What beer are you drinking now? #2261

This was amazing. Aromas and flavors of huge milk/dark chocolate, cocoa, orange juice/peel/zest, caramel, brown sugar, toffee, fudge, vanilla, bourbon, nuts, toasted oak, and dark/brown bread; with lighter notes of coffee, coconut, licorice, molasses, raisin, prune, cherry, fig, date, smoke, char, leather, tobacco, herbal, pepper, and yeast earthiness. Slight booze in the aromas as it warms. Mild herbal, zesty, roast, char bitterness; and bourbon/oak tannin spiciness on the finish. Light-medium carbonation and very full body; very creamy, silky, velvety, and rich mouthfeel. Light slickness, sticky hops, chalky char/roast, oak tannins, and increasing dryness. No cloying/acrid flavors. Dangerously smooth sipping, mildly increasing warmth of 15.2%, no barrel booze. Insane balance of rich malts, vibrant citrus, cocoa, and bourbon barrel presence/integration. Super similar to the Griffin Claw Flying Buffalo Orange/Chocolate, but a bit thicker/silkier. GC is WAY better priced, almost 1/3 of this; so it's a great local shelf beer to have, already got a 4 pack of it. Would still buy this one again.


Cheers

 

Starting early this Saturday morning because I can . . .




Slightly hazy light gold color with great white cap and lacing.

Rather mild aroma. I get something like lemony citrus but not much else.

Ah, taste is a good deal more what than the scent introduced. A solid malt base that comes across as rather dry accompanied by a hop firmness that reminds me of a Czech Pilsner. If that was the target they hit it dead center. Relatively simple flavors but well crafted. I don't get as much citrus as I thought I might yet there is some aspect of citrus about it. The hops strike me as more floral than anything else yet are firmly expressed. Both malt and hops remain in balance to the finish and there is a refreshing hop firmness lingering in the aftertaste.

Medium texture with balancing carbonation.

Brewer calls this a 'A True Bohemian Lager and I certainly agree. If I lived in the distribution area I'd buy a case.

 

Fantastic DIPA. Aromas and flavors of big grapefruit, tangerine, lemon, peach, pineapple, apricot, passion fruit, mango, melon, citrus peel/rind, pepper, and pine hops; with moderate toasted biscuit, light honeyed malts; and herbal, floral, grassy hop earthiness. Moderate pine, citrus peel/rind, herbal, grassy, peppery bitterness on the finish. Medium carbonation and medium-plus body; balanced creamy/bready/grainy malts and sticky/resinous/rindy hops in the mouthfeel. Moderate increasing resin dryness, minimal hop astringency. Pretty aggressive, but easy drinking. Minimal warming 9.4%. Awesomely juicy, dank, and vibrant Simcoe/Amarillo hop complexity; nice malt backbone, with minimal residual sweetness from lingering resin dryness. Not as amazing as I remember when I first had it, but still really outstanding classic hopped DIPA. Holding up amazingly for 7 months. Glad it is coming back next year.


Cheers

 

Always a nice Saturday starter. Cheers all.

 

This beer will really wake you up! Thank you, @SomethingClever!

 

Fantastic as usual. Big flavors of grapefruit, tangerine, peach, pineapple, lemon zest, orange peel, citrus rind, light peppercorn, and pine hops; with moderate caramel, brown sugar, toasted biscuit, and light nutty/toffee malt sweetness; with herbal/floral/grassy hop and yeasty earthiness. Light-moderate pine, citrus peel/rind, herbal, floral, grassy, spicy bitterness on the finish. Medium carbonation and medium-full body. Balanced hop stickiness and bready malt creaminess in the mouthfeel; touch of slickness and resins/rinds. Light-moderate increasing resin drying finish; never astringent on hops, or cloying on sweetness. Mild increasing warmth, dangerously smooth drinking. I realize this beer is basically Gnarlywine with brown sugar added; but when fresh this is like a blend of Arrogant Bastard-like strong ale and American barleywine. Centennial, Cascade, Horizon, Willamette, and Liberty hops. Always love it. Amazingly well balanced between juicy/dank/earthy hops and malts. Not overly sweet/heavy from lingering dryness. Love it fresh and aged for different reasons. I buy a pack every year.


Cheers

 

I am lifting some Focal Banger a New England IPA from The Alchemist, ABV 7.00%. It is sweet, fresh bready malt backbone, fruity, mango, orange, and grapefruit ending with a slight pine resin bite. It says drink from the can, which I have before, but it didn't make much of a difference. Delicious in either case.

https://www.facebook.com/video.php?v=10212847039427056

 

This is amazing. Flavors of huge caramel, brown sugar, maple syrup, toffee, bourbon, vanilla, coconut, toasted oak, golden raisin, plum, fig, apricot, cherry, red apple, and biscuit dough; with lighter notes of molasses, leather, herbal/grassy/peppery hops, and yeast eartiness. Similar aromas, a bit of booze as it warms, but not overwhelming. Light herbal, grassy, peppery bitterness; and bourbon/oak tannin spiciness on the finish. Medium carbonation and fairly full body; very creamy/silky malts; some sticky hops, oak tannins; and light slickness in the mouthfeel. Lightly increasing lingering bitter/tannic dryness, no cloying/astringency. Dangerously smooth, mildly increasing warmth of 12.7%, minimal barrel booze. This is just as impressive as I remember. Amazingly rich malt complexity, balanced fruity yeast, and perfect barrel integration; with solid earthy hop balance against sweetness. I think this showcases the maple syrup character better than CBS, easily. Feels more prominent. Base beer is one of my favorite old ales, I hope they bring it back soon.


Cheers

 

Good morning BAs! Well, we gotten a dusting of snow here in NW PA - enough to see on the rooftops, tree limbs, and parked cars, but the ground is too warm for it to survive there. Today's New Breakfast Beer:



Decent but not exceptional.

 

Had this one Christmas day and having again this morning as more family starts to roll in for a late Christmas - the beer is a fantastic quad

 

Light coating of snow outside, another Obsidian Stout down my gullet with my scones...Cheers!

EDIT: Sorry I missed out on all the late-night trash talking last night, too. Metal Night at the local taproom and my friends REFUSED to let me post stuff on BA via phone. They wanted to talk in person. Can you imagine it? Assholes. In any case, "bear hugs" (wink) galore to the quality of the feed last night... always enjoy chuckling in front of a screen in the morning...

 

Happy Saturday ba. Up and at here with some Double Negative, imperial stout, from Grimm. Spot on good stuff,

 

A good soild Porter...

 

Three extra kids in the house, day at the museum planned, time for a wake up.

Going to post nothing but my favorite songs from the last year over the next four days.

 

Cassoulet in the oven, so much duck fat, Ma tante Marie would by proud,
In her honor enjoying Marie from Hill Farmstead,
Cheers all