New Beer Sunday (Week 787)

Good day BAs! Well, it's starting off to be a beautiful day, a bit chilly but otherwise sunny with blue sky. Today's entry into the NBS sweepstakes is:



On room temperature shelf at Spec’s, DeZavala, SAT. $ 14.03 (Including tax)/750 mL bottle ($ 0.472/oz). Reviewed 3/22/20.
On label “Batch #3 June 2019”. Stored at home at 42 degrees and served at 55 degrees in a hand washed and dried Jester King snifter.
Appearance – 3.5.
First pour – Pale straw, nearly colorless (SRM <2), slight haze.
Body – Straw (SRM 3), translucent. When held to direct light, same.
Head – Average (Maximum 3.5 cm, aggressive center pour), chalk white, medium density, average retention, diminishing to a five to seven mm crown and a rocky complete cap fed by light effervescence.
Lacing – Good. Wide bands of tiny to small bubbles, connected by short columns of varying widths.
Aroma – 3.5 – Initially strong aroma of lemongrass followed by light maltiness. Some yeastiness appears but the lemongrass is always present.
Flavor – 4.25 – Begins with a blast of lemongrass followed by some bitterness from the hops. No malt characteristics. The rice is not noticeable in either the aroma or taste – it’s probably just there to lighten the body. No alcohol (5.4 % ABV as marked on the label) taste or aroma. No diacetyl, no dimethylsulfide. It ends with a light lemony-citrus bitterness from both the hops and the lemongrass.
Palate – 4 – Thin and light, watery, soft but lively carbonation.
Final impression and summation: 4.5. Belgian saison, American wild ale – call it what you will, to my taste it’s another excellent brew from Jester King.

Rating 4.17, rDev 0%.

Interesting that when I tried to upload my review on BA, only about the first third came across - that's twice this week.

 

Have you been to Saxapahaw? It is one of my favorite places on earth. It is a magical place in UCLA-Upper Chatham, Lower Alamance.

 

Poured into a 13 oz Snulip glass. Pours a hazy orange yellow with a 2 plus finger sticky white head that leaves big thick streaks of lace with excellent retention. 4.5

Smell papaya, ripe melon, tangerine, and apricot really nice. 4.25

Taste is papaya, cantaloupe, tangerine, mango, and apricot not bitter at all but juicy and balanced. 4.5

Mouthfeel is a solid medium, soft gentle carbonation, a tad sticky but not dry, and at 6% it drinks bigger but really crushable. 4.5

Overall this is a excellent low ABV NEIPA and I highly recommend this beer. 4.5

 

Jack’s BIG Adventure!

Firstly, I hope that y’all are staying safe during these trying times of COVID-19 and have plenty of beer to drink at home.

A week ago my wife and I returned from a BIG Adventure of a two week road trip to/from Florida to visit some friends. As good fortune would have it this trip occurred before the various states decided to ‘shut down’ things like bars, restaurants, etc.



The itinerary of the BIG adventure was Philly area -> Richmond, VA -> Savannah, GA -> St. Petersburg, FL -> Cocoa Beach, FL -> St. Augustine, FL -> Charleston, SC, -> Virginia Beach, VA -> home. And needless to say but some beer was consumed at all of those stops.

At the first stop of Richmond, VA the hotel we stayed at was walking distance to the Triple Crossing downtown taproom so away we went. It was a slow night (Sunday evening) so we had a chance to chat at length with the bartender (who was very knowledgeable). It turns out that the downtown brewery (a 7 barrel brewery) was mostly used to brew lagers and their other larger production brewery in a nearby Industrial Park mostly brewed their ales. I had an opportunity to drink several small pours (4 ounces) and I really enjoyed drinking all of those beers. The one beer that really stood out for me was their Czech Dark Lager so I decided to ask for a full pour of that beer. I thought that beer was very, very good!



In Savannah we went to a craft beer bar/restaurant (Crystal Beer Parlor). There were a number of locally brewed craft beers available. My preferred Savannah breweries are Two Tides and Moon River and the two pints I had of those two brewery’s beers were very good!

Our first stop in Florida was visiting our friends Marylyn & Harry in St. Petersburg; they are renting a condo for the months of January – March. There is a burgeoning craft beer scene in the St. Pete area and we visited a number of small brewery taprooms. I did not have any bad beers but frankly I did not have any beers that really thrilled me either. I suppose 7venth (Seventh) Sun Brewery in Dunedin, FL was my favorite?

We then traveled over to Cocoa Beach to visit a good buddy who used to be a roommate in my younger days; it has been several years since I have seen him. I did not experience any local breweries during this visit but he supplied us with lots of beer during our visit (see below for today’s beer).

As regards our return leg of the trip I don’t have much to say about St. Augustine and Virginia Beach but we did get a chance to visit a great craft beer bar in Charleston. I very much enjoyed drinking the beers of three local craft breweries: Holy City, Coastal and Westbrook. I am happy to report that Charleston is a good place to visit for quality craft beer drinking.

As I mentioned above my buddy in Cocoa Beach kept us well supplied in beer and on the day we were leaving he gave me a dozen beers to bring home with me and I will be discussing one today: Cigar City Florida Cracker. Below is how this beer is described on BA:

“The Cracker Cowboys of Florida were colonial-era settlers, often of Scots-Irish descent, who arrived in Florida when Spain traded their territory of La Florida to the English. The term Cracker in Florida usage relates to the whip these "cow hunters" used to herd cattle in Florida's Palmetto Prairies. Called Quaqueros by the Spanish, these hardy and hard working Cracker Cowboys helped to shape the history of Florida, the nation’s oldest cattle raising state. We brew Florida Cracker White Ale with unmalted wheat, orange peel and coriander and then ferment it with a Belgian yeast strain to give it a spicy and dry finish. Perfect for a warm day on the Palmetto Prairie.

18 IBU”

I am a fan of Witbiers so I am hopeful here.

Served in my Cuvée Rene Witbier glass:

Appearance:

Pours a hazy light golden color with a two finger white head.

Aroma:

Citrus (lemon-like) is the dominant aroma but there is some cracker/bready malt in the background.

Taste:

The flavor follows he nose with a combination of citrus and cracker/bready flavors but there is also a hint of herbal flavor as well.

Mouthfeel:

Light/medium bodied with a soft carbonation level.

Overall:

This is beer is good. I find it to be very refreshing. This beer would be a very pleasant summer sipping beer.

Cheers!

@KOP_Beer_OUtlet @RobH @rotsaruch

 

Happy Sunday, NBS gang! Hope everyone is doing well, staying safe and keeping sane.
Big thanks to @beertunes for sending this on our last Rookie BIF.

Silver City Tropic Haze
Appearance - Haze, obviously. Nice head on it too.
Smell - mango, pineapple, tropical fruits coming through.
Taste - Big hop bitterness right off the bat which is delicious. I expected more sweetness but was pleasantly surprised by the hop presence. Some sweetness on the back end.
Mouthfeel - definitely easy drinking, good carbonation, not sweet.
Overall a really good IPA. I'd go 4.25 on this one.
Enjoy your Sunday, everyone!

 

Part of my recent trade with @scream ... I am admittedly a Central Waters fan boy, so I’m looking forward to the following new to me beer - “Salted Maple Stout”, 10.75% abv, 32 IBUs, canned 1/8/20:






Poured at 56 degrees; dark brown liquid with cola brown edges; some clarity under frothy dark tan, rocky mixed bubbles of foam; ok cap retention leaves small island of micro dots on surface and medium heavy ring; soapy lacing for first half of glass; impressive heavy legs sheet the glass. Caramel malt and pancake syrup nose. Sweet caramel, salt, maple, molasses, brown sugar; caramel cream candy; toffee finish. Velvety smooth feel; medium heavy body; maple syrup tongue coating; minimal warmth from 10.75%. Overall, a really great tasting/feeling stout; caramel shines alongside the maple notes; the salt reminds me of eating salt water taffy at the beach as a kid; another hit from CW for me; quite enjoyable.

4.75 | 4.5 | 4.5 | 4.75 | 4.5
4.54 rDev 14.1%

 

Man at first I misread that as "salted maple sour" and I was like... ehh.... but then I recognized my mistake and now I'm thirsty (or maybe just drooling)!

 

I was down in that area last year and really loved Green Bench; and it's probably where I'd park my butt exclusively the next time I go. Maybe it depends on what you order? I stuck with the saisons and pale lagers (the smoked one was fabulous).

 

Really a great place to sit and drink some unusual beers, they definitely brew outside the box, and imo very price friendly considering what they offer.

I’ve never ever ordered a flight anywhere, but if there’s a place in the world where this is a stellar idea Haw River is it.

 

A-Pours a nice golden color with a slight head and lacing
A-Aroma has a generous and pleasant wine and yeast hints
T-taste follows the nose with a well balanced wine barrel and yeast sour flavor
M-A light bodied decently carbonated beer
O-A good Wild Ale

 

Damn! Drums and guitars, puzzles, great beer - you're doing this hunkering down thing properly!

 

New Wherever I May Roam Sunday

Another new brew courtesy of @jhavs. I’m always up for a lager, and this one goes down easy with a lot of flavor.


4.03/5 rDev -1.2%
look: 4.25 | smell: 3.75 | taste: 4.25 | feel: 3.75 | overall: 4

16oz can dated 2/24

It is a very dark beer. Black like a Schwarzbier with a fairly frothy tan head that hangs around for awhile and leaves some lacing behind.

The aroma is a little light, but very nice. Light chocolate, lager yeast, and a earthy/woody note. If I was drinking this blind, I’m sure I would peg it as a Schwarz or Dunkel.

The flavor really pops. Distinct, but not overpowering chocolate without any roasted/charred flavor like you would find in a Schwarz. A little bit of toffee and nuttiness, some slightly spicy herbal hops, and a very rustic/earthy/yeasty finish. Kind of like chewing on a piece of wet straw.

It is pretty light bodied and fairly crisp. Definitely a pilsner like feel although a little thinner/more watery at times than creamy.

A really enjoyable beer overall.
[insert Metallica video here]

 

Hey what's going on?!

Certainly hope everyone is ok, it's the new "normal" around here as you can imagine.

I went out to a local place really wanting to support them. I showed up and was very happy to see that they wet to an online shop and they were filling crowlers like you wouldn't believe.

Good thing, but certainly hope we can all manage to stay safe as well.

With that said, I came upon some new beers of late luckily, and certainly have plenty of time at home to give them a good place.

What's new for our hero today.. heck new for the BA database...

Silver Branch - Coffee Chronicle.



Poured from the can into a nonik pint glass.

Small but simple one finger tan colored head, with uniform bubbles forms out of the can. Settles slowly to a thin puck and collar on a deep reddish dark brown body color. Some opaque quality to it, but not entirely.

This is an excellent nose. Hits of fantastic rich creamy well… cream, and coffee roast that is light but long lasting in aroma. Smells practically fresh ground even a little fruity, perhaps mixing in with an ester. This is really nice.

Palate takes things a little simpler. A lighter body, but still hints of creamy flavor with a simpler malt backbone. The flavors are bold, rich charring roast that amplifies excellent coffee aromas and flavors on first sip. A good amount of carbon like flavors in the finish with bold roast bitterness. Quite a bit of lingering roast on this surprisingly, and less balanced sweetness, but coffee booming aromatics take over nicely.

Hints at something bigger, but sticks to something simpler. Doesn't seem to have the richness of regular Chronicle, but is a great coffee forward flavor and brew. Solid coffee stout here.

look: 3.75 | smell: 4.5 | taste: 4 | feel: 4 | overall: 4 | 4.11/5

Cheers!

 

Having spent 8 yrs traveling b/w Rowan Co and Chapel Hill in the early mid 80s then again mid 90s, it was always a "sign" I saw and never went until a few years ago. A place (like so much in rural NC) where time has for the most part stood still.

 

This has been a tough week for everyone in here, I imagine. I just wanted to start out by sending my best wishes to everyone and their friends and families. I missed last week's NBS because the reality of the situation was starting to really sink in, and waxing about beer seemed frivolous to me at that time. Being a part of the ongoing NBS BIF has been a great way to still feel connected to this community and a little less alone as we're all doing our best to distance and isolate.

Speaking of connecting, my first beer this week came from a local connection. He was trying to clear some space out of his cellar, so I took him up on this bottle. I've been a big fan of everything I've had from Other Half so far, but this was my first time trying one of their stouts. I poured it into a short-stemmed tulip, and tried to drink it slowly but the sweetness kept me coming back for more.

Other Half - Double Sunset imperial stout w/ Ethiopian Worka coffee, vanilla, and milk sugar



4.19/5 rDev -1.9%
look: 4.25 | smell: 4 | taste: 4.25 | feel: 4.25 | overall: 4.25

Look - Pours a jet black color with a creamy tan head.
Smell - Very nice coffee notes with slight vanilla. The fruity character of the Worka coffee is noticeable, but not overwhelming.
Taste - Coffee, then vanilla, then blueberry sweetness. The imperial stout gets a little lost in the sweetness, but none of the flavors overwhelm. I didn't notice the 13% alcohol until the last few sips.
Feel - Creamy without being too thick. The glass was left coated by the stout, but it never felt sticky.
Overall - This was a nice drinking imperial stout that really showed off the Worka coffee. It made me want to try a fresh brewed cup of it. I would definitely drink this beer again.