New Beer Weekend #12

Pistachio Cream Ale
Indeed Brewing Company - Minneapolis
4.09/5 rDev -0.7%
look: 4.5 | smell: 4.25 | taste: 4 | feel: 4 | overall: 4

16oz can, canned 9/17/20
Look: Transparent gold body, massive white that lasts a whole leaving some lacing.
Smells good and different. Pistachio smell??? I not sure but I smelled that smell before but can remember where.
taste: Pistachio flavor but it's not too strong and doesn't over power the other flavors. Floral and lemon hop notes, bread or maybe a hint of grain, (cream soda?). Smooth and only slightly sweet. Has a soft malt creamy feel. A easy drinking beer, not heavy duty in anyway.
I like it. but not something you drink everyday. 4.09/5 overall
https://www.beeradvocate.com/beer/profile/29223/484289/

 

Second new beer of the day after my trip to the Old Pueblo. I love new beers esp. when they’re good. 35th Anniversary Expedition Stout Reserve , Bells Brewing, 11.5 abv. I mean yeah, always loved the original and this one follows suit. Barrel Aged Beers have been the rage for a while but give me a thick, chewy stout like this and I’m in beer heaven. Gonna have to hit the cardio harder with all the great, heavy beers coming out, cheers!

4.4/5 rDev -1.3%
look: 4.25 | smell: 4.25 | taste: 4.5 | feel: 4.25 | overall: 4.5

This pours dark brown with a thin beige head. It smells of chocolate, anise, hops. It tastes like chocolates, anise, hops with and dark malt. It’s a slightly heavier, more refined version of Expedition not straying too far from home and that’s alright because the original is great. If you like stouts buy it while it’s still around and tell em’ I sent ya!

 

Good day BAs! For the NBS portion of NBW:

Before:


During:


Mystery beer received from @nc41 in BIF 12. Received 10/8/20. Reviewed 10/11/20.

Stored at home at 42 degrees and served at 45 degrees (Smells like a wild ale) in a hand washed and dried Jester King snifter. Final temperature degrees.
Appearance – .
First pour – Pale straw (SRM 2), hazy.
Body – Pale gold (SRM 4), hazy. When held to direct light, very active effervescence is noted.
Head – Large (Maximum 4.5 cm, aggressive center pour), white, initially fizzy but quickly settles to medium density, average retention, diminishing to a six to 12 mm smoothly undulating crown and a complete rocky cap.
Lacing –
Aroma – – Smells acidic and a bit fruity, like a wild ale. No hops, no yeast. As it warms to degrees, .
Flavor – - Begins strong, with a fruit I can’t place, like Osage orange and baking soda. No malt, no yeast. No alcohol ( % ABV, as marked on container) taste or aroma. No dimethylsulfide or diacetyl.
Palate – – Thin, watery, lively carbonation.
Final impression and summation: My best guess would be a wild ale, probably from Wicked Weed considering Dale's locationand the bottle and cap are the wrong style for Jester King.

 

And the reveal!






Original IPA circa 1850 from Zebulon Brewery. Mystery beer received from @nc41 in BIF 12. Received 10/8/20. Reviewed 10/11/20.
Undated bottle. Stored at home at 42 degrees and served at 45 degrees (Smells like a wild ale) in a hand washed and dried Jester King snifter. Final temperature 59.5 degrees.
Appearance – 4
First pour – Pale straw (SRM 2), hazy.
Body – Pale gold (SRM 4), hazy. When held to direct light, very active effervescence is noted.
Head – Large (Maximum 4.5 cm, aggressive center pour), white, initially fizzy but quickly settles to medium density, average retention, diminishing to a six to 12 mm smoothly undulating crown and a complete rocky cap.
Lacing – Fair – Narrow band of tiny bubbles.
Aroma – 3.5 – Smells acidic and a bit fruity, like a wild ale. No hops, no yeast. As it warms to 60 degrees, the nose weakens to barely noticeable. Horning the sediment in the empty bottle initially smells like flowery hops.
Flavor – 3.5 - Begins strong, with a fruit I cannot place, like Osage orange and baking soda. No hops, no yeast. No alcohol (8 % ABV, as marked on container) taste or aroma. No dimethylsulfide or diacetyl.
Palate – 4 – Thin, watery, lively carbonation.
Final impression and summation: 3.5 (Minus 0.25 point for undated bottle) My best guess would be a wild ale, probably from Wicked Weed – the bottle and cap are the wrong style for Jester King.

I’ll stand by my original guess. According to the label, this is an English-style IPA that is aged with a Brettanomyces strain in oak barrels. It may well be the way IPAs tasted when they got to India, so no longer an IPA but a hop-based wild ale. Makes me glad I wasn't a grunt for the Queen.

 

Wow, what a great way to start with the mystery beers @nc41 , something that would be familiar yet curious at the same time.

Nice write up @Ozzylizard , and very good attempt at a guess. You do have me wondering about the bitterness; those Hodgson's beers were supposed to be screamingly bitter, initially at least, and I'm sure quite a bit would get past the aging process.

 

Lol, if you we’re a grunt for the Queen you were probably up to your ass in jungle or some other hostile country trying to colonize the world. And thirsty. I thought is an interesting choice, Zebulon is mostly noted for its sours and such, I was curious what something might be like 150 years removed.

 

Happy Birthday,
enjoy the weekend
Cheers

 

It's hard to avoid expectations when you call something a cinnamon roll pastry stout, but you're exactly right. I also think that since most of the highly flavored stouts that I drink are imperials, it's hard to match that type of concentrated flavor into a lighter bodied stout. That said, this was was very pleasantly drinkable and the dry finish was a nice surprise.

I'm so glad you enjoyed it! Eleventh Hour has really been finding themselves these last few years. They do some good/very good IPA's, but I think their strengths are in their stouts and lagers. I'm excited to see what else comes from their barrel program in the near future.

Happy birthday!

 

Transient stouts are really the shit, some of the best stouts I’ve ever had.

 

Friday night one of my oldest friends stopped by with his wife for some socially distanced hanging out in our back yard. He's been picking up beer along the way, and his stop in Pittsburgh was no exception. We traded a few cans of locals and I came away with my first can of Spotted Cow by New Glarus. This is a beer I've long seen talk about, but have never had until now. Before I get into the review, I'm curious, why is this classified as a cream ale here on BA? The can calls it a farmhouse ale, and it tastes closer to a farmhouse/saison than a traditional cream ale to me.

Spotted Cow poured a cloudy yet vibrant straw color and was stopped by an inch and a half fluffy white head. The aroma was mostly malt with just a touch of yeasty funk. My first impression of the taste was all malt and grain. As I sipped I began to notice some grassy and floral notes and a hint of apple and yeast to back it up. The feel was smooth and creamy while still being relatively light and nice carbonation This was a no frills, easy drinking beer that went down very quickly. The kind of beer I'd like to have in my fridge to end my night with. I'm happy to finally get a chance to try it.

3.97/5 rDev +5.9%
look: 4.5 | smell: 3.75 | taste: 4 | feel: 4 | overall: 4

I have a few errands to run this morning, but I'm very excited to drink two BIF mystery beers this afternoon while I watch the Steelers beat down the Eagles. This is always a tense day in our house as my wife is a Philly native. Wish me luck.

 

Pours a light hazy golden color with a slight head and lacing
Aroma has slight orange peel and coriander hints
The taste follows the nose with a slight coriander and orange peel flavor
A light bodied well carbonated beer
A decent Witbier

 

Yinzers are nuts, go stuff a Primanti, who puts French fries on a sandwich and thinks it’s a good idea? Then there’s a Philly Steak wit wiz, and peppers. Now that’s a sandwich. My wife prefers provolone, but that gooey wiz is the shit, if not a bit messy. I saw a guy at Jim’s Steaks order 2 sandwiches and killed both in 15 minutes.

 

Mouthfeel is my one area of contention with Dragon’s Milk variants, too. The flavor profiles are almost always on point, though I often want just a bit more heft in the swig! First world problems...

 

Good morning NBW/NBS and thanks @SawDog505 for the start this week. I agree this is and continues to be my favorite thread here. Its full on fall here in the 413 and just lovely.
Todays offering is from Wunderkammer, Transformation Masks 20 is an experince for sure.
The use of yarrow and the deft barrel touchare simply delightful.
I certainly hope that Vasilli keeps sharing his journeys with us.
Do good
Be well

Volume 20: Transformation Masks

Wild Ale | 5.5% ABV

Wunderkammer Bier
Greensboro Bend, Vermont

4.29/5 rDev +3.4% | Average: 4.15
look: 4 | smell: 4.25 | taste: 4.5 | feel: 4.25 | overall: 4

Poured from the 375 ml bottle into the test glass.
A - Light mahagony color, nice clarity allows you to watch the slow migration of gentle carbonation. A thin ring clings to the glass wall during the experience.
S - Spicy nose, with an earthy thread, Ginger root, red grape skin, yarrow, wet leaves, sharp tannin. Oak barrel, I completely understand the brewers reference to British Ginger cake. There is an underlying woody thread that has hints of juniper and yarrow.
T - Red grape skin, threads of ginger, apricot, sweet dark malt, runs right up to tart lemon reduction. Dark strong tea, all plays with that spicy yarrow. The barrel treatment is present and not overbearing.
M - Dances on the palate, Medium in body, with a light feel. The toggling between the sweet and sour is a treat to experience. Carbonation is a supporting actor in this production. The finish is a long experience down the sweet tart trail.
O - Another unique offering from an intreped brewer, I find this in the Flanders camp, but with distinctly earthy elements. Acidity and sweetness are well integrated. The body is delicate and assertive, something I really enjoy.

 

Estonia evidently has at least two excellent breweries. I enjoy Pohjala offerings, so I’ll keep my eye out for this brewer, too, now.

 

Good morning NBW, hope everyone is doing well! I am starting my Sunday with a blind review from a tasty brew @Dimidiata sent me! This one was a little tough. It seemed to be blurring the line between a stout and a schwarzbier but turned out to be a European dark lager. I had no guess at the actual name of the beer before I unwrapped it.

4.23/5 rDev +1.2%
look: 4.25 | smell: 4.25 | taste: 4.25 | feel: 4 | overall: 4.25

Blind review:
16 oz can poured into a pint glass

A- Black with a three finger light tan head. 4.25

S- Roasted malts, some dark chocolate, touch of pale/Pilsner malts, earthy, hints of fruitiness. 4.25

At first looking at it I thought this might be a stout or porter but now based off of the nose I’m leaning toward this being a schwarzbier

T- Dark chocolate, roasted malts, touch of pale malts, earthy, some hints of coffee. 4.25

M- Smooth, light to medium body. 4

O- After tasting this it moves back into the world of a stout or porter. Whatever this is I can say in confidence that it is a well brewed low ABV dark beer that I truly enjoy. 4.25

The reveal:

This is a very nice black lager and easy to drink. I honestly have no adjustments or afterthoughts to my review after seeing what the beer is. Moonlight Death & Taxes truly nails being a low ABV dark lager. Cheers!

 

That is EXACTLY my opinion of NG fruited beers (“juice masquerading as beer”). I appreciate that they’re flavorful drinks, but they don’t remind me of “a beer,” IMHO.