New Beer Sunday (Week 711)

Been so busy, I missed the BIF this round and looks like you are all enjoying the game! I love Curmudgeon and was excited to try Better Half based on what I've heard. This is one complex brew, slightly sweet aroma of maple, very warming alcohol presence, all aspects in harmony and a nice twist on an old favorite. Cheers all

 

On to mystery beer number 2 from @JBowenGeorgia. He gave me a warning to save it for later in the day so I did. I will say this beer stumped me, the only thing I could say is it is a bourbon barrel aged barelywine. Don’t even have a guess at the brewery.

16 oz can poured into a tulip

A- A murky ruby red/brown with a small off white head. 4

S- Caramel, toffee, bourbon, dark fruits, figs, some cherries, oak. 4.5

T- Caramel, dark fruits, bourbon, cherries, figs, hints of chocolate, a little earthy, oak, very well balanced. 4.75

M- Smooth, medium to full body. 4.25

O- A fantastic beer, very well balanced and easy to drink, truly worth seeking out. 4.5

This review is complete blind, I truly feel this is a world class barelywine and could hold it own against stuff like Sacuba. So time to see what is under the yellow paper.

Atlanta Kentucky “Beer Dad”, I had to add it on here which definitely made guess the beer hard because as I was looking through GA top rated beers for barelywines every was in bottles. After unwrapping the beer and searching on Untappd seeing is was only rated at a 4.04 I was shocked. One very interesting thing I did find out about this beer is it that it’s brewed with a lager yeast and I feel that really helps the balance I really like in this beer. Their Instagram page also says it was only $17/4-pack which I feel like is a steal for a beer like this.

Thank you very much for this @JBowenGeorgia, could you bring up one to Philly for the share?

Cheers!

 

Well it liooks like I was right and wrong with my guess form @MacMalt mystery bottle.

This is what it turned out to be
https://www.beeradvocate.com/beer/profile/29800/366776/

Rushing Duck Dark Cellar Blend 6th anniversary ale
A blend of barrel aged dark strong ale and imperial milk porter, conditioned on black cherries. Very nice beer! Thanks for this one!

 

I didn't think that I was going to get to a new beer today, but ended up slipping this one while cooking some fish tacos for dinner.

(No) pumpkin IPA by Sloop Brewing



I couldn't resist grabbing this one while looking for IPAs for my wife to make cupcakes this weekend. She ended up using a local double IPA (Creeker by Ithaca Beer Co.) to make the batter and infused into those we didn't want our three year old eating.

Looks - pours an opaque golden color with just a little head
Smell - Slight citrus smell, nothing overpowering
Feel - Typical IPA feel, not to creamy but not thin. Somewhere in between.
Taste - I kind of thought the name was a joke and that there would be some pumpkin spices in it. I was wrong. It had a citrusy flavor that wasn't overpowering.
Overall - Solid beer that I will be going back to get more for a couple boxes I will be sending out in the next week or two.

 

New Beer Sunday: An American IPA

Evenin’ NBSers, with a heads up for folks who might want to try an IPA that emphasizes some of the family relationships between hop and pot.

This evening’s new beer is the Sweetwater Brewing 420 Strain G13 IPA.

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

https://www.beeradvocate.com/beer/profile/273/350561/?ba=drtth#review


The aromas/flavors are fairly complex with noticeable woody and herbal earthiness, some orange zest and resin. The crackery malt tempers but doesn’t hide the resin. The woody resinous finish moves slowly to the back of the palate where it takes a long time to fade away.

Today's disappointing Eagles game is over now and so this evening the music on the player is from the work of Jean Sibelius, a prolific Finish composer who became a national hero. His Finlandia became the unofficial national anthem of Finland.

Jean Siebelius—Finlandia

Cheers, all!

 

Good evening, NBS!

I've waited a bit longer than usual to begin my official BA reviews this Sunday as I met up with some of the Newbies this afternoon. As such, I've been drinking since about 12:30 and can't claim responsibility for my actions.

Cheers to @azuelke , @jonbonfondle , @brewnic , and @beatjunkee - great to meet you guys and tick that handshake. Excellent share and a really fun time. Special thank you to @azuelke who detoured from his drive in to St. Paul to pick up a glass from The Brewing Projekt for me - and proceeded to utterly unload on all of us with unexpected beers. Good lord, man - the generosity is unexpected and very much appreciated. Thank you! You're a good man, Adam.

Onward to NBS. I'm enjoying my mystery beer now from @larryi86 in the NBS BIF - Larry blew me away with an incredible duo of boxes, and I've been playing catch-up since then. I'm sort of innundated by hops since then. Help?

Anyway. I am honestly a bit lost as to guesses. The mystery beer tastes quite thick and rich - I want to say that it's a lactose beer, but I'm really not sure. The nose and taste are telling me that it's quite creamy. It's also lightly sour and a bit tart. Is it a sour IPA, or a straight up sour? Based on coloration and mouth feel, I'm going to guess fruited sour. But my palate being a bit ruined by my current head cold, I don't know exactly what to say about the fruit notes. It's definitely fruity and sweet. Hmmm. I'm going to throw in the towel.

Here we have before and after. Format is 16 oz can.





Man, I am lost here. I didn't recognize the can at all. The beer in question is Dewey Beer Co. Tiramisu Sour. I am feeling out of my [East Coast] depth, and quite enlightened as to the sours that I'm so totally unaware of. I'm quite surprised and impress by this beer. As noted, it's very rich, creamy, and thick - it also has pronounced sour and tart character, with lots of fruit notes. Being weak of palate, I had a hard time picking out the specific fruit. Embarrassingly, I was guessing at raspberry. Oops.

Regardless - I like this beer quite a lot. And the veritable MOUNTAIN of other beer that Larry has sent me. My god - I'm going to be digging out for weeks. Thank you again @larryi86 - very much appreciated. And thank you again for the glass, and for paying such specific attention to my style preferences. Appreciated! This was a terrific round of NBS - I was very happy to be your target! Cheers, sir - your generosity was amazing!

 

New beer #8. Thanks @JBowenGeorgia !

Context and Memory - Creature Comforts
Pale Ale - 5% abv
Canned 9/11/18 (26 days ago)
Score: 4.08 (-1% rDev)



Review:
https://www.beeradvocate.com/beer/profile/34456/370757/?ba=CanConPhilly#review

Synopsis:
Super clean and easy to drink. The hops are killer (Mosaic, Citra, and Galaxy), but their presence is restrained, as is the abv. I picture John pounding back 4-packs of this under the Georgia sun. It goes down like water!

 

So finally back on a machine. NBS BIF #8: Halle Berry's Pet Octopus is at it's apogee, but we'll be seeing checki-ins for weeks to come. Probably until the next one in the spring. Likely longer than that.

Anywhoooo, here's a few I've had before today:
https://www.beeradvocate.com/beer/profile/33145/104470/?ba=beertunes#review

https://www.beeradvocate.com/beer/profile/30581/146538/?ba=beertunes#review

https://www.beeradvocate.com/beer/profile/28383/113140/?ba=beertunes#review

https://www.beeradvocate.com/beer/profile/28383/371155/?ba=beertunes#review

https://www.beeradvocate.com/beer/profile/34208/135873/?ba=beertunes#review

https://www.beeradvocate.com/beer/profile/27273/368230/?ba=beertunes#review

https://www.beeradvocate.com/beer/profile/28383/371154/?ba=beertunes#review

I've got three from today to enter, and since that's thirsty work, I'll likely have a fourth during the process.

Cheers y'all, back in a bit.

 

It's great to see all of the BIF beers so far! Huge thanks to @beertunes for the inspiration and dedication to something that just seems to get better and better. It's been a real blast!

I've been really enjoying the Minnesota and Wisconsin goodies sent to me by @Victory_Sabre1973 lately, and tonight is no exception. This is the one that I've most had my eye on, so it only seemed fitting to save it for tonight:


Oliphant Brewing DG2C2MF, a saison brewed with rye and wheat.

The aroma is pretty enticing- nilla wafers, honeydew, cotton candy and a touch of banana blanced by a nice platform of grassy and bready elements. In a way, the yeast signature is fairly similar to what you'd get in a mild Tripel, perhaps, at least in character- it does seem to come off as more on the delicate side, overall. The palate is moderately full yet dry, and a huge spiciness lingers on the finish. This is obviously where the rye is asserting itself. The first few sips actually lean towards the harsh side, but it didn't take me too long to acclimate. I really like what the rye winds up doing here, grounding the sweet spiciness and fruits. The malt comes off like cookie dough, but again that rye and a sharp snap of bitterness are keeping everything pleasant, where obnoxiousness could be a legit concern. A really tasty and enjoyable brew, skillfully put together: A- (4.1).

Thanks again, James, for such a great selection of beers!

 

It has been a while, but I have been reading the best thread of the week every Monday. No real reason for not contributing, just a bunch of little things adding up.

Sucky, muggy weather today. Good day for a nap and I did a bang up job at catching a few winks. Yesterday we traded two cars in. We screwed up and two expiring leases at the same time, so we have been working deals for a while now and finally pulled it off yesterday. Scary, but the money works out...

So back with a bang? Or back with a fizzle?



Tree House Brewing Company, LLC canned on 10/02/2018 Haze. On the label it says it is a DIPA. Courtesy of my son who won it playing disc golf.

Ok, so it looks like pineapple juice with soapy bubbles on top. It smells of orange, tangerines, maybe a little passionfruit. A little earthy hop note at the end. The flavor is a nice mix of tropical and citrus fruits, favoring the citrus. Passion fruit sneaks in amongst the red grapefruit, orange, and tangerine dream thing going on. There is a substantial hoppy finish but more in the oily earthy arena than the bitter. A bit of a tingle on the tongue, otherwise smooth but in my opinion it lacks proper DIPA body...actually feels a tad watery.

While I think this is well made, it isn't quite melting my butter. I can give it somewhere north of four, certainly. But would I stand in line for this, no. It tastes good, easy drinking, but fails on the overall liking for me. I also have a can of Green that will probably make WBAYDN very soon...I can hear the ill effects of time wreaking havoc as it sits in the fridge...

Cheers, friends and thanks to @cjgiant for the lead post.

 

This one was NOT from @TheDoctor, but it's from his immediate area obviously. So I'll do it anyway. This was awesome as usual. Lasting fluffy head retention and foamy lacing on the glass. Aromas and flavors of big juicy/lightly tart/tangy strawberries, rhubarb, fruit skin/seed, lemon, orange peel, peach, pear, red apple, melon, coriander, and peppercorn yeast/spice; with moderate wheat, cracker, white bready malts; herbal, floral, grass, and yeast earthiness. Moderate peppery yeast spiciness; light herbal/grassy bitterness, and fruit tang/tartness on the finish. High carbonation, medium body, and moderately crisp/clean finishing. Balanced bready/grainy malts and sticky spice in the mouthfeel; light fruit tang/acids. Moderate increasing spicy/carbonated dryness. No astringent flavors. Very flavorful/refreshing, 5.5%. Awesome balance of nicely jammy fruits, Belgian yeast complexity, spices, and pale/wheat malts. They always nail these fruited Witbiers, I've never had a bad one yet. The whole series is at least a 3.9. 4.1


This was from the BIF. Going to probably get some untappd Canada badge tonight. This was fantastic. Lasting head retention/soapy lacing on the glass. Aromas and flavors of big grapefruit, tangerine, lemon, peach, pineapple, apricot, passion fruit, mango, melon, berry, citrus peel/zest, light pepper, and pine hops; with moderate cracker, lightly toasted biscuit, light honeyed malts; and herbal, floral, grassy hop earthiness. Light-moderate pine, citrus peel/zest, herbal, floral, grassy, peppery bitterness on the finish. Medium carbonation/body; balanced bready/grainy malts and sticky hops in the mouthfeel; slight resins/rinds. Light-moderate increasing bitter dryness, no hop astringency. Very drinkable, not aggressive, 6.5%. Really damn impressive. Getting a lot of classic Centennial/Amarillo/Simcoe vibes here. Very juicy, vibrant, and fairly dank/earthy hop complexity; great bready malt backbone, mild residual sweetness with lingering bitter dryness. I love classic IPAs just as much as the new hyped hops. 4.23


Cheers, have a good night NBS.

 

Today’s new beer was part of this collection from @spersichilli

The garage picture was due to some cleaning that had to be done from a casualty of a mishandled package.
This is one of 2 mystery brews that were rumored to have featured the same hops.

Clearly we are dealing with a hazy IPA of some sort. The picture is a little brighter than actual color. It is a very dull, murky pineapple juice color. The head was a dirty white soapy one that dissipated very rapidly. 3

The aroma is fairly fruity with a bit of piney/grassy dankness and some yeast. Some mango, grapefruit, passion fruit, and peach/apricot. 3.75

The flavor follows suit, but probably a bit better. A pungent, earthy, and spicy hop flavor up front with prickly pineapple, mango, apricot, and really pithy grapefruit. Then some green pine/herbal flavor with a solid bitterness. 4.25

Body is much lighter and easier drinking than the appearance would suggest. A very prickly, biting feel from the hops and yeast, and only a touch of chalkiness in the end.

I am going to guess that this one has citra for sure and probably simcoe because I get some apricot and distinct dankness and I actually enjoy it. So a hazy beer that I enjoy these days has to have some of my favorite hops in it.
Will report back.

 

What’s happening NBS. I’m late to the party, but hey, I can try to catch up.

Up first, Revision’s Scrog Grog. An NEIPA brewed with citra, mosaic, galaxy, and a touch of lactose. For the record, I’m diggin’ the can art.


I think we all can admit that this is a perfect representation of our faces when we see a tasty looking brew.

Canned 9/25/18.
L: Pale orange in color with 2 fingers of a dense frothy white head which actually retained quite well. The beer leaves loads of lacing behind. Not the best looking Revision color-wise, but the amount of lacing this beer is leaving has me mesmerized.
S: Smells quite nice. A lot of orange and grapefruit, and floral properties which comprises the most of the smell. I do pick up on the sweetness from the lactose.
T: Grapefruit and orange are the stars of the show, with their side kick lactose. Pineapple and mango flavors are also present. The lactose addition is actually quite nice, and doesn't make the beer syrupy tasting. The finish is sweet and citrusy with some piney/hoppy goodness.
F: Medium in body but light in weight. A little more watery than other Revisions, but it does have a certain heft to it. Carbonation is low making it seem softer, which fits perfectly for this beer.
O: I am actually really enjoying this beer. At 6.5 percent, its easy to drink and quite enjoyable. It is seeming more sweet as I finish it, but I think Revision implemented the lactose well and were still able to maintain a somewhat hoppy profile.
Look: 4.5
Smell: 4.5
Taste: 4.00
Feel: 4.25
Overall: 4.25
Final Score: 4.23

 

Happy New Odds & Sods Beer Sunday (Week 711), Con/CANtinued!

These de la Senne beers were really interesting & held up well, despite their label's admonition NOT to age a bottle-conditioned beer! Huh? Well, I was impressed by my first of the day, followed by:
https://www.beeradvocate.com/beer/profile/16320/32846/?ba=woodychandler#review

& now, for a CANplete shifting of gears:
https://www.beeradvocate.com/beer/profile/28743/86239/?ba=woodychandler#review
+
https://www.beeradvocate.com/beer/profile/28743/347500/?ba=woodychandler#review

Now, it was time to get back into the Bottle phase of today's madness:
I joined @utopiajane in her kitchen for Oktoberfest & by sheer luck, Schweinshaxe was on the menu! See my review for deets.
https://www.beeradvocate.com/beer/profile/33064/196178/?ba=woodychandler#review
& now,
I began to waffle between Lagers & Ales, continuing with:
https://www.beeradvocate.com/beer/profile/33064/120191/?ba=woodychandler#review

but while I am going to continue, I also want to post. Doc, @lordofthewiens , I am honored that you are picking up the gantlet & accepting my challenge to get NBS started at the dawn of Sunday & I accept your challenge in response.

 

WBAYDN Crosspost, yo.

Thanks, @cjgiant for keeping this thread kicking each week. That takes something. I would call it enthusiasm or gumption but we know neither of those are right.

You're just stuck with it and have to.

I managed to get up early and hit the market this morning. Grabbed a pile of oyster mushrooms, Hen of the Wood, multiple heads of cabbage, and some other miscellaneous things.

Prepared sauerkraut when I got home and tossed it in the crock to ferment.



Drank a few beers in the meantime and watched some football. Then it was dinner time. Whipped up a simple plate of broiled salmon, Hen of the Wood steaks, and Chinese purple rice.



After some cleanup it was time for another beer. I grabbed a few of these a couple weeks ago on the way back from a trip up to Northern WI. New Glarus never does wrong on their R&D beers so lets see how this one does.

New Glarus - R&D Kriek

New Glarus R&D Kriek is a pretty beverage. It's deep, dark, brooding blood red with a fizzy, crackling pink head. The foam grows without a problem and sticks around for a serious amount of time considering the style and effervescence. Carbonation runs through the body, bolstering the head almost as if it was champagne, The body has a soft glow about it when backlit but it's far too dark to see through. This is a fine looking drink.

Damn, this beer can be smelled from feet away. It sports pretty classic, authentic kriek characteristics off the bat. There are handfuls of dry splintered oak, attic, cobwebs and wet rock minerality. Not so much barnyard but certainly the barn itself. When that passes the cherry additions are rich and vibrant. Deep pulls bring forth rich cherry concentrate. almost as if it was pure cherry juice, no filler. This is in the background of that musty funkiness that's purely mouthwatering. Excellent.

While the nose is bordering on mindblowing the flavor takes the more cherry forward route and pushes the funkiness to the background. This isn't a complaint, the cherry is delicious. Again, the cherry is massively rich, like concentrate. It's not sweet, it brings some tart though. Those barn qualities mentioned above cradle that delicious cherry. Splintered oak, musty cobwebs, old attic, and a touch of minerality. The cherry itself adds a bright flash of acidity on the sweetness. THis is flat out delicious.

The feel is as spot on as the rest of the beer. It's lively and effervescent. The body feels as if it will have a little weight off the bat but it's quickly swept through with the gathering bubbles. It leaves a pucker on the swallow and a lingering tartness on the lips and cheeks. There's acidity but it's in no way like battery acid, when combined with the dryness this beer is absurdly drinkable.

New Glarus smacked another homerun on another R&D. This beer has rich, vibrant cherry character without the usual sweetness. It also brings a good amount of wild yeast character in all the barn components mentioned. Hopefully, this one is still left next time I head back. Worth the money for sure.

4.39/5 rDev -1.3%
look: 4.25 | smell: 4.5 | taste: 4.25 | feel: 4.5 | overall: 4.5

 

I wasn't gonna do another NBS entry, cause that sort of steals the limelight from other folks. But then I opened up such a strange beer, I just had to. Heres what I'm drinking right now:
Eurynome from Hermitage Brewing Company.

They label it as an ale aged in wood...but honesty thats decently misleading.

Look: Pours a rich brown(I NEVER think of an ale as something in this color profile), translucent on the pour and opaque black in the glass. A 2 finger head quickly fades to just some light foam with a decent amount of lacing

Smell: Red wine (if its not a red wine barrel...well then how'd they get this to smell like red wine). a bright, acidic cup of coffee. and a brett sour. All the beverages, in one.

Taste: damn damn. coffee from the malts, aged sour, brett, dark red fruits, and ridiculously easy to drink for 1. something this unique and 2. something with an ABV of 11.6. As it warms I'm getting more of the dark roast flavors over the traditional sour flavors.

Feel: Light bodied, almost refreshing in its mouthfeel. coats the mouth as if it were a mixed drink with a freshly made simple syrup. but its not as bright as that lol. aka sticky but not thick

This drink is insane. Finally read the rest of the label...its a "robust porter", which is again misleading. I get porter, but its not robust, its absolutely wild ale styled porter. Also mentions that it uses ingredients from all 7 continents...I wonder what each of those are??? Antartica? whatcha gonna get from there Hermitage!??!
Nonetheless, I like the beer, a lot. super unique and weird. But something that makes you want to keep seeing what beer can be and can do

forgot to take a pic, so heres the bottle:

 

The reveal. Canned 9/14

As suspected. I don’t usually miss Citra, Simcoe, or Mosaic hops. Looks like the pineapple was from the Denali. I have to say. It was refreshing to drink something that was more reminiscent of early Trillium stuff than the new stuff filled with nostril burning yeast, lactose, oats, puree, flour...
This beer has plenty of fruit flavor while still boasting a significant bitterness. Excellent beer overall.

 

@CanConPhilly was the person who said I should send it as the mystery and I just ran with that idea since it is such a unique beer. When I had it the coffee coffee kind of throw me off and I knew it was there, so I would say this beer is challenging to any palate! I feel it is definitely one of the more interesting Secret Machines that Dewey has brewed. I will say that Dewey hasn’t gotten much hype outside of Delaware and southern Maryland so dont feel you are outside of the east coast loop not knowing about them.

BTW you did nail the lactose part, I not thing the put it on the label, but it is definitely brewed with lactose.

 

Good evening all! Just got back from a short weekend trip to Shreveport/Bossier City to visit my girlfriends' family. They're awesome people but the city and area is....not the most exciting place in the world. I did manage to pick up some pretty fresh ghost in the machine, so that's always a plus.

Tonight I've cracked the Central Waters Bourbon Barrel Aged Stout. Courtesy of @Blackop555 from the ole NBS BIF. 2016 vintage! I love a good non adjunct barrel aged stout and this was a good one.

A - Pours a nice deep mahogany. Not too thick for a bba stout and some lighter browns on the edges.
S - Lots of vanilla as you'd normally expect, but theres some good nuttiness going on. Bourbon, oak, and roasty malts. Nothing stands out too much more than anything else.
T - Toffee and charred malts coming on. Some bitter chocolate, but nothing overwhelming. Again, really good balance. That's what I love about well done non adjunct stouts. Figure some of these flavors have mellowed over the last couple years in the bottle and everything works well together here. Not any booze heat going on, goes down real easy.
M - Really light for the style. The appearance and color in the glass tipped me off but it has a really light body. Carbonation is enough to add to the total light package here. Makes for a nice detour from the barrel aged stouts I've had lately
Overall - Very nice BA stout with something to offer that's different from the ones you'd normally see. Never had this beer fresh, would be interesting to compare to this aged vintage. Would definitely drink again anytime. Thanks blackop!

Cheers everybody!