New Beer Weekend #24

Thanks. I did see the raspberry too, but obviously the woodruff caught my eye. In a way because I planted a patch last year and I was curious to see just what it did for a beer; I'm guessing it was the floral-sage quality.

After today my plans are to go back for both types before they're gone.

 

We’re in South Bend (Northern Indiana, just across the border from Michigan). It sounds like you’ve got a full travel schedule, but if it works for you, beers are on me!

 

This is an excellent American IPA (old-fashioned by today's standards) with plenty of bittersweet tropical fruit and a pleasant, not overly bitter hop profile. At $6.99 a six-pack and a May 2021 freshness date, I could not pass on this one. In most instances, this one is priced at about 10.99 and never this fresh.

 

Traverse City is AWESOME - my wife’s aunt and uncle have a place up there. I’ll raise my glass to you tomorrow, so travel safe.

 

A couple more new beers tonight, the first (Dolphin Sparkles) has been in my beer fridge for a couple of weeks. Batter up!





4.2/5 rDev +0.2%
look: 4.25 | smell: 4.25 | taste: 4.25 | feel: 3.75 | overall: 4.25

This pours a hazy golden straw color with a TON of floaties (I like floaties!) and sports a voluminous, dense white head that provides substantial lacing. Dank citrus notes of tangerine, pineapple, and mango on the nose, and a nice malt note.

The tangerine flavor is forward and dominant on the taste, with the pineapple and mango in supporting roles, and the malt flavor providing a biscuity balance to the hop flavors.

The mouthfeel is on the softer side, so I’m not sure if this is reminiscent of a WCIPA (or big enough to be a DIPA), but it’s a flavorful, fruity, balanced IPA worthy of your consideration, IMHO.

 

Happy New Year, New Beer Weekenders. It was a lovely winter afternoon in North Jersey with lots of sunshine and the temperature hovering around 50 degrees. Mrs. Mac and I visited a new (to us) brewery, Highrail Brewing Co., in High Bridge, Hunterdon County, New Jersey, about 25 miles west of our home. High Bridge is a charming little town with a single main street. The brewery is small - with a 2.5 bbl brewhouse and 20bbl of fermentation capacity. It has both indoor and outdoor seating both of which were occupied today.

My first beer was Forging Ahead, a West Coast style IPA hopped with Citra, Chinook, Centennial, Columbus, and Amarillo. It pours a slightly hazy, golden-honey color with a half-finger of creamy, milk-white head and extensive, soapy lacing. It's a pretty pour. The smell is subdued at first but opens up as the glass warms a bit. There is caramel malt, lemon, grapefruit, and just a faint whiff of sweeter tropical fruit. The taste opens with a strong malty backbone with tart lemon peel and grapefruit, resinous pine, and the same hint of tropical fruit I smelled. There are notes of orange and perhaps mango from the Citra and Amarillo hops. The Chinook hops provide a strong dose of bitterness at the finish. The flavors balance very nicely. This ale is lite, crisp, and clean with moderate carbonation, and at 5.7% ABV it drinks very easily.

4.04/5 rDev 0%
look: 4.25 | smell: 4 | taste: 4 | feel: 4.25 | overall: 4


Next up was Black Steel, an American Stout served on nitro. It's hopped 100% with Fuggles. It pours a mahogany color with deep cola hues, and a thick, creamy light khaki head and thin, creamy sheen of lacing. On the nose there is burnt coffee, chocolate, leather, tobacco, and nutty char. The taste largely follows the nose. Initially, the taste is dry and quite bitter with baker's chocolate, leather, and burnt nuts but as it warms the chocolate sweetens and balances the initial bitterness. As expected, the mouth feel is exceptionally creamy with a pleasant level of carbonation and the 6.8% ABV gives it good substance. My wife, who is not a stout drinker, had nice things to say about it.

3.94/5 rDev 0%
look: 4.25 | smell: 4 | taste: 3.75 | feel: 4.25 | overall: 4

Highrail brews a New England IPA called Trails, which has received good reviews from some respected BAs so I bought a pack and will review it tomorrow. We enjoyed our visit and look forward to returning. The beer was quite good and the atmosphere comfortable and fun.
Ch

Here's a photo of downtown High Bridge. There are many quaint little towns like it in western New Jersey contrary to the state's general image.



Cheers, NBW!

 

#2, this is tangentially tied to NBW BIF #12 via @Whyteboar.





4.35/5 rDev +1.4%
look: 4.25 | smell: 4.25 | taste: 4.5 | feel: 4.25 | overall: 4.25

Pours black with some mahogany brown colors on the edges and a body that props up a sizzling dark tan head. The nose is bourbon, chocolate, vanilla, and a hint of coffee in that order. Zoinkers (that’s a 1960’s “Batman the TV show”reference for you youngsters out there in TV land).

That bourbon flavor is up front on the taste, too, which normally isn’t my preference in these big stouts (I like it on the finish), but it really works here, because it slides into the chocolate and vanilla and allows those flavors to shine before the subtle coffee flavor finishes things nicely.

The mouthfeel is full and on point - there is never a doubt that you’re drinking a big, substantial stout.

All the while I was drinking this, I was thinking, “I need a handful of Mrs O’s homemade chocolate chip cookies to enjoy with this bad boy.” That would be the perfect complement to this excellent beer.

You crushed it with the box in general and especially with this one, Craig. Thanks so much for sending this my way.

 

3.97/5 rDev +1.5%
look: 4.5 | smell: 3.75 | taste: 4 | feel: 4 | overall: 4

10/06/2020 12 ounce bottle. I'd been mildly interested in this for a while until @TongoRad's enthusiastic review in the Christmas beer group tasting put a sense of urgency in me. As you can see a prodigiously foamy head sits atop a dark brown body which isn't quite as dark as other wee heavies. Thick lacing along the sides. Smell is nicely rich of malts and earthy dark sweetness but not quite as complex as I was hoping; maybe if it warms but it's pretty cold in my attic. Taste is more caramelly and the aftertaste has almost a candy cane type sweetness to it which is as strangely refreshing as it is unexpected. As it warms up the sweets get more integrated in the taste while the smell stays the same. Mouthfeel is fine for the style.

This delivers what I was hoping. I might take a sixer next Saturday when my music buds and I get together.

 

Chose this beer based on a conversation I had with @jmdrpi about wood aged lagers. Recap...I said I always perceive wood as off flavor in a lager so I had stayed away from this beer. I kept staying away from this beer for that reason but I owed it to my favorite brewery in our state to give their foeder aged lager a shot...



Pale straw color with bigger puffier quick disappearing head that quickly turned to thin layer of lingering froth, half way through now it’s splotchy froth patches.

Aroma is prominent and pops out of the glass. It’s very earthy, herbal and floral. It smells very very good, I just want to keep smelling it.

Wow the taste is not what I was expecting based on the smell at all. I mean yes those things mentioned are there but it’s more cracker, biscuit type stuff with a touch of oak the other stuff takes the back seat.

Mouthfeel is pleasant, light but on the medium side of light. There is a nice subtle sweetness and it finishes super dry, my only critique is too much so maybe, but not gonna let it get in the way. Super low bitterness, just the right amount for this beer.

I gotta say I really really am enjoying this beer. I will buy this again and look forward to seeing if the oak levels change with more batches brewed and aged. I love that this is the closest brewery to my house I 100% mean it when I say I wouldn’t change that for anything. I hope everyone feels this way about a brewery close by. Cheers! And thanks for the motivation @jmdrpi

see you after sober January @tzieser !

 

My first new beer this weekend is 12 Degree Pils from Ferment.


500ml bottle served in a big pint snifter. If there's a date on it, I don't see it. Bought it a couple days ago at Full Throttle Bottles.

Pours crystal clear golden with a medium to large head that collapses to a chunky ring and a few clumpy islands. Smell is mild, lager yeast, slight grass and lemon.

Taste is moderate straw, some grain tea, fair bitterness that strikes me as mostly grassy.

Mouthfeel is is light, airy, not crisp but quite pleasing. Overall, I'm enjoying this beer quite a bit.

 

That looks AMAZING.

I don’t say that very often.

 

Thanks for reporting back, and I'm glad you enjoyed it! I definitely wouldn't recommend drinking something like that too chilled, which seems like it was part of the experience tonight. If you do get more just give it time to warm before popping one.

 

I had it at my cellar fridge temp which is about 55. The taste changed as it warmed for sure but the smell stayed constant. My attic has heat but not the most efficient type when the outside temperature is in the mid 30s. I'm currently enjoying a 2018 Backwoods Bastard (yes, it's Scottish Ale night @ chez Hate) which cranks things up in every aspect but Bell's Christmas Ale was most enjoyable and I'll revisit it next weekend probably in a warmer setting.

 

Thank you @FBarber for this bottle of is/was Maestro. Unfortunately this erupted everywhere but the little that I was able to save is pretty damn good!
3.82/5 rDev -4%
look: 1 | smell: 4 | taste: 4.25 | feel: 3 | overall: 4

Thank you FBarber for this
375 ml bottle poured into a tulip

A- Most of the bottle erupted all over my kitchen. The little bit that did not cover my kitchen pours a hazy golden straw with no head.

S- Wheat, smoky, agave, touch of lemons, hints of funk.

T- Tart, lemons, smoky, agave, wheat, mild funk.

M- Smooth, medium body, went nearly flat after erupting everywhere.

O- The smoked agave does a great job bring a mezcal smokiness to this. This is a beer I would like to try again from a bottle that isn’t completely over carbonated.

Cheers!