New Beer Sunday (Week 789)

I've been looking forward to this day since the moment I signed up for the NBS BIF. I started posting here mostly because of my interest in joining the BIF, and over the last few weeks have found myself looking to this thread each week. I plan my drinking around having something that I'm excited to try and share. Thanks to everyone here for being so welcoming, and especially to the folks participating in this round of the BIF and @beertunes for running the show. I feel like I've made some real friends, had an incredible time, and am already looking forward to the next round.

I noticed that a common word in some of my fellow participants posts is generous. That was no exception in my case as well. @2beerdogs destroyed my porch and left me feeling grateful and elated. There was a massive amount of swag and an ocean of beer contained in 2 boxes. I'm almost embarrassed to post the entire haul, but he deserves massive credit. I can't thank you enough, Derek. The mystery beer on the far left will be cracked open in the very near future.


My first share today though is a bit of a cheat. I cracked it open late last night and sipped until way past midnight, so I'm counting it. When it comes to peanut butter and stouts I've always enjoyed the concept, but have never really found one that did it for me. I always feel like I want more peanut butter. Chapman's King of Candy: PB Cup finally gives me the peanut butter flavor that I've been looking for. It's a very heavy 12.5% that is evident through the entire pour. A nice thick and smooth pour is complemented by a variety of aromas. Sweet chocolate is followed by warm roasty flavors from both the peanut and base stout. It's a bit sticky sweet, but I enjoyed it overall.

4.16/5 rDev +2%
look: 4 | smell: 4.25 | taste: 4.25 | feel: 4 | overall: 4

Look - Poured jet black with a quickly receding one finger tan head.
Smell - Peanut, cacao, vanilla, roasty notes. The aromas are intense and none overpower the others.
Taste - This is a big boozy brew. Sweet chocolate hits me first and coats the mouth. The roast and peanut is more perceptible on the finish which lingers. The 12.5% abv is very obvious the entire way through.
Feel - It was nice and thick which I enjoy. As mentioned above this is a sweet stout that coats the mouth, but left my glass quite sticky which is not always enjoyable.
Overall - I usually find peanut butter stouts to be lacking in noticeable peanut flavor, but this one left me quite satisfied in that regard. It didn't overtake the other flavors, but rather complemented them. I could not drink this every day, but I could see myself sipping one again.

 

Good lunch/brunch time NBS. Today I am going with a beer I rated almost 4 years ago but failed to review. The GF had gotten the base beer, which I vaguely recall not liking too much and is why I bypassed it in the store. I grabbed the Bourbon Barrel (w/Vanilla Beans) Raspberry Stout from Hardywood to do this side-by-side not realizing I had rated it (I put in a merge request for the duplicate entry). The funny thing is that I recall specifically not liking the regular Raspberry Stout, yet I never reviewed it.

So this is a two new reviews and a new side-by-side, but only one new rating, and I promise you I do not recall any specifics about the BBA version going into this comparison.


Let's start with the "plain Jane" Raspberry Stout version:
This has a much more impressive head, in size and fortitude. It's slightly lighter but a solid medium tending lighter brown. The nose is nicely roasted malt, with a bit of char and a highlight of tart raspberry. Taste starts with the raspberry right up front, but the burnt coffee char flavor metalicize this, and then clashes with it in a way that reminds me why I haven't bought this since I first tried it. Funny thing is that I think I'd rather like the beer if the raspberry were tossed out of it - it has a nice Ten FIDY like sort of char to it that needs no stinkin' pink berries involved.


So, can the extra "sweetness" vanilla and perhaps barrel bring to the table quell the char a bit to make the raspberry feel more comfortable on my palate? The GF already told me she liked the BBw/VB variety more, and I gotta figure it probably can't get worse... right?

As mentioned the head is darker than the regular, and at first I was thinking it would have a strong showing for a barrel-aged stout. But after putting up a good front, a slow fizzle occurred and a modest ring remained. Still not bad for the style, but a mildly deflating result from first impression.

The nose is a little softer all around - less berry, less char smokiness, less intensity overall. The vanilla is noticed, but as a component of a dark chocolate or mocha which seems to be the result of the blending of stout, vanilla, and barrel. The raspberry seems to have the same relative level of emphasis as the regular, but is equally less stroing than the overall aroma.

The raspberry isn't quite as forceful out of the gate on this version, but is the first flavor noted. The follow-on flavors are softer, as well, and meld with the raspberry muchbetter in this beer than the base. Raspberry-flavored dark chocolate and coffee, much as the nose indicated. The raspberry sort of keeps the spotlight in this one, but has the support of the other aspects to round out a complete beer. It doesn't feel as disjointed as the base beer.

So, I have to agree with the GF, the BBwVB is more enjoyable, but I would also say it's a better constructed beer. Cheers, all!

 

Starting our third week of social distancing. No illness in our house, plenty of beer, a pool and a hot tub. Better yet, we still like each other. We haven't played any scenes from The Shining to this point.
Today's new beer is one that I was positive I had drunk previously, but when I looked for my review, there wasn't one. So, here goes.
Backwoods Bastard from Founders.
Bottled 3.02.20, 11.0% ABV.
A dark brown/red color with a small tan head.
Aroma of booze, caramel, vanilla, and smoke/peat.
Taste follows the nose. Whiskey, caramel, smoke.
Medium-bodied, nice sipping beer.

 

LOL!

Cheers!

P.S. It will be a few months before I own a Guayabera shirt (and that presumes my wife chooses to buy one for me).

 

Been nice having you join the crew of regulars. Sounds like you don't even need all those beers to continue on

Thanks for hopping the fence and joining us on this side of Sunday. Cheers!

 

A new beer today is Juice Break, a NE style IPA from Garvies Point.
The can pours pale orange with a deep haze and a thin foam cap that dissipates quickly. The aroma is faintly orange and slightly floral.
The flavor includes apricot, tangerine and lime. This brew is light-bodied and quite dry in the finish. -good, but not my favorite from this very good local brewer.

 

Good afternoon NBS'ers. It's a nice spring afternoon here in CT. Since today is the official share date for NBS BIF #11 I'm hoping to review more than one beer today. @ovaltine certainly gave me plenty to choose from (see below) and is making rumblings of a second box to come. To echo @Pinz412 above, the word "generous" is definitely the best way to describe the BIF participants. I really think that most of us enjoy sharing our beer as much or more than drinking it.

First, let's take a look at my options from @ovaltine


Those Revolution beers are all very high ABV, so if I want to get my "to do" list done today, they aren't a great place to start. As such, I'm going with a perfect post lunch beer to start off

Urban Artifact - The Gadget, a "blackberry and raspberry Midwest fruit tart"


4.23/5 rDev +0.2%
look: 4.25 | smell: 4.25 | taste: 4.25 | feel: 4 | overall: 4.25

Pours a beautiful burgundy color with a thin head that quickly dissipates. The smell is clear and strong. No mistaking the raspberry and blackberry used to make this beer. Taste brings a burst of flavor. The fruitiness is not subtle, but still absolutely works. This is very smooth, and oddly nowhere near as sour as I had expected. I can't taste the alcohol at all. A very enjoyable beer for a nice spring afternoon.

This was a great way to start off the afternoon. Thanks again @ovaltine!

 

Poured into a 16 oz Nordic pint glass, not sure when it was canned but confident with in the last 2 weeks. Pours a hazy yellow orange with a finger sticky white head that leaves a thick collar of lace, with solid retention. 4.25

Smell is papaya, tangerine, pine, apricot, and grapefruit. 4

Taste follows papaya, tangerine, pine, apricot, and grapefruit a little bitterness, but very tropical also. 4

Mouthfeel is very soft for a WCIPA, about medium, slightly sticky not dry, and for 6.2% plenty of flavor. 4

Overall this is really nice, no wow but very nice anyway. 4

 

Having @kemoarps as your sender greatly improves the quantity and quality of your beer drinking!

 

An old roommate of mine who was born and raised in Latin America as a diplomat's son had a real fondness for that style of shirt, and was proud as a peacock at having found one in a thrift store while we were sharing an apartment. He insisted they were the most comfortable shirts on earth.

 

Yikes! Sorry about the IRS issue. Glad you've been able to change up your drinking to your benefit. While I don't drink much at home, I've noticed I do a bit too much drinking when I'm out and about, so I'm kinda viewing this period of more or less enforced shut-in behavior as a needed cool-down from that sort of thing.

 

Happy Sunday, NBS crew! I have to say I've been looking forward to this for a while.
Ok then, @SicDub let's see what mystery beer you sent.

All taped up well!

Looks like we have a clue! I've only had Nugget Nectar and their winter IPA so it's not them.

Ok, here we go!
Appearance - nice, caramel/amber coloring with good carbonation and a slight tan head.
Smell - awesome aroma! Definitely a barleywine, most likely barrel aged. Great fig/caramel notes.
Taste - same as smell, fruits, caramel, some hops and barrel for sure. The carbonation is nice here. I would say an American barleywine.
Mouthfeel - a sipper, for sure, but not cloying at all.
So yesterday was a beautiful, sunny day and today it's cool and cloudy so this was the perfect beer.
And the reveal....

Well damn, I left the tape on too long as it came up in temp. But after a bit of research it looks like a bourbon barrel aged Flying Mouflan.
Thanks, @SicDub I really enjoyed this!!

 

Greetings, fellow NBSers, and thanks to @superspak for getting us going on this NBS BIF Reveal Sunday.

As Sundays are my official day of Sloth, I'm still fumbing about the kitchen with breakfast and drinking coffee, so I won't be hitting y'all with a new beer quite yet. I had an uncommon three new local beers yesterday. Normally I'd throw those up here as an opening act to my true Sunday beer(s), but today I shall beg the NBS Court's indulgence to post my mystery beer from @Whyteboar. This was consumed on March 23, roughly 24 hours after I received his box #1 (I'll be posting the pics of that massive 160oz blast to my porch soon, don't worry). What follows is my post on the NBS BIF #11 thread:

"Now for that mystery beer!

Okay, since, @Whyteboar included a note telling me to let this one warm up a bit, I popped the tab and just let it sit for about 5 minutes, then poured it into my Founders pint glass (figured it would be appropriate, as it's probably a Michigan beer, although the top of the can is black. Isn't that a hallmark of Revolution Brewing? I can't remember), and even then let it sit for a bit longer.
The Look
Poured a tremendously dark shade of brown, virtually black, with what seemed like a whole lotta viscosity. Massive, mocha colored head, as can be seen here:

While the head did mostly fade away after a few minutes, leaving spotty lace, a fairly impressive ring of foam refused to die.
The Smell
I'm reasonably sure this is a bourbon barrel aged imperial stout. Big, sweet and oakey bourbon notes here. I'm also getting what smells like chocolaty notes as well. Adjunct, or is there some malt alchemy at work here?
The Taste
Oh, this is absolutely wonderful! Rich vanilla, bourbon, brown sugary notes are fairly high in the mix, but it doesn't have an excess of "heat" from the alcohol, which I'm guessing is high. And, yes, I'm willing to say that there's chocolate or at least cocoa that's been added. There's some coffeeish notes as well, but they're restrained enough to make me think they come from the dark malts rather than any actual coffee having been added. Time will tell if I'm right. This is drinking like a dessert, so I'm glad I decided to hit this after dinner and not before. Very slight hoppy dryness at the swallow.
The Mouthfeel
Fairly full bodied, with a luscious, creamy mouthfeel.
The Reveal

It IS from Revolution! Deth's Tar. I've had the coffee variant, Cafe Deth, but this one is new to me. And, no adjuncts, as it turns out, just a great BBA Imperial Oatmeal Stout.
Wow, this was so good! Thank you so much, Craig!"

Yeah, go get yourselves some Deth's Tar today. You'll be glad you did.

Back with pics of my total haul from @Whyteboar soon!

 

Times being what they are, I have been moving slowly through my new-to-me beers in my 'fridge (with the Fri-Sat saison tasting being an exception of making some new purchases).

Which brings me to another of the beers from the Costco Advent box I was gifted back in late February, with today's being a rather curiously labeled "German Pale Ale."

Privatbrauerei H. Egerer Perlenzauber German Pale Ale
ABV: 5.4%

It is entered in the database here as an English Pale Ale.



500mL can. EXP 05/2021 2019 Kalea/Costco Advent calendar box.

Weak citrus and grain aroma.

1/2 inch+ billowy thick white head above a cloudy pale yellow body, with sparse bubbles rising through a dropping yeast cloud. Some lacing, of the wall variety, around about half the glass.

Initial taste is mild citrus, clean and refreshing. In the middle I pick up some floral, fruits, and grain in addition to the citrus. Somewhat sweet. No bittering.

Mouth feel is mild, a reasonable body for the style, with good contribution from the carbonation.

The finish continues with the subdued citrus and tropical fruits and the flavor lingers in the aftertaste, with just a hint of metallic bittering finally showing up in the aftertaste.

Overall, this beer, while pleasant enough, has very subdued flavor and aroma, and hardly any hops bittering, which makes for a less than mediocre English-style pale ale (although, to be fair, the brewer calls this a German Pale Ale - I just don't know what that is). Bottom line? Easy to drink, and having several would go down easy, but little beyond that to recommend it.

L: 3.5 | S: 2.75 | T: 3.0 | F: 3.5 | O: 2.75 | Rating: 2.97

 

Congrats!

ps-that is the #1 beer on my wish list, and considering that the brewery is only two hours away from me, it shall be done as soon as this plague is over! Cheers!

 

Official share date for the NBS BIF group, so I'm chiming in with an IPA from my sender - @Pinz412 . I don't really have the focus to tackle the mystery beer right now, so I'm reverting to one of the NE IPAs he sent along.



Grist House's Space Cactus.

Pours an opaque, turbid pale-orange that has a dull, matte hue to it. Saturation is low. Head is a finger and a half of pillowy white foam that retains well. Aroma is rich and ripe with tropical fruits - papaya, tangerine, grapefruit, mango and orange. There is a dash of bready yeast at the back, but it's an afterthought. Sweetness is mild, with the tropical fruits balanced out by sticky resiny hops. Lovely blend that smells inviting. Flavor profile is tangerine, papaya, grapefruit, lemon zest, cracked black pepper, mango and orange zest. It comes in full and strong with tropical fruits, with the flavor balance coming via resiny, sticky hops towards the finish, though they're very mild notes. Bready yeast quality at the back helps rinse the tongue clean of tropical fruit notes, although a few linger long after the sip. Mouth feel is medium-thick with a pillowy texture. There is a light nappy, fuzzy texture to it, but not much, just enough texture to bump it out from being completely smooth. Overall, good dynamics for a NE IPA, whereas the tropical fruits don't completely run away with the show. It's easy to drink and refreshing - well done.

Score: 4.25 | 4.25 | 4.5 | 4.5 | 4.25 | BA Score: 4.38 | rDev: +5.3%

P.S. Had a blast taking this photo. I've had plenty of time to watch photography videos with this whole shelter-in-place thing.

 

Good afternoon NBS
I have two new beers from Revolution Brewing today. Up first...

The review:
12oz can filled 02-24-2020 poured into a stange glass at just above fridge temp 4.9% ABV. The beer pours bright light straw yellow with a nearly white, fluffy head. The head recedes to a pencil thin ring. The aroma is faint with grassy hops and pale malt. The taste is semisweet pilsner malt with moderate grassy bitterness coming out on the finish. The mouthfeel is thin plus in body with average carbonation and a dry finish. Overall, very good. A solid attempt at a traditional Kolsch with no fruit, honey etc trying to dazzle the drinker. Refreshing, balanced and FRESH.

By the end of today, half of my reviews (18 of 36) from the neighboring state of Illinois will be from Revolution. It would be even more if I hadn't slowed down on purchasing and drinking IPAs (the League of Heros packs are outstanding).

Here's a picture of the can if anyone would like to add it to the database. You have my permission as I can't figure out the resizing.

My next beer will be much later as it's a show stopper. Cheers all and enjoy the new beer in your glass today!

 

Okay, here's the promised unveiling of the weapons @Whyteboar launched at my poor, unoffending porch, and thereby possibly earned the ire of a USPS employee:
The pics





A food item was also included:

A swag item arrived last week as a follow-on strike to my mailbox:

The Details
One brave 12 (or was it 16?)oz warrior did not survive the journey. A Founder's Red's Rye fell victim to an attack by a no-doubt disgruntled postal employee, upset at the strain @Whyteboar put upon his back. Fortunately, 144oz(!) arrived in excellent physical condition. They were as follows:
2xBell's Porter
1xBrewery Vivant Wizard Burial Ground
1xFounder's Devil Dancer (A LONGTIME want)
1xWolverine State Gulo Gulo
1xShort's Evil Urges
1xShort's Huma Lupa Licious
1xEvil Twin Even More Jesus
1xBig Lake Barrel-Aged Dark Star
1xMystery Beer (that Revolution Deth's Tar)
1xStillwater On Fleek
1xMackinac Island Fudge Co. Death By Chocolate Fudge (I'd like to say I held out on this, and I did...until this weekend)
1xPerrin Brewing T-shirt
Well done, @Whyteboar! He and everyone else absolutely brought it with a vengeance in this BIF. And I've just received word a second box is underway. Pity my porch.

 

Holy smokes!! @Whyteboar killed it!!

 

Yep. He can hang with the rest of us porch-clobbering degenerates, fo' sho.'