New Beer Weekend #41

long day am brew session (aha big Brew day). Yard work , dad duty etc

My reward was a can from lif in bif 13 which I was looking forward too but was left confused




3.74/5 rDev +5.1%
look: 3.75 | smell: 4 | taste: 3.75 | feel: 3.5 | overall: 3.5

12oz can in NBS bif 13 thanks to dimidata.

L: deep dark brown, but pours clear little to no head or lacing

S: no yeast/ hops light notes of licorice /fruit cake
T: follows smell one note sweet fig like

M low carb but not crisp


O: in the box I got this was the can I was looking forwarded too so wanted to love it, but just fell flat like water down stout .

No lager notes no oak

 

Good evening NBW
Another weekend on the road. My daughter's high school lacrosse team won two games in Indy today and we're finally back home in southern Indiana. First beer of the day at 9:15 local time...

This one was sent by @Victory_Sabre1973. Smolsh Kolsch by Dempsey's Brewing Company


16oz crowler poured into a super stange glass at fridge temp 4.3% ABV 19 IBU. The beer pours barely hazy golden straw yellow with off white head. The head recedes to a thin cap and leaves plenty of lacing. The aroma is grainy with notes of apple and pear. The taste is slightly sweet, slightly smokey malt with more fruit before a mildly bitter, ham smoke finish. The mouthfeel is medium bodied with average carbonation and a mostly dry finish. Overall, very good. I'm a sucker for smoked beer and this is a good one.

Cheers all and thanks James!

 

Final for this Saturday and thanks @jzeilinger for this one. Poured into a 13 oz tulip glass bottled in 2021. Pours a very dark brown with a half finger light brown head that leaves scattered lace, with rock solid retention. 4.5

Aroma coconut rum really hits hard first, vanilla bean, dates, gram cracker, brown sugar, and cocoa beans. 4.25

Taste follows coconut rum, vanilla, dates, gram cracker, marshmallow, brown sugar, and some chocolate. 4.5

Mouthfeel is a little bigger than average, maybe a tad dry, gentle carbonation, and at 13.3% amazingly approachable. 4.5

Overall this one really snuck on me. Was not expecting to be dazzled and I would say I would love to revisit this fella. Impressive beer. Night all, will be firing early tomorrow. 4.25

 

A rare Saturday night NBW entry from me... this is my second beer from Thin Man, who I had a DIPA from last night... solid stuff, but not amazing. This is their pilsner, which clocks in at 4.9% ABV. Let's see how they did here!



Pills Mafia pours a very-slightly-hazy/mostly clear straw-yellow color with a nice head measuring two fingers initially. It sinks down to a half-finger ring after a bit, leaving behind a good bit of showy lace in solid tiered patterns. Slight carbonation activity visible rising from the bottom of my glass even after a few minutes post-pour. Not bad looking stuff. Intrigued to see what they do here.

The nose is clean grainy malt with a hint of cracker and floral suggestions. There is some slight, Perle-like complexity to the hoppiness here, as I do get a bit of spice among the grassiness. This has an understated scent, but it definitely seems to do its job well, so I'm looking forward to taking a sip.

Woo, hoppier than I expected, that's for sure. This bad-boy is surprisingly bitter and in-your-face, though not quite in the "IPL" way. I get big herbal notes with crackery malt balancing in the mid-palate. Notes of spruce and a finish of spice and floral elements. Pretty dry and drinkable, but definitely more "Americanized" than your average USA-brewed German pils, especially those that are going out of their way to talk up their traditional approach (which this really doesn't). I am glad it is just under 5% and would probably revisit it... nice and clean, fun-to-drink, and not too much of anything in particular, but with a bit of interest to set it apart from other pilsners I've had recently. Maybe not the most "to-style" one out there, but I dig it for what it is.

 

Well, heck, if we're doing IPAs...

I've got to remember to pay the bills tonight, so to remind myself I'm going with Double Grid, since, you know, power grid, power bill, etc...
Yes, deciding I was going to drink this beer actually helped me to remember to actually take care of things that should not need such reminders.

Anyway, onto the beer itself:



It's a beautiful pour, if you like the opaque ales. Completely colloidal body of pale peach. That head, though... pillowy eggwhite thick and it shows no interest in clearing out and making room. Once it finally does decide to mosey on down to the level of the liquid, it makes sure to leave plenty of mementos along the glass as it goes.

Nose offers up what I initially took for melon, alongside some indiscrete citrus and tropical fruit. Pleasant enough.

What I initially took for melon on the nose presents more as pineapple on the tongue. Alongside that lays another one of my rambling memories-cum-descriptors: Growing up in the woods in the northwest with a woodburning stove, I've chopped and stacked a lot of firewood in my days. There are some very distinct tactile memories associated with this. For our purposes today, the pertinent one pertains to a specific type of wood, though I am ashamed to admit that I don't remember what kind of wood it is. But it's a wood that notoriously always had these insidious little red splinters under the bark that were impossible to get out of your hands if they touched you. I often encountered these being somewhat wet, being in swamp of sorts, and the flavour I'm trying to get to here reminds me very strongly of the smell of that wood when handling a wet round of that particular variety. Somewhat pulpy, somewhat sweet, undeniably woody... it doesn't taste like pine to me, though looking at other reviews, I think that's the descriptor a lot of people settled on, but whatever it is, that's what it reminds me of. Anyway, it's got some of that alongside the pineapple and a lemony citrus. The wood-pulp element dissipates the longer I let it sit. The lemon (and heck, the wood to a certain extent as well) feels like it's going to build into a nice bitter finish, but it just kind of derails that train somewhere along the way and so I'm left with the ghost of a hoppy presence.

The body isn't nearly as rich or soft as I would have expected, given the style, it's a little thinner and oily than I was anticipating. The carbonation is similar to the finish I describe above: it feels like it's building to a swell of prickly carbonation, but then just kind of flops over halfway and doesn't really follow it through. The finish does resurrect some of that hint of bitterness, but it pairs it with a cloyingly sugary sweetness that I find offputting.


(side note: I love how well the can label and the logo on the glass match with one another. Unintentional, but serendipitous!)

This is a very well regarded hazy ale, and helps me to understand the style better, and to understand what people are looking for out of a hazy. It's not my favourite expression of a hop-forward brew, but I am enjoying it well enough (better than this ugly-ass Ms game against my least favourite team in the league, anyway!), and I am grateful to Frank for having sent it my direction.

Cheers!!

 

Hello New Beer Weekend!!!

Finally home after a very long day, and week at work. I just had so damn much to do, so everything would be good when the store is shorthanded tomorrow.

But enough about work, time for beer. It took me a bit figure out what I wanted. How high octane do I go tonight? I've finally decided on one.

This first one tonight is from @jkblr .


Champagne Velvet from Upland Brewing Co. - Adjunct Lager - 5.2% ABV

This is a good AL. It's crisp, clean, malty, but also has a hint at a wild side. I wished I would have had the day off work today, because this would have been even better in the 80+ degree heat.

I'm so happy that this was sent to me, and I'm glad to have tried it.


https://www.beeradvocate.com/beer/profile/1170/93587/
3.87/5 rDev +9.9%
look: 4 | smell: 3.75 | taste: 4 | feel: 3.75 | overall: 3.75

This beer pours a very crisp looking, clean looking, clear light golden color. There's a nice 1 1/2 finger white head that lasts a while. There's some lacing in the glass. Looking into the glass, there's a nice stream of carbonation bubbles rising.
The nose has a nice malty biscuit aroma, as expected.
Taste - Very crisp. I get a malty biscuit flavor. I also get a very interesting floral flavor, almost like there's some Belgian yeast in here. I also get a faint tart apple flavor, that is a pleasing addition.
The body is very crisp feeling. The thickness is about what's expected for this style.
I wish I had the day off work today, because this would have been so fun to drink in the 80 degree heat of the day. I like this beer.


One more on deck before bed.

 

I didn't know either. It seemed like the logical choice for an easy drinking new beer to start off.

Ok, to my next beer, and it's thanks to @woemad



Salted Caramel Stout from Breakside Brewing - 6.7% ABV.

I'm glad to have had the chance to try it. Dark chocolate up front, that changes to caramel on the back. Very interesting beer,

https://www.beeradvocate.com/beer/profile/22843/93118/

3.78/5 rDev +0.3%
look: 4.25 | smell: 3.75 | taste: 3.75 | feel: 3.75 | overall: 3.75

This beer is a dark brown pour. It is heavily carbonated, with a 4 finger tan head. The retention is pretty good, and because of that, it takes a bit to pour it all into my glass. There's some nice spiderweb looking lacing on the glass.
The nose is caramel, a hint of a nutty aroma.
Taste - Up front I get a dark chocolate flavor, probably from the malts used. This changes on the backside to a caramel flavor. Not really getting the salted part of it.
Body is a bit lighter than expected, though not watery at all.
Very interesting beer, and glad to have tried it.


I might see you all from the road tomorrow, if my friends are able to go. Cheers!

 

Cheers to another NBW! Long damn week, but it was a relaxing Saturday and tomorrow is shaping up to be quiet as well.



I'm kicking things off this evening with the second mystery beer that @Ozzylizard was kind enough to send my way in the NBS BIF #13. Obviously, I can't introduce the beer since I haven't the slightest clue what it is, other than knowing that it's 15.6% ABV. My soundtrack for this will be Hypocrisy's "The Final Chapter," which has no real relation to doing a blind tasting. Quite simply, I hadn't listened to them in a while and found myself spinning the hell out of them the past couple days. If you can listen to "Adjusting the Sun" without headbanging, we're living very different lives.

For those who aren't in the BIF, my approach to tasting a blind beer in this setting - seeing as this is all behind a computer screen, I figured it might be fun to give some as-I-go thoughts on how I'm processing the sensory experience and where it's taking me as far as some sort of rough guess on what I'm drinking.

I pulled it out of the fridge roughly 20 minutes before opening. Pours a deep amber with brown hues, topped by a few scant clusters of off-white bubbles that disappear with great haste.

Initial thought - Based on color and ABV, the obvious possibilities are barleywine, quad/Belgian strong dark, or some sort of strong ale hybrid style.

On the nose, the first element that hits is the sticky hop character that's a signature element of American barleywines. Think a slightly syrupy expression of resinous pine sap and orange zest that has been coated in alcohol. As it warms, the citrus side of the equation expands a bit to encompass some lemony bits and hints of grapefruit, while the pine fades just a touch. Raisins, dates, and prunes anchor the malty side of the beer, while hints of caramel and toffee lurk in the background. Alcohol heat is present, but certainly not excessive for a 15.6% ABV beer.

Thoughts - Definitely not Belgian, and almost certainly not an English-style barleywine. It's throwing off an American barleywine vibe pretty hard. No discernable barrel notes - spirit or oak.

A quick burst of light caramel hits first on the palate but is quickly subsumed by a wave of sticky, resinous hops coupled with alcohol presence. The piney side of the hops plays a far bigger role on the palate, while grapefruit zest and orange flesh work around the edges. As it moves onto the mid-palate, the hops recede, making way for a malt profile that seems a touch subdued. No one point acts as an anchor, but brown sugar, faintly burnt caramel, dates, prunes, and a drying semisweet chocolate note that's surprisingly assertive. On the finish, alcohol pops back up at a level that treads into "harsh" and dominates the finish, with hints of hops and dark caramel working through.

Medium-bodied and with carbonation that falls just short of moderate, it's spot-on for what you'd hope for with this style. While some of the components of the beer come across as syrupy, the beer itself is not.

Thoughts - American barleywine is still the call, although the chocolate character is surprisingly assertive and dry. I guess it could be some sort of offshoot like an American Imperial Amber or American Imperial Brown - brown being more likely than amber with the chocolate presence - but American barleywine is the sort of obvious guess based on the sensory experience.

Overall, I can't say I love this one. Admittedly, I'm not a huge fan of American barleywines to begin with, but the malt profile isn't developed particularly well, and the alcohol heat on the palate exceeds what I'd want to see, even for a 15.6% ABV beer. All told, that leaves a syrupy hop presence and alcohol heat that goes a bit too hard on the palate to drive the beer forward.

Lacking anything to steer me in another direction, I'm going to guess it's an American barleywine.

Score: 3.25


And the reveal - Hoppin' Frog's Re-Re-Pete 3X, an American Imperial Brown Ale. I guess I was on to something with picking up on that chocolate note that indicated a slightly darker malt bill than a barleywine. Thanks again, @Ozzylizard, interesting one to taste through and mentally process!

 

Couldn't agree more with this. I have a group of friends that all live perilously close to an excellent bar in Redwood City that has a great selection of both American craft and German beers, and when they'd get kegs of fresh Schlenkerla Helles, it was a pleasure to sit on their patio and crush liters of it through the afternoon.

 

I'll be topping the evening with something big and boozy from @FBarber's wonderful box of midwestern goodness. I' honestly hoping it'll help convince my body that going back to bed just a couple of hours after waking up is an acceptable course of action.
In consulting with the fates, it seemed that the appropriate solution was to declare fully and honestly: ...I'm a Bird.

I am. Or at least, I'm named after one. My parents liked the name Kestrel for several reasons: my Dad's name is Hawk, and at the time the kestrel was also known as the sparrow-hawk (it's actually a falcon, not a hawk). My mom also thought it was a beautiful bird (it is), and a beautiful name, and she figured she could call me Kestrel whether I came out male or female or whatever. So... I'm a Bird.
We also took a little in-state-mini-roadtrip this past week to celebrate our anniversary a little early. There's a small town in eastern Washington that is known for the migratory bluebirds that live there in the spring and summer (Bickleton), and we drove through there as part of our trip down to the Columbia River Gorge. While in Bickleton, we also saw a kestrel, and, don't tell anyone, but I think that actually might be the first time I've seen my namesake live and in person. Anyway, ...I'm a Bird.



So I have to admit: I was a little wary of this one, for two reasons primarily. One: I am admittedly biased against GI since the buyout. And two: I'm not really into the pastry stouts, especially when the adjunct flavours they list are explicitly artificial flavouring.
Yes, I am aware of how much of a pretentious hipster I sound at this point, but whatever. In the immortal words of one of our noble fighting seamen: I yam, what I yam. We're all posting pictures and writing about the beer we're drinking, so, whatever, I'll take those stones, in the name of Wilbur Mercer.

This sounds like I'm about to be all negative, doesn't it?

SUPRISE TWIST DEVELOPMENT THAT'S NOT REALLY THAT MUCH OF A SURPRISE!

This is really fucking tasty.



I cracked into the can and started pouring, and immediately an aroma of fake strawberry wafted up, reminiscient of cheap neapolitan ice cream. Complete with the hints of chocolate and vanilla. So I was initially concerned. In the time it took to take the picture, get back to the computer, and start typing things up, however, this fake strawberry impression had faded a bit, giving way to a delightful melange of creamy coffee, dark fudge, and a thick sweet element that I can only attribute to the panela sugar, as I'm not totally familiar with that particular sweetner.
Interestingly* enough, as it warms further, the rich deep notes I got so excited about fade further into the background, and the 'strawberry' comes out a little more.

Taste, thankfully, leans much more into the chocolate and coffee side of the profile. Rich espresso and dark chocolate with fudge ribbons draped throughout. There's a blush of spice that almost reminds me of barrel character, though I do not believe this one spent any time in barrels. The strawberry mostly manifests at this point as a sweet counterpoint to all the richness layered within, and mostly as a memory carried on the wind of hte finish.

The body. This is where it really comes into its own. Rich, velvety, luxuriant, and smoothe. This feels like silk draperies and plush comfort. Yes, please.



In conclusion: I ended up liking this one way more than I expected. I listed the reasons I was wary, and then later the reasons how it exceeded those prejudiced-ass expectations. While the sweetness does start to creep up as it warms, it still manages to lean much further into the luxuriant dark malts and come across as more rich and smoothe than sweet, which appeals to me. And that hint of 'strawberry' that lingers actually compliments this fake strawberry cheesecake that my partner's friend gave us, and elevates the dessert beyond what it was on its own. So bonus!!

Thanks Frank for sending this along and proving my preconceived notions wrong, or at least misguided.

Cheers!

 

Poured into a 16 oz Nordic pint glass, canned 4/8/21. Pours an attractive orange yellow with a finger plus sticky white head that leaves thick streaks of lace with excellent retention. 4.25

Aroma melon, mandarin, peach, apricot, and some grapefruit rind. 4

Taste follows honeydew, mandarin, peach, apricot, and pink grapefruit well balanced with just a little bitterness in the finish. 4

Mouthfeel is bigger than most, a tad sticky but not dry, rather soft carbonation, and at 8.4% it goes down very easy. 4.25

Overall I am enjoying this one. I would recommend giving it a shot. 4

 

Untitled Art Mixed Berry Sour a La Mode.



Weird beer but kinda tasty. My first post on this thread. 95% of the beers I post on WBAYDN are new beers to me.

 

Classic American Pilsner

Those would be good questions to ask my wife (but she is not here at the moment). We have cold winters and it always comes back so...

Cheers!

 

Poured from a 16oz can into a shaker pint

Look: Hazy orange juice with a nice thick white head

Smell: Papaya, rotten pineapple, peach, and apricot. Big and fruity.

Taste: Like the nose. The attack is all papaya that last into the body with notes of bruised pineapple, mango, peach and a bit of honey.

Feel: Thick. This is one of the bigger mouthfeels I’ve had in a NEIPA. Medium bitterness but a fruity bitterness. Medium alcohol. Soft carbonation.

Overall: A tasty NEIPA. This body was pretty wild on this one and I liked the blend of hops. Worth checking out for sure.

4 over all

cheer to the weekend everybody!

 

You didn't receive the memo!?!

Damn USPS is so slow these days.

Cheers!

 

Froot Camp: Strawberry Banana by Weldwerks. I really wanted to love this. But just too sweet with no sour balance.
It came as advertised except for that. It had the look, feel, and taste of a smoothie bar smoothie.

I received two in my Tavour box. And I am seriously considering letting the second go a little flat (it wouldn’t take much) and blending it up with some protein powder.

Don’t get me wrong, I chugged it down. But I didn’t feel like I drank a beer. And I enjoy thick and fruity. The can is definitely pretty.

 

“This is by far the best canned beer I’ve had from Bierstadt”

Can you expand on that statement? Were other canned beers severely lacking (perhaps compared to draft)?

 

Time for more new beer. Interesting that the Scottish angle has been following me of late...



Poured from the can into a nonic(k) pint glass. Cute dog!

Real nice body color. Hints nearly copper amber red, but with more of a chestnut color mixing in, somewhere in between the two which is real nice. Definitely a body color shade I don't come across often. Fairly clear, real nice crawling slow pinhead to fine lifts of bubbles, all meeting to a creamy forming off white head. Head is an almost vanilla like yellow and a touch of lacing in the mix here and there. Very nice looking brew.

Nose has a mild sensing caramel, maybe a touch of spice but mostly a simple soft caramel and a good sensing vanilla flavor. Floral/herbality not so much even with added heather tips. Real good creamy character, but definitely feels somewhat out of style.

Palate is a nice mix of varied flavors. Cool almost menthol sensing, but a bit of spicy caramel then a real nice vanilla and biscuit cookie dough flavor in the mid palate. Finishes with real creamy milk and vanilla, biscuit like hinting malt and cookie, with a strawberry classic fruity ester in the mix which is a nice compliment. There's almost a bit of hop bite to this which seems to come in a mint form but is at least subtle.

There's a lot going on here, and it's a bit all over the place, but in a good way. To style with a lot of playful touches, makes for a good malty adaptation.

look: 4.25 | smell: 4 | taste: 4 | feel: 4 | overall: 4 | Final score 4.02/5

Cheers!!