New Beer Weekend #53

Brew 5000 from Fremont. Chillin' out with the kids, watching Animaniacs.

22oz bottle served in a snulip. Date on the label is April 1st 2021.

Pours a deep brown, somewhat murky, with a tiny to non-existent head and little visible carbonation. Smell is a lot of dark dried fruit -- definite booze, some oak.

Taste is very sweet, lots of raisins and dates. Strong date flavor. Some syrupy flavor somewhere between molasses and maple, some tea flavor.

Mouthfeel is thick, almost chewy, but not sticky -- pretty nice. Overall, good, but dominated by that date/syrupy flavor.

 

#2, this is my first beer from this brewery (Humble Forager). It won’t be my last.





4.44/5 rDev +4%
look: 4.25 | smell: 4.5 | taste: 4.5 | feel: 4.5 | overall: 4.25

Pours onyx black with a minimal dark tan head that heads for the hills almost immediately. The nose is really heavy on the vanilla beans and Indian cocoa nibs, with maybe a smidge of the coconut and almond.

The coconut and almond are more pronounced on the taste, but that interplay between the Indian cocoa and the vanilla beans is what makes this beer for me. It’s definitely a pastry stout, though it’s surprisingly boozy, which is not usually the case with this style.

The mouthfeel is full and a bit creamy, as expected. This is my first beer from this brewery - I’ll be back for more.

 

@lordofthewiens, good to see your name on the open! It's been awhile.

I'm staying with the strictly local theme again this week, with another beer from Hammerheart (the last beer from them I reviewed was for NBW on July 4th).

Hammerheart is (was?) a north Twin Cities metro brewer specializing in Nordic/Celtic style smoked beers. They recently announced they are going to shut down their Lino Lakes brewery, use a contract brewer for their beer in distribution, and relocate / restart in a small northern Minnesota town as a local brewpub. So, while they haven't gone out of business, technically, the exact form in which they continue is still unknown to Minnesota beer geekdom.

I've review two of their beers previously, both of which were a bit of outlier styles from their central theme.

Today I will be trying one of their beers that should be right in their wheelhouse. It is a beer that the brewer says is in the traditional Stjørdalsøl style.

Brewer's notes:
Stjørdalsøl is a rare beer style named after its place of origin, Stjørdal Kommune in Norway. This beer was crafted with custom alderwood smoked malt, run through juniper boughs, and fermented with native Norwegian yeast strain.

Hammerheart Stjørdal Smoked Farmhouse Ale
ABV: 7.0%
IBU: NA



This beer smells of campfire and fruit, but the campfire dominates.

Hazy burnt orange color with moderate carbonation. Tall head, thick and white, with excellent retention and heavy lacing.

The taste is likewise dominated by the campfire smokiness. Behind that are a mixture of fruit and malt flavors. A noticeable earthiness and a moderate bitterness comes along in the middle, carrying through to the finish. Perhaps I do pick up hints of the "juniper boughs" the brewer mentions, but it is subtle (or perhaps even subliminal). The aftertaste is smoky, earthy, and moderately bitter, with all flavors lingering in the mouth. The finish is not exactly dry, but kind of smoky-earthy sticky.

The mouth feel has a moderate to thin body, with good carbonation.

Stjørdalsøl is not a style of beer I know anything about, so I won't even attempt to rate to style. I'll just rate it to my enjoyment.

I did enjoy the beer. I liked the campfire smokiness. Even though it was obvious and dominant, it was not overbearing or meaty. And, it did grow a bit tiresome before I finished the beer.

I would have enjoyed it more along with a meal instead of as a mid-afternoon beer tasting. The remaining 3 from the 4-pack I'll be sure to have them with a meal. I think this beer would pair quite well with a steak from the grill, for example.

Since I am skeptical that the original Hammerheart smoked beers will remain the same through contract brewing, I am glad I was able to find a few of their smoked beers remaining in the cooler at my local liquor store.

L: 4.0 | S: 4.25 | T: 3.75 | F: 3.75 | O: 3.75 | Rating: 3.89

 

Good evening NBW, picked up some barrel aged sours from Dogfish Head to explore. First up in Solera No. 1.
4.13/5 rDev -2.1%
look: 4 | smell: 4 | taste: 4.25 | feel: 4.25 | overall: 4

375 ml bottle poured into a snifter

A- A fairly clear golden copper with a small white head.

S- Sour, light fruits, oak, touch of grains, mild brett funk, some white wine.

T- Sour, lemons, light fruits, hints of pears, oak, some white wine, earthy brett funk.

M- Smooth, light body.

O- A nice wild ale, very sour. Kind of reminds me of Festina Lente without the fruit.

Cheers!

 

Oh yeah, people here love getting Buckeyes! One of my former co-workers had some Buckeye trees in her backyard so she'd always get the nuts and bring them in for the people at work to get as many as we wanted. She probably should have made necklaces with them and sold them outside of the OSU football games, could have made quite a few dollars by doing so!

 

I’ll catch up with the thread when I get home later this evening, but want to thank @lordofthewiens fir kicking things off this weekend before diving in.

First beer is also my first trip to Alarmist since the COVID lockdowns, when at least 50 CPS teachers were celebrating the school closures.

Alarmist Pantless with Cryo Pop Hops.



Brewer Notes: This is a cask variant using Cryo Hops of their Pantless year round American Pale Ale beer. No ABV lusted, 6.0% is the standard ABV version.

Appearance: 20 oz imperial pint from a cask, tan golden pour, lightly hazy, creamy white head lingers for a few minutes before leaving generous lacing. 3.75

Aroma: Tropical fruit leads, pineapple, grapefruit, pine. 3.75

Taste: Consistent with aroma, though bolder in strength. Grapefruit pineapple, mango, citrus. Very nice, sweetness balanced well by a co sister bitterness. Very flavorful cask. 4.25

Mouthfeel: Medium creamy full body, no carbonation with the cask, dry and bitter overall, the sweetness tingles throughout. Nice and easy drinking. 4.25

Overall: This is a solid cask pour, full flavor and body, tropical balance balanced by a pleasant bitterness, overall very enjoyable. 4.25

Will cone back with one or two more tonight from here. Cheers!

 

Back for another New Beer weekend. Atrial Rubicite from Jester King. This wild ale was delicious. Pours clear red. Taste of really fruity raspberry jam with a mild tartness to it. The description says it has a blackberry chapstick taste to it and I can taste it now. Easy 5/5 for me. Need to find another bottle of this quick

 

I've been in the mood for a nice Vienna Lager lately. I ended up passing the Von Trapp mixed pack with their Vienna, Helles, Pilsner and Kolsch (limited, apparently) and I said why hell yes, just what I am looking for!

The new to me beer is the Kolsch Style Ale - 5.0%, 28 IBU, BB 11/18/21. Pours a nice yellow color with a slight haze. Generous head, smell is the usual and inviting. Taste is damn near perfect and everything plays well with each other...has that Ale but yet still kind of a Lager taste that I really enjoy with these beers. Prost!

 

Welcome back to the thread @bluejacket74 and congratulations on your first Dovetail @WunderLlama , hope you get a chance to try all of their great brews.

This is the second and final entry for today, if I order a third it will be the great cask pour I had earlier.

Alarmist Toke



Brewer Notes: Bamberg Style Helles. 4.2% ABV, $6.50 pint poured into a Beecher glass.

Toke, a Bamberg-style Helles Lager, opens with the crispness before progressing into notes of toasted cherrywood, and slight brown sugar sweetness. This beer does not contain…well, you know. But it’d be a lot cooler if it did.

Appearance: Clear faint straw base, light carbonation, creamy full bright white creamy head, faint carbonation. 3.5

Aroma: Nice smokey malt aroma, very pleasant, backed by a light cinnamon sweetness. Strong and pleasant. 4.0

Taste: Bold pleasant smokey malt, meaty, balanced by a sweet cinnamon and brown sugar. The balance works well, very well, nicely balanced. 4.5

Mouthfeel: Thin to medium body, lightly syrupy, light carbonation, smokey, lightly dry, sweetness and smokey malt provide perfect balance, typically don’t like sweetness but this is great blend. Light and easy drinking, clean finish. 4.25

Overall: This is a solid smokey Helles lager. Light and easy drinking, bursting with wonderful flavor. Cinnamon brown sugar sweetness and smokiness malt makes for a great beer or breakfast. Well done as usual Alarmist!! 4.5

About 50 just waltzed in here the past few minutes so that’s my cue to finish this and head home.

Cheers!

 

As a caveat, I'm not a summer person AT ALL. Every year at the beginning of June I start counting the days to September. Even if its hot then at least the days are short enough that it can only get so hot. So I was gonna blow today off except being overcast kept my attic (stereo location) semi habitable so here I am.

Cherry Bomb! - Prairie Artisan Ales



4.21/5 rDev +0.2%
look: 4 | smell: 4.25 | taste: 4.25 | feel: 4 | overall: 4.25

12 ounce bottle dated 4/11/2011 poured into a DFH tulip. Inky brown Bomb body topped by a medium dark tan head that disappeared almost instantly. Cherry is very forward in the smell along with malts, cinnamon, chocolate, chilis and vanilla. Taste follows the nose except for the cinnamon. Booze is incredibly well hidden. I'm used to Prairie imperial stouts being extremely balanced but this takes it to a new level with the caveat that the cherry is alone at the top. Feel is appropriately smooth with there being no chewy factor; not sure if that's bad or good but it doesn't bother me. Another quality addition to the Prairie Bomb! lineup worthy of sampling.

 

Ozark Beer Co. Driftwood IPA, 6.3% ABV, 3.73 overall

Pours a hazy gold with 3 fingers of pearl colored head. Nice head retention & better lacing

S: Bready, nectarine

T: Tangerine, lime, dryness & pine, and just a little sour orange up front. Pine, dryness & sour orange as this warms. Finishes powdery dry with tangerine & woody hops

MF: Medium body, creamy carbonation, decent balance

Solid IPA that is plenty drinkable, but not that interesting. Had it at the brewery on draft, passed on it in cans until I saw a single. Old school, just not quite in my sweet spot. Maybe if the nose would've shown up?

 

Still over in Paradise?

 

I relish Summer, less & less. Living South of I-70 probably has something to do with that, but but not digging hot & sticky in any locale these days.

The Wife & I are talking about taking our boys over to Thailand ( they are both adopted from there ) & we are fairly sure we will melt in the heat this trip

 

Still as work locations go...