New Beer Weekend #35

Greetings fellow NBSers! Worked a short shift, and now time for a few new brews. This nice Helles from Stoup is actually my second new brew of the day: https://www.beeradvocate.com/beer/profile/33525/507770/

The first was a new version of a brew first made a couple years ago: https://www.beeradvocate.com/beer/profile/701/539854/?ba=BBThunderbolt#review

 

Hello New Beer Weekend!!!

Done with work for the week, and relaxing after a very hard, and productive day at work.

So, time for a new beer, and this is a big one. This beer was so kindly sent to me in a BIF outside BA from a former member here.

Untitled Art - Chocolate Raspberry Imperial Stout - 11% ABV.

This is delicious! I really love a good stout, and this is just making me happy to drink it.

Review:
https://www.beeradvocate.com/beer/profile/47802/534498/
4.49/5 rDev +2%
look: 4.25 | smell: 4.5 | taste: 4.5 | feel: 4.5 | overall: 4.5

Pours a thick looking pitch black. 1 finger brown head. The retention isn't the best, but not bad for the ABV. No lacing on the glass.
The nose is a beautiful raspberry aroma. Notes of chocolate back it up.
Taste - The chocolate seems to be more of an up front flavor to me. When the raspberry hits, it hits hard. The 2 flavors work so well together.
Thick, rich, full bodied, somewhat creamy feeling.
Damn good beer. A pleasure to try.


Maybe one more tonight. We'll see after this one.

 

Given the extreme heat and humidity in Florida, you would expect some good, thirst-quenching pilsners in the state. This pilsner from a brewery in St. Petersburg is what I have searching for - very refreshing and quaffable with a rather sharp and unique flavor profile from the use of American Mt. Hood hops.

 

Didn't have a chance to participate last weekend, not because I didn't have any new beers, but because I had too many. My wife and I visited Bend and over the course of Friday, Saturday, and Sunday, visited 12 breweries. I had flights at most of them. It was a wonderful trip.

But, back to normal this weekend -- first new beer of the weekend is one I bought in Bend: Wet Gravity from Foreign Objects.

16oz can served in a big snifter. Dated 2/10/2021.

Pours a very hazy orange-amber color with a medium head that collapses slowly to a very thin cap and a moderately thick ring, leaving little clinging to the glass. Not much visible carbonation; what's there is slow and very fine. Smell is chalky fruit; citrus pith, unripe mango. A little bit of green leafiness.

Taste is earthier, more bitter and resinous. Citrus pith is replaced with citrus zest and pine.

Mouthfeel is medium to thick, almost heavy, but still dry and not sticky. Overall, very nice.

 

1st offering brewed and canned by Prohibition Pig Brewery at Zero Gravity in Burlington, Vermont.

https://www.beeradvocate.com/beer/profile/28663/224573/



16 oz. can.
Canned 03/08/21.

Moderate pour yields a one inch white head over a slightly hazy, light golden body with some lacing. Nose of citrus (orange, grapefruit) and tropical fruit (pineapple, mango). Taste of citrus, tropical fruit, and the tiniest bit of currants and white grape on the finish. Nice feel and overall, a real nice first canning for these guys and excited for more in the future.
Cheers!

 

Mrs O and I are celebrating our 31st anniversary at Cafe Navarre in South Bend (actually it was St Patrick’s Day, but we didn’t want to fight the crowds), so this beer isn’t new to me, although I’ve never had it on tap that I can recall, so here we go.

This is Bell’s Hopslam.



It’s truly gorgeous, a beautiful copper color with a nice oatmeal white head that laces pretty nicely. The nose is jam packed with grapefruit and ripe stone fruit aromas, and there’s a hint of the honey.

The honey is much more prominent on the taste and is what makes this beer for me, similar to the bottled version (and the canned version), but even more pronounced in this tap version (which was just tapped today) where it provides a perfect complement to the hop flavors.

Every way I’ve had this beer has been world-class, and this on-tap iteration is no exception.

 

I've had my eye on those solo stoves . . . what's the verdict? Do they actually throw heat?

 

Imagine my surprise when, a couple days ago, in my local food coop, way out here in Bellingham WA, I spied a couple beers from Stoneface Brewing out of Cow Hampshire (I kid because I love Cow Hampshire, got family there). So, I'm finishing up a Yeah, Okay Chief murkster. Seemingly brewed in conjunction with YCH, it uses Idaho 7 T-90 pellets, Idaho 7 cryo, and Cashmere cryo hops. It's not bad, but fairly un-notable.

https://www.beeradvocate.com/beer/profile/34132/539874/

 

Yes, it is 42 degrees out and the sun was down and we were warm. Doesn’t throw off a lot of smoke , efficient heating design. We will definitely use it. Combine it with a nebula capsule and we have our own drive in movie theatre

 

Time for round #2, and like round 1, it's a beer so kindly sent to me in an outside BIF from a former member here.

Hinterland Brewing - Paczki - Imperial Stout 7.8% ABV.

Very interesting beer here. It's not too strong, but packs a lot of flavor in it.

Review:
https://www.beeradvocate.com/beer/profile/4426/479547/

3.79/5 rDev -0.5%
look: 4 | smell: 3.75 | taste: 3.75 | feel: 4 | overall: 3.75

Pours a nice dark brown. 2 finger fluffy tan head. There's good retention, and some nice lacing on the glass.
The aroma is not too strong. A bit of coffee, and a bit of a roasty malt aroma.
Taste - Coffee, and a roasty flavor from the malts. I'm also getting a hint of raspberry.
Ok body. About right for the ABV.
Very interesting beer overall.

This should be it for tonight, but I'm sure I'll be back tomorrow for more.

 

That was my impression as well, and hence a motivator of a decent amount of my disappointment. FWIW, the only other written review here did not seem to have the same one-dimensional experience that I did, so I'm willing to chalk it up to user error as it were as a reasonable potential explanation. While I did have it stored in the fridge, I did try to let it come to something approaching 'room' temperature (being that it's spring in Seattle, room temperature right now is probably closer to 55 than it is the classic 72) to try and capture the 'cask' feel a bit better, though I would also think that being too cold would be more likely to impact the hop profile than the malts anyway. *shrug*

As for the brewery... I'd be very surprised if it were attributable to poor brewing process, based on my experience with their other beers. As I mentioned, they do a lot of the more classic pub-style beers, and do them incredibly well, so I trust their expertise and talent, which was another component as to why I was so disappointed in the experience I had with this one. I will gladly try their other offerings and hope this remains just a blip on the radar!

As an aside: I always enjoy the depth of knowledge and the insight that you bring to the conversation. So thank you for that, and cheers!

 

Forest & Main Tiny Tim, a tasty bitter.
4.14/5 rDev +10.4%
look: 4.25 | smell: 4 | taste: 4.25 | feel: 4.25 | overall: 4

16 oz can poured into a mug

A- A clear darker brown with a small off white head.

S- Toasted malts, some sweet bread, earthy, caramel malts, a little floral.

T- Sweet bread, toasted malts, earthy, some caramel malts, floral, hints of light fruits.

M- Smooth, light to medium body.

O- A tasty and nicely balanced bitter.

Cheers!

 

2616 Flamingo Road by Bearded Iris

4.25/5 rDev +1%
look: 4.25 | smell: 4.25 | taste: 4.25 | feel: 4.25 | overall: 4.25

HUMBLEBRAG

Beer received in a trade with Bearded iris brewer Paul Vaughn



He suggested that i try this beer from Bearded iris as he knows that I liked Trilliums Daily Serving series

Brewed. 2.16.21 , opened 3.20.21 , poured into a Bearded Iris Homestyle stemmed glass, fizzy two finger recedes to a thin pink layer over a strawberry colored hazy liquid , scant lacings

Aroma is tart raspberries, raspberry jam, strawberries

Taste is tart , strawberries, raspberries, red berries, tartness over sweetness

Mouthfeel is tart, quenching, dry finish, not puckeringly dry

Good beer

 

Up next, from Fringe Brewing in Ferntucky WA, Parker Porter. Named for the late Jim Parker, a true legend in the craft beer world. Brewed with the help of his son Joel. I knew Jim, as he worked at several breweries and bars here in my town. He was a unique individual. He would approve of this brew:

https://www.beeradvocate.com/beer/profile/55706/539881/

 

Mr. Yum, a hazy IPA from Matchless.

16oz can served in a big snifter. Canned 2/15/2021.

Pours a hazy light amber color with a medium head and not a lot of visible active carbonation. Smell is very mild. I think I can detect tropical notes. Maybe pineapple and banana.

Taste is more melon and rind-y bitterness, moderate vague juiciness, maybe a hint of what I might call bubblegum.

Mouthfeel is medium to light, slight stickiness. Overall, it's a decent beer.

 

NBW #2. Ten Acres, a Pastry Stout from The Drowned Lands. One of my acquisitions today. It pours a dark walnut color with a half finger of creamy, medium-mocha head and sheen of lacing. The smell offers roasted malt, caramel, chocolate, and vanilla cream. The taste opens like a Mounds Bar with milk chocolate, caramel, and subtle coconut, along with oaty sweetness. The initial sweetness segues into burnt nutty char and hoppy bitterness. Its mouth feel is thick and creamy with low to moderate carbonation and a warming 9% ABV. This Stout is an ideal after dinner sipper. It would pair well with vanilla ice cream or a cannoli.

4.34/5 rDev -1.8%
look: 4 | smell: 4.25 | taste: 4.5 | feel: 4.25 | overall: 4.25

 

Cheers to another NBW! This past week both flew by and seemed utterly interminable, but it's been a rather relaxing Saturday so far. Slept in, got in a good workout, and have a pot of Bolognese sauce simmering away as I type this.

Starting the evening off with a can of Linear Ashes from Wayfinder Beer in Portland, OR. This is a rauchbier that was brewed in collaboration with Structures Brewing. Considering Wayfinder's phenomenal work with lagers and my personal predilection for smoked beers, I have a strong feeling this isn't going to disappoint. Drinking smoked lagers tends to put me in the mood for German power metal, so the accompaniment is Primal Fear's "Black Sun."

Pours a perfectly translucent golden with almost an inch of creamy white head, which takes its sweet time receding into a tight ring of bubbles with scant lacing across the beer's surface.

Assertive beechwood smoke leads on the nose, presenting a deep but remarkably smooth profile without even a hint of harshness. A surprisingly vibrant sweet, doughy bread note joins it, helping to round the smoke and slightly reduce its perceived dominance. Herbal noble hops waft around in the background, but the malt profile is the star of the show, evoking smoked ham atop freshly baked rustic brown bread.

Smoke jumps ahead on the palate, albeit with a bigger drying presence than on the nose, evoking less smoked meat and more of the dying embers of a cooking fire. Rustic white bread hits on the mid-palate along with another wave of smoking, giving way to a firm bitterness with herbal and floral hues on the backend. A long, lightly smoky finish follows, with hints of malty sweetness providing balance but not quite treading out of the dry side of the spectrum.

The body is a bit heavier than I'd expect and - along with the sweetness on the nose - is my only minor quibble with the beer. I'd prefer it to be just a bit drier and lighter, but it's certainly still a crusher.

Well-executed overall, but neither my absolute favorite smoked lager, nor the best I've had from Wayfinder. Still, I'm quite enjoying it as Ralf Scheepers regales me with tales of armageddon.

Score: 4.25