New Beer Weekend #28

Hop Butcher Green Moss DIPA. Second time this beer appears on this page, second time courtesy of @FBarber. Great anticipation here due to my limited experience with one of their collab beers with Slice, as well as @WunderLlama's glowing review. Pours a super-creamy golden-orange, with a huge, long-lasting head due to my aggressive pour. This is one of those beers you can tell is going to be excellent by looking at it; it just screams excellent craftsmanship. Orange, pineapple, plus a little cannabis on the nose. Taste follows, with some bright herbal notes I can't quite pin down, growing mildly danker as it warms. I diverge from @WunderLlama re: hop bite, which I do find both present and pleasant. (Sometimes I think drinkers interpret this sensation a little differently.) In fact, it's one of the qualities I loved from the other Hop Butcher beer I've tried, a slightly assertive edge that keeps it from being a mere juice box. Mouthfeel is outstanding, somehow both zippy and round. Not so thin you want to gulp it, not so thick that it's a chore. Just an elite sipping experience.

Sometimes you know a brewer knows what the fuck they're doing. There's just a baseline of excellence that underlies the specifics of any particular beer. Tree House has it, Russian River has it, Tired Hands has it (most of the time), and it looks like Hop Butcher might have it, too. Thankfully, I have another four from @FBarber to confirm my suspicions! Cheers!

PS: I don't know why I can't bring myself to type out "Hop Butcher for the World." I'm usually all in on long, pretentious brewery/beer names. I think I just prefer the sound of Hop Butcher.

 

Why not the side-by-side thread?

 

I vaguely remembered there might be one, but I've never gone to visit it. I guess I could go cross post it there....

...clickety clickety...

 

I mean, no pressure...
(do it, do it, do it, do it)

or subliminal messaging at all...

 

I completely forgot about the barleywine tasting event this weekend. I’ve only got two in my stash (I know, embarrassing, right?), and one of those is DFH Olde School, which is reserved for Extreme Beer Fest next weekend.

Fortunately, the other one is a howitzer of a BA barleywine I’ve had for around 4 years - SN BA Bigfoot. That’ll be tomorrow’s one NBW beer AND crossover to the barleywine tasting thread, so I’ve got THAT going for me.

On to tonight’s first NBW beer. I’m a sucker for any Mosaic-hopped beer. This beer has Mosaic hops. Sign me up.



4.17/5 rDev +4.5%
look: 4.25 | smell: 4 | taste: 4.25 | feel: 4 | overall: 4.25

Pours a nicely hazy pineapple color with a minimal dense white head that provides very nice lacing. The nose is dank citrus aromas courtesy of the Mosaic, Simcoe, and Cascade hops, with dank pineapple and grapefruit aromas most prominent.

That pineapple/grapefruit flavor combo is front and center on the taste, and there’s some berry flavors as well and an earthy note that is most welcome for the balance it provides.

The mouthfeel is medium and a bit on the softer side. I’ve enjoyed these Voodoo Ranger sorta hazy IPA’s, and this iteration is no exception.

 

A true original and classic of the style, this one is readily available yet I very seldom purchase it. It has maintained its crisp and refreshing flavor. The pilsner is now shipped in brown bottles with freshness dates. I remember in the early to mid-1990s really enjoying this, but sometimes I would get a bottle that was "off". Of all the pilsners I have tried since then, I have not seen one that has such a beautiful hue as this one. Now that the microbreweries are concentrating on hazy, fruity triple IPAs, and milkshake ales, it is good to get back to the basics with this fine import.

 

Cross posted from the online barley wine thread

tree of life blended by treehouse

4.61/5 rDev +2%
look: 4.25 | smell: 4.5 | taste: 4.75 | feel: 4.75 | overall: 4.5

Bottle poured into a Tree House snifter

Muddy, murky brown liquid with a long lasting creamy taupe foam ring . Some lacings

Aroma is molasses, raisins, figs , caramel, sherry wine, bourbon

Deliciously Sweet, but not a mouthful of sugar. First taste is caramel , toffee. Brown sugar, raisins , fig, vanilla, hint of cherries , hint of sipping whisky

Low sudsing , Creamy, velvety smooth , luxurious, dense , syrupy mouthfeel

Easy drinking, it scares me that there is no abv. No alcohol burn but I am sure my world could be spinning after I finish the glass

Great beer

 

Thanks, all, and to @ovaltine who it wouldn't let me quote. All the well wishes are appreciated. We'll still have some time, but how much we won't know. We'll spoil her rotten in the meantime.

 

This is a visceral memory for me (“We'll spoil her rotten in the meantime”). When Mrs O and I got married, I adopted her two dogs, and as a longtime dog person, I was all in.

So after 6 years of marriage, and in the middle of our second move (and first of four moves for work), our Ruffy, who was a large breed dog and 16 years old, had to be put down.

And my wife and best friend sat in the backseat of our car, bawling her eyes out (with me doing the same driving) and feeding Ruff DB’s (dog biscuits) until we got to the vet and then did what we had to do to honor and respect our dog.

That was nearly 25 years ago, and it feels like it was 25 minutes ago. Give your doggo a big hug from me.

 

#2, this exceeded my expectations.



4.42/5 rDev +5.5%
look: 4.5 | smell: 4.25 | taste: 4.5 | feel: 4.25 | overall: 4.5

Pours black with a dark tan head that sticks around and provides a lot of lacing for a beer this big (11% ABV). Gorgeous beer. The nose has a big hunk of barrel notes up front, and the cacao is also well noted.

The barrel is also not shy on the taste, but the anchor for this beer is the fudgy cacao and and a significant char flavor, which works really well to complement the barrel notes.

The mouthfeel approaches creamy, and is full and has considerable depth. The base beer was my first beer from Upland, so I’m partial to this beer out of the gate, but it exceeded my expectations. By a lot. Really well done by a brewery that doesn’t hesitate to jump into the deep end of the pool.

 

Cross posted from the Barleywine tasting thread:
I'm just starting to get my stuff together for an upcoming game of MtG, and it seemed like a perfect time to open up a nice barleywine to take me through the game.

Springdale 2019 Grain Reaper, a barrel aged rye barleywine, 10.6%

The aroma is surprisingly gentle. The spicy rye and oak are definitely present, but also wafts of caramel, dates, amber rum, cherry, even a hint of citrus peel. It's also surprisingly light and airy.

It comes down a lot bigger on first sip. Woody vanillins and tannins hit hard first, but are buoyed by big caramel malt and bready rye flavors. Coming on late, and nicely lingering are solid impressions of orange peel, cherry, spice, brown sugar and that oak again. But it's also got a more delicate feel than you'd expect, nicely avoiding anything heavy and syrupy- between what I'm picking up as a slight mineral water quality and decent smack of bitterness, it's even coming across as dry at the very end.

It's not quite what I was expecting, and not even close to being an overwhelming beer; but in its own way it's got a great weave of flavors and very pleasant personality. Just eeking out an A- (4.0).

 

DDH Small Cashmere Everything

3.95/5 rDev -1%
look: 4.5 | smell: 3.75 | taste: 3.75 | feel: 4.75 | overall: 4

Poured from a 16 ounce can into an IPA glass.

Look- Frothy white head, Between pale and medium gold, hazy, above average head retention, average lacing.

Smell- Mango, melon, weak aromatics.

Taste- Mango, honeydew, subtle flavor.

Feel- Medium body, soft, below average carbonation, low bitterness, clean finish, slightly creamy.

Overall- Nice, easy drinking beer. Both flavor and bouquet were weak.

 

Hey NBWs
I bought a case of offerings from Vitamin Sea Brewing today
This was the first one out of the box
Pretty cool can art and pretty tasty beer.





Can dated 1/8 21 "Kick back and relax" poured into a can glass
Triple NEIPA 10.2 ABV Galaxy and Topaz hops

A one inch fluffy white head golden yellow colored slightly cloudy

Aroma of citrus and banana peel with a hint of asparagus

Taste follows the nose without the asparagus

Mouthfeel is a slightly prickly start and fairly smooth to dry finish, a tad sour at the very end. It's a bit chewy and feel is layered nicely, no alcohol burn at all. It hides the 10% well.

Overall its a very easy drinking triple and pretty balanced, there is a lot going on. If you are into layers of flavor and mouthfeel, this is for you.
4.5 4.25 4.25 4.25 4.25 4.27 redev 0

 

Enjoying one of the many great beers on my fridge from my fantasy football victory. One more box coming on Monday. This one is from @galos11 and is pretty incredible.



Pours a deep tan when a small head and stringy lacing.

The smell is loaded with peanut butter and some banana.

The taste is exactly the same. Tons of peanut butter, banana, and a bit of a burnt taste like the sandwich was toasted. Really enjoyable.

The mouthfeel is medium body and carbonation.

Overall, this is really great and fun to drink. If you like PB&B, try this beer.

 

Goller Original German Pilsner, 4.9% ABV; 4.23 overall

Pours an effervescent gold with 2+ of pearl colored head. Great lacing & head retention

S: Bready, soapy, grassy, along with perfumy floral hops as this warms

T: Follows the nose, a little bit of lemon & dryness as well up front. Slight bready sweetness, grassyness & dryness as this warms along with a little soapyness. Finishes dry, bready with a little grassyness & soapyness

MF: Medium body, soft carbonation

Easy to drink and nice example of the style

 

Back with another local brew
Route 140 New England IPA from 67 Degrees Franklin, Ma.


Poured into a spiegelau glass from a can dated 11/13/20 6.7 ABV

Fluffy white head and a cloudy golden orange color

Aromas of pineapple, citrus and pine, some bead

Taste is a bit thin for a pretty big nose, citrus and a bready malt taste are prevalent. Hints of grapefruit.

Mouthfeel is thin feeling as well, it kind of goes right through you mouth. Medium to low carbonation, sticky and a slightly astringent finish.

Overall its a good representation of the style crisp and clean tasting.
4.25 4 3.75 3.75 3.75 3.84 rdev -2.8

 

New Province Cafe Muy Especial Mexican Coffee Stout, 10.0% ABV; 4.16

Pours an effervescent mahogany with a slight auburn tinge and 2 fingers of fluffed up mocha colored head. Decent lacing & below average head retention

S: A lot of coffee, some chiles and a touch of vanilla

T: Much coffee, a little vanilla, dryness up front. Some dark chocolate surfaces along with plenty of dryness, less coffee and even less vanilla as this warms. Finishes with a bit of acrid coffee, bean, dark chocolate & dryness

MF: Medium body with fairly firm carbonation, body thins out a touch when warm

Pretty solid for the style, nice drinkablity, wish the coffee would've started as strong as it finished. This is on the verge of excellence

 

Tonight, for a nightcap, I'm having my first J.W. Lees barley wine.

J.W. Lees Harvest Ale (Calvados Cask) 2013
ABV: 11.5%
IBU: NA



Virtually no head from a vigorous pour. Dark brown from the front, orange-red with a backlight. No carbonation visible. The thin ring of off-white foam will leave some dots and loops of lacing if you tip the glass.

Aroma takes some drawing out (likely due to the complete lack of head), but is very nice. Molasses, raisins, some alcohol.

Taste is exquisite. Leather, raisins, other fruit flavors (perhaps apple), tannin, brandy, sweet malts, and more. Quite complex. Beers with flavors this complex exceed my ability to parse out all the elements without seeming ridiculous or pretentious. Suffice it to say as at the beginning: exquisite. The finish is semi-sweet, moderated by the tannin.

Mouth feel is substantial - viscous and chewy. The alcohol and tannin add some zip to the feel, which keeps things from feeling flat.

Overall, outstanding.

L: 3.75 | S: 4.0 | T: 4.75 | F: 4.25 | O: 4.5 | Rating: 4.41