New Beer Sunday (Week 781)

Thank you, sir, working very hard at it, didn't know I had this kind of dedication in me to be honest. I walk past the beer cellar about ten times a day, each time I think to myself 'if I just work a bit harder at this I can drink those beers.' Hope to share one with you at RD. Cheers!

 

Good evening NBS, this weeks thread is a treat to read, @cavedave keep up the good work!
This evenings offering is from our friends at Honest Weight Artisinal Brewing in Orange MA.
This Biere De Garde uses some maple syrup and smoked malts, with mixed cultures.
The offering has a delightful texture, and a slight leaning toward fortified oaked wine. Clocking in at 8% the nod toward wine is in small doses.
Excellent work by this talented team
Cheers all
Locations

Honest Weight Artisan Beer
French Bière de Garde | 8% ABV

4.16/5 rDev 0% | Average: 4.16
look: 4 | smell: 4.25 | taste: 4.25 | feel: 4 | overall: 4

Poured into the test glass from a 375 ml bottle. Dates include Brewed on 5/17/18, Bottled 9/6/19.
A - Weathered copper color, transluscent, carbonation works steadily top side. Thin ring clings to the vessel wall.
S - Touch of barrel, hints of smoked malt, red grape skin, balsamic reduction. back pepper, with a kiss of tannin.
T - Madeira qualities, but lighter. A thread of maple sweetness, fall grains, white pepper, some oak, earthy hop touch
M - A bit slick on the palate, start is full frontal sweet, quickly balances, rolling in next is a bit of tannin, finish is dry and delightful
O - A very good offering, this has depth and requires appropriate time to enjoy.

 

Aroma: Fresh coconut and dairy creamer. Just a hint of coffee is present, and only as it warmed.
Taste: Tasted malt with chewy oatmeal flavors. Some sugary cream and coconut sweetness is present.
Mouthfeel: Creamy as is expected for a milk stout. Not particularly thick, this is a nice dessert beer.
Overall: I think the added flavors pair well, and make this a tasty big brother of their "porter-rico" beer.

 

Haha Drink Fresh. I assume the brewery was in or around Quebec. It made me think about ABV% and how perception primarily, actually only, has changed in the States. At some point before the Craft movement took off there was nary a hint of anything being a DIPA. As things developed a DIPA may have been considered around 6.5% because a Pale ale or IPA may have been such a lower (5% ?) ABV. My how things have changed when we label DIPAs 8-9% and now we have QIPA's at 10, 12...I guess my point is the bar has changed so much in such a short period of time. Overseas they probably think the DIPA is a another "American" way of excess. Not saying I don't like it because I drink a lot of them. No beer historian either just my perception and 2 cents. Cheers!

 

Arctic Panzer Wolf by Three Floyds. It's been brewed for awhile, but this is the first distribution we have seen in Chicago. Bottled 1/24/20, this pour is fresh and most excellent.

AP: Murky orange tan pour, light white head leaves soapy lacing. Light carbonation. 4.25
AR: Strong citrus and pine scent, backed by pineapple. 4.5
T: Dry bitter pine taste, citrus, malt and bread backed. Excellent. 4.75
MF: Rich creamy body, nominal carbonation, dry bitter throughout including aftertaste. 4.5
O: Outstanding WCIPA, definitely will grab more when available. 4.5

So glad this hit distribution beyond the brewery, hope I come across Hop Operations collaboration, which I have seen many great reviews for here.

 

It would be a (serious) pleasure. Best wishes!!

 

Greetings, NBS connoisseurs of delectable beers that constantly have me thinking, “How can I get my hands on that beer?”

Shameless Plug Time: participate in an NBS BIF. As our friend @beertunes posted earlier in this thread, iteration XI of this magnificent event will start soon, and his post includes a link to the signup thread. I’ve participated in 6 of these beer debauchery spectacles, and I can’t recommend participation strongly enough.

As for the topic du jour posed by our friend @cjgiant, I almost always purchase a pack (4 or 6) vs a single, though I will pick up the occasional “single 6er” a couple of times a year.

But what I don’t pick up at all anymore, outside of the Sierra Nevada Oktoberfest collab, is a 12-pack, and I used to be a regular 12-pack acquirer. Now it’s 4-packs and 6-packs.

On to tonight’s beers, the first is from an iconic brewery that, in my limited experience, brews beers that are exceptionally - and subtly - well-executed. This is no exception.





4.49/5 rDev +4.4%
look: 4.25 | smell: 4.5 | taste: 4.5 | feel: 4.5 | overall: 4.5

This hazy orange-ish beer props up a foamy off-white head that draws your nose to the citrus aromas that literally explode from this beer. Mandarin oranges, pineapple, passion fruit, mango - just a hop lover’s “spicy citrus” extravaganza.

The oranges and pineapple are the initial flavors on the taste, but the mango is what sets this hazy IPA apart from the proliferation of examples of this style of beer, and the way that flavor is subtly combined with the other flavors to yield this world-class beer.

It has all the juicy flavor, in balance, so you don’t get that “juicy burn” on the palate that leads to “premature palate fatigue” (Registered Trademark). A magnificent beer from an exceptional brewery, IMHO.

 

I'm glad you mentioned this cause I was thinking the same thing! I saw the ABV and thought it seemed light for the style and definitely thought that in this age of temporarily available 5 dollar cans of sometimes-dubious haze that it was worth a mention, but then thinking about it I think 6.5 would qualify as a double for the BJCP and for me, if I'm being honest. But like you say, 8.5+ has become fairly normal for IIPAs, especially the juicy ones. I certainly can't see my beer from earlier benefitting any from having more alcohol haha. I have now moved on to my favorite seasonal tripel to get the taste outta my mouth.

 

Good evening NBS! Took care of a few things around the apartment, now time for some beer. Enjoying Transient The King, thanks @strohme2!! This is a Gray Skies gin barrel aged sour red ale with orange peel, mugwort, wormwood, cinnamon, rhubarb, gentian root and anise.

4.02/5 rDev 0%
look: 4.25 | smell: 4 | taste: 4 | feel: 4 | overall: 4

Thank you strohme2 for this
500 ml bottle poured into a teku

A- A clear ruby red with a orange tint and a two finger off white head.

S- Sour, some gin, oak, orange peel, hints of rhubarb, herbal, touch of cinnamon, some vinegar.

T- Sour, orange peel, some rhubarb, gin, herbal, oak, some anise, touch of vinegar.

M- Smooth, light body.

O- This is an interesting one, lots of stuff going on. Gin barrel really understands out in this making this a weird and fun version of a Flanders. I do like how it come together, but I think it would have been better just being an oak aged Flanders.

Cheers!!

 

Wicked Weed Black Angel

Happy Sunday, BAs. I stopped at my usual beer shop this afternoon looking for the DFH / Rodenbach collaboration. They had only bought a case and it was already sold out. Funny that they still had cases and cases of Hopslam, CBS, King Sue, Lawson’s and other beers I used search far and wide for. But not the Dogfishhead I wanted.

Oh well. Today’s new beer is left from a trip down south over the summer. And, strangely enough, it does remind me a bit of Rodenbach.

Black Angel pours cola brown with a plum hue. Its fat finger of light khaki head dissipates fairly quickly into a wisp and thick crown that leaves sheets of lacing that slide fairly quickly back into the glass.

Vinegar dominates the aroma, along with some red wine, wood and maybe a little cherry. It smells sort of like a Flanders red — the benchmark of which for me is Rodenbach Grand Cru.

The taste follows the nose closely. It’s tart and vinegary, with some oak, a touch of vanilla and clear vinous qualities, as well as a nice sour cherry addition on the backend.

It has a relatively slick mouthfeel with a burst of strong carbonation upon swallowing.

This is a puckering beer with nice tart flavors. My recollection from a very wide sampling at the Funkatorium was that many of their beers seemed a little thin or unidimensional to me. This doesn’t totally buck that trend, but does have enough going on to keep things interesting.

I hope you all enjoy what’s left of your evenings, and that those interested consider joining the NBS BIF. We could use some new blood!

 

Poured into a 13 oz tulip glass canned 1/08/20. Pours midnight black with a dark khaki head that leaves behind some thin wisps of lace, as it slowly settles, nitro baby. 4.25

Smell is cocoa nibs, vanilla beans, and toffee and sorry that is is it and it is intoxicating for sure. 4.5

Taste more of the same and I think it is awesome, maybe a hint of alcohol in the back end but it is 10%. 4.5

Mouthfeel is creamy and rich, nitro so no carbonation, not dry, and goes down way way too easy for its girth. 4.5

Overall I am really enjoying this series from them, creamy and sinful can after can. Well done. 4.5

 

Happy New New Half of the Other Glarus Beer Sunday (Week 781), Mk III!
The aforementioned Bert & Dana were in MN for the NCAA Volleyball Championships & stopped in Wisco to visit her family during the trip. While there, they thought of me with:
https://www.beeradvocate.com/beer/profile/590/1585/?ba=woodychandler#review
&
https://www.beeradvocate.com/beer/profile/590/408603/?ba=woodychandler#review

I had two (2) more, but they require pics & I am not up to the task. 8=( Next week is in serious doubt for me as I am making a trip to VA & may not be home in time to participate. 8=( I'll see yinz when I see yinz! TTFN.

 

@TheGent. Excellent beer and a much better,more sophisticated review than I was capable of.

 

My second beer is later than I planned, but clearing the snow from our long and winding driveway beckoned. We got about 7+ inches in a snow storm that started overnight and continued until early afternoon.

But, as it turns out, the beer I had ready is excellent as a late night sipper, with just the right flavors for relaxing by the fire.

August Schell Brewing Cave-Aged Barrel-Aged #6 Baltic Porter
ABV: 10.9%
IBU: NA (but perceived as low)



Tall, thick, root-beer float head with excellent retention leaving rows and loops of lacing. Deep dark color, virtually opaque from the front, but clear dark ruby with a back-light.

Delicious aroma: Dark fruits, figs, hints of tobacco, leather, vanilla, even blueberry.

Taste is equally complex, with all of the flavors from the aroma, especially the blueberry and tobacco. The oak is prominent as well. A great beer for sipping by the fire, enjoying it like a great cigar. Only slightly bitter toward the end (which is likely from the oak, not the hops), with a dry finish. The aftertaste is the oak / tannin, blueberries, and tobacco.

This is one flavorful, delicious beer.

Body is moderate to substantial.

Overall, a wonderfully complex beer.

Schell's cave-aged lagers evoke the days before refrigeration. Sorry if I sound like a commercial, but if you are in Schell's distribution footprint, I strongly recommend you pick this up while it is still available.

L: 4.0 | S: 4.25 | T: 4.5 | F: 4.0 | O: 4.5 | BA rating: 4.36

 

I like those tunes......

 

Finish my night with a big one thanks to @Franfab! Phase Three Pressed Vanilla, a really good porter.

4.46/5 rDev 0%
look: 4.5 | smell: 4.75 | taste: 4.25 | feel: 4.5 | overall: 4.5

Thank you Franfab for this
16 oz can poured into a teku

A- Black with a three finger dark mocha head.

S- Vanilla, chocolate, some coffee, hints of maple. Pretty much malted milk balls.

T- Milk chocolate, vanilla, roasted coffee, hints of maple, touch of dark chocolate.

M- Smooth, full body, chewy.

O- A great porter with a very nice balance of the coffee and vanilla. The nose is really big on this but the taste doesn’t deliver the malted milk balls I’m getting in the nose. That being said it is still a very tasty and balanced porter.

Cheers!

 

Hello New Beer Sunday!!!

Ok, a bit later than normal, but I was out and about. I'm a lot later because of it.

My new beer tonight isn't my first of the day, but first reviewed.


BAMF'D from Headflyer Brewing - this is a Coconut Imperial Stout. 11.8% ABV.

It's a tasty beer, but a bit thin for the style. My review will share it all, as well as I can describe it.

4.3/5 rDev 0%
look: 4.25 | smell: 4.25 | taste: 4.5 | feel: 3.75 | overall: 4.25

Pours a very dark brown, almost black. 1 finger off white head. Retention isn't the best, but for the ABV, not bad. No lacing on the glass.
The nose hit me as I was pouring. I did get a nice coconut aroma. Up close I get tons of barrel notes - caramel, and boozy, along with the coconut aroma.
Taste - I measured the beer in my glass at 55 degrees F - Nice mellow coconut, but then there's the background of the barrel There's caramel notes to this beer.
For an 11% beer, it seems a bit thin. There's a bit of a warming sensation that is pleasing.
Tasty beer from Headflyer.


And this will be it for tonight, see you all next Sunday.

 

One more for the books today.
Courtesy of @SawDog505
Kettlehead Moon Rover DIPA
Pours a hazy orange with a two finger
Head that settles leaving rings of sticky lacing as the liquid recedes.
Lots of ripe peach, pineapple, passionfruit, tangerine and marijuana in the nose.
Taste follows with juicy ripe peach and passionfruit, citrus; tangerine and bright lemon/lime.
Medium full body with a very soft mouth feel with minimal bitterness. Light carbonation, not dry and no excess resins. No alcohol detected and not listed on the can. Very enjoyable and easy to drink. Another NEIPA that hits all the sweet spots from Kettlehead. Thanks for the chance Tim. Salute.