New Beer Weekend #8

Howdy, NBWers! It's raining here in the Brazos Valley, raining *again* I should say, as this week has been a proverbial breaking of the heat across much of the state. We still have a few 90-degree days ahead of us, but the 100s are hopefully gone for the year (so long, suckers!) and soon it will be true Oktoberfest weather. I can't wait.

Before my new beer, Dave!!! Congrats to you, trusty old keeper of the NBS lore for getting after it and earning yourself a tasty beverage as a reward. Any NBW with @cavedave in it is automatically a dang good NBW, and here's to you earning a few more of those rewards as often as you are responsibily allowed. Cheers!

My new beer qualifies as a First Modern Times New IPA Weekend for me:

Orderville, New England IPA, 7.2% ABV, 55 IBUs, 5 SRM

Poured from a 19.2 oz. tall boy can into a nonic, Orderville is classic grapefruit bomb stuff. The nose is sweet grapefruit juice with lots of bread malt aroma in the background, maybe a hint of something greener from the hops (cilantro, green onion) but only a hint. The flavor is drier, earthier and has more raw grapefruit and grapefruit peel than sweet grapefruit juice. The malt isn't as sweet or bready in the flavor, more cracker-like.

The review:
https://www.beeradvocate.com/beer/profile/31987/103016/?ba=Premo88#review
3.9 (-5.6% rDev)

Really good brew. My rDev is a tad low, but I have a slight anti-American IPA bias, so my 3.9 is the average BA's 4.2. Or something like that.

This is my first Modern Times beer and won't be my last. They began distributing in Texas sometime this year, and I've seen a few around. Hopefully, I can drag a few into some upcoming NBWs.

Cheers!

 

Prairie Corner Piece Imperial Stout, 11.0% ABV; 4.23 overall

Pours like coca cola with minimal caramel colored head. Viscous, traces of head retention

S: Initially Birthday Cake, vanilla & chocolate & then a little coffee sneaks in. Fades a touch as it warms

T: Follows the nose, minus the coffee, can taste the frosting up front! Dryness mixes in with the sweet once warm, a little fig & leafy hops as well. Finishes a little dry with dark chocolate & vanilla

MF: Medium body, dialed back carbonation

A proper dessert beer that delivers on the advertised flavors

 

The missus waited until I just cracked a Lush (which is most assuredly not a new beer to me) and sweetly asked if I wanted a taste of the Dragon's Milk White she was about to share with her parents...well yes, by damn, of course I do!

12oz can served in a wine glass. Bought it at Whidbey Beer Works a few hours ago.

Pours rich medium-light amber, mostly clear, small head. I understand that is not how stouts are expected to look, but that is the intent of this (although I don't understand why that is the case). Smell is moderate roast and slight bourbon. Doesn't smell bad, but doesn't have much aroma and isn't very exciting.

Taste is better. More of a caramel flavor, vanilla, a slight amount of roast.

Mouthfeel is medium. Smooth and rich. Overall...it's not bad. It's definitely not amazing. The gimmick didn't work terribly well this time (except of course that I bought it -- mostly due to interest in a variant of Dragon's Milk rather than interest in the "white stout" idea).

My only other specifically memorable experience with a "blonde stout" was from Cascade in Portland, and if I had drank that in the dark, I might have believed it was a stout. This one, not so much. It says barrel aged on the can, and I don't get anything like that in the flavor, unless that's where the vanilla is coming from.

 

Hi NB8's
This one is a little out of my comfort zone, glad I tried it
Trillium Daily Serving
Berliner Weisse with cherry.

4.5 } 3.75} 4 } 4} 4} 3.97
Poured into tulip glass yielded a 1/2 inch pink foamy head that dissipated to a thin soapy lacing and a cloudy cranberry appearance
nose was pretty faint cherry and not much else except a hint of yeast
taste is cherry jolly rancher, some tartness and some salty sour
mouth feel is a slight tingle on the tongue, medium carbonation and a faint pucker factor
over all its a good dessert beer, nice cheery taste.

 

Back again for round #2. I made my decision, and I decided to South Dakota for my day off, Watertown to be exact. My first time ever there, and it was such a good time.

This is a part of what made it good.


I stopped at Dempesy's Brewery there and had a flight of 4 new beers - some of which I added into the listings here.

From Left to Right:
Karate Lesson Baltic Porter
Open Door IPA
Steinbreaker Bock
Booty Shorts Peach Sour

I enjoyed each and every one of them, and I will be going back there for sure.

Reviews:
Karate Lesson
3.94/5 rDev 0%
look: 4 | smell: 3.75 | taste: 4 | feel: 4 | overall: 4

Drinking as part of a flight.
Pours pitch black. A touch of tan head.
The nose has notes of caramel and chocolate on it.
Taste - nice malts. Chocolate, toffee, caramel. Slight roast flavor.
Full bodied. Slightly creamy feeling.
Tasty and delicious.

Open Door
3.95/5 rDev +5.9%
look: 3.75 | smell: 4.25 | taste: 3.75 | feel: 4 | overall: 4

Drinking as part of a flight.
Pours a very clear lighter golden color. A bit of a white head.
The nose is nice citrus aroma. Pineapple, grapefruit, and mango stick out to me.
Taste - the flavor is way less citrus, and a lot more pine flavor than expected from the nose, where I got no pine. The citrus is a back side thing.
Crisp and clean. Body is decent.
A tasty west coast IPA.

Steinbreaker
3.66/5 rDev 0%
look: 3.75 | smell: 3.25 | taste: 3.75 | feel: 4 | overall: 3.75

Drinking as part of a flight.
Pours a clear darker golden color. Some white head.
The nose is very minimal. Not really getting anything. Maybe just a hint of malts.
Taste - a malty sweetness going on here. There's also just a hint of hops in here.
The body is good. Slightly crisp feeling.
Tasty.

Booty Shorts
4.12/5 rDev 0%
look: 4.25 | smell: 4 | taste: 4.25 | feel: 4 | overall: 4

Drinking as part of a flight
Pours a dank, murky peach color. A bit of white head.
The nose is a light peach aroma, slightly sour smelling.
Taste - for a better word - peach. The peach flavor is not too sour, it has sweetness of the peach, with a slight hint of sourness. Very good mix of the two.
The body is good. The slight sourness lingers in my throat.
Tasty and easy drinking.


And that's the end of my new beers for the weekend. See you all next weekend!

 

My first Beer from Apponaug Brewing Company of scenic Warwick R.i.
Fest Or Famine, labled a Festbier.

I will have to give this place another chance.

Cheers.



3.07/5 rDev -6.7%
look: 3.5 | smell: 3.25 | taste: 3 | feel: 2.75 | overall: 3

A strong pour from a 16-oz. can (canned on 9/11/2) produced a short lived off-white soapy head that turns fizzy, a thin ring lasts a few minutes and no lacing. Hazy golden straw color, I can't read through it.

Fresh but light smell of rising bread dough and toasted wheat greets the nose, very faint hops.

Mild taste, semi-dry with low bitterness from spicy hops. The lack of carbonation flattens the feel and the taste. Slightly juicy but not at all sweet. The finish is the light taste fading, the hops linger briefly.

Medium light bodied, goes flat almost immediately. The lack of carbonation kills it, there is nothing to move things along.
This would likely be a decent Festbier if not for the no go on the CO2.

 

For Sunday, this will be all NBS/NBW BIF, all day. First up, a beer from our beer nerd friend @Roy_Hobbs in the current NBS BIF #12.





3.8/5 rDev -4%
look: 4 | smell: 4 | taste: 3.75 | feel: 3.5 | overall: 3.75

Pours a very hazy straw color with a white head that provides very nice lacing. The nose is a product of the Galaxy and Nelson Sauvin hops, with pineapple, lime, passion fruit, and lychee aromas.

The taste is tart as referenced on the can, with the lime and pineapple flavors forward and a nice sweet oat flavor at the end of the taste. The mouthfeel is a bit spritzy, which surprised me, and a bit watery, too, which was strange.

Overall, this falls into Session IPA/APA territory, and a bit sourish. Sorta. It’s literally between styles. A bit confusing, something I’ve not seen from Lawson’s.

 

Enjoying Humble Forager Cloud Hopping, thanks @azuelke! This can is about just over two months old, my fault for not opening it sooner, glad it held up better in its second month unlike the Eagles in the second half...
3.99/5 rDev +4.5%
look: 4.25 | smell: 4 | taste: 4 | feel: 3.75 | overall: 4

Thank azuelke for this
16 oz can, dated 7/10/20, poured into a teku

A- A hazy golden straw with a two finger white head.

S- Citrus, earthy, some tropical fruits, touch of wet grass.

T- Citrus, some lemons, earthy, floral, touch of pine, hints of tropical fruits and oats.

M- Smooth, light to medium body.

O- A nice IPA, enjoy the earthiness in it. Only real flaw would be the body is a little thinner than I expected.

Cheers!

 

#2, cranking things up to 17 (% ABV), both the beer and glassware are courtesy of @beerloserLI from 2 years back. This is a bazooka of a beer.





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

This pours like black ink - there is literally no way for any any light to seep through this. It swallows light, like a black hole. There’s also a thick, dark tan head. It is just glad the body allows it to ride along.

The nose is led by the Tahitian vanilla, with honey close behind and the cacao walking around with a lampshade on its head (because it’s the light of the party).

I get a truckload if honey and vanilla on the taste, with cacao bringing things in for a soft landing, impressive given the high ABV of this beer at 17%. PS: there is zero detectable booze, also impressive.

The mouthfeel is dense and creamy, like the beer. What a pleasure it is to drink this Goliath of a beer.

 

The newest new beer for this NBW is Dru Bru's Festbier.

12oz can served in a wineglass. Bought it at Whidbey Beer Works today. Dated 08-05-20.

Pours mostly clear light amber with a small head and not a lot of carbonation. Smell is mild, grain, a little grass, some yeast if I look for it.

Taste is balanced a little towards hops and crispness -- grassy, almost herbaceous. Still grainy, barley tea. Nice.

Mouthfeel is light and crisp. Overall, nice beer.

 

I will drink one for your brother! Cheers to great memories in the past and those on the way....

 

Well, thanks for making me feel at home and the kind words y'all, been great having a beer with you. I am sure to be back again as I ease in to sanely, occasionally enjoying this wonderful delight we call beer. Until then will reading and getting my beer enjoyment courtesy of your pictures and descriptions. They have done excellently, and now I get two days a week to enjoy them with you. Cheers!

 

Farmers’ Annuary from Fort George Brewery.

4.49/5 rDev +4.7%
look: 4.75 | smell: 4.5 | taste: 4.5 | feel: 4.25 | overall: 4.5

Poured from a 16 ounce can into a IPA glass.

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

Smell- Resin, spicy, herbal, dank.

Taste- Resin, herbaceous, dank, very slight stone fruit notes.

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

Overall- I am not the biggest fan of West Coast IPA’s, but this one is exceptional!

 

@mickyge i agree that its not as style that I usually favor. however, these Trillium Berliner’s Weisse’s are turning my head. I really like them. The Cherry anf BlackBerry versions are like fresh tart jam.

 

Well well...now I'm glad I picked one of these up today!

 

Sorry I missed this earlier. I realized after reading it how much I miss your reviews. As someone who is surrounded by Audubon and wildlife refuge I dig your description of your walk. I love being outdoors and the simplicity and complexities of nature.
Good to see back and congrats on road to recovery. Cheers.

 

Good evening NBW
Black Abbey Brewing Company the Special. A dubbel picked up at Craft Brewed Nashville (a store I would recommend)

12oz can stamped CREATED, NOT MADE BORN 05 21 2020 poured into a chalice at fridge temp 7.4% ABV. The beer pours medium brown in color with light khaki head. The head recedes to a thin ring and island leaving behind some lacing. The aroma is moderate in strength featuring sweet bread, cherry, cola and brown sugar. The taste is semisweet with notes of dark brown sugar, raisin, prune and bready malt. The finish is moderately bitter with little hop flavor. The mouthfeel is medium bodied with just above average carbonation and a dry finish. Overall, very good. This is a nice, traditional dubbel.

There you go. Tomorrow will be 11 of 12 days worked 12 hour shifts. Looking forward to a few days off. Cheers all!

 

Got to buy a single of Ruined Again today, relatively fresh, and pulled the trigger.

12oz can served in a wine glass. Canned 08/01/20. Bought it earlier today at Whidbey Beer Works.

Pours amber with a medium to large head. Smell is very boozy, overripe tropical fruit, lemon and vague citrus.

Taste is very boozy, actually a lot f malt. Hops come across for sure, bitter and piney, but kind of dominated by the booze.

Mouthfeel is thick, heavy. Overall, it's pretty good. Not what I remember from RuinTen, if this is supposed to be a revival. Also not as good as Ruination.