New Beer Sunday (Week 715)

I wasn’t sure that I would contributing this week. We recently lost a family friend who was a very young man. We were supposed to be busy with that all day, but my wife just decided she is still too broken up and just can’t bring herself to do it. Instead we will be home watching hallmark Xmas movies to try to get her mind off of things. I don’t exactly agree with her decision, but will support it with no argument. After all, I don’t need a load of stress weighing down my pregnant wife. That means I will be sharing a beer or two today. Here is the first.

Polyflora from Brewery Bhavana. It is a collaboration with a brewery I’m familiar with - Centeal State right here in IN.


This came to me from the most generous @Dragginballs76 . The beer pours out in a golden haze with a bright, white topping of foam that sizzles away in just a short moment. The nose has a bit of acidity behind it, like your typical wine barrel aged sour. The taste is slightly funky with lemon, dandelion, white pepper, wet hay, and honey. Tart, but not puckering. Soft acidity leaves this very drinkable. Light but still powerful and flavorful. Not much wood from the barrels here, but there is a touch of sour white grapes. Clean finish leaves you ready for the next sip immediately. Thanks for this one, Mike!

 

Good morning NBS
Great start @cjgiant. I completed my first ever trade via shipping last week in order to access some additional Oktoberfest beers. I have been through every one in local distribution. I am extending my personal celebration of Oktoberfest through this weekend thanks to @woodychandler...

This beer is brewed in the Festbeer style and I was excited to try it. Sly Fox seems to be well regarded for their lagers.

The review:
12oz can bb 1/1/19 poured into a dimpled mug at fridge temp 6.1% ABV per can. The beer pours mostly bright light copper in color with off white head. The head recedes to a film and thin ring. The aroma is slightly sweet and doughy with a hint of yeast and hops. The taste is toasted bread, not really sweet, but nearly sweet that tapers off to a pleasant floral & mildly bitter finish. The mouthfeel is medium to thin bodied, adequately carbonated and dry in the finish. This beer is very clean, well crafted and lagered. Overall, very good. Thanks @woodychandler for the chance to try this one.

Cheers all! I hope to make my way through three more O-fests today.

 

Cuvee rene
..yellow gold color
..around a medium body with at leas average almost champagne like carbonation
..aroma is green apple, yeast,a sour/funk/tart smell
...taste is very similar to aroma,almost a bit dry. There's an apple tartness that's really nice and perfectly matched with a bit of a sour funk flavor
...overall this is a fantastic beer that would be great with fruit and cheese or would go well with some rich meals

 

New Beer Sunday: New England IPA

Afternoon NBSers with an alert for seekers of NE IPAs with lots of Citra hops.

This afternoon’s new beer is the City Dank Juice from Odd Side Ales. (New beer and new brewery for me.)

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

https://www.beeradvocate.com/beer/profile/22564/309438/?ba=drtth#review


The aromas/flavors are filled with citrus and tropical fruits, possibly some golden orchard fruits and a definite presence of bitterness from citric zest and pine resin. The light bready sweetness from the malt controls and softens the bitterness just enough that it supplements but does nothing to conceal the complexity of the other hop flavors. Worth checking out and I’ll be looking to try more beers from this brewery.

Cheers, all!

 

Reminds me of every other high ABV bourbon aged beer I've ever had tbh. Never been my favorite style.This one seems to be done really well though. Can hardly tell it's 12.5% unless i swish it around in my mouth then that's all i taste. I generally only drink beers like this once or twice a year tbh so I'm hardly the person to review it.

 

Sorry to hear about the sad news, Chris - condolences to you and your family!

 

New Farmhouse Sunday

Thanks for kicking things off, Craig. You're a solid dude, no matter what everyone else says.

I have a couple, two, tree new beers lined up for today but I'm starting out with what I would consider a mix between a classic Belgian farmhouse and a Sahti. Scratch Brewing is a really unique operation down in Southern Illinois that focuses on garden grown and wild foraged ingredients.

Scratch Brewing - Barrel-Aged Cedar Oak



It's mashed through red cedar branches, which the bottle fails to mention.



Barrel-Aged Cedar Oak is the deepest of golden. It's fully saturated and bright. A minor haze runs throughout the body that diffuses the light and makes for an even, comforting glow. Tiny carbonation streams to the surface from a few pinprick spots along the glass. The foam is microbubbled, bordering on silky, with some impressive staying power. The head never falls below a finger in height and it leaves that milk mustache if you're not careful. (4.5)

The nose on this beer hits nearly every mark. It's musty and fruity off the bat with gritty pear and fresh white peach upfront before the cedar boughs and juniper shows itself. The cedar more in the form of needles and the juniper with that bright herbal punctuation. Dry splintered oak and a damp minerality round it out. It's a bit floral at times but each swirl of the glass really accentuates that orchard fruitiness. Very complex yet inviting. (4.75)

The flavor manages to keep up with the high expectations set by the smell. The orchard fruitiness is amazingly expressive with the white peach taking point from the pear. The pear is still there and a bit earthy. Cedar needles and juniper berries pop with a quick one-two in the middle. That damp minerality, like rain soaked rock, is soft and throughout the entirety. The oak is soft but noticeable adding a soft touch of sweetness. This stuff is pretty amazing. (4.5)

A body that leans toward the lighter side of the spectrum is met by a frothy airiness that adds great texture overall. The carbonation is aggressive but never becomes prickly. A soft tartness lingers here and there while the fizziness settles on the backend. This stuff is beyond easy drinking and refreshing and the semi-dry finish boosts that aspect even more. (4.5)

Barrel-Aged Cedar Oak is an amazing beer from the folks down at Scratch. The concept alone is unique and interesting but the execution is otherworldly. It's bright and vibrant while remaining exceptionally well balanced in all aspects. This is one of the best new beers I have had in a long time. (4.5)

4.56/5 rDev +3.4%
look: 4.5 | smell: 4.75 | taste: 4.5 | feel: 4.5 | overall: 4.5

 

A second new offering from Alchemist. This porter is better balanced than the earlier hoppy stou.
Cheers all
Pappy's Porter

The Alchemist Brewery and Visitors Center
American Porter / 5.00% ABV

4.1/5 rDev +0.5% | Score: 4.08
look: 4 | smell: 4 | taste: 4.25 | feel: 4 | overall: 4

Poured from a can purchased 2 days ago at the brewery. Into a pint glass.
A - Deep and dark, near black in color, a thin cap of tan froth tops the offering. Lacing is quite delightful, ring after ring.
S - Narrow band of dark chocolate, char, faint notes of anise, cigar.
T - Roast malts, some pumpernickel bread, hops run in the on the earthy side.
M - Medium in body, a bit slick,start is semi sweet, then a wave of bitterness, interestingly a sweet finish and fine lingering cocoa notes.
O - A very good porter, body is wonderful, delicately carbonated, and quite tasty.

 

Pretty sure your review has triggered several of us to add this to our wants. I did. Wow that sounds so good!

 

Surly Damien Child of Darkness Ale, 6.5% ABV. Pours black, with a nice two finger tan head. Nose is roasty and slight caramel, taste is caramel, roast malt, piney hops, slightly sweet, slightly bitter. Excellent mouthfeel, overall excellent.

Had intended to have this on Halloween, but had too much leftover candy...

 

Thanks, man. Scratch brews some really cool, off the wall stuff. Of the very few I've had, this has been the best yet.

I drank one last night that they brewed with dandelion, carrot tops, ginger, and clover in place of hops. It was crazy good. Spring Tonic it's called.

 

I enjoyed the extra hour of sleep but now it’s on to chores around the house, and today, that chore is all the damn leaves! I live on a decent sized lot with 7 huge trees that line the outside perimeter. 11 months out of the year we love our yard. This month becomes a constant battle of raking, dragging the tarp out to the curb, blowing, mowing, more raking, etc. Thank goodness for yard work beers and NBS! Thanks to @Dragginballs76 for this one. Cheers!

Somehow those trees in the picture appear they have most of their leaves yet I have a sea of orange and yellow on the ground. Oh well...
16 ounce can, the date on the bottom of the can is a solid black block. Poured into a mason.
Pours a brighter purple/red. Looks like beet juice. Fluffy, fingers worth of head at pour but has settled into about an eighth of an inch for most of the glass when I drank it. Translucent
The nose is raspberry, blueberry, crackers.
Good flavors of slightly tart, lemony then not so ripe raspberry, cranberry, wheat, and cracker malts.
Very light, dryer and as labeled, “quenchable and crushable”.
3.83 rDev -1.3%

 

A-Pours a hazy golden color with a nice head and lacing
A-Aroma has hoppy and citrus hints
T-The taste follows the nose with a nice hoppy and citrus flavor
M-A medium bodied well carbonated beer
O- A nice DIPA

 

NBS beer #2



Dark

The Alchemist Brewery and Visitors Center
German Schwarzbier / 5.50% ABV

4.4/5 rDev -2.2% | Score: 4.5
look: 4.75 | smell: 4 | taste: 4.5 | feel: 4.5 | overall: 4.5

L-The beer pours black with brown edges. The head rises to about a finger and a half of tan bubbles. The head recedes to a thin film leaving tons of coating lace.
S- The nose is roasted malts, bitter dark chocolate, and a touch of black coffee.
T-Up front you get that roasty malt presence which borders on coffee. The longer I sip the further the roastiness fades into the backround. This allows the dark chocolate to rise, but the beer never reaches sweet. Spicy, earthy hop flavors balance out the beer beautifully.
M- Mouthfeel overall is medium. Carbonation is on the lighter side of medium.
O- Like it's sister beer Light, this is a flawlessly executed lager. If you put a german label on it I'd be none the wiser. If your a schwarzbier fan you'll love this. Highly recommended.

 

New beer #2. Thanks @Jimmy_Kneecaps ! I gave @thisischuck01 one of the Bearded Iris you sent me since he’s never had one. This is a very curious beer that I’m still trying to figure out.

Wavelength - Bearded Iris
DIPA - 8.3% abv
Canned 10/9/18 (27 days ago)
Score: 4.08 (-3.5% rDev)



Review:
https://www.beeradvocate.com/beer/profile/39925/334973/?ba=CanConPhilly#review

Synopsis:
An interesting mix of floral and bitter grapefruit flavors. On the nose it presents as skunky, but that translates into liquified flowers and grass on the sip. I love how bitter this is. It’s the supermodel of beers. Looks stunning, and oh wow that silky body, but smells and tastes a bit like despair, anger and vanity.

 

How available are their beers? Guessing they’re a bit hard to get.

 

Sorry for your loss.

Enjoy the beers.

 

They self distribute a couple times a year up to Northern Illinois but their actual location is close to nothing. Their stuff tends to sit at a few places up here because not a lot of people know about them yet and all anyone seems to care about is hazy IPA. So it can be found around here without terrible nonsense involved, as of now.

 

Many thanks @cjgiant for waving today's green flag. My first entry is both new to BA and myself. Knee Deep Ooopsie Dhazy!, from a can dated 10/18/18.



L: Pours hazy golden with 1+ finger of medium density white head with moderate retention and left some ringed lacing. Definitely hazy vs. murky.

S: Very tropical nose, wished it popped more. Lots of mandarin orange, mango and guava follows, lastly some floral undertones.

T: Follows the nose well, kinda honestly reminds me a bit of Sunny Delight. Finishes with mild bitterness but heavy biting acidity and moderate astringency, acidity lingers on the palate.

F: Low-medium body with medium-high carbonation, lively/tingly on the tongue from the carbonation and acidity, slick on the swallow.

O: Definitely the juiciest IPA I've had from Knee Deep. But it misses the mark of the good-great NE IPAs. Likely won't repeat.

BA Score = 3.89