New Beer Sunday (Week 776)

A-Pours a dark color with a slight head and lacing
A-Aroma has roast malt hints
T-The taste follows the nose with a roast malt flavor
M-A medium bodied decently carbonated beer
O-A good Porter

 

Boon Schaarbeekse Kriek

The beer is a dull and murky cranberry color. The picture makes it look darker than it really is. Smells of acid and vinegar. Taste is more balanced than the aroma but another word I could use is dulled. I suppose one word has a positive connotation and the other a negative one... in this case I see it as both but ultimately a positive due to the surprising amount of drinkability. The beer isn’t sweet or bold (it’s rather subdued) but there’s a major cherry Jolly Rancher character to it. Carbonation starts very prickly but dies down nicely.

 

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

Cheers!

 

NBS BIF #2. Wander American Scream. Excellent. Lasting head retention/thick foamy lacing. Aromas and flavors of big juicy/tart/tangy red raspberries, fruit skin/seed, red grapefruit, tangerine, peach, pineapple, apricot, passion fruit, mango, melon, blueberry, gooseberry, citrus peel/rind, wood, peppercorn, pine, wheat, cracker, white bread dough, lightly toasted biscuit, and herbal/floral/grassy hop earthiness. Light-moderate pine, citrus peel/rind, herbal, floral, woody, grassy, peppery bitterness; and berry tang/tartness on the finish. Medium carbonation and body; balanced creamy/bready/grainy malts, sticky/resinous/rindy hops, and some acidic/tangy/tannic fruit in the mouthfeel. Light-moderate increasing dryness from lingering bitter/tart/tangy. No astringent hop/fruit flavors. Smooth, not overly aggressively bitter/tart. Feels like Citra, Mosaic. Very juicy/vibrant/jammy hops/fruit, with some dank/earthiness notes; with a nice wheat/oat/malt backbone. Light residual sweetness with lingering resin dryness. Impressive fruited hazy IPA. Not overwhelming on any aspect. 4.03


Cheers

 

Weird Beard - Black Christmas

This is a 5% Christmas stout brewed with cranberries from England. I’m not familiar with Weird Beard but their name doesn’t make me want to spend money on their beer. Since the Shelton Brothers brought them here, I decided to give this one a shot.

I wasn’t expecting such a huge head. Wow, I also wasn’t expecting to love this - but I am. Forget the cranberry element, I would never think they were added if it wasn’t advertised as such. I’m not saying that the cranberries made no difference in this beer, but that whatever impact they made could be found in a stout without that ingredient. The body is wonderfully light rather than thin. There’s a big roasty and bitter chocolate quality (considering the body and ABV), but it’s balanced by the characterful Sorachi Ace hops. For an English stout, it feels very hop driven rather than yeast driven, but the whole is delicious. I’m surprised and impressed. The label feels like sandpaper though.

 

A new CAN today is Kraken, a Baltic Porter from Thimble Island Brew Co. (CT). The pour is jet, opaquely dark and nearly without visible effervescence. The aroma is lightly tinged with toasted malt and a hint of licorice. The flavors include caramel and chocolate malts and is not overly sweet. The body is a bit thinner than others I have enjoyed, but this is a pleasant pour.

 

A-Pours an amber golden color with a slight head and lacing
A-Aroma has sour peach hints
T-The taste follows the nose with a nice tart peach flavor
M-A light bodied decently carbonated smooth beer
O-A good Wild Ale

 

Sixpoint's 13% abv bourbon barrel-aged imperial stout, Master Blend...

Black-bodied and just about opaque save for some obsidian brown translucence around the edges; coupla fingers of dark foam sit atop for a bit, settling down into a slim collar that dropped lace motes after each sip...

Aromas of molasses, bourbon barrel wood, and roasted malts preview a sweet elixir of chocolate, bourbon, vanilla, molasses, and sweet espresso... Medium-full-bodied, smooth but with some lingering stickiness... Bittersweet chocolates start sweet but dry on the finish, with some oak and bourbon vaporous over the palate...

A solid bourbon-barrel stout, attractive for the canning, the availability, and the price-point, as well as the execution...

12/1/19 canning...

Here's to new beer in your glass, cheers...

 

Thanks for the amusing kick-off, Woody.

It's my last day of a 2-week vacation. I grew a beard and am deciding whether or not to keep it. It's still a bit scratchy and there's some gray. Haven't had one for a couple decades but I did for many years. My cousin said it looks good but no other family members have said anything and I haven't solicited any opinions. I like it.

It's a cold, overcast day here but I'm in a good mood. Just finished a long workout at the gym and am about to gear up and go for a hike in the woods There's no bad weather; just bad gear. But before I do, I needed to crack open this beer I got on my trip to Ohio the Saturday before Christmas.

Masthead Brewing Co - Sleight All Day (7.5% IPA) - my overall rating = 4.1



Had this near Pittsburgh, PA from a 16oz canned on 2019-10-16

A - Hazy russet with a 1.5-finger tan head and good lace.

S - Toasted bread with apple butter drizzled with caramel. Spruce and slightly-dank earthy spice.

T - Toasted brown bread, citrus zest, spruce, earthy spice. Moderate+ bitterness.

M - Medium body and carbonation. Mildly prickly and resinous.

O - A well done Amber IPA. I enjoyed the spruce addition on this early January day. Makes it smell and taste holiday-festive.

 

Happy Sunday, NBS crew! I’ve been awol the past 2 sundays with holiday goings-on, but back today with this christmas gift from @larryi86 .

Right Loose - Dogfish Head
American Wild - 7.2% abv
Vintage 2019
Score: 4.29 (+2.4% rDev)



Review:
https://www.beeradvocate.com/beer/profile/64/445195/?ba=CanConPhilly#review

Synopsis:
It has taken me awhile to develop a taste for wine-barrel aged sours, but this one does it for me. Perhaps because it is aged in both red and white wine oak barrels, which I have never seen before. Aged on blueberries, which is the dominant berry flavor, but I also get some phantom raspberry on the taste. Lots of acid here, so a big boy sour for sure. Thanks again Larry!

 

I have opened another new IPA from my stop in Charlotte last week

Iconic Anonymity from Resident Culture
8.5% ABV DIPA dated 12/19/19. Can says "hopped with hand selected 2019 Citra, Mosaic, and Sabro."
One of the never ending stream of NEIPA'S from RC. Unexceptional murky appearance with slight head and lacing. No floaties on the pour.
Strong grapefruity and sour pineapple aromas. Soft mouthfeel. These beers don't vary much in flavor, but I think the citrus and tropical flavors are quite lush in this one. There is a slight hop bitterness in the finish.
Meets expectations for RC IPA's and worth the $5 per can price.

 

New Beer #2

The review:
12oz bottle coded SD18S1 (4/18/19 - about 9 months old) poured into a tulip pint glass at just above fridge temp, no ABV listed on label. The beer pours fairly dense very dark brown with mahogany highlights and mocha colored head. The head recedes to a thin cap and leaves a little lacing. The aroma is faint with roasted malt, bitter dark chocolate and a touch of earthy hops. The taste is semisweet roasted malt with a touch of tart before a nuetral malt finish punctuated by mildly bitter, earthy hops. The mouthfeel is medium plus bodied with less than medium carbonation and a mostly dry finish. Overall, very good. Pretty much the standard for a traditional oatmeal stout. I don't purchase Samuel Smith beers because of the silly date codes, but I would like to try this one fresh once. Edit: (I looked up the code in an old BA thread).

I'll never knock a free beer and I was gifted this one last week. I truly enjoy oatmeal stouts, but rarely find and/or buy them. I have another for later in the day, but first there's outdoor decorations to bring in and put away. Cheers all!

 

50/50 donner party porter
..dark cola color
..light carbonation with a just above average body. Has a bit of a creamy feel
...aroma is dark roasted espresso beans, roasted malt,dark chocolate, and a little milk chocolate and mocha candy
...taste isnt as complex as aroma but is still very pleasing. Dark roasted malt and espresso beans. Mocha candy is there along with being mildly sweet but also has a dry element
... a really nice porter,worth a try. Would look for this again upload photo link

 

Hey what's going on?!

WOODY many thanks for stepping in, and I CAN contribute I think for today's NBS.

Not much new, I think I am getting back into a groove having come back from Mexico over the holidays which was a blast. It's been pretty mild, but a bit wet since returning.

I've kind of been shelving the beer as I have seriously developed a craving for Mezcal since coming back. However, I do think I have a few goodies to share with you all.

Let's get this going.

What's new for our hero today?!?



Poured from the can into a nonic pint glass. Best by March 12th 2020.

Fairly nice bodied stout, with a decent head. Manages two simple fingers with a tan to khaki colored head. Minimal lacing but good staying power on a very dark walnut brown and red mahogany like hued body color.

Good solid aroma. Nice touches of light roast, even a bit creamy sensing. Has a good dark grain roast that flirts with coffee a bit. Sweetness is minimal, and so is the maple character.

Palate drives the easy train. Nice and light bodied but still has some malt depth. Crackling roast a bit, hits with a light carbon and coffee flavor in the mid palate. Sort of a steely finish strangely that even hints orange fruit? Where did that come from? Minimal maple character, but a sense of woody and perhaps sappy pine to resin like flavors.

If you told me this was a regular stout I'd be quite impressed, but the addition of maple isn't obvious in flavor which some might find disappointing.

look: 4 | smell: 4 | taste: 4 | feel: 4 | overall: 4

Cheers!

 

Good first NBS of 2020 to you all!
Thanks for stepping in for Doc today, Woody. To echo others, it was a very Woody opening. Everything I would have hoped for. I do wholeheartedly disagree with the idea that the normal title's lack of the plural 'beers' implies only one, but since I usually only have one regardless, all of you CAN just ignore me

It is a pretty chilly day here in CANada. It is nice that it's feeling cold again because the last few days felt like spring and I CAN't abide that. If it's winter it should feel like winter, dammit. I have been working all weekend to catch up on a translation project after the holidays and then have to work a little this evening too so I'm having a split NBS. It's not so bad. You gotta strike while the iron's hot dontcha know. Plus I'm off Tuesday.

My new beer for today is a new version (for me) of a classic beer from Rodenbach. A handful of beers have become far more easily accessible in the last few months following a partnership between a brewery here and a group of Belgians. I was able to buy this and the original version in a suburban grocery store over Christmas. They were on sale for 6 bucks a piece!!! Here's hoping they aren't sour or something. Oh wait... ; )

She's not a fan of the smell.


It pours fairly clear. Golden brown in the light coming out of the bottle, reddish brown in the glass with a rouseable finger plus of dirty-whote head. Nose is balsamic vinegar, leather, baking spices, caramelized sugar, old musty wood, some oxidation. The flavor follows up on this with a light acetic twang, brown bread dipped in balsamic and maple syrup, woody, earthy, some light toasty malt. Drinkable with medium body, spritzy carbonation and a lingering pseudo tart tingle. This is, like the standard, a world class sour beer. Complex but not overwhelming in any one way, sour but not to the detriment of anything else, complex malt body present and a nice balance to the rest. Very enjoyable.

I'm throwing in a stopper and I will revisit the rest of the bottle when I CAN later tonight. Have a great rest of your weekend, everybody.
CANté!

 

Bale Breaker Leota Mae IPA. Excellent. Great head retention/foamy lacing. Aromas and flavors of big red grapefruit, tangerine, lemon, peach, pineapple, apricot, passion fruit, papaya, mango, honeydew melon, guava, blueberry, citrus peel/rind, wood, mint, green peppercorn, pine, cracker, toasted biscuit dough, and herbal/floral/grassy earthiness. Moderate pine, citrus peel/rind, herbal, floral, woody, grassy, minty, peppery bitterness on the finish. Medium carbonation/body, fairly crisp finishing. Balanced bready/grainy malts, and sticky/resinous/rindy hops in the mouthfeel. Moderate increasing dryness from lingering bitterness. Minimal lingering hop astringency after the finish. Smooth, not overly aggressive. Awesome Simcoe, Ekuanot, Mosaic, Loral profile. Extremely vibrant, dank, earthy, and fairly juicy hops; with a nice clean bready malt backbone. Minimal residual sweetness with crisp resin dryness. Spot on West Coast. No complaints. 4


Cheers

 

The Work Of Art In The Age Of Mechanical Reproduction, a DIPA from Root+Branch which I will.have to add to the database later. Pours a milky yellow with a two inch fluffy Whitehead that settles slowly to a ring and leaves blotchy islands of lacing. The aroma is rather mild with citrus the predominant note along with some herbal undertones. Tastes of grapefruit, grapefruit rind, apricot, papaya, underripe pineapple, pine and herbal notes. Medium bodied, light side of medium carbonation, dry finish with a lingering bitter bite.