New Beer Sunday (Week 730)

With a bit of trepidation, my very first NBS posting... This thread always seemed a bit intimidating...

Toppling Goliath Thresher Wheat India Pale Ale

(whatever a "Wheat IPA" is...)
On a cold, snowy, February Sunday in MN...



Bomber poured into a 23 oz weizen glass (the brewer calls this a Wheat IPA, the weizen glass fits the wheat part, presents the beer excellently, and besides, is large enough to contain the entire bomber in one pour, with just a bit left in the bottle to add once the head recedes a bit).

S: 4 Strong citrus... good hoppy aroma.

L: 4 Tall, thick, creamy white head recedes very slowly, to a peaks and valley cratered head with gobs of lacing. Very cloudy, toward turbid. Bright orange color with the occasional bubble visible. Too hazy to actually see through. (Some yeast clumps in the last of the beer poured, sinking to the bottom of the glass quickly.) The appearance is very attractive. Turbidity is not in and of itself a positive, IMO, but the color of bright orange (not muddy orange as so many of the turbid beers are) with the tall, white, thick, cratering head is very attractive.

T: 4 Taste is as the aroma in the beginning - strong citrus tending toward juicy adding a bit of pine. Good citrus bite.

F: 3.75 The feel is moderate, smooth.

O: 4 The middle and finish are dominated by the hops flavor, with only a little bitterness coming through in the finish and aftertaste. There is plenty of malt to balance the hops.

Which would work out to a BA rating of 3.98, vs the current average of 4.14.

I know this is not a new beer for TG, but it is the first time I've had one. An excellent, flavorful, easy drinking beer. Despite the name...

 

Next up today is a Triple Crossing offering

Space Falcon



4.18/5 rDev -0.7%
look: 4.5 | smell: 4 | taste: 4.25 | feel: 4 | overall: 4.25

Very nice bouncy white head leaves quite the impressive curtain of lacing. The beer itself is a brilliant pale (makes more sense if you are looking at it) yellow, completely opaque. Nose is an equal blend of orange and garlic with just barely some sweetness. Taste leads with a fresh rubber, garlicky open that fades into a grassy, sweet orange. Body is actually shockingly thin and watery but leaves a loud, dry bitterness on the way out.

 

Welcome. Good review! Nothing to be nervous about at all. Looking forward to hearing about some more beers that are new to you.

 

Hiya, all.
I made it back for another and figured that I might as well stick with a winning strategy. Thus, I am back with another new-ish beer from the fine folks at Brasserie Dunham. This one is a collaboration with “Goutte d'Or” in Paris. The beer is a saison with cool label art, par for the course for Dunham. A saison made with buckwheat and buckwheat honey.

It pours looking like a saison. Lightly cloudy with a big, rocky white head and carbonation that verges on champagne-esque. The aroma suggests faint tartness with a background of earthy grains/funk, with a hint of sulfur at the end (something I find in a few of their beers—I think it is either their yeast, water or brett, maybe all three), nonetheless it is very subtle and doesn't take away from the rest of it. The flavor follows suit with no real assertive tartness to speak of, still just a suggestion, this is accompanied by more pronounced funk/herbal hops. Mineral water with lime zest pepper and basil ground in. It is nice and dry, light in alcohol and drinkable. This is a nice beer and I am enjoying it. Really a nice example of the style.

Santé, NBS-ites!!

 

Come on in & join the party!

 

One beer for NBS this week; Revolution Brewing's Cafe' Deth, a lovely bruiser of a Barrel Aged Imp Stout, 4.34 overall

Pours an effervescent chestnut-hued mahogany with a thumb of mocha colored head. Viscious, near zero head retention & lacing

S: Dark fruit & Bourbon, some vanilla as well

T: Follows the nose, barrell dryness is prominent as well up front. Vanilla, Bourbon warmth, & a little dark chocolate plus figs as this warms. Finishes with rich dark chcoclate, a little booze warmth, figs, vanilla & dryness

MF: Medium body, restrained carbonation, warming

Lovely take on the style, commands respect, but plenty drinkable for the heft


Speaking of snakes, now on to starting my taxes; plenty of beers I've already had to follow...

 

Greetings, fellow NBSers, and thanks to @lordofthewiens for getting us underway.

31°, cloudy and a little blustery today. More snow has fallen in the past week than all winter long combined. Probably 1 1/2 feet since.last Sunday. My car has been blocked in my building's parking lot since Tuesday, so I've been either hoofing it or riding the bus. The manager had someone clear the lot but they seem to have quit about seven feet from my bumper:

I'm about to contact her and see if she can't get someone to finish the job, if she'll at least loan me a goddamn snow shovel.

Anyway, I just wasn't feeling it last Sunday, so I declined having an NBS beer. I guess I had beer ennui. That hasn't been an issue this past week, or today. I paid a visit to the homes of Young Buck, Little Spokane and Whistle Punk breweries (or at least their tasting rooms) and had a number of new, tasty beers. The Spokane area has come a long way in terms of local beer since I joined BA in 2003.

Having said that, my new beer today is not local, but comes all the way from Minnesota, courtesy of the very kind @Victory_Sabre1973 and one(!) of his NBS BIF 8.5 boxes:

https://www.beeradvocate.com/beer/profile/31764/229989/?ba=woemad#review
I held.onto this for a while, longer than I would recommend (it was canned in mid-December), first getting over a virulent case of bronchitis, then holding onto it for a share with a hop-obsessed friend that never happened, so I was a little concerned.

I didn't need to be. This was still an extremely drinkable citra-mosaic IIPA that went down dangerously easy. Great stuff!

 

NBS #2. Black Mocha Stout from Highland Brewing in Asheville. I received it in a mixed box at Christmas and cannot discern the age. It may be passed its prime. I've had some good beers from this brewery but was underwhelmed by this one. There's nothing wrong with it but nothing memorable either. It's roasty and bitter but could use a little more chocolate and coffee. Here's my review:

3.77/5 rDev -2.3%
look: 4 | smell: 3.75 | taste: 3.75 | feel: 3.75 | overall: 3.75

Poured from undated bottle into a pint glass. It pours nearly ink black with a finger of light khaki-colored head and a thin but creamy sheen of lacing inside the glass. The nose is rather subdued with roasted malt, freshly-brewed coffee, a slight earth char, anise, and nuts. It's very roasty and opens with char, tobacco, burnt coffee grounds, nuts, and a hint of bakers chocolate. It is slightly acidic and finishes decidedly bitter. It's medium-bodied with light carbonation, and at 5% ABV it's a very easy drinker. Overall, there is nothing wrong with this American Stout but nothing that stands out, either. I could see drinking this as an offering at a restaurant with a burger or cheese steak but there's a lot of stouts available that I prefer for casual drinking.


I'm trying to play tug with Chamberlain while writing this review. She's winning.

 

NBS beer #2



The picture was taken prior to getting all of the beer in the glass. Sahti is apparently meant to be cloudy and unfiltered in appearance which is what the beer looked like once I finished pouring the remains.

Bare Bear

Off Color Brewing
Finnish Sahti / 7.00% ABV

3.98/5 rDev +4.5% | Score: 3.81
look: 4 | smell: 4 | taste: 4 | feel: 3.75 | overall: 4

L-The beer pours initially clear amber which becomes cloudy once the entire pour is completed. The head is 3 fingers of densely packed off white bubbles. The head recedes to a thin ring with a few spots of lacing.
S- Initial aroma is of sweet dark spice bread. The sweet aspect fades and some tartness comes to the fore when the glass is swirled. Some mustiness and alcohol are there to be found amongst the other pieces.
T- The palate is a complex mix of the elements in the nose. There is less tartness than the nose suggested, but more of the breadiness. I'm not really sure what a juniper berry is supposed to add here, but overall I'm digging the maltiness of this. There is just the slightest evidence of the alcohol, but not enough to distract.
F- Mouthfeel overall is medium. Carbonation is aggressive as you would expect from a wild ale style.
O- Different. My first try in this style. It's made a good impression and I would try more in the style if I saw it. Malty, highly carbed, and complex is maybe the best way to describe it.

 

Evening NBS. Im back with another Sunday off and coming off my busiest night so far at the restaurant I wanted to treat myself to a new beer. @lordofthewiens snake joke was great and it just so happens Kim is in Florida for a marathon. Shes not crazy about snakes. I happen to love them and have a collection of skins- one about 6ft...
Banded Brewing happens to be up there as one of my favorite breweries right now. And Daikaiju happens to be up there as one of my favorite IPAs. So its only natural that I grabbed this without hesitation.
Session Ender TIPA
Pours a slightly hazy golden orange with a snow white head that lingers longer than expected for this 10.5% beer. Lacing is very spotty.
Aroma is fantastic! Melon, pineapple, candied citrus, weed, pine resin, grapefruit, stonefruit and red berries, tinged with earthy herbal/floral notes. A very impressive smelling brew.
Taste follows the nose with lots of ripe tropical notes, peach/apricot, and grapefruit with pine resin as the stars. with subtle notes of strawberries and juicy tangerine. The malts just support and take the backseat to this unusual hop blend. (Cashmere, Pacifica, Denali and Mosaic)
The body is medium/full but the prickly carbonation keeps the hop oils from weighing down the unexpectedly dry, but slightly sweet piney bitter finish. Alcohol is barely noticeable so get ready for a nice hop buzz.
An excellent TIPA in my opinion and another winner from Banded. Definitely worth seeking out if youre a triple lover and picky about them as I am.
Have a great week everyone.

 

Good review and welcome here! I was a bit intimidated too when I first posted here just a few months ago, and now I look forward to it every week.

Thanks for bringing to the share, and hope to see you back!

 

Glad you enjoyed them both Anthony! Cheers!

 

Good even NBS, hope everyone is enjoying the end of the weekend once again. Thanks to @lordofthewiens for today's introduction. Made an trip to Ohio this weekend to attend my Grandpas memorial service, who passed in his sleep on Tuesday morning. Was a bit unexpected since his doctor said he was looking okay the week before. It was exactly 2 years almost to the day since his stage 4 prostate cancer diagnosis. I am not as devastated as I expected to be. So I also got to see a lot of relatives I did not see for at least a decade.

A little side quest on the drive home I picked up a over a case of mostly cans for new beers to review. I was getting really low, and #8000 will be this week. I shattered my favorite Maudite glass last weekend, but I had a second one at my parents house; so my life is complete again. I am going to order some more just in case.

Beer:

Excellent German Pils. Great rocky head retention/spotty soapy lacing. Aromas and flavors of big grapefruit, tangerine, lemon, peach, pear, melon, citrus peel/rind, wood, peppercorn, and pine hops; with moderate cracker, white bread dough, lightly toasted biscuit malts; and herbal, floral, grassy hop earthiness. Light-moderate pine, citrus peel/rind, herbal, floral, woody, grassy, peppery bitterness on the finish. Medium carbonation, light-medium body, and moderately crisp/clean finishing. Balanced bready/grainy malt, sticky hops, and light resins/rinds in the mouthfeel. Moderate increasing bitter dryness, no hop astringency. Very flavorful/refreshing, not watery for 4.7%. Perfectly clean lager flavors, no yeasty notes. Awesome Saphir/Saaz profile. Very vibrant, dank, and earthy balanced hop complexity; with a perfectly clean pils malt backbone. No residual sweetness from crisp dryness. If this makes it up to MI eventually, I am getting a 6 pack in the summer. 4.05


Cheers

 

Great review and welcome. Im just wondering if there was any evidence of the wheat in that beer. Those "wheat ipas" can be tricky. Did you get any bubblegum or clove at all? Ive seen that around here but havent pulled the trigger.

 

I did very much indeed.

I’m considering completing the trifecta tonight.

 

Hello, NBS beer nerd friends. I have a couple of new beers for your perusal today. The first is from one of my favorite breweries (NOTE: I have approximately 34 favorite breweries), and should cover a pretty wide footprint. I’m really excited to try this - I’d love another accessible IPA to add to my rotation.



4.25/5 rDev +5.2%
look: 4.25 | smell: 4.25 | taste: 4.25 | feel: 4.25 | overall: 4.25

An aggressive pour reveals a hazy straw color with a dense, soapy white head. The nose is a tropical hootenanny - juicy oranges, big passion fruit, ripe berries, and coconut (thank you, Cashmere hops!).

The taste is really well balanced with the oranges most prominent (thank you, Mandarina Bavaria hops!), but they allow room for the dank passion fruit flavor and coconut to shine as well. The mouthfeel is more biting than a lot of the hazy offerings available, which I prefer.

This is really well done, IMHO.

 

Having some fun with my new beers today. @FlintB sent me a huge box of aged beers so I’m doing a side by side of 2016 and 2017 Dark Horse Plead The 5th. This a a December release so they are just over 1 and 2 years old.

4.33/5 rDev +0.5%
look: 4.25 | smell: 4.25 | taste: 4.5 | feel: 4 | overall: 4.25

Thank you FlintB for these!
2016 vs 2017 side by side, poured into tekus

2016:
A- Black with a two finger tan head 4.25

S- Dark fruits, dark chocolate, roasted malts, caramel malts, hints of licorice. 4.25

T- Roasted malts, dark fruits, chocolate, some coffee, caramel malts, touch of licorice. 4.5

M- Smooth, medium body. 4

O- A nice stout for aging, nice balanced dark fruits to the base beer, very enjoyable. 4.25

2017:
A- Black with a two finger tan head. 4.25

S- Roasted malts, dark chocolate, caramel malts, some dark fruits, hints of licorice. 4.25

T- Roasted malts, chocolate, touch of dark fruit, caramel malts, hint of licorice. 4.5

M- Smooth, medium body. 4

O- A tasty stout, very nice balance. 4.25

Side notes:
I actually rated them equal, I will say the nose on the 2017 is a touch better than the 2016, but the taste on the 2016 has a small edge but not enough to give them different numbers. It aged really well, with aging it would depend what you like out of a stout, if you like more straight forward standard stouts only age it about a year, but if you like when dark fruits really start to add another layer to the beer just let it age longer to let those dark fruits to develop.

Cheers NBS, might be back later with a bottle lurking in the background!

 

Quick one here NBS players. At Giordanos in Chicago with the missus. Just saw Hamilton and it was the Bees Knees. Anyway I’m having anti-hero by revolution. Yes, I cheated and had it last night too. Suck it.



Appearance is a clear caramel amber color. Scent is floral with some grapefruit and pine. Taste is more of the same, pulls no punches, just a great old school ipa. I can dig it. Mouthfeel is sticky, kinda creamy, and flavors are deft on the pallet. Overall it’s a great beer and one I would drink on the reg if I lived here. And I’m out.

 

Delicious ESB. Great fluffy head retention/soapy lacing. Flavors of big lemon, orange, peach, pear, melon, red apple, wood, mint, peppercorn, and pine hops/yeast; with moderate cracker, white bread dough/crust, toasted biscuit, and light honey/nutty malts; with herbal, floral, grassy hop and yeasty earthiness. Similar/muted aromas. Light-moderate pine, herbal, floral, woody, grassy, peppery bitterness on the finish. Medium carbonation/body, and fairly crisp finishing. Creamy/bready malts and some sticky hops in the mouthfeel. Slight lingering resins. Light-moderate increasing bitter dryness, no hop astringency. Very smooth, pretty refreshing, 5.5%. Feels like Northern Brewer hops. Very clean and nicely rich English malt showcase, balancing earthy hops, and restrained fruity yeast complexities. Spot on stuff as expected. 3.88


Cheers

 

Poured into a 16 oz Snulip glass not sure when it was bottled. Pours an amazingly attractive slick near pitch black with a 2 finger sticky mocha head that leaves huge waves of lace as it slowly settles into a thin layer of brown bubbles, gorgeous stout. 4.75

Smell is very roasty and complex, dark chocolate, dry coffee, oaky vanilla/bourbon, pipe tobacco, molasses, and leather. 4.25

Taste follows bourbon leads and finishes this one, dark chocolate, char, dry coffee, tobacco, molasses, and leather lingers with all the other flavors, very complex and well made. 4.25

Mouthfeel is big, gentle carbonation, kind of creamy, a tad dry as you would expect, and at 12.8% probably drinks bigger, but still dangerously approachable. 5

Overall this is my 2000 official beer on BA and I wanted it to be special and good, well it is and was. Very impressed with this massive stout. 4.5