What beer are you drinking now? #1954

Good morning BA, have a great Sunday! Looking to be another nice milder weather day today, but windy. Will be doing my normal errands for the day: bottle returns, laundry, and a grocery run. Maybe some catch up work for tomorrow, I have a report due tomorrow and need to double check my data. Going to be another busy week.

Still tasting fantastic. Flavors of grapefruit, tangerine, pineapple, peach, passion fruit, papaya, mango, melon, guava, berry, lemon zest, orange peel, citrus rind, light pepper, and pine hops; with wheat, bready, light honeyed malts; and herbal, floral, grassy hop earthiness. Moderate pine, citrus peel, grassy, spicy bitterness on the finish. Medium bodied; balanced bready/grainy malt and sticky/resinous hops in the mouthfeel. Crisp/drying finish and never astringent on bitterness. Amazing juicy, vibrant, and dank hop profile; refreshingly drinkable for an IPA. Mosaic and Ekuanot hops are my favorite of all time. They have been changing around the hops every year; but as long as those two stay, I don't care much. Still holding up surprisingly well after 4 months. Still have 3 left.


My go-to Oatmeal stout. Flavors of dark chocolate, cocoa, coffee, caramel, toasted oats, dark bread, and nutty malts; with light licorice, dark fruit, molasses, smoke, and herbal/peppery noble hops. Light-moderate herbal/spicy hop and roast malt bitterness on the finish. Medium bodied; great creamy/silky/bready oats and lightly sticky/chalky roasted mouthfeel. Lightly increasing bitter/roasted dryness; never acrid. Super smooth drinking. This is always awesome. I still haven't updated my review for this, it needs to be done eventually. I have been slowly doing them for a lot of others this year so far.


Fantastic Belgian pale ale! Flavors of peach, mango, pineapple, apricot, grapefruit, tangerine, lemon zest, orange peel, pear, apple, pepper, clove, and light banana/bubblegum/pine; with balanced honey, biscuity malts; herbal, floral, grassy hops; and yeasty earthiness. Light-moderate peppery yeast spiciness; light pine/grassy bitterness, and yeast tang/tartness on the finish. Medium-plus carbonation, medium body, and moderately crisp finishing. Bready/grainy malts and some sticky hops in the mouthfeel. Light-moderate increasing spicy/carbonated dryness. Refreshingly drinkable, 6.8%. Wow, I will definitely be picking this up again. Awesome balance of juicy hop/yeast flavors; with a nice bready malt backbone. Spot on for the style, aside from the use of American hops. I am a huge fan of pretty much all of Revolutions beers, regardless of style.


This morning's massive new beer review. This was fantastic! Minimal head retention and lacing as expected. Aromas and flavors of big milk/dark chocolate, cocoa, caramel, toffee, fudge, almonds, vanilla, bourbon, toasted oak, brown sugar, maple syrup, and dark bread; with lighter notes of molasses, coconut, raisin, cherry, fig, date, licorice, smoke, and pepper. Slight booze in the aromas as it warmed. Light roast bitterness and bourbon/oak tannin spiciness on the finish. Medium carbonation and very full body; very creamy/silky, and lightly slick/sticky/chalky/tannic mouthfeel. Mildly increasing dryness from bourbon/oak tannin spiciness, no cloying sweetness. Mildly increasing warmth of 16.7%, minimal barrel booziness. A smooth but slow sipper. This is basically just Black Tuesday with almonds and vanilla. Nails everything I expected out of it. Rich malts and balanced almond/vanilla flavors; amazing barrel integration as usual. Never overly boozy, tannic, or drying. Bruery stouts always seem to have a class of their own on the flavor profile. Not as deeply roasty or charred on black/roasted malts like some others; but still extremely rich and complex. Right on par with the days of the week ones I've had, but Chocolate Rain is still way above any of them. I will need to revisit that soon, I have one in the cellar. 4.2


Cheers

 

Heading on a 3 day 2 night adventure to The Great Wolf Lodge in Fitchburg Massachusetts. A cup of coffee, while I pack the cooler. Cheers BAs.

 

Drinking Xocoveza

 

From last night:

Rogue - Sriracha Hot Stout

 

Wolves & People • Tractor Pull

 

Just the thing for a chill, wet morning . . .





Taste on entry is a nicely combined group of flavors that echo the scent but paint it in broader strokes. Just more in all respects. I get the spice in the scent and the chocolate steps up mid palate like a solo singer that briefly takes center stage then recedes back into the chorus. I get the chili as almost a high note in in the middle that goes away then comes back in the aftertaste.

Brewer says this is an Imperial oatmeal stout brewed with coffee, chocolate, cinnamon and chili peppers. It's that and a bit more, fairly complex for a flavored Stout in that everything promised is there and works together in harmony.

 

Good stuff I really like the finish on this one the more cans I drink. Tonight I’m torn between drinking NW’s Gummy Banter or Brickstones BA Barleywine.

 

A little pre-cross country ski hydration as the snow falls. Y'all killed it last night, 28 pages!

 

Morning...



Yeti
One of my favorites

 

Haha, Bristol NH at May's family, cheers Andrew!

 

5 new beers rated 4% Higher than BAs
Leo V. Ursus: Wookus | Firestone
4.4/5 rDev +6%
look: 4.25 | smell: 4.25 | taste: 4.5 | feel: 4.25 | overall: 4.5
16oz can from Park Slope Brooklyn co-op (best prices) poured into a snifter.
a) Retention, lace clouds result from a pour of the dense black body, that pours forth with an active large brown head.
s) Abundant, dark roasted malt yields char, wood smoke, fall earth, transitioning to chocolate, coffee, and toast.
t) the taste follows the big aroma, and gets BIGGER, all the same flavors, PLUS a resinous piney hops, with dried, sugared citrus rind. Big see-saw, played out lovely game between sweet and bitter resin.
f) Mid body, creamy feel. The finish has bitter, cleansing pine that leaves your mouth kissed and satisfied.
o) Battle of sharp hops balancing sweet and mysterious dark roasted malts. This is beer at its best.

Pastiche | Allagash
4.34/5 rDev +5.9%
look: 4 | smell: 4.25 | taste: 4.5 | feel: 4.25 | overall: 4.25
Discovered at Threes in Brooklyn's Park Slope, which I suggest you discover.
Never disappointed by Allagash, but this one is over the top - rare and good.
a) No surprise it's dark reddish amber with creamy head that lasts and laces.
s) Amazingly no one barrel dominates and there's a complex twist of scents of wood, char, whiskey, wine on the amber sweet malt base. Sturdy.
t) More significant is the taste which raises the bar as it warms from whiskey barrel to wine cellar.
f) Creamy, serious, meditative. I'd enjoy more of this. Reminds me of my favorite strong ales like Arrogant Bastard.

Rye Fidelity | The Bronx
4.3/5 rDev +4.1%
look: 4 | smell: 4.25 | taste: 4.5 | feel: 4 | overall: 4.25
Thrilled to be 3rd review of this new rye IPA from a great Bronx brewer that starts with the great minerally Adirondack water of NYC.
a) Hazed amber-apricot body that lifts a small white head and laces dots.
s) Wow, perfume, spice, pungent rye with malt back.
t) Strong bitterness that's tempered with citrus, tropical fruit, grass, hemp, and big, large scale, complex flavor. More hemp and hash and smoke that most DIPAs. Good and complex finish. Worth a conversation.
f) You feel cider, juicy, peppery, and strong finish along with the 8.1% ABV. A crisp, dry, warm finish.
o) Nice when a brewer knows its expertise and amplifies it. A Rye great.


Pale Sour Ale | Brewery Ommegang
4.2/5 rDev +4%
look: 4.25 | smell: 4 | taste: 4.25 | feel: 4 | overall: 4.25
Snifter of sunshine, earth, grass, and orchard rows.
a) Bright, shiny golden body with slight haze. White fizzy head that lasts, rings, and massively laces like ocean water.
s) Nose has a better than white wine astringent fruit aroma of grapes, green apples, yeast, cider house.
t) Follows the smell but grows more complex. See saw of sweet and sour, better than any astringent wine could do.
Great apertif. I could have another. like a white wine, lighter, and the fruit sours at just the right progression.
f) Wine like, minerally gentle prickle, bright cleansing bubbles, that finish long and scrubbing with a wine, dry, light, sun-baked conclusion.
o) Complex and complete. I enjoyed it more as it warmed.

Kalifornia Kolsch | Magnolia
3.83/5 rDev +4.1%
look: 4 | smell: 3.5 | taste: 4 | feel: 4 | overall: 3.75
Approachable, sessionable, clean, but sweet Kolsch.
a) On the run at Uncorked SFO airport. Pours a welcome lasting white creamy head that lasts and laces over fine bubbled clear golden body. Deserves a narrow cylinder Kolsch glass.
s) Weakest of its parts. Light, simple bready with hints of lemon. Too faint.
t) But the taste is on target with more of the crackery clean malt back ground and featuring bright lemon, floral top notes like an astringent wine, but in this case a fruity and off-dry one.
f) Palate feels creamy yet clean, sessionable. Would have another. Low ABV.
o) More sweetness than I would prefer, but otherwise fine effort. Feel like I'm in Cologne, or Koln alley.

 

This a refreshing post-workout beer. I may have to try putting it in a blender with protein powder to see how that goes.