New Beer Weekend #17

I send you my warmest thoughts for your dad and the rest of the family. Hopefully he is at peace with his situation. I started in hospice in the last month but my fading is very gradual.

Again, all the best !!

 

Going off topic but will the pairings be done for Holiday BIF tomorrow? I would like to get a box out before things get complicated. Thanks man!

 

Thank You kind Sir. The important thing is you seem to be enjoying yourself and thats a tremendous thing.
Keep on keepin on. Cheers!

 

I was in Livingston Manor today and picked up this crowler directly from the brewery:

Catskill Foeder

Man, I love this kind of thing! A great casual wild ale, bracingly tart and crisp, balanced with mild funk, spice, straw and a good dose of oaky tannin on the finish. Ideally I'd tweak the tartness down and barnyard up a bit, but for an everyday drinker it's got more than enough complexity and personality going for it. High B+, just under a 4 overall, but the intangibles of being able to get something like this on draught or in a crowler would also deserve points from me. I wish I lived closer.

 

I try to make the best of the little I can do.

I send hugs to you, your Dad and the whole family.

 

From the Black Horizon website:
"Our entry to FOBAB this year is an experimental take on our house Milkshake IPA. Sugar Bomb is aged for 6 months in local Koval Bourbon Barrels. The end result was a creamy and oaky IPA with notes of bourbon, vanilla, cream, and mild hop fruit."
When I think of a milkshake IPA I think of it as a further substyle of the New England substyle of IPA. I expect a turbid, if only cloudy, body and a thicker feel with lactose influence. I do not think of a crystal clear body with a medium feel. However...



16oz can, undated, but released 11/13, shows a clear, golden orange-ish body that briefly floats a 1/2" head of white mixed bubbles that quickly dissolve to soapy before disappearing altogether with random spotted lacing running back to the body.

Aroma is vanilla strong with hints of oak and I think I can discern bitter hops. The proud vanilla flavor matches the aroma with subtle notes of oak and hop bitterness that reminds me of black pepper way back on the palate. All very complimentary and easy drinking. Bourbon essence floats above, through, and around the smell and taste without introducing itself, just a hover. The bourbon essence seems to balance the sugary, vanilla sweetness, without showing its abv hand. No warmth, no tannin, no booze. If this is 7%, be aware.

Mouthfeel is a creamy medium with an almost sticky, (sugar stickiness) finish.

Overall this has to be the most vanilla milkshake-like beer I have ever had, and I like it. If it were called a cream ale I would believe it. The only IPA quality I detect is the classic clear orangish-gold body.
Is there a milkshake IPA style guide? I have to rate this by enjoyment rather than style. Very enjoyable.

 

Reuben's Haze in the Hood.

16oz can served in a big snifter. Dated 11/05/20. Bought it at the brewery a couple hours ago.

Pours a hazy pale yellow. Smell is bright, citrus and pineapple. Slightly boozy.

Taste is very juicy, not too sweet, lots of citrus and tropical fruit, again I think dominated by pineapple but also with some mango or papaya or something. Bitter, pithy finish.

Mouthfeel is medium, lively and effervescent. Overall, very nice beer.

 

So sorry to hear about your dad's condition. Stay strong, and know that you're in our thoughts.

 

Went to a couple of nearby breweries today. Tried samples of their BA beers available in bottles...I did not buy any. One new beer today worth commenting on is Honey Badger Harvest IPA.https://www.beeradvocate.com/beer/profile/29442/304311/?ba=morimech#review

I enjoyed it more than my review may indicate. Nice old school hops but the sweetness in the finish ruined it for me. I suspect this is just their flagship IPA, which I also like, just with honey added.

 

I have reached critical mass in my beer fridges, so I have to work through some of my 750ML bottles. If I don’t, it will impact my ability to properly chill bottles and cans before crushing more porches in another NBW BIF event, and I won’t tolerate such a deplorable occurrence

Yep, first world beer nerd problems.

This is courtesy of my beer nerd friend @Roy_Hobbs. I was gonna save it until spring, but I can resist its charms no longer.







4.67/5 rDev +7.1%
look: 4.75 | smell: 4.5 | taste: 4.75 | feel: 4.5 | overall: 4.75

This gorgeous saison pours a slightly hazy golden straw color with the most beautiful soapy white head I’ve ever seen - and that head hangs around, dissipating very slowly in volume and provides excellent lacing. What a beautiful beer this is.

The nose is funky and citrusy. I get grapefruit and lemon, and a touch of the honey referenced on the bottle. The taste is rightly funky and properly citrusy, but the subtle sweetness from the honey really elevates this - just so, so crushable.

The mouthfeel is very dry and effervescent, verging on champagne in a beer, if that makes sense. What a magnificent beer this is. Truly world-class, IMHO.

 

I get champagne vibes from both Arthur and Anna, and they are both ridiculously good. I've said it before, but it bears repeating.... you would be extremely hard pressed to find better shelfies than Arthur, Anna & Florence, especially at $10 for a 750ml.

 

As luck would have it, I also am enjoying a Hill Farmstead beer. This one is Harlan, which is described as "Edward's slightly more aggressive alter-ego". I figured this would be a good post dinner treat (my fancy dinner was McDonald's cheeseburgers....I like to keep it classy)

On the whole, I found this to be good+, but not great. As always, you can chalk some of that up to the fact that I'm not a huge fan of IPAs. On the whole, I liked Edward (reviewed last weekend) a bit more.

4.09/5 rDev -5.5%
look: 4 | smell: 4.25 | taste: 4 | feel: 4.25 | overall: 4

Canned 10/29/20 & poured into a tulip. Vibrant, hazy murky yellow color with relatively minimal head but plenty of lacing. Aroma is tropical fruit. Taste is a nice balance of pepper, pine bitterness, & juiciness. Not sure if that describes it properly, but whatever it is, it works. Nice full mouthfeel. Overall this one is a bit hard for me to describe. It's enjoyable, but stands out less for me than some of Hill's other offerings.

 

Greetings, NBW drinkers, I hope everyone is having a nice weekend. Thanks to @zid for getting things started and all the best to @tasterschoice62 and his family. My wife and I are trying to take advantage of the last days of nice weather we may get around here. Today was brisk but sunny, and a nice day to stroll through the local cemetery. We paused by a pond to admire and observe some of the wildlife before coming home to make some vegan tofu rancheros that turned out very well.

After that I settled into my first contribution for the weekend. @FBarber and I had an exchange about Revolution's Deep Wood Series not long ago in the BIF thread. Shortly after a local trade fell into my lap which resulted in me bringing home a small haul of some Revolution goods. Deth's Tar is the first one I've opened so far, and it has left me rather impressed.

4.39/5 rDev +1.2%
look: 4.25 | smell: 4.5 | taste: 4.5 | feel: 4 | overall: 4.25

Look - Dark brown, almost black, with a 1cm fizzy tan head after the pour.
Smell - Notes of chocolate, vanilla, and bourbon waft from the glass in equal proportions.
Taste - Bittersweet dark chocolate is the first thing I taste, followed by brown sugar and vanilla from the bourbon. A slight hint of toasted coconut on the finish.
Feel - Slick and oily, this had a lighter mouthfeel than I expected. Thin, but not to the detriment of the flavor concentration.
Overall - A high quality BA imperial stout.

 

Poured into a 13 oz Teku glass bottled on 6/10/2020. Pours pitch black with a finger brown head that leaves a few streaks of lace and disappears rather quick. 4.25

Smell is frosting, bakers chocolate, vanilla, and toffee. 4.5

Taste follows immediately frosting, cocoa nibs, vanilla, and toffee rather sweat, but still very tasty. 4.5

Mouthfeel is bigger than average a little syrupy, very little carbonation, not dry, and at 11% the alcohol is well hidden and exception drinkability. 4.25

Overall this is a very nice stout, wish it was a bit bigger in body and carbonation, but still really pleasant. Prairie Artisan Ales can seriously brew Stouts.4.25

 

Good evening NBW, I hope everyone is well. Next week is going to be challenging week, but just going to relax this weekend and worry about that when it comes. Starting with a new beer from @Dragginballs76, Frothy Beard Hyper Potion.

4.13/5 rDev 0%
look: 4 | smell: 4 | taste: 4.25 | feel: 4.25 | overall: 4

Thank you Dragginballs76 for this
16 oz can poured into an oversized wine glass

A- A hazy reddish copper with a three finger white head.

S- Sour, strawberries, touch curuba/passionfruit, slight tropical sweetness.

T- Tart, strawberries, lactose, slightly earthy, some curuba, a little sweet.

M- Smooth, light to medium body.

O- A tasty fruited sour, nice balance of flavors and easy to drink.

Cheers!

 

#2, I yelped out loud when I saw this in my beer store earlier this week. Yes, I willingly yelp about beer in public.

And I love this glass - one of my favorites. Probably another reason for the yelp, knowing I’d get to break it out whilst enjoying the beer.





4.14/5 rDev +4.3%
look: 3.75 | smell: 4 | taste: 4.25 | feel: 4 | overall: 4.25

An aggressive pour reveals a cola brown beer that you can see through pretty easily and sports a dense, creamy tan head. It’s a beautiful beer, but it doesn’t look like an imperial stout - more like a porter. Actually, EXACTLY like a porter.

The barrel is notable on the nose as an oak aroma, and there’s also a milk chocolate aroma that is very nice. The milk chocolate and oak notes are prominent on the taste, which is a good thing - very nice balance to this beer.

The mouthfeel is full and a little creamy, essentially in line with an imperial stout. Overall, this is really a pleasure to drink, but if you approach it as you’d approach a “typical” barrel-aged stout, you may be disappointed. It’s more in line with an imperial porter that has some barrel notes (hello oak!!!), if that makes sense.

 

Reuben's PNW Crush. Even better than both of the last two beers, which were both really good.

16oz can served in a big snifter. Dated 11/10/20. Bought it earlier today at the brewery.

Pours hazy pale amber with a small head. Smell is Simcoe and Centennial. Don't know if that's what's actually in here, but that's what the smell makes me think of.

Taste is right along the same lines. Hop resin, citrus and pine. This tastes great.

Mouthfeel is medium. Overall, this is an excellent beer.

 

Next new beer for me this weekend is Trillium's Daily Serving: Tropical Punch Berliner Weisse style ale brewed with Guava, Passion Fruit, Mango, Pineapple, Lime, and Lemon.

Brewery notes:

Pours an opaque cloudy orange yellow gold color with a creamy white foam head that lasts with decent retention and lacing around the glass.

Smells like a tart tropical tiki cocktail drink, fresh whole juicy passionfruit, mango, pineapple, guava, lime, lemon, hints of wheaty malt, and mild earthy floral hop notes.

Tastes like a fresh passionfruit smoothie, whole fresh tart passionfruit, pineapple, mango, guava, lemon, lime, creamy bready crackery wheaty malts, papaya, orange, tropical tiki drinks, and some mild earthy floral hop notes. Real smooth with intense juicy fresh whole fruit flavors and a little creamy wheat malt to balance. The acidity and tartness is minimal and what you might expect from eating these fresh tropical and citrus fruits. Nice packed flavor for 3.8% abv, very fruity, juicy and drinkable.

Feels medium plus bodied with a smoothie-like thickness, creamy with moderate carbonation.

Overall a real nice tropical punch fruited Berliner Weisse style beer. The featured fruits are really intense and blend together with the wheat malts to form a tiki cocktail smoothie-like experience. This almost feels like it drinks bigger than it is. An interesting tropical and citrus fruited sour beer. Cheers everybody!