New Beer Weekend #27

Tree House Very GGGreennn. I put up an ISO looking for TH Fruit Project Guava, and @themangler14 generously responded, offering a few other TH brews as part of the trade, including this highly-vaunted specimen (#31 on BA's Top 250!). Up to this point, Juice Machine has been my all-time favorite Tree House beer, so I'm looking forward to seeing how this stacks up.

Pour is unbelievable, as in the actual stream pouring out of the can; it sounds corny, but it really is like liquid gold, with a shimmering translucence that almost refracts the light from that candle you see in the photo into multiple hues. Typically (for a TH beer) gorgeous in the glass, with head that lasts longer than you can believe (that's what she said). Left behind foam gathers in lovely patterns and slowly slides down the glass. Unlike most NEIPAs, the nose is immediately complex, with overripe mango and pineapple syrup swirling against green peppers and faint cannabis, in a combination of juicy dankness you hardly ever get from aroma alone. Taste is . . . well, this might be the best Tree House I've ever had, including Juice Machine. Like many Tree House beers, it unfolds not just as it warms, but even second-by-second, as it travels across the tongue. Fresh-squeezed orange juice, then spruce, then honey, then something almost tannic, then champagne, then something approaching raisin/fig, before ending on a clean, luscious hybrid of mango and pine. And it changes from sip to sip . . . I honestly don't know how these guys do it. Mouthfeel is an absolute perfect five, as it often is for Tree House. I've said it before, but if I lived near Tree House, I'd most certainly become a full-fledged alcoholic. I've never had anything less than great from them, and more often than not excellent to world-class. I feel very lucky to have tried this one. Unquestionably worthy of its ranking and hype.

 

Happy NBW!!! I have a couple of beers tonight, the first via my beer nerd friend @JayORear in NBW BIF 12.5. He sent me a killer box of hops, and this beer is no exception.





4.35/5 rDev +2.8%
look: 4.25 | smell: 4.25 | taste: 4.5 | feel: 4.25 | overall: 4.25

This beer pours a hazy pineapple color with a dense, voluminous bone white head that first lingers, then clings. Beautiful hazy beer.

The nose is led by dank citrus notes of tangerine, grapefruit, and pineapple (thank you, Citra!), and there is a distinctly dank lychee aroma (thank you, Vic Secret!), as well as a creamy malt note (I’m thinking thank you, oats!).

The citrus flavors are on point, but it’s that dank lychee flavor, which lends a very exotic flavor to this magnificent DIPA, and the slightly creamy oat flavor which makes this beer for me.

The mouthfeel is full and slightly creamy, but not as soft as is often the case in the hazy style. I think this beer is truly outstanding, which is par for the course with Tired Hands in my experience.

 

Enjoying this Sand City & Vitamin Sea collab
Message in a Can
This syrupy thick stout has smells like a freshly unwrapped candy bar. Chocolate and vanilla with some graham cracker notes. Flavors are similar, though the addition of almonds adds something extra to this pastry stout. Finish is sticky to the tongue, and while heavy it does mask the ABV.

Another fun beer from Sand City, and perfect on a cold winter night.

A - 4 S - 4 T - 4.25 M - 4.25 O - 4

 

A really stunning beer, which they saw was brewed with the runoffs from a barleywine they brewed with Anchorage (!) I've never heard of such a thing, but it makes for a really interesting, distinct brew. Cheers!

 

Good afternoon/evening everyone!

This time I will be reviewing Manila IPL from San Miguel brewery, a beer following the trend of big beer doing 'craft' macros (AKA cheap IPAS) here in Spain. This is a risky bussiness as I have avoided regular San Miguel since forever (one of my 'least favorite' macro lagers around), but after missing the beer shops this morning I took a look on this kind of beers and found this one to be pretty fresh on discount, so I decided to give it a try as a lover of the actual city.

San Miguel is a staple macro brewery here which recently merged into the Mahou/San Miguel conglomerate (Founders included ), but also has an interesting history behind it. The brewery first established in Cebú, the Philippines, by the Order of Augustinian Recollects in 1885 (beat that 'Tropical Trappist' vibe), then moved to Manila, and later in 1953 started also being produced in Spain. The brewery shifted into two branches then (Europe and Asia) until today, with both of them doing pretty well at their respective homes (San Miguel Corporation being the major beer seller in the Philippines and Hong Kong no less).

Yet I didn´t know any of this when I took this picture at a party in Hong Kong in 2007, in one of those wonderful WTF moments; I mean cantonese waitresses in the other part of the world dressing up as fricking San Miguel goddesses, a beer as 'spanish' as actual bullfighting? Fantastic!



Two years later I came across it for a second time, but now while 'drinking local' in actual Manila and other parts of the Philippines. This picture was taken in a dim sum place with loads of chinese mafia vibes in the oldest Chinatown ever (Binondo) while talking to a man named not Charles but Carlos Chong, who opened the window of opportunity for inmense historical adventures in the city, which I did of course take. I will leave it at that.


*note the 'craft' approach while shooting 35 mm Ilford film with an old Pentax. The rest of the bucket of bottles is not in the picture (cheapest beer ever?).


Now onto the beer itself, which I feel weirdly excited about in spite of the low expectations.

Manila IPL holds a solid 5.8%, and its best by is 10 months ahead. It pours a dark amber with brighter spots, and it is very clear after the initial chill haze, with a visible carbonation and decent enough retention. It is more pale than in the pictures, but significantly darker than expected (a wink to the Philippine 'Pale Pilsner' that I remember?).




The aroma is floral-citrusy hops, sweet toasted malts and a hint of pillowy dough in the background. Definitely better than expected, and somehow reminding of Dale´s Pale Ale so to speak (yes I said that). The hops could be sharper but yet the lemony notes and even hints of onion are convincing. The second can brings on some spiciness.

The taste follows the aroma to the line with that particular 'watered down Dale´s' character to it, even Liberty Ale (I need to revisit)? Pretty citrusy hops against the sweet toasted malts, and even a moderately bitter hoppy bite in the palate, with a lemony finish and a floral aftertaste with also hints of the oats (which I didn´t mention before -no other adjuncts though-).

Pretty bodied and somehow sticky at first, but I'´ve just downed a third can in a row without any problem regarding drinkability. The oats definitely add a creamy-silky feel, which is not bad but maybe a bit disconcerting given its clearness.

Overall quite fun to be honest, as I didn´t expect this kind of beer at all. There is nothing elegant or great about it, but the american hints are semi-convincing and the amber approach makes it interesting. Possibly a bit shit but not that shit, I can definitely see myself drinking this 'al fresco' while hanging around the darkest corners of Manila on a hot and humid night. Drink it cold I guess, and note I am reviewing this beer from a strict macro perspective.

I could go on forever about those days, but this is not the place and I think I´ve won the right for a humble Affligem Triple after a liter of San Miguel (even if it actually did the job).

Cheers!

 

For many reasons, I've decided to forgo typical craft beer options. I reviewed this one for the NA beer thread, and thought I'd share it here, as it is a 'new-to-me' beer consumed this weekend.

Wellbeing's Intentional IPA.



Pours an amber-copper with two fingers of hearty off-white foam. Head retention is good in general, great for NA beer. Transparency is just dull enough to see a finger on the other side of the glass, but not make out a face. Aroma is punchy citrus, closely followed by resiny, earthy, herbal hops and earthy, bready malts. Hops form the onset of the nose, with a little malt backbone to establish a more sturdy, supported aroma. Flavor profile follows suit, but is a little less pronounced, hitting notes of resiny, grassy, citrusy, earthy hops with earthy, bready malts underneath. Hops are a little broken up, not forming one long continuous transition between note to note, instead hopping around like a game of leap frog. Finish is dry with the earthy, bready malts rinsing the mouth of the hop notes, leaving a little astringency on the tongue to linger. A wort note comes through towards the finish, and at the finish, but remains well incorporated. Mouth feel is bordering on creamy, falling just a touch short due to some fuzzy carbonation on the tip of the tongue. Thickness is medium-thin. Overall, hops are forward, as any IPA should be, but fall off on the back end a little more than desired. NA wise though, it's a top tier IPA (as of January 2021), offering a hop forward IPA profile for those seeking to lower their alcohol consumption.

Score: 4.5 | 4 | 4 | 3.75 | 4 | BA Score: 4.01 | rDev: +9.9%

Personal notes: I would like a little more body in this per sip, along with hops that clung on just a little longer. As it is, it's a solid IPA, but adding a little more depth would push this past some other NA IPA favorites of mine.

 

#2, I can’t remember the last brown ale I had, but my local crushed this one. Perfect for a chilly evening grilling.





4.35/5 rDev 0%
look: 4.25 | smell: 4.25 | taste: 4.5 | feel: 4.25 | overall: 4.25

Pours a nearly translucent iced tea color with a considerable tan head. Gorgeous beer. The nose is roasty, toasty malt notes - and a surprisingly fruity note, I’m guessing from the Cascade hops. Wow.

The roasty and toasty flavors courtesy of the multiple malt attack are forward, but that subtle fruity flavor from the Cascade hops is the difference maker in this beer.

I don’t know the ABV, but the mouthfeel is commensurate with what I expect from a full-bodied brown ale, which this beer certainly is.

A perfect beer for a chilly night, my local crushed this, IMHO.

 

Nice review, now I want to try it, dang it. Do you have any idea how hard that stuff is to get in Michigan?

 

I was in the mood for something a little different this weekend and this one took that as a sign to jump right into my basket (bottled Jan 6):

Toppling Goliath DDH King Sue

Wow, as expected, the aroma on this sucker is quite potent and enticing. Very fruity and tropical- pineapple, passion fruit, mango, tangerine and orange rind seem to be the dominant components. The fruity aspect gets toned down on the palate while some nice herbal dankness comes to the fore. The feel is silky smooth, and there's just enough citrus rind bitterness to keep things honest and interesting. As it usually goes with these things, it's a little over-saturated to drink more than one, but that one definitely keeps your attention. Solid A (4.5).

 

Greetings All from the Great Northwest where we are sunny but cold. Not seriously cold, but as cold as we have been this season.

My, what an abundance of posts we have in this thread. I'm going to have to carve out more time (in retirement) to read them all.

Today we have Contact Haze IPA from Elysian. A thin a fruity brew. Might be better in July than January?

Until next time,

Happy Trails!

 

Ross passaic porter
..solid black appearance
..medium light carbonation, at least an average body.
...aroma is black licorice, dark honey,malt,black coffee, dark chocolate.
...taste is licorice, dark chocolate ,honey, malt, mild hop bitterness that lingers
...overall a really nice beer,good body and flavor. Usually I don't like licorice in beer but this worked really well

 

Happy Weekend to everyone, I couldn’t have a beer all week so I was looking forward to last night and this weekend. So here we are, finally an actual cold night out so I went with this one. Kane Through the Empty Space (imperial oatmeal stout)



Pours a slow creamy looking pitch black and nice dense light brown head.

Aroma chocolate liqueur (licorice like) and maybe a little raisin like.

Taste is mostly nice brownie like chocolate and some light coffee, it has a vanilla feel to it but I think it’s just the oatmeal creaminess making me say this.

Mouthfeel is full, creamy, perfect carbonation, it is very smooth with no hint of the 8 % and a touch of bitter.

A nice “warm you up” full bodied sipper on a cold winter night. A good beer for tonight.

 

:::SIGH:::

I have lasted longer than 1 day, 12 days , 21 days and even 22 days into my dry January. I did recently stock up at Treehouse and this will be my first, long awaited, beer of a wet February...

 

Hello NBW!
Pulled this one out of the cellar and to my shame I don’t remember who sent it to me as it’s not one I would have picked- Lemon in the ingredients list? So thanks to whoever sent this my way. Really.
Poured a beautiful black with a root beer color head and smelled of vanilla and malts. Seriously, vanilla first. The taste was initially a huge vanilla flavor that overwhelmed every other taste, rather off putting actually. But after it warmed the malts muscled in and even things out some. Still no lemon though.
Had to get the dogs out, one was giving me that look. So took them for a walk and sat back down for the second half. Still vanilla forward, but at room temperature the coffee came out to play and brought some chocolate along. Ah, I am drinking a pastry stout! The lemon threw me and I never tasted it.
All in all, a bit heavy with the vanilla but still finished strong. Quite tasty, I must look up who sent it to me!

 

2019 Chalmécac Imperial Stout Aged in Mezcal Barrels


4.54/5 rDev +7.1%
look: 4.5 | smell: 4.25 | taste: 4.75 | feel: 4.5 | overall: 4.5

A bottle store less than a mile away has a website that lists what they have available as well as a thumbnail sketch of what it is. When I saw a Mexican stout aged in mexcal barrels I thought "yeah right" but then saw the 14% and went "hmmmm" and checked the BA reviews and was sold. So here I am.

Poured a 2019 pint can into a DFH tulip it has a rich dark brown body topped with a creamy mocha head that produces much lacing. When I popped the can I got whiff of tequila immediately but not until it warms up can you detect it again. It's mixed in with malty chocolate, cinnamon and peaty char. But in the taste the mexcal just surrounds everything in a manner that enhances everything else. It has a peaty taste that would ordinarily be a personal turn-off except this works perfectly. There's chocolate nutty flavors and creamy malts. No booze burn whatsoever. Mouthfeel is very light for such a heavy hitter.

I'm glad that even though I'm pretty damn old I can still be pleasantly surprised by something like this. I'm definitely snagging more shortly.