New Beer Weekend #84

Brouwerij Duvel Moortgat NV -- Tripel Hop Cashmere
Belgian IPA
ABV: 9.5%; pouring temperature: 41.9 ℉; bottling data: 05-2023 L12208
Source: @Shanex (merci beaucoup, Pierrick!)



4.23/5 rDev +2.9%
look: 4.25 | smell: 4.25 | taste: 4.25 | feel: 4 | overall: 4.25

Soft, pale yellow body; light cloudiness; excellent carbonation; thick, billowy head piled high and rocky, white and frothy; sticky flecks and spotty rings of foam inside the glass. Citrus smell with a slight brett funk initially; lemon; faint pine resin; berry-like esters as the beer opens. Spicy, peppery flavor; powdered sugar; fruity esters; phenolic bitterness. Medium-heavy body; semi-velvety mouthfeel; fairly dry overall.

The beer brings a lot interesting sensory notes to bear. The aroma, especially, has plenty of complexity and nuance. The taste is bold and strong. A very fine beer highlighting Cashmere hops.

C'est magnifique!

-------------------

...the first beer from my first international trade...it's a doozy...I'm not overly familiar with Cashmere hops per se, but they were developed in Yakima - a marriage between female Cascade and male Northern Brewer hops...anyway, I had a hard-on to try this beer first, and I love the spicy, fruity notes of this beer...

 

You’re very much welcome Dave/@beergoot, glad that you’re currently enjoying it and great review too.

It’s definitely dry as a finish, but as every Tripel hops variants Duvel Moortgat has produced. Some subtle difference between this Cashmere one and the Duvel Tripel hop Citra.

I like this one better and it’s all around a relatively recent release from them. About three or four years ago now.

Cheers!

 

Good afternoon, Weekenders! I took a long break between new beers #1 and #2. My 2nd offering today is Manticore's Manifest, a "triple dry hopped triple IPA" by Abomination and Spartacus Brewing - which is, apparently, in Brazil? Huh!



Abomination is a gypsy brewer(s), but seems to have settled in CT the last few years, pairing with 12 Percent Beer Project in New Haven. They do frequent collaborations as well, mostly with other CT breweries; this is the first collaboration I've seen from them from such a far-flung place.

Straight up: this is excellent! Super juicy on the palate, bringing a ton of depth of flavor. It's what @BBThunderbolt would call a "typical joocy murk bomb," except I mean that as a compliment, whereas he generally does not.

But typical is unfair; this is very well executed. It's not the best - so, basically, it's not Tree House - and it's honestly not even the best NE-style imperial IPA I've had from Abomination, but for a 10% ABV hop bomb, it's exceptionally drinkable and very, very tasty.

Full tasting notes in the review, below.

https://www.beeradvocate.com/beer/profile/48715/591893/?ba=Roguer#lists
4.32 / added to database

There's something strange going on here. I bought a four pack; I'm drinking one; I have one left in the fridge. Whatever could that mean?

@SudsDoctor nice throwback beer for your review! 2xIPA used to be one of my go-to IPAs years ago (along with Sixpoint Resin) - when I could be certain to find it fresh.

Cheers!

 

Cloudwater / Wild Horse - Honk?

"Modern" West Coast IPA brewed with NZ hops, from England (8%).



Pours a hazy, dark, brown'ish orange coloration with a medium, fluffy, lasting head. Smells of biscuity, caramel malt and citrus, floral hops, with notes of grapefruit, lime peel and potpourri, as well as just a hint of pine.

Taste is a good balance of biscuity, caramel malt and fruity, floral, bitter, slightly resinous hops, with citrus, berry and lighter tropical notes of grapefruit, lime peel, gooseberry, lychee and pineapple, as well as some potpourri and pine also coming through. Finishes with a medium bitterness and some grapefruit, gooseberry and pineapple lingering in the aftertaste. Smooth mouthfeel with a medium body and carbonation.

While I do love Cloudwater, I'm not a big fan of these "Modern West Coast IPAs" they've been doing lately. Call me old fashioned, but I really do prefer the classic flavor profile here, while this is a bit too floral and not quite bitter and resinous enough for my personal taste, while I'm also not a huge fan of tropical notes for the style.

Overall, it still makes for a very nice brew though, that's an interesting, modern twist on the classic West Coast IPA, with a good bitterness and resinous accents, as well as quite zesty citrus notes, with a slight caramel malt backbone to it. The coloration really seems a little off though.

Currently listening to: Die Toten Hosen - Wort zum Sonntag.

 

...I see Duvel beers at my favorite local but don't know if this is one on hand...I, too, will keep my eye open for more...

 

Cloudwater / Donzoko - Slow And Low

Imperial Smoked Baltic Porter brewed with a portion of beech-smoked malt, from England (8%).



Pours a pitch-black coloration with a large, fluffy. mocha-colored, lasting head. Smells of oasted, smoked, slightly caramelly malt, some chocolate, as well as hints of dark fruit and herbal hops.

Taste is an excellent balance of roasted, smoked, slightly caramelly malt and grassy, herbal hops, with some chocolate and tobacco, lighter dark fruit, with notes of plum and fig, as well as hints of tobacco, ash and licorice. Finishes with a light/medium bitterness and some smoked malt, chocolate and herbal hops lingering in the aftertaste. Smooth mouthfeel with a medium/rich body and medium carbonation.

While an "Imperial Smoked Baltic Porter" might sound like a kind of over-the-top amalgam of styles, Cloudwater/Donzoko pull this off so well here, with a really subtle and nuanced balance of smoked malt and herbal hops, as well as notes of chocolate, dark fruit, tobacco and licorice lending a certain complexity to this, while the ABV is hardly noticeable at all. I really love that subtle balance of smoked, bitter and slightly roasted, sweet notes here, while managing a great depth of character at the same time, finishing quite dry, with a good body and mouithfeel as well.

Overall this really makes for an exceptional, complex, yet subtly balanced brew that pulls off what they were thrying to do here incredibly well.

Currently listening to: Ramones - Cretin Hop.

 

I honestly couldn't remember your preferred spelling.