New Beer Sunday (Week 673)

Seems to be sold out by me. Much like you two was my limit.

 

Mornin' NBSers,

Just checking things while finishing my 2nd cup of coffee. Looks like we'll be seing several interesting beers and some interesting foods today.

The notion of resolutions discussed by @cjgiant in his excellent start to the day reminded me of something I read in a required philsophy course back in college and of why I seldom or never make resolutions. It's called the "emotive conjugation" and goes something like this:

"I'm resolute, You are obstinate, He is pig-headed."

But, now the coffee is almost done so it's time to head out to the gym for a bit of exercise.

Expecting to be back this evening with my thoughts about a new beer from Ommegang.

Cheers, all!

 

They put the last one in the shelf at Legacy yesterday. I would have bought it, but I already bought six at $25 each. Plus, I know some bottle shops are holding kegs. It was still tempting though.

 

They look so good! I am so hungry right now!

 

A-A dark hazy ruby amber color with slight head and lacing.
A-Aroma has fruity and spicy hints.
T-Taste follows the notes with resounding fruity and spicy hints.
M-A light bodied beer with decent amounts of carbonation.
O-A very well balanced beer with subtle bourbon barrels hints.

 

OK!
Flying Wontons!

No matter what you call them they are fantastic. I have invented the pizza roll! These are spicy little tidbits of buffalo chicken pizza inside a crisped wonton skin. They are wanton with flavor and pair perfectly with Brooklyn's Winter Lager. The pilsner, the dortmunder lager and the vienna lager are the better choices for pairing but if someone were to order a black lager or a dunkel I would not forbid it. Douse them enough to keep them moist and the arugula brings these into the buffalo sauce flavor so much better than any chinese style cabbage would. You could have added carrot but not too much. The chicken skin pork rind is a specialty of mine from years back. The answer to the question "What are you gonna do with that?" is often "fry it!"

I have one demand . You get up and drink some beer! It's Sunday!

 

A great start to New Beer Sunday, Craig.
Regarding resolutions,I make them all the time, not just at New Years. So far this year I've resolved to be less irritable when I'm on call and to work harder on my golf game. I think there are always things that I can improve on.
My new beer for today Is Sierra Nevada Hop Bullet. It seems a little weird to me to be drinking a "spring seasonal" when it's 12 degrees outside. The label states "Hop Bullet Double IPA features a new technique: we're hitting the beer with a double-barreled slug of Magnum hops and lupulin dust - the source of hop flavor and aroma - right into the fermenter for a ballistic burst of aggressive hop character."
The beer is gold in color, maybe a little haze. There is a small off-white head that leaves a smattering of lace.
A floral and citrus aroma.
The taste follows the nose.
Nicely bitter.
An average beer.

 

Who wants to get ‘Willettized’!?!

Below is a poem from the Lagunitas website:

From our friend, the Kentucky distiller J.D. Willett himself, a man of few words, 'We have one type of barrel: Wood. And we put two things in 'em: Rye and Bourbon."

Well, it doesn’t exactly rhyme but poems don’t always have to rhyme.

Well, the answer to the above question is me. I want to get Willettized today.

I am a fan of Bourbon and Rye whiskey but I must confess I have never consumed the whiskies of J.D. Willett. One more thing(s) to put on my bucket list.

Below are some beer details courtesy of the Lagunitas website:

“Beer Specs

Willettized Coffee Stout

Our friends over at Kentucky’s own Willett Distillery have one kind of barrel: wood. And they put two things in them: Bourbon and Rye. We were fortunate enough to get some of their Bourbon barrels, and we put our Imperial Stout in them. It’s a chocolatey, coffee-y, smoky, Bourbon-y beast of a barrel-aged thing. Word.

ABV 11.7

O.G. 1.109

IBU 32.0”

Well, that certainly has my juices flowing – time to get Willitized!!

Served in my Heavy Seas tulip glass:

Appearance:

Pours a deep brown/black color with a BIG khaki colored head. Very good head retention.

Aroma:

A complex combination of Rye Whiskey/Bourbon, cocoa, a bit of toffee,…

Taste:

The flavor pretty much follows the nose with the Rye Whiskey/Bourbon flavors being prominent but there is more here. There is a noticeable vanilla flavor along with the cocoa, toffee and a bit of coffee. There is no alcohol flavor to speak of. Moderate – low bitterness.

Mouthfeel:

Medium bodied with a sweet-ish finish.

Overall:

This is beer is very good. A lot of complexity with different flavors that work nicely together.


A word of warning to those who prefer a robust coffee flavor in their Imperial Coffee Stouts – you might be a bit disappointed in this particular beer. I personally was not disappointed whatsoever.

Cheers to Lagunitas for another AWESOME seasonal beer!!!!!!!

@KOP_Beer_OUtlet @RobH @rotsaruch @Giantspace

 

This was a great way to start NBS for me, temperature is 0˚, so this warmed them ol' bones.
My fourth beer from Buckledown, they've all been very good, this is just awesome.

4.34/5 rDev +4.1%
look: 4.5 | smell: 4.25 | taste: 4.25 | feel: 4.5 | overall: 4.5

L: Poured from a can, extremely dark brown with a brown head that fades quickly leaving a small ring and an oily looking glass.
S: Barrel, roasted malts, licorice and cocoa.
T: Mildly boozy, raisin, molasses, toffee, and hint of coffee.
F: Thick body, pours like a Ten-Fidy, smooth and creamy.
O: This is about as good as a BA stout can get, these guys seem to have it nailed it.

 

Good morning resolutionists and if-it-ain't-broke-don't-fix-itists. Beyond trying to drink more water (and beer) I don't see any lifestyle changes on the horizon.

Things are starting to quiet down here which gives me the opportunity to treat myself to a morning review. Grabbed this one because despite its plain but functional name the few North Coast offerings that make it this way have been top shelf and I have seen it so many times in WBAYDN that it is only new to me. Full disclosure - I did not notice it was the reserve version until last night when I studied the label for info I may need for serving.

L - The cage and cork immediately caution you that this beer is not to be trifled with. Red walnut with ruby highlights. Not much of a head but the few nucleation points released delicate strands of carbonation replenishing the one bubble wide ring. No lacing but created wine legs. 4.25
S - Bourbon wafts at arms length, with raisins and charred wood filling in the gaps. 4
T - Bourbon with a little resin - seems to lack (or lost its) complexity even as it warmed. 3.75
F - Very smooth with the alcohol creating a cozy warm glow. 4.25
O - Rare treat at this end of the spectrum. 4

 

Very nice start to this weeks NBS @cjgiant, will be back later on with a new brew. To me, back in the early years of NBS, there were tons of new beers out there, the question was how to get them to Utah.

Cheers!

 

My resolution is a very simple concept which could lead to great changes in the coming year. It is to get out of my comfort zone and do things I’ve never done before. A mentor told me recently that to take your life to places you’ve never been before, you have to do things you’ve never done before. It’s based off the Einstein quote “the definition of insanity is repeating the same thing over and over again and expecting different results.”

I’ve already begun doing things I’ve never done before, but time will tell if it yields the desired results. I’m hopeful though.

There’s my two cents. I’ll be back later reviewing a high West victory at sea.

 

Yum!

 

A-A nice amber color with a decent head and lacing.
A-Aroma is mainly hops with slight hint of coffee.
T-Taste follows the nose with generous hops hints but with a pronounced coffee flavor.
M-A light bodied beer with generous amount of carbonation, hops and coffee.
O- A very nicely balanced beer.

 

They look awesome!

 

Ice cold outside - a beautiful, crisp and clean blue-skied winter morning...

Inside...

Start stout, stay strong...

Boulevard Brewing's Whiskey Barrel Stout, formerly, "Imperial Stout Aged In Whiskey Barrels" - lol - 11.8% abv, with a best by date of October 19th, 2018...

Chocolaty aromas on the nose were suffused with whiskey elements, alcohol and woods, with tannic and vanilla notes; deeper suggestions of roasted espresso in the background...

Taste followed the nose with more chocolate and whiskey at the fore, and roasty coffee as well. Mildly bitter, moderately sweet, a touch of char and some light drying on the finish... Medium-weight and slim - a bit thin for my tastes normally, but this has a very refined character, so it works...

Couple more new beers on-hand for later...

I'll definitely be opening that Bright, maybe the Exorcist, too - in addition to watching some serious football today - anxious about that Steeler game, but figuring the Vikes-Saints tilt later on will be a less stressful affair for me...

Here's to new beer in your glass, cheers...

 

Last year I resolved to stop drinking beer for January after cutting down to almost none in the months just before that, and I managed to stick to it. Gonna do a dry out this year also, but not now as a New Year's resolution

My resolution this year is get to work and finish all the unfinished writing projects I have cluttering house, computer, and mind before starting any new ones. Probably gonna take more than a year to do, but I have a ready made resolution for Dec. 31 if I don't finish.

Have a beer that I am dying to try that others are raving about. Back in a bit with the birdseye lowdown on this caper. 'Til then enjoy some High School Madness with me, won't you? See ya innabit..

 

Good morning everyone, and thanks for the intro @cjgiant. I made 2 New Years resolutions- 1) To excercise more (successful so far, but then again, “more” is vague, and I wasn’t exercising at all before).
2) sell some of my vinyl on eBay (unsuccessful, so far). I’ve earmarked about half of my collection as okay to get rid of for various reasons, but have nonetheless found it hard to start the process. I say it’s for sentimental reasons, but really it’s because I’m lazy

Anyway, my new beer for today is Oskar Blues BBA Ten Fidy, quite a doozy for Sunday morning! I’m thinking I won’t be exercising or selling records after this one

Cheers all and enjoy your day!



My review-

4.25/5 rDev -5.1%
look: 4.25 | smell: 4.25 | taste: 4.25 | feel: 4.25 | overall: 4.25

Look- pours black with with light brown head that settles to about 1 finger. minimal lacing

Smell- cocoa, vanilla, bourbon, sweet pipe smoke. All subtle and nicely blended

Taste- follows the nose closely- starts with predominant bitter sweet dark chocolate with vanilla in the background. Then then the bourbon comes in toward the middle and finishes things out with a lingering booziness. A little char comes out in the finish as well. Flavors, especially the chocolate, became more pronounced as the beer warmed

Feel- Medium body, light carbonation, drinks very smoothly

Overall- good BBA stout that was a pleasure to drink.