New Beer Weekend #83

I just started it, and its a slow dense read. Though can be intense on occasion. Get use to seeing this from me the next few weeks on the NBW and WBRYDN threads as it will take me a while to get through it

It deals with a lot of the same themes as Satan in Goray from Isaac Singer, which is one of my all time favorite books. Though in a much broader and more sweeping context. I'm liking it a lot so far.

 

Well said. Although one thing is still the same - @woodychandler was participating back then and is still active today!

 

Nice. I’m hearing comparisons to Bolano, too, which pleases me. Finishing up Sheila Heti’s Pure Color right now, an astounding little book.

 

Ha! I had totally forgotten about it, but yes, back a couple years ago we narrowed it down (with the originator weighing in) to most likely being sometime in mid-February when the first New Beer Sunday was started. For instance, I recall we knew of one week that was missed/skipped somewhere along the way, and who knows if there were any other minor discrepancies.

As such, any weekend in mid-February seems a good weekend to celebrate the anniversary in my book, which isn't canon in any way, shape, or form. Maybe multiple of them to be safe

Cheers to you and all who participate regularly in this thread!!

 

Picked up Tomato Factory at a Wegmans on an upstate NY trip last weekend. I've become a fan of Other Half, but they don't distribute to CT. I should have been checking can dates, but I had an entourage with me that included an 11-month old and I was getting pressured.
This is what the brewery website says-
This one will hit you hard. Packed with Citra, Vic Secret, Riwaka and Sabro, so many great tastes together. Feeling lucky to convert this old tomato canning factory into a juice canning factory.

3.94/5 rDev -6.2%
look: 4 | smell: 3.75 | taste: 4 | feel: 4 | overall: 4
by woodchipper from Connecticut

Poured from a 16oz can dated 12/29/21 (about about 50 days old) to a Nonic at fridge temp.
It has a muted aroma (age?) quite musty, hint of orange.
Hazy body of yellow leaning to orange. Medium 3/4" white head fades in a few minutes but laces well.
Taste is muted orange (age?) sweet up front. Has a dry swallow, sweetness comes back after followed by a dryout to bitter. In a blind tasting I would be hard pressed to say the ABV is as high as the label.
Other reviewers dissed the feel, I thought it was just right, creamy in the front with a nice carbonation cleanout.
Overall- Probably better fresher but good at 50 days in my opinion.

 

Hello Advocates & happy Saturday! Thanx to @ChicagoJ for firing up the thread here. Really digging this simple & delish brew. Lets hope MT can keep things rolling out. Cheers!
Modern Times Cosmic Rays Hazy Tropical IPA
4/5 rDev +0.3%
look: 4 | smell: 4 | taste: 4 | feel: 4 | overall: 4
by LesDewitt4beer from Minnesota
16oz can into a Spiegelau glass.
L: Pours a glowing radiant hazy orange w/a 2.5" off white rocky capped head, well carbonated, excellent retention going thick/creamy with thick lacing & banding. Small visible sediment chunks.
S: Pineapple, orange, melon, mango, tangerine, citrus zest, light sweet caramel malts, a hint of bread. Rather tropical overall.
T: Fresh OJ, pineapple, lime zest, a touch of sour lemon candy, a gentle bitter linger in the finish. Mildly rich overall.
F: A snappy, brisk semi-juicy med-bodied mouthfeel w/a med-length clean finish. Quite pleasant.
O: An extremely tasty, smooth, easy drinking no nonsense Hazy IPA that isn't overdone in any way. I very much enjoy it's 6.5%ABV and it is excellent in it's style.

 

Back with another. I lover Porters and I didn't believe I have never had Bell's. Well here I go-

3.91/5 rDev +1%
look: 4.5 | smell: 4 | taste: 3.75 | feel: 3.75 | overall: 4
by woodchipper from Connecticut

Poured from a 12oz bottle dated 12/21/21 to a Nonic at fridge temp.
Muted aroma of earthy chocolate.
The pour is brown but in the glass you's swear the body is black. An amazing "rootbeer float" head tops the pour. I fades slowly and laces well. Impressive.
The taste is chocolate, not quite unsweetened, but close. There are very subtle notes of charcoal, ash and Mylard-effect sugar.
Mouthfeel is light. I would have liked a little more creaminess.
Overall, pretty good but I don't think it stands up against Founder's Porter.

 

Casa Humilde Cervecrerias' Tempestad Imperial Stout with Roasted Hazelnuts & Ecuadorian Cacao, there's a mouthful and it's really good.

4.31/5 rDev 0%
look: 4.25 | smell: 4.5 | taste: 4.25 | feel: 4.25 | overall: 4.25
by ZebulonXZogg from Illinois

L: Thick, oily looking dark brown pour gives a frothy khaki head that lingers for awhile, leaving a nicely laced glass.
S: Wow, smells like freshly brewed cup of hazelnut flavored coffee, roasted malts a hint of cocoa.
T: Coffee, hazelnuts, cocoa some sweetness from the malts, but has a bitter finish.
F: Thick, creamy, lightly carbonated.
O: Really a nice Imperial stout.

 

This is me too, I find it hard to believe I never had that beer since I was very into porters at one point in time a while back. But here I am, zero recollection, so I really must not have ever had it. I will join you in reviewing this one next weekend I hope. Trying to polish off the beer fridge, which is very low, before buying anything new. I do luckily still have a few new beers in the fridge courtesy of the great people in this thread. I will be back later to enjoy one of them.

 

Maine Beer Co. Wolfe's Neck IPA
4.28/5 rDev +3.6%
look: 4 | smell: 4 | taste: 4.5 | feel: 4.25 | overall: 4.25
by LesDewitt4beer from Minnesota
This beer is fantastic! As good as their Mo Pale Ale and I'm really looking forward to the other two MBC pale ales I scored. Cheers!
16.9oz bottle mfg date 30 Nov '21 into an imperial pint glass.
L: Pours a lightly clouded light orange w/a 1.5" creamy eggshell white head w/center cap. Decent retention & good carbonation. Some sticky lacing & banding.
S: Rather fruity, tangerine, orange rind, melon, caramelized malts, a hint of white bread.
T: Citrus pith, peach, pale sweet malts, light melon, caramel, light tangerine, a gentle earthiness that is woody, light pine resin within the finish, gently zesty w/subtle honey sweetness.
F: Very smooth moderately drying med-bodied mouthfeel w/a med-length pleasing finish.
O: A clean tasting & feeling extremely delicious easy drinking pale American IPA that is outstanding in it's style.

 

Savage, a 6.4% American stout by Lagerheads



A perfect beer after walking outside for an hour in 16°F temperatures at the local ice festival. The beer was poured from tap in their smokehouse and I enjoyed this beer as we waited for our ribs.

The body pours an inviting dark brown with a thick tan head and the lacing lasted throughout the drinking. Carbonation was good. The body was a little thin though at 6.4% perhaps appropriate. Like some Advocates, I have fallen into the monster beer habit.

Nose and taste ran along the stout base characteristics of good malty char with moderate chocolate and coffee tones. The taste has a background hoppiness that was very pleasant.

Overall a solid drinker perfect for a winter's meal.

 

Poured into a 20 oz Snulip glass canned on 2/15/22. Pours a very attractive yellow orange with a finger plus sticky white head that leaves thin bubbles of lace with excellent retention. 4.75

Aroma ripe honeydew, guava, candied tangerine, and apricot really nice. 4.5

Taste follows guava, tangerine, honeydew, and apricot really well balanced. 4.75

Mouthfeel is above average, soft gentle creamy mouthfeel, not dry or sticky, and at 7.5% it drinks bigger in flavor, but goes down very easy. 5

Overall another amazing beer experience from this awesome brewery. Another huge wow factor. 4.75

 

Just added is a new Brown Ale from Lops Brewing of scenic Woonsocket R.I.
Keeping with their efforts to honor the Mt. Saint Charles hockey team, Lops has cleverly named this beer ZAMBROWNI after the infamous ice cleaner. Very red in color for the style, I can't complain cuz it looks so cool in front of bright light.

Zambrowni

Brown Ale - American | 6% ABV
Lops Brewing Co. in Woonsocket, Rhode Island

4.02/5 rDev 0% | Average: 4.02
look: 4.25 | smell: 4 | taste: 4 | feel: 4 | overall: 4
by Amendm from Rhode Island

An average pour with a kick from a 16-oz. can yielded a fat finger of tan soapy foam with long retention and blotches of lace. The color is a mix of dark brown and deep ruby/amber, clear with ruby highlights.

A matched blend of roasted and caramel malts, and doughy bread greets the nose with some coffee and chocolate, faint floral/herbal hops.

Slightly dry taste with above average bitterness, roasted character prevails over sweetness. Bready malt flavors hold up the middle. Bitterness comes from roasted malt and hops evenly with a slight astringency and chalk. Coffee and chocolate flavors rise as others fall off (including bitterness) at the fast and even finish. Unlike the start of the taste the finish is neutral and much less bitter although a roasted bitter aftertaste lingers on.

Medium-full bodied with lasting carbonation, smooth balanced feel. Alcohol is well hidden and warming. Very red in color for the style, great to look at in bright light. Could pass for a dark Amber Ale.

 

Happy Saturday, NBW. I have a couple of beers today (and a couple tomorrow) from the Extreme Beer Fest box. The box has a lot of big stouts and a lot of sours, so guess what you’ll see today and tomorrow?

The first beer is unlike any beer I’ve personally ever experienced.





3.74/5 rDev -7.9%
look: 3 | smell: 4 | taste: 4 | feel: 3 | overall: 3.5
by ovaltine from Indiana

After gently rolling the can around gently before popping this open, the “beer” pours like a fruit smoothie from a blender, or maybe a Go-Gurt, and has a pineapple color impenetrable by ….. anything.

I’ve never seen anything like this in my beer glass.

There’s also a banana colored head (inside-of-the- peel banana color) that never - NEVER - goes away tracks down the glass like pudding. Is that technically lacing? I can’t call it one way or another.

The nose has loads of coconut, a nice amount of pineapple, and some banana. The pineapple is more prominent on the taste, and is delicious, and the coconut is a significant presence, with the banana again in the background.

The mouthfeel is ….. thick ….. creamy ….. thick ….. yogurty …… and did I mention thick?

This is definitely extreme, and very flavorful, and drinkable, especially if you enjoy creamy drinks.

But this is not a beer style I am familiar with. In fact, in my very amateur opinion, it’s not a beer. It’s a smoothie with some alcohol in it.

 

I haven't tried a bock in at least a decade. It seems like a style that largely disappeared from the shelves, at least where I am. It is not really a style that I would normally seek out. Having noticed this one at the local Publix grocery a few weeks ago, I thought it would be worth picking up with my groceries.

It is quite light in flavor and alcohol for the style, but what flavor it has, is quite satisfying. Some chewy malts and faint molasses; a nice complement of hops keep it from becoming cloying. Interestingly, it has a slight bitterness in the aftertaste. While I am not ready to run out and purchase this or another bock for a while, I am enjoying it.