New Beer Sunday (Week 674)

Thanks @lordofthewiens for the kick off, and thought provoking dilemma of home ownership, I'm currently in a home that is 25 years old and we are at the point where we need to update it, to the tune of 30-40K. I often wonder if renting would be a better option, so I drink!
Hop Bullet, SN spring seasonal, DIPA at 8%, I had high hopes with a name like this, hit me hard with hop bitterness, a huge aroma, but I found little to get excited about. The aroma was minimal, hop profile was a nice different appproach, a bit of pine, sweetness, not bad, a good drinking beer but not great in any category. Well priced as usual for SN, which I am a big fan of. Tom Brady, not a fan!

 

Happy NBS folks! Busy day for me, but I'm finally settling down with a new beer and some dinner. Excited to join the virtual tavern with you guys!

My new beer for this evening is a new imperial stout by Backlash Beer Co. from Boston. It's called The Great Molasses Disaster and is, as you'd probably be able to guess, brewed with molasses. Not sure if I've ever had another molasses stout before, but yeah. Pretty exciting!

Still not sure what's going on with these guys having their own brewery... been a while since I checked up on them, but I know they were doing some kind of Kickstarter or GoFundMe type thing to open their own place. This was brewed for them by Dorchester Brewing Co., however. Oh well.



This has a rather terrifying pour... it dumps out of the can with a dark, sludgy and viscous body and is topped off with a confrontational head of deep mocha foam that builds up to about three or four fingers at its highest point. Though it eventually settles down for the most part, it still sits in my glass at about a finger high. The dissipated suds leave behind an impressive and super-consistent sheet of lace here, and the surface remains almost-uniformly covered in head even after time in my glass. Slightly swirling the glass rebuilds a little bit of foam as well. Overall, quite a good appearance here! I'm impressed.

The nose is heavy on dark fudge, treacle and, of course, molasses. I get some light roast and caramel, but there's an undeniable chocolate aspect that pervades the entire sensory experience. There's a nice, light herbal hop here that kind of keeps things from seeming overly-sweet, though, too. Very much appreciated. This feels fairly simple, but also quite effective. I'm all-in with this Disaster so far!

Viscous and intense chocolate-y flavor with some light earthy hop and balancing roast character. Strong molasses on the mid-palate with darker caramel and treacle flavors. Slight pine-like hop with earthiness coming out a bit toward the finish. Ends pretty dry and somewhat-succinctly with a good palate-coating feel. Nice structure here and doesn't come across cloying by any means. Also, it's always good to see a brewery who constantly makes a certain style (IPAs, in this case) try something else once in a while. Then again, I know they recently re-brewed their Death imp stout. Perhaps I'll revisit that soon.

 

Those are absolutely beautiful pix, man!

 

It's been a great weekend here in TN as we thaw out and enjoy temps in the mid 60s! Thanks as usual to @lordofthewiens for another great start. I appropriately spent the bulk of the day working on the house as we're getting ready to put it on the market next month - decluttering is the biggest silver lining.
Today's beer is a new release from Bearded Iris, and (as far as I know) their first fruited IPA. They brewed a lactose DIPA called Mood Ring last year that was the base beer, and I understand that they plan to release many different fruited variants.
Color Wheel, Bearded Iris Brewing, Nashville, TN


This beer has a striking look - a bright purple plum color with the turbidity of tomato soup. A small head formed on the pour but quickly disappeared with no trace left behind. Big blueberry aroma that was supported with some dank resin and also some citrus. It honestly tastes like a blueberry smoothie, but without much sweetness and no vanilla. The lactose is there and the body is fuller than most of their beers, but it doesn't approach the "milkshake" category. This is more like an IPA than those, with a firm bitterness that blends well with the blueberry flavor. There is a slight tartness on the finish from the fruit but it also plays well with the flavors. I'm looking forward to the other variations. Cheers!

 

The Death of Cthulhu ~ Ghost 620 ~ Adroit Theory Brewing Co.
Russian Imperial Stout

New Beer provided by: @cjgiant
Glass provided by: @GrumpyGas
Dinner provided by: Wife currently in kitchen making jambalaya

(I’m well provided for these days.)

ABV 12% ...unnoticeable but no doubt...there.

holyshit

I’m getting chocolate covered coffee beans & raisins! Creamy smooth coffee. There’s a nice roastiness but no bitterness. A wonderful malty mouthfeel is clearly implied by the pretty illustration on the label. There’s a stickiness that coats...everything, much like the sticky slimy ocean water that crashes onto the rocky coast of R’hyleh, except this slime taste yummy!!!

I hope Cthulhu is not dead...and that He is just sleeping...because I want to experience this beer...again.



Enjoying this great beer with a few old things I picked today on my first expedition of the year...that are definitely dead...I think.

Cheers!

 

Sorry, just saw this now with all the sports going on today. I picked it up at Costco in an 3-pk gift set, I still saw plenty last time I was there.

 

Triporteur Full Moon 12 Belgian Oak Ale from B.O.M. (Belgium)
This Belgian Quad presents as a hazy, ebony tap pour with no visible carbonation. Aroma is minimal but includes caramel and oak notes. The flavors include figs, toffee raisins and a light oak character. I think the serving temperature is way too low to for this quad. I'll order one and let it sit, and warm, next time.

 

Enjoyed a White Oak Jai Alai earlier courtesy of @GreenBayBA-Thanks my friend !


4.01/5 rDev -4.8%
look: 4.25 | smell: 3.25 | taste: 4.25 | feel: 4.25 | overall: 4.25

Look-Pours a nice light copper color

Smell-This is where this fell short for me, almost nothing there

Taste- Nice w a little vanilla in the background from the oak

Mouthfeel- Medium bodied

Overall- I thought this was pretty nice, was pleasantly surprised. The regular Jai Alai I have had in the past left me unimpressed, will be revisiting it shortly. This was much better

 

@russpowell mentioned a double mortgage. We had one also when we bought our home which was pictured earlier. I believe the yr was 1973 or 1974. The two mortgages totaled $65.66 per month. Of course we were taking over mortgages that my wife's family had on the home from yrs before. Times have changed a bit !

 

Some local breweries are dropping coffee stouts, which has me quite excited. Here's Border's go at the style. Fortunately, these local breweries are opting for locally roasted beans, supporting the local coffee scene as well. I can drink to that. Let's see how Border handed this beer, and if it's worth picking up a few more bottles for hoarding - ahem - cellaring purposes



Border's Imperial Coffee Stout.

Pours black with half a finger of khaki foam and fizz on top. Head retention is shy of good, with no lacing left behind. Aroma is medium-dark roasted coffee and dark chocolate over roasted and toasted malts. Flavor profile brings an even stronger display of coffee, which is more of a medium-roast. It has a milk chocolate finish, which is decadent and smooth. Roasted and toasted malts support the coffee shop flavors, and don't carry any bitterness. Mouth feel is medium in thickness with a texture that sips with a velvety smoothness, and a slight watery-thin edge. This consistency makes it incredibly easy to gulp, and yet gives it just enough of a presence to be a wonderful winter beer. Overall, while the aroma may be slacking a bit, but the flavor profile delivers exactly what the name would suggest. The complete package is well put together, with the flavor and feel being the strong suits.

Score: 4 | 4 | 4.5 | 4.25 | 4.5 | BA Score: 4.33 | rDev: +1.6%

Notes: This beer was added over three years ago, apparently. I believe this is the first bottling run of this beer, as it's not to common for the folks at Border to bottle. This one is worth a try though. It may be one of the better stouts in town at this point in time, and with most local breweries opting for tap only, this is the best to-go stout in town.

 

Sorry, not even my electric bill in my empty? house

 

NBS Beer entry #2



Single Digit Dubbel Belgian-Style Dubbel Ale

Smuttynose Brewing Company
Dubbel / 8.30% ABV

3.83/5 rDev +4.1% | Score: 3.68
look: 4 | smell: 4 | taste: 3.75 | feel: 3.75 | overall: 3.75

L- The beer pours out clear and color somewhere between cola and plum. The head is 2 fingers of light tan bubbles. Lacing is spotty.
S- The nose starts out with nice ripe plum notes and finishes with some light esters from the yeast.
T- The sweet plum from the nose is here, but balanced by and earthy bitterness. There is a bit of mustiness from the yeast involved and it plays alongside the earthy bitterness.
F- Overall the mouthfeel is medium heavy. Carbonation is restrained. I probably couldn't drink more than 2 in a sitting before starting to feel full.
O- A solid dubbel although lacking is some complexity.

 

Blue is a fine young dog. She's lucky. I'll bet in that "mix" part Walker Hound is present. We have two Walkers and they are wonderful! Good luck.

 

Multiflora (DIPA-9.6%) , from Decadent Ales , Mamaroneck, NY.
Short version : very much like fresh Flower Power.
Fruity, some honey/mead, floral/ lightly syrupy/solventy. All in all, very good .


4.25/5 rDev -0.7%
look: 4.25 | smell: 4.25 | taste: 4.25 | feel: 4.25 | overall: 4.25

Slightly hazy orange-gold , with moderate off-white head, & persistent lacing.

Smells of tangerine, dried pineapple , honey, and faint hints of grapefruit,lemon, and bread dough

Tastes is grapefruit , honey ,tangerine, and something slightly piney and syrupy . The latter is a light touch, and not cloying. A light pleasant bitterness on the finish.

Medium oily , with moderate, very fine carbonation on the finish.

Overall quite good. Nothing that stands out from the crowd,........of excellent beers , so that's a good thing. : )

 

Good evening, NBS. Another great lead post from @lordofthewiens . Home ownership certainly presents challenges. Our home was originally built in the 1860's, which adds significantly. We have been here for almost 30 years, and are still working. I have done a lot myself, learning on the fly, but I also know,when I am over my head or lack the requisite skills. We have six acres of land that we are still clearing. At least one of us is thinking this property has become too much for "us"...

Anyhow, I did have a couple of new beers reviewed during the week. A lovely, exceptional pilsner ftom pFreim and Split Shot from Elysian. The latter was in the OK category. I had a very short duration, but grueling trip to Prosser, WA.

Tonight's sacrifice is the Evil Rwin/Westbrook collaboration with the impossibly long name.



Short pour as I am splitting with my son on his 31st birthday. It looks black bit it isn't...but as dark a brown as you can get. Brief tan head that vanishes in a blink. No lacing, but the liquid clings tenaciously to the glass.

The smell is chocolatey, mildly coffee, sweet vanilla, vegetal fruity pepper way in the background. It opens up more as it warms and the cinnamon shows up.

The taste is muted when this is cold, so no need to talk about that. After getting to a bit below room temp, this beer is wide open. Coffee remains in the background, blending with but not dominated by chocolate. Vanilla and sweetness. A bright vegetal note that morphs into a building tingle of fruity habanero pepper. There is some almond flavor, but it is hard to pick out.

This is a thick beer by the looks, but not so much on the tongue. It is no lightweight, but it is not as syrupy as it looks.

Overall, liking this a lot. We had Indian food today, and it is not making a bad end to an afternoon of spicy grazing. This will land a bit north of 4.0 on the scale of BA. Glad I pulled the trigger on it, and it wI'll make a great occasional treat.

 

I've been waiting some time to open one of these (@cavedave sent me three bottles about a year ago ... we didn't realize they'd be collector's items a year later -- I certainly didn't -- so double thanks, Dave!):

Founders Imperial Stout (RIP)

I think this is a 2014 vintage. Not 100% sure. "14213399131226B" is printed on the bottom in black; research says that's possibly a distributor code and that Founders' dates were in yellow on the neck.

However old, it's at least 2-3 years old and shows its age a little in the carbonation. There's plenty still, well more than you need for a good RIS, but the head percolated up to about 3/4 inch whereas most RISs I've tried rise up well past 1 inch.

Other than that, there's times you'd think this bottle came fresh off the line, because occasionally a floral-hop bite just about knocks you over. Wow! The dark malt notes hit first with sweet milk chocolate in the aroma, but the floral note follows, and then you when you take a sip, the dark-malt charred wood flavor and floral hop flavor combine into a force that is super earthy/bitter at first, then it smooths into a nice raw wood, then it smooths more into sweeter flavors of dark chocolate and a note I always think of as red wine.

For me the thing I love most is it's never one thing. Just when you think it's still too raw and needs age, a wash of sweet chocolate flavor cascades over your palate. And then when you take a whiff of the sweeter aroma and think it's a super sweet Prairie Bomb!, CHOMP!!! goes those hops and that burnt-wood earthy flavor.

The review:
https://www.beeradvocate.com/beer/profile/1199/21822/?ba=Premo88#review
4.4 (+0.9% rDev)

Hopefully, Founders brings this one back some day. If not, we'll always have the memories. I'll be making the most of mine with those other two bottles. Thanks again, Dave! You're the man! If my plan goes well, you'll also be the man getting a tidy little box on your doorstep about September.

Cheers!

 

Glad to hear you enjoyed as much as I figured you would! Happy to say I still have a decent supply in the cellar, one of my favorite stouts of any kind, BA or regular. Cheers!

 

Greetings, NBS friends. The topic our good friend @lordofthewiens chose for our starter today is near and dear to my heart - when Mrs O and I close on our home in South Bend (specifically Granger) in late February, it will be the 3rd home we’ve owned and lived in since 3/1/17 - and that doesn’t include the extended stay hotel we stayed in for nearly 3 weeks in Minnesota last March, nor does it include the “temporary living” apartment we’re in now, and will be for nearly 2 months when we move into our new home.

I’m tired just typing that. Onto my first beer of the evening, before the Vikes/Eagles kickoff. WARNING: the review for beer #2 will probably be brief. As a Viking fan since 1970, I’m so nervous, my teeth are chattering. Two really good teams doing battle - can’t ask for more. Good luck to all the Eagle fans here.

This beer is for @cavedave .....



4.49/5 rDev -1.1%
look: 4.25 | smell: 4.5 | taste: 4.5 | feel: 4.5 | overall: 4.5

The pour is a murky golden straw color, as is seen with this style, with a frothy bone-white head. This is a Citra-Mosaic hop bomb, so the aromas are the obligatory dank citrus notes these beers have.

The taste, though, veers away the “typical” Citra-Mosaic IPA. This beer is SLATHERED in rich, dank, citrusy hop flavors. There’s a load of ripe tangerines, tart grapefruit, juicy pineapple, and a biting flavor like cactus (if that’s a flavor) that appears as the beer warms, and improves it measurably.

The feel is not as pillowy as is normally found with the style, but has a “tang” that is really nice. One of my favorite examples of the style.

 

That looks like Yeti territory!

 

That's the first time I've ever seen the term "maltbakery". I wonder if that's a commonly used term or just the translation that the brewery chose to go with to talk about a place that makes malt. It's much more visual than maltster/malt house.