New Beer Sunday (Week 800)

Little disappointed in the second beer of the day, Bells Incessant



3.55/5 rDev -13.8%
look: 3.75 | smell: 3.75 | taste: 3.5 | feel: 3.25 | overall: 3.5

Big foamer here, bright orange body. Spice and candy orange dominate the smell until some maltiness creeps in with just a brush of what i can best describe as nougat. Taste goes in about six baffling directions at once with initially bringing the candy orange but then takes the path of an unguided bottle rocket as its big bread malt for a second, then cantaloupe, then spiced gum drops until it finishes as club soda. Throughout the strange journey the one constant is a wateriness which comes through in the body as well. Stick with 3rd coast beers, Bells and not the NEIPA thing

 

Starting off with a new Saint Arnold offering. They have yet to officially admit it, but this has basically replaced their 5 O'Clock Pils, which has been one of my favorites since that was first released. It is all but impossible to find that one anymore. Lets see how this new offering goes:

Headliner Blonde Ale. 4.3% ABV.



Pours a clear yellow color. A large white head rises to over two fingers. A constant barrage of bubbles keeps racing to the top and rejuvenates the white foam. Plenty of lace left behind.

The aroma is of bread and crackers. Husky hay, fresh cut grass aromas. Simple and enjoyable.

The taste follows suite. Bread/biscuit/cracker like malts. Grassy hops, with a bit of earthiness. A touch of honey like like sweetness, with a bit of lingering bitterness as well.

A light body that is supper carbonated. Effervescent, crisp, and finishes dry. Definitely an easy drinker. Tailor made for the hot Houston summers, and I can see me coming back to this.

This is certainly well made. Easily in the B+ range, if not more. Its not a one to one substitute for 5 O'Clock, and I still think that is one hell of a pils. This is pretty good in its own right, and another quality offering from Saint Arnold, even if it doesn't hit the lofty heights of 5 O'Clock.

 

Shipyard melon wheat
.. has medium carbonation with about a medium body
..aroma is heavy on watermelon rind,followed by fruit,wheat and grain.
Taste is again rind forward but has a nice watermelon fruit flavor. Wheat flour but also a perfume floral almost artificial fruit flavor as well
...overall it's good but not my favorite watermelon beer

 

Odd Side Realignment Ale. Awesome raspberry wheat. Lasting fluffy head retention/soapy lacing. Aromas and flavors of big juicy/tart/tangy red raspberries, fruit skin/seed, lemon, peach, pear, red apple, melon, light banana/clove, wheat, biscuit dough, light honey/toast, herbal, floral, grass, and yeast earthiness. Light herbal, floral, grassy, peppery bitterness; and fruit tang/tartness on the finish. Medium carbonation and medium-plus body; very creamy/silky/bready malts, some sticky hops, and acidic/tannic fruit in the mouthfeel. Light-moderate increasing acidic/tangy dryness, no pucker/astringency. Very smooth/soft, flavorful, refreshing, minimal warming 5.5%. Awesome balance of big juicy/jammy raspberry and American wheat yeast complexity; with a great clean pale/wheat malt backbone. Mild residual sweetness with lingering dryness. Very impressive for the style! 4.13


Cheers

 

L‘Ermitage Bruxelles ma Belle


Pours a paler, unfiltered yellow with a medium sized, slowly receeding head.


Smells heavenly of fresh cut peaches, ripe papaya and early plucked passion fruit among lots of lime zest.


Features a light and well carbonated mouthfeel, leading to a well balanced refreshment.


Tastes of bitter lime zest, lighter papaya and soothing bread dough, with just a light hint of caramel. Turns a little more mineralic then, emphasizing the prominent limes in this, with just enough exotic fruits cutting through to maintain a pleasant, hop supporting sweetness. Finishes dry, fruity with coating limes, establishing a short and crisp finish, together with a fruity sweetness.


Very nice Pale Ale, with a great focus and depth. Heavy on the citrus, this also manages to provide a great balance, due to a flowery and sweet caressing exotic fruit basket.

 

Weathered Souls Reverence Wild Ale

Happy Fathers Day, BAs. Let me join @SawDog505 in giving a tip of the hat to the former hosts of this great thread.

Today’s new beer came to me courtesy of @r0rschach an NBS BIF round or two ago. It’s hitting the spot today.

Reverence pours a relatively clear light gold color with only a slight haze. A thin layer of airy, clear bubbles sits on the top before quickly popping away. It leaves a pencil-thin head and no lacing.

Cider, vinegar and light peach show in the nose.

It’s tart tasting with light peach, light mango, apple cider and vinegar again. Lightly fruity overall and fairly puckering with a burst of acidity in the finish.

The feel is light bodied with just a little oiliness and low carbonation.

This has a nice, inoffensive mango cider-evoking balance of fruitiness and sourness. Could make for a good introductory sour. Very refreshing. Thanks, John.

 

Bitburger Triple Hopped Lager, this beer is a collaboration Of Bitburger and Sierra Nevada Brewing. It is a 1 timer and brewed only in Germany. This brew is exactly what you would be A German Lager that is hopped like an APA. Nothing unusual about how this beer looks a golden body with a thick white head. There is a strong aroma of Cascade hops, that does not overpower the malt aroma. The taste is balanced. The hops and malt are both there and neither one takes over. The mouthfeel is full and a bit soft. Overall a fine enjoyable brew which was expected because of who brewed it. My 6 pack was canned on I/01/2020. It tasted fresh, the best by date is 01/08/2021. Worth trying if you see it.

 

If I had half a functional brain, I’d be reviewing the same today, but I am old and feeble minded. Well done.

 

You da man for drinking Olde English 800 for NBS #800. Taking one for the team!

To the best of my knowledge/recollection I have never consumed this beer. When I was a kid growing up in a city the beverages of choice for the bums on the street were either Olde English 800 (quart bottles) or Thunderbird. These beverages were consumed with the appropriate 'accessory' of a brown paper bag and after the bottles were empty they would just leave them on the sidewalk (or street). This sight was enough to motivate me to never drink either of these beverages when I became older; to my mind these are bum drinks.

Cheers to you!

 

Scorpion Bowl IPA,3.78 overall

Pours an effervescent gold with a thumb of ivory colored head. Great lacing and head retention

S: Tropical fruits, a little citrus

T: Papaya, green melon, some coconut & pomelo up front. Dryness, lime and green melon as this warms. Finishes with lime, coconut & green melon

MF: Medium body, fairly moderate carbonation, decent balance

Solid offering, was hoping for a little better, but drinks very easy

 

I have been waiting all week to open this one. 3 Fonteinen Oude Geuze is one of my favorites, and have been drinking that like water this week as well.

First time having the Cuvee Armand & Gaston. 6.5% ABV, Belgian Geuze.


Pours a beautiful light orange, with just a touch of haze. A towering white head fills my goblet with excellent retention. That gently recedes to leave some light lace.

A magnificent aroma that fills the room.. Ripe grapefruit rind and orange peal. White pepper, oak, light vinegar, a touch of vanilla. Musty basement like funk makes me want to dance.

Taste is of acidic fruit rind, ripe grapefruit, orange and lemon. Of coarse the acidity is strong but never gets overbearing. Musty funk balances that beautifully. Like going down into a wonder cellar. Peppery spice with light oak and vanilla. Just amazing.

A medium body that is perfectly carbonated. Effervescent and spritzy. Everything is so well balanced here, I just can't get enough. Normally, even for someone like me that loves the style, the acidic sourness can get in the way of how much I want to drink it. Though this never gets, in any way, difficult to enjoy.

Yep, this is excellent. One of the better beers I have had in recent memory. I have always been a huge fan of their Gueuze and Lambic, and this is why. I'll just say superlative, and leave it at that.

I know a lot of times when you find that one thing you have been wanting, its easy to get over excited, and maybe that is happening a little, but who cares. I love it and thats all that matters. Got a few more bottles as well. Now to put on some Miles and enjoy the afternoon.

Overall score is 4.55. Official review below:
https://www.beeradvocate.com/beer/profile/2216/235041/?ba=champ103#review

 

Happy Father's Day, fellow fathers. My new beer is taken from my father-in-law's fridge today. Last weekend's Untappd virtual festival tipped me over my gradually growing interest in trying more lagers, and here's one that he swears by: Henry Weinhard's Special Reserve.


12oz can served in a shaker pint glass. Can is dated "OCT !!!!! 1220". Maybe it's a best by date. I dunno.

Pours perfectly clear dark golden, with a big head that dissipates rapidly, leaves a couple millimeter thick head resting on top. Moderate carbonation when it's at rest. Smell is slight lemon, lots of yeast/bread, a little bit of the lager funk.

Taste is a lot of malt, bready/yeasty. Lager funk is less pronounced in the flavor. Lemon is just barely present.

Mouthfeel is almost a soda fizziness, otherwise fairly thick. Overall, it's not bad. Something I could see drinking on a boat while fishing, or at the beach on a hot day, or something like that.

 

Happy Father's Day to all the dads out there, and for those of you still fortunate enough to have your dad, don't take the time for granted.

Today's beer is courtesy of @FlintB from the Rookies BIF a few months back. Having participated in back to back BIFS (Rookies & NBS #11) along with all the associated ninja / return fire boxes I received, I've largely had to focus on drinking the IPAs I was sent while they were still fresh. As such, I still mostly haven't delved into the other styles that have been sent my way. I've saved many sours for hot & humid days like today, and it's time to start cracking some of them open.

This one is Never Never Again Again, a "Double Raspberry Gose Ale" from The Veil Brewing Co. I haven't had much from The Veil other than trying out some of their stouts a few months ago, which were amazing. Looking forward to seeing what they can do with a different style.

4.34/5 rDev -4%
look: 4 | smell: 4.25 | taste: 4.5 | feel: 4.25 | overall: 4.25

Pours a deep red with some bubbling, but almost no head. Absolutely looks like a smoothie. Smell is all raspberry. Just pure fruit, in a way that certainly indicates the flavor is not likely to be subtle. Taste is delicious. Putting aside whether or not this has a traditional "beer" taste, it's really good, and the raspberry, while very prominent, is not so in your face as to be overwhelming. Low carbonation, and very smooth. This is really good, especially on a ~90 degree day. Another great beer from The Veil.

 

Happy Father's Day New Beer Sunday!
So my wife did a big TH run this week (thankful). Its not really porter weather, but of the entire haul, this is the one I have not had yet. I'm enjoying it. Dogs are resting in the shady part of the grass.

4.3/5 rDev +2.6%
look: 3.75 | smell: 4.25 | taste: 4.5 | feel: 4 | overall: 4.25

Poured from a 16 oz can dated 5/28/2020 into a Nonic.
Pours out very dark, very opaque with medium dark beige head.
Aroma is malty, chocolate, caramel, sugar cane.
Taste is incredibly chocolate. A little sweeter than I like, but I can overlook that for the overall effect this has.
Mouth feel is not as sticky as you would think for the sweetness, but the viscosity is about right. Carbonation is slightly lighter than I would think would be perfect, but not by a lot.
If this was drier I would have rated it higher, but still a pretty good beer.

 

I can remember drinking that one when Weinhard's was a real, functioning brewing company and not a contract-brewed label owned by some corporation. Haven't had one in a long time. Maybe I'll pick some up on my next beer run and try some for science.