New Beer Sunday (Week 714)

Totally reasonable take, and I will be the first to admit that my thoughts are neither well formulated nor well communicated in my post. I think one of the things I was trying to get at was that they seem like inversions of a similar idea... one comparison is where you take the same input and find a distinct output, while the other takes a distinct input trying to reach a similar output.. ultimately I think I've got to agree that trying to find a definition/classification for the blonde stout idea really has to come from the stem of spiced pale.
I guess the IPA comparison was just trying to wrangle the idea of same/different in approach vs result, where the pairings of same/different and approach/result were inverted between the two examples? I'm not really entirely sure, and it was probably a weak analogy to begin with.
re: Porter (the dog. Capital P): thanks! Im' pretty biased, but I happen to agree with the assertion that she's a beautiful dog
Vercors was the beginning of another attempt at the idea of 'missing link' (somehow tying into the stout/porter continuum) that I didn't realize I hadn't deleted the entirety of (Vercors was the nom de plume for Jean Bruller who wrote a book called You Shall Know Them essentially about the fine line that divides human from not human).
Ultimately I'll blame it on lack of sleep (worked last night so I've been up since 1700 yesterday and trying to stay up for another 6 or 7 hours) and raise my glass in a virtual cheers!

 

Many thanks @lordofthewiens, hope you heal up quick and wishing your wife patience. It's been a few weeks since I've been able to participate. Spent a couple weeks back at the family ranch, and got to sample some delicious wet hop beers from the PacNW brought by family from Portland. Now back in CA and enjoying it's many great beers.

Today is a new beer to both BA and myself. Alvarado Street Brewing's single hopped IPA Nelson, Baby!



Can dated 10/22/18 into a tulip.



L: Pours murky dirty white orange with 2+ fingers of frothy sticky medium density white head with good retention that left mixed ringed and spotted lacing.

S: Lots of Nelson goodness here, citrus and white grape, great nose!

T: Not quite as enjoyable as the nose, but still quite nice. Plenty of juicy citrus, white grape undertones. Finishes with limited bitterness, medium acidity and slight astringency, acidity lingers on the palate a bit.

F: Medium bodied with moderate carbonation, full on the tongue with tingling from the acidity, slick on the swallow.



O: One of the best Nelson single-hopped recipes I've tried. Wish I'd bought more than 1 4pk. Great beer for my palate and preferences.

BA Score = 4.43

 

Completely agree, especially regarding Hubert. It's my favorite beer from Melvin. I will say that I slightly prefer Asterisk over 2x4 until they hit about 3ish weeks in age. After that I feel that 2x4 holds on longer with less change, where Asterisk can begin to show more sweetness.

 

Nice reviews. I love those Melvin brews and especially the Asterisk- it was one of my top choices for 2017. Have not been able to find it fresh lately.

 

Harpoon dunkin porter
..solid black color
Around a medium body with medium light carbonation. Carbonation felt a little too strong at first but dissipates a d o overall a nice feel to this beer
..aroma espresso,roasted malts, some dark cocoa and milk chocolate
...taste is espresso a d roasted malt first followed by some cocoa. Not overly complex but does every beer need to be? It still provided a nice and interesting flavor profile
..overall I enjoyed it, more than some seem to but I think it held it's own. Maybe i went in with low expectations but it's a flavorful enjoyable beer.

 

Cambridge Brewing Company Hendrix

My third mash-up beer and potentially my last today. This doesn't mash-up two different beer styles, but rather the beer and cocktail world. It's a "sour ale" (Berliner) brewed with cucumbers and then aged in gin barrels. This isn't the sort of thing I'm attracted to (this isn't even a newly released beer), but I like the brewery and I was feeling devilishly generous at the beer store.

It's copper colored. Carbonation is great at first but leaves the party. This is exactly what it set out to be. It's sour (but not off-puttingly so). It tastes of cucumbers, tartness, and a touch of malt. It even has a little gin character but I couldn't tell you how much of that is the power of suggestion vs looking for something announced on the label. It's well made in that it manages to find a nice balance between these elements and ends up tasting good. It doesn't show negative signs of age. It's very well done if you like this sort of thing and ignorable if you don't.

As I drink it, I can't hep but to think that this would be really fantastic if you poured it over ice and muddled basil leaves... and had it on a porch in the summer... and that kinda slightly defeats the purpose of this packaged beer drink anyway.

 

New beer #4. The last from @2beerdogs ninja attack.

Double Chocolate Sprinkles - Bruery
BBA Stout - 11.5% abv
Canned 9/11/18 (47 days ago)
Score: 4.15 (+0.5% rDev)



Review:
https://www.beeradvocate.com/beer/profile/16866/370796/?ba=CanConPhilly#review

Synopsis:
Was expecting diabetes in a can based on the name, but this isn’t sweet at all. Bitter chocolate and vanilla, with lots of barrel booze (perhaps due to freshness...this is only 7 weeks old). I don’t get the chance to try many Bruery beers, so I’m savoring this monster. Thanks again Derek!

 

Poured into a 16 oz Snulip glass not sure when it was canned. Pours a hazy orange with a finger sticky white head that leaves a thin wall of spotty lace. 4.25

Smell is pineapple, tangerine, guava, and white grapefruit. 4.25

Taste hits hard, tropical with a nice grapefruit bitterness that just assaults you entire palate. 4.25

Mouthfeel is pretty darn Big, soft and sticky on the palate, and at 8.2% ABV goes down really easy. 4

Overall this is a very nice NEDIPA, bold in flavor and body, would love to sip on this beast again. 4.25

 

Excellent review although I did get a slight wow from that...

 

Glad you like that one. You describe it very much like I did. I love chocolate notes that aren't too sweet.

 

Sorry to hear that Doc! It's frustrating to be a responsible dog person in a worldd where there are so many that are not. I wish you a speedy return to health.

 

Honestly, I didn't do your nice idea justice: same/same=different vs same/different=same

One reason for this, is that I seem to see things so damn differently than others. To me, a "Brut IPA" is just an American IPA... and a "NEIPA" is a damn shame since it was the best chance that modern American craft brewers had to really name a style of beer their own and they blew it by calling it IPA. It's best if I just shut up. The other reason is that a "white stout" and a stout porter feel like they are worlds apart. It's just a name game, but what do I know... it's not like I've had many "white stouts." Cheers. You always have good posts.

 

Whoa. REALLY whoa.

Early nomination for the name of NBS BIF #9: When Whalez Fly.

 

Good Morning NBS.
I'm here early (West Coast wise), and am quite inspired by an amazing beer sent to me by the very generous @superspak in NBS BIF #8.
I rarely do a breakfast beer, but am SOOO glad I did.
First let me tell you, I usually cook breakfast. But one of my daughters gave me a sly grin, and asked for pancakes. Ugh. That is one the least inspiring breakfasts for me. Eating or cooking. So, I was very happy to hear the wife, who is quite adept at pancakes, say she'd take care of breakfast.
French toast on the other hand, is one of those sweeter breakfast foods that I do enjoy on occasion. And so I did my version of a one man's liquid French toast.

French Toast Devil Dog by Roak Brewing Co in Royal Oak, MI

Pours a profoundly dark roil of brown. Firm pour pushes a confident mocha cap 2+ fingers high. Solid retention. Slowly retreats to a damn respectable, "I'm staying here!" half an inch, milky head.
Straight up glory in the nose. Good Morning, French toast! Maple syrup hitting crispy edged, slightly caramelized, cinnamon-heavy battered French toast. A light hint of vanilla, some cocoa notes, caramel and the smoothest roast, all waft from the glass. Rarely have I beheld such a spot on aroma, that was also soon tempting.
Taste follows faithfully. Although, I dare say it's damn near impossible to follow that nose. The cinnamon is present but tame. The maple definitely stays along for the whole ride, but is not cloying. Hints of vanilla come through and tame the roast notes that peek in just a tad. Sweet notes that make an appearance in the background of the maple syrup are caramel, toffee, and dark chocolate. The vanilla comes through at the end as well, almost gives it a drying out note, in the direction of metallic.
Mouthfeel is full and creamy. Very subtle, almost absent alcohol heat adds a nice extra. Carbonation is light.
Overall, I would love this on a regular basis. Here is where I am reticent to make any suggestions on such a fine beer. But, I love the nose almost as much as my kids, and if the flavor could follow just a tad more faithfully with lighter vanilla I MIGHT like it a smidge more. Having said that (humbly), I LOVE this one.

4.37/5 rDev +2.6%
look: 4.25 | smell: 4.75 | taste: 4.25 | feel: 4.25 | overall: 4.25

 

Brass monkey lasting brass
4.21/5 rDev -0.7%
look: 4.5 | smell: 4.75 | taste: 4 | feel: 4 | overall: 4

Pours very dark with great medium head that holds pretty well. Smells like roast coffee chocolate and coconut. Drinks smooth medium bodied. Coffee roast overtakes coconut and stops it from being amazing overall still very good probably just above a 4.

 

Happy NBS, everybody!
It is a chilly, rainy day here in Montreal and I am just doing my usual Sunday stuff in preparation for another week living the dream. I hope that your foot heals nicely, @lordofthewiens !

I am hoping to get a couple new beers in today starting with this one which comes to me by way of @Ozzylizard in the NBS BIF. I'm not entirely sure what to expect from this beer. I remember seeing him post it and I remember it looking pretty tasty but that's about it. According to the label it is a quadruppel aged in bourbon barrels with cherries.

It pours a pretty dark ruby-brown and doesn't have much in the way of head or general attractiveness. Especially for a Belgian style. The aroma is immediately very bourbony and I get a little worried. However, as it warms the lightly tart cherries, oak vanillins and malt/bourbon nuttiness all bloom and it ends up a tasty beer. There is a lot going on here. There's a part of me that feels like certain parts clash (I personally don't love bourbon barrel belgians and the cherries might not have been necessary). Nonetheless, all of these things go well-enough together here to unite and make a fairly cohesive beer. And one that I enjoyed drinking. Thanks!

Here is my official review if'n you're curious. Looks like Mr. Lizard and I definitely had the same beer. He seems to have appreciated the feel more than I did, but admittedly I knocked it for not being Belgian-y. The fact that this is over 12% is nuts and probably worthy of its own feel-score bump.

Cheers!

 

New beer #5.

Pumpkin Chai Latte - Tired Hands
Double Milkshake IPA - 9% abv
Canned 10/22/18 (6 days ago)
Score: 4.06 (0% rDev - first review)



Review:
https://www.beeradvocate.com/beer/profile/28383/377374/?ba=CanConPhilly#review

Synopsis:
This is mislabeled as a pumpkin beer. There is nothing pumpkin about this. Was going to save @JamFuel one but this does not in any way represent the pumpkin style. It actually does taste good, but “Chai Latte” would be a more accurate description. Not tasting any alcohol, which is impressive for near-10% abv. Those going to @thebeers share next Saturday, you’ll be getting one of these to compare.

 

A-Pours a beautiful copper amber color with a generous head and lacing
A-Aroma has Vanilla and whiskey hints
T-The flavor follows the nose with very nice vanilla and whiskey flavors
M-A light bodied moderately carbonated beer
O-A very balanced whiskey aged ale