New Beer Sunday (Week 754)

Picked this up Friday because the can date was less than 1-week out.
Usually love Beer'd offerings, but I was only 3.75 across the board.

Poured from a 16oz can packaged on 7/25/19.
Fairly clear gold body, topped with a two finger white head that fades quickly.
Hoppy, alcohol nose. Taste follows. My main complaint is a pretty prominent alcohol note.
I have really loved previous Beer'd offerings, but this ones not for me.

 

Great Raft IPA ( with wheat ), 7.0% ABV. 4.04 overall

Pours a hazed & effervescent gold with one finger of tight cream colored head. Above average lacing & head retention

S: Light tropical & citrus notes, they build once warm

T: Grapefruit, oranges, a touch of mango & dryness up front. Papaya & orange as this warms, dryness & little lime as well. Finishes with dryness, lime & orange

MF: Medium body, delicate carbonation, nice balance

Drinks very easy, well worth a go

 

I spent the last two days driving back to South Carolina from Massachusetts. My trip to New York and Cape Cod could not have gone better. I saw some friends and missed others. My family in Mass includes the very old and very young, and all were doing as well as could be expected. I drank and hauled back some great beer.

Today I'm paying bills, doing laundry, and taking care of other chores. For a change of pace, I'm drinking a 10% ABV coconut porter Ballast Point Coconut Victory At Sea.

This bottle came from the Daleville VA plant, which meant nothing as to freshness, this one was marked 17217.
Upon opening there was coconut aroma aplenty. Lots of coconut flavor, too, but less chocolate and coffee. The coffee had gone a bit vegetal, with less carbonation than I remember from prior VAS. Still an enjoyable bottle and I rated it
3.87/5 rDev -4.7%
look: 3.75 | smell: 4.25 | taste: 3.5 | feel: 4.25 | overall: 4

Cheers, all!

 

I’m curious how, precisely, the beers were scored by each participant. An “average score” of 32.57 for the top beer is peculiar...perhaps they scored out of 40? If so I would guess the results are probably not statistically significant, with #10 to #3 being separated by barely 1 point.

That being said, I love doing blind tastings like this, and I especially want to try that Wild Mind that came in #6!

 

A-Pours a nice amber color with a nice head and lacing
A-Aroma has nutty and caramel malt hints
T-Taste follows the nose with a nutty and caramel malt flavor
M-A medium bodied decently carbonated beer
O-A good Belgian Strong Ale

 

Good evening NBS, hope everyone is enjoying the end of the weekend once again. Thanks to @lordofthewiens for today's introduction. Finally got out of the drought of finding beers to review last week. I got a nice trade, did a brewery visit to Ascension, and got 2 cases of stuff from a few local friends as well. Fridge is stocked up to the brim with cans. Casually discovered I've been driving on an expired license for the last month when I looked in my wallet last week. I made an appointment for the SOS office to get a new one. I am not waiting in line, nobody got time for that. You cant renew online if it has been over 8 years since you got a photo taken. Appointment is on the 16th, so I have to hope I don't get arrested before that.

Got my errands/chores done extra early today. Did not make any brewery stops like I usually do this week.

Finally got my 10000th Untappd badge, but I am still 40 beers behind plus whatever else I review today. lol


Beer #1

Brand new Transient NEIPA: On All The Time. This was fantastic. Great rocky head retention/thick soapy lacing. Aromas and flavors of big tangerine, orange juice, red grapefruit, lemon, lime, peach, pear, pineapple, apricot, passion fruit, papaya, mango, honeydew melon, guava, blueberry, gooseberry, raspberry, currants, red grape/wine, citrus peel/rind, wood, peppercorn, and pine hops; with moderate wheat, biscuit dough, light honey/toasted malts; and herbal, floral, grassy earthiness. Mild pine, citrus peel/rind, herbal, floral, woody, grassy, peppery bitterness on the finish. Medium carbonation and medium-full body; very creamy, silky, bready, grainy malts, some sticky/resinous/rindy hops in the mouthfeel. Lightly increasing bitter dryness, no hop astringency. Very smooth/soft, minimal warming 8%. Amazing Citra/Enigma profile. Extremely juicy and fairly dank/earthy hops; with a nice sized wheat/oat/malt backbone. Mild residual sweetness with lingering resin dryness. Loved it. Hope I can find more beers with Enigma soon, very unique hop profile. 4.25


Cheers

 

Sorry for your loss !

 

Not truly new to me, but only the second time I’ve enjoyed it, and the first time I’ve done so on a clean palate - Surly Nokken:



“Pours a hazy golden in color, topped with an off white head. Good lacing and head duration. Quite hazy altogether, but not truly opaque.

Spicy and yeasty on the nose, somewhat aggressively so. Notes of sun ripened peach and plum, with a spicy ale yeast underlying.

Sweet, lightly spiced and lightly citric/tangy on the first sip. Not much in the way of dryness here, and it feels it’s weight as the viscous spicy slurry costs the tongue and palate. True to form? Or at least much like a few other strong Belgian ales (Saison) which I’ve enjoyed over the years.

Sweetness approaches cloying. Barleywine-like.

Not an easy drinker per se, but quite easily-drinkable for its strength.

Overall it’s very good and quite robust, and best suited for cooler weather (outdoors), or an air-conditioned easy chair lifestyle.”

Cheers!

 

This thread, including the links within, should tell you all you want to know about this festival.

Attendees had to use the app for the festival to rate the beers. They were keyed to the color of the flight paddle and beer number. I didn't attend (or download the app), but guessing from the information provided and the video demo of using the app, I'd say it was a 50 point scale.

 

Looks like Middle Earth....

 

Barn Beer from Plan Bee.
4.17/5 rDev -0.5%
look: 4.25 | smell: 4 | taste: 4.25 | feel: 4 | overall: 4.25

Pours a slightly hazy yellow with a two plus inch white head that was well retained and left sheets of lacing on the bottom half of the glass. Smells of lemon, pine, and musty funk. Tastes of lemon, grass, pine, oak, grapes, yeast apple cider and musty barnyard funk. Light bodied, well carbonated, light tartness and sourness.

 

Thanks @RaulMondesi for this one. Russian River Happy Hops. Very fresh 7/17. This was fantastic. Lasting rocky head retention/thick foamy lacing. Aromas and flavors of huge tangerine, red grapefruit, lemon, peach, pineapple, apricot, passion fruit, mango, honeydew melon, berries, citrus peel/rind, wood, peppercorn, and pine hops; with moderate cracker, white bread dough, lightly toasted biscuit malts; and herbal, floral, grassy hop earthiness. Light-moderate pine, citrus peel/rind, herbal, floral, woody, grassy, peppery bitterness on the finish. Medium carbonation/body, and fairly crisp finishing. Balanced bready/grainy malts, sticky hops, and some resins/rinds in the mouthfeel. Light-moderate increasing bitter dryness, no hop astringency. Very smooth, not overly aggressive, minimal warming 6.5%. Feels like Centennial, Columbus, Simcoe. Extremely vibrant, juicy, dank, and earthy hops; with a great clean pale malt backbone. Mild residual sweetness with crisp resin dryness. Spot on classic tasting West coast IPA. 4.23


Cheers

 

Thanks to @lordofthewiens for another great NBS start! On a related note, my wife and I just got back from a wonderfully long and lazy lunch with my parents. We are empty-nesters now, but back in the day, my folks loved watching our kids for our long weekends, vacations, and date nights. We still laugh about all the funny things that happened during those visits, and how differently the kids (and grandparents) acted in their respective roles.

Anyway, onto a fantastic beer courtesy of the ever-generous @FFFjunkie. Several weeks ago over in the Sloppy Seconds BIF, I asked where I could find Hop Butcher beers in downtown Chicago on a particular day. Sadly, the correct answer was nowhere. Fast forward to Thursday: a box appeared at my door containing many goodies including several fresh Hop Butcher IPAs, including this one:

Unwind Your Mind, Hop Butcher for the World, Darien, IL



After enjoying this beer, I understand the hype associated with Hop Butcher. Very turbid and acorn yellow in color with a creamy and long-lasting white head that left nice lacing on the glass. The aroma was sweet tropical fruit and berries, which together gave me the sensation of bubble gum and cotton candy. The can says lychees, but I never know what the hell a lychee is supposed to taste like. The taste followed closely. A blast of citrus fruit followed by mango, berries, and then the bubblegum finish. There was a touch of earthy resin and bready malt there to round things out. The feel was outstanding - very, very soft with low bitterness. ABV well hidden. An outstanding beer. Thanks again Dan!

 

Back again. Honestly, when my wife came back from the store with a 15 pack of Blue Point Shore Thing I rolled my eyes and shuttered a little. Quite frankly I was pleasantly surprised. My BA calculated score is 3.02.

Poured from a 12oz can stamped "best by 11/02/19 14:14:12" (like the time matters).
Slightly hazy light yellow body below a minimal white head. Lots of carbonation rising from thebottom.
Smells like an AAL with definite corn adjunct hint.
Taste is surprisingly okay. A hint of sourness and salt actually makes this refreshing.
Can says brewed with sea salt so I get that part, but I don't know where this sourness is coming from. Oddly, it's the beer's saving grace.
I would take this over BMC offerings if I was stuck on a boat in the sun.

 

Greeting from the shores of the Salish Sea fellow NBSers! been a bit since I've stopped by, hope y'all are doing well. It's a lovely summer day here in the Fourth Corner, worked a couple hours doing some prep for tomorrow, now chilling with the NASCAR race from my old home area of the Finger Lakes of New York.

My first entry for the day is a Tennessee brew I found at my local Food Co-Op, Blackberry Farm Boundary Tree: https://www.beeradvocate.com/beer/profile/31896/278088/

 

Alluvial Brewing

Aurox Imperial Stout Barrel Aged with Vanilla Bean

Bottled on 3/11/2019 as 174/200

A big thank you to @Orca_Whale !!

Looks like I have the first written review.





Look: Pours from the bottle dark brown. Sits in the glass opaque, black, with an espresso foam-colored head. A finger of foam settles to a thin veil across the top of the beer, eventually disappearing, and a thick ring of foam around the glass. Some bubbles streaming up along the side of the glass. Some very nice lacing as I drink the beer and long legs strut their way down the side of the glass as I take each sip. Nice indications of some sugary sweetness.



Nose: The smell of this beer is great. It is barrel forward. I am slightly peeved by the “barrel aged” indicator on the side and can assume it is bourbon, but I have no idea. It’s hard to tell if the vanilla aroma is coming from the barrel or the actual vanilla, but I think that speaks to the seamless integration of the individual components that make up the overall aroma. The level of vanilla on the nose is soft and tantalizing. Many barrel and base stout qualities present here. Vanilla, toasted coconut, chocolate / dark fruit that comes through as raisinette. There is also a definitive caramel sweetness. A faint hint of cinnamon. An nice touch of warm alcohol.

Taste: Up front the beer has flavors of milk chocolate, dark chocolate and cocoa. The flavors quickly shift to a burnt coffee, toasted dark bread flavor with woody, toasty, bitter profile with cocoa powder dryness. This is a drinking beer, if one can be a bit rough around the edges. Not an impression beer. And I’m quite enjoying it.

Feel: My imperial stouts must not always be thick, especially if the flavors hit the spot. But in this case, the feel is a bit thin. I do like the sticky sweetness left on my lips. I always do. Some welcomed warmth on the tongue and pipes.

Overall: I am enjoying this beer. The vanilla aspect is nice, but it’s hard to decipher how much that adds to the beer, especially without having the base beer, if it exists. If you’re looking for a vanilla bomb, this is not the beer for you. But it never goes artificial. And that I like. This beer is not balanced due to the acrid profile mid palate and on the finish. It could use a bit more heft on the feel and additional sweetness on the flavor. When all is said and done though, I greatly enjoyed the beer. I like the shift in flavor. Starts out a bit sweet and ends on a completely different note. Nice complexity.

4.05/5 rDev 0%
look: 4.25 | smell: 4.25 | taste: 4 | feel: 3.75 | overall: 4

 

Aug 4, 2019 In honor of my father, a great beer drinker, I offer 4 new 4+ beers:
Monk's Café Flemish Sour Ale | Brouwerij Van Steenberge Belgium 4.32/5 rDev +10.8%**
look: 4.5 | smell: 4.25 | taste: 4.25 | feel: 4.25 | overall: 4.5
i like this better than rodenbach, discovered at wegmans' tasting.
a / Pours a balsamic vinegar colored body with a tan foamy head that laces madly and densely while retaining a cap.
s / offers that vinegar, cherry, malt flavor expected in lambics. a bit of funk, basement, cave.
t / begins with tart fruits (cherry and fermented black berry) with balancing sour bitterness. wine like and complex, a sipper.
f / there's an extra layer in every sip, lean yet complex, dry, smooth, cleansing, yet wine like.
o/ we need more of these - high on my belgian list

À Tout Le Monde | Unibroue Quebec 4.12/5 rDev +6.7%**
look: 4.25 | smell: 4 | taste: 4.25 | feel: 4 | overall: 4
Fan of quebecoise brews and of uni. this no exception, because it packs power in low wattage format.
interesting mixed 6 at wegmans for 9.99.
a - big head, powerful looking, that lasts and laces firmly, hazed golden body.
s - yeasty perfumes rise. White pepper, s. blanc wine, fresh baked bread.
t - follows aroma but adds more. Fruit and spice follow. Orange, lemon, white grape and green apple. complex.
f - clean drying finish, good apertif.
o - most of what i seek in golden light saison ale, esp the wine-like complexity and pucker.
Up & Out Hazy IPA | 2SP Brewing PA 4.08/5 rDev +1.5%**
look: 4 | smell: 4 | taste: 4.25 | feel: 3.75 | overall: 4
the best of hazed ne ipas - i think - is when they pack 9 abv flavor complexity into a 6 abv package. great example of that flavor power here.
in can at wegmans mixed 6
a / as expected - pours a hazy yellow body, with a small head, and abundant lacing.
s / smells of - no surprise - sweet grapefruit, passion fruit, lemon and orange. floral.
t / more complex, powerful, adds peach and papaya with now some pine.
f / aptly fruit juice like, light bodied, clean, and refreshing, but still teeth clingy.
o/ love this, impressed with 2SP.

Nu Juice | Southern Tier NY 4.04/5 rDev +5.2%**
look: 4 | smell: 3.75 | taste: 4.25 | feel: 4 | overall: 4
18th review.
Southern Tier achieved what they set out to do here. Approachable IPA with low IBU.
a) fine bubbled, lots lacing over a golden mostly clear body.
s) clean juicy hoppy fruity and floral aroma. No one fruit leaps other than pineapple and a bit of pine.
t) Follows smell but abundant and clean, the lower bitterness let's the complex fruit and pine strands mingle and light up your tastebuds.
f) fine, wine like, clean, will do well in blind taste offs.
o) Admirable project and very glad I bought the 6.