New Beer Weekend #16

I always took it to mean new to me.

 

A couple of beers this freakishly gorgeous evening in Northern Indiana from @Roy_Hobbs in the still rumbling around NBW BIF #12, this is the last of the Suarez cans.

That makes me sad.





4.27/5 rDev +2.6%
look: 4.5 | smell: 4.25 | taste: 4.25 | feel: 4.25 | overall: 4.25

This pours a slightly hazy straw color with a sudsy white head that is really clingy. The nose is bright citrus - lemon lime and passion fruit specifically, and there’s a nice, subtle biscuity malt note as well.

The lemon lime flavor is really forward on the taste - this is 7-Up as a (tasty) beer at first, and then the passion fruit and biscuity malt flavor complete the transition back to Beerville.

This is a really well executed low alcohol (4% ABV) beer that has a lot of flavor and also keeps true to its blonde ale style. Totally crushable summer beer.

 

Pulled out the third and final new IPA to me from the Revolution League of Heroes (the fourth is Anti-Hero) for this New Beer Sunday 819 review.

Revolution Brewing Jukebox-Hero Black IPA



Can notes: Filled 9/23/20 9:39:51, 7.5% ABV, "A Power Chord of Amped Up Hops" (75 IBU per online notes).

Online notes:
Jukebox Hero®, named after the well-known rock song, is a black IPA is bursting with crisp, clean bitterness and layers of wonderful American hop character.

Pale Ale, Munich and Naked Golden Oats give a toasty malt backbone with a smooth mouthfeel. The dark ominous color comes from the Chocolate Malt and the de-husked highly roasted malt. We want the layers of hops to shine against this roasty malt backdrop. Warrior, Citra, Chinook, Centennial and Amarillo lend bitterness as well as a wonderful cornucopia of aromas and flavors of fresh citrus fruit, pine, fresh cut mint and fresh flowers they offer.

ChicagoJ Notes:

Appearance: Dark brown black pour, light cream tan head lingers for a few minutes, leaving generous lacing in it's wake and a cover over the base. 4.0

Aroma: Mint and chocolate malt leads, light pine backs. Mild in strength. 3.75

Taste: Consistent with aroma, chocolate malt and sweet mint leads, very pleasant. Pine and citrus back well. Balanced, really love this offering, flavors really popping. 4.5

Mouthfeel: Medium creamy body, light fizzy carbonation holds throughout, slightly dry and bitter, though sweetness emerges on different sips. East clean finish, ABV consistent with impact. 4.0

Overall: This is a solid black IPA. If you are looking for a nice strong minty chocolate malt backed by assertive hops providing additional flavors in a balanced manner, this beer is for you. Popping with flavor, my only regret is I haven't ordered this before. I'll be back to cue Lou Gramm and a few pints of this one. 4.25

Finally caught up on all previous previous threads from when I was out of town, a have KBS Maple reviewed by several over the past few weeks on deck for next week, and have added a few more to my "to drink list". @SierraNevallagash 's Hill Farmstead Edward Pale Ale looks the best of the options for me to seek reviewed this week. Also need to grab @woodchipper 's El Segundo Steve Austin's Broken Skull IPA I've seen so many times in WBAYDN next trip to California, hopefully in the winter.

Cheers!

 

Enjoying another unseasonably warm afternoon here watching the Steelers(in typical fashion) blow a game that they should easily be winning. It's hard to complain when you're sitting at 7-0 though. I found myself in the mood for some big hops so Lupulin Vision was the choice for my next entry. This is a WCDIPA collab between Slice and Melvin. It was sent to me by @JayORear along with some other great west coast brews. I don't see too many WCIPA's around here, so it's always a pleasure to get some straight from the source. This one uses Strata, Mosaic, Enigma and Citra Incognito hops. I don't know what the difference is between Citra and Citra Incognito is, but I'm always interested to try a fairly common NEIPA hop blend used in a WCIPA.

A transparent straw color filled the glass with a one finger white head that did not linger. Carbonation meandered to the surface, but not in much abundance. The aroma was a mixed bag of pine sap, citrus, sweet grain, and very pungent marijuana with some floral notes lurking in the wings. The taste followed many of of those same notes. Sweet grainy malt up front with some bitterness not far behind. From there the citrus and floral notes dominate with some pine resin. Medium bodied with nice carbonation helped to balance the sweeter notes. Very drinkable and packed full of flavor. Thanks, Jay!

4.34/5 rDev +2.4%
look: 4 | smell: 4.25 | taste: 4.5 | feel: 4.25 | overall: 4.25

 

#2, also from @Roy_Hobbs, Fox Farm is a brewery I’d never even heard of two months ago. They are the really real deal.





4.59/5 rDev +4.3%
look: 4.25 | smell: 4.5 | taste: 4.75 | feel: 4.5 | overall: 4.5

This beer pours a very cloudy dark brown - think Tootsie Roll brown - with a dense tan head. Nice. The bourbon barrel is present on the nose as a boozy oak aroma, and there’s really nice caramel and toffee aromas, but the port wine barrel is the differentiator for me - lends a tangy note that is really cool.

That tangy note is as critical to the taste as well - the bourbon barrel is slightly boozy with nice oak notes, and the caramel and toffee notes work well with the Dark Muscovado sugar noted in the description, but it’s that sweet, slightly tangy flavor from the port wine barrel that really elevates this, IMHO.

The mouthfeel is full bodied, commensurate with a beer of this magnitude (13.5% ABV). So many things going on here, and so well executed, when it would’ve been easy to get sloppy. World class stuff, IMHO.

 

Drinking on the road, in the camper tonight...Triple Crossing’s “Brighter Lights” DIPA:



Hazy, deep gold/pale amber color; some clarity under thin white head; solid ring; soapy lacing. Skunky oniony nose; catty as liquid warms. Lemon, grapefruit, mango, papaya, kiwi; peach and green melon middle; not sweet but no bitterness. Medium full body; moderate minus carbonation; just the slightest hop burn on tip of tongue. Overall, tastes good and has a very (for me) approachable body; the aroma is not for me, but otherwise I could easily drink another 16oz can...

4.5 | 3.5 | 4.0 | 3.75 | 4.0
Score: 3.89 rDev -10.4%

 

Good evening NBS/NBW and thanks to this weeks host.
Home from a 20 mile 2 section hike of the New England Trail
Enjoying this gifted bottle of Tree House American Barlywine,
A lovely texture, it does miss on elements of the classics, with a solid nod toward the
cocoa, and away from the toffee. It does capture the dark fruit in raisin form well
Do good
Be well

Tree Of Life

Barleywine - American | 11.8% ABV

Tree House Brewing Company
Charlton, Massachusetts

3.93/5 rDev -3.7% | Average: 4.08
look: 4 | smell: 4 | taste: 3.75 | feel: 4.25 | overall: 4

Poured from an undated 12 oz bottle into the test glass.
A - Dark brown colored backdrop hides the gentle carbonation. A full pour yields no froth. Being a Barleywine I can understand.
S - Raisin, bakers chocolate, a touch of tannin, some blackberry, a stronger cocoa element that dominates.
T - Again with the raisins up front, then wave after wave of cocoa, some milk chocolate as well, a thread of vanilla is in there as well
M - Medium in body, sweet on the palate, almost too sweet.
O - A twist on Barleywine, with lots of chocolate in each aspect, the texture is excellent.

 

I picked up three singles from the crappy Samuel Adams seasonal pack because I wasn't about to spring for a 12 pack with such a horrible lineup this year, but I was still curious about these beers. I've had these over the last few days and will post the new one first and the other two I will mention just because:

American IPA - I went in thinking that I would hate this beer but I was pleasantly surprised. But there was something oddly familiar in both the taste and smell and about halfway through the glass it hit me: this beer is a close DFH 60 Minute clone! The ABV is a little higher at 6.5% vs 6% but side by side I would probably be hard pressed to tell them apart (at least going off of memory, has been a few months since I had a 60 Min.; but to me that DFH malt smell is distinguishable and hard to misplace).

Holiday Porter - SA is absolutely foolish to not package this in six packs during the holiday season along with Old Fezziwig. This Porter is quite good and the head and lacing lasts through the entire glass. A real home run in the SA lineup...and precisely why you can't get it outside of this pack, as they seem to dislike any beer in their lineup that is actually good for whatever reason.

Winter Lager - a classic and I buy a six pack every year (but I won't be doing so this year). The new formula has a noticably thinner body but the bulk of the flavors are still intact and it is easier to drink a few of this new version. I would drink again if handed one but outside of that not really interested.

 

Getting two new ones in, another beer from the same friend. I love almost every beer I’ve had from stone corral so I was excited about trying this one. It didn’t disappoint...



This is a pretty colored beer, a nice light darker brown. Not much head or any lacing really but a little creamy opaque head remains.

The aroma is really good and pleasant. Very rich and grainy, lightly burnt bread.

Taste is hearty bread and it also has a nuttines to it, not peanuts though. Maybe walnut or pecan like.

Mouthfeel is awesome its hefty, full bodied with really good smooth carbonation. Finishes incredibly clean and dry.

Overall this is probably my favorite domestic marzen I’ve had this year. It is incredibly hearty and full but it goes down so easy and finishes so clean. This is a very impressive beer IMO. Highly recommend it if you can try it.

 

We felt the effects of a magnitude 4 earthquake early this morning. Centered about 20 or so miles away. Brief, but disconcerting.

Sticking with a theme, I guess...



Founders KBS Maple Mackinac Fudge. It's a decadent treat. Smells predominantly coffee and chocolate, but the FBS base is discernable. When cold, not much of anything else but here we go with the blooming thing...maple pops in, some oak char, and slight bourbon character. The taste follows the same path, with the maple being a very late arrival. Some caramel/toffee, vanilla. There is an acid vibe here, too, that may come from the coffee.

To me, the feel is a bit of a letdown but that might be versus expectation. It's decadent and intensely flavored, but to me it should be thick and luxuriant. Nitpicking a little, I suppose. Going to think on it before writing my notes, but it is in the 4.25 region for me.

 

Good day New Beer Weekend advocates - The first beer is from Saturday morning and comes from @nc41:




La Bonte Pear from Wicked Weed. Received 10/8/20 from @nc41 in BIF 12. Reviewed 11/7/20.
12 oz bottle marked on neck “BOTTLED 02/18/19 102-034 12:12:44”. Stored at home at 42 degrees and served at 60 degrees in a hand washed and dried Jester King snifter. Final temperature 62.4 degrees.
Appearance – 4.
First pour – Lighter than Pale straw (SRM 2), clear.
Body – Straw (SRM 3), hazy and opaque. When held to direct light, same. Some lumps of sediment form nucleation points for some heavy effervescence.
Head – Small (Maximum two cm, aggressive center pour), white, high density, fizzy with average retention, reducing to a three to four mm crown, (fed at multiple points by aggressive effervescence) and a complete cap of varying thickness.
Lacing – Excellent! Wide band of tiny bubbles with an occasional small bubble.
Aroma – 4 – Begins with slightly salty aroma like a gose and some Brettanomyces mixed aromas along with some mild Noble hops-like aroma. No malt.
Flavor – 4 - Slightly acidic with a not-particularly-pear aftertaste. No malt, no hops. No alcohol (5.5 % ABV, as marked on container) taste or aroma. No dimethylsulfide or diacetyl.
Palate – 4.25 – Medium, watery, soft carbonation.
Final impression and summation: 4 Pear has always seemed a mild fruit to me, not assertive in either flavor or aroma. Here it blends well with the Brettanomyces flavors to produce a delightful brew enhanced with an excellent mouthfeel. This is one I want to savor, but it goes down much too quickly.

Rating 4.03. rDev -1.7%.

Thanks Dale - another excellent selection!

 

And now my NBS entry into NBW:




Chien de Ferme from Wicked Weed. Received 10/8/20 from @nc41 in BIF 12. Reviewed 11/8/20.
12 oz bottle marked on neck “BOTTLED 05/28/19 101-043 12:02:50”. Stored at home at 42 degrees and served at 58 degrees in a hand washed and dried Jester King snifter. Final temperature 59.1 degrees.
Appearance – 4.
First pour – Pink, clear.
Body – Coquelicot, hazy and opaque. When held to direct light, it penetrates.
Head – Average (Maximum 3.8 cm, aggressive center pour), pink, high density, fizzy with average retention, reducing to a three to five mm crown, (fed at multiple points by effervescence) and a partial cap of varying thickness.
Lacing – Just a few small islands of tiny bubbles clinging to the glass.
Aroma – 4.25 – Begins with slightly salty aroma like a gose and some Brettanomyces mixed aromas along with weak cherry. No malt, no hops.
Flavor – 4.5 – Begins slightly acidic with a distinct cherry aftertaste. No malt, no hops. No alcohol (5.3 % ABV, as marked on container) taste or aroma. No dimethylsulfide or diacetyl.
Palate – 4.25 – Medium, watery, lively carbonation.
Final impression and summation: 4.25 Very good! Cherry and Brettanomyces can produce very complimentary taste sensations without getting into the all-too-often cloying sweetness of the cherries or the sometimes-distasteful funk of the Brett species – the goal is balance.
Rating 4.34, rDev 0%.

Damn Dale, you've got good taste. The majority of the beers you sent in BIF 12 were excellent, and the weakest ones were still very good! Thanks man!

 

Greetings fellow NBEers (still seems odd to say). A clear, but windy and chilly day here in the Fourth Corner. Somewhat sad though, as I had to make the decision to make the seasonal transition to long pants, from shorts. C'mon April!!!

Starting the beer part of my day with a very tasty treat, courtesy @FBarber and recent ninja box, New Glarus Nectar Ale. Grape, oak, apple, and grains came together very nicely here.

https://www.beeradvocate.com/beer/profile/590/477196/

 

Cypress third child
...light carbonation with a just above average body
...solid black appearance
...aroma is coffee grinds, espresso beans,dark chocolate, some mild hint of dark fruit
...taste is dark roasted coffee, roasted malt, until it warms it had a slight sourness. Roasted malt,dark bread
..overall it was very good but slightly unremarkable

 

Checking in from the NBS BIF with a beer from @FBarber . Thanks Frank!
Described as an imperial stout aged in Knob Creek barrels with cocoa, vanilla, and pecans added:

Odd Side Ales - Bourbon Baller Stout - 12% abv

L - Pours dark chocolate with a thin mocha head

S - Sharp bourbon alcohol, chocolate, caramel

T - Roasty malts, chocolate with a bit of vanilla sweetness. Plenty of barrel character - maybe too much.

F - Thin in comparison to a typical pastry stout. Finishes on the dry side.

O - Lighter touch with the barrel would have yielded a stout more to my preferences. Knob Creek is my least favorite of the four Jim Beam small batch bourbons, and that might have contributed to my dislike of the barrel character. It does remind me of the time I made chocolate bourbon balls with Booker's for a party - they had a hell of a kick.

 

I interpret it the same as you do. Cheers !

 

I had a couple new beers yesterday but had no time to think about them, let alone review them. But, now, the kids are in bed, my wife is away and I am enjoying this great little coffee stout from @Ozzylizard received in the recent NBS BIF.



Pours a cola black with a moderate deep brown head that dissipates to nothing slowly.

The aroma is heavy on coffee, coffee of the two creams to sugars variety. A little chocolate and toasty grain in the background.

Sweet, milky coffee hits the tongue first. No coffee bitterness to speak of. There is a little caramel note there as well that emerges as the beer warms.

Body is a little thinner than expected, but not thin.

This is a nice sweet coffee stout. Many thanks Bob.