New Beer Sunday (Week 718)

There is only one possible solution to this conundrum. Time to bring in the heavy artillery .....

 

New beer #4. Thanks @Jimmy_Kneecaps !

Deux Rouges: Embrace The Funk - Yazoo
American Wild (Mixed Ferm) - 6.2% abv
Score: 4.4 (+3% rDev)



Review:
https://www.beeradvocate.com/beer/profile/9020/111388/?ba=CanConPhilly#review

Synopsis:
Wickedly tart, noticeably sour, and with super-high acidity. This is not a beer for the sour novice. Personally I am digging this greatly, and it will take me quite a while to drink it since the super-low pH relegates this to a sipper. A vinegary, wood-forward treat for sour beer fans. Thanks again JT!

 

Thanks for mentioning Wintertide. I completely forgot about it and just read my review of it and wow! Talk about two completely different beers, this year's winter warmer vs. last year's (way more wassail-spices in last year's).

FWIW, my reviews suggest last year's version had a softer, more ale-standard mouthfeel, but again ... I'm not even Doctor Watson much less Holmes when it comes to discerning the ale vs. lager differences.

 

Poured into a 13 oz Free Will Teku glass canned on 11/02/18. Pours a slightly hazy orange yellow with a 2 finger sticky white head that leaves a wall of thin lace that hangs out the entire drink. 4.25

Smell is tangerine, guava, passion fruit, earthy notes, and a little whiff of grapefruit rind. 4.25

Taste follows tangerine, guava upfront with passionfruit, grapefruit, and a earthy floral thing I just can’t explain, but it is a good thing. Kind of a west coast style attribute to this NEIPA. 4.25

Mouthfeel is a solid medium, plenty of life not a NEIPA softness, maybe a tad dry, and goes down so easy and is crazy refreshing. 4.5

Overall this a NEIPA with plenty of West Coast influence brewed with Motu and Crosby hops out of New Zealand. At $11.59 a 4 pack a great IPA.....4.25

 

Well, why not have a lunch beer? Be bold, do something different...

Thanks for the kickoff, @lordofthewiens . Good Thanksgiving week at the stronghold here. Took a couple of days off, actually got some painting done. Turkey day itself was actually peaceful with some family and a few friends. There was a hardboiled egg incident that doesn't need discussion... I am not a turkey lover, but this year's edition got me to eat seconds. I am more into the accompaniements, which were also very good. Collaboration on a hot pepper stuffing that came out nicely. My main contribution being tasting guinea pig for hotness...

So, with the unusually early hour for me, let's see what this unusually named and themed beer holds.



Harpoon Rec. League says that is the cool down companion, 3.8% alcohol, 120 calories. OK so this must be for after beer hall yoga...it says it is brewed with buckwheat kasha, and Chia seeds with sea salt and potassium chloride. So is it beeratorade?

Actuually, this tastes pretty damned good. It has pineapple and grapefruit aroma. The foam is tenacious. It calls itself a hazy pale ale, but I would say it is more of an NEIPA Lite. There is saltiness in the aftertaste. There is only a little bitterness, and a little mineral tang. Predominantly citrus on the flavor, but some pineapple. A smooth and soft mouthfeel, just a bit dry on the finish. Seems rather lucious feeling for a low ABV beer. The citrus does fade a bit as the beer sits.

I like this beer. It tastes good, drinks well. I assume it meets the intent as a cool down companion, but I don't see it limited to that. Lawnmower beer redefined??? Reminds me of their Take 5 session IPA, which I also liked. I am a bit unsure how to rate it to style, but I think just on flavor and more than decent texture I can go 3.8-ish. Not great, but above average.

 

I've been making a push to try more style variations, origins, and classics. I've spent a lot of time focusing on IPAs and stouts, and while I still very much enjoy them, today is about branching out a little. First up on the new style list for me is a double tasting of the European Strong Lager style.

Style description per Beer Advocate:

"Many breweries around the world brew a stronger version of their regular lager. In the US, there is Ice Beer and Malt Liquor, both of which rely on a high amount of rice or corn to lighten the flavor. Many European and Asian breweries also have a strong lager similar to Malt Liquor, although these examples are made with more malt or all malt. Many breweries rush the fermentation so the final brew won't be too light, and signs of higher alcohols will be noticed in the aroma and flavor."



Lvivske Mitzne & Baltika #9.

Lvivske Mitzne.

Pours a translucent copper-orange with a finger and a half of white foam on top. Head retention is okay with a ring of foam lingering a long while. Aroma is strong and powerful nail polish, straw, barley, pilsner and bready malts. It pops hard at the start like a camera flash, and then fades. Flavor profile is quite novel. It comes on strong and thick from the start with a light burning alcohol quality right up front, giving the impression this is drank to alter the mind and not for enjoyment. Nail polish, barley, pilsner malts, and sweet corn with herbal, citrus hops round it out. Mouth feel is medium-thick with a prickly effervescence that creates the illusion of a much thicker beer. Overall, big and boozy with harsh malt and hop qualities.

Score: 3.75 | 2.75 | 3 | 3 | 3.25 | BA Score: 3.04 | rDev: +15.6%

Baltika #9.

Pours a translucent straw with a finger of white foam that dissipates quickly. Aroma is straw, barley, pilsner, bready, earthy malts. There is a prick of alcohol popping through the nose, but fades quickly. Flavor profile is straw, pilsner, bready, toasty malts with herbal, citrus, medicinal hops and red apples. It starts thin and then expands into an expanse of flavors. Alcohol lingers on the tongue after the malts and hops fade. Mouth feel is lightly effervescent with a crisp texture. Combine the crisp texture with the medium-thin consistency and it makes for a refreshing fairly high octane beer. Overall, fair balance between malts and hops, with the 8% ABV somewhat tamed.

Score: 3.25 | 3.25 | 3.25 | 3.5 | 3.5 | BA Score: 3.33 | rDev: +18.%

I'll leave the remainder of both bottles out on the back porch if anyone else wants to try a pour. I don't know that I can - no - I don't know that I want to finish either of them.

Cheers.

 

So Legit a 6.2% ABV American Brown Ale from Twin Elephant Brewing. A lot of craft breweries never brew a ABA but TE brews one every 4/5 weeks. They do the style well. Poured from a growler the beer is golden brown with a thick white head. The aroma is sweet malt The taste is malt to with hints of cocoa, coffee and hazelnut. The mouthfeel is full and the finish is off dry. All and all a straight forward ABA. That's fine by me, a very enjoyable brew..

 

Nice hit, @FlintB I was delighted by this one. Thanks to the generosity of @superspak . The nose on that baby is divine. And ,like you, can only imagine what a BBA version would be like.

 

Hey everybody!
I hope you all had a great Thanksgiving and have been enjoying your weekend. Thanksgiving is the holiday I miss the most hands down what with living away from family and in another country, but I was able to have a nice big meal Friday so that was nice and more than I was able to do last year. Now it's raining and I'm relaxing inside. Hopefully this won't be my last post of the day, as my next one will be #1000!
My first beer for today is this saison from Foundation. It is undated and was barrel aged for a year with Brett.

It pours gorgeous with a massive white head that you can take bites out of. The aroma and flavor are both nice and earthy with a good mix of funk and a rustic earthy character with a hint of tartness to offset the rest. It's a joy to drink, puffy and dry as a bone. Thanks for the chance to try this, K-dizzle!

Here is my full review.

Cheers!

 

Woke up early enough to have just 1 new beer today before I go back to work later tonight. Wish it turned out better but that’s the breaks.

12 ounce can with no date seen. Poured into tulip.
Pours chestnut brown, about a finger’s worth of light tan head. In the glass, it appears a dark brown with a settled down head of a small ring around the glass.
The nose is cinnamon, cola, a bit of doughy malts and the slightest of green apple.
On taste, Cinnamon is there, root beer, bit of doughy presence. And that ever so hint of a tart green apple. It’s unfortunate and I believe that this is not that old. When I breath out my nose it’s a definite cinnamon roll with that fresh baked dough, and spicy cinnamon.
Medium body and slick finish.
Overall, it’s disappointing. That slight bit of tart really takes away from the potential of the beer.

3.44 rDev -10.6%

 

We have missed you, but always appreciate your return.

 

A-Pours a hazy golden color with a slight head and lacing
A-Aroma has Citrus and piney hints
T-The taste follows the nose with a nice citrus and piney flavor
M-A light bodied very well carbonated beer
O-A very well done winter ipa

 

Barrier w/ Kane - Know Yourself

Part 2 of the fancy imperial stouts. This one was brewed with vanilla and tart cherries. Those special ingredients are way in the background here. I love that. Plenty of others hate it. What we have here is a good roasty and fruity big stout. There's a little acidity, but people shouldn't be scared away by the tart word on the label. This is a stout. Body is slick. The vanilla brings things together by rounding things off... which is the opposite of how it's normally used in my eyes... but once again, its presence in the mix is really minor. Very nice but lacking in particular distinction.

 

Congratulations on your team's run!

 

New beer #5. Thanks @JBowenGeorgia !

Into the Big Wide Canyon with Jerry - Tired Hands
DIPA - 8% abv
Canned 10/26/18 (30 days ago)
Score: 3.78 (-11.7% rDev)



Review:
https://www.beeradvocate.com/beer/profile/28383/379814/?ba=CanConPhilly#review

Synopsis:
A “spice rack” ipa. Not sure what spices were actually added to this, but it tastes strongly of rosemary and thyme. Maybe that was the point, with the Grateful Dead reference and all. Yet another bizarro Tired Hands ipa that I don’t like. Wish they would stick to brewing citrus-forward ipas, since they know how to do that well.

 

I have a few new beers to drink today not sure although I'm not sure how many I will review here. I will start with Enchantress by Three Taverns Brewing which is a Cranberry Sauce Sour which seems fitting post Thanksgiving

Appearance: Pinkish/reddish with a bit of haze and a quickly dissipating head

Aroma: Cranberry, spices

Taste: Sour berry with cinnamon and clove

Mouthfeel: On the thin end of medium. Super easy to drink.

Overall: I like this and it isn't something I would buy all the time but it is a nice chance of pace and a far better seasonal than a pumpkin beer imo. Not the best sour I've had but not the worst. I enjoyed it and would drink it again but honestly I tend towards higher ABV beers. I decided to start with the small beers today.

4.12/5 rDev +2.7%
look: 4.25 | smell: 4 | taste: 4.25 | feel: 4 | overall: 4