New Beer Sunday (Week 709)

Yet another new beer today!

Singlecut 18 watt

A session IPA that drinks like one, a really awesome one but it's no juice bomb despite it's unfiltered appearance and I love it for that!

Crush-able, delicious and very hop forward

Cheers!

 

Excellent review, Dave. I think it's the best Marzen of the year for me. I just picked up some more yesterday.

 

I'm kicking myself for not getting more, these are gonna be gone quickly I think. Thanks for the kind words, and also for giving one of the recommendations that gave me desire/confidence to buy these. So good to have Chief cranking out the great beers one after the other like he's doing.

 

It was a good one. One day only is the biggest bummer, but awesome bands, great food, better bier and a wonderful setting. Cheers!

 

Hello, hope everyone is having a fun day.

I’m in Boston for a few days, hit Trillium earlier and now enjoying a brew at Bukowski Tavern



Omniverse IPA from Honest Weight

Nice full foamy head, white, settles into thin cap and bubbly collar. Tons of sticky lacing clinging to the glass.

Not a huge aroma, some citrus zest and grapefruit juice.

Flavor is citrus up front with aftertaste of ripe tropical fruit. Moderate amount of bitterness keeps everything honest.

Moderate carbonation and just under medium body, crisp and clean flavors

Overall an easy going brew. Refreshing, nothing crazy, but nothing disappointing.

I may have picked up a few brews today for NBS BIF 8. You never know.

 

Hello, NBS friends, and thank you to @cjgiant for the opening salvo. I’ve been to a few smallish beer fests, and I’ve been to the bacchanal known as Dark Lord Day, but I’ve never been to the GABF or Oktoberfest. I don’t think I’d do the GABF, but Oktoberfest intrigues me, and I know I could convince Mrs O to accompany me, which is 98% of the battle - a weeklong trip to Germany is an easy sell, even with a couple of days of pounding Marzens.

I have a couple of beers today, the first is a DIPA. from Stone, a brewery which seems to revel in hammering “hazy” IPA’s/DIPA’s. I wish they’d just focus on brewing great beer (which they do, for the most part), but what do I know?



4.19/5 rDev +4%
look: 4.25 | smell: 4 | taste: 4.25 | feel: 4.25 | overall: 4.25

The bottle says, “The No Haze Double IPA,” and the first thing I notice on the pour is haze, but it’s the hop haze you see in so many old school DIPA’s, including Stone’s. The color is burnt orange, and is accompanied by a creamy light tan head.

The nose has bright citrus notes, but they’re balanced by caramalt aromas. The citrus hop flavors are decidedly more pronounced on the taste, with juicy oranges and tangy passion fruit, and there is a caramalt note as well.

This is the kind of beer Stone has been crushing for a couple of decades. I’m glad I picked up a couple of bombers, because this is very well done, IMHO.

 

Merritt Badge Imperial Stout Aged on Coffee, Cacoa Nibs, almonds, Andy coconut and 11.9% ABV. Pours a slick black with a massive 3 finger light brown head that leaves spotty lace with excellent retention as it slowly settles into a thin layer of khaki bubbles. 4.5

Smell is strong roasty coffee, vanilla, dark chocolate, nutty, and a healthy dose of toasted coconut. 4.5

Taste follows roasty coffee, dark chocolate, vanilla, and a nice hit of toasted coconut dominates the bold finish. 4.5

Mouthfeel is big, moderate amount of carbonation, maybe a tad dry, and at 11.9% ABV goes down very easy. 4.25

Overall this is a top notch dessert beer that really makes you want another one and shocks you that a beer of this size could drink so easy. 4.5

 

New beer #2. Equilibrium's Raining Belma. It was released yesterday. I've previously had very little experience with Belma hops but what I've read about the berry characteristics is spot on. This Imperial IPA has big flavors of strawberry and cream and the hops are very delicate. I'm really liking it. I'll be interested in my NBS BIF target's thoughts. Here's my full review:

4.43/5 rDev 0%
look: 4.25 | smell: 4.25 | taste: 4.5 | feel: 4.5 | overall: 4.5

Reviewed the day after the can release. Poured into Equilibrium tulip glass. It pours a nearly-opaque, dirty tangerine color with a fairly thin bright white cap and creamy lacing. The nose is surprisingly subdued but it has a pleasant berry aroma along with vanilla/lactose, and some light floral hops. Wow, the flavor is unique! There is the unmistakable taste of strawberry and cream, along with notes of lemon and grapefruit. I'm not familiar with Belma hops but the commentary about its fruity characteristics seems spot on. The hops are soft and plush as you would expect from Equilibrium. As the glass warms the sweet lactose becomes more prevalent. This is a super tasting American IPA! It has a wonderful, creamy mouth feel with pleasant carbonation, and the 8.1% ABV gives it lots of character. Overall, it is another outstanding offering from Equilibrium. It would pair well with Mexican food or sushi.

 

Surly Brut IPA, 5.7% ABV. Pours pale cloudy yellow, with no head. Nose is piney hops, and a bit of sweetness. Taste is malty, and only moderately hoppy with slight bitterness. Excellent mouthfeel, overall excellent.

This is style #108 out of 111 for me.

 

New Beer Sunday: A New England IPA

Evenin’ NBSers, with a report on another new NEIPA.

This evening’s new beer is Into the Woods from Connecticut Valley Brewing.

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

https://www.beeradvocate.com/beer/profile/85/300331/?ba=drtth#review


The aromas/flavors on this one are full of tropical fruits blending nicely with some light sweetness, a bit of pine and some gentle bitterness. The beer has the typical NEIPA haze and a smooth mouthfeel. Reasonably complex flavor profile and definitely a candidate for a repeat. That said I don’t think even an enjoyable NE IPA will find more than a once-in-a-while place in my regular rotation.

The Eagles game is long over, so it's time now for a bit of music. On the player this evening there's some Gershwin.

Rhapsody in Blue

Cheers, all!

 

#2, this was sitting on the shelf at my local, along with Péché Mortel. I grabbed a couple of both, you’ll see Péché in these parts soon.





4.35/5 rDev +3.6%
look: 4.25 | smell: 4.25 | taste: 4.5 | feel: 4.25 | overall: 4.25

Pour is jet black, leaking to mahogany on the edges, with a rich tan head. There’s a stone fruit note on the nose at first, then dark chocolate and hops.

The taste is a flavor adventure: black cherries, dark chocolate, a hint of vanilla, and smoky char. This is exceptional, IMHO.

 

Central Waters Black Gold BA Stout 2017, 13.2% ABV (as listed by taproom). Pours black with no head. Nose is bourbon, chocolate, and licorice. Taste follows, with moderate bitterness, and quite boozy. Decent mouthfeel, overall excellent. I've been hunting this whale for three years, and was a bit let-down. It was decent, but not as good as its reputation.

 

Excellent fruit wheat! Fantastic head retention and thick foamy lacing on the glass. Aromas and flavors of big juicy watermelons, cucumber, pear, and red apple; with moderate wheat, cracker, white bready malts; herbal, floral, grassy, light peppery hops; and yeast earthiness. Light-moderate herbal, floral, grassy, peppery bitterness; and light fruit tang/tartness on the finish. Medium carbonation, light-medium body, and moderately crisp/clean finishing. Balanced creamy/grainy wheat and sticky hops in the mouthfeel. Light-moderate increasing bitter dryness. No hop astringency. Very flavorful/refreshing, 4.2%. Not watery. Great balance of authentic fruit, pale/wheat malts, and fruity wheat yeast; with nice earthy hop presence/balance. Big fan. 4.03


More expensive sours. 2015 vintage bottling. This was amazing! Great head retention/spotty lacing for a sour. Aromas and flavors of huge sour/tart/tangy raspberries, fruit skin/seeds, cranberry, cherry, strawberry, lemon, orange, peach, plum, fig, pear, apricot, currant, red/green apple, red grape/wine, oak, hay, straw, and grass; with moderate brown sugar, toasted bread malts; lighter notes of cocoa, oaken vanilla, leathery/musty/lacto funk, red wine vinegar, and yeast earthiness. Light-moderate fruity/lactic tartness, fruit tang, and light yeast/oak spiciness on the finish. Medium carbonation and body; creamy/bready/grainy malts; some lactic acid, fruit tang, and light oak tannins in the mouthfeel. Light-moderate increasing acidic/tangy dryness, no puckering sourness. Very smooth, not overly lactic, 5.8%. This was absolutely stellar! Insanely jammy raspberries with balanced Brett/Lacto complexity, dark/bready malts, and nice oak presence. I still have a few more to try. This is the best one I had from them yet(out of 3) 4.32


Cheers, have a good night NBS.

 

Another Happy New Oktoberfest Sunday!

Number 2 for the day, tasty, never really a big fan of this brewery.

https://www.beeradvocate.com/beer/profile/923/363696/?ba=Wasatch#review

Cheers!

 

Does that picture accurately show the color of that beer?

 

Hope everyone is having a good day!

Rotunda- It was all a dream
Crowler dated 8/29. Pours murky bronzish, similar to an arnold palmer. Head is short but dense, under a centimeter. Nose is orange fruit, lemon. Taste is sugary in tandem with bitter, resinous hops. Medium mouthfeel with more of piney, bitter finish. At this point the nose is the star of the show here. I understand by IPA standards this has a bit of age on it, plus being stored in a crowler. Solid beer overall. Rotunda tends to impress for me

 

New offering from BBCo.:
"You Can't Get There From Here - Sour Cherry."
https://www.beeradvocate.com/beer/profile/33136/371274/



Sorry for the shitty android pic.




Moderate to vigorous pour yields a one inch white head over a dark pink body (pink lemonade!) with no lacing as head disappears rapidly. Nose of cherry and a bit of salt. Taste mirrors nose with sour cherry upfront and salt coming back for the finish. Good feel and overall a nice fruited Gose from BBCo. Cheers!

4.1/5 rDev -1.2%
look: 4 | smell: 4 | taste: 4.25 | feel: 4 | overall: 4

 

Barrier - 118 Miles

I’m not done with these Barrier IPAs just yet. “118 Miles” isn’t a sequel to an Eminem movie, it’s the length of Long Island.

This was a good one. Tastes of grapefruit, cherry, and some malt sweetness. This beer’s success is it’s balance. It works very well in that regard. I’ve got one last beer for today coming up in a bit.

Cheers.