New Beer Sunday (Week 718)

I was able to try the first release of that beer and it was memorable. One of my favorites from a brewery that makes some great brews.

 

Good evening NBS, hope everyone is enjoying the end of the holiday weekend. Took a break from reviewing as usual, but now I am back. Got a solid new beer haul this weekend which included 3 BCB variants and a bunch of Jackie O sours; among some other things. It'll do for now. I have a lot of stuff waiting for me this week anyhow.

New Beer:

Canadian lager. Very nice Euro dark. Great rocky head retention/lacing. Crystal clarity. Flavors of big caramel, brown sugar, brown bread dough, toasted biscuit, and nuts; with lighter notes of chocolate, cocoa, coffee, and mild herbal/grassy/peppery hops. Similar/muted aromas, a bit fruity, but not overwhelming. Mild herbal, grassy, spicy, roasted bitterness on the finish. Medium carbonation/body; creamy, bready, grainy malts; slight sticky hops and chalky roast. Lightly increasing lingering bitter dryness; no cloying. Very drinkable, and pretty refreshing, 5%. Perfectly clean lager flavors, no fruity/yeasty notes. Very clean and nicely rich malt complexity, with mild earthy hop presence/balance. Thoroughly enjoyed this. Very well made. Was fresh. 3.88


Excellent Flanders red. Great fluffy head retention/foamy lacing. Aromas and flavors of big juicy/lightly tart/tangy cherries, fruit skin/pits, almond, milk chocolate, cocoa, peach, plum, pear, red/green apple, currant, red grape/wine, oak, hay, straw, and grass; with moderate caramel, brown sugar, toasted bread malts; light pepper, musty funk, red wine vinegar, and yeast earthiness. Light fruity/lactic tartness, fruit tang, and slight yeast/oak spiciness on the finish. Medium carbonation/body; creamy, bready, grainy malts; some lactic acid, fruit tang, and light oak tannins in the mouthfeel. Light-moderate increasing acidic/tangy dryness, zero pucker. Extremely drinkable, pretty refreshing for a sour. Awesome balanced juicy/jammy cherries, chocolate, and Brett/Bacteria complexity; great malt balance and nice oak presence. Not as impressive as the base beer, but close enough. 4.05


Cheers

 

Second one today, both new to me and BA. Urban Roots red ale, Tastes like 1995.



L: Pours mahogany with 1 finger of variable density egg-shell white head with moderate retention and left minimal sporadic spotted lacing.

S: Pine, citrus, some earthiness accompanies the sweetness of caramel malt.

T: Follows the nose well, earthiness/dankness gains in prominence. Finishes with nice medium bitterness, lingers just a bit on the palate. No accompanying acidity or astringency.

F: Medium bodied with moderate carbonation, both full and slick on the tongue, crisp on the swallow.

O: A very nice red ale/red IPA if you like a traditional C-hop bitterness profile. For me, I love it...but wanted just a bit more bitterness out of this one. I'll gladly grab again, but it doesn't make my tier 1 favorites for hoppy red ales/red IPAs.



BA Score = 4.18, rdev = 0.0

 

Happy New American Imperial IPA Sunday!

Pretty nice day on the Western Slope, trailhead around 38, sunny, still some snow from yesterday. Having a pretty tasty brew, even though 4 months on it. Might/Could have been probably the best I've had from them to date. Picked up some chicken tacos on the way home. Watching some Enterprise reruns, last season remaining. Will be back with another later on.

https://www.beeradvocate.com/beer/profile/32514/360171/?ba=Wasatch#review

Cheers!

 

Greetings all,
Long time no speak. We had a great Thanksgiving with our kids and grandkids and dogs. We ate and drank and retold stories once again. It was perfect. A long walk in the woods, very cold, and we soon stretched out, relaxed and slept early.
Jim's Lunch is a very fine stout from Little Brother Brewing on Elm Street across from Natty Greene's. The space is an old saloon from the early 1900s, a later less reputable bar after prohibition, a jewelry store, a head shop and now Little Brother. The place has bones and ghosts,. This is a lighter style stout with huge flavor. It weighs in at 7.1% and was canned 11/24. It is ripe and fresh, brimming of anise and clean dark malts. My best friend from New Orleans went with us the day after Thanksgiving- he's a huge Guinness fan- and he was blown away. This beer is so drinkable and lovely in the glass. It is opaque with some reddish edges and just begs for the next sip. The nice licorice edge with the rich malt is a great touch. Highly recommended. I'll just casually give it an A.

Here's a blast from the past. Jim Morrison was like a meteor, quickly gone. Too bad.....

 

Sold me.....Nelson freak.

 

amen

 

You might be interested to know that Neil Fisher (@Tarheel4985) listed in his recipe 250 ppm CL and 80 ppm Sulfate (a ratio of 3.125:1).

FWIW my level of CL level is closer to what you are using vs. the 250 ppm level that Neil listed.

Cheers!

@SFACRKnight

 

New Lagerbier Sunday (Week 718)
Greetings from on the ridge in Mid Hud Val, NY. Beauty day, warm, and melted almost all the snow that isn't in shade. Very cold T'day, record cold actually. As always I have too many things for which to be thankful, but the main thanks is for the opportunity to have the good as well as the bad for these 47 bonus years. All is a blessing for NDE survivors like me. Hope your T'days were excellent too!

New beer is a recommend from the man who orders the beer at one of my locals. We have similar taste in beer (and music, and green enjoyables too)

Sonnenaufgang, an ungespundet pilsner. From their blurb-

"A dry-hopped pilsner brewed with a heavy dose of wheat, a ton of Loral hops added during whirlpool, and dry-hopped at cool temperatures with Galaxy and Simcoe. 5.5% ABV"

This is another blurb about their "ungespundet" beers in general.

"Our line of Üngespundet Lagerbiers are modeled after the inspiring and subtle detail in classical German brewing traditions. However, these are distinctly Foreign Objects Üngespundet Lagerbiers marked by delicate, full aromas and soft bitterness from our abundant-yet-precise hop use, natural rustic earthiness from our temperate lagering process, and a naturally unfiltered glow, these beers are our homage to the lost beauty of subtlety and precision, honored and transmuted into these beautiful lagers. Üngespundet Keller Pilsner. Cascade and Centennial hops."

So, I'm expecting a softer mouthfeel with less carbonation from the bungless lagering, but also more of a spicy, fruity aroma and taste from the Loral, and some tropical and hop funk aroma touches from the dry hop and no filtering/fining. Let's give this baby a crack and glug and see what's up.

https://www.beeradvocate.com/beer/profile/50313/376849/?ba=cavedave#review
from review-
The idea of naming this a style seems crazy, this is not a pilsner, though it is easy to believe it got the ungespundet treatment by how soft and wonderful it is. Whatever they do to whatever style format they use for this works very well. Complex, surprising, delicious treat. Def. recommended.

Hope you also have a Great American Beer in your glass. Cheers!

 

A good ol' familiar IPA to round out the tasting.



Lost Nation's Lost Galaxy IPA.

Pours an opaque straw with a finger of white foam. Head retention is okay. Aroma is papaya, tangerine, melondew rind and guava with hints of lactose sugar. Bready, toasty malts add a little support for the hops. Tropical fruits sweeten up the front end with lactose sweetening up the back end for an overall sugary aroma. Flavor profile is papaya, mango, tangerine, guava, and orange and lemon zest. Biscuity, bready malts add a little support for the hops. Mouth feel is medium in thickness with a light fuzziness. Overall, big aroma for such a small beer. Flavor profile provides a good dose of flavors while still remaining wholly session-able.

Score: 4.25 | 4.25 | 4 | 4 | 4.25 | BA Score: 4.13 | rDev: +2.5%

 

New beer #2 is a Scottish Ale courtesy of @Wasatch, a nice change of pace:


Nice looking with a clear dark copper brown color and a medium-sized tan head. The foam left rather quickly and left wispy tracks behind. The aroma was malty as expected, punctuated with caramel, toffee, and plum. This was light on the palate with a slightly tart plum note. Mainly caramel and toffee notes, but the fruity notes were distracting. I didn't get any peaty or smoky notes. Feel was light and slightly thin, but likely appropriate for style. Enjoyable overall, but a touch too fruity for me. Thanks Wasatch!

 

Single White Femaling of @Lingenbrau checklist:

• Head to where he lives (check)
• Meet up with him (check)
• Get him to give me things (check)
• Follow in his footsteps (check, see below)
• Invade his home (to do)

So I finally got to hit a hike in The Gorge, with trees:


Waterfalls:


And landscapes:


A beer he gave me:


Nooooo.... that’s not his hand in the background of this shot through the dining room window.

This 10% beer is a wonderful example of a straight up toasty stout. The malt adds tons of burnt toast and dark roast coffee. The bitterness seems to come from the malt, and the can echoes my thoughts saying there is mellow hop character. So smooth without being creamy, and a nice lighter feel than would be expected for the ABV, and a wonderful choice to represent Portland. The GF and her brother both also highly approved of it, even with her lingering bitterness

 

So, while closing the store just after 6 tonight I noticed this bottle in our champagne/white wine glass door refrigerator.
I guess I put it there to save for a later date.
Well, I succeeded.
It was bottled 1/10/17!



3.99/5 rDev +7%
look: 4.25 | smell: 4 | taste: 4 | feel: 3.75 | overall: 4

22 oz. bomber.
Moderate pour yields a one inch tan head over a dark brown body with some thick lacing. Nice head will last to the end with a swirl or two. Nose of vanilla, slight roasted malt, and even slighter chocolate. Nice taste of vanilla, malted milk, and chocolate. Good feel and overall, a pleasant surprise, as this was bottled 1/10/17. Cheers!!!

 

Holy shit I drank a new beer. WBAYDN cross-post.
EX NOVO Bang on the Drum IPA. 6.2%
Neither clear, nor hazy...
Aroma is a little muted, a little wet hop sandy surf pine forest.
Taste is solid, nothing mind boggling. Drinks more like a pale ale. But I like it.
Mouthfeel - solid carbonation, nothing too overdone, not much of a palate impression
O - a solid pale that "wants" to be an IPA. No issues, just not a stand-out.

 

NoDa's Hot Pistol Chocolate, Raspberry, Habanero Stout, pretty good, 7.0% ABV 3.87 overall

Pours a ruby tinged mahogany with 3 fingers of tan head. Great lacing & head retention

S: Smokeyness, hot pepper, raspberries.


T: Pepper heat, raspberry, a little roastyness & a little chocolate up front, plus a little dryness. More pepper heat, but fairly restrained, a little cocoa & raspberry along with dryness as this warms, just a bit of roastyness too. Finishes with pepper heat, & a little raspberry & chocolate, plus roastyness
MF: Medium body, fairly firm carbonation that smooths out once warm, body thins out a touch as well

Interesting stout, was hoping for more flavor, but well worth a try

 

Finally finished up some stuff around the house, figured it’s time to try some new brews. This first one comes courtesy of @AllHopsMatter
This is Firestone Walker’s Leo V. Ursus: Doblus. A 9.5%abv DIPA.

Here are my thoughts:
4.08/5 rDev +0.2%
look: 4.5 | smell: 4 | taste: 4 | feel: 4.5 | overall: 4

Canned 6/28/18.
L: Honey gold in color. From a simple pour, I achieved about a fingers width of a bubbly white cap. The head retained nicely. As I drink the beer, heaps of soapy bubbles cling to the glass. Looks visually appealing.
S: Super citrusy on the nose with prominent smelling malt backbone.
T: Whoah, super old school tasting. The malt backbone that was detectible smell-wise is even more prominent in the flavor. Flavor is full of raw and natural citrus and pine. Finish is bitter and slightly dry, with notes of lingering earthy citrus.
F: Great feel. Full bodied and perfectly carbonated. Booze is perfectly hidden.
O: Surprised at how well it held up. It is refreshing trying something that reminds me of the OG WCIPAs, especially in the midst of all these Tropicana-inspired IPAs of today (which yes, I really enjoy NEIPAs). This is a great beer and one that I am glad to have tried.
Cheers NBS!

 

I enjoyed some of these for the 1st time recently, too. One of the best beer values out there. Agree it is a bit thin, but the flavors are excellent and well balanced and it surprised the hell out of me how good it is.

 

Good evening, NBS friends, and thank you to @lordofthewiens for the introductory post. Thanksgiving is my favorite meal of the year, and we went to my Mom’s in Dayton, so this was a very nice Thanksgiving indeed.

I’m not much for milestone posts, but I’ll be reviewing my 3,000th unique beer this evening. I can remember my first “craft” beer that I purposely chose, Boulevard Pale Ale. The restaurant didn’t have Amstel Light, my salesman said, “Try a Boulevard” and a beer nerd was born.

I can also remember my first IPA and DIPA, Two Hearted and Hopslam, both of course from Bell’s and iconic beers in our world, but back when I tried them, they were just beers the beer store guy suggested. Two Hearted taught me about floaties and date codes, Hopslam taught me about the dangers of 10%+ ABV beers (and the importance of S-I-P the 2nd).

I remember also words of advice from a beer nerd friend 4 or 5 years into my beer nerd journey (he’s a partner in a brewery now): “You’re focusing too much on IPA’s and APA’s. Expand your palate.” To help with that, he sent me a bomber of Nightstalker from Goose Island.

I loved it, and if anything, I’m teachable, so my next visit to the beer store, I saw another Goose Island beer.

BCBS.

I picked it up, and my beer store buddy came by and said, “You’ll love that - it’s barrel aged in bourbon barrels.”

Um, what? I don’t like bourbon - at ALL - as a stand-alone beverage (bad experience in college), why would I like a beer soaked in bourbon?

But I took the plunge and picked up a 4-pack. Ah, for the days of the BCBS 4-pack. I took it home, chilled it, and had one that evening. The bourbon was like a 2 x 4 whopping me in the melon, and the snifter took me 90 minutes to work through.

But I worked through that 4-pack that cold Minnesota winter, and my palate adjusted. Now I love BA beers in all their varieties (rum barrel DIPA - of course!!!), so for beer #3,000, I’ll pay homage to Goose as many of NBS friends have done today.

I raise my glass to all of you that frequent this magnificent thread, and to the next 3,000 beers in my beer nerdery. Cheers!





4.43/5 rDev +8%
look: 4.25 | smell: 4.25 | taste: 4.5 | feel: 4.5 | overall: 4.5

The BCBS look, as black as a night at 3 am, just the slightest bit of leakage on the edges to dark brown, all underneath a dark tan head that dissipates quickly.

The peppers and cocoa nibs are most prominent on the nose, though the sweetness from the maple syrup is also present. If there’s coconut, I’m not getting it.

The maple is at the front of the line on the taste, flowing nicely into the cocoa nibs, and then a really nice heat from the chipotle peppers. I could bathe in this.

The mouthfeel is rich and full, per the base beer. I chased this a bit, and it was worthy of the chase, IMHO.

 

Edit: in a haste to not type away our “time together” I forgot to say the beer is Baerlic’s Night Howler.