New Beer Weekend #67

I didn't buy the Sam Adams winter pack last year, I think that damned Sam '76 they kept forcing on people was still in it. This year's lineup had five beers I've never had before so I decided to go for it.
The first up is their Winter Lager, which the label informs me is “Festive & Smooth”. Listed in the DB as a 5.6% ABV Bock.

I'm also told “No matter what or how you celebrate, this spiced holiday lager's rich malt notes and accents of cinnamon, ginger, and orange peel are perfect for any festivity”.

The back label is both right & wrong. Winter Lager is kosher so I guess it doesn't matter what I celebrate, but the cinnamon, ginger, and orange are sadly lacking.

Winter lager pours a very nice clear old copper with a moderate, but quickly dissolving, light tan head and the aromas of sweet malts, burnt sugar, and dried orange.
The feel is rich, smooth, and filling with almost no carbonation.
The taste is where Winter Lager disappoints. There are sweet malts, caramel, dried/candied orange peel, but no cinnamon or ginger. There is a hint of what might be ginger heat at the end of the swallow, but you might not even notice if you didn't know it was supposed to be there, but no cinnamon even after reaching room temperature.

Winter Lager is a fine, perfectly acceptable Bock (it goes well with Reubens and I bought a 6), but it feels like it could have been more if SA had been willing to take a risk and oomph up the holiday spices.

3.77/5 rDev -0.3%
look: 4 | smell: 3.75 | taste: 3.75 | feel: 3.75 | overall: 3.75

 

I thought of it as a hoppy stout, but agree that it is an excellent beer. One of my fall favorites and a little bit different than most others.

 

My understanding is that the Dusseldorf breweries may/will dry hop when brewing the Sticke version of the Altbier. If this understanding is correct then since you were drinking the 'regular' Altbier it probably was not dry hopped.

Below is an interesting video tour of Schuhmacher Brewery by Andreas Schumacher. Hopefully you will enjoy watching it as well. In the discussion of hops there is no mention of hop varieties but he does mention the regions where they are grown: Halleratu and Spalt.



Prost!

 

Perhaps the Sam Adams brewers should have taken something from the Sierra Nevada Celebration playbook!?!

Cheers!

 

Great Raft Ramble 2021 West Coast IPA, 8.0% ABV; 4.22 overall

Pours an effervescent honey color with 2+ fingers of ivory colored head. Insane lacing & great head retention

S: Bready, piney & some citrus notes, orange notes when warm
T: Dryness, cakeyness, grapefruit & pine up front. More dry cakeyness, just a hint of caramel as this warms, along with pine & grapefruit. Finishes dry with cakeyness, pineyness & grapefruit

MF: Medium body, moderate carbonation, good balance for the style

This is a classic West Coaster, damn drinkable

 

Drekker BRAAAAAAAAins Mango/Cherry Double Fruit Smoothie Sour, 6.7% ABV. Pours thick gloppy maroon with a 1.6-finger light red head that left puree residue. Nose is cherry, guava, and vanilla. Taste follows, quite sweet, slightly tart. Thick and smooth mouthfeel. Overall outstanding, one of the better variants. BTW, add-junks are not adjuncts!

4.44/5 rDev +6.2%
look: 4.25 | smell: 4.5 | taste: 4.5 | feel: 4 | overall: 4.5

Another real nice 60 degree fall day, then 40's starting tomorrow.

 

So, a few years back the GF and I stopped by Astro Lab brewery in Silver Spring. Some research showed another brewery that was starting to get its own place together. I believe they were brewing some beers (perhaps gypsy style, not sure) while construction was going on. Whether my memory is correct or not, Silver Branch Brewing Company now has a spot in Silver Spring that they hope promotes a feeling of gemütlichkeit.

I think @Smakawhat has reviewed a few beers from this brewery, and I have two for this weekend. The first is from an seasonal/rotating IPA series, it seems, as they have one named for each of the seasons (while I don't see winter listed on the Silver Branch website, neither is this one, yet). This is Cosmic Fall, a Rye IPA.


As I started the pour, I thought two things: this does remind me of fall. And it's kinda ugly. I like the season of fall quite a bit, but it can be kind of amber brown and dreary at times. The beer is a hazy burnt orange with an off white head that rolls through creamy into a sheen atop the debateably ugly liquid. Lacing starts in grainy streams as I take a quick sip.

And a tasty sip it is. The rye comes through nicely and is paired with some citrus notes. The flavors a uplifting, oddly enough. The rye has an earthy breadiness and just the right amount of spice to pair with the tangerine and grapefruit. A bit of pine makes a show in the second half and seems to add to the spice.

Circling back to the nose, it is definitely in play here, bringing more rye bread and orange/tangerine to the experience. So yes, this beer is one of those where the taste follows the nose pretty well. For 7.4%, this beer is a medium-ish beer masquerading as a light brew for Halloween, with moderate carbonation. It's quite refreshing to me.

Glad I went ahead and grabbed a six pack of this, and I am looking forward to the other one I bought. If it's as good as this, I might plan a trip back to the store to grab a couple more six packs. Cheers!

 

Time for another new beer.



Poured from the bottle into a fluted Founders tulip "like" glass.

Once again that classic look of KBS. Deep rich foaming three finger head, fine capped bubbles and a mocha colored look. Deep dark nearly blackened walnut body color with excellent opaque and mirror like shoe polish shine. No complaints here.

Aroma is just rich and decadent. Thick cake like aromas of vanilla, an almost tres leche quality but with more hints of liqueur like fruity booze warmth. Cinnamon sprinkles and a frosted donut like density sweetness that hits like a heart-attack. Coffee and soft warmth, classic kbs graham cracker thickness and chocolate darkness… ugh… just murder good nose.

Palate actually brings some unexpected surprises. Shockingly lacking a bit in barrel roundness and mouthfeel, but the classic flavors are here with a twist. Spicy notes of cinnamon heat, almost chile like in flavor. A mid palate rich in coffee grounds and deep nib like cocoa with a soft creamy sweetness. Finish hits with more spice, shockingly missing that rich classic KBS coating, but still delivers an espresso like pop and bitter dark chocolate buzz.

Always love a KBS variant but sometimes I just miss the classics. First world problems I know...

look: 4.5 | smell: 4.75 | taste: 4.5 | feel: 4 | overall: 4.5 | BA Generated score 4.51/5

Cheers!

 

A few oh man... them and Astrolab..

yeah they are basically... in my backyard and Silver Branch has been around now for quite a bit with quite a foothold but are the youngest.

Was concerned for both those establishments particularly SB when COVID hit. But they are still going on forward.

SB has really got alot of their cans out in the area it's quite impressive, and somewhat Astrolab too.

2 Very different breweries. One is very hop centric, the other is more varied but sticks to some styles that have a broader reach for the public. That's my opinion. No shortage of new brews coming out of both places which I find quite surprising.

 

Speaking of hoppy stouts have you bought storm king yet. It’s back as a one off!

 

Dogfish Head Utopias Barrel-Aged World Wide Stout.



Ebony with a 1/4'' tan head, which fades to a wisp.

Aroma of toffee, molasses, coffee, oak, roast malt.

Tastes of toffee, coffee, molasses, raisins, currants, figs,oak, bourbon, chocolate, roast malt, black malt. Boozy.

Full body, light carbonation. Sweet finish.

Outstanding! Lives up to the hype in my book. Albeit at $12.99 a 12oz. bottle, price is a bit steep.

 

Happy weekend, fellow advocates. My first new beer of the weekend comes to me courtesy of @MacMalt in BIF #14: Ramstein Oktoberfest, from High Point.

16oz can served in a Kane tulip. No date that I see. Received from @MacMalt in BIF #14.

Pours a pretty, clear, amber color with a very small head. A little more head would make this gorgeous. Smell is rich and grainy, moderate toffee and a hint of nuts.

Taste is right along the same lines. Grain tea, honeysuckle sweetness, hints of toffee and nuts. It's delicious.

Mouthfeel is medium, but a bit still. Overall...a bit more carbonation would make this beer a knockout, I think. It's really good as is.

Thank you, @MacMalt!

 

Hear Ye, Hear Ye, all hail Lord Nelson!

Brought to my doorstep from a great BIF’er and even better trader; the myth, the legend @Mbgreg. Thank you so much Mark. It is always a delight to be on the receiving end of one your delicious South Carolina boxes of suds. Now, onto the beer:

Pour: a lovely completely opaque ruby tinged orange. 2 fingers of foamy white head reduces to a beautiful ring, leaving sudsy lacing in its path to the bottom.

aroma: bitter hop, pine, white grape juice, citrus rind, lemon, and earthy grass round out the bill.

flavor: largely follows suit. Initial taste of grape juice, pineapple, and citrus. Bitter/dank hop profile rounds out the bill, finishing pine.

feel: silky smooth, very full, the hop bite is just enough to cut through and make this a crisp and easy drinker.


Overall; I’m giving this a 4.25 out of 5. These Westbrook IPAs continually impress me even in relation to some of the more “hyped” beers I’ve had the pleasure of trying. Thanks again, Mark. This one won’t last long. Cheers.

 

Going in a totally different direction for new beer #2. Fresh hop beers have been nonexistent here in southern Indiana this year. I found out two places about 25 minutes in the opposite direction of work had gotten this in early this week. I went this morning just to see if I could get lucky and grabbed just the second four pack from the case. I guess I know why none of the local stores bother now...

Anyway, Wet Hopped Head Hunter from Fat Head's


16oz CANNED ON 10/07/21 (23 days ago) poured into a Spiegelau IPA glass at fridge temp 7.5% ABV 80 IBU per label. The beer pours bright light orange amber in color with bone colored head. The head builds quickly and settles slowly to a thick cap leaving plenty of lacing. The aroma leaps from the poured beer with candied orange and pine. The taste is semisweet caramel malt with a instant hit of grassy, piney citrus. The bitterness is big and persists from the of the drink well past the swallow. The mouthfeel is medium bodied with average carbonation and a mostly dry finish. Overall, excellent.

I managed to find an unusual (for here) variety of beers today including multiple English barleywines, and beers from Italy, Estonia and England. Should make for some interesting NBW entries over the next couple months.

Cheers all!

 

No offense dude, but this reflection makes you look like your avatar!

 

That is too good. I applaud your attention to detail, my friend.

 

We get some Victory beers here, but I've never seen that one

 

Well, this is a little embarrassing. The video of Andreas Schumacher is actually for Uerige Brewery. I was 'hood winked' by his last name into thinking he brewed for Schumacher brewery.

So, in the immortal words of Emily Litella: