New Beer Weekend #29

Poured into a 16 oz Nordic pint glass canned on 1/22/2021. Pours a very attractive near pitch black with a 2 finger sticky mocha head with excellent retention. 4.75

Aroma is toasted coconut, maple, cocoa, vanilla, and hints of coffee. 4.25

Taste follows coconut and the maple take center stage, vanilla, cocoa, and coffee round it out and makes for a really tasty stout. 4.5

Mouthfeel is pretty big, not really dry, plenty of carbonation, and at 10.5% it is dangerously approachable. 4.5

Overall this is a really nice and tasty stout. Not overly sweet and really is the total package. 4.5

 

Good day BAs and off to the NBS portion of NBW! This was the weekend of Extreme Beer Fest 2021: Cyberspace and my first exposure to this venue. Frankly, I like this format better than the usual packed bodies beerfest - I could take time to enjoy a full beer (nobody's elbows interfering), organize my thoughts, and actually taste the brew before dashing on to the next booth. So for me, cyberspace is the best place place for these venues - no parking issues, no obnoxious and aggressive drunks, no police check points, etc. A smaller selection of beer but overall more enjoyable. Thus spoken, today's New Breakfast Beer is a left-over from EBF:




F2020X3 from BeerThugLife. Received on 20/1/21 for the Extreme Beer Fest – Cyberspace (2021) from Half-Time, Poughkeepsie, NY. $ 109.99 (Including tax and shipping). This is a 16 oz can ($ 0.702/oz). Stored at home at 42 degrees. Reviewed 7/2/21. (Note: I use DD/MM/YY protocol.)
Undated can. Served at 53.2 degrees in a hand washed and dried Jester King snifter. Final temperature 58.6 degrees.
Appearance – 4.
First pour – Amber brown (SRM 18), clear.
Body – Ruby brown (SRM 24), opaque. When rear-lite, light penetration occurs around the edges showing a deep ruby/garnet.
Head – Large (Maximum 5.5 cm, aggressive center pour), wheat, high density quickly becoming rocky, average retention, diminishing to a one to two cm jagged crown and a thick, rocky cap. Second pour produces a dense 0.8 cm head.
Lacing – Good. Wide bands of near-microscopic to small bubbles, connected by short tapering columns.
Aroma – 4.5 – Earthy predominates with a bit of roasted malt and melon in the background, no yeast.
Flavor – 4.5 – Follows the nose, being mostly earthy with some smoke wafting by, along with some generic melon, no citra hops, and no yeast. No alcohol (10% ABV (!), as marked on container) taste or aroma, although, if I really concentrate, a weak gastric warming does occur. No dimethylsulfide or diacetyl. Ends earthy and VERY slightly bitter.
Palate – 3.5 – Medium, almost creamy, soft but solid carbonation.
Final impression and summation: 4 (After deducting 0.25 point for undated container) First black IPA I’ve had with a smokey tinge – interesting counterpoint to the expected sweetness. Not a fan of melon flavors (Boring!) and definitely miss the expected citrus. I can see drinking this occasionally, still searching for the citra hops.
Rating 4.27, rDev +4.9%.

 

I get cedar from almost every ORB ipa I have had. It is the main reason why I don't get the hype. The only one I don't get it from is in the steep IIRC. The all Citra flagship brew. Anyhoo... I'll have to grab that NI if I see it today.

 

Im referring to weihenstephaner original. The helles seems more carbonated and less malty.

 

I was excited to hear Miskatonic was brewing a Baltic Porter, and it took some time, but they just released cans of the next in the 'Hello My Name Is' series of styles this past week.
From the website:
"A style brewed for long, cold, wet days. A dark mahogany color topped by a thick, creamy tan head. A robust plethora of flavors dance on your tongue. Caramel, chocolate, coffee, molasses, licorice, dried fruit notes, and subtle roast. This warming brew is meant to wash the day’s woes away with a single sip, leaving you to enjoy a mug of the fine stuff."
And my experience:
Dark, dark, opaque mahogany that glows when backlit, with bubbles rising to a temporary 1/2in head of mixed tan, bubbles. The edge-hugging ring leaves the glass clean after agitation develops running legs.

Roasty malt and dark stone fruit notes dominate a fresh aroma.
All the noted flavors are there: coffee, molasses, orange rind, raisin, cherries, chocolate, and caramel in the order I was directed to them. I get none of the metallic flavor I often taste in darker, malty beers.

Mouthfeel is full and almost creamy, but not thick or tongue coatingly so, yet some stickiness remains with a bitter, roasty reminder.

Overall a very pleasant malt drinker.
Added and reviewed in the database, now, I just have to remember the code for adding a photo to the review.
Nazdrovie!!

 

I’ve had about 15 new to me beers this weekend (the Fest and all) and I’ve saved the best for last to review here - Fremont’s BBA “Dark Star” (2019):





Poured at 58 degrees. Black with ruby edges; dark tan head; some cap retention; solid ring; soapy lacing; medium legs. Nose is bourbon, charred oak; boozy retro nasal. Bitter sweet dark chocolate entry; some earthy bitterness from hops (Willamette, Cascade and Columbus); oak, vanilla and dried fruit middle; cocoa finish. Almost full (oats) body; moderate minus carbonation; warmth in mouth from 13.1% abv; light carbonation; dry barrel finish. Overall, very well balanced between base and barrel flavors; alcohol is barely noticeable; long oaky/chocolate linger.

4.5 | 4.5 | 4.75 | 4.5 | 4.75

Score: 4.65 rDev +4.5%

 

Poured into a 16 oz Nordic pint glass canned on 12/21/2020. Pours a cloudy orange with a 2 finger sticky white head that leaves plenty of thin streaks of lace with solid retention. 4

Aroma peach, tangerine, melon, passionfruit, and apricot. 4

Taste follows peach, passionfruit, honeydew, tangerine, and apricot really balanced and nice. 4

Mouthfeel is about medium, maybe a little more carbonation than I would expect from the style, maybe a little sticky but not dry, and at 6.5% it goes down plenty easy. 4

Overall this is just nice, nothing dazzling but a rock solid NEIPA. Worth a shot for sure. 4

 

I felt lucky to find the bottle of Turbo Bam, an oak-aged, saison-style wild ale brewed with lemon peel, Szechuan peppercorns and coriander. This is a collaboration between Jolly Pumpkin and The Masonry. This is a favored style (for me).

The brew pours a pale yellow with a deep haze and a 3+ cm cap of white foam.
The aroma is a lemon punch. with funky notes.
The flavor is prominently citrus, lemon and tangerine. The slight sourness from the wild yeast and spicy notes compliment the citrus. The oak aspect mellows all and connects the strands.
The finish is dry. Flavors persist pleasantly.
I would drink one of these at every opportunity were it possible. I really love all aspects of this brew.

 

Picked up the legendary Evil3 from Heretic yesterday.


Other beers courtesy of BigTimeADL.

 

Good afternoon NBS/NBW and thanks @ChicagoJ for the kick off this weekend.
It is snowing and grey here in WMass, the kind of day that calls for a trip to the basement.
And Voila, we have a Rum Barrel aged Poor Soldiers Porter from C.H. Evans brewing in Albany NY. This is a 2015 bottle. We spent 4 yrs driving through the area as #1 son was in college. Love the place. On an aside they had the best cask ESB I have ever had.
The offering has softened with time, it is cage and cork so no oxidation impact that I can detect.
Really lovely vanilla, a sturdy molasses thread, and an ashen dry finish, are all endearing elements.

Rum Barrel Aged Poor Soldier Porter

Porter - American | 8% ABV

C.H. Evans Brewing Company
Albany, New York

4.08/5 rDev +6.3% | Average: 3.84
look: 4 | smell: 4 | taste: 4.25 | feel: 3.75 | overall: 4

Poured from the 2015 vintage 500 ml bottle #577 into the test glass.
A - Charcoal colored backdrop, conceals all within. Carbonation is excellent, fueling a lovely mocha cap.
S - Molasses, cola, vanilla, char, roast malts all up front. A wave of fig, black pepper, and wif of smoke are the next phase. Lovely aromatics.
T - That molasses is up front, with lovely dark fruit expressions, the vanilla and char keep in tune.
M - Feel is deceptive, lite on the palate, with excellent tension between the sweet vanilla, molasses, dark malts and bitter hops. For me the offering is more hefty that it feels. A nice trick by the brewer. Finish is dry and has elements of Bakers Chocolate.
O - A very good Porter, with a very good barrel treatment. The real treat for me is the complex molasses vs. vanilla dance. The texture feels lite but really a solid body.

 

Happy Super Bowl Sunday everyone, starting with Wicked Weed Brettabolic.

4.16/5 rDev +2.2%
look: 4 | smell: 4.25 | taste: 4 | feel: 4.5 | overall: 4.25

500 bottle, dated 5.29.17, poured into a tulip

A- A clear dark amber with a two finger white head.

S- Sour, barnyard funk, lemons, hints of cherries, oak, earthy.

T- Sour, oak, lemons, funk, earthy, touch of cherries.

M- Smooth, crisp, light body, dry.

O- A tasty saison, aged well, easy to drink.

Cheers!

 

Mean Old Tom. Maine Beer


Looks amazing, oil black, strong two fingers of tan head. I can smell the vanilla as well as roasted malt and coffee. Nice bitter char short of astringency. Vanilla and coffee flavors are there. Great stubborn carbonation, dry feel.
Very flavorful and enjoyable 6% ABV stout.

 

Well, I am glad it didn't stop at being interesting, but was enjoyable. cheers, Andrew.

 

I rated them all. Also have the same username bret27 on untappd, if you care to look there.