New Beer Weekend #16

Thanks @SawDog505 for getting this thread started. Today is turning out to be a great day. We have a new president!
After the obligatory champagne toast to Joe and Kamala, let's get on to the new beer.
La Cumbre is my favorite New Mexico brewery by a pretty good margin. Today I'm drinking Luminosity, a hazy IPA.
A hazy orange color, small white head with some spotty lace.
Aroma of citrus and tropical fruit.
Orange and pineapple taste.
Light mouthfeel. Tasty, fruity, not too hoppy.

 

Good day everyone and happy New Beer Weekend! Today I'm drinking an old bottle of Pumpkin Pie de Brettaville from Almanac Beer Co. Forgot I had this and wanted to drink it around the fall time between Halloween and Thanksgiving when pumpkins are in full swing here. I've liked most of what I've had so far from the Almanac Farm to Barrel Series and with roasted pumpkin and brett in a farmhouse ale aged in oak, I'm expecting this to be interesting and hopefully enjoyable.




Pours a slightly foggy bright orange amber color with a creamy frothy off-white foam head that sticks around with decent retention.

Smells like tart pumpkin cider, autumn spices, cinnamon, nutmeg, maybe ginger, clove, fresh roasted pumpkins, mild farmhouse funk, peppercorns, hay, straw, wine, oak barrel, bready wheaty malts, sour apple, lemon, and earthy herbal floral hops.

Tastes very tart and acidic upfront, sour apple cider, fresh roasted pumpkins, mild autumn spices like cinnamon, nutmeg, clove, ginger, oak barrel, toasty hay, straw, mild farmhouse funk, woody peppercorn spice, slight bready wheaty malts, tart apple, acidic lemon, very slightly acetic red wine, hints of leather, vanilla, and earthy herbal floral hop notes.

Feels lighter medium bodied, smooth with lively moderate crisp carbonation.

Overall this is a real nice and interesting brett farmhouse ale aged in oak with roasted heirloom pumpkin and spices. The intensity is moderate at this point and not too strong in flavor, which helps bring out the slightly tart and funky oak aged farmhouse ale aspects and blends well with the roasted pumpkin and spices. Right now the spices are pretty mellow in taste and the pumpkin contributes a more subtle character that remains perceivable. Fairly complex and really nice, I'm enjoying this right now and it is interesting to have a dry refreshing oaky farmhouse ale with pumpkin and spices. Cheers all, and happy NBW!

 

Thanks for the tip, that’s one of my favorite liquor stores, so that’s doable! Cheers!

 

Thanks @SawDog505 for getting us off and running! Weather is changing, limited moisture in the Valley, but some snow in the mountains. Hoping it goes far enough South to quell our fire concerns.

I'd been saving this one for a special day. Not tied to any particular political or person affiliation, but acknowledgment of an attempt to embrace and understand science, not discredit or malign it. We need science right now, SARS-COV-2 is spreading with limited control in this country at present.

From The Bruery, You Asked For It is a 16.4% barrel-aged imperial stout conditioned with vanilla. It's a blend of Black Tuesday and S.H.I.T.



Can dated PKG 05/29/20 into a tulip glass.

L: Pours jet black with 0.5 finger of low-density tan head with limited retention and left no lacing.

S: Lots of char, then vanilla and roasted malt. Really enjoyable, even a cherry cordial element once its warmed.

T: A bit more dimension than the nose, adds nice robust bourbon element. And some ethanol heat, but expected for the ABV.

F: Medium bodied with moderate carbonation, slight tingling of the tongue from the ABV, slick on the finish. Would've like it a little fuller.

O: Really nice beer that isn't overly impacted by the high ABV. Not sure I'll seek out again, but I'd happily repeat.

BA score = 4.56, rDev = +7%

 

Happy Saturday, NBW! Let's try Big Luscious from Founders.

12oz bottle served in a tulip. Bottled on 09/30/20. Bought it at BevMo about a week ago.

Pours black with a big, thick brown head that collapses clumpily. It's a very pretty beer. Smell is surprisingly strong raspberry, mild chocolate. I do get a little roast characteristic.

Taste is raspberry and bitter chocolate forward, a little juiciness without being too sweet, bittersweet finish. Roast characteristic comes across fairly gently, almost a whiff of smoke.

Mouthfeel is medium bordering on thin. Overall, I think this is really nice.

 

Good weekend, all. Took the car in for some maintenance before winter weather, although I'm to understand it is expected to be a mild winter again here in the mid-Atlantic. It definitely wasn't winter today, and since there is a small county park/historical site right next to the service location, I decided to get in a morning walk while I waited.

Took some pictures to also pass the time, including some fall colors. The first to be shown to you folks here are of the moon, which was still [half] out this morning.


So, with that chore out of the way, I am able to settle in with a beer. I'm starting with a new one to me - one a few of you have had new recently and posted in this and other threads. I felt confident enough to get two four packs based on the input of most of you, so you will be blamed if you steered me wrong.

With some literary license...
(Hey! I saw those eye rolls from some of you.)
<<does that stupid point-two-fingers-at-eyes-then-at-someone thing>>

The beer starts pouring from the glass like liquefied coal, but upon closer inspection the liquid being emptied from the bottle is letting light through. Clear in makeup, the dark brown liquid turns an opaque near-black in the glass.

A coffee ice cream head starts to form a sheath over the black glass surface, and with some suspense begins to grow. Tan lava rises and forms a creamy finger-plus of foam, rests, and starts to slink back into the void.

It leaves behind an odor, a pleasant one. There is some fudge brownie that others have mentioned, but also a surprisingly large amount of coffee - more than I had the impression to expect from memory of other reviews. I am feeling somewhat of a vanilla-like vibe where I might expect maple - the actual ingredient seems weaved into the coffee/chocolate aromas better than its publicist would like. In the unexpected category, an occasional hint of coconut tickles my nose.

Shifting its angle slightly. my nose sends its tip towards a large area of the thin remnants of the lava head, which has formed a large island in the dark sea. This allows my lips to break through the more bubbly collar that surrounds the island. My palate assesses the liquid and gives a confirming nod to the observations from the olfactory senses, mainly coffee.

After credit is given, though, it is time to has out some differences. The malt-and-hop infused water that my tongue makes contact with is more bitter than expected. The coffee itself is a bit bolder, and the fudge brownie aspect the nose mentioned of the chocolate seems to devolved into a chunk of dark chocolate.

That surprise aside, a little sweetness does tap my tongue on the shoulder as it comes up to it from the side. It introduces itself as the maple my nose failed to notice distinctly in the shadows. That could be because it has the brim of its hat pulled down low, maybe in an attempt to hide the fact that perhaps some of its sweeter properties may have been stolen by some renegade little yeasts.

Once everyone has been introduced, the chocolate's demeanor changes a tad and it becomes a little more open, with a sweeter disposition. The malts are down to earth - the earth that was roasted by the lava of the pour, one might assume. After all, the sky still shows a few streaks from that phenomenon.

In the end, everyone leaves the gathering feeling pretty good about how the conference came together. There wasn't anything too heavy discussed, and while there were some bold statements made, some dry humor at the end was enjoyed by all. This definitely went a ways towards greasing the wheels for a follow up engagement.

 

What a glorious day, and I have the perfect beer for it:

Dovetail Kolsch-style Ale, with big thanks to @FBarber

I'm very impressed with this one. Rich honey-tinged bready malt serves a a lovely platform for a good amount of zip from the spicy-grassy hops, and lovely white grape and pear tinged accents. Overall it's crisp and effervescent, snappy with bitterness, and a slight mineral finish. More importantly, it just screams 'Kolsch' with unmistakable clarity.

Unfortunately it's just a smidge more rounded than I'd like with an overcarbonated carbonic bite doing the compensating for bite. But that's really just a minor quibble and just keeps it out of elite status for me. A very pleasant A (4.4), and a beer I'd love to have regular access to.

 

Avery amicitia
Cloudy murky brown with plenty of whitish material floating around
Below average carbonation with a body that somehow felt slightly thin yet had some odd sticky thickness
Aroma is grapeseed,Gravesend, wine, sour tart candy, fruitcake.
Taste is very dry with a strong bitter Gravesend and fruit. It was a bit like sucking on a lemon but much more complex
This was a rough one as it was really well made I believe but an effort to get down

 

Hope everyone is doing well today and enjoying their libations. Like @Roguer, I also missed out on reviewing in the thread last weekend. My streak isn't nearly as long as his, but I'm happy to be back. Today is an absolutely glorious day weather wise around here, and it feels like society(at least locally) has taken a collective sigh of relief. In order to soak in the day, my wife and I decided to grab a big bottle and some lunch and head to the nearby historic cemetery soak it all in.

@jvgoor3786 sent me quite a bit of beer from Lost Forty in the recent NBS BIF, and it's all been above average to strong. Today I opened their Saison Victoria with Dunbar Yeast. It poured a vibrant straw haze topped with an ample two inch pillowy white head. The aroma was intoxicating. Hints of fresh cut grass and barnyard funk were complimented by floral notes and some citrus. There was also a minerality to it that I find hard to define. The flavor followed the aroma, especially when it came to the aforementioned minerality. By the end of the bottle the citrus was amplified and apple notes were also revealed. It finished rather dry on the palate and the effervescence was refreshing and enjoyable. An abnormally warm fall day was the perfect time to drink this beautiful saison surrounded by trees and wildlife. Thanks for this, Jason!

4.37/5 rDev 0%
look: 4.25 | smell: 4.75 | taste: 4.25 | feel: 4.25 | overall: 4.25

 

I was never a wrestling fan but Steve Austin is a large personality outside of that. None of that is how I ended up with this beer. I've never had anything from El Segundo Brewing. Here we go.

3.54/5 rDev -9.9%
look: 3.5 | smell: 3.25 | taste: 3.75 | feel: 3.5 | overall: 3.5

Poured from a 16oz can dated 8/25/20 to a Nonic glass at fridge temp.
Mildly hazy golden body with a medium white head that laces nicely, but fades quickly. Effervescence continues nicely through the session.
Aroma is mild. Hops, grass, some must.
Taste is kind of a cross between East and West coast styles. A little sweetness followed by old school bitterness.
Mouthfeel is light, but it makes it kind of a quick drinker. I went through the 16oz fairly fast for a review beer.
Final judgement- okay.

 

Second and final planned new beer for today. It's from a variety pack by Revolution Brewing. I believe I have only purchased on variety pack ever, from Shiner on sale, when I first started my craft journey in 2015. I like hitting the Revolution Brewery or Taproom to try their weekly releases, but with their closures until at least March, I am grateful to still be able to pick up beer from the brewery.

This was a $20, four variety twelve pack. I purchased it specifically for the Rye and Black IPAs, but I am also excited about trying Anti-Hero from a can for the first time (only had via draft, my preferred beer delivery method), and this one which has been out seasonally for a few years but I never got around to it, likely because it is billed as "A Tropical Punch of Juicy Hops", not my favorite style.

Revolution Brewing Armadillo Hero



Brewery Notes: Armadillo-Hero has intense citrus and floral notes with a simple, delicate malt bill that allows grapefruit, orange, and melon aromas to shine. A crisp, refreshing IPA with a clean bitterness. The website states it is a 7.2% ABV beer, but the can I am drinking from, canned 9/23/20 early in the morning (06:12:17) lists a 6.7% ABV. No specific hops were listed online or on the can beyond the primary hop, Amarillo per the name.

Appearance: Nice crystal clear golden orange pour, bright bubbly and generous egg white head leaves clumpy soap lacing in its wake after a few minutes. Looking good. 4.0

Aroma: Sweet Orange Creamsicle is the first aroma. Grapefruit, pine and peach back well. Strong and pleasant. 4.25

Taste: Taste carries the aroma further, but far more balanced, even perhaps leaning bitter, very nice surprise after the aroma. Pine and citrus lead, grapefruit and tangerine back, floral and grassy as well. I really like this hop profile, Amarillo has always been among my favorites, and this beer allows it to shine. 4.5

Mouthfeel: Light to medium body, faint fizzy carbonation lingers throughout, dry and bitterness lingers post swallow, but pleasant if you like this profile. Sweetness emerges at times, a very nice balanced offering. ABV consistent with strength felt. 4.25

Overall: Very glad to have tried, and that I have a few more of these. Not sure if it just wasn't available during my visits, but I will seek the well crafted and balanced Amarillo hopped IPA in the future. Well done Revolution! 4.25

See you tomorrow for more Revolution.

 

Dr Juice by Parish Brewing

4.03/5 rDev +1.8%
look: 4 | smell: 4 | taste: 4 | feel: 4.25 | overall: 4



12oz can poured into an ipa glass

Received from @Roguer in a Lif associated with Bif#12

Canned 10.7, opened 11.6

One finger fluffy white foam cap quickly recedes to a thin layer and some scant lacings over a turbid pale orange liquid

Aroma is citrus orange , whiff of dank

Taste orange citrus, orange juicy

Medium sudsing , smooth gentle hop nibble

Good beer

 

Hello New Beer Weekend!!!

I'm adjusting to my new normal being out of the restaurant business. I really haven't had to do too much all week, besides some clean up on Monday and Tuesday. Just trying to enjoy some time off before I get back out there, and go back to work.

Now on to the beer:

Rocks and Cows - It's a Ginger Cream Ale, and is 5.7% ABV.

I've been wanting to go to this brewery for a long time, but have never been able to pull it off till today. Living in the "Rocks and Cows" part of my state of Minnesota, how could I not get a can of this beer to take home with me.

A cream ale mixed with ginger does work very well in my book. The flavors are a contrast, yet they do work together at the same time.

I am a fan:
3.75/5 rDev 0%
look: 3.75 | smell: 3.75 | taste: 3.75 | feel: 3.75 | overall: 3.75

Pours a semi murky golden color. 2 finger fluffy white head. Retention isn't the best, and there's no lacing on the glass.
The nose - has a nice aroma from the ginger added to this beer. There's a slightly creamy aroma mixed in as well.
Taste - A nice creamy sweetness, cut with a nice ginger flavor on the back. The flavors work together, and contrast at the same time.
The body is somewhat creamy. It is decent for the abv.
I'm digging this beer in Rocks and Cows land in Minnesota.


I'm sure I'll be back for some more tomorrow.

 

Today I will be reviewing another beer from what has become my absolute favorite local German-style brewery. They are a small gastropub, they invested heavily in the historical restoration of their site, and they serve good German-style food to go with their traditional German-style beer. What's not to like?

Back during our Oktoberfest-Märzen online tasting, I complained that they were NOT engaged in season-creep, and were not making their Oktoberfest beer available in distribution until after their own Oktoberfest event, which was the same time as our online tasting.

However, I did get a crowler of their Märzen substyle later, which I reveiwed in a NBW a couple of weeks back.

A week ago, I saw a crowler of their Festbier substyle, so naturally I bought one. I will be reviewing that today.


Waldmann Festbier
ABV: 5.2%
IBU: NA


The brewer identifies this as a "Golden Weisn-style lager."

1 inch bubbly, but creamy head with respectable retention. Little to no lacing as it recedes. Crystal clear amber with ample carbonation.

Somewhat faint aroma (surprising, since I got a good whiff of it when I cracked the can), hay, a bit of spice, slightly earthy and fruity.

The taste starts out a bit sweet and caramely, honey, some fruitiness to the flavors. In the middle moderate bitterness begins, just enough to balance things, which carries through to the finish. The aftertaste is earthy with the bitterness lingering. The finish is still a bit on the sweet side. The taste has an interesting combination of sweet caramel, earthy hay, and spicy fruit.

Mouth feel has medium body with little carbonation feel.

Overall, a pleasant enough beer, but not outstanding. The combination of flavors is interesting and I enjoyed drinking it, but I much preferred their märzen substyle Oktoberfest beer. And that's not just because I generally prefer the maltier märzens to the lighter festbiers; this beer in general is just kind of OK-enjoyable. A bit of a disappointment, coming from Waldmann.

L: 4.0 | S: 3.5 | T: 3.75 | F: 3.5 | O: 3.75 | Rating: 3.68