New Beer Sunday (week 798)

New beer number two today, Westbrook’s Red Wine Barrel Aged Mexican Cake. Bottled 9/9/16. Poured at 58 degrees.





Fast fizzy dark tan head disappeared before I could take the photo!; incomplete ring, no lace; black body with grayish ruby edges; medium legs. Nose is chilies and cinnamon on first whiff; red wine becomes more prevalent as beer warms. Chocolate, hot peppers, oak, musty/grapey dark fruit; cinnamon and nutmeg in the background, but delftly present; spicy vanilla/chocolate finish. Medium minus body; light carbonation; burn from habaneros on tip of tongue; mucho warmth in mouth from 10.5% and peppers; vinous, tannic feel that is drying in the finish. Overall, pleasing complex layers of dark fruit/grape barrel flavors complimenting the chocolate semi sweet fudgy, spicy hot base that is the essence of Mexican Cake; subtle cinnamon and nutmeg flavors enhance rather than distract; world class - I could drink all day!

4.0 | 4.25 | 4.75 | 4.75 | 4.75
Score: 4.59 rDev +2.2%

 

Great review! I look forward to reading them regularly.

 

It is impressive!, no doubt. A worthy beer, just aggressive with the cinnamon/peppers, for me... - Cheers!

 

Tupps Brewing Creamy Fluffy Yogurt Ale with Raspberries, 5.2% ABV. 3.53 overall

Pours a turbid peach/pink color with fast falling beige colored head. Zero head retention & lacing

S: Berries, some grassiness once warm

T: A little sweet raspberry & marionberry, with a little tart on the edges up front. Strawberry, sweet raspberry & dryness as this warms. Finishes sweet, dry with little lime & grassyness

MF: Medium body & minimal carbonation

Easy drinker, with some nice fruittyness, this will disappear quickly here with this warm weather

 

Second 750ml crowler from a small local brewer.

Lakeville Brewing Hashtag American IPA
ABV: 7.0%
IBU: 73



Or, as my generation would have called it, "Pound Sign IPA."

Crystal clear amber-gold body below a 1.5 inch tall thick white head, that becomes less creamy and more bubbly as it recedes over the first 5 or so minutes, eventually becoming islands of mounds and valleys with open beer in between. Sparse lacing.

Citrus aroma hits as soon as you pop the top of the crowler. From the tulip glass, in addition to the citrus, there is sweet pineapple and fresh bread.

Taste starts mildly bitter, and the bittering grows through to the finish and aftertaste, but only somewhat above where it started. Very good flavor, a bit maltier than the typical IPA, with still a good contribution of hops, now throwing a bit of pine to go with pineapple and the bread. The more you drink, the more the bitterness grows, especially in the middle and aftertaste and carrying over to the next drink, becoming quite bitter by the end, providing the level expected of a traditional midwest IPA.

The feel has medium body per the style, and a clean finish.

Overall, a nicely done "Midwest-style" American IPA. It's not going to "wow" anyone here, but it is well done.

L: 4.0 | S: 3.75 | T: 3.75 | F: 3.5 | O: 3.75 | Rating: 3.74

 

Perennial artisan ales saison de Lis



Poured bright straw with a rapidly diminishing head. 3.75

Fruity, orange zest, fragrant. 4.0

Spicy, ginger, earthy. Not too sweet , good fermenting. Fruity with some tartness. 4.0

Dry finish, carbonated. 3.75

Nice refreshing summer beer. 4.0

 

My third entry for NBS, maybe a record, but I'm done after this one.
I have another NEBCO beer, Coriolis. I know the physics reference, but don't understand the dinosaur reference. Anyways....

3.77/5 rDev -14.9%
look: 4 | smell: 3.75 | taste: 3.75 | feel: 3.75 | overall: 3.75

Poured from a 12 oz can dated BB 9/2/2020 to a Nonic. Not quite hazy, but it is opaque medium gold. Dark beige head fades to white lacing. Magic color change?
Earth dank nose with a hint it has a sweetness behind it. But when in comes to taste, the sweetness was a ruse. The taste is all dank with a fruit back ground. Alcohol is noticeable but not distracting.
Mouthfeel is slightly oily. Carbonation could be a little more prominent.
In a nutshell, good, but not as good as I expected.
For an all Nelson beer, I would take Alpine over this if I could only get it now a days.

 

Good afternoon NBS, I hope everyone is both safe and healthy! Starting my Sunday with Wander Vanilla Emissary from @beertunes!
3.94/5 rDev -0.8%
look: 4 | smell: 3.75 | taste: 4 | feel: 4 | overall: 4

Thank you beertunes for this
500 ml bottle, 2018, poured into a snifter

A- Black with a larger tan head.

S- Dark fruits, bourbon, vanilla, some chocolate and roasted malts.

T- Bourbon, chocolate, dark fruits, vanilla.

M- Smooth, medium to full body.

O- A little heavy on the bourbon, but a tasty stout with a nice amount of vanilla.

Cheers!

 

NBS #2. Do What's In Your Heart, a 5.8% New England IPA from Two Ton Brewing in Kenilworth, NJ. This beer boasts a hop bill of Belma, Nugget, El Dorado, and Idaho 7. It opens up when the glass warms a bit. It's earthy with citrus and a hint of strawberry. I think it's the first time that Two Ton has canned it. A nice summer offering. Here's my full review:

3.84/5 rDev +2.1%
look: 4 | smell: 3.75 | taste: 3.75 | feel: 4 | overall: 4

Reviewed 4 days after can release. Poured into a snulip glass. It pours a hazy, pastel brownish lemon color with a creamy, milk-white head and thick film of lacing. The nose is subdued with creamy vanilla, lemon, melon, and floral notes. The taste opens with subtle honeydew melon and lemon peel. There is an earthiness from the Idaho 7 hops. As the glass warms I also taste notes of strawberry from the Belma hops and a slight herbal bitterness from the Nugget hops. The El Dorado provides nice bitterness at the finish. The acidity is elevated. This ale has a pleasing mouth feel with moderate carbonation, and at 5.8% ABV it's super drinkable. Overall, Two Ton has improved this NEIPA since it was first brewed. It's tasty and a nice warm weather quencher.

 

HERE YE HERE YE. LADS AND LADIES OF BEER ADVOCACY. PRESIDENT GEORGE WASHINGTON STAND AND REPORTING.

YARDS brewing company. Hailing from the northern liberties in Philadelphia Pennsylvania.
a 7% ABV English porter. Washington’s Porter

Ok so this beer is not new to me but it’s been a while and I’d like to share how much I enjoy this beer with all of you. Can you tell it’s a banger? Here goes.

Black and beautiful with a tan head. The froth is big and pillowy in this guy. Which u need after one too many because you will hit the floor. It’s sneaky sis. Anywho this thing would leave an ebony tarnish in ol G Dubs wooden teeth. Smells of molasses are immediate followed by French coffee @Shanex can you confirm my friend? Meaning Smokey and roasted. The darkest of coffees. Flavors are as followed. Coffee, molasses, caramel, raisin, dates. This beer is big for 7% and has a ton of acidity presumably from the heavy roast of the malts but this is cut completely by the smoke of coffee like the wisp flowing out of the chamber. The underlaying tang and sweetness from sitting on molasses round this out just the the revolutionary era cannonball of a beer it is and must have been at the old city tavern late 18th century Molasses is general compared to slow moving but this big boy is for STAMINA. By the way this recipe is straight from the history books; modernized of course by Yards OF PHILADELPHIA. Yes.

this beer is a banger even in the summer Even if you like the lighter fare, try this one out if you can find it. It’s year round. It’s living history. Try it for Yards. For Philly. For beer history. A historical porter recipe from the founding father himself.

God dam I need to eat something. This would go great with a vegetable stew, BBQ, cheddar would love on the smoke from this porter.

Cheers beer advocate.
Cheers Philadelphia.

I’m excited.

 

Michael,

Thanks for the tip.

According to the Passion Vines Wine & Spirits website this beer is a “Mexican Lager”:

“Tonewood Brewing Description

Mexican Lager - Brewed with Saaz and Tettnanger hops, our Mexican lager yeast drives the flavor of this beer. Crisp and refreshing, the name says it all.”

https://www.passionvines.com/beer/Tonewood-Brewing-Poolside-Lager-w8385779st

I am reminded of my post a few weeks ago on NBS where my ‘headline’ was: “So, what exactly does “Mexican Lager” mean?”

https://www.beeradvocate.com/community/threads/new-beer-sunday-week-796.640305/#post-6913322

My guess here is that for Poolside a “Mexican Lager” is a contemporary AAL beer. How hoppy would you say this beer is? Anything like the 40 IBUs of my homebrewed CAP?

I do not recall seeing Tonewood beers at my local beer retailers. I went to the Beer Menus website and the closest ‘hits’ for me are 30+ miles away – three retailers in South Jersey. Maybe Tonewood doesn’t cross the river?

Cheers!

P.S. That is a great looking Willi Becher glass to have there!

 

Alright, time for my last new one of the week. It's my first sour beer by Carton, a "highlander weiss mulberry sour ale" () called Monkey Chased the Weasel. It comes in at 3.9%, and its IBU rating is listed on the can as "sour," which made me chuckle a bit.



Pours an unusual color, no doubt influenced by the mulberry addition.It's a hazy pale-ish hue with a light rosé wine-like tint to it, and it builds up with a very generous head of bone-white foam that settles down to a half-finger ring of retentive suds in my glass after five or so minutes in there. I am impressed by the head retention here, of course, considering most quick-soured beers such as this do not have much, if any, retention. Still not really sure how I feel about the actual color, but... eh. What're you gonna do?

Nose is pretty much reminding me of cereal, with a strong berry leaning and what seems like it'll be a hefty wheaty chew. I don't get as much lemon or really as much of a feeling that it'll be super-acidic, so perhaps it'll be more in line with the "traditional" idea of a Berliner in that sense? Overall not really much of a nose here, and something about it seems oddly... musty? or something.

Pretty good flavor, with strong black cherry, raspberry, and wheat flavors mingling with a little bit of acidity in the mid-palate. Finish is nicely juicy and well-rounded, but still kinda heavy-bodied and not overly tart/acidic. Just enough that I understand what they're going for, but it's not gonna win any awards for "sourest beer" whatsoever. Perhaps a little like a fruity white wine in a sense? A bit of white pepper and light spice coupled with a touch of plum and apricot. Lots of anonymous orchard fruit notes and a bit of a rosé-like undertone. I don't think I am really the target audience for this one, but it's not bad... grew on me a bit as I drank it, but likely wouldn't get again. I have to say, Carton's stuff we've been getting has been a bit hit-or-miss, and the styles are all over the place, and not really in a good way. I'll keep checking their stuff out but I feel like I constantly have to go in with lower expectations, which is unfortunate because I know they are well-loved here. Cheers NBS, and I hope to return to this spot once more next week!

 

Good job. If you have time this thread is really a lot of fun.

 

I want some of The President's (Washington's) Porter........

 

Cabin Boys Brewing Fog of War Imperial IPA, 8.0% ABV, 3.98 overall

Pours an effervescent gold with 2+ fingers eggshell colored head. Hazes a bit as the can is emptied, Nice lacing and above average head retention

S: Breadyness, a little citrus

T: Cakeyness, oranges, pineyness and drynesss up front. Nectarines and cakeyness as this warms, dry with a little lime & pine. Finishes dry with cakey sweetness, with nectarine & pine

MF: Fairly chewy, subdued carbonation, nice balance

Nice take on the style

 

A Fastenbier is a holiday beer for lent that people could drink while fasting. @herrburgess 's Fastenbier emulates Franconian Dunkels and Czech dark lagers.

 

Eyyyy. I’ve been to the brewery to interview August himself and they have a mulberry tree on the property. Cheers to you.

 

Welcome! No neex to overthink it. You did fine. Only firm requirement is you try a beer that's new to you and say what you think of it, and maybe a little bit on why. Anything beyond that is up to you.

 

Nice to see a German head on an "American-style" ale.