New Beer Sunday (Week 712)

I’m taking a break from the TItans debacle to review this special new beer from Sweetwater in Atlanta, GA. This was made in honor of one of their employees who tragically died a few years ago. While I never met Curtis, he worked as a rep in Nashville and was universally loved by all accounts.

This is an Oud Bruin aged with cherries in bourbon barrels and Sangiovese puncheons.



A nearly opaque brown color with a modest tan head. Minimal lacing in the glass. A complex aroma with oak, tart cherries, red wine, and barnyard funk. Moderately tart on the palate. I inhaled bourbon on the first sip and noticed a nice mix of cherries, wine, whiskey, and plums. This was all enveloped in a funky blanket. A clean and dry finish. Overall a fun and lively beer that is a fitting tribute to their friend.

 

What do we have to do to get back into the next NBS BIF, in the spring?

 

I can vouch for that.

 

What do we have to do to you back into the BIFs?

 

• 4.37/5 rDev 0%
• look: 4 | smell: 4.5 | taste: 4.5 | feel: 4 | overall: 4.25

A: Beer pours a dark red almost purple body. Minimal head while being poured that disapears while the beer is being poured.

S: Big raspberry aromas coming from the bottle and the glass. Nice funky notes but the berry aromas dominate the overall notes of the beer.

T: Taste is very similar to the nose of the beer. Lots of raspberry flavors. Beer has a sharp almost sour taste. However, the dominant flavor is of a raspberry jam. Very nice berry flavors.

M: Beer is fairly light. The tart acidic notes stand out moreso on the mouthfeel than other areas. The acidic feel somewhat dominates the overall mouthfeel. Good for a single beer but too tart for multiple beers.

O: Nice solid beer that hits the berry notes very well. Aromas and flavors are fairly singular, however. Nice example of a raspberry beer overall.



Picked this one up from a local liquor store yesterday. Really need to visit Stonecloud more often but I just don't make it to OKC enough.

 

I'm not even asking you, you are in the next BIF.

 

What do we have to do to get you back into the BIFs?

 

A fine beer geek pal landed this for me, knowing i really dig Shmaltz anniversary beers. Very nice.

https://www.beeradvocate.com/beer/profile/262/254467/?ba=cindyjeffsmith#review

 

We still rolling here...



Poured from the can into a Bruery tulip glass. Packaged August 7th 2018.

Tan mocha head, light and fluffy with some fine swiss cheese bubbles, but has a bit of snappy sounding cola to it with a quick fast dissolve. This has me concerned. Settles to a bubbly collar, with a simple good opaque very dark mahogany reddish black/brown appearance.

Aroma give towards a more nutty than sweeter range. Touches light roast, with a hazelnut to walnut like thickness, minus the tannins. Not much sensing barrel qualities, but there is some hint of round thickness on the nose. Not much diversity but a good rushing big stout, but also not really sensing vanilla either.

Geez these Bruery big stouts. Taste is downright dangerous. Surprisingly very light bodied, and flirts with a cola mouthfeel but not too bad. Rich touches of roast and some woody tannic thick almost licorice to molasses finally makes an appearance. The finish is a big mix of qualities. Touches milky black licorice a faint hint of molasses and wood, but a sweetness probably brought on by vanilla, but comes out to me undefined.

This thing clocks in at big abv but I can't tell. Just another tasty big stout from the Bruery.

4.15/5
look: 4 | smell: 4 | taste: 4.25 | feel: 4 | overall: 4.25

 

What's up ladies & gentlemen?

But mostly ladies.

This weekend was rather long. An unexpected trip to Indiana made me stumble across a new brewpub that I had never heard of in a town I have never spent any time exploring, Fort Wayne. The brewpub is called Junk Ditch and I headed over because I liked the looks of their food menu, which was the main thing I was looking for in town at that moment. Some interesting, well executed items from brunch to dinner with a cool location in an old brick paper manufacturer warehouse.

But now, onto the beer. An oatmeal IPA with 90 IBU.

Junk Ditch - Gouldon Oats




Gouldon Oats is purty. It's brightly polished 24kt gold body shimmers when backlit. The clarity is top notch, the only hindrance to clarity being the cold's effect on the glass. A bulbous head of two fingers forms easily on the pour. That foam is pillowy and perfectly white. It eventually recedes to a thick crown that leaves sheet lacing down the glass with chunky drink lines on top of the sheet lacing. Doesn't get a whole lot better looking.

The nose? I can get behind the nose. A solid dose of biscuit and doughy pale maltiness make for a well done base. The hop profile is that of your old school West Coasters. A softly sweet orange marmalade kicks it off. Grapefruit pith and orange peel make up the middle and explode with each swirl of the glass. Mild pine brings up the rear and that combines with a clean, peppery booziness, these two compliment each other beautifully. It's nice.

That previously mentioned malt profile, dough and biscuit, lay down the base. Handfuls of citrus, grapefruit and orange mostly, in all their forms make up the hop profile. Orange marmalade upfront brings a touch of sweetness before it's washed aside by grapefruit and orange peel. The backend is grapefruit flesh and slightly bitter orange oils before the complimentary pine kicks in softly. The peppery alcoholic bite, yet again, compliments the overall profile. This is well made.

Oatmeal IPA. What's that? It's an IPA with velvety, plush, decadent body. That body has a full roundness off the bat with the bubbles being enough to delete any slickness and scrub away any residual sugar possibly present. The bittering is big with this beer. Those 90 IBUs show and they grow. Each drink brings an assertive bitterness that seems beefier with the saliva inducing dryness. This beer is immensely drinkable even though the IBUs destroy your tastebuds over time.

I am hugely impressed with this beer from a brewery I had never heard of until 20 minutes before walking in the door. It's West Coast and it's delicious while the oats add good body. This beer is bitter and bold with your more traditional grapefruit and orange hop forwardness, a big, badass bitterness, and sky high drinkability. Very well done over there at Junk Ditch.

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

 

Time for my favorite thread here - I really look forward to this every week and spend an inordinate amount of time planning for it.

The NBS BIF #8 onslaught continues, with a beer each from @TongoRad and @SammyJaxxxx. First up, this outstanding DIPA courtesy of @SammyJaxxxx (and glassware courtesy of @TongoRad).





4.38/5 rDev -0.7%
look: 4.25 | smell: 4.25 | taste: 4.5 | feel: 4.5 | overall: 4.25

This is my “sweet spot” DIPA. Burnt orange color, lotta hop haze, sudsy tan head. Dank citrus aromas on the nose - along with a caramalt note that is most welcome.

Perfect balance on the taste between the dank tropical fruits (I heart Mosaic hops) and the caramalt backbone, yet the best part of this beer may be the mouthfeel - a bit of a bite, full enough to let you know you’re in the ring with a contender of a beer.

 

Whew, what a busy weekend here in Stowe, VT. Leef peepers galore were clogging up our roads and filling up our coffers. My weekend just began and I'm ready for a few new beers from Bent Hill in Braintree. VT. First up is a little (4% abv.) sour.

https://www.beeradvocate.com/beer/profile/36100/351431/





3.95/5 rDev +1.3%
look: 4 | smell: 4 | taste: 4 | feel: 3.5 | overall: 4

Moderate pour yields a 1/2 inch white head over a light straw body with no lacing. Head is down to a thin ring after a few minutes. Nose of candied ginger, pineapple, and blood orange. Taste of lemon, ginger, pineapple, and blood orange. Good feel and overall, a nice, refreshing little sour from Braintree, VT. I could drink this all day in the heat of the summer. Cheers!

 

I should be good to go for the next round. Looks like I missed out on some great chaos this time!

 

Good day BA! I was finally able to garner some Harvest Ale. I sure would love to have this in a blind taste test, up against a host of other wet beers..

4.03/5 rDev -5.2%
look: 4 | smell: 4 | taste: 4 | feel: 4.25 | overall: 4

Bottled on 9-20-18 into 16oz IPA.
L: Clear copper. Off-white head, light lacing.
S: Pine, Dank. Citrus.
T: Hoppy pine. Light breadiness. A touch of caramel?
F: Smooth, light carbonation. Very good bitterness that is quick and to the point.
O: At 7.6%, I thought my 1st sip was boozy, then figured out it was the wet-hop bitterness. A very good beer.

 

Beautiful pups!

 

New Wet Hop Pale Ale: Double Dry Hopped edition Beer Sunday!

It finally dropped temperature here in Baltimore. So the workday was actually quite okay. Enough of the theatrics, I’m here to share this new beer with you guys. I just a Massive Beer Load dropper upon me Friday from @kerry4porters . This is one of the beers from that Carepackage.



Tombstone’s Wet Hopped Pale Ale that was then Double Dry-Hopped. Because hopping the hell out a Pale Ale is what you Do!

The Appearance on this is a nice Light Copper-time with a soapy white head. The body is opaque as can be! Looks like the tap water from the apartment I lived in as a child. Great looking for a Pale Ale.

Time for the Aroma! First hits the Nostrils with a Guava and Pineapple Vibe. Also herbal notes in the background of Pepper and Dill. Also notes of Orange Citrus and lemon zest. Soft cracker malts hit there as well. Very pleasant and on the verge of being Raw!

Da Flavah? First hits with the Guava and Pineapples. Then some Floral/Herbal notes capture second...picture Lavender and Peppermint. Then slides some Oranges and Grapefruit pith. Nice Spicy Rye grain notes finish this out with a warm kiss. Finishes slightly dry with a powdery texture. There is a bitterness that lets hits the sides of the palate. The feel is medium-light with very decent carbonation.

Overall: I am gonna be frank. I am not a fan of the Murky (I)PA campaign that’s been running for the last 3 years. I understand the trend and everything....but let’s not start dripping this mindset in the Pale Ale Style. With that being said, this beer is phenomenal! The Malts are there but only give enough balance to let the Hop Assault be palatable. As for me being a Hop Head, I absolutely enjoy this Assault! It’s complex for a Pale Ale, so I wouldn’t make this a daily drinker...Lupulin Threshold will kill your tastebuds. All in all, I enjoy this beer. This brew is Recommended!

Grade: A-

Cheers my fellow NBS Crew!

 

I like the Idea they it is in a Can! Cheers!

 

Thanks for the tip. I grew up right outside Ft. Wayne and get back every couple months to check in on my parents and grandparents. I don't normally bother with anything from that corner of the state because it's usually not great. Cheers

 

I am back with another new beer this one sent by @Bum4ever in a ninja strike during NBS BIF #8. this one from Alvarado Street Precious Oils clocking in a 7% it is a Strata wet hop IPA and really tasty and well balanced!!




Appearance 4.25 - pours slightly hazy yellow with nice fluffy white head that sticks around for quite a bit.Sticky lacing spots the inside of the glass.

Aroma 4 - A great combination of mild orange and mango mixed with grapefruit and floral hops. Mildly sweet and grassy.

Taste 4 - Initial taste orange with a bit of grapefruit. It transitions smoothly to a light floral hop flavor with a touch of malt on the finish.

Feel 4 - Medium bodied well carbonated with a slightly dry finish.

Overall 4.07 - Well done IPA, really easy drinking and well balanced.

 

Double nickel archipelago

2.75/5 rDev -17.9%
look: 2.5 | smell: 3 | taste: 2.5 | feel: 3.25 | overall: 2.75

Hardly a new england IPA looks and drinks more west coasty very malty, piney finish smooth dont get lactose or neipa feel. Rating reflects them missing the mark