What Beer Are You Drinking Now? #2495

Good day BAs! The sun is slooowly burning through the morning fog for what might be a sunny day. If so, time to shear the yard. If nothing else, I'll get my driver's license renewed - forgot to last month and it's now expired.
Today's New Breakfast Beer:



Didn't turn the overhead light on today, just my desk light, so Jim-Bob has decided to remain on his dock and observe his mammal:

 

Drinking Stockholm Fine Festival, 7.2%. I decided to try the brands of "above 7% lager beer" which I haven't already had that are on my local monopoly's shelves and first up is this one. This beer is dark golden in color which leads me to think that there is something darker than pilsner malt in there. The smell is lightly malty sweet with some mild fruitiness, but without any weird aromas as far as I can tell. The taste is malty with some sweetness, but no cloying sweetness. There is a balancing hop bitterness (has to be at least 23 IBUs like a typical Swedish Export, or a bit higher still) that helps with the overall balance. There is some alcohol present but it is slight, surprisingly slight even. The finish is semi-dry. Not bad at all for the style. It has a basic beer flavor, and that is the best you can hope for with these beers.

 

Good morning BA & a big thank you to @russpowell for this morning's post night shift indulgence...

Very nice American Imperial Stout. I need to get a nap and get a couple things done before tomorrow. Cheers all!

 

I'm having a Manta Ray from Ballast Point. It's a damn fine IIPA. It smells of peach, citrus and a touch of pine. The pine is more prominent in the taste. There's also orange rind and peach. A really good beer.

 

Next up, Sofiero Guld 7.5%. The color of this beer is paler than the first one, and I imagine that it's all pilsner malt, which the lower abv Export version of this brand is, or maybe with a sugar adjunct. The aroma is lightly malty and fruity and smells very similar to the Export version, as did the Stockholm to its Export version. I do think this one has a slight hoppy note however, which the Stockholm lacks. The taste is malty but at the same time dry, with a mild bitterness. There is some slight hoppiness also. The aftertaste is dry. Again there is some alcohol but not much. The Export strenght Sofiero is one of the palest and lightest of the Swedish Export brands, and this is reflected in their extra strong version, which is pale and comparatively light for its strenght. I don't think this one is a bad beer either, it has the basic beer flavor of its weaker brother but with some added heft and a slight alcohol note (which I will always compare against Ayinger Maibock, and this isn't any different from that one in this respect). I'm surprised by how okay tasting these beers are, but I do enjoy most Swedish Export beers, and these extra strong versions maintain the flavor of the regular brands to a surprising degree I find, so how can I not like them.

 

Happy Tuesday ba. Gots the day off so I'm up and at it. A revisit to Curmudgeon's Better Half. Sweet, booze, and smooth as all hell. Pretty nice,

 

Morning coffee before starting some outdoor work.

 

Lupulus X. A Citra IPA from Buxton Brewery (England).
Cheers!

 

4 from long trail brewing. A very good session brew with nice hops.

 

Finishing off the pack here ba. Second Wave, ipa, from Sand City. Pine, resin, bitter, and just straight up good ipa. If you're sick of the haze/juice craze this is something to seek out.

 

Next up, Sju komma tvåan ("the seven point two"), 7.2%. The color of this one is toward the dark golden color and according to the monopoly website it uses pilsner and caramel malt which makes sense. The aroma is some diacetyl (which to me is the hallmark of this brewery's beers) and rich pale malt. The flavor is the same, rich malt with some sweetness and some diacetyl. The bitterness is noticably stronger in this beer than in the two others, this has to be around 30 IBUs, it is noticable and sticks around in the aftertaste. No real hop flavor or aroma. The finish is bittersweet unlike the other two. I can't really taste the alcohol in this beer but there is a dryness in the aftertaste which hints at its higher abv. This is the most regular beer tasting beer of the three albeit fuller and maltier. The diacetyl might throw some people off but I don't really mind it at this level, it just reminds me of a Czech lager. I think it's a competent extra strong lager, and it offers more beer flavor than alot of others in its class.

 

Right along here ba. Double Trouble- a single bottle purchase. Lots of resin and pine, again, and rather concentrated. Pretty good and I may consider buying a whole pack,

 

Steel Toe Rainmaker Double Red Ale