New Beer Sunday (Week 748)

Nightmare Windlass of Erasmus. This was an amazing gose! Fantastic ruby/purple color, fluffy head retention/lacing. Aromas and flavors of huge juicy/sour/tart/tangy blackberry, black currant, fruit skin/seed, lemon, lime, orange, peach, plum, pear, apricot, red/green apple, red grape/wine, sea salt, hay, straw, and grass; with moderate wheat, cracker, white bread dough malts; light peppercorn, lacto funk, red wine vinegar, and yeast earthiness. Light-moderate fruity/lactic tart/sourness, fruit tang, and light spiciness on the finish. Medium carbonation and medium-plus body; very creamy, silky, grainy wheat; some lactic acid, fruit tang, and light salinity in the mouthfeel. Lightly increasing acidic/tangy dryness; minimal puckering/astringent. Very smooth/soft, not overly lactic/salty, minimal warming 6.5%. Amazing balance of super juicy/jammy fruit, and Lacto complexity; with a nice sized wheat/malt backbone against acidity. Mild residual sweetness with lingering acidic/tangy dryness. Pretty much just as impressive as Glasgow Smile I had yesterday. Top tier stuff for the style. 4.33


Cheers

Untappd notes say this is best paired with Oceano, so I followed the instructions. Amazing Deathcore band BTW, found them a week or two ago(before I bought the beer).

 

Blend No. 26 - season 17/18.

https://www.beeradvocate.com/beer/profile/2216/235041/



First time with this blend, and it is exquisite! It has a near perfect sourness of lemon and lime, slight funk, and wonderful feel. Damn, what an amazing gem of a beer right here. Wow! This is only my 2nd different A&G blend and will be having a 3rd in a bit. Cheers!!

 

@HoppingMadMonk : how much DOES an archaeologist make per year?

I've never been huge on reunions. I went to the five year for both HS and college. I went to a tiny HS (my graduating class was 15. That was the largest we'd ever graduated to that point), and the reunion was not just for us, but they just kind of have an alumni get together every year or so. It was fine but I don't feel compelled to go back. The college five year was an absolute blast... they knew how to hone in on the things we liked about college and distill the experience into reminders of that. Our ten year was just this past spring, and I did not go. Ten year seems like it's more about family and career than fun times with friends, and more focused on the fundraising side of things. None of that really appeals to me. Besides I think I was already travelling somewhere else anyway. On top of it all I've kind of drifted away from my alma mater anyway for various reasons.
My two best friends and myself try to put together a reunion every once and a while just for us (I'm in Seattle, and the other two are in Colorado and DC, so we don't see each other as much as we'd like).



Last weekend I missed out on NBS as I was on a Canadian road trip with a friend visiting her brother, who is presently based in Golden, BC. We then drove through Banff (incredible) and back down through Montana. While in Golden I figured I had to grab something local, and so I came home with the following bottle:

Blower Pow from Whitetooth Brewing in Golden BC.



Immediately upon pouring this into the glass I am enchanted. Clean clear honey amber body is topped with an assertive pile of billowy white foam. Slow to recede and leaving chunky dollops of clouds along the glass as I drink it down: this is exactly what I want my IPA to look like.

Nose is an inviting melange of honey sweet malts and citrus hops. Maybe a hint of tropics to go with a dank coniferous undercurrent that feels very appropriate as an homage to its home region.

Thankfully the tongue follows the nose with great fidelity. First impressions are of clean citrus hops with an appropriate malt backbone that serves to balance and create the canvas upon which the hops can operate. Citrus builds past a mild floral sweet note into a nice big bitter finish that is pith and pine. This is just an incredible example of a good old school west coast IPA. This is exactly what I would have sent @gopens44 in his box of west coast IPAs if I'd known of its existence at that time.

Body is of a medium oily complexion with appropriate carbonation and a lingering bitterness that doesn't overwhelm or destroy, but just engages.
I was cautiously looking forward to this one (often time, especially in more remote areas, local favourites can underwhelm when compared to more bountiful options), and it just blew away my expectations at every turn. It may just be a case of right place right time kind of thing, but I am thoroughly enjoying this and definitely recommend grabbing a bottle if you come across it.



I'd had my eye on this little aerie for probably the last decade and a half as a place to sleep out some time, and so I felt this solstice was the perfect excuse for it. Real glad I did. Nice sunset and beautiful stars.

(and the view if I turn to the left


Cheers!!

 

I haven't read the thread yet (except for the open; thanks, @lordofthewiens ... I've never been to either HS or college reunions. I live so far away (and have since graduation) that I just never was motivated enough to make the trip... ). But, after posting, I'll go back and catch up.

But, on to today's new beer.
Central Waters Brewing Co. Brewer's Reserve Rum Barrel Coconut Porter 2019
ABV: 12.2%





Rich aroma of dark malts and rum, with the rum not too strong. Tall tan head from a vigorous pour that dies really quickly, leaving no lacing (well, a few dots here and there), and ending with a few scattered small bubble islands. (For how quickly the head dies... the time between the two pictures is less than a minute.)

Color is deep black. A back light reveals a ruby fringe and slightly ruby zones in the body.

Feel is substantial and moderately thick on the tongue.

As with the aroma, the dark malts are front in the taste, with a nice rum flavor and slight coconut. So slight that if I didn't read "coconut" on the label, I might have missed it (maybe it is even subliminal...).

The finish is only very slightly bitter, with a little alcohol on the back of the tongue and throat. With an ABV above 12%, this beer is dangerously easy drinking, so caution is advised.

L: 3.75 | S: 3.75 | T: 4 | F: 4.25 | O: 3.75

 

From @Dragginballs76 I’m enjoying my second beer of the day.

Beer: Lemon Cucumber Gose
Brewery: Westbrook
ABV: 4%

From a 12 oz. can into a Willi Becher style glass, this beer pours out a slightly hazy straw color with lemon highlights. It forms over a finger worth of white bubbles that dissipate to nothing in less than a minute.

The nose carries what it lists. Cucumber and lemon tangle all the way throughout on top of a salty base.

The taste brings fresh sliced cucumbers mixing with a freshly squeezed lemon tartness. I love what the cucumber is offering.

It’s light, refreshing and dry. Offers a mild tartness to cut through some of the lemon and cucumber and a kiss of salt.

Overall, this is a very good gose. It would be hard to buy anything else in the summer if I had Westbrook distribution.

Thanks mike!

 

Mystical flowers of perpetual slumber, a Cirta and Galaxy DIPA from foreign objects

L: 16 oz can poured into a rambler glass. Pours a hazy orange color with a finger and a half of head. As the head fades is leaves some nice lacing along the glass. 4/5
S: Passion fruit and mango notes are strong. Other tropical fruits as well. 4.25/5
T: Oranges, peach and some nice flavors from the galaxy hops. A little malt breadyness as well. 4/5
F: Medium body and light carbonation 4/5
O: Overall a nice DIPA, especially if you like galaxy 4/5 for a BA generated 4.06/5

 

Blend No. 23.

https://www.beeradvocate.com/beer/profile/2216/235041/



Subtle differences between Blends No. 26 and No. 23. This one, No. 23, is more tart with less lime and more lemon, which makes sense. Feel is a tad less lively, and overall, No. 26 is the best of the three blends I've had, but not by much.
Cheers!!!

 

Greetings, fellow NBSers and thanks to @lordofthewiens for getting us going.

Fairly cloudy today. 71° outside. After a week that was unseasonably warm, this past week has been unseasonably cold, damp and blustery, almost autumnal. Today might be the warmest of the last 4-5 days.

Today I had a surprisingly atypical (at least in my limited experience) IPA from The Alchemist, courtesy of @ovaltine:

https://www.beeradvocate.com/beer/profile/46317/106920/?ba=woemad#review
Not the hazebomb I expected at all, but very drinkable stuff. Brewed with orange peel that was applied with a light, deft touch. Just an undercurrent of orange flavor underneath the Mosaic dominated flavor. Were it local and not 8%, I could see myself sessioning the hell out of this beer. Only real flaw was a lot of residue at the end, and that was probably my fault for waiting too long to drink it.

 

It's almost like all new beers are NEIPAs or Milkshake sours these days. This was awesome. Opaquely hazy. Lasting rocky head retention/thick foamy lacing. Aromas and flavors of big mandarin orange juice, red grapefruit, lemon, lime, peach, pear, pineapple, apricot, passion fruit, papaya, mango, honeydew melon, blueberry, gooseberry, citrus peel/zest, and light peppercorn/pine hops; with moderate wheat, biscuit dough, light honeyed malts; and herbal, floral, grassy hop earthiness. Mild pine, citrus peel/zest, herbal, floral, grassy, spicy bitterness on the finish. Medium carbonation and medium-plus body; very creamy, silky, bready wheat/oats; light sticky hops and slight lingering resins/rinds in the mouthfeel. Lightly increasing lingering bitter dryness; no cloying/astringency. Super smooth/soft, minimal warming 7%. Awesome Citra, Mosaic, and Motueka profile. Super juicy and lightly dank/earthy hops; with a perfectly balanced wheat/oat/malt backbone. Light residual sweetness with lingering dryness. Spot on style, one of the best ones in the series so far. All have been great. 4.13


Cheers

 

Opening an amazing vanilla bomb thanks to @CanConPhilly. Bottle Logic Fundamental Observation.

4.81/5 rDev +2.6%
look: 4.5 | smell: 4.75 | taste: 5 | feel: 4.5 | overall: 4.75

Big thanks to CanConPhilly for this
500 ml bottle, 2018, poured into a teku

A- Black with a two finger mocha head.

S- Tons of vanilla and bourbon, oak, chocolate, hints of roasted malts.

T- Vanilla, bourbon, chocolate, caramel, roasted malts.

M- Smooth, full body.

O- A truly amazing stout, tons of vanilla. It is a great beer to sip solo, and feels like a great beer for sharing.

Cheers!

 

#2, a big ol’ Imperial stout from Omnipollo.





4.05/5 rDev -2.9%
look: 4.25 | smell: 4.25 | taste: 4 | feel: 3.75 | overall: 4

Pours onyx black with a tan head. The nose is chock full of char and stone fruit aromas, with a subtle maple note, and a not-so-subtle boozy component.

The stone fruit presents first on the taste as dark cherries, which is nice, and the char is also abundantly present - but so is the booze, and while the maple is present, I wish there was more.

The mouthfeel is where I wish this big stout (12.5% ABV) had more ..... onions (tipping my cap to Bill Raftery). The previous Omnipollo beers I’ve enjoyed were decadent treats turned up to 11 - I’m looking at you, Noa Pecan Mud Cake. This just doesn’t quite have that decadence factor.

 

Beautiful pics. Always wanted to go to Banff and Montana. You've just made them higher priorities for me. Cheers!

 

I'll not dissuade you of that notion!

Yeah, Banff had been on my list for a long time as well: part of why I jumped so eagerly at the opportunity for this trip. Would love to spend more time exploring it (and potentially further north up into Jasper), but damn if it wasn't a beautiful quick dip into some of the wonder that our northerly neighbours have to offer.

 

Nice! Be interesting to see if you have an experience more like mine or more like the bottle indicates.

 

BIF beer from @Coronaeus. Electrical tape was difficult for this one. This was incredible! Lasting fluffy head retention/thick foamy lacing. Aromas and flavors of big juicy/tart/tangy red/black cherries, fruit skin/pits, milk/dark chocolate, cocoa, dark roasted coffee, caramel, brown sugar, toffee, roasted nuts, toasted biscuit, and dark bread/crust; with lighter notes of vanilla, licorice, molasses, raisin, prune, fig, date, smoke, charcoal, herbal, wood, grass, pepper, pine, and yeast earthiness. Light-moderate pine, herbal, woody, peppery, charred bitterness; and light fruit tang/tartness on the finish. Medium carbonation and full body; very creamy, silky, bready malts; some sticky hops, chalky roast, and light fruit tang/acids in the mouthfeel. Lightly increasing lingering bitter/tart/tangy dryness; no cloying, acrid, astringency. Dangerously smooth/soft, minimal warming 9.5%. Wow, definitely was better than the coconut. Less bitter/drying, not overwhelming on cherries. Amazing balance of juicy/jammy cherries, rich malts, and fruity/nutty coffee complexity; with solid earthy hop presence/balance. Light residual sweetness with lingering dryness. Definitely a home run vs what the overall score indicates. 4.28


Cheers

 

Finally getting around to this juice bomb from Foley!

https://www.beeradvocate.com/beer/profile/30542/371828/



16 oz. can.
Moderate pour yields a one inch white head over a hazy, medium golden body with sticky lacing. Nose of citrus (orange) foremost with a bit of tropical fruit. Taste mirrors nose very closely. Wonderful orange juice flavor with a finish of slight orange pith and slight bitterness. Nice feel and overall, this is definitely the juiciest of their Captain's Series (that I've had.) Cheers to the brothers Foley!