New Beer Weekend #76

Poured into a 20 oz Snulip glass. Pours pitch black on a cold cloudy winters evening, with a massive 3 finger sticky mocha head that leaves thin streaks of lace, with incredible retention. 5

Aroma huge expresso, dark chocolate, vanilla bean, dark fruit, and some alcohol is definitely present. 4.5

Taste follows expresso, dark chocolate, vanilla, dates, and some amaretto. 4.25

Mouthfeel is above average, really light carbonation, not sticky or dry, and at 11.2% ABV it drinks big, but still easy enough going down for sure. 4.25

Overall this is good for sure, but honestly I really wanted even more. This is beer 3,000 for me on BA. This beer is was worthy, but had crazy expectations. 4.25

 

KC Bier Co.'s Schwarzbier, 5.0% ABV; 4.01 overall

Pours an effervescent hazel/chestnut with 2+ fingers of tan head. Above average head retention & lacing

S: so much roastyness & a little brown bread & toastyness
'
T: Follows the nose, some cocoa notes, plus a touch of coffee up front. Slightly nutty bitterness, roastyness & a touch of cocoa as this warms, plus dryness. Finishes dry, toasty with a little charred grain & watered down coffee

MF: Medium body, fairly firm carbonation

True to the style, pretty easy to drink

 

Congrats on 2K, you seem to very selective about your review choices.

 

Howdy all! As I have to work tomorrow (we have Mystery Science Theater 3000 Live at the theatre), if I get to post tomorrow, it'll likely be later in the evening. For some reason, I woke up at 5am today and couldn't fall back asleep, so, now that I've been up a while, why not have a 9am brew? Reuben Claus from Reuben's Brews down in Seattle:

https://www.beeradvocate.com/beer/profile/29693/315809/



I ended 2021 with 546 new reviews. How many will I get in 2020Also? I'll let ya know in a year.

 

Temps are dropping, wind picking up and the weather idiot calling for 6"-8" starting now. Enjoying a Church Street Russian Rhapsody a very solid RIS, something the world needs more of.


4.02/5 rDev 0%
look: 4.25 | smell: 4 | taste: 4 | feel: 4 | overall: 4

Pours a thick black with a brown head, leaving a nicely laced glass.
Nose get roasted malts, chocolate, vanilla, taste is similar.
Thick body, carbonation is spot on for the style.
Very good, smooth, easy drinking at 10%.

 

Okay here's my stab at Best beers I had this year. All were ranked 4.3 or higher by me.

Firestone Walker 25th Anniversary Ale
Boulevard Magic Drip Imp Stout, Baklava Imp Brown Ale, Tiki Slam Sour
Toppling Goliath PompeII Beach IPA
Prison City Pub & Brewery Whams Above Whams Below Stout
Brasserie de l' Abbaye du Val Winter Ale ( Strong Belgian PA )
Abita Chocolate Doberge Cake Stout
Parish Ghost in the Machine IPA
Odell Solarized Imp IPA
Deschutes The Abyss ( Rye Barrel )
Great Raft Barksdale Bubble Hazy IPA
Stone Enjoy By Tangerine & Pineapple
Timber Ales Vanilla Maris English Barleywine
Oskar Blues BA21 Vol.6 BA Imp Stout

15 total




Locals or sorta:
New Province Brewing's Holding Hands Passionfruit IPA
Angry Scotsman 9th Knuckle BA Barleywine
Prairie/Elk Valley Collaborate and Listen Imp Stout
Gotahold Brewing Downhill Ride Imp IPA
Ozark Beer Co. Kickin' Bass Hazy IPA & Southern-Hemi NZ Dry Hopped Lager
American Solera Take it to the Max now With Phantasm IMP IPA
Roughtail Former Gifted Student Imp Stout & Pack Tactics Imp IPA

9 Total

 

Back now, with another brew from Revolution, via @FBarber , Maple Jacket. Maple is one of those things where a little goes a long way for me, so I was expecting this to be overpoweringly maple. It wasn't. The maple did build over the glass, but never got to the tiresome stage: https://www.beeradvocate.com/beer/profile/22072/560477/

 

Transient Buckley Select #1 (Imperial Stout w/ vanilla, Tugboat coffee, and Michigan maple syrup aged in Weller Whiskey barrels for 18 months). Believe this beer is about 16 months old in the bottle.

Pours a very dark brown, pretty much black color, with a thin blanket of mocha colored head that dissipates quickly. The beer almost looks still in the glass. Alcohol legs for days. 4.0

Aroma brings a significant spirit and charred barrel character, as well as dark roast coffee, maple, vanilla, dark chocolate, brownie, some caramel, molasses, dark fruit, roasted malts. Despite maple and vanilla in this, the aroma is balanced well by the prominent spirit and barrel, as well as the added coffee and dark chocolate notes of the base. 4.5

Taste follows the nose nicely. Dark roast coffee, bourbon-soaked vanilla bean ice cream, 90% dark chocolate, fudge, maple syrup, caramelized sugar, slight raisin, big dusty charred oak, significant yet smooth bourbon spirit. The extended aging in Weller barrels shows through on this beer and it does an excellent job balancing the beer out from the sweet adjuncts. 4.75

Medium body. Thinner than I'd like for this style. The extended aging probably has something to do with that. Oily, sticky, slick. Even at 16 months or so aged, this still has a nice dose of heat as it goes down. 4.0

This is an outstanding BA stout from Transient, which isn't surprising at all. The 18 months of aging in Weller barrels imparts a lot of great barrel and spirit character into the beer and balances the vanilla and maple adjuncts out well. The coffee presence is really nice too. The adjuncts are used tastefully in this one, but for me, the barrels are the star of the show. 4.5
Overall: 4.52

 

Great time to start the new year!

Mason's Brewing Co - Maine, Mosaic Hipster Apocalypse



Poured from the can into a Spiegelau IPA glass.

Supper sudsy and frothy huge bleach white head out of the can. Reaches easily over four fingers and with lots of small swiss cheese bubbles not budging at all. Body is exceptionally clear and has a beautiful lemon yellow clarity. There's a lot of ample carbonation also, no surprise there. Don't mind a large head once in awhile if it's controllable but this one is pushing it just by a hair. Still a very nice looking IPA.

Really good hop aroma, hitting touches of light earth and dank character, and a musty perfume like sweentess in the mix. Soft mix of herbal bitterness and just a touch of pith like citrus oils. Quite a varied aroma surprisingly and nice.

Palate hits nicely. Light bodied but still a supportive enough mouthfeel, flirts with a wet honey feel, but still delivers an enjoyable palate. Soft hints of herbs and sweet dank flavors on first sip. Flirts with chewy depth, but there's that light sweet honey finish and flavor that just flirts with citrus like qualities and a good zesty rind like oil taste on the swallow. Juiced, light bodied, and earthy goodness.

Very nice IPA, very impressed with this brewery.

look: 4 | smell: 4.25 | taste: 4.25 | feel: 4 | overall: 4.25 | Final Score: 4.21/5

Cheers!

 

I am glad to read that you are a fan of the Kölsch beer style (as in Kölsch like those brewed in Cologne, Germany). At the bottom is a link to an article entitled “What is a Kölsch beer?” which I think you might enjoy reading.

In a past BA thread I discussed a German Kölsch drinking experience I had at a local craft beer bar:

“A beer bar local to me conducted a " Kölsch weekend" a couple of weekends ago. They were able to get very fresh kegs of: Gaffel, Fruh, Reisdorff, Sunner and Sunner Unfiltered (labeled as Kellerbier in Germany). All five of those beer were tasty but my favorite was the Sunner Unfiltered Kolsch; I ordered several glasses of that beer.”

To provide further comment on the above, the big positive of that Kölsch drinking experience is that those beers were very fresh. I am of the strong opinion that the Kölsch beer style is very delicate and it is beneficial to drink these beers in very fresh conditions. And hopefully not too abused in transport across the Atlantic. On that aspect below is a link to an article about Beer Freshness:

https://www.morebeer.com/articles/Beer_Freshness

As to your specific query of “…have much more experience with the style, including Gaffel - and your own, of course. I'm curious to get your opinion on this one, and whether or not you consider it a fairly typical Kölsch, or if you think it's just a little bit different.”

In my opinion the various Kölsch beers as brewed in Germany do have a lot of similarities; an extract from the below linked article:

“Kölsch is a subtle beer, with a light grainy Pilsner malt aroma and flavor. It is subtle and soft with some grainy malt sweetness up front but with a crisp enough finish that the beer never really seems sweet. The other flavors often attributed to this beer, such as sulfur, hop flavor, hop aroma, and fruitiness, are usually very subtle in the examples or not present at all.”

Having quoted the above I do indeed notice subtle differences between the various German brands. Within a narrow range there are difference in bitterness, level of perceptible sweetness, level of esters (i.e., fruity flavors), level of dryness (i.e., final gravity value),…

Now, specifically as regards Gaffel, as compared to the BIG three imported Kölsch beers (Fruh, Reisdorff, Gaffel) I typically find Gaffel to be on the lower end of the sweetness spectrum, lower amounts of esters, and bit less hoppy (e.g., bitterness). And I feel compelled to mention that in past purchases of canned Gaffel I have also perceived some acetaldehyde (for my palate a sort of green apple/latex paint aroma/smell). Acetaldehyde in beer is a technical brewing flaw; maybe that specific batch was rushed through production? Also, to expound on the term “typically’ it is in recognition that imported Kölsch beers are sensitive to age (and potential rough transport) so there will be variability in the sensory qualities of a given brand accordingly. To specifically respond to whether I think that Gaffel is a “typical Kölsch” I would say yes to that but a bit ‘less’ in comparison to Fruh and Reisdorff.

Fairly recently (a year ago?) I was able to order a pint of Sion Kölsch (German brewed) beer at a local craft beer bar and I can report I was not a fan of that beer; it was quite lacking in the subtle flavors I expect in a Kölsch beer.

OK, I will now share a secret with you: I have very recently stopped homebrewing Kölsch beer. In the past year (or so) Von Trapp has made their Kolsch a year-round product and I can readily find this beer at my local beer retailers in very fresh condition. I would not state that Von Trapp Kölsch is the equivalent of my homebrewed Kölsch beer but it is close enough for me. I really enjoy drinking Von Trapp Kölsch.

Hopefully I properly addressed your query but feel free to ask any follow-up questions you might have.

Cheers to Kölsch!

https://www.morebeer.com/articles/Brewing_Kolsch