New Beer Sunday (Week 706)

Neshaminy creek cherry Berlinerweisse
..orange, copper, cranberry color
..body is just below medium. Carbonation comes out of the can to excess but dissipates quickly leaving a slightly flat feel
... Aroma isn't overpowering but the wheat, grain was very obvious. Cherry did show up but wasn't overpowering
..taste is tart, a little sour, and just a bit sweet . There's a sour grainy taste that dominates.
Overall it reminded me a little of a limbic without all the sugar

 

Happy Sunday/Labor day weekend NBS players. Another beauty of a day here on the island. Sunny and warm with low humidity. Fully enjoying the three-day weekend here after spending yesterday in Manhattan. Hit the grocery store, this morning, and got some grilling lined up for later. Going down to the beach in just a little bit as well as working in plenty of mindless sports-baseball, tennis, fantasy football, etc.

My new beer today is Ambassador, an imperial stout aged in straight bourbon & rye barrels, from Interboro brewing. Technically, I had this for the first time yesterday as a 4 once pour at the brewery but I figure a proper review is in order. They are selling them in 8 ounce can 4-packs for 28 bucks a pop. My buddy and I split one. The brew checks in at 11% abv.

A slick black pour with minimal head. Just a thin ring of brown bubbles. The nose is very floral and strong. The drinking starts very smooth and lush. A rather smooth flow that finishes bitter and slightly hoppy. Big flavor notes of the barel with bourbon, booze, and woody charred oak. Nice decedent tones of caramel, vanilla, coffee, brown sugar, smoke and burnt bread. The mouth feel is full bodied with a moderate amount of stick to it. Goes down really smooth and easy despite its abv.

Overall, really excellent stuff and right up there with any of the big boys. I’m in the 4.5 range to slightly higher here players.

 

What is most impressive to me in the 3 NBS BIF's I've participated in thus far is the quality of the beers that are being moved around. And it's not whalez - it's stuff like Blithering Idiot that you sent me. I just had another bottle of that a couple of days ago, and it continues to impress me.

PS: I will be working through the beers sent my way in 007 until approximately 2026. IJS.

 

Haul Hint #2 .....



PS: I am not the hint.

Or maybe I am.

Or maybe the hint is in my hands.

Or on my shirt.

Or in the black bag at the bottom left of the photo.

 

La Cabra Citra Shatter NEIPA

Happy Sunday, BAs. For the second week in a row, rather than grabbing what I was intending from the fridge, I'm going for a beer @CanConPhilly thinks is terrible. It's liking taking a deep whiff after somebody says, "Awww. This smells awful. Smell this."

The difference here is that I've discovered that Matt is a super taster, able to uncover flavors that mere mortals could never perceive. He says this one has carrots, spinach and onions. I get none of that. He also says it's like licking a dog, and once again, I must defer to his vastly greater experience in that area.

To me, Citra Shatter pours a very opaque, very pale banana-yellow color with a half finger of creamy-looking white head that leaves decent lacing.

Ripe tropical fruit juice medley explodes in the aroma. Rather than garden veggies, I'm getting pineapple up front with papaya, peach, coconut, strawberry and more. This is the type of beer I'd swear was conditioned on fruit -- although I could see someone thinking it was artificial and Starburst-like. There's just the slightest hint of bready malt far beneath.

The taste goes in a somewhat different direction. To start, it's considerably lighter. The pineapple is still there, along with a touch of strawberry and other fruits, but they're understated, and cut by some light clementine citrus-pith and, yes, some green-hop bitterness mixing together in the finish.

More than just the flavors, the mouthfeel really contributes to the drinking experience of this one. It has a very lively, drying carbonation in what is an otherwise medium-bodied, slightly creamy beer.

I like this one a lot. Tons of tropicality to it. The carbonation is a little fizzier than I'd prefer, but still very tasty. Thanks, Matt, for the chance to drink it. Here's hoping you enjoy your next beer better!

 

New beer #4. Picked this up yesterday at Forest & Main with @thebeers and @larryi86 . I really enjoyed the draft beers I tried there, but this is likely the first beer today that I will not be able to finish due to my sensitive dank gag reflex

A Designed Past - Forest & Main
IPA - 6.5% abv
Purchased for $16/4 at Forest & Main
Score: 3.72 (0% rDev - 1st review)



Review:
https://www.beeradvocate.com/beer/profile/27273/368140/?ba=CanConPhilly#review

Synopsis:
I hope others that try this find quality in it. I just can’t get past the dankness, which triggers a need to wretch when I experience it. @thebeers this is like the ipa you ordered at Forest & Main yesterday that I couldn’t stomach...but even more dank than that.

 

Ha, a super taster! I’ll take that label.

I’m glad you liked this more than I did. As usual.

 

I liked the one I tried yesterday well enough, but thought the darkness could have been cranked up a bit. Look forward to trying this one.

 

New Beer Sunday; A Belgian Saison

Afternoon NBSers,

This afternoon’s new Farmhouse Ale is the Prairie Twist.

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

https://www.beeradvocate.com/beer/profile/30356/293769/?ba=drtth#review


The aromas/flavors of this Farmhouse Ale include some citrus—lemon and lime—and some light tropical fruits. There’s a bit of bready malt, a bit of sweetness and some lightly spicy herbal bitterness. This is a refreshing, drinkable beer worth trying and I’d like to have another since I’m not confident I’ve unpackaged all there is in this fairly complex collection of aromas and flavors.

Cheers, all!

 

Ah so that's the beer you were referring to in the other thread. I have not yet tried it but I'm waiting on a delivery of it to my local store, it was released for sale on september first. It sounds like it's a tasty pilsner beer and I'm looking forward to trying it.

 

Greetings from inside the Beltway! My wife and I have spent a fantastic long weekend up here in the DC area. We went to an old friend's wedding and have been staying with my brother-in-law, acting like we did 20+ years ago. Yesterday, we met my niece for lunch, and it just so happens the she lives across the street from the National Cathedral. It was surreal walking past dozens of McCain's funeral attendees after watching some of it on TV. The biggest name that I recognized was Bill Bradley, the former senator and basketball star from NJ. He looked good, but was definitely not the 6'10" of his past.

Anyway, onto the new beer! No beer-related activities, but I managed to check out a bottle shop across the street and found and interesting somewhat-local beer out of Baltimore:

Time-Sensitive Material, Oliver Brewing Co., Baltimore, MD


The actual color was a bit lighter than this picture, but it was a bit darker than most in this style. Very hazy but not turbid. A Golden-amber color with a beautiful off-white head that lasted seemingly forever, leaving thick sheets on the glass. The aroma was very tropical with pineapple, mango, and tangerine. A hint of sweet malt and vanilla. The fruit was there as expected on the first sip. There was an up-front bitterness but it softened through the drink and blended nicely with the flavors. Plenty of tropical fruit. I cringed when I read the lactose on the label. It was there, and thankfully restrained, adding some heft to the body and a slight smoothness but avoiding overly sweetness. Overall, a fun and enjoyable beer, easy to drink and savor on a holiday weekend. Cheers!

 

Typecast, a collaboration between brewers from Lawson's Finest Liquids and Two Roads is presented as a farmhouse IPA. This hazy golden can pour has a 1 cm fine foam cap and a light aroma of lemon, camomile and Brett funk. This tastes like a floral, farmhouse saison. There is a back-of-the-tongue tartness is persists pleasantly. The hop bitterness is minimal. This is a unique brew.

 

Today’s Belgian Triple comes courtesy of @Shanex and our meet up earlier this week. He knows I like Belgian Triples and he brought me one I had not had before...we had a delightful get together, and I would say that he is a wonderful advocate and someone with whom you would enjoy tipping a few beers! Now the beer:

“Maredsous”, brewed by Duval Moortgat, Belgium:



A very tight, almost mousse-like off-white foam (2 fingers) sits atop deep gold (6+) super clear liquid; very long cap retention (the glass never lost its cap); heavy lacing, top to bottom. 5.0



Lite clove nose with herbal/spicy fragrance. 4.25

Cracker crisp malt with a touch of sweetness, like a Honey Graham cracker without the honey; lite clove; an earthy herbal hop bitterness in the finish. 4.5

High minus carbonation, almost zippy; medium lite body; lite astringency but not boozy. 4.25

Overall, the flavors are more subtle and smooth than more readily available commercial Triples (that I’ve had); no hint at all of the 10% ABV; and the hop presentation is new to me as well...there is a bit of a tasty bitter hop linger; very enjoyable. 4.25

I’ve been drinking Triples here almost daily, and the above is a treat. Highly recommend, and thanks again @Shanex !

 

New beer #5.

Nut Crusher - Wild Ride Brew
Peanut Butter Porter - 6% abv
Score: 4.0 (+1.3% rDev)



Review:
https://www.beeradvocate.com/beer/profile/35491/199972/?ba=CanConPhilly#review

Synopsis:
While lacking in body, this nut crusher tastes and smells lovely, and is an easy drinker on a still-warm September afternoon. All peanut butter and chocolate in the taste. If “Summer Porter” was a thing, this would be an exemplar.

 

On my way back to Cleveland from Columbus so I had to stop by the new Fat Heads that just opened earlier this week. The place is huge and packed. Checking out the Black Knight schwarzbier.

Dark brown, not quite black, 1/2-finger head. Mostly malt on the nose, a bit of smoke. It could use more smoke. The palate is the same, but both are a bit bolder. Light to medium-bodied, easier to drink. Not the best in the style I’ve had, overall I’ll stick with their IPAs but worth a try if you like schwarzbiers. This place will absolutely be a destination for those coming to the Cleveland area.

 

Forest & Main It’s Happening Again is a lovely Grisette that feels somewhere between a Saison and a Belgian Pale Ale and I love it.

4.18/5 rDev 0%
look: 4 | smell: 4 | taste: 4.25 | feel: 4.25 | overall: 4.25

750 ml bottle poured into a teku

A- A fairly clear golden copper with massive white head

S- Earthy, floral, pears, very mild funky yeast, wheat, peppercorns, touch of tart lemons.

T- Peppercorns, some sweeter pale malts, touch of wheat, earthy, slightly floral, some pears, touch of lemons, yeast character that kind of reminds of Orval.

M- Smooth, light body, a little fluffy.

O- A very tasty and easy to drink Grisette.

Cheers!

 

Just wanted to say that you have fine taste in music sir!