New Beer Weekend #25

Dry January, nothing to review.......

However, after refereeing futsal this morning, i did find myself at TreeHouse and picked up some fine beers for February. Very Gggreen is a whale I have been hunting for a year. Some other beauties such as Persist, Tree of life Batch 2, Little Nugget, et.al. Contactless pickup took 1 hour

Prosit!

 

Hello New Beer Weekend!!!

done with work for today, and the week. Damn did I ever kick ass today. I was just running like a mad man stocking, and reorganizing the store. Holy hell, all the damn hard seltzers, EVERYWHERE! Now the ones on the floor are all in one place. There was random beer in weird places on the floor, that got moved into the cooler, where it belonged. Like I said crazy activity, and my 8 hours flew by. I also picked up some singles that may be taking a trip around the country - well, they will be taking a trip to parts far flung - a warning to the Savages.

But, now it's time for the new beer - a beer I picked up in Iowa a month back, or so. I gave a couple away to friends, and they said they loved it, so I guess it's my turn.

Bikini bottom from Five Cities Brewing out of Bettendorf, Iowa - 5.7% ABV.

The can says it's brewed for Five Cities by Backpocket Brewing out of Coralvile, Iowa. As an aside, I've been to that brewery a few times, and my last trip there I picked up a growler of beer, but forgot what it was. All that I knew is they wrote some initials of the beer on the cap. A search to find the name of the beer lead me to here, and I joined up on the spot. Now you all are stuck with me, for better, or worse.

But on to the beer.

I'm really liking this, though on a hot, sunny summer day, outdoors, grilling, this beer would be like liquid gold. Lots of pineapple, and strong, but on the back. Up front it's a wheat beer - banana, and cloves.

This is a good combination for me.

Review:
https://www.beeradvocate.com/beer/profile/52385/426995/

3.98/5 rDev +3.1%
look: 4 | smell: 4 | taste: 4 | feel: 3.75 | overall: 4

Pours a clear straw color. 1 finger frothy white head. The head retention is good, and there's nice lacing on the glass.
The nose hit me as I was pouring - a nice pineapple aroma hit me. Up close I get the same thing. Nice pineapple cut with a hint of "wheat" - banana, and cloves.
Taste - Like the nose, however the banana and cloves are up front, then the pineapple really kicks in hard.
The body is decent. The pineapple does linger in my throat a bit.
Tasty and refreshing. This would be a great beer for a hot summer day.



I'm done for tonight, but I'm sure I'll have more new beers tomorrow when I make a road trip to South Dakota with a friend. He really needs it - he's a janitor at a local high school, and he's been cleaning up puke like crazy the past few days from the student athletes trying to preform with masks on. Poor kids.

See you all later!!!!

 

Dear porch bomber: this (F—- Walnut/Cinnamon/Vanilla aged in Blis maple barrels) is headed your way.



4.5/5 rDev +3.9%
look: 4.5 | smell: 4.5 | taste: 4.5 | feel: 4.5 | overall: 4.5

A perfectly black body on an aggressive pour props up a dark tan head that sizzles a bit and dissipates pretty quickly. The cinnamon and Blis maple barrel aromas literally leap from the bottle (and glass after the pour), and there’s also a nice vanilla note and a nutty aroma as well. Wow, does this smell fantastic.

The Blis maple barrel is really forward, but the cinnamon provides a really nice balance, and the vanilla especially smooths out the finish, with a subtle nutty flavor at the very back of the palate. This beer has a LOT going on.

The mouthfeel is creamy and full, as expected in an imperial cream stout. What a magnificent flavor ride this beer is.

 

Brewing Projekt Blumpearry Puff Tart Sour, 4.86% ABV. Pours thick hazy purple, with a one-finger pink head that left puree residue instead of lacing. Nose is blueberry, dark fruit (plum), and vanilla. Taste is quite sweet and slightly tart blueberry, pear, and plum, with vanilla. Mouthfeel is thick and smooth with great carbonation. Overall an outstanding milkshake pastry sour, something Brewing Projekt excels at.

4.4/5 rDev +5.5%
look: 4.25 | smell: 4.25 | taste: 4.5 | feel: 4.25 | overall: 4.5

Just kicking back and enjoying some craft while watching the playoff games.

 

Good evening everybody! I'm on both a football break and a break from the Jack's Abby variety pack I've been drinking all afternoon to indulge in a nice change of pace.

Springdale Melange des Mures, a sour saison aged on blackberries.

I would guess one's reaction to this beer would depend on one's expectations going into it. It is decidedly not a jammy fruit beer where the fruit dominates. The blackberries in this case are merely a cog in the machine; more prominent than and accent, but not the driving force either.

It's quite tart and dry, vinous, funky and woody. Berries are present, naturally, but so are the 'beery' fruity elements like a big hit of lemon juice, granny smith apples and red grape. Horseblanket is pretty damn huge, which pleases me greatly. Vanillins, oak and tannin also play their role in conspicuous fashion.

The overall personality seems to be more of a bare knuckle smack than a subtly crafted work of art. Which is absolutely fine by me; massive tartness, funk and oak will always get you into my 4's . But this one is just barely there, and seems to be lacking a certain something to take it to the next level. An enjoyable A- (4.1) that also seems to be a bargain for the moderate price tag.

 

Greetings All from the Great Northwest, where we have just seen the LA Rams take a "wrecking ball" to the Seahawk football season. I'm not sure where we go from here? Gonzaga basketball maybe? Binge something on Netflix? Golf when the weather warms up? I'm always a little unsettled when my rooting interest in football is over.

So, today it's Wrecking Ball Imperial stout from No-Li Brew House.

A very drinkable stout, with enough ABV to take the sting out of a playoff loss. We'll get the damn Rams next year.

Until next time,

Happy Trails!

 

I just booked my Michigan vacation for the summer. We stop at Transient everytime we drive up. It's really convenient. I'm going to try to stop at Greenbush also this year.

My 10 year old daughter claims futsal as her favorite sport, even though she's only played it one winter.

 

Good evening, NBWers.

I had originally planned on opening one of the BCBS variants tonight, but I decided instead to continue my review of beers from a local pub, Lakeville Brewing.

With the trees covered in hoarfrost, and the temperature in the lower teens on this January 9th, their winter ale seemed like the choice.

Lakeville Brewing Welch Woods Cherry Picker Winter Ale
ABV: 9.3%
IBU: 15

Clear dark ruby red body with active carbonation showing tiny bubbles. A short head forms with a vigorous pour, but it disappears very quickly (see photo) leaving a thin ring around the edge and thin surface islands forming, swirling, and disappearing, and then re-forming from the rising bubbles. Obviously, no lacing.



Cherries are the dominant scent in the moderately strong aroma, backed faintly by dark fruits and bready malts.

The taste has the preserved flavor of maraschino cherries (just not sweet), however, it is just a bit Luden's-like, and slightly tart. There is not a lot of complexity to the flavor; cherries, with the tartness keeping this beer from becoming sweet. The finish is a middling dryness due to a very slight astringency, presumably from the tart cherries. No alcohol evident in the taste or the feel.

The feel is thin.

Overall, a quite mediocre winter ale. It is not by any means unpleasant, but it is also not worth the $12/crowler, either.

L: 3.5 | S: 3.75 | T: 3.5 | F: 3.25 | O: 3.5 | Rating: 3.54

 

Cinnamon for dessert!

https://www.beeradvocate.com/beer/profile/32763/513520/



12 oz. can.
Canned 01 OCT 2020.

Moderate to vigorous pour yields a 3/4 fleeting tan head over a black body with scant lacing. Cinnamon and whiskey on nose. Cinnamon, chocolate, vanilla, and whiskey on palate. Good feel and overall, a bit much on the cinnamon, like almost way too much, and probably is way too much for most people. Reminds me of the time when we were kids and my older sister made some kind of cinnamon cookie but doubled the amount of cinnamon in mom's recipe. Yikes!
Cheers!!!

 

No dry January but I'm going on a dry 30 days starting next week so this is my last weekend for a bit so I figure I'll join in NBW with a beer new to me and one I had to add to BA. Beachwood Blendery Illuminaire. A good beer for my tastes.

2019 Vintage; 6.5% ABV

Appearance: Cloudy yellow color with a modest sized white head that quickly faded.

Smell: Upfront barnyard funk and mild peach aromas.

Taste: Tart peach notes, moderate barnyard funk notes, and some mild spicy black pepper notes. I also got a hint of tobacco in the taste profile. The beer has a dry finish ending on some tart peach and citrus notes.

Mouth-feel: Fairly medium-bodied with a medium level of carbonation. The beer's mouthfeel is right where it needs to be.

Overall: A good take on an American version of a fruited Gueuze. I love that my hometown brewery can pull of a mean sour.

 

Love futsal. It’s condensed soccer at lightning speed

 

After a week that can only be adequately described using language wholly inappropriate for this forum, something both massive and decadent seemed in order. Through the immense generosity of @Dimidiata, I ended up with a crowler of Troon's Dawn of Possession - a 13% imperial stout with cacao nibs, cinnamon, peppers, and vanilla - which seemed to fit the bill perfectly. I've never had any Troon beers before, but between the praise she's given them, and the fact that they're out here naming beers after Immolation albums, my interest is thoroughly piqued. Needless to say, I turned on the Immolation album of the same name, so I could properly enjoy a true descent into everlasting fire.

The beer pours an impenetrable black with a mocha-colored head that begins at roughly a finger's worth of volume but quickly recedes to a ring of lacing around the glass. This is Spinal Tap's aesthetic brought to life - there's none more black.

On first whiff, a river of chocolate flowed forth from the glass, utterly dominating the senses and threatening to overwhelm all that stood before it. It quickly opened up in the glass, though, yielding a lovely balance of chocolate - shifting between dry cocoa and luxurious dark chocolate at times - along with backing vanilla, dark caramel, subtle cinnamon, a nuanced pepper profile, and touches of plum and black cherry lurking at the edges. The interplay between the chocolate (from both the base beer and addition of cocoa nibs) and the chilis is exquisite - one sniff will reveal a 70% cocoa dark chocolate bar infused with guajillos and anchos, while the next will evoke a warm mug of Mexican hot chocolate with touches of sweetness and a more direct cinnamon note.

While the nose is a lovely blend of both bold flavors and nuanced interplay, the palate manages to exceed it in all regards. Each constituent element can be identified, yet they all mingle so beautifully that they demand to be viewed as a rich and complex tapestry, rather than a set of components. The vanilla works as a supporting element to elevate the cacao into a luxurious 60% dark chocolate, while the cinnamon and chilis integrate into a spice profile that can best be described as a continuum. Not only do they meld into a swirling miasma of flavors - from infused chocolate bars to Mexican hot chocolate to an almost mole-like character - but they provide a brightness that elevates the beer and prevents it from feeling flabby or cloyingly sweet. The finish is particularly well-executed, with an assertive chili profile that blends fruity notes, mild heat, and wisps of smoke, layered atop faintly drying semisweet chocolate. It begs for another sip in a way that's totally anathema to such a decadent beer, yet that contradiction is a part of its charm. Pastry stouts without barrel aging simply shouldn't be this nuanced or drinkable.

Drinking all 32oz of this might leave me feeling close to a world below when I wake up tomorrow morning, but you certainly won't hear me complaining. Thanks again, @Dimidiata, truly a pleasure to drink this!

 

Looks succulent!

 

Good day New BSers! For today's New Breakfast Beer (and my NBS entry):




Blenderie Ommegang Blend No. 003 Super Kriek from Brewery Ommegang. Brewed at the mother ship, Liefmans. Purchased 11/10/20 for $ 19.16 (Including tax and discount) for 25.4 oz cork and cage bottle ($ 0.754/oz) from State Line Liquor, Elkton, MD. On shelf at store and stored at home at 42 degrees. Reviewed 10/1/21.
Marked on label (bottom rear) “BEST BY 010923 LO10920 09:08 T3”. Served at 43 degrees (Bottle suggests 42 degrees) in a hand washed and dried Jester King snifter. Final temperature 53.0 degrees. Opens with a distinct “POP” but no geyser.
Appearance – 3.5.
First pour – Pale amber (SRM 9), clear.
Body – Medium amber (SRM 12), murky. When held to direct rear light, light ruby/garnet and hazy.
Head – Average (Maximum 3.5 cm, aggressive center pour), peach schnapps, medium density, short retention, leaving a 0.1 to 0.3 mm crown fed by effervescence, and a thin partial cap. Some pieces of lacing remain as the head retracts.
Lacing – Very good. Wide sheet of mostly near-microscopic bubbles with an undulating upper boundary and a single prominence above the otherwise solid wall.
Aroma – 4 – Begins weak, with a slight sourness, no malt, no hops, no yeast. No cherry, no funk. Quickly becomes a memory.
Flavor – 4 – Sour and oaky with more tannin than vanillin, no malt, no hops, no yeast. No alcohol (7 % ABV, as marked on container) taste or aroma. Imaginary cherry. No dimethylsulfide or diacetyl. Maintains a mild tangy sourness throughout.
Palate – 3.5 – Medium, creamy, aggressive carbonation.
Final impression and summation: 3.75 Overall, pleasing oaky brew, although the cherry doesn’t appear until the evaluation end at 53 degrees. I would have been more comfortable (and rated it higher) if Liefmans had described this as an oud bruin with cherries added rather than a kriek beer “It’s Super Krieky”. Sorry Rick James – I’m sure the pun was intended.
Rating 3.87, rDev -8.3%.

 

Poured into a 16 Snulip glass canned on 12/11/2020. Pours a very dark brown with a half finger sticky light brown head that leaves some thin streaks of lace with solid retention. 4.25

Aroma cocoa nibs, vanilla bean, coffee grounds, toffee, and maple. 4.25

Taste follows cocoa, vanilla, coffee, toffee, and maple really well balanced with nothing dominating. 4.25

Mouthfeel is above average, soft creamy carbonation, not dry, and at 6.5% ABV it drinks a tad bigger. 4.5

Overall this is a really nice oatmeal stout. I will be grabbing some of this again. 4.25 cheers all. Enjoy your Sunday.

 

Poured into a 16 oz Nordic pint glass canned on 11/20/2020. Pours a hazy yellow orange with a 2 finger sticky white head that leaves a bunch of thin lace with excellent retention. 4.25

Aroma is mango, peach, passionfruit, white grapes, and apricot. 3.75

Taste follows peach, mango, passionfruit, white grapes, and apricot. 3.75

Mouthfeel is about medium, soft gentle carbonation, maybe a little dry, and at 6.5% in goes down plenty easy. 4

Overall this as all in the series is good, never blown away, but always good. 3.75