New Beer Sunday (Week 737)

I was sure glad to be able to purchase it. First batch sold out here pretty quick. Gotta agree that it is really delicious, the best or second best ST beer I have tried.

 

From Gun Hill, Earth Intruders...

Imperial (10.3% abv) pastry-style stout featuring chocolate, coffee, molasses, brown sugar, and lactose sugar... Definitely sweet but not what you might expect from that ingredient line-up... Pours pitch black in a pint, producing aromas of coffee, chocolate, and molasses... Flavors follow suit, rich and smooth, but with enough drying and a hint of char to keep the sugars in check... Big chocolate flavors shine... Body is big but not sloppy, sweet up front, then closing out on the finish with a coating of bittersweet chocolate... 3/11/19 canning...

Cheers...

 

Beer: Sound Bite
Brewery: Upland Brewing Co. (Bloomington, Indiana)
ABV: 4.7%

Pouring from a 16 oz. can into a Willi Becher style glass, this beer pours out a hazy, burnt orange color and forms a tall, loosely packed, egg shell colored crown. 4

The nose carries a lemon sharpness to it with citrus hints as well. I don’t quite know what it is, but it’s got a sort of “dusty” presence; not a musty or funky note, just dusty. Hmm. 3

The taste comes in really rather bland and underwhelming. It’s got a little bit of that lemon coming through along with slight oranges, tangerine. No bad flavors necessarily, just boring. 3

The mouthfeel is soft but finishes off with that dusty aspect, like I’m licking a pile of dust. No bite on it, which isn’t really aspected at the ABV anyway. 3

Overall, I appreciate them trying to make a brew like this at a pretty sessionable ABV but it just didn’t work for me. No off flavors, but I just don’t like that dusty mouthfeel or the dust aspect in the nose. 3

 

Ha ha. So scandalous! I don't even recognize Mickey Rourke anymore.

 

Watching the Rasslemania with friends, and shared a bottle from @bstoos , Towpath Stout, Barrel aged, from Big Ditch. Nice brew still a bit hot. Good base brew, nice barreling. Worth trying if you see it.

 

Good evening, NBS peeps. Been a while again for me mostly thanks to illness of one kind or another passing thru the household.

Not much going on here, finally a nice weekend that we seemed to spend mostly food shopping.

So given the lack of news and chatter, let us see what is in the glass:



The Alchemist Pappy's Secret Stash courtesy of one of my son's disc golf buddies who lives near the brewery. It is a vanilla milk porter. The pour is pretty awesome...near black liquid with a chunky head that lasts a while. When that foam collapses, it sticks thickly while falling to a ring and rafts in that tulip. The smell is roasted malt, chocolate, some coffee, just a little vanilla, slight caramel or toffee note. The taste follows exactly with the nose. It is a restrained beer, not so much in your face. It is a lightly sweet porter with just a little vanilla, kind of a bittersweet and milk chocolate blend going on, just a touch of carry bitterness. The vanilla comes out a bit more on warming, but I think it could use more. Smooth, nice drinking porter. A bit chalky on the finish, presuming this is thanks to the lactose. True to style in terms of the porter identity, in my opinion. Well done, so I think I will be landing right around the 4.0 watermark with this one.

Might be tomorrow before I catch up with the thread, but please do carry on as we approach the witching hours.

 

More new Big Lake NEIPAs. Really like the can art. Excellent stuff. Fantastic rocky head retention/thick soapy lacing. Aromas and flavors of big tangerine, red grapefruit, lemon, lime, peach, pear, pineapple, apricot, passion fruit, papaya, mango, honeydew melon, blueberry, gooseberry, citrus peel/rind, wood, light peppercorn, and pine hops; with moderate wheat, cracker, biscuit dough, light honey malts; and herbal, floral, grassy hop earthiness. Light pine, citrus peel/rind, herbal, woody, floral, grassy, peppery bitterness on the finish. Medium carbonation/body; creamy, silky, bready malts; some sticky hops, and light resins/rinds in the mouthfeel. Light-moderate increasing bitter dryness, no hop astringency. Very smooth, nicely soft, minimal warming 7.5%. Feels like Galaxy, Citra, Mosaic. Extremely juicy, vibrant, and fairly dank/earthy hops; with a great balancing wheat/oat/malt backbone. Mild residual sweetness with lingering resin dryness. Tastes just like Dinosaur Death minus the orange peels. Well made for the style as usual. 4.03


Cheers

 

Really jealous right now, but luckily you painted it into a beautiful review.

Thanks for sharing and cheers!

 

NBS cross-post with WBAYDN. Cumbre's Project Dank Spring 2019 edition
L - Perfect west coast appearance on this bad boy.
a - Amazing earth, dank, pine, with light pineapple hop aroma impression
T - Ridiculous - Jim Morrison is coming back from the dead in Africa to experience this taste.
M - Great carbonation, without overdoing it, perfect palate saturation.
O - Another Project Dank winner, almost as good as last summer 2018 in its interpretation. Baller.

 

Well thats nothing short of awesome!

 

As James Bond once said, "Oh the things I do for England!"

 

Ok nbsers new beer 2 after a long day of a kids soccer, raking and spring clean up the beer fridge was a welcome sight..

Seems my dog feels the same way.



Hedge Witch | Modern Times Beer

4.41/5 rDev +1.6%
look: 4.25 | smell: 4.5 | taste: 4.5 | feel: 4.25 | overall: 4.25

L: lumber like yellow, I see NEIPA are super pale or more orange and this is right down the middle nice hazy above average lacing / head
S: bright fruit loops / juicy fruit hops and non of that over ripe, so clean and enjoyable something not as found in NEIPA
T: taste follows the nose which is what I was hoping for and there is touch of malt sweetness to balance off all the hops and I would say on the lower range of bitterness
M: low to average carb a touch thin but also leaves wanting another sip after putting down.

O: a above average NEIPA and would love to move more cans of this in rotation in my fridge.

 

Finishing my night with a nice big bottle of Tapistry Bourbon Barrel-Aged Prehistoric Rhetoric thanks to @Blackop555! I always enjoy a nice aged beer and it was a great surprise to notice it is already two years old!

4.04/5 rDev +2%
look: 4 | smell: 3.75 | taste: 4.25 | feel: 4 | overall: 4

Thank you Blackops555 for this
22 oz bottle, dated 2.10.17, poured into a tulip

A- Dark brown/black with small off white head.

S- Bourbon, leather, figs, some cherries, dark fruits, molasses.

T- Dark fruits, figs, grapes, some apples, leather, bourbon, molasses, some toffee, really complex and interesting.

M- Smooth, medium to full body.

O- Would be interested in trying this fresh, but it has aged well over the last two years.

Cheers!

 

Time for another new beer, this time one from Buffalo NY. Fip IPA from Big Ditch Brewing.

L: 16 oz can dated March 12 2018 poured into a teku glass. Pours a bright, partially clear orange with a huge 2+ fingers of head. Nice lacing is left around the glass as the head subsides. 4
S: Notes of orange and honeydew, and cantelope. Bread and cracker from the malts and a little bit of pine as well. 4.25
T: Orange, melon and honeydew. Mild bitterness on the finish that lingers. 4
F: Medium bodied and medium carbonation. Very easy to drink. 4
O: Nice easy to drink IPA. I could easily have a few of these in a row. 4 for a BA generated 4.06

 

I’m in on the next one too.

 

Woo-Hoo! Do it!!

I look forward to reading about your side-by-side taste test. You may surprise yourself here? At a minimum it will be a learning experience.

It is good to learn!!

Prost!

 

Awesome imperial brown ale. Great fluffy head retention/spotty soapy lacing. Aromas and flavors of big milk chocolate, cocoa, coffee, peanut butter, caramel, brown sugar, toffee, vanilla, cream, frosting, fudge, brownie batter, brown bread dough/crust, and toasted biscuit; with light notes of molasses, licorice, dark fruit, smoke, herbal, grass, peppery hops, and yeast earthiness. Mild herbal, grassy, peppery, roast bitterness on the finish. Medium carbonation and medium-full body; very creamy, silky, bready malts; light slickness, sticky hops, chalky roast in the mouthfeel. Lightly increasing lingering bitter dryness, no cloying sweetness. Minimal warming 8.8%. Highly impressive. Perfectly balance between rich Brown ale malt complexity, peanuts, vanilla, and cocoa nibs; with just enough earthy hops to balance sweetness. Tons of authentic PB flavor, and not overwhelming on any aspect. 4.1


Cheers, have a good night NBS.

 

No pics, as I'm still house/pet sitting on the edge of the middle of nowhere. Connection is spotty where I live, & this is a marathon(26.2 mi, exactly) beyond that. @eppCOS ' photo is the only one I see fully, atm.
DFH Oak-Aged Siracusa Nera
10% stout aged on Syrah (aka Shiraz) grape must.
Sounds weird (DFH,afterall ) , but it works.
Really liking this. Just a single (9/27/18), but I'll be looking for more.
Smells like a porter + a little something extra.

Looks like a typical stout, except for the grape juice purple showing at the edges.

Taste is unsweetened chocolate, but less bitter, plus something spicy (French Tarragon taste & feel, minus the vegetal part.) + some semi-dry red wine, leather, barrel, and a pin prick of vanilla.

Feel is creamy at first, then a little prickle, then lightly oily.

4.49/5 rDev +11.7%
look: 4 | smell: 4.25 | taste: 4.75 | feel: 4.25 | overall: 4.5
https://www.beeradvocate.com/beer/profile/64/243300/?ba=mikeinportc#review

 

Three Floyds Behemoth

Purple Wax

Bottled 12/5/2018

A huge thank you to @AyatollahGold who sent to me a pre-BIF ninja box including this specific want. After reviewing some of the BA versions of this beer, it’s a real treat to try out the base. Thank you!



Look: This beers pours a hazy, translucent, orange/copper/light brown color with a fluffy, two finger, off-white head that settles to a half finger while streaking the glass with tons of lace. A few bubbles here and there rising up from the glass. 3/4 an hour in and there is just a thin layer of foam across the top of the beer and a thick ring around the glass. Specks of foam dot the glass. Very attractive.

Smell: The aroma is sweet, bready, dried stone fruit including apricot and prune, complemented by orange citrus and offset by lemon citrus and piney hops. I get a lot of orange citrus. Candied rind, and zest. Combined with the alcohol,
it evokes Old Fashioned. Giving it some swirls I get Panettone. More of that sweet bread and raisin aspect. There is a sweet woodiness as the beer warms up. Reminds me of the burst of tobacco and cedar when I open my cigar box. I’m even getting some hints of holiday spice here as the beer really warms up: Cinnamon, Nutmeg, Cardamom. Around Christmas my wife sticks oranges with whole cloves and hangs them around the house. The aroma reminds me of that. 10.5% ABV is definitely present and complements nicely the fruitiness and spiciness of the beer

Taste: Sweet, bready, caramel and toffee malt up front combined with earthy and spicy hops. Spice throws me for a loop here. Could be the hops, but it reminds me of rye. Chewy malt profile. Brown sugar. Dried fruit including brown raisin, apricot, prune and date. The bitterness pricks the tongue and slowly begins to envelope the entire palate, eventually taking over. A complementary flavor to the huge malt profile. Alcoholic warmth follows on the tongue and in the pipes. The beer is piney and lemon pithy. Candied orange note on the palate too. Also getting some holiday spice including nutmeg and cardamom. This beer is all English Barleywine malt profile up front, followed by the Americanization of the style that comes through as a classic West Coast DIPA.

Feel: Low carbonation. Super smooth and finishes with a long, drawn out bitterness. The 10.5% shows up on the feel as it warms my palate and pipes. I like that though. This beer is not ashamed of itself, like the lady on the label. And why should it be? The sticky, sweet malt profile coats my lips, like a big, boozy, English Barleywine.

Overall: This beer perfectly blends the English and American Barleywine. A chewy, sweet, malt profile blended with piney, lemony, orangey and pithy hop bitterness. The label makes me think of sex. This beer is like the offspring of a big, bold, unabashed threesome among a classic American Barleywine, a malty, bitter, American DIPA and an English Barleywine. Maybe those styles are each represented by the three folks on the label.

4.5/5 rDev +6.4%
look: 4.5 | smell: 4.5 | taste: 4.5 | feel: 4.5 | overall: 4.5

Thinking about this beer after the one and
two year bourbon barrel aged beers: This one has more heat and more bitterness. It seems the barrel tempers these two aspects.

Sipping on this for an hour 15 and still have a drop left to savor.