New Beer Weekend #67

Double Stack by Great Notion

4.37/5 rDev -3.5%
look: 4 | smell: 4.5 | taste: 4.5 | feel: 4 | overall: 4.25

Pint can received from @snaotheus in Bif14, sending me a beer from my wants list, thank you !



Brewers notes: Double Stack is our Imperial Breakfast Stout fermented with an irresponsible amount of maple syrup & aged on whole bean Sumatra from our friends at Clutch Coffee.

Pours a black motor oil ,one finger brown foam cap recedes to a ring

Aroma is maple syrup, fresh roast coffee

Taste is fresh ground coffee, maple syrup , roasted malts

Mouthfeel is lighter than I expected, hint of coffee acridness, bit of booze

Good beer

 

Late start to this New Beer Sunday #871. Looking forward to catching up with the thread later this evening.

Have one planned for today, born and bred out of Maplewood's Brewery (not contract brewed by Great Central).

Maplewood Kell'em All



Can notes: Kellerbier Lager; 16 oz, 4.5% ABV. Brewed and canned by Maplewood Brewing Co., 2717 N Maplewood, Chicago, IL, 60647. James Hopfield, Canned 8/25/21 10:13:56 B431.

Appearance: Mulitple pours into a tall 1/2 litter mug. Cloudy golden straw base, creamy rich foam lingers for a few minutes before leaving a cover over the base, and soapy lacing in clumps. 4.0

Aroma: Yeast and cracker, light in strength, backed by lemongrass. 3.5

Taste: Stronger than the aroma, mostly consistent. Cracker malt, sweet, wheat, lemongrass, floral, salty. Works well together. 4.0

Mouthfeel: Light, crisp, easy drinking. Malt vs. hops balance well. Clean finish, drinks below ABV. 4.0

Overall: Glad I got this one in before the temperatures dip. Light and easy Kellerbier, packing bold flavors, enjoyable, easy, relaxing. Will seek this at next release to see if a fresher version changes my perception. Recommend. 3.75

Cheers!

 

Wet Season: Mosaic, a fresh hop from Ravenna.

16oz can served in a Grimm stemmed pilsner glass. No date on it.

Pours a hazy light amber / dark yellow. Biggish head that collapses into a mountainous range with a clumpy lacing. Smell is greens, vegetation, resin, and flowers. Maybe some tropical sweetness.

Taste is very ripe tropical fruit, melon, definite bubble gum.

Mouthfeel is light and clean. Overall, pretty solid fresh hop. Not sure how old it is, but not scream fresh hop flavors -- more of a solid IPA than anything else.

4 minutes ago Edit Delete

 

https://www.beeradvocate.com/beer/profile/43390/569888/

I don't think I sent @ovaltine this one during NBS BIF #14, but I might have. Green Is My Favorite color, a Fresh Hop, Amarillo-only IPA, by Cloudburst. it does have a slight bit of smoke to it, but it's really good.

 

Howdy NBWs
Craigerator from Night Shift a hazy NEIPA
5.3% ABV on the can, 5.7 on the profile
Simco, Cascade, Citra, and Topaz




Poured from a can dated 9/27/21
Yellow cloudy color, 1 inch soft head, medium lacing and cap retention

Aroma of stone fruit, sour citrus and a hint of floral.

Taste is floral and guava like, notes of grapefruit and rind

Mouthfeel is slightly astringent, low carbonation, feels semi thick but drinks light. Lingering citrus bite finish

Overall not a bad beer, nice hop profile and fairly easy drinking.
4.25. 4.25. 4. 4. 4. 4.08. rDev +1%

 

Back again with a seasonal beer. It's not the right season, but I couldn't wait...

Ridgeway Criminally Bad Elf Barleywine Style Ale

50cL bottle coded L22 267 poured into a tulip glass at 54° F 10.5% ABV. The beer pours bright light honey amber in color with khaki head. The head recedes to a fluffy ring and uneven cap. The aroma is mild with notes of pale malt and orchard fruit. The taste is semisweet caramel with oxidized overtones. There are traces of tea-like English hops and moderate bitterness throughout. The mouthfeel is medium bodied with average carbonation and a mostly dry finish. Overall, good, although I was hoping for more.

I'd pay handsomely for a SMASH barleywine of Maris Otter and EKG right now. I should homebrew one, but no one makes Maris Otter LME anymore and I'm not set up for all grain brewing. I'll continue to sample every English Barleywine that I come across and maybe I'll find one to stock up on. Cheers all!

 

HELLCAT is a 'Iron Maiden' Brewdog Trooper India Pale Lager. Columbus, Ohio. 08/27/21
Halloween Beer I'm in the mood for. Lighter in body and lemon-buttery tasty.
Happy Halloween aka The Day of the Dead.



Off to the review page.

 

At my girlfriend's house, enjoying a cozy Halloween night in and enjoying... my own kind of candy. Fancy Candy, specifically.



It should be obvious to any of the fancy BAs around here that this label is, erm, inspired by Ferrero Rocher, and the use of hazelnut and chocolate in the beer also points to that. The pour here was really nice... inky black topped with a retentive head of mocha foam building up to a few fingers which settles down to a half-finger with decent lace show. Solid surface coverage as well, so I'm intrigued about what's underneath.

Nose is hazelnut coffee right upfront with hints of vanilla cream underneath. Some dark chocolate and a bit more nuttiness in there. After a few minutes, I almost pick up some light earthy spice that almost seems reminiscent of cinnamon, but it's really just a note and doesn't overshadow how intensely hazelnut-forward this is. They clearly pulled out all the stops with this one. At 10%, one would expect a really strong ethanol presence, but it doesn't really come across as overly-intense. The adjuncts pop and keep the heat to a thankful minimum.

Sips strong and heavy, though, with rich and decadent flavors of hazelnut coffee, baker's chocolate, and a bit of French vanilla creamer in there. It's definitely sweet and pushes the additives in a prominent way, but the base beer feels well-made. I pick up an undercurrent of smoke and roastiness with hefty caramel and chocolate malt as a good set of building blocks for a strong stout such as this. A bit of warming ethanol as it approaches room temperature, and the hazelnut starts feeling a bit sweeter too. There's a slight oily slickness that competes with the dry roastiness a bit, meaning I predict the second half of this can will go by a bit slower. I think this is quite good, and a bit of a fun treat for a night like this. I also think it's probably a one-and-done for me, so I'm glad I only got a single. Very few flavored imperial stouts are worth revisiting to me due to a combination of high cost, the inclusion of specific flavors that are done so well there's very little to uncover past the first serving, and the fact that I feel like I need to carve out a two hour period of time in which to savor them. This definitely checks off those boxes quite squarely, but it's worth trying, especially if you enjoy hazelnut.

Have a great Halloween, BA!

 

Here's another gem from Portland, Maine.

https://www.beeradvocate.com/beer/profile/4/58838/



12.7 ounce bottle.
Packaged February, 2021.
I believe I had this on tap at Novare Res years ago at their first or second Zwanze Day.

Moderate to vigorous pour yields a 1/16 inch white head over a maroonish pink body with no lacing as the head disappeared almost instantly.

Nose of cherry, slight funk, and a bit of citrus.

Taste is a near perfect blend of cherry and citrus with a wonderfully tart finish.

Feel is also topnotch, belying the lackluster appearance.

Overall, cheers to Allagash, as they've had most of their sours dialed in for years and this is no exception.

 

Greetings All from the Great Northwest where the Seahawks just aren't very interesting. Beat Jacksonville High School... Big deal.

Today we have Hazy Jack Pale Ale from Widmer
https://www.beeradvocate.com/beer/profile/8/542458/

A drinkable brew with citrus and caramel notes.

Seahawks bye week next week. Might actually be more interesting than today?

Until next time

 

Hard to believe this escaped my palate for all these years!

https://www.beeradvocate.com/beer/profile/3818/99558/

Older pic of Uncle Harry.
RIP.



12 ounce bottle.
Best By 07/15/23.

Moderate pour yields a one inch light tan head over a near black body with sticky lacing.

Nose of roasted malt, malted milk, milk chocolate, and pumpkin.

Taste mirrors nose nicely exhibiting flavors of chocolate, pumpkin, a bit of spice and vanilla throughout with a finish of dark chocolate and bitter chocolate.

Nice, creamy sort of pumpkin pie like feel.

Overall, I'm diggin' this and would drink it again.
Cheers!!!

 

Social Project Dodging Bullet, West Coast IPA, 7.5% ABV, 3.88 Overall

Pours a hazed gold/honey color with 2 fingers of pearl colored head. Brightens up below average head retention & lacing

S: Breadyness, citrus notes, some grassyness once warm, peach, strawberry

T: Follows the nose, dryness, green melon & grassyness up front. Bready, grassy, green melon & grapefruit as this warms, a little grapefruit as well. Finishes with strawberry, green melon, dryness & lime

MF: Medium body, moderate carbonation, good balance

A little less hoppy/bitterness than I'd expect, super drinkability, Purist may find it a bit too new wave

 

Have a good NBW. I went out to Sticks and Stones and Paddled south yesterday with @dbrauneis and had a nice amount of new beers I put in on untappd. Still a lot of updating needed to get my BA and UT synchronized. I don't care much for obsessive reviews anymore, but at the same time I like having a complete data set

Goose Island Tropical Beer Hug. Got this in NC the week I put money down for my townhouse. Purchased at a gas station. Best before 10/26/2021. Very nice DIPA. Lasting rocky head retention and thick soapy lacing. Aromas and flavors of big pineapple, apricot, mango, grapefruit, orange, passion fruit, berries, wood, cedar, peppercorn, pine, cracker, white bread, and herbal/floral/grassy hop earthiness. Boozy notes in the aromas as it warms. Moderate pine, citrus rind, herbal, woody, peppery bitterness on the finish. Some peppery alcohol as it warms. Medium-plus carbonation and medium body. Lingering sticky resins and spicy alcohol drying. Fairly crisp with some grainy malt backbone. Zero residual sweetness with lingering resin dryness. Increasing warmth and booze of 9.9% after the finish. Smooth slow sipper, but just a bit too boozy. Reminds me of a less malty devil dancer somehow? The hops are very dank and pretty aggressive. Liked the profile from Nugget, Sultana, Citra, Mosaic, Eureka, Azacca, Strata hops; as expected. Its a nice buzzer. More of a west coast than a hazy, I know people associate DDH with hazy but dry hopping has been around far longer than any of those. 3.88


Also got an instant pot last week. Amazing investment and my excuse for buying it was so I can cook raw rice in minutes. 2 marinated pork loins were amazing.


Cheers

 

Instant Pot is great. It does amazing things to chicken. We do a jambalaya style dish frequently and there's a burrito bowl deal that is pretty fine Best thing my wife never knew she needed! It also does a mean pot roast (Mississippi pot roast is awesome). Corned beef and cabbage, too, without all the boiling and flavor loss. Good tool, learning curve was a bit long especially with the venting.

 

Robert The Bruce from Three Floyds, given to me by a local friend and it's been sitting in my beer fridge for a couple months and pulled out as it was the lowest ABV beer I had in there.
Poured dark mahogany with a manila colored head that left rings of lacing.
Aroma was lost on me as I've been tending a fire of willow and mystery wood.
The taste was not lost on me - sweet biscuit malty and yeasty and very quaffable. I was actually drinking it maybe a bit to quickly because I needed to get back to the aforementioned fire. Really tasty. And really, really easy to drink quickly.

Cheers All!

 

Darkness has descended, Trick or Treaters are out in force, time for to go for the Jack-O-(Lantern).

Samuel Adams Jack-O
ABV: 4.4%
IBU: 25

I should say that pumpkin beers are not a style I seek out. In general, I don't enjoy them.

But, this beer came along for the ride in the Sweater Weather pack, so, here goes...



Slightly hazy amber with a short but thick and creamy head with good retention, settling into a thin cap and ring, leaving little lacing until I tip the glass, then a thin sheet that breaks up into strings sliding back down.

The aroma is cinnamon. That's pretty much it - cinnamon. Touch of other spices, but the cinnamon dominates. I'm reminded of a guest at our home years ago from England who described American apple pie as "cinnamon pie."

Ah, the taste is much more nuanced. Cinnamon, of course, but also a malty presence and a smoothness that may be from the squash/pumpkin as well as nutmeg and cloves. Actually, this is a very tasty pumpkin beer, if that is your thing. (As I stated, it's not my preference, but this is quite good for what it is intended to be.) The finish is sweet and spicy, with a creamy feel left behind.

The mouth feel is thick-ish, smooth, and creamy, which is worthy of a "well done" considering the low ABV.

Overall, I recommend this one to fans of pumpkin ales (although, caveat emptor... since I am NOT a fan of pumpkin ales, maybe I don't know what I'm talking about.)


L: 4.0 | S: 3.5 | T: 4.0 | F: 4.0 | O: 4.0 | Rating: 3.88

 

Glad you like that. People either love it, or not.

 

Good evening, NBW friends. Mrs O and I had a buddy over that I’ve been best friends with since 1968.

That is not a typo.

We went to grade school, high school, and college together, and our wives and kids are friends. We also are both inveterate beer nerds, so it was fun to share this excellent beer with him - Sideyard Ale from Bell’s, a fresh hopped NEIPA that will only see distro on Michigan, Indiana, and Ohio.

Let’s dance, Sideyard.





4.35/5 rDev +1.9%
look: 4.25 | smell: 4.25 | taste: 4.5 | feel: 4.25 | overall: 4.25

Pours a very hazy straw color with a sudsy white head that provides ample lacing. The nose is straight up juice bomb, with pineapple, grapefruit, and oranges most prominent.

The pineapple is really prominent on the taste, but there’s room for the grapefruit and oranges, and there’s a decidedly dry, biting mouthfeel - this is NEIPA meets WCIPA to a certain extent, which I am really digging.

Bell’s is a “Top 10” brewery for me, and this beer is yet another example why. Excellent stuff, IMHO.