New Beer Weekend #28

My wife got me a three-month beer club membership for my birthday, and I am enjoying the first shipment. Right now I am drinking Five Pine Chocolate Porter from Three Creeks Brewing. Quite nice.
Very dark brown, nearly black color. Small tan head that recedes quickly.
Sweet chocolate, cocoa aroma. Roasted malt.
Predominate taste is coffee, with the chocolate showing up late.
Medium mouthfeel, dry.

 

Cross post from the barley wine tasting thread:

Clown Shoes Crunkle Sam 2020
ABV: 10.0%
IBU: NA



Dark amber color from the front, golden amber with a backlight. Tall, thick, off-white head with better than expected retention for the style, leaving loops of sticky lacing as it recedes. Puny levels of carbonation bubbles put in an appearance; otherwise, the body is clear.

Aroma of pear, caramel, and bread. Fairly strong aroma, but I'm not picking up the promised bourbon or barrel.

The bourbon and tannin from the barrel is present in the first sip, however, along with the fruit and caramel. I also pick up some leather. The flavor is much more than was indicated by the aroma. There is just a touch of bittering in the middle, which fades a bit in the finish. Surprising for a self-proclaimed American-style barley wine. The alcohol is well hidden. The finish and aftertaste are a bit sticky and semi-sweet, but not so far into sweet that it does not invite another sip right away.

The mouth feel is on the substantial side of moderate, providing a satisfying presence.

Overall, this is a very nice barley wine. The bourbon barrel is subtle, adding rather than dominating, and the pear fruit, caramel, and bread provides the barley wine bona fides. However, a 10% ABV beer in an Imperial Pint can that is also relatively easy drinking comes with a warning! Don't overdo!

Nonetheless, I enjoyed this one a lot, while annoyed by the packaging choice.

L: 4.25 | S: 4.25 | T: 4.5 | F: 4.0 | O: 4.25 | Rating: 4.33

 

Hey what's going on?!

Well apparently I am supposed to get a bunch of snow dumped on me. I say bring it!

Although I am low on beer.. particularly new beer... this could be an issue... perhaps I need to go out for a bit..

Till then... let's check out this cookie goodie.



Poured from the can into a nonik pint glass.

Real nice cascading forming head out of the can. Pours light mahogany and fills with a dark walnut brown body. Head is a rich four fingers, with big retention and also big popping bubbles to go with it also. No lacing to speak of but a good top and tall collar. Great looking stout.

Real enjoyable aroma. Very aptly described on the can, notes of thick oatmeal, almost porridge like smelling, with prune sweetness that is almost fig like. Hits with light touches of cinnamon and sugar and some dark roasted malts to accent. Definitely oatmeal raisin cookie here folks. The cinnamon gets real noticeable also but stays away from firey heat as well. Real impressive nose.

Palate seems much more grounded. Light bodied even for an oatmeal, but luckily doesn't get too wet in the body. Decent hits of light cookie malt flavors, more hints of toast than chewy depth dough sensations too. Mid palate has quite a good amount of fruit quality, plum raisin and prune sweetness that is nice with mixing cinnamon accented by a light sweetness.

Real nice stout. Wish this was a little more rich in body, which would make it stellar stuff.

look: 4.25 | smell: 4.5 | taste: 4 | feel: 4 | overall: 4 | BA score: 4.14/5

Cheers!

 

Good afternoon NBW
Revolution Ryeway to Heaven

The review:

12oz canned 11/20/2020 poured into a snifter at just above fridge temp 15.8% (or could be 15.0%, really hard to read) ABV. The beer pours darker brown with minimal chestnut highlights and sticky, light caramel colored head. The head recedes to a thin ring and single layer of bubbles and leaves an ever retreating ring of lacing half an inch above the liquid. The aroma is mild with barrel notes of vanilla, oak and bourbon joined by caramel and faint rye spice. The taste is semisweet burnt sugar caramel with oaky barrel notes next in prevalence. Minor flavors of rye malt, caramel candy, vanilla and rye whiskey are also present. The mouthfeel is medium to full bodied with just less than medium carbonation and a somewhat dry finish. Slightly sticky, but not cloying. Overall, excellent.

Revolution starting distribution to Indiana is the best thing to happen to my beer advocacy since I joined this site. One of very few brewers that don't miss.

Cheers all and enjoy the new beer in your glass today!

 

Like I've said on WBAYDN, I'm borderline obsessed with New Trail. They can't seem to brew a bad beer, and they've brewed almost too many excellent ones for being just over a year old. They're first on my list for a taproom visit once this fucking pandemic is over.

 

Bending the NBW rules slightly with Tired Hands Austere Modular a “pilsner refined by experimentation”, I had a can last night but after a super hoppy beer I just didn’t feel like I could review accurately so the review is coming today.

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

16 oz can, dated 12/28/20, poured into a a mug

A- A clear golden straw with a two finger white head.

S- Biscuits, pilsner malts, honey, some peppercorns, earthy/floral, well balanced.

T- Pilsner malts, honey biscuits, earthy, floral, touch of peppercorns.

M- Smooth, crisp, light body.

O- Another great lager from Tired Hands. Well balanced and easy to drink.

Cheers!

 

Happy NBW everyone! I'm starting today with a Brasserie Dieu du Ciel! Solstice d'hiver barley wine ale from 2016.



Pours a cloudy hazy dark maroon red brown with some sediment that falls to the bottom, and a substantial dense creamy light khaki colored foam head with good lacing and retention.

Smells pretty rich and powerful, heavy, dense, malty, thick cut toasted bread, dark toffee, molasses, some dark caramel, roasty dark chocolate, demi sec sherry wine notes, some dried dark fruit, raisin, red grapes, stewed plum, prune, dates, fig, slight red apple, mild oxidation, dusty wood and earthy hops.

Tastes really dark, charred, roasty, fruity, malty, thick cut toasted bread, dark toffee, dark caramel, blackstrap molasses, bitter dark chocolate, I want to say blueberry, dark berries, dried dark fruit, raisin, grapes, stewed plum, prune, fig, dates, red apple skin, some oxidized medium dry sherry wine notes, with some dusty woody earthy herbal pine. It is pretty interesting and balanced for a barleywine, it could also just be the age too. It has a bit of sweetness that is expected, definitely leans fairly dry though, roasty, bitter and hoppy, with the malts shining underneath.

Feels heavy medium plus bodied, thick and dense, slick and smooth with fairly low carbonation.

Overall this is a really nice barleywine. It is one of the more roasty charred examples I have tasted I think, good balance with everything going on though, very hoppy with some bitterness, good hop flavor, depth of malts, a good drinking beer for 10.2% abv imo, nice and warming for the winter. I'll be back here tomorrow with another old new to me barleywine. Cheers all!

 

Good Saturday afternoon, New Beer Weekenders. This weekend marks the second anniversary of Untied Brewing in New Providence, New Jersey. When this brewery opened, the comments on the Mid-Atlantic Forum were mixed, at best. One comment, with which I concurred, was that they were brewing too many styles from the first day. Then, they started canning very quickly - before the recipes were perfected. I thought the beer was spotty at best, including a New England IPA called "Rays of Haze." I stopped visiting the brewery for almost a year.

Well, it was like a switch was flipped. Untied has quickly and quietly become a destination brewery and one of the best in the area. It's convenient for me and I stop in almost weekly. They now consistently brew top shelf New England IPAs and very good Stouts, Porters, Pilseners, Lagers, and other styles. One thing I really appreciate about Untied's NE IPAs is the super thick, creamy, plush mouth feel. I honestly don't think there's a brewery in the New Jersey doing this style better and more consistently.

One of this week's releases is Galactic Rays of Haze, hopped with African Queen, Galaxy, Motueka, Amarillo, and Ekuanot. It's superb! Here's my full review:

4.54/5 rDev 0%
look: 4.5 | smell: 4.25 | taste: 4.75 | feel: 4.5 | overall: 4.5

Reviewed one day after can release. Poured into a tulip glass. It pours a murky, opaque, dirty orange color closely resembling orange juice with a thick, frothy, bright white head and copious amounts of soapy lacing. It's a beautiful, classic New England appearance. On the nose there is lemon, lime, grapefruit, orange-tangerine, pineapple, and peach. The taste is rich, fruity, and complex: there is tart lemon and grapefruit balanced by the sweetness of dank tropical fruit, orange, and red berry and other stone fruit from the Amarillo, African Queen, and Ekuanot hops. There is earthy, grassy notes from the Galaxy hops. I'm afan of Motueka and you can taste it in the lemon and lime presence. The flavors are delicate, soft, and plush with limited hop bitterness. Like Untied's other DIPAs it has a rich, creamy mouth feel with a pleasant level of carbonation, and the 8.3% ABV is substantive but not distracting. This variant of Raze of Haze is outstanding. It's amazing how the brewery has improved in just two years. The initial batch of Rays of Haze was, honestly, not very good. This version is as good a New Jersey-brewed New England IPA as I've experienced.

I'll review another Untied release, along with a BA Barleywine from Slack Tide, tomorrow. Cheers, NBW!

 

Cross post from the Barleywine thread...

A new to me beer, and a Wheatwine - BCB Carmella Ale aged in Larceny Bourbon Barrels with apples, cinnamon and “Natural Caramel Flavors”, whatever that means:



Bottled 9/2/20. Poured at 56 degrees. Fast fizzy light tan head disappears immediately; no cap, ring nor lace; crystal clear deep amber color; heavy legs on swirl. Nose is candied apple, caramel candy, and cinnamon; no bourbon aromas. Taste is straight up sweet apple pie, pear juice, cinnamon and dark brown sugar; I detect no barrel flavors. Medium plus body, moderate minus carbonation; some warmth from 14.6%. abv. Overall this is one sweet “pastry” Wheatwine, but it all works; a cup of dark brown sugar carmalized in a 1/2 stick of butter, a 1/4 cup of pear purée, a teaspoon of cinnamon, a 1/4 teaspoon of almond extract...hey!, that’s my pie recipe (minus the booze); just the right amount of cinnamon (i.e. just a little) and just sweet enough to tantalize my beer sweet tooth without being cloying; still, I’ll save the other half of the bottle for tomorrow...I like, but not sad that I only bought one bottle.

4.0 | 4.25 | 4.5 | 4.25 | 4.25
Score: 4.34 rDev +1.2%

 

I was in Fox Farm's neighborhood today, so why not pickup some beers.
Note, the photo makes the color of this beer look darker than in reality.
4.09/5 rDev -1.4%
look: 3.75 | smell: 4 | taste: 4.25 | feel: 4 | overall: 4

Poured from a 16oz can dated 12/30/20 to a Nonic at fridge temp.
Hazy but very light yellow body appears like watered-down grapefruit juice. Medium white head that laces well.
Smells hoppy, grassy, floral.
Taste bright and hoppy, lemony, but somewhat stronger than the 4.6% ABV claimed.
Taste is backed up by a silky medium body.
Overall--wish I bought more than two.

 

Happy Saturday, NBWenders! Today I'm cheating just a little bit on the thread's theme...I'm fairly sure I've had PBR before, but only like once, and probably 5-10 years ago, and not with genuine attention on it. So, I'll say that I'm trying this beer seriously for the first time today. But, here's my view on PBR...

16oz can served in a big snifter. Dated APR0521.

Pours clear golden with a moderately large fluffy head. Smell is grainy, slight grass, maybe a mild lagery skunky aroma.

Taste is more grain, a little honey, something vaguely herbal, surprised that it's not very sweet. Skunky flavor comes across a little, but it just seems more like a reminder that it's an AAL than a problem.

Mouthfeel is very light, dry, crisp, though there's a slight filminess to it. Overall, this is definitely a worthy AAL. It's not an IPA or anything like that...it is what it is, and if you don't like AALs you won't like this.

Now I'm going to go do a side-by-side with Hamm's in the WBAYDN thread.

 

So the whole dunkel vs amber thread motivated me to seek out a dunkel I have never had before. All the pictures and talk really had me looking forward to one: Hofbrau Dunkel...



Pours a beautiful crystal clear dark brown holding it up to light it is a thing of beauty, it almost shows a reddish hue. Head dissipates to a nice creamy layer of white.

Aroma is of rich hearty bread, it kind of reminds me of the smell of toasted cinnamon raisin bread, not really cinnamon aroma there but there is something spice like. There is also maybe a little walnut aspect to it. It has a really pleasant smell.

Taste follows the nose in the rich dark bread way. Again it reminds me of something sweet but there is nothing sweet in it. It’s like toffee without the sugary sweetness. It’s really bizarre because every sip I take my brain says it will be sweet but then it’s not.

Mouthfeel is light verging on medium, a perfect spot for this beer. It finishes extremely clean and dry. For such a rich beer I expected it to linger a little bit but it doesn’t.

Glad my local store had this beer in stock is is delicious, glad I got a whole six pack.

 

Fremont Brew 1000


Pours almost black in color with dark brown to ember red hints, which manage to shine through.


Smells of tobacco, burned oak, campfire, boozy pralinés and spicy molasses. Has a caramel sweetness to it on the nose, together with a lighter nuttiness and heated butter.


Drinks utmost smooth and soft with a well put booziness, which gets playfully balanced by a copious amount of whipped cream. The full body of the beer shines in this throughout, gently enriched by a lighter, late effervescence.


Brings some heavy, caramel sweetened fire smoke to the palate, as well as spicy, warming Bourbon with a fantastic matured oak quality to it. Turns a little sweeter then and smoother as well, with some rock sugar and matured hops among oily molasses and hints of char. Finishes heavier on the barrel with a well pronounced heat, soothing cream and glazed caramel, together with a long lasting, throat warming alcohol glow, accompanied by a solid dryness.


This might be the best barley wine I‘ve had so far. There is no sign of the beer‘s age noteable but instead a fantastic barrel presence, paired with a world class mouthfeel and a very well nuanced, roasty and complex beer.

 

Pausing from household chores for lunch and a local stab at a NE IPA.

Very drinkable stuff. It's a decent stab at a New England hazy, but it's not a flavor bomb. It's got a fairly mellow tropical fruit and melon-y flavor. It's quite good, but the dominant Impression to me is of something that I could have several of, were a local watering hole within walking distance open for drinking purposes and had it on tap.

 

Really sorry to hear about your doggo, @Pinz412. I think your approach, to enjoy your time with her, is spot on. Give her lots of hugs and kisses from your BIF friends.