New Beer Sunday (Week 674)

Not the best picture I did, but well, eh, that's not always my forte'



https://www.beeradvocate.com/beer/profile/39297/321775/?ba=Lone_Freighter#review

Summary: Aromas of honey, berry, pineapple, sweet earthiness and a clean biscuit malt collide to provide a nice sweetness throughout. Flavor leans into that honey and biscuit sweetness with a nice berry hop contour peeling into it. Mild aftertaste of the honey, pineapple and biscuit. About medium bodied with a fine sipping quality about it. Carbonation actually felt like a normal American DIPA and not a New England styled one. ABV felt appropriate. Honestly, the more I thought about it throughout the entire session, the more I thought this was a "dialed in" recipe of Hopslam. Is Garin Frost "shushing" Larry Bell here? I'm left scratching my beard, the hell if I know. But I will say this, I'll be making my trip to New York in the near future to see if I can get myself some Hopslam to hopefully compare.

 

Flying fish Grand Cru winter ale. Very clear amber color, medium body and just above average carbonation. Aroma is yeast first, sugar and malt , with just a slight scent of spice. Taste follows the nose, far from overly sweet this has just a small bitter bite that blends really well with the malt and yeast. Leaves a dry aftertaste and the spice and yeast lingers as well. A lot of mixed reviews in this but I thought it was very solid and enjoyable

 

New beer #4 @VABA .

Know Good - Sierra Nevada
IPA - 6.2% abv
Bottled 12/18/17 (34 days ago)
Rating: 3.85 (-1.3% rDev)



L - lofty 3 finger head atop a translucent yellow body.

S - citrus, pine, bread. Typical for a SN IPA.

T - citrus at first. A bit of sourness in the middle with that bready taste. Mildly bitter and boozy.

F - medium body with medium-high carb.

O - A rather standard west-coast ipa. Reminds me a lot of Torpedo, which I guess makes sense.

 

Howdy, NBSers!
Another week, another new beer to share with you fine folks. I have been having lots of dark beers lately which has been nice, but I'd like a change of pace today. So, I am going to start of with the only non-heavily-malty beer in the ol' beer fridge. A saison from Hill Farmstead and Brasserie de Blaugies. I've wanted to find this one for a while and so when I saw it in Boston a month or so ago, I jumped on it.

It pours with a huge head that makes it a pain to pour. Very nice-looking, though. It has a funky, herbal, stanky smell that is a great blend of yeasty spice and the piney/citrus ghost of the Amarillo hops.

The flavor follows suit and on the whole I feel like this one ticks about every box I have for what I like in a saison. It is a cohesive beer as far as the flavor. Just generally well put-together, refreshing and enjoyable. With lacing like a can of foam insulation exploded in my glass.

This was a very nice saison. After having it I am even more curious than before to try some of de Blaugies' beers. One of these days...
Anyway, I wish you all a great week and a nice Sunday doing whatever it is you are all doing.

Cheers!


Here is my official score card.

 

A lazy afternoon of beer and football on a foggy day along the southern shore. The snow pack has been greatly reduced and it was nice to run on a clear trail this morning in above freezing temperatures. I'm ready to get this last full week of January behind me!

I was in Illinois yesterday for a party which always means a stop to shop for beer that I don't see around here. Curiosity struck when I spied a stack of Ballast Point High West Victory At Sea at Binny's Beverage Depot in Oak Brook. This 12oz. bottle has no visible date, an abv. of 12% and I'm serving it in a 13oz. snifter.

It pours a very clean looking transparent brown producing a couple centimeters of tan foam that rapidly settles to form a thin ring. Some moderate lacing is left behind. The smell is strong vanilla with a faint whiff of bourbon and rye. Taste is once again dominated by vanilla, followed by bourbon, oak, char and a little rye. The feel starts creamy smooth yielding to a hot boozy finish.

If you like loads of vanilla, this is your beer. It's too over done and slightly artificial in taste for me burying the bourbon and rye, leaving only the oak to emerge. A good beer for the price that falls short of being top shelf in my opinion. My score is 3.96 / rDev-7.7%.

Enjoy your new beer adventures today. Here's my official two cents on this one.......

https://www.beeradvocate.com/beer/profile/199/302060/?ba=Prager62#review

 

Now up 2SP Champagne Witbier, aged a little over a year.

4.09/5 rDev +4.9%
look: 4 | smell: 4.25 | taste: 4 | feel: 4.25 | overall: 4

750 ml bottle, number 140, poured into a flute

A- A slightly hazy golden straw with a small white head.

S- Tart, wheat, whine wine, some cloves and peppercorns, touch of oak. Smell is between a wit and a saison.

T- Wheat, touch of cloves, some oak, tart white wine.

M- Smooth, light, soft.

O- A tasty take on a witbier, barrel works well with the beer. It’s soft and well done, but a little light on flavor.

Go Eagles!

 

Happy NBS! Speaking of new, we adopted a new dog today. Her name is Blue and she is an Aussie mix. A very sweet 6 year old girl that is fitting right in with our family.


My new beer is New Holland DMR Salted Caramel. It pours a coffee brown with a 1.5 finger tan head. Excellent retention that leaves a fat collar and thinned web lacing on my glass. Aroma is heavy on gooey caramel with some bourbon soaked brownie and sea salt. It starts off a bit sweet with caramel brownies. The bourbon is faint and more of an accent which does wonders for the flavor. Some vanilla, marshmallow along with hints of sea salt. Great carbonation for the style, smooth and very silky mouthfeel that is medium in body. An overall delicious beer from NH.

 

O'Dell's Mountain Standard.

Pours black with two fingers of khaki foam. Head retention is great, as is lacing left behind. Aroma is roasted, toasted, biscuit, and earth malts, and herbal and pine hops. Lovely depth to the aroma. Flavor profile is a mash-up of roasted, toasted, and biscuit malts, with herbal, pine, and resin hops. The biscuit malts taste doughy, and fresh, with the hops leaving a long lasting flavor on the palate. Great balance, and depth. Mouth feel is medium-thick, with a velvety, creamy feel - almost stout like. Overall, a hearty black IPA that really packs a punch. It's not bitter, or sweet, but instead holds itself firmly between striking a fantastic balance. It's a filling, and tasty beer.

Score: 4.25 | 4.25 | 4.5 | 4.5 | 4.75 | BA Score: 4.48 | rDev: +6.4%

 

Post work NBS beer#1



Broken Spoke

The Alchemist Brewery and Visitors Center
American Pale Ale (APA) / 6.00% ABV

4.42/5 rDev +4.7% | Score: 4.22
look: 4.5 | smell: 4.25 | taste: 4.5 | feel: 4.25 | overall: 4.5

L-The beer pours hazy and golden. There is a full 3 finger head consisting of white medium size bubbles. Patchy lacing lasts throughout the drinking experience.
S- The nose is full of mouthwatering dankness mixed with grapefruit.
T- The nose and palate are similar with the grapefruit and dankness mixing. There is just the slightest residual sweetness on the back end which is quickly balanced out with light bitterness.
F- Mouthfeel is on the lighter side of medium. Carbonation is on the lighter side and does not impede the drinking experience. A little slickness on the tongue at the end provides a pleasant finish to the beer.
O- This beer falls squarely in my wheelhouse for enjoyment. I made a special trip to bring this one home and I'm not at all dissapointed with that decision. While not exactly sessionable at 6.0% it drinks lightly enough to enjoy in multiples and enough hop presence to satisfy that craving. I wish this was part of the Alchemist regular lineup with Heady and Focal.

 

What a nice looking hound!

 

Knee Deep Tanilla Imperial Porter, a let down to be sure 3.42 overall

Pours a very effervescent mahogany with a thumb of rapidly falling tan head. Dissapointing head retention & lacing

S: Woodyness, a touch of cola, a little smokeyness once all warmed up

T: Woody dryness, vanilla, faint charred grain as well up front. Woody dryness, very faint vanilla, a little smokiness too as this warms. Finishes dry, woody, bitter with a little vanilla

MF: Light/ medium body, very firm carbonation

An okay robust porter, but not one I would buy again

 

Happy NBS, fellow new beer samplers and commentators. And thank you for today's intro, @lordofthewiens, it's spot on for me. We're preparing to put our house on the market this Spring in order to "right size." With the kids grown up and moved out we require fewer bedrooms and would like the living space better configured to our lifestyle. Most of all, we want a smaller, flatter property that's easier to maintain. We're at the stage of spending lots of money on improvements that someone else will enjoy. Hopefully, we'll be on the receiving end of someone else's improvements.

On to the beer at hand. I'm reviewing Impending Descent, a Russian Imperial Stout brewed by Tröegs. It's nicely crafted with a pleasing taste of vanilla beans, dark fruit, oak, and bourbon. I'd like to see a bit more of the chocolate notes but it's still quite good. Here's my review:

4.19/5 rDev +0.5%
look: 4.25 | smell: 4 | taste: 4.25 | feel: 4.25 | overall: 4.25

Poured from 12.7 oz. bottle into pint glass. It pours ink black with more than a finger of creamy head of a color between khaki and mocha, and silky lacing that lasted through the pour. The nose features roasted malt, cocoa, vanilla, plum, nuts, and subtle but noticeable bourbon. You can really taste the vanilla bean and oak up front and the bourbon is much more forward than its smell. As the glass warms the plum and raisin really stand out. There are also chocolate notes throughout. All of the flavors work well together; this is one tasty RIS. It has a rich, creamy, silky mouth feel with moderate carbonation and while it appears to drink below its 12% ABV you notice the alcohol by the end of the pour. The bourbon is nicely warming. Overall, Impending Descent is a fine Russian Imperial Stout that makes a nice sipper or dessert beer. About my only constructive criticism is that the taste would benefit from a little more chocolate. I'm glad to have finally tried it and will buy it when available.

I hope you're all enjoying your new beers today. Cheers!

 

Ommegang belgian white. A wheat beer that pours a cloudy yellow gold. Aroma is wheat and whole grain toast,and yeast.. Taste is very similar,the grain is very much in the front but not in a totally dominating way. A little dry, not sweet but crisp and very refreshing,could have a few in a row.

 

New Beer #3

12oz bottle bb May 2018 poured into a perfect pint glass at fridge temp 5% ABV 20 IBU. The beer pours bright red tinted dark amber with dense khaki head. The head recedes to a paper thin cap and ring leaving a little lacing. I only get a trace of smoke in the aroma, but there is a strong caramel malt presence. The taste is light caramel and a nice smokey flavor. I would say similar to Schlenkerla Helles in terms of smoke intensity. Mouthfeel is medium to thin bodied, well carbonated and mostly dry in the finish. Overall, very good smoked beer if you enjoy them. I am pleasantly surprised by this one.

 

I'm with you- I rather like that one. One of my fave FF beers, actually.

 

Prairie Coffee Okie! Loving this. Cheers all.

https://www.beeradvocate.com/beer/profile/30356/204098/?ba=cindyjeffsmith#review

 

Congratulations on the new family member. When I was a boy we had an English Setter named Blue.

 

Congrats on the new pooch! Beer sounds like something I'd love to find in my future.

NBS#2 for me is from Belching Beaver. Beavers Milk Stout Nitro, from 10/12/17. Nothing jumps out from this beer, making me wonder if the age is hindering substantially. Looks great, for about a second as the head dissipated really quickly. Nose mostly one dimensional semi-sweet chocolate. Taste follows nose, nothing overly inspiring. Finishes quite thin, lacks any resemblance of creaminess. Overall rating link, BA score = 3.68, rdev = -3.4%

 

Good evening NBS, hope everyone is enjoying the end of the weekend once again. Thanks to @lordofthewiens for getting us started off this week. Last week was quick with the holiday, but also extremely busy. Have a lot of stuff to work on this week. Been having some nice warmer weather, which should be continuing for most of the week. Made a nice new beer haul yesterday afternoon so I will be busy for a while. Fridge and cellar are overflowing, insane number of cans I have run into. Seems like over 50% of what I review is canned now. Anyways, normal Sunday as usual. Finished up the laundry, and got my bottle returns taken care of earlier.

New Beer:

Mikkeller/Omnipollo Grisette. This was excellent! Fantastic lasting head retention and thick lacing on the glass. Aromas and flavors of big lemon, lime, pear, orange peel, red apple, melon, peppercorn, coriander, herbal, floral, and grassy hops; with moderate cracker, spicy rye, white bread malts; and yeasty earthiness. Moderate yeast/rye spiciness and herbal/grassy bitterness on the finish. Medium-high carbonation, light-medium body, and moderate crisp finishing. Balanced bready/grainy malts and sticky hops in the mouthfeel. Slight resins/rinds, increasing spicy/carbonated dryness; no astringent flavors. Very flavorful/refreshing, 3.9%. Spot on stuff. Very classic saison yeast complexity, balanced by earthy hops; with a nice pale/rye malt backbone for the low ABV. 4.03


Excellent American brown. Aromas and flavors of big nutty dark roasted coffee, caramel, brown sugar, toffee, brown bread, toasted biscuit, milk chocolate, and cocoa; with lighter notes of smoke, char, dark fruit, and herbal/peppery/piney hops. Light-moderate pine, herbal, spicy hop; and light roast/coffee bitterness on the finish. Medium carbonation/body; nice bready malt creaminess; some hop stickiness and light chalky roast in the mouthfeel. Lightly increasing hop/roast bitter dryness; never acrid/astringent. Very easy drinking, 5.3%. Very textbook brown, but I love it. Nicely rich malt complexity without being too roasty, great fruity/nutty coffee complexity, and nice earthy hop presence. Spot on. 4


Fantastic DIPA! Excellent head retention/lacing. Aromas and flavors of huge apricot, tangerine, lemon, peach, pear, pineapple, mango, melon, passionfruit, papaya, guava, berry, citrus zest, and light pepper/pine hops; with moderate honey, biscuit, light caramel malt balance; and herbal, floral, grassy hop earthiness. Light-moderate pine, citrus peel, herbal, grassy, spicy bitterness on the finish. Medium carbonation and medium-full body; balanced creamy/bready malts and sticky hops in the mouthfeel. Light resins/rinds, increasing bitter dryness, no hop astringency. Dangerously smooth, never aggressive, mildly increasing warming of 9%. For being 5.5 months old, this is amazing. Must have been in a fridge the whole time. Got this from a friend of a friend. Super juicy tropical/stone fruit hops with light dankness; nice bready malt backbone, not overly sweet/heavy for the ABV. 4.2


Cheers, be back in a bit NBS

 

Happy New Russian Impy Stout Sunday!

Got snowed on last night, the trailhead was about 31, some sun, windy, with some nice little bit of snow. Took this bottle out of the cellar, very very tasty brew. Watching some Star Trek: Voyager reruns, probably been since when the series ended when last watched.

Revist: 21 Jan 18
22 oz. Bomber/Box
Black Foil/Capped
2016 Vintage
No. 007
Cases Produced: 4000
ABV: 13.1%

look: 4.75 | smell: 4.75 | taste: 5 | feel: 4.75 | overall: 5

At least another year on this bottle.

Poured into a Tree House glass a very nice thick dark brown color, very nice carbonation, with a nice cream/kinda quick small tan head, which leaves a pretty nice medium size oil slick/island, with some minimal sticky lacing. The nose is very nice, malty, with a very nice touch of chocolate/toffee, vanilla, very nice dark fruit complex (cherries, figs, plums, dates), pretty nice bourbon/oak notes, some licorice, slight coffee. The taste is really freakn' awesome, malty, very nice vanilla sweetness, very nice touch of bourbon/oak, licorice, with a very nice dark fruit complex (cherries, figs, dates, plums), chocolate/toffee notes. Full body, ABV hidden very well, this is a very complex brew. Overall, a very very tasty brew.

Cheers!