What beer are you drinking now? #2508

Have a nice Labor Day BA. Don't have anything special planned for myself.

Amazing as usual. Flavors of huge dark chocolate, cocoa, nutty dark roast coffee, molasses, caramel, toffee, vanilla, bourbon, toasted oak, and dark bread; with lighter notes of dark fruit, smoke, and charcoal. Balanced roast/char bittersweet and bourbon/oak spicy finish. Medium carbonation and full bodied; awesome creamy, silky, velvety, and lightly slick mouthfeel; with some lightly drying chalky roast and bourbon/oak tannins after the finish. Mildly increasing warming finish, minimal boozy barrel notes. Very smooth sipper. Fantastic barrel integration/balance with the fruity/nutty coffee and rich malts; without being overly boozy on the barrels. More recent batches did not seem to need as much added age to mellow from the barrel booze aspect when fresher, vs previous years. Plus, the last 2 years higher ABV made them even richer. Still on the shelf in many places from last year, still haven't seen the pretzel one yet.


Cheers

So we are still going with this one. I listened to it all the way up to 4 AM until I took a nap.

 

Insane NEDIPA as always. Aromas and flavors of huge tangerine, orange juice, grapefruit, lemon, peach, apricot, pineapple, passion fruit, papaya, mango, melon, guava, berries, citrus peel/zest, and light pepper/pine hops; with moderate wheat, biscuit dough, light honeyed malt balance; and herbal, floral, grassy hop earthiness. Very mild pine, zesty, herbal, floral, grassy, spicy bitterness on the finish. Medium-full bodied creamy, bready, grainy wheat/oats in the mouthfeel. Slight hop stickiness, with a touch of increasing lingering bitter dryness. Zero hop astringency. Dangerously drinkable for 9.3%, minimal warming ABV. One of the absolute best in the style I've had, smoothness is unmatched. Pure citrus/tropical fruit juice hop flavors, with a touch of dankness. Never overly sweet/heavy feeling on malts for the ABV; perfectly balanced. Super soft mouthfeel. Old Nation definitely has the best MI NEIPAs. These hold up extremely well over a few months. I prefer them with a bit of time actually, because they get even smoother/silkier. This was a 3 month old batch.


Cheers

 

Incredible IPA as always, one of my main classic favorites. Lasting thick head retention/lacing the whole glass. Aromas and flavors of big red grapefruit, tangerine, lemon, peach, pineapple, apricot, mango, melon, citrus peel/zest, light peppercorn, and pine hops; with moderate toasted bread, light honey/caramel malt balance; and floral/grassy hop earthiness. Light-moderate pine, citrus peel/rind, floral, grassy, spicy bitterness on the finish. Medium carbonation/body. Balanced creamy/bready malts and sticky hops in the mouthfeel. Light lingering resins/rinds. Fairly crisp/drying, and extremely drinkable; never astringent. Never gets old, always fantastic. I will always love classic C hopped beers, even with all of the new hop varieties around. Awesome vibrant/juicy, and fairly dank/earthy Centennial hops; great balancing bready Munich malt backbone, with minimal residual sweetness from lingering crisp resin dryness. Been keeping it around more often this year. Almost finished off the latest fresh pack.


Cheers

 

Incredible stuff. Aromas and flavors of huge juicy limes, citrus peel/zest, lemon, peach, pear, melon, apricot, red/green apple, white grape/wine, sea salt, vanilla, tequila, toasted oak, hay, straw, and grass; with moderate honey, agave, wheat, white bread dough, lightly toasted biscuit malt sweetness; light peppercorn, lacto funk, and yeast earthiness. Light-moderate fruity/lactic tartness, fruit tang; light zesty bitterness, and tequila/oak tannin spiciness on the finish. Medium carbonation and medium-full body; very creamy, silky, bready wheat; some lactic acid/fruit tang; light oak tannins, and salinity in the mouthfeel. Lightly increasing acidic/tangy/tannin dryness; zero cloying/pucker. Insanely smooth/soft, not overly lactic/salty. Minimal warming 10%, zero barrel booze. Perfectly balanced between juicy/vibrant limes, Lacto complexity, agave, and tequila barrel presence/integration; with a nice sized rich pale/wheat malt backbone against acidity. Not overly sweet/heavy from lingering dryness. Just as impressive as the Sierra Nevada one, but richer from the high ABV. I am buying at least 2 more packs. This was everything I hoped it would be.


Cheers

Tool is playing Little Caesars Arena on Nov 9th. Trying to coordinate something with a few friends, tickets look like they will be expensive as fuck. Upwards of $200 for upper deck. I need to go to this.