New Beer Weekend #21

East Sixth Brewing's That'll Never Make It To India Hazy Pale Ale, 5.6% ABV; 4.07 Overall score

Pours a very hazed gold with2 fingers of fluffy ivory colored head. Above average head retention & lacing

S: Strawberry and mango

T: Lime, kiwifruit, dryness & a little orange up front. More kiwi fruit, green melon & dryness as this warms. Finishes dry, with lime & kiwi fruit & a little grassyness

MF: Medium body, soft carbonation, decent balance

Wish the flavor was as good as the nose, still pretty drinkable

 

I review as much for me as everyone else. I am at the age where I need to look these up & see if I've had them before. Such is a ticker's lamentation

 

It's bizarro world, as the Eagles are actually winning against the Saints, which ironically is probably exactly opposite of what would be in their long-term best interest (high draft pick is preferable to wins at this point). Anyway, last beer for the weekend is Backroads, a "sumac country beer" from Suarez. It's made with foraged sumac and a bit of locally grown marigolds, and it's really good. This is just a flat out great brewery, and I love the fact that you will find nary an IPA on their beer menu. He just brews what he likes to brew.

Cheers, all!

4.18/5 rDev -3.7%
look: 4.5 | smell: 4 | taste: 4.25 | feel: 4 | overall: 4.25

Bottle was an absolute gusher when I opened it, yet the head on this when poured was thin and very short-lived. The color is glorious. It's an extremely vibrant, mostly clear glowing gold color. Pleasantly unique. Aroma has plenty of traditional saison funk to it with what I suspect must be the sumac providing some notes as well (I have no idea what sumac smells like).
Taste has a really nice combo of traditional saison with herbal notes, light acidity & funk. It's subtle, yet complex. Relatively dry. As with most Suarez beers, it's also crisp & clean. Dude just flat out knows how to brew good beer.

 

Really enjoying Hop Butcher Milkstachio watching this Eagles-Saints game, thanks @FBarber!
4.12/5 rDev +4.3%
look: 4.25 | smell: 4 | taste: 4.25 | feel: 4 | overall: 4

Thank you FBarber for this
16 oz can poured into a pint glass

A- Black with a two finger mocha head.

S- Chocolate, roasted malts, some caramel malts, touch of lactose, hints of pistachio.

T- Chocolate/cacao nibs, some caramel malts, a little nutty, some lactose, touch of roasted malts.

M- Smooth, medium body.

O- I was hoping for more pistachio in this but still a tasty sweet stout that’s easy to drink.

Cheers!

 

Head Full of Dynomite v25. According to Untappd, Citra, El Dorado, and Nelson Sauvin

16oz can served in a big snifter. Packaged 12/10/20. Bought it yesterday at the brewery.

Pours a hazy whitish-orange with a big fluffy head that dissipates to a bunch of clumps on the surface of the beer and the side of the glass. Plenty of carbonation. Smell is a small amount of melon, and some orange pith, and some pineapple or papaya or both.

Taste is sweet, juicy, tropical fruit with a light hop resin bitterness on the finish. Taste is soft and welcoming. Neither oversweet nor sharply hoppy. Surprisingly balanced, though leaning toward the sweet side.

Mouthfeel is fluffy, light. Overall, really nice.

 

Having a very tasty beer today, glad to see it around. Might be back with another new one.

https://www.beeradvocate.com/beer/profile/267/517047/?ba=Wasatch#review

Cheers!

 

Mast Landing is usually pretty solid. I can get it around here but unfortunately it becomes a shelf sitter.
Working in Maine all summer I had it on tap - all hoppy beers though- and it was always good.

 

Tree House Fruit Project Stonefruit 8.4 abv
4.5/4.5/4.25/4.25/4.25/. 4.33. +.08

Pours like a glass of grapefruit, cloudy yellow, foamy dissipating head and nice lacing as it’s consumed
Aroma is strong ripe fruit as in peach, guava ,mango and orange rind
Taste is fruity and slightly bitter. Hoppy as well
Mouthfeel is smooth and full, low carbonation and a slightly bitter sticky lingering finish
Overall it’s a juice bomb it’s thick and easy drinking but not one I’d like to have more then one at a time. It’s really heavy, I liked it.

 

Another beer from my beer nerd friend @tasterschoice62, he sent me a box in NBW BIF 12.5 absolutely crammed with fantastic hops. This is yet another example.





4.35/5 rDev +4.6%
look: 4.25 | smell: 4.25 | taste: 4.5 | feel: 4.25 | overall: 4.25

New beer AND a new brewery for me, excited to try it. The beer pours a hazy pineapple color with a pearl white head that coats the glass. Literally looks like a glass of pineapple juice. The nose is dank citrus notes, with pineapple, grapefruit, and what comes across as a particularly spicy lemon-lime aroma most prominent.

The pineapple and grapefruit are really forward on the taste, with the lemon-lime following for an exotic flair (hello Motueka hops), but the differentiator for this beer is the oats, for a creamy flavor and mouthfeel, and the rye at the very end for a surprisingly clean, spicy finish.

This is a beer I’d love to enjoy on draft at a bar in the city on a warm summer night. Exceptionally well done, IMHO.

 

Just finished my side-by-side of the last BCBS variant, Kentucky Fog:


Overall, I found the tea notes interesting and more distinct on the nose than the taste. I found it brought both a floral and mild spice (earthy, root) to the base beer. I presume it was the honey added some sweetness I could have done without.

Compared to the base beer, which has more of a dark fruit vibe, Kentucky Fog brings a hint of berry behind the honey blossom and spice. Overall, the newcomer comes across as a lighter beverage, a little easier to drink, at first. The extra sweetness slows me down after a while, though. Interesting and enjoyable beer, but not as good as the base beer or Special #4, in my opinion.

 

903 Brewers Oak-Aged Maple Coffee Pecan Porter Reserve Batch 1, 13.6% ABV; 3.87 overall

Pours an effervescent mahogany with a pinky of rapidly falling caramel colored head. Zero head retention & lacing

S: Maple candy & a little brown sugar

T: Follows the nose, some coffee on the tip of the tongue up front. Dryness, more maple candy & coffee as this warms, a little vanilla. Finishes dry with maple candy & a little coffee

MF: Light/medium body, prickly carbonation up front. body thickens up & the carbonation calms down as this warms, also became warming booze-wise

Not bad, but had higher hopes

 

#2, my favorite brewery .....





4.6/5 rDev +8%
look: 4.5 | smell: 4.5 | taste: 4.75 | feel: 4.5 | overall: 4.5

Pours black with a dense, dark tan head, this big ol’ imperial stout features vanilla, rich cocoa, oak, and rye whiskey notes on the nose. Just wow.

The taste is a little boozy courtesy of the rye whiskey barrels, but actually helps balance the vanilla, decadent cocoa, and oak notes that complete this jackhammer imperial stout.

The mouthfeel is more than a little creamy, and full enough to provide a proper finish. I like this a bunch more than the version aged in maple barrels, which was really good but a little too muddled. This version of Bad Hombre is sharp and on point.

 

New Anthem On Cassette

16oz can served in a big snifter. Contrary to the photo on this listing, it says Mosaic, Citra, Amarillo, El Dorado. Bottom is stamped with 20 302, which might mean 28 October?

Pours very murky amber-yellow with a medium to small head. Smell is mango and tropical juice.

Taste is still tropical, but quite bitter. Pithy. Nice, but not inspiring.

Mouthfeel is medium, smooth, not very carbonated, slight chalkiness. Overall, it's good, but as I said earlier, not inspiring.

 

Final entry for the night. Thanks for reading, folks! Before continuing to my review proper, I just want to write some stuff not related to this particular review.

This is one of my favorite weekend traditions, and I feel so grateful to be able to consistently imbibe and enjoy so many great new beers, and even more grateful for the ability to share them with a receptive and like-minded crowd such as this. As I have been drinking and working on writing these reviews today, I've also been putting together a very exhaustive post for the "End of the Year Beer Lists" thread here on BA, and I have found myself reflecting over just how brutal this year has been in so many ways, along with how I have tended to still stick by consuming, reviewing, and discussing excellent beer as a way, alongside other personal hobbies, to find some happiness and joy (and, yes, inebriation... within reason, of course) throughout the tumult of 2020. Sláinte, and may we all continue to persevere!



My last entry today is this, a "Bière de Coupage" (aka blended beer) by Honest Weight out of Orange, MA. I have enjoyed a lot of their beers before, and have even reviewed and discussed several other beers that are in a kinda similar style to this one before. Alternate Ending is an 85%/15% blend of a Mosaic-hopped saison-style ale (brewed with local, MA-grown German pilsner malt and spelt) and a "mature, tart barrel aged Saison." The resulting mixture was then dry-hopped with more Mosaic, and it clocks in at 6.9% ABV. That sounds freaking delicious, so I'm really pumped.

The pour is pretty delicate-looking and not too extravagant. It has a thin head of eggshell-white head that forms atop a translucent (and very hazy) yellow-orange beer that looks like orange-pineapple juice. Very healthy appearance, though the lack of lace or legs, or even surface coverage whatsoever is more than a little disappointing to me, personally.

The nose is extremely promising, however, so I am choosing to remain positive with this one. Mosaic is immediately very prominent, lending some strong dank overtones and a hint of red berry jam to what seems to be a very nice, tart saison blend with a strict tannic structure at the forefront. I'm surprised, right off the bat, with how forward the 15% blended aged saison feels here. Light earthy funk, and a hint of lemon-lime and other citrus fruit provides a fun and pretty sprightly component on top of the grainy saison base.

Tart and quenching; if I didn't know what the components were, I would probably find this to be an enjoyable mix between an oaky, funky saison base and a dry-hopped sour beer. This is quite a blend, therefore. Lots of tart granny smith apple, kiwi, melon, and guava. Again, it's surprising that a full 85% of this is a hoppy saison, because it almost feels like a 50/50 split between that and a mature barrel-fermented, mixed-culture saison. I guess a little can go a long way in the world of beer-blending, and I suppose we don't know the true nature (or pH ) of the 15% component beer, or even if it's drinkable/pleasant when not blended with something else. Feel is medium-bodied and a bit dense at times, but it's lively enough for the most part, especially for almost 7%. Carbonation is dialed-in and feels adequate to push important elements around the palate without being overbearing or odd.

I have to say that the Mosaic dry-hop again comes off superbly even on the tongue. These hops throw out a lot of pineapple, passion fruit, and grapefruit/pomelo flavors in this blend, along with notes of lychee and ripe raspberry juiciness... but, I have to say that I think I'm missing a bit of the graininess claimed in the description of the base saison that makes up the majority of the blend. I wanna taste that spelt, ya know?! It almost feels a little too tart for me, personally. Maybe that is nit-picking, but I'm okay with being labeled as overly-critical when it comes to things like this... this kind of release feels made to dissect and discuss, as the brewers very likely wouldn't create something in this vein if they weren't passionate and putting important stuff on the line to experiment.


Brutality reigns supreme. Intense and overwhelming death metal for an intense and overwhelming year! This album is nonstop violent savagery, and I can't get enough of it.

Goodnight, all. Hope everyone here has a great upcoming week!

 

My last new(ish) beer for the weekend, 2SP/Wawa Holiday Reserve Coffee Stout. I did drink a can on Monday but did not take the time to review it so I am finally reviewing today to celebrate the Eagles winning, I think that what I saw.
4.28/5 rDev +4.9%
look: 4.25 | smell: 4.25 | taste: 4.25 | feel: 4 | overall: 4.5

16 oz can poured into a pint glass

A- Black with a three finger mocha head

S- Cinnamon, nutmeg, roasted coffee, hints of chocolate, some caramel malts, touch of cloves and ginger.

T- Roasted coffee, some chocolate, nutmeg, cloves, cinnamon, touch of ginger, touch of slightly acidic coffee.

M- Smooth, medium body.

O- Another well done Wawa coffee collaboration, honestly reminds me of nice spiced coffee I would make at Wawa.

Please stay safe everyone and wear a mask, until next week’s thread, cheers NBW!

 

Tonight's NBW is Baracus, a 9.6%abv Russian Imperial Stout , from Talking Cursive Brewing Co.
I've only had one other beer from them, and quite enjoyed it, so giving this one a go .
https://www.beeradvocate.com/beer/profile/56656/484587/
Starting off......if nothing else, this is a beauty of a beer.


2020 edition. Undated can that I picked up in early October. Label says that it's good for up to 3 years, so should be in good condition. Let warm to about 55F before opening.

L: Deep cola-brown, with three fingers of long-lasting thick tan head. Leaves 1 1/2" of lacing on the glass, with a 3/16" ring , an a thin, but complete surface coverage. Bottom line : stouts don't come any prettier than this. (5)

S: Smell is initially light cocoa, a hint of chocolate liqueur, and a light nutty roasted malt aroma. As the head fades, a deeper chocolate note becomes apparent, similar to brownie batter, of moderate intensity. There is also more of the roasty malt element, becoming more earthy and woody (as in charred wood that been damp and decaying for a few years).(4.25)

T: Taste is initially dark chocolate cake, but less sweet, followed by a little tang - guessing from rye - , finishing with a bit of roasted nuts and wood , (as in the aroma, but milder) overlaying the chocolate. Light pleasant bitterness throughout. There is some light, but noticeable spiciness that lingers after finish . Guessing it's from rye and hops.(4.25)

F: Feel is light-side-of-heavy, oily, with moderate carbonation, that has some bite towards finish. A bit of astringent burn at the back of the throat , at, & after finish.(3.5)

O: Overall , pretty good , but that burn at the back of the throat is too apparent, distracting and detracting from the whole experience. Probably needs to be aged longer. Good enough that I'm willing to get more, let it sit, and try again in six months to a year.
If I had some ice cream to go with it (French Vanilla? Maple Walnut?), that^ part wouldn't be so off-putting. Given all the ingredients, it was not as complex as I had expected. All-in-all , it's good, but needs some time/work. (4)
4.17/5 rDev 0%
look: 5 | smell: 4.25 | taste: 4.25 | feel: 3.5 | overall: 4
https://www.beeradvocate.com/beer/profile/56656/523294/

 

Sumac(Rhus typhina & [less commonly] Rhus glabra) " lemonade" - really herbal tea, from the steeped fruit - has the flavor of lemonade + Acerola*/fruit punch. I remember Grandma W. (b. 1907) mentioning that when she was a kid , people drank that to prevent & cure worms. (Which ones, I don't know) .
Came up in conversation with Great-Grandma W (Grandma's mother-in-law - b. 1888, whose mother was Onondaga - though not living w/ the people for 2-3 generations ), & she confirmed that use of it. Never tried it as a kid , but have made it a few times in the last couple decades. It does taste good.

* Acerola is a southwestern Hawthorn(Craetagus sp.) relative ,& has similar, but apparently better, edible fruit. Had it in a couple of different , widely disparate, "natural" sodas. Though so different, I did get one similar taste - a fruit punch flavor - so assume that belonged to the one common element (besides water ) - Acerola.