New Beer Sunday (Week 764)

NBS beer #2



Starkbier

Lawson's Finest Liquids
German Doppelbock | 8% ABV

4.09/5 rDev 0% | Average: 4.09
look: 3.75 | smell: 4 | taste: 4.25 | feel: 4 | overall: 4

canned 10/10/19

L- The beer pours a beautiful plum with just a touch of haze. The head is one finger of off white foam. The head recedes to a thin ring leaving no lacing behind.
S-The nose is full of dark fruits. Plum dominates. There is a hint of alcohol at the end.
T-The dark fruit in the nose is absent here in the taste. Instead there are aspects of mildly sweet toffee and toast. Alcohol presence is perceived through gentle warming in the belly. The beer leans slightly sweet, but never becomes overwhelming.
F-Mouthfeel overall is medium. Carbonation is light, but persistent. Surprisingly the beer finishes a bit dry.
O- A very good domestic version of a German doppelbock. It's a really good representation of the style. Recommended.

 

Something, something, golf?

I don't know jack about how golf works, but congratulations, @lordofthewiens for living the life you wanted. Still working on that, myself.

My Seahawks had me pouring bourbon into my coffee this a.m. Pretty sure that's not the life I want. I'll be lifting a new beer soon.

 

Do you have an opinion on how it compares to imports?

 

Eerily similar review.

 

Good afternoon NBS, hope everyone is doing well. First new beer review of today is 2SP Rolled Out aged about two years.

3.71/5 rDev -1.9%
look: 4.25 | smell: 3.75 | taste: 3.5 | feel: 4 | overall: 3.75

750 ml bottle poured into a pint glass
Aged about 2 years

A- Black with a three finger mocha head.

S- Chocolate, some vanilla, oak, some roasted malts, touch of tart cherries.

T- Weak, toasted malts, some chocolate, touch of vanilla, some oak, touch of tart fruits.

M- Smooth, light to medium body.

O- I think I aged this for too long, no bad or truly off flavors, just weak and a little faded.

Cheers!

 

Review 9200. Cycle Bourbon Barrel Aged Baltic Porter. Fantastic. Dense black pour. Solid head retention, minimal spotty lacing. Aromas and flavors of huge dark chocolate, cocoa, coffee, caramel, brown sugar, toffee, vanilla, bourbon, toasted oak, coconut, fudge, brownie batter, marshmallow, biscuit, and dark bread/crust; with lighter notes of licorice, molasses, raisin, fig, date, smoke, char, leather, tobacco, herbal, grass, pepper, and yeast earthiness. Mild herbal, grassy, peppery, roast, charred bitterness; and bourbon/oak tannin spiciness on the finish. Light-medium carbonation and very full body. Very creamy, silky, velvety, bready malts; light slightness, sticky hops, chalky roast, and oak tannins in the mouthfeel. Mild increasing warmth of 10%, with minimal barrel booziness. Dangerously smooth/soft sipping. Very clean lagering, mildly fruity/yeasty. Amazing balance of super rich malts and bourbon barrel presence/integration; with mild earthy hops and fruity yeast. Not overly sweet/heavy from lingering dryness. Loved it as expected, spot on style example. 4.25


Cheers

 

The kids asked me to pick up some "ordinary beer" at the store and I hadn't had this one, so . . .



Beautiful clear amber gold color with good white cap and lacing.

A clean grain, slightly sweet aroma with a floral touch of hops.

Taste at first is one of rich caramel malt along with a slightly sharp roasty malt edge that offsets the sweetness. From mid palate on malt sorta takes over with hops coming on in a minor note at the finish. Simple flavors if a bit unexciting. This one could easily pass for a Generic Oktoberfest.

Medium texture with balancing carbonation.

The best I can say is this is markedly better than their usual product and the worst I can say is this is better than their usual product.

 

First up, Mountain Fork Brewery's ( Broken Bow, OK ) Crumpet English style Brown Ale, 5.5% ABV. 3.65 overall

Pours a very effervescent & slightly murked hazel with too much tan head ( noticed this with some other Mountain Fork beers as well ). Some lacing & head retention

S: Toasty, nutty

T: Follows the nose, a little caramel & dryness & woody hops front. More dryness, woodyness & toastyness as this warms. Finishes dry, toasty & woody

MF: Medium body, medium carbonation

A solid brown, drinks easy, just pour this beer very gently

I won't say I have a bucket list per se. There are tons of places I would like to visit & many I would like to revisit, but there is only so much time & money. I am fortunate to have seen & done many of things I have. It's all pretty much gravy from here on out.

 

Damn Doc,
Retirement is doing your golf game right!!! Congrats.

 

Good Sunday afternoon, New Beer Samplers and commentators. And thank you, @lordofthewiens for hosting today's festivities. I don't really have a bucket list. I have a few more years before I retire and perhaps then I'll contemplate it more. Until then, it's one day at a time! On to beer. I'm rather compulsive and tend to binge on seasonal beers. With so many new breweries opening, the opportunities are almost endless. On the way home from the Shore today I stopped at Somers Point Brewing for a growler of Ubiquitous Autumn Ale, SoPo's pumpkin ale. I was very impressed with SoPo's Märzen so I was anxious to try it. In a word, it's very spicy. It's not nearly as sweet as Schlafly's (still the gold standard for me) or Southern Tier's Pumking. It's more akin to Weyerbacher's Pumpkin Ale. Lots of clove, nutmeg, and black pepper with a base of caramel malt and a hint of brown sugar. It's really quite good. I'm more impressed with SoPo's specialty beers than its IPAs but the brewery has only been open for six months and I'm confident it will succeed. I'm down that way a lot and will visit often. They have a Russian Imperial Stout in the tank now that intrigues me.

Here's my full review:

3.81/5 rDev 0%
look: 3.75 | smell: 4 | taste: 3.75 | feel: 3.75 | overall: 3.75

Poured from fresh growler into a pint glass. It pours something between ruby and copper with a large, foamy, ecru-colored head and lots of spotty lacing. Lots of fragrant spice on the nose: clove, allspice, nutmeg, perhaps some cinnamon, along with caramel malt, and earthy and tobacco notes. When sipped the spicing is very strong in the front of the mouth, along with tobacco. I'm tasting a lot of clove. At mid-palate there is caramel malt, pumpkin puree, and brown sugar. Despite being only 20 IBU there is some bitterness and black pepper at the finish. The mouth feel is lite, crisp, and clean with fairly lively carbonation and a barely noticeable 4.4% ABV. Overall, this is more spicy than, say Schlafly or Pumking. It reminds me a little of Weyerbacher's Pumpkin Ale. It's really quite good and would be great paired with wursts and brats at Oktoberfest.

An anecdote. It's a lovely Fall day and I intended to drink this on the deck. I took the photo and sat down with my computer when I was almost clocked by a large black walnut. It hit the table a few inches away from me and made one hell of a bang. So I've retired to the safety of my basement bar area. Cheers, NBS!

 

8 Wired - Lokomotiv

Russian Imperial Stout aged in Merlot Wine Barrels (Sacred Hill Vineyards). 11% ABV.






I purchased this beer for two reasons: (1) It’s from New Zealand and I don’t believe I’ve ever had a beer from that country; (2) I was intrigued by a stout aged in red wine barrels.

Only one regret about it...

Just a slight hiss when cracking the cap.

Look: The beer pours dark brown from the bottle. It’s black and opaque in the glass. Medium brown colored foam that disappears. No lacing but some legs after swirling.

Smell: Pretty complex nose. A lot of molasses. This note pointed out by my wife. Didn’t hit me until she said it. Quite dominant. Roasted malt with some bright and acidic dark fruit notes of plum, tart cherry and blackberry. A deep inhale yields some woody, earthy, mushroom like umami notes that inch across the line of being meaty. Dark chocolate covered raspberry jelly rings. No indications of 11% ABV on the nose. Very nice stout aroma accented and complemented by the red wine treatment.

Taste: The tip of the tongue gets some sweet and tart berry. Raspberries and blackberries. Sweet ripe berry and that harder, under ripe, more tart berry. Mid palate and on the finish I get a lot of wood. Semi sweet chocolate. Bitter and berry forward coffee. Dark chocolate bitterness lingers on the finish which dries out a lot. Char, toast and smoke.

Feel: Low to medium level of carbonation. Smooth and velvety. The dry and bitter notes feel a bit pithy.

Overall: Sometimes reviewing beer feels like work. This beer inspires me to work for the review. There are so many enjoyable aspects to this beer I just don’t want it to end. A wonderful marriage of red wine and stout. I don’t like to dictate preferences, but this beer requires a juicy ribeye where wine might normally complement.

4.55/5 rDev -0.7%
look: 4 | smell: 4.50 | taste: 4.75 | feel: 4.25 | overall: 4.5

...I did not buy more.

Still on this album (or again I should say say) and still enjoying the beautiful weather.

 

Funny video.

 

NBSx3.

Wayfinder
Pink Phoenix- Special Lager





Beautiful maple syrup amber color that is crystal clear. A smooth and foamy off white head clings to the glass with a decent spotty surface coverage that refuses to depart.

Extra toasted bread with a burnt caramel scent. Roasted chestnuts in the background, finished off with an earthy and dried floral blast.

Toasted white bread continues to dominate over lighter burnt sugars, nuts, and herbs. There's a slight dark fruitiness to it that I can't quite place. Fig? Grape? Somewhere in the between...

A clean beer overall, with wonderful balance. It has a light yet rich feel to it with a dry and crisp finish demanding for another sip.

Another great lager from Wayfinder. These guys are putting themselves on the map quickly and deservedly so. The sum is better than the whole.

After my official review I gave Pink Phoenix a rating of 4.07 with an rDev of -0.7%. Cheers!

 

Deep south #3

Alabama's Straight to Ale Brother Joseph's Belgian Dubbel
ABV: 8.0%
IBU: 22



Aroma is dark fruit, raisins, plums, spices, alcohol.

Look is deep, deep amber tending toward brown, looking hazy red-amber with a backlight, with a 1/2 inch creamy off-white head, receding fairly quickly to a thin head and ring. No lacing.

Taste mirrors the aroma, dark fruit, raisins, plums, figs, spices, dark bread. Quite nice. Mild initially, with slight bitterness in the middle and finish, which lingers into the aftertaste. The taste is slightly sweet.

Mouth feel is moderate-thin, if just a bit sticky.

Overall, this is an excellent American-made dubbel; smooth, rich and varied flavors, very enjoyable.

L: 4.0 | S: 3.75 | T: 4.0 | F: 3.75 | O: 4.0 | BA: 3.92

 

I am not Canadian!

 

Nice review & thanks for sharing the video on it as well!

 

Hello NBS. Lots going on today- some unpleasant but I needed some relief so wanted to drop a quick one on something different:
Grey Sail -Bobbin for Apples Graf Ale.
I wasnt familiar with what a Graf ale was. As a matter of fact it says nothing about Graf on the can. Only 'Ale brewed with locally pressed cider'
Hit their website for a better description- though it wasnt much.
Pours a very slightly hazy golden yellow with a champagne like head which lasts longer than you might expect leacing a thin cap and spotty lacing. Floaties- some chunky are visible as well.
Aroma is yup crisp green apple with some spicey/clovey yeast and fresh grass. Not much detectable in the way of hops.
Taste is again lots of crisp granny smith, some pale malt and some pine needle bitterness from hops. Spices on the back end.
Feel is medium/light body, very dry with surprisingly no residual sugars finishing with that crisp bitterness and a stern carbonation.
Yup a little one dimensional but as I am not familiar with the style Im not sure if it fits the mold. Certainly an easy drinker especially if youre into ciders more than beer, I guess. I would have liked to taste more sweetness- maybe some more crystal malts.
Kind of eh. Actually if I want cider I much prefer those amped up dry hopped cider versions. Gave it a shot.
Have a great evening. Have another new one. We will see what happens later. Cheers.

 

I’ve had several Industrial Arts beers, both ales and lagers, and have never not been impressed. This collab with Cloudburst keeps the winning streak going. A bit of a twist, a lager hopped with varieties usually reserved for IPAs, and aged in oak.

 

Parish Envie. Excellent APA. Super hazy. Lasting rocky head retention/thick foamy lacing. Aromas and flavors of big red grapefruit, tangerine, lemon, peach, pineapple, apricot, mango, melon, citrus peel/zest, peppercorn, and pine hops; with moderate wheat, cracker, white bread dough, lightly toasted biscuit malts; and herbal, floral, grassy hop earthiness. Light pine, citrus peel/rind, herbal, floral, woody, grassy, peppery bitterness on the finish. Medium carbonation/body; very creamy/bready/grainy malts; some sticky hops, and light resins in the mouthfeel. Lightly increasing lingering bitter dryness. Very smooth/soft, zero warming 5.1%. Feels like Centennial and Amarillo. Very juicy, vibrant, and fairly dank/earthy hops; with a great wheat/malt backbone for the ABV. Mild residual sweetness with lingering dryness. Spot on style. Very close to an NE style. 4.03


Cheers

 

Isn't everything though....