New Beer Sunday (Week 725)

Discussion in 'The Bar' started by cjgiant, Jan 13, 2019.

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  1. drtth

    drtth Initiate (0) Nov 25, 2007 Pennsylvania
    In Memoriam

    New Beer Sunday: American Wild Ale

    Mornin' again NBSers with a “give it a try” for fans of beer-wine hybrids.

    Well, the sidewalks are shoveled and the driveway is clean, sooo...

    With today being both a snow day and a football play off day (with the Eagles still in contention), there’s another new beer while prepping some food both for lunch (Cuban Black Bean soup with some pre-cooked and sliced up Buffalo Chicken Sausage added). Also working on putting together some snack for for this afternoon-evening (e.g., some homemade salsa, etc.).

    This morning’s next new beer is the Sparkling Swan from Lagunitas. This is a beer-wine hybrid using red wine grapes.

    As usual my review, subject to revision until the beer is finished, can be found here:

    https://www.beeradvocate.com/beer/profile/220/377718/?ba=drtth#review


    The aromas/flavors of this beer-wine hybrid emphasize the contribution of the red wine grapes with their berry like flavors and tartness. The malt sweetness softens and controls the tartness and the hops only show their earthy bitterness in the long, lightly tart finish. Drinkable and worth trying but I’ll not be going out of my way to have this one again.

    Cheers, all!
     
    #21 drtth, Jan 13, 2019
    2beerdogs, superspak, Squire and 37 others like this.
  2. lordofthewiens

    lordofthewiens Grand High Pooh-Bah (6,225) Sep 17, 2005 New Mexico
    BA4LYFE Society Pooh-Bah Trader

    No one likes to be told they have cancer, even if it is one with a good prognosis. Best of luck.
    F*ck cancer!
     
    #22 lordofthewiens, Jan 13, 2019
    meefmoff, mikeinportc, MacMalt and 20 others like this.
  3. Harrison8

    Harrison8 Grand High Pooh-Bah (6,285) Dec 6, 2015 Missouri
    Pooh-Bah Trader

    Most likely not participating today. Power is still out. Going to make the drive home to my parents to do some laundry and eat some hot food. Doubtful I'll bring any beer for the occasion.

    I'm living vicariously through you all today.

    Cheers.
     
    #23 Harrison8, Jan 13, 2019
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  4. SABERG

    SABERG Grand Pooh-Bah (5,001) Sep 16, 2007 Massachusetts
    BA4LYFE Society Pooh-Bah

    Good morning NBS and thanks to @cjgiant for the reminder as to what this weekly meeting is called for. Cold and still no snow here in WMass, as of today this is the slowest snow year since 1872 in the area. If we are not going to have the snow I say bring on Spring. Today's offering is from our friends in Chamblyy QC. Unibroue.
    The Ale Gateau, is a beautiful fruited Belgian Strong ale, complex and flavorful. The feel is amazing. Lush and complete.
    Enjoy the day
    Cheers all

    Ale Gâteau Forêt-Noire

    Unibroue
    Belgian Strong Dark Ale / 10.50% ABV

    4.24/5 rDev -2.8% | Score: 4.36
    look: 4 | smell: 4.25 | taste: 4.25 | feel: 4.25 | overall: 4.25

    Poured from a bottle dated BB 09/06/23 into the test glass.
    A - Opened with a solid pop,massive pillow of froth fills half he glass, Carbonation is quite active, supporting the cap through the entire experience. Color is dark red, brown, light struggles through.
    S - Dark cherries, tannin, toasted oak, candied sugars, yeasty. Brown canned bread, notes of cocoa, cigar, and fruit leather.
    T - Dark fruits, cherry skin, spicy anise, Plum, wine, Buried in there is a strong yeast presence, with some roast malt, bakers chocolate, and with an increase in temperature, add a hint of blackberries. This a complex offering.
    M - That froth has the feel of steamed milk, amazing, semi sweet start then a firm lean in from the yeast side. carbonation is bold but not prickly. The feel is soft almost and rich. Mid experience trends to drying, then another sweep of dark fruit sweet rolls over in a powerful way. Finish is surprisingly dry, with a linger of slight tannin.
    O - Well this is certainly a complete package, Belgian strong for certain, at 10% there is nary a hint of alcohol, the dark fruits and strong fruity yeast are in perfect pitch, the malt base holds up well to the heavy lift. A very complex feel, and flavors. I will be setting some aside to experience the trajectory of this delightful offering

     
    #24 SABERG, Jan 13, 2019
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  5. scream

    scream Initiate (0) Dec 6, 2014 Wisconsin
    In Memoriam

    #25 scream, Jan 13, 2019
    meefmoff, mikeinportc, MacMalt and 13 others like this.
  6. VABA

    VABA Grand High Pooh-Bah (7,735) Aug 8, 2015 Virginia
    Pooh-Bah

    [​IMG]

    A-Pours a black color with a slight head and lacing
    A-Aroma has chocolate and slight Bourbon hints
    T-The taste follows the nose with chocolate and slight Bourbon flavors
    M-A light bodied decently carbonated beer
    O-A well done stout
     
    #26 VABA, Jan 13, 2019
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  7. FFFjunkie

    FFFjunkie Initiate (0) Aug 26, 2014 Illinois

    Hello fellow NBR’s! Happy New Beer Sunday!

    My first New Beer was provided by the most generous @jhavs in the last NBS bif. Jon, first and foremost thank you for this absolute treat! I enjoyed every sip....

    I did indeed drink 3/4 of it blind. But then curiosity got the best of me. So, without further ado....







    And my feeble review



    I hope to be back soon with another. Cheers all!
     
    #27 FFFjunkie, Jan 13, 2019
    ichorNet, superspak, Beersnake and 42 others like this.
  8. gopens44

    gopens44 Grand Pooh-Bah (3,560) Aug 9, 2010 Virginia
    Pooh-Bah Trader

    Thank you for posting this brief history and video, as I really liked the original, as well as Hop Devil; certainly need to seek this one out.
     
    #28 gopens44, Jan 13, 2019
    thebeers, kemoarps, smanson56 and 3 others like this.
  9. CanConPhilly

    CanConPhilly Grand Pooh-Bah (4,421) May 17, 2012 Pennsylvania
    Pooh-Bah Trader

    New beer #3. Mystery beer from @woemad ...I have no clue what this is!

    Stovepipe can
    Best By 3/20/19

    [​IMG]

    L - massive, foamy brownish-white head atop a caramel-orange translucent body.

    S - orange, grapefruit, caramel. Classic ipa nose.

    T - follows the nose. Sweet orange, grapefruit, caramel. Low bitterness. Moderate sweetness. Low booziness.

    F - medium body with average carb.

    O - quite a crusher. Guessing a lowish abv ipa from a Washington State brewery...just not sure which one. Back later with the reveal.
     
    #29 CanConPhilly, Jan 13, 2019
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  10. gopens44

    gopens44 Grand Pooh-Bah (3,560) Aug 9, 2010 Virginia
    Pooh-Bah Trader

    Had an early morning hockey game scheduled at Kettler in Arlington, VA but thankfully we didn't have to make the 2.5 hour trip because it was canx'd due to all the sketchy weather activity. This means a little earlier for my new beer activity.

    First up is Obey the Cycle from The Veil

    [​IMG]

    4.4/5 rDev 0%
    look: 4 | smell: 4.5 | taste: 4.5 | feel: 4.25 | overall: 4.25

    Another pale, hazy, dirty yellow beer brought to us by the folks on Roseneath. Nose pops garlic, green onion, a little orange and maybe lemon. Taste starts out with a little earthy veggie that turns out to be the backbone of a sharply bitter grapefruit that tails off with a hint of that garlic, leaving substantial bitterness and just a little sweetness on the tongue as a splash of heat lingers in the throat from this medium bodied beer.
     
    #30 gopens44, Jan 13, 2019
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  11. Roguer

    Roguer Grand High Pooh-Bah (7,811) Mar 25, 2013 Connecticut
    Mod Team Society Pooh-Bah Trader

    Good morning, NBS friends and family! Today is a special Sunday; after a solid run, it's time to break into some new beers. I've been saving the majority of @strohme2 's fantastic BIF box for today, and I'm going to start off with the mystery beer right off the bat.

    [​IMG]

    There is no clue as to the ABV or style, so I'm going with a tulip, and I left it out of the fridge for about 20 minutes to just let it warm up a wee bit. It's easy to let a beer warm more as you enjoy it; kind of hard to rewind that clock, though, so I want to start with it pretty chilled.

    Before I even pour it, I know it's a stout: it popped a little bit onto my fingers, much in the same way Ten-Fidy tends to be filled to the absolute brim.

    I figured this brew was going to be pretty highly carbed, so I went with a modestly restrained pour.

    [​IMG]

    My apologies in advance for the length of this review. It's a bit of a rambling exploration of a complete mystery of a beer.


    L - Good head production, about 1 full finger of dark brown foam from a modest pour. Retention is quite good but not quite great, and there is a nice flat field of lacing left behind. Brew was a dark, woody brown during the pour with reddish-purplish highlights, settling into a very dark, black walnut appearance. 4.25

    S - The nose is .... really strange. There's a quality there that I have had in beer before, but I can't quite put my finger on it. It's elusive, and driving me nuts.

    Mint! It's chocolate mint, perhaps peppermint. Is there some whiskey on the nose? It's really hard to tell. I thought maybe during the initial pour, or perhaps rum; there's an oddness below the mint, a woodiness that's hard to pin down, and it doesn't quite match up with barrel aging.

    Other tones are licorice, chocolate, molasses, and burnt caramel. There's not a ton of depth, but it's identifiable as a stout even without the appearance. That said, I was blindly guessing an ABV of around 11%; after smelling this brew, it still looks like a big, boozy monster, but it smells sub-10%. I'm thinking that will prove to be deceptive, but we'll see. 3.75

    T - Flavor follows, with big bright minty tones, extremely bitter chocolate, and quite a bit of wood, which lasts through the finish. It's not quite peppermint, though; there's more licorice on the palate than the nose, and less mint.

    I'm going to let this warm a touch more while I shower before digging back into it.

    .....and I'm back! There's more heat coming through, more woodiness, but the same flavor profile overall. Strong bitterness, but it's coming mostly from the wood, less from any significant char. 4.00

    F - Big and creamy on the palate; lively, with a little alcohol heat on the back-end, suggesting >10% ABV. Full bodied with a somewhat dry, but exceptionally long and woody, finish. The building back end heat is consistent with barrel aging or a high ABV. 4.25

    O - I'm halfway through this brew, but I'm not remotely ready to hazard a guess as to any specific beer. I'm going to guess that it's an American imperial stout with mint and cocoa added, and aged on wood .... but what, exactly, I cannot really guess. It has an oddness consistent with rum or rye whiskey, but none of the sweetness, so I can't really presume that it's aged in used spirits barrels. It's fairly odd overall, but I'm really enjoying it, and it's an absolute trip. 4.00

    Aaaaand the reveal:

    [​IMG]

    LOL! It's a beer literally called Dicksmasher! :rofl::rofl::rofl:

    So let's see how I did:

    American Imperial Stout. Check. That .... was the easy part, admittedly lol.

    11.3% ABV. Check. My blind guess on appearance alone was 11%, and I was thinking between 10% and 13% on the palate.

    Star Anise. Huh. Some quick google research suggests that star anise tastes like a cross between fennel seeds and licorice, slightly sweet but bitter.

    No, this threw me for one hell of a loop. There's no mint, and no wood. Licorice tones, sure; no added cocoa, either. This adjunct kicked my ass.

    Granted, everything I got from this beer is easily explained by the star anise, but .... I wouldn't have guessed it if you'd given me a list of possible ingredients and a thousand chances .... mainly because I'm not remotely familiar with it. It's possible people who are used to star anise would have nailed this immediately.

    Wow! Thanks, Justin! I've had a handful of crazy mystery beers, but this was one of the strangest, and it definitely had the best freaking name!

    Review link below, removing the blind aspects, but maintaining the numbers exactly as rated blind.

    https://www.beeradvocate.com/beer/profile/39159/214197/?ba=Roguer#review
    3.98 / -2.2% (5th overall rating/3rd full review)

    Thanks again, Justin; cheers!
     
    #31 Roguer, Jan 13, 2019
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  12. CanConPhilly

    CanConPhilly Grand Pooh-Bah (4,421) May 17, 2012 Pennsylvania
    Pooh-Bah Trader

    And the @woemad reveal...
    [​IMG]
    I had no idea Deschutes made stovepipes! I was close with the style but way off on the specific brewery. Thanks again Fred!
     
    #32 CanConPhilly, Jan 13, 2019
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  13. cjgiant

    cjgiant Grand High Pooh-Bah (6,584) Jul 13, 2013 District of Columbia
    Society Pooh-Bah

    I guessed at least the brewery from the little bit of the can I could see in your original post, mainly b/c the GF has a 6-pack of that in the fridge :slight_smile:
     
    #33 cjgiant, Jan 13, 2019
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  14. SABERG

    SABERG Grand Pooh-Bah (5,001) Sep 16, 2007 Massachusetts
    BA4LYFE Society Pooh-Bah

    A glass raised,
    Here's to a long full CANcer free outcome.
    Cheers
     
    #34 SABERG, Jan 13, 2019
    meefmoff, thebeers, JBowenGeorgia and 10 others like this.
  15. HoppingMadMonk

    HoppingMadMonk Grand Pooh-Bah (5,208) Mar 3, 2017 New Jersey
    BA4LYFE Society Pooh-Bah Trader

    Eviltwin even more jesus
    ..very light carbonation. Above average body, oily thick feel
    .. aroma is sweet bourbon forward followed by black coffee,roasted malt and some espresso
    ..taste is very similar with sweet bourbon hitting the tastebuds first, sugary, but stops before becoming cloying. The base beer has enough coffee bitterness to mellow out the sweetness
    ..overall its definitely worth trying, I thought it was delicious and really well msde[​IMG]
     
    #35 HoppingMadMonk, Jan 13, 2019
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  16. Roguer

    Roguer Grand High Pooh-Bah (7,811) Mar 25, 2013 Connecticut
    Mod Team Society Pooh-Bah Trader

    I'm curious, if you rate this, where you fall in terms of rDev. Many of us who tried this when it first came out are convinced it is simply not as good as it used to be. If that's true, there should be a trend of -rDev reviews over the last two years, and a trend of +rDev reviews in its first year.
     
    #36 Roguer, Jan 13, 2019
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  17. Roguer

    Roguer Grand High Pooh-Bah (7,811) Mar 25, 2013 Connecticut
    Mod Team Society Pooh-Bah Trader

    I don't recall this beer being so poorly carbonated when it first came out, but every bottle I've had this year has required a virtually nitro-like pour to produce a finger of foam. It's also flatter on the palate.
     
    #37 Roguer, Jan 13, 2019
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  18. cavedave

    cavedave Grand Pooh-Bah (4,157) Mar 12, 2009 New York
    In Memoriam Pooh-Bah Trader

    Goood afternoon all you faro favorers, saison savorers, lambic lauders, altbier applauders, cream ale crusaders, and pumpkin beer persuaders from on the ridge in Mid Hud Val, NY.

    Chilly day, and I can say something I haven't been able to say for more than two years. I just got home from work. The man who replaced me, Rich, is unable to work, and it may be a permanent situation. Today was day four I have filled in, ughh. Town Supervisor gave me a raise for doing it, and has hinted if I can replace Rich he now will give me all the things he refused back when I worked there. Do I really want to go back to work? Answer: I don't know, it may be an offer too good to pass up. Looks like I picked a bad time to give up drinking beer lol.

    Will be checking out all the wonderful beers you guys are posting, and enjoy them vicariously. Mere days left in my dry out! Cheers, y'all!
     
    #38 cavedave, Jan 13, 2019
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  19. EMH73

    EMH73 Grand Pooh-Bah (3,705) Sep 16, 2015 New York
    Pooh-Bah Trader

    The Devil's Invention from 4 Hands.
    [​IMG]
    Pours an extremely dark brown, not quite black, with a two inch fluffy beige head that dissipates fairly slowly to a thin ring that leaves few spots of lacing. Smells of dark roast coffee, chocolate and roasted malts. Tastes of espresso, dark chocolate, roasted malts, slight sweetness (I think it's toffee), a bit of char and nuttiness. Just shy of medium bodied, soft carbonation, light creaminess to the mouth feel, dry and moderate bitterness on the finish. I feel that they needed to make this more full bodied. The can says pairs well with chocolate cake, I will definitely test that out with the other can I have. Cheers!
     
    #39 EMH73, Jan 13, 2019
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  20. zid

    zid Grand Pooh-Bah (3,132) Feb 15, 2010 New York
    BA4LYFE Society Pooh-Bah Trader

    [​IMG]

    Right Proper Baron Corvo

    They call this a “baroque” biere de garde. Um. Ok. It’s made in foeders with solera blending and their house mixed culture yeasts.

    It’s a very hazy cooper (lighter than the pic suggests). Head is huge and very fizzy... and doesn’t linger. Smell is underripe berries.

    Taste is a gentle yogurt sourness with some lemon. Underripe berries and grapes combined with bread dough and some hop bitterness in the background.

    This isn’t something I’d personally revisit but it’s very impressive. There’s a delicate and refined nature to it and the great balance makes for a very drinkable brew.
     
    #40 zid, Jan 13, 2019
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