New Beer Weekend #83

Dang, you guys got me thinking about my children. My wife and I provided a bunch of love through the years and the kids were really great. My daughter is now 40 and my son is 37. My daughter works for a big time environmental legal group and my son is, oddly, in the beer and wine business. They are doing very well and I marvel at how the time layers up so quick it's really hard to remember because the relentless pace of passing time happens with each breath. Cherish your time with your children. It all simply flies by.........I'm going to have a Sierra Nevada to celebrate.

 

Tree House Curiosity #122 8%. Poured into a 16 oz Nordic pint glass canned on 2/4/22. Pours a very attractive hazy yellow orange with a 2 plus finger sticky white head that leaves thick streaks of lace with excellent retention. 4.5

Aroma passionfruit, mango, mandarin, ripe melon, and apricot really pleasant. 4.25

Taste follows passionfruit, mango, mandarin, cantaloupe, and apricot really well balanced and impressive. 4.5

Mouthfeel is above medium, not sticky or dry, soft gentle carbonation, and at 8% it drinks like that and goes down really easy. 4.5

Overall another excellent NEDIPA from one of the best. Not dazzled, but I am certainly enjoying it. 4.5

 

Now that I cannot wrap my head around just yet. I will take your advice to heart; any time someone reminds me of this I try and remember as tired and draining as many days are there will come a time when I long for this. Enjoy that sierra nevada.

I'll be joining hopefully sooner than later.

 

100% an old school fan. CC. Obituary. Death. Etc etc. I’ve heard of whitechapel. Can not say I’ve ever listened to a single song. I remember kids in high school wearing their hoodies but I was definitely born too late in this instance. I do like deathcore. I really like Traitors. I guess I’ll have to check whitechapel out. Although being the old school head I am. “The saw is the law” will always be a sodom song to me. Maybe they are fans as well.

 

I did not construct tasting notes for the beer I drank at Únětický Pivovar but I do recall that I was struck by how dry that beer was vs. the Bohemian Pilsners (Czech Pale Lagers) I drank from other Czech breweries.

I would say that Sly Fox Realty Czech was comparable, e.g., same level of quality as Únětické Pivo 10°, but with perhaps the difference being that it was not quite as dry in the finish.

As I mentioned in my post, for my palate Sly Fox Realty Czech is an excellent beer and I hope to purchase another six-pack before this batch runs out.

Cheers!

 

Had a busy weekend, got 3 wrestlers that qualified for the state tournament yesterday! Now I can finally slow down and enjoy some beer, starting with Prairie Sundae Service.
4.39/5 rDev +3.5%
look: 4.25 | smell: 4.5 | taste: 4.25 | feel: 4.5 | overall: 4.5
by larryi86 from Delaware

12 oz bottle poured into a tulip

A- Black with a small mocha head.

S- Bourbon, chocolate, vanilla, fudge, hints of nuts and cherries.

T- Bourbon, fudge, chocolate, vanilla, slightly nutty, touch of cherries.

M- Smooth, full body.

O- Bourbon is on the heavy side, overall it’s tasty and sweet but not over the top sweet some pastry stouts.

Cheers!

 

Edit. Ok. This is exile is dope. But I can say I’m not super into the new stuff. Maybe seeing it live will change my mind.

 

Congrats Larry, my hat goes off to anyone who still coaches and teaches. When you really sit and crunch the numbers coaching pay is so little for how much time and energy it requires. A labor of love and knowing that you are giving those kids a chance to play a sport they love. I guess you will get your time back sooner than later if the state finals are coming up.

 

For today's new beer, I am going to have Port City's Colossal One - their first anniversary beer.

"But wait!" you are saying, "Isn't Port City, like, 11 years old? And doesn't their witbier, Optimal Wit, medal at GABF most years?"

To which I would have to answer, "Yes to both, mainly that Port City is near their eleventh anniversary." This is a re-release of their first anniversary beer, which over the years has collected 82 ratings, although nary a one of them is by me. It appears they have made some of this available some fashion over the years (perhaps at brewery), probably to coincide with their new anniversary beer; the last rating on this site came in early 2017.

Port City indicates to its consumers that this imperial stout might not fit in with your expectations:

How do I agree and disagree with the brewer's take on their own brew?

First off, the pour is nice, with a sustaining beige head. The topping has that nice sheeting effect with each top of the glass, leaving a bent streamer or two as the vessel is righted. I took a quick sip to observe this, and noted a nice roasted bitterness in back on a still-cold brew.


The nose has a bit of a spiced cola edge to it, which I could see being the mix of a spicy Belgian yeast and roasted malt char. It's definitely out of shallow left field from what I expect from stouts in general, but it also isn't unfamiliar. I'm guessing maybe I had an Ommegang dark beer in the past that might be resurrecting in my brain. Maybe I'd know if only there were a Belgian stout style...

Just kidding - no need for more styles (and, please, I'm not trying to start a debate in this thread, just typing a stream of consciousness, if you can't tell).

The roasted side of the nose actually reminds me a little bit of the relatively few foreign export stouts I've had, and the yeast oddly brings about a Baltic porter vibe. It's sort of funny how a pretty simple aroma profile can evoke so much.

The taste of the warming liquid brings a mix of unsweetened cola and dark raisins with a hint of booze-soaked dates. The back end continues to showcase the roasted malt bitterness. The char and yeast again mix here to produce something akin to a charred spicy wood; it isn't exactly like amburana wood, but it does serve to bring the Oskar Blues/Cigar City's Bamburana beer featuring that wood to my mind. Reading Port City's description, I can totally see the clove they mention being a fair description, as well.

The feel is pretty full, but not thick and definitely not sticky. I see a few reviews calling this various forms of light. I'm not sure what people expect out of stouts any more, especially from a brewery that is more "old school." But I digress, again. There is a little more carbonation than I might expect, though it's well constrained. The finish is dry, with a decent level of bitterness.

This is a slightly weird one, and I ended up appreciating it more as tried to describe it. It's well made, in my opinion, but might not hit the right buttons for everyone. It has a respectable score here, one that I think I will be near once I put some numbers to my thoughts.

 

Thanks! I did crunch the numbers last year and it’s not great pay wise if you look at it hourly, but I get it as to lump sum checks so it makes a difference with the bills/savings. It truly is a labor of love, the kids are excited that’s what really helps making it worth my time

 

Modern Times Oblivion Ring aged in Spanish Brandy Barrels.



I’m a sucker for a brandy barrel aged Barleywine and had this included in a trade I made some time back. I’m glad I did.

Pours a thick deep mahogany with little to no head that disappears almost immediately.

The aroma is incredible. With your eyes closed and handed a glass of this stuff, you’d think someone had given you a glass of really good brandy, not a beer. Stewed fruit, oak, toffee, vanilla and so much more. A little wisp of alcohol on the nose as well.

Taste follows aroma. A decedent, warming mix of vanilla, dry wood, caramel, stewed stone fruits. Sweet as one would expect, but cut by the strong, boozy barrel character. As it warms it only improves. The various flavours emerge more fully and swirl together without becoming muddled. This is excellent.

The body is quite thick. Slightly syrupy, but not off-putting in any way. A slow sipper to be sure.

This is one of the most barrel forward beers I’ve ever had. Definitely a treat. I recommend highly

 

Greetings fellow NBSers from on the ridge in Mid Hud Val NY. Am going to join you today. It's the end of my Dry January (realized I had to go some extra weeks or it's meaningless for me) with a beer that got "lost" in my cellar and I hope isn't ruined.

I would like to share a word from a wonderful woman who is amazingly knowledgeable about our language, and supremely gifted at turning words into puns that are the epitome of groaners. I did not know this word but I plan to bring it back and repurpose it for its very obvious better usage.

"A growlery is a place you like to retire to when you’re unwell or in a bad mood. It was coined by Charles Dickens in Bleak House (1853)...."

In a while gonnna air pop some popcorn and put my new fave topping, 1 tbs. EVO, tomato powder, chili powder, put on the Ranger game, pour that beer into a glass, and join you after first period. See ya then!

 

Popcorn pic needs to be included @cavedave

Also I think I need a growlery

 

@Roguer and @Urk1127 . Your music discussion jogged a long forgotten memory. I’ve never been a fan of death metal, or heavy metal really beyond bands like Blue Cheer or Budgie or other late 60s-early 70s proto- or early metal bands. But, back in 1991/92 (?) I was dragged to a concert by a friend featuring Cannibal Corpse, Obituary, Malevolent Creation and Agnostic Front. He had recently gotten into the genre and didn’t want to go alone. We stood out like sore thumbs; short hair, no black clothing, a general well-heeled preppy appearance. It didn’t matter to anyone. The show was a blast. I never went to another and I’ve never listened to the music again. But, that one night was great. I hadn’t thought about it in decades.

 

Today is the day I get to finally try this one, thank you @jzeilinger for this one. Poured into a wide tulip glass, best before 1/19/22. Pours a very attractive cloudy orangish red, with a finger plus sticky off white head, with amazing retention, and leaves streaks of lace all over the place. 4.75

Aroma is pine, caramel, biscuit, caramel, toffee, apricot, and grapefruit. 4.5

Taste follows pine, caramel, caramel, toffee, apricot, and grapefruit really well balanced. 4.5

Mouthfeel is pretty big, plenty of carbonation, maybe a little sticky, and at 9.5% is drinks rather easy, but big flavor and body. 4.75

Overall I wanted to really like this and man I really did. A real treat and a fitting new seasonal from them. 4.5

 

Hey all. Up first on this sunny (but cold) Sunday is a classy keller pilsner from Branch & Blade Brewing out of Keene, NH... it does have a twist to it, though!

Woodpecker Pils is brewed with foedered water. The beer itself never touched the foeder, but it was, according to the label, naturally-carbonated and extensively-lagered, I assume in stainless. Cool idea. The label also says this had some Simcoe added in the whirlpool and that it adds a "pleasant bitterness coupled with a hint of citrus that pairs perfectly with the oak and vanilla characters from the water."



Decent-enough pour. Slightly-hazy but mostly clear overall, like a classic keller. The head is thin and never really builds up to more than what you see here in this image, though it does leave behind some streaky lace and has solid legs.

Picking up a lot of tannins in the nose, though they really remind me more of coconut than anything else. A bit of tangy lemon and wheaty elements. Smells intriguing, but somehow I don't really expect it to actually taste like any sort of keller pils I've ever imbibed.

Lemony twang with hints of grass and even peach mingling in the mix. Strong tannic flavors overwhelm in the transition to the finish, which is quite dry with a slight kiss of doughy wheat. I am unsure of how I feel about this. It almost feels like it's trying to do too damn much... like, I get the idea here to some extent, but I think I would really rather just have a nice, simple pilsner without the oakiness in this case. Bitter and uneven with an odd complexion. I appreciate the concept and think B&B has good intentions overall, but their stuff usually feels better in theory than in practice, and this is in that vein to me as well.

Couple more coming over the next few hours!