New Beer Sunday (Week 702)

New Beer Sunday: A Czech Pilsener

Mornin’ NBSers with a special signal to seekers of a domestic Czech Pilsener-style beer that touches many of the right bases and is worth seeking out. With thanks to @lordofthewiens for being up early enough to get today's session started.

That travel across the country sounds to me almost exactly like how it should have been done. (BTW, if you haven't read them yet you should take a look at two books, Steinbeck's Travels with Charley and William Least Heat-Moon's Blue Highways. Lots of eye opening experiences about this country we live in.)

Today’s weather here is expected to be hot and mostly sunny with a temperature low 90s and a “feels like” in the high 90s because of the relatively high humidity.

This morning’s new beer is the Summerfest from Sierra Nevada.

As usual my review, subject to revision until the beer is finished, can be found here.

https://www.beeradvocate.com/user/beers/?ba=drtth


Not surprisingly, given the style of the beer, the aromas/flavors are both delicate but firmly present and backed up by some crackery malts. There’s a nice mix of spiciness, floral and herbal character along with the lightly sweet crackery contribution from the malt. Worth a try and a repeat and then a repeat and a repeat…. (In case you hadn't guessed yet, I enjoyed this beer. )

Cheers, all!

 

Poured into a 13 oz Weyerbacher tulip glass not sure when it was bottled. Pours a very attractive orange amber with a solid finger head that leave minimal lace. 4

Smell is coffee, vanilla, cinnamon, nutmeg, and cocoa nibs. 4.25

Taste follows really nice strong coffee, nutmeg, vanilla bean, and a nice shot of silky smooth cocoa. 4.25

Mouthfeel is bigger than medium, gentle carbonation and it works well, maybe a tad dry, and extremely approachable at 11.1% ABV. 4.5

Overall I would love to drink this again, alcohol is hidden incredibly well and just a really tasty beer. I close my eyes and it taste like a really nice stout. Thanks @jzeilinger for this awesome beer. 4.25

Nice start Doc @lordofthewiens I am so happy for you and Jill. Sad we may never sip another beer face to face, but congrats. I hope you drop your handicap playing year round. Cheers my friend.

 

Good morning Doc @lordofthewiens . Thanks for getting us up and out of bed today! I love to travel but you would never know it by my personality. I have to admit that BA's are the best travelers as they come with beer and they take you to other states for beer AND they stop to pee without question or even the slightest balk. OK.

Happy Ngongo Beer Sunday! I love how @Lingenbrau makes NBS out of his NBS beers. =)

Thank you @2beerdogs for the box of beer you sent me. How wonderful! What a nice surprise and I loved playing with all of it. I really did. I have not had the chance to sample so much from one brewer at one time before and it was great for examining styles. I cooked for every beer and I wish that you could have shared the meals and the beers with me Derek. I came up with two dishes for this beer. Pasta with preserved lemon and vermouth glazed chicken.

One of the big challenges with the sour beer is identifying style markers. Belive it or not the style parameters can relax a litle to accomodate an addition like fruit or the sour element itself. You have to admit it first in the appearance. There's fruit added and now the beer is hazy or a color that is different from the style markers. So I did not tick down for things like a tripel that was the color of blackberries because blackberries were added. From bruery terreux I had berliners, a blonde, a tripel and a stout. In order to really taste those beers and call them their respective style there were a few things that had to be observed in each style. At some point something has to give to make room for something else. That is the idea of balance in beer. I personally preferred the fuller styles with the sour element. The lighter styles were much more sharply sour. I can't say for sure but there was slight variation in the hops used (I think) and I did mention it in a video or two where I thought the hops showed citrus or some other feature that might identify them. Again with the sour element it is much harder to tell. I was not too surprised that I thought the funk was a little different in the beers. In some it was similar but in a few it was so different I could actually notice a difference. From sweet earth to barnyard the sour has character. I tried all the berliners first and then one of the IPA's so I could differentiate styles, and I am glad because the lightness of the berliner was my baseline. Because I had three of them and I judged all the malts from there. That made sense to me as a beer taster. rather than try to equivocate a style with words, I bought a gose and did a few tastings so I could see exactly the differences and there were sufficient differences to say this is not the same style. So malts played a significant role.





Pours just a bit deeper than straw yellow with a white Belgian head of foam that just won't go away. Hazy and lacing in sheets and spots. Nose is sweet lemon mellowed by honey. A grassy herbal with some of that from chamomile. Cracker malt. A little bit of open funk. (open funk, sweet funk, dry funk, earthy funk and barnyard were all different funkiness in the beers I had from this same brewer) Light breezy wood.

Drinks dry and with a stronger than normal tartness for the saison that finishes it bubbly. Gentle but abundant flavor of lemon and more potent chamomile flowers. Firm but not assertive bitterness. This beer wants some lemon meringue pie but alas I said no desserts! Not pairing these beers with desserts actually tested the mettle in their sour aspects. was the sour too much or not. Put the beer with a meal and find out. Thank you Derek for a wonderful box of beer. Cheers you all and Happy New Beer Sunday!

 

A new beer from The Alchemist brewery!

Well it is a new beer for me (and frankly I have never heard about this beer before): Alchemist Alena.

Over the past year or so there have been periodic drops of beers from The Alchemist brewery to the Philadelphia area. I have heard various rumors behind this latest business move but I do not know what is fact here. My guess is that The Alchemist brewery is producing more beer than is being sold in the local market (e.g., sold at the new brewery) so there is an opportunity to periodically share some of their beers to us fortunate Philly area beer drinkers.

So, what exactly is Alena? Let’s hear about this beer from the ‘horse’s mouth’:



John Kimmich mentioned “decidedly more dank” while discussing this beer.

Hmm, generally speaking I am not a big fan of “dank” in beers but I have been very happy with The Alchemist beers I have had to date (Heady Topper, Focal Banger). I am approaching this drinking experience with a combination of positive vibes but some apprehension as well.

As the old saying goes: the proof is in the pudding (but in this instance beer). Time to just dive into the deep end of the pool and drink!!

Beer served in my Gulden Draak Tulip glass:

Appearance

Golden yellow colored with floaties. A BIG fluffy white head.

Aroma

There is mostly a fruity (tropical fruit) nose but in the background there is some dank.

Taste

The flavor is predominantly fruity but the dank aspect is more notable here. It has a firm bitterness.

Mouthfeel

Medium bodied with a creamy mouthfeel and an aspect of crispness on the finish.

Overall

This beer is very good! A combination of mostly fruity but a notable aspect of dank on the flavor profile as well. I am personally not a fan of floaties in my beer but…

I am typically not a fan of dank flavors but for this beer the level of dank is subdued and IMO it plays very nicely with the tropical fruit flavors; it provides an enjoyable complexity for my palate.

Cheers!

@KOP_Beer_OUtlet @rotsaruch @RobH @telejunkie @chipawayboy

 

. . . and this is not a pilsner. lol Cheers Jack!

 

Good morning New BSers! It's starting off to be a beautiful day here in NW PA - sweltering and bright! Hopefully just like yesterday but I got the lawn mowed then, some bushes trimmed, some more stuff sorted in the garage, and my beer cellar organized (Inside and cool for that one!). Doc (@lordofthewiens), Mrs. Lizard and I just returned home from a loop through the U.P. by way of Shipshewana, IN, to Marshall, MI, to Gaylord, MI, to Houghton, MI, for three days, to Dodgeville, WI, to Middlebury, IN, to home (2257.8 miles). I really liked the U.P. and could live there if it wasn't for the 300 inches of snow annually. We hit Taliesin (Great!) and House on the Rock (a five hour death march) on the homeward loop. We've landed until my fall TX beer run.

Today's New Beer:



$11.62 (Including tax and deposit)/500 mL bottle ($ 0.681/oz) from The Lager Mill, Frankenmuth, MI. Reviewed 8/5/18.
Bottle marked on back label “Best before end 2024”, stored on shelf in store. Served at 55 degrees in a hand washed and dried Jester King snifter.
Appearance – 4.
Body – Deep amber, clear.
Head – Large (Maximum 4.8 cm, controlled center pour), off-white, moderately dense, average retention time, diminishing to an undulating four to ten mm ring and a complete layer with raised center. The ring undulations smooth out to a constant four mm. The second pour produced about one half the head of the first.
Lacing – None.
First pour – Amber, clear.
Aroma – 4 – Caramel and toffee, moderately strong.
Flavor – 4.25 – Begins semi-sweet with a bit of earthy hop flavor followed by caramel/toffee. It ends with the sweetness of the caramel/toffee flavor but avoids being cloying. No alcohol, no diacetyl, no dimethylsulfide.
Palate – 3.25 – Medium, creamy but approaching syrupy, soft carbonation.
Impression and interpretation – 4.5 – The whole is greater than the sum of its parts. While none of the characteristics taken alone are incredible, they combine to produce one of the best “new” beers I’ve had in some time. This has been cellared for four years and I’d forgotten about it until last night when I was organizing said cellar to better control its depletion.
Rating 4.13, rDev -1.4%.

A few selections from the recent trip:









https://imgur.com/CcojwDp

 

Clear light golden color with great white cap and lacing.

Aroma of rich, sweet malt with spicy, floral hops.

Taste is malt forward in a yeasty bread roll fashion with hops more floral at first but gradually building to a firm but pleasant bitterness by the finish.

Medium texture with balancing carbonation.

Leaning more toward the Helles than the Pilsner school perhaps, or that's just me, but call it what you will it's a delight to drink.

 

Tomorrow I have to return to my work week routine, so I'm squeezing out the last drops of juice from this vacation. I spent a wonderful week in the Finger Lakes, and another on Cape Cod with what little family I have remaining. Truly blessed.
Speaking of blessed, my NBS beer is Tree House Alter Ego

It's a Wow! beer. Great look, take charge aroma, complex flavors to unpack.
4.69/5 rDev +3.1% | Score: 4.55
look: 4.75 | smell: 5 | taste: 4.5 | feel: 4.5 | overall: 4.75

Canned 8/1/18

Murky golden haze. Wholly opaque with no floaters. Half fingers head receding to a thick blanket and robust curtains of lacing.
Prominent mosaic scent up front contending with lemony citrus, pineapple, pine, yeasty aromas.
Tart orange, pineapple, papaya, with some sweet malt balance. Late blooming bitter notes.
Medium body. Smooth on the tongue at all stages. No prickly bitterness.

My experience at Tree House was very positive, the line moved expeditiously. I got inside before the rain started, and the beer delivers. Good first impression.

 

Hoppy New AmeriCAN India Pale Ale Sunday (Week 702)!

It sounds like yinz had a good trip @lordofthewiens & I'd like to take the opportunity to a) seCANd @drtth in reCANmending John Steinbeck's "Travels With Charley" & b) I'd like to add Ken Wells' "Travels with Barley", both of which are mentioned in a recent thread about books that I recently started (he said immodestly) for beer-drinking bibliophiles. As an aside from an ass (me), it should be noted that the former has been debunked as mostly fiction by Pittsburgh Post-Gazette writer Bill Steigerwald.

Did yinz go up in the Gateway Arch? I have done so every time that I have been in StL & it never fails to be both breathtaking & awesome! Did you see on the steps by the MS River where the high water mark got to in 1993? 8=O Agreed on OKCOK, where I had a run-in with the local CANstabulary shortly after getting off of the bus & was personally put aboard the bus out of town the following day by the same piggy who wanted to ensure that I left. For me, it was BBQ & beer + one of the greatest trivia Qs ever: How many U.S. state capitals' names begin with the same first letter as the state's name? Hint: NOT Harrisburg, PA! Follow-on Q: Name 'em!

My theme for today is fairly straightforward. I am a self-avowed, self-described Hophead & have been since 1998 when I first laid lips on Victory B.C.'s Hop Devil (who is female, BTW). I have some CANs of AIPAs cold & cooling, but I am also scheduled to be at a local gastropub at Noon for the Lancaster (PA) Homebrewers' Homebrew Hang. I am an adjunct (mostly non-brewing) member, but I recently made a Kvass from extract & I am taking some of it along to share.

At last, my first entry is ready:
https://www.beeradvocate.com/beer/profile/24300/197264/?ba=woodychandler#review


Wish me luck for the rest of the day!

 

Great start to this weeks NBS @lordofthewiens, enjoy NM! Will be back later on today with a new beer.

Cheers!

 

Lindemans framboise
..very dark cherry cranberry color
..slightly above average body with plenty of champagne like carbonation
..aroma is sweet and sour raspberry/cherry candy. Some malt and yeast
...taste is almost identical to sparkling juice,very sweet with just a touch of tart and funk
....overall it's excellent but more like sparkling juice. The abv is so low that it contributes to it coming off juice like

 

I love being on the road. Nice start.

 

I'm sure I've enjoyed reading your posts, and watching your videos more than you have enjoyed drinking those beers. Cheers, Maria.

 

Too late to edit, but I have JUST become aware of Dogging Steinbeck: … by Bill Steigerwald. He shines a spotlight on Travels with Charley & reveals its fictional underpinnings. I have not read it (yet!), but I know Mr. Steigerwald & read much of what likely becomes the bulk of the book when he was doing it as a serial column for the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette. The latter no longer makes the day for me, but I remain, as the late AJR used to say, "a Pixburgh guy".

 

Happy Sunday, NBS crew! Heading for Richmond tomorrow, so going to take it easy today and just enjoy the slightly-improved weather. Rather hot here today, but at least the rain has cleared out.

This first one is courtesy @thisischuck01 , and is probably going to end up as my second-favorite OH brew from July (Hop Showers being #1). Thanks to Charles I believe I got to try them all!

DDH Space Daydream - Other Half
IIPA - 8.5% abv
Canned 7/18/18 (18 days ago)
Score: 4.33 (-2% rDev)



L - 1.5 finger offwhite, low density head atop a completely opaque, milky orange body.

S - grapefruit pith, herb, cotton candy. Rather mild.

T - bitter grapefruit pith and rind with a dollop of dank sauce. Slightly dirty middle, with bread, sour lime candy, oats and lactose in the background. Moderate bitterness. Low sweetness. Low booziness.

F - medium body with below-average carb.

O - many of the “Dream” beers are too sweet for my tastes, but this one is perfectly balanced and a pleasure to imbibe.

 

Happy NBS to everybody!
I wasn't around last week due to last-minute work during the day and an outdoor performance of Romeo and Juliet in the evening that turned out to be excellent. This week I am back with some new beers to taste and am really looking forward to hanging out here a little while I do some stuff around the house to prep for a trip back to the US this upcoming week.
The first one I'm gonna try today is as new as they come. It is a bottle of a homebrewed pale ale that I slapped together. I don't expect anything too good, I mainly just wanted the practice, so I just threw a bunch of stuff together to use up grain I had sitting around. It is an American Pale Ale with Columbus.

It pours with too much off-white head. Orangeish gold with some solid chill haze. The aroma is of spicy bread crust and some citrus. The flavor is toasty malt with some lemony zip from the hops. All-in-all it is pretty good, I am hoping that it improves with a while in the fridge but we'll see (I kind of rushed to try this one, and in the past that has proven to not be the optimal approach).
As with my other beers the best part of this is the malt character. It's really full and rich (it was quite the blend of grains). Probably too much for the style but who cares. Based on what I've read this might also be because I do BIAB or because my water is generally better for malt, I'm sure it is some combination of both those things and possibly many others. Here's to patience and always learning!
I'll be back later with another beer a little later, hopefully one brewed by someone more knowledgeable than myself.
Cheers!

 

You reminded me of my journey. About 15 years ago I packed up my things and drove from Chicago to AZ with a buddy of mine. It was amazing how fun the drive was and I ended up in Roswell as well, that was a fun place and nice people to chat with. The best part of the drive was once you got out West and away from the lights. It was amazing driving at night and how many stars you can actually see verse living in a big city, it was impressive. Hope you enjoy your new home in Las Cruces!
Cheers and Happy New Beer Sunday

 

Picked this up last weekend in New Jersey.



A-Pours a nice jet black color with a slight tan head and lacing
A-Aroma has abundant toasted pecan coffee, brown sugar and clover honey hints
T-The taste follows the nose with a resounding and very well balanced toasted pecan coffee, brown sugar and clover honey
M-A medium bodied well carbonated beer
O-Very impressive and well balanced stout that packs a very nice hidden punch

 

That's OK, we'll still let you drink in and around the Philly beer scene and not make you travel over to "Pixburgh."