New Beer Sunday (Week 726)

Aslin Belly Shirts 15% brewed with coffee, chocolate, coconut, and macadamia nuts. I got this one from a guy on FB and all I can say is wow. I had to do a double take to check the ABV because no hint of 15% but it is rich, thick, and bold.

Poured into a 16 oz Snulip glass not sure when it was canned. Pours pitch black with a 3 finger mocha head that leaves thin lines of lace as it slowly settles into a thin ring along the sides of the glass, for a beer of this girth incredible retention. 4.75

Smell is exactly what I signed up for bold coffee, deep dark chocolate, just the right amount of coconut really nice, not really getting the macadamia nuts but it isn’t surprising that they were brewed in it, and vanilla beans very impressive! 4.25

Taste so the nose is nice, but the taste takes it up a notch. Expresso, coconut, hazelnut, and vanilla so perfectly balanced your man parts start to tingle, incredible. 4.75

Mouthfeel is on the large size, for gentle carbonation, actually for a beer brewed with these ingredients and of this heft not very dry, and loaded with flavor but seriously drinks like it is less than 11% ABV. 4.5

Overall this is a world class monster of a stout, that is well balanced and utterly amazing you wish Aslin Brewing was all over the place. Still can’t believe this thing is 15% yikes. 4.5

 

Beer for a worthy cause!

Sierra Nevada has a brewery in Chico, CA and they are located very close to the Camp Fires which occurred last fall. They decided to produce a beer called Resilience IPA (as did a large number of other collaborating breweries) to raise funds for those who were impacted by these terrible fires. As I was walking through my local Retail Beer Distributor I noticed a flat pack on the floor with one 6-pack box of Sierra Nevada Resilience IPA in it. I quickly picked it up (especially since it was the last one left). Hopefully my local store received a lot of these beers and other customers purchased them too. As it lists on the box:

“100% of every dollar Sierra Nevada receives goes to the Sierra Nevada Camp Fire Relief Fund”.

In a past thread I posted there appears to be similarities between this beer and their seasonal beer of Celebration Fresh Hop IPA as detailed on the Sierra Nevada website:

Resilience IPA:

Overview

• Alcohol Content 6.8% by volume
• Beginning gravity 16.0° plato
• Ending Gravity 4.0° plato
• Bitterness Units 65

Ingredients

• Yeast Ale yeast
• Bittering Hops Chinook, Centennial
• Finishing Hops Cascade, Centennial
• Malts Two-row Pale, Caramel

Celebration Fresh Hop IPA:

Overview

• Alcohol Content 6.8% by volume
• Beginning gravity 16.0° plato
• Ending Gravity 4.0° plato
• Bitterness Units 65

Ingredients

• Yeast Ale yeast
• Bittering Hops Chinook, Centennial
• Finishing Hops Cascade, Centennial
• Malts Two-row Pale, Caramel

The specs listed above read identical. Needless to say but one aspect that differs is that Celebration is brewed with newly harvested hops (or as Sierra Nevada would discuss it: Fresh Hops).

It just so happens that I have one bottle of Celebration Fresh Hop IPA from a 12-pack I bought so I figured it would be fun to conduct a side by side taste testing. The bottle of Celebration was packaged on 10/10/18 and I have stored this beer in refrigerated conditions since I purchased it (beginning of December). The can of Resilience was packaged 12/10/18.

Served in my Spiegelau IPA Glasses:

Appearance:

Resilience IPA: Copper-amber colored with a BIG fluffy off-white head.

Celebration Fresh Hop IPA: The same as above but for some reason this beer had better head retention.

Aroma:

Resilience IPA: A combination of citrus, pine and caramel aromas.

Celebration Fresh Hop IPA: There is citrus, pine and caramel like above but there is some floral as well.


Taste:

Resilience IPA: The flavors follow the nose with citrus, pine and caramel flavors. A moderate bitterness.

Celebration Fresh Hop IPA: The flavors follow the nose with citrus, pine, caramel and floral flavors. A moderate bitterness.

Mouthfeel

Resilience IPA: Medium body with an off-dry finish.

Celebration Fresh Hop IPA: Same as above but there was a softer aspect to this beer in comparison.

Overall

Resilience IPA: Very good. This beer has an enjoyable combination of hop and malt flavors.

Celebration Fresh Hop IPA: Ditto.

If you see Resilience beers on your retailers’ shelves (or tap handles at bars) please do purchase it. It is for a good cause plus it is a tasty beer (at least it is for the Sierra Nevada brewed version).

Cheers to Sierra Nevada and other collaborating breweries for producing this beer!!

@rotsaruch @RobH @KOP_Beer_OUtlet @SierraTerence @BillManley

 

Interesting. Thanks for sharing this!

 

Happy Sunday, NBS crew! Best wishes to Dick and anyone else affected by the asshole known as cancer.

New beer #1

Smoke and Mirrors - Revision
NE IPA - 8% abv
Canned 12/27/18 (24 days ago)
Purchased for $6.79 at Monde Market
Score: 3.95 (-5.3% rDev)



Review:
https://www.beeradvocate.com/beer/profile/48813/321510/?ba=CanConPhilly#review

Synopsis:
It’s an amazing sight to now see Revision cans on the shelves here in Philly. Pricey, but nice to be able to try them. I assume the name of this one is an allusion to the look of the beer, as it does not appear to be a NE IPA based on visuals alone. Every other aspect though is true to the NE style. Slightly bitter citrus hops, very little sweetness, and the alcohol is well hidden. This one has a strange cardboard taste mid-sip that keeps me from loving it, but still worth trying for those on the East Coast that now have access.

 

Good morning NBS and cheers to Dick.
Naturally despite working on it for several days I haven’t been able to get my snowblower to start so am looking at shoveling about 8”. Hope all northeast of here who got more have better luck! I’m warming up beforehand with this awesome collaboration between Jackie O’s and Casita Cerveceria.



This is very unique and truly carrot cake in a glass. If you like the dessert try to find a bottle of this. I was a little skeptical at first but one sip had me hooked.

375mL bottle poured into a snifter
A: Dark orange/light brown with a thin head that disappears quickly (3.75)
S: Raisin, caramel, carrot, hints of walnut/vanilla, fairly sweet (4)
T: A lot going on here. This deinitely tastes like carrot cake with all of the herbs, spices, nuts and cream cheese frosting one would expect in the dessert. That said underneath are the malty/warming elements of a nice quad (4.5)
M: Full bodied, moderately sweet, a bit boozy but balanced overall (4.25)
O: Very well conceived, a unique collaboration with perfect execution (4.5)

 

Big game today for the city. I'm not super intent on keeping my beers local, but it just so happens this beer is a collaboration between a local brewery and a local dairy farm.



Martin City's Brooo.

Pours black and nets a little over a finger of khaki foam after a direct pour into the glass. Head retention is okay with fantastic lacing. Aroma is roasty, toasty, nutty malts with heavy lactose and chocolate. Almost like a grainy, barley-infused Ovaltine glass. Flavor profile is roasty, toasty, nutty, caramely malts with lactose, chocolate, and toffee behind. It remains well centered on the traditional milk stout characteristics, with chocolate and toffee only adding a little complexity and variety to each sip. Mouth feel is fuzzy, with a light graininess that pairs well with the medium-thick consistency. Overall, a flavorful, chocolate milk beer. It does exactly what it advertises.

Score: 4 | 4 | 4 | 4 | 4 | BA Score: 4 | rDev: N/A (only review/rating)

 

Sierra Nevada sierraveza
... pours a very clear light gold
..medium light carbonation with the body feeling a bit thin
..aroma is pilsner malt, grain, cracker, and an unusual fruity flowery hop
. Taste is almost identical to nose with the malt being dominate but it is far from being too sweet
.. I really liked it and think it would be an excellent beer for partys as it would probably please most people

 

Good morning NBS
I'm drinking a delicious BA RIS this morning

The review:
22oz undated bottle generously provided by @Harrison8 poured into a Spiegelau stout glass at fridge temp 12% ABV. The beer pours dense black with no light penetration and builds a small mocha colored head. The head recedes to a fat ring and leaves a little lacing. The aroma is wood barrel, whiskey, vanilla, chocolate and coconut all mixed together in a delightful presentation. The taste is very dark chocolate with hints of whiskey & barrel. The vanilla, coconut and wood flavors are woven throughout each sip. The bitterness is adequate yet restrained. The mouthfeel is full bodied with just less than medium carbonation and a mostly dry finish. Overall, excellent. This is an exceptional and flavorful beer with great barrel use gaining complexity without tasting like a shot in a beer.

I've got to work tonight, so I'm one and done today. Cheers & enjoy the new beer in your glass!

 

A toast to Dick, and all who are battling cancer!

New Holland Brewing’s “Dragon’s Milk Reserve Banana Coconut”, a BBA Imperial Stout; 11% abv 31 IBU; bottled 09/07/18:

Pours dark brown with ruby hues at 56 degrees; fast fizzy greyish beige cap that leaves little to no ring and a small island of micro dots; no lacing; on swirl, medium legs and spotty lace. 4.0



Strong banana aroma upon popping the cap; coconut and chocolate right behind; some bourbon on the exhale. 4.5

Taste follows nose; a little more bourbon in the middle; roast malt notes as liquid warms; sweet chocolate covered coconut patti candy finish. 4.5



Medium light bodied, moderate carbonation; a dry barrel finish; not smooth but dry and dusty feeling. No perceived warmth from the alcohol. 4.0

Overall, thin for the abv and boring to look at, nevertheless, each advertised flavor is present, complimenting rather than competing with one another; I’m not a huge fan of banana flavor in my beer, and this stout strikes a happy balance with the banana nose stronger than the taste allowing coconut/chocolate and bourbon/barrel flavors to harmoniously interwind with the banana/chocolate notes. 4.25

I’d drink again and recommend gladly to anyone who likes these flavor combinations. Cheers from gusty SWFL!

 

Good morning NBS and thanks for the sharing this morning @lordofthewiens , This glass is raised to your family as these are inevitably family affairs. Today's offering is from Jack's Abby, the barrel Maple/Bourbon version of the very good coffee stout Brigadeiro.
With that listing I can happily report that the offering avoids the excessive sweet trap, A real treat on this snowy day in WMass.
Cheers to Dick

Maple Barrel-Aged Brigadeiro

Springdale Barrel Room
English Oatmeal Stout / 8.50% ABV

4.24/5 rDev -0.5% | Score: 4.26
look: 4 | smell: 4.25 | taste: 4.25 | feel: 4.25 | overall: 4.25

Poured from a 500 ml bottle undated into the test glass.
A - Chalkboard black in color, no light gets through, the tan cap is quick to leave, spots of tan randomly placed along the glass , are evidence of the experience.
S - Char, dark chocolate, sweet maple,vanilla, and dark roast coffee, Dark fruit, hint of fig, dark brown sugar, tobacco.
T - Here the offering is a bit narrow, in a good way, Coffee stout base, and a touch of smokiness rolls up nicely with the touch of maple and bourbon barrel. stays on track for the whole trip.
M - Medium in body, carbonation is active on the palate, Semi sweet, but avoids all excess in that area, the finish is delightfully dry.
O - A very nice barrel stout from Jack's Abby, the balanced aging/blending shows in every aspect. Nothing out of place. Very well done

 

Today’s new breakfast beer was one that my wife got me specifically for this occasion. The can is unlabeled because the store was out of stickers at the time. The last sticker was used on a can that the salesman screwed up when putting the top on. Anyway it snowed here last night so I’m good with starting the day off with a 10% brew. This is Barrel Aged Neoplolitan from Saugatuck Brewing.



Black all the way through with some cola colored brown around the edges but you have to look hard. Very thin light tan head sits on the top and quickly recedes. The scent of this beer is vanilla ice cream, faint hint of strawberries and noticeable bourbon garnish on the back. Vanilla sweetness up front, followed by the sweetness of chocolate covered strawberries, rounded out with some more bourbon sweetness. No one element is too sweet, but the combination, along with the sticky heavyweight mouthfeel have this beverage too sweet for me. Gonna break this crowler up throughout the day. I may have another new beer stashed for later seeing as I am iced in for now.

 

Thanks to @lordofthewiens for the great start to this weeks NBS. Will be back with a new brew later on, should be a really good one.

Cheers!

 

New beer #2. Thanks @woemad !

Coffee Dark Star - Fremont
BA Imperial Oatmeal Stout - 14% abv
2018 edition
Score: 4.49 (-0.7% rDev)



Review:
https://www.beeradvocate.com/beer/profile/20680/143753/?ba=CanConPhilly#review

Synopsis:
What a well balanced stout this is. The abv is massive, but you barely notice it. Smells so inviting, like an expertly-brewed cup of coffee with a little sumpin-sumpin discretely added when no one is looking. The coffee, chocolate, and barrel are in perfect harmony, which makes this super-easy to drink much too quickly. Thanks again Fred for sending me this long, long time want!

 

A-Pours a brown color with a decent head and lacing
A-Aroma has slight malty and fruity hints
T-The taste follows the nose with slight malty and fruity flavors
M-A light bodied decently carbonated beer
O-A decent Barleywine

 

Goose island vanilla stout
..solid jet black
...medium light carbonation , above average body with a thick slightly oily feel.overall a great feel
..aroma is sweet bourbon but not overpowering. There's vanilla, black coffee,and plenty of roasted malt
..taste is mildly sweet,bourbon blended perfectly with vanilla. As it warms the coffee and roasted malt adds more flavor and a touch of bitterness
..overall this is the definition of living up to the hype

 

Happy New Brrrrr Sunday everybody!
It is very snowy and windy here with a blistering high of -2°F forecast. Luckily I don't have to venture out for anything today and so I am going to just be hunkered down here watching it dump, drinking a couple new beers, watching some football and cooking a little bit later on.
With all that in mind, my first beer today could not be more appropriate. It is one I got from @Ozzylizard in the NBS BIF and one that I had always noticed when I saw other people drinking it on here because (a) it looked mighty good and (b) thematically, it is hard to beat for this particular thread. I am talking, of course, about Sunday Morning Stout from Weyerbacher. As luck would have it, this one just turned one year old a couple days ago. Cheers, good health and happiness to Dick, his family and friends!

It pours thick as oil and pitch black. A very aggressive pour yields an inch+ of brown head that quickly disappears completely leaving nothing in its wake. The aroma is immediately apparent; big coffee roast aroma with some vanilla-bourbon sweetness to hold it up. The flavor follows with chocolatey espresso, light fruitiness from the yeast and a dollop of sticky barrel sweetness. It is fairly drinkable despite its size. That said, it is most certainly a huge beast of a beer. Enjoyable, warming and perfect for riding out the storm today.

Here is my "real" review for any sticklers.

Enjoy your day NBSers!

 

Good morning, NBS! I'll have a nice sipper for Dick, hoping him improved days to come.

It's been a while since I did one of these, where I steal another's NBS review and compare my thoughts on the same beer. Today's victim, er... I mean willing cohort is @SawDog505 - as I, too, have Belly Shirts from Aslin to review.

First off, I can say I got nowhere near the head display as SawDog, but I did only go with a moderate pour. There was about a finger of buildup - dark brown with fairly large bubbles. It seemed like it might want to stick around, but it accelerated its pace towards a razor-wire thin ring, the full trip taking about 30-45 seconds. Not much reviving the bubbles, but a slick film is evident on the glass when I give it a swirl.

I totally agree that a mix of dark roasted scents come to mind - coffee and chocolate. There's a bit of a brownie batter smell to the chocolate, and that may be about the only thing that might have a bit of a "nuttiness" to it, so in agreement on that addition not coming through in the nose. Coconut plays a decent supporting role, but what little alcohol I get in the nose seems attached to it - as if the coconut marinated briefly in its own extract.

I get a bit of a berry-tasting coffee up front, with a wisp of alcohol astringency. A bold, espresso-like coffee (as SawDog mentions) flows in as the beer flows toward my gullet. The coconut isn't as big a supporter in the taste, and its marinade seems to have switched from coconut to vanilla extract - though again these two notes seem intertwined somehow. I am getting a little bit of nuttiness as it warms, on the sidelines. The beer does more than just lean sweet, but doesn't quite stray into too sweet, perhaps thanks to the tether of the other flavors.

Slick and mildly sticky feel - the carbonation is very light, but there is a little bite, so I am assuming the alcohol is providing that.

This is a big stout, sort of in line with many Aslin big stouts I have had. Definitely sweet, but with a nice showing of the added ingredients. I'd say it definitely fits in the pastry stout "style" - unabashedly.

 

I thought that one was exceptional.

 

Poured into a 13 oz Funk Brewing Teku canned on 12/05/18. Pours a very slick near pitch black with a 2 plus finger sticky brown head that leaves loads of thin wisps of lace, nice retention. 4.25

Smell is dry coffee grounds, oaky vanilla, dark chocolate, back strap molasses, and some hints of toffee. 4

Taste follows follows expresso, dark chocolate, molasses, and some oaky vanilla. 4

Mouthfeel is a tad bigger than medium, a touch dry for sure, plenty of carbonation, and drinks a little bigger than its 8.3% ABV. 4

Overall this is very nice, the one I had before was so incredible that this was difficult to keep up with, but a very nice stout. Thanks @jzeilinger for this tasty stout. 4

 

Rhinegeist Calfé Coffee Milk Stout

Happy Sunday, BAs. Today’s new beer comes courtesy of @LloydDobler in NBS BIF 8.5.

Calfé pours a rich amber-tinted dark brown, approaching black, with three fingers of khaki-colored head. The head has decent retention and leaves nice webbed lacing.

Moderate levels of breakfast roast coffee show on top of milk and chocolate in the nose. They carry over to the taste as well. It’s very well balanced and slightly sweet. There’s just a kiss of drying coffee bitterness in the finish.

It’s medium bodied, lightly creamy feeling, with light carbonation.

This is a really well made and easy drinking coffee stout. Hits the spot on a rainy winter day. Thanks, Chris.

Cheers to @lordofthewiens’ brother-in-law and friend and to @cavedave’s comrade. Very best wishes.