New Beer Sunday (Week 698)

I hear your lament Doc. Cheers and Happy New Beer Sunday. I made some lavender honey. Oh is it good. I was shelf shopping the other day and I had to have the blonde ale with espresso. Did I ever tell you that I am a big fan of coffee in beer? This week I made Orange Scented Chili. It gave over to sweetened coffee with cream or milk because of chipotle peppers. Today there is breakfast with it. Buttermilk pancakes with lavender honey and plums.





I am big fan of coffee in beer. Today I have Ellicottville's Coldspresso. It's a a blonde that adds Hatian coffee. The blonde is distinct from the kolsch because it finishes a little sweeter. It's just right for the rich robust coffee.

Pours a stunning hazy amber orange with a fast falling head of tan foam. Nose is espresso with hints of cocoa like sweetness. No real hop scents just a bit of herbal coolness. Drinks malty and with plenty of coffee flavor. No hops flavors. Bubbly and crisp. Lighter than it looks. Bitter from hops just balances the beer and seems to be tailored perfectly to that soft malty sweetness. Lots of earthy robust coffee flavor. No chocolate on the palate just rich earth and a malty fullness. A bit stronger than the typical blonde at 7% no heat or mouthfeel from alcohol. I could drink three of these.

 

New Beer Sunday: A Gose

Mornin’ NBSers with a special signal to seekers of a Gose suitable for sunny weather. Also a special shout-out to @lordofthewiens for signaling the slow start of a suitable Sunday session.

Decision making about moving is always a challenge, especially if one has been in the same place for years. Good Luck with that! (Some of the choices you and your wife can only make, but I'd definitely agree that a collection that has been in storage for 30-40 years should be passed on to someone else. )

Today’s weather here is expected to be clear and sunny with a high in the low to mid 80s and low humidity—a really nice sounding summer Suday. (Especially when it follows a nice dry night where the Temp dropped into the mid 50s and sleeping was so sound.)

This morning’s new beer is the Sauvignon Blanc Gose from Two Roads Brewing (Yes, the brewery name is inspired by the Robert Frost Poem, but the brewery founders seem to have subscribed to the common misinterpretation of Frost’s words/intent with that poem.)

As usually, my review, subject to revision until I finish the beer, can be found here:

https://www.beeradvocate.com/beer/profile/30437/319628/?ba=drtth#review


The Aromas/Flavors are mostly about the white grapes and their tropical fruit flavors along a touch of green apple and some wheat in the background. The almost citric tartness and the sweetness are nicely balanced and while the saltiness is noticeable it remains in the background. I enjoyed this beer and I’d enjoy having this again, but it’s also a one and done beer for me in that I’d not want to have two in a row without a break in between.

Cheers, all!

 

Good morning New BSers! It's starting off to be a beautiful day here in NW PA. Mrs. Lizard and I will be heading to our morning walk shortly so I have to type rapidly. @lordofthewiens, you have my sympathy - moving can be a bitch - decisions, decisions, decisions! My next move will be to a crematorium so I'm thinning out things in anticipation - many family items are going to my brother in TX, many boxes of books are going to the local library for their book sales, a lot of crap is just being recycled or trashed. Since Mrs. Lizard borders on being a hoarder, doing my due diligence now will make it easier on my offspring.

Today's New Breakfast Beer is:



$11.99 (Including shipping)/16 oz can ($ 0.749/oz) from Tavour, Seattle, WA. Reviewed 7/8/18.
Stamped on bottom of can “05/01/18”. Stored at 42 degrees and served at 57 degrees in a hand-washed and dried Jester King snifter.
Appearance – 3.5.
Body – Dark brown/black, opaque. When held to the light, opaque.
Head – Average (Maximum 2.3 cm, aggressive center pour), brown, creamy, rapidly diminishing to a two mm ring and thin partial layer.
Lacing – None.
First pour – Dark brown, translucent.
Aroma – 3.5 - Coffee and roasted malt, a hint of chocolate, a lingering roasted maltiness.
Flavor – 3 – A little coffee, a bit of chocolate. No alcohol, no diacetyl, no dimethylsulfide.
Palate – 3 - Medium, almost creamy, soft carbonation.
Impression and summation – 3.25 - Another unremarkable coffee brew. It looked OK but had no lacing. It smelled OK but was weak. The flavor was indeed a mixture of coffee and chocolate with a bit of roasted malt but wasn’t markedly different than any other coffee stout. The palate was as expected. Overall, overpriced at $7/can before adding shipping.
Rating 3.2, rDev -24%.

The shipping was a bit high because my order was very small - normally it runs 50 - 75 cents per container, not even close to the $5 /container for this order.

 

New NEIIPA Sunday (Week 698)
Goood morning from on the ridge in Mid Hud Val, NY to all you Lager Lovers League leaders, Ale Appreciators Association advocates, and Farmhouse Fanciers Federation faculty, happy New Beer Sunday to you all.

The heat broke here, at least for a couple of days, been a brutal summer so far after a frigid spring. Worst of all we have not gotten rain lately, though other parts of the region have gotten hit by torrential storms. No summer mushrooms have popped in the woods, and the berries are small (but sweet). Looks like the new (5 years now) owners of the orchard near us are getting ready to put up a fence, but they haven't yet. Cristo puts up fence on all their orchards, but these twenty acres are furthest from the cold storage warehouse, I guess they worried about it least. When the Coys owned it I actually had permission to pick, not that I stopped when they sold haha. A fence would definitely suck.

Every time I think things can't get better for beer lovers they do. Industrial Arts brewery is one of those good things that has happened, simply wonderful beer in a variety of styles. It turns out the owner of my favorite bev. store lives very close to Industrial Arts, so not only do we get it fresh, he likes to pick it up the day of canning and drive it to the store himself. So lately I have enjoyed one day old Wrench, and now I have three day old Torque Wrench to enjoy this morning. Gonna be a day of cleaning so what could be better than a NEIIPA b'fast?

Live review
Wow that pic is pretty accurate for both color and turbidity.

Mmm many sniffs along the way of this glass being consumed have brought to mind so many flavors I feel like I will be disbelieved to name them all. Grapefruit, lightest mint, sweet orange, lemon zest, honeydew melon, papaya, mango, pineapple, all wrapped in a peachy, doughy, slightly yeasty tart sweet. Quite a full aroma that is making my mouth water.

Wow full flavored blast that is a balanced blend of all the aroma flavors. As it warms and opens up I can pick them out, even the mint, but they are more blended than they were in the bouquet. To your mental image of the taste add some righteous herbal and citrus pith bitter that hardly overpowers, but balances it perfectly, and is a clean drying end to the sip. Now you have it. Just delicious.

Super soft on palate, not in the least watery, med. bodied, med. viscosity, low carb., and the perfect finish for style, clean as a whistle with long lingering goodness.

I have a feeling that unlike its brother, Wrench, this beer will benefit from a week in the can. It is drinking amazing now, so that is hard to process, but there you are. Highest recommendation, get it if you see it.

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

 

Saugatuck Neapolitan Milk Stout
6% ABV

I was going to review Founders Breakfast Stout this morning, as it has surprisingly made it to Kansas. We have 4-packs here for $8.99. But then I saw the 8% ABV and decided not to. Instead I’m try a new beer from a new brewery from Michigan. We’ve been getting a lot of new beer from MI here lately.

The beer is the color of dark chocolate with an almost nitrogenated foamy tan head that hardly recedes at all. Lacing is random thick splotches and squiggly lines of heavy foam. The aroma has subtle hints of strawberry fruitiness but is otherwise dominated by a lot of sucrose sugar. The taste is slightly more defined as it starts out sweet and sugary, followed by a faint strawberry note. Chocolate emerges before finishing with with a sugary sweet cream flavor. The mouthfeel is thick and creamy, very smooth.

Overall, I wanted to like this a lot more, but the sugary sweetness blinded a lot of the other flavors. As the beer warms, the aroma improves. Still pretty unique though, definitely worth a shot, at least a single bottle like I bought.

I still have one more new Saugatuck beer so I may review it here in a little while. Cheers.

 

Happy New New Holland/Belgium Beer Sunday (Week 698)!

I CAN't say that I find myself envious of your prospect of moving, Doc. I shoved around for 15.25 years in the Navy, but since my parents had separated after my younger brother left for the Navy, my Pops was on his own & I would ship things home to him. I retired early, in October 1998, to come home to be nearer to him since he was diagnosed with a terminal illness. He finally passed in late-July 2001, almost 17 years ago. I finished up at the U of Pittsburgh & returned to the family home, renting from my mother for about five years until I had enough & decided to strike out on my own. I have a mortgage on Chez Woody & while I really like the location, she will be 86 y/o this October & her brother, my Uncle Steve, lives & owns their family home & he is 79 y/o. When they both eventually pass, that will pretty much untether my blimp & I hope to go to grad school at U-W/Madison & from there, who knows. I don't relish having to close the house while I am gone.

Onward! Dr. Joel Armato used to be the greater PHL area's sales rep for New Holland BC, but a promotion took him to MI. He and I were solid drinking buddies & we still keep in touch. I have notified him of my nefarious plans for today, beginning with:
https://www.beeradvocate.com/beer/profile/335/321217/?ba=woodychandler#review

On that note, the ball is rolling & I have to get rolling as I am to meet someone at 0930. I'll be back later today to update yinz on my progress, 'n' 'at.

 

I, too, have some Saugatucks in reserve. I thought about making it an all-MichiCAN NBS, but some are bottles & some are big enough from New Holland that I may not finish. If not, I will get my Saugatucks in next week. Thanks for the inspiration. Cheers!

 

I feel your pain. I'm facing a cross country move myself in the foreseeable future and have just about decided I'm not taking more than I can pack into one van and all I'm sure I'm taking is fly fishing stuff and two kennels.

As for this morning I'm just concentrating on this . . .





Beautiful deep cherry red gold color with white cap and lacing.

An aroma that immediately reminds me of tart wild cherries followed by a sweeter cherry scent as if two species had been blended.

Taste is cherry in abundance, I can't say that eating ripe cherries would taste any more cherry. The combination is complex with sweet cherry leading and tart puckery cherry finishing. There is an over riding sweetness throughout that may not be to everyone's taste.

Texture is medium-full with enough carbonation to give a sprightly lift to things.

If you like cherry or know someone who does this may be a good choice.

 

Saugatuck Blueberry Maple Stout
6% ABV


A black beer with ruby on the edges holds up a khaki head that recedes to a thin, even film with no lacing. The aroma is a nice blend of sweet blueberries, faint maple syrup, and a doughy, pancake note. The taste is equally well-balanced and impressive with blueberries and maple syrup intertwining over a rather sweet, sucrose sugar base. There is a slight tanginess in the finish. The mouthfeel is a bit harsh, it’s a little thin.

Overall, very flavorful and as advertised.

Just like the Neapolitan Stout, I’d recommend this as a single bottle dessert beer, cannot imagine drinking a session of this.

 

Did you like algebra when you took it in school?

As a kid and young adult I really liked math so my answer to the above question is a resounding YES! In fact algebra was one of my favorite math courses and then came calculus and then…

What the heck does this have to do with beer you may ask? Well today’s new beer is branded as Undefined Variable by Sixpoint and well it got me thinking about math/algebra.

Sixpoint has always been a dynamic brewery and lately that has manifested itself in several ways:

Last summer they brought on a new member of the Sixpoint team of Eric Bachli who formerly was the head brewer of Trillium. Eric took the role of chief product officer at Sixpoint. At Sixpoint he is “taking innovation, R&D, and Mad Science to the next level.”

This past spring Sixpoint developed a new app for selling small-batch specialty beers at their location in Brooklyn (Red Hook). You can read more here:

https://www.ediblebrooklyn.com/2018/sixpoint-beer-app/

As Thomas Dolby would sing: “Blinded me with Science!”

Well, back today’s new beer of Undefined Variable New England-style IPA via the Sixpoint website:

“This beer is also a shout out to the Posse team. Luke, one of the Posse co-founders who has spent countless hours on our app, is from Australia. Vic Secret is the variable here. We’ve used Galaxy (you remember Party Hat) and Enigma—they have the classic “New World” characteristics that put Australia on the map, hops-wise. This is our first time releasing a can with Vic Secret… for us it’s undefined as of yet, but we have a good feeling about this one. Expect aromas of peach and passionfruit to fly out of the can like crazy.”

On the can it lists: 8.0% ABV “0” IBU

Needless to say the aspect of “0” IBU is tongue in cheek since this beer will indeed have IBUs.

All of this writing has me thirsty: LET’S DRINK!!

Served in my Spiegelau IPA glass:

Appearance:

A very hazy/turbid golden color with a white head which dissipated fairly quickly.

Aroma:

The dominant aroma is topical fruits but there just a hint of dank as well. This beer has the attribute that folks like to describe using the term “juicy”.

Taste:

The flavor follows the nose. There are the tropical fruit flavors with just a tiny bit of dank in the background. There is a moderate bitterness. I did not perceive anything from the alcohol.

Mouthfeel:

There is a pleasant soft, smooth mouthfeel.

Overall:

Excellent. This beer has everything I look for in a Juicy/Hazy beer and all qualities are extremely well balanced.

As Aristotle would say: “The whole is greater than the sum of its parts.”

Cheers to the Sixpoint team for the “Mad Science” they infused in this beer!

@Sixpoint @rotsaruch @RobH @KOP_Beer_OUtlet @SFACRKnight

 

I too have enjoyed all of the Sixpoint small-batch releases that I’ve tried. Did not get to try your current beer (and doubly bummed about it now because of the math name...ack!), but the Resin and Jammer variants were all very solid.

I’ll be going to the next Sixpoint small-batch release in 2 weeks, which seems to focus on sour ipas (a la Hudson Valley), so I’ll be reporting on those in a future NBS.

 

Good luck on the move, that can be quite stressful. I relax by exploring new beers. A great, new little microbrewery opened 3.5 miles from my home. Here is the second beer that i have discovered from these folks

Howland At The Moon by Second Wind Brewing

4.23/5 rDev 0%
look: 4.25 | smell: 4.25 | taste: 4.25 | feel: 4 | overall: 4.25

On tap at Kogi Bar & Grill - pairs great with Bulgogi beef taco's

Wheat beer with coriander and zest from fresh citrus available in season. Uses Honeywell tangelos in the spring, 17 ibu

Poured into pint glass, one finger white foam cap over hazy orange iced tea like liquid, looks like a fruit tea, settles in a few minutes with a few lacings

Aroma of orange citrus and coriander

Taste of citrus , oranges, coriander

Summery, nice sudsing , light to medium mouthfeel

Good beer

 

Same As It Ever Was a 7.1% American IPA from Twin Elephant. The beer is brewed with Pilsner Malt., chit and flaked wheat and a wild saccharomyces yeast. Citra, Galaxy, Amarillo and Mosaic hops are used. This brew is very hazy with a thin white head that dose not last. The aroma is fruity and very powerful. The taste follows the aroma no one fruit stands out but there are hints of pineapple, mango, guava and other citrus The mouthfeel is medium and the finish is a little sweet. Overall a good refreshing summertime beer

 

Where are you moving to?

Cheers!

 

Nice start to NBS this week @lordofthewiens.

Cheers!

 

Good morning NBS. My first new beer today is the Breakfast Kløb by Mikkeller SD. I’ve been hoping to see this hit local distro for several weeks now, so was really excited when it finally appeared in a local shop. The date label on the bottom of the can is really small and a little smudged, but I think it dates to 06.18.2018.



Look: Pours with a deep brown “stream”, though the glass is pitch black. Head formation is fairly minimal, and it doesn’t stick around too long, except for that ring that remains at the edge. Head is light brown in color, and the bubbles are fairly uniform and small. Lacing is fairly minimal as well. (4.25)

Smell: Though Mikkeller SD advertises it as very much a coffee stout, the lactose sweetness is the first and most prominent note on the smell. Coffee is here as well though, though the coffee aroma is somewhat sweet too, probably due to the Monstra-roasted Burundi. Mikkeller SD also claims that the overall aroma should be reminiscent of a flat white, and I agree. (4.5)

Taste: The taste follows the nose closely, though here coffee and lactose sweetness are more balanced. It’s a little weird, but the coffee seems to come out more as the beer warms. I know that stouts usually behave in the opposite way, so might be just me imagining things, but this is what I’m getting here. Honestly I wish coffee was even stronger, but overall I’m satisfied. (4.25)

Feel: Actually pretty surprised by the fullness of the body, considering it’s “only” 8% ABV. I’ve had plenty of 10-11% stouts that were thinner than this. Carbonation is typical for the style. Alcohol is not apparent in the taste (4.5)

Overall: This is a great morning beer, bringing together a fantastic flat-white smell, great taste and a fully body. I’m grateful to have tried, and would not hesitate to buy again if available. (4.5)

For me Breakfast Kløb comes out to 4.39 with rDev -0.9%, though rDev is meaningless here since I’m only the second person to rate this.

Cheers!

 

Good morning NBS, starting my day with The Veil Never Never Forever Forever. This beer is amazing, super fruity!
4.5/5 rDev +0.9%
look: 4.25 | smell: 4.75 | taste: 4.5 | feel: 4 | overall: 4.5

16 oz can, dated 7/3/18, poured into a teku

A- A hazy orange with a two finger white head.

S- Tart, tons of passion fruit, some salt, hints of lemons.

T- Sour, tons of passion fruit, hints of other tropical fruits, lemons, some salt.

M- Smooth, crisp, medium body.

O- This is super friuty and great, definitely worth seeking out.

Cheers!

 

A-Pours a nice golden color with a nice head and lacing
A-Aroma has piney, herbal and citrus hints
T-The taste follows the nose with a nice balanced piney, herbal and citrus flavor
M-A medium bodied well carbonated beer
O-A good beer just not up to the SN SH Harvest level