New Beer Sunday (Week 724)

Central Waters Rye Barrel Stout, 13% ABV. Pours black with a nice foamy tan two finger head which dissipated quickly, leaving no lacing. Nose is whiskey and rye spice. Taste is whiskey, chocolate, roast malt, slight oak, rye spice, slightly sweet and slightly bitter. Excellent dry mouthfeel, overall outstanding.

 

Another new beer to both myself and BA. Midnite Brew from Altamont. Roughly 3 weeks old.



L: Pours black mahogany with nearly 1 finger of medium density cream-colored head with moderate retention and left sticky windshield lacing.

S: Roasted malt, chocolate and earthiness. Subtle piney aspects once it warms a bit.

T: Does a decent job coalescing the hoppy, roasty, and chocolate flavor profile, though the hops are definitely left in the background a bit, this improves as the beer warms. Finishes with moderate bitterness, lingers slightly on the palate.

F: Medium bodied with medium carbonation, slick on the tongue and the swallow.

O: Its an easy drinking dark ale, but could use a bit more prominence of the hops for my palate and preferences. Makes for a nice lunch beer on a rainy day.

BA score = 3.89, rdev = 0.0%

 

So my new year was brought in with this on the first morning.

A pine fallen down onto my neighbors fence..
Got that taken care of.

But then my wife told me she got us tickets to Notre Dame vs. Michigan hockey game at the Notre Dame football stadium.

It was awesome. And Michigan won.

I planned on making a trip to Transient while I was up there, but didn’t. I did manage to make it to a new to me brewery. Crooked Ewe in South Bend. I had a solid small batch chocolate and cinnamon stout for my first beer of the year, and then back at the hotel I had a new to me style, my first brut ipa. Even knowing what the style goes for, I wasn’t ready for the mouthfeel. Hah.

But anyways, that’s enough of that. Moving on to today. One I’m excited for because of how good the original is to me.

Beer: Big Bad Baptista (release #20, 2018 release)
Brewery: Epic Brewing (Salt lake city, Utah and Denver, Colorado)
ABV: 10.9%


Pouring from a 22 oz. bottle into the center of a snifter glass. This beer pours a pitch black, with no highlights even as it’s going from bottle to glass. It forms a dense and creamy pinky width caramel colored crown. Tight with great retention. Left spotty lacing throughout the whole glass, from top to bottom. Really don’t know how I could ask more from the looks. 5

The smell brings a nice spicy presence of cinnamon and peppers tangling with a heavy chocolate element. Coffee present. Sweetness of vanilla is slightly there along with a balanced whiskey and barrel presence that doesn’t burn. 4.5

The taste brings the cinnamon to the front again before turning a medium roast coffee and milk chocolate notes. Quickly shows you that the vanilla is there before turning into a greatly balanced barrel. Cream notes. 4.5

This is wildly creamy. Silky with a full body. No burn from the whiskey or alcohol. The presence is there, but just as an accent. Once again providing great balance. Leaving me thinking, once again, I don’t know how I could ask more from this aspect. 5

Overall, these are just such well made beers to me. I haven’t even looked up the rating on here, but I’m sure I’ll be above it, as I was with regular. I just really enjoy the balance these beers bring while still being able to portray every aspect it says on the bottle. Which is why I give them high ratings. It’s rare to find balance like this and it’s rare to find beers that truly portray every aspect named (let alone providing the balance) Cheers Epic!!! 4.75

and cheers fellow NBSrs. Can’t wait to see what you bring to the share!

 

Industrial Arts Pocket Wrench

Because sometimes a fluffy, soft, and juicy NE Pale Ale just makes sense.

Cheers!

 

Happy Sunday and New Year NBS players. A mixed winter day here that keeps swinging back and forth between sunny and grey overcast with rain showers. Feels nice to be looking at my first normal work week after back-to-back holiday weeks. Had a very lazy weekend and I'm continuing that theme today with plenty of playoff football.

I too do not do resolutions. I will say that my fiance', a regular/avid, gym goer hates this time of year. I was trying to think of a new beer resolution and about all that I can come up with is to start actually rating more beers on the site. I'm still thinking about it but will try to put some actual effort to it.

My new beer today is What The Fudge!?, imperial stout w/ sea salt, chocolate & vanilla, from
TO OL, once again in god damn Denmark. (I can't and don't want to make the / O thing). The brew checks in at 11% abv and has some sort of best by date that I'm not sure about either.

A black color on the pour with a steady head of brown bubbles. The nose is subtle with chocolate malts. This continues to the drinking with hits very dry with lots of that chocolate malt upfront. A pretty smooth/fudgy flow that finishes rather bitter. Additional notes of char, smoke, cocoa powder, vanilla, and lactose. Rather full bodied with a booze and a slight decadent feel. It's a tad chalky on the finish and even some slight alcohol burn there. The more interesting note here is it's pretty bitter finish. Would the sea salt add to that? The can doesn't indicate the hops but they seem pretty pronounced, and thus, has that black ipa feel to it at times. A little confusion as well.

Overall, its ok but nothing really that great either. A pretty straight forward stout that drinks decently enough but there are still a lot better options on the shelves. The ba score is a bit inflated thanks to one very high rating. I'm in the 3.5/4 at best range here,

 

Maple Bacon Coffee Porter From Funky Buddha.Pours black with an extremely well retained half inch khaki head that left lacing that looks like a map of Hawaii. Smells like breakfast in a glass; strong maple syrup, coffee, smoke and chocolate. Tastes of maple syrup, dark roast coffee, dark chocolate, smoked bacon, molasses, toffee and sweet malts. Medium to full bodied for the style, well carbonated, creamy mouth feel, mildly bitter finish.

 

Howdy, all!
I'm back and am moving on to another (relatively) new local in a can while I semi-watch the Ravens-Chargers game and make some banana bread.
This one is a rye beer of some sort from a brewery I've never heard of before. The interestingly named "Dave" from Microbrasserie La Veillée.

Pours an almost-clear honey-copper with a finger of beige head and sluggish carbonation in the glass. The aroma is caramel and bread without much else. Flavor is similar. Hard water, fruit cake (not too strong), rye, nice mellow malt in the finish (and a hint of diacetyl). It is nice enough to drink but could use to be a little more "together", I could also do with it being a little drier but all in all it is Not too bad.

Cheers!

 

The Hop Concept — Tropical & Juicy
Unfortunately, no canning date.



Look: Bright amber body; good head formation, though retention and lacing are average.

Smell: Tropical notes dominate (just as advertised).

Taste: Follows the nose and the description on the label. Very tropical and juicy (at the level possible for non-NEIPAs). Some bitterness is apparent on the back end.

Feel: Crisp body, medium carbonation, well-hidden ABV — exactly what you want from a well-executed WC IPA.

Overall: Very pleasant beer. Can barely tell that this is double. This won’t blow your socks off but tastes like a quality product you can keep drinking and drinking.

4 | 4 | 4 | 4 | 4
Overall: 4 (rDev: -1%)

 

New beer #5. Glassware and beer both received from my mom for xmas.

Horse Chops - Port Rexton
IPA - 6.3% abv
Canned 11/26/18 (42 days ago)
Score: 3.8 (0% rDev - 1st review)



Review:
https://www.beeradvocate.com/beer/profile/47249/391645/?ba=CanConPhilly#review

Synopsis:
Quite a traditional ipa. Label says West Coast but this strikes me more as an early 2000s east coast clone. Similar to DFH 90, but overcarbed. Still, it’s impressive to see breweries on the remote island of Newfoundland making anything semi-decent. Even 5 years ago, everything made there was mediocre at best.

 

Hailstorm Lumberjack Breakfast

4.43/5 rDev +3.3% look: 4.75 | smell: 4.25 | taste: 4.5 | feel: 4.25 | overall: 4.5

A: Beer pours a pitch black body with a thick light brown colored head. Lots of head and lacing stick around while drinking the beer. Great example of what I imagine a stout should look like.

S: The aroma of the beer is somewhat one-dimensonal. The beer is all maple on the nose. The aroma isn't too much just not as complex as I would want.

T: More going on with the taste than the nose. Lots of maple along with coffee flavors. Also picking up typical stout flavors like roasted chocolate. Nice variety of flavors here.

M: Beer is very smooth tasting and hides the ABV well. Nice amount of lingering flavors after swallowing the drink. The maple lightens some of the bitter coffee aftertaste.

O: Really nice example of a maple beer. Wish the nose matched the taste profile with the overall complexity. However, Hailstorm made a very solid maple stout with this one.

 

First off I want to thank Doc @lordofthewiens for getting this thread going plenty early, despite now living on the West Coast, I along with many enjoy this thread more than any other weekly one. Cheers

Poured into a 16 oz Nordic pint glass canned on 11/28/18 and 6.3% ABV. Pours an attractive orange yellow with a finger sticky white head that leaves thin webs of lace with excellent retention. 4.25

Smell is apricot, papaya, tangerine, and some hints of grapefruit rind. 4

Taste follows papaya, apricot, pineapple, tangerine, and a little grapefruit bitterness, well balanced. 4

Mouthfeel is a solid medium, plenty of life, a tad sticky but not dry, and definetly drinks bigger than 6.3 but still easy sipping. 4.25

Overall this is a very nice IPA with an awesome name and incredible balance and body, I recommend. 4

 

Hello NBS. It's a pleasant drizzly day here in the Napa Valley. My first beer on this fine Sunday is Founders' DKML, rumored to stand for Dick Kicking Malt Liquor.
Here is an inspiration quote from Founders directly from the bottles label: "It kicks you where you most expect it." -Founders Brewing Co.,2017.
Anyways, let's get to the nitty gritty, shall we?
The beer clocks in at 14.2 %abv. Is an imperial malt liquor aged in bourbon barrels.

Bottled in 2017. Picked it up a while back at a discount. Not sure what to expect, but excited to try.
L: Pours a light caramel/butterscotch color. Has an evident syrupy viscosity that is noticeable as I pour. About a half a finger of a tightly packed white cap that retains rather nicely. Clumpy soapy foam clings to the glass as I sip this beast. It looks rather appealing.
S: Oak character is the first thing I noticed, followed by some heavy notes of caramel, dates, malts, and bourbon. As it warms, the bourbon character is more pronounced, making bourbon, malts and oak the domineering aromas.
T: Tastes like bourbon with a strong malt backbone. Oak barrel present on the finish with lingering charred oak aftertaste. The malts provide a sweetness that pairs well with the woody bourbon presence. I am rather enjoying it, and surprisingly so.
F: Incredible feel. Reminds me a lot of Backwoods bastard. Smooth, rich, full and borderline creamy. Carbonation has retained nicely, still providing a fizz element.
O: I wasn't sure what to expect from this, but came out enjoying it. It is a perfect slow-sipper for this rainy day. Makes me want to revisit Backwoods Bastard, an all-time personal favorite.

3.98/5 rDev +3.1%
look: 4.5 | smell: 4 | taste: 3.75 | feel: 4.5 | overall: 4

 

I just happened to try this for the first time yesterday myself. 'Banana Candy' was absolutely my thought as well. Specifically, I thought it smelled exactly like a banana Wacky Wafer if anyone remembers those. I was expecting something along the lines of a hefeweizen but it really is more of just a banana flavored 'ordinary' beer.

It wasn't terrible, but like you I'm not particularly anxious to have another one.

 

Happy New Year NBS! So far, mine's been a little rough, but I'm hoping to turn that around in the upcoming weeks and months. Hope everyone's got some great beer in their glasses today. I have three examples of IPAs today, and they're all different sub-styles. The first is a black IPA from Hobbs out of West Ossipee, New Hampshire. I believe this is my first beer from them.



Nice appearance on this one. Kind of off-white/eggshell colored head measuring several fingers upon first pour. The body is a deep brown color with slight ruby-ish highlights when held up to direct light. Really solid lace and legs here... drippy foam patterns hanging around the walls of my glass and it has decent enough retention to boot! Good start.

Nose is forward on the ale yeast-driven fruity esters with a distinct roasty, charred element from the malts. Piney hops and light floral notes coming out as well. Pretty typical for a black IPA, but at least it represents the style well and doesn't seem to fall into "hoppy porter" territory... yet. We'll see how the flavor profile is and how it sits on the tongue. My experience with black IPAs and Cascadian dark ales in general tends to lead me to believe that what can smell like a really hoppy and bright beer can fall flat on the tongue and taste too acrid, or finish too heavy/not bitter enough. Excited to find out, as the scent is quite solid.

*takes sip*

Ah... good! The palate is consistent with what I just smelled, which means this should end up being a very solid little beer. The mid-palate has a bit of baker's chocolate and roastiness, but the finish is super piney and dotted with light citrus notes of grapefruit pith and bitter orange peel-like elements that keeps it from drinking too messy. Slightly less bright toward the end of each sip than I'd prefer for the style, but this is quite good. Very appropriate carbonation and solid combination of dark malts/slick and oily hops. I don't think I'd grab it again but it might be fun to revisit every now and then as an example of the basic, successful black IPA. I've had better, but I've had many more that are worse. Digging it!

 

Happy Sunday folks!!! hoping everyone has something fun to break into and that the weather is as lovely as it is here in NYC! (about 50 degrees and sunny as can be)

I'm drinking We've Been Out There In Orbit (w/ Coconut and Coffee) by NYC's most hyped brewery, Other Half.

Pours absolutely black as night and thick like oil. A pretty massive head that lingers, but when it does dissapate it still leaves a finger behind. A pretty awesome head structure, mainly tightly knit little bubbles in varying shades of beige and brown with a bunch of other sized bubbles dispersed throughout.

Smell is pretty much a dark roasted coffee with a bit of sweetness and milk

Tastes pretty darn delicious. Fudgey brownies with an (untoasted) coconut topping. I make my brownies with coffee, so this is basically them in liquid form with the coconut. Well hidden 13+% abs
Mouthfeel is creamy and slick

Overall...Imma give this a 3.95-4. was going to be a 4.25 or so when I started...but as it warms up (from cellar temp) the flavor dies down a bit and leaves a bitterness lingering. I don't hate bitterness, but this isn't the kind that makes sense

 

That used to be great on cask