New Beer Sunday (Week 686)

New English Barleywine Sunday (Week 686)
Greetings fellow NBSers, from on the ridge in Mid Hud Val, NY, on a day when I woke early and saw some flakes falling. Okay, I know SD and Minn. are getting bombed, and there isn't a flake to see anywhere here now, but it is cold, and those flakes spotted at 4:30 convinced me today is the day for this BA BW I have been staring at since receiving in BIF 7 from @richj1970. He took the time to do a little research, and noticed I love to switch up styles and am in love with all of them, so he sent a wonderful variety I am gonna be sad to finish. Thanks, man.

Realationships? Hmmm, not so touchy a subject for me as it was not so long ago. Two marriages, almost opposites of each other (purposely) and neither worked out, though one hung on for almost twenty five years, including the years we lived together pre-marriage. Many girlfriends, some with whom I fell in love despite warning bells, and others who fell in love with me, inexplicably, and their warning bells should have gone off. I love my children, now three grown men, so that is the beauty and love of romance and marriage preserved. Had a woman making a play for me when I was about to retire at work last year, she was pretty forward about it, and I had an epiphany that I don't think I can stand to have to accommodate anyone, nor force them to accommodate me, at this point. So very happy to be relationship free for the rest of the ride. I do love hearing success stories, though.

Fairhope V Anniversary Rye Barrel Barley Wine

Alcohol spice, bright whiskey notes, light vanilla, tasty caramel and light toffee, some roasty grain, with light herbal bitter hop notes behind, make a medium strength and complex, tasty aroma.

Med. strength taste, with all the flavors of the nose brightly present. Alcohol spice kicks back but the roastier and more bitter notes come forward. Toffee and dark caramel balance well, and the sip ends with those notes joined by increasing (hop?) bitter.

Solid middle ground for all the mouthfeel characteristics for style, and a decent finish that is a little hoppy for style, but plays well with the other flavors.

Is it in league with the best BA Barley Wines? No. Is it a delicious, well crafted treat that I highly recommend? Absolutely. Quite delicious, and this bottle will be gone pretty quickly.

Hope you also have a Great American Beer in your glass. Cheers!

 

HA! - I saw your post with probably 1 minute left in the edit window. I decided to not try to fix it

 

Thank you for the thoughtful start to this mornings NBS @lordofthewiens !

Relationships are a funny thing. I won’t touch too much on the marital one but I’d like to touch on some different relationships.

By and large the community here at BA is awesome to say the least. I know distance is usually an obstacle for most people maintaining friendships. I have met some incredible people here and my experience is that with some of you fine folks I’ll get a better shake than with my own family.

Some of you I’ve met in person and others not. I do have a trip to plan revolving around ba handshake ticks. I’m not sure when but it’s coming.

So without further ado here is a beauty from @thebeers that has shed some light on what is an awful day weather wise.

So, thank you Arthur and @Sixpoint for this very well done porter!

 

The principle thing I've learned from past relationships is to maintain my sense of humor.

This little guy looks like a cheerful companion . . .



Dark brownish black color with tan cap and good lacing.

Aroma of dark caramel and toffee with a brightness in the background that I ascribe to hops.

Flavor is rich, almost meaty, roasted malt that smells sweet but drinks dry. Some layers here with elements of ripe dark stone fruit and figs, a touch of cocoa and coffee, yet hops are present from the start and balance the malt nicely. There's almost a lightness, a lifting up so to speak, from the hop influence (35 IBU) that prevents the whole from becoming heavy yet the overall flavor is full and complex, the gears meshing together and the result is refreshing. Don't taste or scent alcohol (8%) but do notice it's effect.

Full texture with balancing carbonation.

Outstanding Imperial Schwartz beer that sings with a full voice.

 

Nice start to NBS this week @lordofthewiens, going to the store later on to find something new for today.

Cheers!

 

The lost Abbey serpent stour
..solid black color
..above average body, mild amount of carbonation
..aroma is roasted malt, alcohol,followed by some roasted coffee beans and cocoa
..taste is almost identical, alcohol comes through first followed by the roasted malt. As it warms and you get more into the subtle flavors the coffee and cocoa appear
..ovetall it was definitely above average and very enjoyable,just one to be sipped slowly

 

That shit goes down way too easy. Can get you in trouble. Yes, from experience.

 

Good Morning Gentlemen.
I see we have an example of how important "communication" is in relationships.

 

^^^Meant to quote.

 

@cavedave that's why I stopped at half the bottle. For such high abv it goes down very easy

 

Poured aggressive just above room temperature into a 16 oz Snulip glass 2018 vintage Limited Release blend. Pours a very attractive slick black with a very attractive 2 finger light brown head that settles rather quickly leaving thin patches of lace behind. 4.25

Smell is remarkably complex coconut, cinnamon, coffee ground, dates, dark chocolate, oaky vanilla, and maybe a hint of Barrel alcohol. 4.5

Taste follows coconut, cinnamon, roasty coffee, vanilla, currants, chocolate, Oak, and a little hint of alcohol. 4.5

Mouthfeel is a tad bigger than medium, very gentle carbonation, a tad dry and slightly sticky, and unfortunately they didn’t say the ABV so I can’t tell you. Guessing around 11% and drinks that way, but because of all the different flavors it goes down quicker than it should. Previous versions were 10.5 and 12 so this is a BIG beer. 4.25

Overall this is a beer geeks dream, a extremely complex blend that just overwhelms the palate and makes you pick up different tastes sip after sip. Thanks @GreenBayBA for this amazing blended stout. 4.5

 

Oh, the irony...

 

New beer #2. Thanks @RedhawkPoke !

Deconstructed Bomb (Coffee) - Prairie
Imperial Stout - 11.8% abv
Score: 4.4 (+5% rDev)



L - 1-finger mocha head atop a pitch black body.

S - strong good coffee, roast, a little chocolate, caramel.

T - perfectly brewed coffee. The roast is very prominent. Some sweet caramel. Mildly bitter, mildly sweet, no booze.

F - medium-full body and low carb.

O - love the coffee they used here. It’s a one-dimensional brew, but that’s the point.

 

My relationships are solid, with friends and family. You get out of a relationship what you put it in to it. Celebrated my birthday with my family and wanted to try a special beer from a brewery that I have heard of but never tasted. I submit below my ratings fro Jester King's Das WunderKind! Der WunderLlama HAD to try a beer with that moniker.

4.02/5 rDev -0.5%
look: 4.25 | smell: 4 | taste: 4 | feel: 4 | overall: 4

Large bottle poured into chalice

Opened on my birthday

Der WunderLlama should be drinking Das Wunderkind heute!!

One finger white foam cap over hazy golden yellow

Aroma of tartness , yeast, straw, grass

Gentle tartness, slight lemoniness,

Good sudsing

Good beer

 

Thank you @Dragginballs76 i like how it's not as intense of a hop bomb as some ne ipa. Good to switch it up once in a while.

Seminar brewing ds3

4.3/5 rDev 0%
look: 4 | smell: 4.5 | taste: 4.25 | feel: 4.25 | overall: 4.25

Pours pale brownish yellow. Short, foamy white head that fades fast.

Smells tropical, mango, papaya, light pineapple, grapefruit and peach.

Tastes mango, papaya, peach, melon and orange. Followed by grapefruit, pineapple and light spicy yeast. Finish is semi dry with citrus Linger. Medium body and creamy medium carbonation.

 

Relationships. Hmm. I've had some interesting ones. (That's diplo-speak). I hold no ill will toward any of my exes. And as far as I know, none of them live in Texas.
My wife and I originally dated in our early 20's. We both went to the same community college but only met by chance. Her family is pretty traditional (Mexican traditional) and the girls in the family didn't even really date in high school.

Well, her eldest sister was taking a few classes at the college, something her father didn't seem to see the purpose of. He advised her to work. This sister ended up taking Sociology with a teacher who had quickly become my mentor, almost a second father. He had an interesting background. He was brought up on the Ramah Reservation in New Mexico. His father was German and Irish, his mother Mexican and Apache. So he was always the outsider. Went into the Navy at 17, Vietnam, crazy shit on gunboats up rivers in a country that was not Vietnam, doing shit that the government denies. Came home, got arrested in San Diego. Dad drove out and bailed him out. He described it as time to get it together. Started going to school. Long story short, he became an anthropology teacher.

He took a serious liking to my wife's older sister. Not in that way. My sister-in-law is an old soul. People gravitate to her. He said she reminded him so much of his mother. He tried talking her into joining a class he taught that ran over the whole spring break. It was a class on the Hopi and the Navajo, where the culmination of the class was a trip to both reservations, with a focus on the issues surrounding the "joint use area." An ingenious plan the Feds came up with to sow conflict into these neighboring groups. There was no way in hell her parents would let her go on a trip with a bunch of college students. Her mom said, "You have a bed here." He took it upon himself to go talk to my now mother in law. He spoke Spanish and must have worked magic. I'm sure there was some choice words regarding "protecting her honor" involved. So she went on the trip. And that's how her sister Lety and I became friends.

Which was the only way I had a shot at dating her sister. I had Lety's endorsement...So the mom saw past the long hair, ear rings, and leather jacket. She seemed to be ok with me. In later years she told me she "saw my soul." I'm glad cuz the exterior scared off a lot of other girls' parents.

We dated for almost a year, but exterior forces were putting stress on us. We broke up by the railroad track that bisect our town. We needed distance for a while. But eventually we would start having a little contact. We remained friends, albeit at a safe distance, chatting occasionally. Sometimes I'd write her from my travels in Latin America.

I had become a teacher and was planning my next summer trip, Brazil. We were talking on the phone when I happened to mention that I had cut my hair. I had worn it long for over 15 years. She thought i was pulling her leg. She said we had to get together before I took off. She said we should get together at a local sushi place that my brother and I frequented, but she had yet to try. She specifically mentioned to bring my brother...still needed that clear boundary I thought, "She definitely doesn't want me to get the wrong idea."

Well she surprised me by bringing her older sister, Lety. I had not seen her in years. So Lety and I sat between Isa (my wife) and me. Most of the evening was spent talking to Lety. Oh and an ex-girlfriend showed up to make it a little strange as well.

So to make this long story shorter. We hung out, went to a few places, had a few drinks, and said goodnight. End of story, or so I thought. My brother knew that I always felt like SHE was the only one I could settle down with. The one that got away. Well, my phone rings at 2 am. It's Isa. She said that her sisters, especially Lety, had been bugging her all night. "What about you two?" So at their prodding. She dialed. She admitted that she had picked up the phone and began to dial at least a dozen times before she finally let it ring.

We talked. We laughed about how many times we had misread each other in our defensiveness through the years. We agreed to try a date when I got back from Brazil. The date went well. The same woman I had known so many years ago had grown in age, beauty, wisdom, purpose, and strength. I was done. Within 9 months, I (Mr fear of Commitment) popped the question. This was 14 years after we had broken up by those railroad tracks.

Life takes a circuitous route and it's often bewildering. But I know, had we stayed together the first time, we would have been two totally different people. And I'm pretty happy with who we are. We have 2 smart, caring, amazing daughters. Her family welcomed me back like a long lost son and all seems whole.

Sorry, that was long.

 

Central Waters Rum Barrel Coconut Porter

Mahogany in color with a slight tan head
No lacing
Scents of wood char, rum and coconut.
Sherry-like
Tasted boozy, i like boozy
I kept thinking of those boose filled chocolate cherry candies.anyways...
My mouthfeel was medium-heavy
Dry on the back end.
I think this is made to drink around the time of purchase, but some will age it.

4.0 4.25. 4.0 4.0 4.0

Have a nice sunday

 

Interesting, your rating average and mine are the same just a shade less than @GreenBayBA Good beer !

 

Similar to @Gobearswalter34 there's only ever been one girl for me. I was awkward and didn't go out at all in high school. Met her the first day of college, became friends, started dating our sophomore year now have been together for 12, married to my best friend in the world for 8.

Still working through @Bum4ever's generous BIF box, I have time for one before I head to the Cavs-Pacers playoff game.



16oz can poured into a tulip
A: Orange with a touch of brown, slightly hazy, a one-finger head settles quickly
S: Tons of fresh citrus especially orange zest, some tropical fruit and pine/herbs in the background
T: A touch dank, lots of dried herbs along with citrus zest and pine
M: Quite dry, medium-bodied, a touch bitter
O: Nothing off baseline about this - a solid well-made IPA
4 for the look, 4.25 down the rest of the line, overall just a touch above par at 4.24
Cheers - more to come later today!