New Beer Sunday (Week 690)

Happy New Mothers Day Sunday to the statistically few of you out there reading who are mothers, the somewhat larger circle that includes those who have helped to create a mother, and the significantly larger pool of those who have/had a mother. And of course extended eternally to those in your lives for whom this day is dedicated.
It's always interesting to read different peoples' experiences with the same basic template, in this case experiences with the woman who carried each of us for the better part of a year. My own Mother is much closer to the description Maria paints (although the 'bilinguality' my mom displayed was half in entirely made up words. Seriously I remember when I was a little kid we had a made up dictionary that we had put together between us. Hadn't thought about that for decades until just now...), but she came from a family much closer to what Dave describes. An experience which she was very. Very. Conscientious to avoid sharing with her own children, a fact for which I am eternally grateful.
I am lucky that she is alive and in mostly decent health, and lives close enough that I can see her semi-frequently (but not so close that it becomes stifling!).

Anyway. My mom absolutely adores the colour purple. She also likes beets. And I feel like Prince is reasonably mom-adjacent music. So today I'm dipping into a beet gose from Michigan courtesy of the incredibly generous @FlintB.


(I spy, with my little eye...)
Transient's Purple Grain was a bit of a gusher right off the bat. I popped the lid and went to throw the cap away. When I turned back around it was cascading out the top and down the side of the bottle onto the island.

The nose offers an initial tart blast with some slick almost snotty salinity that progresses to a much mellower grain forward middle once it sits and warms. And sure enough there is an undeniably strong wave of boiling beets that comes across as well. Beets always remind me of my mom (not just because it's Mothers Day). She loves them. Eats them all the time. They're probably one of her most common foods. Puts them on salads, with chicken, on rice... I don't know. Everywhere. I'm not really a huge fan of them, but Transient definitely nailed it here capturing that sweet/dull earthiness that is the core of what beets offer. Like starch that tastes like dirt that has been pitch shifted into the sweet realm.

Flavour recommits to the boldly tart nature that first greeted my sniffer. This carries through the rest of the experience as it turns and commits fully to the acidulated nature of its descriptors. Tart is the name of the game, but an almost juicy counterbalance that never threatens to be 'sweet,' but does give it some depth and balance.
It's like this: You know how when it's early season and you're still picking the berries even though you should let them ripen and get fat and sweet and juicy in the sun, but you can't help it and so you work through slightly tart berries but love them all the same? Now imagine the flavour technician turned up the dial that controlled that tart character, and turned down any of the sweetness or true berriness that had begun to blossom therein.



Brightly effervescent. A good match with the hot sunny weather we've been having. It's too early for summer! We still need spring to give us enough water to finish topping up the reservoirs and nourishing the plants! And I need more grey days to let me sleep easily and guilt free!!



(the planter barrel was a birthday present from my mom last year, so I felt it was only appropriate to incorporate it)
Anyway, thanks again Brian for sending this along amongst all your other bountiful generosity!


Now if you'll excuse me I have to go crash. It's been an extra long stretch at work and I've only got a couple off before it's right back to it.
Hope all y'all are enjoying your sunday, and the contents of your glass, and again, Happy Mothers Day!

 

Thanks for sharing this. Not easy to open up.

 

Wow that also is quite the tale. I too am not going to burden any of my children with the mess I had to endure. I'm gonna go quietly, and neatly, right here on this piece of land I love, and if not there are instructions to not be heroic with medical treatments to forestall a near and inevitable end, and to donate all my organs

Mom's dementia at the end was part and parcel of a lifetime of hidden mental illness. Friends who knew my Mom have told me they thought the idea that I/we could have helped her was the same idea as thinking you can do dental work on a great white shark who desperately needs it. Still there is regret for all the lack of our effort, and I do remember her more fondly than I thought ever would be possible this Mothers Day. Here's to Moms, man, whatever else they did they brought our shiny asses into the world, and here's to them. Cheers!

 

Thanks for @lordofthewiens for another great start to NBS, and to the BAs who shared some of their stories today. I consider myself extremely lucky to have a loving mother who is relatively healthy as she navigates her 70s. Last year, my parents moved across the country to Tennessee to be closer to my family. It took a bit of adjusting on my part as I haven't lived in close proximity to them in over 30 years, but I honestly cherish every minute with them now and celebrate the fact that we now see each other so frequently. In fact, they are coming over later today for a casual Mother's Day gathering. Watching them (and me) age has given me insight, humility, more empathy, and a better understanding of life's challenges.

Anyway, onto the beer. This one is just a killer Baltic Porter from @beertunes from our most recent NBS BIF. The perfect beer to savor during quiet reflection:

Global Mutt, Wander Brewing, Bellingham, WA


Clear on the pour but nearly opaque dark brown in the glass. The pour produced a large and creamy tan head that only reluctantly settled, leaving some nice splotchy laces. The aroma was refined but was dominated by chocolate with only a hint of coffee and roasted grain. The taste was more balanced. There was a rush of bitter coffee up front, which yielded to allow dark chocolate and a roasty flavor to appear. The finish was punctuated with a slight ashtray char which played well with the bitterness. As expected, I could not detect any yeast esters, allowing the grain and adjuncts to shine. The feel was silky-smooth and clean. Medium-bodied and too easy to drink. Outstanding and one of the best in the style that I can remember. Thanks, Terry! Cheers!

 

Lagunitas waldo special
..color is a cloudy peach orange
..body is about medium with just above average carbonation
..aroma is citrus rind, pine,citrus fruit, bitter grapefruit
..taste is very similar, it is a bit sweet and the bitter grapefruit is very forward. As it warms the astringent pine comes through more.
...overall it is very well made,sweet but balances well the the bitter grapefruit. Tough for me to grade as the bitter quality that many like in this style doesn't always work for me

 

Nice beer! I just picked some up yesterday, and it comes off as more of a White IPA to me than a wit, with a pretty wicked (yet drinkable) bite.

 

New brew round 2
I was checking the New Holland beer finder to see if their new Taz IPA had hit locally and noticed a new liquor store in town that opened in January showed receipt of said beer. Went to said store, found Taz IPA bottled in April 2017, tried not to loose it and ended up buying this...

It's the freshest I'll probably ever see around here and it's an India tick.

The review:
650mL bottled November 2017 (6 months ago) poured into a nonic imperial pint glass at fridge temp 4.5% ABV. The beer pours bright light straw yellow with nearly white head. Retention and lacing are above AAL average in the nucleated glass. The aroma is fairly pungent for the style with some corn and grassy hops. The taste is fairly nuetral with some pils malt, grassy hops and a yeasty aftertaste. Mouthfeel is thin to medium bodied, adequately carbonated and somewhat dry in the finish. There is some bitter oily residual after the swallow that, while not great, is not completely unpleasant. Overall, good (for a 6 month old AAL imported from India).

Well, I've been awake for almost 24 hours now. Grass is mowed, squeaky noise on wife's car diagnosed and two loads of laundry done. Going to crash a couple hours and get on to this evening's festivities. Cheers all and enjoy the new beer in your glass!

 

Poured on draft at When Pigs Fly Prairie Artisan Ale Prairie Paradise. Pours pitch black with with no head and leaves very little lace. 4

Smell is boozy, vanilla bean, cocoa, coffee ground, and coconut. 4.25

Taste follows alcohol upfront, with coconut, vanilla, dark chocolate, and strong roasty coffee. 4.5

Mouthfeel is tad bigger than medium, very gentle carbonation, a tad dry, and a sipper that goes down rather quick considering. 4

Overall this is a very nice stout as always with them, would love to sip this on a cold winters night. 4.25

 

New beer #3. Been wanting to try this for awhile. Finally found a can yesterday in Brooklyn.

Wrench - Industrial Arts
NEIPA - 6.8% abv
Canned 4/18/18 (25 days ago)
Purchased for $5 at Threes’ Bottle Shop
Score: 4.02 (-8.2% rDev)



L - sparse 2-finger head atop an opaque golden yellow body.

S - citrus bouquet. Pungent floral aromas. Some dankness. A lot going on here.

T - orange slices follows by dank green. Floral middle. Very smooth overall. Low sweetness, low bitterness, low booziness.

F - medium-light body with medium carb.

O - Glad to try one of their brews, but this one does not stand out in any way.

 

I just had my last one of those last night. In the period of 2 to 3 weeks where I went through that six it seemed to lose the vibrant punch it had in the beginning and came off as sweeter and more rounded. It's a tough style to get in that Goldilocks zone, but they had it for a short while there, and for me fresher was better.

 

@cavedave here's to you, I totally understand. My mother is still alive and haven't spoken to her in years. Was mean and cruel on purpose,a hoarder and so much more. I never talk about the details of my childhood because people think I'm making it up or just never look at me the same. My family took it to an extreme but in the end it's still my ability to decide how to overcome years of insane neglect and more than really made me who I am. I'm having this beer in your honor because you sound like you became a healthy decent man despite everything and that's very impressive

Ulster breakfast stout
..pours solid black
. Above average body with low carbonation
..aroma is roasted coffee,dark bakers chocolate and malt
..taste is very similar,a bit sweet but far from cloying. A touch of a dry bitter taste and finish from what I think is the roasted coffee
..overall it's an excellent breakfast stout that I would seek out again. Very nice balance between sweet and bitter coffee

 

Ridgeway Bad Elf

In an attempt to mix up my holidays, I’m having a Christmas beer on Mother’s Day. This beer is part of Ridgeway’s escalating “bad elf” Christmas series. It’s not hard to find negative things posted about these beers here. This “winter’s ale” is 6% ABV.

Ridgeway calls it an “English strong ale,” the Shelton Brothers call the style a “hoppy beer,” and BeerAvocate calls it an “English IPA.” (Frankly, I’m surprised it’s not classified here as a “winter warmer,” not because I’d call it one, but because that seems like how it would be done here.)

The beer is clear and light amber. The head dies very quickly. The taste is very spicy and herbal… slightly cedary. This beer balances towards the hops. It uses English Cascade. The list of grain is longer than expected: barley, wheat, rye, and oats (plus sugar). I suspect the rye is contributing to the spicy/herbal character rather than that purely coming from the hops.

I can feel the ABV. This beer begs to be more drinkable, but it doesn’t manage to get there. To be fair, that’s probably the unique domain of the 4.5% version of this beer (which I haven’t had ). Feels good to be drinking a bottled English beer again… even if I’m not in love with this one.

Cheers.

 

Hey what's going on?!

Howdy folks! Hope everyone is well! Been busy of late, yesterday was a fun filled day out as I went to a crawfish boil. That was pretty fun... which involved basically a long shower after I was done to head out for the evening.




I don't have much more exciting news, other than I am pretty pumped about the NHL playoffs as I am cheering for a Jets - Caps final which is strongly becoming a possibility!!

With that said though we need beer! What's new for our hero today?

Commonwealth Brewing Co. - Aureole Belgian Lager



Poured from the can into a Libbey style pilsner glass.

Pale brass body color, with some very good clarity. Good amount of carbonation, just a little and not overly excessive, mixing in cola and pin head sized bubbles. Soapy but thick bleach white head, and good staying power. Pretty solid nice looking lager.

Nice decent aroma. Crisp nose, a bit of sensing sweet malts, touches possibly a little bit honey sweetness also but not sure. Muted sense of herbal hops, making a nice addition to a good malt backbone aroma.

Interesting palate. A bit of a wet mouthfeel, not like a typical pils in feel, but flashes a little watery. Still the palate makes a decent splash, touches of chewy like malts, not quite bready though. Finishs quite herbal for a good hop punch with lots of spicy green herb touches. Not much of a yeast quality that I can discern, probably sticking to neutral by design, and manages to keep away from real pasty sticky qualities too.

Interesting take on the use of Belgian pale malts. Sort of makes for an easy drinking but less flavorful and rounded lager though. But a solid decent beer.

look: 4.25 | smell: 4 | taste: 3.75 | feel: 3.5 | overall: 3.75 | BA Generated: 3.82

Cheers!

 

New beer #4. Thanks @larryi86 !

Imperial Biscotti Chili Hazelnut Break - Evil Twin
Imperial Stout - 11.5% abv
Score: 4.33 (-0.7% rDev)



L - massive 4-finger hazelnut head atop an opaque black body.

S - hazelnut, coffee, exotic spice, biscuit.

T - hazelnut all day. Coffee follows. Spicy middle. I get some indian spices strangely, moreso than chili. Biscuity malt. Graham cracker. Low bitterness, low-medium sweetness, low booziness.

F - medium-full body with low carb.

O - not at all spicy. Great flavors.

 

Sixpoint Alpenflo Helles Lager

Happy Mother's Day, BAs. Today's new beer pours a lovely clear gold with a finger of white head that leaves sheets of lacing.

Big bready malts in the nose: Italian bread, a touch of corn meal, some subtly floral, grassy hops and an even lighter hint of lemon.

These same elements continue in the taste, along with the slightest kiss of sulfur and some modest grassy bitterness, leaving a semi-crisp finish with just a little of the malt and lemon-grass lingering in the aftertaste. Incredibly refreshing.

Light to medium bodied with just enough carbonation to prevent it from feeling still.

This is a delicious, thirst-quenching, warm-weather beer. Glad I got a 12-pack.

 

Good afternoon BAs and happy mothers day. After the brunch at home and visiting children I just cracked my first Michelob Ultra after sitting in the hot afternoon sun (the first time since last October?). I purchased an out dated 12 pack for 6.99 last week and tried it for the first time. I have to say that it fit the bill for a thirst quencher. It was very light with enough flavor to let you know it was beer - barely. No complaints though because it was dirt cheap and slaked my thirst. I am going for number two and then to my mothers house. Enjoy your day and try not to think of work tomorrow. Cheers !

 

Thanks for the kind words, and here's to you and your Mom, too.

And I know the Ulster in the name of that beer has no relation to where I live, but I do live in Ulster County, NY.

Here's to Moms everywhere, bad, worse, or worst. Coulda made Dad wear a rubber, and then where would we be? Cheers!

 

Believe it or not, friends and NBS neighbors, I had no beer for today's NBS!!

I am trying to revisit more beers, but that’s not the main reason. So, how to solve the conundrum?

Well, as our illustrious host has pointed out, it’s Mother’s Day. My mom was more the disciplinarian and while I resented it at the time, I appreciate her stern attitude a bit more now. She’s lightened up with age, but still has her moments (more with dad than her favorite son, though [note I am the only male offspring she has]). And since both parents moved up to be closer to the good child (with her offspring), we’ll be joining both mothers shortly. But guess who’s on the way to their house??

Ocelot, probably my favorite local brewery. It’s been a month or so, and I guessed correctly they’d have something new for me to offer up:


The official beer is Angel in White, a Witbier on the left. Our bartender was a little bored on this slow day (seriously, who isn’t taking mom out for IPAs on Mother’s Day? Sad ).

Ok, so the beer...
You can see the pale white, very blurring haze on its body. The head has settled, and you should be able to see the lace of what once was. There’s still a medium film as my thumb tappped out these sentences.

Nose is on point for a witbier... which I pretty much expected. This brewer does pretty decent representations of classic styles (Germam mainly). Wheat, banana, spice, you all know the scent. I’d love to have an Allagash on the bar next to me to compare.

Taste opens appropriately - malt and wheat, with a yeasty influence. A dryish feel with a nice carbonation accentuated by a peppery flavor. A little non-tart lemon influence moving towards the back. A grassy to lightly pithy back bitterness is where this deviates from the classics. It’s bordering on overpowering, though only in reference to the style. It’s not ripping, but more like how a nicely bitter Pilsner shines its malts, then sweeps them aside with bitterness to ready you for the next taste.

So, traditional to a point, enjoyable overall, but just odd enough.

—

Oh, that other beer? As I stated our “bartender” (is that right at a tap room?) that knew our names 3-4 visits before we learned his was poured and was layering beers. His favorite was “Powers of Angels” - with their award winning Powers of Observation Baltic Porter and my reviewed beer.

Pseudo, quick review:
Well, just pretty with that nitro-like head.
The top beer dominates before I destroy the layers, unsurprisingly.
A slightly roasted note is added to my impressions above as I give a good tip of the glass to try to stir things up. (Note the layering holds). The porter sneaks in more and more as the Witbier layer seems to thin out (indicating I’m drinking more of it early.

Anyhow, fun times. Note to @Buck89 - I’m happy with what they have available in cans today.

Cheers to all, especially those good moms out there!