New Beer Sunday (Week 792)

For me, participating in NBS is tricky, mostly because I rarely day-drink, and even more rarely on Sundays. I'm usually playing catch-up with reading/homework/other things that require mental acuity, and drinking even a little throws me off. Today, though, I have little to accomplish, as well as a new beer that seems to go with the wet, cold day outside. I may have mentioned here that there are a few great beer vendors within a close drive of our PA place in the woods, and I keep stumbling upon unexpected finds, including this one, Singlecut's Heavy Boots of Lead Imperial Stout w/ Cacao and Vanilla (11%ABV).

Pour is thick, viscous, nearly black, with a thin but comparatively long-lasting head and a nice surface viscosity you can see in the second photo. I love seeing that kind of film on a stout; it promises a silky mouthfeel and long-lasting drinking session. It kinds of tricks me into thinking it's going to be barrel-aged, but the aroma yields mostly cocoa . . . like sticking your nose into a packet of Swiss Miss. Not terribly complex, but super-inviting. The taste flips the script in favor of the vanilla . . . one previous reviewer said you can tell they used a lot of real vanilla here, and I agree. It's not cloying, though, the way some vanilla beers can be. It's almost a burnt/charred vanilla that recedes gently into the cocoa promised by the aroma. Lingering aftertastes include some fig and tobacco, which become more prominent as it warms. Mouthfeel is as expected, silky and rich. Not quite the brownie batter of BCBS's best years, but thick enough to keep you from gulping it down.

If I was a numeric rater, this would probably fall in the 4.15-4.25 range. As good as it is, I keep wishing it were barreled. I understand there is a BA version, which will now go on my infrequently-updated wants list. Also, I'm reminded why I'm not a big fan of these big stouts being canned--you can't really cork them for later. As it stands, I'll let the other half of the can sit in the fridge and pour it over vanilla ice cream later.

 

Good afternoon NBS
I was especially happy to see @cavedave open the thread this morning. Glad to hear that you are doing well. On to the beer at hand...

Stone's Buenaveza Salt & Lime Lager
The review:
12oz CANNED: 03/16/20 E2057 ENJOY BY: 07/14/20 poured into a shaker pint at fridge temp 4.7% ABV. The beer pours bright light straw yellow with nearly white head. The head recedes to a thin ring and single layer of bubbles. Minimal lacing. The aroma is faint with very light, generic lager and a touch of lime. The taste is semisweet pale malt with a little lime, minimal salt and a corny (corn chip or tortilla?), barely bitter finish. The mouthfeel is thin to medium bodied with average carbonation and a mostly dry finish. The salt appears more in the finish as a slick texture than actual salt flavor. No off flavors or flaws in the lagering. Overall, very good. Stone's website is not specific, but I believe this beer uses some corn and should be classified as an AAL. As such, it would be excellent. This beer is easily replaced by beers one third the price along with a lime.

I own several Stone glasses, but couldn't resist using this one

My hope is that if Stone wishes to branch out from their current all IPA all the time business model, they would consider bringing back Old Guardian, Porter, Double Bastard or Oak-aged Arrogant Bastard. Now, more than ever, such beers would be bold and edgy.

Cheers all and enjoy the new beer in your glass today!

 

This is like going to your local club to listen to a little music and Paul McCartney decides to show up and play a few Beatles songs.

Great to see you enjoying a beer again, Dave, and REALLY great to see you're doing so well.

 

Happy Sunday NBS players. Nice to see a traditional opening from a veteran host. Anyway, a wet and grey day here on the island. Really looking forward to some warmer weather. Still working and still healthy so I guess there is not much to complain about otherwise. I gots a couple of new beers today but we'll see how many I actually get to.

My first new beer today is Funeral Bock, a double decocted black bock, from Wayfinder brewing. Another and endless thank to @Lingenbrau in the previous nbs bif. The brew checks in at 7% abv and has a 10/14/19 canning date. A little dated thanks to me but it has been cold stored.

A dark burgundy/caramel color on the pour with a fluffy white head of foam. Toasted malt notes on the nose. That note carries right over to the first initial sips. Nicely smooth through out the entire drinking process and that aspect really seems to stand out. A moderate body that feels perfectly in the middle, not to light or heavy, and has a nice dry woody feel. Good flavor notes of nuts, toasted bread, oak, and sweet caramel. I even get some slight tones of dark candied fruits notes on the finish. I really like how well it drinks while not swaying to watery or overpowering and no dirty off-flavors.

Overall, I'm not the biggest bock fan but this one is pretty good. Will score it in the 4/low 4 range.

 

Congrats Dave, that’s good news.

 

@cavedave! Glad to see you opening this thread once again and great to hear the positive health news. Plan Bee is a favorite of mine. I went to the brewery about three years ago and Emily offered to show me around the new taproom that was under construction at the time. It has since opened but I'm sure it's tough for them not to be able to serve there.

I wanted to join in the NBS fun last week but opened the fridge and had no new beer. I was very low on beer overall, actually. Took care of that this week with some local pickups and deliveries. Current beer fridge situation:



My new beer for today is not only a new beer but a new brewery for me. I have been tracking these guys since they opened a few months ago, since it seemed they were making styles that interested me (cask bitter, anyone?!), but didn't get a chance to make it there before the shutdown began. Decided to show them some love this week with a pickup of three 32 oz crowlers (Kölsch, Bitter, and English Oatmeal Stout).

Odd Bird Brewing
Joe's Garage
Kölsch, 5.2% ABV



This is a SMaSH (single malt and single hop) beer according their site. Hops: Hallertau Mittelfrüh, Malt: 100% Weyermann Cologne Malt.

Pale gold in color with bright clarity. Big, frothy white head with good retention and a good amount of lacing on the glass.

Fresh, grainy malt aroma balanced by floral hops. A little bit of white wine on the back end. The taste flat out blew me away. Loads of fresh malt character with just the right balance of hop bitterness. Slightly sweet, floral, and fruity. Finishes soft, dry, and clean. Medium-light bodied. Simple yet elegant.

This beer is a perfect example of how using a simple recipe with fresh, quality ingredients and proper techniques can produce great results. It has just about everything I look for in a beer: Depth of flavor, balance, and drinkability. The malt smelled and tasted very fresh and provided the perfect base for Hallertau Mittelfrüh hops to shine. I guess there is a reason it is the quintessential noble hop. Drinking it fresh helps as well, as the Kölsch style is so delicate and the flavors can fade quickly. Freshness is key with them.

Outstanding beer from this new brewery and I am really looking forward to the other two beers I bought. Cheers, BAs!

4.67/5 rDev 0%
look: 4.5 | smell: 4.25 | taste: 4.75 | feel: 4.75 | overall: 5

 

Today I’m very happy to review and share my experience with beer #152 on the Beer Advocate Beers of Fame list.

This beer is not distributed here. @LloydDobler was kind enough to pick it up for me.

Alaskan Brewing Co. - Smoked Porter (2017)




Look: Opaque and black in the middle of my 20oz nonic pint glass. Translucent around the edges with some burnt sienna and ruby. The head is tightly packed and eventually disappears. Not much lacing as I drink the beer. There is no visible carbonation.

Smell: Intensely aromatic nose. Smokey, smoldering and ashy wood. Roasty, toasty and some kielbasa. Bitter and faintly tart / pithy.

Taste: Smokey. Toasted dark bread. Like the nose I get a lot pithy bitterness too. The beer smells more “meaty” to me than it tastes, but the flavor is present. A pleasantly dry, woody and toasty finish.

Feel: Medium to high level of carbonation. Dry and woody.

Overall: This beer is one of the better smoked beers I’ve had. The level of smokiness and “meaty” flavor is less than Schlenkerla Rauchbiers, but probably more than others I’ve had. If you don’t like smoked beer you will not like this one. If you’re interested in the style it’s a great starting point.

It turns out as the perfect drinking beer on this cool, rainy and gloomy day.

I was very excited to see that @cavedave started the thread today, and even more happy to hear about the favorable health update. Cheers, Dave!

 

Jack, my understanding it was an oak aged table saison @ 3.5% abv. Glad you enjoyed it!!

 

Second and final new beer pour, from the same brewery of my first, Golden Prairie Honey and Ginger Beer. Not sure if I was going to like this but it turned out to be a good pour, though not as good as the excellent Doppel Alt I had earlier today.





No bottle date, 7% ABV, single 12 oz pour into pint glass.

Appearance: Clear tan orange pour, mild carbonation, faint fine white head quickly dissipates. 3.5

Aroma: Sweet aroma, hops and ginger lead, honey backs well, nice and pleasant. 4.0

Taste: Honey takes the lead, ginger backs well. Sweet but not too sweet. Nothing else noted. 3.25

Mouthfeel: Fine light carbonation holds throughout, medium oily body, slight dryness, easy clean finish. 3.75

Overall: OK pour for this style. 3.5

If I'm picking up any more Golden Prairie after running through my current provisions, it will be the Dobbel Alt.

Cheers!

 

Hey what's going on!?

I hope you are all doing ok, and getting through these certainly trying and challenging times.

I've been managing ok, trying to stay not cabin fever crazy either.

With that said, I've been lucky that a pretty solid brewery nearby me is still providing good beers. Let's see what they are up to. What's new for our hero today?



10th Floor DDH Nelson Sauvin Saison from Astrolab.

Poured from the can into a tulip glass.

Slightly opaque, with a greenish hinting deep lemon yellow body color. Fluffy and big bright white creamy filling head, with sheets of lacing all on the edges. Not much noticeable carbonation but a solid looking brew.

Aroma hits in interesting angles. Big funky notes of yeast mixing with a real grassy and fruity hop note. The hop angle seems a little white wine grape and musty like sensing, maybe even melon as well. There is a large dense yeast quality that is a bit overbearing though on the nose, but still a good experience.

Fun palate. Juicy senses of melon and deep malted bread and pastry "like" flavors. Soft peppery earth tones abound all over this, a creamy grassy nearly mixing vanilla and hop bitterness together. Juicy sensing winter melon almost cantaloupe but far less sweet tasting on the palate. Heavy mixes of bakery bread and light sweetness abound.

A very different and bold saison, but quite unexpected to say the least.

look: 4 | smell: 4 | taste: 4 | feel: 4.25 | overall: 4 | 4.03/5 rDev 0%

Cheers!

 

Getting into my second NBS BIF box from @beertunes. Starting with Boundary Bay You Got Moxee?

3.64/5 rDev +4.6%
look: 3.75 | smell: 3.5 | taste: 3.75 | feel: 3.75 | overall: 3.5

Thank you beertunes for this
12 oz can, dated 4/15/20, poured into a goblet

A- A slightly hazy golden copper with a small white head.

S- Wheat, floral, some citrus, touch of peppercorns.

T- Wheat, citrus, floral, hints of peppercorns.

M- Smooth, light of medium body.

O- A solid American style wheat, easy to drink.

Cheers NBS!

 

Beer Geek Breakfast


Pours black in color with a smaller, beige, bubbly head atop.


This smells pf milk chocolate, toasted walnuts and earth accompanied coffee. Packs an additional sweet toffee punch with loghter molasses to it, adding a profoundly sweet note to the malt foundation of the beer.


Has a medium body with a lighter, creamy carbonation to it, making this drink a little more decadent.


Drinks earthier and toastier than the nose on this indicated, with bakers chocolate, lighter caramel and a fruity blueberry note atop. Turns a little sweeter then, with a scoop of rock sugar, giving this a sugared coffee impression among remaining, rustic and balancing malts. Finishes lighter, less creamy with lighter earth and more profound rock sugar.


Solid stout, but not as rich and well nuanced as I remember it from five years ago. This lacks depth after its initial creaminess is faded, resulting in a sugary sweet liquid.

 

Howdy, NBSers! How about that open from a legend, huh?

I made a trip to one of our two local breweries here in Bryan-College Station yesterday and am enjoying a New Berliner Weisse Sunday as a result:

New Republic Brewing's Sour Pour, 3.4% ABV

The half-growler was filled about 20 hours ago, and the carbonation level is a tad low (especially for the style). Not sure if it's the beer or the growler, but other than that lack of refreshing crispness, this brew offers that refreshingly tart flavor you expect from the style.

The aroma includes bread, lemon peel, a hint of herbs (almost coriander, too) and some sweet grain ... in fact there's a little wet grain sack in there, but it's not sickly sweet or overly funky. It's like a sack of rice still in the hull that *just* got wet ... if you grew up around a rice dryer, you might know what I'm talking about.

The flavor is almost as good as the nose. It's yeasty and bready with a bit of tartness and occasional hints of light sweetness. I keep thinking of a herb pizza crust with a lemon twist. At times it's a bit earthy from the yeast, but there's no major buildup of any flavors and each new sip washes away that earthiness, giving it a moreish quality.

The official review:
https://www.beeradvocate.com/beer/profile/27400/451337/?ba=Premo88#review
3.99 (no rDev — it's been rated just twice so far)

Hope your Sundays are going well and you have a great week!

Cheers!

 

Bringo, an IPA with Rosemary and Vanilla from Aslin.

L: Pours like a typical NE IPA, hazy orange color with a finger of white head that fades quickly. No lacing. 4/5
S: Tropical fruits with vanilla making it smell like a creamsicle or gelato. 3.75/5
T: Juicy tropical fruits with a healthy helping of vanilla. The vanilla dominates the finish. Hints of rosemary add a nice herbal taste. 3.75/5
F: Nice creamy mouthfeel, medium body and carbonation. 4/5
O: Nice NE style IPA with some additional flavors going on thanks to the vanilla and rosemary. 4/5 for a BA generated 3.8/5

 

"I don't want the world. I just want your half."
- Ana Ng, They Might Be Giants

 

Greetings, fellow NBSers, and welcome back, @cavedave! Glad to hear you are doing so well! Always great to hear from you, and glad your recovery of health has reached the point where an occasional beer can pass your lips.

I had a relatively busy morning planned: was gonna get up around 7 and make some waffles with that whiskey barrel aged Maple Syrup from @Whyteboar playing a starring role, then throw together tonight's dinner into the slow cooker and tackle some projects, along with some of the aforementioned @Whyteboar's beers. Instead I tossed and turned until 3am, had weird, exhausting dreams when I did sleep, and woke up around 10 am with a tremendously sore shoulder. So, things are a little off track.
On the plus side, it's a beautiful, sunny day in the largest city between Seattle and Minneapolis, marred only by a brisk breeze. The lilacs are forcing their way up (this is The Lilac City, after all, although the usual Lilac Festival this time of year isn't happening), and temperatures yesterday were up into the 60s.

Picked up a beer that was new to me on Thursday, so I'll submit this one until I manage to get a genuine one down my gullet. Iron Goat, like everyone else, keen to generate take-out business, has a special where you can get a pizza and two bombers for $20. So, along with my favorite (the Bahn Mi) pizza and a bomber of a beer I had had before, I chose a new beer that had just been unveiled when all the Covid-19 shit hit the fan.

https://www.beeradvocate.com/beer/profile/29334/481283/?ba=woemad#review
Nott: Goddess of Night is a "Norwegian Stout", meaning it's a stout that was brewed with a Kveik strain. I was reading about such yeasts last night when I drank this, and it sounds like it could be a game changer for homebrewers and professionals alike. The recipe was created by a gentleman in a local homebrewer's club. A contest was held where the members of this club each submitted a beer to the brewers at Iron Goat. They were given access to three Kveik yeast strains and told they had to use one of them to create a beer. This was the winner.
Really solid stout. I'm finding it difficult to describe just quite what the Kveik yeast brings to the flavor. It's a kind of fruity underpinning that I can't quite put my finger on, but it's sufficiently low in the mix to let the traditional roasty malt flavors do their thing and let the beer be a stout.

I'll be back later with at least one genuine NBS beer that will be drunk today.

Cheers!

 

And, I'll have you know, that not only was that beer brewed and packaged by women (except me, I am male), I personally dented that can by dropping the case.

 

Yeah. It's good to be not too big, but larger than Butte and Bismarck!

Now, if, each time we drive through, I could just get my wife to pronounce it Spoke-can instead of Spoke-cane!