New Beer Sunday (Week 708)

This may make it into my NBS BIF #8 target’s box.

Or maybe it won’t.





3.75/5 rDev +1.9%
look: 3.75 | smell: 3.75 | taste: 3.75 | feel: 3.75 | overall: 3.75

Nearly clear, this dark yellow German Pilsner sports a bone white soapy head and features noble hop aromas (loads of grassy notes) and bready malts.

The grassy notes are dominant on the taste, and there’s no sweetness that sometimes creeps into this style - the bready malts see to that, and lead this beer that absolutely toes the “traditional to the style” to a crisp, refreshing finish.

 

Tre Fontane Tripel

For my next pair of beers, my theme is (official) Trappist beer from outside of Belgium. First up is this bottle from Rome. Dependable @drtth featured it last week I think. "Tre Fontane" translates to Three Fountains. Sounds familiar right? Fan favorite 3 Fonteinen also translates to three fountains in Dutch. Oh boy. I don't know what the story is here, but if you asked for this beer at a store for beer nerds, I bet they'd assume you were talking about the Belgian beer instead. Then tell them, "No, the Trappist one," and watch the confusion deepen into the impenetrable depths of a murky IPA.

This beer is a dark and dull copper. It's murky. Can't see a thing through it. Surprising appearance. The aroma is ginger and orange citrus. The taste leaves the orange behind and goes straight to ginger town. Otherwise, this beer really tastes like a Belgian tripel despite everything else going on. Thankfully, it's dry. When tripels are sweet rather than dry, I don't dig them. The beer was brewed with eucalyptus. I didn't get that specifically, but I'm also not the type to dig for flavors/ingredients stated on a bottle label. It would be very interesting to me if I completely interpreted the eucalyptus as a ginger flavor rather than the menthol flavor normally associated with it. This was a pleasant beer but probably a one and done at the price.

 

Great Dry stout! Amazing lasting creamy head and lacing on the glass as expected. Aromas and flavors of big dark chocolate, cocoa, coffee, brown sugar, toasted dark bread, and nutty malts; with light notes of smoke, char, dark fruit, herbal, grass, pepper, and yeast earthiness. Mild herbal/grassy/spicy hop and roast/char bitterness on the finish. Light carbonation and light-medium body; with a very creamy/silky/grainy malt mouthfeel. Light sticky hops and chalky char/roast. Lightly increasing lingering hop/roast dryness. No acrid/astringency. Very smooth and flavorful for 4.8%. Very clean and nicely rich roast/bready malt complexity; mild fruity yeast and earthy hops against sweetness. Spot on stuff for the style. Loved it. 3.96


Very good witbier. Solid head retention/lacing on the glass. Flavors of lemon, orange peel, pear, red apple, melon, coriander, peppercorn, clove, and light banana yeast; with moderate wheat, cracker, white bready malts; mild herbal/floral/grassy hops and yeast earthiness. A bit too fruity/yeasty/spicy aromas. Mild herbal/floral/grassy hop bitterness and peppery yeast spiciness on the finish. Medium-plus carbonation, light-medium body, and fairly crisp/clean finishing. Very creamy/silky/grainy wheat mouthfeel; slight sticky hops/spices. Slightly increasing lingering bitter/spicy dryness. Very flavorful/refreshing, 5.2%. Not watery. Well balanced classic Wit yeast complexity, spices, and pale/wheat malts; with mild earthy hops. Spot on stuff. 3.75


Cheers

 

Looking for tips, you know more about thise areas than I do!

 

NBS beer #3 Post drain pour edition. No sense wasting good liver cells on old IPA's.



Collective Arts / Aslin - Hot Pink

Collective Arts Brewing
American Brut IPA / 6.50% ABV

3.96/5 rDev +0.5% | Score: 3.94
look: 4.25 | smell: 3.75 | taste: 4 | feel: 4 | overall: 4

L- The beer pours golden and slightly hazy. The head is 3 fingers of thick white foam. The head recedes to a thick film with large curtains of lace.
S- The nose is grapefruit, slightly sweet, mixed with musty phenols from the champagne yeast.
T- The taste is slightly sweet citrus up front with some earthy phenols finishing it up.
F- Mouthfeel overall is medium. There is some heft here, but the champagne yeast has it finishing slightly dry. Not as dry as some Brut IPA's that I've sampled.
O-Not a bad Brut Ipa, but like myself it's starting to show it's age. I suspect that it wasn't quite as sweet when it was fresh. Still it's quite drinkable with the yeast making it different enough to be interesting.

 

I'm embarrassed at how many times I read your original post before I realized that you meant "opened" haha

 

3 new sours for me today. Rising Tide Sou’ Wester.
Untitled Art Floridaweisse and
Silly Sour from brassierie de silly S.A.

 

After a couple errands on the way home from closing the store, finally getting around to a backlog of new-to-me offerings. First up is this sour from Richmond, VT.

https://www.beeradvocate.com/beer/profile/32783/370714/




Poured from a 16 oz. can dated 08/01/18.
Moderate to vigorous pour yields a 1/2 inch off white, slightly pink, head over a dark pinkish/purple body with scant lacing. Nose of tart blackberry. Real nice flavors of the berries with an almost lemon/lime tartness and even a bit of a twizzler-like flavor just before the tart finish! Cheers to Stone Corral for a rather enjoyable experience!

3.94/5 rDev 0%
look: 4 | smell: 3.75 | taste: 4.25 | feel: 3.5 | overall: 3.75

 

When we visited the brewery a couple weeks ago, the GF ordered a couple of those after our sampler, so she might agree with your assessment, at least in a general sense of enjoyment. My opinion rarely matters, but seeing as my opinion is based on half of the sampler in this case, even less - but I found it a decent IPA.

 

Last one, can’t believe I’ve not had this iconic beer before.



4.25/5 rDev +5.7%
look: 4.25 | smell: 4.25 | taste: 4.25 | feel: 4.25 | overall: 4.25

As I pour this, I’m reminded of a bottle of Coca Cola being poured, the difference being the frothy tan head that lingers. The nose has loads of caramel and a healthy dollop of stone fruit. Wow.

A quick draw rewards you with a beer that has substance, with the caramel and stone fruit combining to yield a beer that is the picture in the dictionary when you look up “scotch ale.” A pleasure to drink.

 

The fact that I would’ve consumed liquid barium at that point and enjoyed it may have impacted my review.

IJS.

 

Stift Engelszell Gregorius

And now on to the second of my two Trappist beers from lands outside of Belgium. This one comes from Engelszell Abbey, the only Trappist monastery in Austria. A more somber than usual Trappist label makes sure that the audience doesn't mistake this for Belgian brew. Despite that austere label, here's the monastery:



The place looks like an ugly nasty pit right? What good can come from such downtrodden surroundings? Let's find out.

The bottle claims that this "Trappistenbier" is a "Gersten-Honig-Starkbier" which translates to a barley honey Starkbier (or strong beer). The English text on the bottle calls it an "extra strong ale." The beer is made with local honey. Mysteriously, this beer was made in the brewery's "beer boats." What's a beer boat? I wanna learn more. My bottle states 10.5% ABV instead of the 9.7% listed here.

The beer is the color of seriously dark wood stain. Oh boy, this one is pretty intense compared to the other beers I reviewed today. Most folks would put this in or near the quad family. I really don't know what the brewers were aiming for, but my assumption is that they probably wanted a big, strong, dark beer and weren't going to align it with anything more finite too strictly.

It's definitely bold. It has a somewhat bitter finish, a leathery vibe, and a big dark fruit quality - with that last part making one think of Belgian beer. What makes this beer very interesting beyond that is the noticeable acidity. It makes me think of English old ales... not the low ABV sweet kind, but rather, something that would have been brewed in England in the distant past. I don't know how deliberate the acidity is. The thing is, if this Trappist beer has unwanted acidity from poor brewing, then that's interesting... and if it has this much acidity by design, then that's also interesting. The beer is well within the date code. It's best-by is in 2022. The acidity is really great here though. Once the drinker makes internal sense of the beer and melds the elements together, the drinkability really grows. This was an evolution from my first reaction that the beer would be perhaps too bold to truly enjoy tonight.

I don't typically go for quads and their brothers, but I'm really falling for this beer. It's my favorite of the day for sure. A very quick scan of reviews here makes me think my crush on this beer is an anomaly on the site. Lovin' this today and I'm determined to grab more for a second impression.

It's been a nice coincidence for me to feature these Trappist beers today given the recent thread about the BeerAdvocate article on the new US monastery brewery. Good accidental timing.

@JohnnyChicago @drtth

 

I don't think we can eliminate the possibility that you've been using the reverse power of suggestion on yourself. The label says eucalyptus so...

 

Now up some Dewey Hot Wax as I finish grading tonight.

4.13/5 rDev -4.8%
look: 4.25 | smell: 4.25 | taste: 4 | feel: 4 | overall: 4.25

16 oz can poured into a teku

A- A hazy golden straw with atwo finger white

S- Citrus, melons, pineapple, tropical fruits, dank.

T- Citrus, melons, dank, earthy, oranges peels, lime rinds.

M- Smooth, medium body.

O- A tasty NEIPA, I’ve had oxidation issue with some Dewey IPAs that were only a month old, but this doesn’t seem to have any oxidation being a month old. Good stuff.

Cheers!

 

Love the glassware - suitable for a beast of a beer!

 

Enjoyed your description of the beer and will add it to my "look for one" list.

BTW, having once attended some meetings in Sharding in Upper Austria the folks who were there for the working sessions had both the opportunity to see this Monastery and also to spend some time in a Passau, DE biergarten. The Monastery was much more attractive up close and in real life.

 

Any thoughts on them?

 

Delicious APWA. Nice head retention/foamy lacing on the glass. Flavors of lemon, lime, orange, citrus peel/zest, coriander, peach, pear, red apple, melon, wood, and light peppercorn/pine hops; with moderate wheat, cracker, lightly toasted biscuit malts; herbal, floral, grassy hop and yeasty earthiness. A bit muted aromas, a bit too fruity/yeasty. Light pine, citrus peel/zest, herbal, floral, grassy, spicy bitterness on the finish. Medium-plus carbonation, medium body, and fairly crisp/clean finishing. Balanced bready/grainy malt and sticky hops/spice in the mouthfeel. Light-moderate increasing bitter dryness, no hop/spice astringency. Very flavorful/refreshing, 5.5%. Nailed this one. Great balance of citrusy/earthy Tacoma hops, spices, fruity American wheat yeast, and pale/wheat malts. Really impressive. 3.88


Sour Milkshake NEIPAs are a thing. This was fantastic! Solid head retention/spotty lacing on the glass. Aromas and flavors of huge juicy/tart/tangy blood orange, grapefruit, lemon, peach, pear, pineapple, apricot, passion fruit, papaya, mango, melon, guava, berries, citrus peel/zest, and light pepper/pine hops; with moderate wheat, biscuit dough malts; herbal, floral, grassy hops and yeast earthiness. Mild pine, zesty, herbal, floral, grassy bitterness; and fruit tang/tartness on the finish. Medium-plus carbonation and body; creamy/silky/grainy malt/lactose, some lactic acid, and light sticky hops in the mouthfeel. Lightly increasing lingering tart/bitter dryness, no pucker/astringency. Super smooth/soft feel, 7.2%. Was not totally sure what to expect, but they nailed it! Citra, Bru-1, Vic Secret, and Galaxy hops. Super juicy fruits, hops, and fruity Barbarian yeast complexity; balanced wheat/oat/lactose/malt backbone. Not overly sweet from lingering dryness. They soured it with acid malt and not actual lacto. I would love this in cans. Definitely the best sour IPA I've ever had. 4.25


Cheers, have a good night NBS

 

American Solera - Solera Skins Blackberry

Felt like joining NBS again today, and decided to crack this bottle from the generous @r0rschach from NBS BIF 7. Believe it or not, I still have two bottles left from him in the cellar — and two from @jdell15 from an even earlier NBS BIF.

Solera Skins Blackberry pours an absolutely stunning clear, light pinkish-orange with a finger-and-a-half of short-lived bright white head. The head disappears quickly and leaves no lacing whatsoever.

It has a delicate aroma with light sourness and very light berry sweetness, floral hops, honey, tea and wood.

There’s strong tartness in the taste, but still in the “refined,” not “walloping,” category. Blackberry fruit is clearly in there, along with more earthy tea-like notes and barrel wood. It has a fairly clean, dry finish; just a little of that delicious tartness and fruit carries through to the aftertaste.

There’s a slight sticky syrup quality to the feel. Modest carbonation.

This is fantastic. Blackberry-flavored beers often seem a little off to me, but the absolutely nailed the balance here. The only thing that could make the drinking experience better is if the head lasted longer. The brief time it was there it was one of the loveliest beers I’ve ever seen.

Thanks, John!