New Beer Sunday (Week 737)

A-Pours a clear amber color with a slight head and lacing
A-Aroma has very slight piney hints
T-The taste follows the nose with a very slight piney flavor
M-A medium bodied decently carbonated beer
O-An average IPA

 

Double dry hopped DIPA (8% abv) featuring Citra and Nelson hops; 2/4/19 canning...

Medium golden-yellow bordering on opaque - got a Duvel-esque head - bursting tall and threatening overflow immediately *wasn't ready* - lol ...Nice, bright aromas and flavors of fresh citrus and melony white wine grapes, sharp and clear, with but a bit of succulence... Medium-light body, sweetness subdued by woody tannins...

Unassumingly, a pretty solid beer - solid malt backbone, rather clean hoppage - a bit on the chewy side, body-wise, but brightened enough by citrus and even something of a an almost dank, yeasty funk... Belgian-esque in some regards...

Better than expected...

 

Congratulations, Craig, on your UVA squad making it to the final game. That kid looked like he was just done with practice and was shooting some free throws before heading to the showers. Looking forward to a good final game.
My new beer for today is Oh! Fudge, from Prairie. It is an imperial stout with brownies and has an ABV of 11%.
The beer is black with a one inch tan head that recedes quickly.
Big time chocolate aroma with a little vanilla.
It tastes like a brownie steeped in alcohol. Sweet chocolate first, then a little more bittersweet.
Not as heavy as I expected. The sweetness makes me glad I'm only drinking one bottle.

 

A-Pours a nice clear amber color with a nice head and lacing
A-Aroma has tropical fruit hints
T-The taste follows the nose with a tropical fruit flavor
M-A medium bodied decently carbonated beer
O-A good low carb India Pale Ale

 

This beer comes to me from the very generous @strohme2 huge box of beer. I’m doing this blind but my wife has already peaked.




Pours dark brown with what I say are ruby, wife says are carmel edges. Moderate head, creamy and full, good retention and lacing. First hint of the nose is nuts, then it’s peanut butter, the crunchy kind. Like it smells like there are whole peanuts in it. Taste follows the nose, the crunchiest of the crunchy peanut butter with some malty, bready undertones. Mouthfeel is medium with lively carb. Overall I’m digging it. My guess is peanut butter porter/stout and at 6.0% (he wrote it on the wrapper) it’s got a nice body.

 

Good afternoon NBS, decided to head out for this beautiful Sunday. Starting with Wilmington Brew Works Duvette - Blackberry Vanilla.

4.29/5 rDev 0%
look: 4.25 | smell: 4 | taste: 4.5 | feel: 4.25 | overall: 4.25

12 oz draft poured into a wine glass

A- A hazy reddish purple with a small light purple head.

S- Sour, blackberry, some lactose, vanilla, lemons.

T- Blackberries, lemons, vanilla, some lactose, tart/sour with a little bit of fruit sweetness, reminds me of sweettarts.

M- Smooth, medium body, a little creamy.

O- A wonderful fruity sour, very easy to drink.


Cheers!

 

I actually had something lined up last night for Saison Day, but then started nodding off and just gave in . I guess working out in the sun all day will do that to a person. At least my thoughts were in the right place. Maybe it should have been my first, but I also couldn't wait to dig into this year's Schlenkerla Fastenbier, which seemed even more pale ale-like than I remembered, such a strong hop presence on the aroma and flavor.

 

Starting today off with this Play Dead IPA from Yellow Dog Brewing. The fact that it is Canadian is fitting as we are kicking off the Stanley Cup playoffs this week



4.16/5 rDev +1.2%
look: 4 | smell: 4.25 | taste: 4.25 | feel: 4 | overall: 4

Crystal clear and a pleasant orange color under about an inch of beige head and thorough lacing. Nose is equal parts pine and honey until the pine morphs into dandelion and the honey becomes more of a biscuity thing. Taste has just barely a bit of tart as an earthy bitterness takes hold. Tailing off is the earthy as a little pine and olive sweep in as it finishes very wet with little aftertaste.

 

Poured into a 13 oz Kettlehead Snulip glass, not sure when it was canned. Pours a very hazy yellow with a finger of white head that leaves thin webs of lace behind. 4

Smell is pineapple, apricot, mandarin, and grapefruit rind. 4

Taste follows tropical with some bitterness, pineapple, mandarin, apricot, and grapefruit. 4

Mouthfeel is a solid medium, soft gentle carbonation, not dry but a tad sticky, and at 7.8% extremely drinkable. 4

Overall not amazing but very tasty and a well crafted NEDIPA. 4

 

New American Barley Wine Sunday (Week 737)
Greetings from on the ridge in MId Hud Val, NY to all my fellow NBSers. Crazy week of weather, including a full day of snow on Friday and two sunny, warm, beautiful spring days this weekend. Three more weeks until mushroom season, and sorry to say this but I hope it rains six days of every week until then.

A horrendously busy week at the recycle center that has me counting the seconds until re-retirement day. These old bones literally cannot take too much more of this, although it has been gratifying to discover they can take as much as they've gotten. If you can imagine this as a 1950's era voice over, spoken by a deep throated silky smooth announcer, it will be how I feel. "Beat to crap? Tired and drained? In need of immediate relief? THIS is a job for BEER!"

Honesty demands I admit to almost chugging an Industrial Arts Spring Landscape moments ago, and blessed BEER relief has arrived. But now I am on to the main event, a beer I have wanted to try since I first heard it recommended here by @richj1970 , IIRC. Southern Tier Sapsquatch, a BA Barley Wine. This is the March 2019 edition. Ain't she purdy?

My present thoughts that will later become carved into a database review---

---It almost is necessary to call for help to pry my nose away from the glass, so strong is my desire to keep a constant stream of this aroma circulating through the enjoyment centers of my consciousness. Honey, brown bread, herbal cola notes, caramel, bourbon, vanilla, light oaky tannic notes all are here in an aroma that beckons like in cartoons when a cloud finger appears and beckons hypnotically to "come eat that pie." Mission accepted.

Oooohhh smooth as silk this is, with all the flavors of the aroma here, in spades, cleanly, balancedly presented, and just fucking delicious. The barrel notes are minor players, but the base beer is so tasty that this seems to be the best way it can be. Just the right amount of booze, barrel, vanilla, brown bread, honey, tannins, caramel, and slightly herbal bitter at sip's end to turn this into something sooooo much better than I expected from ST. As it warms light maple notes appear in aroma and taste, just gilding this lily. Anyone desirous of a huge, thick, mess of an over sweet ST monster? Sorry this ain't it. Anyone looking for a crazy balanced, clean, delicious, complex artistic beer? This is it. Go. Get. Some.---

Hope you also have a Great American Beer in your glass. Cheers!

 

And for the reveal...



I was real close, kinda. Flavors added include both peanuts and peanut butter which accounts for the insane amount of peanut butter flavor. Also made with caramel malt.



This was the best part of the can. Sorry for the blurry pic, but it says recycle or die with a skull!

 

New beer #5. Thanks @y2kawakami !

***** Grabs Back - Honolulu Beerworks
APA - 6% abv
Canned 3/2/19 (36 days ago)
Score: 3.99 (+1.5% rDev)



Review:
https://www.beeradvocate.com/beer/profile/34519/334552/?ba=CanConPhilly#review

Synopsis:
A classic, west coast ipa. Perfect blend of caramel malt, with piney and citrusy hops. Neither too sweet nor too boozy, this is a super-crushable deck beer, without any flaws. Thanks again Sean!

 

Greetings fellow NBSers! A sunny day here in the Fourth Corner as spring is well sprung. gonna go over to a friends house later for home-made pizza and Wrestlemania. You may have noticed several posts featuring beers from the current NBS BIF, and I'm goona follow that trend. My first Jack's Abby brew comes courtesy @CanConPhilly , and so far, I think they're living up to their reputation. A very tasty Rauchbier, Smoke & Dagger: https://www.beeradvocate.com/beer/profile/26520/71501/

 

Thanks to @cjgiant for another great start to NBS today. I'm impressed with CJ's punctuality and resilience this morning as I'm sure that he was celebrating UVAs advance to the championship last night. I spent some time at UVA back in the day (not undergrad), and I'll be pulling for them tomorrow...

Southern Grist recently released what I think is their first lager, which they describe as a "Dortmunder-style lager." According to BA, this style is often called "a 'Dortmunder export,' the European-Style Export has the malt-forward flavor and sweetness of a German-style Helles, but the bitter base of a German-style Pilsener. This lager is all about balance, with medium hop character and firm but low malt sweetness. Look for toasted malt flavors and spicy floral hop aromas." Sounds good to me! I've only had a few in this style, so time to broaden my horizons...


The beer was a lot hazier than I expected - I didn't expect crystal-clear, but this is about as hazy as a DDH non-NE IPA. Color was nice - pale straw on the pour and golden in the glass. A normal pour produced a medium-sized fluffy white head that settled at a leisurely pace. The nose was subtle but it featured a nice bready malt with floral and grassy, hoppy notes. The malt really came through on the taste, presenting as a rich, dry, light-colored bread flavor. I didn't get any toasty notes but this definitely lacked that Pils sweetness. The floral and slightly spicy notes from the Saaz hops popped and were indeed more prominent that I would expect in a Helles. Medium-bodied with lively carbonation and a clean, dry finish. Overall, a very flavorful lager that seemed to strike that great balance in the BA description above. Cheers!

 

hey what's going on!?

It's new beer Domingo!! I've been lying low a bit, but certainly not out. Definitely back to having some tasty beers with you all and been busy of late as well. Did ya miss me? I know I missed those beers and you alls as well.

The Spring has certainly sprung around the DC area, it's looking good. Not a giant amount of rain so far, and pretty pleasant temps. Cherry blossom time was pretty dang good this year too.

So with that though another beer life is upon us. Also another new brewery has opened up near me, in fact the closest one so far, I am overdue for a visit.

Till then I have some goodies to enjoy.

So what's new for our hero today?!

Illusion Of Bliss | The Veil Brewing Co.



Poured from the bottle into a tulip glass.

Beaming gold body color, with a hint of brass and touch of faint clarity. The body has this wonderful glow to it, a real nice polished look. A very slow decant doesn't provide much head, but some center punching provides a light collar and a small island on top. There is a very fine small column of carbonation in the center that can be seen.

Very nice aroma. Soft sensing qualities of fruit, an interesting mix of strawberry blueberry quality, and a real surprising touch of vanilla. Some hints of peaches too which gives this great peaches and cream like flavor on the nose. Very nice.

Palate takes a bit more simple direction. Light bodied with a bit more of a noticeable malt base than hits on estery fruit flavors. More of a touch of light sweet graham crackers and milk with a touch of peach like quality. Fruitier components still make an appearance but are a little less noticeable in taste than on the nose before. Light touches of more stone fruit, less sharp acidic quality which is nice.

A bit of a subdued wild funky brew, but has some very nice qualities.

look: 4 | smell: 4.25 | taste: 4 | feel: 4 | overall: 4 | BA Generated Score: 4.06

Cheers!

 

Gouden carolus tripel
..hazy orange peach color
..plenty of champagne like carbonation. The body is at least medium yet has a full dense feel to me
...aroma is citrus peel,yeast orange, slight bit of clove banana. Not overpowering but very pleasing
...taste is mild sweetness yet a little dry. Opposite of aroma with banana, spice,clove being forward. Orange fruit and peel follow.
...overall it feels and tastes like a well made,delicious beer that feels a little decadent. Perfect for special occasions

 

New beer #6. Thanks @y2kawakami !

Peachy Bones - Firestone Walker
American Wild - 6.1% abv
Vintage 2018
Score: 4.34 (+2.4% rDev)



Review:
https://www.beeradvocate.com/beer/profile/2210/220985/?ba=CanConPhilly#review

Synopsis:
Rotted fruit out every orifice. If you like the thought of slurping down the innards of a decayed, fully fermented old peach, you’ll love this. Tastes like death, in the very best way. Very much enjoying each and every sip. Thanks again Sean!

 

Good afternoon NBS
Another winner from Taxman...

The review:
12oz canned 1/8/19 (3 months ago) poured into a snifter at fridge temp 10% ABV 20 IBU. The beer pours bright medium brown in color with khaki head. The head recedes to a thin ring. The aroma is faint red wine, dark fruit, candi sugar and caramel. The taste is semisweet caramel with the red wine woven in. There are notes of plum, candi sugar, raisin and rich malt. The finish is mostly dry with only a touch of bitterness for balance. The mouthfeel is medium bodied with above average carbonation. No alcohol presence in the aroma or taste. Overall, very good. I think the base Qualified is ok, but every special version I've tried has been great. Recommended.

I'm so glad that we get bi-weekly Taxman drops directly from the brewery here in southwest Indiana. Fresh, affordable Belgian style beers are a blessing IMO. Judging from the volume that moves through my favorite bottle shop, I'm not the only one who feels this way.

Cheers all!

 

And for beer #3 I’m going with!

Beer: Spring
Brewery: Maine Beer Company (Freeport, Maine)
ABV: 6.5%

Pouring from a bottle dated 3/26/19 (11 days old) into a snulip glass, this beer pours out a dark, golden hay color. Not clear or necessarily hazy either, I can see my fingers on the other side of the glass, but with difficulty. It forms a full two fingers of dense, thick and creamy, off white colored crown. So tightly packed in some spots that it resembles whip cream. 4.5

The nose brings a slightly resinous pine to the nostrils while also showing quick hints of dry orange peel, floral notes, candied lemon and slight grapefruit. 4

The taste comes in with the candied lemon, dried orange peel and quick grapefruit before showing way to a balanced use of crystal malt. Dry floral notes, that I’d almost guess would resemble chewing on flower petals. The slightly resinous pine from the nose is still there, but playing very faintly in the background. 4

The mouthfeel has a dryness that makes me picture licking an orange peel, or chewing flower petals before finishing with even more dryness from the candied lemon. It’s not like a sour or tart lemon candy, but just one that sucks every bit of saliva out of your mouth. 4

Overall, this is another extremely clean offering from MBC. I am usually not too big on that “lemon candy” presence I described, but it works alright here with the other layers and complexities. 4