New Beer Sunday (Week 706)

New Beer Sunday: A Leipzig Gose

Mornin’ NBSers, with another alert for seekers of a slightly tart and slightly salty Gose. Also special thanks to @lordofthewiens for his start today.

Today’s weather here is expected be sometimes cloudy, sometimes clear and sunny but with about a 50-50 chance of a shower or thunderstorm. It’s also expected to be humid with temp in the low to mid 80s and feels like in the low to mid 90s.

This morning’s new beer is the Otra Vez Lime & Blue Agave from Sierra Nevada.

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

https://www.beeradvocate.com/beer/profile/140/332766/?ba=drtth#review


The aromas/flavors of this beer include the citric lime and the agave up front and backed up by some wheat, some light sweetness and a just bit of salty tartness. For me this is one of those rare Goses that I’ve enjoyed enough to be willing to have two or more in a row. In exploring this style I’ve learned that for me those with strong tartness and/or strong salinity are just a bit off putting in that I’d not want to repeat them even though I might enjoy having them once.

Cheers, all!

 

Good morning NBS, hope everyone is enjoying the middle of the holiday weekend this time around. Thanks to @lordofthewiens for this weeks introduction. Another typical weekend otherwise for me, got some errands to run as usual. Made another new beer haul of sours yesterday. Still have an endless reserve of stuff to review. Mostly Speciation sours and Bruery Old Ales right now on the high end.

Today's massive beer review. This was amazing! No head retention or lacing as expected of 19%. Aromas and flavors of huge milk/dark chocolate, cocoa, lightly tart cherries, fruit skin/pits, caramel, brown sugar, vanilla, toffee, bourbon, toasted oak, and dark/brown bread; with lighter notes of coconut, coffee, almond, molasses, licorice, raisin, plum, red wine, smoke, and leather. Touch of booze in the aromas as it warms, but not overwhelming. Mild herbal/roast bitterness, bourbon/oak spiciness, and cherry tang/tartness on the finish. Medium carbonation and very full body; with a very creamy, silky, velvety, and rich mouthfeel that is amazing. Light slickness, stickiness, chalky roast, oak tannins, and cherry acidity/tang after the finish. Lightly increasing lingering bitter/tannic/tangy dryness, no cloying/astringency. Dangerously smooth, mildly increasing warmth of 19%, with minimal barrel booze lingering after the finish. Not overly sweet. They really nailed this as expected. Amazing balance of rich dessert malt complexity, vanilla, cocoa, and authentic cherry flavors; with perfect barrel integration. Not overly boozy/tannic. One of the better Bruery stouts I've had in a while. Will have to revisit the base beer soon, I have one in the cellar. 4.35


Cheers, be back later NBS.

 

Hi everyone. I was just saying this morning that getting in to beer was like getting into a boat full of naked people. I have never met a more conscious, focused, goal oriented, artistic, humor infused, motivated, intelligent community. That being said I am here to also say that there isn't a beer in my house right now. I seldom miss a Sunday so I hope you all will forgive me. have a great NBS and I will be reading ! Cheers!

 

Morning Doc, and all! Always said I'd take up golf when I was too old to do other sports, but still haven't made good on that. Friends who play say it is great fun, though I am uncertain my temperament is the right kind for the game.

Looks to be a beauty day here, and just got report that one of my fave shrooms has popped in the mountains nearby (Armillaria tabescens for those who care) and I am heading out in a little while to search hardwood stumps in the Shawangunk forest to see if I can bring home some young ones, which are tastiest. Sure to be thirsty when I get back, and thanks to an extremely generous BA I have a can of Black Crack I am looking forward to opening. See y'all then!

 

Something new and different for me . . .





Slightly hazy light gold color with white cap and good lacing.

An aroma similar to lightly smoked herring. It's a clean scent yet discernible from the glass at arm's length.

Taste of fuller malt in a good way. Smoke is much less evident than in the scent and is well combined in the beer, which is to say it doesn't jump out and is rather restrained. Spicy hops are evident, particularly mid palate on with a modicum of oak wood smoke reappearing at the finish. Unusual, rather nice and refreshing.

Medium full texture leaning toward full with balancing carbonation.

I can see why this brew is well received in it's home market. It actually should make a good match with complementary style foods. Makes me wish I had some New York deli style smoked Whitefish or Sable on hand along with some water crackers. Or fresh rye bread.

 

Good morning NBS & welcome Great Lakes Brewing Company to Indiana. I have enjoyed most everything I've sampled from them and this is no exception...

The review:
12oz bottle bb 11/5/18 poured into a Spiegelau IPA glass at fridge temp 8% ABV 70 IBU. The beer pours bright, dark copper in color with red tinted tan colored head. The head recedes to a film and slight ring around the glass. Lacing is present, but sparse. The aroma is toasted bread and some earthy hops. The taste is layered sweet and toasted bread building toward a nearly chocolate flavored, semi bitter finish. Mouthfeel is medium to thin bodied, adequately carbonated and dry in the finish. Overall, very good. This is how hoppy beers tasted when I started drinking craft and it's lovely in it's simplicity. Layers of toasted malts with a firm bitterness and clean finish.

I like that Great Lakes hasn't dumped all their established seasonal beers to chase fads. I'm sure I'll be trying out many of their beers here over the next year. Cheers all!

 

Hey what's going on!

As some of you may have noticed, I am in VERY different beer surroundings than my usual. Its currently a bit of a challenge being in a very dominant wine cuisine place.

First world problems... oh darn..

There are some interesting options, I always love new beers.. it is primarily the reason I joined beer advocate.

Well I am also as you can imagine with limited times of spending on the Internet. Ah but I do it all for you!! ( not really I do it for my passion there.. I am selfish )



Ok amici!! Let's see if I can cut and paste this sucker..

What's new for our hero today!!



Sorry can't really cut and paste..

https://www.beeradvocate.com/beer/profile/22336/269889/?ba=Smakawhat#review

Enjoy!

SALUTE !

 

A new Pilsner (for me)

Firstly: Happy Labor Day weekend everybody!!

I have been meaning to try DC BrauPils for some time and today is the day!

There is an interesting backstory to this beer:

“DC Brau co-founder Jeff Hancock has always loved German beers, and wanted to make a pilsner when DC Brau first opened its doors in 2012. Unfortunately, he says, that had to take a back seat to the ales going into the brewery's tanks: Traditional lagers are stored and aged for weeks or months after they're fermented. Port City's best-selling Optimal Wit, for example, goes from brew kettle to bottle in about 10 days.

In 2015, Hancock finally got to release Brau Pils, a spicy, crackerlike northern German pilsner that's now DC Brau's third best-selling beer. Two months ago, DC Brau began exporting Brau Pils to Sweden, after the beer received a “near-perfect” score in the blind tasting that determines which beers are sold in the country's state-controlled liquor stores. Hancock says he appreciates that pilsners and lagers can appeal to both novice and experienced craft beer drinkers. “For someone just getting into beer, they're looking at it like, 'Oh, it's a craft Bud Light,'" Hancock explains. “But it's just a nuanced beer, with a lot of subtleties. You can't hide any mistakes with them.

“You have a lot of breweries pushing out hazy, juicy IPA, but at the end of the day, the brewers want to make something they want to drink.”

https://www.washingtonpost.com/news...star-of-d-c-beer-week/?utm_term=.f2db1035cf9f

So, Jeff Hancock had to wait three years to brew this beer (2012 -> 2015) but good things come to those who wait?

I also found the part about exporting this beer to Sweden quite interesting:

“Starting later this summer, DC Brau beers will begin appearing on the shelves of Systembolaget stores throughout Sweden. The brewery’s Brau Pils recently won a tender for a place in the Swedish alcohol monopoly scoring a near perfect 25 in a sensory evaluation and blind tasting among other US craft lagers. DC Brau (www.dcbrau.com) will partner with Great Brands AB (www.greatbrands.se) for distribution, which will begin shipping in June 2018.”

http://dcbrau.com/dc-brau-enters-scandinavian-markets-this-fall/

The fact that this beer was evaluated blind is an important aspect IMO; blind taste testing eliminates bias. Patrik (@Crusader), have you seen this beer yet?

There is a nice story on the back of the beer can:

“BrauPils

This is our version of one of the world’s most popular beer styles. We brewed this Pilsner to pay homage to one of DC’s original German brewers, Christian Heurich. Many consider Heurich to be the patriarch of the modern DC brewing industry.

All this ‘talking’ has gotten me thirsty – Let’s Drink!!

Served in my Polish Pilsner glass:

Appearance:

Straw colored with a white head that dissipates rather quickly.

Aroma:

A moderate amount of bready Pilsner Malt aroma with a hint of herbal/spicy hop aroma.

Taste:

The flavor very much follows the nose. The bready Pilsner Malt flavor is noticeable along with hop flavors of herbal/spicy. A firm bitterness.

Mouthfeel:

Medium bodied with a very pleasant crisp, dry finish

Overall:

I think this beer is very good! It is a very nicely balanced German Pilsner beer.

Cheers to Jeff Hancock for his patience and for eventually crafting a high quality Northern German Pilsner!

@rotsaruch @RobH @KOP_Beer_OUtlet @Ranbot @tzieser

 

College soccer season started this weekend. Season opener match found me relatively close to Trillium Canton. Hot day on the field deserves a fresh cold refreshment, dont you think? Pull into the Trillium parking lot and the place is jammed, the patio is in full function. The tap line is 10 people deep. I walk around the corner to the cans, bottles and growler fills. NO LINE! SWEET! Grab something new

Georg’e Island by Trillium

4.27/5 rDev 0%
look: 4.5 | smell: 4.25 | taste: 4.25 | feel: 4.25 | overall: 4.25

Canned on 8.31.18 at 10:14 , opened on 8.31.18....is it fresh enough?

Can poured into a teku glass

Deep orangish brown hazy liquid, tow finger bubbly off white foam cap, good lacings, rentention is under 5 minutes, settles to an island of foams with a solid ring around the edge of the glass

Aroma is orange citrus, grape, tangerine

Taste is Citrus , tangerine, hint of pine hop

Medium body, suds up well in the mouth, smooth almost creamy , slight hop nibble that lingers, dry finish

Yet another good beer from Trillium

 

Happy New Samuel Adams Beer Sunday, It's Gonna Be a Long Trail (Week 706)!

@lordofthewiens opening reminds me of the old saw about the shipwrecked sailor & the wetsuit-clad beauty who finds him. To quote Ring Lardner & I've long wanted to do so, "if you've heard this before, don't stop me". It ends with her asking, "Ya wanna play around?" & him exclaiming, "Wow! You've got a set of golf clubs in there, too?!?" My late paternal grandparents were our family's avid golfers, but only my younger brother ever took it up, albeit briefly.

I have been an avid reader since childhood, beginning at 2 y/o, or so my parents tell me. During a two-year tour with the Seabees & later a 13-month stint on Diego Garcia, part of my personal effects included a steamer trunk full of books. If you are a reader, the Navy is the service of choice! Lots of downtime with nowhere to go leads to a lot of escapism & as an EngLit major at Pitt, I was far more widely read than many of my classmates.

One of my favorite authors is/was a fellow Pennsylvanian, John Updike who originally hailed from Shillington (Berks Co.) & while I may not have read his entire oeuvre, I had his "Golf Dreams: Writings on Golf" with me on Diego Garcia. It was enough to satiate me on golf.

I am a staunch Pennsylvanian & another fave is John O'Hara & I am planning to read "A Rage to Live" before watching Suzanne Pleshette in the movie version, parts of which were shot in pre-reno downtown Lancaster (!). I keep flashing on "pre-reno" as I unexpectedly saw late-Renaissance Pixburgh in 1965's "Sylvia".

I may be a native Lancastrian from a mere 70 miles west of Philly, but I am a Yinzer through-&-through. This irks the Philthadelphians since they would love to claim me, but to paraphrase Daniel Plainview at the end of "There Will be Blood", "Philly, I drink your beer!" Remember, you can't be a suburb of Philly if SEPTA does not even enter your county! Otherwise, Erie = PHL suburb, as they would have it. They think that they are the tail that wags the dog, but the tail must often be reminded of its rightful place.

See what happens when you start in about hobbies?!? I go on a digression! My business card (when I have 'em) reads: "Pittsburgh Sports Fan, Movie Buff, Beer Pest". That sums it up & now for a beer:
https://www.beeradvocate.com/beer/profile/35/337660/?ba=woodychandler#review

And with that, I am often off and running!

 

@utopiajane How did this happen?!? Are there pods in yer basement?!? Has the first wave arrived & you were among the first to be subsumed? Eeek! If all is well, shout out yer addy & we'll get some beer over to you forthwith! This shall not stand!

 

Lol Woody! "Kind Sir. 'Tis my own fault. I think the word is imbibe."

 

4x4+New Beers: 2 from New York “Not to be Left Out”
Uflaffen | Shelter Island Craft | Shelter Island, NY
4.5/5 rDev 0%
look: 4 | smell: 4.25 | taste: 4.75 | feel: 4.25 | overall: 4.5
This two-year old brewer calls this German IPA, which fits the style. It's one of the most exciting beers I have ever tasted out of 1500.
A: Hazy, opaque golden body that resolves into a cap and a bit of lace.
S: Orchard, fall fruits, ripening late season apples, hay, earth, fallen leaves, the sea, the fall beach.
T: On a Germanic, Munich malt backdrop rise all the flavors above via Bavarian hops... (Orchard, fall fruits, ripening late season apples, hay, earth, fallen leaves, the sea) resolving in a bitter, pungent, yeasty, cidery, drying finale.
F: Suitably bright and chalky. Clean, lean, cidery, cleansing finish. Great food beer.

I tried 8 of their beers in flights and settled on this one to take home with us. Great beer, great artisan brewer. Much to be said of a small batch, local, herbal, local ingredient, over infused craft brewer. A true confectioner, gardener and flower shop. Bravo.

Overall, this brewer packs its small batches with herbs, which are mostly native to Shelter Island, and seasonal. Fantastic tea-like brews to be found here along with good spirits, food, and craft.

Proud to be 2nd reviewer of this brew and this wonderful place.

Now Youse Can't Leave | Bronx Brewery | NYC
4.3/5 rDev +4.4%
look: 4.5 | smell: 3.75 | taste: 4.5 | feel: 4.5 | overall: 4.25
Sometimes amping a DIPA results in a greater beer, and sometimes the flavor/ABV balance is not there. This beer amplifies all its attributes to warrant its abv. Love this brewer.
a) If you want a whipped merengue like head over a plasma like golden body, with washes of lace - this is it.
s) Let it warm to bring the full bouquet.
t) Big rich fruit, big wine like, some dankness, fruit balance to bitter is elegant and again - fine wine like - likely to warm well and to age well.
f) Big, good weight, elegant tickly, serious finish.
O: so big! need to sip.

Parka Porter | Goose Island | Chicago
4.03/5 rDev 0%
look: 4 | smell: 4 | taste: 4 | feel: 4.25 | overall: 4
Happy to add this Goose Parka Porter at BA. One of my favorites from Goose.
a) Classic brown-black body with some amber at the edge, tan head that lasts and lace the snifter.
s) Malt, hop, clean, coffee, chocolate, cocoa powder. Big enough.
t) Follows smell, bigger and bolder as it warms, but balanced.
f) Mellow creamy tickly. Good bitter, drying finish.
o) Up there with Founders and best American porters.

///Fear.Movie.Lions | Stone | San Diego
4/5 rDev -2%
look: 4 | smell: 3.75 | taste: 4.25 | feel: 4 | overall: 3.75
Stone does NE Hazed IPA.
A) As always quality execution haze, dark amber, lace, last. On trend particulate.
S) Falls short. Green fruit, underripe melon, malt.
T) In contrast goes long, with all sorts of tropical fruit salad, balanced by honey malt and then the long slow glide into peppery bitter. Nicely done.
F) Just right. Creamy, yet chalky, cliffs of dover returning home. Drying bitter cleansing finish. ABV hidden so watch out!
O) Too much green melon and ABV for another. $12.99 /6 at Wegmens, but for same price I’d take Arrogant over this any day.

 

Good morning BAs, very humid and wet Sunday after a stormy night.

So the wife and I stopped at Red Oak Lagerhaus yesterday afternoon her first trip there. I needed to take a few picks but it's absolutely stunning, if your local enough it's a must visit. If I counted right they have 6 offerings.

Onto the beers. I had an Old Oak which is their Oktoberfest special release. This beer is fairly dark, it leans towards a dark copper vs say a typical Amber Marzen. It's hazy, unfiltered, unpasturized, naturally carbonated.They lager it at 30 degrees for 15 weeks I believe, the Abv is a bit hefty as well coming in at 6.5 abv, it's also a very full bodied beer. They mentioned this take is brewed to be a bit hefty to take on the extended lagering time involved to produce this beer, a classic kinda tribute when these beers were stored before refrigeration was available. But unlike a beer like say Ayinger I don't get the extensive sweet malt hit upfront, but there's a bit more balance between the malt and hops. It's certinly not as happy as say the first SN Collab with Riegle, but the hops definately are not dormant here either. This is really a simple beer at heart, a bit darker Fest version where the malt and hops are in perfect harmony, easy drinking extremely satisfying, and there's absolutely nothing you could do to improve on it. Well done and fresh is a hard combo to beat, and easily the best Fest beer I've had so far this year.

 

Happy Sunday, NBS crew! Starting today with this Other Half dual-hop ipa courtesy @thisischuck01 .

Mosaic + Motueka - Other Half
DDH IIPA - 8.5% abv
Canned 8/14/18 (19 days ago)
Score: 4.25 (-0.9% rDev)



Review:
https://www.beeradvocate.com/beer/profile/33510/364031/

Synopsis:
The most sourness I’ve tasted in an OH standard ipa. I.e. one that is not labeled as a “sour ipa”. It’s all tropical fruit at first, but mid-palate you get a good bit of sour lemon which takes you by surprise. I dig it, and it goes well with all of the tropical fruit flavors they packed in here. Especially mango. If you love mangos, you will love this beer.

 

Thanks for the great start @lordofthewiens for this weeks NBS. Will be back later on today with my new brew.

Cheers!

 

So another one from Pipe Dreams they are calling it ‘Naked 3 Sum’ a light bodied WCIPA 6% ABV. Pours a very attractive slightly cloudy orange amber with a solid finger of white sticky head that leaves plenty of thin lace. 4.25

Smell is pine resin, apricot, honey dew, herbal hops, and some nice grapefruit rind. 4

Taste follows pine, herbal tea maybe, mellon, and grapefruit pretty darn balanced in a positive way. 4

Mouthfeel is a solid medium, plenty of life, not really dry, and drinks bigger than 6% in flavor,but very drinkable. 4.5

Overall this is a very nice beer, still more East than West for me, but a very nice brew all around. 4