New Beer Sunday (Week 727)

New beer #2.

Devil’s Cup - 18th Street
Pale Ale - 6.6% abv
Canned 1/10/19 (17 days ago)
Purchased for $4.59 at Monde Market
Score: 3.92 (-0.3% rDev)



Review:
https://www.beeradvocate.com/beer/profile/31042/145096/?ba=CanConPhilly#review

Synopsis:
An overly sweet, mostly traditional pale. I dig the hop combo here...orange mixed with floral and a little bit of earthy...it’s tasty. The malt here though dominates, which brings this to the point of being syrupy-sweet throughout the sip. Still, I’m stoked we’re getting 18th Street here now, especially since this can is very fresh and reasonably priced.

 

New beer #3. Thanks @woemad !

Dormancy - Bale Breaker
Breakfast Stout - 6.8% abv
Score: 4.33 (+3.6% rDev)



Review:
https://www.beeradvocate.com/beer/profile/31389/236599/?ba=CanConPhilly#review

Synopsis:
An aggressive stout. Not in terms of booze, which is completely hidden, but in terms of its flavors. Bitter coffee, powerful semisweet chocolate, with a noticeable peanut butter finish. This one is worth seeking out. Thanks again Fred!

 

After that beer, I couldn’t pass up a real egg cream with lunch. This one came heavy on the syrup. I always get an egg cream when at a diner and it never fails to make my wife laugh. I usually get vanilla though. Goes with my “vanilla boy” nickname for anyone who remembers me posting about that story (nobody). Cheers.

 

I've seen it around but passed at $12 I believe it was. Want to try it but wasn't sure at that price. Are you getting distro of Zaftig ?

 

Early game today means early to new beers. Grabbed a number of random beers this week that should get me through the day, starting with a style that seems to be popular that I had yet to try; the Brut IPA.

Sierra Nevada Brut IPA



3.76/5 rDev +2.5%
look: 3.5 | smell: 3.75 | taste: 3.75 | feel: 4 | overall: 3.75

Not much to see, crystal clear pale yellow with a quickly receding foamy white head that leaves a faint bit of bubble. Nose is really more like a Bier DeGarde, as I get a strong whiff of yeast before a corn heavy thing happening. Finishes bitter with more of a noble hop and Perrier aftertaste alongside a tiny bit of the taste of snow. It's dry, really fizzy and otherwise undemanding. Not bad at all for a "have a few while out" kind of joint but not like super interesting. But that's not always a bad thing.

 

Had this one while doing some things around the house this morning. My first from Icarus courtesy of @MacMalt in the NBS 8.5 box, really enjoyed this one.

Pours a dark brown/borderline black a big fluffy head that didn't stick around very long.
Roasty coffee and malts, toffee, pecans on the nose.
Taste follows with coffee and toasted pecan leading the way. Roasty malts, chocolate, some toffee notes.
Nice full body with good carb level. Smooth and creamy.
Overall an excellent stout, the flavors stand out on their own yet balance together quite nicely. If I hadn't read the can I wouldn't have had any indication that this one clocks in at 14.5%. Very drinkable.
Thank you Rob for another excellent NJ brew.

 

New Brut IPA Sunday!
Greetings from sunny but chilly Tennessee! I'm brewing up a Maibock in the hopes of an early spring and figured it's time for a beer.
I spied this beer at our Trader Joe's yesterday and picked up a single for today. I had to chuckle when I read @JackHorzempa's and @woodychandler's posts this morning - great minds, I guess! The first Brut IPA I had was about 10 months ago, brewed locally at TailGate and it has remained the standard in my mind. First of all, it was bone dry, hoppy, and highly carbonated, appropriately (and safely) packaged in a thick Champagne bottle. Since then, I have been consistently disappointed in the commercially available versions.
Anyway, I'm a big Sierra Nevada fan and thought that they might be able to finally nail the style on a large scale.

Look: A strikingly beautiful beer. A crystal-clear, pale straw color with a large, fluffy white head. I enjoyed watching steady streams of bubbles escape from the bottom of the glass.

Aroma: light citrus with grapefruit, lemon, and lime. Also some dough and white bread.
Taste: not surprisingly, citrus forward with lemon-lime followed by grapefruit. There was an assertive bitterness, but also restrained enough to be pleasant considering the dryness. They straddled this line nicely.

Feel: they almost nailed it. Bone dry and by far the driest of all the commercially available ones I've had thus far. Carbonation is higher than in their standard IPAs but below where I think a true Brut IPA should be. I get it, as that would require a thicker bottle (like a champagne bottle). A slightly higher carb level would have netted a 5 in my book.

Overall: a delicious beer. Way too easy to drink and a great representation of this new style. I'm planning on picking up a 6er later this week. Cheers!

 

Thanks, Craig, for getting the ball rolling.
This was our first week free of company since mid-December. It's nice having the place to ourselves again. We went to a couple movies this past week. Glass, an amalgam of Unbreakable and Split, was terrible. Serenity, a film noir with a neat little twist, was a little better.
Today will be a relaxing day, with not much going on.

My new beer for this sunny Sunday is Double Dunk from Prairie. It is an imperial stout with Oreo, and clocks in at 11.9% ABV.
In a snifter the beer is an opaque black color with no head.
Aroma of chocolate, vanilla, and a hint of coffee.
Tastes like Oreos. Vanilla, milk chocolate, dark chocolate, and a little coffee. The alcohol is very well hidden.
Probably the richest beer I have ever had. Even though it is only a 12 ounce bottle, I'm going to need help with it.

A good Sunday to all.

 

Thank you, all, for your reviews this morning. I enjoy reading them while between my sets in the gym. The morning workout session is done and it is time for a recovery beverage. My gym sells lots of different protein drinks that come in all sorts of bright cans and bottles, but I think I have something more potent (although it also comes in a bright can...)

Alvarado Street Brewery — Amigos IPA
Canned on: 01.22.18



Alvarado has been messing with their core beers lately, making them more into real juice bombs. I'm usually not a fan of changing recipes that much, but since I haven't tried any of the previous batches, it's all good.

Look: Pours murky bright yellow. An aggressive pour generates about a finger of quickly dissipating white head, made up of large nonuniform bubbles. There is minimal lacing left on the glass. As soon as all head is gone, it actually does look exactly like orange juice in the glass.

Smell: The citrusy hop-juice aroma bursts out of the can immediately after breaking the seal. In a glass though, the smell is not overwhelming. I pick up some yeast on the nose as well.

Taste: Juicy and bitter. I'm picking up a lot of orange peel/zest. There's also a slight amount of hop burn on the back end. Thankfully, not getting too much yeast character in the taste, and what's there is blended well with the hop profile. Nice hoppy burps while drinking too, matching Alvarado's "BURP HOPS" slogan for their hoppy beers.

Feel: Traditional NEIPA. The body is smooth and creamy, there's no apparent alcohol, and the carbonation is medium to high.

Conclusion: Alvarado did well with Amigos. It's not mindblowing in any category but is solid in all of them. At less than a week old, this beer is still pretty "green." Luckily, I enjoy my IPAs like this. I won't hesitate to try this again.

4 | 4.25 | 4.25 | 4.25 | 4.25
Overall: 4.24 (rDev +4.4%)

 

Black hog coffee milk stout
Medium light carbonation with at least a medium body. Slight oily creamy feel
..solid black appearance
..aroma is black coffee, toasted malt,char and milk chocolate
. Taste follows the aroma with it being mildly sweet with if becoming more bitter as it warms. Flavors coat the tongue and linger awhile
.. overall a very pleasant surprise as I wasnt expecting much

 

Next up I play closer to my wheelhouse with a Cascadian from Three Chop’t. Technically it’s a collab with Oskar Blues.



3.48/5 rDev -4.4%
look: 3.75 | smell: 3.25 | taste: 3.5 | feel: 3.75 | overall: 3.5

I was a little concerned when this poured with a not too dark manner, like more like a brown ale. Did produce a thick foamy, sticky lacing head though, so that’s good. Nose is odd, maybe cola and ginger? Taste makes only slightly more sense as it starts out with molasses and takes an earthy bitter and ginger again? twist. Aftertaste is a little molasses sweet bitter as well. All told, this leans towards the “mess” side of Cascadians.

 

New beer #4.

Cacao Hazelnut Tangerine Double Milkshake - Tired Hands
DIPA - 9.2% abv
Canned 1/10/19 (17 days ago)
Purchased for $24/4 at Tired Hands
Score: 3.77 (-8.9% rDev)



Review:
https://www.beeradvocate.com/beer/profile/28383/393314/?ba=CanConPhilly#review

Synopsis:
A very weird beer. I guess with the name you’d expect a lot going on, but this thing is all over the place. An unexpected dankness is the leading flavor, followed by citrus (tangerine, grapefruit, orange). Then the chocolate comes into play, but chocolate + citrus + dank just doesn’t work for me. Not tasting any hazelnut at all. Glad I only have 1 of these to drink. The rest I’ll be BIF’ing to various BAs, who I hope like this more than I do!

 

New Beer Sunday: American Bruit IPA

Afternoon NBSers with yet another take on the Sierra Nevada Brut IPA.

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

https://www.beeradvocate.com/beer/profile/140/388283/?ba=drtth#review

The aromas/flavors are light clean and crisp with some light lemongrass, grapefruit, a bit of orange all blending nicely with the crackery, biscuity malt. There’s also a light herbal bitterness. The finish begins as the fruit flavors and light sweetness faced to leave the clean, crisp, very dry lightly bitter ending to slowly fade away. Interesting, enjoyable and what seems to be a good example of the emerging Brut IPA style.

Cheers, all!

 

Nope...

 

Great review! I need to get me some Barreled Souls.

It takes a special kind of stupid to be out running in nasty weather, but I'd still choose it over the treadmill! They make clothes to keep me warm and dry, after all

Cheers for getting out there and getting it done!

 

New beer #5. Thanks @FlintB !

No Rules - Perrin
BBA Imperial Porter - 15% abv
Vintage 2016
Score: 4.36 (-2.9% rDev)



Review:
https://www.beeradvocate.com/beer/profile/29952/172420/?ba=CanConPhilly#review

Synopsis:
Generally I’m not a fan of sweet beers, but in this one it works. This monster is VERY sweet...like, immediate diabetic shock sweet...but it’s not an artificial candy sweetness. Instead, the sweetness integrates nicely with the caramel, coconut, chocolate, and mild bourbon elements. The coconut in particular is so tasty, and dampens down the sweetness that could otherwise be cloying. This smells amazing, too...like a tropical beach in winter. I will be sipping this for a good while. Thanks again Brian!

 

Checking out this collab between Anchorage and Monkish...

Lines Double IPA, 8.4% abv, featuring Mosaic, Citra, and Simcoe hops...

Pours a hazy golden color, just about opaque, with a fat, creamy white head that persists as a fuzzy cap while sheeting the glass with lace as it drinks down... An incredible beer - true hop candy - aromas and flavors are of candied fruits like pineapple, orange, apricot, peach, and mango - sweet and plush, with just enough of a tacky pine undercurrent to add some balancing bitterness and leave a resinous shellac of honeyed pine across the tongue... Medium-bodied but pillowy and smooth, amply carbonated, with a lingering bitter close on the finish... A magnificent marriage of juicy, sweet fruits and clean bitter pine - very New England-esque, and highly recommended...

Cheers...