New Beer Sunday (Week 718)

After enjoying a CBS on Thanksgiving I switched to Ohio beers the rest of Rivalry Weekend. Today’s comes from an Ohio gypsy brewer I’ve enjoyed following but haven’t been able to find enough of his brews. He’s on #29 but this is only the third or fourth I’ve seen. From Dayton, he brews them one batch at a time, none repeated, at various rotating breweries across the state. Today’s is Batch 28 and one of a few I’ve seen with a name- Colada IPA. Brewed at Rivertown in Hamilton, near Cincinnati.



I’ve enjoyed the earlier batches from NIP I’ve had and this is definitely a unique concept: Citra hops, coconut and pineapple. Should be a hoppy cocktail in a glass. Except it unfortunately doesn’t translate. At first I was concerned about flakes in the glass. Turns out it’s intended coconut. Cool. All of the ingredients above make an appearance, but unlike the blended cocktail here they just kind of stand by themselves, there’s no coherence or balance. Definitely unique, I enjoy the brewer, what he is doing and I wish I had a chance to try every batch. Unfortunately at 3.25 across the board one of the lower scored reviews I’ve shared on NBS but still IMO one of the more unique.
Cheers!

 

This start time has been the subject of prior discussion here. It took many things into consideration, including the ability of people in EST (and even further east) to participate at an appropriate time for them, the locations of our esteemed hosts, and the fact that we don't have a "purist" approach on the imbibing being on Sunday (although in general, most people follow this), and basically---it's a chill place for people to feel welcome.

 

Hahahahahahaha! I hope I didn't beer pressure you into that.

"Gentle" is the perfect word. And I wonder if winter warmers can rate much more than a B+? The straightforward, non-wassail types always seem like this Sierra Nevada version — there's an army of malt waiting to charge, you can sense it, but it never moves forward enough.

Still, very glad to share a beer with ya!

 

Glad you had a great Thanksgiving! You give me some hope with my sons, they are 10 and 6 and currently still in the fighting constantly phase.

 

A delightful offering from our dear friends at Brick and Feather. as @cavedave has pointed out in the Hudson Valley, there is quite a few offerings of great quality. We are fortunate here in the Pioneer Valley of Mass to have great quality from both established and "young" breweries. That said Brick And Feather is close by and is just wonderful. No Use for Smugglers is a big IPA that strikes a great balance with the malt base and hopping, for a wonderful treat
Cheers all

No Use For Smugglers

Brick & Feather Brewery
American Imperial IPA / 8.00% ABV

4.24/5 rDev -3.2% | Score: 4.38
look: 4 | smell: 4.25 | taste: 4.25 | feel: 4.25 | overall: 4.25

Poured from a 16 oz can dated last week, into the pint glass.
A - Almost glowing sunflower yellow in color, loose knit cap of white froth rides the top. Lacing is enticing.
S - All fruit, ripe cantaloupe, peach, pine apple reduced, orange freshly peeled and ripe.
T - Sweet malts dance so well with fruity hops, orange, papaya, dragon fruit, all on a plate.
M - Soft water feel, semi sweet start, then balanced bitterness keeps this in the lanes, drying linger offers the full experience.
O - Another wonderful offering from a talented brewer. Full on DIPA more subtle than bold, hop schedule and malt base are in sync, the yeast used is neutral and does not complicate things. Alcohol is hidden well, mouth feel is just right.

 

Ommegang gnomegang blonde ale
...an amber orange color.
...about a medium body. The carbonation is about medium yet came off a little champagne like
...aroma is apple,pear, yeast, and a strong mixed spice smell
..taste is very similar to aroma with the spice dominating. Hard to determine exactly what spice I'm tasting and it seems like the spice might be overdone
...its not my favorite but a not great ommegang beer in perspective is still pretty damn good.

 

New beer #3.

Idaho 7 + Motueka - Other Half
DIPA - 8.5% abv
Canned 11/15/18 (10 days ago)
Score: 3.92 (-8.4% rDev)



Review:
https://www.beeradvocate.com/beer/profile/33510/381855/?ba=CanConPhilly#review

Synopsis:
Not a fan of either of these hops individually, so not surprised that I’m not head-over-heels about this dual-hop. Primary hop flavors are floral and earthy. Very little citrus apart from some sour lemon in the middle. If you’re looking for an ipa that tastes far left of center, this one will fit the bill. But I’m glad I only have 1 can to drink.

 

On my way home from another Thanksgiving week with family in Massachusetts. They schedule me pretty tightly, and they are so remote from Boston that I don't make it to any breweries or shops. I am, however once again at the Shipyard bar at the Providence airport.

It's either Shipyard or Budweiser in this joint. This is Shipyard Monkey Fist a 6% ABV English IPA. Nice appearance, good aroma bit falls a little flat in the taste and feel categories. Good compliment to airport pizza.
Next stop is Atlanta and a four hour layover whole they gas up the autogyro for the hop to Columbia.

 

I have missed this forum, and will begin to contribute again. The varsity soccer team I coach advanced to the state championships which involved three Sunday matches and my other work includes a lot of home-work.

Here is a holiday wild ale: Sloop's Space Jam from Downtown presents hazy, and bright, watermelon-red can pour has a thin foam cap that quickly diminishes. The effervescence is extremely fine. The aroma is of sour cherries, lemon and sumac. The flavor is moderately tart, but very much like cherry-strawberry jam. The finish is fairly dry. This is an extremely tasty wild ale. It would appeal to many.

Cheers!

 

I fully agree , the pissing over a few hours is getting old. If the thread is up post what you got.

 

Ugh, why not fly into Charlotte. The pizza looks pretty good though.

 

Has it just now been a week? Wow! It's been a long one. Good, but long. Hope everybody had a good holiday and enjoyed their families. This week always seems to be a heavy week for me with all the stout releases. (Bourbon County, Deths Tar, Cafe Deth, BA Ten Fidy, etc.) The stout season is upon us and it's almost as bad for my health as it is my wallet. Anyway, this week I am going to be doing a 2016 Scotch barrel variant of Abyss. I'm not a liquor drinker (just beer) so not only have I never had Scotch itself, I've never had any Scotch barrel aged brews. Let's see how it goes!

BEER: Abyss aged in Scotch Barrels for 12 months
BREWERY: Deschutes
ABV: 12.3%



Pouring this beer dated 12/09/16 from a 22 oz. bottle into a snifter glass this beer pours out chocolate in color with highlights running throughout until formed in the glass. It formed a half pinky width of caramel colored crown that didn't want to stick around too long and chose rather to just form a ring around the glass. (4)
The smell is burnt bitter chocolate mixing with earthy wood, molasses and dark fruit all backed by a somewhat smokey background. (4)
The taste comes in with an earthy soil like presence before turning to that bitter, burnt chocolate. Wood, dark fruit & molasses all still present as well and the smoke finishes it off. (3.75)
The mouthfeel is, I would guess, past it's prime, because it is rather flat with no carbonation bounce. Other than that, it's slightly smoky, earthy and dry. (3.5)
Overall, this was my least favorite out of the variants I had of the Abyss, but that does have some to do with the carbonation levels of it. I always enjoy that bitter, burnt chocolate in the Abyss and liked how this one had a slightly smokey presence tangling with it. While I would definitely drink this again, it wouldn't be anything I would search out in the future. (3.75)

Still curious, does anybody know what type of Scotch Barrels were used for this? Cheers BAs!

 

Wow at that artwork. It takes me back to childhood.

 

Great sleuthing skills! You're exactly right: The real label says "lager", the label on the website says "ale" and the ingredients list says "ale yeast".



It had a lager-like mouthfeel IMO, quite crispy and not soft, thick or slick, but I'd also say I've had many an ale with a similar mouthfeel, so ... that's the end of my limited sleuthing skills on this one. Maybe they use ale yeast but also cold storage to mature the beer?

There's no doubt about one thing: The word "lager" on the real label might as well be in neon the way it sticks out alongside "winter warmer".

 

Even when you die you have to connect through Atlanta.
It is known.

 

Guinness "Stout Aged in Bulleit Bourbon Barrels"

I'm sticking with fancy-schmancy stouts for the NBS moment. Similar but very different, one will be a local brewer collaboration and the other is a cross-Atlantic collaboration between a global brand and itself. It's all a matter of scale. This Guinness is the latter beer. This is their brewed-in-Dublin "Antwerpen" stout, aged in Bulleit Bourbon barrels at their new Open Gate Brewery in Baltimore. Bulleit and Guinness are both Diageo brands.

If one would speculate that a Guinness beer aged in bourbon barrels would be a "bourbon barrel stout" for the masses, then they'd be correct. This is delicious and it seems to fit into that mission perfectly (well, at least in terms of drinking, but not including things like availability, price... the practical stuff).

Unsurprisingly black and opaque (guess I coulda just used my branded Guinness mug anyway). The sound is soda fizz at first. The aroma is heavy on the coconut. The feel is way too thin to make a stout-lovin' beer geek get sweaty (but it suits me just fine), but it's also very smooth. The smoothness is really great.

This is far less aggressive than a beer geek's highly rated bourbon stout, but it's incredibly drinkable for what it is. All of the usual barrel aged hallmarks are there, but the integration is fantastic. The fruit to sweet to roast to acidity ratio here is beautiful. I can't stress enough how this thing goes down so easily... which will be at odds for people who want to sip and contemplate. In the end though, I'd rather have something that was decidedly more "Guinness" than a Guinness stout aged in bourbon barrels.

 

Ugh, the only airport that's in that class of bad is O'Hara.

 

I suspect the "ale" stuff is just a midway snapshot of a beer evolution from their Wintertide Ale in last year's box. Would like to know because it's intriguing and it gives you a sense of beer design changes.

 

Had this one while I tidied up a few things around the house this morning. Courtesy of @CanConPhilly BIF box, it seems that I keep finding beers tucked away in the fridge from that behemoth of a box. Thanks Matt for another tasty PA treat!

Pours pitch black with a finger of loosely formed mocha head.
Smells of dark roasted malts, burnt sugars, and a touch of coffee(maybe just the dark roast).
Taste follows with the roastiness, toffee, caramel, also getting some bitter chocolate.
Medium bodied, good carb level. Smooth.
Overall a pretty tasty stout, especially to be a 5%er.