New Beer Weekend #23

https://www.beeradvocate.com/commun...eers-of-2020-gear-patrol.652541/#post-7128646

Oxbow stood out. And you and I had a discussion about there being a large variety of styles such as lagers and saison. I’ll bring their hopped saison to the new beer weekend thread and do my best to explain why or why not be considered a “needed” outlier among all these haze beers.

cheers

 

Surly Vietnamese Coffee Rum BA Darkness Imperial Stout, 12% ABV. Pours very dark brown/light black with a murkiness that is certainly the add-junks, with a light cap of brown bubbles that can't be called a head. Googling "head" does not return a picture of this beer. Nose is rum, chocolate, coffee, and slight vanilla. Taste follows, with slight sweetness, slight coffee bitterness, and a real nice rum finish. Excellent thick and smooth mouthfeel with just-right carbonation, overall world-class. They had me at rum BA.

4.55/5 rDev +2.7%
look: 4.25 | smell: 4.25 | taste: 4.75 | feel: 4.25 | overall: 4.75

Nice winter day to watch some desperate teams vie for playoff spots, knowing our Packers are pretty well set. And drink some good beer!

 

Poured into a 16 oz Snulip glass canned on 12/21/2020. Pours a hazy yellow with a finger plus sticky white head that leaves thick rings of lace with excellent retention. 4.75

Aroma pineapple, a little peppery zest, passionfruit, melon, tangerine, and apricot. 4.25

Taste follows and this hop called Riwaka does give a little pepper hit, cantaloupe, passionfruit, pineapple, tangerine, and apricot really interesting and nice. 4.5

Mouthfeel is pretty big, soft gentle creamy carbonation, maybe a tad sticky but not dry, and at 8% ABV it drinks big in flavor but goes down very easy. 4.75

Overall I am digging The Longest Night. This hop makes it stand out and I always appreciate a little different. 4.5

 

Kentucky Rain a Barrel Aged Imperial Stout from the Trap Rock Restaurant & Brewery in Berkeley Heights NJ. Trap Rock opened in 1997 ant the brewer has been there for more the 15 Years .He has brewed Imperial Stouts many before. The last time he put part of the Stout into 3 different whiskey barrels, Jefferson, Markers Mark and Whiskey Pig (the 1st 2 were Bourbon the 3er was Rye), for 10 months. They were released in Oct, 2020. My beer is from a 500 ml bottle that was a Christmas gift. This brew poured into a Tulip is jet black with a thick brown head, There is a very powerful aroma of malt, Bourbon and Rye. The taste follows the aroma powerful but balanced, The mouthfeel is very full and a smooth as glass. There is a bit of a burn. The is Bourbon and long lasting. This beer is 11% ABV. Overall as good as any Barrel Aged Imperial Stout as I have yet had. May have to buy a few more bottles.

 

Howdy NBW
Picture this with a soapy white 1 inch head
Juice Project Citra+Mosaic from Tree House


4.29/5 rDev -2.7% | Average: 4.41
look: 4.5 | smell: 4.25 | taste: 4.25 | feel: 4.5 | overall: 4.25

Canned 12/4
Aggressive pour yield a white soapy quickly dissipating head
Golden thick yellow appearance
Aromas of ripe peach, melon, papaya maybe a hint of blueberry
Taste is tropical and kind of orangey, definitely a juicy double
Mouth feel is pretty sticky and slightly sweet, it’s chewy. Low carbonation and fairly smooth finish, almost like you get after a sip of orange juice
Overall it’s a quick drinker, smooth and little to no bite on the finish. I liked it.

 

Full disclosure...the wife and I split this one yesterday. First time we have had ourselves in quite a long time. And we are alone to ourselves today, too, and are just sitting around in the Christmas aftermath not having a clue what we used to do with nobody else around... Our now four grandson was full of energy but he was very well behaved - just wanted to be involved in everything from cookies, to dinner, and of course presents.

So yesterday's brew was a bottle of Het Anker's Gouden Carolus Noel that we gave had for a couple years now. Nice mahogany red brown pour with a long-lasting tightly bubbled beige-colored head. String aroma of spices, candi sugar, malt, and an earthy component. I can pick out clove , nutmeg, maybe cinnamon easily then it gets amorphous. Nice, but thinking this might be sweet on the taste.

Not so...it has just enough sweetness to counter the spice flavors. Clove, nutmeg, a licorice flavor that builds and lingers pleasantly - not a flavor I typically enjoy in a beer, but the sweetness tempers of well. Everything you would expect from the genre - fig/date and maybe cherry, peppery, molasses, a definite earthy component sneaks in.

This a very nice big beer for the season. It is in the 4 region for sure. Doesn't beat out my personal Christmas fave from St. Bernardus, but damned close.

Hope everyone is enjoying the season within the constraints we all face. Hopefully in a few days we roll into improving times.

 

I’m have yet again sickened myself of American hops so I won’t do the farmhouse pale but the euro pale instead. We get a lot of stuff around here from them

 

This is a good point. It's hard to track all the individual beers, but you do get a sense of which breweries should be on your radar.

 

Poured into a 16 oz tulip glass not sure when it was canned. Pours a hazy dark orange with a 2 finger sticky off white head that leaves big thick streaks of lace with excellent retention. 4.5

Aroma is tangerine, pineapple, melon, caramel, peach, and apricot. 4

Taste follows tangerine, pineapple, honeydew, peach, caramel, and apricot. Tangerine is most dominant for sure. 4

Mouthfeel is above medium, fairly soft creamy carbonation, a little sticky but not dry, and at 7% ABV it drinks bigger all around, but still really approachable. 4.25

Overall this is a really solid brew all around. I would recommend Pretentious Hopper from rek’•lis for sure. 4

 

Good afternoon post-Christmas NBWers, it's hard to recognize the start of a weekend when you haven't worked in a week.

Second beer of the day, first full beer, and first new beer: Hop-A-Tronic Lupulositor (Nelson and Citra) from River North. Apparently a variant that in new to the BA DB.

12oz can served in a SIP Fest 2020 snulip. Dated 10/13/20. Not sure if I got this from a friend or Tavour, but probably from @mr-jj, based on the date and our buying/sharing habits.

Pours a somewhat hazy yellow with a medium sized head and lots of carbonation. Smell is citrus/lemon, marshmallow, melon.

Taste is lemon, lemon zest, some melon sweetness, bitter zest finish.

Mouthfeel is light, dry, effervescent. Overall, it's pretty good.

 

I received this earlier this summer from the always generous @FBarber. He knows I'm a big fan of saisons, and sent me such a great selection that I'm still working my way through all of them. I needed something lighter this afternoon, and this definitely hit the spot.

4.1/5 rDev -8.3%
look: 4 | smell: 4 | taste: 4.25 | feel: 4 | overall: 4

Bottled 11/1619. Pours a mostly clear straw color with a small amount of fizzy & short-lived head. Aroma is pleasantly tart with what I think is the lilac lurking, but that may be imagined. Taste is a really nice balance of tart / funky, with the lilac defintely present, but in a complimentary fashion. Relatively minimal carbonation and a light feel overall.

This is well done, and very, very crushable.

Not unusual for me to come in under rDev, but it's less common with a saison (I have positive style bias typically). Perhaps more reflective of the fact this had only a handful of ratings, and averaged over 4.5. I could happily drink this all day, but it didn't rise to that elite 4.5+ level for me.

Regardless, it's going down very quickly and is quite tasty.

 

Good Saturday afternoon, New Beer Weekenders. It appears that Burlington Beer Co. dropped in New Jersey the same time it did in New Hampshire so I'm joining @SawDog505 in reviewing Creatures of Magic, a 6.5% New England IPA hopped with Mosaic, Simcoe, and Ekuanot. It's my first offering from this brewery and I also bought a pack of Time of the Chimpanzee. It pours an opaque, tangerine-straw color with a luxurious, foamy, bright white cap and clinging lacing. The aroma is very fruity and includes tangerine, pineapple, lemon, and grapefruit. But the taste isn't nearly as sweet as the nose would indicate. It's dominated by tart, fairly bitter grapefruit rind and lemon peel. The tropical sweetness is in the background. There are also notes of cannabis and pine needles. It's dry and grassy and finishes with a nice dose of bitterness. The mouth feel is creamy and pillowy with pleasant carbonation, and it drinks easily at 6.5%. Overall, this is a very nice first experience with Burlington Beer Co. I'm hoping they ship Fist Full of Bees, which I hear is outstanding. Here's the score:

4.31/5 rDev +1.9%
look: 4.25 | smell: 4.5 | taste: 4.25 | feel: 4.25 | overall: 4.25

Cheers, NBW!

 

Between the Lines by Kettlehead

4.32/5 rDev +0.2%
look: 4.5 | smell: 4.25 | taste: 4.25 | feel: 4.75 | overall: 4.25



Can picked up at the brewery , recommended by the beer tender

Opened 12.16

Poured into a chalice , one finger creamy white foam cap , very good retention , settles to a solid layer , , good lacings , over a turbid orange liquid

Aroma is citrus , mango , orange, tangerine , apricot, whiff of pine

Taste is mango , vanilla , citrus

Velvety smooth and creamy , good sudsing , hop taste , no bite

Good beer

 

Edmund S Oast’s Sour Boysenberry Plum is a wild ale.
-very pretty ruby can pour with a thin white foam ring.
The aroma is bright with fruit and tart notes.
The flavor is also tart with lemony sumac aspects. The raspberry is more prominent than stone fruit.
The body is light. This is a very tasty wild ale.

 

Today once the temperatures climbed into the forties, I raked leaves, then came inside and warmed up with a bottle of Founders
KBS Maple Mackinac Fudge.


4.4/5 rDev -3.1%
look: 4.5 | smell: 4.5 | taste: 4.25 | feel: 4.5 | overall: 4.5
I don't disagree with any of the previous reviewers.Bourbon, coffee and chocolate fudge are equal distinct aromas. Light vanilla, ash, and nutty malts are also present.
On the tongue the KBS bourbon and coffee come first, then the deep chocolate fudge which lingers as an aftertaste. Sweet enough to overcome the KBS coffee, but not oppressively.
Light hop and alcohol tingle up front. Deeper chocolate and bourbon notes as the glass warms. Some alcohol heat. Smooth and coating feel with sufficient carbonation.
Drinking it, I forgot about the maple, which to me was drowned out by the chocolate and other flavors. When I go back and look for it, I can pick it out.
Very enjoyable.

 

Blacklight from Block 15. I think it's infected. I'm dumping it if my wife doesn't want it.

16oz can served in a big snifter. Dated 10/15. Don't remember where I picked this up.

Pours black with a small head. Smell is roasty, coffee, a little lager yeast.

Taste is a blast of sour cherry with a weird bitter finish, none of the roasty, coffee, or yeast flavors.

Mouthfeel is medium, maybe a little slick. Overall...I can't drink this. Something is wrong.

 

Poured into a 16 oz Nordic pint glass canned on 12/03/2020 it looks like. Pours a very hazy orange with a finger plus sticky white head that leaves thin streaks of lace with excellent retention. 4.5

Aroma tangerine, pineapple, papaya, apricot, and grapefruit rind. 4.25

Taste follows tangerine explodes first, pineapple, papaya, apricot, and pink grapefruit. 4.25

Mouthfeel is above medium, soft fairly gentle carbonation, not sticky or dry, and at 8% ABV it drinks really easy. 4

Overall this is really tasty and juicy. I will gladly revisit this one again. 4.25

 

Decided to review this for NBW.
TRVE Lower saison. 2.8%

4.03/5 rDev -5.2%
look: 4 | smell: 4 | taste: 4 | feel: 4.25 | overall: 4

L - a splendid straw-gold verging on yellow champagne look; decent head. No lacing as one might expect out of a 2.8% table saison.
S - Green apples, y'all, and a hint of some holiday spice, a little funk that dissipates. Nice, but you can tell there's not much "there" there.
T - Again, bright green underripe apples, has that lovely tartness you'd get from a golden pear that isn't quite ripe. Nice; it's like drinking light baking fruits of apple/pear. Good impression, but like any table saison, it drops off a cliff for finish. True to the style, like a more saison-y grisette.
F - Great, perky, tart carbonation; great mouthfeel for this weight. 2.8? You sure? Yep. Drank 4 in a row; felt nothing.
O - a winner, and one that I'll return to for summer drinking especially, or for mowing lawns, or grilling, or... right now.