New Beer Sunday (Week 685)

Sounds like it's still stereotypical stout weather up there in the frozen tundra.
Glad you enjoyed that one! Don't qoute me on it but I believe they age in Buffalo Trace barrels. Some good stuff coming from them, their brewmaster was from Russian River so I'm really looking forward to trying some of the BA sours when they get ready.

 

glad you enjoyed it, I tasted one before sending the box and thought it might have been a bit better fresh, but c'est la vie. Finding out you love smoked beers was tough because NONE of the local breweries around me are doing smoke beers right now so I figured I'd get ya one somehow. Cheers buddy!

 

Hello New Beer Sunday!!!

A bit later than planned tonight because I had a bunch of errands to run after work to get ready for my fishing trip to the Rainy River tomorrow. It will be a blast, now if the weather were a bit better. Around here it's been like February. Not good. Hopefully it will warm up soon, and it will stop snowing.

Enough chit chat, on to the beer.


Dark Helmet from Westbrook Brewing in Mt. Pleasant, SC.

Yes, this is a beer I got on vacation in North Carolina, and I got it for the name alone.

So, how is it?

Not bad at all.
The head was crazy, even though I tried not to do an aggressive pour. The nose was slight, but the flavor made up for the nose. Lots of flavors working together - caramel, coffee, chocolate, and a smoke flavor. Happy to try this beer, and this can is going in my can collection. No way is it going into the recycling.

Review:

3.81/5 rDev -0.8%
look: 4 | smell: 3.5 | taste: 4 | feel: 3.75 | overall: 3.75

Pours a dark, almost pitch black color. The head, and I didn't do an aggresive pour, turned out to be 4 finger, tan, very frothy, with good retention.
The nose is very slight. I just get a hint of malt, maybe a bit of coffee, but not much else from it.
Taste is roasty, slight smoke, a bit of coffee, a bit of nuts, some caramel, some chocolate.
Feel is moderate. It does linger in the back of my throat for a bit.
Tasty beer. I'll admit, I had to get it because of the name, but it is a good beer. Happy to try it.

519 characters

I'll see if I have time for one more, but I've got some more prep work to do before the trip.

 

I just missed you. I usually buy the Sunday tickets, but I was there yesterday. That Maple Nut Smasher!!!

 

"Mediocre" is generous.

 

Great photo. If you have a Twitter account you should tag them.

 

My thoughts exactly. Guess I haven't had enough cream ales in my day to pick out the profile underneath the adjuncts but that's why the mystery beers are so fun.

 

Beer #2 from @larryi86 is Pleasure Palate, a DIPA from Argilla Brewing Company at Pietro's Pizza. Talk about synergy! It comes in a pint crowler:



Pours a deep orange with a healthy head that quickly dissipates, leaving a fluffy wreath around the outside of the glass. Nose is subtle citrus and dank weed. Lightly carbonated. Healthy malt backbone nicely balances an aggressive hop bitterness. Nice old school DIPA.

 

Hello again NBS, I am back again, this time with a companion from Anchorage, Alaska. This is the Patterns Triple IPA from Anchorage Brewing Company.


Coming in at 9.5 ABV, this is a big boy.
Poured from 16oz can into 16oz tulip glass. Canned on 02/01/18, so isn't the freshest.

Look: 4.5
Very dark yellow, looks damn near to orange juice. 2 fingers worth a frothy white head formed, and then quickly dissipated. Moderate amounts of lacing on the glass. This beer looks delicious.

Smell: 4.0
For a triple, it isn't as strong as you would think. I can pick out the usual citrus fruits-orange, grapefruit, tangerine, and lemon. Pineapple, lemongrass, papaya, mango, nectarine and peach is one the nose as well. There is an earthy/grassy smell to the beer, which I am assuming are the hops, but it is very minimal.

Taste: 4.0
More on the earthy side initially, then has a fruity finish. Up front, there is a grassy, florally flavor that reminds me of wheat grass. Not much bitterness, especially for a triple ipa. On the backend, I get pineapple, grapefruit, orange, mango, tangerine and papaya. Pretty nice tasting, and not boozy at all for being 9.5% of goodness.

Feel: 4.0
Medium in body and medium in weight. Carbonation is moderate. Has a nice heft on the tongue, and leaves a syrupy residue in my mouth.

Overall: 4.0
This is a well made, simple TIPA. It is very easy drinking considering what it is. Plus, there is a cool factor in drinking something from The Last Frontier. I imagine this drink is a staple among the Alaskan Grizzlies. In all seriousness though, it is a good beer, and more importantly, I found it enjoyable.

My Final BA Score: 4.03
Cheers all!

 

Just back from a long (11hours) trip back from spring break to celebrate NBS with beers from @2beerdogs wonderful beermail.

I drank my butt off all week and, to be honest, the thought of cracking a few open was not high on my list...until I opened the fridge to remember just what he sent. First up, a long time want-La Cumbre’s Elevated IPA.


Dated 2/28/18, poured into tulip.
Pours a clear deep honey with orange highlights, solid 1 finger of tiny bubbles. Medium amount lacing. Mandarin orange, candied citrus, lemon peel nose. Just terrific.
Taste has much softer flavors. Tropical fruits, mango, weed, grapefruit. Cracker graininess. I wish the taste matched the nose a bit more. Finishes with a dry crispness. The body is perfect and clean, superbly drinkable. Glad to have tried this longtime want.
4.34

 

Finally getting around to posting my blind review for the BIF, this one courtesy of @Smokesnotes glassware also courtesy of him, my first Teku.

A beer that had yet to be released at the time it was covered. I had several Old Nation and Transient cans in the box so my first thought is another from one of these. Hell yeah! Everything I've had from either was wonderful.
Pours a hazy, amber orange with a finger of loose white head.
Smells of citrus, more on the sweeter end of citrus. Pineapple and some pine come through too.
Taste follows, lots of sweet orange and pineapple.
Medium to full body with a smooth feel.
Overall a great brew!
I'm leaning towards this being from Transient. The juice like flavor and feel seem more in line with them that the Old Nation.
For the reveal
https://i.imgur.com/tuaorre.jpg
These guys are producing some awesome beers, thank you Jason for another tasty one.

 

Well, I had planned on hitting a couple of those hoppy beers @beerloserLI sent me, but since my post this a.m. spring allergies have hit me like a ton of bricks, hardly optimum palate conditions for reviewing beers. Hopefully I'll feel better tomorrow, so I can start making a dent in this pile of beers I've got!

 

Happy New Beer Sunday! I made a haul of mostly new beers today, so I expect to drink and review a few of them tonight.

First up is Peak Organic Spring IPA.



I don't care for most session IPAs, but this one is great! Spring IPA from Peak Organic. It's offers notes of lemon, orange, honeydew melon and pineapple with soft crackery malt. Very little bitterness and lightly dry. It's light but not watery, with a soft and delicate mouthfeel. It's a New England style session IPA, and it does a damn good job at it.

My BA review:

Comes in a completely hazy, opaque bright straw color with a small sticky white head. Moderate retention, with rings of lacing.

Smells of big orange and lemon; the oils, pith, and seeds. Some pineapple, cracker, and hay as well. Slightly grassy.

The taste is watered down orange juice/orange drink, lemon, honeydew melon, and pineapple. Soft crackery malt with dough and grass. A lightly drying, slightly chalky finish.

Light, but not watery. Moderately carbonated. Smoothly rounded, almost slightly creamy.

A really good session IPA, one of the best I've had, and NE-style. Great session IPA.

look: 4.5 | smell: 3.75 | taste: 4.25 | feel: 3.75 | overall: 4.25

 

Anchor Brewers’ Pale Ale - Nelson Hop Blend

This beer has that Anchor house character of dirty fruit. That sounds worse than I mean it to. Past that, it has a subtle lemon/lime sourness and it’s perfumey. Boy, now it seems like I’m trying to describe a terrible combination, but this one comes together better than my description suggets. An OK beer. Cheers.

 

Sorry for the late review, been traveling all day and we had a bit of snow here in the Midwest.

This mystery beer was courtesy of @CanConPhilly



Poured from bottle. Pours a black licorice color. Not jet black, but dark with about a fingers worth of foamy head.



Was at in-laws, so went with the best glass I could find.

Smell is sour, couldn't pick up much more than that. Taste is oaky, with a touch of blueberry. Definitely tart, but not overpowering. Medium to light mouth feel, drinks pretty easy. A nice beer that was like nothing I've had before.

And the beer ended up being Tired Hands Wiccan Worship Circle. First time I've ever been the first to review, so quite the pressure!



4.17/5 rDev 0%
look: 4.25 | smell: 4 | taste: 4.25 | feel: 4 | overall: 4.25

 

My next new one today is Deschutes The Abyss aged in tequila barrels-




4.46/5 rDev +3%
look: 4.25 | smell: 4.5 | taste: 4.5 | feel: 4.25 | overall: 4.5

Look- Pours pitch black with a nice brown head that settles to a thin layer; spotty lacing

Aroma- dark chocolate, espresso, smoky tequila, black licorice

Taste- dark chocolate, espresso, fruity prunes and a little bitterness. The smoky tequila note is there and easily noticeable throughout, but it's there as a compliment to the other flavors and doesn't dominate.

Feel- full bodied, low carb, and creamy with a long slightly sweet but bitter finish

Overall- The smoky tequila notes in this one really serve to enhance the already complex flavors found in the base beer. Really nice one here.

 

Glad you liked it!

 

4.46/5 rDev +2.8%
look: 4.75 | smell: 4.25 | taste: 4.5 | feel: 4.5 | overall: 4.5

Pours ink black with a slight brown head. A lot of fresh coffee on the nose. Feels very smooth, not thick for a 9% stout but certainly not thin, good for a coffee stout. Taste is excellent, roasty and lots of good coffee notes. Overall, glad this found its way into my hands, really an excellent coffee stout. Thanks @oline73 !

 

Loooooove me some Russian River - sounds promising as hell, John!

And yeah, no kidding. I'll be drinking stouts here for another couple months at this rate!

 

New dessert!
Definitely not for everyone, but I like it!



Batch #001.
16 oz. can.
Moderate pour yields a huge tan head over a very dark brown body with sticky lacing. Nose of hazelnuts, vanilla, and coffee. Taste of chocolate, chili, coffee, vanilla, with a hazelnut finish. Nice feel and overall, a very complex and tasty treat. Cheers!

4.35/5 rDev -0.2%
look: 4.25 | smell: 4.25 | taste: 4.5 | feel: 4.25 | overall: 4.25