New Beer Weekend #67

I'm going to do a side by side today for the hell of it:

Sixpoint Hyper Beam IIPA with Guava Puree and Passion fruit Natural Flavors - Pours a slightly hazy yellow, generous head. I can pick up some of the fruit in the nose, some hops, and that odd almost medicinal smell I can get with some hazies depending on the hops used. Taste is thin and bland and while a bit flavorful, most of it is all muddled together. I can kind of taste the alcohol in it but at 8% it's pretty well hidden. Okay, but pretty boring. As it warms the fruit really moves to the forefront.

Samuel Adams Reunion IPA Holiday Hoppiness - Pours a hazy orange, generous head. Smell is bizarre, a lot of yeast and some other strange scents. Taste is...even stranger. I don't know what the hell this beer is trying to be but my take is a cross between a hazy, a wheat beer and an old-school IPA. It's not bad but it's not that good either. If I had to pick a redeeming quality it would be that it is crisp and refreshing and ends a bit dry. I am sure this will be another one and done SA beer that fades into obscurity and it's unfortunate that a spot was wasted on this in the holiday pack (but on the bright side you could probably hand this to a non-IPA fan and they would be okay with it).

@officerbill

Edit: which beer do I prefer? Neither TBH. If you want sweeter go with the Sixpoint. If you want a bit more traditional hoppy, go with the SA. But I would recommend picking up something else entirely.

 

Victory Hop Hazer Hazy IPA - unfortunately their seasonal this year is another hazy but this one has an interesting hop bill so I picked up a single. However, I noticed the Mosaic and I am hit or miss with that hop but I do enjoy Citra. Cracked open the bottle and yup, has the onion/garlic/BO smell going on. Pours a hazy-ish yellow with an okay head. Taste is onion/garlic to my palate and I don't get much else (but it is nice and crisp). As it warms it mellows but still meh to me. For the record I enjoy both onion and garlic, just not in my beer. Drinkable? Surely. Something I would want regularly? No. A one and done for me, stats below.

Hop’ Hazer
HAZY IPA
SPELLBOUND BY HAZE
abv: 6.0%
ibu: 40
malt: Pilsner, Flaked Oats
hops: Mosaic, Citra, Citra Cryo, Citra Incognito®, HBC 586
notes: The HOP’HAZER emerges from the winter realms with the perfect antidote: a magical Hazy IPA loaded with Citra Cryo, Citra Incognito®, and HBC 586 that yield electric notes of pineapple, tangerine, citrus, and gooseberry.
https://victorybeer.com/beers/hop-hazer/

 

Dogfish Head Utopias Barrel-aged World Wide Stout Imperial Stout, 17.3% ABV. Pours black with a on-finger head that mostly dissipated before I could get a picture, left no lacing. Nose is brown sugar and dark fruit. Taste is quite complex; dark fruit, brown sugar, roast malt, tobacco, caramel/toffee, chocolate, red wine, moderately sweet, slightly bitter. Sweet aftertaste, leaves sticky lips. Smooth mouthfeel, adequate carbonation. Overall world-wide-class.

4.6/5 rDev +4.1%
look: 4 | smell: 4.5 | taste: 4.75 | feel: 4.25 | overall: 4.75

Had a FOMO attack last night when I heard that it dropped here days ago and might be gone already. Having desired this since it was first released last year,I headed out the door this morning figuring I'd have to hit every liquor store in town and maybe find a bottle. I found several packs at the second store I visited, one of my favorites. Luckily it doesn't suck, since I nabbed two packs. It's less than $9/bottle here.

 

I think this is the 11th new beer I've reviewed that I received from @MacMalt in NBW BIF #14. I remain inundated with beer. I've barely made a dent. I'll continue to review one a day until I have it under control. Which might be next year some time. Uncontrollably generous, Rob.

077XX East Coast Double IPA from Carton.

16oz can served in a Kane tulip. Cannot read the date.

Pours a clear amber-gold with a respectable but restrained head. Smell is a little grain and a lot of pine. Maybe some lemon or grapefruit rind.

Taste is pretty extreme bitterness. Like I haven't tasted in quite some time. Pine and intense grapefruit zest. If I pay attention, there's some sweetness that flashes across the palate before the bitterness strikes. It might be kind of a honey / floral.

Mouthfeel is dry and light. Overall, this is a nice bitter beer.

It's a nice change of pace from the hazy / juicy IPAs I've been drinking -- not a complaint!

 

Happy Halloween, New Beer Swiggers and commentators. My wife is setting up outside for the trick or treaters and I'm safely in the basement bar. But I have to be ready to help at a moment's notice so I won't be drinking anything too heavy. That's fine because I have some great IPAs from @FBarber. First up is Dun Dun Dun, a New England IPA from Hop Butcher in Illinois. It's hopped with Citra, Galaxy, and Amarillo and it's a great example of the style. Highly fruity and delicious. I downed it quickly.

Poured into a Spiegelau IPA glass. It pours an opaque, dirty tangerine color with two fingers of fluffy, milk-white head and heavy lacing. It has a great nose with bright tangerine, pineapple, and lemon. The taste bursts with sweet citrus and tropical fruit. I'm tasting pineapple, orange, and peach, along with lemon and a hint of grapefruit. The Citra and Galaxy hops really shine. The Amarillo provides clean bitterness and adds to the sweet citrus flavor. Its mouth feel is terrific: it's viscous and creamy with pleasant carbonation, and the 7.5% ABV is just right; it's substantive but highly drinkable. Overall, Dun Dun Dun is a juicy, tropical, outstanding New England IPA. It's almost too drinkable!

4.28/5 rDev +0.2%
look: 4.25 | smell: 4.25 | taste: 4.25 | feel: 4.5 | overall: 4.25

Cheers, NBW!

 

Citra Slicker by Bale Breaker- collaboration with Cloudburst

can received in an asteroid strike to my front porch by @snaotheus

Working thru this mother lode of fresh wet hop beers



4.02/5 rDev -3.6%
look: 4.25 | smell: 4 | taste: 4 | feel: 4 | overall: 4

Pint canned on 9.28.21, opened 10.31.21-Halloween!


Brewers notes: Each hop harvest, the big city brewers from Cloudburst Brewing make the trek from downtown Seattle over the Cascades to team up with the farm brewers from Bale Breaker to brew Citra® Slicker Wet Hop IPA, a fresh hop beer that was first brewed in 2014 with then-owner of Elysian Brewing, Dick Cantwell. While it takes the Cloudburst team over two hours to get to Bale Breaker, the hundreds of pounds of wet Citra® hops picked fresh from the fields travel just four minutes from farm to kettle. Heavily dry-hopped, while light in color and body, this beer is all about these fresh, farm-grown hops!


Can poured into a teku from @snaotheus associated with Bif14

Clear golden liquid , active carbonation streams , one finger frothy white foam cap , settles to a pencil thick layer

Aroma is citrus orange , candied orange

Taste is fresh, wet hop, orange citrus, earthy, pine finish

Sudsy mouthfeel , gentle hop nibble on the finish



Good beer, thank you @snaotheus for sharing these fresh hop beers , very much appreciated

 

That is a fugly looking beer

 

https://www.beeradvocate.com/beer/profile/50495/575128/

Tea It Up: Peach Vineyard by Wallenpaupack Brewing, from @Ozzylizard in the recent NBS BIF. A nice drinking brew for sure.

 

This beer is nicknamed "O'Dub." Carton brews a whole slew of variants of this ale with different hops. Each is named for a different zip code. Carton calls them "Dubviants." O'Dub is one of the classic regularly-brewed NJ IPAs, along with Kane's Head High and Over Head. I prefer Over Head slighly over O'Dub but O'Dub holds up better over time.

 

I can't blame you. I almost gagged just looking at the picture. That is one disgusting looking beer.

 

Next up is another New England IPA from @FBarber that I want to drink while it's fresh: Le Jus from Alarmist Brewing in Chicago; it's my first beer from this brewery. It's lighter than the Hop Butcher DIPA I just reviewed. The ABV is 6%. Citra and Mosaic are a basic combination of hops but a joy to drink when done right. There's also a hint of lactose here. It's a very tasty and enjoyable beer. Thank you, Frank!

4.19/5 rDev -2.1%
look: 4.25 | smell: 4 | taste: 4.25 | feel: 4.25 | overall: 4.25

 

For the Sunday half of NBW (or, just NBS for the traditionalists).

Later this evening, as dusk approaches, I'll be sampling the final beer from the Sam Adams Sweater Weather pack, which I saved for Hallowe'en - Samuel Adams Jack-O.

But, since it's still bright and sunny (if a bit cool) and since I'm in from bagging leaves, I'm going for something hopefully refreshing … the final beer from the Utepils pack I bought a bit ago.

Utepils Helles
ABV: 5.1%
IBU: 21



Bright and clear yellow-gold with heavy carbonation rising to a short (and short-lived) white head leaving little or no lacing.

The smell has the typical German lager aroma, bread, slight spice.

The flavor is bready with some floral and spice. Mild bittering in the middle carrying through to the finish and aftertaste. The initial taste is somewhat sweet, but this is moderated throughout such that the finish is actually on the dry side. The flavor is enjoyable with a crisp and refreshing finish. Well brewed with no attempt to "Americanize" the style.

Mouth feel is smooth with a thin body.

Overall, a well done German-style lager.

L: 3.75 | S: 3.75 | T: 4.0 | F: 3.75 | O: 3.75 | Rating: 3.85

 

Oh, that's really cool! Thank you for the explanation (and the beer)!

 

Second new beer of the day is courtesy @WunderLlama, it's a Treehouse IPA named September Sun.

16oz can served in a Mayflower pint glass. Dated 09/14/21. Received as retaliation from @WunderLlama in NBS BIF #14.

Pours a hazy pale yellow with a big, stiff head. Smell is a little herbal, a little dank, somewhat tropical juicy, and kind of piney.

Taste is interesting. Fruity and juicy, but not tropical or citrus. More melon, I think, and maybe some bubble gum. Still get something vaguely herbal. Maybe melon rind.

Mouthfeel is medium and smooth. Very nice beer.

Thank you, Maynard!

 

Guess what? I'm having another Wallenpaupack brew, courtesy @Ozzylizard . NEPA Hoppy Amber is pretty darn tasty.





https://www.beeradvocate.com/beer/profile/50495/566822/?ba=BBThunderbolt#review

 

Cerveza Cito from @2beerdogs.
Blonde Ale brewed with Jamaica(Hibiscus) and Agave.
Pouring a rosey gold with a very large head that lasts and leaves many rings of lacing.
A floral mixture of honey, yeast and malts greet the nose.
Taste follows with light herbal notes from hibiscus. A tiny bit of sweet seems to balance the bitterness from the flowers. Quite thirst quenching and easy to drink the medium/light body.
Interesting beer that would be a great summer brew. The beer is dedicated to historic teachers of the mariachi.
Cheers

 

I needed to switch things up after two heavier beers, so I turned to this can of Van Zandt Lager from Boundary Bay sent my way by @BBThunderbolt this summer among many, many other beers. This is hitting the spot.

3.54/5 rDev +0.3%
look: 3.75 | smell: 3.5 | taste: 3.5 | feel: 3.75 | overall: 3.5

Pours a clear golden straw color with plenty of fizzy loosely formed white head that rapidly fades. Aroma is moderately grainy with faint biscuit notes. Taste mostly follows the nose. Light and crisp with a nice blend of malts & hops. Not much bitterness. Decent amount of carbonation. Very easy drinking.