New Beer Weekend #68

Another IPA from @FBarber. My first beer from Art History Brewing in Illinois. I like this better than the two previous reviewers. The use of Loral hops and flaked wheat balance the fruit of the Citra and Mosaic really well. This is a really nice beer!

4.17/5 rDev +3.5%
look: 4.25 | smell: 4 | taste: 4.25 | feel: 4 | overall: 4.25

Canned on 9/15/2021. Poured into a Willi Becher glasss. It pours a hazy, honey-orange color with a large, fluffy, snow white cap and lots of soapy lacing with excellent retention. The smell is sweet with orange - tangerine and just a whiff of melon. I can also smell a crackery malt base. The taste opens with less sweetness than the nose would indicate. The Loral hops an provide herbal, earthy flavor that balances the citrus from the Citra and Mosaic. The flaked wheat adds the dry, cracker that I smelled. At the finish I'm tasting the tangerine and melon sweetness but they're subtle. The finish offers clean bitterness and just a hint of pine. This ale grows on me as I drink it slowly. The mouth feel is moderately creamy and viscous with appropriate carbonation, and it drinks easily at 6.6% ABV. Overall, this ale epitomizes the art of craft brewing. The use of the Loral hops, Golden Promise malt, and flaked wheat add something special to the tried and true bill of Citra and Mosaic.

 

Beautiful! We’re officially entering the beautiful sunset and sunrise season.

 

New beer #2 for this weekend. I decide to pair this one for lunch as I monitor the smoker which is currently full of cheese and tomato slices and running about 84 deg F.
: Paperback Brewing (Calif) Bunny With a Chainsaw double dry hopped hazy IPA 8.2% ABV, Idaho 7+ Mosaic hops. No other description on the can or website. Only 4 ratings on BA ,averaging 3.87. I have been watching this at the local Trader Joes, waiting for a "fresh" batch and finally got a canned date of 10/8/21 about a week ago right after they stocked it.
Pours as shown; gold with voluminous white head that initially settles to a finger high stack of fairly stiff meringue, and later decreasing to a fluffy island with a ring of thin foam. Hazy gold, but not opaque. Leaves a reasonable amount of lacing.
Smell is true to the hops as is the taste. Lots of hop bitterness, but not excessively so. I'm not so sure I would have concluded this was double dry hopped if the can did not say so, but the hops, especially the Mosaic dominate. Tropical fruity but not a fruit bomb. Mild carbonation, medium to heavy body that coats the mouth.
I believe this clocked in at over $14 for 4x16oz. Not a bad beer but I think I have enjoyed other hazys at least as much or more for less $/oz.

 

Dave, I have a big smile on my face reading your review, enjoying the "background" of the photo (maybe some different characters?), and your familiar finishing line. I just told Mrs. Mac that you reviewed a beer today and she said, and I quote, "that's so nice!" Heartfelt cheers!

 

Great notes, on this great beer.
Keep well
Cheers

 

You can’t talk about the food and not share a pic. Come on!

 

Up next, a local one, Nightmare Cyclist by Wander. A schwartzbier that's a bit heavy handed with the roast.

https://www.beeradvocate.com/beer/profile/34416/532124/

 

Great to hear from you and a fantastic review as always. From reading that I would have expected the alcohol content to be in the 10% or above range. Sure its an amazing beer. Stay healthy my friend.

 

My last new beer review of the weekend: Sligo Stout, a Dry Irish Stout breed by Opportunity Brewing Co. here in New Jersey. Opportunity is a gypsy brewer. This can is pre-Covid (3/10/2020) but given the style I thought it would hold up - and it did!

Poured into a pint glass. It pours nearly black with some dark cola hues at the bottom of the glass, an a finger of creamy, light khaki head and lacing. The nose offers toffee and nutty, earthy char. Its taste is lite and crisp with lots of bitter malt, earthy, charred nuts, and just a hint of toffee sweetness particularly at the finish as it warms. I can also taste burnt coffee grounds and a touch of cola. For 4.25% ABV the mouth feel is surprisingly thick and creamy. The carbonation level is appropriate. Overall, Sligo Stout is a nice local rendition of an Irish Dry Stout and the age hasn't adversely affected it.

3.9/5 rDev 0%
look: 4 | smell: 4 | taste: 3.75 | feel: 4 | overall: 4

Have a great week, everyone!

 

New beer # 2 and Im back to hops....
Treehouse Project Find the Limit #2.
Pouring a very hazy orange like fresh squeezed and the head is finger of white foam settling to a ring rather quickly. Upon popping the top I am getting a serious dose of cat pee, cannabis and diesel.
After pouring the scent mellows out to a mixture of candied peach/apricot, cantelope, mango, pineapple, tangerine and dank weed. Yeah pushing the limit because it is quite the hop saturation, man... All that said what is typical of TH brews - the incredibly soft feel in the mouth shines again here. The full mouth of fruit fades into a nice grapefruit peel bitterness - ending with a very slight slickness - I expected more- but it dries fairly quickly leaving just a bit of burn on the front of the tongue. Not much in the way of the 8.1% noticeable.
Another hoppy delight from TH. They just do it. Its a bit "green". I think this one will really shine after a couple of weeks at least, in the can. Cheers!

 

Good evening NBW
I have @Harrison8 to thank for this wonderful English Barleywine

Torn Label Brewing Company Borrowing Trouble
12oz undated can poured into an Old Guardian angular snifter at 50° Fahrenheit 11% ABV per label. The beer pours bright dark amber in color with beautiful mahogany highlights and khaki colored head. The head recedes to a thin ring and island leaving behind some lacing. The aroma is mild with sweet notes of plum, caramel, red grapes and candi sugar. The taste is semisweet caramel with dark dried fruits, burnt sugar and earthy hop notes. Moderate bitterness. The mouthfeel is medium plus bodied with just less than medium carbonation and a somewhat dry finish. The alcohol is well hidden and only presents itself as gastric warming. Overall, very good.

I truly love this style and never pass on the opportunity to try one. Cheers all!

 

I was all ready to wager major cash that no one on the planet would be reviewing the combo of beers I’m reviewing this evening - and then like the 7th post I see is the very style I’m reviewing first.

So now I’m reduced to, “Blah, blah, everyone is drinking this style tonight, nothing to see here, move along.” Do NOT put anything beyond the ability of the regular participants in this magnificent thread to continually astound you with their beer nerd prowess. Huge props to my friends @BBThunderbolt and @Ozzylizard.





4.34/5 rDev +7.4%
look: 4 | smell: 4.25 | taste: 4.5 | feel: 4.25 | overall: 4.25

I had a home brew version of a Grodziskie that ….. was a challenge to finish a few years ago, but Dovetail is world-class as a brewery, IMHO, so I’m eager to try this. The pour is a nicely hazy straw color with a dense, creamy white head that hangs around a bit.

The nose is of course smoky, but not distractingly so, and there’s nice citrus esters as well that are bright and reminiscent of a good Hefeweizen. The smoke again is very forward on the taste, but is not overwhelming at all. It complements the bright, citrus flavors perfectly, yielding something I did not know existed - a refreshing smoked beer.

Dovetail is the shizzle dizzle.

 

Howdy folks! What a fine weekend. This brew is new and fantastic.

Stone 25th Anniversary Triple IPA

4.29/5 rDev +3.1%
look: 4.25 | smell: 4 | taste: 4.5 | feel: 4.25 | overall: 4.25

12oz can EB date 12/09/21 into a 16oz nonic pint glass.
L: Pours a lightly clouded dull copper with a 2.5 finger crusty light beige head with excellent retention. Well carbonated to the end, a fair amount of sticky lacing and banding.
S: Candied caramel malts, sweet bread, lightly floral, light citrus, over-ripe fruit, stone fruit. Some alcohol as the beer warms.
T: Clean sweet caramel, caramelized malt, sweet & fruity moderately dank hops with over-ripe apricot, light orange and melon rind with a high level of pine resin that resounds throughout. The sweet tastes are a little cloying but not distracting. Very lightly nutty in the center transitioning to earthy, grassy hops encased in pine. It is very hop forward and bitter. It has a purpose-built long lingering pine taste. A moderate taste of alcohol and over-ripe fruits become more prominent as the beer warms.
F: Firm, smooth, soft and lightly tacky med-heavy mouthfeel with a broad flavor. The hops go wide and produce a very long finish. Semi-juicy and fairly drying on the tongue.
O: Overall bittersweet, long lasting, full flavored and strong. This beautifully crafted American Triple IPA has a lovely sugary malt platform for the intensely concentrated hops to stand on. It's taste is consistent throughout the entire glass and it is absolutely outstanding in it's style.

 

Apologies, but technically, I did share a pic....it just happens to be in a different forum :-) but here it is again....17 lbs of cheddar, pepper jack, mozzarella, and gouda plus a bunch of tomato slices all cold smoking over apple wood, mostly destined as gifts for the holidays.

 

Riverlands Siren Goddess, a not quite "sessionable" 3X NEIPA at a paltry 10%.

3.71/5 rDev 0%
look: 3.75 | smell: 4 | taste: 3.5 | feel: 3.75 | overall: 3.75

Purchased at the brewery, 16oz can. Pours a "hazy, murky" yellow with a small, lingering white head, leaving a nicely laced glass. Quite aromatic actually, melon and stone fruit, tastes goes with the aroma., medium bodied, nicely carbonated. I generally find the NEIPA's are a bit too sweet, but this isn't too bad, probably due to the 10% abv. It goes down pretty easily.

 

OI agree. (great review, by the way; it fleshed out some of the flavors and attributes I struggled to describe in my own review of it.) I think this one is really worthy of the 25th anniversary commemoration, unlike many anniversary beers form other brewers that leave me thinking "this is the best you can do to celebrate?"

 

Cheers! It's a mighty beer for sure and they nailed down their 1/4 century with it!

 

Last beer of the weekend, let’s make it a new one. I was surprised when I came across it, didn’t know they were making this and the label really caught my eye. Beautiful mountain and evergreen artwork.

Firestone- cinnamon dulce nitro milk stout



Dark dark brown, no light makes it through except and the bottom rim of the class where it’s thinner. Beautiful typical nitro head, wish I poured a little more vigorously. Spoiler I’ll most definitely be buying a six pack, I’ll take care of it next time. No lacing but typical great nitro retention.

Aroma is so pleasant…to me it just smells like cookies at Christmas time. The cinnamon is there perfectly mixed with a nice hit of vanilla. There is also some roasty chocolate notes as well.

Taste is much like the nose but the chocolate and roast come out much more. The cinnamon is there and the vanilla is noticeable but it more just added a creamy cookie like vibe to it. Very well balanced beer.

Mouthfeel is smooth and medium you get the roast feeling in the tongue and the vanilla/lactose smooth it out without making it too sweet. It’s almost has a latte vibe, with extra espresso in it, or less milk (cortado anyone?).

I normally don’t go for these beers much but FW did so well. It’s not overdone but you know exactly what they’re going for. With the holidays coming up this will pair well with some Christmas Vacation for sure! Delicious.

 

#2, this is at the other end of the ABV universe, from 3.8% to 17.3%.

Don’t worry, I’m a trained professional.





4.56/5 rDev +2.9%
look: 4.25 | smell: 4.5 | taste: 4.75 | feel: 4.25 | overall: 4.5

Pours a dark cola brown that appears as black once it sits in the glass and props up a tan head that is apparently in the Witness Protection Program because it almost immediately went into hiding.

The nose is a little boozy, with a sherry note that fades to stone fruit, which I absolutely LOVE, and some dark chocolate as well. I am officially salivating. Wow.

The taste features the stone fruit flavors prominently, and there’s a big dollop of the dark chocolate that is truly delicious, and a bit of booze at the very back of the palate.

The mouthfeel is thinner than I thought it would be, but as I rolled that around in my old beer nerd mind, it made sense - I wouldn’t anticipate that a cognac or sherry would be thick and creamy, and that’s what I’ve seen Utopias compared to the most, so it shouldn’t surprise me that this magnificent beer actually feels carbonated!

I’m really glad I got to try this world class beer - it is definitely worth seeking, IMHO.