New Beer Weekend #36

Howdy, NBWers.
You didn't think I wasn't going to review a new Half Acre beer, right?
Good, glad that's sorted.
So.
HALF ACRE GREEN BRANCH DDH DIPA. 8%. (canned 2.12.21) - Enjoyed 3.28.21 after a couple earlier to gut-check my impressions. Citra, Idaho 7, and Sabro (*cough*)

4.18/5 rDev +1%
look: 4.25 | smell: 4.25 | taste: 4.25 | feel: 4 | overall: 4

L - as pretty as HA haze gets; good head, decent lacing. As thicc as they come at this brewery. Not the usual unfiltered HA haze. This has some real density to it.

S - Glorious tropical, pine, and some solid wood-weed notes, but NEVER betrays that it's Sabro as the last hop (which is good. Because I'm done with Sabro as the lead hop).

T - Plush feeling mouthful of DDH citric goodness from the Citra carries with some help from grassy Idaho 7, and just a touch of that fluff-tropical that Sabro can give for texture WITHOUT turning into coconut mouth-splinters.

F - Good, a little fluffed up and dry, but very solid. Holds the palate really well. Tastes and feels more like a 9-10% than the 8% here.

O - Really excellent haze and the maybe the first beer that had Sabro in it that didn't totally repulse me. That's saying something, but glad they made Citra and Idaho 7 play point.

 

American Solera Diacetyl Rest Dark Euro Lager, 5.0% ABV; 3.83 overall

Pours an effervescent hazel with 2 fingers of tan head. Average lacing & head retention

S: Brown bread, leafy hops

T: Follows the nose, plenty of dryness & toastyness up front. As this warms, dryness intensifies and there's a earthy/mushroommy type flavor and just a little brown bread & nuttyness. Finishes with toastyness & nuttyness, plus a little dryness

MF: Light/medium body, light carbonation

Drinks alright, not a style that I am in love with, but this a solid take on the style

 

NBW #2 for me, what I'm ACTUALLY drinking now (Xpost).

Crooked Stave's 10 Year Anniversary Vienna Lager (4.8% - canned 1.5.21 - opened and enjoyed this one 3.28.21, but had a couple yesterday just for science).

4.11/5 rDev 0% (new beer entered)
look: 4 | smell: 4.25 | taste: 4 | feel: 4 | overall: 4.25

L - Golden amber waves of Vienna-like magic; good head, great lacing, some nice hop oil action on top of this as it went down. Complete surprise. [edit: I LOVE that this beer is nearly the color of my vintage 1904 cottage pocket doors]

S - Fantastic brown bread meets pumpernickel honey fight in the streets, then taken to a clean barrel. Malt grain on the nose is just fabulous, almost ethereal.

T - Great; a slightly attenuated mouth and taste than from the aroma impressions, but still carries the dark break, honey, solid malt, deep lager note that is just... so satisfying. MORE beer like this, Crooked Stave! THis is what you're good at; well, this and Sours, and wilds, and Bretts of course.

F - Satisfying, light, wondrous on the mouth. Tastes like something for 4.8% - and that's an accomplishment.

O - One of the more interesting Vienna Lagers I've had, and especially for the weight - this is up there with Dovetail.

I decided to log this third can, after 2 cans yesterday, just to make sure I was not hallucinating. Fabulous - take my coins, Mozart would drink this all day long.

 

Back with another can I grabbed at Fringe, Hop Woo. Named for the late brewery dog, it is a solid and enjoyable NWIPA: Grapefruit, pine, and a touch of malt sweetness:

https://www.beeradvocate.com/beer/profile/55706/541259/

 

I’m going all NBW BIF #13 again today, but the inspiration for my beer selections is @JackHorzempa.

Jack’s a beer nerd of the highest and is also a homebrewer, which earns massive respect from me. I’ve homebrewed once (a Mr Beer kit Little O got for me for my birthday probably 10 years ago), an amber Ale, which Mrs O liked.

I can think of no stronger indictment of my prowess as a brewer.

Besides his homebrewing, Jack also does a phenomenal job with his reviews in this thread. One of my favorite things he does is his famous “side-by-side” reviews, where he reviews a couple of beers of the same style and shares his comparative thoughts. I really enjoy those reviews.

Normally, my NBW contributions are something “lighter” in color and hoppy (IPA/DIPA or a lager) and something “darker” and malty (stout, porter, or maybe a barleywine). But to honor Jack’s contributions here, and also to work through some of the ninja hit I received in NBW BIF #13 yesterday from @BBThunderbolt, I’m gonna review a couple (and maybe a 3rd) of WCIPA’s he sent, one after the other.

And the glass is from @BBThunderbolt, from NBS BIF #5 four years ago.

Have I mentioned how much I enjoy these BIF’s?

This first beer is a long-time want of mine. Can’t wait to try it. This is Bodhizafa.







4.42/5 rDev +6%
look: 4.5 | smell: 4.25 | taste: 4.5 | feel: 4.25 | overall: 4.5

Pours a slightly hazy burnt orange color with a compact oatmeal colored head that laces the glass nicely. Absolutely gorgeous beer. The nose is dank citrus, with ripe tangerine up front, and a nice slightly bitter pine aroma and a subtle caramalt note. I am openly salivating.

The ripe tangerine flavor is forward on the taste, but the bitterness from the pine is a welcome complement to the citrus flavors, and the caramalt is a perfect balance as well. This is truly delicious.

The mouthfeel is dry and full as expected. This nicely bitter, incredibly flavorful, well-balanced beer is an excellent example of the WCIPA style and would always be in my beer fridge if I had regular access to it.

 

Except for when I drink it all. Or mail it all away.

 

Okay, for real, this is my last one tonight. Thank you all for bearing with my incessant posts! I am very excited to present my review of Mast Landing's Let Go, a "dessert waffle inspired imperial stout with maple syrup and vanilla beans."



ML is a brewery known for their extensive experience with NEIPAs and the unusual, intriguing hop combinations they tend to utilize in the context of such beers, but their forays into sweet stouts have been a recent endeavor. I mean, sure, Gunner's Daughter is one of the foremost sweet stouts (peanut butter stouts, if we're being specific) in the NE area, and they do that type of thing better than many, but only lately have I seen them dipping their toes into stuff like this. I recently reviewed Big Bright Lights, for example, and thought it could use a bit of tweaking to reach its full potential. I guess we should just jump right in, then, and see how much we should... let go?

The pour for this beer is modest and decent, but it doesn't impress me much, honestly. Stouts are a pretty tough style to rate when it comes to appearance because mostly you're just gonna be looking at an opaque, black liquid and, by that token, are going to heavily bias your rating based on what happens on the literal surface. Here, it really isn't much, and that is disappointing. The head formation is weak, with a finger or so of mocha suds that quickly fade out to a tiny, thin ring. Some light crema on top covering about 2/3 of the surface, but... eh. Not the best looking stout I've see recently, honestly.

The nose kinda hits immediately with sticky fruity maple syrup that lodges itself directly in your sensory perception, giving off subtle blueberry/raspberry notes along with hints of tannins and light woody spice. These guys have used maple in a few beers, and I've not been lucky enough to enjoy Ploye Division yet (hopefully, they'll bring it back some time soon!), but Maine is pretty well known for its maple, and I will say that the character of the syrup here is pretty intense. Maple and vanilla seems pretty over the top, though, especially considering they didn't put any chocolate in this despite what the label image seems to imply. There isn't a lot to smell here other than those adjuncts, but I'm hoping the flavor profile has more to chew on.

First few sips are kind of meh. Like most stouts, this one is boring until it hits room temperature and opens up a bit more. I get some woody/tannic maple notes, strong dark grains, and some hints of sweetness that feel a bit more like afterthoughts than like main components of the beer. As it warms, I start to pick up some lighter notes of berries marrying well with the maple and woody overtones that, themselves, feel well-integrated with the roasty malts. The vanilla flavors really kick in towards the finish, lending a sweet element that carries on through each sip. The body is a little medium-leaning with that leafy and thin structure that maple can bring into beers like this. In all honesty, I wanted to like this much more than I did. It's a cool idea, but it suffers from some of the same pitfalls as a lot of maple-adjunct stouts do... maple is tough to use in beer, and this isn't one of the better uses I've experienced.

Alright, cheers guys. See ya next time!

 

What do we have? Another Trillium treat and this one involves Nelson. Oh boy!
Dot Ave DIPA
Pours a hazy golden yellow with an initial large creamy off white head that recedes to a thin cap leaving tons of sticky lacing.
Aroma is classic NS - sauvignon blanc grape, gooseberry, grass, pineapple, mango. As it warms the smell just blossoms.
Taste follows with vinous white grape, tropicals, grace notes of lemon, lime, citrus rind bitterness with some spruce.
Feel is medium, very soft/pillowy, lightly carbonated, slickness gets very dry on the finish. Pepper spice and bitter. No hint of 8.2%
I cant stop drinking this. Stillings St and the DDH version are 2 of my favorite Nelson brews. I put this with them. Huge Nelson intensity/characteristics.
Great beer. Cheers!

 

It says pale ale on the can......not NEIPA.

https://www.beeradvocate.com/beer/profile/57321/538779/



16 oz. can.
Bottom of can reads:
"03/11/21
I'm Single"
S H E R P A
Single Hop Experimental Research Pale Ale
Moderate pour yields a nearly one inch slightly off white head over a hazy golden body with sticky lacing. Nose of citrus, black tea, with a bit of spice. Taste mirrors nose with sweet citrus flavors in the middle and orange pith, black tea, and spice on the nearly dry finish. Nice feel and overall, quite refreshing and at 5.0% abv, highly crushable.
Cheers to Dan for this tasty, easy drinking offering!

 

Little O enjoys that, periodically. He also regularly indulges in Budweiser and Heineken.

I got nothing else.

 

Honestly great review!
I just noticed your dot was only a third blue though.....

 

Im thinking most people that purchase them dont look at the dot....

 

Good evening, NBS. Kind a cold, dreary day with a couple hour rainstorm. Did mange to cook turkey breast in the smoker...a short cook...much shorter than the recipe estimate so I am glad I checked temp early. If this cooked as long as it should have, woulda been turkey nuggets.

So...in the glass:



Fine Acre from Allagash. Here is what they have to say about this beer:

A celebration of the fine land where this organic golden ale’s ingredients originated. Fine Acre’s organic grain bill yields a balanced flavor that is both cultivated and refreshing.

Grains: Organic: Spelt, Oats, Wheat, Barley

Hops: Organic: Nugget, Centennial, Cascade

Yeast: Organic Belgian-style

Serving Temp: 45-50°F

Ideal Within: 1 year

On opening the can, there is no doubt that this is a Belgian and dare i say it is absolutely Allagash? Yes...I do dare to say. I'm no whiz st this, but I have consumed enough Allagash product to kinda recognize the signature.

Anyway, it pours a slightly cloudy, brassy good color. Nicely packed white head that lasts and is replenished as it falls by the bubbles rising from the bottom. Ends up as a thin layer that stays around.

Back to that smell. It is phenolic/citrus/spicy/peppery/Belgian yeast esters, with a mild but discernable funky note. The grain is well grounded. A bit earthy, even.

So I was not happy with my first sip, but it got better. Can't say why it happened, but it was just not a great first taste. Ok...that got out of the way. This is very farmhouse to me. The grains provide the springboard for all of that Belgian-i-ness to jump from. Nice bit of citrus orange peel, pepper and phenolic spice build up a little. The beer is assertive enough to work with the hops. Kind of a multigrain bread flavor going on. Nice bitterness, on the heavy side with a thicker than expected texture. Smoothness I suspect from the oats. Its almost like an amped up version of White combined with saison.

I am glad the first impression changed. This a good beer, nicely assembled, not super complex but just plain good. Hits the style markers nearly on the money. Its going to be landing around a 4.1 for me. Kudos for using locally sourced ingredients, but no bonus points on the scorecard!

 

I love the Belgian/Trappist styles, and I've been derelict in not drinking more of them the last couple years. Fixing that with this Zundert 8.

https://www.beeradvocate.com/beer/profile/33472/107400/

 

#2, this is REALLY fresh, but it falls quite a bit short of Bodhizafa.







3.92/5 rDev +9.8%
look: 4.25 | smell: 4 | taste: 3.75 | feel: 4 | overall: 4

Pours a nice burnt orange color with a smidge of hop haze and a really nice, foamy oatmeal colored head that provides ample lacing. The nose has orange, honeydew melon, and nectarine aromas, which is interesting.

The nectarines and oranges are forward and the honeydew is also present, with a nice amount of bitterness.. There’s also a subtle malt flavor, providing a balanced flavor profile.

The mouthfeel is medium and fairly dry. This is a nice “fridge IPA” that’s worth a try.