New Beer Weekend #71

Well, needless to say I have not seen/purchased that beer either.

On the Yards website it lists:

“Style

Winter Lager”

https://yardsbrewing.com/products/long-jawns

I am personally not familiar with the “Winter Lager” style.

If I see this beer on tap I will order a pint.

Cheers!

 

#2, another Chicago brewery that has “transitioned.” I went to the original back in October 1988. I believe it has changed more than a bit.





4.29/5 rDev +1.4%
look: 4.5 | smell: 4.25 | taste: 4.25 | feel: 4.5 | overall: 4.25

Pours black with leakage to mahogany brown on the edges and sports a dense, creamy tan head that dissipates quickly. Beautiful beer. The nose has booze, which I expected, and tart fruity notes, which I did NOT expect. After a bit of research (the googler is your friend), I believe that’s the Bergamot aroma referenced on the bottle, courtesy of the Earl Gray tea.

There’s also decadent dark chocolate on the nose, and a bit of sweetness I’m assuming is the honey. Lots going on here. The taste likewise has the tart fruity flavor, and there’s more than ample dark chocolate flavors and a smidge of honey and a nice boozy flavor that actually provides some balance, because this gets pretty close to Cloyingville.

The mouthfeel is rich and creamy, perfect for this big stout. I approached this beer with some trepidation because I’m not a big hot tea fan, and as mentioned earlier, this is close to cloying, but it ends up working really well.

 

Yet anotha holla @Ozzylizard and the seemingly endless hits from NBS BIF #14. This time, the cutest lil 8.46oz can. Oh. Wait. It's 14.1% ABV. Frogichlaus seems to be their take on Samichlaus, which I don't think I've seen an American brewer tackle before. Get you some if you see it: https://www.beeradvocate.com/beer/profile/14879/378284/

 

Good evening, NBW on this Thanksgiving weekend. Hope everyone enjoyed the day in their own way.

Going with a light beer tonight despite it being nasty cold outside.



This is from Tilted Barn in Exeter, RI. My second beer from them and another fortuitous find. Sunrise Over Sea Triple Berry. The can says Sunrise Over Sea is their fruited kettle sour series where they experiment with a variety of fruits. This one has blackberries, blueberries, and boysenberries.

The picture fails to capture the color. The pour is cloudy and kinda pinkish. The head has a slight beige tint. It falls to a pretty decent layer and persists. It looks good to this beerholder's eye.

The smell steps thing up a notch. Fruity and sweet but not jam-like, more fresh than preserved fruit. Hard pressed to tell which berries are involved in which proportion, but blackberries and blueberries for sure. I don't know if boysenberry smells much different than blackberry, but I trust It is there. Slightly floral, and I get the tea note from blueberry. There is a beer smell too...I can't say what, but there is a malt smell that seems pilsner.

This stuff tastes great. Very fruit flavored yet not overdone. Clean and crisp, mildly sour fruit, very slight bitterness and whatever the base malt is in a supporting role and I still feel pilsner. The berry flavors are nicely melded, the blueberry is easy to pick out and the rest is the B duo. Slight sweetness, acidity comes and goes but not super sour. Very enjoyable flavors.

Light bodied, fairly lively carbonation. The berry and sweetness linger just a bit followed by acidity.

This a very nice beer...easy 4.0 to 4.2 or thereabouts. Nicely made showing a subtle hand with the fruit flavorings. Glad that I have three more to enjoy. Worthy.

 

Just got back from a four day Thanksgiving break at Second Wind Farm in New Egypt, NJ to commiserate with the llamas and my ten week old grandnephew. Good times were had by all!
Here's a new-to-me from a buddy from Lancaster, PA who dropped off a few beers to me up in Stowe last Sunday from Pizza Boy and brewed in Enola, PA.

https://www.beeradvocate.com/beer/profile/18316/174108/



16 ounce can.
7.4% abv.
Canned 10. 18. 21.

Moderate pour yields a one inch white head over a medium hazy golden body with sticky lacing.

Nose of citrus with slight floral/herbal aromas and a bit of tropical fruit and pine.

Taste mirrors nose in its complexity, but really pops with all the flavor. Flavors are citrus, then tropical fruit, then finishing with mildly piney, floral herbaceous bitterness. Yup, I said that; if it makes any sense!

Mouthfeel is more than adequate for the style.

Overall, a solid IPA from Enola, PA.
Cheers to Floyd for the hookup!!!

 

Two exciting beers received from different people in NBS BIF #14-related activities.

35th Anniversary:
12oz bottle served in a Georgetown taster. Received from @WunderLlama. Packaged 09/03/2020. When I removed the electrical tape (or whatever it was) wrapped around the cap, there was immediate hissing, so there was some slight compromise of the seal.

Pours black, dark brown around the rim, with a small ring of head. Smell is lots of chocolate, a little dark-roasted coffee, a pretty strong amount of anise, some vanilla maybe. Maybe slight soy sauce / umami sense.

Taste is more in the dark roasted coffee direction with a little bit of very dark chocolate. Anise is there. Umami/soy sauce comes across very briefly. Roasty bitterness.

Mouthfeel is thick, chewy, satisfying. Overall, very nice beer.

Barrel Aged:
12oz bottle served in a pair of Georgetown sample glasses. Packaged 10/16/18. Received from @Whyteboar.

Pours black, brown along the edges, with essentially no head. Smell is boozy, bourbon, vanilla, oak, and very dark chocolate / dark roasted coffee.

Taste is boozy and super anise-y. Lots of roasty bitterness, lots of boozy sweetness. Fairly soft and well-balanced, actually.

Mouthfeel is thick and fluffy. Overall, very nice.

Thank you, Maynard and Craig!

 

One of my favorites parts of the weekend. Sharing virtual new beers together, learning a thing or two, and reading about beers that may become future new beers. The Christmas lights are finally all up, came inside to warm up with this beauty of a beer from @BBThunderbolt.

Boundary Bay - Cabin Fever



This beer has a beautiful color to it, this picture doesn’t do it justice at all. It’s a beautiful deep red color and it’s crystal clear. Not very thin layer of light brown head remains with a dense ring around the glass.

This beer is so bizarre because I know there is no fruit in it but it smells just like strawberry jam. Then like a slightly toffee like smell follows. Kind of reminds me of some sort of moist dark fruit bread.

Taste is rich toffee like berry and other fruit flavors, some spice, some nuttiness and dark bread vibes on the finish. It’s really neat because the berry morphs into raspberry now. I’m assuming it’s the tastes of everything else affecting me now, that we’re absent or perceived differently in the aroma. **update the spice really starts coming out as it warms I’m not good with picking them but maybe nutmeg like spice.

A big beer that actually drinks incredibly smooth, soft mouthfeel, nut like bitterness in the finish, a touch sweet, and indeed nice and warming.

Beers like this are incredible, so many layers, unique flavors and aromas, and beautiful to look at. I could sip and contemplate this beer for hours and not bore. Thanks a ton for sharing this one @BBThunderbolt

 

Are you originally from south jersey @bobv or just family live there now? Not every day New Egypt is mentioned here.

 

From earlier today. At Holler Brewing in Houston, easily among my favorites in town. Saint Arnold, True Anomaly are some of the others...

Anyway, a couple of Chardonnay barrel aged Belgian beers.

Funky Trap, Belgian Pale Ale in Chardonnay barrels , 7.0% ABV



Pours a murky pale reddish brown color. A one finger white head forms and recedes. Some lace is left behind.
The nose is citrus, and phenolic spice, toasted grains. Vinous wine, grapes, oak and vanilla. I love it.
Taste wise is big citrus and pithy like fruit flavors. Phenolic spice and toasted malts. Then the wine characteristics come into play. Vinous, grape, oak and vanilla. Wonderfully tart as well.
A medium body with good carbonation. Crisp but smooth at the same time. A touch tannin like as well. Really enjoyable to drink, I can come back to this easily.

Really well made with lots of nuance. The Belgian character is not lost, as the citrus, phenolic, and even toasted malts still make a presents. All is well balanced with the wine barrels. Yeah, just all around enjoyable.

Overall score is 4.2, A- boarding on A territory.
https://www.beeradvocate.com/beer/profile/45647/579080/?ba=champ103#review


Funky Trip, Belgian Tripel in Chardonnay barrels, 9.5%ABV

Holler has done this one on and off a few years now, and I have had it before, but this is the first time I have been able to write a review for it.



Pours a slightly hazy golden/orange color. A one finger white head forms and recedes to leave some lace behind.
Up front I get the Belgian phenolic spice and yeast. With some bready malts, and then the big vinous wine and grape character comes into play. Which is really nice.
Like the nose, taste wise...that Belgian yeast, phenolic spice, and candied sugar flavor is there. Bread and grains for a malt flavor to balance. The vinous wine and grapes with an acidic and tart bite in the finish.
A medium to full body. Well carbonated and becomes smooth as this breaths. Really enjoyable to sip on and drink.

Yeah, this is a good one to look forward to and enjoy every year. I always enjoy this around Thanksgiving or the winter months...whenever they get around to releasing it as it can very sometimes. The Belgian Tripel characteristics are there, and work really well with the wine barrels. Well done.

Overall score is 4.06, and easy A- for me.
https://www.beeradvocate.com/beer/profile/45647/547573/?ba=champ103#review

 

Had to NBW this beer. Was very excited to try it. Bought just this beer at the store. Thought the cashier rang up two four-packs by accident. Nope. $24.99 for one four-pack. Way more than recent Toppling Goliath NEIIPA releases. Look is apricot-orange. Looks like fruit juice instead of hazy IIPA. Smell. Wow! All kinds of fruit! I don't know the difference between papaya, guava, and mango, but all tropical fruits seemed to have sent representation. Very unique! Quite intense! The flavor has the "buttery electricity" that Toppling Goliath Brewing is known for, but imagine drinking a blend of all the fruits in the Chiquita banana lady's hat, but not like you would blend it. More like a valkyrie would blend it for your first beverage in Valhalla, after falling in a glorious battle. The mouthfeel is vivacious, champagne-like, and evervescient. Overall, this is a new chapter of success for Toppling Goliath Brewing, with an assist from Weldwerks Brewing, who I am a huge fan of! Is it worth about $8 for a can, and probably more outside of where I live? Yes it is!

 

I grew up in Seaside Park and moved to Stowe 33 years ago.

 

This is a collaboration beer between @scream's son and his favorite liquor store. Hopefully you can read the description. Look is midnight black. Smell is strawberry, peanut butter, and that lovely Jack Daniel's smell that lets you know it is going to be an interesting evening. Taste is strawberry, intense vanilla, and cola. Very tasty. Mouthfeel is very carbonated. Mr. Pibb-like. Overall, this is delectable, unique, and delicious! Exceeded all expectations! I got you, @Danmullens1, @beermanben, and @azuelke!

 

Elderberry Sahalie from Ale Apothecary, wild ale brewed with honey, aged with elderberries in oak barrels, clocking in at 10.64% abv.

750ml corked/caged bottle served in an angular wineglass. Batch 5.2019. I don't remember for sure where I got this, but it's a good chance I bought it at the brewery in March.

Pours dark purple with a flash of carbonation and no head. Small amount of carbonation. Clear. Aroma is tart, acidic, slightly woody, and lots of berry.

Taste is very tart, very very jammy. Tannic, something somewhat grape musty about it.

Mouthfeel is amazingly light and dry for such high abv. Overall, very good beer.

 

My first new beer of this weekend is one of the 2021 BCBS variants.

Bourbon County Cherry Wood Stout, 2021
ABV: 14.2%
IBU: NA



Same classic BCBS look: Deep black topped by a short tan-khaki head with short retention, receding to a thin ring, bubble island, and then nothing. Slight lacing if I tip the glass while the head / ring are still present. Pretty much no lacing once the ring disappears.

Aroma is strong: bourbon and wood, both vying for which is more to the front. Some fruitiness in the background.

The taste is different. It'll take me a few sips to try to parse it out. Bourbon is there, and the woodiness is quite prominent. The initial taste is a bit harsh, but this quickly transitions to a smooth sweetness, ending with a transition back toward dry (ish - by comparison; it's not actually a dry beer).

The woodiness of this one sets it clearly apart from the base beer, no doubt due to the greater surface area of wood in contact with the beer. I don't get much fruit in the flavor, though. If I try hard enough, I can perhaps detect it, but it is in the background, and but for the name, fruit may not have been mentioned in my review at all beyond some vague description like "dark fruit", which is present in many Imperial stouts. Hardly any noticeable alcohol warmth, certainly no burn.

The mouth feel is thick, but not as viscous thick as the classic BCBS, ending a bit sticky.

Overall, this is high on my list of the variants of years past. IOW, I am really enjoying this one. The only other variant I have bought this year is Fourteen. I'll save that one for tomorrow. I still haven't decided if I'm going to try to track down the coke version.

PS: after some time has passed, as I'm continuing to sip my way to the bottom of the glass, the beer does seem to be finishing drier than it did initially.

L: 4.25 | S: 4.0 | T: 4.5 | F: 4.0 | O: 4.25 | Rating: 4.27

 

Happy holiday weekend BA!

This post isn't so much a review as a need for commiseration.

This weekend I decided to treat myself by opening one of my more expensive beers, and I decided on Anchorage's The Explorer, a 15% bourbon-barrel aged imperial stout.

After fighting the wax coating for a bit I was able to pry open the cap. When I began pouring, I noticed something that upon reading other reviews I would later find was not a unique experience.

The beer glugged out slowly, then just practically stopped as the pour slowed to a drizzle.

After rousing the bottle a bit I was able to get the pour to resume, but now I was curious -- what was preventing it initially?

The pour at first seemed innocuous enough.



"That's kind of a strange head," I thought. "But at least there's not the typical issue with head formation that high-ABV stouts tend to have."

After closer examination, that head really is...weird.



After snapping the above picture I went to investigate the contents of the bottle to find out what was preventing the beer from pouring. Thankfully for you, I didn't take a picture of what I found from flushing the beer with warm water, which was a thick, black sludge that was wider than the neck of the bottle.

Well, at this point I'm a little turned off. Let me take a closer look at that head again.



What kind of weird science experiment is going on here?

Ultimately I had to rate the look of this beer a 1. The fact that others rated this something other than 1 makes me question both my and their judgment. In addition from the above, once I got through the, we'll call "interesting" foam head, the beer had numerous thick chunks floating around its surface and throughout.

Then, there was the aroma, the taste, and the mouthfeel, and while I don't exactly feel like the beer set itself up for success with its appearance, it did nothing to redeem itself in any of those factors either. It was extremely sweet and seemingly rather imbalanced.

I've thoroughly enjoyed several other of Anchorage's big BBA stouts, but this unfortunately was far from one of them. I think my rating of this beer clocked in at the lowest so far, with a whopping -26%rDev.

I couldn't finish more than 1/5 of it unfortunately and had to drain pour the agonizingly pricy remainder.

Look 1, Smell 3.25, Taste 3.5, Feel 3, Overall 3.5

My biggest regret? That I have one more of these.

Better luck next time?

Cheers BA!