New Beer Sunday (Week 780)

No but I'm about to. For NBS no less!

 

Howdy fellow new beer imbibers! Today, the theme is hydration! I'm gonna be drinking three new-to-me fruited, lighter-bodied/lower ABV beers in a row, and we'll see which one livens me up best. Let's get right into it... the first entry is this one from Oxbow called Surfer Rossa, which is a reference to the classic Pixies album Surfer Rosa. It is, according to the can description, a "gently salted grisette brewed with red winter wheat, Italian blood orange, and American hops." It clicks in at an easygoing 4.5%. Let's see if it helps me re-collect some electrolytes, since I just got back from a workout.



This is an ugly fuckin' beer, folks. Some of Oxbow's stuff is not the most attractive, but this definitely is the least good-looking one I've had from them. It's a dull, opaque, orange color with a very quickly forming (and similarly-quickly dissipating) head of loose bubbles. Not a good first impression whatsoever, but it's what's inside that counts, right?

The nose is somewhat funky and saison-esque, which makes sense as the label does call it a farmhouse ale and a grisette. Some light herbal hoppiness, rustic yeast notes, light phenols, and a twist of sweet citrus in there. Definitely has a little bit of a mineral note to it as well, so I'm interested in how the salt will come across on the palate. There are plenty of gose-style ales in the modern world of craft beer, and they typically follow the classic tradition of using salt, but there aren't a lot of salt-infused saisons around. Should be fun.

Oh yeah, that is unusual as hell. And kinda intriguing, too! It's nearly-sour, though in a sourdough bread kind of way. The citrus plays a little bit with my perception of the acidity of the base beer, too, but I don't think I'd consider this any kind of fruited beer first and foremost; it is definitely a small saison base. The salt is a little palate-numbing and helps provide a sorta oddly-satisfying finish despite the mid palate having a heavy wheat presence. I've previously had Surf Casting from Oxbow as well, which is somewhat like this beer, though they are pretty different in practice. Where that was kinda like a Berliner, this definitely feels more heavily weighted toward the winter wheat heavy side of things. Perhaps the blood orange instead of lime does something too. I'll finish my can of this but it's more an oddity than something I'd want frequently. Back soon with my second, from a slightly bigger but still regional brewery. And then my final will be a trans-national collaborative new effort from two biiiig breweries. Anyone care to guess what it is? Cheers!

 

Poured into a 16 oz Deciduous Snulip glass canned on 1/24/20. Pours bright hazy yellow with a finger plus sticky white head that leaves loads webby lace as it slowly settles. 4.75

Smell is papaya, peach, cantaloupe, pineapple, and apricot. 4.75

Taste follows papaya, melon, peach, pineapple, and apricot in the juicy and balanced finish with very little bitterness. 4.75

Mouthfeel is bigger than medium, gentle carbonation, a little sticky but never dry, and at 8.1% drinks far too easy. 4.75

Overall once again Treehouse dazzles with just another juicy gem, that just makes your water in between sips. 4.75

 

To all NBSers, have a great day. Posting a second impression, new to me beer, Brasserie de la Senne's Taras Boulba. The beer-tender touted it as one of the "best beers in the world." Not sure I'd go that far, but for 4.5% it really is quite different and damn tasty.
A - Hazy/murk, unfiltered blonde action here...
Ar - Scents of hops, dough, and light spice, really spicy on the nose as it warms (?)
T - A freakin' chameleon; blonde, morphs bitter, has spice then gone again until it is super dry at the end, almost like a Brut pale ale, avant le mot. Intriguing.
M - Fantastic carbonation, great drying bitterness, could drink all day.
O - I'll come back for this, anytime I see it. Fantastic stuff for 4.5% too.
Gave this a little over a 4.0x the other day, but that was after... a few other beers,
so consider this a new taste and beer.



NOW, GO NINERS!

 

Happy Superbowl Sunday and thanks @lordofthewiens for the initial kickoff.
Speaking of kicking off Im starting with another beer Im lucky enough to have courtesy of @SawDog505. Ironically its Tree House Eighty Seven DIPA- the year the Giants won their first Superbowl. Perfect!
Pours a very hazy orange-gold with a pillowy white head that recedes to leave plenty of lacing.
Aroma is huge mango, passionfruit, guava, tangerine, cantelope and some earthy pine.
Taste follows with tropical mango, pineapple, peach, tangerine. A huge mouth of juicy fruits rounded out by a pleasant grapefruit pith and pine bitterness.
Feel is medium/full body with that soft mouthfeel, carb lasts throughout with a nice head again on second pour. Extremely easy to drink with no hint of alcohol. Pleasantly bitter, hoppy and lingering flavors. Nice balance of sweet/dry. Damn good brew. I havent had any TH in awhile and Tim has reminded me Im overdue a trip. You can be sure there will be return gifts!
Cheers all.

 

Happy Super Bowl New Beer Sunday, fellow New Beer Samplers. After a beautiful morning, it's turned into a rather dreary afternoon as we await the big game and its festivities. I don't have any natural rooting interest in this contest but will be pulling for the Chiefs since it's been such a long time coming for them. I remember the last time they played in the Super Bowl. It was on my 10th birthday. That's a long time ago since I'm as old as @DoctorZombies!

Today, I'm joining my Garden State compatriot @TheGent in reviewing Wedge Issue, an "Imperial Oat/Wheat Pale Ale" brewed by Carton. Carton likes to brew big versions of its APAs, usually with excellent results. While this ale is tasty, it's a bit jumbled. Lots of bold tastes but they just don't blend as well as typical Carton offerings. While most brewers would be happy to produce a beer this good, Anthony and I hold Carton to a pretty high standard. Here's my full review:

3.94/5 rDev +0.3%
look: 4.25 | smell: 4 | taste: 3.75 | feel: 4.25 | overall: 4

Canned on 1/20/2020. Poured into a Carton pub glass. It pours a turbid, golden-tangerine color with a half finger of creamy, bright white head and thick, creamy lacing. It resembles a NEIPA. There's lots of orange/tangerine on the nose, along with oats, berries, and an unusual earthy, floral smell which I assume comes from the combination of the Mosaic and Citra hops. I was struggling how to describe it - It almost reminds me of fertilizer but in a good way. The taste bursts with both sweet and tart citrus followed by raspberry and oats that provide additional sweetness. There are also notes of wheat cracker and stone fruit in the background. It finishes with mild bitterness and a touch of acidity. The tastes are big and bold but they don't blend seamlessly. This ale has a nice, creamy mouth feel with a fairly lively carbonation, and the 8.2% ABV gives it a nice punch. Overall, Wedge Issue is a big, fruity Pale Ale. It's a typically adventuresome Carton beer. I'd like to see it a little smoother with perhaps more oat characteristics to balance the citrus.

 

It's a ridiculously nice day here in TN, with sun, blue skies, and temps near 70. Not exactly SBS weather but I'll take it! No dog in the fight tonight but I'm rooting for the Chiefs. The LA Rams were my childhood team and I will never be able to bring myself to cheer for the Niners. Anyway, today's new beer is from a box full of Wisconsin beauties that I recently received from @azuelke.


This imperial stout was aged in maplewood staves and brewed with coffee, cocoa nibs, and vanilla. As expected, very dark brown in color. A normal pour produced a small tan head that quickly settled, leaving small rings around the glass. I noticed the vanilla the most on the aroma. milk chocolate and coffee were there, but the vanilla dominated and the coffee appears to have faded (bottled 10 months ago). The taste had more balance, with equal amounts of chocolate, vanilla, and coffee, along with oak, dark cherries, and toffee. Full bodied and not overly sweet. Carbonation was below medium. Overall an excellent beer, but the vanilla overshadowed the coffee IMO. I'm in the low 4s. Very enjoyable and much appreciated, Adam!

 

I'm at The 217 Brewery in Wilson NC, drinking a Goat and Compass English Pale Ale. Pretty Damn good!

 

Did you just say the only defense in the AFC to stop Derrick Henry wasn’t very good?

 

Good afternoon NBS, time start enjoying a few for the Super Bowl. As an Eagles fan, I’m rooting for the Chiefs and hoping that Andy Reid finally gets his first Super Bowl win. First beer today is Russian River Intinction Sauvignon Blanc, thank you @bstyle for sending this my way!
4.4/5 rDev +3.3%
look: 4.25 | smell: 4.25 | taste: 4.5 | feel: 4.75 | overall: 4.25

Thank you bstyle for this
375 ml bottle, dated 3/26/19, poured into a tulip

A- A clear golden color with a small white head

S- Tart, lemons, some wine grapes, some pilsner malt, earthy funk, mild oak.

T- Tart, lemons, some apples, Sauvignon Blanc grapes, earthy funk, mild oak.

M- Smooth, crisp, light body.

O- Another great sour/wild ale from Russian River.

Cheers NBS!!

 

Do you have a link to that article? How do you know it's the 2019 batch?

 

A-Pours a hazy golden color with a generous head and lacing
A-Aroma has tropical fruit and Brett yeast hints
T-The taste follows the nose with a pleasant tropical fruit and Brett yeast flavor
M-A light bodied decently carbonated smooth beer
O-A good Belgian Witbier

 

Alright, here we have Springdale's new formulation of their amazingly-named beer Citrus Got Real, which is a tart ale brewed with orange and grapefruit, clocking in at 4.5% just like my previous NBS entry today. This was originally a whole barrel-aged shebang but, like with their other similar beer Lavenade, they made a less time-intensive kettle sour version with the same fruits and made it available in a better format for a lower price. Interesting idea. You know, though, it does kinda suck that I never had the original "wild ale"-esque version so I could compare them, but I digress. Let's see if this one goes into the realm of thirst-quenching that I desire.



Oh hey, look, this is also kinda ugly. There's pretty much no head formation whatsoever, which is typical of kettle soured beers, but... jeez, guys. The body is a mostly-hazy (but not totally opaque) golden yellow. Looks pretty much meh. I think this is likely going to be more of a "Summer crusher" type beer though, and if I'm gonna be crushing this at, like, a 4th of July gathering, I'm not gonna pour it anyway. Let's see what's going on with this.

Woo boy, this is gonna be sour as hell, isn't it? Smells like tangerines, orange zest, ruby-red grapefruit, pomelo, pineapple, passion fruit, and mango all thrown together despite there only being two of those fruits in the beer itself. There's something distinctly tropical about this one, somehow... actually it's almost more tropical than citrusy, but I do know that they're not necessarily mutually-exclusive descriptors.

Wow, just looked it up and the original barrel-aged version was over 7%. I'm... kind of unsure how I feel about them calling this beer the same thing, but it's kinda like when a couple musicians collaborate and choose to call the collaboration "artist A + artist B" instead of putting it under a new alias in order to keep name recognition. That's likely the reason for keeping the name here, but I could be really off base.

Anyway, the flavor profile is, well.. sour. It's extremely juicy, though, as well. I would say this kinda reminds me of the surprisingly-great Notorious POG from Stone, and it's cheaper to boot. It just legit tastes like sour fruit juice with almost nothing else going on. Okay, perhaps a slight hit of citrusy and grassy hops as well, especially toward the finish. Almost a mint-like note, too? Or my tastebuds are playing tricks on me. Did I mention this is really tart? I almost wonder if they treated it with citric acid because it almost uncannily tastes like sour candy in a nearly-comical way. But, I will say that it's actually crushable and the sourness doesn't inhibit the drinkability somehow. The feel is light, tight, airy, and bone-dry with ample, sharp carbonation. Shockingly sour but actually really fun. I will pick this one up again, though I'm disappointed that it won't be around on shelves for Summer. I wonder if they'll put out a new kettle soured fruit ale for that season. They'd be foolish not to, as this is good, despite being more like juice than beer in many ways. But, that's kinda where beer is headed these days on a few fronts, so I can't blame them for wanting to do this sorta thing. Check it out!

 

Fwiw, just yesterday I saw 375ml bottles of that for the first time ever. Those have got to be the new ones, I'd assume? I can definitely see drinking it more often in that size, myself.

 

Glad you are having some good beers that you are enjoying. However, the point of this thread is to get a little more details on what you are perceiving in the beers - not just your overall impression. Please give us some more details in your posts. Thanks.

 

I've seen them play all year, that wasn't a typical result. I think the 9-ers present a more balance attack & they can try to load up on the run, but I think Kittle & crew will make them pay...

 

Happy Sunday NBS players. A rather mild winter day here on the island. Earlier it was nice and sunny but it has thus turned to a cloud covered grey. A nice lazy day here for myself while very much looking forward to the big game.

My down-tick in consumption has been largely influenced by my career change. I have also found a propensity for lighter drinking beers as of late. Right now, its Miller High Life. I always enjoyed this beer in my younger drinking years and now it allows me to get my beer fix each evening- knocking back 1 or 2- while also not making me drunk and/or hindering my ability to get up early in the morning. Plus, the 30 pack of cans is a hell of a value.

My new beer today is Fayston Maple, imperial stout featuring maple syrup, from Lawson's Finest Liquids. I bought this single a few months ago but just never got around to drinking it. The brew checks in at 10.1% abv and has a 10/31/19 canning date.

A black pour with a thin head of brown bubbles. The nose is a bit mute and I mostly get malts. A big rush of those chocolate malts hit on the initial sips. Decently smooth on the flow with a slightly bitter finish. Rather hoppy for the style and I'm getting that whole citrus fruit aspect. Decent notes cocoa, brown sugar, and slight char. The mouth feel is light/moderate and a bit chalky at times.

Overall, decent but I wouldn't call it great by any stretch. Rather hoppy for a stout and the maple comes off on a subtle at best note. Not impressed despite its ba score. I'm probably in the mid 3's at best,

 

Maplewood's Morbidly Obese Fat Pug Extra Fudge 10% ABV 6.5 oz pour

Appearance: Pitch black, creamy bubble generous head leaves rich creamy lacing. 4.25
Aroma: Fudge aroma leads, strong roasted malt backs. 4.0
Taste: Sweet fudge leads, rich roast malt and cocoa follows, balanced with slight sweet edge. 10% ABV well masked. 4.25
Mouthfeel: Medium body, light carbonation lingers, creamy, light finish. 4.0
Overall: Solid stout pour from Maplewood. 4.25

 

Happy NBS, everybody. Like many of you, I assume, in an hour or two I'll be too busy watching the game to get into any new beer action, so I may as well kick the day off with my contribution right now:

Pack Mentality, a DDH sour from Kills Boro in Staten Island, NYC.

The sour aspect is what attracted me to this beer, and I suppose I was hoping for something a little more like a delicate but hoppy Berliner Weiss, but that's not what I got. This one is pretty pedal to the metal and super saturated with flavor. But even on its own terms it's not working for me. The most concise description that pops into my head is fruit roll-ups and Sweet Tarts; and that sweetness that I'm getting here is kind of off-putting. Thankfully it's got enough tartness to be its saving grace. But overall it's not all that enjoyable; and a fresher, more airy fruit quality would have improved things dramatically. Not recommended C- (2.25).