New Beer Weekend #10

As promised, didn't take long to get to beer #2. This is an interesting one. It's brewed by Area Two Experimental Brewing, which is a Two Roads subsidiary. The brewer describes it as follows..."Brett Noir is fermented with pinot noir grapes and Brett "B" yeast, and then aged nine months in red wine barrels source from a venerated Napa Valley vintner." I would say that description was pretty spot on. Good, but not great beer.

3.83/5 rDev -4%
look: 3.75 | smell: 3.75 | taste: 4 | feel: 3.5 | overall: 3.75

Clear, light amber color with just a tiny amount of head that disappears almost immediately. Nose is grapes and funk. Taste largely follows the nose. Clear grape flavor that's immediately followed up by waves & waves of barnyard funk. George Clinton would approve of this beer. Low carb, with a feel that's just a tad thin. Good beer.

 

Riegele Augustus Weizen Doppelbock


Pours s glowing amber-orange color with a huge, stable, spongy head.


Smells of caramel, spicy yeast and dried herbs, together with clove, banana peel and scented wood.


Has a medium body with a soft mouthfeel, which sparkles up during the beer‘s finish, bringing up a refreshing effervescence.


Tastes of spicy toffee bar, bakers chocolate and balancing, dry herbal hops. Got a peppery middle part with additional allspice and some caramel among lighter grass and burned toffee. Finishes soft and smooth, heavy on the caramel, as well as on dry hops, creating a short, intense finish.


This drinks way easier than 8 abv, but with an intriguing depth and intensity. The balance of this is excellent, linking the refreshment of a Weizen with the complexity of a Bock very well.

 

Happy New Beer Weekend everybody! Today I'm drinking Avec les Bons Voeux from Brasserie Dupont. I've definitely seen this beer before but apparently never tried it. I purchased this recently a few weeks ago just to have another nice saison to drink and try something new. Didn't even realize this is 9.5% and brewed for the holidays. Interesting enough already, I'm ready to dig in.


L19328A date code

First off, this beer pours a lovely cloudy hazy amber gold orange with an enormous fluffy creamy dense white foam head with good retention.

Smells a bit sweet and strong, at least for a saison, almost leaning into Belgian strong golden ale territory, with aromas of honey, caramelized malts, fruity esters like ripe banana, dried apricot, green apple, pear, mild green peppercorn spice, some barnyard farmhouse funk, musty hay, straw, some wildflowers, and fresh herbal earthy floral hop notes.

Tastes lightly tart, piquant, slightly boozy, bitter, fresh, floral, spicy, sweet, and quite pleasant. Pretty intense flavors follow the aroma, strong and warming, with rich toasty golden caramelized honey malt flavors, sharp green apple, pear, banana, dried apricot, lemon, phenolic peppercorn clove spice, mild farmhouse funk, musty hay, straw, wildflowers, and bitter earthy herbal floral hops.

Feels soft, medium bodied, airy, creamy smooth and dry with crisp moderate carbonation.

Overall this is a nice super/imperial saison. It's definitely bold and robust, quite strong and a bit warming, while still remaining fresh on the palate and not too heavy. This beer presents nice saison flavors in a Belgian strong ale size. This is a good strong saison that I think would pair well with some richer foods, perhaps even a good Thanksgiving day pairing.

Cheers all, and happy NBW!

 

Thanks for kicking things off @SawDog505 , and welcome one and all to NBW #10 & NBS #814!

I have two Pipeworks sours planned for the weekend. The first tempted me based on the possibility of matching a proper Chicago hot dog.

Pipeworks $ellray $our



Tale of the Tape: Canned 7/1/20, purchased as a single 16 oz can for $3.50 on July 24 from Beer on the Wall in Park Ridge, ILL. Multiple pours into a large tulip glass.

Appearance: Clear, light straw golden pour, carbonation sustained throughout. Bright puffy soapy white head lingers for a couple minutes before completely receding, leaving a bright bubbly ring around the top. 4.25

Aroma: Very strong and pleasant celery aroma, celery salt backs, on the sour side. 3.75

Taste: Mirrors aroma, strong celery taste, celery salt backs. Lightly sour, butter / diacetyl emerges and gets stronger as time continues. Light lemongrass firmly in the rear. 3.25

Mouthfeel: Medium body for this style, faint lightly fizzy carbonation lingers throughout, crisp, light, celery aftertaste. 3.75

Overall: Celery dominates the taste profile, butter the primary backing. Unique beer, I like the taste of both but not necessarily the lone components in a beer. Glad I tried, but will settle for a Chicago Hot Dog and buttered popcorn straight from the source. 3.5

Cucumber is on deck for tomorrow, hope the walk through the garden is butter free.

Cheers!

 

Happy New Beer Weekend everyone, hope everyone is doing well. Enjoying a lazy Saturday after a nice Friday night hanging out with some coworkers, it was great having some in-person interaction with people. Starting my day with Tired Hands/Cellarmaker Intronaut.
4.43/5 rDev +3.7%
look: 4.25 | smell: 4.25 | taste: 4.5 | feel: 4.5 | overall: 4.5

16 oz can, dated 9/15/20, poured into a teku

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

S- Citrus, grapefruit, some pineapple and tropical fruits, herbal, a little dank, touch of pale malts, piney.

T- Citrus, some pineapple, grapefruit, pale malts, piney, a little earthy.

M- Smooth, fairly soft, light body.

O- An excellent pale ale, great hop combination that still lets the malts give it a nice balance.

Cheers!

 

Wow, we've been doing full weekends for 10 weeks now. NBS seems like yesterday.
I picked this beer up Friday blind. Blind in the sense that I knew nothing about it or the brewery. Let's see how that worked out.

3.75/5 rDev -10.5%
look: 3.75 | smell: 3.75 | taste: 3.75 | feel: 3.75 | overall: 3.75

Poured from a 16oz can dated 8/17/2020 to a Nonic at refrigerator temp.
Despite a cautious pour there was a foam over. Body is deep opaque orange. Head is slightly orange/brown also.
The aroma is mild. Some citrus pith with malty sweetness.
Taste has pith, but also pineapple and subtle clove and cinnamon hint. Malt and alcohol are more prominent than most NEIPAs.
In the mouth this beer is medium viscosity, not oily and not dry. This can must have shot a lot of CO2 in the pour because I could use a little more carbonation to counteract the malt and alcohol.
Not a wow beer but far from a drain pour. I would like to try the plain Shush and see if the malt and alcohol are more balanced.

I don't mind taking a chance on the unknown beers in this flood of options. Its the good surprises now and then that make it fun.

 

Happy Saturday, NBW! First beer of the day is also a new beer: Stoup's Fresh Hop Fiend Italian Pils

16oz can served in a big snifter. Dated 09/21/20. Bought it at Bottleworks earlier in the week.

Pours lightly hazy, very light yellow, with a mediumish head and a lot of carbonation. Smell is lager yeast, grass and leaves.

Taste is actually really refreshing. I get a surprising amount of honeysuckle, the lager yeast is either muted or somewhat drowned out. Hops come across, noticeable and fresh, contributing to somewhat juicy character. Definitely getting some lemon.

Mouthfeel is light and dry. Overall, very tasty brew.

I love fresh hop season.

 

Very interesting choice today, and really great description. I can almost feel like I'm trying it too, and can imagine exactly where the disconnect may be. Like you said it's too bad that there isn't as much info on the brewing process as we'd like. If I had to guess, I'd say that perhaps they didn't go all the way and utilize open fermenters; and if they had then the yeast signature would have been more expressively fruity, resulting in a more cohesive final beer.

 

Good Saturday afternoon, New Beer Samplers and commentators. I'm slowing acclimating to posting NBW reviews other than on Sunday afternoons. It's tough for a dinosaur like me. Magnify produces a series of Fruited Goses called Trade Proof. They are fruity and very thick - almost like a smoothie. This week, the brewery released a version brewed with guava, prickly pear, and blood orange. They must include the peel/skin of the fruit in the brewing process because there are lots of particulates. The pear dominates the nose but the taste is more nuanced and complex with significant orange and tropical guava notes. As usual with the Trade Proof offerings the mouth feel is super thick and chewy. This series is popular and sells out quickly. While not my favorite style, it's a nice change of pace. Here's my review:

4.19/5 rDev 0%
look: 4.25 | smell: 4 | taste: 4.25 | feel: 4.25 | overall: 4.25

Canned on 9/22/2020. Poured into a Magnify stemless glass. It's an unusual color: a dirty, pink grapefruit. It sports a luxurious foamy head and thick lacing with noticeable dark particulates. The aroma is fruity and fragrant with the prickly pear front and center, along with orange. It's also quite earthy. The taste bursts with fruit; I taste the blood orange immediately followed by the sweet tropical flavor of the guava. The pear is more subtle in the taste than in the smell. There is a hint of sour bitterness at the finish. The mouth feel is thick and creamy with moderate carbonation. At only 4.5% ABV the alcohol is barely noticeable. Although Magnify is better known for its hazy IPAs, the Trade Proof series has a strong following and they won't be disappointed. To my taste this variant is sweeter than the others but it's a nice change of pace.

Have a great weekend, everyone. See you all tomorrow. Cheers, NBW!

 

Back again. I love new beers!
Still working through a case of Maine Beer Company beers my Maine living sister in-law muled for us a week ago.
This one is a hit. I am sorry I only ordered one bottle, had I only known.

4.36/5 rDev +5.3%
look: 4.5 | smell: 4 | taste: 4.5 | feel: 4.25 | overall: 4.5

Poured from a 1/2 liter bottle dated 8/24/20 to a Nonic at fridge temp.
Translucent golden body under a decent sized white head. Nice lacing during the session.
Smells of over-ripe lemons, pine needles and hop flowers.
Taste is very clean with medium bitterness and plenty of hop flavor. Dry finish. Seems like a clean, classic west coast take despite the name and genealogy.
In the mouth its dry, with perfect carbonation and a sense of oil.
I really like this and will purchase again given the chance. As I drank and wrote this I have bumped the scores that I filled out first before the prose.

 

Just a gentle nudge...

You use postimages, which refuses to display pictures via VPN, which I almost always use. I know, my problem, but...

You name the store, the brand of the glassware, when it was canned, how you stored it, ... but not what the beer is!

Of course, I could always exit the VPN, but ...

Please, everyone, name your beer! Images do not always display!

 

All Hallows Dark from Ommegang.
There is nothing on Ommegang's website about this beer, not even that it exists.
From the can:

5% ABV, canned 09/02/20 BB 02/02/21


look: 4 | smell: 4 | taste: 4 | feel: 4 | overall: 4

L: deep, dark black with the faintest hint of red and a long lasting foamy dark tan head

S: toasted dark bread with a background of coffee

T: roasted malts, crisp toast, coffee, some dark chocolate, a hint of licorice

F: dry with a foamy tingle and a moderate hop bite at the end and a dark chocolate aftertaste.

O: All Hallows Dark looks like a Guinness when you pour it and tastes almost stouty. Ommegang describes it as a “smooth and creamy” black lager and it is that.

All Hallows isn't particularly filling and drinks lighter than it looks like it should. It's moderately dry with lots of burnt dark flavors complimented by the hoppy bite at the end.

Overall all, a very good addition to the schwartzbier family.

 

It must be your setup. I use a VPN on my phone & PC (foxy proxy VPN) and have no problem posting or viewing images on postimage

 

My first of probably several fresh hop beers of the weekend, now that fresh hop season is in full swing, and what a glorious time it is! Just might redeem 2020 after all ... well, OK, that's probably an overstatement.

This is apparently one of several "Fresh Hop Fiend" beers Stoup will be releasing over the coming weeks, based on the text on the label. Cheers!

Stoup Fresh Hop Fiend: Simcoe

4.06/5 rDev 0%
look: 4 | smell: 4.25 | taste: 4 | feel: 4 | overall: 4

16oz can (canned 9/21/2020) into a tulip. Pours a clear golden color with a big fluffy white head.

Aroma is delightfully juicy and citrusy, leading with orange and backed up by some grapefruit. Very much a Simcoe beer.

Taste is a little more malt-forward than the aroma. Pale biscuity malt makes its presence known, overlain by more of the juicy citrus. Finishes with a nice clean bitterness.

Mouthfeel is medium bodied, balanced. Washes over the palate and the gently resinous hop bite wraps things up.

Overall a pretty solid fresh hop IPA that definitely falls on the West Coast side of the IPA divide.

 

Good afternoon NBW
I stumbled across 3 new-to-me Taxman cans at the store this week. First up...

Chai-versified described by the brewer as a Belgian style golden ale with chai tea and vanilla

The review:
12oz canned 08/31/20 (3 weeks ago) poured into a snifter at fridge temp 6% ABV 20 IBU. The beer pours opaque honey amber in color with very light khaki head. The head recedes to a thin cap and leaves a wall of lacing on the glass. The aroma is mild with the Chai tea most prominent. Lesser notes of Belgian yeast, spice and vanilla. The taste is semisweet spiced vanilla chai tea right up front with the pale malt coming through in the middle before a mildly spiced, mildly bitter finish. The mouthfeel is medium to thin bodied with average carbonation and a dry finish. Overall, good. There's a delicate balance here of sweet and spice that is very well done. If you enjoy lightly sweetened chai tea, I suspect you will enjoy this beer.

More to come. Cheers all and enjoy the new beer in your glass tonight!

 

Sure, I admit that: NordVPN. I don't mess with it; just use it. It connects automatically to what it deems the best server.

Still, how hard is it to name the beer somewhere in the text?

 

Especially since there are a lot of brewers who seem to enjoy unreadable labels

 

Warning! Heretical statement follows! (Just using your post as a launch point; not directed specifically at your post or you...)

Based on what I've tried in the past, and what is available locally here, "fresh hop" has seemed to me to be more of a marketing gimmick than something glorious.

Or, maybe it's just my deficient palate...

(Or, maybe this belongs in the Controversial Beer Opinions thread...)

 

Or maybe you need to spend fresh hop season in the Pacific Northwest, where fresh hop beers truly are fresh hop beers (as in, hops are picked over in the Yakima Valley here in Washington, or various places in Oregon, and within hours they are being used to make glorious beer)....

This is no marketing stunt. These are some of the best hop-forward beers that come out every year. Some folks over in the Fresh Hop 2020 thread have stated that the hops start losing their fresh hop qualities after 48-72 hours.

My guess is that what you are getting in Minnesota is comparable to frozen fish vs. fresh off the boat (and I have fond memories of eating freshly caught crappie, bluegill, muskie and Northern pike from many trips to Minnesota in my childhood).