New Beer Sunday (Week 749)

A-Pours a nice amber color with a generous head and lacing
A-Aroma has dank and hop hints
T-The taste follows the nose with a dank prevalent bitter hop flavor
M-A medium smooth bodied well carbonated beer
O-A good IPA

 

Lighter shade of clear gold color with lasting white cap and lacing.

Aroma of rich malt and fairly intense hops that definitely lean toward the ripe tropical fruit laced with grapefruit camp with some piney touches as well.

Taste is hop forward (it is an IPA) with bright, vibrant grapefruit zest and fruit along with some touches of ripe tropical fruit such as mango, some floral touches,all supported by a solid malt base. I'll say the hops have a firm bitterness without bitter bite. It starts, drinks and finishes dry leaving a refreshing aftertaste.

Medium to full texture with balancing carbonation.

So well balanced and cleanly brewed I don't notice the 7% ABV at all, which is a bit risky because this beer is very drinkable.

 

First, @cjgiant's questions: (he said 2, but I count 5... yes, I'm a pedant... and proud of it! )

When do you choose to drink beer? Are you a person who limits yourself to beer only on your weekends, or are you more of a whenever-the-mood-strikes drinker? Can you enjoy a beer early in the day, or is noon a threshold before which you won’t cross?

I'll have a beer most days after work, but not all days. Sometimes 2, depending on ABV, mood, etc. I avoid mornings on the weekends, mostly because it does not seem "proper". But, I will make exceptions (today, for example, or when there are on line tastings where I want to get in 3+ beers...)

For the how, we'll go with a question of the vessel(s) you choose. Do you prefer “proper” glassware? Or might you be a person who enjoys every beer out of your favorite glass, regardless of beer style? Or maybe the vessel is truly just a means to an end for you.

At this point, I have a reasonable collection of glassware. The logoed glassware I mostly reserve for using with the specific brand. I will use style-appropriate glassware (or as close as I have). Today's beer, for example, I had a choice between a stemmed tulip style or a pub tulip style (Irish stout, etc.). I chose the latter. Just because... well, it is a stout!

So, on to the beer:

Central Waters Brewing Co. Brewer's Reserve Vanilla Bean Stout 2019
ABV: 9.5%
IBU: 38 (from a source other than the brewer...)



Aroma is relatively strong: chocolate, roasted malts, vanilla, and bourbon. 1/2 inch tan, thick, creamy-looking head, dropping fairly quickly to a bubbly cap and ridge.

Deep black appearance from the front, with dark ruby tinges with a back light.

Taste is dark malt chocolate with vanilla coming through prominently, but never becoming sweet. The bourbon is in the background, but very much there. Also getting a chocolate, somewhat bitter middle, remaining into the finish and aftertaste. Not much alcohol.

The body is reasonably substantial. Not the thickest stout, but hardly thin (as some claim - those claiming "thin" I guess have never tried an Irish dry stout).

Nicely balanced between the bourbon, vanilla, and the chocolate from the malts. Quite delicious. A great evening sipping beer (despite me drinking it in the morning... so a great MORNING sipping beer, too!)

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

 

Another beautiful New Beer Sunday. It's 9am here and 81 degrees, heading for the upper 90s.
When I was a working man, I did not drink when I was on call (every third night and every third weekend). Now that I am retired and can brink a beer whenever I want, not much has changed. My total intake remains the same, but I drink at some weird hours, not just after the workday has ended.
I have a number of glasses, but don't stress too much at using the "proper" glassware. Today I wanted a glass that would hold 16oz of beer and this is the glass I grabbed.
And this leads me to my new beer for today, Project Dank (Summer edition) from LaCumbre. It was canned on 06/05/19 and has a best by date of 09/03/19.
Pretty gold color with a two-finger white head and a good deal of lace.
Fruity aroma, mostly tropical, some citrus. A little pine.
Pineapple and mango up front for taste, followed by grapefruit and orange. A late hit of pine.
A bit on the sweet side, but overall a great beer.

 

Good morning, New Beer Sunday! I don't get around here too often because my family's usually home on Sundays. I have three teenagers in the house and they tease me mercilessly if they catch me 'blogging about my beer.' Whatever that means.

But everyone's away this morning and I'm having a little unsupervised time to myself. So, I went for a long hike at Otter Brook...

...came home and ate cold, greasy chicken fingers and duck sauce from last night's leftover Chinese food (unsupervised time; see above), started a batch of sourdough pretzels which is rising on top of the stove even as we speak, and, of course, had a new beer...

An almost new beer. I may have had a small taste of it at the brewery Thursday night and liked it so well that I picked up a four-pack to bring home even though I'd already bought an insane quantity of beer earlier in the day while I was in Portland.

At any rate, my first submission of the day is In Focus, a German pilsner from Deciduous Brewing in Newmarket, New Hampshire. There are only a couple of previous reviews for it and, based on the taste I've already had, I was guessing that I was going to put up a substantial positive rDev. Ahem...



(Due to natural lighting it looks quite a lot darker in the picture than in real life because of the storm clouds rolling in behind my shoulder).

From a 16oz can, undated, purchased at the brewery 06/27/19. Served in an imperial pint pub glass.

Pours a lightly hazed, glowing pale yellow-gold with a pouffy cloud-like two fingers of suds. Retention is only about meh but leaves a nice, bubbly cap and collar and the odd dab of lacing. (3.75)

Aroma is sweet and spicy. Sweet cereal, ginger, and lemony fresh laundry hung out in the sun to dry. (4.25)

Taste is almost precisely in line with the nose except, of course, that I’ve never tasted laundry, at least not when it was out on the line. A huge, quenching, palate-consuming burst of sweet, damp cereal lightened and brightened by soft, understated lemon vapor and gingery spice. (4.5)

Feel is smooth and creamy but still manages to be clean and quenching. Probably just a little heftier than medium bodied but with fairly vigorous carbonation making it feel somewhat lighter. (4.25)

Overall, well, I enjoyed the bejeesus out of this beer. The sweet maltiness and spice precisely met my expectations for the style and the dreamy lemon-vapor character from the yeast just took it up another notch (4.25)

4.32/5.00 rDev = +8.5%

 

Morning greetings from hot and humid Tennessee, and thanks to @cjgiant for getting the ball rolling. I normally don't drink beer in the morning, but I'll occasionally enjoy something on the lighter side if I'm brewing. Such is the case today, as I'm brewing up an "IPA" using Norwegian Kveik yeast. This is my 3rd straight batch with this stuff, and it's wild. You can ferment at temps up to 100 degrees with no perceptible fusels or off flavors, just a bit more fruity character. It's not at all like Belgian yeast - no clove or banana in the strains that I've used. The beer ferments completely in just 0.5 - 2 days and it's "clean" and fruity tasting even at the high temps. I dry hopped the last batch at 18 hours and kegged it on day 6. It was drinking nicely a few days after that. I predict that many more commercial brewers will experiment with all kinds of styles, given the cost implications. Anyway...

Today's new beer is a Berliner by way of Chattanooga:


The beer was a hazy bright yellow color when held up to the light. Not much head - a fairly aggressive pour only produced a thin ring of foam that quickly receded. The aroma was right on the label's description with tart lemons, earthy lavender, and faint wheat bread. The first thing I noticed on the sip was the slightly thin feel, which played well with the tart lemon, mimicking lemonade. The lavender was there, providing a complex earthy, minty, floral aspect to break up the lemon. Not as tart as most Berliners, but this was delicious. No off flavors and well-constructed. I wish I had more than just one can. Cheers!

 

Great start, thanks @cjgiant!

Question #1. I’m more of a lark (morning person) as opposed to an owl, so I like to start early and I’m frequently done by dinner time.

Question #2. I usually favor a SAPP or snifter, both at home in Florida and on the road with the RV. When I find a SAPP at a thrift store, I buy the glass b/c I use/break them frequently. Sometimes traveling the glassware is merely whatever is available.

Today’s new beer is a local find, once brewed, on International Women’s Day in collaboration with the Pink Boots Society. Canned 4/2/19 by Ale Industries, Oakland CA - “Cookie Cutter”, a Brown Ale w/Coffee & Coconut, 5.5% ABV:



Pours a dark brown with ruby highlights at 55 degrees; excellent clarity under off white mixed bubbles foam; fairly quick cap leaves a solid ring and medium heavy lacing. 4.75



Coffee and boiled peanuts nose. 4.0

Roast coffee/bitterness; toasted nuts; sweet caramel malt backbone; roasted coffee beans finish. 3.75

Fizzy medium high carbonation; watery lite body; lite chalky feel. 3.5

Overall, a super easy drinking brown ale with no artificial or off flavors, but no coconut aroma or taste which pulls my score down; good coffee linger; I’d drink again. 3.75

Cheers and enjoy your beer whenever you may, and your glassware too!

 

On days of work, I enjoy a brew once I am home, showered and ready to relax. On days off, I enjoy a good stout (most of the time coffee stout) or something else sweet to enjoy in the morning. As for glassware, while I do mostly try sticking to proper glassware as far as style preferences, I rarely have properly branded glassware. (Just don’t have many glasses)

Anyways, onto a coffee beer this morning. Courtesy of @TheGent I have,

Beer: Mexican Coffee
Brewery: Carton (Atlantic Highlands, NJ)
ABV: 12%

Pouring from a 12 oz. can into a snulip glass, this beer pours out a murky, turbid dark shade of gold mixing with brown. It forms a pinky worth of bone white bubbles that dissipate to only leaving an outer ring attached to the glass and one small island. By far the least impressive on the looks out of the 4 “coffees” I’ve had from Carton.

The nose carries a slightly stinging pepper to it, cayenne, while also showing a more green, vegetal pepper as well. Tequila is present, while not overpowering. Wood/oak notes are showing as well. Sweet, rich coffee shows up towards the end.

The taste brings in beautifully rich, decadent, creamy coffee; caramel, brown sugar, vanilla, slight chocolate notes mixing with the barrel presence; dry oak/wood aspect, agave, spices like cinnamon, peppers and slight nutmeg maybe?

The mouthfeel offers a dried out wood feeling thanks to the oak barrels. Despite that, it still remains thick with sweetness, full bodied and well carbonated. Spices tingle the whole way through.

Overall, I think I’m officially a Carton “coffee” fan boy. If the last ones didn’t officially seal the deal, this did. They’re making the best cream ales out there, taking the style to another dimension.


Thanks Anthony and cheers to the rest of you NBS!

Can’t wait to see what you bring to the share!

 

TMI...

 

Seems just a bit stereotypical...

 

Thanks for the start @cjgiant and I guess I’ll play along and answer a couple of your questions. I limit myself to 1-2 beers after work on M-F and typically enjoy 4-5-6 on Saturday and Sunday. I like to start in the mornings on the weekend because a wise man once told me, “you can’t drink all day if you don’t start in the morning.” I have about 20 or so glasses but only 5 get some good run. I break glasses just like everybody else. Typically I like to use the glass in the picture below (tulip, snifter, snulip?) when drinking stouts, barleywines, or Browns and a couple differently shaped ones when drinking IPAs. You’ll have to excuse me for not using their proper names. Enough of that, on to the beer.



This beer comes to me by way of @strohme2 due to his continued onslaught of my porch through the madness we refer to as NBS BIF #nein. This one is called Downtown Bourbon Brown from Griffin Claw brewing. Also a new brewery tick for ya boy. This one was brewed with espresso beans which means it’s perfectly suitable for morning consumption. At 9% it’s a sipper too.

The pour is a clear, medium colored brown. However in the glass it turns into an opaque darker brown liquid, a little lighter than a coke. A finger and a half of head fizzles quickly away into an island of lacing right in the middle, light tan colored. Aroma reminds you, lest you forget, that this beer was housed in bourbon barrels for some time. Up front is bourbon, vanilla, and oak. Some caramel and toffee scents hide behind those behemoths up front, but are not shrouded completely. Taste is a different animal altogether. Espresso smacks the tongue immediately upon entry and I’m wondering how it was hidden in the aroma. caramel, vanilla, and oak replace the espresso for the middle. The bourbon barrels show up to dominate the finish with some spicy notes and drying effect. Mouthfeel is slightly thinner than medium but not offputting for a brown. Overall I feel a lot of different things about this; I’m impressed by the creativity, a little overwhelmed by the bourbon, love the initial espresso hit, and would love to see what these guys can do with a stout or strong ale. It’s a good beer, not great, but I’m definitely not disappointed either. Thanks again Justin!

 

Happy Sunday NBS players. Summer is in full effect here on the island with another hot and steamy day and I'm loving it. Hoping to get to the beach for the first time this week. A rather lazy day on the docket with some light grilling tonight.

I've always felt that the glassware idea was bullshit. Yeah, I've read all the nerd papers/articles on how this shape does this/that and the warming of the hand- that only seems to somehow apply to the shaker pint despite the fact that the other glasses are also hand held. Honestly, until I got onto ba I never really gave glassware any thought at all. For me, a good beer is just good. I can drink it out of a thimble or a fucking bucket and its still going to be good. I will say that I have been enjoying the full nonic pint glasses, as of late, and more for their practical function. They are big glasses and can hold a full pour from the 16oz cans. Plus, they are easy to clean.

My new beer today is 20 Minutes of Agony, ipa, from Long Ireland brewing. The local brewery here turns 10 years old and they have taken it upon themselves to release 10 new beers to celebrate. This is #4 in the series. The brew checks in at 6.1% abv, is dry hopped with galaxy and citra hops, and despite no canning date I've been the release to 5/17/19 thanks to social media.

The beer pours a nice golden color with amber highlights. Semi-clarity and a big fluffy white head of foam. Hoppy on the nose with light citrus fruit. A nice hit of the hops on the first few sips. The fruit notes come across a tad muddled with notes of lemon, orange, and grapefruit. Smooth on the flow with a decently bitter finish. Moderate mouth feel that drinks rather dry and void of any sweetness. Lots of tang to it and hints of white wine.

Overall, just pretty average stuff. Not bad, but nothing really great either. I've pretty much given up on buying full packs of a number locals without first trying a single can purchase or a sampling at the brewery or ba. I'm gonna score it in the 3.5 range.

 

You've got me confused. What is a SAPP glass ? Tried to research but found nothing I thought useful. Can you post a pic ?

 

Crank Arm Trail Wizard

A-Pours a hazy amber orange color with a nice head and lacing
A-Aroma has peach, pineapple and mango hints
T-Taste follows the nose with a peach, pineapple and mango flavor
M-A medium bodied well carbonated beer
O-A good Hazy IPA

 

New BA Imp. Stout Sunday (Week 749)
Greetings fellow NBSers from on the ridge in Mid Hud Val, NY. Beauty day here, some darkish clouds bopping through, but no rain y'day, and none so far today. When do I like to drink beer? My preference is for weekdays and also on Saturdays and Sundays. What time of day? I confine my beer drinking to my hours of wakefulness. I rarely consume at other times.

Treating my infection, and drinking an absolute winner of a beer I finally get a shot at. Glad to spot it on shelf today after asking everywhere and coming up empty when it first came out. Great beer, one of those beers that startles you along the way how good it actually is. Bamburana, a collab. of Oskar Blues and Cigar City (divisions?)


Full strength aroma, cinnamon toast, roasty grain, burnt caramel sweet, with fig cookies, vanilla, and boozy barrel wood fragrance behind it all. Amazing.

Full strength taste, and then some. All the flavors of the aroma, with the roasty and bitter notes amped up a touch so it ends perfectly, and less fig in the sip than in the aroma. It is a beautiful balance of bright flavors that are simply delicious.

Medium bodied for style, med./high carb. but no carbonic bite, quite viscous, clean flavor display, and one of the best finishes going for a BA Stout.

Amazing beer, so glad to finally get a shot at this. Highly recommended.

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