New Beer Weekend #30

Jackie O's Cellar Cuvée 1



4.22/5 rDev -1.4%
look: 4.25 | smell: 4 | taste: 4.25 | feel: 4.5 | overall: 4.25

2020 12.7 ounce bottle 12.8%.

Poured into a long stemmed Lost Abbey tulip. Dark brown Imperial Stout type body with small tan head. As soon as the cap was pried off the booze could be detected. Once in the glass malts, brown sugar, dark fruits and molasses come to the fore. Taste mirrors the smell particularly after it warms up; when straight out of the cellar fridge at 50 degrees I could taste some honey but it oddly fades as it warms up. Mouthfeel is a perfect mix of lightness and substance.

This is the first Jackie O's blend I've had and I like it. Although it's categorized as a Strong Ale it's more like an Imperial Stout but it's still something different with the wheat wine. So it's a grey area but a very enjoyable grey area.

 

I'm watching re-runs of Midsomer Murders on the local PBS station while drinking an English-style pale ale. (And, also continuing support of local breweries.)

Hammerheart Brewing British Invasion English-Style Pale Ale
ABV: 6.3%
IBU: NA



This is my first beer from Hammerheart. They are on the north side of the Twin Cities metro, and they are focused on Nordic beer styles. But, since I really enjoy English-style pales, I thought I'd pick up a 4 pack of this.

Aroma is earthy with roasty malts underneath.

Appearance is a murky brown with tiny carbonation bubbles rising to a tall light tan, thick and creamy head with excellent retention. It leaves clumpy and sticky lacing behind as it recedes. The murkiness is not expected for the style, and it is not particularly pale, either.

Taste repeats the earthy and roasty flavors picked up in the aroma, and adds a biscuity malt backbone. The taste is pleasantly English, but rather one-dimensional. There is a level of bitterness typical of English pales that carries through from the beginning to the finish, leaving a nicely bitter, earthy and biscuit aftertaste.

Mouth feel is thin.

Overall, a nice enough English-style pale, but not particularly remarkable. Maybe next time I'll try a beer that perhaps is more in their wheelhouse.

L: 3.25 | S: 3.5 | T: 3.5 | F: 3.5 | O: 3.5 | Rating: 3.49

 

I’ll stick to WBAYDN this weekend.

 

I appreciate that. You might be the only one.

 

Screenshot by Prairie Artisan

4.28/5 rDev +0.2%
look: 4.25 | smell: 4.25 | taste: 4.25 | feel: 4.5 | overall: 4.25



Bottle purchased at fort point market, $6.99, poured into a snifter

Pours a deep dark pitch black obsidian motor oil . Thin brown layer recedes to a ring, some lacings

Aroma is hazel nutty, roasted malts, coffee

Taste is hazel nuts, coffee, roasted malts , hint of cocoa, slightly sweet

Mouthfeel is rich, thick, syrupy. No alcohol burn but you feel the alcohol presence

Good beer

 

Thanks to @Roy_Hobbs and NBW BIF 12.5, I enjoyed this gem a little earlier this evening with my wife. She has spent so much time away from home the past couple of months, caring for her ailing mother, that it was a treat to be able to share this one on Valentine’s eve. She will be away again most of tomorrow, so this was a nice way to celebrate a little early.



Hill Farmstead Florence.

Pours a bright opaque straw gold with a lively, bubbly head that dissipates quickly.

Inviting aromas of fresh lemon, fresh fields of summer grass and the suggestion of a gentle tartness.

Mildly tart on the tongue. Light citrus notes. Clean and simple.

Moderate effervescence.

This is a great beer, as I expected it to be. Many thanks Ross for sending this my way!

 

Couple of local Minnesota beers to share this -18F morning.

Fair State Pils

From a 16oz can:

Appearance: Clear yellow, nice carbonation, good head.

Smell: Grassy, crackers.

Taste: Dry, crackers, mild sweetness, grassy finish.

Overall: Fair State makes some really good lagers and I realized I hadn't reviewed their Pilsner. Excellent beer, nice combination of sweetness and grassy flavors.

Tin Whiskers Parsec Porter

From a 16oz can, just under the wire of the drink by 2/18 date:

Appearance: Dark brown, some chunks, good head.

Smell: Roasted note, touch of cardboard.

Taste: Pretty sweet up front, roasted malt, coating mouthfeel. Some chocolate tries but ends up just adding more sweetness.

Overall: Canned 10/18/20, drink by 2/18/21, so a pretty short freshness window. I believe this was refrigerated most of its life but still 4 months might be too short, which is strange for a porter. A little too sweet, not enough roast to balance it out.

 

Sorry to hear about your mum-in-law - most of us either have or will be there.

 

Good day BAs! Off with a sort-of-new brewski - one from EBF-C 2021 of which I've had a fresher version:



Complete with two reviews:

Original review 16 May 17
$ 14.00 (Including tax)/four pack ($ 0.292/oz) at Franklin Beer, Franklin, PA.
Bottled 01/18/17. Stored at 60 degrees. Served at 60 degrees into a hand washed and dried Jester King snifter.
Aroma – Not much. Smells a little sweet and slightly like old dates.
Head large (Maximum four cm, aggressive pour), tan, medium density, short retention, diminishing to an irregular three to ten mm frothy ring and a heaped layer.
Lacing – none.
Body – dark amber, clear.
Flavor – begins sticky sweet with the dates being predominant. No trace of hops, alcohol, nor diacetyl.
Palate – full, syrupy, soft carbonation.
Appearance 4, Aroma 3.5, Flavor 3.75, Palate 4, Overall 4. Rating 3.78, rDev -3.6%.

New review 14 Feb 21
Olde School from Dogfish Head. 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 12 oz bottle ($ 0.702/oz). Stored at home at 42 degrees. Reviewed 14/2/21. (Note: I use DD/MM/YY protocol.)
Neck of bottle dated “BOTTLED IN 2011 101”. Served at 56.3 degrees in a hand washed and dried Jester King snifter. Final temperature 58.6 degrees.
Appearance – 4.
First pour – Medium Amber (SRM 12), hazy.
Body – Deep Amber (SRM 15), opaque. When rear-lite, murky, and opaque with many tiny streams of effervescence.
Head – Small (Maximum one cm, aggressive center pour), camel, low density, fizzy, gone in seconds leaving no crown and no cap, just a narrow ring of bubbles fed by effervescence.
Lacing – None.
Aroma – 4 – Begins with dates, a little malt, some ethanol ghosts waft by to haunt my soft palate, no hops, no yeast. Some woody overtones are noted, definitely not vanillin or tannin, more of a softer hard wood like aspen or ironwood.
Flavor – 4 – Begins with a heavy sweetness, dates again. No hops, no yeast. No alcohol (15 % ABV, as marked on the container) flavor or aroma. A slow gastric warming eventually occurs but never becomes painful. At the end, a bit of sour bitterness becomes evident.
Palate – 4.5 – Medium, thicker than crème but not quite syrupy, soft carbonation.
Final impression and summation: 4 This is good, certainly has more character than a fresh bottle. But I think it has crested and is on a downhill slide.
Rating 4.05, rDev +0.7%.

 

It’s been 3 weeks since we have had a temperature above freezing here in W Michigan, if I didn’t have a beer fridge the beer would suffer. Funny how it’s used to keep beer cold in most cases. Heck, you probably don’t need to plug it in, just the insulated box may suffice for you.
But MN and ND and WI - those guys definitely need to plug their garage fridge in!
Cheers!

 

For me, yes, yes, and yes! (And, thanks for the link.)

 

Good Sunday morning NBS/NBW and thanks @ChicagoJ for the hosting of this esteemed thread.
The week draws to an end and what a week for us all, lots of work, winter, and worry are in the air. And since its Valentines day (my 33rd with my sweetheart) it seemed a little chocolate was in order. I found KBS Mackinac Fudge yesterday. Wow is all I got,
Do good
Be well
Thanks for keeping this corner of BA lively and informative
KBS (Kentucky Breakfast Stout) - Maple Mackinac Fudge

Stout - American Imperial | 11% ABV

Founders Brewing Company
Grand Rapids, Michigan

4.19/5 rDev -7.3% | Average: 4.52
look: 4 | smell: 4.25 | taste: 4.25 | feel: 4.25 | overall: 4

Poured from the 12 oz bottle into the test glass.
A - Bakeers chocolate colored backdrop, hides any view to the interior. A lovely frothy mocha cap displays carbonations work. Duing the experience lacing is cirrus cloud style.
S - Fudge for sure, as the offering warms, coffee, cocoa, tobacco, oddly i dont get any maple.
T - Well theres a lot going on, dark chocolate fudge, esspresso, , now i get the maple. toffee, vanilla, a bit of dark fruits.
Again a nice shade tobacco
M - Hefty, sweet start quickly changes gears, nice bitter wave takes things toward the center. That instant where you recognise that the nose and palate split is quite enjoyable. next wave is dry coffee texture. the linger is complicated and yes the burps are coffee based. And quite pleasant.
O - Wow what a delightful stout, bold comes to mind, with some reflection there are so many corners this takes that the ride is as fun and flavorful as it gets.

 

Happy Valentine's Day. My wife despises the holiday and doesn't want anything to do with it, but I went ahead anyway and got her a card that opens up to a vase of roses.
Right now in southern New Mexico it's 26 degrees and snowing, so we'll be spending the day in front of the fire.
Today's new beer is another one from Prairie. You Gotta Horchata is an "imperial stout with cinnamon, vanilla, and sugar," and it's another hit for me.
Pitch black color with a tan head around the circumference of the glass.
Aroma of cinnamon, vanilla, and roasted malt.
Wonderful taste. Cinnamon leads off and persists. Espresso and sweet chocolate.
Sugary feel. Great dessert beer.

 

So should I infer that I (ahem-people) should read the whole post? Like to REALLY understand how the whole thing works? Well that's novel.