New Beer Sunday (Week 733)

Yeah, I'm sitting here waiting for enough daylight to see the color of my beer.

 

New Beer Sunday: American IPA

Mornin’ NBSers, with a special alert for PA hockey fans who live and love the rivalry between the east end and the west end of PA. Also, a special thanks to @cjgiant for his start up this morning.

Today’s weather looks like we’re continuing on a warming trend with highs in the mid 50s. Last night the rain moved in and so today is starting off with some rain and drizzle which is expected to leave the scene about mid-morning but the clouds will remain behind for the day

Among the most bitter intrastate athletic competition rivalries is the one that exists between two hockey teams, the Philadelphia Flyers and the Pittsburgh Penguins. The passionate fans of either team should be treated much like mad dogs when there is a game between these two teams nearly ready to happen or actually going on (as happened in Philly on the 23rd of Feb.). A couple of times now two breweries, at either end of the sate (sort of), have brewed a collaborative beer called Glove Dropper to salute the rivalry. Appropriately enough, the beer is brewed with Blood Oranges. The first time around the beer was brewed at Rivertowne Brewing over near Pittsburgh. This year’s collaborative “Confrontation” beer was done by Sly Fox which is in the greater Philadelphia area.

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

https://www.beeradvocate.com/beer/profile/30791/275548/?ba=drtth#navigation


Not surprisingly the aromas/flavors are mostly about the orange and a bit of citric zest. There’s also some light bready malt sweetness and a bit of resinous and citric zest bitterness that remain in the background while being in a very nice balance with each other. I could see having another of this drinkable and enjoyable beer and would probably stock up on it if I was a big hockey fan.

Cheers, all!

 

De Ranke & 2SP - Gravity Never Fails

I've wanted this beer for a long time, but I just never found myself in the ONE store in my area that stocked it. It's not unusual for a Belgian brewer to brew a beer for Philly Beer Week. This collaboration brew was the beer for the 2017 event. The "best by" on the bottle is a typically long 5 year span by a Belgian brewer... but here it's being applied to a 5.8% porter. Let's see how it held up.

The answer is wonderfully. Carbonation is really high. Huge fluffy head on a porter. This was made with two Belgian yeast strains. The body is really light. It's very chocolatey, but not sweet. There's a little bit of orange in there (perhaps from the "experimental" Belgian hop used - Warneton 7784). This beer is stunningly good. It's very airy. The body and flavor combined makes me think of a non-sweet chocolate mousse. Fantastic.

 

This beer is courtesy of our host for the day @cjgiant, Ghost of Felix from Solace. New brewery to me as well. Thanks Craig and yes I shared with my wife. We had this one after midnight therefore qualifying for NBS. Pours black with a quarter inch mocha head that dissipated quickly and left few spots of lacing. On a side note this is the loudest beer I have ever heard. After pouring it I went to get my cell phone and was trying to figure out what the noise was that I was hearing. It was the effervescent carbonation on the initial pour. Smell is very barrel forward with additional notes of roasted malts, chocolate and tobacco. Taste is much more complex than the aroma. The barrel flavors are at the forefront, whiskey, vanilla, oak and char hit first with roasted malts., molasses, licorice, tobacco, dark chocolate, figs coffee and some leather following. On the light side of medium bodied for the style, lively carbonation on the pour but lightly carbonated feel, slightly dry and bitter finish, smooth mouth feel.

 

Nice to hear it has matured so well. I first had it not long after the beer week it was brewed for and I've not seen it on the shelves around here since '17. For me there was a touch of dry burnt bitterness that bordered on being unpleasant and from your description it sounds like the "edges have softened" a bit.

 

Good morning NBS
I literally stopped in my tracks yesterday when I saw this on the shelf at my favorite bottle shop. They have never stocked any Schlenkerla beers in the past. All thoughts of barrel aged this or DDH that were forgotten as I paid my $18 for the 4 pack and headed out the door.


The review:
16oz canned 2/27/19 (11 days ago!) in Connecticut poured into a becher glass at fridge temp 5.9% ABV per label. The beer pours mostly bright red tinted amber with khaki colored head. The head recedes to a single layer of bubbles and leaves fairly heavy lacing. The aroma is mild campfire smoke and ham. The taste follows with semisweet bready malt laced with smoke. The finish is gently bitter and amazingly dry for the body. The mouthfeel is full to medium bodied with just less than medium carbonation. Overall, very good to excellent. This beer sits between the Helles and the other Schlenkerla beers in terms of smokiness. Fantastic body and depth for 5.9%.

I entered my review under the fastenbier style although the ABV is different 5.5 vs 5.9. The label is slightly different as well but the terms fastenbier and lentbeer seem to interchangeable for the brewery.

I'm hoping to pick up another smoked lager in Indy next weekend, but I always stock up when given the opportunity. Smoke 'em if you got 'em NBS!

 

There aren’t many things that I like more than that beer.

 

A new beer in a new glass...

The review:
11.2oz bottle coded L25A17 poured into a La Trappe goblet at fridge temp 10% ABV. The beer pours barely hazy light brown in color with light khaki head. No lacing. The head quickly recedes to a small island and thin ring. The aroma is sweet with notes of raisin, date and rich malt. The taste is semisweet caramel raisin bread with cherry and stone fruit accents before a drying, non bitter finish. The mouthfeel is medium bodied with ample carbonation. It's noticeably sweet, but not cloying. Overall, very good. Delicious and enjoyable quad.

I've got to get a little sleep before tonight's shift. Cheers all and enjoy the new beer in your glass today!

 

Happy Sunday, NBS crew! In addition to Singlecut, I’ve noticed other nyc breweries are now entering the Philly market. I saw Bronx brewery on the shelves yesterday, in addition to the LIC brew I’m reviewing here. Not sure how distro has been arranged, but there’s definitely a middleman involved, as the beers are consistently priced 50% higher than what I would pay for them in nyc. I’ll pay it to try them though, as it saves me lugging them back on a Megabus.

This one in particular has been on my list to try for awhile. I’ve been to LIC’s brewery before, but they did not have this (flagship?) beer on tap at that time.

Cannons - LIC Beer Project
IIPA - 8.5% abv
Canned 2/13/19 (25 days ago)
Purchased for $7.99 at Monde Market (nyc price: $5)
Score: 3.92 (-4.4% rDev)



Review:
https://www.beeradvocate.com/beer/profile/40437/262764/?ba=CanConPhilly#review

Synopsis:
Curious as to the hops used here, since the flavor profile is all over the place. At first, it’s tropical, with pineapple really standing out. Then, I start tasting (presumably) the boil hops, which are more vegetal. Getting a noticeable cabbage taste, along with sour lime and dirt. I don’t mind these tastes, but they detract from the very tasty dry hops used on this beer. Not quite worth the nyc-to-Philly premium pricing. But nice to finally try it.

 

Manayunk French toast
..almost solid black,cola like appearance
...around a medium body with the carbonation about the same
..aroma is a nice shot of real maple syrup followed by malt,vanilla and coffee
...taste is maple forward with cinnamon and vanilla next. Coffee and roasted malt also show up well
...its gimmicky but does actually taste like French toast. The maple syrup doesnt taste artificial and leaves a pleasant coating on the tongue as well as light gets in the aftertaste.
Of course it goes well with some homemade French toast

 

Good morning New BSers! Thanks to @cjgiant for starting today's thread. Today's entry is an early release from 5 Stone's Citrus Fest, because of the predicted thunder storms today. Sorry - the photo seems a tad dark.



Purchased at brewery, $18/four-pack of 16 oz cans ($ 0.281/oz). Reviewed 3/10/19.
“CANNED ON 03/08/19” stamped on bottom of the can. In reefer at brewery. Stored upside down at 42 degrees and served at 42 degrees in a hand washed and dried Jester King snifter.
Appearance – 4.5.
Body – Orange, hazy. When held to the light, it becomes vaguely transparent.
Head – Average (Maximum 3.5 cm, aggressive center pour), off-white, low density, average retention, diminishing to a two to four mm ring and a thin layer with a few rocky islands.
Lacing – Good. Partial rings of tiny to small bubbles.
First pour – Light yellow, slight haze.
Aroma – 4.5 – A burst of orange when the tab is popped, rapidly fading.
Flavor – 4.25 - Lightly bitter, as in orange zest. Unfortunately, the oranges that gave their juice to make this beer seem a bit anemic – distinctly present but still weak. No alcohol (6.3 % ABV), no dimethylsulfide, no diacetyl.
Palate – 3.5 – Medium, watery, lively carbonation.
Impression and interpretation – 4.25 – Can’t get much fresher than this. Follow-up belches are distinctly orange. Check 5 Stones on FB to see the oranges being processed.
Rating 4.25, rDev +5.5%.

I'll be heading back to 5 Stones after 1200 for Citrus Fest, weather pending, since it's only six miles from my brother's house. And today's NBS entry will be headed out tomorrow as part of a NBS ninja box.

 

A-Pours a nice clear amber color with a slight head and lacing
A-Aroma has slight floral and hop hints
T-The taste follows the nose with a slight floral and hop flavor
M-A light medium bodied decently carbonated beer
O-A decent English IPA

 

A-Pours a slightly hazy light amber color with a nice head head, which dissipates quickly, and slight lacing
A-Aroma has slight hop hints
T-The taste follows the nose with a slight hop, but strong malt flavor
M-A medium bodied decently carbonated beer
O-A decent American IPA

 

Thanks @cjgiant for the great start to NBS this week. Will be back with a new brew later on.

Cheers!

 

Do you have a favorite American Bock beer?

Permit me to first discuss two topics here:

· What defines the American Bock beer style

· What is the history of American Bock beers

American Bock beer style

Well, according to the beer competition style guidelines (e.g., BJCP, Brewers Association) there is no such thing as an American Bock beer style. Well, that is not going to stop me from discussing this topic. In my opinion (and that of beer writer Chris Colby) the American Bock beer style is a beer brewed by American brewers to ‘mimic’ the Bock beers as brewed in Germany. In a nutshell, an American Bock beer is a darker colored lager brewed using adjuncts (e.g., corn, rice) that is typically of moderate alcohol strength (e.g., 5% ABV). In contrast a Traditional Bock as brewed in Germany would be both of stronger alcohol strength (e.g., 6.5% ABV) with the darker appearance coming from the majority of the grain bill being Munich Malt.

How do (did) the American brewers achieve a darker color for their American Bock beer? I do not have a definitive answer but I am pretty sure that it is not from a majority of the grain bill being Munich Malt. There are a number of ingredients that could be used to darken the color of American Bock beers:

· Crystal Malts

· Roasted Malts (e.g., Roast Barley)

· Coloring agents (e.g., Sinamar, Porterine, Caramel Color)

I have used a term of AAAL (Amber American Adjunct Lager) in past BA threads. I think this is an equivalent designation for American Bock.

Perhaps the most popular American Bock beer is Shiner Bock?

American Bock history

Below is a quote from an article by Chris Colby entitled “Chip Off the Old Bock -- The American Adaptation of Bock Beer”:

“American-style bock beers date back to the 1800s, when they emerged in every region of the U.S. with a large German population, including Texas, Wisconsin and other places in the Upper Midwest and Pennsylvania. German trained brewers incorporated local ingredients and adapted New World brewing techniques to make beers similar to the ones from their home countries, but that were also economically viable here in the states.

Freedom from the Reinheitsgebot (Germany’s Beer Purity Law), coupled with the relatively high protein content of US 6-row malts and fierce competition, likely drove most to use corn as an adjunct in their beers. For a time, this style flourished as a spring seasonal offering and most national and regional breweries offered a bock beer. As late as the 1970’s, American bocks were still relatively easy to find. As a kid, I remember seeing American bock beers on the shelves and hearing the bogus explanation that it was made from beer “at the bottom of the barrel” when breweries did their “yearly cleaning.” Gradually, however, consumers became less and less interested in this dark beer as American lagers gave way to light American lagers.”

As you can read above, back in the day it was common to see American Bock beers as a spring seasonal. Below is an advertisement courtesy of jesskidden’s website:



And since March 11 is just one day away this brings me to today’s beer of Genesee Bock beer. This beer is not really new to me but for New Beer Sunday I will have a new beer drinking experience: a side-by-side tasting of Genny Bock and Yuengling Traditional Lager (which was first brewed in 1987).

Served in my Spiegelau Lager glasses:

Appearance

Genny Bock: A coppery brown color, with an off-white head.

Yuengling Lager: Amber colored with a white head.

Aroma

Genny Bock: I am picking up a combination of toasted bread crust and crackers, very malty and clean.

Yuengling Lager: Mostly caramel smell which provides a sense of sweetness.

Taste:

Genny Bock: A tiny bit of malty sweetness in the beginning but then layers of toasted grain and bread on mid-palate. Low bitterness

Yuengling Lager: The flavor follows the nose with caramel flavors dominating. Low bitterness.

Mouthfeel

Genny Bock: Medium bodied and an off-dry finish. There is a nice crispness to this beer.

Yuengling Lager: Light-medium bodied with an off-dry finish.

Overall

Genny Bock: This beer is very good. To my mind this is the epitome of an American Bock beer; very cleanly brewed.

Yuengling Lager: This beer is OK/Good to my palate. This beer is mostly about caramel aroma/flavor.

I also provided two sample pours to me wife and she conducted her tasting blind. She expressed a strong preference for the Genny Bock. When I provided her with the big reveal of what the beers were she was quite disturbed that she liked a beer from Genesee. She really dislikes Genesee Cream Ale and as a result she has a prejudice towards Genesee Brewing Co. The great utility of conducting a blind beer tasting.

Cheers to Genesee for continuing the tradition of producing their spring seasonal of Genny Bock!

@KOP_Beer_OUtlet @rotsaruch @Crusader @RobH @Chaz @Ranbot @FBarber

 

Good morning NBS and thanks @cjgiant for the start today. Glad to here the alma mater is winning. Yesterday we visited with #2 son in New Haven Ct. In that trip we sought out East Rock Brewery. Open since 10/18, their focus is lagers and they do a very good job.
Today is the Black Lager, just the right amount of roast, and clean lager finish. Excellent

East Rock Black Lager

East Rock Brewing Company
German Schwarzbier / 6.20% ABV

4.16/5 rDev +2.2% | Score: 4.07
look: 4 | smell: 4.25 | taste: 4.25 | feel: 4 | overall: 4

Poured from a 12 oz bottle purchased at the brewery, into the test glass
A - Beautiful Ebony wood color, a solid off white froth caps the offering
S - Dark malts, some cocoa, a kiss of smoke,hint of coffee, and earthy hops.
T - Follows the nose well, added are flavors of pumpernickel, a light touch of molasses,
M - Beautiful feel, a bit creamy, with a quick move toward a dry finish. Semi sweet start with the perfect sweep of bitterness to change the mood.
O - A delightful offering from East Rock, Well constructed and executed. Carbonation, flavors, and aromatics dance in unison. A welcome addition to the lager world

 

New beer #2. Thanks @Jimmy_Kneecaps !

Cafe Deth - Revolution
BBA Stout - 14.8% abv
Vintage 2018
Score: 4.46 (+1.5% rDev)



Review:
https://www.beeradvocate.com/beer/profile/22072/161851/?ba=CanConPhilly#review

Synopsis:
Smells hot, but the taste is more mellow. Great balance between the barrel, coffee, and chocolate. Booze is present enough to prevent me from guzzling it down, but I’m greatly enjoying each sip. Whatever barrels were used on this were super-fragrant and tasty. The base beer was really good, but this is on another level. Thanks again JT! I’ve enjoyed everything you sent me, but this is the best one so far.

 

Happy New CANned Henniker Beer Sunday (Week 733)!

Some weeks, I have a theme in mind in advance of the day, other times, I just go with a brewery horizontal based on my backlog. Today is one of the latter.

First though, HUGE props to @drtth , @zid & @jkblr for their input this fine morning! I am a hockey fan through & through, capable of watching it at any level from peewee/mites on ice to the pros. I am a PGH Pens & CHI Hawks fan & when PGH & PHL mix it up, I am as rabid as anyone! This year's Pens team seems to lack a killer instinct, though. Yeah, Glove Dropper might not be a panty peeler, but it does the job. As far as PHL Beer Week beers go, I can usually find 'em & mule 'em up to NYC. I plan on an excursion in late-July for the Bucs/Mets tilt. Lemme know. Finally, if one of those Lenten CANs were to make its way into my next box, I would be all smiles. Just sayin'! 8=)

One of the things that I really like about Henniker's CANs is their understated design. I would put them up with SingleCut's buff/cream label with a wee tiny logo. Henniker uses a different color & shade for each beer, as will be evidenced over the course of the day, as well as a subtle logo for each one.

I began with:
https://www.beeradvocate.com/beer/profile/30697/321741/?ba=woodychandler#review

and now, I am off & running! I'll be back later with more ... stuff!

 

It is a skosh earlier here and being lazy for a few. I have some beer sent from a recent trade and I will be posting soon. Until then I will be reading