New Beer Weekend #80

I tend to rate a bit higher than EVERYBODY. IJS.

I also noted the reference to a significant vegetal note in the review @FBarber wrote. I didn't pick up much if any of that and wrote it off to batch variation, as you stated so well, because Frank is a reviewer of the highest quality, IMHO.

Bissell could brew a beer with flip flops and I'd buy it. They're on my "bucket list NE brewery trip" along with MBC, Alchemist, H-F, Lawson's, and Tree House. One of these days, I'm gonna pack up Mrs O and make that trip happen.

And I got a buncha youse I'm gonna put the arm on to join us at those stops (as geography allows).

 

The Dark Lord allows himself to age well. I think I've got a 2015 bottle in the beer fridge that I'm gonna break out the next time Little O is in town.

Glad you enjoyed it, Roy. For a beer that is as highly rated as DL is, there are some folks that ..... REALLY don't like it (because of that sweetness you reference). I love it, but it's definitely a polarizing beer. Or "soy" I've been told.

 

Why is it that everywhere else in the country it is a "winter storm" or a "thunder storm", but on the north east coast, it is a "nor'easter"?

Storms pass through here, major storms, but they are just storms until they breach the PA state line, when they suddenly transform into "nor'easters".

I think the news media just LOVES saying "nor'easter".

 

Because you don't have a coast and an ocean that a storm with strong low pressure can draw power from and then wrap back around towards you; our storms usually come from the west and south but then instead of it continuing in that direction it turns back around on us.

We do have regular winter storms often and they are only called a Nor'easter when that is what they are.

 

Had my first Other Half beer (Small Green Everything) this last October at their DC brewery and I was impressed. I had a lot of hope when I realized I could get this Green City fairly fresh. Here we go.

4.62/5 rDev +8.2%
look: 4.25 | smell: 4.75 | taste: 4.75 | feel: 4.25 | overall: 4.5
by woodchipper from Connecticut

Poured from a 16oz can stamped "01/04/22 DC" to a Nonic at fridge temp.
A very light orange, very opaque body sits below a really healthy white head. Lacing is generous throughout the session,
Wow, the aroma is enticing.. Lemon peel, orange, grapefruit you could pick anyone of them.
Taste is similar but with a really nice strong hop note on the finish. No hop burn and a surprisingly dry mouth afterward despite the super fruity front.
Mouthfeel is medium for the style and carbonation is in balance.
Overall one of the best beers I have had through the 1st month of 2022.

 

I thought a true nor'easter originated in the ocean as a low pressure cyclone. Now it seems that just about any major storm that hits the north east is reported as a nor'easter by the network broadcasts.

 

We get Alberta Clippers & now Saskatchewan Screamers!!

I guess Alberta got tired of sending all that lousy weather our way, so now they’re pinning it on Saskatoon!

 

Lost Cabin Red Wine BA Lord Grizzly Scotch Ale, 10.36% ABV. Poured medium reddish brown, then darkened to almost black, with a 2+ finger tan head that persisted but left no lacing. Nose is faint red wine. Taste is red wine, caramel/toffee, slightly sweet, slightly bitter. Excellent carbonation, and slightly dry finish. Overall excellent. This would be outstanding with Bourbon and Red Wine barreling.

4.18/5 rDev 0%
look: 4 | smell: 4 | taste: 4.25 | feel: 4.25 | overall: 4.25

Sure wish small breweries wouldn't fall into the trap of taking a decent but not outstanding beer, sticking it in a pricey thick bottle, sealing it with hard to remove plastic, and charging double for it. They'd be better off using a standard bottle, nice label, no plastic seal, and lower price. Sell it based on the beer, not the container. They'd make more money.

 

Yeah. Our local weather-talkers like using the term "Alberta Clipper" too.

At least the Weather Channel's silliness of naming nearly all storms hasn't caught on!

 

Poured into a 16 oz tulip glass canned on 11/22/21. Pours a very attractive near black, with a 3 finger sticky light brown head, with excellent retention and leaves thin lines of lace all over the place. 4.5

Aroma is one dimensional but still really nice. Cocoa nibs, vanilla bean, caramel, and a little coffee grounds. 4.25

Taste follows cocoa, vanilla, caramel, and just a little hint of coffee in the balanced finish. 4.25

Mouthfeel is bigger than average, soft carbonation, not dry or sticky, and at 9.8% ABV it goes down real easy. 4

Overall this is some tasty stuff. Wanted a little bigger body, but a really nice imperial stout from Orono Brewing Company. 4.25

 

Good Saturday afternoon, New Beer Weekenders. The threatened snow arrived but without significant accumulation. It's cold, though. It's great that we're finally getting decent Other Half distribution considering that we're less than 40 miles from the brewery. Green Flowers is an O.G. West Coast IPA. It appears the brewery has changed it since the website says the ABV is 8.6% but this can says 6.8% It definitely drinks like the latter.

It pours a bright, clear, gold with more than a finger of fluffy, bright white head and thick, soapy lacing. The fragrant nose offers dry, tart lemon and grapefruit, pine needles, and a hint of malt. The taste is "real" West Coast with abundant lemongrass and grapefruit and resinous pine. The backbone is dry but rich with oats and wheat cracker. As it warms a bit in the glass there are slight hints of stone fruit from the Mandarina Bavaria and Wai-iti hops. The website indicates that there are Nelson hops but I don't taste them. The hop bill provides a clean bitterness throughout. Its mouth feel is excellent: crisp, dry, and lite iwth a pleasant level of carbonation, and while not quite crushable at 6.8% ABV it's highly quaffable. Overall, Great Greens is a really fine O.G. style West Coast style IPA, which avoids the all-too-prevalent overly sweet malt base. I would drink it any time.

4.27/5 rDev +1.9%
look: 4.5 | smell: 4.25 | taste: 4.25 | feel: 4.25 | overall: 4.25

Hope everyone's having a great weekend. Cheers, NBW!

 

Today I'm having a beer from Schell's Cave-Aged Barrel-Aged Dark Lager Series. Schell's is cagey WRT everything about this beer. I know the bottle is stamped "031422", which I assume is an best-by date. So, IDK, bottled on Sept. 14, 2021?

I know it is entered in the BA database as a Baltic Porter. But, all Schell's says, both on the label and anywhere else I can find, is that it is a "dark lager." I also know the ABV is entered in this site as 10.9%, but, again, mute silence on that from Schell's.

Schell’s Cave-Aged Barrel-Aged Dark Lager Series 2021
(Porter - Baltic??)
ABV: 10.9% ??
IBU: NA

Dark reddish-brown color, clear, but so dark you need a backlight to see the fine carbonation bubbles. Tall tan head, thick and creamy, with excellent retention leaving a wall of lacing as it does recede.

I get a dark fruit nuttiness in the aroma, roasted, hints of chocolate.

Taste is as the aroma, only more so. Dark fruits, chocolate, nuttiness, and roasted malts. Some brightening from the hops, but very little bittering (but not "none"). The initial taste emphasizes the dark fruits, the middle brings on the roasted flavors and chocolate, and the finish is semi-sweet. The aftertaste remains with a well-done intermingling of the flavors. The hops keep things bright enough to not slip into overly sweet.

The body is on the substantial side of moderate, with a smooth feel.

Overall, a really nice dark lager, whatever its style may be. More than "really nice" - this is excellent!

L: 4.25 | S: 4.0 | T: 4.5 | F: 4.25 | O: 4.25 | Rating: 4.29

 

Hoppy Saturday Advocates! Time for some new stuff right? Cheers!
Indeed Brewing Loretta's Dark Lager 5.6%ABV 24IBU
3.74/5 rDev +1.1%
look: 3.5 | smell: 3.75 | taste: 3.75 | feel: 3.75 | overall: 3.75
by LesDewitt4beer from Minnesota

12oz can dated 9/10/21 into a tall lager glass.
L: Pours dark copper amber with a 1/2" fizzy off-white head that goes thin & creamy fairly fast. Good fast carbonation throughout until end. Almost no lacing.
S: Caramel, nuttiness, toasted malts, grains and a suggestion of light coffee.
T: Cocoa, toasted malts, semi-dark bread, caramel. It is gently sweet with subtle bitterness and is slightly thin.
F: Crisp, fairly smooth semi-creamy light-bodied mouthfeel with a lightly dry finish. Mildly thin w/out a lot of depth.
O: A lighter bodied malt frwd and refreshing dark lager that is redolent of a Leinenkugel beer. It is very easy drinking and could be a session beer for sure. It is very good in it's style and I'd like to try it on tap.

 

No, a Nor'easter got the name because of the northeast winds and to a lesser extent because of how it then marches up the coast and northeast vs heading out to sea. It may feel like they call every storm that but that is because of climate change and shifting weather and patterns that were infrequent have now become frequent; low pressure systems now regularly loop back on us and it's gotten so frequent that we can have Nor'easter storms pretty much all year now (of course depending on the temperature they can be just rain).

 

Howdy all. Today is our annual Barleywine bottleshare, where I'm sure I'll be having new brews, but I likely won't be writing any of them up. Shrug. So, I am taking the precaution of dropping a new brew now; Flood Siren from Atwood Ales up in Blaine WA.

Brewed for flood relief efforts from the terrible Atmospheric River we got hit with a few months ago, 90% of the proceeds are going to a relief fund. The malts were donated by Skagit Valley Malting, the raspberries by Clark's Berry Farm, and the can labels by AMS Specialties. The beer is made with 96% local malts, 4% U.S. malts, 100% local berries, and 100% local hops.

https://www.beeradvocate.com/beer/profile/45649/587723/

 

Blasphemy! Doesn’t know what a snickerdoodle is? Mrs WunderLlama is a master baker and her homemade snickerdoodles are heavenly and often requested by friends, family and customers. Doesn’t know what a snickerdoodle is…..SMH

 

Continuing with surprise "build your own" finds, and my pursuit of hoppiness, is Lizard King.


Not much info on the can other than the fact that Pipeworks brews LZ with mosaic hops, 6% ABV, and who is responsible the admittedly cool artwork which is more information than you get from the website

The color of a slightly hazy pineapple juice with a tall, long lasting white head that laces nicely and the aromas of grapefruit, orange, pineapple, and a hint of pine resin

The flavors follow and build on the scent with zests from grapefruits, oranges, and tangerines, some pineapple and mango with a bit of grassy herbs and a touch of young pine tips.

Finishes up clean with a slightly bitter aftertaste and a touch of pepper at the end.

This beer is really, really good. Even after the flavors have been muted it is easy to tell why this beer rates as highly as it does. I would love to try Lizard King fresh, but since there are still several 4 packs on the shelf my six week old can (12/14/21) is about as new as I'm likely to see around here.

4.35/5 rDev +2.1%
look: 4.25 | smell: 4.25 | taste: 4.5 | feel: 4.25 | overall: 4.25