New Beer Weekend #67

Ok...early late night NBW. I found this one on sale and with the weird name that has nothing to do with the equally weird description, I was compelled...let's see if this is a sale bin treat or clever trick to deprive me of five bucks...



Not a bad punkin for a four year old, and he grew it himself! I'm sure everybody can read that label...Westbrook and Evil Twin, Do You Like Spicy Nachos. This is a BSDA aged in Port, bourbon, marsala, and cabernet barrels with raisins, cherries, and black currants. Amarone was the inspiration and I had to look that up. Now that I am drinking the beer armed with that knowledge, it makes total sense. Big boy stuff at 12%, so this will take a while.

After fighting thru the fancy gold wax to get to the mundane crown cap, the beer pours an opaque brown like Minwax walnut stain. No head, a few very temporary bubbles, but it sheets the glass like nobody's business.

Wine wins the aroma battle here. Marsala specifically, but port and cab are there as well. It comes across as dark, sweet fruit, and I think figs. Cherries come thru as it warms a bit and a very faint whiff of bourbon. Chocolate is in the background and a molasses/brown sugar note. There is a vague berry fruity note that I could see being the black currant.

This is a heavy, dense, intense flavor bomb. It is also changing in how it presents itself sip by sip as it warms up. I will stick with the wine as the initial dominant component. Marsala and port predominantly, but there is certainly a lesser presence of a cabernet. Figs galore, some plum notes, and I will settle on molasses flavor without the heavy sweetness. A little bit of vanilla, some oaky woodiness. Black cherry shows up. A little spiciness creeps in...a bit vague but I think cinnamon. There is a chocolate that leans towards the Nutella side...but not exactly. I know I have tasted it before...maybe carob? On the finish, there is an acidity that could be the currants or could be the cabernet. Lots of tannins, lots of phenolic tingle which makes sense given tje treatments. The ABV comes thru in the smell as it warms up, but does not intrude on the taste.

It is nearly still, and definitely not drying on the finish. Kinda triggers the salivary glands, actually. Sticky on the lips, but not a syrupy texture, either. A bit of phenolic slickness. The acidity on the finish cleans up the sweetness, and it actually invites another sip. The heavy nature of the flavors make this a sipper - it would be unpleasant trying to drink this like a beer, if that makes any sense.

Well...harumpf... I am honestly diggin' this train wreck. If the intent truly was to create an homage to Amarone, then they absolutely nailed it according to my Goggling results. So what to do on the rating...true to style? Don't make me laugh...I guess there is a BDSA in there somewhere as the basis. To me it smells great, tastes great, and I am really enjoying it. So I guess on those merits it is going to land north of 4.0. Not for everybody, for sure, but I am wishing I had picked up both bottles.

 

Well Hello and Happy Halloween NBW!
A quick pop in for a decent surprise from a newish brewery in LA.

Under Pressure by Paperback Brewing

Poured from 16 oz can. Undated. Stamped 118921. That's not helping.
Says DDH, but no mention of hop profile.
Bright golden and clear. Plenty o' head. White, fluffy, and slow at retreating. Great retention coupled with clumpy lacing.
At first the nose goes with a bitter, piney note. But slowly some flowery citrus comes through. Then slowly, slowly some tropical notes wash in: mango & papaya. A mild sweet grain note is present as well.
Flavor is predominantly pine resin bitter with an ever so slight nod toward citrus. Less complex than the nose. But comes off as more of that classic west coast APA, think younger cousin of SNPA.
Mouthfeel is on the fuller side for an APA. Carbonation is great. Finish is smooth and the bitter mellows on the end.
Overall, a fine beer, although part of me wishes for the flavor to follow the complexity of the nose a bit more.
3.83/5 rDev 0%
look: 4 | smell: 4 | taste: 3.75 | feel: 3.75 | overall: 3.75

 

A friggin' classic. New Glarus sets the standard.

 

Today is a new beer to me.

The Veil – Blink Bugatti

11% ABV

The beer is listed as a Tripple IPA on the label – and listed as “IPA - Imperial” on BA.

The beer was removed from a 40ish degree temp fridge after having been refrigerated for approximately 3.5 weeks. Beer poured into willi belcher.

First Impression: Pretty, but nothing too tantalizing. As the first portion of head faded, the lacing was also quite pretty, but not pretty by true lacing beauty standards. Color is a bit more burnt orange-brown than what I’d prefer if given my druthers. Often, this color tends to suggest more bitter and pine than I’d prefer. 3.75

Appearance: Nothing to write home about. You can tell it doesn’t have as much suspended as, say, a treehouse brew would. As noted above, color is a bit more burnt orange-brown than I’d prefer. It doesn’t have that beautiful look of yellow-orange homogenized fluffy clouds that makes all us beer geeks blow over. 3.5

Smell: Surprisingly, not as fragrant as many IPAs. Have to get into it pretty hard to really get much of anything. Perhaps strange, but getting a lot of bitter notes with what smells like “wet” hops. I don’t know what wet hops smell like, but I know what hops smell like. Now make them wet. Same concept as other ‘wet’ items in our life. An ever so slightly small amount of pine. From the can, more orange-pineapple. 3.5

Taste: Much to my chagrin, especially for it costing something like $10-12, I hate this. Nothing unpalatable on the sip, but after the swallow the bitterness gets aggressive, and there’s a real strong dank-pine, resinous, pithy, ultra bitter flavor walloping me. It’s dominating anything and everything else. Perhaps this is a bit malty – I’m not great at identifying malts in IPAs. It also comes off a bit like ‘dirt’, with a very unpleasant ‘dirty’ quality (see mouthfeel). This is probably just me, but rating it for my feelings. 3.15

Mouthfeel: Not pillowy, soft, or light. It’s more like a single IPA with a bit of drying. It also seems to stay on my tongue the way that an astringent oakiness would from an overoaked bourbon. Leaves my mouth feeling ‘dirty’ like I need it cleaned. 2.85

Overall: Hate it. Not beating around the bushes. This also doesn’t strike me entirely as being ‘my fault’, but maybe it really is just my palate. There’s only 1 BA rating, and no BA reviews (I have added the first). I liked the only other TIPA I had from Veil (same Bugatti series), so I’m ultra let down by this. To me, there’s just no redeeming qualities. This is a straight up drainpour. It’s not so bad that it is undrinkable, but (1) I’m not willing to waste my night forcing it, and (2) I don’t want (or enjoy) challenges like this. The only potential fault of mine is that Veil, stupidly, doesn’t date their cans. I purchased this from a store that I believe had it fresh, but I don’t know if at this point (from when I purchased it) I am at approx.. 1 month from canning, 2 months, longer? 2.0

BA Review Score: 2.995

My review can be found here: https://www.beeradvocate.com/beer/profile/41018/569115/?ba=Beer_Economicus#review

Cross posted with WBAYDN

 

Today is a new beer to me.

The Veil – Good Morning Anxiety

8.5% ABV

The beer is listed as a Double IPA with milk sugars on the label – and listed as “IPA - Imperial” on BA.

The beer was removed from a 40ish degree temp fridge after having been refrigerated for approximately 3.5 weeks. Beer poured into willi belcher (cleaned after last beer before current beer).

First Impression: Pretty, but nothing to special. A brighter yellow with a more faint touch of orange. When poured from the can, the stream was very opaque; I was surprised to see it as cloudy and dark as it turned out to be. 3.75

Appearance: Nothing to write home about; more or less your standard ‘hazy’ DIPA. I do appreciate the color of yellow, although it doesn’t seem to be as uniform as I feel it should be, or as dense. It’s not losing points due to this, but ugly fucking can art. It reminds me of a 90s alternative CD cover. (I’d give the can appearance a 1.0) 3.75

Smell: Surprisingly, not as fragrant as many IPAs. This is actually a disappointment. I expect IPAs to just be jumping out of the glass. I wonder if that means this is a bit old, or if this is just a ‘Veil thing’. Smell is mostly just a generic bitterness much like the pithy white portion of orange peal. Touch of pine. 3.5

Taste: This is in the ballpark of what I like, but I’m not sure I’ll end up finishing the entire 16oz. I just don’t think this is really my thing, although I do feel it is done well. The lactose definitely helps lighten it up, but it still has a mildly astringent pine-needle like bitterness (although not so heavy on the pine) that just isn’t pleasant to me. Only one other BA review exists, and I saw them say ‘spicey’. I can get behind that descriptor. Everything is a bit muted; nothing is vibrant or jumping out. I suspect this would be at least a 0.25 rating better if fresher. (No dating on can, but it is at least 30 days since canning; I just don’t know when it was canned.) 3.75

Mouthfeel: Not pillowy, soft, or but definitely lighter than many other IPAs, and certainly better than many DIPAs, but not as good as it should be for containing lactose. Going to knock it for that. 3.5

Overall: I don’t Hate it like the last Veil beer I had. This is certainly done well, although it may not quite be ‘for me.’ I am about 1/3 of the way through the can, and suspect I won’t finish it. Just a bit harsh for me. If you like Hop Butcher IPAs, though, I bet you’d like this. It doesn’t have that nasty onion thing going on, but it definitely has the sharpness. Giving it a higher rating than I personally would, because I know it is actually a well made brew. I think the final BA score accurately reflects this beer. The label still sucks green weenies. 4.0

BA Review Score: 3.715

My review can be found here: https://www.beeradvocate.com/beer/profile/41018/450379/?ba=Beer_Economicus#review

Cross posted with WBAYDN

 

Hmmm, Michigan beer? I can fix that.......

 

Today is a new beer to me.

Hop Butcher – Blazed Orange

7.5% ABV

The beer is listed as a Citra & Strata-hopped Milkshake Double India Pale Ale Brewed with Oranges & Vanilla on the label – and listed as “IPA – New England” on BA.

The beer was removed from a 40ish degree temp fridge after having been refrigerated for approximately 3.5 weeks. Can dated 8-30-21, so right at 2 months old. Beer poured into willi belcher (cleaned after last beer before current beer).

First Impression: Can makes a weird crinkle – not relevant, other than the fact that it concerns me something is wrong. Pours very light (white-ish). A very faint sweet smell emanates. 3.75

Appearance: This is weird to me. It’s considered a milkshake IPA, but it doesn’t strike me that way. Doesn’t have the creamy look at all. It pours almost like juice. It’s a weird sort of clear-orange. Once it comes to rest, almost like you took orange juice and left it out in the sun for 24 hours. Fuck, it’s downright ugly. 3.0

Smell: Smell follows the label – at least in the ‘orange and vanilla’ department. It smells very vanilla – artificial. Almost like a sweet confectionary cereal or powdered sugar. Fake vanilla is dominant with faint orange and even fainter hops. 3.5

Taste: Almost no hop, and very limited amounts of bitterness, but what bitterness remains is definitely the hop-butcher type of astringent sharp bitterness that they seem to be known for. The taste itself is a mix of fake vanilla/confectionary with powdered sugar meets faint orange with the aforementioned light hops. The more I drink, the more that astringent bitterness is obvious, present and juxtaposes (poorly, in my opinion) with the fake confectionary powdered sugar flavor. I haven’t had that many milkshake IPAs, but this one strikes me as…not awesome. 3.35

Mouthfeel: Not pillowy. -Or soft. Strikes me, again as with the appearance, more like orange juice (some pulp, not lots) that has been left out for a day. It’s not great, and worse than most ‘good’ DIPA hazies. 3.5

Overall: I am not a milkshake IPA connoisseur, but this strikes me as a poor example. Pretty disappointed. The few that I have had have turned out so well that this is just a let down and feels like a confused mess. Like someone didn’t know exactly what they were doing. Supposedly this both sells well and used to be pretty popular when milkshake IPAs came out. I’m surprised by everything. I wouldn’t ever buy this again, and I’m glad I only have a single. Also glad it didn’t cost me more than, like, $4. Would love to rate this higher, not from my personal perspective but from the idea that it is well made, but I just don’t agree. There’s also some weird carbonation, both with the pour, with the effervescentness (my word) of the beverage, and with the pop of the can. 3.5

BA Review Score: 3.41

My review can be found here: https://www.beeradvocate.com/beer/profile/40359/352318/?ba=Beer_Economicus#review

Cross posted with WBAYDN

 

Is that pretty high carb? It looks surprisingly carbonated for the style. I'm not looking at the head so much as the glass. Has a very cola-inspired look to it.

 

Thread still running?
Well then....
Hit Treehouse today. Always love Mondays there no overwhelming crowds. And what a beauty of a day to ride up and enjoy the scenery.
Picked up a couple new cool glasses as well.
And my first time having Evil Julius.
Pouring a turbid pumpkin color !!! Really! With a beige head that is creamy amd long lasting with plenty of lacing. Aroma is big citrus and some tropical fruits; Tangerine, mango, pineapple. Melon and peach/apricot.
The huge juicy taste follows with lots of that sweet citrus, peach, melon. Full bodied and creamy mouthfeel that has a very pleasant bitterness. 9.2%? Another amped up juice bomb that just sings hops. Damn they are the epitome of juice bomb brewers.
This may even be a notch above Juice Machine. Great brew.