New Beer Weekend #28

Tree House Alter Ego, from @tasterschoice62's wicked ninja box. I'm positively giddy to try this one, as a good Mosaic-heavy hazy is pretty much my sweet spot, with last spring's batch of Sosus holding top honors at this point. Pours a thick, orange-tangerine color that's opaque without being turbid, featuring a dense head that leaves archipelagos of foam as it slides down the glass. Aroma is tons of peach, a little mango, and a scrim of cannabis that makes my mouth water. First sip is peach-mango puree, with a pronounced hop bite that's right up my alley, some thyme, and a simmering Mosaic dankness that shades deeper as it warms. Mouthfeel is both oily and zippy, making me want it to gulp it much faster than I should. Alcohol is noticeable though not prominent; combined with the hop bite, this feels like well, a real beer (compared to many NEIPAs) instead of a juice box. The word that comes to mind, oddly, is "adult," like what Sosus wants to be when it grows up. It's a beer that's seen some things, you know? My only regret is that I only have one of these babies . . . on the other hand, I'd probably drink them all in one sitting and not appreciate them properly. Thanks a ton, Larry, this is a real treat.

 

Cross posting this from the barleywine thread, this is magnificent, IMHO.







4.5/5 rDev +11.9%
look: 4.5 | smell: 4.5 | taste: 4.5 | feel: 4.5 | overall: 4.5

Pours a beautiful dark copper color with a tan head that dissipates quickly. I was expecting no head from a 2014 bottle so I’m already in bonusville! The nose has a heaping helping of toffee and caramel aromas, some fruity notes from the cardamom, and the slightest hint of the barrel with a subtle boozy note.

The subtle boozy note from the barrel continues on the taste, but it appears WAAAAAY after you take a drink of this - there’s big caramel and toffee flavors, the fruity sweetness, and then, after a substantial delay, a boozy warming sits in your chest. Wow.

This is executed exceptionally well. I was a bit concerned about how this would hold up after 6+ years and 2 long trips, but my concerns were unfounded, because this is a world-class barleywine.

 

Cross-posted from the Barleywine Tasting Thread


Side Project × Private Press - Maple In The Wood b1 (not the Gold Wax Apple Pay batch)

Bourbon and Maple Bourbon Barrel-Aged Maple Wheatwine

Pours a deep, dark, ebony brown hue - sitting not quite black, but like Pedro Ximenez sherry - just dark, dense, oily used motor oil. A few oily bubbles, but eventually sits lifeless, again, like sherry. Legs like some high age bourbon just drip down the glass. 4.5

Nose: Crazy natural and not at all the obnoxious bastard I anticipated. The malts are the priority here - dark brown sugar, molasses, dates, rum raisin, dark bread, burned caramel, dark toffee, plum, and maple. No. I mean actual maple. No, not like the maple fudge maple beers. I mean a jar of maple syrup. That subtle, sweet, cordial-like maple syrup aroma? Yeah, that. Real, organic maple syrup - subtle, beaneath the malt. Plenty of oak, barrel char, some bourbon, and noticeable booze. So natural yet perfectly balanced. 4.5

Palate: MitW greets the palate SWEET - let's make that clear. Even sweet for a wheatwine. This is approaching "adjunct" stout sweet. It's all brown sugar, melted toffee, soft chewy caramel, dulce de leche, caramel drizzle, refined coconut sugar, Indian vanilla beans, olorosso sherry, and Grade A maple syrup (the real stuff - mostly sweet, sliggtly maple) dumped in, with some maple sugar as well. There's some roast too - maybe a hint of chocolate - more like coffee, like Kaluha even with the rum spices. The barrel notes really begin to become apparent - splintery bourbon-soaked charred oak, maple-staines oak, so much woody vanillins, Cavendish tobacco, black samsun tobacco, and more woody caramel, fudge, and bourbon. These drier notes finally take over the heavy sweetness and pairing with a touch of chocolatey roast, lend some very night tight, splintery drying in the finish, concluding with pure bourbon spirit, oak, birch syrup, and maple essence. 4.25

Mouthfeel/Body: Fully full-bodied. This isn't liwyod fudge, or ice cream topping, and if you're looking for syrup drizzle, look elsewhere. It is, however, extremely heavy, sticky, full, and rich - and don't get me wrong, it's a thick ale. Richer than port. Effervescence is basically at the lowest point without calling it "still", and the sweetness really adds to the heaviness while leaving the lips very sticky. It's basically stout thick. 4.0

Overall: This is tricky. The flavour? Phenomenal? The natural/organic nature of the maple character? Second-to-none. The barrel and bourbon integration is top notch, and there's some nice deep oaky and malty complexities? It's one and only downfall? It. Is. SWEET. Man, I've opened a 750ml of this and I'm up against it myself? Sharing this with several people, this could be a show-stopper. It's really quite well-crafted. But consuming this alone, it will 100% become cloying, and probably ungodly unhealthy. But small doses? A truly spectacular and classy maple wheatwine.

 

Tree House Very Green, also from @tasterschoice62's stellar ninja box. I have a lot of good beer in my fridge right now, but I was afraid that anything other than another Tree House was going to be disappointing after that Alter Ego. I also have in relatively close memory Very Gggreennn, which came from @themangler14 last week, so this should be an interesting comparison. Pours liquid gold, very much like its big brother, with a very persistent head that gives way to some pretty crazy lacing (see second photo) not unlike Alter Ego's. The resemblance to Alter Ego ends there, though, as the smell is very green (ha)/piney, with some citrus, but you have to dig a little for it. Taste is where things get really interesting, with an interplay of dank and piney that shifts mid-palate to something more orangey, but also berry-like. It's a different, almost more obvious, melange than its older brother, more approachable, but just as elegant. Mouthfeel is not as zippy as Alter Ego, closer to the roundness of Very Gggreennn, although less enveloping. I know there are people who think "all Tree House tastes the same," but, honestly, they're not trying very hard. This is definitely identifiable as the strain of "green" that's a little more complex in Very Gggreennn, but absolutely its own beer. I'll say it again: it's a good thing I don't live close to Tree House, as both my wallet and liver would take an irrecoverable beating. Thanks again, Larry.

 

That review is spot on. TH has some great beers that arent turbid. Well said! Cheers!

 

Ding Ding Ding! Glad you enjoyed it. Had one myself tonight. Though I opted out of making trip for Very GGGreen this beer is just phenomenal.

 

My final beer of the evening. I put a stopper in the Ocēlōtl after having ~half of it, so I could get to this one before the evening is over.

Lift Bridge Commander 2019
ABV: 12.5%
IBU: 29



Murky brown color under a short off-white head that is gone in less than a minute, leaving a creamy ring. Even with a backlight, there is not much visible through the murk. The appearance is kind of ugly; surprising for such a "young" beer.

The smell is very barley-wine-like, dark fruit, brown sugar, toffee, alcohol, along with a sweet breadish aroma.

The taste is very different, however. Quite spicy, almost a cinnamon flavor, backed by the sweet bready malts and brown/burnt sugar. I'm not sure what cardamom tastes like; perhaps that is what I am identifying as cinnamon. There is a solid bitter hit almost immediately, which continues throughout, fading a bit in the aftertaste. The finish is spicy, sweet, a bit bitter, toffee, with a nice alcohol warmth. This is a pleasant beer, but more of a holiday warmer than a (quoting the label now) "bona fide barleywine ale".

Moderate body, just a bit on the slick side.

Overall, this is a really good beer, good enough it may make my holiday list for next year, but it is decidedly a different take on what a barley wine should be (but, then, the cardamom on the label tells you that), so I would not recommend this to someone who wants to taste a barley wine for the first time. It's a really, really nice sipping beer to finish the evening with, though.

(Added after reading @ovaltime's review of the 2014 vintage in the barley wine tasting thread: Perhaps some of the holiday-ness of this beer diminishes with age. IDK. I've never had this beer before. I can pick up a 2018 vintage still. Maybe I will just to see how it is in another year. For science, you know! )

L: 3.5 | S: 3.75 | T: 4.0 | F: 3.75 | O: 3.75 | Rating: 3.81

------
Today I enjoyed two very different takes on a barley wine from Minnesota brewers. Both are very good in their own right, both are well done, and each is very different. The Ocēlōtl was pretty much a traditional barley wine enhanced with Mexican culture; the second is probably better thought of as a holiday beer take on a barley wine. As I said, both enjoyable; both well done.

 

This next one is a collaboration between Mast Landing and a brewery called Non Sequitur that I am unfamiliar with. Let's see how they pull off a good ol' regular strength NEIPA with a great-sounding hop bill, shall we?



Murky pour with total opacity in the body. Creamy head that builds up to two-and-a-half fingers, leaving behind great, consistent lace as it slowly recedes. Never really gets below a finger, even after ten minutes, and the legs are awesome, too. Overall, definitely a very good looking NEIPA, you just have to really like super-hazy-bois or you'll find this unattractive.

This features Galaxy, Nelson, Motueka, Pacific Sunrise, and Riwaka hops, meaning it's all Southern Hemisphere varietals. I am a little concerned that all of these in one place may lead to things getting muddled, but let's hope for the best. First sniff is definitely a bit unusual; stone fruit (apricot and nectarine) crossed with some ripe mango flesh and hints of grassiness. The scent is a little muted and not as bright, pungent, or complex as a beer generously-hopped with Galaxy and Nelson (among others) would typically be. Hmm, yeah, not really sold. ML has been weirdly hit-or-miss for me lately, though, and I have traditionally found most of their IPAs to be fantastic, so I don't know what's going on with them.

Just took my first sip and, again, I don't know if I'm a big fan of this, and at this point with NEIPAs and the market being super-saturated, not immediately being head-over-heels for a release in this style doesn't bode well for me. I've had so many things like this that I can instantly tell whether or not a beer is going to be spectacular, one-and-done, or not great. I think this is probably the latter. Melon, yeasty flavors, hints of pineapple and overripe mango, and light notes of orange/tangerine are all I can really pick out of this one; maybe some light herbal undertones and graininess or something, but nothing that I love. Very disappointing. As I suspected, this is quite muddy and not really doing anything great in my opinion. Feel is heavy for a 7% beer; this honestly drinks like an 8%er and that's never really a good thing either. I think this could be safely passed over for all of you out there looking for the next big NEIPA. Oh well.

 

Persist by Treehouse

4.46/5 rDev -4.5%
look: 4.25 | smell: 4.5 | taste: 4.5 | feel: 4.25 | overall: 4.5



Bottle poured into a TreeHouse snifter

Opened 1 30 21 , Watching the USMNT crush TnT

Jet back motor oil , pencil think dense creamy brown foam layer , settles to islands and solid ring

Aroma of Nutella on the pour, First sniff, maple, bourbon, coffee, roast malts, hazelnuts, Nutella

Taste is sweet, maple sugar candies, coffee, bourbon, roast malts, finishing notes of maple and coffee, hazelnut

Low sudsing, got a hint of roast sharpness that quickly fades

Good beer

 

One more new beer, The Veil neveragain^3: XTREME, thanks @dprice! This beer is definitely extreme, looking on their IG it seems they used 3 tons of raspberries and it tastes like it.

4.5/5 rDev -2.8%
look: 4 | smell: 4.5 | taste: 4.5 | feel: 4.75 | overall: 4.5

Thank you dprice for this
16 oz can poured into a teku

A- A deep hazy blood red with a small dark pink head.

S- Raspberry jam with a touch of vanilla and lactose.

T- Sour raspberry jam with a touch of other berries and vanilla.

M- Smooth, creamy/thick, full body.

O- This is tasty and very easy to drink. Seems more like an alcoholic fruit smoothie than a beer, but at the end of the day I’m still drinking it.

Stay safe NBW, cheers!

 

This here is a collaboration between Aslin and Definitive called Dazzle. As the can states, it is a DIPA w/ cherry, orange, vanilla, and lactose. The beer was canned on 1/22/21 and clocks in at 8.2% ABV. I don't really know what to expect here, honestly. Most of the Aslin IPAs I've had have been good (and some have been really great), and Definitive tends to be high-quality when it comes to hoppy stuff, so I have a feeling this will be pretty interesting and will most likely be drinkable, but I have to say that the adjuncts here are going to need to be well-balanced for this to be something I can see myself really enjoying. I guess I bought this to test the mettle of these two popular breweries when it comes to making something weird that's also actually satisfying and worthy. Definitive has made one of the few amazing "milkshake IPAs" (Vanilla Dome w/ Blueberry), in my opinion, so maybe I should trust them more with handling this.

The pour is an unusual color... sort of a mid-point between reddish/salmon and deep-orange. Looks almost like a glass of watered-down carrot juice, complete with intense haze. The head is stable for at least five minutes after the initial aggressive pour I gave the beer, building up with four fingers but quickly settling to a single finger, leaving behind splotchy lace that doesn't do much to impress. Legs are below-average, too. Not impressed by the pour really, but that is less important than what comes next.

The nose is pretty impressive, and I'm immediately feeling like maybe I should have given these breweries a bit more credit right out of the gate. The press release for this one provides evocative and whimsical commentary: "smells like cherry bomb pops, orange dream bars, and vanilla sugar cones from the ice cream truck!" In truth, I can't say they're wrong. It's got some aggressive hops in there, too, but a lot of the orange sherbet and cherry ice cream topping elements come across in a really surprising and pleasant way. The cherry in particular feels superbly well-integrated, even giving off a unique darker fruit note that feels almost cherry cordial-like... alright, I'm into this so far.

Flavor profile is extremely vanilla-heavy, so if you don't like the idea of a sweet-leaning IPA, this won't be for you. If you're okay with that, however, the combination of tart and tangy mandarin orange with the creaminess and complex hop notes that bring out strong mango, passion fruit, and tangelo will really drive home the enjoyable and just-plain-fun nature of this beer. It tastes like orange sherbet crossed with a dollop of vanilla ice cream, soaked in boozy cherry liqueur, honestly, and I'm here for it. Feel is nice and lean despite the obvious, apparent sweet nature of the proceedings, the alcohol presence isn't too noticeable or pushy, and the carbonation is pretty dialed-in to deliver the complexities of the adjuncts to the palate in a balanced and satisfactory way. I would recommend this one for sure; it's a success in a conceptual way, but it's also just plain fun to drink, and it doesn't forget it's also an IPA at the end of the day... the hops play very well with the adjuncts and are superbly-integrated. Definitely worth a shot if you're looking for something outside of the typical comfort zone. I'm ready to say that Definitive might be the masters of the milkshake IPA. If it's going to be a thing that exists going forward, I want them to lead the charge.

 

@ovaltine I apologize for misspelling your name. Sorry.