New Beer Sunday (Week 731)

Don't think they use Scotch barrels for aging Angel's Share.

http://lostabbey.com/beer/the-angels-share/

 

Beer #2 today. And it’s new. I wish there was a thread for such.



Plaid Habit by Boulevard brewing

This is a brown ale aged in whiskey barrels, should be interesting.

Sticking with the theme of the day, this beer is plagued by floaties. Without the floaties this would be a glorious looking brew. It’s a deep mahogany color and translucent in the right light, but opaque due to floaties. Turn off there. The whiskey smell is yuuuge on initial snif, but gives way to the sweet stylings of carmellized brown sugar, caramel, and maybe some dark fruits when warmer. Taste is more of the same. Layered with brown sugar, caramel, dark fruits, and some sweetness, maybe maple?? The barrel adds a nice touch of depth. Calling this a brown ale may be a bit of a stretch, compared to the brown ales I’ve had, although I’m not a style expert. It tastes a lot like backwoods bastard at about 6 months of age when the booze starts to mellow. Overall this is a fantastic layered brew, but I don’t feel as if it’s a brown ale.

 

Afternoon, NBS!

Picking up where @Roguer left off this morning with Modern Times Black House Nitro with Coffee, Coconut and Cocoa. Seems like our feelings on the beer are generally the same.

Now, I did drink a can of this beer earlier in the week, but I’m considering it new for all intents and purposes.







This beer is a looker. Opaque, pitch black. Poured aggressively with a wonderful dark brown Nitro cascade. Thick, light brown head. No visible carbonation. Tons of thick lacing.

The aroma starts with a moderately roasty and coffee forward stout with soft notes of coconut and chocolate. I also get cinnamon. Quite noticeably. None of the additions are overpowering on the nose. Everything is in unison.

Up front sweet milk chocolate and smooth cold brewed coffee with a cream and sugar. It’s slightly roasty with a faint bitterness. Some espresso and nutty influences. Dry cocoa and cinnamon powdery finish. I don’t think I’d pick out the coconut without knowing it’s there.

The feel is exactly as expected for a Nitro Stout. It’s rather luscious. Velvety smooth. Lingering dryness.

Overall, I’ve had Black House before and I think this version is wonderful. It elevates the beer in a tasteful manner.

4.28/5 rDev +7.8%
look: 4.25 | smell: 4.25 | taste: 4.25 | feel: 4.5 | overall: 4.25

 

Happy NBS, been awhile posting for me, getting some Spartan, Wolverine ball on and getting into this Stone, a very hop forward Lager that if I did not know better, I'd guess this was an IPA. Excellent head retention, very tropical aroma and taste, slightly bitter and an enjoyable offering. The lines are blurred these days within styles, but I'm not complaining. Cheers

 

I was referring to the label on the bottle he posted which specifically notes Scotch barrel aging.

 

Ahhh. I didn't do a close up on the bottle to read that and so missed it. Time to start checking out a few bottle shops.

Also looks like they also need to update their website description.

 

Yup!

But this exchange is a perfect example of how I’ve always felt about their description of this specific beer. It’s confusing. The regular version references Kentucky and Scotland on the label. It also talks about Bourbon and Brandy barrels.

I like to know what I’m drinking and I’ve always felt this labeling was unclear.

 

New beer #6. Thanks @FlintB !

Solstice Stout - Kuhnhenn
BA Ale - 16% abv
Vintage 2018
Score: 4.46 (+2% rDev)



Review:
https://www.beeradvocate.com/beer/profile/2097/123872/?ba=CanConPhilly#review

Synopsis:
A bizarre 6-headed hydra of a beer. Labeled as a stout but it’s way more than that. Apparently a “blend of aged ales”. I get notes of old ale, barleywine, wheatwine, weizenbock, and stout. Lots of dark fruit, followed by a plethora of other flavors, both barrel-related and not. The one flavor I don’t get is alcohol, despite the 16% abv. This is my new favorite Kuhnhenn. Thanks again Brian!

 

Alright, time for my second and final entry into NBS this week. I've got the girl I've been seeing over and I'm catching up on Sense8 with her (she's already on season 2 so I have a while to go), but I convinced her to give me a little bit of time to check in here with a review for another fruited sour. This one is a collaboration between Stony Creek and NOLA Brewing called Red Heron Hurricane. It's a sour ale brewed with passion fruit, blood orange and lime juices as well as hibiscus flowers. Sounds cool as hell, so I picked up a four pack. Hope it's worthy!



Pours a deep burnished copper color with orange/red undertones. Very interesting color. Much more of a clear/translucent amber than most other fruited sours I've had. I assume both the blood orange and hibiscus play into this coloration, though. The head presents immediately as a super thin ring that bubbles away to nearly nothing. Quite a contrast from the previous sour I reviewed today that had a nice, tight and retentive head. The color here is more unique, though. Overall, both are good in their own ways.

Nose here is very floral and tropical with strong citrus components as well. I almost note somewhat of a cranberry element... perhaps how the citrus and hibiscus interact? Interesting stuff. I'm not really sold by it, though. Let's hope the flavor is better.

Suuuuper sour on the tongue, almost puckering... but it's very clean and well-defined. Beautiful combination of citrusy and tropical flavors with a little more sweetness than I'm used to from some of these types of beers. Smooth and crisp feel with a solid carbonation and tartness carrying all the way through each sip. The sweet blood orange and the nuances of the passion fruit really carry it, plus the little zip of lime gives it even more character. This actually kicks a lot of ass. It's crushable yet unique and interesting in and of itself. Very glad I picked up a four pack.

 

Good Sunday afternoon, New Beer Samplers and commentators.We spent most of the weekend at the South Jersey Shore and visited Glasstown Brewing in Millville, NJ, yesterday. I hadn't been there in almost two years. I like the location and generally enjoy the beer, which is easier to find in cans now - at least in the Southern part of the state. Glasstown celebrated its fifth anniversary in late January and brewed several special beers, including a 5th Anniversary IPA. It was canned on 1/25 so it's less than a month old. They didn't have it on draught so I bought a 4-pack. I looked online but could find nothing about the hop bill or what the brewery desired to achieve. It's a good looking IPA and absolutely bitter as hell, which is okay, but it has a distracting sourness which, combined with the IBU makes it rather harsh. I wish I knew something more about it. Here's my review:

3.71/5 rDev 0%
look: 4.25 | smell: 3.75 | taste: 3.5 | feel: 4 | overall: 3.75

Canned on 1/25/2019. Poured from 16 oz. can into a Spiegelau IPA glass. It pours a cloudy, honey-orange color with over two fingers of foamy, bright white cap and myriad bubbles inside the glass, with a thick coating of lacing. On the nose there is lemon peel, lime, a whiff of tangerine and melon, and bright floral hops. The taste is decidedly bitter. There is bitter lemon up front but it's quickly overwhelmed by a bitter dose of hops. I've looked online and cannot find any description of the hop bill. It's really one of the bitterest IPA's I've ever tasted. What distinguishes it, though, is its sourness. This ale is medium-bodied and pleasantly carbonated. The 7.2% ABV seems appropriate. I wish I could find some commentary on this ale. I can't tell whether it achieves its desired end. I enjoy a bitter, hoppy IPA but I found the sourness to be a bit harsh and off-putting.

I'm also going to review a breakfast porter from Glasstown that has an Outstanding BA rating which should clear my palate.

I hope you're all enjoying your new beer(s) today. Cheers!

 

I’m gonna have to look back now because I swore mine was bourbon barrel aged....

 

@drtth @TheGent

Apparently Lost Abbey must do different batches in different barrels.

I didn’t pick up any scotch because mine was indeed bourbon barrel aged! Lol

 

Добро пожаловать на завершение Нового (Квасного) воскресенья (Недели 731)! Welcome back for the conclusion of New (Kvass) Sunday (Week 731)!

It's over & none too soon! I had JUST written the last review & gone across the way to my neighborhood bottle shop to get an extra box for all of the goodies when who do I see but @tone77 ! He had stopped in on his way to see me, making the margin for finishing razor-thin. I had been at it for the last few days after he sent me a message that his road trip was winding down. My concern was that once they are opened, oxidation will set in & I did not want too much of a gap. He's got them now & my house is now Kvass-free!

I wasn't kidding earlier about the Cossacks:
https://www.beeradvocate.com/beer/profile/25930/399838/?ba=woodychandler#review

Being as I was in Legal trouble, next up was:
https://www.beeradvocate.com/beer/profile/40884/176672/?ba=woodychandler#review

I was granted clemency as long as I returned to my monastic ways:
https://www.beeradvocate.com/beer/profile/32131/102928/?ba=woodychandler#review

I figured that as long as I was back at the monastery, I would bake some bread:
https://www.beeradvocate.com/beer/profile/32131/102929/?ba=woodychandler#review

What kind of bread, you ask? Rye, of Kvass!:
https://www.beeradvocate.com/beer/profile/31923/399800/?ba=woodychandler#review

While the bread was baking, I also whipped up some Okroshka:
https://www.beeradvocate.com/beer/profile/31923/399802/?ba=woodychandler#review

My penance was over, so I headed to Lithuania to see if Darius Kasparitus was around:
https://www.beeradvocate.com/beer/profile/31935/399801/?ba=woodychandler#review

No such luck, but I decided to stay in Lithuania a little longer anyway:
https://www.beeradvocate.com/beer/profile/50101/399799/?ba=woodychandler#review

I had my fill, so I boarded a ferry going to Latvia, where I had:
https://www.beeradvocate.com/beer/profile/31829/399823/?ba=woodychandler#review

& https://www.beeradvocate.com/beer/profile/31829/400159/?ba=woodychandler#review

 

But now, it was time to wrap it up & come home! I was so overjoyed that I danced:
https://www.beeradvocate.com/beer/profile/32131/400150/?ba=woodychandler#review
.
Now, it's time for a beer! Before that, some loose ends from the day:
@Ozzylizard Yer a good ways out up in NWPA, but I swear by Bell's Market (8330 Bustleton Ave. PHL 19152). Brighton Beach in NYC has a number of good sources. I also order from www.RussianTable.com & I saw that Amazon offers some for sale. I'd be curious to hear more from @Smakawhat as to where his source is located. HMU if anyone has any other Qs. ​

 

Good afternoon. Late to join so I’ll skip right over the lighter options and head right to this heavy Triple Crossing 500 Vanilla Stout



4.18/5 rDev +0.2%
look: 4 | smell: 4 | taste: 4.25 | feel: 4.25 | overall: 4.25

Coppery foamy head disappears rather quickly, leaving just a thin layer and little lacing. Nose starts out really nicely as vanilla and chocolate hit the nose equally but eventually the vanilla starts to come across a bit contrived, like vanilla extract. Taste offers far more balance as molasses, chocolate, hints of nougat and fig join the vanilla. Decent body with a thorough heat on the tongue and back of the throat. On finish there’s plenty of heat, a touch of tartness and molasses hanging around. Good taste but maybe just a little messy or out of whack. Maybe aging could offer a bit of positive change.

 

Lol makes sense

 

Thanks for posting this, Dennis. I was beginning to think we're all victims of Groupthink and are conditioned to post negative comments about Yale Terrace simply because that's what everyone else does. It seems YT simply does not brew good beer!