New Beer Sunday (Week 678)

Greetings, fellow NBSers,

It's a late one for me. I worked graveyard overnight and slept for much of the day. Currently it's 21° outside, 10° with the wind chill. The 3 or 4 inches of snow that fell over the last couple days is quite crunchy now. For the next few days, our nights are going to be quite cold. My next work morning it's predicted to be 4°. Ugh...

After I got off work, I visited Bruncheonette and had a Founder's Breakfast Stout (not a new beer, but it's always awesome, and I have now, finally, actually had it as a breakfast stout) with my dinner/breakfast. A subsequent stop at Post St. Alehouse I had tasters of Widmer's 2015 Brrbon Winter Ale and NoLi's ba Big Bang barleywine. Both were new to me. Neither did much for me, however. Both were a bit watery and thin.

After dinner tonight I'll hit something new, but I'm not sure what.

To be continued...

 

Not quite sure what that means. Any details? How does that affect the beer?

 

This one has been in my fridge for a little while, waiting for someone to share it with. Usually like to share 750 sours so my GERD doesn’t give me a hard time. This one may have been worth the extra heart burn!

Magic Trait from Speciation

Appearance is cloudy rose purple. A lot more red than my picture. Thin foamy head that leaves clingy lacing on the glass. Head settles into thin collar.

Aroma is fresh berries, dark fruit and sweet tart candy. Blackberry juice.

Flavor is fresh and tart backyard blackberry. Background of rich dark fruit and sweet jam. Tart but not puckering.

Creamy and soft mouthfeel, moderate carbonation.

Very nice flavor and smooth tartness level. Smooth and soft, complex.

 

Good evening, NBS. The health report is much improved this week. Very thankful for that. Not much going on during the week other than resting when possible and getting better.

So let us get straight to the beer. This one has been around the estate for at least a year, since I think I purchased this for Christmas in 2016 along with the Narwhal versions.



Sierra Nevada Trip in the Woods Biere de Garde. Lousy picture, but it really isn't a looker. Kind of a murky reddish brown color that picks up in clarity and features more red highlights when it warms. The head falls to a thin layer of beige bubbles and there is decent cling. The influence of the barrels is obvious in the aroma. Very wine-like and fruit dominant, then a bit oaky with some vanilla sweetness. OK...port and red wine and bourbon barrels...check. The taste is quite like a sherry. More than enough sweetness, vaguely smokey. Dark, sweet fruits that I will say are dry cherry and prunes rather than dates and figs that are along in the background. Minimally bitter if there is any at all. Not much in the way of grain taste. Very, very dry on the finish, but a definite alcohol warmth. Medium to heavy on the viscosity. Overall, a pleasant beer to drink. This will roll a 4 on the BA dice.

 

NBSx4? Let's see...

Upright Brewing
Eye Of Jupiter-Biere Dr Garde



Eye of Jupiter pours a lovely light caramel amber color. It has a thin khaki head that surprisingly leaves it mark on the glass, despite its meager crest of bubbles around the perimeter of the glass.

It smells nutty, funky (horse sweat, hay, dried grass), of tart red berries, and sweet yet limited amounts of light maple syrup.

The flavor follows with a dominant green apple tartness. Lemon shines with the sun soaked hay and grass, and the advertised oak from a barrel aging finally decides to present itself, though well disguised.

It is wonderfully light, mildly tart, and ultimately refreshing. As I started at the cold sleet coming down outside, I can imagine this being thirst quenching in the dry heat if summer. Balanced to the fullest, and demanding of continuous sips.

Upright has yet another home run. They continue to establish themselves as a dominant force in the less trekked styles. I hope I can find this in a bottle a few months from now, as it seems like the perfect spring welcoming beer.

After my official review, I gave Eye Of Jupiter a rating of 4.34 with an rDev of 0.0%.

Cheers everyone, and I will see you all soon.

 

More beer:

First review as usual. Excellent fruit beer! Great head retention and foamy lacing on the glass. Aromas and flavors of big juicy and lightly tart/tangy raspberries, passion fruit, red apple, strawberry, melon, and hibiscus; with moderate caramel, wheat, lightly toasted bread malt sweetness; and herbal, floral, grassy earthiness. Very mild herbal/floral/grassy bitterness and fruit tang/tartness on the finish. Medium carbonation/body; creamy/bready wheat; light fruit tang/acidity and hop stickiness in the mouthfeel. Lightly increasing tart/tangy fruit dryness, no cloying sweetness. Very flavorful/refreshing, 6%. Spot on fruit wheat ale, wouldn't change a thing. Big juicy fruit presence, with a nice malt backbone. Would buy again no doubt. 4


Excellent NEIPA. Great head retention and lasting lacing on the glass. Aromas and flavors of big grapefruit, tangerine, peach, pineapple, passion fruit, papaya, mango, melon, berry, lemon zest, orange peel, citrus rind, and light pepper/pine hops; with moderate wheat, white bread dough, lightly toasted biscuit malts; and herbal, floral, grassy hop earthiness. Light-moderate pine, citrus peel, herbal, grassy, spicy bitterness on the finish. Medium carbonation/body; balanced creamy/bready wheat/oats and sticky hops in the mouthfeel. Light resins/rinds, light-moderate increasing bitter dryness, no hop astringency. Extremely drinkable, never aggressive, 6.7%. Par for the course on the series. Stormy is still the best one, but this is more accurate on the style than the past few on the level of bitterness and lingering dryness. Great balanced juicy/dank hop complexity; nice bready malt backbone, with mild residual sweetness. Would buy again as with any of them. Delicious. 4


Amazing English barleywine! Aromas and flavors of big golden raisin, peach, plum, pear, apricot, fig, date, red apple, white grape, white wine, and toasted oak; moderate honey, caramel, and biscuity malt sweetness; with lighter notes of toffee, oaken vanilla, brown sugar, leather, herbal, grass, pepper, and yeasty earthiness. Light herbal/grassy bitterness, wine/oak tannin spiciness, and grape tang/tartness on the finish. Light-medium carbonation and fairly full body; with a very creamy/silky malt mouthfeel; with light slickness, fruit tang, oak tannin, and hop stickiness. Slightly increasing bitter/wine tannin dryness. No cloying sweetness. Mildly increasing warmth of 12%, zero wine barrel booze. More of a Blonde barleywine, but this just nails it all around. Very rich with perfectly balanced malts, honey, fruity yeast, and wine barrel complexity. Definitely picking up again, well worth the price. English Barelywines are my favorite style. 4.3


Cheers, have a good night NBS!

 

".....but wait! There's more!"
https://www.beeradvocate.com/search/?q=phil's&qt=beer

 

Welp I think I'm experiencing my first infected beer: Arcadia Ale's BA Shipwreck Porter. The smell had a lot of barrel to it so I didn't think anything was amiss but when I took the first sip it was "Whoa that's unexpectedly sour". A brief gander at recent reviews lets me know that I'm not alone. Too bad because the store I got it from was selling growlers for about twice the price.

 

Happy Even More Even More Evil Twin Sunday (Week 678)!

Phew! Today is spent sanding and rounding the already-smooth edges of my brain, apparently. It's working. Studies have shown that the brightest minds have post-mortem brains with deep grooves like the shell of a walnut. Mine will be as smooth as a bowling ball by the time that I am done!

I CANtinued with Even More Even More:
https://www.beeradvocate.com/beer/profile/24300/286588/?ba=woodychandler#review

and followed that up with Even More Even More:
https://www.beeradvocate.com/beer/profile/24300/302054/?ba=woodychandler#review

OMFG! CAN it be coming to an end soon? Not if I CAN help it! Is yer heart supposed to try to jump outta yer chest?
https://www.beeradvocate.com/beer/profile/24300/80291/?ba=woodychandler#review

I really may need to take a Break at this point! Yep, I'm beat. Maybe later, if NBS is still going ... I said that this undertaking may & CAN be deadly!

 

I'm enjoying a very nice NEIPA from the gigantic box of bombers sent to me from @mschrei. After this beer I'm running dangerously low on IPAs, so I'm going to savor this for a while!



Pours a hazy orange color with a quick, white head that leaves a small ring and medium lacing.

The smell is loaded with bitter orange and grapefruit along with a little stone fruit.

The taste is slightly bitter orange and grapefruit, like the nose, with a lingering, slightly bitter finish. There's a little pine also. This has a ton of bitter hops, way more than expected from the nose.

The mouthfeel is very thick and smooth, slightly oily.

Overall a really nice beer with a great nose.

 

Well Hello Late Night NBS...
I appreciate the opening subject by our esteemed host @lordofthewiens .

I have 2 daughters. We had a male pediatrician that we absolutely loved. When my oldest was around 6 he got transferred closer to his home, southern side of the county. Since then, we have found ourselves gravitating towards female Dr.s. I, as an elementary school teacher, find that I deal with students in different ways than my female colleagues. It's simply different.

And on to beer.Cross My Heart a Hazy IPA by Offshoot (aka the Bruery)

I'm digging this one. Golden orange in hue. Foamy head quickly retreats to a smattering of milky patches, lite lacing.
Smell is citrusy, mainly orange, at first. Then goes a bit earthy, juicy, and tropical in a subdued mango kind of way.
Mouthfeel is a tad silky, not as oaty as some "HAZy" offerings that are all the rage, but still there.
Overall, quite nice. Maybe a tad more mango notes would make it distinctly tropical. Maybe a tad more orange notes for citrus. But a fine offering.

 

I always enjoy reading through this thread each week, but because partially because I play soccer on Sunday evenings, it is a day I generally abstain from alcohol and participating in the thread. I also don't really like reviewing beers that I drink outside of I like it or I don't. Because I don't participate in the thread I won't join the BIF because I wouldn't be involved in the spirit of it. Maybe at some point in the future I'll participate rather than lurk, but I'm not there yet.

 

If anything is worth doing, it's worth overdoing.
- Southern Tier Brewing Company

I made up that quote, but it could be true.
I'm not sure Imperial Gose(8.3%) is a good idea,but here it is.

Smells like those carbonated fruit juice sodas (the good kind) + normal gose smell.
Taste is similar , but sour , + a little shredded wheat (not in a bad way) + a little hint of alcohol+ a lingering wet saltiness , that wasn't noticeable while drinking it. Overall glad I tried it, but also glad I got a single, especially considering it (4pk) costs about what Westbrook Gose(a really good gose) does for a 6pk.
3.62/5 rDev -2.4%
look: 4 | smell: 3.25 | taste: 3.75 | feel: 3.5 | overall: 3.75
Complete review : https://www.beeradvocate.com/beer/profile/3818/300842/?ba=mikeinportc#review

 

Jester King Simple Means
farmhouse altbier with smoked malt

My first Jester King was a Christmas present from my sister. Smoked beers are one of my least favorite styles, so I'm approaching this one with a little apprehension. Might as well "drink it now."

It pours a dark honey-amber color, mostly clear, with good effervescence and a massive off-white head. The head lasts a good while with thick rings of lacing.

Has a nice smokey aroma. Wood notes. Lightly sweet malts.

The flavor is smokey and sour. There's a hint of cider-like fruitiness: whether apple, cherry or pear is debatable. There's a slight creaminess, too.

It's medium bodied with modest carbonation.

Smells good, but the taste is too much for me. Honestly, this much smoke in an altbier just isn't my thing. Should have regifted it to @TongoRad.

---

As for the dilemma @lordofthewiens posited in the opening, I say hire the most qualified candidate.

Let's not teach our teenage boys to be so fragile that they can't be seen by professionals with different dangly part than their own. Women and girls were treated by male doctors for centuries. Men and boys can deal until we all get AI robot doctors.

Yeah, the practice might lose a small number of patients -- but you wouldn't let a client demand a doctor of a certain race, religion, sexuality, age or height. Politely inform them that you have a professional obligation to give them the best possible medical care regardless of the practioner's sex. Most will get over whatever awkwardness they feel.

 

Odd Side Ales, Grand Haven, MI “Rye Hipster Brunch Stout”, a “Rye Stout Brewed with Maple Syrup, aged in Rye Whiskey Barrels with Coffee and Bacon added.”

Bottled 11/16/17. Poured at 53 degrees:



Black with ruby edges; fast, fizzy beige cap; no retention; thin ring; soap sudsy lace; medium legs. 4.25



Maple, molasses, brown sugar, roasted coffee beans, burnt bacon nose. 4.5

Sweet maple candy, dark roast coffee, smokey fish sauce/umami, chocolate. No booze or whiskey. 4.25

Dry rye/wooden feel; medium minus body; smooth; lite carbonation; dry chaulky tongue coating; no obvious warmth (for 11%). 4.0

Overall I thought there was too much going on...specifically the roasty “bacon” flavors don’t fit well with the maple sugariness of the base; and a roasty char haunts the linger distracting from the richer chocolate and maple flavors; drinks thin for a higher ABV Stout; and the rye/barrel is too drying for me; I would have enjoyed this beer a lot more without the “bacon” addition. 4.25

Interestingly, it paired quite nicely with the rice pudding and sugary berry compote I made tonight, so win win - Cheers!

 

Spent the day watching Oscar-nominated shorts, live action and animated. Ready for a relaxing evening.



Melvin just started showing up here. This is my first time with them. Canned 1/11/18, their IPA is a deep honey color in the glass, with golden highlights. One finger of thick froth leaves bands of chunky lacing behind.

Smells a bit fruity, a little sweet. Nothing jumping out at me there.

Before I even really taste anything I notice the thick, creamy, sticky mouthfeel. Low carbonation really plays up how resinous this seems. Sweet caramel malt adds to the sweetness and perceived stickiness. Orange peel, pine resin and caramel dominate. Lasting palette impressions are both bitter and sweet.

On the heavier side of the IPA spectrum, more of a sipper than a pounder.

 

New Normal by Crossroads Brewing , Catskill, NY. A new beer, and new brewery for me.
Given the name, I was expecting a hazy, pillowy NEIPA . Not quite. The Hazebros won't hype it, by I recommend trying it. It has the "juicy"/fruity flavor profile but with some bitterness. It's not a milkshake, & the feel says "Hey! I'm here!" . I like it.
The whole is greater than the sum of the parts, in case you're wondering about the Overall rating.



4.29/5 rDev 0%
look: 4 | smell: 4.25 | taste: 4.25 | feel: 4.25 | overall: 4.5
Full review : https://www.beeradvocate.com/beer/profile/24047/325594/?ba=mikeinportc#review

 

Hey all, and Happy New Beer Sunday. My new one is Cease & Desist by De Molen, bottled 12/18/14, and stored at a bottle shop for me until I bought it a week ago-



This beer was originally called Rasputin, then Cease & Desist, but is currently called Disputin, so my review is under that listing. Here it is-

Bottle date on this is 12/18/14, with a best by of 25 years after bottling. Poured from a bottle into a snifter after warming for about 20 minutes

Look- pours black w/ one finger head that eventually disappears. No lacing. Some tiny light brown particles float around.

Smell- Dark chocolate, black licorice, and an earthy tree-bark like smell. A little smoke

Taste- Lots of chocolate followed by smoke, char and a roasty bitterness

Feel- medium to full bodied and fairly creamy

Overall- enjoyable RIS with lots of intense roasty flavors and nice mouthfeel

 

Hello New Beer Sunday!!!

Quite late in getting to the virtual bar tonight. I had to run to the cities to do some errands. I had to pick up a beer for a friend's birthday present, who is going through a really rough patch right now. I stopped at Wicked Wort in Robbinsdale, which I have never been to before, and go him a bottle of beer that sounded amazing to me, and also sounded like something up his alley (I also got myself a bottle of their Tsar Bomba RIS that I will review sometime in the next few NBS). I do plan on actually stopping there sometime for a beer. It seems like a great place to go.

I then stopped on the way back to St. Cloud to pick up 5lbs of lamb meat. Oh, man, I can't wait to try it out. Chops, leg, and hamburger. Damn, it will be amazing, I'm sure. Of course, a beer was had at a bar before heading home, but not a new beer.

But, speaking of new beer, here it is:

Broken Clock Brewing Nordic Night Winter Porter. 6.3% ABV, canned on 2-7.

I've never had anything from this brewery before, so totally new. I picked this up on Wednesday on my way home from visiting my mom. So, how is this new beer, new brewery?

I like this beer. The aroma was the show stopper for me. I kept smelling it just to see if I could get even more hints about this beer, plus, it is a very pleasing aroma. The taste is really rich, malty, complex. Probably the only downside is it is a bit watery. Damn good overall, and here's my review:

4.1/5 rDev 0%
look: 4 | smell: 4.5 | taste: 4 | feel: 3.75 | overall: 4

This beer pours a dark brown color. The head is off white and one finger. The retention is good, and there's some nice lacing on the glass.
The nose is pleasing. It is malty, but there's another aroma that I'm having a hard time putting into words. It kinda reminds me of a fruity, raisin cake. Really pleasing. I also get a slight chocolate aroma. I keep smelling it because it is so pleasing.
Taste - hmmmmm. There is a slight hop bitterness on the backside. Some fruity flavor. Sweetness. Some chocolate.
Feel is a bit more on the watery side than I would expect for this type and ABV beer.
Quite delicious, and a pretty good beer for a cold winter night.


That will be all for tonight for me. I can't wait till next Sunday, for my favorite day of the week, New Beer Sunday!!!

See you all on the flipside.

 

I agree with you. I've had physicals from female MDs and my wife's OB/GYN was a male. I know it would be uncomfortable for a high school kid, but I'm a big fan of just hiring the most qualified person regardless.