New Beer Weekend #76

I must confess I am a bit stumped here as regards this specifically worded comment. If this was a Belgian Trappist/Abbey style ale I would comment that a flavor of dried dark fruits (e.g., prunes) is a result of a combination of darker specialty malts (e.g., Special B malt) and a bit of oxidation. I will later today be drinking a homebrewed Quad I bottled last June and I fully expect that at after 6 months of bottle conditioning I will perceive a fair bit of dried dark fruits (e.g., raisins, fig, prunes) in that beer. Why you tasted "prune" in a Kolsch is mystifying to me at the moment.

The 'best' guess is that even though this beer is relatively fresh within the context of an import (or maybe Gaffel uses a 15 month best by duration akin to Jever?) perhaps it got beat up in transport? If you have an interest in reading about the effects of transportation has on beer I would recommend this article to you:

https://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/full/10.1002/jib.535

Cheers!

P.S. If you have an interest in reading about Belgian Quad:

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

 

Congratulations on Beer # 3000!

 

Sipping brews with my Dad and brother, always good stuff.

 

I just re-read the article about Beer Freshness as regards beer staling aldehydes:

“Other examples of beer staling aldehydes and associated off-flavors:

2-Methylpropanal: cheesy

3-Methylbutanal: sweet/fruity

Hexanal: green apple

Furfural: almonds

Methional: sweet, honey-like

Benzaldehyde: bitter almond

Phenylacetaldehyde: cooked potato-like

It is important to keep in mind that how beer staling compounds are perceived is a complex combination of whether the individual compounds are at levels above the taste threshold and how many other compounds exist in total. What is more easily discerned is that a given beer brand will taste different when old vs. when it is fresh.

Also, the compounds discussed above are illustrative for what occurs during the aging of beer and is in no way a comprehensive list. For those interested in additional details I recommend you read the papers referenced at the end of this article.”

Well, no mention of “prune” (or similar) there but there are many other aldehydes that get formed during aging/vibration beyond those few listed above.

Maybe one of those other aldehydes produces an aroma/flavor of “prune”?

Cheers!

 

A Happy New Year to everyone! Despite my advanced age, I managed to stay awake until midnight. I actually made it to 1:30 am, trying to calm down a dog who does not like fireworks. I slept in until 6:30. There's been a couple rain squalls today, and the temperature has dropped 10 degrees in the last couple hours. Maybe a frost delay for golf tomorrow morning.
More college football today. Right now I'm watching OSU/ND. OSU has scored 17 points in the second half to take the lead. I have an irrational dislike of Notre Dame, so I am enjoying the game.
My new beer for today is Bourbon County Classic Cola Stout, which I enjoyed quite a lot.
Black color, tiny tan rim around the circumference of my glass.
Aroma of cola and vanilla.
Cola dominates the taste, then a little vanilla. Spicy/peppery finish.
A little thin on the mouthfeel.
Interesting beer.



@ChicagoJ, here are my top 5 beers for 2021:
Bourbon barrel aged Weekend
BCBS 14
Slow Pour Pils
Willetized Coffee Stout
King Sue

 

https://www.beeradvocate.com/beer/profile/47868/397132/

Citrus Drop by Matchless is my 3rd entry for today. If y'all are familiar with the pop Sun Drop, that's what the label is going for, as well as the contents of the can. Lots of grapefruit and lemon, with just a light grain background.

 

Went over to True Anomaly Brewing in Houston this afternoon. Always a favorite of mine around town.

New beer for me this time is Little Joe II. A Nelson Sauvin dry hopped lager. Its basically their Titan German Pils with Nelson. 5.8% ABV



Pours a beautifully clear golden/yellow color. A two finger white head forms with good retention. Lace is left behind.
Nose up front is a baked bread aroma, like walking into a bakery. Along with lager yeast. A mix of grassy hops and grapes. There is a lingering peppery spice as well.
Taste wise, oh yeah. Almost vinous and grape like. An initial sweet juiciness shows up. Though doesn't last long. With a baked bread and grassy hop flavor. Lingering bitterness and peppery spice. I like it a lot.
A medium body. Crisp carbonation that is ultra clean and finishes dry. Which all leads to a very easy to drink lager, and one I'm going to come back to whenever I get a chance.

I would not put this in the German Pils category, though it doesn't really fit any style well here. Even though it does have a bit of grassy and bready/grain characteristics. The Nelson hops put this in another style though. Probably just a regular American Lager IMO. Oh well, that doesn't matter much. Its a great showcase for the hop, and it is incredibly clean and crisp. So as not to lose its lager background. Another great beer from this brewery, and highly recommended.

Overall score is 4.23, and easy A- bordering on an A.
https://www.beeradvocate.com/beer/profile/55586/490511/?ba=champ103#review

 

We were in the same boat with our dog, sporadic home fireworks from 8-12:30 she was shaking and panting about 3/4s of that time, I feel your pain.

 

Toppling Goliath Dragon Fandango Sour Kettle Ale with Passion & Dragon fruit, 4.2% ABV; 4.21 overall

Pours a pinky Rose' color with 3 fingers of pinkish colored head. Zero head retention or lacing

S: Passion fruit in spades, a little citrus, some tart blackberry

T: Follows the nose, pretty dry, some grapefruit, pretty darn tart. Sweet & Tart Passionfruit, & little cherry as this warms, plus a little dryness. Finishes with tart passion fruit & a little cherry

MF: Medium body, low carbonation, very sticky on the teeth

Very good sour, nice drinkability

 

You may just have better choices in your locale

 

It is popular on BA for folks to discuss aspects like smelling (i.e., olfactory senses), taste, palate, etc. but these are just 'sensors' that provides inputs to the brain. It is the brain that 'processes' these inputs into an organoleptic response. Not to discount these senses since we all know when our nose gets 'plugged up' with a cold we have diminished ability to perceive flavors but it really is the brain that makes this all 'work'. Your brains 'says' prune and that is what you are indeed perceiving.

If ever in my studies I find a staling aldehyde which is associated with prune (or similar) I will send you a PM.

Cheers!

P.S. At a past HomebrewCon I attended a presentation by a scientist from Aroxa. This company produces and sells flavor standards:

“Certified flavour standards can be used to train your tasters to recognize and scale the intensity of more than 70 individual flavour notes in beer, cider, wine, water, soft drinks and a range of other foods and beverages including ready meals, spirits and oils. Each flavour standard contains a precise quantity of powdered sensory-pure flavour material, nano-encapsulated for stability.”

I visited the Aroxa website to see if they produced a flavor standard (chemical compound) for prune:

https://www.aroxa.com/catalogsearch/result/?q=prune

The answer to this website search is no.

The search continues…

 

Happy New Year! 3 vibrant IPAs for 1-1-2022
Voodoo Ranger Starship IPA | New Belgium | IPA | 7.7%
4.18/5 rDev +10.6%
look: 4 | smell: 4 | taste: 4.25 | feel: 4.25 | overall: 4.25
agree this may be the best in the series. Way over top the rest. great first new beer of 2022. Happy New Year. Purchased in mixed 12 at WFM.
a) Throws massive galaxies of lace, lasting head over translucent, hazed golden body.
s) Galaxy hops (a single hop beer, well dosed) Lime, lemongrass, lemon, peach.
t) Bright peachy fruit nectar melange well dosed with lime and lemon squirts.
f) Clean, juicy, upbeat, frothy.
o) Modern, clean, fresh take on Galaxy. Bravo.

Wet Gravity | Foreign Objects | NE IPA |
4.43/5 rDev +5.7%
look: 4.25 | smell: 4.25 | taste: 4.5 | feel: 4.5 | overall: 4.5
Four and a Quarter off the bat. No doubt, a great hazed wet IPA.
a) Classic hazed pour sprouting long lasting lacing head.
s) Aromas of passion fruit, mango pine, citrus rind, marmalade. Some fresh bread.
t) Follows aromas but big, and a bigger bread bakery, crusty and piney.
f) Luscious, just right, creamy and then drying bitter.
o) Top NE IPA.

Alleyway Brew | Equilibrium | NY | 6.5%
4.26/5 rDev +4.2%
look: 4 | smell: 4.25 | taste: 4.25 | feel: 4.5 | overall: 4.25
2d review. Northern style IPA, powerful as a DIPA.
a) Full-on haze, slashing white head.
s) Melon, sawn wood, citrus, berries, grape resolving in more sawdust.
t) Adds a little hemp, grass and medicine cabinet.
f) Chewy, big for a 6.5% ABV.
o) My first from brewer this is an A+. Rare. Not sweet.

 

My New Year's Resolution is to review more often, so why not get started today. Reviewing definitely leads to a more mindful experience and I think I tend to appreciate beers much more when doing so. Got this from @brentk56 recently. Resident Culture Song for Hard Times Kellerpils.
Review here: https://www.beeradvocate.com/beer/profile/48716/583766/?ba=adrock314#review

Really nice lager. Hits the sweet spot for me.