New Beer Sunday (Week 720)

This is very much the experience I had with this beer. No dark fruit, but very nicely fresh roasted coffee. I think you picked up a bit more creamier aspect than I did but that could've came with some more time in the bottle. (Had mine a atleast a month ago) I actually enjoyed this one just because of how straight forward the coffee was, not being cut with a lot of sweetness.
Cheers!

 

Richard Banger was in "What Happens In Vegas".

 

It’s beginning to look a lot like Christmas!

And what could be more Christmassy than a beer brewed with a Christmas tree? Ballast Point Spruce Tip Sculpin Ale in this instance.

Below is the story behind this beer courtesy of The Beer Connoisseur website:

“SAN DIEGO — Just in time for fall, Ballast Point, one of the nation’s leading craft breweries, introduces Spruce Tip Sculpin IPA – a seasonal twist on its flagship IPA. The limited-release beer will be available nationally beginning October 1.

Sculpin’s complexity shines in this Spruce Tip edition. The addition of Oregon spruce tips, harvested from family farms, brings flavors of pine, red berry, lemon and wine grapes, which complement Sculpin’s citrusy hop profile. On the nose, the spruce tips contribute a unique piney, citrusy and woody character. A great brew for the holidays and beyond, the seven percent ABV Spruce Tip Sculpin is a standout in a forest of IPAs.

Spruce Tip Sculpin IPA was inspired by Ballast Point’s “Roots to Boots” R&D program, which empowers employees to brew experimental beers. After growing up enjoying his aunt’s teas made with spruce tips, an employee in the program was motivated to add the spruce buds to an IPA he was creating. The beer yielded such a unique and delicious flavor that the brewers at Ballast Point knew they had to continue experimenting with spruce tips.

“When we added spruce tips to Sculpin, we loved how the pine and berry notes accentuated the aromas and flavors already found in the beer. We thought it would make the perfect fall and holiday IPA,” said James Murray, vice president of brewing at Ballast Point. “Experimentation has always been in our DNA but the fact that the newest member of the Sculpin family was born from our ‘Roots to Boots’ program speaks volumes about our culture of innovation.”

In a quest to bring a spruce-infused IPA to the market, Ballast Point called on San Diego-based Specialty Produce to source spruce tips from Oregon. The local produce company has sourced fruits, vegetables, and herbs for Ballast Point for more than ten years and shares the brewery’s commitment to quality.

“Specialty Produce thinks about their sourcing in the same way we think about barley and hops. Quality always comes first,” said Murray.

Spruce Tip Sculpin comes off the heels of Ballast Point’s recent spring/summer seasonal release, Aloha Sculpin. The original Sculpin IPA launched in 2005 and has since become the hallmark of the west coast-style IPA, winning gold medals at the World Beer Cup (2010, 2014) and European Beer Star (2010, 2011). The Sculpin family now includes Grapefruit, Aloha and now Spruce Tip.

Spruce Tip Sculpin IPA is a fall/winter seasonal release and will be available nationally on draft and in six-pack bottles through February.”

https://beerconnoisseur.com/articles/ballast-point-brewing-co-debuts-spruce-tip-sculpin-ipa

As I am sure some of you recall I have a bit of familiarity with Spruce beer having homebrewed a couple of batches of Spruce Ale using fresh growth tips from my next door neighbor’s Blue Spruce tree. My Spruce Ale is more of an APA brewed using fresh growth tips vs. the Ballast Point version being an IPA. For the interested reader you can read my post from last July on my second batch of a Spruce Ale:

https://www.beeradvocate.com/community/threads/new-beer-sunday-week-701.582754/#post-6116647

I wonder how a beer brewed with Oregon Spruce tips (Sitka Spruce I presume) would differ from a beer brewed using Blue Spruce tips? As the wise owl would say: “Let’s find out”.

Served in my Spiegelau IPA glass:

Appearance

Golden colored with a two finger white head.

Aroma

My initial impression is piney. Perhaps some citrus in the background?

Taste:

The flavor is more expressive than the nose. The dominant flavor I am picking up is herbal but there is some pine there as well but of a lesser vibrancy. There is a very slight ‘burn’ in the back of my throat. This beer has a firm bitterness.

Mouthfeel

Medium bodied with moderate carbonation. There is a subtle aspect to this beer that registers as ‘sticky’ for my palate.


Overall

I think this beer is very good! I found the overall flavor profile (and mouthfeel aspect) to be quite intriguing.

I think it would be prudent to emphasize that while this beer was brewed using a Christmas Tree (i.e., Sitka Spruce fresh growth tips) it’s flavor profile is not really like a Christmas tree. There are some piney aspects in the background but the flavor is not predominantly piney.

For those of you still putting together your Christmas list for loved ones maybe this beer would be a good present for those beer drinkers on your list?

Cheers!

@KOP_Beer_OUtlet @rotsaruch @RobH @GormBrewhouse @honkey @JValm @bhinks @GreenKrusty101

 

I also enjoyed the lack of sweetness in the beer. The coffee was the best part of it for me also. Sometimes, even made with good coffee, beer can taste like it used instant coffee crystals, but this one tastes like a nice medium roast. Not sure what it is that didn't do it for me, hopefully next bottle hits me better. Cheers!

 

Relatively new to our area I'm rather pleased with this Florida brewer . . .



lightly hazy gold color with good white cap and lacing.

Aroma of citrus, piney, herbal hops with a bit of yeasty bread.

Taste is of floral, spicy hops well integrated together. I also get a bit of grapefruit zest and something that tastes like peach blossoms smell. Fairly complex and these flavors blend well together. Just a small amount of bready malt but enough to offset the hops somewhat.

Medium full texture with balancing carbonation.

A Pale Ale that another brewer might well call an IPA, which is just an observation on my part. It is a well crafted brew however labeled.

 

Thanks to @lordofthewiens for the great start to this weeks NBS. Will be back with a new brew or two later on.

Cheers!

 

What you are experiencing here is hop burn. If you are willing to age these beers that aspect should diminish. Unfortunately over that aging time some of the hop aroma will diminish as well. A balancing act?

Cheers!

 

Good morning, all, and Happy New Smoke (sic) Porter Sunday! After reading the opening remarks by @lordofthewiens, I thought it'd be interesting to check out today's ion television holiday movie lineup. The first one opens with a girl and a dog getting run over by a bus and winding up in the lobby of heaven. The dog is allowed to go in, but the girl is sent back to try to figure out what she needs to do to make it onto the admissions list. This has to be formulaic on some level, but I don't have enough of an attention span to try to figure it out. On to the beer.

I received a few bottles of Alaskan Smoked Porter about twenty years ago as a gift from a missionary friend working in Alaska. I read about that year's release in a newspaper article and was intrigued, so my friend brought some with him on a trip back to the Lower 48. I remember it being pretty far out there compared to what I was used to drinking at the time. I also remember pairing it with salmon that was fresh-caught in the waters of Nushagak Bay and fresh-smoked by Yup'ik natives in the village of Ekuk. (Sorry, you won't find this in the supermarket. You have to be there during the annual salmon run to get it.) This Alaskan Smoked Porter is the 2017 edition, and it's as bold as I remember. The aromas and flavors imparted by smoking the malts with local alder wood provide a nice complement to the other characteristics. I don't find the smokiness at all overpowering. That said, I think this begs to be paired with hearty food. Reindeer chili, anyone?



Apropos of nothing, I don't care what the style guidelines say. I am not pouring this into a nonic pint glass when I have this perfectly awesome Joe Camel lager flute handy. Smoke 'em if you've got 'em!

4.37/5 (rDev +5.3%)
look: 4.5 | smell: 4.25 | taste: 4.5 | feel: 4.25 | overall: 4.25
Review here.

 

"And though they've been done
many times, many ways
Hallmark movies
come through."

Merry Christmas, everybody!

 

"I think it would be prudent to emphasize that while this beer was brewed using a Christmas Tree (i.e., Sitka Spruce fresh growth tips) it’s flavor profile is not really like a Christmas tree. There are some piney aspects in the background but the flavor is not predominantly piney."

Love ya like a brother, Jack, but I respectfully beg to differ. Cousin Colby Chandler's (f'rilz, yo!) latest variation on Sculpin (which I had in homebrewed Beta format in January 2002) is more akin to Tom Kehoe's first Poor Richard's release. It was not well received & people likened it to drinking undiluted Pine-Sol. As a result, he ramped it back (& dumbed it down, IMHO). This version of Sculpin struck me as extremely piney. Tell @rotsaruch that I sent my regards!

 

New beer #2. Thanks @JamFuel !

Lifeless - Veil
TIPA - 11% abv
Canned 11/20/18 (19 days ago)
Score: 3.94 (-2.7% rDev)



Review:
https://www.beeradvocate.com/beer/profile/41018/382226/?ba=CanConPhilly#review

Synopsis:
What a bizarre beer. It looks terrible, with mega floaties.

Smells and tastes very dank. But there’s a cheese/meat taste too that has me wanting more. Body is lacking for a TIPA...but there is very little detectable booze. I both love and hate this beer.

 

I really enjoyed this Sculpin when I had it on tap 2 months ago. I felt the spruce was nicely integrated and acted as a nice piney aspect to a classic western IPA profile - citrus and pine. I also liked the mouthfeel (and don't recall getting the burn you indicate), which I described as clean - though that was likely meant in relativity to the new styles of IPA that dominated the tap list.

Overall, I think I like spruce in my pale ales, having had maybe a handful (including of course Pennsylvania Tuxedo), perhaps due to the fact that it has a mild yet obvious pine flavor to me.

Cheers!

 

Personally I LOVE hop burn. The more the better. I’ve only experienced it a few times, mostly with very fresh DDH IPAs. I keep chasing that experience. Other Half and Root +Branch are two that dabble in hop burn, so I’m always hoping it happens when I drink their beers.

 

Good morning NBS and thanks @lordofthewiens for the start today, At this house the one movie that is a must every year, is on New Years eve we watch Holiday with Cary Grant and Katherine Hepburn, witty, full of character dialogue and visually a delight.
Speaking of delight, this weeks offering is a one time from CH Evans in Albany NY, A whiskey barrel aged Wee Heavy, in memory of a long time patron, This is outstanding not overbearing barreling, solid base beer and just the right amount of age on it. A true delight.
We are headed to Cambridge to see the Old 97's tonight so a stop at Cambridge Brewing is in order.
Cheers all

Best Day of the Week

C.H. Evans Brewing Company
Scotch Ale / Wee Heavy / 9.70% ABV

4.24/5 rDev 0% | Score: 4.24
look: 4 | smell: 4.25 | taste: 4.25 | feel: 4.25 | overall: 4.25

Poured from a wax sealed bottle dated as follows, Brewed 18 November 2015, Barreled 15 December 2015, Bottled 30 May 2016.
Into the test glass.
A - Clear Mahogany backdrop. Stunning color. Wandering gently the carbonation feeds a thin cap of off white confluence.
S - Toffee, raisin, broad leaf tobacco, roasted malt, kiss of cherry wood smoke, dark cherry reduction.
T - As complex as the nose, with toasted oak, vanillas from the barrel, strong malts with Munich and Rye adding peppery note. Port wine in the mix as well. Bold and complex
M - Thick on the palate, start is sweet, then quickly rolls into an alcohol release, which clears the runway for the finish, strong and malty, with dark sugar and toast on the palate. Linger is luxurious.
O - We picked up 2 of these special bottles at the brewery in Albany 2 years ago, aged in waxed bottles this offering has complexity to spare, excellent feel, cries for cold weather, Semi sweet, touch of smoke, excellent malt, barrel choice, and aging are near perfect. Not one element dominates. At 9.7% the alcohol is present in the best way, and active partner in the experience. Wonderfully done

 

And I am the opposite - I do not enjoy hop burn.

To each their own?

Cheers!

 

Greetings from the Reykjavik airport! Posting during a layover on my way back to the States and had the opportunity to stop by this fantastic brewery for the second time yesterday. This was enjoyable before the travel.

Nice ruby color, thin head. The damson plum comes through first and foremost, with a nice funk (not sure if Brett is there or not), yeast and some wheat. The palate is a refreshing sour plum, otherwise matching the nose. Light-bodied and tart, quite refreshing. The plum is a nice complement to a very solid saison.
If you’re ever in London I highly recommend checking them out. Great IPAs too. Unfortunately no on-premises consumption anymore but bottle sales on Saturday mornings and the bakery next door is fantastic. Cheers!

 

A-Pours a dark color with a slight head and lacing
A-Aroma has cherry, berry and spice hints
T-The taste follows the nose with a nice cherry, berry and spice flavor
M-A medium bodied decently carbonated beer
O-A very nicely balanced Quad

 

Nice. But can’t quite read all that label. A quad from straffee. I’ll look it up to see if that’s a new one for me.

 

It's a Vintage 2018 Oak Aged Quad, Xmas Blend. They've done a barrel quad before, but this would have to be a new one, and maybe even a new series.

 

Woody, we all have our own unique palates and our own unique preferences in what we enjoy in beer.

Cheers!