New Beer Sunday (Week 739)

Fixed that for you. (as the kids like to say)

 

What is your favorite Easter candy?

Firstly, Happy Easter everybody!

Now to circle back to the question I posed: my favorite Easter candy when I was a kid was the classic chocolate Easter Bunny. I would first bite the ears and ‘work’ my way down. It had to be a solid chocolate bunny, those hollow bunnies are a disappointment.

Which brings us to what beer to drink for Easter? I have the answer: Duclaw Sweet Baby Jesus.

Below is how this beer is described on BA:

“First brewed in 2011, this Chocolate Peanut Butter Porter is jet black in color with a tan, rocky head, full body and creamy, luxurious mouthfeel. Its lightly sweet, malty flavor is accented by rich flavors of chocolate, coffee and peanut butter, and balanced by a subtle hop character and moderate 6.5% abv. Sweet Baby Jesus finishes smooth, dry, and roasty with lingering notes of chocolate and peanut butter so savory, you will exclaim its name!”

Served in my Spiegelau Stout/Porter glass:

Appearance:

Pours a black color with a small tan head that leaves some splashes of lacing.

Aroma:

A combination of chocolate and peanut butter but a hint of roastiness (e.g., coffee) as well.

Taste:

The flavor follows the nose with chocolate and peanut butter. There is some sweetness on the palate and a low bitterness aspect.

Mouthfeel:

Medium bodied with an off-dry finish.

Overall:

This is an excellent Easter beer. It is like drinking a Reese’s Peanut Butter Egg.

Cheers!

@KOP_Beer_OUtlet @rotsaruch @RobH

 

And I cut my grass for the first time yesterday. Spring had sprung!!

Cheers!

 

A vacation this week took me to Florida. Made it to Civil Society and wanted to go to Funky Buddha. Why do they make vacations so short? My last day there I wander into Total Wine and find 2 whales

Morning Wood by Funky Buddha

4.65/5 rDev +0.2%
look: 4.25 | smell: 4.75 | taste: 4.75 | feel: 4.5 | overall: 4.5

Scored a bomber at Total wine in Royal Palm , FLA

Black liquid crowned by a two finger creamy brown foam cap, quickly recedes , brown ring, few lacings

Aroma is maple, bourbon, sweet, roasted malts, tobacco, slight smokiness

Nice maple bourbon, chocolate, roasted malts taste

Smooth, alcohol is well hidden , slight char bitterness lingers , medium sudsing

Great beer, repeatable

then I come home and surprise my neighbor with a surprise.

Last Buffalo in the Park by Funky Buddha

4.49/5 rDev -1.3%
look: 4.25 | smell: 4.5 | taste: 4.5 | feel: 4.5 | overall: 4.5

Bomber poured into snifter

Jet black liquid , one finger brown foam cap quickly recedes

Aroma of a mounds bar , chocolate , coconut , bourbon

Sweet , coffee, coconut, chocolate , bourbon taste

Velvety smooth, low sudsing, sweet coffee taste lingers

Good beer

Good vacation!

 

I'm like your ventriloquist dummy... I'll speak your repressed thoughts.

 

Good day,all you New BSers! Thanks @cjgiant for starting today's thread. I have exactly two crocuses that have survived the chipmunk holocaust. Those two have been able to make it for more than twenty years, far surpassing the striped rats that decimated the crocus bed. Of course, the feral cat population has decimated the local chipmunk (and bird) population, so pressure from predators has dropped for the crocuses.

Anyway, today's New Breakfast Beer:



Appearance – 4.25.
Body – Dark brown to black, opaque. Still opaque when held to the light.
Head – Small (Maximum two cm, aggressive center pour), brown, medium density, fizzy, very short retention, diminishing to a slightly irregular three mm ring, and a thin partial cap.
Lacing – Excellent! Complete bands of mostly extremely tiny bubbles. Lacunae eventually open which gives a lace curtain appearance. Some stalactites form. This is amazing because of the 11% ABV alone.
First pour – Dark brown, translucent.
Aroma – 4.25 – Dark fruit, bourbon, rum. Not picking up the rye barrel and I don’t drink enough brandy to recognize the aroma or flavor.
Flavor – 4.5 – Begins with a slight sweetness and some dark fruit soaked in rum. A slight gastric warming eventually occurs. No alcohol (11 % ABV!) aroma or flavor, no dimethylsulfide, no diacetyl.
Palate – 4 – Full, creamy, soft carbonation.
Impression and interpretation – 4.25 – An excellent brew! It is well-balanced in both aroma and flavor, perhaps somewhat detrimentally because of the loss of individuality of the unique barrel attributes of the bourbon, rum, rye, and brandy barrels. To my taste, only the rum carries through as a unique flavor. The palate is near perfect with only a slight syrupiness to detract from its near-perfection. I’m sadly looking at the remaining swallow in my snifter, wishing I had a case to age.
Rating 4/35, rDev -2.7

 

Poured into a 13 oz Lost Abbey Teku glass canned on 3/14/19. Pours a viscous black with a 2 plus finger mocha head with a Micheal Jackson sleep over pour (Aggressive) that leaves little lace, but the wonderful color on the beer and head more than makes up for that, plus I poured near room temp and that can effect the lace left behind. 4.75

Smell is boozy Oaked vanilla bourbon, dark fudge, expresso beans, and not sure how to explain but I am getting that sea salt pretzel thing that makes it different from regular. 4.75

Taste follows dry strong coffee, deep dark chocolate, Oaked vanilla, sea salt and again hard to explain, and did I mention charred roasty bourbon that sticks to the palate like a fat kid a chocolate peanut butter Easter Bunny on Easter morning. 4.75

Mouthfeel Yogi (Bigger than your average Beer) plenty of life considering its 12.7% ABV, a sipper for sure but dangerously approachable for such a big beer. 4.75

Overall this is what I had hoped it would be, a big boozy complex monster that would leave and impression sip after boldly aggressive sip, and how amazingly gorgeous is this one wow. Thanks @jzeilinger for the treat! 4.75

 

New Beer Sunday: American Wild Ale

Mornin’ NBSers with a heads up for fans of fruitful tart beers. Also a special thanks to @cjgiant for his start up this morning.

The weather today is starting off with some sunshine but then clouds will probably be moving back in and bringing with them a few scattered showers. The high today is expected to be in the mid 60s, but with the humidity level the “real feel” is expected to be near 70. Spring has definitely sprung.

This morning’s new beer is the Troeg’s Boysenberry Tart which is supposedly loaded with boysenberries, one of my favorite berries ever since I first encountered them as a kid.

My review, subject to revision until I finish the beer or the breakfast casserole is finished baking, can be found here:

https://www.beeradvocate.com/beer/profile/694/400207/?ba=drtth#review


The aromas/flavors are mostly about the lightly tart boysenberries and some salt. There’s also some biscuity malt sweetness and a touch of floral from the coriander. A nicely drinkable and refreshing beer that would be particularly nice after a summer afternoon of yard work or for a party on the porch.. If you enjoy beers with berries and tartness it’s worth giving a try.

Cheers, all!

 

Hi, happy Easter and thanks to you for starting up!

Having Ambar lager, a gluten free beer, ABV zero.

Opens with a fizz!, a bit of honey/mead aroma before starting the pour in the middle of the lager glass, 3-4 fingers of head, aroma the same as after opening. Snapping the photo. Golden clear color. Not much lacing, the head recedes with quite a pace.

Tastes otherwise a bit like mead, but the hop on the back of the tongue is marked. Maybe average carbonation and medium thick mouthfeel.

Quite ok, could have again sometimes.

4.25 / 4 / 3.75 / 4 / 3.75

 

Good morning and Happy Easter! My new beer is Toppling Goliath’s “Kentucky Brunch Brand Stout” (2018) bottle #338:

Pours black as oil into my virgin KBBS tulip (thank you @Number1Framer !) at 58 degrees; thin ruby edges when held up to the light; fast fizzy cinnamon brown head that leaves no cap, ring or lacing; not a dot upon swirl, but does reveal medium legs. 4.5



Strong maple, molasses and coffee grounds nose; the maple aroma fills the room as I walk from kitchen to desk - impressive! 5.0



Sweet maple syrup and molasses;bitter roast coffee; dark fruit - cherries and plums; chocolate middle; no booze; maple and coffee on backend. 5.0

Thick almost chewy; heavy body with rich, velvety tongue coating; medium minus carbonation; no barrel notes or astringency; some warmth from 12%; creamy feel/linger on tongue. 5.0

Overall, awesome; one of the best Imperial Stouts I’ve ever had - the hype and rating well deserved; the maple nose does not quit; the main flavors of sweet maple, molasses and roast coffee are well balanced and in harmony; subtle notes of chocolate and dark fruit layers compliment the whole; no hint of the whiskey could I find; an amazing beer and a tribute to the brewers at TGB! 5.0

One of (perhaps highest?) my highest reviews to date...while the appearance was less than awe inspiring, it was appropriate...but everything else about this beer sang to my Imperial Stout loving/drinking self! Don’t know if I’ll ever have another, but one can always hope, right? Cheers fellow beer lovers!

 

Thanks @cjgiant for the great start to this weeks NBS. I do have a new brew for later on.

Cheers!

 

Hippity-hoppity, NBS, Easter is here, and so is new beer...

Other Half's Mosaic + Loral IIPA (8.5% abv)...

There's no brewery I've had more beers from than Other Half, and I do like just about everything they make, but I'm also getting a bit fatigued by all the east coast/NE-style IPAs...

Essentially opaque golden orange in a tulip, with a few fingers of white foam on top and ample lace sheeting down the glass... Floral, herbal, and citrus notes take the fore on the nose, followed by more of the same on the sip... Mild orange, clean lime, something peppery and earthy on the finish... Medium-light feel, mildly sweet, moderately bitter, just a bit of tingle in an otherwise smooth body...

Solid, as usual, but thinking the Loral hops make it more compelling than it would have been otherwise...

Cheers...

 

A-Pours a dark color with a slight head and lacing
A-Aroma has chocolate and coffee hints
T-The taste follows the nose with chocolate and coffee flavors
M-A medium bodied decently carbonated beer
O-A good Stout

 

First up today is one from @TheGent

Beer: Regular Coffee Nitro
Brewery: Carton Brewing Co. (Atlantic Highlands, NJ)
ABV: 12%

Pouring from a 12 oz. can into a whiskey tumbler glass, this beer pours out golden in color; almost resembling apple juice. It has very small, fine sediment floating throughout, but I can see my fingers on the other side. It forms a pinky width of white bubbles with good retention.

The nose carries notes of creamy coffee, milky sweetness, and a little bit of a sweet corn like sweetness I seem to pick up in a lot of cream ales.

Taking the first drink makes me notice the smooth, exceptionally creamy/velvety mouthfeel before any of the flavor even hits me. I mean this thing is wild. Who ever would of thought that nitro works best on Cream ales? I usually feel that it takes away from the body, but not here. And a dangerously undetected 12% ABV. Vanilla marshmallow like coating thickness. Wow.

The taste brings layers of creamy coffee, but still keeps true to the cream ale style with the background. A lot of creamer presence along with sugar and even vanilla like hints.

Overall, this is an absolutely exceptional beer for the style, in all aspects. Really, the only thing I can see docking this for is the looks, and very slightly for the nose because of pronunciation.

Thank you for sending a world class beer to me Anthony.

And look at the creativity they of the can, with turning the barcode into their logo. Great.


Cheers NBS, I’ll be back with more later but until then I can’t wait to see what you bring to the share!

 

Good morning NBS and thanks to @cjgiant for our tart today. Happy Easter to you all.
We were at Mass Moca last night for a Mitski show. Quite the show indeed!
Today's offering is a gift from my spouse, she brought this back from her recent Florida trip.
Wild Ones #1 from Red Cypress comes across as a solid pale ale that with Brett and time in Oak has transformed quite well.
Cheers all
Wild Ones: Foeder #1

Red Cypress Brewery
American Wild Ale / 7.00% ABV

3.96/5 rDev +0.3% | Score: 3.95
look: 4 | smell: 4.25 | taste: 3.75 | feel: 4 | overall: 4

Poured from a 500 ml undated bottle into the test glass.
A - Apricot color, very nice looking offering. Carbonation is gentle and steady. The pour yielded a quick to exit white cap.
S - As soon as the cap popped, soft earthy Brett was the theme, Hints of candied fruit, pineapple, apricot, and orange are all in the mix. None to bold, all work well
T - A bit of honey, dried pineapple, chalky mineral touch. Some white wine characteristic in that mineral element.
M - Semi tart to start, the a round wave of soft water texture runs through. That mineral element pops in for a short visit, then the tart host ushers them along. Carbonation is muted and hides in the corner.
O - A very nice barrel offering. The soft texture is enjoyable. As for flavors they run in a narrow pleasant lane, of nice fruits and complimentary mineral touch.