New Beer Weekend #30

Sly mentions of music seem to be tolerated (as opposed to posting actual video links), so....

While finishing the Wild Mind Fire in a Glass, listening to The Traveling Wilburys (R.I.P. George Harrison, Roy Orbison and Tom Petty).

 

Damn, brah.

 

Is the can labeled upside-down on purpose? I have a 12-pack of Stone IPA that is canned the same way. I figured it was a manufacturing mistake, but now I'm wondering if it's a thing?

 

Interesting. Thanks!

 

Thematic Glow by Hop Butcher For the World

4.25/5 rDev +2.4%
look: 4.25 | smell: 4.25 | taste: 4.25 | feel: 4.25 | overall: 4.25

Can received from @FBarber in a ninja hit , poured into a stemmed Schilling Pilsener glass

Hazy orange juice liquid with a creamy three finger off white foam cap , very good retention, reduces to a pencil thick island with a mountain in the middle , good lacings

Tasting notes from the can = juicy mango, candies orange, ripe stonefruit

Aroma is orange, mango, apricot , whiff of berry

Taste is orange , mango, apricot, hint of pine

Mouthfeel is smooth , almost creamy, medium sudsing, hop taste with no bite

Good , solid ipa

Thanks @FBarber

reminder bif13 sign ups are going on now....

 

Happy Day #2, NBWers. I picked this up a couple of days ago when Little O and I visited Transient.

I don’t know if you know this, but I may be a Transient fanboy.





4.46/5 rDev 0%
look: 4.25 | smell: 4.5 | taste: 4.5 | feel: 4.25 | overall: 4.5

Pours a turbid pineapple pulp color with a bone white head that is dense and provides excellent lacing. The nose is spicy tropical citrus and some peach notes. I am now officially salivating.

The taste is led by that spicy tropical note, specifically passion fruit. It is forward and it is substantial and delicious. The peach flavor is also present and a very nice complement to the passion fruit. An absolutely delicious beer, IMHO.

The mouthfeel is softer per the hazy style. This is the second in the One More Wave series that I’ve had that features a single hop, and both have been outstanding. Highly recommended.

 

#2, my last EBF beer. This is the definition of “extreme,” IMHO, and I am REALLY digging it.





4.35/5 rDev +3.3%
look: 4.25 | smell: 4.25 | taste: 4.5 | feel: 4.25 | overall: 4.25

Pours black with a sudsy dark tan head, and literally HURLS maple aromas from the can as soon as you pop the top - like a literal maple tsunami. There’s also some char and brown sugar and a smidge of fruit from the boysenberry.

I was worried the taste would be too sweet from all the maple, but the tartness from the boysenberry is the perfect foil for the maple sweetness, and the little bit of char works really well.

The mouthfeel is full and approaches creamy. This to me is what an extreme beer should be - pushing boundaries, but maintaining a flavor profile that will work for most experienced beer nerds. Mission accomplished, IMHO.

 

Good evening, NBWers. I am offering one up from one of the breweries that are considered a bit mundane these days:



This beer was last brewed in 2012, but was resurrected in 2020. I stumbled on a single bottle knowing nothing of the past version. So...is this a new beer for the database or just a refresh of the old? Or I suppose it is on hiatus again after being brewed, so re-retired...well, you'll read that I don't really care!

At any rate, Harpoon Baltic Porter aged in Whistlepig Rye Whiskey barrels. I'll hazard the guess that this beer was brewed in the Vermont brewery.

Lets skip to the end...This stuff is a fantastic barrel-aged Baltic porter.

It pours a mahogany brown color, opaque, fleeting 3/4 inch tan head that falls to a ring and rafts. The liquid clings nicely to the glass. Not so much of a flashy looker.

Immediate yet light smell of the whiskey barrel followed by a little vanilla, wood, a little roast malt, a touch of chocolate and dried fruit that strikes me as cherry-like.

The taste opens with whiskey and slight spicy notes, plenty of smooth oakiness (assuming that is a word), chocolate, vanilla, even so slightly sweet like molasses. Oddly, a boozy chocolate chip cookie is what I am feeling. The roast essentially disappears. Maybe a faint note of coffee. Still getting the dried cherry flavor, not so much the raisin/fig/date ubiquitous dark fruits.

Medium bodied, mild carbonation, a slight stickiness on the back of the taste. No alcohol burn.

The word I keep coming back to as I sip this is balance. This beer is absolutely on point with ample barrel character balanced by the porter itself. This is a delicious, flavorful, straightforward beer. Diggin' this one on a cold night here, up around 4.2-ish but could go a bit higher when I run the real numbers. Fine beer from Harpoon - well done.

 

Beer # 2 today is JA Framinghammer
PB&J BBA Porter with Raspberries and Peanuts.
Pours a large creamy coffee colored head with lots of lacing and good retention. Color is very dark brown almost black.
Aroma is muted raspberry, unsweetened cocoa, lightly toasted oak/vanillin, some bourbon, light coffee, not much in the way of peanut.
Taste follows with bitter chicory/coffee, barrel oak/astringency
Bakers chocolate, a tiny bit of bourbon burn, little fruit, no peanut, lightly sweet, not acidic.
Feel is typical for the series; medium as in a porter style but the body doesn't carry any flavor. One of the things Ive always liked about the series is the flavor of a stout packed into that slightly lighter body of the Baltic Porter.
Im not going to go on too much about this one. I probably should have just stayed with the non adjunct version this year but who knows? Ive had great bottles before with the flavored. Peanut flavors fade fast from past experience and something I not normally gravitate towards. Maybe I let this sit too long?
Anyhow most likely the least enjoyed Framinghammer Ive ever had.

 

Poured into a 12 oz tulip glass canned on 2/12/2021. Pours near pitch black with a finger plus fairly sticky mocha head that leaves some thin lines of lace solid retention. 4.5

Aroma Heath bar, coconut, cocoa nibs, vanilla beans, and maybe a whiff of alcohol. 4.25

Taste follows heath bar, cocoa, vanilla, coconut, and again a little tickle of alcohol perfect for a cool Valentines Day evening. 4.25

Mouthfeel is a little bigger than medium, a tad dry, for me under carbonated as often happens with higher alcohol Stouts, and at 12% it goes down fairly easy. 3.75

Overall I will have no problem drinking the rest, but for me I was hoping for more. Sweet new glass and a nice Imperial Stout. 4

 

Such a great beer ... I kept thinking, why don’t more BBA Imperial Stouts taste this fine ... CCB brings it!

 

Deschutes 2015 The Abyss ( Rye Whiskey Barrel ), 13.2% ABV; 4.35 overall.

Pours an effervescent ebony with a sliver of caramel head. Not a lot head retention or lacing

S: Dark fruit and little whiskey & vanilla shows up once warm

T: Cherry, figs, tobacco, dark chocolate & vanilla with a little Whiskey bite. Some Rye shows up as this warms along with plenty of dark fruit & chocolate. Finishes with a nice Rye Whiskey bite, dryness & dark fruit & chocolate

MF: Thick at first, light carbonation, body lightens a little as this warms, a nice warming presence

One of the best takes on this beer I've had in 4-5 years or longer, ABV is so well hidden

 

Hey - @SawDog505 !!



3.81/5 rDev -6.6%
look: 4.25 | smell: 3.75 | taste: 3.75 | feel: 4 | overall: 3.75

A - Dark brown pour that's borderline black. Has a thick, creamy caramel colored head that hangs out on top and is very sticky on the sides of the glass.

S - Chocolate roasted malt, some vanilla, and delicate maple on the nose. Overall aroma is on the lighter side, then again, it's also pretty cold right now as I only gave it (15) minutes to warm up after removing from the fridge.

T - Bourbon, "fake vanilla", maple, and chocolate roast. 'Not really a fan of how the vanilla plays with the rest of the beer, it tastes artificial and is not playing well with the rest of the beer, just a tad overpowering. There is a small amount of oak presence buried in the mix.

M - Big medium body with some light booziness.

O - The vanilla tastes artificial and is a little overpowering. Of the Barrel Aged Series from Founders, this is my least favorite so far.

 

Tonight it is Revolution Maple Deth.

My experience with Revolution has been fairly limited. It has all been quite good though, so I was looking forward to cracking open this can.



Pours a full bodied jet black with a nice latte head that builds as poured and dissipates slowly to leave a graceful ring around the side of the glass.

Wood and bourbon hit the nose first. A sugary note follows that isn’t quite maple, but more like butter soaked brown sugar. There are stewed fruits lurking in the background.

Maple rears it’s head quickly on the tongue. A nice sweetness with solid bourbon notes fills the mouth. The boozy character subsides as it warms. The strong woody notes in the aroma really sit in the background now. No drying quality.

This is full bodied. Thick but not syrupy. Very enjoyable.

This was great. I need more Revolution in my beer life!