New Beer Sunday (Week 793)

Good morning, NBS. We found a little window between drizzles to get in a walk this morning. After seeing Jack's post, I decided to see if I could find his missing flavor in a different "lo-cal" beer. So I went to the fridge and grabbed a can from the top shelf and...

this isn't the "lo-cal" beer I was looking for. I don't recall talking to Obi-Wan on my trip to the basement, but oh well. So, I'll open this Sunday with the beer I did grab, as it is also a new beer to me, Firestone Walker's Propagator Citra hazy IPA.


So, it's not advertised as low calorie, but at 5.6% there is probably a few less calories than many an IPA I come across these days. Though that wasn't really a factor in its purchase. It happened to come in a mix pack with the lo-cal option coming up as well as Union Jack, the beer I was really after. Since FW puts their cans in a cardboard box without a date on the outside, I gambled that the mix pack with the new beer was more likely to be fresh. I'll never know if I made the right choice, but all the beers in the pack were born on or about March 24th.

So, the beer has a yellow-gold thoroughly hazed body that borders on what I call cloudy. This pour had a near perfectly proportioned head. The white fluff congregated on the surface of the beer thickly around its glass encasement. Pretty strong initial lacing was just a bit weaker during imbibing.

Nose is fairly typical of the Citra-hopped beers I've had in the past - a bit of pungent, starting-to-rot citrus rinds. I know that sounds bad, but it is how the herbal green onion and grapefruit/tangerine citrus notes come together for me. There's a light sweetness as well that adds an over-ripe musk melon to generic tropical side note to the aromas.

Sips are on the thin side, which seems to allow the carbonation to poke through more easily. There's a mostly flat seltzer water aspect that isn't the most pleasing to me. Flavors start with the grapefruit joined by a very light malt sweetness. The beer then turns towards the bitter, with the herbal hops notes coming in. In the end, a bit of that melon/tropical aspect comes in, but it's dulled by the lingering bitterness.

A bit light, but the single hop gets to show its wares in this one. The GF likes it quite a bit, but the somewhat seltzer-y feel of it throws it off a bit for my enjoyment. She can have the last one. I must say, so far I've liked the Luponic Distortion series more than the Propagator series (the two I've had) from Firestone Walker.

 

Thanks for the start @zid. My first new beer today is Barrel Aged Double Shot Double Black (2019) from Bent Paddle Brewing Co out of Duluth, MN.

Courtesy of @Vidblain this beer is described as a black ale aged in oak barrels with vanilla beans and coffee added. An amped up version of this:

https://www.beeradvocate.com/beer/profile/31383/95723/





From the bottle this beer pours translucent and dark drown, filling the glass black, opaque with no visible carbonation. A thick, densely packed light brown head weaves curtains of lace that drape the glass.

The aroma is soft vanilla, creating a sweet and creamy impression of coffee, along with roasted malts, toasted dark bread and oak.

This beer offers a wonderful array of flavors that all meld nicely. Woody, nutty and smooth coffee. Up front, a flash of sweet coffee and milk chocolate that quickly goes cocoa and dark chocolate. Mildly sweet malts up front turn dry, toasty and moderately bitter.

The feel is medium bodied, very smooth, with a medium level of carbonation. Semi-dry.

The base black ale is described as a “smooth, chocolatey and semi-roasted ale.” That’s what we have here, plus more depth of flavor from tasteful additions of coffee and vanilla, with pleasant warmth from the nearly double ABV. I’ve never had the base beer. It’s description suggests this beer does justice, keeps the essence in tact, while elevating it to a whole other level.

 

Thank you to @zid for the start and the message. This circumstance is very real for many. We are in the midst of various tragedies here, are of ages on the “more vulnerable” list (although we know some young people in some real trouble too), and have three young adult kids who each live alone in NYC; two are furloughed, not-so-fun let’s say. I feel a bit guilty posting but I am working from home ( so lucky) and have some access to local brews plus an accrued larder.

I enjoy this forum the most and greatly appreciate what you folks bring to it.

This West Coast style DIPA is Needs Space to Roll from Sand City.
This presents as a clear, amber can pour with a 2 white foam cap that dissipates quickly.
The aroma is pleasantly piney.
The flavor Is of resin, a bit of lemon and earthy hop notes. The hop bitterness is moderate.
The mouthfeel is dry.
This is quite enjoyable.

 

I take it you're more toward the 1 star side!

 

Poured into a 16 oz tulip glass canned on 4/14/20. Pours a very hazy yellow with a finger plus sticky white head that leaves thin streaks of lace as it slowly settles, gorgeous for the style. 5

Smell is hard mandarin orange candy, apricot, pineapple, peach, and ripe melon unique and excellent. 4.25

Taste follows mandarin orange, pineapple, peach, cantaloupe, and apricot very little bitterness and huge flavor. 4.5

Mouthfeel is bigger than average for sure, sticky not dry, soft gentle NEDIPA feel, and at 8.3% ABV crazy drinkable. 4.75

Overall this is another winner from these guys. So rare that they disappoint and I always go in with the highest expectations. Thanks @TheIPAHunter for this awesome can. 4.5

 

Honey Knuckles A 5.1 ABV Blonde Ale from Twin Elephant Brewing. An English ale yeast is used and the malt is listed as Michigan grown Pale Ale Malt. There is no mention of the hops used. Honey Knuckles pour a golden blonde with a thin but lasting white head. The aroma is strong of honey and pineapple with hints of other fruit. There is a nice malt presence in the taste along with the honey and the fruit. The mouthfeel is medium and the finish is a bit sweet with a lingering honey after taste. Overall a very nice balanced enjoyable brew. Honey beers aren't one of my favorite styles. This is a good one and a drinker who is really into the style should love it.

 

Name of beer?

 

I've got a real treat here. @JackHorzempa and I have PM'ed a lot in recent months about some beers that he's brewed and some of the articles he's written. I got a delivery from him and found the beers at my brewery this morning. I was too anxious to give this Classic American Pils a try so here I am cracking one open at 8:30 local time! This is real impressive and would be something I'd be happy to purchase at a commercial brewery. It's got a high level of carbonation and amazing head retention which I feel like can only be achieved with bottle conditioning. Nice dry body with a well balanced bitterness. This is one of my favorite styles and getting to drink a homebrewed version is a really nice opportunity. Needless to say, I'm a big fan of this beer and kudos to Jack for really knocking it out of the park!

 

This is Lacto-Kooler (Orange) which is a "Sour Berliner style with orange" from Voodoo Brewing. It pretty much follows my previous review of the "red" version to the letter if you replace the the word red with orange in the review. This one tastes like Ecto-Cooler from back in the 80s.

I will just reiterate:


Depending on what you are looking for in a beer this could be a 1 star or a 5 star. If you are looking for a traditional beer you will probably hate this. If you are looking for sweet and fizzy Berliner that tastes like generic Red Kool-Aid you will probably love this one.

Color: Artificial orange

Taste: Artificial orange

Smell: Artificial orange

Mouthfeel: Nice and fizzy well carbonated


The red is slightly better for my palate but neither are what I would classify beer. Low-ABV sour sunday will continue.

 

I'm starting a bit early for me, but after finishing my 2nd cup of coffee, I'm a bit bored, so...

Today I'll be continuing my parade of crowlers in support of the non- or minimally-distributing brewpubs closest to my home.

I'm not sure how much help one guy buying a few crowlers a week is, but I'm doing what I can.

First up is Lakeville Brewing's attempt at a Belgian Wit (or at least as it is classified here on BA; as my review summary says, it is more of an American Wheat Ale to my palate.)

While I am at it with preliminary comments, based on the 2 beers I've sampled from Lakeville Brewing to date, I'd urge some of the 2017-ish reviewers to give them another chance. While I didn't try any of their efforts back then, based on the 2 I have tired, it seems they have upped their game considerably, and are producing good beers to enjoy with your meal. I know in the beer geek world, that might be damning with faint praise, but once things re-open around here, I'll be having a beer or two with a meal there, for sure.

Lakeville Brewing Lulu's Royal Wheat
ABV: 5.5%
IBU: 18



Moderately hazy golden-yellow body with active carbonation rising to a tall, thick, white head with moderate retention.

Pleasant aroma of fruit, honey, very slightly spicy.

Taste starts out mild with melon-like fruitiness, sweet initially with a touch of honey-like flavor. Nice melon flavors with a solid wheat backing. The middle moderates the sweetness with a slight tartness, but retains a honey-like touch. The finish and aftertaste makes a half-hearted attempt toward dryness, but remains mostly moderately sweet and light. The aftertaste returns the slight tartness for a refreshing invitation for the next drink.

The body is thin, but smooth.

Overall, an easy-drinking wheat beer, more American than Belgian.


L: 3.75 | S: 3.5 | T: 3.5 | F: 3.5 | O: 3.5 | Rating: 3.52

 

Houston Smoke Show...

New beer from Holler Brewing. Since they were open for curbside takeout this weekend, I grabbed a few of these. Smoked Helles, in collaboration with Feges BBQ. 5.2% ABV.

I added this as a German Helles lager. As that is how Schlenkerla Helles LagerBier is in the BA database.

Poured from these 16 oz "twisty" cans the brewery has been using since the shutdown. I assume cause they are easy to fill and handle. Which is fine by me.


Pours a clear beautifully bright and clear golden yellow color. At first a rocky white head rises to over two fingers. That gently recedes, with light lace left behind.

At first, a fairly neutral nose. Though as this warms, cracker and biscuit like malts. Smoke comes in towards the back end, but is not over powering at all.

There is a wonderful malt character here. Toasted, baked bread, biscuits. Just a touch of sweetness. Then the smoke comes in, which is subtle at first. Though builds and becomes a little meaty. As smoked beers can be a little over the top for me, I am really glad this is well balanced and very enjoyable.

A light to medium body. Perfectly crisp and effervescent carbonation. Which helps to make this that much easier to drink. I can come back to this with ease.

This walks that tight rope of being a great lager, with complete balance with the smoke. Just to give it that little extra depth. I can be decidedly hit and miss with smoke/rouchbiers. I can say this is a big hit with me, and will be looking forward to having more when I can.

Overall score 4.13. Full review below:
https://www.beeradvocate.com/beer/profile/45647/482212/?ba=champ103#review

Side note, it has been a while since I added and reviewed a new beer here. Mostly because with the shelter in place, I'm not really looking for new things, just getting old standbys real quick when at the store, and the same with the few times I have order direct from a brewery for delivery. It feels good to get back in the swing of things, now I just need Holler's tap room to open so I can enjoy a few pints on their patio when the time is right

 

2018 Perzik from Funk Factory Geuzeria. Am guilty of grade inflation when it comes to peaches, but this was something else - 4.46, happy Sunday all!



Poured from a bottle (2018 vintage) into a Belgian glass

L: clear deep orange gold, minimal head. Very small white lacing, slight/no visible carbonation

S: rich farm stand peaches on a warm day, both skin and flesh. Bit of the deeper pit aromas as it warms, slightly tart but takes a backseat to the fruit. Very inviting

T: everything promised by the nose and then some. Rewarding, delicious peach flavor on top of a fantastic lambic-style foundation. Medium-long finish, fruit notes stay for a while and then fade to a very pleasant acidic end with more bready/funky yeast and malt flavor coming through

F: medium low carbonation, light mouthfeel, very crisp

O: a home run beer for me. I’m a sucker for peaches, but this surpassed some very high expectations. Incredibly flavorful while allowing the lambic-inspired base to shine, will seek more bottles ASAP

 

Thanks to @zid for getting us started today. The past week has brought us temperatures in the low 90. We've had to alter our dog-walking routine so we're not out with the pups when it's really hot. This morning we took a 2 mile walk with them while the temperature was in the mid-seventies. Back home now and contemplating the pool.
I ran down to T or C Taproom yesterday for some beers. My new beer for today is Whiskey Barrel Aged Dark Skies, an oatmeal stout. It was bottled 4/26/2019 and has an ABV of 8.5%.
The beer is black with a small tan head that persists well.
Roasted malt aroma, some booze, some vanilla.
Sweet chocolate taste, a little coffee. Vanilla, a hint of whiskey.
Medium-bodied, nice beer.

 

That beer is the #1 rated American Black Ale on this site, so you've got THAT going for you.

That's actually a pretty tough get, at least it was a few years ago when we lived in Minnesota. I bought a bottle in 2015 IIRC and loved it. I miss me some Minnesota beer scene.

 

Fonta Flora Funk Fuzz Appalachian Wild Ale

Happy Sunday, BAs. Thanks to all the custodians and participants in this great thread.

Today’s new beer, I believe, is my last official brew from NBS BIF 11 — courtesy of the generous @Mbgreg.

This is the type of special bottle I normally would have saved for a share, but with the current pandemic, c’est la vie.

I did notice some schmegma around the cap when I brought this up from the cellar, but I chalked it up as some wax gunk from what appears to be the thinnest wax layer I’ve seen on a beer bottle to date.

When I popped the cap, I actually did have a glass standing by (as the back of the bottle, I now realize, recommends) — but I had thought there was a cork underneath. As such, I was relatively unprepared for the major eruption the bottle let loose. I caught one full glass of foam before losing half the bottle on the counter.

When things eventually settled, what was left poured a cloudy orange with a thin near-white head that leaves a soupy crown and no lacing.

It has a sour, lightly tart aroma with peach, yeast and maybe wheat. Not much “funk” by my standards, but great smelling nonetheless. It smells “soft,” if that’s a thing.

Tastes soft, too, with nice juicy peach flesh, a hint of berry beneath, more of that wheat impression and somewhat tempered acidity (although it’s still quite puckering).

It has a soft, medium-bodied feel with moderate carbonation.

The explosion notwithstanding, this is a lovely beer. The peach level is just about perfect, and while very acidic in the wide range of beer options, it’s not the type of enamel-stripper wild ale many “craft” breweries product these days. Highly recommended.

Thanks for the chance to try this one, Mark.

 

Brauerei Lieberth Lagerbier


Pours an unfiltered golden color with a solid, froth head.


Smells of dried garden herbs, bread dough and sunflower field among a light note of caramel and spicy yeast.


Tastes of a very refreshing and easy drinking beer with a lighter body to it.


Tastes of wet hay, a surprising tart dryness and a whiff of toffee among fresh crushed grains. Turns sweeter once the bubbly carbonation in this becomes apparent, while maintaining its bready, rustic character. Finishes quite bitter with balancing caramel and well pronounced hay, leading to a crisp finish, reminding me almost of a Pilsener.


A very well rounded and hop forward Lagerbier, which drinks just as crisp as it is refreshing - a real treat.

 

Ok, took another (much shorter) stroll to the end of the block and back during another break in the clouds, allowing me to clear my mind and properly select the cans from the refrigerator this time. After mentioning two of the three beers from the mixed twelve from Firestone Walker, I am now on Fly Jack (Mind Haze is the last) - another hazy India pale ale, clocking in at 96 calories.

So, will this "lo-cal" beer be less filling? Will it taste great? Will it taste at all?

I have "lo expectations" for this, given that Jack's impression of Victory's entry in this "style" reminded me of mine for Dogfish Head's. If these breweries, which generally get my respect can't pull off a lo-cal beer I'd have again, how can I expect a third respected brewery to be able to do it?

So, the beer does pour with a little tinge from the can, but looks almost water-like, reminding me of the pours from my recent Miller High Life cans. A light straw haze comes of this see-through stream, however. Rocky white head - less creamy and more sponge-like than the Propagator beer I had earlier.

Grapefruit, lemon, water cracker, and a hint of grass in the nose. It actually smells like a refreshing beer to have next to you out in the yard. Carbonation is somewhat similar to my other beer today, but the heft/thickness is even lighter. Plain Carr's table crackers and... a little dry grass with a lemon rind dipped once or twice into it.

Me: "How do you like it?"
GF: "It's okay. It just doesn't taste like much. Especially after the last beer."
Me: "Hmmm"
GF: "It just... doesn't have any... taste."
Me: "Yeah, it's still a little cold, though."

With a little warmth, the notes previously noted grow a tad, and the overall taste/enjoyment improves with it. A bit more lemon and some grapefruit pith, but these are still accents to the dull ""flour and dry grass iced tea" that seems to evoke an impression of a "near flavorless" drink.

So, it's definitely more dry than an AAL, I think. To prove it to myself, I popped open my last MHL for comparison. The AAL is more amber and has a little sweet toast and corn scents that are not as enticing as Fly Jack's aroma. The sweeter (though not by as much as I expected) High Life almost has a hint of orange in it (sipping them back-to-back may be aiding this?). The ending of the beer, however, has a similar kind of blandness as the Fly Jack, though I felt Fly Jack did have a bit more personality overall.

Me: "Here, try them side-by-side"
GF: <<points to MHL she couldn't give back to me quickly enough>>
GF: "That one definitely has more taste."
Me: "It does?"
GF: "It's not a good taste, but there's more of it."

She seemed unwilling to delve any deeper than that. Cheers!

 

I didn’t actually notice it was ranked #1 so thank you for pointing that out. I understand why it is ranked highly. It is a world class beer.