New Beer Weekend #29

Its a nice snowy day here for a stout. I have another Connecticut beer today, Alvarium's Hevvy Mettul. (Again, bunch of umlauts in that name, but I'm not going to stop and figure out how to format them.) This oatmeal stout coincidentally clocks in at 6.66 %, that probably gave them a clue as to how to name it. Most of their other beers invoke things like puppies and popsicles.
The can info is pretty entertaining, make sure you read it at the end of this post. I am on this brewery's e-mail list and a lot of those communications are similarly funny.
Enough BS you say, what about the beer?

3.97/5 rDev -1.2%
look: 4.5 | smell: 3.75 | taste: 4 | feel: 4 | overall: 4

Poured at room temp from an undated 16oz can to a diagonally cut tumbler.
A really black body (no lightening at the edges at all) sits below a 1/4" frothy dark tan head that fades to one layer of small bubbles during the session. Full lacing and body coating occurs with every sip.
Aroma is surprisingly mostly alcohol given the 6.66% rating. Notes of burnt wood, charcoal and spice mixture.
Taste is dry up front, mild change to hint of sweetness in the middle, drying out again at the end. Dark malt is the prominent flavor but I could talk myself into chocolate and caramel. For-mentioned alcohol is only detectable as a warming quality.
Body is nice, not super coating, but pretty good.
Overall good. I really love dry stouts without vanilla and other sweet-related flavors. This one has my approval.

 

Ology Dynamic Fermentum (Pink Guava and Passionfruit), thanks @SouthernSips!
4.19/5 rDev -0.9%
look: 4.25 | smell: 4 | taste: 4.25 | feel: 4.25 | overall: 4.25

Thank you SouthernSips for this
500 ml bottle poured into a bottle

A- A hazy golden straw with small white head.

S- Sour, passionfruit, guava, some funk, sweet wheat, oak.

T- Sour, passionfruit, guava, some oak, touch of funk, touch of malts.

M- Smooth, light to medium body.

O- Tons of sour tropical fruits and easy to drink.

Cheers!

 

Good Sunday afternoon, New Beer Samplers and commentators. We got some more snow today and I just finished clearing the driveway. I'm so glad we "downsized" 2.5 years ago. This property is so much easier to maintain!

With the proliferation of new breweries in our area, it's easy to lose track of them. Conclave Brewing in Flemington, NJ, is widely, and appropriately, considered one of the best brewers in the state. This week it occurred to me how long it's been since I visited the brewery. It's about 40 minutes from home - just beyond convenience. So we stopped in yesterday and then had dinner at a good Greek restaurant. I had two excellent new beers, a DIPA called Lilting Grace, and an Imperial Stout named Sable. Both were superb but I didn't post reviews on NBW. I also bought a growler of a newly-released DIPA, Unfinished Rhyme. It's 9% and hopped with Citra, Nelson, Waimea, and Sabro. And it's fantastic!

It pours a murky, dirty, golden tangerine color with a half finger of frothy, milk white head and thick, clinging lacing. Amazing aroma of lemon, grapefruit, tangerine, pineapple, melon, pine needles, and bright floral hops. The taste opens with a terrific balance of tart lemon and grapefruit, along with sweet notes of ripe melon and pineapple. The Citra hop influence is strong and flavorful. There is also the distinct white wine grape expected from the use of Nelson hops. As it warms, I begin to taste berry from the Waimea hops and creamy, mint-like flavors from the Sabro. It finishes with a clean bitterness. While the flavors are distinct they are also delicate and blend beautifully. This ale is plush and creamy with appropriate carbonation, and it drinks very easily for 9%

This is one of the best NJ-brewed DIPAs with Nelson I've ever had. Fabulous drinking. I'm going to finish the 32 oz. growler now rather than waiting for the Super Bowl. Here's the score:

4.49/5 rDev 0%
look: 4.25 | smell: 4.5 | taste: 4.5 | feel: 4.5 | overall: 4.5

Cheers, NBW!

 

Yesterday was busy, so no time to do a proper NBW tasting.

Today, with a sub-zero high temperature outside, I'm once again tasting a beer from my closest brewpub, Lakeville Brewing.

Today's offering is:
Lakeville Brewing Hanappe Ranch Organic Brown Ale
ABV: 5.6%
IBU: 40



The brewer touts the use of local ingredients in this beer:

"In our continuing effort to support local farmers, we brewed this American Brown Ale with organic hops from Hanappe Ranch in Castle Rock. We utilized organic malts, including a touch of locally grown organic wheat for some added body and some local honey to create this deliciously approachable ale."

(Castle Rock is about 10 miles SE of Lakeville to save the curious a jump to Maps).

I don't care a whit about so-called "organic", but for the support of local farmers, good on them, but how is the beer?

Hazy brown body with a 1/2 inch creamy slightly off-white head with very good retention. Moderately carbonated.

Aroma is slight citrus and brown bread.

Taste retains the malty brown bread goodness, a Bit-O-Honey ), and is accented by a citrus-like taste from the hops. The honey is just a touch, keeping everything neutral on the sweet-dry scale. There is a bitterness that begins in the middle and carries through to the finish, but it retains its overall maltiness. In other words, the bittering is a nice balance for a good malty brown ale. A very nice easy-drinking ale.

Body is on the thin side, which is not off-style, but I'd like it to be a bit more toward medium-bodied. Its feel does keep the beer easy-drinking, though, which seems to be a theme for beers from Lakeville Brewing.

Overall, a well done brown ale, with an emphasis on local ingredients.

L: 3.75 | S: 3.75 | T: 3.75 | F: 3.5 | O: 3.5 | Rating: 3.66

 

Not counting any of my Extreme Beer Fest beers I guess, so here's my first regular old new beer: Bodhizilla, a Bodhizafa-inspired DIPA from Georgetown.

64oz growler served in a big snifter. Bought the growler at the brewery two hours ago.

Pours hazy, whitish orange, with a medium sized head. Smell is super juicy, orange and tropical.

Taste is along the same lines, with a hop resin bitterness to finish it off. On the first sip, I thought it was juicy sweet. On the second, I think it's dominated by the resin bitterness.

Mouthfeel is thick, almost chewy, with a little bit of a chalkiness. Overall, very nice beer.

 

12 oz can, no best-by date.


Pours a thin cola brown with an effervescent beige head.


Aromas include chocolate and caramel with a bouquet of nutty undertones and a faint leafy hop.


Flavor has a nice balance of toasted malt and leafy hop bitterness. Nutty undertones are present, but nothing bold enough to be discernible.


Light body with high carbonation, finishes pretty clean.


Overall...It’s good, not great, you could do worse picking brown ales for sure. I like it. Given the body and more subtle flavors, you can enjoy several without a problem.


Antietam is only about an hour and change away from me, so I will gladly knock down these 6, and try whatever else they have to offer when I come across it. Definitely want to support the brewers in my backyard just like most of you.


Cheers BA’s!!

 

Dennis, did you try Second Trip Around the Sun? I don't want to tempt you while you're doing a dry month but I liked it better than Galactic, Maybe it's because I'm such a fan of Motueka. It's a great DIPA from our friends at Untied.

 

Wow, the Jagerschnitzel looks amazing! I wish we had more German restaurants in our area. And the beer looks great. I'm glad you enjoyed!!

 

I can’t wait finally try Conclave, my best friend from college lives real close them and we just didn’t have to to meet up in 2019 since he just moved and then COVID. Hoping to see his new house this summer and grabbing beer from Conclave it part of the plan!

 

Alright, on to the next. This here is an imperial raspberry sour by Modestman Brewing called Hard Rass. It clocks in at 8% ABV.



My first beer from Modestman was a boysenberry Berliner a couple months back. While it was quite good and very well-balanced, this beer is a whole different animal. Other than the aforementioned Berliner, I've only had IPAs from this brewery so far, so this should be interesting.

The pour is a deep, opaque, beautiful magenta/reddish color with off-pink suds forming a surprisingly-retentive head that leaves behind even-more-surprising lacing that actually has a good amount of consistency to it. This is a very nice looking sour, and I can tell they must have put a lot of work into the recipe to get it to show off this type of head retention... guessing a lot of wheat is in this one.

Smells heavenly, to be sure. Tart raspberries just absolutely invade my senses immediately. A little bit of funk here, too, maybe, but also some lighter notes of blackcurrant and cranberry kicking around. Definitely going to be tart to some extent, but I'm hoping there's a balance with some sweetness present as well so that it's not bracingly-acidic and tough to enjoy. The boysenberry Berliner by MM was probably the most "classic"-tasting Americanized Berliner I've had in a long time, though, so I don't think this will be too unbalanced. These guys seem to operate rather, well, modestly, and I appreciate that.

The flavor is juicy and bursting with authentic, luscious fruit flavor. It's a bit thinner than I thought it'd be, but the acidity is right about in the middle and doesn't become too tart while sipping. Lots of ripe raspberries, hints of blueberry and blackcurrant, and a finish that brings out some of that wheaty goodness I predicted from the appearance. Yes, this actually tastes like a strong fruit beer, not a wine cooler or a lacto-bomb. It reminds me of New Glarus Raspberry Tart dialed up to 11, though perhaps less malty/well-built than that beer. That said, this is still very good and extremely enjoyable. As I watch the snow fall from my kitchen window, I raise my glass of this beer to you, BAs worldwide, for your health and for your happiness. Hope everyone has a great week, and I'll see you next time... cheers!

 

I had to drive about 30 miles for it, and totally worth it!

 

I guarantee it will be worth it. Cheers!

 

After downing a growler of a DIPA, it's on to something lite: Burlington Brewing's Vaulted Blue. This drinks more like an APA; it's lite and crisp with lots of tart citrus. Here's my full review:

4.14/5 rDev +0.2%
look: 4 | smell: 4.25 | taste: 4 | feel: 4.25 | overall: 4.25

Canned on 1/7/2021. Poured into a pint glass. It pours a pale, dirty tangerine color with a thin, frothy, bright white cap and thick lacing. The smell is predominately tart citrus: lemon and grapefruit. Initially, the taste follows the nose. It starts with lemon and grapefruit, along with a crackery backbone but as it warms it opens and I'm tasting lime and a hint of red berry. It's herbal and somewhat earthy. This ale is lite and crisp at 5.5% ABV. It's a good beer to drink after shoveling snow.

 

I wonder what the BAs from the New England area feel about this game... you they pulling for Brady (for old time's sake and what he did over the years and to cement his status as GOAT?), are they hoping he loses (for abandoning them and exposing Belichick as not the mystical miracle worker head coach without Brady?) or do they not give a damn one way or the other?

 

Picked this up yesterday in Idaho. Unfortunately, Barley Brown's doesn't distribute to Washington, so it's my first can from them.

The can's label doesn't say which version it is, but does say it's 7% abv. It's worth noting that no version of this beer, listed either here or on untappd, is listed as anything other than 6%.

From its relative dankness, I am thinking this is version # 6, which is brewed with Citra hops. It's quite nice, without being a revelatory experience, or a "come to Jesus" beer as a friend of mine likes to say.

 

There's two that I consider reasonably local. One, on the northside of Spokane, is good, but a bit divey. The place where I had this yesterday is about 30 miles east of me. A little farther to drive, certainly, but based on my visit yesterday it's worth it.

 

Can't help but notice @woodchipper and I have each posted beers today with pentagrams on the rear label. Can it merely be a coincidence that it's on a Super Bowl Sunday featuring Tom Brady?

 

Crucial crucial taunt taunt by Trillium

Freaky Friday series using The Veil recipe



4.43/5 rDev +2.1%
look: 4.25 | smell: 4.25 | taste: 4.5 | feel: 4.5 | overall: 4.5

Canned 12.3,opened 2.7

Two finger off white frothy, big bubbled foam cap, good retention, settles to an island and ring over a turbid orange liquid , some lacings

Aroma is orange, pineapple,

Taste is orange juicy , hint of pineapple

Low sudsing , hop taste , smooth finish

Good beer

 

Dream City, a Vienna-style lager from Fremont. Not a style I know well, but after that Bodhizilla, I was not in the mood for another hop bomb and this sounded great.

16oz can served in a big snifter. Dated 2021-01-05. Bought it at the brewery a few hours ago.

Pours a rich, clear caramel-amber with a medium head, moderate to low active carbonation. Smell is grainy, a little tea, mostly barley syrup, slight hint of toffee. Also a little grass and a little floral.

Taste is sweet grain tea, honey, a little husk, again slight grass (wish there was just a little more).

Mouthfeel is smooth, clean, slightly thick. Overall, I'm really enjoying it.