New Beer Weekend #77

Greetings All from the Great Northwest where we are sunny and cold for the weekend. We had snow earlier this week, then a warming trend. Now just some messy looking ice and snow.

This week we have Reunion IPA from Boston Brewing. It's the last of the holiday sampler 12 pack.
https://www.beeradvocate.com/beer/profile/35/574824/

A drinkable IPA, perhaps one of the better from Sam Adams?

No real rooting interest in any football this weekend. Purely watching for the entertainment value.

Until next time

 

Never put the summer formula in the windshield washer. It winds up still there and freezes in the winter.

 

I"ve been sticking to the tried and true recently, but dabbled into new TRVE Brewing territory this weekend.
This Sun Eater IPA is fantastic.
7%
Grist has local Troubadour (CO) malts
Hops: Amarillo, Mosaic, and Idaho 7

Just had about half of this in the WBAYDN post, and it left an impression, so why not log it into the official NBW archives?

4.14/5 rDev +5.1%
look: 4 | smell: 3.75 | taste: 4.25 | feel: 4.5 | overall: 4.25

L - classic, crystalline, bubbles-as-fuck champagne look, with a great head, and lacing as it descends the glass. Love that TRVE has stayed true to the west coast style.

S - Ok, could be the hop mix, could be the clarity - this doesn't smell like much more than bitter biscuits and a touch of bread and lemon. Its weak point.

T - Fantastic balance of the grist and hops on this - classic bitterness but rounded out by the malts, just lemony-bread zest bitterness and flowers arrangement impression. Great stuff. Totally different.

F - Thish is maybe the beer's strength. TRVE have nailed the "brut" appearance, carbonation, and dryness without going tasteless as often is the case with true BRUT IPA attempts (this is not labeled as Brut). But if you like "beer as champagne" mouthfeel, appearance, bubbling, CO2, this is a beer for you.

O- a totally different IPA in TRVE's usual heavy, heavy arsenal. Fantastic. Get it.

 

From the Samuel Adams winter/holiday pack.

Samuel Adams Reunion IPA
ABV: 6.0%
IBU: 40

Slightly cloudy, mostly clear golden color, well carbonated, topped by a 1 inch+ tall, thick, white, creamy-appearing head with excellent retention, leaving thick, sticky lacing.

Aroma of citrus, pine, lemon, and bread.

The taste does not follow the nose. Yes, there is the pine, and perhaps some citrus, but the initial flavor is dominated by an unusual earthiness. Once I start drinking, I then also pick up this earthiness in the aroma as well. By "earthiness", I mean like freshly plowed earth. It's not an off-putting flavor, just unusual and unexpected. The beer is nicely bitter, with the bitterness beginning in the middle and carrying through to the aftertaste, building in intensity as I drink, but never reaching the classic WCIPA level of bitterness. At the half-way point, the earthiness does seem to recede a bit behind the citrus/pine combo. The finish is dry.

The body is moderate (for an IPA), with an enjoyable level of carbonation.

Overall, an unusual flavor profile, but it is growing on my as I near the bottom of the glass. I'm not sure what is "reunion" or "holiday about it, but at least it is not YACCIPA (yet another copycat IPA).

L: 4.0 | S: 3.75 | T: 3.5 | F: 3.5 | O: 3.5 | Rating: 3.59

 

Have I mentioned I retired last spring? That weather looks a lot different when one doesn't have to go out in it, walk, drive etc.

 

#2, I absolutely LOVE the base Xocoveza, so I’m really excited to try this variant. As a big time Stone fanboy, this should be in my sweet spot (pun intended).





4.46/5 rDev +10.1%
look: 4.25 | smell: 4.5 | taste: 4.5 | feel: 4.25 | overall: 4.5

This beer pours a dark cola color from the can that looks more like a porter, but as it settles in the glass, it is has a black body under a substantial tan head. The nose has the coffee (lots) and the chocolate (less lots), with the peppers making an impressive appearance.

The taste is led by the coffee, with enough chocolate for balance, and a healthy dollop of peppers for a little heat. The key, for me, was to let this warm before pouring, because that allowed the peppers to open, and the subtle heat worked exceptionally well with the coffee and chocolate flavors, similar to the base beer.

I’m glad I have more cans of this to enjoy over the next few weeks, because this is a delicious beer, whether it’s an imperial stout (maybe), or an imperial porter (more likely, IMHO).

 

Alright I mentioned this beer in my last post and was planning to drink Sunday but mrs phisher wanted to split it so here we go. A gift from my sister in laws husband.

The Veil - lord whangdoodle
*Imperial Chocolate Milk Stout Aged in a Blend of Bourbon, Cognac, Maple and apple brandy Barrels for 14 Months Conditioned on Double Coconut & Double Vanilla

well that is a lot…



Pours like thick black motor oil, fizzy and instantly disappearing carbonation. No head or retention at all. Some floaties here and there.

Smell is all chocolate and bourbon, or spirits may be a better term here. To my non expert nose it comes off as bourbon mostly. Maybe a tad of vanilla.

Taste is rich fudgey chocolate first and foremost. Get some vanilla, I think I’m picking up some of the apple brandy barrel too. The rest comes off as general sweetness and dessert flavors. No coconut at all.

Mouthfeel rich and thick, low carbonation, it actually drinks pretty smooth and isn’t overbearingly sweet as I imagined it may be. Slight nasal booze on the finish.

Overall it is what it is a dessert like sipping beer. If you like this type of beers I’d say this is a pretty good one.

 

Hitting No Drought's Lutra pilsner now, with a small pizza from the establishment next door:

Pretty good, flavor wise, if maybe a little muted. It's a little hazy for a traditional pils. Seems more Czech than German in style to me, but I tend to base my German pils on Jever, which is a tad more agressively hopped than most.

You sound like my Dad! Every year before he retired, he bitched about snow and worried about somebody slipping on ice at his office. Now he complains about the LACK of snow in the Tri-cities...until it gives him problems when it actually happens, of course.

 

I've stopped buying beers from this brewery. Too many bad experiences.

 

Yet more beer associated with NBS BIF #14. Sent my way via FedEx by @WunderLlama, this beer from a new-to-me brewery in Tennesee leaked in the box. Luckily, it was delivered at a pretty reasonable cellar temperature, and we're just gonna roll with it. I'll share my thoughts on this beer in the condition that it's in, but I'm not going to enter it as an actual review.

Wet Hop Basique, from Barrique. 6% abv, bottled 04/08/21, Batch #87. "Sour Citrus Ale aged on fresh Idaho 7 Wet Hops"

Sadly, pours with basically no head. Very cloudy, but it has recently been shaken up pretty badly. I'll try to console (consume?) the poor thing. If I was going to score the looks, it would be OK.

Smell is nice -- tart, dry, stone-fruity. Apricots and peaches come to mind. Just a little bit of a spicy herbalness in the background.

Taste is interesting. Stone fruit is definitely there, but I get a very heavy oaky / woody characteristic. Some vinousness, like grapeskins or stems. There is a bit of a green vegetation to it, but not too much.

Mouthfeel is very flat and disappointing, with slight slick/buttery feel to it. I'll chalk that up to its condition at delivery. Overall...for a beer that lost all pressure, I'm enjoying it fine, but I would have liked to get to know it pre-traumatization.

Thank you, Maynard!

 

Dragon's Milk Reserve Bourbon Barrel Aged with Vanilla and Chai



Bottled on 9/29/2029 and for some reason just stuck in my cellar fridge; maybe I was wary of the chai. Anyway when I first tasted it I thought I detected a coconut flavor until I realized that was the vanilla and chai. As it warmed the flavors blended into something different and not unpleasant. Very smooth for 11% with no burn. Whatever the reason for my reticence on this was very ill considered.

 

Pipeworks Phantom Unicorn BA Imp Stout, 14.3% ABV; 4.43 overall

Pours a thick chestnut/mahogany with minimal mocha colored head. Viscous, zero head retention & lacing

S: Tons of dark fruit, oak, vanilla & booze

T: Dark cherry, figs, raisins, raw oakyness, molasses & cocoa nibs up front. Dark cherry, woody hops, a little vanilla & oakyness as this warms. Finishes, with dark chocolate, vanilla, carob, molasses & leafy hops & figs

MF: Super chewy, near zero carbonation, warming

Quality BA Imp Stout, would prefer to many hyped BA stouts out there. Not sure how it will hold up in the can for aging, but great right now! ABV is there, but layered through so much flavor