New Beer Weekend #82

Good day BAs and thanks to @Shanex for starting this weekend's thread! It's warm (33 degrees) and humid enough to make it uncomfortable outside, so I'll stay inside today, drinking down my inventory and reading. Mrs. Lizard will get pissed because I'll repeatedly fall asleep on the couch but never spill my beer. This Saturday's Breakfast Beer is:



Cellar Cuvee 13 from Jackie O’s. 12.7 oz bottle purchased from Jackie O’s online store and received 2/2/22. $ 15.82/ capped bottle, $ 1.246/oz. Stored at 40 degrees after purchase. Reviewed 12/2/22. Note that I use DD/MM/YY protocol.
Bottle stamped on rear of label “2021”. Served at 55.5 degrees in a hand washed and dried Jester King snifter. Final temperature 57.7 degrees.
Appearance – 3.5.
First pour – Ruby Brown (SRM 24), opaque.
Body – Deep Brown (SRM 30), muddy and opaque. When rear-lite, same, but edges are ruby.
Head – Small (Maximum one cm, aggressive center pour), mahogany, fizzy and little retention, quickly diminishing to a two mm crown and no cap.
Lacing – None, but at 12.4% ABV lacing wasn’t expected.
Aroma – 4.25 – Dark chocolate and bourbon predominate, no hops, no yeast.
Flavor – 4.25 – Distinctly sweet. Not so much dark chocolate as milk chocolate with bourbon barrels. No hops, no yeast. Moderate ethanol (12.4 % ABV, as marked on container) taste or aroma. Mild gastric warming occurs. No dimethylsulfide or diacetyl.
Palate – 4.25 – Seems thin for an Impy Stout, smooth and short of creamy (bordering on syrupy), barely noticeable carbonation.
Final impression and summation: 4.25 Looks like a typical RIS or Impy stout. Aroma is mostly dark chocolate with some mediocre bourbon present. Tastes of dark chocolate and bourbon, not bad. One I would drink again but probably not buy at the present price point.
Rating 4.21, rDev -0.9%

Only 2.2 degrees between starting and finishing - shows how good it was! Time spent consuming is inversely proportional to deliciousness.

 

I had this one after midnight but didn't get a chance to post it then, Troegs Hop Horizon IPA - I was disappointed to see that this replaced Fresh Cut as the spring "Hop Cycle" seasonal and I could tell by the hop bill (Citra, Mosaic, Sabro) that this was probably not going to be my favorite beer, as Mosaic and to a lesser extent Sabro don't do too much for me.

Poured a semi-hazy yellow-ish/light orange color and very carbonated, decent head. Mosaic coming through on the nose a bit so kind of a turnoff to me. Taste was okay, very thin bodied and not a whole lot of anything going on. Drinkable but nothing I would seek out again and just another hazy-ish IPA in a sea of them; and their other similar beers are more for me e.g. Field Study, Lucky Holler (but again kind of shows the conundrum here, as these beers are not that dissimilar from each other).

https://troegs.com/beer/hop-horizon-ipa/

 

Pours a very nice light raspberry color with a slight head and lacing
Aroma has very generous raspberry hints
The taste follows the nose with a pleasantly tart raspberry flavor
A light bodied well carbonated beer
A great very well balanced Lambic

 

What is up, NBWers? Thanks to @Shanex for getting this launched....

Thought I'd share a new to me beer, especially since this one didn't impress. I'm rarely this hard on a beer, because I like beer.
Here we go....

Westbound & Down's Juice Caboose Hazy IPA. 7.2% and NOT retired, despite its current status listing. Canned 2.1.22 so it's not like it wasn't fresh.

3.36/5 rDev -8.9%
look: 4 | smell: 3 | taste: 3.25 | feel: 3.5 | overall: 3.75
by eppCOS from Colorado

L- all the vague turbid haze that is the craze, but nothing distinctive. There's a soap-like foam quality to the head that is ... interesting, but OK.

S - Hmm.... weird baked good/alpha acids and scents off this. Like burnt citrus/foam? Strange. A little mango/mellower citric element as it warms, but not thrilled.

T - If there's such thing as a ghost haze beer, this is pretty close. At 7.2% - this should have more taste, more profile. Nothing like Double Juice Caboose (which I thought was very good).

M/F - good, a little prickly, maybe too underdone, green, raw... not very balanced. Some people will like that in that it gives a false impression of being super-fresh. Not sure this works.

O - one of the weaker CO Haze efforts I've tried. I'll drink them, but this gets lost in the murky crowd.

 

Good morning, here's Lupulin Black Lager:

Appearance: Clear brown, big rocky head.

Smell: Mineral, mild roast.

Taste: Moderate roasted bitterness, a bit of coffee, easy drinker with a light feel.

Overall: I've just started really getting into these dark lagers since they're not a very common style in these IPA-heavy times. This example from Lupulin is good, nice roasted flavor without being too heavy.

 

How much did they charge for shipping @Ozzylizard? Thinking of taking advantage and sending some to a PA friend to pick up at a later time. Maple Barrel Apparition is calling my name.

 

I am very excited to experience this beer. It is a collaboration between an excellent brewery in my hometown of Milwaukee, WI, and a brewery about a mile from my office in Manitowoc, WI. The look is brownish golden honey-yellow, with a slight bright white foamy cap. Beautiful. The smell is very fruity. Nectarine, banana, orange, and mango. The taste very juicy, sweet, with strong nectarine, cantaloupe, and mango flavors. The mouthfeel is pillowy, light, smooth, and lightly carbonated. Overall, this is a delicious NEIIPA, but not as good as many other DDH NEIIPAs that use some of the more popular fruity hops. One beer is about $9, so I don't believe I will revisit this beer, but I will certainly continue to seek out beers by both of these breweries, and I will continue to visit both of their taprooms frequently.

 

I don’t do local beer shopping as much as I used to. When I do, I hit the bottle shop down the block from me because 1) they let you order online and pick up and 2) they’re DOWN THE BLOCK FROM ME. There is something awesome about having a beer store on the same main street you live off of only 5 miles away.

So when I saw that they had stouts from Noon Whistle, who is probably the best brewery in the western suburbs of Chicago, I had to jump on it. And I must say, I was not disappointed.

This beer is a remarkable exercise in balance. Malt, vanilla, and coffee intermingle on the scent, and coffee asserts itself foremost on the taste. Vanilla is not a silent partner, however, and there’s a strong roasted dark malt presence throughout the experience. Medium bodied, mouth watering, and for a stout, it has a very clean and crisp finish. At such a high ABV, you’d think it would be hot and boozy, but the alcohol presence is subtle and the beer is extremely easy to sip.

Noon Whistle won the best Chicago area brewery in a March Madness type thing a few years ago, and beers like this are the reason why. I highly recommend the series, and this variant in particular.

 

It's going to be a busy few days. One daughter is driving here today with her two kids for a visit. Another daughter just bought a house near us, and we've been dealing with the inspector to help her out.
I did find a couple new beers for the weekend. First is Barrel Aged Moose Boots from Prairie, an imperial stout with maple syrup, toasted almonds, and vanilla.
The beer is black with a small tan head that dissipates quickly, and no lacing.
Aroma of maple syrup, vanilla, and nuts.
Strong maple syrup taste, as well as vanilla. Faint taste of nuts.
Very smooth, alcohol not noticeable.
A great dessert beer.

 

Poured into a 20 oz Snulip glass not sure when it was canned, but this week for sure. Pours a very hazy orange with a half finger sticky white head that leaves thin streaks of lace, with solid retention. 4.25

Aroma is cantaloupe, mandarin, apricot, and grapefruit rind. 4.25

Taste follows mandarin, apricot, cantaloupe, and some grapefruit bitterness pretty well balanced. 4.25

Mouthfeel is big, not sticky or dry, soft gentle almost creamy carbonation, and at 8.2% big on flavor but easy going down. 4.5

Overall this is a really tasty NEDIPA, sadly I expect so much from this brewery I wanted to be blown away. Recommend for sure. 4.25 Thanks for getting up going @Shanex. Cheers all.

 

Kringles are a big deal in Wisconsin. The closest non-residential building to my house is a bakery, Uncle Mike's Bakery, and it produces the highest-rated kringle in North America. I must review this beer. The appearance is cranberry juice. The smell is cheese cake, cherry, and cranberry. It smells like being in a bakery. Very nice. The taste... not Uncle Mike's Bakery level. Sweet cranberry. Light cream. The mouthfeel is like a cranberry juice mimosa. Like they drink up north Wisconsin, while ice fishing. Sweet, sparkly, bubbly, but harsh. Overall, I am used to enjoying the finest kringle this side of the world offers, usually immediately upon completion of intense exercise or yardwork. This beer is essentially cranberry juice with a splash of vodka, with some cream cheese drizzled on top. Which may be popular in Illinois.

 

It’s like NyQuil, but with more flavor and less alcohol.

 

Actually decided to do a formal review for a change so figured I pop in to the NB thread. First beer today is Oskar Blues BA21 Volume Seven: Imperial Sweet Stout Aged in Whiskey Barrels with Graham Crackers, Chocolate, and Cherry.

I'm finding it really enjoyable. Definitely a dessert beer, but it's well done. Full review here:
https://www.beeradvocate.com/beer/profile/2681/581037/?ba=adrock314#review

 

I love the dog staring at us in the background. Sounds like a very busy but family filled weekend. Did your daughter move to NM from far away or always been in NM?

I love kringles! My mom orders some every year and gets them shipped here. I end up eating way too much of it but it is so perfect with coffee, I can’t stop.

 

Good afternoon NBW
I've been sitting on this one for a few years and got inspired to drag it out today.

Thomas Hardy's Golden Edition
50th Anniversary

11.15oz bottle 2018 vintage poured into a tulip glass at 55° Fahrenheit 13% ABV. The bottle is numbered 3583 with a printed 19/09/27 on the neck. The beer pours medium amber with chestnut highlights and light khaki head. The head hards builds on a pour and settles to a thin ring of varied sized bubbles. The aroma is mild with sweet malt, dark fruit and dark sugar. The taste is semisweet malt with notes of burnt sugar caramel, leather, dates, mild tobacco, port wine and moderately bitter, earthy hops. The mouthfeel is medium bodied with low carbonation and a semi dry finish. Minimal alcohol presence and minimal oxidation. Overall, excellent English barley wine.

Cheers all and enjoy your weekend!

 

I hear you! If you come to town for a game at Lambeau Field, we will eat the finest kringles together!