New Beer Weekend #6

Good evening, NBW legions. Beautiful day here made better by a smoked chicken dinner fresh from my new cooker. As my grandson puts it, papa...it's a meat tunnel.

I wish I was as happy about the beer.


Baxter Brewing Logger Road Lager. It is what it needs to be...pours as you would expect for a pale lager. The head dies to a faint ring. Sparkling clear. Smells faintly of bread, slightly grassy hops with a touch of citrus, and corn.

Taste is the same as the smell, there is a definite corn taste. It is actually a little sweet, very little bitterness.

It is an OK beer, basically emulating an AAL. It is middle of the road, and really neither here nor there. Feeling around a 3.6 on this one.

 

Thank you for taking the time to write this post - nice to see history and preservation.

 

4.46/5 rDev +6.2%
look: 5 | smell: 4.5 | taste: 4.5 | feel: 3.75 | overall: 4.5

Poured from a 16 ounce can into a IPA glass.

Look- Pale gold, sudsy white head, hazy, average head retention, above average lacing.

Smell- Mandarin orange, grapefruit, melon, stone fruit.

Taste- Grapefruit, mandarin orange, melon, slightly spicy.

Feel- Between thin and medium body, medium bitterness, astringent prickly finish, average carbonation.

 

What the hell is that in front of your stand mixer?

 

Grabbed a single this week...



A style I enjoy but do not buy often. Despite cooling down today I worked up a sweat and wanted something refreshing, chose this one.

Very pretty looking beer orange, golden and cloudy. Head lasted a while before dissipating to thing creamy white head that doesn’t leave. Smells just like a Hefeweizen smells but I get nice amount of bubblegum with all the other fruity spicey smells. Tastes just as it smells but there is a lemon/citrus bite to it that makes it super refreshing. It drinks super easy and clean almost lager clean feeling to it.

Really great beer that I enjoyed a lot. Until next weekend everyone!

 

Obviously part of a pinball machine, because why not?

 

Good evening NBW
I picked up a single of this today to see if a 15 pack is in my future...


It is. The review:
12oz CANNED ON 08.20.20 (10 days ago!) poured into a mug at fridge temp 6% ABV 20 IBU. The beer pours bright light copper in color with light khaki head. The head recedes to a thin ring and single layer of bubbles. Minimal lacing. The aroma is lager yeast, deeply toasted malt and a hint of mineral. The taste is semisweet toasted malt with a hint of caramel malt and traditional German hop flavor. Mild, but proportional bitterness. The mouthfeel is thin to medium bodied with average carbonation and a dry finish. Very clean with no off flavors. Overall, great Märzen. I would prefer a greater malt depth and character to approach an exceptional rating, but the execution and value here are of the charts. Recommended.

This is what I look for in an Oktoberfest. No sickly sweetness & no hops in my face. This one is a little restrained, but I'm going to load the fridge for the fall. Cheers all!

 

Another Oktoberfest offering. This one is from Black Abbey in Nashville, TN. They are well known for Belgian style ales. Their description of this beer: Malty and round. A "session" Octoberfest-style brewed on house ale yeast at cool temperatures. Malt-forward and clean.

The review:
12oz can stamped CREATED NOT MADE BORN 071320 BB 01092021 (about 6 weeks old) poured into a mug at fridge temp 4.9% ABV. The beer pours mostly bright orange amber in color light khaki head. The head recedes to a thin ring and island leaving behind some lacing. The aroma is malty, nutty and sweet. The taste is semisweet caramel malt with a hint of toast, mild nuttiness and earthy hop flavor. Moderate bitterness for the ABV and sweetness. The mouthfeel is medium bodied with just less than medium carbonation and a mostly dry finish. Overall, ok. I respect the transparency of labeling this beer as a Festbier Ale. I knew what I was buying and it's actually better than I expected.

Cheers all!

 

Greetings, fellow NBWers,

Warm and pleasant in the Inland Northwest this weekend. This evening it's mostly sunny and in the low 70s.

Yesterday, I had several new beers. A couple friends of mine were concerned I'd never had a proper sushi meal, so they took me to a great Japanese restaurant in Coeur d'Alene. But first, we hit Mad Bomber Brewing, in Hayden, Idaho.
While there, I had an ID-7 IPA (presumably this meant It was hopped with Idaho 7 hops) and an Oktoberfest (pictured).

The IPA was a solid west coast style IPA. The O-fest was a little light for the style but was quite drinkable.
Then we went for dinner. I was reconciled to drinking a bottled Asian lager of some sort, but was pleasantly surprised to discover they had an IPA from Woodland Empire, which, as far as I know, doesn't get distributed in Washington. This was Mix Tape, a really nice west coast IPA that I would rate quite high if I were to review it.
Really well balanced old school-like beer that finished crisp and rather clean. Stuck with that one all through my meal.

Afterwards we visited a new brewery in Coeur d'Alene that I hadn't heard of, called Trail's End. I had an Altbier and a "juicy" IPA. The Altbier was decent, but it seemed a little too highly hopped for the style. The juicy IPA was pretty good, fruit forward and easy drinking.

 

Hillsboro Brewing Co., Friday Night Lights Oktoberfest
https://www.beeradvocate.com/beer/profile/40409/240451/

4.12/5 rDev +6.5%
look: 4.25 | smell: 4 | taste: 4.25 | feel: 4 | overall: 4

Light orange-ish amber or a orange-ish gold transparent body. Decent white head at levies plenty of lacing. nice looking beer.
Smell: Bread, sweet malt, floral and maybe orange. Smells good
Taste follows the nose, nice soft smooth malt. the hops come later, slight sweet and then slightly bitter. balanced. Hint of orange or tangerine in the hop notes.
Mouth fells is good
I like this one, one of the better O-fest beers I have had from Wisconsin this year. But is this really a Ofest beer? Could be a Maibock instead. I will take it as it is. About a 4.1 outta 5 beer

I might have to checkout other beers from these guys. By the way Capital and Lakefront Ofest beers suck this year. Lakefront bottles taste like they sat in the hot sun for while.

 

Just one today. La Biere des Clans, an imperial hazy IPA collaboration by Messorem Bracitorium, Yakima Chief hops and Brasserie du Bas Canada. Messorem and Bas Canada are two of the top five rated Canadian breweries on the sister site. They both specialize in the ‘hot’ styles; NEIPA, pastry stout, dessert sours. Messorem has only been around for a year or so, and their beers have gotten better each chance I’ve had to try them. I haven’t had an opportunity to make a trip to Montreal since they opened, but have heard they have a great spot adjacent to Saint-Henri.

Apologies for the 1/2 full glass. My wife stole a short pour.



The can pours a murky marigold with a thick pillowy head that dissipated to a few millimetres rather quickly.

The aroma is herbal up front, with a broad array of citrus following. I get a hint of mint that I like.

The taste sends the citrus notes forward. Lots of orange, grapefruit and even a hint of lemon. The mint has been displaced by grassy notes. There is a little burn that is pleasant. Minimal bitterness on the finish.

The beer is creamy, with a moderate body.

I liked this one. The aroma is world class. The burn which I’ve found to be a feature of their IPAs was scaled back compared to others I’ve tried. Recommended.

 

Coming in just under the wire tonight in my time zone. I've been so stoked to participate the whole weekend since the format changed, but a long skype call with old friends on Friday ruined any drinking for me yesterday. I've read though the first page of reviews upon writing this, and will continue through the thread after it's posted. This thread is one of the highlights of my week to the point that my wife today took the initiative to ask me what my new beer review would be this week. That's a story I believe I've read on here from a few BA's, and now I can say the same. I feel incredibly lucky to have a wife so supportive of my expensive and encompassing hobby. She even came along yesterday while I drove around the city picking up some online orders from local breweries. To anyone participating in the upcoming BIF, some of those fruits will be heading your way.

In addition to this thread being a joy to read and participate in each week, it's also inspired me to branch out in some of my imbibing and explore some styles that I've never fully appreciated before. I make it a point to read the style guide entry before jumping in. A week or two ago I went with a hefeweizen, a style that I've drank casually but never fully enjoyed. This week I decided to take on a barleywine. This is a style that has always been a bit too rich for me. It's sweet nature and sky high abv's often intimidate me, but this week was different. I reached for a can of East End's Gratitude Bourbon Barrel-Aged Barleywine from 2018. I wasn't able to find any information as to whether this was English or American in style, but BA lists it as American. After reading the style guide on both, I would have classified it as leaning more English. This just interests me more in trying distinct examples of each style side by side. All in all I enjoyed the can, and am looking forward to trying to rye barrel-aged version released in 2019.


4.29/5 rDev +2.1%
look: 4.25 | smell: 4.5 | taste: 4.25 | feel: 4 | overall: 4.25

Look - Pours a cloudy deep amber with a thin off-white head with hints of ruby. No lacing to speak of while legs for on the inside of the snifter.
Smell - Bourbon and oak, molasses, dried fruit, earthiness appear ordered from most to least in intensity.
Taste - Big bourbon flavor up front pairs well with the sweet caramel malt and raisin/plum notes. No distinct hop notes for me, but only a slight bitterness to balance out the sweeter notes. There is no hiding from the boozy flavors in this pour.
Feel - Medium bodied, fills the mouth but is slick going down.
Overall - A complex and deeply nuanced barleywine that offers a healthy heaping of bourbon.

 

Hello Late Night NBW...
Well trying to stay positive here. Thank goodness for beer. And a special thanks to @FBarber for surprising me with this overtime hit in NBS BIF #11.

We are still hoping for a few more victims, er uh, I mean volunteers to jump in for NBS BIF #12

Galaxy Bowl by Hop Buthcer.

A very very fluffy white head atop a hazy golden swirl. Fantastic hear retention with sticky lacing.
Smell is a blast of mango, melon, an undertone of sweet orange or tangerine, and some subtle, albeit inviting dank hints.
Flavor follows faithfully. Initially juicy with the tropics, then some sweet citrus, a gentle herbal tang, and then some grainy notes that seem to not just be flavor, but mouthfeel. Pillowy, fluffy. A blissful mouthfeel.
Overall, I want this again, and again. The mouthfeel is the finale of this show.
4.25/5 rDev -0.2%
look: 3.75 | smell: 4.25 | taste: 4.25 | feel: 4.5 | overall: 4.25

 

Schneider Weisse's Tap 7 Unser Original hefeweizen is an interesting, I'd say not quite traditional in some ways, and still quite tasty take on thus style of beer. And is my new beer for this weekend.

https://www.beeradvocate.com/beer/profile/72/3280/?ba=neenerzig#review

Eric