New Beer Sunday (Week 669)

I'm totally okay with it! Can't wait to stop by your brewery next time I head out to Arizona. Merry Christmas/Happy Holidays!

 

Merry Christmas to me (in the form of forum posts).

 

Howdy NBS! Catching up on the backlog of posts in this thread and finishing up a can of Lawson's Super Session #8 as I start up some laundry and prepare to crack open my first new beer of the day... finished the majority of my shopping for relatives today (snagged a copy of the new OCS album on vinyl for my dad, which I was pumped about), and picked up some new stuff of my own, as is customary. Treat yo'self, and all that...



That there is an expansion pack for the awesome board game Betrayal at House on the Hill as well as a new re-release of Enslaved's classic Viking metal album Eld on red wax w/ black splatter. Awesome! About to throw that on the stereo now!

My new beer for today is a sour from a brewery I have had mixed feelings about in the past, but have also had only a few beers from. Perhaps this will be the one to really win me over? It's called The Cherished, and it's a brown sour ale with Montmorency cherries and Ecuadorian cacao nibs, aged in brandy barrels. Sounds intense. Let's see if they pull it off.



Pours a deep brown color into my stemware glass. Has a slight mahogany color if held up to light, but it's quite unfiltered and mostly seems obscure. The head is huge and quite retentive, settling down to about two fingers of steady foam after five minutes or so. Each small addition of liquid to my glass rebuilds the foamy, intense head, which bears a rocky and uneven complexion on its surface.

The nose here is definitely cultured in the Flemish "oud bruin" way of things. Tart acidic character backed up by notes of sweet caramel, molasses and brown sugar, green apple sourness and some slight dark fruit. Rustic barnyard funk combined with a "musty basement"-like note. A hint of tannins finds itself mixed in with the funky twang. Not really getting much cocoa out of this so far, and the brandy character is itself a bit muted overall, but I suppose I can get it if I concentrate on the fruity and oaky character in the background.

Wow, puckering sourness upfront on the tongue combines with a smooth and surprisingly-full-bodied mouthfeel from the cocoa and deeper malty notes. I don't get much of the 7.7% ABV here, which is impressive. Perhaps some warmth toward the finish, but I think of it more as a barrel presence than straight ethanol, and it doesn't detract from the experience. The Montmorency cherries are the star of the show on the tongue after this starts to acclimate to cellar temp from the fridge. They're rounded in flavor, beautifully-sour and strikingly complex, reminding almost of raspberry or plum in some ways. The malt bill here feels detailed, though, as well, and the notes of caramel combine with the cherry and cocoa in a decadent way that takes some of the acidic flavors down a notch. Pretty good balance here. I was worried when I first smelled it that there would be some acetic/vinegar flavor here, but it seems to avoid that entirely. Earthy and funky toward the finish with more rustic yeast and lemony twang.

The feel is fuller-bodied than expected, though the carbonation is bright and super-effervescent. A good sipping sour, perfectly suited to a night at home in the warmth, avoiding the cold outside while feeling rather self-satisfied with getting stuff done. Cheers NBS!

 

Apologies, I forgot who sent this to me, but I think it was @smanson56 From The Barrel - Rocky Vintage 2016.

It pours an amber light orange with a 2 finger white head. Nice webbed lacing and a thick collar cling to my glass. Aroma is ripe with tequila, flora and apple, with citrus and earthy hops mellowing into some caramel notes. Flavor is more of the barelywine and not as intense with the tequila. Some citrus, bread and caramel malts, hints of spice bring this beer together. Feel is medium and not too heavy, well carbonated, with a slightly dry finish. I enjoyed this unique offering.

 

Happy New Impy IPA Sunday!

Pretty nice day on the Western Slope, 38, sunny, at the trailhead. Already saw some riders on the new trail "Good Vibes", pretty nice connector trail. Might ride it this time, tomorrow or Tues. Having a pretty tasty brew, definitely a different take on the style. Picked up some chicken tacos on the way home. Watching some NFL and Law And Order reruns.

https://www.beeradvocate.com/beer/profile/30450/100215/?ba=Wasatch#review

Cheers!

 

Good afternoon everyone and happy New Braw* Sunday, NBSers. Perhaps the word needs some explanation. The Scottish word "Braw" is apparently a commonly used slang word meaning brilliant, great, or fantastic. Kind of a double meaning for my new beer this Sunday. The beer is of course a Scottish Ale, but it's from the fantastic barrel age program coming out of the beersmiths at Pelican. I'm using this brilliant little thistle (temporarily), which was, in the spirit of giving, gifted to me by the great @JayORear , who I have been fortunate to share with repeatedly. And to answer @cjgiant 's opening questions, simply put... Yes, yes, yes, and yes.

Sorry. No crazy adventure pictures from this week. Getting the house ready for visitors and putting some finishing touches on the decorations. Time for a beer!

Pelican Brewing
Captain of the Coast- Wee Heavy Ale aged in Dry Fly Wheat Whiskey Barrels





From the bottle, Captain of the Coast pours an intoxicatingly beautiful mahogany red. She shines from the thistle, elegant and bubbly. There is no head nor lace to speak of, yet it is still sexy as hell.

Simply divine aromas of syrupy caramel, vanilla, oak, and creme brulee glide together with spices of cinnamon and nutmeg.

Heaven. Dark cherries, plum, charred wood, and warm cinnamon rolls. As I return from my out of body experience, another sip reveals subtle whisky nuances, and damp earth.

The texture is as it should be. Right there in between rich and decadent, and smooth and silky. A mild carbonation allows the flavors and feel to pop without distraction. There is a very slight tingle just before it descends the back of the tongue. It is sweet, but overly sweet. It is boozy but not overly boozy. It is just right.

Until today, Wulver and Backwoods Bastard stole the show for Barrel Aged Scottish Ales for me. Though not new, another Sherrif, or perhaps a Laird, is in town. At $13 for a 22 oz bottle if this exceptional beauty, I would recommend it to any fan of the style. It is simply wonderful.

After my official review, I gave Captain of the Coast a rating of 4.73 with an rDev of +7.0%

Cheers everyone, and I will see you all soon.

 

Trail Beer from 10 Barrel for me on this new beer Sunday. I dig it. Nice and dry with a good bite at the finish like any good pale should have. I'd drink this anytime. Cheers!!!

 

L: Poured a clear reddish orange without any noticeable head.
S: Alcohol..... and rotting taffy apple.
T: Alcohol with an unpleasant rotting fruit finish.
O: The worst beer I've ever had period. If this is the best Lithuania has to offer, then God help them.

 

One more beer, 2SP Raisin Rouge. A tasty brew, but not as good as its brother D’Abricot. Like what 2SP is doing with trying to not just follow trends with barrel aging.
3.96/5 rDev +2.3%
look: 4.25 | smell: 3.75 | taste: 4 | feel: 4 | overall: 4

750 ml bottle poured into a tulip

A- Clear lighter red with a two finger pink head.

S- Grape skins/grape must, some peppercorn, a little funky, touch of oak.

T- Mildly tart, grape must, some grape skins, a little funky, peppercorns, some oak.

M- Smooth, light to medium body.

O- A tasty saison, grape must is a nice touch with some tannis and grape skins.

Cheers NBS!

 

Sorry folks, no pictures today but I've at least got a new beer to share, so that's something.

Legend Witch of Oak Hill Road

3.73/5 rDev -2.6%
look: 4 | smell: 3.5 | taste: 3.75 | feel: 4 | overall: 3.75

Great looking beer, pours clear golden with a truly delightful foamy head that leaves an equally picturesque curtain of lacing. Nose is pretty faint. Maybe a slight hint of corn, maybe a smidgen of caramel? Really no nose of note. Taste starts out sacharin sweet malty, followed by bitterness derived from the alcohol content, I would assume. Finally, a little fresh tobacco taste as well. Finishes a bit dry with a bit of the sweetness left behind. Body is pretty full but still thin enough to go down pretty darn quickly. It's a decent beer, just hard to classify it maybe. Sorta like a malt liquor?

 

DFH Liqiud Truth Serum IPA. 4.07 overall, tasty

Pours an effervescent gold with 3 fingers of ivory head. Nice head retention & lacing
S: Citrus, mangoes,
T_ Tangerine a little grapefruit, mango & a little bready dryness up front. A little pomello, sweet orange, & dryness as this warms, along with a little dryness. Finishes with a little grassyness, dryness, pomelo & orange
MF_ Medium body, lively carbonation, nice balance
So easy to drink, another awesome IPA from DFH

I will not be gifting any beer to anyone this year other than me & the Mrs...

 

New Beer Sunday: A New American Imperial Stout

Evenin’ NBSers, with an alert to searchers for strong flavorful American Stouts.

The weather here today was relatively pleasant with high near 40 and at partly sunny for a few periods throughout most of the day. As I mentioned earlier today most of our afternoon/early evening was spent socializing at an open house where we had a chance to get caught up with some folks we’d not seen in a year (or more). One of the things that’s better than almost any new beer is seeing good friends you've not seen for a while.

This evening’s new beer is Heavy Boots of Lead from the Singlecut Beersmiths in New York City. This is both a new beer and a new brewery for me.

As usual, my review, subject to revision until the beer is finished, can be found here:

https://www.beeradvocate.com/beer/profile/30452/176075/?ba=drtth#review

The aromas and flavors of this American Imperial Stout are dominated by the dark chocolate and dark roasted malt which seem to take turns in the foreground, but the profile also includes some coffee, a bit of vanilla and just a touch of sweetness that helps to soften the bitterness from the dark roasted malt. While there’s lots of dark roast malt present, for me it doesn’t reach that level of charred bitterness that some Stouts have. On the whole a well made Imperial Stout worth giving a try if you come across a bottle.

This evening’s American Musical is not one I remember every hearing of before I began this quest of listening to lots of original cast recordings. The musical is called “Anyone Can Whistle” and the original cast included Lee Remick.

Anyone Can Whistle

Cheers, all!

 

I do not think I have ever posted to this thread but I have had two new beers today that I posted on WBAYDN.

The first was a stout brewed by Burial and sent courtesy of @Dragginballs76 . The second was an IPA brewed by Scofflaw and sent courtesy of @DrivinNCryin .

 

Good evening NBS, hope everyone is enjoying the end of the weekend once again. Thanks to @cjgiant for getting us started off this morning. Another usual weekend for me. Hope everyone is getting ready for the holidays next week. I have a busy week of work ahead of me. A lot of deadlines to meet by Friday. A lot of people are on vacation this week since we get next week off work, so hopefully my inbox will be pretty quiet. Finished up the laundry for the week, and got a nice new beer haul with my bottle returns this morning. Review 6100 was yesterday morning.

New Beer:

Very good American blonde. Great head retention/lacing on the glass. Aromas and flavors of lemon, orange peel, cracker, white bread dough, and lightly toasted biscuit; with some herbal, grassy, peppery hops; and a touch of pear/apple yeast fruits. Light-moderate peppery, citrus peel, herbal, grassy bitterness on the finish. Medium carbonation/body, and moderately crisp/clean finishing. Balanced bready/grainy malts and sticky hops in the mouthfeel. Light-moderate increasing bitter dryness, no hop astringency. Very flavorful and refreshing, 4.8%. Really spot on stuff for the style. Clean bready malts, nice earthy hop balance, and restrained fruity yeast character. Really enjoyable, met my expectations. 3.78


Delicious fruit IPA. Flavors of big juicy peaches, apricot, tangerine, grapefruit, pineapple, passion fruit, papaya, mango, melon, guava, berry, lemon zest, orange peel, and light pepper/pine hops; with moderate cracker, white bread dough, light honeyed malts; and herbal, floral. grassy hop earthiness. Similar/muted aromas. Very mild pine, citrus peel, grassy, spicy bitterness; and peach tang/tartness on the finish. Medium carbonation/body; nice creamy/bready malt/lactose mouthfeel; with some light hop stickiness. Lightly increasing bitter dryness, no hop astringency. Insanely drinkable for 7%, drinks like a NEIPA as I hoped. Refreshing. Super juicy and lightly dank hops/fruit; with a balanced bready malt backbone. Outstanding soft malt/lactose mouthfeel, with mild bitterness and tangy fruit. Other than the weak aromas, no complaints. Impulse 4 pack grab was worth it. 3.93


Wild Grisette. Excellent stuff. Flavors of big lightly tart lemon, lime, peach, pear, pineapple, melon, red/green apple, white grape, white wine, peppercorn, clove, hay, straw, herbal, floral, and grassy hops; with some cracker, white bready malts; with light notes of leathery/musty funk and white wine vinegar. Similar/muted aromas. Moderate peppery yeast spiciness, herbal/grassy bitterness, and light-moderate lactic tang/tartness on the finish. Medium-high carbonation, light-medium body, and moderately crisp finishing. Balanced grainy malts, lactic acid, and hop stickiness in the mouthfeel. Moderately increasing tart/bitter/spicy/carbonated dryness; no pucker or hop astringency. Very flavorful and refreshing, 4.5%. They fermented a Pilsner and then bugged it up in stainless. Pretty unique, but still tastes like a wild saison all the way through. Awesome well rounded Brett complexities with mild Lacto; nice earthy hop balance and solid pils malt backbone. Love it. 4.03


WOW! Decent head retention, minimal lacing as expected. Flavors of huge caramel, toffee, raisin, plum, fig, date, apricot, cherry, red apple, brown sugar, molasses, vanilla, whiskey, toasted oak, brown bread, coconut, and almonds; with light notes of chocolate, cocoa, butterscotch, leather, tobacco, and smoke. Similar aromas, bit of increasing booze. Light balancing whiskey/oak tannin spiciness against sweetness on the finish. Light-medium carbonation and very full bodied; with an amazing creamy, silky, velvety, and rich mouthfeel. Lightly slick, syrupy, and tannins. Very slight oak tannin dryness. No cloying sweetness. Increasing warmth of 14.5%, very mild booze. Absolutely wonderful stuff! Perfectly balanced between rich malts, wheat whiskey barrels, and fruity English yeast. Amazing and spot on BBA Old Ale. The 2 year age and barrel treatment gives a truly amazing mouthfeel. One of the smoothest 14% beers I've ever had. I love the base beer after the same amount of time, but this is a completely different experience altogether. 4.35


Cheers, have a good evening NBS!

 

Didn't explore the topic on the first review today, but I don't plan on giving any beer for the holidays. I did, however, mention a local (Tulsa) guy making bottle openers to my girlfriend a few months back. She suprised me with one custom to me, an Oklahoma State alum, about a month ago. Eventually I would have bought one online or from American Solera; they sell one with their logo. However, the custom job she did puts mine over the top.



On to NBS #2



4.54/5 rDev -0.7%
look: 4.75 | smell: 4.5 | taste: 4.5 | feel: 4.75 | overall: 4.5

A: Beer pours a hazy off yellowish body with a creamy white head. The beer maintains a nice amount of head and lacing during the glass.

S: Tropical juicy aromas coming from the glass. Getting a large amount of grapefruit and oranges. Also can smell some pineapple flavors too.

T: The tastes mirror the smells. Predominant flavors are of a sweet orange and and some pineapples.

M: Very soft mouthfeel. Beer feels thicker than most comparable IPAs. The amount of carbonation adds a nice tingle while swallowing the beer.

O: Very nice example of a NEIPA. Very nice and thick mouthfeel. Lots of lacing while drinking this beer. The flavors are pretty typical of similar beers.

 

Ventured out to see the new Star Wars flick earlier. Really solid, and kind of special to be seeing it 40 years after the first one.

After dinner, and time for another new beer thanks to @larryi86.

Very nice sour with just the right complexity. Hitting the spot right now!



Poured from 750 ml bottle dated 2/23/2017

A: Golden yellow tending towards orange with one finger white head that settles fairly quickly to a thin cap. Light lacing.

S: Lemon, lime, green apples, pears, white grapes, and a little earthy funk. There is almost a white wine quality to the aroma.

T: Tart lemon and lime. Subtle sweetness with apple, grapes, and pear. Hints of oak and wet hay.

M: Medium body with light carbonation. Finish is a little tart and dry.

O: Excellent beer and thanks to @larryi86 for the chance to try it!

 

Thanks. I did not fully comprehend the intent of the thread. It makes sense that it serve as a good piece of information for folks looking to try something new.

I am partial to stouts with the correct balance of coffee and/or bourbon. The Griddle Expresso Stout met those interest. In my review, I gave the beer high marks for its look, smell, and taste. I would highly recommend this beer especially for folks who enjoy a coffee flavor that does not over power.

I gave high marks to the Scofflaw IPA because the smell and taste were awesome and the ABV reasonable. I would recommend this IPA.

 

Louie Louie!



Louie from Beaver Island Brewing. This is the second of their Oaklore series, and was released yesterday, 100 bottles made.

My friend who was with me at the release had his bottle, and said it was very good.

I agree.

Nice flavor. Decent body. Maybe a step down from their Magnolia, but still amazing.

https://www.beeradvocate.com/beer/profile/38769/317280/

This will be my last new beer of the day, and my fishing trip. Should see you all on Christmas eve for the next New Beer Sunday!!!