New Beer Sunday (week 796)

My first of a few new beers this Sunday is a pineapple/strawberry kettle sour from Orono Brewing. I've had about five beers from these guys, and none of them have been less than great, so let's hope this follows the trend of their beer being pretty damn good!

The pour is a nice-looking hazy golden with a little bit if a blush tint to it, almost like peach juice was added or something. The bottom of my glass has a paler color than the concentrated center, and, when pouring, I can definitely tell that this is within the 3-4 SRM realm for the most part. Surprisingly retentive head for a kettle sour beer; bubbly and effervescent but with a quarter-finger or so still remaining minutes after pouring. Not bad at all!

Nose is really nice and juicy, with prominent aspects of the two fruits added. Not sure what method they used to infuse the beer with these "fiscally irresponsible" additions, but it seems to be coming across nicely whatever way they did it. I get a lot of papaya and passion fruit-like elements as well, with perhaps a touch of peach/apricot and even kiwi-like notes. Not much else, but who really needs more than that? I just hope it's not overloaded with acidity.

Oh, damn, this is delicious. Like, really juicy and surprisingly restrained on the acidity side of things. More just slightly beer-y fruit juice, in a sense, which I'm sure is up many people's alleys, but maybe not so much for others. Also, this isn't a "gose" so it's potentially missing some of the salinity that feels at home balancing a lot of beers in this general style as of late. Mouthfeel is a bit on the heavier side of medium especially considering the under 5% ABV. I'm not sure I can think of much that would really improve this; it's just great for what it is. If the idea of a pineapple/strawberry sour sounds good to you, and you can get this, don't miss it!

 

I got as far as @JackHorzempa's post when I decided to call an audible and change what I had planned for today.

Of course, I am continuing my support of the small local guys, and I happened to have purchased the other day a couple of crowlers of:

Lakeville Brewing Tres Equis (XXX) Mexican Lager
ABV: 5.9%
IBU: 12



1 inch+ white thick head with decent retention over an amber-yellow body with ample rising bubbles. This beer is classified as a Vienna Lager on here, perhaps a bit on the pale side, but still a nice looking beer.

Plesant aroma, not too strong, quite pilsner-like. Bready malts are front, with slightly citrus, slightly spicy aromas behind.

Taste is mellow, a bit sweet, bread, spice, has good malty flavor. Only a hint of what might be some bittering. The brewer is vague on whether this is an all-malt recipe, but it tastes like it might be. The flavors are pleasant and easy-drinking, but nothing to get excited over.

Body is substantial for the style (moderate, in other words), with a somewhat coating, somewhat crisp mouth feel.

Overall, a pleasant, easy-drinking lager for a relaxing afternoon.

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

One of the disadvantages of featuring these small, local brewpubs on NBS is (due at least in part - or mostly - to MN's arcane beer regulations) I have to buy 750ml crowlers. Crowlers are a drink-it-all, no option, no putting in a stopper to save for later.

This means if I get to 2 beers on NBS, I have consumed over 3 pints of beer, so 2 is pretty much the limit. But, I'll be back a bit later with one of the other 2 I had pre-planned for today.

 

Hey everyone! Today I have another new release from my local Little House Brewing, Belly Mist, a 7.1% NEIPA. Here is their description (I'll spare you the preamble about how their brewer's belly button never dries out from all the hose work).
In an effort to celebrate - and not hate - this mystical midriff moistness, we've brewed our mistiest NEIPA yet! Add onto this a generous helping of Citra, Galaxy, and Mosaic hops and what do you get? A beverage fit for only the soggiest beings amongst us.

Recommended Listening: "Misty Mountain Hop" by Led Zeppelin

I'm going to have no problem finishing this 32oz Crowler.
This is even fruitier than last week's Jant's (which I picked up another Crowler of yesterday).
Hazy-sure.
Head- A nice 2" (hope its all beer and no belly button foam). My second pour overflowed and foamed the counter. This was about the 31st "oh shit" moment of my day.
Aroma- You ever have the apricot aroma hit you just from opening a can? That.
A nice apricot, peach blend on the taste. I'm proud to say I think (believe anyways) that I can identify Citra now.
Mouth feel is good, not the creamiest NEIPA, but pretty good.
Overall I'd give this a 4.25. Too lazy to enter into the BA DB, it'll probably be history in a month anyways.
Copper never woke up for this photo, so its okay that he's out of focus.

 

Closer to a Dunkel?

 

Public House Brewing's CampusWerks Series Fall Hazard Level 2 Imperial IPA, 8.7% ABV. 3.88 Overall

Pours a an effervescent amber with one pinky of beige colored head. Sheets of lacing good head retention, a few floaties

S: Cakey, some leafy hops late

T: Follows the nose, piney bitterness as well, plus dryness up front, some flinty mineral like hops as well. Dryness, leafy hops & cakey sweetness as this warms. Finishes dry, cakey & with some leafy hops

MF: Fairly chewy with subdued carbonation, nice balance

Good old school DIPA, the nose could've been better

 

How about in the pilsner on-line tasting next Friday-Saturday?

 

Happy Memorial Day NBS to everybody.
It is gorgeous up here and has really started to feel a lot like summer. Except no tourist tours for me for the foreseeable future, it's been years since I had summer weekends off, I don't really know what to do with myself. So I might as well have a beer I suppose. My beer in question today is a NEIPA from a brewery from just off the island in Terrebonne. They are in the interesting position of brewing solid traditional styles as the brunt of their brewing and then doing IPAs here and there that are really of a very high quality in my opinion. The best part is that they do the opposite of almost everything on my laundry list of pet peeves that I have developped for many of the local takes on this style in the past couple years as NEIPAs have finally taken over here in Quebec. Their beers are pretty cheap and pretty easy to come across, they are clearly dated, they are not released before they are drinking like they should be even if that means that hazebros won't buy them cause the date is from a week or so ago, and additionally, they are very well packaged and filled to the very tippy top of every can.

The fill in question.

That is something I had heard people talk about before but it took noticing the difference with these guys and a couple other places to really come around. Obviously there are a lot of variables, but I've definitely had beers that would be ruined by age from these guys (and a few others) that were still very fresh-tasting. Anyway, now that I've overhyped it, on to the beer.

It pours lightly hazy gold with a couple fingers of soapy white head that sticks around for quite a while. Good retention; decent lacing. The aroma is very fruity. Mango and overripe oranges, a little dank green character. The flavor is more bitter than the nose lets on. Orange rind, pineapple, mango skin, lime zest. This is a very crisp, dry beer for the style, but is a nice drinker regardless. Dry, active carbonation, hoppy bite.
I like this one quite a bit. Rating to style (which I always try for), I'd definitely ding it on most everything. For just hanging out and drinking, though, it is very nice. Fruity nose with a nice bracing flavor and a real bite to it. I'd definitely get it again, but I won't go in expecting soft and juicy from it.

I'll see if I make it back later, but just in case I don't and on a completely unrelated note, that just serves to make this post longer. I got a great portrait of my cat yesterday evening.

Lookin' regal.

Santé!

 

Howdy NBS'ers
Great opening picture @WunderLlama




Force of Will Tree House Brewing DIPA 8.5 abv

[4.75] [4.75] [4.50] [4.50] [4.50] [4.56]

Previously canned as Very G G Greennn

Pours Bright opaque orange with a thick fluffy white head that dissipates into soapy lacing

Big aromas of peach nectar, pineapple, mango and citrus

Taste is full on juice bomb with notes of peach. mango and a pineapple finish

Full rich mouth feel flavors all come through with an astringent dry prickly finish. medium to low carbonation

over all a really good beer and an excellent representation of a New England DIPA

 

NBS #2 Cerebral Phantom Transmission DIPA. 8.3%

Solid DIPA from Cerebral. From the can (5.6.20 dating I think) - interesting mix of Citra, Lotus, Idaho 7, and Sabro. Grist is 2 row, golden promise, and some oats.

L - Murky, good foam, decent (but not jaw-dropping) lace. Looks enticing...
S - Dank, coconut, pineapple weed. "Everyone is high on the island of Fiji" effect
T - About the same murk as the aroma: tangerine-melon-mango-pineapple, with some cut weed, and someone mowing the grass in the background, but with a quiet reel mower. I like this - the Sabro doesn't go all rotten coconut as part of this hop bill blend. Tasty.
F - good carbonation, a little 'green and raw' if that's how you like it (LOL) but I think this is a good rendition of a DIPA (not supposed to be an imperial)> for what it's worth. Enjoyed this - glad I found a four-pack at my local.
O _ another really solid DIPA from Cerebral; can't say it's their best, but it's damn good, and NO LACTOSE. So, less farting.

4.1/ 5 OVERALL. (Had to back-edit this in)

post a picture online

 

Up next is Back to the Garden, a new Burlington Beer Co. IPA with terpenes, milk sugar, and honey, clocking in at 7.7% ABV. I weirdly respect them for not calling this a DIPA, because I personally believe DIPA ABV starts at 8%. It took me a while to find the born-on date for this one, but I eventually did (they're stamped onto the side of the can and not always in the same place for BBCo beers, for whatever reason): 5/5/20, meaning this is almost three weeks old. Nice! I am verrrrry hit or miss with BBCo, and the idea of a beer with both milk sugar and honey just seems fucking weird to me for some reason (honey is highly-fermentable and lactose... isn't). Plus, the terpenes? I dunno, maybe I'm a glutton for punishment? Or this will randomly be fantastic. Such is the nature of NBS

Pours a solid, opaque pale-golden color with slight orange-y highlights and a really hefty head that leaves behind fantastically-consistent lacing. Boy howdy, that is nice lace... it never really gets beyond a finger-and-a-half, meaning I almost got the whole can in my glass in one initial, careful pour. Decent legs, too. Like I said, I've had some rocky experiences with this brewery when their beer comes from cans (draft stuff at the place tends to be great, though, for some reason), but this seems like it's starting off well.

Great nose, honestly. These guys are not great about disclosing hops for their many, many IPAs, but I think I pick up some classic West Coast varietals. Maybe Centennial? Some new school funkiness that reminds me of Sabro or Cashmere. The terpenes are kinda heady here, though, too, so I'm not really sure where the hops end and these begin. I had a beer from Singlecut recently that featured terpenes, and it was also pretty surprisingly cool, but this feels much more "hop-focused". Notes of papaya, coconut, melon, tangerine, and light mango. Some slight honey presence but I probably wouldn't notice it if they didn't mention it on the label, and it's probably mostly fermented-out anyway.

Flavor profile is very cool, but you have to like smoother, lactose-driven IPAs, because damn did they keep this mostly creamy. I enjoy the strong papaya flavor and interesting dichotomy of floral honey character with the citrusy undertones. Very lemony with a touch of tangy orange, becoming rounder and softer in the finish. Super filling mouthfeel, though. Most are gonna either loooove or despise this beer... certainly has the "milkshake IPA" vibe going on. I could probably do with a little less lactose, but if this is what the market really wants, who am I to decry its odd overuse? I probably would not get this one again, as the drinkability aspect is not quite on the level I prefer for multiple can consumption, but... it's good. I dig it. Guess they can make good packaged beer after all.

 

My answer here would be no since for my palate the predominant flavor is caramel-like. Would you associate caramel flavors with a Munich Dunkel?

Cheers!

 

Yeah, I have been going back & forth here. I suppose I have 5 days to further cogitate on this.

Cheers!

 

That photo makes it look like haze to a another level. Did you paint the outside of that glass?

 

Good Sunday afternoon, New Beer Samplers and commentators. And thank you, @WunderLlama, for today's intro. After a weather washout yesterday, today is a glorious Spring day in North Jersey. I was able to do lots of yard work, made a dent in the biography of Grover Cleveland I'm reading, and drank some beer. NBS #1 is appropriate for this unusual circumstance: Situation Normal . . . How are You?, an American Pale Ale brewed by Two Ton Brewing in Kenilworth, NJ. It was released this Wednesday. It has a hazy, New England appearance but the taste is decidedly West Coast with excellent use of Cascade and Bravo hops. The taste features tart citrus, oats and wheat, and just a hint of pineapple and melon. The mouth feel is plush and creamy and the 7% ABV gives it good substance for the style. It's well crafted and much better than the original version I tried at the brewery last year (but didn't review). Like many BAs I'm trying to support our local brewers during New Jersey's continued lockdown. Two Ton has stepped up its canning and is doing a fine job. I can't wait to be able to stop in for a sociable pint again.

I hope everyone is safe and well this Memorial Day weekend. We hear a lot about "heroes" during this pandemic, and well we should. But I raise my glass to the heroes of all wars who sacrificed all for our freedom and way of life. Cheers to them!

 

Good afternoon, NBSers! I didn't post or read other's NBS posts last week for the first time in a while, and found I genuinely missed it. I'm still in this weird zone of amazement at how I was on BA for a few years without ever realizing that there was more to it than the regional forums. I had never heard of a BIF, didn't know what NBS was, or even WBAYDN for that matter. Now, I actively look forward to reading reviews on Sundays, and to the chatter / camaraderie from all the different threads (nothing beats the BIF threads)

Anyhow, been up at Lake Winnipesaukee in NH the last few days enjoying life. Today it was finally time to crack open Jahvanilla Ten Fiddy, a beer I've been anxiously eyeing up ever since @Mbgreg sent it to me in a ninja box a couple months ago. Full review below, but it's safe to day it did not disappoint. The nose in particular stood out. I could wear cologne that smells like this beer. Sure, nobody would go near me, but nowadays, nobody wants to anyway!

Cheers, and enjoy the rest of your weekend!

4.52/5 rDev +5.1%
look: 4.25 | smell: 4.75 | taste: 4.5 | feel: 4.25 | overall: 4.5

Pours a jet black with a relatively thin light brown head with medium head retention and some lacing. Smell is out of this world good. For my preferences, smells as good as any beer I can remember. Roasty, with the coffee and vanilla both present. Just smells great. Smell largely follows the nose. Goes down very smoothly, with a pleasant, lingering aftertaste. Overall this is a damn fine beer that I would never guess checked in at 14.3%.

 

Greetings fellow NBSers! A pleasant, but cloudy, day here in the Fourth Corner, as is typical for Ski-To-Sea sunday. There's no race this year, due the reasons we're all tired of. here's a new pilsner from a brewery that I'm pretty familiar with: https://www.beeradvocate.com/beer/profile/701/483682/

 

I guess not, must've not read that part for comphrehension