New Beer Sunday (Week 781)

Happy NBS, NBSites!
I am back this week after taking last week off to hang out with my brother who was here visiting. We had lots of fun. Saw a hockey game, walked around a bunch, watched an ice canoe race and ate delicious things. Not a bad week by any stretch.

This week was back to work and whatnot. It snowed a ton Thursday and Friday and now is just cold and white while everyone digs out. I am in for the day, repotting some plants, cooking, packing to send some homebrews to a competition and doing some vague studying to take the citizenship test tomorrow.
For beer(s) today I have a good variety to choose from thanks to a beer run yesterday. I am tempted to try to keep it to a theme but I'm not near as good at that as many of you so it will likely be random. A Canadian mosaic of beer, if you will.

To start I have a kind of mysterious beer that just showed up, seemingly from Nova Scotia and a collaboration between 2 Crows Brewing, a local maltster and a local hop yard, none of which are from Quebec as far as I can tell. This is interesting and exciting since it is very difficult to distribute across provincial lines post-prohibition in Canada and there has just started to be a trickle of random ROC (rest of Canada) beers trickling into Montreal stores over the last 4 months or so. No idea what has caused it, but it is cool to be able to try some things from elsewhere. We'll find out if it is worth it to be excited here momentarily.

It pours gold with a light haze and a big off-white head that is around for the duration of the pint. Some lacing. The aroma is immediately of baguette crust and light fruitiness, there is at once a slight staleness and a floral-herbal hoppiness that come out more as it warms up a little. Flavor follows with a mineral bite and a green bitterness that doesn't eclipse everything else, but which is definitely present. Pepper-like spiciness, a strong euro hop character and light bread from the malt. Dry with a relatively substantial body all told, biting hop presence. This is a fairly nice beer. It has a little fruity-spicy weirdness going on and the hops come through too strong while the malt doesn't come strong enough for the style. Still and all a decent, drinkable beer. It was a little bitter and not balanced enough for my tastes but I happily finished it and I am happy to have tried it.

I'll hopefully be back later with more.

Santé!

 

Fifth Hammer Foederbrau

This is a local pilsner that was “fermented in oak.” It was made with Pilsner malt and Saaz hops. Buying this was a roll of the dice. I can already picture @TongoRad shaking his head. I was hoping for something really nice, but I was half expecting to be disappointed. The beer is a hazy honey color. Head is poor. I was fearing the flavor of oak. Any oak in this beer isn’t obnoxious... but it is there. The weird thing though, is that this beer doesn’t really feel like a pilsner to me (despite the ingredients). It’s oddly sweet and fruity. It drinks more like a very inadequate pale ale to me. I couldn’t tell you how much the oak might be oddly responsible for this by throwing the flavors out of wack. Either way, I’m just not digging this at all.

 

First up today is from Cigar City. They just started distributing here in the last year or so. This is hardly a new beer, more of an old classic, having been added to the BA database over 10 years ago. It's new to me, so ... and perhaps in the spirit of the opening questions, maybe it deserves a re-visit!

Cigar City Brewing Maduro Brown Ale English Brown Ale
ABV: 5.5%
IBU: 25



Aroma is roasted coffee, toffee, hints of fruit.

Deep brown from the front, clear, bright ruby with a backlight. 1/2 to 3/4 inch thick bubbly tan head that falls quite quickly to a thin cap leaving no lacing.

Taste is as the aroma: roasted malts, coffee, some light fruits come through on the back end. No bitterness. The finish and aftertaste are a shadow of the roasted flavors. Clean and somewhat dry.

Mouth feel is smooth, initially presenting as a substantial body, which becomes rather thin almost immediately.

Overall, a nice, easy drinking brown ale.

L: 4.0 | S: 4.0 | T: 3.75 | F: 3.75 | O: 3.75 | BA rating: 3.83

 

Good afternoon, everybody. Today I'm having a beer I heard about this past fall, but am only now starting to see it in the store:


Jersey Girl Black Diamond Schwartzbier

Jersey Girl's business model seems to be to play it straight up middle of the road and appeal to mostly the casual drinkers out there. It sure seems to be working for them, based on how they seem to be everywhere I look, and in fairly large quantities at that. Overall you won't hear much chatter about them on beer sites like BA, as they seem to specialize in stuff that's not too challenging. Not that that's a bad thing, as something like their Mo Pils is actually pretty good and reliable, especially when there aren't too many others on the shelves these days.

For this black lager I was really hoping to catch a real sleeper here, and at 4.1% it sure seems like it could be the perfect beer to enjoy while doing some yard work on a Sunday afternoon and not leave me in bad shape come Monday morning . A regular purchase, even.

Unfortunately I'm not feeling it. They definitely got the balance and flavors right, so props for that much. Molasses with hints or dark cocoa, bruised apples and a hint of lavendar; neither overbearing nor watery. But then there's that twang that you'll get in beers where the pH isn't properly accounted for, as roasted grains will lower the pH, but then that must be countered somehow with your recipe or water treatment. In a dry dark lager, and lower gravity one at that, there just isn't that much residual malt to act as a counter-balance, so a beer like this will require a lot of attention to detail and recipe tweaking to get right.

For me, a slight twang would be more understandable and forgivable, especially since by mid glass one's palate seems to adjust and it stops being so noticeable. Sadly, this one started out in obnoxious territory, and wound up at 'slight' by the end of the glass. High hopes dashed, oh well...C+ (2.85).

 

I'd prefer to let her speak for herself, but I will go so far as to say she is well, and is back to enjoying beer and wine. I actually am in the final re-write stage of a project for which I hope to have her help. I think she would be happy to know people think of her.

 

New Colorado Beer Sunday

Coors Banquet


The point and appearance are status quo for the style: pale yellow and essentially transparent. The aroma is pleasant, as it does have a slight banana note almost reminiscent of a hefeweizen but much more subdued. The grains in the aroma lean more generic than straight corn or rice. The flavor is pleasant but also subdued. The banana thing really isn't there, but the grains still lean clean barley. Overall, this is a pleasant beer. As most of the style, it is easy drinking and goes great with food. I'm not sure this is better than it's rivals, but it certainly not inferior.

Great Divide Vanilla Oak Aged Yeti


Like all of the Yetis I have had, this pours this an impressive dense but fluffy head of foam with a dark as night body. The aroma reminds me of standard Yeti. The earthy hops actually hit me first. It's not like a black IPA, but you know it is biter leaning stout. Only the slightest generic roast and fruit round out the aroma. The flavor is initially much like the base beer. The oak comes in on the finish with a nice sry tannin. The vanilla becomes more present as it warms, and was most notable on the last few drinks. The body is just as dense and creamy as I want a 9.5% stout: full but not heavy. Overall, I really enjoyed this one. It is a good beer that was borderline great towards the end.

Cheers, NBS!

 

Hey what's going on?

Don't have much news, but I am always up for a new beer on Sunday! Actually have quite a few, not sure I have time to get to them all!

What's new for our hero today?


Poured from the bottle into a Flying Dog goblet.

Good solid clear and lemon brass body. Mixing with a light white head creation to leave a simple bubbled white collar. Pretty straightforward, with hardly any carbonation.

Very enticing aroma. Touches of briney salt, mixing with some interesting herbality that goes to a slight sweet mint and green herbs. Good sense of dense chewy pils like malt and bakery bread qualities too.

Palate hits the mark real nicely. Chewy sensing body, with light simple malt backbone gives way to real brine and light tartness. Hits with salted lemon and even a bit of sweetness kicking in with a touch of herbs. Hits excellent bread baked dough on the aftertaste, an almost bread crust flavor with lemon and herbs. Tangy, salty, slightly puckering, and even a touch of sweetness.

Very neat tasting like gose.

look: 4 | smell: 4.25 | taste: 4.25 | feel: 4 | overall: 4.25 | BA Score: 4.21

Cheers!

 

Sweet Water Trainwreck Hazy Double IPA, 8.0% ABV. 3.87 overall

Pours an effervescent bronze with 3 fingers of cream colored head. Nice head retention & lacing

S: Smells of weed and then a little orange peel once warm

T: Sweet orange, a touch of lime, some bready dryness, plus a little guava up front. More sweet orange, some cattyness & little green melon as this warms. Finishes catty, dry with just a little lime and sweet orange

MF: Medium body, delicate carbonation, pretty good balance

A decent take on the style, I kind of consider these weed-like IPAs a fad that has lost relevance, but this beer is plenty drinkable on its other merits

 

Not really a head shake, but it might get a raised eyebrow from me .

I'm actually really pleased with what the foeder did for IA's Winter Landscape, just a slight hint in the finish, but more importantly it smoothed out any rough edges to great effect.

For a Pilsner, however, they are better when they're spiky, so not the best style choice it would seem.

 

I didn't even know this was coming, and I follow VT on social media. What the heck? I need it!

Alright, with that out of the way, here's my second beer of the day. Full disclosure: I had no idea this was so damn strong when I bought it. The ABV is not on the can, which feels... illegal? Anyway, this is like 11% according to various sources. Yikes, guys.



Initially, this is a full-looking pour with a thin ring of tan/mocha head that settles down to a quarter-finger. Very retentive with some tiered lacing. Not much in the way of legs, and the surface is barely covered, only by slight wisps of foam. Overall, not an amazing stout pour, but could have to do with the adjunct ingredients. I wanted to be a bit more impressed here, but I'll take it. The next part is gonna make-or-break this beer concept, anyway, so let's move on.

I had no clue what to expect from a "salted maple" stout. I've had salted caramel stouts before and they are hit-or-miss, kinda like real salted caramel and related confections. When they're well-done, they really hit the spot, but when they're uneven or don't push the adjuncts much, I can be left pretty disappointed. Luckily, the nose here reminds me of those tourist-y maple candies I've gotten from places in Vermont and New Hampshire where maple syrup is locally-made. I love those, so I'm down with this right off the bat. Some hot ethanol, nuttiness, and a slight hit of roast also jumps out, alongside a touch of dark fruit. Almost has an Autumnal note as well... like freshly-fallen leaves. Seems like this will be pretty interesting, if nothing else.

The flavor profile is full of complex and sweet flavors of maple, crème brûlée, roasted nuts, warming ethanol, earthy hops, brown sugar, and a hint of dark pit fruit like plums or something. Warming and enjoyable. There's a lot going on here, but it definitely focuses on the maple/caramel flavors blending with the base stout. I think the salt really only hits in the finish, where it sort of adds a light minerality to the preceding elements and lends an odd drinkability to this unusual, full-bodied stout. This is actually surprisingly hoppy/bitter, sharp almost, with minimal roast/coffee/chocolate flavors but with a lot of herbal/earthy hoppiness in the mid-palate and the transition to the finish in place of those traditional "stout" aspects. In my opinion, this is a good stout but it feels a little below the mark to me. It's sweet and dense, but not sweet or dense enough to make a superb impression on me. It feels like a beer that needs a barrel-aging treatment to smooth out all of the rough edges. Compare and contrast this with something like Hubbard's Cave Salted Caramel Imperial Stout, which, imo, was much more in line with what I want from a beer of this style.

 

Howdy NBSers! I've got a couple new ones lined up, but first: It's time for another round of NBS BIF!!!!! This round is #11, and all the details are here: https://www.beeradvocate.com/community/threads/nbs-bif-11-sign-up-thread.633616/#post-6794834

 

That one was more of a miss than hit for me as well. Very lemony hops, and it seems to be on the surface, not really woven into the rest of the beer.

 

Thanks for the start @cjgiant. I would say that my repeat purchases on beers is pretty low now a days, maybe 30% or less. My reasons are that there are so many new beers all the time and I love the hunt. My wife and I love visiting new breweries and unfortunately, even some of the good establishments end up one and done due to locality relative to our travels. Certainly a lot of beers I review for NBS are not technically one and done because they were purchased as 4 and 6-packs or bombers. I still have some favorites I go back to now and then, but in this new beer universe we live in its just so tempting to try new stuff continually. Thanks to people in the thread and others, trying new stuff is not always a crap shoot. Thank's everyone!

Today I have the same can a @lordofthewiens, Stone's Viking Space Probe, a hazy Ella and Citra hazy 8.5% IPA. Full disclosure- I have a nasty cold and probably should revisit my review when healthy, but the strength of this beer came through even with a clogged head.


3.58/5 rDev -13.7%
look: 4.5 | smell: 4 | taste: 3 | feel: 4 | overall: 3.75

Poured at Fridge temp to a Nonic from a 12oz can stamped "CANNED 01/04/20 ENJOY BY 05/03/20".
Pours orange and hazy with white foam that laces really nicely. Some micro floaties are visible, but not distracting.
The aroma is Citra and alcohol. Kind of a sucker punch, as is the sip. Alcohol is little too prominent in this one for me. So many hazy, floral IPA's seem to hide high ABV values well, but knowing Stone, this wack may have been their intent.
Mouth is excellent though, smooth yet properly carbonated.
Overall, not for me, but well done if the intent met the result.

 

I admit it, I am a ticker. I am always searching for that next great new beer. Once in a great while, I will revisit a previously enjoyed beer and update my BA ratings.


My new beer for this week is

Permanence by Treehouse

4.63/5 rDev 0%
look: 4.5 | smell: 4.5 | taste: 4.75 | feel: 4.75 | overall: 4.5

Bottle poured into snifter

Jet black motor oil on the pour, Pencil thin creamy brown layer that quickly settles to a big bubbled ring with good rentention over five minutes, some thin lacings

Aroma is maple syrup , French toast and coffee

Taste is sweet milk chocolate, maple syrup, fresh roasted coffee, no coffee bitterness

Mouthfeel is syrupy , slightly fizzy carbonation that quickly settles down,

Delicious, sweet dessert beer

 

Nice start. Good question. I guess I have quite a few one-and-dones. But with hoppy ones, if I like them, and the brewery puts them out semi regularly, I'm a repeat offender.

 

Other Half Barrel Aged Pastrytown VIP


Pours night black with a dark brown, bubbly head, slowly fading down to a thicker espresso like lacing.


The nose is full of vanilla, almost featuring a wet feet scent you get from smelling high grade dried vanilla beans, smooth, spicy bourbon and lots of bakers chocolate. This has a noble hop quality to it as well, which turns out to be a flowery quality from the vanilla in this, highlighted by soft, wooden appearing toffee and lighter caramel. This begins utmost intriguing with a well balanced, complex nose, showcasing a truly decadent, vanilla leaden ba imperial stout.


The beer drinks smooth, full bodied with a great softness to it, calming the noteable bourbon heat in this effectivly. Although you can tell this is a huge and complex beer, it drinks quite easy, due to it perfectly balanced mouthfeel.


Tastes of spicy licorice, earthy vanilla and lots of whipped cream among bakers chocolate and toffee. Chocolate turns a bit sweeter then, due to the uprising bourbon barrel in this, bringing melted caramel and some rock sugar to the table, enhancing the vanilla in this, while integrating a warming oak characteristic. Finishes mellow with roasted malts, a huge load of fudge and prevailing, toffee covered vanilla, ending with a long lasting, dry and warming spicy bourbon presence.


This is a great beer. It reveals new nuances during each sip while exhibiting a rock solid, well balanced foundation. The beer is huge, complex and ever changing, a real sipper for a long winter night with a perfect interplay between vanilla and bourbon.

 

Yes! that is exactly what Vegard told me!

 

Southern Tier Nitro Hot Cocoa, 10% ABV, 4.21 overall. Delivers the flavor!

Pours an uber-effervescent ebony with one finger of tight tan head. Nice lacing & pretty good head retention

S: Cocoa notes, some vanilla, builds once warm

T: Cocoa, vanilla, dryness & a little charred grain on the edges up front with some caramel. Caramel, vanilla, & a little cocoa as this warms, plus some dryness & a little dark chocolate on the edges, plus some woody notes.

MF: Medium body, silky smooth carbonation

Dangerously drinkable, plenty of advertised flavor