New Beer Sunday (Week 672)

look: 4.5 | smell: 3 | taste: 3 | feel: 3 | overall: 3.5

750 ml bottle from 2016, bottle 1885 of 4250.
L: Pours an almost black with a big frothy khaki head with excellent lacing.
S: Barely noticeable barrel, licorice and tart cherries.
T: Cherries.
F: Too thin for the style, overcarbonated.
O: I didn't think much of this last year and as a BA stout I thought it would improve with a year on it. I love the base beer for this, it's similar to Ol' Raspy', but something went wrong here, reminds me of BCBS from 2015. Disappointing.

 

Good morning NBS and thanks to @lordofthewiens for the start this week, I am a native New Englander, my work often has us outdoors in all seasons, Traveled south in winter only twice for a week each time over 37 work years. That said I can appreciate the allure, but as of now not for me (yet). Today's offering is from Portsmouth Brewing , 2017 version of the Royal Impy Stout. I was the high bidder at a silent auction to benefit the Literacy Project in Northampton. This was one of the Smuttynose/Portsmouth offerings in the basket.
A really well constructed and executed offering with a full body, excellent head retention and fabulous flavor.Stay warm out there and
Cheers

Portsmouth Royal Impy Stout

Portsmouth Brewery
Russian Imperial Stout / 9.80% ABV

4.16/5 rDev -3.9% | Score: 4.33
look: 4 | smell: 4.25 | taste: 4.25 | feel: 4 | overall: 4

Poured from a 375ml bottle dated 2017 into the test glass
A - Black saddle leather in color, hides the steady stream of tiny spheres that collect at the surface to form a mocha cream colored cap.
S - Dark fruits are up front, then equally strong is the bakers chocolate and dark roast malts, woven in the mix is a thread of blackberry jam, finally the slightest hint of mint ,and tawny port.
T - A bit of coffee, Madagascar 80% cocoa, some wonderful lightly smoked malt, cigar wrap, a kiss of molasses, and dark brown sugar.
M - Exceptional, soft and creamy while hiding the 9+% very well, the fell is rich, with carbonation ushering in the semi dry close, Lingering on the palate is cocoa powder and the slightest dark berries.
O - A wonderful offering, excellent body, head retention, feel and aromatics, I am thrilled to have had this experince

 

Thank you for this review! I was just about to go out and buy a 12 of this since it’s cheap here ($19.99...for PA that’s quite good), but I hate overly sweet, syrupy ipas, so I might just seek out a single instead.

Have you had their new Hop Bullet? That’s the other one I’ve been eyeing.

 

That has been my experince with 90% of the Fantome I have opened as well
Cheers

 

Poured a little cooler than room temperature, canned on 12/17/17. Leaves a beautiful dark brown with a very attractive 2 plus finger sticky brown head that leaves plenty of thin lace around the sides of the glass. 4.25

Smell is dry roasted coffee, vanilla bean, toffee, dark chocolate, and some caramel.4.25

Taste follows very one dimensional but that isn't a terrible thing, because this is a coffee Stout and vanilla, dry roasty coffee, cocoa nibs, and toffee are what I get from it and I am digging it! 4.5

Mouthfeel is a little bigger than medium, gentle carbonation, a tad dry as I expect from a coffee Stout, and drinks very easy at 8% ABV.4.25

Overall this and DIPA's are flooding the market and I love them both so I am not complaining. This is a very tasty coffee Stout and I really can't complain about anything, just roasty and tasty. Well done. 4.25

 

What up, NBS?

Ice cold and sunny and beautiful here on LI - snow all piled up all over the place, creating driving hazards and limited parking for over 8 million islanders... I love winter - and chaos, obviously...

Popped the tab on a Sand City/Other Half collab this morning...

Infinity + Everything 8.5% IIPA, from their 12/23 can release...

Double dry hopped, featuring Galaxy, Mosaic, and Motueka hops...

Across the palate presents lots of citrus impressions, including orange and grapefruit, maybe something like kiwi or lime, all underscored with a soft, musty pine of grape skins and green vines... Soft and juicy, smooth and tangy; moderately bitter, moderately sweet, but with a wine-like drying on the finish that leaves a tight bitter grip behind...

Other Half and Sand City are two local breweries with no distribution whatsoever - you either attend the brewery releases yourself or connect through people who did... I'm proud to say (as a Long Islander) these local breweries in particular are routinely producing top-tier beers - particularly of the D/IPA style - and this beer is an exemplar of that - just another superior brew...

That's all I got today, NBS... Moving onto WBAYDN for the rest of the day... Looking forward to some more NFL Wild Card action - those upsets yesterday were awesome (though not if you had money on 'em, I guess, lol)... Wouldn't mind seeing more of the same today, y'know, just to stir the pot...

Stay frisky, NBS, cheers...

 

Pic out of the way, G'day NBS BAs!

Another decent, weather wise, day in Casper. Most of the recent snow has melted away but more importantly, so has that blasted ice!

I'm still sipping on the nectar pictured above; no need to be in a hasty mood for something thatdelicious and that potent, eh?

My review:

https://www.beeradvocate.com/beer/profile/20680/140119/?ba=Bitterbill#review

Prost!

Edit: I forgot to give kudos to @JohnGalt1 for the bottle. Thanks Toby!

 

After reading your review (and I do not distrust your integrity, but do distrust my lack of detail), was there a known or possible difference in age between your competitors?

Full disclosure from my throwdown (apparently a theme today, three (3) on page one (1)), the 3Beans was dated early November (assuming 3 year BB dating); the VaS had no date - even unreadable BP dates - but that isn't uncommon for one-time seasonal batches. Maybe someone knows the bottling time of BP's High West Victory at Sea?

And lastly, the GF liked BP better - said it was "sweeter" as a main reason. Funny how an IPA hop-head chose that as a qualifier to the positive .

 

Good morning BAs today I am at Seminar Brewing having Muganut it is their 9% imperial stout brewed with coconut.

Pours black with big mocha colored headed that dissipated to a thin film not much lacing. 3.75

Aroma is lots of sweet chcolate and coconut 4.5

Taste follows just lots of coconut and chcolate great balance of sweet and slightly bitter alcohol is well hidden 4.5

 

Interesting. I wish SN would throw both of these into an ipa mix pack (like the one I’m currently drinking through from 21st Amendment). Sounds like neither of these are worth a 12-pack pick-up, but would be worth having 2 or 3 of each in the fridge.

 

Wow that's cool they used Widow Jane barrels to rest that Sixpoint beer. Not sure you or anyone knows the story of Widow Jane's but it is an interesting read. I won't recount it but it's worth looking up, and visiting their website you get a view of some caves that are in a town near to me, and from which they get the water to make their bourbon. I have never gone extensively into them, but the cave system runs for miles. And no, those huge caves aren't the source of my nickname. I'm a crawl cave guy, or was back when I was younger and more flexible. One of the caves in the "Widow Jane" system opens up in a big cavern near to Rt. 213 and it was such a great thing years ago on hot summer days to stand by the opening so cold cave air could wash over us and cool down the hottest day.

 

Southern tier choklat dessert beer. Pours almost solid black,medium carbonation. Thick creamy feel, dense, very nice body to this beer. Aroma is bakers bitter chocolate,molasses,raisins, and a bread/yeast smell. Taste is identical, high abv 10%, is somewhat well hidden and doesn't dominate the flavor. The bitter chocolate definitely comes through but isn't masked with it being overly sweet. Dessert beers are usually hit or miss for most people but I really enjoyed this one

 

New beer #2. One of 5 different beers included in the 21st Amendment ipa variety pack, but the only one that’s new to me.

Blah Blah Blah - 21st Amendment
IIPA - 8% abv - 65 IBU
Canned 12/6/17 (32 days ago)
Score: 3.67 (-8% rDev)



L - 1-finger head atop a burnt orange body.

S - caramel malt, citrus.

T - starts out candy-sweet. Some citrus. Bready middle. Bitter finish with a noticeable alcohol burn.

F - medium body and carb.

O - was hoping to like this more than I did. The heavy, overbearing sweetness wallops any hop flavors that were there. Hop Crisis remains 21st’s best ipa.

 

Good Morning NBS

The review:
12oz canned 11/29/17 poured into a Spiegelau IPA glass at fridge temp 7.5% ABV. The beer pours bright copper amber in color with sticky light khaki head. Retention and lacing are above average. The aroma is muted citrus and pineapple with a side of dank. The taste is juicy and fruity at first, morphing into a hybrid pineapple, super herbal bitter finish. Mouthfeel is medium to thin bodied, adequately carbonated and dry. Overall, very good and unique. I believe this is my first time with Denali hops and, if this beer is any indication, they are quite distinctive. These League of Heroes mix 12 packs might be the best quality for the dollar in the Midwest.

Good opening @lordofthewiens, my paternal grandmother would disappear to Arizona for five months or so each winter when I was young. I don't see the appeal. I can always put on enough clothes to stay comfortable in cold, but to be comfortable in the heat, I may have to take off so many that other people are uncomfortable.
Cheers all, I'll be back. Enjoy the new beer in your glass!

 

Just moved down here to Florida a little over 2 year ago and you can always tell when the snowbirds have migrated south for the winter! Sounds like your in-laws live in The Villages where me uncle lives! We live 20-25 minutes from WDW, so next time you're down here maybe we could meet up for a beer!?
Be back later with a new beer....Cheers!

 

NBS entry #1 from just below the new artic circle. Still well below zero here is central VT, but the Sun is making a rare seasonal appearance so all is well.



Six Fingers Sam Saison Ale

Two Rivers Brewing Company
Saison / Farmhouse Ale / 6.00% ABV

4.26/5 rDev +8.7% | Score: 3.92
look: 3.75 | smell: 4 | taste: 4.5 | feel: 4.25 | overall: 4.25

L- The beer pours a hazy gold with a 1 1/2 finger fizzy white head. The head recedes as fast as it forms virtually disappearing before I can snap a picture. No lacing is present.
S- Upon first popping the cap I get a strong tartness followed by the Brett funk. The tartness eventually overwhelms the funk on the finish.
T- What I get here is kind of the reverse of the nose. Funky up front followed up with light tartness in the middle. In the end I get a nice melding of the two.
F- Despite the fizzy carbonation on the pour, the carb is fairly light overall and the mouthfeel is light.
O- This is a fantastic example of an American made saison. It's easy to see why it won a GABF gold medal. It's chardonnay barrel aged, but as a non wine drinker I'm not qualified to judge that aspect. I would highly recommend this beer to saison fans for its near perfect balance between tartness and funk. Its flavorful and easy to drink.

 

Same up here each summer when the Floridiots, as we affectionately call them, show up here.

 

Happy NBS! 20° never felt so warm as it has not been this temp since December 24 in S WI!

Today I found a Black Butte XXIX in my cellar. This beer pours obsidian with a very nice, dense light tan, 2.5 finger head. The cap fades slowly into a collar and beautiful webbed lacing clings to my glass. Very nice aroma of cocoa, cinnamon, roasted malt and dark chocolate. A bit of vanilla, rum and spice. Flavor is up front with the cinnamon and pepper (not spicy) adding depth to all the cocoa and chocolate notes. Finishes with the rum and vanilla. A very smooth, sublime, medium mouth feel with soft carbonation. This was really well done and the flavors continue to morph as I drink it.