definitely worth checking out, but for being one of my main wants it was a little disappointing.
4.25/5

 

Thanks @Prager62 for popping my "Casey Brewing" cherry:



Back of the bottle was stamped "08/21/17."
This was poured into a tulip.
The appearance was a pale glossy orange semi-peach skinned color with a quickly dissolving little white head leaving no lace.
The aroma wrapped together a clever sweet to sour peach flesh to skin character with a semi-strong clean vinous character touching down on some dry sweet oak and embracing a little bit of funk. Light apple cider with grassy notes with a little bit of white wine.
The flavor dryly takes the vinous sour and sweet levels to meet the oaky and funky fruity attitude that had a semi-invasive white wine-like quality. Strong tart peach-like skin. Moderate sticky sour peachy flesh and skin in the aftertaste.
The mouthfeel was about medium bodied with a fair sipping quality about it. Vinous character created some harshness with a slight astringency, but it was acceptable to me. Carbonation felt fine along my tongue. ABV felt as projected by the brewer. Acceptable sticky peachy flesh finish.
Overall, sour saison? Yes, that's what I would go with for this beer and quite good. It's one that I could come back to if given the chance.

https://www.beeradvocate.com/beer/profile/35633/133173/?ba=Lone_Freighter#review

 

Time for a little coffee and beer, as I hit the relaxing portion of my Sunday. Cheers.



Mikkeller's Cù’t Cà Phê Bia

Pours black with finger of khaki head. Head retention fizzes up slowly, and only retains for a brief period of time. No lacing left behind. Aroma is dark roasted, and toasted malts up front. A little coffee bitterness sneaks in among the malts. Dark chocolate and molasses give it a little extra dimension. Flavor profile is dark chocolate, molasses, toast, with bitter, but smooth coffee at the back. Roasted malts give it a bitter taste throughout. Coffee is medium in roast with a little acidity. The 11% ABV is hidden well. Mouth feel is a slightly fizzy velvety feel, with a medium thickness. Overall, kopi luwak coffee is present, but plays second fiddle to the base malts. What coffee is there is bitter and acidic. Otherwise, it's a good basic stout with a dash of coffee.

Score: 4 | 4.25 | 4 | 4 | 4 | BA Score: 4.06 | rDev: -1%

 

Hello NBS drinkers!
Today I have Singlecut Dean a red ale with Pacific Northwest hops (pretty specific huh?) and it weighs in at 6.0%.


4.14/5 rDev +7.5%
look: 4.5 | smell: 4.25 | taste: 4 | feel: 4 | overall: 4.25

Poured to a tulip from a bottle dated 10/31/17.
L- Mahogany nails it, but hold it to a bright light and its like a glowing red Christmas ornament. Full-size, dirty beige head of multi-size bubbles that takes about 3-4 minutes to fade to lace and thin head.
S- Citrus borders on lime, hint of caramel.
T-Hoppier than I expected, but there is that lime again. I have never tasted lime in the citrus note of a beer. Malt backs it up nicely.
F- Medium mouth, any more carbonation would be too much, but as is it is, about right.
O- Single Cut has never disappointed me and this is no exception. Maybe not my favorite in their lineup but a great red ale.

 

Happy New Beer Sunday, everyone! I'm a pretty big fan of hoppy amber ales and Singlecut usually does a good job with hoppy ales so I'm pretty excited to try this.


Dean Mahaogany Ale by Singlecut Beersmiths

Bottled 10/31/17; poured from a 1 pint .9 oz bottle into a pint glass. Pours a chestnut/mahogany color with a fluffy off-white head that slowly settles. Rich, malty aroma with a bit of piney happiness. Flavor is loaded with caramel and toffee malt sweetness with a good dose of piney hops. Finish is just a bit dry. Overall this is a very good hoppy amber ale up there with Nugget Nectar.

 

Hahaha great minds think alike! Not only did we just randomly post the same beer back to back, I had this at a 4.1 on my review score. Creepy!

 

G' afternoon NBS-ers! Thanks to @lordofthewiens for the great start to today's thread.
Having moved from the Lehigh Valley of PA 2 years I have to say I miss the look of the snow, just not dealing with it.
This past week was a pretty tough one for me...
Yesterday was the two year anniversary of my termination from employer of 25+ years. While, for some, this would be a bad day....this one of the best days I could have asked for! After having just moved from PA 5 1/2 months earlier and under a promise to be kept employed and work remotely, and my mother passing away 8 days before, things did look pretty bleak and miserable. Now long story short, I know too late! I am working for a smaller mom and pop business for people that have taken better care of me in 1 1/2 months than I was treated in the last 10 years at my previous job!

So on to my entry for today's NBS:

Thanks to @beertunes for this one!

Poured from a 12 oz. can into a JK Snorkel glass. Canned on 10/18/17.

Appearance: Murky and opaque orange body with a 1/2 fingers worth of head. Leaves lovely connected islands of lacing in the glass.

Aroma: Oranges, melon, papaya a little lemon.

Taste/Mouthfeel: Orange juice with some pineapple. Smooth and subtle with a little bitterness. Really easy drinker.

Overall: A decent IPA, nice flavors and easy to drink!

Cheers!

 

Although I've still got several beers to get through from @WesMantooth and his incredible NBS BIF onslaught, @bl00 viciously attacked my porch yesterday.


Last but not least, these cookies are awesome:


So, where to begin this Sunday? I guess the answer is in the name.
https://www.beeradvocate.com/beer/profile/392/241988/?ba=woemad#review

Wow. I can't believe the balance and drinkability for a 2017 vintage. This is amazing.

 

Deschutes Rum Barrel The Abyss, 14.1% ABV. Pours black, with a one finger tan head. Nose is rum, chocolate, and coffee. Taste follows, with decent rum taste, slight sweetness is overpowered by moderate bitterness. Rum warmth follows. Very good mouthfeel, overall very good. My standard for comparison is Prairie Pirate Noir and Bomb, my favorites. Those two improve with 6-12 months of aging, perhaps this would too so I'll age my second bottle. This doesn't measure up to the Pirates as is though.

 

New beer today is Veils Frozen Ocean 8% DIPA. . Love at first site and smell, you can see the turbulence as your pouring this, the nose is all bitter fruit. It’s definitely bitter, but it’s still fruity and nicely balanced, there’s enough malt to make it pleasant without stepping on the hops. I didn’t look at what hops they use this one is completely a blind glass of beer. If I took a guess and said Citra upfront and a bit of Moasic would I be right? It’s a great beer and even though I don’t stand in line for beer anymore I would for this one. And thanks to Mike for this beer, and Richmond is about as far away as Asheville, but Tuesday releases are impossible.

 

Beer #2 today is a Chimay Red "Premiere"

4.19/5 rDev +1%
look: 4.25 | smell: 4 | taste: 4.25 | feel: 4.25 | overall: 4.25

A: Soda brown with lots of carbonation, 1" white foamy head, and bubbly lacing that fades pretty fast.
S: Dark fruit, malt, and brown sugar.
T: Very nice, rich raisin and nutty flavors mixed with a soft sweetness and slight bitterness at the end.
M: Light to Medium very easy drinking.
O: Very nice beer, quality and brewing skills come thru on this beer.

 

We are going to church tonight for the Christmas concert and to listen to our kids sing. But I have plenty of time to get a couple new beers in first! This is another one of the singles I picked up in Grand Rapids a few weeks ago.

Shorts Brewing
Sticky Icky Icky



From a bottle dated 10/25/17. Pours a deep amber with a thick, soapy head and sticky lacing.

The smell is pineapple, pine, and citrus.

The taste is thin with some burnt pine and tropical flavors.

The mouthfeel has medium carbonation, a dry finish, with some lingering bitterness.

Overall this is easy to drink but lacks any strong flavors.

 

NBS entry #2



Hell Hath No Fury Ale

Bell's Brewery, Inc.
Dubbel / 7.50% ABV

3.52/5 rDev -6.9% | Score: 3.78
look: 4 | smell: 3.75 | taste: 3.25 | feel: 3.75 | overall: 3.5

bottled 09/08/17

L- The beer pours thin and black with a two finger tan head. Lacing is light and retreats to join the beer in the glass.
S-The nose is an odd mix of dark fruit and smoke. Not bad, just weird. In the end the smoke wins out.
T- Unfortunately the differing flavor aspects just kind of meld into a muddled mess. There is underlying dark fruit but it is mostly overwhelmed by the smoke and roasted malt.
F- Mouthfeel overall is medium. Carbonation is light.
O- This beer is certainly an interesting style mashup. Unfortunately I tend to be sensitive to smokey flavors and it just kind of overwhelmed the dark fruit. If you like smokey beers or are at least less sensitive to it you may want to give it a shot.

 

Poured near room temperature in a 16 oz Snulip glass, canned on 10/04/17. Pours a slick near pitch black, with a massive 3 finger mocha head that leaves massive streaks of lace behind, as it slowly settles into a thin layer of bubbles. 5

Smell is vanilla bean, cocoa nibs, leather, coffee grounds, and toffee. 4.25

Taste follows very roasty compared to the smell, dry coffee, dark chocolate, new leather, vanilla, and toffee. 4.5

Mouthfeel is near large, moderate amount of life, slightly dry, and excellent drinkability at 8% ABV. 4.5

Overall 18th Street Brewery Hunter is excellent, roasty, tasty, chewy, and down right deliscious! Thanks @jzeilinger for this really tasty Stout.

 

That is one of the darkest beer heads I have ever seen!

 

Cheers, still finishing it. I talked myself out of the pine notes because I thought I was getting steered by the picture on the bottle. Good red ale!

 

Funky Buddha Butta' Cup Double Brown Ale
American Brown Ale - 8.8% ABV




4.09/5 rDev +2.8%
look: 4 | smell: 4.25 | taste: 4 | feel: 4.25 | overall: 4

22oz bottle poured into a snifter. Pours a dark dark brown almost jet black color with a light tan head. The nose is sweet chocolate and peanuts. The taste follows suit with salted peanuts up front, chocolate, and a lingering sweetness. The alcohol is well hidden. The mouthfeel has a nice smooth velvety texture with moderate carbonation. Overall, Butta' Cup is a really enjoyable peanut butter double brown ale. There is some sweetness, but it is not overpowering and there is a nice saltiness in the flavor that complements the peanut flavors.

 

winter has set in and put the bikes in basement storage for the season. Light dusting of snow and perfect for a hike with the pooch and watching the Lions trying to lose one!
Greenbush Delusion, Imperial Cream Stout aged in Rye Whiskey barrels at 11.7 abv. This is one of the cellar dwellers with three years on it but has held up well, very rich smokey wood, chocolate, some warming alcohol, creamy and medium body. Matt Prater for the win!

 

Dogfish Liquid Truth Serum IPA, seems like they are trying to get in on the hazy IPA game, but are falling a little short. Nose is good but the taste is a little more malty/sweet than you get from other hazy IPAs. Good for a hazy IPA with a very large distribution network.

4.08/5 rDev +1%
look: 4.25 | smell: 4.25 | taste: 4 | feel: 4 | overall: 4

12 oz bottle, dated 10/27/17, poured into a snifter

A- A hazy golden straw color with small white head.

S- Citrus, grapefruit rind, some hints of mango/tropical fruits, a little dank, touch of pale malts.

T- Sweeter than the nose, getting a nice citrus and almost tropical hops profile, but the malts a little sweet and too much of the style.

M- Smooth, medium body.

O- Not bad, but could have used some hops in the boil to help give it some bitterness to balance out the malts.

Go Eagles, cheers!

 

I was down at The Wharf a few days ago, swinging by The Anthem. and saw a bunch of people leaving the Dark Star Orchestra, and immediately thought of you...

Dang hippies..