New Beer Weekend #71

I love your post so much. Thank you!

 

Tonight is a new to me beer

Goose Island – Bourbon County Brand Stout Fourteen (AKA Prop14 Redux – 2021)

13.2% ABV

The beer is listed as “Stout – American Imperial” on BA.

The beer was removed from a 45ish degree temp fridge after having been refrigerated for approximately 3 hours. Beer poured into 2012 BCBS snifter.

First Impression: Pours dark, Thick for a variant? 4.5

Appearance: Standard Bourbon County. Small head that recedes quickly. 4.25

Smell: cassia upfront followed by a vague ‘sweetness’ with hints of vanilla and coconut (vanilla being the more dominant). 4.5

Taste: This is a flavor explosion. It starts with cassia then quickly recedes, much like the nose to a vague sweetness that I attribute to both the sugar and the coconut (water) that were added. I think both, but particularly the coconut are successful at taming the cassia. 4.85

Mouthfeel: This is thicker than BCBS has been in years, and very thick for a BCBS variant, and even thicker when considering it is a cassia variant, which tends to thin out the base much like a coffee variant does. 4.75

Overall: I love this beer. OMG. I’ve been working, so I’ve been slowly sipping on this for 4 hours. It’s an absolute pleasure. I can’t express just how much I am jamming on this beer. It’s by far the best variant I’ve had since 2015 (rare), and the best Cinnamon beer I have had. I only had Prop14 once, but for me this is better than that. Not because of any fresher flavors (I had Prop in 2019), but because of the Cassia. For me, this is extremely balanced. Everything in harmony. It’s a symphony in my mouth. I’m ecstatic that I was fortunate enough to obtain this, but disappointed that I was only able to obtain a couple bottles. Wish I had a few more. 4.8

BA Review Score: 4.71

My review can be found here: https://www.beeradvocate.com/beer/profile/1146/563025/?ba=Beer_Economicus#review



Come join us over in the Bourbon County Tasting thread if you haven't already!

 

Wie gehts! Where in Germany are you and how do you find so many different brews? Hopefully I'll be in Munchen in March (COVID permitting!) but most of the brews I usually find are simply small local breweries. Not that there's anything wrong with that! But I'd like to broaden my beer experiences with a wider range of German brews, to include both mass-produced and one-offs. In my (limited) experience, stores specializing in beers seem to be rare and large grocery stores seem to be selling primarily in case lots. Any help would be appreciated! Danke!

 

Happy New Beer Sunday #875!

Regular (or Base) Bourbon County Brand Stout is by no means new to me, but due to the release of "Easter Eggs" last year, in addition to the typical blend, GI tried to "prop" up sales by widely releasing three stand alone barrel (Heaven Hill and Buffalo Trace being the other two) offerings they typically make in small batches to provide to their barrel suppliers. I do not believe they attempted this this year, the first since entering the craft scene I passed on purchasing BCBS.

Bourbon County Brand Stout (2020 Wild Turkey)



Bottle Notes: 14.6% ABV, 16.9 oz bottled 9/25/20. Develops in the bottle for up to five years, drink by 9/24/25.0927 WT. Intense aromas of charred oak, vanilla, caramel & smoke. The original bourbon barrel aged stout. Purchased on 11/27/20, cellared until 11/17/21. refrigerated the last 11 days.

Appearance: Multiple pours into a 12 oz. BCBS snifter. Very dark brown to black base, nominal rich tan head evaporates instantly living a tan white ring over the base. Carbonation appears muted. 3.75

Aroma: Mile aroma strength, vanilla and sharp whiskey 20 minutes after pulling from the refrigerator. Does not change much while drinking, less nuanced than other version's I have tried. 3.75

Taste: Much more exciting and stronger than the aroma would indicate. Nice creamy balance of caramel, followed by a nice oak barrel. Maple syrup is next followed by milk chocolate. Definitely leans sweet, though though the whiskey does help contain excess sweetness, including buttered hot corn on the cob. More of a sweeter whiskey taste compared to the typical barrel bends released. GI beers have been trending sweet the past few years, be it the base and variants, wish this was more balanced and barrel forward. 4.25

Mouthfeel: Creamy, rich, full, decedent. A hint of faint carbonation, sweet to very sweet at times, momentary whiskey heat and taste felt at times attempting to peek through but mostly to no avail. This is drinking at to above the high ABV, sweet corn syrup and caramel aftertaste lingers. 4.5

Overall: Perhaps I'm too far removed from my last base beer, but this version is different than what I can recall, at least based on my current palate. A very sweet experience, never experienced corn fritter / cream corn taste in a BCBS, or any BA Imperial Stout for that matter, so this was a first. I do enjoy butter and corn, so in that aspect, I was OK, but really missed a more balanced approach and the smooth whiskey experience I typically enjoy with previous blended iterations of this offering. I did enjoy this, but if given the option I would select the traditional blended offering over this one. 4.0

Hope this helps you Easter Egg hunters. I'm going to dive into my comparison between the Suffolk County and this version, replicating over two days what @zid accomplished in a single setting, with notes posted shortly in the Bourbon County thread.

Looking forward to either a WCIPA or Malt Liquor pour tomorrow. Cheers!

 

I've been on a revisit old favorite Beers kick this fall, taking a break from reviewing. This came to an end when I saw this treat at my favorite local brewery.

Dreadnought Dopplebock by Bravo Brewing of scenic Pascoag R.I. Prost.


4.26/5 rDev 0%
look: 4 | smell: 4.25 | taste: 4.25 | feel: 4.5 | overall: 4.25

A 12-oz. pour at the brewery with a deliberate lack of head. Deep dark copper-brown, clear at bottom of the glass yet cloudy from the full view. After a few sips I agitated up a short-lived off-white head that left a thin sticky ring.

Toasted malt greets the nose, closely followed by a blend of caramel malt and baked fruits featuring apple, pear and raisin. Roasted malt is low in the smell, floral/herbal hops are faint. Alcohol is well hidden.

Semi-sweet with low bitterness, the roasted/toasted characters blend to keep the caramel/fruit sweetness from getting out-of-hand. Big flavor yet clean and well balanced. A very light astringency, half alcohol half deep roasted grain, appears late in the taste. The finish is gradual, rich malt flavors cling on as the battle of sweet and dry lingers.

Medium full bodied with appropriately moderate carbonation, a little oily-maybe from malt richness. A slow drinker or a quick sipper-alcohol is deceptively hidden. A little more roasted malt and less caramel sweetness and this one would be a perfect match to style guidelines.

 

Live Free by Treehouse

4.28/5 rDev +0.9%
look: 4.25 | smell: 4.25 | taste: 4.25 | feel: 4.5 | overall: 4.25

Canned 9.16, opened 11.28



“Keep cold and drink fresh”

Brewers Notes: Live Free is an American Double IPA featuring Citra and Motueka hops. It is loosely based on our Juice Project series. Pushing boundaries while retaining drinkability is of the utmost importance to us. To keep things balanced, we used a small amount of hops on the hot side of the process and dry-hopped with over eight pounds per barrel during the lengthy cold conditioning process. The resulting beer is absolutely brimming with juicy hop character featuring notes of pulpy citrus, mango, and passion fruit!

Poured into a teku , two finger creamy off white foam cap, good lacings , settles to a thick layer after five minutes over a hazy orange liquid

Aroma is orange citrus, pithy, mango, passionfruit

Taste is orange citrus, passionfruit, mango

Good sudsing , smooth creamy mouthfeel , hop taste, gentle hop nibble, semi dry finish



Good beer

 

Schlüssel Gold


Yields a clear golden color with a big, pillowy head.


Smells of dried garden herbs, grass and lighter lime zest, tied together by whole grain bread rind and orange peel.


The beer drinks easy and refreshing with a well accentuated, bubbly carbonation among a light and well balanced body.


Tastes of dry and spicy noble hops, dried wood and hay together with a whiff of crackers and caramel among soothing straw. Offers a short glimpse of oranges, toned down by bread and toffee, with an ongoing dryness underneath. Finishes with bitter turning herbs, subtle lime and lighter, sweet caramel.


This, to me, is a well done Pilsener which got pretty much nothing to do with a session pale ale. That being said, I still consider this a small revolution for a traditional Alt beer brewery.

 

Forever Stoned from 3 Sons and Tripping Animals in the beautiful state of Florida. 6% and drinking wonderfully.

Pours a ruby tinged orange, completely opaque and with a a finger of foamy bubbles, about the same color as the liquid itself.

Aroma is peach and apricot purée and peel, with vanilla in the middle and a baked bread undertone. Taste follows suit with the fruit purées up front and a sweet vanilla/marshmallow accent, finishing a sweet baked pie crust. Feel is a straight up fruit smoothie. I loved this beer and have my good buddy @HeartofMiami to thank for it in association with the NFL 33 2021 BIF. Thank you very much man! I love these smoothie beers.

 

Llamas don’t get mentioned too often here either …;p

 

Kane - 3653 Anniversary Ale. Received from @MacMalt in NBS BIF #14.

500ml waxed/capped served in a slightly tulippy wineglass. If there's a date, I don't see it.

Pours black, almost no head, couple goobers floating around on top after pouring perhaps a bit too completely. Smell is beautiful, rich chocolate and vanilla, lots of dark roasted coffee.

Taste is similar -- luscious chocolate with a nice dark roast coffee background, a little anise, lots of vanilla. Noticeable coconut and a hint of cinnamon.

Mouthfeel is thick, rich, smooth. Overall, excellent beer. I am delighted that the coconut and cinnamon are not overdone -- two things that breweries frequently do that diminish their beers, in my opinion.

Thank you, Rob! A long line of exciting and fabulous beers ticked and enjoyed because of you.

 

Touché @WunderLlama

 

Trying a classic Quad for the first time!
4.59/5 rDev +2%
look: 4.5 | smell: 4.75 | taste: 4.5 | feel: 4.25 | overall: 4.75

750 ml bottle poured into a goblet

A- A clear brown with red highlights and small tan head.

S- Dark fruits, figs, hints of cherries, toffee, some earth spice, hints of roasted malts, yeast.

T- Dark fruits, figs, earthy, some caramel/toffee, yeast, slightly bready.

M- Smooth, medium body, very lively carbonation.

O- An excellent Quad and easy to drink. Flavors are well balanced

Cheers!

 

Greetings fellow NBSers! Another soaking wet day here in the Fourth Corner, as we've another Atmospheric River drenching us. We get, on average, 5.2 inches of rain in November. In the big storm a couple weeks ago, we got 5.6 inches, on top of what we had already received. No idea how much we've got this go-round, but they've called for flood warning out in the low-lands in the county.

On to beer. My first entry today comes from Carton, via @jonphisher , and is Brunch. Dinner. Grub. table beer. Nice grains, some yeast spice, and some lightly fruity hops:

https://www.beeradvocate.com/beer/profile/26817/74951/