New Beer Sunday (Week 719)

Sorry, Lingenbough.

Merry Christmas!

 

Nice reviews. I’ve had a couple of their other “vat” beers (79 and 77). I like the idea of single vat beers, but I did not enjoy them as much as other Boon beers. I like your comment. They were each very expressive. They were so different from one another and from other Boon beers I’ve had. I’ll need to see if I can try and find this set. If I can I’ll buy two!

 

I posted mine in the what are u drinking right now section . You may like what it reminded me of at “first taste” reaction. And the vanilla is also great IMHOpinion.

 

It is, for better or worse, difficult due to social connotations and specific style guidelines. It sorta detracted from the experience on that one.

I recently called out another long-time IPA classic as a NE IPA and was quickly corrected by a forum member. I was referencing the style listed on the beer's profile. It's a beer I've been longing to try and actually have in my fridge now. I hope it doesn't ruin the experience on that one, but I will rate to the style it's listed under. If I rate it low and people have issue with that, then let's discuss style notes and/or style listings. All tangents aside, I wouldn't have listed Double Sunshine as a NE IPA. It was an above average DIPA and a bellow average NE IPA.

 

Wow. Thank you for your notes. Here I have been calling around of Kuhnhenn, but I haven't mentioned this beer once. Sounds like something I need to try.

Cheers!

 

New Bamberg, Connecticut Sunday
Today’s new beer is one of the Schlenkerla lineup I haven’t tried before and was gifted to me by @TongoRad I had no idea these were canned here until reading this. Maks sense though. Most of the world’s supply of 16 oz aluminum cans are on the east coast.


3.9/5 rDev -1.3%
look: 3.75 | smell: 3.75 | taste: 3.75 | feel: 3.75 | overall: 4.5

From a 16oz can

It is an unfiltered/cloudy pale gold. The thick, dirty white soapy head lasts forever.

It smells smoked ham with a sweet cracker or light bread and a touch of earthy hops.

The smoked ham and sausage flavor is up front, and a little stronger than the aroma, but still very mild. Underneath is a slightly sweet cracker like grain and some floral hops. A touch of grassy bitterness.

It is a fairly full body for a Helles. Fairly crisp, dry finish.

Scored to style, this isn’t going to be as high in each category because it is not a typical Helles. Overall, it is outstanding. I read that it is boiled in the same kettle as their Rauchbier and that makes sense because it strikes me as being comparable to cooking a ham in a seasoned smoker without using any wood. Very subtle and works real well for the style.

 

Oh no rush I am not sure why i thought you had opened it!!!

 

If you have any reason to drive close to the DE/MD boarder just hop 95 off before the toll, State Line Liquors has a lot at $16/single or $55/box. 91 and 108 are really good, close to stuff like Tilquin.

 

One taster, two taster, three taster, more, four taster, five taster, six taster, floor.

 

Happy New Beer Sunday! Busy weekend here on the rainy west coast. Put up lights on the house on Saturday, then bought a tree and decorated the inside today. Sitting down to this excellent new brew courtesy of @beluga92:


L: Straw colored beer with a good amount of white head. Little white bubbles continue up the sides for awhile.
S: Lemon, crackers, wheat, earthy scents, a slight hint of pepper.
T: Tart lemon, wheat and bread. Also some floral notes.
F: Light bodied with a super dry finish.
O: Every beer i have had from these guys has been excellent and this is no different. I would drink this all the time if I had access.

 

It's a bit late for me- I had to pick up my son from a friend's house tonight so didn't want to have any beer beforehand- so I can't really do anything too big or strong. Thankfully I have a really interesting one I've been looking forward to, sent to me by @Harrison8 -


Crane Brewing Gooseberry Gose. Like their Beet Weiss, this isn't a combo you see every day, and I'm hoping it's also as well thought-out and well-made as that other 'oddball' brew.

I'll be honest right at the start and say that I don't think I've ever come across a gooseberry. I do remember reading a ways back that they are related to tomatillos, and that when I spoke with my mom about them at the time all she would say was that they are sour and don't have much flavor besides that. Then she made a face .

So, right off the bat the first thing I'm wondering is how these beauties are used in this beer- as an accent, or a major flavoring item. And as soon as I take the first sniff I see it's the first way, as an accent, And the base beer has such a wonderful character to it. But first, there is something unusual and almost indescribable in the aroma- kind of like potpourrie, maybe a mild eucalyptus, but kind of fruity also. An under-ripe pear, maybe? Anyway, it's an intriguing quality, and hardly overpowers anything else.

The first sip is, pardon my French, sour as fuck. Holy hell, I didn't expect that (but maybe I should have ). It's pretty salty, too. But that's not all that's there- the mouthfeel is surprisingly full, I'm getting all sorts of almost farmhouse stuff like straw, bread dough, wood (more fir-like than oaky), granny smith apples, something gently earthy like button mushrooms. Whoa, it's so addictive and almost mysterious- I doubt this beer saw any barrel time, but, man, there's something complex going on in the depths there. And although the sourness may be uncompromising, you definitely get accustomed to it. The finish brings back that unusual aromatic/fruity quality from the aroma, and lingers on it as well as the straw and wood. By the end of the glass I'm wishing it wouldn't end- what a trip! Thanks again, Harrison, these guys make some kick-ass beers. A very enjoyable A (4.5), and worth seeking out.

 

I actually commend you on reviewing "to style". Once again, my issue is that styles are too blurred sometimes, especially now, and people are unable to distinguish as such. You did not do that at all in this case, but the style itself (NE IPA) is confusing.

When it comes to actual reviews, that's a whole 'nother story. For example, the American Adjunct Lager. Most of us agree that they aren't great beers (which is bullshit because the difficulty in consistency alone is admirable), but stylisticly, some are far superior or at least hit all the marks that they should. To me, Olympia, Rainier, or Hamm's are great representatives, but do any of them see high ratings? No. But they should.

 

Reviewing to style is... tricky. I commend anyone who can do so consistently. I am no saint in that regard. I rated my Japanese Happoshus in the mid to low 3's range, which is a low overall score for me, but netted an average of 33.475+ rDev between the 4 beers. I think they should have been rated a little higher in hindsight, but that was one of the most difficult styles to rate for me due to the style (or lack thereof) notes.

It's not easy to break the norm. Likewise, consistency in reviews/ratings relies on consistency from Beer Advocate users to appropriately label a style. Those two things together produce a consistent, reliable beer rating website. I am not a leader in it, but I hope to at least help.

Regardless, I thank you. Seriously, it means a lot. Style lines are blurred, I'd say now more than ever, but I'm still rather green. Still, there is lots and lots going on and lots of debate about what lands each beer within a style's boundaries. I reviewed my previous post in the current style listed. If it gets changed tomorrow, I'll try to revisit my review with the appropriate mindset, likewise for any other beer, but it all depends on the availability of the beer.

For any listing beers: please consider (and reconsider) your listing in order to provide consistent style reviews.

*steps off soap box*

Cheers!

 

I wasn't going to review this beer but it's too good not too. Watching Hallmark with the wife and sipping on a

Odd Side Ales
Sweet Potato Souffle Rye Ale






Pours a cloudy, deep brown color with a very quick head and no lacing.

The smell is sweet, Christmas spices, cloves.

The taste is really sweet with a nice, strong hit of Christmas spices like clove and lots of cinnamon. The barrel shows itself but minimally.

The mouthfeel is medium/thick with minimal carbonation.

Overall this is a great, slow sipper. It's very sweet and very complex.

 

At the risk of ruining my brown bag, mystery beer in the latest Beer It Forward group - I think this is the funkiest thing Crane has created. So when I was told there was a fresh batch made, I had to get it out to someone else.

You captured my thoughts better than I could in your review. Coming from a family that loves Gooseberries, and 7 out of 8 family birthdays feature a gooseberry pie*, I thought this beer was a harshly driven sour beer. In hindsight, I'm thinking I was wrong, and the gooseberries just accented the underlying, biting sour gose well.

Thanks so much for your notes.

*okay, that's an exaggeration, but still, I'm fairly familiar with the Warhead sour plant.

 

A bit late to the party today as I was catching up on work and some afternoon football. Today's new beer is perfect after dinner as it's definitely a sipper. This one is actually a collab between The Veil and Trillium:

look: 3.75 | smell: 4 | taste: 4.25 | feel: 4 | overall: 4

Poured into a fancy tulip glass. An opaque dark brown color with specks of white coconut floaties. Little to no head formed with a normal pour - not unexpected with the coconut and ?almond. The nose was a bit muted, with toasted coconut, molasses, and chocolate. No surprises there. The first sip brought plenty of sweet coconut along with almond paste - very much like a macaroon. Thick, fudgey chocolate dominated on the finish with some warming from the booze. This was very thick, sweet, and chewy. Overall a nice sipper as a dessert beer if you like pastry stouts. Well done for it's intention. A bit too dessert-like for my usual taste, but happy that I'm sharing this one. Cheers!

 

Not only do I try to rate by style, I try to rate by what the brewery is going for. Which sometimes helps some beers ratings. So like Eggnog IPA by Evil Twin for instance (since there was an eggnog beer thread started the other day it made me think of it). I really wasn't a fan of it. But I rated it at like a 4.24 because they nailed what they were going for! It was an IPA which you could taste citrus and presence of egg nog elements! So how can you dock them for doing great on what they were going for because it's not your thing?! Like you said, it's a hard thing not to! But I atleast want other people, whose thing it might be, to know they achieved what they were going for. Cheers buddy!

 

Crap. I posted this in the wrong thread. Meant to post in WBAYDN. Not all that surprising.

All of you who liked this post with no review should be ashamed of yourselves.

 

I always rate to style as many are already aware. Hamms, MGD, Heineken, Stroh's, Schlitz are all top favorites for the pale lagers. Also all of the Bud cheladas are better than anything else. It's an acquired taste I've made over time(mostly this year). Just go to my ratings page and hit the rDev link to see everything LOL

 

Well done review, guy.

Decorations are even weller done.