New Beer Weekend #46

Yeah yeah. I can’t edit this post nor can I read Gothic Script

 

Eichhörnchen Bräu - Into The Hops

New England IPA with Galaxy and Mosaic hops, from Germany (5.9%).



Pours a hazy, bright orange coloration with a medium, fluffy head. Smells of light biscuity malt and tropival/citrus hops, with notes of passion fruit and orange.

Taste is a good balance of light biscuity malt and fruity, juicy, slightly resinous hops, with notes of passion fruit, mango and orange, with just a hint of pine as well. Finishes with a light bitterness and some passion fruit and orange lingering in the aftertaste. Soft mouthfeel with a medium body and carbonation.

This makes for a very solid New England IPA that has all the hallmarks of the style, being hazy, juicy and having a soft mouthfeel. The Galaxy hops are also coming through nicely here, with a pretty distinct passion fruit presence that is backed up by some zesty citrus and the merest hint of piney bitterness. While it could still be a bit more juicy and softer in mouthfeel, it's certainly an enjoyable example of the style that goes down smoothly.

Currently listening to: The Stone Roses - Ten Storey Love Song.

 

Ale-Mania - Old School

East Coast IPA with Columbus, Cascade, Centennial and Simcoe hops, from Germany (6.9%).



Pours a cloudy, dark, reddish amber coloration with a large, creamy head. Smells of bready, caramel malt and resinous, citrus hops, with notes of grapefruit and pine.

Taste is an excellent balance of bready, caramel malt and bitter, resinous, slightly fruity. spicy and herbal hops, with citrus notes of grapefruit and distinct resinous pine, as well as just a hint of peppery spice, licorice and herbal accents. Finishes with a medium/strong bitterness and some grapefruit, pine and black pepper lingering in the aftertaste. Smooth mouthfeel with a medium body and carbonation.

This makes for a terrific East Coast IPA with a very solid, sweet'ish caramel malt backbone balanced very nicely against some bitter, quite resinous hops with some great herbal and spicy accents that provide a bit of a certain edge to this in addition to the resinous bitterness. While it could still be a bit more bitter for my personal taste, those resinous, spicy hops really shine here, making for a very enjoyable and indeed rather old school flavor profile in combination with the sweet'ish caramel malts.

Overall, this beer is not called Old School for nothing and really captures the spirit of those, unfortunately long gone, IPAs of yore. I really wish more German breweries would be making beers like this, I could drink this all day. I'm also absolutely loving the label art here, great Simpsons reference poking fun at those hazy IPAs.

Currently listening to: The Thermals - Power Doesn't Run on Nothing.

 

Good morning, Weekenders! Or, rather, good afternoon / early evening, but I took a long nap today, so it kind of feels like morning again.

My first new beer of the weekend is DuClaw's Unicorn Farts, a sour ale with edible glitter, inspired by a particular doughnut and made in collaboration with that doughnut's maker.



DuClaw strikes me as "idea men" in this business: they come up with a lot of beers that sound great on paper, but the execution is out of line with their marketing (see: virtually the entire PastryArchy series). This one is no exception.

Normally, I'd say glitter isn't something I want to see in my beer, but if you're going to make it a point of your advertising, you should come through. I shouldn't have to work for my glitter - wipe away the condensation; get the lighting just right; swirl the glass a few times - but I do (and it's not at all visible in the picture, really).

As for the flavor and feel, you'd think a doughnut-inspired beer made with actual cereal would be along the lines of a pastry sour - sweet and smooth, maybe slightly creamy - but you'd be wrong there as well. It actually reminds me of a Radler or a Berliner Weisse with a bit of fruit syrup: it's light and crushable, and only slightly sweet. The emphasis is on the fruity tartness. It would make a hell of a thirst-quenching summer crusher.

Is it good? Yes. I'm definitely enjoying it. But is it remotely what I expected, based on the can? Well, it's a fruity sour ale, so it is at least within the ballpark, but it's another example of DuClaw coming up with a beer that is good but not great.

https://www.beeradvocate.com/beer/profile/1924/396791/
3.85 / -1.5%

Should be back soon with another new beer - and likely another by DuClaw, coincidentally.

 

I'm back with another DuClaw offering, this one almost destined to disappoint, given their track record: the latest PastryArchy, Oatmeal Creampie Imperial Honey Wheat Ale, an 8% ABV "imperial honey wheat ale brewed with brown sugar, molasses, cinnamon, clove, ginger, and vanilla bean."



Almost every PastryArchy porter/stout has disappointed me: they're way too thin ("pastry" is in the name, FFS!), and they rarely deliver on the promised flavor.

This one is no exception, sadly - and it might be the worst I've tried, but only because the spices are so out of balance that they overpower everything else.

At times, both on the nose and the palate, you can almost get a hint of the eponymous cookie - almost. Sadly, the ginger, cinnamon, and clove are absolutely dominant. They overpower the nose, and they particularly overpower the palate. It's similar to when brewers take "pumpkin ale" and turn it into a "pumpkin spice ale."

You'd expect some wonderfully balanced sweetness here, given the high ABV (8%), vanilla bean, molasses, and brown sugar (which I assume was added post-fermentation, based on the goal here of replicating an oatmeal cream pie cookie), but you'd be very, very wrong.

If they dialed the spice level way back - and I mean like 50-75% way back - this might be really enjoyable, but as it is, it's at best drinkable - the very definition of "okay." I'll be able to finish my 8 ounces, but I'm very glad I only bought one can.

https://www.beeradvocate.com/beer/profile/1924/541713/
3.29 / -11.3%

OK, that's it: no more DuClaw this weekend.

 

Lambiek Fabriek - Oude Kriek Jart-Elle

Fruit Lambic with cherries, from Belgium (6%).



Pours an almost clear, deep crimson coloration with a large, frothy, quickly receding head and slightly visible carbonation. Smells of light wheaty malt and sweet and tart black cherries, with just a hint of musty funk and oak also coming through.

Taste is great balance of light wheaty malt, a distinct sweet and tart black cherry character and hints of estery fruit and spice, with accents of green apple and clove, musty funk and oak, as well as a good, underlying acidity. Finishes rather dry, with a medium acidity and some black cherry and oak lingering in the aftertaste. Effervescent mouthfeel with a medium body and carbonation.

Like everything that I've had by Lambiek Fabriek so far, this makes for a lovely Lambic that is perhaps just a little lacking in depth and complexity, but quite enjoyable nonetheless. In fact, this is probably my favorite from them so far. It's got some really vibrant black cherry notes to it, along with quite a dry character and some light musty funk and oak also coming through, with the very slighlty tannic oak standing out a little more here.

Overall, this makes for a very enjoyable Kriek that's quite well-balanced, dry in character and with a vibrant cherry and lighter oak and funk presence to it, with a very nice look and effervescent carbonation as well.

Currently listening to: Neutral Milk Hotel - Gardenhead/Leave Me Alone.

 

Wasting no time getting to my next beer. Unfortunately, this one is a fruited milkshake IIPA from Hubbard's Cave, so this could really go either way.



We were just discussing how Hubbard's Cave is inconsistent: when they're dialed in, their IPAs and stouts are excellent, but when they're off ... well, it's a hefty price tag to pay for a four-pack of beer that doesn't deliver.

As a side note, they also produce such a huge variety of beers, based on taking a base beer (such as Milk of the Murder Hornet, Pot de Creme, or French Toast), and producing a series of theme and variations (to borrow from classical music parlance). Consequently, I had no idea how jacked their page was in the database in terms of names and styles, and just spent a good 20 minutes cleaning it up.

Milk of the Murder Hornet is a series of milkshake IPAs. I picked this particular one up because it's a badass name, and I'm a sucker for guava. Clocks in at 8.5% ABV, and as you can see, it's hazy and pulpy in a way that would make Tired Hands proud.

Does it, however, deliver?

In a word: YES!*

(*Must like guava.)

If my hometown has an official fruit, it's cocaine. If it has two official fruits, it's cocaine and cigars. Three? Add Cafecito. (I know none of these are fruits.)

But if it had a fourth official fruit? That would be guava.

Sure enough, the nose is swimming on the nose, with that inimitable blend of sweetness, light tartness, and subtle earthy pungency. This translates well to the palate, while still allowing room for the passionfruit and some nice bright green herbal notes from the hops.

Mouthfeel is a touch watery, lively, and very smooth. Dangerously drinkable for 8.5% ABV; seriously, this thing goes down super easily. You could easily find yourself crushing away a 16 ounce can thinking it's like a sub-6% fruited ale, pour another, only to find out, WHOOPS!

I like this. This is hands down the best beer I've had today, and while there's room for improvement, I'm definitely not regretting the purchase - in fact, a four pack of this one is warranted.

https://www.beeradvocate.com/beer/profile/42755/552828/?ba=Roguer#review
4.11 / added to database

Cheers!

 

My first new beer. Don’t Drink Barleywine. Pours a nice dark brown with tan head. Nose is burnt toffee, dark chocolate, red grapes, pine, leather, and figs. Really nice! Kind of a hybrid between American and English barlewine to me. Taste follows the nose. Toffee, leather, pine needles, sweet candy, raisins, nuts, and figs. Overall really good! 4.25