New Beer Weekend #80

I need to look harder to find something to complain about. I didn't find much in my next new beer of the weekend, which I thought someone else had reviewed but I was mistaken (maybe I saw it on WBAYDN). Anyhow, I do recall someone posting about Sierra Nevada's Powder Day that they expected more of a NE IPA, which I also ass-umed before reading said post.


So, with some expectations, I dove into said beer and saw a nice, slightly hazed old brass-colored beer fill my glass, topped with a fluffy white (perhaps powdery snow-like?) head. Clumpy webs of lacing form as I find out things to fill my next paragraph.

Nose has a slight pungency to it that is a mix of weed and skunk, and this permeates the more general old school American Pale ale vibe. It seeps in more and more as I sniff, though, until it is on equal footing with the toasted malt and citrus/pine notes. As the beer warms, a but of unripe peach/nectarine joins the party.

A cold-from-the-fridge sip brings a tea-like earthiness that gets layered with herbal and evergreen hop notes. As it warms, a bit of honey joins the opening malt notes. The mix of herb and dank swirl until a somewhat minty note squeezes out to send the beer to its end flavors.

At what I consider the equilibrium point, there is a nice balance of honey malt, fresh pine branch, light stone fruit, and a whisp of weed is pretty nice. It's neither too bitter nor too malty, and finds a balance that befits my enjoyment. A colder beer seems a little more bitter than one that is nearer cellar temps, and in the end this comes to my palate as a more mild west coast IPA, and one I feel anyone who knows and likes Sierra Nevada can enjoy.

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@Reef - I also enjoyed the Ottakringer Vienna lager, as I recall for its more earthy, lower sweetness vibe I get from US versions. I also wonder what fresher versions of the style might be like. Some day I'll find out.

@officerbill - sorry you disliked Gumballhead so much, but your follow up beer is a good beer, but is one where I found something (I noted metallic in nature in my review) that affected my enjoyment by the end of the pint.

Cheers, all!

 

Also paging @BBThunderbolt about the barleywine tasting. I know you said no notes but any highlights new or old you want to share? If you’re still alive after a night of tasting barleywines.

 

Hoppy Sunday! A belated thanks to @Roguer for starting this NBW thread! Great to be here with this new brew: Sweetwater 420 EPA. It's very good! and I'm a big fan of EPAs so here's my scoop:
4/5 rDev +9.6%
look: 4 | smell: 4 | taste: 4 | feel: 4 | overall: 4
by LesDewitt4beer from Minnesota
12oz can EB date 4/28/22 into a 16oz pint glass.
L: Pours almost clear bright light gold, good carbonation with a 1.5" soapy white head which recedes to a thick skin. Some sticky skeletal lacing & light banding.
S: Grapefruit, pineapple, lemon rind, caramelized malts and a suggestion of spicy peppery hops. Gently dank & citrusy overall.
T: Lemon zest, grapefruit, pineapple, orange. A hint of non-resinous pine. It is mildly bittersweet, well balanced and finishes cleanly.
F: Semi-juicy, crisp, med-light bodied mouthfeel with a med-fast finish. It has a pleasant & affable flow.
O: Hop frwrd w/out much of a malt profile, I am pleasantly surprised by it's easy drinkability. A very tasty & well balanced AEPA that is inviting and refreshing. A really good any day of the year beer and it is excellent in it's style. Cheers!!

 

Good afternoon NBW
This beer has been hanging out in my cellar fridge waiting for a cold, lazy day...

Brewfist La Trinidad El Vasco
Label states only Maris Otter malt and East Kent Golding hops were used before aging one year in port wine barrels.

33cL bottle batch L6173 Best Before 30.12.25 poured into a tulip glass at 52° Fahrenheit 11.7% ABV per label. The beer pours opaque medium brown with chestnut highlights and tan colored head. The head recedes to a thin ring and single layer of bubbles. The aroma is fairly intense with port wine and lesser so with oak barrel and dark sugar. The taste is semisweet Maris Otter malt up front with a wave of port wine, dark fruit, molasses and oak crashing in behind. Moderate bitterness. The mouthfeel is medium plus bodied with just less that average carbonation and a semi dry finish. Overall, excellent. I did not have high hopes buying unpasteurized European beer at room temperature that was several years old, but this has really held up.

I'm not out of new beer, but I am packing it in for this weekend. I'll be sipping on this one for a while. Cheers all!

 

Nice to read your review too, curious to see what all you other NBWers think about it. Bring on the dunkels.

 

Opening up Other Half All Together for today’s games.
4.25/5 rDev +2.7%
look: 4.25 | smell: 4.25 | taste: 4.25 | feel: 4.25 | overall: 4.25

16 oz can, dated 1/19/22, poured into a teku

A- A hazy golden straw with a two finger white head.

S- Citrus, lime zest, some pineapple, piney/earthy.

T- Citrus, piney, some melons, some pineapple, earthy, grapefruit rind.

M- Smooth, creamy, medium body.

O- A little more bitter than other NEIPAs from Other Half, but I enjoy the bitterness.

Cheers!

 

2019 version enjoyed 27 months later.

Pours pitch black with a finger of fizzy, dark mocha, almost reddish head that fizzes away almost instantly. When swirled, it coats the glass with a dark film. 4.0

Aroma is light coconut and even lighter vanilla as expected from the extended aging. This allows the base stout and barrel to shine more. Dark chocolate, black cherry, tobacco, roasted malt, some peat, and molasses from the base and some charred oak and bourbon from the barrel. 4.0

Taste brings more of the adjuncts than expected given the aroma, but they're still quite light given today's "pastry stout" standards. Toasted coconut and light vanilla bean dance in the background while the barrel treated stout is at the forefront. Bakers chocolate, some bittersweet chocolate chip, roasted malt, some peat, tobacco, black cherry, some fig, molasses, some brown sugar, charred oak, bourbon spirit. I'm sure there's some vanillin and even possibly some coconut coming from the barrel, but it's hard to tell if that character is from the adjuncts or the barrel. 4.25

Medium to high medium body. Slick, oily, sticky, warming. Could use a bit more body. Doesn't drink like 16%, but you know you're drinking a big beer. 3.75

I know I shouldn't have sat on this as long as I did because I'm sure there was a lot more coconut and vanilla character; however, the base and barrel integration are top notch and allowing the adjuncts to subside has shown this. It also has led to what I'd imagine is a smoother drinking experience than when it was fresher. I'm sure a fresher version of this would meet my expectations more, but this is still a very enjoyable beer at where it's currently at. 4.25
Overall Rating: 4.13

 

Ozark Beer Co. A-Frame IPA, 6.3% ABV; 4.1 overall

This is a Rye IPA, that information is buried in ridiculously small print on the can,
Pours a slightly hazed honey color with a thumb of sandy colored head. Great lacing & better than average head retention

S: Peppery Rye notes & pine

T: Toasty, peppery & dry rye, with a little caramel up front. More peppery Rye & toasty notes, along with a touch of caramel as well once warm. Finishes with a touch of honey, plus plenty of Rye & a kiss of pine

MF: Medium body, slight carbonation, nice balance

Well done use of Rye, pretty darn drinkable

 

Oh, their Dunkel is legit. Had mine last week and it is quite well done. IMHO.

 

My first ever Roggenbier.

flagship brewing roggenfest. 6% ABV.
Staten Island

Mahogany color. Khaki head. Incredible retention. Super fluffy. Smells of rye toast, carob, molasses. Flavor follows with dark toast. Some kind of citrus pith. Not a citrus flavor. Just the astringency but not unpleasant. Assumingly it’s the herbal woodsy noble hops. The rye is great and not overbearing. It’s reminiscent of if you can make a low alcohol carbonated whiskey literally reminds me of that but has dunkel qualities. The carbonation Is massive and effervescent. It creates a lightless to keep you drinking. It’s a full bodied style but feels lighter than it is. I would say dry scale 1-10 it’s a 6




Very exciting to finally try this style at long last.

 

Greetings All from the Great Northwest where we are still cold, still gray, but no precipitation. I'll take it.

Today we have Maximus Colossal IPA from Lagunitas.
https://www.beeradvocate.com/beer/profile/220/1372/

Remarkably drinkable for 9% ABV.

Until next time

 

Just read you review. Looks like all of us are +4-5 rdev great minds

@snaotheus

 

Stout time, my son bought this for me. It's basically a Mexican Chocolate Stout clocking in at 10.5% ABV from CT brewery Broad Brook. Label lists the obligatory cinnamon, cacao, vanilla and chilies. The sub-name on the label implies its Mayan cacao. I thought that civilization died out centuries ago.
This beer has been in the BA database since last April and was probably entered by the brewery because I wrote the first review and there were no ratings. Kind of confuses me why my review has an rDev.

3.95/5 rDev +3.4%
look: 4.25 | smell: 4.25 | taste: 3.75 | feel: 3.75 | overall: 4
by woodchipper from Connecticut

Poured from an undated 16oz can to a diagonally cut tumbler at approx 50F.
A black opaque body sits below an impressive deep tan, almost brown, head that laces in a medium way.
The aroma is prominently cinnamon with a musty chocolate background.
The taste brings chocolate to the front, followed by cinnamon then by chilies. It's interesting how each flavor takes their turn. The chilis are not over the top for me. I know a lot of reviews of other chili beers people complain about that. There is a very mild chili burn quite a while after the swallow.
The mouthfeel is sticky, didn't notice the sweetness until I thought about this sensation. The body is medium.
Overall, among the mexican chocolate style stouts I've tried, this one ranks a "B". For me there have been a fe

 

Stonecloud Brewing's Lawn Chair Larry Cold IPA, 7.0% ABV; 4.19 overall

Pours a bright, effervescent gold with a thumb of cream colored head. Above average head retention & lacing

S: Citrus notes, mangoes & peaches

T: Orange juice, green melon & peaches up front, a touch of vanilla as well. Some grapefruit mixes in with green melon & oranges as this warms. Finishes with oranges, peaches, grapefruit, green melon & a kiss of vanilla, plus some dryness

MF: Medium body, restrained carbonation, great balance

Well put together IPA, great drinkability

 

Good Sunday afternoon, New Beer Swiggers and commentators. Collaborations are often a roll of the dice. They can be great or a let-down. For example, I've been disappointed with some of Magnify's collabs with D96. Sometimes, though, they just make sense. Fit for Royalty is a 10.5% TIPA brewed by Magnify and Tin Barn. Tin Barn is great at brewing juicy New England IPAs; one of it's best known is Queen Citra. Magnify has mastered the art of brewing Triples with a soft, plush mouth feel. When I saw this release last week I figured it would either be fantastic or a big disappointment. Well, my fears were for naught. This is absolutely stellar - the best of both brewers.

It pours a dense, murky, muddy tangerine color with a large, fluffy, milk-white head and copious lacing. It has a big, fruity smell with lots of lemon, grapefruit, pineapple, and ripe melon. The taste is equal to the nose; it's super dank with lots of pineapple, tangerine, honeydew melon, lemon peel, and bitter grapefruit. The Citra hops are enormous and the Comet Salvo hops add a grassy, zesty spiciness. There is strong, clean bitterness throughout and no yeast burn at the finish (sometimes an issue with Magnify). As expected the mouth feel is luxuriously thick and creamy with appropriate carbonation, and it's very drinkable for 10.5% ABV. This is a fun beer to drink.

4.49/5 rDev 0%
look: 4.25 | smell: 4.5 | taste: 4.5 | feel: 4.5 | overall: 4.5

Hope everyone is enjoying a new beer this fine afternoon. Next up for me is a Schwarzbier. Cheers!

 

The name alone is worth the price of admission!