New Beer Sunday (Week 790)

Poured into a 16 oz Nordic pint glass canned on 3/26/20. Pours a hazy orange with a finger plus sticky white head that leaves plenty of thin lace with excellent retention. 4.5

Smell tangerine, pineapple, papaya, vanilla, and apricot. 4.5

Taste is tangerine, papaya, pineapple, vanilla, and apricot. 4.75

Mouthfeel is bigger than average, a tad sticky not dry, soft on the palate, and at 7.8% loaded with flavor but extremely drinkable. 4.75

Overall this is exactly what I was hoping it would be. Love the regular version and this one I had rather high expectations and it delivered. Marsh Island really is good at making this style. 4.5

 

Support your local breweries during this time of the COVID-19 Plague!

Firstly, Happy Easter everybody!

Victory Brewing is conducting direct sales (curbside pickup) at their Downingtown, PA location including the sale of 3 crowlers for 10 bucks. My guess is this is their way to deplete the draft beer they have sitting around (since we can no longer drink on premise) but I figured this would be a good way for me to support a local brewery during these trying times. A classic win-win IMO.

Which brings us to today’s beer of Victory Classic which is a new beer from Victory.

Below is how Victory describes this beer on their website:

Classic

Easy Drinkin' Lager

Since Back in the Day

abv: 4.8%

ibu: 18

malt: Pilsner

hops: Hallertau

About This Beer

Perfectly balanced and exceptionally drinkable, this lager is expertly crafted with specialty hops, malt and yeast to be the standard of refreshment.

Classic is the definition of drinkable with pilsner malt and Hallertau hops bringing perfect balance to this 4.8% refresher for game day, happy hour, mowing the lawn and everything in between.”

Served in my Firestone Walker Pivo Pils glass (I shared this crowler with my wife):

Appearance:

Straw yellow colored with a BIG rocky white head.

Aroma:

The first impression is bready Pilsner Malt aroma but after a bit it turns into a pleasant combination of bready malt aroma and herbal/spicy hop aroma.

Taste:

The flavor follows the nose. There is an enjoyable combination of bready Pilsner malt flavor and spicy hop flavor. There is a low bitterness.

Mouthfeel:

Light- medium bodied with a pleasant dry finish.

Overall:

This beer is excellent. I really enjoyed the balance of bready Pilsner Malt and herbal/spicy hop flavors. This beer is indeed consistent with the Victory Brewing ‘claim’ of an Easy Drinkin' Lager.

In contrast my wife was not as thrilled here. After a couple of sips she said: I think it is a little bit boring. Can I have a Pilsner instead? So, I poured here a glass of homebrewed Bohemian Pilsner. She was happy drinking the Bohemian Pilsner and I was happy drinking here half of Victory Classic. Another classic win-win!

This beer was purchased a week ago (I purchased 6 crowlers) and yesterday I also visited the Downingtown location to purchase another 6 crowlers. Over the past week they updated their website to improve the online ordering process. They are now including other options: Sixpoint brand beers, packaged (bottles/cans) in formats from 6-packs up to cases (24 bottles/cans). I would encourage others to visit Victory (Thursday – Saturday) to order some Victory beers.

https://taprooms.victorybeer.com/victory-brewing-company-downingtown-d0da62874402

Click on the Order Now button.

@rotsaruch @KOP_Beer_OUtlet @Ranbot @nc41 @Ranbot @FBarber @Jacobier10 @scottakelly @tzieser @zid

 

Poured into a 16 Nordic pint glass canned on 3/25/20. Pours a slightly cloudy orange with a finger sticky white head that leaves plenty of thin wisps of lace, with solid retention.4.25

Smell is herbal, grass, pine, lemon, tangerine, and grapefruit rind. 3.75

Taste follows earthy herbal is the only way to describe it, grass, pine, lemon, tangerine, and grapefruit. 3.75

Mouthfeel is about medium, a little dry, plenty of life, and at 5.8% drinks maybe a little bigger. 3.75

Overall this is a nice beer, nothing stands out as great, but on a hot day you could toss a few of these back. This was the first brewery that I used to go to all the time in the late 90s The Flying Goose was a huge part of my craft beer journey. 3.75

 

Going off of the sentiment of @JackHorzempa above, I'm going to also focus on supporting the locals for my first post today. It's really encouraging to see that a number of them are selling out of their product quickly even in these difficult times. After weeks of only going out to the stores when necessary my wife and I decided we needed to do something nice for ourselves while still being responsible. Luckily one of our very local breweries have done a fantastic job of adapting to the situation and serving their customers. They're offering same day delivery in a large chunk of the city, and are also delivering further outside of the city with a day's notice. Aside from offering some of my favorite beers in Pittsburgh, their kitchen is also very high quality. They're still offering a lot of their regular menu for curbside pickup and delivery, but they've expanded into also selling family style meals and loaves of bread that they bake themselves. Since we only live a few minutes from their location we opted to do the curbside pickup and it couldn't have been easier. All of the food and beer was perfectly packed and ready to go. I can't sing their praises enough.

With any Easter plans that may have been being scrapped, my wife and I decided to do it up yesterday and brought home a small haul of food and drinks. We've been eating well by cooking at home exclusively for weeks, but it was really nice to enjoy some restaurant quality food again. We brought home a kale salad, a harissa roasted vegetable flatbread, pork belly fried rice, and a fried chicken sandwich topped with pate, kim chi, and Korean curry. Of course beverages were needed as well, so we brought home 4-packs of an IPA, a grisette, and a couple Brett saison bottles.

Up first was Desert Solitaire. From the bottle, "Desert Solitaire was brewed with a pilsner and oat malt and fermented with Brettanomyces clausenii and a blend of American and European saison strains before an extended bottle conditioning. The resulting beer is exceptionally dry, funky, and effervescent." I found this description to be spot on. It poured a beautiful transparent golden straw with ample head. The carbonation was very apparent at first look. There was a touch of lemony brightness on the taste, but it was quickly taken over by barnyard funk and grain. The finish was intensely dry, but kept me wanting to drink more. I wish I'd had this bottle to share during last week's saison tasting, but better late than never.

Later in the night I poured myself a can of Test Piece: Strata, and IPA hopped exclusively with Strata. I've been a big fan of their Test Piece series, but this is my first time trying the Strata. It did not disappoint. It poured one of my favorite hues of thick yellow haze with a creamy one finger head. The aromas to me were of ripe nectarine and peach and the initial flavors contained those same stonefruits. The dank crept in after that, but was well balanced. My only complaint was that I wished the flavors were a bit more intense and pungent. The soft body made it easy to drink. There was also a floral quality that was subtle, but a was a nice thread that ran through the glass.

Oh, and the food was excellent, too, but I don't have any pictures to share of it. Hope everyone has a continued great weekend. Later today I'll most likely stray from the locals to review something I got in the NBS BIF.

 

Good Easter Sunday morning to all!



A rare (once a year) Sunday off as our store is closed Easter, Thanksgiving, Christmas, and New Year's Day. This beer was released somewhere in the middle of my 6 week, strict, low carb/no alcohol stretch and it's time to check it out!

https://www.beeradvocate.com/beer/profile/46275/473360/



16 oz. can.
Canned 02/17/20.
Moderate to vigorous pour yields a one inch white head over a hazy golden orange body with some lacing. Nose of citrus and slight tropical fruit with a some floral/herbal notes as well. Taste follows nose closely with a dry finish of bitter citrus pith. Nice feel and overall, another fine offering from UPBC's H2H series and would recommend.
Cheers!

 

Happy Easter sunrise on Plymouth Bay!

I hope you and your families are safe and well. I hope they stay that way, too.

Ordered take out for lunch on Friday and waited for my tofu ramen to be prepared, I was pleased to learn the Craft Beer Cellar in Plymouth was still open. Wondered in with my face mask and gloves on. One customer in the store that exited as I entered. Food a few gems and the shop owner was very busy doing phone orders for curbside pick up. I get my collection to the counter and she finalizes a call, " Yes, it's the last one, I'll put it aside for you." I look to see her her putting a Cantillion Saint Lambruvinus in a bag. She was told the day before that she was getting one and it quickly sold out. I'm going to ask her next time I walk in what she has behind the counter....here is my Plymouth based new beer Sunday. Supporting my local brewery.

400 by Mayflower Brewing

4.28/5 rDev +0.7%
look: 4.25 | smell: 4.25 | taste: 4.25 | feel: 4.5 | overall: 4.25

You do know that this is the 400th anniversary for the founding of Plymouth Massachusetts? Well , now you do and Mayflower Brewing produced a double IPA called “400”

Can poured into a teku 4.10.20

One finger craggy white foam cap, quickly recedes to a solid ring and sticky lacings over translucent golden yellow liquid

Aroma is citrus , grapefruit rind, whiff of pine

Taste is little mango, little grapefruit , hint of pine

Smooth mouthfeel, low sudsing, hop taste, no bite

Good beer

 

Happy Easter! Thank you, @scream, for this wonderful gift! I am a huge fan of Central Waters, and I haven't been able to try the anniversary ale every year. I drink a lot of the regular BBA stout, and this is like a more intense experience of drinking that beer. The look is just black, with no head. The smell is vanilla, chocolate, and bourbon. The taste is bourbon, chocolate, and vanilla, just the type of flavor that I enjoy in a BBA stout. The carbonation is medium, and it is thick, full, with a strong alcohol burn on the mouthfeel. Overall, this is an amazing BBA stout, one of the best that I have ever had.

 

D/IPAs are not always my favorite style but I do enjoy exploring them because of how much variation there is within the style; the catch 22 here is that I can sometimes neglect other styles and beers that I like so I make it a point to have more of a balance. This weekend I wanted to try a few new to me locals and my after midnight beer was:

Urban Village Brewing Company Super Villain IPA - canned on 03/06/20, 6.5%. I did no research on this beer and saw four packs and a single and dug the can art so I figured I would try a single. Excellent beer! I did not know that it was an NEIPA style but was happy to see that it was, as I haven't had that many when I think about it. Would definitely drink this again.

Honorable mention, as this was a few hours before midnight:

Funk Brewing Double Citrus Imperial IPA brewed with mango juice - 8%. Pretty good! I could probably only drink one in a sitting for a lot of reasons but I would drink this again, ABV is well hidden.

I am glad that you enjoyed it! This is going to be a regular go to beer for me, especially during the summer.

 

Burial Rationality ShallRun It’s Course

A-Pours a murky amber golden color with a slight head and lacing
A-Aroma has a generous tropical and citrus hints
T-taste follows the nose with a well balanced tropical and citrus flavor with a slight lactose flavor
M-A medium bodied well carbonated beer with a somewhat silky feel
O-A good DIPA

 

Happy Easter, BA's! Kicking off the morning with a Munich Dunkel lager from KC Bier Co. From the style description, this is spot on. Lots of malty goodness, with notes of caramel and dark fruit. Medium body, with good bitterness and a lingering bit of peppery spice on the palate. Seemed like the perfect pairing with Reese's peanut butter eggs because, as you all know, breakfast is the most important meal of the day.

Review pending.

 

Burial Surf Wax

A-Pours a clear golden color with a slight head and lacing
A-Aroma has a generous pine and citrus hints
T-taste follows the nose with a very well balanced pine and citrus flavor
M-A medium bodied well carbonated beer
O-A great IPA

 

Beautiful pic! Though I call it “the other side of Duxbury Bay”

Ugh, I’m so homesick

 

Happy Easter!
Like many others, I've been frequenting our local breweries more and more. The Truth or Consequences Taproom here has a nice system. There's a booth at the door where you place your order and pay; you never enter the building and there's minimal human contact.
I bought a growler of their saison I Got Soul and have been working my way through it. It's crisp and refreshing.
It pours a clear gold with a quickly receding white head.
Not much aroma. Sweet and spicy.
Hint of fruit in the taste. Some spice. A little peppery.
Light-bodied.

 

Huppendorfer Zwickel


Pours a clouded, pale golden color with a bigger, fluffy head.


Smell is of cooked peas, matured hops and wet hay among a gentle toffee note.


Has an utmost soft, yet refreshing mouthfeel to it, featuring a light bodied, well balanced beer.


This tastes of bread rind, crackers, tamed toffee and faint noble hops. Turns a tad sweeter then, well carbonated with a layer of toffee creating a well developed malt backbone in this. Finishes a little bit drier, reminiscent of the hops used in this, soft yeast and a remaining bread and toffee interplay, which defines the aftertaste in this.


This is solid, up to the point where I wish to get a little more crispness and character out of this.

 

Glad you like it my friend and hopefully soon we will be able to share a few together again !

 

I was actually somewhat disappointed in this beer - as it wasn't what I've grown to expect and like in a mild (although I've only rated 4, I've had a few more, including on cask at places like ChurchKey). Mainly it was more robust and heavier than expected, and that heft was what mainly put me off about it as a mild.

So it's one of those cases of "pretty decent X (porter), but disappointing Y (mild)" to me, given I drank it at a time when I really was looking forward to a lighter beverage. Maybe at a different time, the off-target nature I perceived wouldn't have bothered me as much, though I do see that other people noted it seemed a little "stronger" than they expected as well.

Cheers!

 

Happy Easter to all

This is a new one from Springdale; BRIG Mocha Stout.

Scant information on the website:
"Brazilian coffee, cacao, oats and milk sugar are all parts of this complete breakfast stout. Roasty, rich, and smooth. (N.B. dairy allergy) 6.8% ABV"

From the can:
"coffee, chocolate, and beer - all our favorite things combine in BRIG.
This dark and decadent delight is infused with locally roasted coffee, cacao nibs and lactose for layers upon layers of flavor."

Look: 4 | smell: 3.75 | taste: 4 | feel: 3.75 | overall: 4
L: dark root beer color with a rich, foamy tan head that slowly dissolves into a thick film
S: slight coffee and cocoa
T: smooth well balanced mocha coffee with a hint of vanilla that increases as it warms, a little sweet but no "milk" flavors
F: a little on the thin side, smooth on the front with a cold coffee/dark chocolate bite at the end
O: a pretty good coffee stout. Reportedly made with Wegman's Breakfast Blend coffee. This has a decidedly cold coffee taste. The base stout is very good, the medium roast coffee is smooth, cacao nibs add enough chocolate flavor without making it "chocolate flavored" and the lactose adds some sweetness with adding cream to the coffee.
Overall, a very good breakfast stout. Lighter than their Brigadeiro and an excellent alternative to FBS

Springdale lists this as a year-round offering and I hope it is. At $10/16oz 4 pack I'll be buying more

 

LOL, yes! FYI - the sun is rising just to the north of Bug Light in this picture. My son and daughter in-law, both Duxbury raised kids, just closed on their home in Duxbury this past week.Now I just need a good IPA that goes with Piping Plovers...