New Beer Weekend #12

SARA Signal Cues, thanks @Dimidiata! Not sure if the uniqueness is the hops or a farmhouse yeast (not find anything saying it’s a farmhouse yeast) but I don’t enjoy this.

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

Thank you Dimidiata for this
16 oz can, dated 9/17/20, poured into a pint glass

A- A somewhat clear golden straw with a two finger white head.

S- Citrus, jalapeños (a good way), floral, herbal, slightly dank.

T- Floral, herbal, citrus, green peppers/jalapeños, a little dank, some citrus.

M- Smooth, medium body.

O- A solid IPA with a unique hops profile. I can see how this hops profile is not for everyone but I enjoy it.

Cheers!

 

She's pretty much resigned this season as lost with the way you've been playing so far this season(not to mention the injuries), so it's fairly calm. 7-0!!

Thanks for the background info here and the article link. I had a feeling this was probably an oft debated topic long before my time here. Whatever you want to call it, it was the right beer for the right time and I'd happily drink it again.

 

We did a nice three mile walk with the dogs this morning (minus the puppy who's recovering from his neck sprain). Getting into fall, with temperatures in the 60s for the walk. Will be closing the pool soon, to my wife's chagrin.
Today's new beer is courtesy of my wife. We were browsing my beer store the other day when she picked up the beer and said "I know you like Prairie beers, have you had this one?"
"This one" is Snickerdoodle Vanilla Noir, bottled 09/18/2020 and clocking in at 14.4% ABV.
Like most of Prairie's stouts the beer is black with not even a hint of a head.
Aroma of booze, chocolate, vanilla, and a little coffee.
Taste of bourbon, chocolate, coffee, and vanilla.
Very sweet, very chewy.
Nice dessert beer.

 

Hah! Yeah, I wouldn't beat myself up too much if I were you

 

Ok, this is from Bif #12 from @WunderLlama.

Into my 3F Teku. It pours blue, as in blue, but it’s dark in the glass, I’ve never drank a blue beer before. Took a few minutes to identify a really heavy hit both on the nose and palate. It’s blue and it tastes like toasted coconut, I was expecting something fruity and or funky. It’s also very very dry, there’s no sweetness here at all. I’m a lousy rater which is why I don’t, but the blue in combo with what I taste to be coconut is confusing, heavy on that note too. Body about like any PA or Ipa, nice head that’s blue, lol. There’s no funk here either.

So it looks like Berliner or Lambic on the pour, tastes like a heavily coconut flavored beer, but there’s no stout comparisons here, none at all, no toasty notes etc. None, although it’s dark in the glass it drinks light, nice carbonation but it’s not effervescent.

A guess = not a clue, to my uneducated palate I can’t even begin to make a guess, not like any other beer I’ve ever had.

A reveal is coming up. You

 

Half Acre, Lager Town
3.43/5 rDev -10.7%
look: 4 | smell: 4 | taste: 4 | feel: 4.25 | overall: 1

This is a IPL or a hopped up amber lager. And it's a good IPL. WAY WAY too hoppy to be a Oktoberfest beer period. I thought i was drinking a low ABV malty IPA at first. But I like it and would drink more. But...........` Overall point/score reduction for being way out of style. Odd marketing ploy by half acre here.
https://www.beeradvocate.com/beer/profile/18006/74629/

 

Great review as always and sounds delicious, especially for the price!

Nice to hear that this beer holds up over time, as unless something has changed this beer is probably about six months old. I really enjoy this one and it's one of my favorite easily obtainable and well-priced hazy beers...and I would take it over the regular LS too.

 

It's finally time to dive into some mystery beers over here. By the looks of it, Gilbert is just as interested as I am.

@jvgoor3786 gave me no hints when it came to these mystery beers, so I made sure to have all of my glassware cleaned and ready for what the aroma may send my way. Unfortunately, relying on aroma was no help, but I saw a hint of possibly amber or straw in the color. I decided to play it safe and reached for a snulip which can accommodate most beers. Here is what revealed itself.

I was greeted with a cloudy beer that vacillated between an amber or light copper depending on the light. The head was thin and fleeting, but visible signs of ample carbonation remained. Once in the confines of my glass a fruity aroma became noticeable. At first I thought strawberry, but by the end settled on cherry. As it warmed a vanilla scent increased in potency. Are we looking at a sour here? A fruited IPA? The fruit was featured just as much in the taste as the aroma. Big sweet fruity flavor hit me up front, but it had a somewhat bitter finish on the palate. The vanilla became more noticeable as the beer warmed. There was only a slight tartness on the finish, but not nearly enough for this to be a kettle sour or even a wild. I'm leaning towards a milkshake IPA of some kind, but I'm not deft enough to taste lactose. The mouthfeel was a light-medium body and was soft and smooth. Overall a refreshing brew that has a lot of fruit flavor.

As for guesses, I'm almost at a loss because I know next to nothing of Arkansas breweries. At first I thought it may be M-43 Tart Strawberry because I hadn't ticked it until recently, but this is much better, in my opinion anyway. Now I'm going to try to narrow it down based on some blind investigating. Jason sent me a few cans from East Sixth Brewing that came in 16oz. cans and are also more "experimental" in some of their styles(like a salted pilsner with tangerine for example). That makes me think it may be from them. I scrolled through their lineup on Untappd, and didn't see anything that looked like it used cherry. East Sixth does have a milkshake IPA though that uses strawberry and lactose. I still think this tastes close to cherry, but I could be wrong. You Know You Want My Lovin' by East Sixth also doesn't appear to use vanilla, and I feel very strong about the vanilla presence. So if i had to guess, that'd probably be my choice, but I'm by no means certain about it.

And now for the reveal...
waiting...
drumroll...
cymbal crash!


East Sixth Brewing's Sugar Charlatan which is described as a "pastry sour with peaches, strawberries, cherries, and marshmallows." So I got the brewery and the cherry and strawberry(I swear I tasted it). I'm also giving myself credit for detecting vanilla, which must be used in marshmallows, right? I would never have pegged this as a sour though. It had a tartness, but only very mildly. In any case it was very tasty and refreshing. I can't wait to see what mystery beer #2 holds for me. Thanks, Jason!

 

The reveal.

Vitamin Sea Brewing Two Tickets to Pellet Ice , 8% abv DIPA, lol no way.

Got no hops on the palate , but they used Galaxy and Sabra hops, but the coconut and the dryness killed the hops, but I hit the coconut right which was easy. I didn’t get any citrus. As I have maybe 2-3 Oz left my glass went from blackish to clearly blue. Interesting beer, I haven’t a clue how to rate this beer, it’s kinda of a one off that would be interesting to visit every now and then, but not a staple. I would buy this beer, it’s interesting, I’d like to get more hops out of a DIPA, this one is purely a coconut bomb. Nice hit @WunderLlama, no one in the world would guess this one.

 

Yes, the price is a critical consideration in the value proposition of this beer.

Cheers!

 

BlackStack's Sponge Bath DIPA. Gray and misty Sunday morning. Football on, kids hunkered down with their iPads upstairs in my bedroom. Quiet, aside from the TV. Nice.

16oz can served in a big snifter. Don't see a date on it. I think I got it from Tavour.

Pours a hazy pale yellow with a medium to large head. Smell is fairly mild, mostly tropical juice.

Taste is a blast of super ripe tropical fruit juices. Maybe a bit sweet for my taste, with a strong pith/fruit skin bitterness too, and actually quite noticeable booziness.

Mouthfeel is thick and chewy. Overall, pretty good beer.

 

Apparently there is something off about my palate because I’ve heard this complaint from others but I just don’t perceive this as particularly hoppy. I do agree that it isn’t true to style but I actually found it to be closer than several other local Oktos.

 

Pours a hazy golden color with a nice head and lacing
Aroma has slight clove and banana hints
The taste follows the nose with slight clove and banana flavors
A medium bodied decently carbonated beer
A decent wheat beer

 

Pours a clear golden color with a slight head and lacing
Aroma has very slight malt hints
The taste follows the nose with a very slight malt flavor
A light bodied decently carbonated beer
A decent Helles

 

mystery beer received in Bif#12 From @foundersasap




bubble wrap covering a brown paper wrapped around a 12 oz bottle. Glass is brown and the cap is gold but has been colored over by a black magic market. I removed it from my beer fridge and let it warm as I am thinking stout based on the box of goodies I received earlier from Foundersasap. I can safely rule out Budweiser , Heineken , Miller high life or Corona .



Received from foundersasap in bif#12

bottle poured into a teku . Black motor oil liquid capped by a pencil thick brown cap that quickly recedes to a dense creamy ring and a small island. Numerous streams of Tiny micro carbonation . Some lacings . Finally settles to a ring



this is a barrel aged stout . Fragrant waves of dark fruits, raisins , figs, molasses, bourbon , tobacco
And roast malts. I cover the glass with my hand and I get a whiff of dark chocolate. Bourbon !

The taste is bourbon and no heat from the alcohol. Roast malts, hint of char. Dark fruits . Fig. Raisins. Delicious

Smooth and creamy, chewy , velvety smooth . I think this beer has a high abv but it is well crafted and expertly hidden . More sweet that astringent but not overly sweet

I like this beer , tastes great . The mouthfeel is the best aspect of this beer followed by the taste and then aroma

the reveal



Bells vanilla black note 2019 stout !



repeatable and delicious !

I missed the vanilla call out and is now obvious to me as the creaminess component


4.44/5 rDev +0.2%
look: 4 | smell: 4.25 | taste: 4.5 | feel: 4.75 | overall: 4.5

 

Time for a mystery beer courtesy of @Whyteboar. No clues on the can, so I decided to pour it into the always versatile tulip.

The aroma immediately gives this away as a saison / farmhouse ale of some sort. This throws off waves of tart aromas. On the tongue, this is quite tasty. Definitely not a fruited sour of any kind, this tastes like a more traditional saison. Not picking up any brett or barnyard funk, just a lovely good, crisp tartness. Some hints of coriander underneath that yeast. Medium carb and nice finish. Whatever this is, I'm enjoying it.

Onto the reveal...

Jolly Pumpkin Bam Biere farmhouse ale.

This is my first Jolly Pumpkin beer, and I enjoyed it. At only 4.5%, even better! Thanks @Whyteboar

4.06/5 rDev +2.5%
look: 4 | smell: 4.25 | taste: 4 | feel: 4 | overall: 4

 

Now moving on to Modern Times/Pueblo Vida Arcosanti. This is a really fun beer, brings together what’s great about fresh hop wet coast IPAs and NEIPA into one very tasty IPA. Smell almost like juice but still has a nice bitterness in the finish. Thank you @Dimidiata!
4.45/5 rDev 0%
look: 4 | smell: 4.5 | taste: 4.5 | feel: 4.25 | overall: 4.5

Thank you Dimidiata for this
16 oz can, dated 9/11/20, poured into a pint glass

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

S- Grapefruit, pineapple, dragonfruit, some melons.

T- Pineapple, grapefruit, some melons, dragonfruit, some peach, some pine, slightly dank.

M- Smooth, medium body.

O- A beautiful balance of juicy hops and some bitterness. Really enjoying how this is bring fresh hops goodness into a NEIPA.

Cheers!