New Beer Sunday (Week 670)

Merry Christmas to those that celebrate, & hope for an enjoyable day for everybody.

Christmas activities? The last few years, we've had our whole-family get-togethers the week before, to avoid the stress & hassle of everybody trying to get everywhere. Two of my siblings live some distance away, in different directions, near the in-laws.

Then those here go to my local-ish brother's house for Christmas dinner with his family & in-laws. Might, or might not happen this year. Supposed to be snowing, 45mph+ winds & possibly some sleet & freezing rain mixed in , so......? It's 18 mi from here , with some bridges ,curves & steep slopes in between. + Mom went with my sister & hubby, back to Massena,NY . If any of you have ever been on I-81 in the lake-effect zone* in... well... in not-July , you know what I mean . Some white-knuckle driving is almost guaranteed, somewhere. Best option is probably to stay there.

Tonight's NBS beer was on the schedule for a couple of weeks ago, but other things intervened. It definitely wins the prize for truth-in-labeling (see review below). Probably best as a with-dessert beer (such as the sweet potato pie that I put off 'til ....tomorrow?) , or with spicy food. Added some creme brulee coffee to the latter half . I like it that way. Not better, just different. Maybe add this to coffee , a little bit at a time? *Tasting in my head* Yeah, that would be good.


3.84/5 rDev -3.8%
look: 3.75 | smell: 4 | taste: 3.75 | feel: 4 | overall: 3.75

Slightly hazy , reddish chestnut-brown, with slight, but persistent, off-white head and lacing.

Shockingly, it smells like a cinnamon roll : cinnamon, sugar, & a hint of baked pastry .

Tastes like a brown ale + cinnamon liqueur + slightly burnt cinnamon & sugar . Semi-sweet , but finishes with light bitterness.

Light oily feel, with moderate, very fine carbonation tingle.

Overall, it's OK, nothing unpleasant, but wouldn't want it in quantity. Had this as a stand-alone, but would probably be better with food : either spicy foods, or rich desserts.

*Marathon-ish to Watertown-ish

 

Bell's Special Double Cream Stout

Bell's Brewery, Inc.
American Stout / 6.10% ABV

3.98/5 rDev +0.5% | Score: 3.96
look: 4 | smell: 4 | taste: 4 | feel: 3.75 | overall: 4

bottled 08/08/17

L- The beer pours a very dark brown, not quite black. A tan 3 finger head forms which eventually recedes to a thin ring. Lacing is sparse.
S- The nose is mostly chocolate with a touch of roast that balances.
T- Chocolate dominates with hints of the roast. Remains constant throughout.
F- Mouthfeel is a solid medium in thickness and smooth. Carbonation is little more prickly than I would like, but not too much for the style.
O- This is a good starter stout for those who may not like too much roast in their beer. I'll happily drink the rest of the sixpack.

 

Merry Christmas BAer's! Spent this afternoon at a new brewery in Tulsa (Heirloom Rustic Ales) drinking with my girlfriend. My dogs sat with me while we watched the Simpsons and reviewed the first beer of the evening.





3.89/5 rDev -8%
look: 4.25 | smell: 4 | taste: 3.75 | feel: 3.75 | overall: 4

A: Beer pours a murky reddish brown body. Head was an off white color and three fingers deep after a hard first pour. Head quickly settles leaving behind lacing and a slight ring of head.

S: Beer smells strongly of fruits. Plums and raisins seem to be the strongest of the sents. Also can smell some bready yeast and malts.

T: Large amounts of dark fruit flavors. Picking out raisins and grapes along with some pruins. Spices are also evident in the beer.

M: A bit thin and watery tasting. The fruit tastes linger about nicely and the carbonation is good but overall mouthfeel is lacking.

O: The beer has a nice mix of fruity and spicy flavors. The overall feel of the beer is a bit watered down however. Not my typical style but a decent beer overall.

 

This can has been in my fridge for a couple weeks since we received it.



Can with no date.
Moderate pour yields a 3/4 inch white head over a hazy body with some sticky lacing. Nose of some tropical fruit, slight citrus, and a definite bready yeast characteristic apparent. Taste follows nose with that slight yeasty bread rearing its not too pretty head. Surprisingly bitter finish. Okay to good feel and overall, a bit of a disappointment

3.67/5 rDev -7.3%
look: 4 | smell: 3.75 | taste: 3.5 | feel: 3.75 | overall: 3.75

 

3.98/5 rDev -6.8%
look: 4.25 | smell: 4.25 | taste: 3.75 | feel: 4 | overall: 4

A: Beer pours a black body with some slight brown undertones. The beer's head is a khacki color that goes away quickly leaving minimal lacing and a small ring of head.

S: The dominant smell is of bourbon and oak. Can also pick up some slight chocolate sweetness.

T: The bourbon comes in hot and overpowering. Not much variety in the flavors just bourbon.

M: Thinner than I prefer. The bourbon kick is clear on the feel and in the mouth.

O: This beer could use some time sitting. The bourbon overpowers all the other tastes and smells. I imagine this beer will get better as the bourbon smoothes out.

 

V. Fudge from Bearded Iris.
A- dark black, thick
S- bakers chocolate, roast
T- dark chocolate, cream, vanilla
F- full, creamy, silky
O- a great first try from BI

 

Abbey Quad Blackberry Farms
A- dark brownish purple
S- fruits, different kinds, blackberry for sure but I can’t name them all
T- sweet fruits with a slight dry tart finish
F- light, crisp
O- very good, very blackberry farms.

 

Happy New Beer Sunday and Merry Christmas Eve! Thanks also to @lordofthewiens for the great intro and history lesson. My new beer today is BBA Santa’s Little Helper by Port Brewing. This was given to me by a friend, so I’m not sure how old it is, but I think the smudged ink on the bottle neck reads “Vintage 2014.” This was a nice beer, and I’m glad I was able to have it tonight-



Here are my notes...



but if you can’t read my chicken scratch, the BA review is here-

https://www.beeradvocate.com/beer/profile/13839/51420/?ba=bret717#review

Cheers all!

 

Hello New Beer Sunday!!!

And a quite late appearance for me here. I just got back home from the time with the family, and a stop visiting some friends (and a few beers). It was interesting to watch my outside temp gauge go from 10 above leaving St. Paul, to -1 coming into St. Cloud.

Not a fan of winter, to be sure.

Now on to the beer, and it's something I picked up at a stop at Casanova Liquors in between the family and friends.


New Glarus Spotted Cow Grand Cru.
Very interesting beer, and an interesting take on their standard Spotted Cow.

3.77/5 rDev -5%
look: 4 | smell: 3.75 | taste: 3.75 | feel: 3.75 | overall: 3.75

This beer pours a murky golden color. The head is 1 finger, white, frothy, and retention was moderate. No lacing to speak of.
The nose has got a tart aroma to it. Tart berries.
Taste - has a lot going on. Some tartness, on the backside. A bit of sweetness up front.
Feel is fairly in the middle. Some carbonation feel going down.
An interesting take on their standard Spotted Cow. Interesting experiment. I think it works.

426 characters

Since it's almost midnight here, this will be it for this NBS, but I will see you again next Sunday for the next New Beer Sunday!!!

 

Haven't seen that here but have been looking. Thanks for the review as I may pass now if it does show up.

 

It's Christmas Eve. All the painstaking preparations are complete. The cookies and carrots are ready for Santa and his entourage which are paired perfectly with some.. beer? Yes. Santa doesn't want any of that damn milk. He needs something special to get through this crazy night. We're ready for him to squeeze his fat ass down the chimney, and kick his feet up and warm to this delicious brew.

Laurelwood
Santa's Woody- Bourbon Barrel Aged Barleywine.





Santa's Woody is not what you'd expect at all. No sign of skin tone in this beautiful and clean mahogany ale. A thin tan ring of foam disappears into nothing, yet it's right and beautiful.

Brown sugar and fig lay the foundation to mild notes of oak, bourbon, and caramel. Somehow, I am reminded of an apple fritter with it's hints of tart fruit and spices.

The flavor transcends those aromas. Fig and sweet molasses give the impression of sticky figgy pudding. Caramel, cinnamon, and oak finish it off with a surprising lack of bourbon at all.

Smooth, silky, rich, boozy, full. It's a sipper. It clings to the mouth and tongue sip after sip. It's impressively sweet, but welcomed.

I'd have to say that Santa's Woody is no where near the best barleywine I've had, bit it's still quite pleasant. Delicious in fact. I will definitely revisit this happily year after year, and I'd suggest you'd do the same given the opportunity. Cheers, and Merry Christmas!

After my official review, I gave Santa's Woody my 1100th rating of 4.04 with an rDev of -1.0%.

 

Almost let NBS slip by me this week, having several days off work I tend to lose track of what day it is.
Figured I could enjoy a new one while making sure Santa left the right batteries and charged the ones that need charging. My kids are with their mom this year so Santa is being lazy tonight but should be in full swing before lunch tomorrow.

Poured a bit more vigorously than I normally do but I'm glad I did, it produced a beautiful black with a solid three fingers of tan foam. I personally enjoy a nicely carbed stout so when I saw that head I got a little excited.
Smells wonderful too, initially I got the dried dark fruits, followed by chocolate and barrel.
The taste is more bourbon and chocolate forward, roasted malt, coffee, the fruits are there but not as heavy as I thought they would be from the nose.
Medium to full bodied, very smooth feeling, good card level with a little bit of alcohol heat on the tongue.
Overall a very well balanced straight forward BA stout.

 

So today may have been the greatest party we have ever held. Busy but at the end of the day when you see how many people had fun and made incredible memories, so worth it.

Pours a very attractive rust with a 2 plus finger stick off white head that leaves plenty of thin layers of lace as it it slowly settles. 4

Smell is toffee, nutmeg, brown sugar, caramel, and hints of vanilla. 3.75

Taste follows toffee, caramel, just a hint of nutmeg, brown sugar, and a little vanilla. 3.75

Mouthfeel is a solid medium maybe bigger, plenty of life, not really dry, and at 6% ABV drinks like it should, fairly big and enough flavor. 3.75

You know I wanted more, a lazy effort from SN, they should have kicked it into high gear and made a real treat of a Winter Ale / Winter Warmer. This one is for the masses, not us beer geeks and won't turn a not geek into one, that being said not terrible, just very safe and forgettable for me. 3.5

 

I thInk Zonker Is the beer most low ABV stouts want to be. Truly one of my all-time favorites.

I hear ya! A six pack is always in my suitcase on the way back from family visits in Wyo.