New Beer Sunday (Week 770)

I also have 3 hole in ones and like gambling or a great beer it never gets old.

Poured into a 16 oz Snulip glass canned on 9/18/19 pours a gorgeous pitch black with a massive 3 plus finger dark mocha head that leaves massive streaks of lace all over the sides of the glass yielding amazing retention as is slowly settles into a thin a layer of dark brown bubbles. 5

Smell is cinnamon, cayenne, vanilla bean, cappuccino, cocoa nibs, and hazelnut. 4.75

Taste follows cinnamon, cayenne, hazelnut upfront with vanilla, chocolate, and cappuccino taking over in the finish, explosive and amazingly balanced with just a touch of heat. 5

Mouthfeel BIG and chewy, moderate carbonation as it should be, maybe a touch dry and that is true to form for a beer like this, and at 9.5% ABV it drinks bigger but still insanely approachable. 5

Overall this thing is amazing, Yeti has always in my opinion been the king of Stouts and this may be my favorite variant thus far. Special stuff. 4.75

 

Very deep coppery gold color with good tan cap and lacing.

Aroma of molasses, dark fruits like figs, plums, dates and raisins, with some sharp spice that give it a floral character.

Deep flavors that are bolder in taste than in scent. Same mix though with dark fruits dominating the field like artillery with spices providing the flanking Calvary. Combined they are a full frontal assault on the senses but it's a welcome feeling. No alcohol that I can taste, which may be due to an acquired resistance, just a melange of flavors that are consistent, complex and very clean.

Full texture with balancing carbonation.

If I had a friend who had never tasted a Scotch Ale this is the one I'd choose for their introduction.

 

Good morning NBS and thanks @lordofthewiens for the fun story. I am not a golfer, the one hole in one story is from a small course in Worthington MA. At one of the holes is a small plaque. Story goes one member of the team 80 yrs, shoots his first hole in one, then next up his 80 yrs old team mate shoots his first ever, back to back both firsts.
Shout out to @superspak on your decision, this hits close as my brother all but lost everything and is now in a much better place after his realization and the effort that followed
Best to you

Today's offering is from Collective Arts and Siren Brewing, A lovely Baltic Porter, jazzed up with dark fruit and then Rum Barrel treated. This one is driven by sweet dark fruits and a fun tension with this tart thread from treatment.
Cheers all
Collective arts / Siren - Origin of Darkness

Collective Arts Brewing
Baltic Porter | 9.6% ABV

3.92/5 rDev -0.5% | Average: 3.94
look: 4 | smell: 3.75 | taste: 4 | feel: 3.75 | overall: 4

Poured from a 2019 500 ml bottle release, into the test glass.
A - Dark backdrop, ebony wood color, a quick to leave mocha cap is carbonation evidence.
S - Cold the aromatics are in a narrow band, black cherry skin, cigar wrap tobacco, burnt brown sugar, As it warms, dark chocolate, fig, spiced rum evolve.
T - Lots of dark fruit, with an edge of almost tart cherry again. Dark brown sugar sweetness, rum and wood blend very well. That tart snap does kind drive the flavor around. Not offensive but assertive for certain.
M - Light on the palate for all that's going on, Sweet start, then that tart wave rolls in. The finish is surprisingly ashen and quite delightful.
O - A very complex and interesting offering, I really enjoy the totality of the experience. With time spent and a warming of the offering the complexity grows. Very good indeed

 

Hang in there, man. It gets easier I can say from the perspective of 79 days with no beer (pretty much everything else I enjoy also is on the "no-no" list lol). I was able to quit everything except coffee, but have gotten Doc's approval for one cup a day. Am surprised to learn I am more addicted to caffeine than to alcohol, carbs, cigars, red meat, sweets, salty snacks, and fatty cold cuts.

I recommend stopping here on BA, and especially here on NBS, which I wasn't sure I would want to do, but am glad to say I have been stopping regularly. It's as close to drinking beer as I get now. In real life I am not yet to the point where I can hang with friends who are drinking beer. Hangin' here, or on WBAYDN? No problem. Amazing the money I'm saving, which is actually paying for my medical bills and both of my prescriptions. I have been forced to take care of myself in a way I neglected for many, many years. And I have found that the miles Doc has me walking every day has led to some great inspiration for my writing. Amazing the weight I have taken off, too. Doc says down the road I likely will be able to have an occasional beer if I continue to make progress with my health. Trouble is I can't drink "a" beer.

Wishing you luck in your battle. It gets easier. Cheers!

 

Happy Sunday, NBS crew! @Victory_Sabre1973 hit me with a barrage of Minnesota crowlers earlier this week, so looking forward to digging into a few of them today. Starting with this one from Pantown, a new-to-me brewery. This is only the second review for this beer, the first being from James.

Vantablack - Pantown
Porter - 6.7% abv
Score: 4.26 (+0.5 rDev)



Review:
https://www.beeradvocate.com/beer/profile/54849/448604/?ba=CanConPhilly#review

Synopsis:
I wish we had a local porter here that was as good as this. Chocolate dominates, but it’s a mildly sweet baking chocolate, rather than the sweeter kid-friendly chocolate bar. Smells amazing, too, with hints of caramel, vanilla, and peanut butter. These hints carry into the taste as well. The body is slightly lacking, but that also contributes to the extreme crushability factor of this beer. This crowler won’t last me an hour to be sure. It’s a winner. Thanks again James!

 

A-Pours a very light hazy purple color with a slight head and lacing
A-Aroma has blueberry hints
T-The taste follows the nose with a pleasant blueberry flavor
M-A light bodied well carbonated beer
O-A good Fruit Beer

 

A-Pours a nice amber color with a slight head and lacing
A-Aroma has nice malt and caramel hints
T-The taste follows the nose with a pleasant malt and caramel flavor
M-A light bodied well carbonated beer
O-A good Scottish Ale

 

Time for round #2, and, again from @FFFjunkie .


Blackberry Gose from The Sour Note Brewing.

Tasty, and slightly sour. The sea salt adds a nice addation to this beer. Quite tasty.

4/5 rDev -1.2%
look: 4 | smell: 4 | taste: 4 | feel: 4 | overall: 4

Pours a nice red color. Reddish head. 1 finger. The head retention is good. No lacing on the glass.
The nose is a deep, rich black berry aroma. The aroma is quite sour and pleasing.
Taste - Blackberry, and slightly sour. The blackberry is cut with the salt, and it works together.
The body is decent, and right for the style.
Solid Gose.


I'm sure I'll be back for more later.

 

Good luck !!

 

Soapy glass alert! A awesome glass, but hand wash for now on and rinse really well.

 

Great to hear of your great results!

 

Thanks @lordofthewiens for the great start to this weeks NBS. Will be back later on with a new brew or 2.

Cheers!

 

So glad you like that. And, GOOD MORNING!

 

Hey, I'm a 19th hole guy too!!!

 

August Schell Snowstorm 2019 (as I “enjoy” another epic day of homebrewing).



Pours a golden-amber in color, topped with an off white head. Good lacing, even in my dirty Pilsner glass.

Lightly sweet, bready nose, with nary a hop to spoil the malty goodness. A juice bomb this ain’t, but there are faint, lighter notes of ripe pear and cherry.

Smooth and lightly carbonated, gently covering the tongue and palate. A nicely biting bitterness at the end... plenty to balance out the malt focus.



Overall it’s an agreeable, likely “sessionable” offering in time for the holiday season, and a complete stylistic throwback to an era where Amber ales practically dominated the specialty and import aisles of the dust old packies I used to haunt.

Cheers!

 

Much love for that beer. Cheers!