New Beer Weekend #69

Good day BAs! Tha nks @SawDog505 for getting us off and drinking this weekend. I'm still in TX so no photos or dearly starts for me. @BBThunderbolt - your next box is packed and will be shipping in the next day or so - all TX brews in cans. Today's New Breakfast Beer, sans photos, is Anhauser Busch's Bourbon Country Brand Special #4 Stout, a BBA oatmeal stout with maple. I found this sitting on a room temperature shelf at Spec's #69 off I35 in Schertz, TX,


Bourbon Country Brand Special #4 from Goose Island. 16.9 oz bottle from Spec’s # 69. $25.61 (including tax) $1.515/oz. Stored at room temperature in store and at 40 degrees after purchase. Reviewed 14/11/21. Note that I use DD/MM/YY protocol.
Stamped on label “11SEP22” and on neck label “2020”. Served at 50.5 degrees in a hand washed and dried glass coffee cup. Final temperature 53.7 degrees.
Appearance – 4.
First pour – Deep Amber (SRM 15), clear.
Body – Brown (SRM 20), murky and opaque. When rear-lite, same.
Head – Small (Maximum 0.8 cm, aggressive center pour), desert sand, fizzy with short retention, diminishing to a one to two mm crown and a thin partial cap.
Lacing – Poor – but not really expected at 13.3% ABV. A few tiny islands and a single arabesque.
Aroma – 4.25 – Weak chocolate. No malt, no hops, no yeast, no bourbon, no maple.
Flavor – 4.5 – Begins with distinct chocolate and weak bourbon, some roasted malt, no hops, no yeast. Can’t taste any maple and it ends slightly bitter. No ethanol (13.3% ABV, as marked on container) taste or aroma; however, there is light gastric and esophageal burning which rapidly subsides. No dimethylsulfide or diacetyl.
Palate – 3.75 – Medium, between watery and syrupy, lively carbonation.
Final impression and summation: 4.25 Smooth, oaty, some BBA found and eventually, a terminal ghost of maple wafts by. At the end, as the dregs are swallowed, an alcoholic miasma passively intrudes. Generally, IMHO, a decent BBA oatmeal stout but nothing to seek out and definitely not worth the price point.

Rating 4.29. rDev -2.9%

 

I find it interesting that Yards barely makes it into western PA - doesn't seem to cross the Susquehanna well. I'd expect everybody here to carry a PA brew but I can only pick up Yards when I'm east of Harrisburg - Yard's IPA being a favorite of mine. Too bad they changed the formulation on Tavern Spruce - back when it came in blue bottles it was good.

 

@Whyteboar - Ryeway to Heaven is a Top 10 for me, solid BIF selection.

@Chaz - To save you time and future grief, we were informed the Steel Reserve Tiki Series are not beer in the Malt Liquor / European Strong Ale tasting.

https://www.beeradvocate.com/commun...october-22-24-2021.662071/page-8#post-7372391

Welcome to New Beer Sunday #873!

Have two Altbiers, both from the same brewery, and perhaps may brave the near Winter weather for some more. Will ride the ladder with the lighter of the two options.

Uerige Obergärige Hausbrauerei Sticke



Bottle Notes: 11.2 oz bottled 4/28/21 based on L11821 bottle code. 6.0% ABV. Brewed and bottled by Uerige Bergerstrasse, Dusseldorf, Germany. Imported by B. United. Hausgebraut Und Abgefullt. Altbier. In der Dusseldorfer Altstadt. Worom Wat Angeres?

Appearance: Single pour into a half litter willi beecher glass, brown bronze somewhat clear base, nominal carbonation, creamy light tan head recedes leaving clumpy lacing and a creamy cover over the base. 3.75

Aroma: Roasted malt, caramel and toffee, mild in strength, somewhat appealing. 3.5

Taste: Liking the taste a lot more, nice sweet caramel and toffee from the malt, some bitterness from an taste neutral hops, perhaps grassy after a few more tastes. 4.0

Mouthfeel: Medium to full body, the sweetness portends a creamy texture. Carbonation piercing and persistent despite the lack of visual bubbles. Edges sweet with sharp bursts of caramel, which lingers pleasantly in the aftertaste. Drinks consistent with the ABV. 4.25

Overall: This didn't look or smell all that great, but where it counts it is really a great offering. Liked the mouthfeel the best, made it's presence noted and stronger than I anticipated. Overall a solid offering and one I would gladly order in the future. 4.0

Prost!

 

I see you decided to rate this one highly despite any style concerns. I think you made the right choice. In my opinion, it's unfair to a brewer to rate harshly if a beer doesn't conform to style expectations based only on how it is classified on BeerAdvocate. For example - in this case, the brewer doesn't claim that the beer is a "winter warmer." They only call it a "winter ale." The brewer can define whatever a "winter ale" would be depending on their own vision. The term is not specific. Winter warmer is simply the most appropriate category on BA to place the beer. (And as a side note, the term "winter warmer" is incredibly loose anyway.) If the beer didn't match the brewer's description it would be a different story.

 

And this is this week's winner for most unappetizing packaging. Did it occur to them that some people use beer cans to trap slugs? That art certainly doesn't invite drinking straight from the can.

 

That was EXACTLY my logic. It’s literally handwritten on the can, “Winter Ale,” and allows for a little creative license on the brewer’s part, IMHO. If “Winter Warmer” had been handwritten on the can and it was as hop-forward as the beer is, my rating would’ve probably been a decent amount lower.

 

Well shoot, son! There goes the extra two site karma points that I needed to maintain my much vaunted Poo-Bah status!

Guess I’ll stick to beers that cost more than $1.00 a can from here on out…

 

I don't know, if you're drinking from the can, at least you can't see the label while you're taking a drink. If you're drinking from a glass, the can could be in full view on the table in front of you the whole time...

 

Any little flaw comes through taste-wise with Milds. Most American iterations just don't measure up. Although most of the British ones I had were on cask, so there's that.

 

Thanks, @SawDog505, for kicking things off yesterday.

This morning, I'm doing some catching up. I love both this weekly thread and the irregular online tasting threads. First will be one of two beers I posted about yesterday in the brown ale tasting thread, a simply delicious Belgian Dark.

Leffe Brune • Brown
ABV: 6.5%
IBU: NA



I've only had one beer in this style before, and it was a special brew by local Summit Brewing some years ago in their late, lamented Unchained Series. That beer was excellent on its own merits, but without any benchmark, I had no idea how true to style it was. It was interesting (to me) to compare my tasting of this beer with my review notes of the Summit beer.

Anyhow, this beer...

Bottle dated 10/09/22. IDK if that is Oct 9 or Sep 10. Never mind …

The aroma is a bit subdued. Spicy. Peppery. Clove. A bit of a banana bread aroma.

The beer is dark from the front, clear ruby with a back-light, with ample small bubbles of carbonation. It is topped with a thick, tan-to-off-white, head with excellent retention. Thick lacing remains on the opposite side of the chalice as I take a sip.

The taste is much richer than the subtle aroma would lead you to expect. Rich and malty. Banana bread, toffee, pepper and clove. Sweet caramel controlled by the spicy, slightly bitter middle and finish, resulting in a finish on the sweet side. While it would be classified by me as a sweet beer, that is overstating. It is nicely balanced and enjoyable.

The mouth feel is smooth with a creamy remainder on the tongue and throat, broken up by the carbonation.

Overall, quite delightful.

L: 4.25 | S: 3.75 | T: 4.25 | F: 4.25 | O: 4.25 | Rating: 4.13

 

To me, rating Winter Warmers to style is a conundrum in and of itself.

It seems to me that the style is more of a catch-all for dark(er) ales (some aren't all that dark) that have some combination of low(er) bitterness (some are bitter), high(er) alcohol (some, not so much), and seasonal spices or adjunk flavorings (and some without).

 

Odd Sides Bonbon de La Muerte
A bruiser of a stout at 14% and it makes no attempt at masking the bourbon barrel. Boozy! Good head and lacing. The taste is a pleasant chocolate with sea salt. I sipped this beer for a hour and enjoyed the mouthfeel - not too chewy but definitely not thin. Just right. I’d love to try this one on tap.

 

Stone's Xocoveza Tres Leches


8.5% stout that was good, but a bit disappointing. Based on the usual Xocoveza stout, I was hoping for more flavor, but this beer was a bit muted. A pleasant sweet stout that lacked the spice of the base. More pasilla please.

 

A day of relaxation (just like the majority of my days). I'm drinking Thai Tripel from Spice Trade Brewing and about to watch the Browns/Patriots game. Not too often we get the Patriots here in New Mexico.
The beer is a clear, bright gold color with a small white head.
Aroma of citrus fruit and spice.
Taste of lemon, lime, and ginger.
A little too much ginger for me, but that is a minor quibble.
A very nice beer.

 

Merry Dankster by Great Notion

4.13/5 rDev +0.2%
look: 4 | smell: 4 | taste: 4.25 | feel: 4.25 | overall: 4

Can received in Bif14 from @snaotheus



Can dated September 27 and opened November 13, poured into a Teku also from @snaotheus

Hazy orange liquid capped by a white one finger foam cap , good retention, settles to a layer with layered lacings

Brewer notes: Merry Dankster is our tribute to Ken Kesey and his merry band of Pranksters. At 8.2%, this DIPA is heavily dosed with a variety of dank hops and fermented with wild flower honey. If you have the choice... “Get on the Bus!"

Aroma is tropical, floral

Taste is tropical, dank , hint of honey sweetness

Sudsy mouthfeel , dank hop taste on the finish

Good beer