New Beer Weekend #54

Continuing my survey of German Pilseners during the summer heat of Florida: while this one from Veltins is refreshing and thirst-quenching, it does have some rough edges, as it begins with a solid bitterness only to become rather sweet in the mouthfeel. It reminds me somewhat of a mass-produced beer. Well, the can label is certainly classy and elegant, just not the beer. It is still good for a warm evening.

 

Good evening NBW
I'm still working through my North and South Carolina vacation haul. Starting tonight with Green Man Porter


12oz undated can purchased at the brewery 3 weeks ago poured into a shaker pint at fridge temp 6% ABV 40 IBU. The beer pours mostly bright medium brown in color with tan colored head. The head recedes to a thin ring and single layer of tiny bubbles. The aroma is mild with roasted and toasted malt notes and a hint of earthiness. The taste is semisweet toasted malt with a hint of roast malt, bittersweet chocolate and a tangy, medium bitter, earthy hop finish. The mouthfeel is medium bodied with average carbonation and a mostly dry finish. Overall, very good to excellent English porter.

I'm tempted to say if Green Man were available locally, I would go through a bit of their ESB, IPA and this beer. However, I can't tell you the last time I picked up Founder's Porter which available everywhere here.

My wife thought these half pint shakers were "too cute" and bought me a pair. Not sure how often I'll use them. I tend toward high volume more than low...

Cheers all and enjoy the new beer in your glass today!

 

This next one is from a local brewery I’ve grown to love. I’ve never had this one though, their flagship ipa.

Swoosh - Bonesaw Brewing



Pours a very opaque pale with shades of yellow. Really nice fluffy thick initial head, settles to a nice thin layer of white froth, some minor lacing.

Aroma is candied oranges, peaches, and apricot. It has the slightest hint of dank on the end.

Taste is mostly on the citrus side of the aroma notes, along with a little bit of the apricot. It actually has a nice soft malt balance to it too.

Mouthfeel is medium, nice clean finishing ipa. It finishes pretty dry and has a nice noticeable bitterness to it.

I’m enjoying this beer and will buy again. It’s one of those few new ipas that has one foot in the past and one in the present. Really tasty.

For my fellow fans, thank god we have these four back in our lives…



There is finally light again!

 

New Beer #2
I picked up a single just to see if I need to go back for a four pack. Founder's Bottle Shop Series Highball Drifter


12oz bottled 07.07.21 (24 days ago) poured into a oversized shifter at fridge temp 11% ABV 25 IBU. The beer pours medium brown in color with mahogany highlights and very light brown head. The head recedes to an irregular ring and a few tiny bubbles. Minimal lacing. The aroma is medium in strength featuring cherry and orange bitters and a hint of barrel. The taste is more of the same with caramel, cherry, orange peel, vanilla and oak barrel. Minimal bitterness. The mouthfeel is medium bodied with just less than medium carbonation and a somewhat dry finish. Overall, very good. More focused on the cherries and orange peel than the barrel, but every enjoyable.

I might just be picking up a four pack tomorrow. Very enjoyable. Cheers all!

 

The beer manager at a store I go to got me to try this. He said it’s his favorite, I said “is it good?” His response “I like it and it’s a hell of a golfing beer.” If I golfed I would agree and I think it describes the beer well, sort of matches your take as well.

 

#2, I like the Dragon’s Milk series, but it mostly seems to fall just a bit short of that “world class” position. I’ve had this in my beer fridge for a while, let’s see where it lands.





4.1/5 rDev +4.1%
look: 4 | smell: 4 | taste: 4.25 | feel: 4 | overall: 4

Pours a murky caramel color with a light tan head that dissipates immediately, the nose has oak, toffee, and stone fruit aromas. Pretty nice.

The toffee and stone fruit flavors are the stars on the taste, and there’s a subtle boozy note to accompany the oak on the back of the palate. Really tasty stuff, but the mouthfeel is a bit on the watery side, which I didn’t expect.

This is worthy of a try, but I wonder if it would improve with a couple of years under its belt. It just seems a smidge ….. small for a 10% ABV beer.

 

Springtime Sipper by. Barrique Brewing and Blending

4.28/5 rDev 0%
look: 4.75 | smell: 4.25 | taste: 4.25 | feel: 4.25 | overall: 4.25

Caged and corked bottle poured into an ipa glass produces a fluffy two finger white crown over a translucent deep amber liquid

Aroma is yeasty tartness , watermelon

Taste is tart, sour patch watermelon

Crisp clean tartness

Good beer

 

New Province Cascadian Colossus West Coast DIPA, 8.7% ABV; 4.15 overall

Pours an effervescent gold with 3 fingers of fluffed up cream colored head. Above average head retention & lacing

S: Breadyness & pine

T: Follows the nose, some grapefruit & dryness as well , plus grassyness up front . Cakeyness, pine, & lime as this warms, plus some woody notes & just a hint of pineapple. Pineapple builds in the finsish, pine & dryness is King

MF: Medium body with moderate carbonation. Body thickens up as this warms, pretty good balance

Pretty darn drinkable & super solid take on OG West DIPA

 

Chilltown pilsner.
...clear amber
... medium bodied with medium carbonation
. Aroma is grain,cereal, toast, malt, floral honey.
...taste is grain,cereal,very slight sweetness, earthy hops.
...overall a nice beer,stays in the middle lane and doesn't stray towards extreme.

 

Good evening NBW, joining in later after enjoying a nice dinner. Today will probably be my only day contributing to the thread as tomorrow night me and the wife are going to see Rise Against! Starting tonight with Dovetail Kölsch, thanks @FBarber!
4.08/5 rDev -1.4%
look: 3.5 | smell: 4.25 | taste: 4 | feel: 4 | overall: 4.25

Thank you FBarber for this
16 oz can poured into a stange

A- A somewhat hazy golden straw with a two finger white head.

S- Wheat, bready malts, earthy, some pear and grape like fruitiness.

T- Bready malts, wheat, earthy, mild grape like fruitiness, hints of lemons.

M- Smooth, dry, light to medium body.

O- A tasty and well done Kölsch, easy to drink with a good balance of flavors.

It’s going to be a Chicago heavy night for me, hoping to get in one more review tonight, cheers!

 

not really... I mean... if I had one... I WOULD!!

If someone wants to SEND ME a real special beer... (HINT HINT!!) yeah that would be cool.

... anyway... I am not bitter.

 

Another new one from 67 Degrees Brewing of scenic Franklin Massachusetts.
Grizzly, an enjoyable American Brown Ale.
Cheers.


3.66/5 rDev 0%
look: 3.25 | smell: 3.5 | taste: 3.75 | feel: 3.75 | overall: 3.75

12-oz. pour at the brewery. Dark amber-brown color, semi-opaque and cloudy. A short lived off-white fizzy head leaves behind broken arches of lacing.

Mild swell, fresh baked bread (wheat and Italian) with herbal/floral hops. In the background, grainy wheat and faint alcohol try to hide. A hint of candy sweetness balanced by toasted bread arrives late.

Neutral taste with low hop bitterness, toasted malt flavor prevents a toffee-like sweetness from building to semi-sweet.
Chocolate and faint instant coffee appear along with baked apple and pear. The finish is long as flavors slowly drop off, toasted malt flavor and hops with a little added bitterness linger on.

Medium-light body with reserved carbonation, soft and smooth feel overall. Great balance of sweet/dry, neutral taste throughout the drink. Lightly hopped yet well flavored without heavy bitterness. Warms well, alcohol is hard to find.

 

well there you have it.. 5000th unique checked in beer.

didn't realize several breweries made their own take on this beer!!!



Poured from the can into a tulip glass.

Cream bright white and whipped up looking head. Looks literally like a dollop of cream. Body color if creates a good contrast, a deep lemon and solid glowing body, giving a look to the beer of total lemon meringue pie colors. The head soups and drips down the sides of the glass with its' whipped lacing and character also. Very neat looking beer.

Interesting aroma. Spiced hints of fruit, and quite tart acidic quality. There's a faint soft vanilla behind this as well which is nice. However, the tartness is borderline medicinal as well unfortunately.

Palate still makes some pleasure. A bit hinting wet, but with a nice fruit exotic quality, and mellow sensing tartness in the mid palate. Interesting that it seems a little too light bodied, as the finish almost has a milky and creamy texture/flavor as well which is very nice. Minimal sourness, which is not a bad thing here.

A pretty straightforward fruited sour, but lacks a good nose.

look: 4.25 | smell: 3.5 | taste: 3.75 | feel: 3.75 | overall: 3.75 |

Cheers!

 

It wasn't that big of a deal, but honestly there will be more.

Speaking of Freemont, I have had very few of their special aged brews, but the few that I have tried I absolutely thought were excellent.

I would love to have more of those beers!! They aren't possible where I am.

SO AS I WAS RE-ITERATING If .. ANY ONE... wants to... SEND ME... tasty BEER!! that's cool too.... hint hint...

....

He's still not bitter about it...

Edit: Interestingly that was a little bit over my 4800th review on BA... would have been neat to have the numbers close though

 

Prairie Just the Juice, Kettle Imperial Pastry Sour ( their description, not mine, but I kind of get it ) with Blood Orange, Vanilla, Mango & Apricot. 7.3% ABV, 4.14 overall

Pours an effervescent & very hazed amber, beige head goes MIA immediately. Very murky, zero head retention & lacing

S: Vanilla, Orange & Apricot

T: Vanilla, mango, dryness, & a touch if sour/tart orange up front. Some orange creamsicle notes mix with mango, tartness & a little pineapple as this warms. Finishes sweet with orange, vanilla & apricot, a little tartness

MF: Fairly chewy in the body with slight carbonation, some acidity & enamel stripping stickyness

Was shocked at how much I liked this. The sweet, tart & acidic play off each other well

 

Barrel-Aged in Bourbon Barrels Old Rasputin XXIII



When I first read about this in Beer News & Releases it was after I'd been indisposed for a prolonged period and the thread was already over a month old so I was worried I was shut out. I called my usual suspects and they had nada. I checked the North Coast finder and they listed two places; one about a mile from me and the other about five miles but it had changed ownership and I was afraid didn't have the same juice with distributors. The first place hadn't even heard of this so that was depressing. A few days later I stopped by the other place and lo and behold! Some distro guys must look out for the place because they regularly sell Old Raspy and Old Stock which has been aged at the brewery.

So here I am! What is most impressive is how well balanced everything is. You can smell the bourbon as soon as the cap is popped but it's not overwhelming. Nor is the booze. Just a rich molasses, licorice and malt blend of perfection. To the cellaring mavens, such as @Beersnake1 who I know has tried this already, are you planning on aging this? Because I don't know if this can be improved upon. But that's why we experiment amirite? Another North Coast success story which never gets old.?