New Beer Weekend #29

Juice Project by Tree House Brewing- an Imperial IPA

Purchased at Tree House in a variety pack and using their contact free pickup. Waited in the car line about 1 hour

4.54/5 rDev +0.9%
look: 4.75 | smell: 4.5 | taste: 4.5 | feel: 4.75 | overall: 4.5

Canned 12.22.20,
“Happy Juice Holidays Project” printed on the bottom of the can

Can appropriately poured into a treehouse teku



Three finger dense, creamy eggshell foam crown, excellent retention, settles to a solid 2 finger puffy mountainous layer a turbid deep amber liquid,tons of lacings. Classic NEIPA appearance

Aroma is orange juice on the pour, citrus, whiff of pepper, the aroma overflows the glasss on the pour

Taste is orange juicy hops, citrus

Low sudsing, hop flavored , no bite,creamy mouthfeel

Another delicious Tree House beer. They have this style dialed in

Public Service announcement. -If you are reading and posting in this thread, you might be interested in joining a beer it forward. Imagine a Secret Santa with beer and a Clue mystery game . Great beers from outside your locale that you review in this thread . Send @Roguer a Direct message for consideration

 

Thank you @ChicagoJ for kicking this one off this weekend! Night Shift Wide Awake a coffee imperial Porter canned on 1/07/2021. Pours a very attractive near pitch black with a solid finger sticky light brown head that leaves thin streaks of lace with excellent retention. 4.5

Aroma is Expresso beans, vanilla, dark chocolate, and toffee. Very simple but extremely nice. 4.5

Taste follows fresh coffee, dark chocolate, vanilla, and toffee just really really tasty. 4.5

Mouthfeel is bigger than medium, soft creamy carbonation, maybe a little dry and it works perfectly, and at 8.1% extremely approachable and easy drinking. 4.5

Overall I can see myself getting more of this one. The name says it all and I am really digging it. Cheers all. 4.5 Plenty of new beers on deck for the weekend.

 

A retired beer!

Today’s ‘new’ beer is actually a very old beer: Victory Storm King Imperial Stout.

Several years ago Victory Brewing Co. made a business decision to no longer produce this beer for distribution. That was a very sad decision for me since Storm King was one of my favorite Imperial Stouts. When fresh this beer had a very notable hop profile and I have read many BAs opine that this beer when fresh is akin to a Black IPA.

I bought a case (24 bottles) of this beer five years ago for drinking enjoyment over a period of years. I will confess that I drank most of these beer young (less than a year of age) but I do have one bottle left. On the bottle it lists “ENJOY BY: 02 NOV 2020”. So, this last bottle it a few months past the recommended date but I have stored these beers cool in my basement so I have no worries here.

Since this is a very special bottle of Storm King I will be sharing this beer with my wife.

Served in two small Duvel tulip glasses:

Appearance:

Very dark brown approaching black in color with a tan head.

Aroma:

Wow! There is a lot going on here, a complex combination. There is some dried dark fruits aromas (e.g., fig, raisins, dried plums,…), some toffee, a hint of licorice,…

Taste:

The flavor follows the nose with a complex combination of flavors: dried dark fruits, toffee, licorice, dark chocolate,…no one flavor dominates. There is a moderate bitterness.

Mouthfeel:

Soft, medium bodied with an off-dry finish.

Overall:

This beer is excellent. I have in the past preferred this beer fresh with its notable hop aroma/flavor but after 5+ years of cellaring this aged beer was equally excellent albeit in a very different way.

Cheers!

@rotsaruch @KOP_Beer_OUtlet @RobH

 

Good morning NBW
Dryish January set me behind on some reviews. This was a new release from Taxman back in December

Description from the can:
Embrace Bear Hug, our special gingerbread-cookie-inspired brown ale with spices. Sweet, robust and roasted dark malts are cuddled together with earthy honey, zesty ginger, spicy cinnamon and smooth vanilla, making this ale the ultimate acquisition of the season.

My review:
12oz canned 12/09/20 poured into a snifter at just above fridge temp 9% ABV 26 IBU. The beer pours bright, light to medium brown in color with chestnut highlights and abundant tan colored head. The head recedes to a thin cap and leaves a web of lacing. The aroma is mild cinnamon up front and lesser notes of vanilla and honey. The taste is semisweet gingerbread cookie. Ginger, cinnamon, vanilla are integrated into a malt & honey sweet base. Minimal bitterness. The mouthfeel is medium bodied with average carbonation and a mostly dry finish. The ginger and cinnamon pull this one right back on the finish so there's no lingering sweetness. Overall, very good. I'm not normally a fan of "desert" inspired beer, but this nails the gingerbread cookie mentioned on the label, without sticky or lingering sweetness.

Taxman has a talent for balance across their lineup. Subtle barrel aging, perfectly balanced spices & taking inspiration from sweets without producing a sickly sweet product. I'm not sure how much balance and restraint earn street cred in today's craft world, but I am always happy to have steady access to their beers. Cheers all and enjoy the new beer in your glass today!

 

Yes, PLEASE.

 

Hey all! I'm entering this submission for NBW #29. Had it last night so forgive the lack of "right nowness" but damn this was good. Cheers.

New Image Big Nelson Energy. 9.5% - a huge, tropical, dry, foamy NEIPA/DIPA.
Spoiler: It's stunning. More? Read on....

4.35/5 rDev 0% (first review for the beer on BA)
look: 4.25 | smell: 4.25 | taste: 4.5 | feel: 4.25 | overall: 4.25

L - Glowing orange density, smaller head, less lacing than I would have expected.

S - Typical giant Nelson hop smell notes, and this one is aaaallllll Nelson. You smell it, too - think of jacked up Sauvignon Blanc grapes with the best Kush weed smells, with some depth of guava and tropical dry melons in there too. A little berry effect as well.

T - Explodes and full palate impact here. More of the tropics, with enough dryness it doesn't go sweet-imperial, but stays a true double-qua-triple IPA. Again, more white grapes-dankness-weed-is-melon-berries on the tongue. This is impressive...and just damn delicious.

F - Great mouthfeel, a good balance between NEIPA creamy and rich, and enough dryness, I don't get a lactose/sweet impression either. Good acidity, more on the citric juice side. Lovely.

O - Another giant DIPA, single hop feature by New Image that doesn't fail to impress. Jeebus.

 

Thanks for getting it started... and, just for emphasis!

 

New Beer #2
My LBS must have caught a deal from a distributor because a bunch of Evil Twin beers showed up priced to move. $3 for a bomber of maple syrup barrel stout? Yes...

Some People are Immune to Good Advice Maple Bourbon Barrel Aged Stout

22oz undated bottle poured into a Spiegelau stout glass at fridge temp 10.7% ABV. The beer pours dense black with no light penetration and minimal light brown head. The head recedes to a single layer of bubbles. No lacing. The aroma is mild with caramel, maple and roasted malt. The taste is semisweet maple with roasted malt and booze moving in fast. Mild to moderate bitterness. The mouthfeel is medium to full bodied with just less than medium carbonation and a semi dry finish. Overall, good. Not sure when this was bottled, but nothing is off. Boozey and fairly straightforward with the maple.

Speaking of good advice, I probably need to slow my pace. I'll be back eventually with another new beer. Cheers all!

 

Thank you, @ChicagoJ, for getting. the thread off to a good start.
My new beer for today is another one from my birthday beer club membership. This one is Snow Queue, a "juice bomb IPA with pomegranate and black currant." It is brewed by Jagged Mountain Craft Brewery in collaboration with Beer Drop (who, not coincidently, are the purveyors of my beer gift).
The beer is an opaque magenta color with no head.
Aroma is muted, some sweet fruit and some citrus.
Taste is also on the quiet side. Grapefruit, sweet fruit.
More sweet than hoppy.

 

Miskatonic Brewing, a hyper local brewery to me, has been releasing standard base beers in a "Hello My Name Is" series. I assume it is a seasonal and educational experience for their brewers and customers alike. They have also been experimenting with a Small Cellar Series of one-offs with experimentation in aging techniques.
This entry to New Beer Weekend is a combination of the two series.

Bonjou on M'Lome - Small Cellar Series

Their website describes the base, released in cans, as:
"Belgian Strong Golden ABV 9.4% IBU: 29
A base of genuine Belgian Pilsner malt, Belgian Candi Sugar, and area- correct Belgian yeast produce lively doughy malt characteristics terminating in a complex dry snap of citrus, spice, and the subtle fruity sting of high alcohol."

They bottled some and untapped includes this description:
"Separated from the main batch weeks before the original "Golden Strong" went to cans, the next offering from our cellar series is an ultra-traditional presentation of Belgian ale.
Having undergone a second slow refermentation in the bottle, expect this version to deliver all the qualities of the original with increased complexity and amplified vivacity from much higher champagne-like carbonation and live active yeast. While our cans are meant to be enjoyed fresh as possible, a bottle like this can wait and evolve (at proper cellar temps) until the perfect occasion strikes."

A really nice, standard belgian strong. The main differences between this and the canned base is an almost nose-tickling carbonation and amped up fruitiness. I will be getting more soon to put under the stairs.
Salud!

 

Drekker Blackberry Cobbler Slang Du Jour Sour á la Mode, 7.3% ABV. Pours thick and deep murky purple, with a one-finger light purple head. Nose is blackberry, granola, and brown sugar. Taste follows, plus cinnamon and vanilla, moderately sweet, moderately tart. Thick and smooth mouthfeel. Overall world-class adjacent. The granola and brown sugar really make this beer shine, truly a pastry sour.

4.48/5 rDev +2.5%
look: 4.5 | smell: 4.5 | taste: 4.5 | feel: 4.25 | overall: 4.5

Another great pastry sour from Drekker. I'm really liking this line of beers, the granola and brown sugar are really outstanding and pie-like.

 

3 New-to-BA-New-to-me 4+ IPAs 6 Feb 2021 (I learn alot in NBW thread - thanks!)
Time and Space | Jughandle | 6.5% | IPA | NJ Shore
4.2/5 rDev 0%
look: 4 | smell: 4 | taste: 4.25 | feel: 4.25 | overall: 4.25
1st BA Review. My 3rd from brewer in my home county, Monmouth, NJ, a great place to live. Fresh from WFM.
a) Solid clear gold body, shiny, with cables of lace and a lasting rim.
s) More marmalade, syrup, rind, with a bit of cedar and pine, less tropical etc.
t) Sweet, but tempers down in finale. Sharp, fresh, juicy hop flavors, sharp as a laser.
f) A pungent, trick mouth feel matches the laser sharp hops.

Quiver IPA | Last Wave | 6.7% | IPA | NJ Shore
4.12/5 rDev 0%
look: 4 | smell: 3.75 | taste: 4.25 | feel: 4.25 | overall: 4.25
Added by Act 25. Jersey Shore Brewery south of but near Carton (where I live) & Kane.
a) Whips up lasting lace over a pale yellow hazed body.
s) Clean, tropical, woody, cedary, resiny aromas.
t) Follows the smell but with more fruit, and the the allspice, pepper and juniper. Complex, subtle.
f) chalky,woody.
o) Excellent single hop Nelson Sauvin brew. A+. Try 24.

Power Tools | Industrial Arts | 7.1% | Garnerville/Hudson Valley NY
4.1/5 rDev +1.2%
look: 4.25 | smell: 4 | taste: 4 | feel: 4.25 | overall: 4.25
Found at WFM & 7th Av Grocer Park Slope. First review of brewer.
a) Clear apricot body sports perfect bright lasting, lacing white head.
s) Love the pine tempering the mango, pineapple.
t) Yeilds abundant fresh, and JUICY citrus, orange and pineapple, and mango. Tempered again by pine and hop bitterness. Well balanced
f) Juicy, crisp, clean. Well made mouth feel.

 

Saw this in 4 packs this week, I thought " I'll wait until they're in singles" sounds like a sound choice by me, for a change.