New Beer Sunday (Week 756)

Hello there NBS people!
I am back this week after what feels like forever. I have the day off and am busy doing some beer-related "chores" today to enjoy the last day of an absolutely spectacular little vacation this last week. So I will be/have been doing some fridge organization, review posting, prepping to send some HB off to a competition and of course reviewing some new beer on here that I got while stateside.

As for the theme today, my childhood was lovely and since I grew up in the middle of nowhere it was very outdoors-oriented and mainly involved me and my younger brother screwing around together. Lots of biking and forts and digging and climbing and riding horses and spotlight tag with my only other kid neighbors most every night during the summer. During the winter it was sledding, sledding and more sledding. My neighbor had a huge hill (nearly a mile long) that his dad would pack down for us with a snowmobile and it is not just a nostalgic kid's perspective that makes me say that we hauled ass down that thing. Never got seriously hurt somehow. The closest was when racing one day my brother veered into the neighbor at the bottom of the hill. He caught air off some sagebrush and was thrown through a barb wire fence which caught the pompom on his stocking cap and pulled it off his head. He didn't get a scratch on him but after seeing him stand up on the other side and his hat dangling from a barb, we all decided to call it a day and go home that day. Ah youth....

I actually (with the exception of nettles and the presence of a body of water) felt like I was reading about my own kid-dom when reading @kemoarps ' write-up. One of these days we'll have to get together, man, we seem to have enough in common to either get along swimmingly or to absolutely loathe one another hahaha.

For my first beer today I am going to try and start light so I can get into some IIPAs later on. So I'm going to get going with Supah Phunk from Hermit Thrush. This is a brewery that I had definitely heard about but never really sought out before, as I am not huge into sours. However, after hearing an interview with the brewer on a podcast just prior to my recent trip I endeavoured (with the help of the greatest guide one could ever hope for) to try some of their beer. So let's see how it is.



It pours a clear, glowing orange with a short-lived, fizzy white head; little retention. The aroma is packed with smarties, apple skin, leathery funk, vaguely cucumber-like freshness and a general tart snap. The flavor is much more acidic without tons else going on to my tastes, a hint of earthiness at the outset followed by a weave of vinegar sourness and then that lingering buttery/fatty feel that some gueuzes have. It is fizzy and thin with a lingering tart tingle. This is a decent beer that has a great nose on it. The flavor is less complex and too sour to taste much else. It opens up a bit more as It warms, but is still a little one dimensional in that respect. It is pretty good, but not really my cup of tea. I realize that I have kind of a review blind spot for beers like this, but I liked all but the lack of transfer of the complexity in the smell to the rest. Not bad at all, but could definitely be better.

Santé!

 

Budweiser Discovery Reserve

Yet another beer in their "reserve" series. This one (article link) was made to celebrate the anniversary of the moon landing and was "inspired by an archival Budweiser recipe from the time of the Apollo Moon missions." It's a reddish copper. Body is medium-thin. Carbonation leaves the body quickly. I'm surprised by how old this beer tastes. For me, there's a combination of flavors going on here that actually mimics oxidation. There's a light caramel taste but the beer is not sweet. It's bready and there's a slight sour tang in the background. I have no idea how different this beer really is from any of the previous Reserve "red lagers." This isn't one that I'm tempted to buy more of.

 

Thanks @lordofthewiens for the great start to this weeks NBS. Will be back later on today with a new brew.

Cheers!

 

Good morning from the Garden State, NBS readers. As mentioned yesterday in the daily drinking thread, I was able to find a beer in this state that has eluded me in my own. With so much beer available, I have not really wanted a specific beer in a while, but this one broke that streak.

Bamburana is a collaboration beer, and one that bucks conventional wisdom that they are “almost always a letdown.” That is to say that if you fine people haven’t been intentionally misleading, this Oskar Blues and Cigar City beer should be very interesting and enjoyable.


The beer leaving the can is a near black stream with some rusty highlights. The pour doesn’t look too thick, and the rust roils below the surface as the glass fills. A pause in the pour releases the pressure and a brown clay colored head expands above the liquid. It falls at a moderate pace, and settles into a fuzzy layer of left to its own devices.

The aroma was a little impatient, and I got a cinnamon and root spice scent as I poured. I have found that a sometimes these initial aromas can be misleading, but this does not seem to be the case here. They also are not the whole story (as expected). Nose down, I get a cinnamon raisin toast with brown sugar compound butter with a side of coffee that has berry notes. A hint of whiskey spice hides in back.

A sheet of brown is like a window shade being drawn down the other side of the glass as I sip. As I get a quarter finished with the glass, I re-read the description on the can. Is the raisin bread + brown sugar the result of a fig, date, and brandy combination? I didn’t get the dark fruits specifically. I could guess the amburana wood brought the cinnamon, and a quick Google result check indicates I probably guessed right.

The flavor is actually sweeter than I expected, despite my noting of brown sugar in the nose. The extra sweetness does not really weigh the beer down as much as it could. The beer is really smooth, with light carbonation; the spice makes up for this a bit.

For the taste, that berry coffee comes forward from its place in the back of the nose. I feel like the answer to my question is yes, the brandy and dark fruits combine to be more of a raisin taste. I also get a bit of a robust red wine in the mid-taste. The late flavors include the spice and some aspect of wood - be it the spirals or barrels I couldn’t tell. The spice joins with the roasted malt to form a spiced cola (a la root/birch beer) initially, but lasts beyond the roast to bring a light bite.

Even with the “robust wine” previously noted, the influence of the barrels’ previous tenants is not a large component of this beer. Which is fine, as I feel they are simply integrated well (the notes brandy into raisin, perhaps the whiskey into the spice).

Final words (finally!): you guys/gals did not lead me wrong on this one. I loved this beer from the get go. I wrote this post before eating, but I expect it to be near my highest, probably a top ten. Extreme nitpick: I think it could be a little less sweet and I could use a little more roast. Then again, what would I give up from this truly enjoyable beer to get those things. Best to just enjoy, methinks.

Fin

Epilogue: Cheers, all!

 

First off, I would love to say that I’m happy @superspak is feeling better.
But I don’t know how @FlintB coming over would have made it any better

Seriously though, Ian, stay up. There is so much negative energy in this fast moving world today, that it’s easy to let it grab ahold of you. Stay positive and keep focusing on forward.

Speaking of kids games, some I remember might not have always been the safest. Like @cavedave mention of “firework wars” I guess some of them could’ve even been considered deadly.

Which leads me to a New Beer on this Sunday, believe it or not. From @TheGent we have

Beer: Seven Deadly Layers
Brewery: Other Half (Brooklyn, NY)
ABV: 14.5%

From a 500 ml. bottle into a whiskey glass, this beer pours out a dark, coffee like brown. An oily appearance forms on top of the glass from all the sediment and there is even a huge chunk of graham cracker left floating around. And on the last pour of the bottle, you can see sediment floating throughout the entirety, even making it a shade lighter in color.

The nose carries a bigger booziness than sweetness. I want to say I’m surprised, with all the sweet additives, but remind myself that it’s almost 15%. I get booze covered dark fruit; raisins and plums. Chocolate chip cookies and oatmeal raisin cookies bounce in and out along with faint caramel sauce and molasses. It’s pretty tame though, and I’m having to really search.

The taste however, pops. No searching here. It comes in with a big chocolate syrup presence tangling with caramel sauce and a boozy background that stays the whole way. Slight cookie presence shows up again, but not with the presence it had in the nose. Brownie mix, ready to go in the oven. The dark fruit notes stay consistent throughout, never becoming too strong to distract but always adding to the overall pot.

A boozy alcohol presence stays throughout, you’re not going to avoid it. But, it’s not out of line either. It keeps the sweetness in check and provides a nice warming sensation without the burn. I might even guess it at 12%. The carbonation is low, sitting back to let the other aspects shine. Thick, full, almost oily and syrupy sweetness in the body.

Overall, I wasn’t able to pick out everything mentioned on the label, but this does provide nice layers of sweetness mixing with a quite intriguing stout base that I would love to try on its own. I enjoyed it.

Thank you for this Anthony, and cheers to all you that join into NBS!
I’ll probably be back with one later, but until then, I can’t wait to see what you bring to the share!

 

I am in the same boat. It is rare I want something based exclusively on seeing it drunk on here, but here we are. Maybe I'll come across it at some point. I just hope that @woodychandler got royalties for their use of his signature stylistic pun-manteau (or whatever you'd call it) in the little motto thing that OB always puts on their cans.

 

That recently became available by me, too. It's definitely a nice beer worthy of a revisit from time to time. But to me it's got the feel of a Pils/Kolsch hybrid; I get vaguely fruity elements from it, like pear or white grape. I'm wondering if that's from the hops or is a fermentation byproduct.

 

Ha! I saw that and forgot it in my post.

I hope you come across it, too. Being a collaborative effort, it’s hard to know if it will be remade. Though it seems pretty damn successful, so my fingers are crossed.

In looking at my highest rated beers, the one this reminds me most of is Abraxas. The comparison beer has a more classic stout roast, but it’s the lingering spice that drives that comparison. Also, the last sips are near room temp and have a little more of a roasted bean note coming out.

 

Glad you enjoyed, Dayton. This one smacked me in the face with butterscotch when I had it 4 months ago. Some of their stouts are sweet messes for me. While this one was sweet, I really enjoyed it.

 

I too enjoyed mostly unsupervised time playing outside & exploring the woods behind my parent’s house when I was young. Middle school brought model rockets, video games and Magic cards. By high school most of my time was marching band and other music endeavors.

Not sure why a barleywine struck my fancy in the middle of August but today we have a BBA smoked collab from Jackie O’s & Creature Comforts.



12.7oz bottle poured into a snifter
A: Dark brown, 1/2 finger head
S: Smoke, brandied cherries, plum, molasses
T: Matches the nose though the smoke moves to the background
M: Full bodied, somewhat sweet, the alcohol is hidden
O: Not getting much from the bourbon barrels but overall a pleasant barleywine

Cheers!

 

Hang in there man, life is a gift.

 

I liked this a lot as well. I'd be reaching if I claimed to remember the subtleties you mention but I'll be interested to look for them in the future.

Wish this was priced a bit better though. At $12 a sixer around here there's a number of other good pilsner options that are significantly cheaper.

 

Great Divide Chocolate Oak Aged Yeti



A- Pours a very dark color with a slight tan head and lacing
A- Aroma has abundant Chocolate with slight Oak chip and spice hints
M-The taste follows the nose with a generous Chocolate flavor with added spice and Oak chip to round complement the flavor
M-A medium bodied moderately carbonated beer
O-A very well done Imperial Stout

 

Yeah, I'd put Green State Lager as one of them myself- $9.99 around here. But it's also nice to have options for when that other stuff isn't available or you're in a store that doesn't carry them.

 

Hey what's going on?!

Beer drinking that's what.

And what was my memories of a kid while not of the same demographic quite as @lordofthewiens ?

Mom can i go play outside? Yes... in fact get out and don't come back until dinner time...

Might I also point out I grew up in a city? Times have changed... but found lots of things with friends in the hood to do and explore.

Well while I am reminiscing and now wishing I didn't have a mortgage to pay these days.. and things that come with being an adult... llike... responsibility... I can at least partake in a good new beer.

What's new for our hero today?



Poured from the bottle into a Bellwood's tulip glass. Vintage 2018.

Very pale lemon color, almost straw yellow in lightness, but has a very good bright glowing body. Snappy fine white forming head of two fingers, but dissolves and dissipates like cola maintaining a simple white collar around the edges. Opaque, with a real good look up to the light. Some visible carbonation but a little hard to see.

Real nice aroma. Rich hits of a thick rounded oak and wild funk. Hits with a big amount of hay and estery qualities. Slight touch of light vinegar with a good amount of stone fruit character as well. Comes off a bit more peach than plum like.

Very nice palate. Slight juiced up body, but seems to have little barrel character in flavor. Still a good punch of fruited peach and perhaps apricot kicks in more so than plum, with a big funky almost peppery flavor. Mild acidity as well, maybe a touch of orange zest lurking as well. Slight touches of salt on the lips giving an almost margarita like quality as well.

Very good wild, but surprised of the limited barrel character for so long aged for flavor. Definitely one solid brew.

look: 4 | smell: 4.25 | taste: 4 | feel: 4 | overall: 4 | Final BA Rating: 4.06

Cheers!

 

Poured into a 13 oz Funk Teku glass canned on 7/31/19. Pours a slightly cloudy orange with a massive 3 finger head that leaves massive thick rings of wavy lace, with some very nice retention as it slowly settles. 4.5

Smell is big apricot, orange peel, mango, and grapefruit rind. 4

Taste follows bitter and tropical tangerine, mango, apricot, and grapefruit not insanely bitter but East meets West and really nice. 4

Mouthfeel is big, slightly sticky and slightly dry, and at 8% leaves its mark, but rather approachable. 4.25

Overall a nice beer on $11 a 4 pack and will gladly revisit. 4

 

Cocobanger from Pohjala

I bought this beer in Greenville, SC. As I was purchasing some others, I asked the guys working at the store what beer I should absolutely not leave without. This is the beer they picked. And it’s worthy.

Appearance is pitch black, oily, and slick. Two fingers of mocha colored head on top. Smell is a chocolate and coconut candy bar. A hint of alcohol comes behind. Taste is exactly the same, very decadent and rich. Bitter black coffee after that; it’s amazing. An alcohol burn comes after, on the way down the gullet, which is expected given a 12.5% stout. Mouthfeel is slick, oily, and not as full as I expected. It’s in the fuller side of medium but not quite chewy. Overall this is fantastic and I’m glad the guys didn’t let me leave without it.

 

Hi again, NBS!
I'm back and I've really been enjoying reading everyone's childhood hijinks stories. They are all making me smile imagining them and it was a great idea for a thread prompt, @lordofthewiens . I don't usually post music on here, but what with the subject matter I got a song by one of my all time favorite artists stuck in my head and I thought it was appropriate for the subject at hand. After listening to it, I realized the second song could also fit. As for beer, I'm drinking a fresh Eureka! (with Mosaic) from Treehouse courtesy of the inimitable @papposilenus . This is a new one to me from them and as far as I can remember my first pale beer from them that was not some spin on an IPA, although I suspect this one might be. We'll find out.

It pours a hazy dandelion-esque yellow with a nice creamy head of a couple fingers. It ends up pretty much dissipating and leaves some scattered lacing. There's a big tropical-citrus aroma right out of the can. Grapefruit, guava, a hint of resinous pine, old mango, white bread. The flavor is crisply bitter without much (if any) of the fruitiness found in the smell, flat hop bite with some neutral malt underneath. It is very drinkable and pretty crisp and dry compared to some of their other beers with medium carbonation. It is definitely not a to-style Blonde, but is not as far from that as I thought it would be. I would say that its real accomplishment is that it manages to drink like a Blonde, a Mosaic showcase and a TH beer all at once. Very nice little beer. I'd gladly have another. Thanks a ton, Pope o' silliness.

"Kentucky Avenue"


"I Don't Wanna Grow Up"


Santé!