New Beer Weekend #6

Early dog walk, now watching golf. Looks like a tough course and the leaders are only at -1.
Anticipating a quiet weekend, at least until tomorrow when our 14 year old grandson arrives for a long visit.
My new beer for today is Yeeehaaw!, a NEIPA from Clown Shoes. Just an OK beer.
Orange-colored beer with a faint haze. Small white head, no lace.
Aroma of citrus fruit and tropical fruit. Subtle.
Taste of orange, grapefruit, pineapple, and mango. Subdued.
On the lighter side.

 

I’m adding Weihenstephaner Festbier even though I had it officially yesterday. But I mixed it with 120 proof Knob Creek bourbon.

So it’s new on a fresh palate so imo I’m counting that. Weihenstephaner isn’t new here, but outside of the SN Collab I’ve never seen the Festbier here though, and I do favor pale fest over marzens . As a quick note the Collab with SN wasn’t my favorite from that series of brewers.

Just the right amount of hops, it certainly rivals some Pils. If I was drinking this blind I’d assume it was a Pils. Hard to go overboard breaking it down, it’s a simple beer that is just very well done. Easy to drink, not fussy at all. Where else to go? But I’d buy it again, but there’s other Pale Fests out there, but I kinda get a sameness to a point, wish I had a more sensitive palate but I don’t, I’m kinda useless reviewing most things. As always I could do a simple thumbs up or down.

 

Flötzinger Hell


Pours a crystal clear golden color with a spongy, big head.


Smells of soft wheat, fresh baked bread, rye flour and grassy, wet hops.


Has a lighter body among a lower carbonation, letting the beer appear unnecessary watery on the tongue.


Tastes of caramel malts, lighter burned hickory wood and overly sweet corn syrup. The beer turns watery then, thin with a lingering sweetness and nothing else.


This is pretty hard to drink, the balance is off in this on so many levels. Avoid, if possible.

 

4 New to BA, New to me - NJ Collaborative Beers
Turn Up the Hook - Wakatu Remix | Carton | DIPA | 8.5%
4.34/5 rDev 0%
look: 4 | smell: 4.25 | taste: 4.5 | feel: 4.25 | overall: 4.25
Added by Act 25. 1st review makes me happy during Covid to buy fresh at Carton hometown brewer from Zoe.
A / hazed body, 1 finger head, sea foam lace.
S / Flowers, perfume, peach, wheat.
T / follows smells and led to Joyful, juicy fruit bomb with peach, guava, lychee, lime dominant - with bitter pine finish. Vic Secret shows up too.
F / Sorry you cannot enjoy this fresh fruit juiciness off the press. Such is the power of local. Tingly finish.
O / if you can get there buy 'off the hook Wakatu remix.'
Dressed Just Like Dynamite
Carton | Triple IPA | 10%
4.2 /5 rDev -4.1%
look: 4.25 | smell: 4 | taste: 4.25 | feel: 4.25 | overall: 4.25
2d Review after MacMalt. This feels like over-dressed Jerseyans on the boardwalk evening.
a) Translucent glowing golden body mounts dense and lasting, lacing head.
s) Corsage floral with melon, pineapple, oats.
t) More of aroma - grows and glows bigger with each floral, aromatic, individual note of the fruit sharpened by the over-hopping and alcohol. of citrus, pineapple, ripe melon, and oats. Agree with Mac on the vanilla cream underbelly, and enjoying the pepper on crackers finish.
f) Full mouth feel. remains floral, peppery to the end. Reminds me of nasturium and fennel seeds.
o) Fine collaboration with Other Half, Brooklyn and Carton, Atlantic Highlands - both have excellent hard water.
Twin Lights Double Vision | The Alementary | IPA | 6.5%
4.15/5 rDev 0%
look: 4 | smell: 4 | taste: 4.25 | feel: 4 | overall: 4.25
Added by Act 25. While designed in Highlands, and brewed in Hackensack, this IPA is a winner.
a) Hazed NE style, brings a lasting and lacing white head.
s) Floral, melon, green rind, earthy hop, white pepper.
t) Follows smell, lovely blend of melon, wet earth, peppery, rosy flowers, and spicy pepper. (Simcoe, Mosaic & Chinook)... really highlights the hops.
f) Mid, juicy, fleshy.
o) I hope these brewers, friends since 6th grade find a home soon, as they're good.
Mary Lee Please Dont Eat Me | Ship Bottom | Saison | 5%
3.93/5 rDev 0%
look: 4.25 | smell: 3.75 | taste: 4 | feel: 3.75 | overall: 4
Added by Act 25. Designed on Long Beach Island (nj), brewed in Pottstown (pa). Lovely.
a) Gets A for looks in a hazed sturdy format with lasting, lacing, puffy islands of off white head.
s) Suitable yeast, earth, hay and dank notes.
t) Follows smell with a bit more funk, nice estery yeasty finish.
f) mid to light. Flavorful, powerful for 5%, refreshing tho a touch dank.
o) Great effort would buy again and taste vs other great saisons. Sum is good.

 

What kinda style ? Curious as to a real miss.

 

Upside: the beer lived up (down?) to its label name? Sorry. But HELL is what it advertised!

 

It‘s a Helles, the short form is Hell here in Germany.

 

Thanks for such a thorough post Jack! You have me more cautious about this one now, but I still think I'm in for a 4 pack if I see it. I'll be sure to post back if I get the diacetyl as well.

 

Ah ok, damn how does a German brewer miss on what should be a common kinda beer? Old stock?

 

Hello everyone and happy New Beer Weekend! Today I'm drinking a new to me old local "Quadruple Ale brewed with spices" from Idle Hands Craft Ales. Belgian Quads are one of my favorite styles. I love the rich fruitiness and malts paired with the Belgian yeast that cuts through and usually makes them feel almost light bodied, which can lead to a dangerously good drinking experience, making me finish a high abv Quad faster than I might a thick stout or barleywine. Quads and Dubbels are right up there for me with stouts, barleywines, Scotch ales, doppelbocks, etc with their richness and flavor. Idle Hands started out as a mostly Belgian style nanobrewery, and they make some really good stuff, even good NEIPAs now. I can tell from this aroma that I'm in for a delightful and richly flavored drinking experience.

Idle Hands - Four Horsemen

Bottled Sep 2016 - 13.0% Alc. by Vol.

This bottle pours a cloudy dark maroon red brown with a beige khaki colored foam head that sticks around with good retention. Smells extremely rich and malty with some fruity notes in there, thick caramel, toffee, mapley molasses, brown sugar, dates, dried fig, raisins, apricot, hint of dried banana, slight plum, prune, cherry, dried dark fruit, black grape, mild bubblegum, clove-like sweet spice, subtle coriander, orange citrus, grains of paradise, toasty bread, char, with floral earthy hops. The taste is a little less intense and pleasant than the aroma right now I think, and hitting the right marks for 13% abv. Tastes mainly like dried fruits, dates, figs, apricot, prune, raisins, banana, some red apple, plum, cherry, dark fruit, black grape, mild bubblegum, peppery clove-like sweet allspice, charred toasty bread, dry caramel, toffee, slight mapley molasses, dark caramelized sugar, chocolate, gingerbread, roasted malt, red grapes, subtle coriander, orange citrus, grains of paradise, with floral earthy herbal hops. Feels medium bodied, a little chewy, creamy, crisp and dry with a smooth moderate carbonation. Overall a real nice and unique quadrupel ale.

While this pales in comparison to the likes of Rochefort 10, Abt 12 or Westvleteren XII imo, this is a pretty decent and uniquely flavored local example. I've had a couple good Quads from the states but nothing really on the level of the Belgians. This is a bit more toasty malty and sort of brown, and maybe a little less intense with the fruity malty flavors that I love, but with the unique spice notes it keeps things interesting. 13% is a bit over the top I think for a Quad too, but I'll deal. I like it the more I drink it, and as it warms more sweeter and rich malt flavors are coming out, and more of that "gingerbread" character appears. A real nice and unique Quad from the guys over at Idle Hands in Malden. Cheers everyone and happy NBW!

 

Likely just a batch issue?

My beers had best by dates of 12/09/2020. If you have the option to purchase a differing batch I would suggest that you do so.

Cheers!

 

New beer #2 - “Double Sunshine” by Lawson’s Finest Liquids, Waitsfield VT:

Another IP trade beer with @Ocalafox and excited to try this long time want...let’s go!



Canned 7/23/20. Deep gold with excellent clarity; white head; poor fizzy cap retention, yet solid ring; some spots of lacing. Nose is dank earthy mangoes, orange, lemon, grapefruit. Bitter lemon peel right off the bat; mango and orange earthy hop middle; semi sweet malt foundation. Bitter bite/burn on tip of tongue; medium body, moderate carbonation; some warmth/astringency in mouth. Tasty long citrus rind linger, but bitterness overshadows the malt and it tastes/feels hot, even though I don’t detect any alcohol and abv is just 8%; I’d drink again, but I’ll know what I’m getting in the bitterness department.

4.5 | 4.25 | 4.5 | 4.0 | 4.25
Score: 4.34 rDev - 7.3%

Thanks Vann for another special beer from Vermont!

 

First beer of the day was unintentionally one I'd had before. As such, this my first, but definitely not last NBW post for the weekend. First up is a can of Nelson Early Harvest from Hill Farmstead. I came in pretty well under rDev on this one, but I'm also not a big IPA guy. A few of you who are signed up for NBS BIF #12 will have one of these headed your way this week, so I'm hoping next weekend at least one of you will review this one.

4.02/5 rDev -8.4%
look: 4.5 | smell: 4.25 | taste: 3.75 | feel: 4.25 | overall: 4

Canned 8/18/20 and poured into a Tulip. Very attractive beer. Glowing yellowy orange with a finger of foamy head that hangs around for a while before leaving behind an impressive amount of lacing. Smell is of fresh hops with some citrus notes. Soft and smooth on the tongue. Goes down very cleanly, leaving behind the taste of those Nelson Sauvin hops. I'm not a massive fan of that hop taste, but that's all personal preference. Still a good beer.

 

Starting light today. This is an Amarillo dry-hopped session beer with an entertaining name. Maybe they should have a tie in with the non-stop promotion of the Bill and Ted movie this week.

Looks like I'm the 1st reviewer in BA.

3.58/5 rDev 0%
look: 3.5 | smell: 3 | taste: 4 | feel: 3.5 | overall: 3.5

Poured from a 12oz can to a Nonic. Can was undated but was picked up at the brewery yesterday.
Medium haze, mild gold body, white 3/4" head. Head fades, but it could be the greasy smoked salmon I am having with this beer. There is a brief lacing that occurs when I tilt the glass for a sip.
Elusive nose is grassy and citrus but awful weak.
Pleasant, clean, hoppy taste. Decent flavor for a session beer. It has a thin body and low to medium carbonation.
This is a hop treat for a session beer and is a real crusher.

Looking back, I finished this beer really quickly. If I wasn't reviewing it may have only taken a minute. Isn't that what sessions are for?