New Beer Weekend #89

Haven't gone through all replies so perhaps someone touched on this before I did (apologies if so!), but hop blends aren't really a new thing... Falconer's Flight (aka 7C's) dates back to 2010 and was a proprietary hop blend introduced to combine the best of all of the "C" varietals from the West Coast (you know the ones: Chinook, Columbus, Cascade, et al). Similarly, Zythos is a hop blend from the same company (HopUnion). At the end of the day, it's all marketing, though... all hops come from somewhere, and since they are bred and cultivated as living organisms, they are all "a blend," right? Regarding the whole "terpene" thing... it ties back into hops being a botanical product. Terpenes are just volatile aromatic compounds found in plants like cannabis and Humulus lupulus... and in much the same way as cannabis is interbred and cultivated into innumerable strains, hops have so many different varietals and processing technologies being utilized that it is positively dizzying. They are close relatives, after all.

Anyway, speaking of hops... this one is a strong Belgian style golden ale (commonly known as a "tripel" ) featuring Nelson Sauvin hops. It's a collab between Great North Aleworks and Small Change Brewing, and it's called Heart of Gold.



I've been excited for this one since its announcement. Great North is a good brewery who has done some solid beers in the past (I love their Smokin', a smoked ale) and Small Change is a husband-and-wife duo out of Somerville, MA who have done some excellent beers as well (including a great dark mild), so this idea coming from a meeting of the minds of two overlooked breweries based in my general area seemed like a sign... a sign I should pick it up and give it a shot.

Pour is as active and quickly-developing as a good Belgian-style ale should be... translucent golden color with a fast-forming head of bone-white, thin foam that builds to two fingers in height before settling lazily to a retained single finger with decent legs.

The nose is a bit more sulfury than I figured it would be, which means things are off to a slightly-rough start, but some notes of mango and red berries push through, followed by some vanilla cream and estery Belgian funk. Light phenolic, spicy, clove-like notes are hinted at here, which does give me a more "traditional" vibe. Once this opens up a tad, it does lose the sulfur, but that didn't leave the best taste in my mouth (nose?).

Chalky and slightly bitter/medicinal/aspirin-like flavor profile. The mid-palate starts bringing out some interesting flavors of tropical fruits mixed with undertones of spice, but I don't think this really utilizes Nelson the way it should... or, perhaps something about the Belgian yeast and this varietal of hop do not work together well. The doughy profile doesn't really show off a lot of what is fun and exciting about the hops when they are used properly, anyway, though, so even if there are some good things about this, it feels tough to recommend in a sense. As a tripel, it's kinda just fine, but it doesn't have a lot of the typical feel of the style either, so... it's sort of in a weird limbo. I will say I think the mouthfeel and overall drinkability aspect of this is good, but I would not say it captures the presented concept to the best of either brewer's ability.

One more... it's a doozy, and I hope I can actually make it through. Wish me luck!

 

NBW #2. I've rarely sat out an NBS BIF since 2016 but work-related issues this spring caused me to defer to the next round. But I miss the fun and comradery of this crazy event. At least I still have some beers to drink from last Fall's BIF #14. One of the intriguing ones is Miscellanea, a Wild Ale brewed by Off Color Brewing Co. in Chicago, in collaboration with Central State, Jackie O's, Jester King, Side Project, and Allagash. That's 6 brewers contributing to one beer. Enough to make my head spin. It came my way from @FBarber. Whoever is his target in this round is in for a real treat (and potential liver transplant). Wild Ales should be imbibed from a Lambic glass and this one also came from Frank.

Miscellanea Volume 3 pours a slightly hazy, honey-orange color with a thin, ecru-colored head and minimal lacing. It boasts a big, fruity, Brett nose with all kinds of sweet fruit, including berry and melon. It's very floral - like walking into a hot house during the winter. It's one of the sweetest Wild Ales I've encountered. Big flavor of red berry and ripe melon over wheat cracker. It's akin to dry wheat toast spread with sweet preserves. It's also oaky, musty, and earthy. You can taste the Brett influence but it's not overly sour. The mouth feel is very thick and creamy with low carbonation. The 7.8% ABV gives it good substance. Overall, this is a delightful Wild Ale. It would be a great introduction to the style for someone concerned with sourness. I'm grateful to have tried it. Thank you, Frank, for this very unique and thoroughly enjoyable beer!

4.24/5 rDev +0.5%
look: 4 | smell: 4.25 | taste: 4.25 | feel: 4.25 | overall: 4.25

 

Oak Lagered Doppelbock

9% from OEC Brewing (Ordinem Ecentrici Coctores)

Body pours an attractive auburn brown. Small but nice head upon pouring from the twelve ounce can. Not much lacing throughout the tasting.

The nose features sweet malt and a bit of oak. As the glass warmed, the sweetness grew in strength.

Taste generally follows nose but adds more oak and a bit of hoppiness. A nicely malt forward beer.

Mouthfeel was good thanks to a nice carbonation, making the beer a smooth drinker. The ABV is felt more than tasted adding a background warmth.

Overall a good beer and a treat for malty oak fan

 

Premiere Desay from Holy Mountain. Preliminary review/notes:

4.24/5 rDev +2.7%
look: 4 | smell: 4.25 | taste: 4.25 | feel: 4.25 | overall: 4.25
by draheim from Washington

750mL (bottled 2/2021) into a tulip. After uncapping and uncorking, an unexpected gusher ensues all over the kitchen counter. Might have been too warm? Not sure but not a great start to this review. Pours a slightly hazy golden straw with a billowing white head that subsides rapidly.

Aroma is tart and bright, nicely funky. Sour green apples, Brett yeast.

Taste is likewise tart and crisp, oaky and dry. Bready pale malt, wild yeast.

Mouthfeel is sharp and bright, crisp clean finish.

Overall a nicely complex, drinkable wild ale.

 

I'll be opening one last and final beer tonight so you're not alone, I'm not finishing up yet either. Sadly that first beer was just to old and stale bread like so I didn't even finish it

All those colors paired with that beer look like a match made in heaven.

 

Peppers going in the oven. All my sides freshly made, Guac, Pico and Lime Crema.
So I thought I was going Japanese again but shame on me for not reading the label. This is a Japanese/ Brazilian beer thats actually brewed Chicago USA. Bastards!
Neko American Style IPA
Pours a clear golden yellow with a white creamy head that settles to a thin ring and leaves some sticky foam lacing.
Aroma is...well what is the aroma?
Not much in the nose here. Lemongrass maybe?, some doughy malt, man Im having trouble with this. Clearly muted and/or faded. Dated 12/16/21 so that could be part of the issue.
Taste same. Not much here but a little metallic and a funky off bitterness.
Not going to waste too much time. I have to give a little on the date issue here but meh. Or not even meh.
Chug and move on.
Cant win em all.

 

Just realized I said this was a Holy Mountain beer. Obviously it’s from de Garde. Must have been thinking of the other beer I had been planning to open today, Iridescent Shrine. That one will have to wait.

 

Well hello NBW.
Not a lot of time for new beer this weekend. But i did enjoy a Pliny while watching some seriously great March Madness. I need Kansas to take this for me to win my brackets.

As for new beer, I found this to be one of the least enjoyable in the Extreme Beer box. Not bad, just not great.

The PB+J Incident by Bolero Snort

This was interesting. The nose stood out as the most positive component. It really did nail down that sense of peanut butter AND jelly together. Look was not too enticing. Flavor was pretty good, but went in a mildly syrupy direction. Mouthfeel was not holding any carbonation and basically finished a bit dry. Some warm acid feel afterward.
3.5/5 rDev -5.7%
look: 3.25 | smell: 3.75 | taste: 3.5 | feel: 3 | overall: 3.5

 

Have a good Sunday. Me and Julia got to the cottage on Martha's vineyard last night after 9pm. Drove the jeep on the ferry. We watched Forrest Gump on my chromecast and I passed out on the couch before it ended. Apparently she finished the movie awake and left me there lol.

Today is our 18 months anniversary as well.


We walked to offshore ale company 1 mile from our cottage.


Got an amber ale. Julia did as well. Very good amber. Aromas and flavors of caramel, biscuit, toast, citrus peel, pepper; wood, pine, floral, grass, light roast. Muted aromas, slight metal note. Moderate pine/rind bitterness. Medium body, balanced bready/sticky/resins. Drying with mild astringency. More of a red ipa but it's well made. Feels like Columbus hops. 3.73


Cheers

 

Greetings NBWers,

Haven’t been on here in awhile but today’s the day. In fact I’ll fall right in line and get in on the Fox Farm Fest - this time their Scatter American Brown.



P: Pours a deep clear mahogany brown with reddish edges. Light tan head fades to a lasting fine thin ring leaving nice lacing all the way down.

S: First impression is roasty coffee with semi-sweet chocolate notes, light char or smoke, nuts, dark toasty malt. Burnt element increases with temperature, but never to detriment.

T: Flavor follows nose, doubling down on the coffee and char components, with chocolate lasting through to the end and adding a touch of sweetness as a balance to the more robust up-front flavors. The more I drink this the more I like it. Need to write quickly before it’s gone.

M: Medium body, light-medium carbonation that doesn’t call attention to itself but perfectly supports the flavors and textures. Long lingering coffee finish.

O: Love it (is Robust Brown a category?). And like everything other Fox Farm beer I’ve been fortunate enough to try, it’s quality stuff – nothing over the top or out of place, just super well-made, balanced and delicious. More please.

4.3/5 rDev +4.1%
look: 4 | smell: 4.5 | taste: 4.25 | feel: 4.25 | overall: 4.25

Cheers!

 

Poured into a 16 oz Snulip glass canned on 3/22/22. Pours a very attractive yellow with a 2 finger sticky white head that leaves thin streaks of lace with excellent retention. 4.75

Aroma peach, ripe tangerine, honeydew, apricot, and some white grapes. 4.5

Taste follows peach, tangerine, honeydew, apricot, and white grapes. 4.5

Mouthfeel is above average, not sticky or dry, soft gentle carbonation, and goes down very easy at 8%. 4.5

Overall another impressive NEDIPA from these guys. Highly recommend. 4.5

 

Okay, here's my last entry. This one is a bruiser, in more ways than one. Hop Butcher making a flavored imperial stout is one of the last things I expected, but I had to grab this just to see how they did. In truth, this is much more like a Southern Tier beer than I thought it would be!

Pour is actually great. Intensely black liquid topped off with a retentive head of dark brown foam that lingers for goddamn ever. Insane lacing that essentially looks like a straight-up sheet in my glass... fantastic legs... this is just awesome looking.

The nose is amusing because it straight-up smells like cinnamon buns, including the creamy, saccharine icing. Even has that odd "cream cheese" like note to it. Not complaining because, even though I hate that type of icing (and also hate cheesecake and other desserts with cream cheese in them, FTR), this is so audacious that it somehow works really well for me...? I was anticipating a cinnamon-forward, sweet stout, not necessarily a liquefied cinnamon roll in the (previously alluded-to) Southern Tier style of insanely blood sugar-spiking dessert stouts. I think that the assault on my expectations helps this, weirdly enough.

Flavor profile is just... god, it's so sweet. But, it's also not forgetting that it's a 10.5%(!) ABV stout, so I get some surprisingly deep malt flavors and, of course, intense ethanol toward the finish. The strength of this along with the weirdly-accurate flavors does sorta inhibit my enjoyment of it, I'll admit, but it's definitely accurate to what it claims to be. Intense earthy and spicy cinnamon hits upfront with a mid-palate that is hard to describe as anything other than "buttery biscuits in liquid form," and the finish is a hint of chocolate amid more dusty cinnamon and parting notes of spice, plus some good ol' alcohol heat. This is a bruiser, like I assumed it would be... but it's also actually different than I figured, and I think I like it for that. Buyer beware, of course; this seems to be extremely polarizing. I went into it not knowing what to expect (other than that many people felt it was "too much"), but I think the intensity it brings is actually good. I've had way worse dessert-inspired stouts. At least this tastes like the dessert it is based on AND also functions as a beer...

 

Bentonville Brewing's Airship DIPA with coffee, 8.3% ABV; 3.79 overall
Listed as a Cascadian/Black IPA

Pours a slightly hazed gold with 3 fingers of rocky cream colored head. Pretty good lacing & head retention

S: Plenty of coffee, some berry notes

T: Bready, coffee notes, a touch of roasted grain, some dryness as well up front. More coffee & dryness as this warms, traces of vanilla & blueberries, just a little woody hop bitterness along with some roastyness. Finishes a little dry with some coffee, roastyness & a touch of berry, just a kiss of woody hops as well

MF: Medium body, slight carbonation

When viewed through the prism of a Cascadian IPA, this is alright. Just never, ever gonna get excited about coffee in my IPAs

 

Other Half/Short Throw THD Raining Threes to start today, have another Other Half/Short Throw beer lined up next and I’m excited for it.
4.61/5 rDev +1.3%
look: 4.25 | smell: 4.5 | taste: 4.75 | feel: 4.75 | overall: 4.5
by larryi86 from Delaware

16 oz can, dated 3/30/22, poured into a teku

A- A hazy golden orange with a two finger white head

S- Citrus, mango, topical fruits, earthy, melons.

T- Mango, citrus, some oranges, melons, some tropical fruits, slightly dank/earthy.

M- Smooth, creamy, medium body.

O- This is a great NEIPA, hope bring big and bright flavors.

Cheers!

 

Day 2, more excellence from @jonphisher and NBW BIF #15. First up, a beer I would’ve SWORN that I’d had before, but I’ve not reviewed it, and I’m pretty good at ensuring I review everything I receive in BIF’s.

Can’t wait to try this one, even though I’d SWEAR that I already have. I’m flummoxed.





4.21/5 rDev +12%
look: 4.5 | smell: 4 | taste: 4.25 | feel: 4.25 | overall: 4.25
by ovaltine from Indiana

Poit’s a gorgeous golden orange color that is crystal clear and sports a luxuriously foamy white head that provides beautiful lacing straight down the glass. If you look up “WCIPA” in the beer nerd dictionary, there’s a picture of this beer.

The nose is indeed filled with floral and citrus notes, as referenced on the can, and those are the primary flavors as well, with a nice bitterness and a bit of malt sweetness for a balanced IPA with a drying mouthfeel that would be PERFECT to crush a few of whilst sitting on the patio on a summer day.

Exceptionally well done by Cape May.

 

It's funny, I sent one to @beergoot to and my response to his WBAYDN post was something about how great a summer/grilling IPA this one is as well. Though it usually graces our fridge most of the year