New Beer Weekend #10

I believe the concept of this thread is to talk about beers you are having for the first time or brand new beers on the market. So, I chose a brand new beer on the market. So new that I had to add it to the BA database.

In my corner of New Hampshire, the fall foliage is about a week to 10 days shy of its peak but I went out for a drive on some back roads and hit a store I like on one of those back roads and picked up a 6-pack of this.

It is from Northwoods Brewing of New Hampshire and part of an experimental series that they do called Tall, Tall Trees. This is "Volume 4" and it is a 5.5% ABV NEIPA. Only available in New Hampshire. What I get mostly in the aroma and taste is melon and then bitter herbs such as sage or rosemary. It is a smooth beer either way but definitely has some stand out characters.

 

Whoa!

Whoa! I loved the TV series. I have it on DVD. I need to make a trip to find this just for the name.

 

I embrace change, but also appreciate tradition.

 

Now enjoying Central Waters Key Lime Gose, thanks @azuelke!
4.09/5 rDev +0.7%
look: 4 | smell: 4.25 | taste: 4 | feel: 4.25 | overall: 4

Thank you azuelke for this
12 oz can poured into a pint glass

A- A hazy golden straw with a small white head.

S- Tart, limes, lime zest, a little sweet, touch of salt.

T- Sour, limes, lime rinds, some salt, touch of sweetness.

M- Smooth, crisp, light body.

O- A tasty gose with limes.

Cheers!

 

Ska "The Tropical Hazy IPA":


Appearance: Hazy yellow, good head.

Smell: Sweet, coconut, fruity.

Taste: Sweet, soft mouthfeel, fruity, light coconut flavor and pineapple. Definitely "tropical".

Overall: I enjoyed Ska's regular "Hazy IPA" so I figured I'd try the Tropical version. It's pretty good, I'm getting a pina colada vibe from it. Thought it might be sabro hops with the coconut, but the Ska website says Cashmere and Idaho 7. Worth a try.

 

This weekend would have been the mid-point of Oktoberfest, I believe, so another semi-local (Wisconsin) beer for the season.

Oliphant Festbier
ABV: 5.5%
IBU: NA



Oliphant is a brewery in Somerset, WI. Their artwork is, well, unique. Kind of Jaba The Hutt meets Ganesha.

Anyway, about this beer, the brewer calls it a Festbier. It is most definitely in the märzen substyle, however.

Clear copper-amber, with visible bubbles. A vigorous pour over the last half results in a short off-white head with short retention, no lacing, becoming a ring in short order. Short; short; short (NB: a second pour - not photographed - aggressive from the start, resulted in a tall head, but the retention was still short, just taking another 30 seconds or so.)

Aroma of bready malts, hints of dark fruit, but quite faint; I had to keep swirling with my nose in the glass to get much aroma. (NB: The aroma was stronger, and very much on-style, with the second, more vigorous, pour.)

Taste rescues this beer from a lower rating. The taste quite good; the märzen notes of bread, a bit sweet, a lot of caramel, some spiciness, some raisin / fig dark fruits in the background. Not up with the best of the style, but quite enjoyable. Fans of this brewery should be pleased with it. There is just a smidge of tangy bittering in the finish. The finish is semi-sweet, just a bit earthy, with a nice märzen-style flavor lingering in the aftertaste.

The beer has decent body. Some tingling from the carbonation.

Overall, a good märzen, but not one that anyone would claim has surpassed the Germans!

L: 3.25 | S: 3.25 | T: 3.75 | F: 3.5 | O: 3.25 | Rating: 3.48

 

One new to me beer this Sunday afternoon. Was at Good Dog, for fancy hot dogs and a beer on the patio for lunch on this beautiful day.

I had One Helles of a Lager by Klaus Brewing. 5.4% ABV. They moistly focus on German styles with a few English styles thrown in as well. I have been wanting to me a visit to the brewery, but its a fair ways north of me in Houston, finally found one on tap in my neighborhood.



Pours a pale yellow color. A small white head forms and recedes quickly to a smaller ring. Light lace is left behind.
A neutral aroma, with cereal grains and that is about it. Not a lot of depth here, just kind of inoffensively absent.
Again, the taste is of light grains and cereal. There is a surprising caramel like sweetness going on. The bare minimum of grassy hops in the background. Which is to say, not bad, but just not a lot here to grab on to.
A light body that is clean with moderate carbonation. Again, just kind of there. Certainly not hard to drink, and this doesn't challenge you in any way. Which might be the point. So a good summer porch sipper for what its worth.

This is just average in almost every way. My score might actually be a bit high for what it is, while not bad, just unremarkable. I couldn't even really pick out much Lager characteristics, and with the caramel maltiness I got, it seems to have more in common with a non hoppy Pale Ale. At least to me.

Overall score 3.28
https://www.beeradvocate.com/beer/profile/54035/371916/?ba=champ103#review

I still want to make a trip up to the brewery if possible, but there are many better lagers around locally and regionally made.

Fancy hot dog photo: Ol Zapata, with caramelized onions, fried bacon, shredded muenster cheese, diced tomato, & jalapeno relish.

 

Hello Pre Late night NBW
I have received the utmost in beer generosity from our very own @FrankenMiller . What a great kickoff to our NBS BIF #12. I have already hit these last night from his very generous (and tasty thus far) box.

Sharon DIPA from Cycle Brewing.
https://www.beeradvocate.com/beer/profile/35412/262423/

Slightly burnished orange, fluffy cap of white foam. Decent retention, scattered lacing.
Aroma is a tasty balance of citrus, bready malt, and hints of dank resin.
Flavors of orange, tangerine, and floral lemon blossom. The malt shines too. A bready, sweet, yet earthy, grain note holds everything together. On the back end I get a nice resiny dank note that tries to close things down, but relents and lets the grain notes play along as well.
Mouthfeel is spot on for style.
Overall, I really like this one. I think it should receive more love than I've seen in the reviews thus far.
4/5 rDev 0%
look: 3.75 | smell: 3.75 | taste: 4.25 | feel: 3.75 | overall: 4

Moto Moto by Ellipses Brewing
https://www.beeradvocate.com/beer/profile/35412/509807/?ba=2beerdogs#review

Canned 08/17/20 "I think Moto likes you"
I labeled this one an American IPA because only the hops (DDH Citra, Amarillo, HBC-431) are listed, but the feel and haze makes me think it's more of an NEIPA. Flaked oats?
Golden, hazy, fluffy white head. Good retention. Lite, scattered lacing.
Citrus up front in the nose, quickly followed by bready malt, and orange blossom honey.
Flavor is a bit juicy with the citrus, and again the bready malt carries everything.
Mouthfeel is lite to just shy of medium, carbonation is subtle but stays around for the whole ride.
Moto likes.
3.85/5 rDev 0%
look: 3.75 | smell: 3.75 | taste: 4 | feel: 3.75 | overall: 3.75

Really good stuff from Florida. Thanks, Gene

 

Getting ready for the Seahawks-Cowboys game with Harvest the Void - Fresh Hop from Holy Mountain here in Seattle. It's classified here as an Imperial IPA but I think it might be better categorized as a New England IPA. No matter, this is an excellent representation of how fresh hops can be used.

My preliminary review (subject to minor revision) below. Cheers!

4.24/5 rDev 0%
look: 4 | smell: 4.25 | taste: 4.25 | feel: 4.25 | overall: 4.25

32oz crowler (picked up at the brewery 3 days ago, freshly canned) into a tulip. Pours an opaque yellowish orange with a big fluffy head.

Aroma is powerful orange juice, maybe some other citrus. Sweet and juicy.

Taste follows nose, with a strong resemblance to freshly squeezed orange juice. Sweet up front, with minimal hop bitterness or resin. But a nice, cleansing bright acidity from the fresh Cascade, Mosaic, and Comet hops washes over the palate on the finish.

Mouthfeel is balanced and smooth. Very drinkable and refreshing.

Overall a very good New England IPA. I'm not sure if there's an ABV cutoff that puts this in the Imperial IPA category, but I'd question its categorization here. But for what it is, this is very tasty and well made.

 

Apriculture, a 7.5% “Oak-aged Sour Beer with Apricots” from Springdale.
From the website:

The bottle says “our oak barrels contain ales and lagers undergoing fermentation by a horde of yeast and bacteria.” Well, this horde has done a fine job.
Sweet apricots are balanced on bitter oranges, lemon/lime/grapefruit zest, with a touch of green apple and oak tannins. A delicious, refreshing, sour beer.


look: 4.25 | smell: 4 | taste: 4.25 | feel: 4.25 | overall: 4.25

L: hazy apricot/lemon with a small, short lived white head
S: apricot peel, bitter orange, lemon zest, hay, oak leaves
T: ripe apricots, sour orange, lemon, hay, a little green apple, oak tannins, yeasty funk
F: fizzy with a sweet tart front and a dry finish that leaves a hollow feel on your tongue
O: this is very good. The dry tannins from the oak barrels moderate the sour yeasts & bacteria, the apricots provide a sweetness that balances the tart. The general “funkiness” brings it all together.

 

Sig Brewing - Fresher Yesterday Strata Fresh Hop IPA, the aforementioned other fresh hop from this new-to-me brewery.

16oz can served in a big snifter. Dated 09/21/20. Bought it at Bottleworks, too.

Pours a hazy/murky whitish yellow-amber with a smallish head and a lot of fine, slow carbonation. Smell is very ripe tropical fruit, sweet, with a little lemon or pine in the background.

Taste is moderate juicy sweetness, not as overripe tasting as it smells. Hops, but not particularly fresh hoppy, and not bitter enough.

Mouthfeel is again kind of watery, again not quite flat but undercarbonated, and a bit filmy. Overall...it's better than the other one, but still not impressive.

 

Who is Vitamin Sea by Vitamin Sea

Grabbed some beers from them last weekend. They are really putting out some quality beers.

4.54/5 rDev +2.7%
look: 4.75 | smell: 4.5 | taste: 4.5 | feel: 4.75 | overall: 4.5





Can poured into a stang

Three finger soapy off white yellowish frothy foam cap. Excellent retention, settles to a pencil thick solid layer with very good lacings over a haze bomb orange liquid .

Aroma is orange citrus , fragrant

Taste is orange citrus , delicious

Smooth, creamy , hop flavor but with no bite

Excellent beer. I would put this up with the finest iPas of treehouse. Repeatable

 

Haha, this game keeps my going back and forth on doing that. It’s going back to be ugly season.

 

Wanted to go for a pretty safe bet, and I need to drink some of my recently acquired IPAs even if they're not fresh hops...what a difficult life!

My friend came over for dinner and whisky a while ago, and brought me a four pack of fresh local IPAs including this can of Supernova from Reuben's, a hazy IPA.

16oz can served in a big snifter. Dated 08/14/21.

Pours a pale yellow, very hazy, medium to large head that collapses and leaves a bunch of lacing. Smell is resinous greens, vaguely citrusy, lots of pith.

Taste is really nice. Tropical and pithy, juice with a resin bitterness (just a little, though).

Mouthfeel is medium, airy, resinous. This is a really nice beer.

 

Good Sunday afternoon, New Beer Sippers and commentators. It's a lazy Indian Summer (if that expression is still permitted) afternoon in North Jersey. We just finished packing boxes for the NBS BIF (my wife doesn't trust me with this duty and likes to take charge which is fine by me!) and I'm now enjoying Fudgement Day II: Rise of the Cacao from Magnify. While Mag is best known for big, hazy IPAs, the brewery really likes Stouts. This one is a more fudgy iteration of the original Fudgement Day. It's brewed with lactose, chocolate pudding, and chocolate fudge. The smell is amazing and the flavor is huge! The mouth feel isn't as viscous and chewy as I expected but it's nonetheless an exquisite Imperial Stout. Here's my full review:

4.46/5 rDev 0%
look: 4.25 | smell: 4.5 | taste: 4.5 | feel: 4.25 | overall: 4.5

Canned on 9/22/2020. Poured into a Magnify tulip glass. It pours a very dark walnut - almost black - with a creamy, medium-mocha colored head and clinging lacing that dissipated slowly. From the pop of the can you can smell the rich cocoa, along with vanilla and a whiff of nutty char. The taste is amazing! The fudge bursts in my mouth. It's quite sweet but not cloyingly so. By mid sip there are notes of burnt chocolate, vanilla, and earthy nuts. There is just a touch of bitterness at the finish. The cocoa flavor is big and bold but the other tastes compliment it and keep the Stout from being gimmicky. The mouth feel is less chewy than I anticipated based on previous Magnify Stouts. The carbonation level is appropriate and at 11% ABV you can feel the alcohol. It should be sipped slowly and savored. Overall, I rated this Stout more highly than the original. They are similar but the nose and flavor of Fudgement Day II are amazing. Like the original, this would be great for dessert with vanilla ice cream or cannoli. It's pricey; sole in 2-packs at $15 but it's well worth it.

I hope everyone is well and enjoying a new beer today. Cheers, NBW!

 

Wow, what a cool story and a great post! Thank you. I actually like your description of the flavor and would love to try this ale. Cheers!

 

Wife brought this Festbier from downtown local brewery Little House and wanted me to share.
Again today, I over poured, foamed over the mug. I did a better job on hers.

Nice clean beer. Clear light yellow body over a large white head.
Aroma is sweet, bready, malty, yeasty.
Taste is sweet and clean. A little malt, not much for hops.
A pretty good Festbier.