New Beer Sunday (Week 801)

Poured into a 16 oz Snulip glass not when it was canned, please mark your cans? Pours a hazy orange with with a half finger white head that leaves thin lines of lace, with solid retention. 4.5

Smell coconut, pineapple, tangerine, hint of garlic, and apricot. 4.25

Taste follows coconut, pineapple, a little garlic, tangerine, and apricot. 4.5

Mouthfeel is medium, soft gentle carbonation, not sticky or dry, and at 6.3% easy drinking, but plenty of flavor. 4.5

Overall I like this beer a lot. Not sure why sometimes I get the garlic hints, with the coconut with Sabro hops but I like it. This is a really nice and slightly different. Nice stuff, but I repeat Barreled Souls Brewing Company mark your cans, especially if it clearly states on the can drink fresh. 4.5 Cheers all.

 

This new beer is Cosmic Handshake, a collaboration between Sixpoint and Victory, this sour NE DIPA is an odd duck.
The brew presents as a bright yellow and cloudy pour with a 1cm foam cap that dissipates immediately leaving no discernible carbonation.
The aroma of grapefruit, lemon and is mildly tart. The flavor follows with grapefruit zest predominant. More nuanced tropical fruit flavors follow. The kettle sour tartness overrides all other aspects.
This is quenching, but the 9% ABV precludes that as a regular use.

 

Busy work week as there were several video conference calls. Everyone trying to cram in everything before the Independence Day holiday week. Got some really good bike rides in and even took out the sea kayak for the first time in a year. Last year , I foolishly attempted a cross- Atlantic kayaking endeavor (not really) and was swamped by a power boat in the bay. I wasn't able to drain the kayak and I floundered for 15 minutes until a good samaritan came and towed me back to shore. Two days after the event last year, a great white was seen feeding nearby on a whale carcass. On today's trip, I loaded airbags in the bow , had the safety horn from my nephew, gave my wife the number for the life insurance agent, financial planner, etc. I stayed much closer to shore this time. Time for a beer!

Today's Special: Extra Citra by Grimm

4.34/5 rDev +2.4%
look: 4.75 | smell: 4.5 | taste: 4.25 | feel: 4.25 | overall: 4.25

Canned 6.1, opened 6.23

Recommended by the gal at CBC in Plymouth. She continues to be spot on in her recommendations.

Can poured into a teku

Two finger rich dense creamy white foam cap, very good retention , settles to a big creamy island , some lacings , resting over a hazy orange liquid

Smells like orange citrus, juice, rind

Taste of orange citrus hops, juice, rind

Low sudsing , no hop bite, good flavor

Good beer


I like Grimm, one of my favorite NYC brewers. Grimm, Singlecut and Other Half are the NYC brewers I seek out the most. Used to frequently travel there, they need to get more beers to my neck of the woods

 

Good morning, NBS. Got up, read a little, and headed for a short walk before the heat and humidity combine to make the latter a lot less fun. Opened the fridge to see if I had any beers for today's thread, and this one seemed to be jumping up and down, hand stretched as hard as it could to the heavens, saying, "Me! Me!! Pick me, I'm perfect!!"

I'm convinced Sam and the crew at Dogfish Head had this thread in mind when they decided to brew this beer - we're very inspirational, after all . Whether true or not, Sun-Day-Feels is one of their latest sour ales - a style they seem to want to emphasize more, seemingly stemming from the success of their SeaQuench Ale. This beer also continues the brewery's long held belief that other items can and should be included in beer, explaining the release:

On the DFH site, they list notes for their beers. My full review has been added, but here I'd like to see how it stacked up against the brewer's notes:

Color
Hazy Straw

I went with bruised peach here - the photos are fairly close to what I am seeing. The head wasn't long for this world, but it didn't fizzle away like in some sours, either.

Aroma
Fresh peaches, bright citrus, Champagne

Definitely peaches/nectarines and a sweet wine/grape aspect that could easily be champagne. There is citrus, but I wouldn't call it "bright" and I get more sour citrus than say, the OJ from a mimosa.

Flavor
Tart peach, orange, mimosa-esque

I'd mostly agree here - the orange does come out after an initial bite of sourness. The orange has some white grape juice sweetness included and pushes the sour to the side but doesn't eliminate it.

Mouthfeel
Spritzy, tart and crisp

There is a light, spritzy opening, but there is a smooth, thicker sweet feel that is nice in its own right, but is somewhat like someone used too much slightly pulpy juice in the classic brunch drink.

Overall - a pretty decent beverage that isn't trying to be an exact replica the thing it mimics, but does give a fair impression thereof. It keeps a foot in the beer waters as it reaches towards non-beer inspiration.

 

Pours a light hazy amber golden color with a slight head and lacing
Aroma has fruity hints
The taste follows the nose with a fruity flavor
A light bodied decently carbonated crisp and dry beer
A great Berliner Weisse

 

Poured into a 13 oz Teku glass not sure when it was canned. Pours a hazy orange with a 2 finger sticky white head that leaves thick streaks of lace with excellent retention. 4.5

Smell peach, ripe melon, guava, lemon, apricot, and grapefruit rind. 4

Taste follows peach, honey dew, guava, lemon, apricot, and mild grapefruit bitterness. 4.25

Mouthfeel is bigger than average, gentle soft carbonation, not dry or sticky, and at 8.3% goes down pretty darn easy. 4.5

Overall I am a fan, excellent NEDIPA. I will be getting more of this one. 4.5

 

Pours a clear golden color with a nice head and lacing
Aroma has bready malt and lemongrass hints
The taste follows the nose with a pleasant bready malt and lemongrass flavors
A light bodied very well carbonated crisp beer
A great Pilsner

 

Thank you @superspak for kicking things of this morning with your awesome Flanders vintage pour! I need to start hitting my vintage pours after all of my fresh beers are come and gone. I keep saying that to myself, but still go out and buy more fresh beer.

My first new beer today is a new collaboration beer from AleSmith and Modern Times, Cosmic Omnibus.



This was canned 6/1/20. The description on the can is this beer is a Hazy India Pale Ale with Citrus Zest, released at 6.8% ABV. Here is a further description printed on the can:

Together with our buddies at Modern Times, one of our absolute favorite San Diego Breweries, we've jammed this delicious hazy india pale ale full of massive amounts of citra, enigma, and vic secret hops with a finishing touch of both grapefruit and lemon peel zest. The resulting aromas of bright pineapple, berries, and citrus will hit you like a wave of cosmic deliciousness.

And away we go....

Appearance: 16 oz can, multiple pours into a Modern Times Willi Becher glass. Murky light white orange pour, bright white bubbly head fades quickly leaving off white ring around top of the pour. 3.25

Aroma: Light grapefruit aroma, lemon backs. 3.0

Taste: Fuller than the nose would lead. Sweetness balanced nicely by dry bitterness. Grapefruit and Citrus lead, lemon follows, light pineapple and mango lingers in the background. 3.5

Mouthfeel: Fizzy carbonation lingers throughout, medium body, easy clean finish. 3.5

Overall: I like that it is balanced, but the grapefruit citrus lemon taste is muted with the bitterness. This pour is OK, but not a beer I would actively seek for my palate. 3.25

These are two of my favorite brewers in California, the primary reason I purchased a four pack of this pour. It is OK, but if I had a draft pour first, I probably would have taken home something else. I am pleased that there were other fresh AleSmith offerings to take home as well, favorites among the pours I had previously at their most excellent brewpub.

Hope you enjoyed this review, and I'll be back with another West Coast offering later today.

 

Good morning NBS
Imagine my surprise when a world class beer from Vermont shows up as an undisclosed extra in a trade from Colorado!

Yes, that's a Heady Topper posing against the blue tile.
16 ounce CANNED 06/09/20 (19 days ago) partially poured into a Spiegelau IPA glass at fridge temp 8% ABV. The first half of the can pours hefe-hazy in a peachy, golden color with off white head. The head recedes slowly to a rocky 3/8" cap and leaves a little lacing. The aroma from the can is mildly dank, citrus rind and pine. From the glass it's much more dank. First sip from the can is deep green evergreen, earthy, citrus peel and substantial pale malt with no sweetness. From the glass it's similar with the sharp, green lead, but I find it harder to pick up the supporting cast. Bitterness is substantial. The mouthfeel is medium bodied with average carbonation and a dry finish, despite the ridiculous amount of hop stickiness. Overall, excellent. I'm rarely moved by an IPA these days and actively avoid NEIPA all together. This is just a fantastic DIPA. Thank you so much @beergoot!

Of course, my palate is now destroyed, so I may, or may not be back. Cheers all and enjoy the new beer in your glass (or perhaps straight from the can) today!

 

Pours a clear golden color with a nice head and lacing
Aroma has very bready malt and slight lemongrass hints
The taste follows the nose with very bready malt and slight lemongrass flavors
A light bodied very well carbonated crisp beer
A good Pilsner

 

Good morning NBS, I hope everyone is safe and doing well. I am starting my Sunday with Rake Universe of Dark & Diamonds, thank you @Joplamp, it is described as a pastry saison and is conditioned on coconut, cinnamon and vanilla in bourbon barrel. It sounds strange and interesting, and it lives up to that! It is packed with big flavors that come together beautifully. I do like pastry stout but often find them to be so big and sweet that I takes me a very long time to drink them, but this balances out those big, sweet flavors and it makes this a lot easier to drink fast.

4.39/5 rDev 0%
look: 4 | smell: 4.25 | taste: 4.5 | feel: 4.25 | overall: 4.5

Thank you Joplamp for this
500 ml bottle poured into a teku

A- Black with a small mocha head.

S- Sour, cinnamon, bourbon, vanilla, roasted malts, coconut, mild funk.

T- Sour, cinnamon, vanilla, some coconut, some bourbon, chocolate, earthy, mild funk.

M- Smooth, medium body.

O- A really fun and interesting take on a saison. They are calling a “pastry saison” and it has those sweet flavors in pastry stout but it is very nicely balanced with sweet, sour and some funk.

Cheers NBS!

 

Notti D'Estate (summer nights) a 5.4 ABV Italian Style Pilsner from Twin Elephant Brewing. This is the 1st time this beer has been brewed and it was released to the the public last Thursday. It is only being sold in 32 OZ crowlers. The brewery states this beer in ". 100% pilsner malt layered with Tettnang, Saphir, Saaz, and French Strisslespalt. Dry hopped with Saphir & Tettnang". Twin Elephant is known for brewing excellent IPAs's, APA's and Saisons. They don't brew many lagers. Poured into a pint glass Notti D' Estate like any other Pilsner golden body with a white head. The aroma is strong but not what one expects a Pilsner to smell like. There is some malt breadyness but also citrus and other fruits. The taste is bready malt to start and then the hops take over and the flavor changes as you drink. The mouthfeel is medium The finish is off dry crisp and lasting. Overall an excellent brew very enjoyable. Notti D'Estate is misnamed There is nothing Italian about it except the name. What's in a name an outstanding beer.

 

I really enjoyed your review
Cheers

 

Not to nit pick what you have said. You could try a drop of vanilla or vanilla bean side by side with a marshmallow and see the flavors. I believe the marshmallow to be creamier and sweeter also the marshmallow should effect the body of the beer ? Decadent does various IPAs with marshmallow and vanilla and tbh the vanilla IPAs are kind of sickly sweet as the marshmallow IPAs are heftier and silkier but not as sweet oddly

 

Pours a clear golden color with a nice head and lacing
Aroma has banana, clove and wheat hints
The taste follows the nose with pleasant banana, clove and wheat flavors
A light bodied well carbonated crisp beer
A good Hefeweizen

 

Breakfast of champions? (cracking my remaining cellared bottle)

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4.44/5 rDev +5.5%
look: 4.5 | smell: 4.25 | taste: 4.5 | feel: 4.5 | overall: 4.5

L: A foggy warm brown hue. A root beer tan froth pillows on top. Tiny spots of lace. Simply beautiful!

S: Sweet and tart apple cider and pecans. On the off-dry side of the barleywine spectrum. Possibly pear in there.

T: The pear comes through on the palate. A little like a spiced pumpkin beer but far superior IMO. A banana undertone. Complex with leather and tobacco and a little peaty too!

F: Rich and surprisingly weighty for the style.

O: I had the lowest expectations for this beer but I would definitely drink it again when in the mood for something different! I’d love to say I rated it to style, but I’m not sure I’ve had anything quite like it. Thankful to be the first to review this interesting experiment though!

 

I have been drinking mostly Lagers and lower ABV beers lately and wanted something with a little more oomph, my after midnight beers:

Half Acre GoneAway IPA - 7%, date on can is 05/18/20. When I try new beers I rarely read reviews so I go in pretty blind and with IPAs this can be a little dangerous, as I will either enjoy it or it will be a drain pour; IPAs are one of the styles where there is not much of an in between for me. Luckily this was really good and I enjoyed it a lot and light, crisp and fruity-ish with a nice bitterness to balance it out.

Three Floyds Alpha King - date on can 06/05/20. They are newer to my area but expensive so I pass on them but seeing a single was nice, as I have always wanted to try their beers. I am sorry to report that I hated it and couldn't even finish it. It's a very old-school APA and has that awful flavor clash that I can never get by: pine, grapefruit but yet also caramel and sweetness and my palate (and nose) despises this combination.

 

Good afternoon NBS and thanks @superspak for or start today, I was getting nervous!
We had some time on Skype this morning with #1 son and all is well, we try to keep those gaps to no more that 3 weeks between visits.
Todays offering is from our dear friends at Hill Farmstead. Self Reliance with German Cascade hops.
I relly enjoy this series, having had the Nelson, now the Cascade.
Cheers all
Self Reliance: German Cascade

Hill Farmstead Brewery
American IPA | 6% ABV

4.19/5 rDev -3.5% | Average: 4.34
look: 4 | smell: 4.25 | taste: 4.25 | feel: 4.25 | overall: 4

Poured from the 750 ml bottle (several pours) into the test glass. Bottled on 7/26/2019.
A - Bright forsythia yellow, a touch of cloudiness, very active carbonation relentlessly feeds a sustained snow white cap.
S - Funk up front, with some time together, the candied orange rime, lemongrass, oak all slip into the mix.
T - Starts with that mixed culture and oak blend, add a present and proper hop bite, centered on lovely orange, citrus aspect.Some ruby red grapefruit, and a spicy white pepper all come together.
M - That water is spectacular, soft start then a bit of acidity and kiss of tannin take shape. Medium in body, some nice mineral threads. A hint of spice in the center but the real winner is the carbonation that drives the texture like a wagon train.
O - A delightful offering, superbly displaying the single hop, in a different light. With some time spent, the tension between the citrus and the "funkiness" turns more toward a dance of partners. The culture application or time spent in oak are inspired. Delivering a beautiful offering.