New Beer Weekend #24

They’re all about music as you can tell by their name. Lots of their other beers have music themes as well. Dreadnought guitars are a thing too, not just the battleship, hence all the stuff on the label how that relates to German lager, your guess is as good as mine, brown wood like brown lager bold but smooth tones from a instrument, just like a lager...who knows, fun to guess

 

Really glad you enjoyed that! Vivant is an excellent local brewery that makes awesome beer and are seemingly unknown- so I like to share the joy of their beers and maybe get them a little more known. Ya know?
Cheers, and if you get some of those cookies we may need to chat about a trade.

 

Good morning NBS/NBW and thanks to our host this long weekend. Its a bit icy here in WMass and we are expecting another bit of precipitation later today. I may be in the minority, but I do miss a real winter, with a ton of lasting snow. Thats off my chest now!
Todays offering is from my ancestral home, I have enjoyes so many Peche' Mortel in my days, this Imperial stout I have always walked by. No More. I love the complexity and the bitter dry elements of this classic.
Best to you all in 2021

Grande Noirceur

Stout - Russian Imperial | 9% ABV

Brasserie Dieu du Ciel!
Montréal, Quebec, Canada

4.16/5 rDev +1.7% | Average: 4.09
look: 4 | smell: 4.25 | taste: 4.25 | feel: 4 | overall: 4

Poured from a 2017 version 12 oz bottle into the test glass.
A - Ebony wood colored back drop, hides everything inside. Carbonation presence yields a lovely mocha colored thick frothy cap. Lacing is ring after ring of evidence.
S - Char, dark toast out of the toaster, bakers chocolate, some blackberry, caramel, and some fig and espresso.
T - Dark bitter cocoa, cigar wrap tobacco, earthy hop element keeps the offering grounded. dark roast malts a hint of anise all combine to make a wonderful medley.
M - Start is bitter and dry, midway through, a semi sweet thread develops acting as a balance beam of sorts. The finish is that bakers bitter chocolate and lovely. The body is delicate and avoids the heavy oily side. There is no hint of the 9% abv.
O - A stout worth finding, the roast, cocoa, bitter model are the antithesis of many of todays stout offering and frankly a welcome one for me. The body and pallete are simply wonderful.

 

It happens, always a risk with bottle conditioned saisons. Hopefully they dial in their bottle conditioned a little more because the was a fun smoky saison from the little that I was able to drink.

 

Happy new year, NBW! I missed out on this thread last week due to holiday shenanigans, but still enjoyed reading all of the reviews. Here's to a happy and healthy new year to everyone and their friends and family.

My first beer of the new year is one that I bought last May and was very excited about scoring. Each year Dancing Gnome has a Lustra Day to celebrate their flagship pale ale. The release multiple variations of Lustra, most of which are only available on Lustra Day. Lustra itself is a 5.8% pale ale that employs Citra and Amarillo. It's an extremely well balanced hazy pale that is one of my regular drinkers. This year Dancing Gnome made a Barrel Lustra for the celebratory day. From the Untappd description:

"In the fall of 2018, we put a batch of Lustra down to rest in French Oak barrels, some that previously held red, and some that previously held white wine. Over the next 18 months, that Lustra was re-fermented and conditioned on various blends of Brettanomyces.
Earlier this year we blended our favorite barrels and bottled it off for further conditioning."

Here are the results. At 6.4%, Barrel Lustra poured a cloudy straw color topped with an ample fluffy white head that was content to linger in the wine glass. The aroma I first recognized was from the brett, lending a bit funk to vapors wafting from the glass. It was a nice compliment to the wine barrel grape mustiness that came next. Only slight bits of the grain bill remained on the nose. The taste was rich with more big wine notes up front and the brett again playing nicely with the dry grape flavors along with a bright citrus quality. There was a touch of pepper and oak from the barrel as well. The dry finish was unexpected for how rich in flavor it was. I expected it to linger a bit longer. There was no lack of carbonation and made this rather effervescent for how big of a body it had. Overall, this was an incredible way to start the new year. A highly drinkable and complex treatment of one of my favorite local pale ales. Gone were the big hoppy aromas of my beloved Lustra, but what it evolved into was beyond my expectations.

I believe it's been said that Dancing Gnome will not be making Barrel Lustra again, so I feel grateful to have been able to experience it. I'm also a bit saddened that I won't be able to again. May all of your beers this year be as enjoyable as I found Barrel Lustra to be.

4.67/5 rDev +3.1%
look: 4.75 | smell: 4.5 | taste: 4.75 | feel: 4.5 | overall: 4.75

 

Nice cactus @Pinz412

 

Thanks! My wife and I found it a few years ago, and couldn't pass it up. We considered creating a bass guitar for him, but it hasn't happened yet.

 

Thanks ! I never knew about the guitars. I only knew about the dreadnought ship which was supposed to be the ultimate battle destroyer in World War I for England. Reading a book now about Russian spies in England that are trying to steal the plans for the English dreadnuoght submarine launch in the early 60s

 

I've loved every New Trail beer I've tried, now I have to look for that one!

 

Science and sorcery by electric. Awesome hazy iipa. They are making great stuff

 

Good Sunday afternoon or so, Beer Advocates. Here I am on a rainy and pretty cold January day and in need of a beer. I decided to join @larryi86 in one of the ongoing series of anniversary beers from Firestone Walker, this one being the 24th and Roman-numeraled as XXIV.


Looking at Larry's review after a real brief assessment, let's see where we agree, and where we may need to fight...

I was able to coax a little more head than Larry, it appears. I got almost two fingers of the beige stuff atop the beer, which fell to a thick collar with some soap bubbles inside it.

I actually took a second to measure, and I poured this at 50° and it is warming as I type. Initially I do get backers chocolate with a lean towards a dry brownie impression. I definitely get something sweet as well, but with a deeper char note than caramel, maybe some toffee. There is also milky note in there, as well as a hint of vanilla.

Looking at the makeup of this year's blend, I'm actually surprised to see I might be noticing the two main components - a milk stout and a quad with candi and brown sugar. That said, I am not getting the dark fruit of the quad on the nose like Larry did - also not getting a distinct bourbon note.

Aha! I found the dark fruits. Though there is a somewhat roasted malt opening, it is washed away by a wave of fig and raisin, even a little prune. The rebound from that contains some chocolate and more raisin - but with a little tang more like a golden raisin than a sugary dark one.

Carbonation breaks through a sticky, pretty thick feel, though the beer doesn't come across as overly heavy.

The lingering has a few herbal notes, along with a bit of burnt toast. Searching the list, I see that the only non-bourbon barrel used is tequila (in the lightest component). Since the sensation I am getting is more like the juniper in a good gin, I'm not sure where its coming from.

The "burnt toast" I wouldn't think is from the smoked malt beer that is included, but I also wouldn't argue against it. Maybe the stouts' roasty influence is nudged a notch by it.

I agree, another great Anniversary beer by FW. The herbal note I am getting is a tad weird, but interesting. It's sorta blending with the "juniper" note as it warms more - giving a oh so very light spearmint impression in the aftertaste. I actually think I'll be rating it exactly like Larry - though overall I am wavering between 4.5 and 4.25.

Cheers and Happy New Year, NBW crew!

 

Yeah, I got what you were saying... I was just having a little fun.

 

Greetings, fellow NBWers,

It's currently around 40 degrees here in the wilds of Spokanistan. Middle of the week saw 7 1/2" of wet snow dumped on us. Did about 12hrs of plowing and salt dumping at work that day. Right now I'm watching football and drinking the last dregs of the morning's coffee.

Unlike last week, I'm not traveling this weekend. Yesterday, I drove out to the Northeast side of the city and paid a visit to Humble Abode Brewing Company, where I met up with my friend Mark.
I started with a California Common called "The Family Won?!:

Well-balanced & clean finishing, and it brought back memories of Anchor Steam Beer. Haven't had that one in years.

Then I tried their winter ale:

Seems like most winter ales these days are just ipas with a little bit of extra heft. This one's a throwback to the old school winter ales that were brewed with various spices. "Winter's Here" is brewed with vanilla, nutmeg and cinnamon. Enjoyed the glass's worth out on the patio, but it's not really something I would session.

Finished with a hazy -or rather, opaque-NE style IPA called Dirty Sunshine:

Sweet and fruity up front, a bit more bitter and a little piney on the back end.

Last night, while making dinner, I had a pilsener from Hamburg, a city I had a lot of fun in as a student.
This one is pretty bland and uninspiring, folks. A recent can of Jever that was too months out of date blew the doors off this one. Drinkable, but only on a one and forever done basis:

 

Life is But a Dream Strong Ale, collaboration between Thin Man Brewing and Buffalo Barrel Project. Sometimes it's hard to tell where a beer goes wrong, but this one did. This strong ale is a blend of several big beers:

(from Facebook post)
40% Awesome Jenkins Imperial Stout, aged in Willett rye barrels
20% Awesome Jenkins Imperial Stout, aged in maple syrup barrels
20% Awesome Jenkins Imperial Stout, aged in apple brandy barrels
10% Spelunkenheimer Adambier, aged in Willett bourbon barrels
10% Bones In Traction Barleywine

It's a blending ratio that reminds me a lot of FW Anniversary beers, but not nearly as successful in execution. It's a hard one to review thoughtfully, as I had a viscerally bad reaction to nearly every sip. There's a lot of coffee, chocolate, and char here, but none of it melds, even as (especially as?) it warms. The char is actually closer to ash, which is a harsh thing to say, but it stands out as one of the discrete, and not palatable flavors. I don't want to spend a whole lot of time just trashing a beer, but I do think there's an interesting lesson here vis-a-vis FW blends . . . when you try to do a big blend like this, each of the component beers really needs to be stellar on its own. And, honestly, a sense of really knowing what you're doing. Usually, I would take a big, stouty beer I didn't like and pour it into a chili, but in this case, I think the chili would be diminished. I rarely outright advise against buying a beer, but if you see this, I'd say it's a hard pass.

 

Well, here we are on Sunday. Enjoying the first day of my 2 day weekend. I thought I'd start off big today, and here it is:

Double Vanilla Darkness.

I was expecting a vanilla bomb, and this disappointing in that regard. It is good, but not what was expected.

Review:
https://www.beeradvocate.com/beer/profile/13014/522618/

4.07/5 rDev -4.5%
look: 4.5 | smell: 3.75 | taste: 4 | feel: 4.5 | overall: 4.25

Pours pitch black. Looks very thick while pouring. 1 finger dark tan head. Head retention is poor. There's no lacing on the glass.
The nose has lots of dark fruit notes on it. Some Caramel. Some chocolate. Not really getting the vanilla. Just a faint hint of it.
Taste - The vanilla does kick in here in the flavor, though a lot less than expected. I get lots of dark fruit notes. I get some chocolate, vanilla, caramel, toffee, and a bit of coffee here.
This is fairly thick, as expected. This beer is smooth. There is a bit of an alcohol burn, though not much of one.
I would have expected a bit more vanilla here, based on the name. It seems like a bit of an amped up Darkness. It is a good beer, and I do recommend it if you can get it.


Be back later today.

 

New to me beer today is from pFriem Family Brewers, Hood River OR, “Bourbon Barrel Imperial Stout” (2020):



Bottled 10/31/20. Poured at 50 degrees. Creamy khaki head; some cap retention; solid ring with some soapy lacing; black body with ruby see through; sufficient clarity under light to see chunks of white debris suspended; thick legs on swirl. Whiff of bourbon; roast malt; a little booze on exhale; otherwise, the aromas are faint. Light bourbon, bittersweet dark chocolate and roast malt; oak and some bitter roast malt middle; black licorice as liquid warms; cocoa nibs finish. Smooth soft feel; medium light body; boozy bite on tip of tongue; some face flushing warmth from 11% abv. Good balance between malt and barrel flavors, all of which are subtle and well integrated; very little sweetness; the debris field was unexpected and unappreciated; thin for abv; nevertheless, all in all, a very good tasting non-adjuncty BBA stout.

3.75 | 3.75 | 4.25 | 4.0 | 4.0
Score: 4.03 rDev -5.0%

 

It's sometimes refreshing to see some bad reviews, and I think we've seem a couple critical ones this weekend. Out of curiosity, had you had any of the components on their own (straight up or barreled) before this brew? I'm guessing if so, they impressed you more than the blend, but even if not, I'd be curious on how you might guess the blend went [further] astray.

 

I haven't had the individual components, but I could almost pick them out, if that makes sense. I'm just not sure how well rye, bourbon, and apple brandy barrels complement each other to begin with, you know? I've actually never been super-impressed with a rye-barreled stout (including the Rittenhouse BCBS last year), and it's surprising they would use that as the dominant beer in the blend.