New Beer Sunday (Week 714)

Another one thanks to @kemoarps: Reuben- Fresh Hop Crickey

Pours transparent golden, over a finger of rocky white head.
Nose is yeasty, some citrus, berry, and melon notes.
Taste is grapefruit, honeydew, piney, herbal finish, almost like juniper.
Mouthfeel is medium, soft carb.
Not a bad IPA, thanks again for the chance to try something new!

 

Whoops! Totally my bad... Lawrence said it was an English Mild and I entered it sight-unseen. In fact, I still haven't seen it - I was heading down there Thursday night and had to take my daughter's dog to the vet instead.

I just submitted a correction request.

 

A likely story from a scoundrel! ... Cheers man.

 

Nice! They don't date the bottles we see over here, unfortunately, and I've been through my ups and downs with that aspect through the years. I can pretty much tell the fresh ones by taste at this point (they are very much like the draught version we get, with a more overall 'refined' quality), so when I do run across a good batch I'll be all over it because who knows just when that'll come again.

 

This is a fun one as expected. Nice head retention/spotty lacing for the ABV. Flavors of huge milk/dark chocolate, cocoa, coffee, caramel, brown sugar, molasses, toffee, vanilla, rum, toasted oak, nuts, fudge brownie, and dark/brown bread; with lighter notes of coconut, licorice, raisin, prune, fig, date, smoke, char, leather, tobacco, herbal hops, and yeast earthiness. Similar aromas with increasing barrel booze as it warms, but not overwhelming. Mild roast/char bitterness and rum/oak tannin spiciness on the finish. Light-medium carbonation and full body; very creamy, silky, velvety, and rich mouthfeel. Light slickness, sticky hops, chalky roast, rum/oak tannins, and increasing dryness. No cloying/acrid flavors. Dangerously smooth, lightly increasing warmth of 14.5%, minimal lingering barrel booze. Amazingly rich malt complexity and perfect rum barrel integration; with light fruity yeast and earthy hops against sweetness. Rum barrel beers can be polarizing, but it works perfectly in this instance. Liked this more than whiskey barrel stout, which is what this is with different barrels. 4.25


NBS tradition continues with another new JP! 3rd Holy Mountain collab. Awesome sour IPA. Lasting fluffy head retention and thick foamy lacing on the glass. Aromas and flavors of big tart lemon, lime, orange, grapefruit, peach, pear, pineapple, apricot, passion fruit, mango, melon, berries, citrus peel/zest, red/green apple, white wine, peppercorn, pine, oak, hay, straw, herbal, floral, grass, and leathery/musty Brett funk; with moderate wheat, cracker, lightly toasted biscuit malts, and yeast earthiness. Light-moderate pine, citrus peel/rind, herbal, floral, woody, grassy bitterness; peppery Brett spiciness; and light tang/tartness on the finish. Medium-plus carbonation, medium body, and fairly crisp finishing. Balanced creamy/bready/grainy malts, and sticky hops in the mouthfeel. Some resins/rinds, oak tannins, and light acids. Light-moderate increasing bitter/spicy/carbonated dryness. Minimal hop astringency. Very smooth, minimal warming 8.1%. Citra, Amarillo, and Summer hops. Awesome balance of juicy/dank/earthy hops and classic funky JP house Brett/Saison yeast complexity; with a nice pale/wheat malt backbone. No residual sweetness from crisp dryness. Everything I expected. They have yet to disappoint. 4.13


Cheers, have a good night NBS.

 

Ahoy, NBS, and happy Sunday! Can't say I've ever broken or fractured anything. I did stub my toe quite badly last weekend and am just back to feeling ok walking on it again. If we ever found ourselves in some Lethal Weapon comparing past injuries scenario, you would probably win.

On to the beer.



Great Divide's Vanilla Oak Aged Yeti, bottled 4/4/18, 9.5% abv.

Pours opaque black with two fingers of thick brown foam which takes a while to recede and leaves chunks of lacing behind in its wake.

Smells of roasty chocolatey goodness with a hint of sweetness.

Taste is also quite chocolatey. Rich and layered with vanilla and light oak tannins. Surprisingly bitter, as I've found all Yetis I've tried so far to be. Creamy, but drying. Far too easy to drink for its abv; the alcohol goes all but unnoticed.

Subtle, but delicious. I wouldn't mind a little more complexity, but its drinkability is a plus in my mind.

Cheers!

 

Put that next one on some fine vanilla ice cream. It's a great dessert....

 

Good evening NBS
Hope your recovery is quick @lordofthewiens. I've been lucky to never have broken a bone, even working in industrial maintenance for 20 years. Speaking of broken bones, my wife told me I better only have one tonight or else. I replied "I have just the thing"

32oz crowler filled 10/20/18 & sent via @woodychandler from Columbia's second location appropriately named CKW 2nd Gear. The beer pours bright dark amber with red highlights and khaki head. The head recedes to a film and thin ring. There are a few spots of lacing that chase the beer down the mug. The aroma is rich toasted malt with a little burnt sugar & hops. The taste is more toasted malt, slight dark caramel and some earthy hops in the finish. The mouthfeel is thin bodied, lightly carbonated and dry in the finish. Bitterness is perfect for the traditional Marzen style they were attempting here. Overall, very good. This is my favorite sub-style of Oktoberfest. They are rare to find and I am appreciative to have gotten the chance to try this one out.

Cheers all! Been a long day after driving to Indy (6 hour round trip) to celebrate my nephew's 18th birthday. We had both Grandmas in the van for the trip as well so I'm pretty done.

 

Crooked Stave Adambier

Adambier, also called Dortmunder Altbier, was an old German beer type. It was supposedly a highly hopped, strong, and somewhat sour, top-fermenting beer. It was also kept for a long time. It's a rare sight from brewers today, but some US brewers make them smokey. The most seen version is Hair of the Dog's Adam... but it's pretty clear that that beer probably resembles an Adambier in slight inspiration only. It goes without saying that there's room for re-interpretation... or that brewers take the room regardless.

This is my final mash-up beer today... but it only loosely fits the bill. Since it was aged in bourbon barrels and from Crooked Stave, I saw this beer as a dark sour beer and/or historic recreation with a hefty craft stout approach. Truthfully, the entire concept really annoyed me. Why go through the bother of brewing an "Adambier" and then aging it in bourbon barrels? It's aggravating and it almost makes no sense. Who's the audience for this? People who want to try an Adambier recreation but who don't really want to try one... and who are willing to spend a lot of money for the compromised experience? I should look in the mirror because I bought one. And I cursed myself for it. Just call the darn thing a bourbon barrel sour stout or dark ale and more people will want it anyway (except me).

The thing that puts a smile on my face is this as my NBS Halloween entry - with the striking orange and black skull label. The label doesn't really shout "Adambier," does it?

OK. The beer. Great tight head that leaves too quickly. Beer is dark walnut stain, looking near black in the glass. Taste is quite sour. Thank Ninkasi, I'm getting no bourbon or heavy oak in this. Did they use well used barrels with little character for aging purposes? That would be great. Was my agitation for nothing? This beer is really sour. There's little else to compete with this or provide balance. Tastes like lemon juice blended with some beer bite (carbonation, alcohol, funk, and malt). Classified as a "German Altbier" on BeerAdvocate, it could easily confuse some folks not paying close enough attention. I enjoyed it. The lemons lingered.

 

New Beer #2. This from Turning Point Texas. @Dwood1466
A Nu Start TIPA, with Idaho 7, El Dorado and Azacca.
Pours a turbid orange with a large foamy head that leaves some decent lacing.
Huge aromas of crushed pineapple, tangerine and grapefruit, passionfruit, peach and some berry. Im getting strawberry.
Taste follows with a light bready malt with tropicals, citrus and berries with a tinge of white grape. There is sweetness but its rounded out by some piney bitterness. Nice full and lasting flavors with no hint of its 10.5%.
Feel is medium/full bodied with creaminess and still a slickness of hop oils left on the tongue. Tiny bubble carb lasts pretty well throughout.
This is reminiscent of Interboro beer I had last night from @TongoRad. I can only say that because it was just 14 hours or so ago. Very well made and scarily drinkable NE style IPA. Idaho 7 continues to land on my favorite new hop list. Great stuff.

 

Agreed. And now that you say that I still have the one can of Private Rye from JA. I should have done a side by side.....

 

You are correct - I misspoke about release dates. The eiche doppelbock is indeed the one to be released around Xmas but I spoke correctly about the deliciousness!

 

One more for today


51 exactly how many points I scored in one fantasy league

 

Yes, they all are good, but IMHO, Schlenkerla is better.

 

Sounds like a cool beer, but I absolutely agree with your sentiment. I wish breweries would stop barrel aging every damn thing. Beers well executed should be wonderful on their own.

Also, Adam (HotD) happens to be one of my all time favorites. Perhaps my very favorite beer. I haven't had any "classic" Adambier offerings to compare it's stylistic accuracy, but I don't think that bothers me at all in this case. Cheers.

 

Happy NBS, everybody! Things are starting to get nicely brisk around here, and thankfully I have a few beers sitting around that would be perfect for when the chill winds set in. Tonight's comes via the recent BIF, sent to me by @Victory_Sabre1973 -

Brau Bros. Rye Wine from MN, aged in previously used oak barrels (I'm assuming a blend of bourbon and rye, but the label doesn't specify. This one has the potential to be really interesting, and I've been looking forward to finding just the right time to pop it open...

Initial aroma has a host of qualities, blended perfectly, with nothing particularly overly strong or taking over- caramel, dates, fruitcake, wood, vanilla, dried berries, toffee/nuts, even- crazily enough- a dead ringer for bran muffins. Pleasingly, there is little to no alcohol or booze to speak of, they seem to do their job by playing off of the base beer and not standing front and center.

The palate is really full and creamy- almost literally, the sensation is very much like drinking light cream. I also really like where the bitterness and residual sugars wound up in that goldilocks zone- not too dry nor too sweet and cloying. Some warming alcohol is making its way known on the finish, but it's a pleasant feeling overall. The palate is mostly about the toffee (even butterscotch?), killer spicy malt (maybe that bran muffin again?), vanilins, and a long toasted wood finish.

I'm also getting a slight twang- not quite sour or even much of a flaw- but it doesn't quite jive with the rounded qualities this beer otherwise has, either. But overall it's a pleasant sipper with it's own unique personality, and I shall enjoy taking my time with the rest of it. A very nice A- (4.2). Thanks again, James!

 

I may have had this in the bottled format a couple years ago, but with no review or rating, I'm calling it a new-to-me!
The glass is clean with ruby red grapefruit floaties.

https://www.beeradvocate.com/beer/profile/30542/267273/



Moderate pour yields a nearly one inch white head over a bright, floatie laden body with some sticky lacing. Very nice nose of tropical fruit, sweet citrus, and slight pine. Taste mirrors nose nicely with a very nice feel. The ruby red grapefruit floaties present are in no way detrimental to the overall experience that, let's say, murky lactose does to other so-called IPAs. Overall, this might be my favorite tasting IPA from the Bros. Cheers!

4.34/5 rDev +2.6%
look: 4 | smell: 4.25 | taste: 4.5 | feel: 4.25 | overall: 4.25

 

New Beer Sunday: New England IPA

Evenin’ NBSers, with a report for fans of the NE IPA style.

This evening’s new beer is one that many credit with having been the jump-starter for the whole NE IPA ride/craze/fad/down fall of real beer, etc., etc.— Heady Topper from the Alchemist. Also, so you’ll know in advance, I did NOT drink this beer from the can as instructed for three reasons. First I want to see what I’m drinking. Second I’m a bit of a stubborn traditionalist and know that this beer was on offer on draught only for some years before it was ever canned. Third, for reasons I won’t go into, I’m a bit skeptical of the reasons given by the brewer as to why it is preferable to drink the beer from the can rather than the glass.

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

https://www.beeradvocate.com/beer/profile/46317/16814/?ba=drtth#review


The aromas/flavors of Heady Topper are all about the hops with some crackery, caramel malt in the background to control the bitterness. There’s grapefruit, zest, some tropical fruits as well as a bit of resin in the bitterness. This is a very well made beer that is enjoyable and worth drinking at least once, if only to see what all the excitement is about. Reasonably temperature sensitive in that as the beer warms the aroma/flavor profile become better integrated and therefore smoother and more complex. I expect I’ll be revisiting this beer.

Music on the player tonight is by Borodin.

In the Steppes of Central Asia

Cheers, all!

 

That you did. Cheers!