New Beer Sunday (Week 802)

That's the day old residue on a onesie. in the hamper.

 

A beautiful Sunday Brew. But I'm actually gonna let my family sleep in lol.



4.21/5 rDev -1.9%
look: 4.5 | smell: 4 | taste: 4.25 | feel: 4.25 | overall: 4.25

L: Plum yellow murky hue with a sparse ivory head settling down to a ring on the glass and near complete rings of lace with every couple drinks.

S: Spicy citrus, pine, and bubblegum with a mellon undercurrent.

T: Following the nose with added mineral, booze, and medicinal notes. The alcohol is well hidden though and I'd expect this to be about 8.5%'ish ABV.

F: Heavier body. Both silky and biting with carbonation, hop bitterness, and pine resin.

O: I'm a lover of Anchorage brews, but this one is a bit soft and muted. A tad overrated. Still satisfied...or is that the ABV talking!

 

I remember the hop burn at the finish as well, but I also remember the pleasant noticeable taste of honey as part of the upfront flavor profile. It was a very tasty brew. Thxs 4 the review Jack.

 

Alright, I had to do one more. It's been a while, so while there may be those who say it's excessive, I say it is THEM who are excessive! Eh, whatever. (I was picturing Dwayne from Futurama and his sewer rant, but I blame lack of sleep and abundance of beer).

I've been sitting on [both of the beers I'm drinking today] for some time, waiting for the right moment. This second one is one that I really wanted to pair with a nice hike along a river or something. Well, that's not happening TODAY per se, but I am getting amped to get out of the city TOMORROW(ish) so I'm rolling with it.
Eddy Hopper is a NEIPA from Old Schoolhouse Brewing over in Winthrop, which is... well it's certainly an experience. It's an entire town that has devoted itself to the old west theme. All the buildings downtown are built with facades to look like an old west town, and the activities I remember as a kid were things like fake 'panning for gold' and that kind of thing. Anyway, that has nothing to do with this beer other than being the home of the brewery, but I gots to share the local history and lore, yeah? (side note: I don't know if it's just a Washington thing having oddly themed towns like that, but there's also Leavenworth which is themed to be an old Bavarian town, and... well maybe that's the only two. But still. I guess the east coast has themed 'colonial' towns or whatever,, but I always got the impression those were more like edutainment theme parks rather than actual functioning towns that just liked to pretend to be a cartoon version of somewhere/somewhen else). Back to the matter at hand (perfection is perfected so I'ma let 'em understand), Eddy Hopper is a NEIPA from Old Schoolhouse. I can't imagine it's not supposed to be a play on the OG NEIPA Heady Topper (which I was fortunate enough to try some years back thanks to the generosity of @Roguer during one of the earliest NBS BIFs, a tradition that I STRONGLY encourage anyone to participate in when the next one gets rolling sometime this autumn. Roguer himself has worked his way up the ladder and now runs the damn thing! But more importantly, they're an absolute blast and the pressure:fun ratio tilts extremely heavily into the shorter word rendered back there. Yes, I'm going to make you work for it a little bit). Wow this is digressing a lot. I blame the beer. And lack of sleep.



Eddy Hopper. Does it live up to its namesake(ish)? (spoiler alert: no, ultimately it does not. But it's namesake is fucking legendary for a reason, and I still found it solidly decent)

The pour is a study in contrasts and cognitive dissonance for me. The liquid is butt ugly, but I understand a lot of folks are into that kind of thing these days. It's a murky/muddy (not even like hazy... it's murky/mmuddy) desaturated dull orangegoldpinkyellow peach flesh amalgam. That's the bad. To me. The good? That head, tho... Stiff peaks (word to my bakers) of lovely white foam rise up a good two fingers from the liquid meniscus. Chunky deposits are left behind as the head recedes and I start drinking. See, already it's making me work to assign it value.

The nose explodes out of the can and glass as soon as I start to pour and envelopes me in a gentle breeze of floral and tropical fruity hops. Juicy juice whirling around my head I had to exert the effort to raise an eyebrow. This escaped imp is quickly rebottled, however, and while the initial blast hit me from the table a couple of feet away, by the time I'd inspected the look of the thing and raised the glass to my nose, all those volatiles swirling around me had dissipated and the remaining emanant had to be sought out to be determined. Still a lot of tropical hops, bruised fruits, but it requires inspection.

The flavour jumbles together a bit more, but a careful tongue (aka a pretentious ************ who has had more beers than meals and sleep combined in the last 18 hours, with said tongue somehow still able to taste something despite being placed FIRMLY in cheek) is able to tease out a veritable punch bowl of bruised fruit flavours. I could find overripe plum flesh (but none of the nuance of a good bitter skin included), some pineapple, some guava, hell I even convinced myself I experienced apricot... the mind and its senses are a wonderful plaything. Finish has competing elements of candied fruit and bruised fruit and some of the hop burn that I find so prevalent in the style (but without being as chalky or burny as many of the more well regarded examples of the style that I've managed to sample).

Body is soft, as appropriate, and less thin/watery to me so much as 'easy-to-move-past-and-kind-of-forget-about' like a good spy/thief in a crowd.



I was excited about this one honestly mostly because I love the name/branding. I hate to admit when that gets me, but it absolutely did here. Eddy Hopper is a great name on its own (I love water... oceans, rivers, lakes... and the imagery the name evokes involves a lot of strong positive connotations for me), but add in the wordplay of being a play on Heady Topper? wordplay and water, man. Two things near and dear to my heart. Plus the label is a great homage to the natural beauty around us and lazy summer days in the water... and I like Old Schoolhouse (as much for nostalgia as actual consistent product...), and... well it just felt like one I had to try even if the contents were mediocre. And I fully prepared myself for them to be so. A style I'm not overly fond of. Reviews around here that don't exactly make one clamour to grab it off a shelf. So I had pretty low expectations. And you know what? Today is two for two on exceeding my expectations. One where said expectations were high and somehow the product still managed to beat them out, and one where where the product was generally maligned, but I still found myself as a positive outlier.

Anyway, I've rambled long enough. Again, enjoy your beverage, and stay safe our there. It's a crazy fucking world. (and for real... next NBS BIF that gets going... they're a whole load of fun, and I highly recommend joining). Cheers!

 

Happy NBS! I hope everyone had a great Independence Day yesterday and is continuing to relax today. I haven’t watched a certain streaming musical yet being busy with family but those visiting just left so hopefully later today.

Hoof Hearted Most People Can’t Handle High Bass



4.13 rDev 0%
16oz can dated 6/9/20 poured into a tulip
A: Hazy light orange, 1+ finger head (4.25)
S: Dank, citrus rind, tropical fruit (4.25)
T: Matches the nose, but also malty & somewhat sweet (4)
M: Full-bodied, hidden alcohol, bitter, slightly sweet (4)
O: I agree with this beer’s one other review which says it’s a good beer which is typical for Hoof Hearted yet they brew better. If brewed drier it would kick each score up a notch (4.25)
Cheers!

 

Whoo, it's a scorcher today! I don't think I'm going to trim the hedges after all. Thankfully I have a little something to take the edge off:

Troegs When in Doubt Helles, from their summer 15 pack.

This is one mighty impressive beer, and imo the kind that makes it worth picking up the pack just to get. Deeply bready and fuller than it's 4.3% would suggest, highlighted by hints of zesty lime peel hops and the slightest touch of DMS; perfectly balanced on the finish with just the right snap of clean bitterness; starts malty yet finishes dry. Muscular yet nimble.

I was expecting something good from this beer. Troegs exceeded it. One of the best American brewed Helles I can remember having. Solid A (4.5).

 

Today I have 3 of the BA 6-top-rated NEIPAs, all new to me. Oddly when you buy two different IPA cases, 48 cans, at Tree House this week you only get one of each. I had to put a rubber band around the trio with a note in the fridge to keep my family and 4th guests off these. I know, I'm being selfish, but come on, I'm the one that waited in line.

Starting with the "worst" (#6 on BA) VERY GGGREENNN.
First look at the picture on that can. 3 out of 4 people agree with me that it looks like a guy on a toilet, but I am 100% sure that is not what it is.


4.39/5 rDev -8%
look: 4.5 | smell: 3.5 | taste: 4.75 | feel: 4.75 | overall: 4.5
Poured from a 16oz can dated 6/24/20 to a nonic.
Medium white head fades after quite a while, laces the glass beautifully all the way to empty.
I don't know if its me, but the aroma is quite mild. Mild grass, mild orange.
Taste makes up for my olfactory let down. Orange juice with pulp oh my. Even the very end as the mouth dries out, leaves the orange impression on your tongue.
Creamy texture with a nice cleaning carbonation

 

Saint Arnold always celebrates their anniversary in June. Usually with a big blow out party and BBQ at the brewery, which is open to the public on a Saturday. Then with a ticketed, and more intimate tasting on Sunday. Both events are great for what they are, but this year they had to scrap those plans of coarse. So instead, they released anniversary beers once every week in June. They did a barrel aged stout and barleywine, which I wasn't able to get a hold of.

They also did two batches of a Barrel Aged Wild Saison. Again, I wasn't able to get the first batch, but was able to pick up a few bottles of the second batch. They both share the same Brettanomyces, Lactobacillus and Pedioccous mixed culture blend. Though batch 2 was aged for longer in a wine barrel blend, lower in alcohol, and dry hopped with just a touch of Amarillo.

With that lengthy introduction, here is my review of Saint Arnold's Barrel Aged Wild Saison, Batch 002. 4.9% ABV.



Pours a beautiful and bright golden orange color. With just a touch of haze that clears up as this warms. A massive white head forms (I had to take my time pouring this) with excellent retention and lace left down the glass.
The nose is fan freaking tastic. Dusty/musty basement aromas. Peaches, stone fruit. A lightly vinous and vanilla aroma coming from the barrels. Peppery spice, orange rind and lemon grass.
The taste has Amarillo hops more in play up front here. Orange, lemon, grassy flavors. Then the musty yeast, light vinous barrels are noticeable. Wonderfully acidic and tart. Just a faint hint of vanilla. Peaches and other stone fruit, peppery spice. Oh yeah.
A light body with effervescent Champagne like carbonation. Wonderfully dry, and spritzy, and that tart pull on the cheeks is great. Which all makes this incredibly easy and moreish to drink, and I want to keep savoring this bottle.

Oh my, this is fantastic all around. One of the better Wild Ales I have had in Texas, and maybe anywhere in the States for that matter. If at all possible this truly needs to be put in more of a rotating release schedule. Highly recommended.

Overall Score is 4.35,
https://www.beeradvocate.com/beer/profile/337/493582/?ba=champ103#review

 

Good afternoon NBS, hope everyone is doing well. Starting my Sunday with Cantillon Saint Lamvinus. This is really well done, I have enjoyed several red wine barrel sours and saisons but none of them really have flavors like this.

4.58/5 rDev +0.2%
look: 4.5 | smell: 4.5 | taste: 4.75 | feel: 4.25 | overall: 4.5

750 ml bottle, 2019, poured into a flute

A- A slightly hazy reddish purple with a small pink head.

S- Sour, red wine grapes, barnyard funk, oak.

T- Tart, red wine grapes, hints of berries, tannins, oak, nice barnyard funk.

M- Smooth, light body.

O- A very well balanced lambic and the grapes work very well in this.

Cheers NBS!

 

An Abraxas variant from a recent in-person trade last month, and a call to arms to @cjgiant - “Coffee Abraxas” (2018):



Poured at 54°, a dark tan flotilla of mixed bubbles sits atop black with ruby edges liquid; poor cap retention, incomplete thin ring; no lace, no legs on swirl. Aromas of cinnamon, allspice, sweet malt with a whiff of coffee; as liquid warms, raw wet coffee bean and cooked green peppers. Taste upfront is semi sweet caramel and chocolate base followed closely by cinnamon; coffee hiding in the background; bitter roast; vegetables/green peppers backend with some spicy peppers in the finish. Medium body; smooth silky feel; light carbonation; some warmth from 11.5% abv; spicy tingle on tongue from Ancho Chilies. Overall this tastes fine, mostly chocolate base with coffee flavor in retreat; chilies sauce and cacao nibs with a mild cinnamon linger; very good, but this stout doesn’t hold a candle to Cake.



4.0 | 4.25 | 4.25 | 4.0 | 4.25
Score: 4.21 rDev -6.4%

 

Hello New Beer Sunday!!!

I made a promise to post here some of the beers that @GreenBayBA so kindly gave me on Friday, and here's one of them.


Hazier Triple IPA from Untitled Art.

Ok, this beer doesn't drink at all like a 9%. I pretty much slammed it, because it was so easy drinking and delicious.

Thank you Micah for this one, it was a pleasure to drink.

Review:
4.27/5 rDev +3.4%
look: 4.5 | smell: 4.25 | taste: 4.25 | feel: 4.25 | overall: 4.25

Pours a murky, hazy orangish color. 2 finger white fluffy head. Head retention is very good. Lots of nice lacing on the glass.
The nose is very full with citrus. Lots of pineapple. Some grapefruit also.
Taste - More of mellow citrus bomb than I was expecting. Tons of mango. There's just a faint hint of pineapple, and grapefruit.
Smooth feeling. Slightly creamy feeling. Thick and full bodied. It really doesn't drink like a 9% beer.
A very easy drinking, delicious IPA.

 

Yeah, that's something that I only did once. I didn't find it complementary at all.

 

Prairie Corner Piece Imperial Stout, 11% ABV. Pours black with a light ring of brown head that left no lacing, typical of Prairie stouts. Nose is all sweet cake and vanilla. Taste follows plus chocolate, moderately sweet, slightly bitter. Truly a pastry stout. Excellent mouthfeel, overall outstanding. If I ever pour a Prairie stout and it generates more than a slight ring of head, I'll know it's counterfeit.

4.5/5 rDev +8.4%
look: 4.25 | smell: 4.75 | taste: 4.5 | feel: 4 | overall: 4.5

A nice summer day, spent inside working on remodeling. Today I'm replacing interior door hinges and knobsets/locks. Old hardware was worn out and corroded, and didn't match our new decor.

 

If you haven't, check out Chris Thile's Live From Here, its an excellent NPR music show, and of coarse Thile is amazing and one of the more knowledgeable hosts you can get for unique music and Americana. I think new shows have been cancelled for the time being but there is plenty of back log.

https://www.livefromhere.org/

Edit: I want that Main Beer to make it to Houston soon, I'm loving everything they have sent so far

 

I understand the derision. I would not recommend the raspberry and woodruff servings I tried. I do recommend the Trillium versions.

Another Berliner delicacy worthy of derision is currywurst, blechh! Deep fried, sliced and dusted with ketchup and curry powder. Get me a doner kebab, schnell!

Did enjoy the Konigsberger Klopse and weiss spargle. Also liked the JFK donuts....Ich bin in Berliner!