New Beer Sunday (Week 672)

Moving right along:

Transient/Drafting Table Collab. This is amazing! Fantastic lasting head retention and soapy lacing on the glass. Aromas and flavors of huge apricot, orange, peach, pineapple, passion fruit, papaya, mango, melon, guava, berry, lemon, lime, citrus zest, and slight pepper/pine hops; with balanced white bread doughy malts; and herbal, floral, grassy hop earthiness. Literally zero bitterness at all. Medium carbonation/body; bready/grainy malt creaminess and slight sticky hops. Mildly drying, no cloying sweetness. Insanely drinkable. Absolutely INSANE NEIPA. No haze, but this is a super juicy tropical/stone fruit party in your face. Uses Grungiest hops apparently. WOW. 4.4


Very nice American coffee porter. Great head retention/thick lacing on the glass. Aromas and flavors of nutty dark roasted coffee, milk/dark chocolate, cocoa, caramel, brown sugar, and toasted brown bread; with lighter notes of vanilla, smoke, char, dark fruit, and herbal hops. A bit too fruity/yeasty in the aromas, but not overwhelming. Light-moderate roast/char and herbal/spicy hop bitterness on the finish. Medium carbonation and body; nice bready/grainy creaminess in the mouthfeel; light sticky hops and chalky char/roast. Light-moderate increasing bitter hop/char dryness; no acrid/astringent flavors. Very smooth drinking, no warming 6.8%. Really spot on stuff. Great fruity/nutty coffee flavors, with nicely rich and well rounded porter malt complexity. Was definitely a fan. 3.88


Fantastic sour! Super ruby/purple color; amazing lasting head retention and lacing. Aromas and flavor of big juicy and lightly tart/tangy blackberries, black currants, fruit skin/seeds, lemon, plum, cherry, raspberry, red/green apple, red grape, hay, straw, and grass; with moderate wheat, bready malts; lighter notes of pepper, leathery/musty funk, and red wine vinegar. Light-moderate fruity/lactic tartness, fruit tang, and light yeast spiciness on the finish. Medium-high carbonation and light-medium body; balanced grainy malt, lactic acid, and fruit tang/tannins in the mouthfeel. Light-moderate increasing lactic/tangy/tannic dryness; zero puckering sourness. Super easy drinking. Insanely jammy Blackberry/currant flavors, balanced Brett/Lacto complexity, and solid malt backing to control acidity. They used 10 gallons of fruit concentrate for an 8BBL batch. This brewery has yet to disappoint. 4.28


Cheers, have a good evening NBS!

 

Great review! Looks like it might pair well with this:

 

Ok, next beer, and, well, it's a HUGE letdown from the last one.


Over The Barrel Root Beer.
It tastes like root beer, but VERY bland. Not much to say, and I really wouldn't go after it again.

3.3/5 rDev -8.8%
look: 3.75 | smell: 3.75 | taste: 3 | feel: 3.25 | overall: 3.25

Pours a dark brown color from the bottle. Really no head.
The nose is, well, root beer. That's what it smells like.
Taste - It does taste like root beer, but a week one. Quite bland.
Some carbonation feel, in spite of the lack of head, but a bit watery.
Nothing special. Nothing recommended.

295 characters

 

Four Mile Brewing - Polynomial Pale Ale

Had to thaw this awhile, to get more out of the can . It was *Bob Uecker voice* juuuuuuusssssst a little slushy.

Canned Dec 6th, if I interpret the # correctly.
A peek inside the can :





Most of the year, I keep the beer in an unheated, windowless storage room, just off the (also unheated) hallway/mud room. Usually it's high 30s - low 40s. A tad colder this past week.

Even so, I could smell pine & grapefruit when I cracked it, even before pouring.
In aroma and flavor, it's a fairly balanced mix of fruit & pine. Maybe 55/45?
I don't get any "tones of sweet malty biscuit" as mentioned on the can, even when it warmed.A rotating series, so maybe a failure to edit? Not old enough?
Good nonetheless. Not a "Wow" beer, but good , solid, thoroughly pleasant APA.

look: 4.25 | smell: 4.25 | taste: 4 | feel: 4 | overall: 4

Can is marked "17339" . (12/6/17?)
Hazy orange-gold , with moderate persistent white head and lacing.

Smells of pine, grapefruit, pineapple, and tangerine.

Taste is all hops : Pine, tangerine, sweet pineapple, and finishing with light, dry, grapefruit pith. Description says "balanced", and there is somewhat of an overall impression of that , but I don't taste it specifically. This was slushy when I opened it , so may have to reevaluate as it warms. (If it lasts that long. )

Feel is slightly creamy, with moderate, very fine carbonation. Overall very smooth.

Overall , nothing earth-shattering, but pretty good.

 

Hey All,
Please forgive this little interruption. I erred in my listing of this beauty as the regular version of Lugene. It was actually the Whiskey Barrel Lugene Chocolate Milk Stout.
Originally this was entered into the data base by our very own @Prager62 . Kinda funny, cuz earlier in the thread he reiterated his goal of moving to Colorado, the very mountain provenance of this divine beverage.

 

Cheers and Happy NBS, everyone! My first beer tonight is Omnipollo Nebuchadnezzar.



A double IPA. 8.5%. I've had one of their IPAs, Fatamorgana, and it was fantastic, so let's see how this compares.

It comes in a slightly hazy, but transparent deep golden color. The head is big and creamy, and eggshell white. Retention is pretty solid, staying at original size for several minutes before dying down into a tight film. Ribbons of lacing are left behind.

The aroma is like sweet citrus candy. It has that citrusy sugar smell, like powdered lemonade mix, or gum drops, or sugar-encrusted, candied lemon/orange peels. I've gotten this same smell a lot from El Dorado and Lemondrop hops, and occasionally Citra, too. Yeah, it's lemony--lemonade, lemon candy, even lemongrass. There's also some orange, and notes of peach, crackery malt, and grassiness.

The taste follows the nose pretty closely. Lemonade/lemon candy flavors, like sugary, candied citrus fruits. Some pink grapefruit and orange peel as well. A nice pop of citrusy bitterness as well, and a sticky, sappy, hop oil sensation. Notes of peach and honeydew melon are also there, but they hang out in the background. The malt is crackery, and slighty toasty, but neither too sweet nor too obtrusive. It finishes slightly sweet, but with some balancing bitterness. The lingering hop flavors taste like lemongrass, orange peel, and a touch of pine.

The mouthfeel is medium-plus bodied, moderately carbonated; well-rounded, slick and oily both from hops and residual sugars, as it finishes slightly sweet, but with some citrusy/grassy balancing bitterness. The alcohol is very well-hidden, though.

Overall, this is a solid DIPA. Nothing too crazy--and I prefer my IPAs a bit drier--but for 8.5% it's pretty well done. It's enjoyable. I still prefer Fatamorgana over this--which was a peachy, stone fruit bomb that reminded me of Maine Beer Co.'s Lunch--but this is pretty good.

 

Thanks for writing up the Pot & Kettle...it made my list.

 

Congrats on the trailer, Rod!

 

NBS #3. I give up. I was very excited to try the next brainchild of the genius behind Knee Deep Brewing (aka "The Pliny Killer", believe it or not!), alas, I'm just jaded to this style. Even Galaxy hops couldn't sway me.

Revision
Jewel Box- NEIPA





Jewel Box pours opaque whitewashed light yellow with a frothy and Rocky starch white head. Exceptional retention and lacing.

Mint and mango, mint and mango, mint and mango, notes of broccoli.

The flavors are very vegetal and so muddled together they are hard to distinguish between. Creamy vanilla and even some onion linger around, but there is some notion of a 50/50 bar.

Very soft and creamy, and well balanced too. Although smooth, I find myself avoiding returning for occasional sips.

I was excited to try Revision beers, and will still give some more a go, but I'm finding it harder and harder to enjoy this style.

After my official review, I gave Jewel Box a rating of 3.96 with an rDev of -5.0%.

Cheers everyone, and I will see you all soon.

 

Great kickoff today, @lordofthewiens , and quite the appropriate question given the deep cold and deep snow. I don't enjoy extremes in temperature either way, but they are generally temporary. Snow...well...if I had better means of removal it wouldn't bother me so much. Snowblower couldn't handlec this foot and a half, plus what the plows deposited. We paid one of my wife's students who plows to finish the job. Other than a slightly bruised ego, I am OK with that. I would be bored with no variable seasons, so we probably won't be moving far. I can picture a massive downsizing some day to a house on a lake, probably in a slightly northerly direction.

Tonight's victim shows a date of 2015 on the label.



Picture quite representative of the look. Little ring of brown bubbles over a murky orange brown liquid. Drinking it, there are little bubbles that cling to the sides of the glass in sheets as the beer gracefully cascades down the glass after the sip. Interesting.

Smell...well, not overly hoppy obviousy at this age. But still some pine, a little citrusy. Graham crackers come to mind, brown sugar sweetness, malty. Boozy, but in a good way.

Taste...getting fruit notes I did not yet in the smell. Raisins and dates, but not enough to make it conjure the words dark fruits. Apple, slight vanilla, sloht citrus. Sweet...definitely would not want it any more sweet. Brown sugar, a mint-like note. Slightly spicy phenols. Hefty but short-live bitter hit mid-taste.

Full bodied to the verge of being syrupy. Quite warming as the alcohol washes through, but not burning.

Anything Ballantine brings back memories of my grandfather, but this would certainly not have been his thing. Yes..I know it is brewed by Pabst, but the artwork remains ckassic and familiar. Overall, I like it and think it is a nicely made brew that I would enjoy again. Thinking just short of or right at the 4.0 on this one.

 

Hey, everyone and Happy New Beer Sunday Evening. I’ve got one that I picked up in Philly last weekend when I was there for New Years. It was frigid outside then and it’s frigid now, so talk of Snowbirds has me wistfully wishing for retirement. It’s a long way off, but when the time comes, I hope that I can afford to spend a good chunk of these cold months somewhere warmer. In the meantime, I’ll drink rich, warming beers like this Even More Bible Belt from Evil Twin and Prairie -



Here’s my review. Cheers and have a good week, all!

4.29/5 rDev +0.5%
look: 4.5 | smell: 4.25 | taste: 4.25 | feel: 4.5 | overall: 4.25

Look- looks like motor oil pouring out of the can. 1 finger light brown head that fades to a ring around the edge of a glass. Leaves spotty lacing

Smell- Predominantly coffee with a good amount of milk chocolate and vanilla. A little bit of roasty char and brown sugar in there too.

Taste- follows the nose very closely. The chocolate and vanilla contribute to this being a fairly sweet beer, but not overly or artificially so. The beer finishes with a mild bitterness and some mild heat from the chilies that comes out as the beer warms.

Mouthfeel- very full and creamy. Moderate carbonation

Overall- very good coffee forward stout. I enjoyed it more as it warmed and the chili peppers began to show themselves.

 

One more new one for me tonight, Stone’s Hop Revolver Simcoe-




I like it!

4.33/5 rDev +6.9%
look: 4.5 | smell: 4.5 | taste: 4.25 | feel: 4.25 | overall: 4.25

Look- Crystal clear, golden-orange liquid with 1 finger bone white head

Aroma- strong garlic/onion up front followed by some mango, banana and peach

Taste- the garlic and onion take a back seat here with the tropical fruits being more prominent. There's also a little weedy dankness in there. Finishes with a moderate bitterness

Body- medium bodied, decent carbonation

Overall- very good, but i wish the taste would have followed the nose bit more as I'm a big fan of the garlicky/oniony flavors in IPAs. Still, it's great and I'm glad I have a couple more.

 

Long day for me that included an awesome play ("An Iliad" performed by the Prague Shakespeare Company at Main Street Theater in Houston — I mention it because I'd recommend seeing any part of all that), but now there's beer:



Thomas Hardy's Ale, an English barleywine vintage 2017 sent to me from our conquering (beer-shipping) hero @TongoRad (cheers! fanfare! alarums! )

I could probably start and end with this: MALT.

There's so much barley malt in this little 11.2 oz. bottle that I don't see how the brewery can afford to brew such a beer. Of course, I didn't pay for the bottle either, so maybe Michael's empty wallet can answer for how they can afford to brew this beer. (Thanks, Michael! )

It pours relatively flat, looks copper-brown, smells like almost every lighter-malt thing you can think of (caramel, toffee, peaches, apricots, donuts, biscuits, fruitcake) and tastes like most of those things, too. The beer isn't flat — the mouthfeel always starts off with a nice prickly tickle of carbonation that helps lighten an otherwise hefty brew. And the flavor is similar to the nose but with one noteworthy addition, a growing earthy English-dirt-hop bitterness that almost reaches the bitter level in the aftertaste over the final third of the beer.

I opened this beer thinking, sadly, that I'm not a barleywine fan and whatever trouble Michael went to to get me this beer will not be reciprocated in enjoyment. I'm finishing this beer right now by taking the tiniest little sips you ever saw cause I don't want the journey through Thomas Hardy maltland to end.

The review:
https://www.beeradvocate.com/beer/profile/5062/262497/?ba=Premo88#review
4.2 (2.4% rDev)

The number isn't huge but my 4.2 in barleywine points is about a 4.8+ for the average BA. If that makes sense.

Thanks again, Michael!

Cheers!

 

Picked up a couple new ones at Scofflaw Brewing today, mainly went to grab a bottle of Coco Absentium but picked up a couple other sixers while I was there.

First up is Haole, labeled as an Imperial Blonde Ale, brewed with honey and pineapple.
Poured a dark golden yellow with a finger of dense white head.
Smell is a bit fruity, the pineapple is there for sure.
Getting lots of pilsner malt up front, some pineapple. A bit of sweetness that could be from the honey. Pretty crisp finish.
Light to medium feel with average carbonation, the 8.4% ABV was well hidden.
Overall a good beer but a bit different style for me, think I'll stick to my IPAs and stouts.
Next up was Crawlspace, I think it's a more sessionable version of Basement.

Poured a dark golden orange with two fingers frothy white head.
Smells of citrusy hops, orange, grapefruit.
Taste follows, lots of citrus with a good malty backbone.
Medium bodied with good carbonation.
Overall a good sessionable IPA, full flavored.

 

Wow. Excellent NE IPA, with a bit of rye spice. Smooth and creamy. Excellent beer.

 

Ending my night with a bomber of Frankenmuth Brewery's Belgian IPA. Very good stuff here.

https://www.beeradvocate.com/beer/profile/4861/227902/?ba=neenerzig#review

Eric

 

SNOWBIRDS!!!

@lordofthewiens's open hits home like a Louisville Slugger, and I forget to say a piece on it earlier when I had a new beer. Now I got an old whiskey, so indulge me or pass by, horseman, your choice:

Growing up in El Campo, Texas, I lived close enough to the Gulf to end up in Palacios (mainly) and other places like Galveston or South Padre Island (sometimes) along the coast either to fish or to stare at the water wishing I was fishing, and dad and other family members often had a cache of snowbird jokes/comments to serve as background noise. None of the jokes were funny, most of the comments were friendly enough and no Yankees were harmed by any of it ("Yankee" here meaning anybody born north of the Red River ), but if dad and I went fishing in the winter, I damn sure heard at least one use of the word "snowbird."

As a small kid, "snowbirds" scared me. Northern invaders!!! Coming to steal my favorite fishing spots and all the big speckled trout!!!

Then sometime around age 12 to 15, can't say for sure when, I'd hear "snowbirds" and think ... damn. Live in Colorado/someplace north that's cool and colder than this blast furnace during the summer, then come down here and avoid all that arctic blast and snow during the winter? Sounds kick ass! I should do that!!!

So next snowbird I see, I'm buying 'em a beer. Or whiskey. Or whatever they're drinking, and then I'm toasting their smarts and good fortune to be able to afford using them, because I lived in Idaho Falls, Idaho, for two winters, and F me but I'll take just about anything but *that* again.

... and now I return to my whiskey ...

Cheers!