New Beer Weekend #44

Sadly, I quickly moved on to another new brew, as I needed something to cleanse my palate.


Hubbard's Cave French Toast imperial stout with cinnamon, maple syrup, vanilla, and lactose
12% ABV


Quick side story. For Mother's Day, I took my partner out to brunch. We are both fully vaccinated, and I had just been authorized to go out to restaurants and bars again (responsibly). We picked a favorite of hers, an Irish pub with two locations: "downtown" and on the beach. We couldn't get a reservation for the latter (her normal spot back when she lived down there), but we could for the former.

She wanted very few things: bottomless mimosas and french toast.

They had the former (my girl finished off the bottle of champagne by herself), but not the latter.

Fast forward to this morning, and we grabbed some brunch at the well-known chain that rhymes with Backer Crarrel. While the sourdough French Toast is a nice accent, it was lacking in cinnamon and overall toastiness; it lacked the oomph you're really looking for.

She finally got her French Toast, but it was a bit of a dud. Not bad, but not amazing.

Will this beer also be: "not bad, but not amazing?"

Well, technically, yes ... but that's not doing it justice.

On the nose, this beer smells more like French Toast than the brunch plate she got this morning, by a mile. It's awesome. It truly does smell like the eponymous dessert.

On the palate, if that's what you're looking for, you're going to leave a little disappointed - but then, that's an unfair expectation (admittedly, one set up by the beer itself, given the nose). It's a sweet dessert-like stout, and it's really damn good. It's just not exactly French Toast, and the nose had me super stoked.

(FWIW, my partner agreed: the nose is 100% what she wanted out of the actual breakfast item, but the flavor, while quite delicious, was nonetheless a bit of a disappointment.)

Really good? Hell yes. Worth the price? Debatable. Glad I bought it? Oh, definitely!

https://www.beeradvocate.com/beer/profile/42755/346542/?ba=Roguer#review
4.09 / -5.8%

Cheers!

 

Fuerst Wiacek - Long Tooth

New England IPA with Mosaic and Loral hops, from Germany (6.8%).



Pours a hazy, orange coloration with a medium, fluffy head. Smells of light biscuity malt and citrus/tropical/berry hops, with notes of orange, mango and blueberry, with just a hint of pine.

Taste is an excellent balance of light biscuity malt and fruity, juicy, slightly resinous, floral and grassy hops, with citrus, tropical and berry notes of orange, mango and blueberry, as well as just a hint of pine. Finishes with a light/medium bitterness and some orange, mango and blueberry lingering in the aftertaste. Soft mouthfeel with a medium body and carbonation.

While I'm not a huge fan of Loral hops, they don't seem to come through all that much, except for some light floral and grassy accents, while the Mosaic really shines through beautifully here with all its different nuances of citrus, tropical, berry and resinous notes, with the blueberry being particularly noticeable, which is not always the case with Mosaic. There's a bit of a mild hop burn in the finish, but it's really not too bad, while this has a rather nice mouthfeel to it as well.

Currently listening to: Rage Against the Machine - Township Rebellion.

 

Old Nation Brewing Co. -- 70+ (West coast IPA)



4.04/5 rDev +3.9%
look: 4.25 | smell: 4 | taste: 4 | feel: 4.25 | overall: 4

Solid and clear medium amber body; moderate and lively carbonation; very dense and creamy head, white and sticky inside the glass; sticky veils of foam cling to the glass. Semi-sweet cereal grain scent; pine resin and spicy hop notes. Well-balanced taste combining quiet and subtle malt base with a moderate to bold hop bitterness; pine-like and herbal. Medium body; a bit crisp with a very subtle coarseness; semi-dry mouthfeel overall

70+ comes across as a rock-solid, old school west coast-styled IPA. It exudes balance and depth with an all-around deliciousness. A well-crafted and very satisfying IPA.

Served at 55° F. Looks like canning date of 04/21/21.

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It's been a long time having an Old Nation beer, but being a west coast IPA, I just had to try it.

I wasn't disappointed...

 

Second up tonight
Celebrating Italy’s rock band win of Eurovision 71’s Gear shifter a single citra hopped US IPA, part of the Lidl Beer festival so probably £1-1.50/$1.50-$2
Slightly hazy rather than the usual full on fogged up juice pours, plenty of bitter pine on the aroma, Flavour is apple & cracker, some peppery bitterness, more a hoppy bitter with a US slant but amiable imbibing

 

Thanks for the kickoff, @SawDog505. My first new beer of the weekend is Jammy Pants from Great Notion. A tart ale with boysenberry, marionberry, and blueberry. Poured from fridge temp. Pours a nice reddish purple with quickly dissipating pink head. The nose is very powerful - you don't need to get very close to smell the amazing fruit. All the berries come through - it's like a tart rhubarb pie with the boysenberries, marionberries, and blueberries mixed in. I also get some orange creamsicle, maybe a hint of leather. The taste is insanely good. Sweet and tart, with a huge burst of berry flavors. Edging towards a lambic, but not quite as sour. I pick up a bit of lactose, vanilla, and again that orange creamsicle note. There is a slight bitterness on the aftertaste, but otherwise it's generally sweet. This is just an overall enjoyable beer that is both refreshing and incredibly flavorful. Cheers!

look: 4.5 | smell: 4.5 | taste: 4.5 | feel: 4.25 | overall: 4.5

 

Penultimate beer of the night but last Lidl beer Festival beer Drygate Tropes, Tropical IPA.

Good looking beer slightly cloudy, good white head.
Aroma is Lime fizzy vitamin, Flavour is rainbow candy with a slightly sour bitter finish, best body of the beers tonight

 

Pühaste - Extremum Fato Rye Whiskey BA

Rye whiskey barrel-aged Imperial Stout with Ethiopia Beloya coffee, from Estonia (12%).



Pours a pitch-black coloration with a small, creamy, mocha-colored head. Smells of slightly roasted and caramelly malt, some coffee and chocolate, as well a hints of coconut, vanilla, licorice, oak and a certain, slightly odd flowery accent.

Taste is a great balance of slightly roasted and caramelly malt, coffee, chocolate and lighter coconut, vanilla and licorice, as well as hints of peppery spice, stone fruit, bourbon-soaked oak and a certain flowery note. Finishes with a medium bitterness and some coffee, chocolate, coconut and vanilla lingering in the aftertaste. Full mouthfeel with a rich body and light&medium carbonation.

I had very high expectations of this and while it initially left me a little bit disappointed, it kinda grew on me as it warmed. There is this slightly odd flowery presence to this that probably stems from the coffee variety more than anything else, although hops could also play a part here, which is quite unpleasant in the nose, but not nearly as bad on the tongue. Apart from that though, this makes for a rather rich and complex Imperial Stout with a great depth of flavor, as well as a good barrel-presence and full mouthfeel.

I really like the combination of roasted, bitter and spicy notes here, balanced nicely against some sweeter accents, while I could have really done without that certain flowery presence though, which kinda prevents the beer from really coming together for me personally. It still makes for an enjoyable, rich and complex brew, but I kinda wish that a different coffee variety had been used here.

Currently listening to: The Doors - Waiting for the Sun.

 

My next new beer is actually an aged beer. This is 1349 Black Ale, a collaboration between Surly and Lervig out of Norway. This was bottled in 2014. I just found this dusty bottle in a local shop, hence trying it for the first time now. This was brewed with coffee and comes in at 13.49%. Poured from fridge temp. Pours motor oil black with no head. The nose is an intense Russian imperial stout. Wood, licorice, molasses, leather, fire pit, tobacco, and some blackberries. Not getting much coffee on the nose. The taste is really surprising. This is aged, so I have no idea if this flavor is similar to what it was fresh. It's sweet. Maple syrup sweet. Still getting the black licorice and charred wood, but the sweetness eliminates the intensity of the bitter notes. The coffee has completely faded, maybe leading to a slight green pepper taste. That said, this isn't a bad thing at all. Old leather chair comes through after a while. The mouthfeel is thick and creamy with a long aftertaste. Super fun to try. Cheers!

look: 4.5 | smell: 4.25 | taste: 4 | feel: 4.25 | overall: 4.25

 

Last beer of the night, have a homebrew meet tomorrow & I have one kick ass Belgian style quad to take
Finishing on a high, Manchester’s Track Brewery’s Broken Clouds Gold Top Milkshake DIPA
With its cloudy holden body and massive thick white head
Aroma is battery acid lemonade and lime sherbet
Flavour is Irished up mango milkshake