New Beer Weekend #17

Sorry to hear that. Best wishes going forward.

 

Final new beer for NBS 820 / NBW 17, this one the very prominent Founders offering I believe distributed for the first time this Fall (or the first time outside of Michigan). it is a beautiful Sunday morning in terms of warmth, due to a strong southerly breeze, so will put in a nice walk after this offering.

Founders KBS Maple Mackinac Fudge



Label Disclosures: 2020 release, 11% ABV, 12 oz bottled 10/15/20 (0125 6 additional code). "Malt Beverage With Artificially Flavored Mackinac Fudge Coffee. Barrel Aged series, The Amazing Kosmicki's Highly Acclaimed KBS. A Flavored Stout, Maple Mackinac Fudge. Imperial Stout with Mackinac Fudge Coffee, Maple-Syrup and Chocolate Aged in Oak Bourbon Barrels.

Online Disclosure: 40 IBUs.

Appearance: Pitch black pour, rich creamy rich dark tan head lingers for a few minutes, before dissipating leaving a prevalent bubbly ring around the glass and a fine razor thin layer covering most of the base. 4.5

Aroma: Very strong and pleasant fudge, definitely truth in advertising. Light roast chocolate malt lingers if you search long enough. I let this warm up 15 minutes from the refrigerator before first sip, and the aroma stayed consistent. Would have liked to have picked up some barrel or coffee. 4.0

Taste: Much broader than the aroma. Rich fudge does lead, strong roast chocolate and roast coffee backing. Combination is very similar to a warm brownie out of the oven. The barrel is smooth and pleasant, and packs a powerful punch consistent with the abv. As this warms, the bourbon strength balances out the rich fudge well, and the barrel oak is enjoyable once this warms. Vanilla and maple also noted well into the pour, complements well. Despite the sweet flavors identified, this is a nicely balanced adjunct flavored stout, the sweet components complementing the barrel and malt, producing an rich and enjoyable offering. Really like what Founders did with this one. 4.75

Mouthfeel: Rich full creamy body, minuscule carbonation noted. Very pleasurable drinking. light lacing left throughout the pour. Very balanced, very much appreciated as many times these "desert" stout offerings are too sweet and mask the underlying beer and bourbon barrel. Lightly dry, easy finish, faint fudge lingers post pour. 5.0

Overall: Extremely pleased to have picked up this offering. Reasonably priced ($22.99 plus tax for 48 oz), very well crafted, excellent balance, bursting with flavor. Can't ask for more with this style, grateful I have more in store and may run out to grab another four pack. Will also age one or two bottles to see the impact over 1-2 years. Hope Founders makes this an annual offering, will definitely purchase and enjoy in the future. 4.5

Hope you can grab a four pack near you. Time to catch up on the rest of yesterday's posts.

Cheers!

 

Sorry about your Dad. Everything is tough. Squeeze his hand and tell him you love him.

 

Pours a nice solid jet black color with a nice tan head and lacing
Aroma has ginger, cinnamon, nutmeg and bourbon hints
The taste follows the nose with a silky chocolate milk and ginger, cinnamon, nutmeg and bourbon flavors
A light bodied decently carbonated beer
A well done stout

 

Greetings All,
Today it's Foothills Festival Express IPA listed at 5.7% abv. It is very hazy, redolent of pine and citrus, and pitches a big frothy head that wants to persist. It is a very bitter ale and rewarding for its low alcohol drinkability. Tons of flavor through and through, it still remains a touch one dimensional, but I do like it and the price is right. I would buy it again and hope to see it on tap some day!
Pictured are a couple of gamestones that I have collected through the years. The Neolithic granite ball was found on a drought stricken island in a local reservoir. The more modern (circa 2000) balata spider encrusted nodule was found on the same lake, deep in the woods while looking for my missing gamestone. Technology in action over centuries. Good luck to everyone.....

 

The vanilla beans from different countries apparently have some different flavors attributed to their terroir and growing region similar to wine grapes. Whether we can taste the differences between the vanilla in a stout is another question, but the vanilla beans themselves do tend to have a unique flavor depending on the country of origin. Trillium has made some beers with several different types of vanilla beans, and I do notice a difference in the vanilla taste in some of them, and some I didn't seem to enjoy as much. One type of vanilla tasted like sweet cotton candy confectionary almost, another was a bit dark fruit or red winey, others are more creamy, some like vanilla icing or frosting. They have posted some pictures of them cutting up huge vanilla beans as well in the past for certain beers. I haven't tried those particular MT variant beers but I wouldn't doubt some of the difference in taste between the variants is the different type of vanilla used.

https://www.beanilla.com/vanilla-faqs

I'm actually about to drink a beer with vanilla beans in it myself, and possibly a new to me variety of vanilla at least as far as I know.

 

Good Sunday morning, NBW crew. I didn't think I had a new beer for today, but the GF had purchased a local brewer's flavored stout, so I figured I'd annoy grace you with my thoughts about it. The beer is from Old Bust Head - an oddly named brewery that makes fair beers. It was one of the few breweries locally that put some effort into distributing packaged brews early, so it gained a little footing. Their Gold Cup stouts are standouts to me, with last year's barrel-aged version being quite exceptional in my few times with it.

This beer is a variant of their Caramel Macchiato Stout (which the GF likes), with the addition of peppermint - appropriately name Peppermint Caramel Macchiato Stout. The can also mentions cocoa bean extracts, but I am not entirely sure that is a difference from a basic stout or a difference from the Caramel Macchiato Stout. As I typed the GF poured a regular which read (paraphrased) "stout with caramel malts aged on coffee and vanilla beans"


This is on of those odd cases where the two pours produced somewhat different head - the first being more fluffy, cloud-like, and creamy. Both held their head pretty well (and both had better top cover better than the regular that was poured). Side note: can dated 10/5, bottle of regular dated 7/17.

The difference in dates could explain the difference in nose - with the newer version being more porminent. The peppermint tends to overshadow the other notes, but the caramel, coffee, and dry brownie notes show up in both, in about equal strengths - though to reiterate, the regular doesn't have peppermint pushing the scents aside.

Perhaps in part due to these being regular-strength stouts, the beers are not too sweet - though they're not overly dry, either. The older beer has a little more roasted stout flavors (including coffee, which could be the beans as much as the malts) with an accent of caramel. The latter note lingers, though, slightly sweetening things.

How does the newer peppermint variant compare?

There's a slightly more earthy quality initially with the peppermint can. I think it's the mint interaction with the roast/coffee notes in a slightly odd way. Peppermint rises from the ground, so to speak, to take hold of the beer. It's a dominant flavor, but not completely overpowering. The stout base is still in play, though all other added flavors (caramel, vanilla, chocolate) could have taken the day off here.

All in all, these are fairly well done regular stouts. The added flavors come through in varying degrees, with the definitively new beer to me being perhaps a tad heavy on its signature ingredient. I haven't reviewed the regular, though I am pretty sure I've had at least a taste of it, but I'm thinking around 3.8 for both, give or take a tenth.

The GF wasn't sure she'd like the peppermint as well, but stated it is tasting a little better to her this morning.

Ok, the rest of the day includes a bunch of the Masters, like @lordofthewiens. Sorry to hear about your dad's struggles, @tasterschoice62. Hope the rest of you have a good end of the weekend with a good, and possibly new, beer.

 

This morning’s new to me beer is “Poputchik” a RIS by Energy City Brewing, Batavia, IL:



Brewed 3-5-18. Poured at 54 degrees; black with ruby edges; khaki tan head; ok cap retention; heavy ring; bands of soapy lace; thin legs. Roast malt nose. Bittersweet dark chocolate; bitter roast malt; plums on backend. Medium body; moderate minus carbonation; thin silky feel; no warmth from 10% abv; dry finish. Overall a very approachable RIS; long bitter roast linger; a Marshall Zhukov’s lite kinda stout in feel and taste; I like and would drink again.

4.5 | 4.0 | 4.25 | 4.0 | 4.0
Score: 4.13 rDev -1.9%
Thanks to @mschrei for another great beer from Illinois!

 

Happy Sunday everyone! Right now I'm joining @Roguer and @FBarber amongst others in the everlasting quest for different vanilla beans. I'm drinking a new Trillium - Barrel Aged Double Pot & Kettle imperial oatmeal porter with Mexican vanilla beans.

Pot & Kettle is an original flagship dark beer from Trillium, brewed as an oatmeal porter, then a Double version, a barrel aged version, and a few variants with coffee, chocolate, vanilla, etc. I have never had the original Double Pot & Kettle or any barrel aged form of Pot & Kettle so I'm excited about this. It's also been a little while since I've had any barrel aged beer from Trillium.

Brewery notes:

Just recently released a few weeks back, this beer pours a deep dark black with a small but retaining light brown tan foam head.

Smells rich and luscious, huge waves of rich fudgy dark chocolate, roasty coffee notes, fresh vanilla beans, lightly meaty smoke, toasty oak barrel, smooth bourbon, toffee, caramel, dark brown sugar, molasses, dark dried fruits, figs, some raisins, dates, maybe pruned plums, hints of subtle sweet spices, marshmallow, with hints of earthy hop notes.

First sip is revelatory and luxurious, dangerously sippable and great. Taste exudes big rich flavors of fudgy dark chocolate, coffee roast, dark fruits, dried fruits, fresh vanilla beans, rich and complex vanilla flavors, toasty oaky bourbon barrel, toffee, caramel, dark brown sugar, molasses, light meaty smoke, marshmallow, subtle sweet spice, dried figs, raisins, dates, pruned plum, almost a touch of red wine flavor, with mild earthy hops balancing the sweetness. Really rich, concentrated, sweet enough for a bourbon barrel aged dark beer with vanilla, without crossing the line into dessert territory. Pretty good balance for what it is.

Feels lighter medium bodied, creamy with smooth moderate carbonation. A bit lighter, thinner and possibly more carbonated mouthfeel than their typical barrel aged or pastry stout, though this is an imperial porter keep in mind, not an imperial stout. Definitely not a very "light body" or feel though, I would still call it medium.

Overall this is really tasty and I'm enjoying it. The abv is well covered up in the taste and there is ultra smoothness throughout for a 14% abv beer. Really good vanilla taste, I'm not sure if the smoke note is coming from the Mexican vanilla or from the malts used in the beer since I haven't had Pot & Kettle in a long time, either way this is a really nice version of the beer. Great barrel taste, prominent vanilla, base beer is still there with a good overall balance and flavor profile. Glad I was able to get a bottle of this one. Cheers everyone and happy New Beer Weekend!

 

Just like yesterday, I'm starting off with a stout courtesy of @Whyteboar. This one is Bell's 35th Anniversary Expedition Stout Reserve. I've been looking forward to this one, as I've seen several of you review it with largely postiive feedback.

Review below, but this did not disappoint. Thank you, Craig for sending it my way!

4.29/5 rDev -3.8%
look: 4 | smell: 4.25 | taste: 4.25 | feel: 4.75 | overall: 4.25

Pours pretty close to completely black with a short lived tan head. Nice looking beer, if somewhat unremarkable. Aroma is really nice. Notes of malt, chocolate, raisins & figs are all present, resutling in a smell that fairly accurately captures what I'm looking for in a heavy stout.

Taste is quite nice. Not as boozy and very smooth for the ABV. This goes down VERY easily. Taste is nice, roasted malt with some chocolate notes. Medium bitterness. Finish is right in the middle for me, neither particulary dry nor sweet.

Feel really stands out for me. Chewy, yet silky smooth. Alcohol is very well hidden. Not at all syrupy.

Overall, a very well done stout.

 

Siren Broken Dream


Pours night black in color with a dark brown, fluffy big head.


Smells of matured hops, burned malts, ground coffee and dried blueberries. This got additional layer of earth, rock sugar and bakers chocolate on top, creating a truly inviting nose.


This drinks smooth with a fantastic, creamy silkness to it, with a late, well working lighter effervescence.


Tastes of milk chocolate, dried apples, rich espresso coffee, sweet, yet scorched malts and whipped cream. This produces a rich and soft mouthfeel, emphasizing the sweeter chocolate in this the most, while establishing a well working licorice and roast counterpart. Finishes chocolate forward, with complimenting, bitter cocoa nibs, sweet fudge and maintaining cream.


This is a fantastic Stout, with an intense interplay between roasty, bitter, dry and sweet flavors. The flavor intensity gets almost playfully balanced by the beer‘s fantastic mouthfeel, making this delicious throughout.