New Beer Sunday (Week 681)

I have to post an embarassing redaction.
Three Magnets is not from The Aroma.
It is from my great state's capitol of Olympia.

This has been a public service announcement, since I missed the edit cutoff by two minutes.

 

Very detailed overview, and now I'm quite sure my first thoughts were probably correct. Why any major Brewer would take on an AAL style beer at an inflated price is beyond me. The best they can hope for is to equal a good AAL? Doesn't seem the effort is worthwhile. And I'd agree about the Hamm's, it's about as good as this style can be done and clean is a very appropriate adjective, and it's $13.99 a case at Walmart.

 

I bought some of their beers back with me when I was visiting my son, I bought them in a little beer store in Tacoma. I was very impressed with their beers, but a bit pricy.

 

I've had a generally positive experience with the beers of theirs I've tried. A couple I felt were overhyped, but in general I've enjoyed their stuff and feel that they fly a bit under the radar around here.
I could definitely see the overpriced issue though, although everything is overpriced out here, so it doesn't stand out as much to me.

 

Great start to another NBS week, thanks @cjgiant. Will be back with a new brew later on.

Cheers!

 

Very good post Jack and I appreciate the thoroughness. My first thought on tasting Solid Gold was Miller High Life with more hops and yes, I paid $8.99 for the six pack. Around here Hamm's sells for $3.99 a six of 16 oz cans. In our University town there are "price war" beers such as Keystone and Bud Light which regularly go on sale making them actually cheaper than Hamm's but with those you are literally getting what you pay for.

 

I am a very big fan of this beer.

 

Good morning, NBS crew! Starting off today with my first ever Monkish brew. I am hoping someone else will be reviewing this beer next Sunday on NBS, as it would also be their first Monkish brew...and it will be in his/her possession this week. I hope my target enjoys it as much as I did. I wonder who it is? #bif #itsgoingdown

LAX 2 JFK - Monkish feat. Other Half
TIPA - 10% abv
Canned 2/13/18 (26 days ago)
Score: 4.53 (+1.3% rDev)



L - 1-finger bright white head bubbles down to a thin topcoat in under a minute. Body is deep orange with some brownish tones. A little off from OJ, but close.

S - strong tropical citrus. Pineapple, melon, grapefruit. A little sweetness and booziness too.

T - follows the nose. The 10% is impressively well hidden by the barage of acidic citrus. Minimal bitterness. Some sweetness in the background, but it doesn’t distract from the intense hop goodness.

F - medium-full body with medium carb.

O - If I tried this blind I would have probably guessed Other Half. It’s very similar to their best DIPAs/TIPAs, and I mean that in the best possible way. I really dig this one a lot.

 

A- Pours a very nice hazy amber opaque color with a nice head and lacing.
A- Aroma has resounding caramel fruity and malty hints.
M-The taste follows the nose with well balanced caramel fruity and malty flavors.
M-A medium bodied beer with a nice amount of carbonation.
O-A very well made, very well balanced beer. The beer has a very strong kick. I was pleasantly surprised.

 

Congrats on UVA winning!

 

I starting screwing around with one-gallon batches last summer and slowly have figured it out. I can't recommend it enough. @utopiajane I failed hard at my first few batches as well (arguably I still do compared to some), but the beauty is I only had to drain pour 6 pint bottles. Dumping 5 gallons would be infuriating and I imagine would give me carpal tunnel.

It took me two batches to make something drinkable, the fourth (a Bitter) was actually pretty good and I have high hopes for the one I'm now waiting on. Hopefully I'll get to try it here next week!

As for the yeast, my understanding is that the only difference is that there is no need to make a starter and no need to fear underpitching. I could be all wet about that though. Anyway, it's a really fun activity and something that has REALLY expanded my appreciation of the artistry needed to make great beer.

 

I agree, it is a very well made beer.

I had passed on it numerous times in the past, but I will be revisiting it on multiple occasions in the future as I was very impressed.

 

In my opinion,that is rock solid advice for straight fives in any style

 

As I suspected, corn not my jam. I will wait until I can buy a single & then tick...

 

Drank a lot of that in Germany when I tired off all things German. It was only an hour to the French border & Hypermarkt CORA sticked this along with Chimay ( although those always seemed too young ).

 

Doc thank you for saying. The first thing everyone noticed including Jack was that the color was off. it was very oxidized. Do you know on e of my biggest mistakes was in using the airlock.. I made sure that sucker was clean and completely dry before i put it on. hence the oxidation. Then I could not figure out how to use the bottling wand and bottled without it again more oxygen. Maybe I will ask you for some advice. Northern brewer has a one gallon kit which is the same price as the mister beer kit. I also read the thread on mister beer here on ba.

 

Weston Brewing
Father Mesgan Bog Myrtle Ale
6.5% ABV

Hello. I just added this beer — a gruit nonetheless — to the beer database. It’s my first gruit, and I had to do some research regarding the ingredient known as Bog Myrtle. You can google search it if you want, but it’s basically an herb known as sweet gale or Myrica Gale found in the northern reaches of the planet near swamplands in countries such as England, Scotland, Ireland, Scandinavia, and Canada. Basically a substitute for hops, it’s supposed to bring about a resinous taste and mouthfeel and continues to be used today as a sedative, antiseptic, and anti-itch medicine. I gathered all of that info from www.beerandbrewing.com.

Here’s my official review:

Poured into a can glass.

Look: The beer pours out a cola shade of dark brown and settles with a thick khaki head on top that leaves decent foamy lacing in the form of spots and light lines.

Aroma: A fairly good amount of caramel malt sweetness blended with a soft, slightly spiced aroma not unlike cinnamon and light brown sugar.

Taste: Said to be slightly resinous, the Myrica Gale, or bog myrtle added to this beer brings out more of a soft flavor not unlike the aroma ... slightly spicy and herbal with notions of cinnamon and clove on the front, while the finish is indeed more sharp with lemon peel and light citrus adding balance. Certainly more astringent as the beer warms.

Mouthfeel: Medium to light in body, very smooth at 6.5% ABV.

Overall: Difficult to rate a beer when it is a style I’ve never had, but just taking this beer for how it tastes and smells, I like it — it’s very “drinkable” and inoffensive to the palate.

That’s all I have for today. I’m gonna spend the rest of my day tentatively planning my family camping trip in Colorado this summer and that sort of thing. Cheers

 

Thanks for the great start to New Beer Sunday. Jack, I'm glad your Wahoos won the ACC tournament. I think they are deserving of the overall #1 seed.
I am happy to report that we have had electricity and internet for the past 36 hours. But then I hear winter storm watch for Tuesday, with a lot of snow. Not again!
Anyway, on to the beer. This is Tripel C.R.E.A.M. from Bear Bones Beer in Lewiston, ME. It is described by the brewery as a bourbon mash aged in bourbon barrels. For those of you who don't know (like me), a bourbon mash must be at least half corn. This comes in a 500mL corked and caged bottle and is 11% ABV.
It is a hazy gold color with a small white head.
Aroma is mostly booze, with some grain.
Strong bourbon taste. Corn.
On the light side, a little burn from the alcohol.
A nice change of pace beer for me.

 

Congrats to UVA! (went to Duke and to UNC for grad school) It is great to see a senior group that plays defense like they do.

Today's new beer is Barn Beer, a wild ale from plan Bee Farm Brewery

The bottle pour is optically clear and pale yellow. There was the slightest haze in the last pour. The 1 cm fine foam cap dissipated quickly. There is oak in the nose and a floral note. The flavors are delicate: lemon, clover and hay-funk. This is a Sancerre-like wild ale with oak throughout. It is light-bodied and superb.