New Beer Weekend #33

For today, another beer courtesy of @WunderLlama. This one is Twice the Daily Serving, a Berliner Weisse with mixed berry from Trillium. I haven't had great experiences with berliner weisse beers over the last year or two...let's see about this one.

In short, this is delicious. Best Berliner Weisse I've had in quite a while. Hats off to Trillium for actually using some skill in brewing this vs. just dumping a bunch of berries in and hoping for the best.

4.36/5 rDev -6.2%
look: 4 | smell: 4.25 | taste: 4.5 | feel: 4.5 | overall: 4.25

Pours a brilliant, glowing cranberry color with minimal head but a thin ring that lasts forever. Aroma is all berry, as to be expected. I often struggle with how to rate the aroma of heavily fruited beers, as the aroma is usually so fruit dominant, with this one being no exception. That said, it smells really good with no one berry particularly dominant.

Taste and feel are where this beer shines. Most of the berliner weisse beers I've had in the last year are lacking depth and balance. They taste like somebody just dumped a bunch of puree in and counted on that to hide any underlying flaws. Not so with this beer. It has plenty of berry flavor, with raspberry the one I'm picking up the most, but it maintains a really nice balance and isn't overly sweet. Full mouthfeel, soft, creamy and really tasty.

 

Howdy, NBWers, back again.
Perennial Sump Imperial Coffee Stout. 11.5%
From a can. A CAN? Yes, always had it on draft before. Says "drink by 7.8.21" so I assume that's roughly a year out from its canning, but kemosabe.

In any case, I'm pasting in the original "on draft" review below, with a few other thoughts appended after that. Largely still stays true to the original, but I think a canning gets its own review and notes. So there.

original review: (tasted on draft at my now "dead" local joint) 2 years ago:
4.56/5 rDev +2.7%
look: 4.5 | smell: 4.75 | taste: 4.5 | feel: 4.5 | overall: 4.5

L - More attractive than most Stouts, and it's hard to pin it down to any specific reason. Black as coffee death. Warm hugs of lacing cling to the glass, with a rich, brown foam. Fuck yes. (from the can, poured like motor oil)

S - Jesus Tap-Dancing Coffee Christ. I have no words - like a combo of heavenly espresso beans, chocolate and roasty beer.

T - Not as outstanding as the smell, but still one of the BEST tasting coffee stouts I've ever had.

F - Kidding me? Velvet meets carbonation, without making you bloaty. The one downside is night-time wakey-wakey. WORTH IT.

O - Yeah, probably the best coffee stout I've enjoyed at this ABV. Outstanding. I've had Abraxas too, and I prefer Sump.

CAN Edits/Updates: from the can, I'd say Sump from the can tasted today (3.7.21) has more coffee aroma to it, if served in a proper glass (below, behold) but it's a little less creamy-foamy than it was on tap (no real surprise). People who comment they can't smell or taste the coffee, need to try it in a proper tulip, pinched snifter, because I still think this is one of the most coffee-rich coffee stouts I've ever tried. Lovely at mid-day. Now off... but glad I scored a single pint can of this beer

 

NBW #2...Cheers all!

12 oz can, canned-on date is smeared and isn’t legible in the least.

Pours a cloudy burnt orange color with an eggshell white head.

Nose is orange, nectarines and an earthy hop note.

Flavor has the signature citra hop bite. Fresh and mildly acidic. Hint of toasty sweetness midway before a bitter finish, mix of hop and citrus rind.

Mildly carbonated compared to others in this style. Smooth going down start to finish, and quite easy on the palate.

Overall, it’s good. Great lawnmower beer, but I can’t get past the smeared up date and wonder if it might be better than the sample that I have.

Personally, I prefer the Evil Genius “Turtle Power”, or Industrial Arts “Tools of the Trade” over this, but I’d never turn this down either. I’ll seek out a fresh single of this and revisit.

 

Liked that quite a bit but for me it didnt really seem like a beer, except for the abv. Still have one left. May drink it today. Will be a good boost after 10 miles on the elliptical. Cheers!

 

Yeah, I agree that sometimes it's hard to think of these as beer. Almost more of a mixed drink vibe than a beer. That said, this one was much better done than others I've had of the style. I'm not struggling to finish this one, which isn't always my experience.

 

Not my favorite day so far, gotta admit... nothing in particular but have just been feeling a little unease/unnamable "meh"-ness. Not really the Sunday Scaries, but maybe somewhat. I dunno, let's drink some beer and talk about it, shall we?



Up first is Dur Camp, a DIPA featuring Mosaic/Citra/Simcoe from Big Tree Brewing, which is a new brewing "side project" of the fine folks at The Reservoir in Waterbury, VT. Last time I was up in Waterbury (for my 30th a couple years ago) I got very drunk at this place, and have enjoyed hanging out there a few other times before, so it was cool to see them try their hand at brewing. After all, their neighbors at Prohibition Pig have done some very good stuff of their own after splitting a brewery offshoot from their restaurant space in a similar fashion.

The pour definitely looks a bit different than many modern DIPAs, and indeed it does claim to be a New England IPA on the label, so perhaps I'm being unfair but it does seem immediately as though something may be slightly amiss here. It's hazy with a consistent opacity throughout, but the color is a honeyed-orange hue with a bit of an amber appearance to it. On the bottom of the glass are chunks of yeast sediment, which is... not a great sign. The head forms decently enough, though, and seems to stick around for a good while until eventually sinking to a half-finger of lazy suds. Great lacing, though, I'll give 'em that.

My first sniff definitely continues to give me the feeling that something isn't right here. My can is dated 2/18/21, so it's not like it's old or anything, but it kinda smells like it is somehow. Stale hoppiness with a lot of yeasty esters. Smells almost unfinished/not completely fermented to me. Hints of leafiness and a note of apricot/tangerine are pretty noticeable, but... yeah, something's off.

Tastes like something an older MA brewery (Berkshire comes to mind) would make if they were trying to get into the NEIPA market but didn't really know what they were doing. Wow, this is disappointing for sure. I guess I didn't really have any expectations, but that hop bill, pretty good design, and the fact that these guys hail from Waterbury, the beer capital of New England in many ways all gave me some hope that this would be nice stuff. I will say that it is pretty easy drinking but the hop flavor is all muddled/boring and the yeastiness is overly-present in the flavor. It's hard to even pick out anything special or specific that this tastes like, which is crazy to me. Overly-malty but without any actual flavors... how does this get made in 2021? Not good. Pass on it.

Let's hope the next few are good... otherwise, today might be a real wash. Looking forward to reading other folks' reviews, though, for sure.

 

At Eponymous Brewing in Brookings, SD now. I will be getting a lot to go here for the NBW BIF upcoming.

https://m.imgur.com/gallery/fI3A9U3

Double Bum IIPA 8% ABV
Total Hop bomb here so much going on here.

Review
https://www.beeradvocate.com/beer/profile/52668/386658/
4.25/5 rDev +2.9%
look: 4.25 | smell: 4.25 | taste: 4.25 | feel: 4.25 | overall: 4.25

Creamy hazy murky orange color. 1 finger white head. Good lacing on the glass.
Nose is a citrus hop bomb. Pineapple, mango, guava, grapefruit. Pleasing
Taste - like the nose tons of pineapple, mango, guava, grapefruit
Somewhat soft feeling. Full bodied. Hops linger.
DELICIOUS

Last beer in South Dakota. Maybe one more when I get home in a few hours

 

Nice conversation regarding Oberon @Roguer @FBarber @ovaltine ! I share similar views and feelings, just noting that with most things in life, even a highly analytical person by nature (myself) reverts to gut or sentiment more often than not, even passing over an superior beer option in favor of one celebrating Spring and marketed via a Sun logo. Hoping to have my first draft later this month before/after picking up my cans destined to reach my still beer full refrigerator.

@tasterschoice62 - Seen many a photo and numerous tales of joy from family, visitors and natives of County Cork. Definitely want to explore much of the country including the beautiful southern coast.

@eppCOS - Your review and my love of roast coffee stouts has landed Sump on my to buy list, hope to find some here!

Back for a second this New Beer Sunday #836! Turning to a black IPA, one that has been around for years but as far as I know hasn't reached Chicago until this Winter.

Stone Sublimely Self-Righteous Black IPA



Bottle Notes (A++ for info on this bottle): 12 oz, 8.7% ABV, label right side up , bottle stamp identifies Richmond Virginia as the source (thank you for printing this, wish all brewers with multiple locations did this), bottled date 12/29/20, Best By 4/28/21.

First brewed briefly in 2007 as Stone 11th Anniversary Ale, this beer was an instant hit. We loved everything about it and missed it terribly when it was gone. So after long months full of serious jonesing, we brought it back as Stone Sublimely Self-Righteous Black IPA. It had a great runm but eventually black IPAs fell out of favor and this dark, dank beauty headed to retirement. Alas, such are the vagaries of craft beer.

Cue a return of the serious jonesing. Like, really serious. On a nearly daily basis since then, our fans have reminded us of the indelible impression this beer left on them. So in acknowledgment of all the righteousness in the world, in this beer, and in your impeccable taste, we offer it up once again with its original artwork (by Edson Ruiz, who also contributed to our Stone IPA Guest Art Series). Be forewarned, this is a limited re-release. Enjoy now. Jones later. Remind yourself it's better than none at all. or better yet, surprise the hell out of us and but the crap out of this release, forcing us to bring it back once again. We won't complain!

Appearance: 12 oz bottle poured into pint shaker glass. Creamy tan head forms leaving generous fine thin bubble lacing in its wake. Base very dark brown colour, clear looking up from the bottom but impenetrable if trying to see through it. 3.75.

Aroma: Nice roast malt leads, sweet, backed by strong pine hops. Further attempts render bakers chocolate. Blends well. 4.25

Taste: Similar to aroma, but much sweeter than expected. The roast chocolate malt leads here, tingling sweetness on the tongue, somewhat chalky. Hops back well, pine the taste and a nice balancing bitterness that brings balance, as my palate shifts from sweet to bitter with alternating sips, though sweetness the overall winner. Light coffee taste as well, the taste behind the taste. Really liking this, glad the 9 weeks since bottling hasn't impacted this adversely as far as I can tell (refrigerated since my beer rescue from the room temperature bottle shop shelf). 4.25

Mouthfeel: Thin to slightly creamy, chalky, lightly bitter at times though sweet, light dryness. Strong ABV masked well, perhaps too well for those setting out on a few of these at a setting. Easy clean finish. 3.75

Overall: This is a nice hoppy black IPA, brings both sweetness and bitterness, pleasant well blended flavors, thin in body, bold in taste. I;m hoping people did "buy the crap out of this release" to allow a return sooner than 13 years. 4.0

This may be it today until the Porter tasting next week which I'm really looking forward to. Also looking forward to the rest of the reviews and conversation.

 

Not that I detected, nor could I find any mention of it in the brewer's description.

 

Finally was able to get some Oxbow beers shipped to me. They arrived Friday and the first one up is Sasuga.
Oxbow describes it as

I now see why Oxbow has their reputation. This beer is gorgeous. In the sunlight it almost seems to glow from within. Green grapes, green apples, peaches, and wet straw hit you as soon as you pour. Not quite ripe fruit and musty/dusty barnyard flavors.
Sasuga is all about the Brett with the rice and stainless steel allowing the yeast flavors to shine. It is tart, but not sour, with wet hay and stable straw.
An outstanding beer which will be ideal for sitting out on the deck this summer.

 

Yeah it's a great beer.. Do I put Cafe Deth above this? Maybe but the coffee impression, touch, and roast is what sets Sump apart for me. As I nurse the last of it right now there's a gorgeous burning orange horizon edge in the glass.
To better days ahead. SSR black IPA was a welcome Stone for me too.
Now let us hope that HA also releases Navaja. Soon.

 

Here goes nothing! Beer 2 is the newest batch of Old Soul, a collaboration between Old Planters Brewing Co. and Wandering Soul Brewing Co. that shows off another single hop in the context of a normal strength IPA (6.8%). The first one, which I reviewed for NBW #21 back in December, featured Nectaron hops and this one utilizes Strata. Since I have typically found Strata to be pretty good but also a little more of a "supportive" hop (or perhaps one that needs support?), I'm interested to see how it comes across here.

The pour is pretty nice. A bit lighter than the first batch, I think, but could be wrong. Yellowish golden with a tight head that builds up a solid finger of white suds replete with dense bubbles on the surface. Some streaky, nice-looking lace appears as I take my first sip. Attractive legs on this one with some surface coverage as well. Overall, we may have a winner here if my first impression is to be believed! Let's hope so... could use a win right now.

The nose is a combination between pineapple, passion fruit, and dankness with strong notes of grassiness and a bit of grapefruit. I'm definitely feeling like this will be pretty good. I get a hint of biscuity malt in here, too, with some bolstering orange/tangerine aspects coming across as it opens up a bit. I think I'm still of the mind that Strata may be a hop that either works better with others or is a good "supporting-role" varietal, but it seems like it does its job well here. Like with most single-hop beers, the brewer (or brewers in this case) is attempting to showcase the hop in question, and the success of that undertaking really depends on whether or not the varietal has enough consistently-demonstrable unique qualities that would make it meaningful to even partake in such an experiment. I think Strata is fairly-unique, luckily, and I'm hoping that the flavor profile here drives that point home even more.

Oh, wow, this packs a punch! Alright, I see where this is going... this might be the one to finally convince me of this hop's worth. It has elements of Belma, Mosaic, and even Cascade in my opinion. The odd orchard/berry/sweet cream fruit elements of the former with some of the oily dankness of the middle and the citrus-laden fun/classic element of the latter. Smooth sipping with flavors of tangelo, cannabis, grassiness, light vegetal qualities (not in a harsh or obtrusive way, and not so much "onion" or "chive"... think Ekuanot but not as aggressive I guess), passion fruit, and pineapple. A bit of a "diesel"-like oily note that I like, but that I know others may not appreciate... kinda comes out more in the post-nasal experience, but it's there in my opinion. Malt backing is appreciable but kinda just present, which is fair in the context of a single hop IPA. Feel is on the thinner edge of medium but there's enough hop-driven oleic complexity that it doesn't really seem like one I'd want to put back a bunch of. Not a knock against it, I just think this is a bit more of a "thinking man's IPA" in a way. The previous Old Soul was somewhat in the same vein as well, so I'm glad it feels like they're being logical and thoughtful about how this series goes. Looking forward to more examples. Maybe they can do one with Lotus or Zappa? Maybe try some of those Neomexicanus varietals? Pumped to see what these talented folks do next! Feeling a bit better about the beers, and therefore also my day, as well right now. Let's keep it going.

 

Yes, I do hear that from everyone I know has tasted both, and your description only makes me want to go more.
Someday.
Cheers all, back later with my Sunday Stout!

 

Greetings fellow NBSers! A sunny, but windy and lightly chilly, day here in the Fourth Corner. Picked up an usher shift at the theater yesterday, a few of the regular (volunteer) ushers didn't want the shifts, so they offered them to us union stagehands, at our regular rate. Sure, I'll take those hours.

First up today is the last Suarez brew, State Pils, that I got in a ninja box from @Roy_Hobbs earlier this week. I really enjoyed all of them, but I thought they were all a bit cloudier than is typical for Lagers. has this been the experience for folks who get to drink it on the regular?

https://www.beeradvocate.com/beer/profile/41980/408804/

 

Good Sunday afternoon, New Beer Sippers and commentators. Twin Lights Brewing is a new outfit and is currently gypsy-brewing at The Alementary in Hackensack, NJ. A couple of respected New Jersey BAs have had positive reviews of Doors of Perception, an Imperial Coffee Milk Stout. I thought about trying it but opted instead for Years of Solitude, an Imperial State with toasted coconut, vanilla, cocoa nibs, and lactose. Big mistake. I was initially disappointed when the head fizzled away in seconds. This isn't barrel-aged. The taste is chalky and washed-out. The coconut is subdued, which is okay, but the chocolate is largely absent and there isn't much else. The mouth feel is too thin for an Imperial Stout. While it doesn't seem like 10.2% perhaps that's because I didn't drink much of it, sadly. Overall, a disappointment considering that Alementary's beers are generally pretty good. This needs work.

3.51/5 rDev 0%
look: 3.25 | smell: 3.5 | taste: 3.5 | feel: 3.75 | overall: 3.5

This Stout will not be included in my NBS BIF box. Fortunately, I have another new Stout warming up. Cheers!

 

Alright second to last new IPA for this week's thread. Up right now is Definitive's Concert Mode DDH IPA featuring Mosaic, Topaz, and Idaho 7. That's a lot of weird hops right there, guys. Hopefully it pans out to be good.



Pour is great, so that's a nice start. Hazy light/medium amber color with a big ol' fuzzy head of consistent foam that goes and goes. Superb lace and almost "nitro-like" legs... this thing is really foamy and intense looking and it retains forever. The appearance is definitely setting some high expectations here.

The nose is interesting but weirdly-subtle for something with these three hops featuring in it. I pick up some papaya, cotton candy, intense passion fruit, and a mango tea-like note that really feels unusual. I can safely say that I haven't smelled another IPA quite like this in a while, but I'm also not entirely sure that's a great thing. It's not a cohesive or memorable smell, in all honesty, so I'm hoping it starts to come together in a meaningful way on the palate.

Okay, the flavor is a bit better. Strong flavors of melon and tannins combined with apricot/peach/nectarine, mango, papaya, and passion fruit. Leafy greenery with some hop candy, grapefruit, and more stone fruit in the finish. Soft and supple with a pretty drinkable complexion. Definitive has done some seriously great, almost sorcerous things with hops in some of their triple IPAs, but I have found their other offerings to be a little hit-or-miss over the past few months. I have to say that I initially wasn't thinking much of this, but it's starting to grow on me about a third of the way through the glass. I think Idaho 7 is just a bizarre hop that operates on a wildly-chaotic spectrum depending on how it's utilized. In some ways, it feels even more off-the-wall than Mosaic. When Topaz is the most consistent hop in your beer, you know some weird stuff is gonna happen. Luckily, this comes across a little bit more cohesive than I thought it would. I was definitely afraid it would be a mess, and it's not exactly the best IPA I've had lately, but I'd revisit it under certain circumstances. Also, full disclosure, but this is almost a month old. Not a big deal, probably, but figured I'd mention it.

One more coming in a bit... cheers all!