New Beer Sunday (Week 692)

Cheers from hot and muggy Tennessee! Today's new beer is a recently released collaboration between our own Yazoo Embrace the Funk and The Rare Barrel (Berkeley, CA). In fact, the brewers announced plans for this beer back in October, 2016, and they literally crowd-sourced the recipe and process on the Embrace the Funk Facebook page. The beer is a tart Saison that was aged in red wine barrels, fermented with a mixed culture as you might expect.

reSOURces, Yazoo Brewing Co. and The Rare Barrel



This one was moderately hazy with a bright, almost luminescent golden color. A standard pour produced a modest white head which settled fairly quickly, although some foam persisted. There was a perceptible wine-like aroma on the pour, and the amount of aroma surprised me for this style of beer. Closer inspection revealed red wine, lemons, oak, and a little pepper. This one was definitely tart - not enamel-erasing tart but getting there. Somewhat fruity with lemons and tart cherries. The red wine and oak was there all the way through and rises up on the finish. Some black pepper. Not much in the way of barnyard/horse blanket/hay notes, this one is more like Sweet Tarts floating in a glass of Pinot Noir. Overall an outstanding beer that got more interesting as it warmed.
Cheers!

 

New beer #5. Thanks @RedhawkPoke ! The last from your NBS BIF #7 box. This might be the best of the bunch. Wow!

BA Christmas Bomb - Prairie
Imperial Stout aged in whiskey barrels - 13% abv
Score: 4.49 (-1.7% rDev)



L - 1-finger mocha head recedes quickly into a pitch black body.

S - fudge, chocolate, cinnamon, nutmeg, whiskey.

T - a cinnamon blast at first. Fudgey milk chocolate comes next. The barrel is present but not in your face. Low bitterness. Moderate sweetness. Moderate booziness.

F - medium-full body with minimal carb.

O - If you love cinnamon and whiskey like I do, this will hit your pleasure spot.

 

Welcome back!

 

Slyfox mudlust coffee porter
..almost solid brown/black color
..low carbonation with an above average body, nice thick creamy feel
..Aroma is roasted malt and roasted coffee beans with some dark chocolate.
..Taste was malt,roasted coffee,dark and milk chocolate,with some cream as well
..overall it had a great feel,mellow aroma and a really nice flavor. I Wii definitely get this again

 

Dipping into more work travel spoils.



Council Brewing Company's Questionable Advice.

Pours an opaque light-orange with a finger of white foam. Head retention is okay, but not great. Aroma is orange, clementine, papaya, and banana. Lots of citrus, but more-so focused on domestics. Biscuit and bread malts underneath. Flavor profile is orange, clementine, papaya, mango, and banana with biscuit and bread malts underneath. Mouth feel is chalky and grainy, with a medium-thick consistency. Overall, lots of hop qualities, but it loses a bit in terms of feel. Otherwise, well rounded.

Score: 4 | 4.25 | 4 | 3.5 | 4 | BA Score: 4.01 | rDev: +2%

 

Cheers everyone! For my last new brew today I had some Falls City Beer Classic Pilsner: https://www.beeradvocate.com/beer/profile/22779/348303/?ba=bluejacket74#review





I thought it was a good easy drinking brew. Happy NBS and I'll try to keep up with everyone else's new brews later today or tomorrow morning!

 

This next one is Bad Vibe Deflectors from BareWolf Brewing based out of Amesbury, MA. These guys are pretty dang good, actually, but I'm pretty sure I've only had a few of their hop-focused offerings thus far. When I saw that this was a hefeweizen, I felt compelled to pick up a single to give it a shot. Also, it's only 5 days old! Cheers to fresh local beer!

Pours a hazed over golden-orange color with a frothy head that settles down to a quarter-finger ring in my glass. A little less head retention than I'd like in this style, but the color and opacity are on point.

The nose here is sliiiiightly tart and very clove-heavy, with lots of phenolic funkiness going on. My favorite kind of hefe, for sure. I'm not much a huge fan of the banana-y esters in some commercial hefes, so it's good to see they keep this one a little more in the spicy realm! Doughy yeast, a bit of bready wheat and some mild anonymous fruitiness. Kind of musty. Interesting and up my alley for sure.

The flavor profile is mostly hefty wheat and clovey spice with some light lemony notes and a doughy mid-palate. At only 4.4%, this is definitely an easier drinking hefeweizen than quite a few choices on the market, and I'm down with that. Not much to say about this one, but it's quite solid for what it is. The appearance leaves a lot to be desired in terms of head formation and retention, but once it's on my tongue I don't care as much for whatever reason.

 

New Class of ‘18 Beer Sunday

Enjoying a couple drinks before I have to head to the high school to watch my oldest graduate. Figured the high 80s combined with a dew point in the upper 60s was a good time for something light and something new to the 2018 ratings.

Finally came across some of these after never seeing it anywhere for the past couple years. Based on the amount of people who praise it here it was on the top of my must try beers list. Glad I only got a single though.

3.52/5 rDev -1.4%
look: 4.5 | smell: 3.75 | taste: 3.25 | feel: 3.5 | overall: 3.5

12 oz bottle says
“P: 12.12.2017”
E: 12.03.2019”

I will assume this means packaged and expires? Seems like a really long time from now for a beer that’s almost 6 months old already.

Anyway, poured into a pilsner (sorry, pilsener) glass. It is a crystal clear light gold with tons of active / lively carbonation bubbling to the top non-stop. The bright white sudsy head eventually settles down.

It has a skunky Euro lager aroma that reminds me of Lowenbrau and St. Pauli Girl. Especially from the bottle. In the glass you get more light Club. Cracker like grain along with a floral smell.

Wow is this this beer bitter. Like Magnum hops, or something specifically for bitterness. Also has a metallic taste. After an adjustment period, the semi sweet grains come through like a buttermilk biscuit with a flowery, bordering on herbal hop flavor following.

A little bit spicy and prickly. Not as crisp as I would have guessed until the very end, then it finishes super dry. A lot of palate fatigue after drinking this one. I would have bet money it was an American version.


Some scenes from the flower beds

 

Hey guys, back with NB2. It seems like a brewery has to do an NEPIA these days or they feel like they are leaving money on the table. Here we are with the boldly named VT IPA.

First let me say its nice to see a 12 oz can. Just the right amount. If its good you can have two without having 32 oz. If its bad.. well, its only 12.
3.78/5 rDev -6%
look: 3.75 | smell: 3.75 | taste: 3.75 | feel: 4 | overall: 3.75

Poured from a 12 oz can dated 04/11/18 to a nonic.
Hazy, cloudy, reminiscent of pulp-less pineapple juice (appearance only) with medium to low head that fade to skin covering. Not much lacing in a clean glass.
Nose is pineapple and must.
Taste timeline is opposite of most NEPIAs. Hop bite in the front, juicy fruity finish.
Medium body with a little too much carbonation (despite non-spectacular head).
Overall, middle of the road for the style. I wonder if its better fresher. This one's pushing 7 weeks.

 

Happy NBS. Enjoying this Untitled Art/Jackie O collab, Barleyshake. Guessing this won't be for everyone but i'm really digging it. Cheers all.

https://www.beeradvocate.com/beer/profile/47802/344526/?ba=cindyjeffsmith#review

 

Brewing Projekt Skullduggery

Another nice brew courtesy of @GreenBayBA , thanks my friend !

3.92/5 rDev +3.4%
look: 4 | smell: 3.25 | taste: 4.25 | feel: 4 | overall: 4

Poured into a 1/2 pint mug
Look - 4 Looks just like one would expect it to
Smell - 3.25 Little to no perceived aroma
Taste - 4.25 Good flavor w a slight fruitiness to it
Mouthfeel - 4 Nice medium mouthfeel
Overall - 4 Very nice brew overall, would definitely drink again

 

Finishing up the fresh hops @CanConPhilly hooked me up with

4.4/5 rDev +3.8%
look: 4.25 | smell: 4.25 | taste: 4.5 | feel: 4.25 | overall: 4.5

Thank you CanConPhilly for this
16 oz can, dated 5/10/18, poured into a teku

A- Hazy golden orange with a two finger white head

S- Tropical fruit, some mangoes, citrus, dank/piney.

T- Tropical fruits, coconut, some mango, citrus, touch of malt, dank finish.

M- Smooth, medium body, a little creamy.

O- Love the coconut flavor, balanced with tropical fruits and citrus. Easy to drink and very enjoyable.


Cheers!

 

thanks, tho I gotta admit, I was a bit peeved it took that long to get a hard drive to come to me and then the person who said she'd fix it for me took 4 days, yeah, but anyways, I shouldn't complain, just glad to be up and running and should be* (crossing fingers) here, well, hell, I shouldn't make any guarantees, just happy to be back.

 

Up next is a beer that I have seen here but have yet to try. This one was actually produced and bottled for Evil Twin by Poppels Bryggeri, Sweden.

Pours black with tan head that dissipated pretty quickly.
Smells of roasted malt, coffee, a bit nutty.
Taste follows with roasted flavors, malts and coffee. Nutty notes and a somewhat artificial vanilla taste.
Medium bodied.
Overall a decent beer, I'll have to try the stateside version to compare.

 

Dogfish Head Palo Santo Marron Wood-aged Brown Ale, 12% ABV. Pours dark brown to black, with a one finger tan head. Nose is caramel, taste is caramel, quite sweet, almost no bitterness, but boozy. Decent mouthfeel, overall excellent. Boozier and tastier than most brown ales.

 

I'm back with another new beer from deep in South Jersey: Mosaic Man from Glasstown Brewing. I've been a fan of Glasstown since it opened and have visited the brewery but man is it ever off the beaten path. So I'm glad that cans can now be found in Cape May County. I really like 856, the house DIPA, and Danky Kong is a fine IPA. Mosaic Man is hard to describe: the color is a brownish-orange and there's not much to the nose. While it features a nice balance of sweet malt, citrus, and Mosaic hops, there's nothing special about the taste. And yet, the whole is greater than the sum of its parts. To me, it's the beer equivalent of a big, juicy cheeseburger and steak fries - it's a comfort beer. At 6.5% it's hard to drink just one. Here's my full review:

3.97/5 rDev -2.2%
look: 4 | smell: 3.75 | taste: 4 | feel: 4.25 | overall: 4

Poured from undated 16 oz. can into Glasstown pint glass. It pours a murky, orange-brown color with a thin cap of eggshell colored head and light, creamy lacing. The nose features lemon, grapefruit, cracker malt, pine, a whiff of onion, and the distinct smell of Mosaic hops. This ale is nicely dank and its tastes include sweet cracker malt, lemon, grapefruit, earthy grass, and pine needles. The Mosaic hops are flavorful without a strong bite. There is a nice balance of citrus, malt, and bitter hops. What really shines is the mouth feel: rich and viscous, with pleasant carbonation, and it's an easy drinker at 6.5% ABV. In fact, Mosaic Man is positively crushable. While it lacks the nose and bold flavors of some of Glasstown's other IPAs, there is something familiar and thoroughly drinkable about it; it's a comfort beer. It's really hard to limit yourself to one pour.

Cheers, friends!

 

Who you working for?

 

Good afternoon NBS'ers. Hope everyone is having a pleasant Sunday. I am a bit late to the party, but I am ready to go. First up is Fieldwork's Garden of Weeden.

Canned May 24, 2018. Very fresh, and I am very excited. 7.1 abv.
Look: 4.00
Dark murky yellow in color. Only about a fingers worth of head, with some residual glass lacing.
Smell: 4.25
Very earth-forward. Strong aromas of cut grass and weed vegetation. More of an actual weed smell rather than marijuana. Citrus fruit accents in the back, consisting of grapefruit and tangerine. Some floral notes. Nice smelling, full of a natural earthy/plant smell. Nice barley/malt aromas like sweetbread.
Taste: 4.50
Up front is citrus rind and grapefruit along with a biscuity malt flavor. The finish is slighty bitter with a grassy hop flavor. Pleasant lingering sweet taste in the mouth. No astringent flavors, and taste is well balanced. Not as grassy as in the smell.
Feel: 4.50
Full in body and weight, with a semi-gritty consistency. The beer has a nice heft to it, with relatively low carbonation.
Overall: 4.25
Another enjoyable offering from Fieldwork. I am glad to have tried this one, and appreciate the attributes it brings to the table.
My Final BA Score: 4.36
Cheers NBS!

 

Happy Memorial Day weekend, NBS friends. We have our first overnight visitors to South Bend this weekend: Mom, baby brother and sister, and nephew. We’ve had a ball, including a trip to the zoo on this first sweltering day before summer. Here’s me and Mom on the zoo train.



Good times! And here’s a new beer, a beer my baby bro (age: 40) muled here from Dayton. I have taught him well



4.1/5 rDev +6.8%
look: 4 | smell: 4 | taste: 4.25 | feel: 4 | overall: 4

The pour reveals a hazy golden-colored beer with a heaping helping of floaties and a soapy off-white head that tracks down the side of the glass as you enjoy the beer. The nose is some citrus and loads of pine, plus a nice dollop of caramalt. This is an IPA, but it bears little resemblance to a NE-style IPA, which is what the can calls this.

The taste is all of the aforementioned aromas, with the citrus minimal, the resiny pine significantly more prominent, and the caramalt the star of the show. This isn’t a NE-style IPA, but it is a well-executed American IPA, and my rating reflects that. A delight to drink.

 

A nearly 2 year old can from Blueprint out of NC. Very nice scotch ale. Nice head retention and lingering soapy lacing on the glass. Flavors of big caramel, brown sugar, brown bread, nuttiness, toasted biscuit, raisin, plum, fig, pear, apricot, and red apple; with light notes of roast, toffee, herbal/grassy/peppery hops, and yeast earthiness. Similar/muted aromas, a bit too fruity/yeasty but not overwhelming. Mild herbal, grassy, spicy hop bitterness on the finish. Light-medium carbonation and medium-full body; creamy/bready/grainy malts; lightly slickness and sticky hops in the mouthfeel. Slightly increasing lingering bitter dryness. No cloying sweetness. Very smooth sipping, minimal warming 8.2%. This is really spot on stuff for the style. Rich malts, modest fruity yeast, and light earthy hop balance against sweetness. Age does nice things for the style as expected. I am sure the age has improved it, even though I've never had it before. 3.88


Salt Creek brewery out of IN. I get to be the first review lol. This was very good. Nice had retention and spotty soapy lacing on the glass. Flavors of big grapefruit, tangerine, lemon, peach, apricot, mango, melon, citrus peel/rind, pepper, and pine hops; with moderate honey, toasted bread, light caramel malts; and herbal, floral, grassy hop earthiness. Similar/muted aromas. Light-moderate pine, citrus peel/rind, herbal, grassy, peppery bitterness on the finish. Medium carbonation and medium-plus body; balanced creamy/bready malts and sticky/resinous/rindy hops in the mouthfeel. Light-moderate increasing resin dryness, no hop astringency. Smooth sipping, not overly aggressive, 7.5%. On the malty side of things, but very enjoyable. Columbus, Chinook, Centennial hop showcase mostly. Very vibrant, dank, earthy hop complexity; sizable malt backbone, but not overly sweet/heavy. They did a nice job for a Midwest style IPA or whatever. 3.78


Cheers, be back later NBS.