New Beer Weekend #31

Thank you for the kickoff @2beerdogs ! I'm glad for the West Coast to be able to kick off a New Beer Weekend/Sunday for a change in pace, and love your backstory regarding your online beer chat with your friend in Germany.

To be honest, I never heard of the Heretic Brewery until the Summer "Ask Me Anything" started by their founder Jamal Zainasheff. The thread is going strong several months later, as Jamal is a not only a great brewer but has also been a great promoter of home brewing. I noticed a few Heretic beers at my local craft store this Fall, and picked up the two non NEIPAs available.Today's selection is a milk stout which works perfect for this early morning pour.

Heretic Caramel Moo-chiato



Can notes: 16 oz canned 10/13/20 @4:47 PM, 6.0% ABV. Refrigerated since purchase. Milk stout with Natural Caramel & Vanilla Flavor. Genuine craft beer. never filtered. Never Pasteurized. No shortcuts. Always brewed and packaged only by Heretic Brewing Co. - Fairfield, California.

Appearance: Rich dark brown black pour, bubbly nice rich tan head lingers for a few minutes before leaving generous lacing along the edges and top of the pour. 4.25

Aroma: Rich and pleasant roast malt leads, neutralizes and sweetness from the milk sugar. Caramel backs well. 4.25

Taste: Consistent with aroma, though sweeter. Caramel and lactose lead, the roast malt providing a nice counter but sweetness prevails. Milk chocolate and a nice chocolate fudge emerge into the pour. Well crafted milk stout, the ingredients fresh, natural and flavorful over four months after canning. Superb Milk Stout. 4.75

Mouthfeel: Fizzy carbonation lasts throughout, light to medium body, chalky and a bit dry at times. Rich sweet flavors pleasant but held in check. 4.0

Overall: This is an excellent Milk Stout and a most refreshing early morning beverage. I don't necessarily have a big sweet tooth, but love a good milk stout when it's done right and this one certainly fits the bill. Natural, flavorful, enjoyable throughout. 4.5

Looking forward to pulling out my other Heretic beer on hand, a Porter, for the upcoming Beer Advocate Porter Online Tasting event in early March. I also came across Jamal's podcasts, the first one with Mitch Steele from New Realm (and formerly Stone). They had a great conversation, and I loved their discussion about beers they enjoy that are not necessarily as popular as NEIPAs or pastry stouts, and their love of Sabro!!! I hope to have a crack at Heretic's more traditional styles as well, including IPAs/WCIPAs, Lagers, Bitters and Pale Ales either down the road in Chicago, or perhaps a trip to their brewery next time I'm in Northern California.

Cheers!



@jzainasheff

 

New England comes to Delaware!?!

Dogfish Head may have made a Juicy/Hazy IPA before but this is the first for me: Dogfish Head Hazy-O!

There is lots of ‘colorful’ verbiage on the six-pack box:

“Our Oooohh So Juicy IPA brewed with 4 types of Oats!

1. malted 2. rolled 3. naked oats 4 oat milk”

“The ingredients in our recipes come from the earth and the oven. They come from interfering and letting be.

We use local and natural ingredients wherever possible, and our recipes are blissfully inefficient.

We pay premium prices for grains, herbs, spices & fruits. For us, brewing is not about automation, but passion and imagination.

We wrap our hands around our work because we are proud to make something with our own hands.”

And:

“Just a few notes:

APPEARANCE: golden yellow, hazy

AROMA: tropical, citrus, mango & papaya

FLAVORS: tropical, citrus, mango, slight sweetness, bitterness

FOOD PAIRINGS: salad, gorgonzola cheese, sesame chicken, cheesecake”

Whew! Reading all of this stuff sure has worked up a powerful thirst!

Served in my Spiegelau IPA glass:

Appearance:

Hazy yellow with a BIG white head.

Aroma:

Notable aromas of citrus and tropical fruit.

Taste:

The flavor follow the nose with a combination of citrus and tropical fruit flavors. There is a low – moderate bitterness.

Mouthfeel:

Medium bodied, smooth mouthfeel and an off-dry finish.

Overall:

I think this beer is pretty good.

@rotsaruch @RobH @KOP_Beer_OUtlet

 

Poured into a 16 oz Nordic pint glass canned on 2/11/2021. Pours a hazy yellow orange with finger sticky white head that leaves thin streaks of lace with excellent retention. 4.75

Aroma guava, mandarin orange, blueberry, melon, apricot, and pink grapefruit rind. 4.5

Taste follows guava, mandarin, cantaloupe, blueberry, apricot, and some grapefruit bitterness in the bold lip smacking finish. 4.5

Mouthfeel is bigger than medium, a tad sticky not dry, soft rather gentle carbonation, and at 7% ABV it drinks bigger but goes down easy. 4.75

Overall not sure why DDH beers are so much better and every aspect and sadly for me they often ruin the original. This one went from good to great. Cheers all. 4.5

 

Poured into a 16 oz Nordic pint glass canned on 1/28/2021. Pours an attractive hazy orange with a 2 finger sticky white head that leaves big thick streaks of lace with excellent retention. 4.25

Aroma peach, mango, pear, tangerine, apricot, clove, and grapefruit rind. 3.75

Taste follows peach, pear, tangerine, clove, apricot, and grapefruit. 3.75

Mouthfeel is big, fairly soft carbonation, a little dry and sticky, and at 8.5% it goes down rather easy. 4

Overall nothing wrong with this one, but I am also far from dazzled. 3.75

 

Stillwater Kung Pao is an Imperial stout brewed with chili powder, ginger powder Sichuan peppercorns... This is a spicy quaff.

look: 4 | smell: 3.75 | taste: 4 | feel: 4 | overall: 4
-The jet black can pour is opaquely dark. A fine foam ring dissipates immediately.
The aroma is slight, mostly toasted malt and a hint of chili powder.
The flavor, largely of roasted malt, is strongly influenced by Sichuan peppercorns and chili powder. There is an aspect of dark chocolate too.
The body is not thick or slick. This is a flavorful chili-stout.

 

It's a beautiful winter day here in CT. Fresh snow from yesterday and full sun today made for a really nice morning run. Now it's time to sit down and try a few new beers.

First up is Cabana Pils from Suarez Family Brewery. I believe this is typically a summer beer for them, but they released a winter batch back in December, and having heard good things about it, I'm happy to give it a try today.

4.09/5 rDev -1.9%
look: 4 | smell: 4.25 | taste: 4 | feel: 4.25 | overall: 4

Pours a clear, light straw yellow with a moderate head with decent retention. Aroma is malt, grains, bread & dough. I find the aroma quite inviting. Taste - floral notes, grain, bread, and a just right amount of bitterness from the hops. It's fairly dry, and very clean and crisp, which is consistent for this brewery. Medium feel with just the right amount of carbonation. Overall, I could drink this all day. A notch below Palatine Pils, but still a very good beer.

 

The Great Lakes Dortmunder Gold thread made me want to give Augustiner Brau Edelstoff a try. I’ve never had it and one of the two stores I frequent carries it. I also haven’t tried an export lager since the last time I had Great Lakes which was a long time ago, enough back story, onto the beer.



Crystal clear straw colored beer nice white head that’s settles to a thin layer of dense bubbles.

First thing I noticed lots of grain, white bread, and honey. There is something almost lemony to it as well that I noticed half way through as it warmed, I’m guessing from the hops.

The taste follows the nose with the first noticeable tastes being the honey, followed by a grainy bread. Also a mild amount of hops.

Mouthfeel is light side of medium with a pleasant carbonation. Goes done very smooth and easy. There is a subtle bitterness to it as well.

Very good beer you I can definitely tell the abv is a little higher than a typical lager of this color. It’s a more filling beefier slightly hoppier helles but still drinks pleasantly smooth. Hope to add a few more to this thread before the weekend ends.

 

Suarez beer #2 is Estimation, their Alt beer. I had one of these a couple months ago, but was unable to really pay enough attention to it to properly rate it. As such, I'll treat it as a new beer for today.

I came in a decent amount under rDev on this one. I'm 5 days past the "drink by" date, but Suarez beers typically hold up very well, so I doubt that's it. Part of it might be style bias, and part may be that this is the type of beer that I naturally associate with hanging out with friends rather than while hanging out at home watching whatever's on TV (which is what I'm currently doing). Either way, I still enjoyed the beer, but would like to revisit it next fall to see if my perspective has changed.

3.86/5 rDev -7%
look: 4.25 | smell: 3.75 | taste: 3.75 | feel: 4 | overall: 4

Reddish brown in color, clear, and a good amount of head that left behind a moderate amount of lacing. Aroma is malts, grains and nutty bread. Taste is a balance of the malt and hops, with the malt slightly more dominant. Fairly long, dry finish. Medium body, and decent, but not overwhelming amount of carbonation. Overall, a good beer that begs to be consumed in a beer hall with new and old friends.

 

Prairie Artisan Ales You Gotta Horchata Imperial Stout, 10.8% ABV. Pours like the typical Prairie stout, thick and black with a slight ring of brown head that leaves no lacing. Nose is over the top cinnamon, and some vanilla and chocolate. Taste follows, with strong and sweet cinnamon sugar up front, some vanilla and chocolate, and a slightly bitter close with some alcohol burn. Excellent thick and smooth mouthfeel, overall outstanding.

4.46/5 rDev +5.7%
look: 4.25 | smell: 4.5 | taste: 4.5 | feel: 4.25 | overall: 4.5

This beer is reminiscent of Bamburana, and it's outstanding. They should make a Rum BA version.

 

I love Beer'd Brewing beers and I can't believe I have never seen this one before, despite being added to the BA database way back at the beginning of 2014.

3.96/5 rDev -3.6%
look: 4.25 | smell: 3.75 | taste: 4 | feel: 4 | overall: 4

Poured from a 16oz can stamped "Canned 12/21/20" to Nonic at fridge temp.
Pours hazy gold but not hazy enough to inhibit light from glowing through event the middle of the glass. Half an inch of off white foam sits above and laces nicely through the entire session.
Alcohol is present in the aroma as well as a nice piney hop note.
Taste is similar with alcohol through out, but not over powering. Only in the middle of a mouthful to you get some piney hops, a hint of the malt and the alcohol returns for the finish. However, for a 9.6% the alcohol notes are acceptable.
Mouthfeel is more coating and fuller than the appearance and suggests. That being said, its appropriate.
Decent beer if your looking for an imperial.

 

New Decade Do Over by Treehouse

4.25/5 rDev -3%
look: 4.25 | smell: 4.25 | taste: 4.25 | feel: 4.25 | overall: 4.25



Canned 12.28, opened 2.20, poured into a teku

“Alright everybody take their place now, again from the top”

One finger big bubbled white foam over hazy orange juice liquid , decent retention, good lacings, settles to islands and a ring

Aroma is citrus, orange, lemon, mango , whiff of honeydew melon. Don’t get the stone fruit from the can description

Get citrus orange, mango , stone fruit on the taste

Good sudsing , gentle hop nibble , slight lingering bitterness , semi dry finish , hint of alcohol

Good beer

Bif 13 sign up

https://www.beeradvocate.com/community/threads/nbs-bif-13-sign-up-thread.655057/page-6

 

I haven't done a review for New Beer Weekend in a while. Its also been a pretty trying week for me in Houston, to say the least. So glad I got out and about this afternoon. I went by the baseball fields in my neighborhood, and little league is already playing with families running around. Healing time is about as quick as the sun takes to come out ha.

At Local Group Brewing for a few. Had their new Diamond Hands Hoppy Brown Ale. In collaboration with Holler Brewing.



Pours a reddish brown color. A two finger white head forms with good retention. Plenty of lace is left behind.
Tons of hops in the nose. Citrus, pine, grass. There is a touch of malt, with toasted bread. Hops dominate after a while. I get they are doing a hoppy brown, but would still like more malts to come through.
And here it is, definitely more balanced taste wise. Citrus and pine hops up front. That gives way toasted bread, toffee, light chocolate and sweetness. A lingering bitterness is pretty strong, though doesn't clash.
A medium body with good carbonation. Crisp, but a fair amount of slick hoppy soapiness is detected. I enjoyed this at the brewpub, so no issue drinking a few. Even if its not perfect.

This is a good, if not exceptional hoppy brown. It is in collaboration with Holler, and I believe they did a similar beer a while ago for Holler as well. Which I remember liking. A good mix of styles that is a good one to have at the brewery. Though not the best brown ale I have had, still enjoyable.

Overall score is 3.66, a solid B for me.
https://www.beeradvocate.com/beer/profile/58735/535278/?ba=champ103#review

Along with, still, one of my favorite burgers in town.

 

You've definitely earned a good beer (or two) and a good burger after this last week! Glad to see things are on their way back to normal.

 

I can't think of another time I've had two Altbiers on hand, so after the Suarez Estimation (see above), it's time to try Fox Farm's Altbier - Stet. These are my two most visited breweries, and I greatly appreciate how both of them are willing to brew different styles vs. just cranking out IPAs (which Suarez doesn't really do at all). The other day I calculated how much I had spent between the two breweries in the last year. I should not have done that (better to not know!), but I'm glad I've been able to help support them over this last crazy year.

Anyway, onto the review....


Overall, I like this one a little bit more than the Suarez beer. This beer also desperately made me want to be sitting at a bar or a beer hall with friends. Something about the style just really reminds me of hanging out with others.....hopefully some day soon!

3.96/5 rDev -3.4%
look: 4.25 | smell: 3.75 | taste: 4 | feel: 4 | overall: 4

Pours a medium amber, clear in color with plenty of sea-foam like light tan head that slowly fades away leaving behind some nice lacing. Aroma is mostly malt, with very little hops coming through. May be some faint floral notes lurking in the background, but if I am detecting them, it's barely. Taste is malty and crisp with light peppery notes on the finish, and some hops present to balance things out. Medium feel and carbonation. Smooth and easy going down.

 

My 1st beer of the day after a 30 minute walk on a 39 day old knee is another new offering from down I-89.

https://www.beeradvocate.com/beer/profile/46275/535283/



16 oz. can.
Moderate pour yields a one inch tan head over a near black body with sticky lacing. Nose of citrus and dark malt with a bit of a floral aspect as well. Taste is slight bitter chocolate, dark malt, and a tad smoky fudge?!? Very tasty with a finish of bitter chocolate and maybe a little pine. It's tough to nail down, exactly, but I really like it! Nice feel and overall, a treat to be honest; and as it warms it's akin to chocolate on a slightly burnt pine log, I guess.
Ha!
Cheers to the guys down in Tunbridge, VT for another treat!

 

Back home in the courtyard. Its a beautiful day, and I'm taking in as much as I can.

Next up is another Houston local, True Anomaly, Sixteen Suns Tripel. 9.4% ABV.



Pours a golden/orange color with a light haze. A dense white head rises to over two fingers. Plenty of lace left all the way down the glass.
Very aromatic. Phenolic yeast and peppery spice, that doesn't become all plastic like, which many American examples tend to do. A touch of citrus, a touch of caramel apples. Love it.
Like the nose, taste wise has that big phenolic yeast character and white pepper like spice, kind of clove like. Citrus, apples, a touch of toffee like sweetness, with fresh baked bread. Even a touch of grassy bitterness lingering. Excellent.
A medium to full body. Excellent effervescent carbonation. That becomes ultra smooth as this breaths. This is a great sipper as well. Actually, with an almost nonexistent alcohol presents, this can be drunk dangerously in gulps. Which, again is excellent.

This might be one of the better American examples of a Belgian Tripel I have had in a long time. Really well done all around. True Anomaly has really dialed in some of their Belgian styles. I guess the is the base for some of the dry hopped versions they have done in the tap room. I haven't had those, but this is excellent and very traditional. No need to augment with American style hops IMO.

Overall score is 4.3...I'd call that an A

https://www.beeradvocate.com/beer/profile/55586/517318/?ba=champ103#review

 

Is it weird that “slightly burnt pine log” sounds like a perfect taste to me. Nice picture and you make that one sound mighty fine. Thanks for sharing and cheers up your new knee.