New Beer Weekend #90

Bergen County, Harrington Pk until I was 17. Born in NY, lived in Red Bank then Montvale and then mostly HP. Great little town. Went to NVRH, Old Tappan

 

#2, nothing to see here, move along …..

You rock, @jonphisher, in a most egregiously magnificent way.





4.46/5 rDev +1.8%
look: 4.25 | smell: 4.5 | taste: 4.5 | feel: 4.25 | overall: 4.5
by ovaltine from Indiana

This beer pours a deep, dark mahogany brown that settles an almost black color under a light tan head that dissipates almost immediately, something that is common in these high ABV (13.4%) beers in my experience. Beautiful beer.

The nose is boozy up front, no surprise given the multiple barrel treatment this imperial brown ale received. That is something I’m not familiar with for brown ales, and it works. There’s also a nice cocoa note on the nose, which helps balance this massive beer.

The taste is an amalgamation of boozy barrel flavors and the rich cocoa flavor - and a surprising stone fruit flavor (black cherry) and a nice sweetness from the molasses that combines to make a beer that is a fantastic sipper - especially as that alcohol settles at the back of the palate and leaves that residual barrel warmth to savor.

The mouthfeel is surprisingly bright, given the heft of this beer. What a magnificent beer nerd joyride it is to drink this beer.

 

Capping a nice relaxing weekend with Human Robot Karak, a Chai Lattle Imperial Stout.
4.31/5 rDev -0.7%
look: 4 | smell: 4.25 | taste: 4.25 | feel: 4.5 | overall: 4.5
by larryi86 from Delaware

16 oz can poured into a tulip

A- Black with a small tan head.

S- Chocolate, coffee, ginger, allspice, some vanilla, touch of cinnamon.

T- Coffee, ginger, allspice, some chocolate, vanilla, hints of cinnamon.

M- Smooth, creamy, full body.

O- For me I’m getting a good amount of ginger and it gives an interesting and enjoyable contrast to the more typical stout flavors. Definitely a unique beer

Cheers!

 

That’s pretty far up there, I’m not too familiar with north jersey towns other than traveling there for the occasional playoff sports games back in high school. Bergen rang a bell cause of coaching days I wanna say we played a neutral site playoff game at Bergen catholic.

 

Juiced to Jupiter

6% Tangerine IPA from Fat Heads

Pours a murky orange-brown body with a nice foamy head. Modest lacing through the tasting.

Aroma was juice forward with tangerine leading the way. The nose is as if one zested a tangerine. Appealing.

Hop bill includes mosaic, citra and sultana. Taste follows nose. Low bitterness keeps the juicy party going. The finish dries up nicely and has a light hoppy taste. Very nice.

Mouthfeel was pleasant but nothing outstanding. Carbonation light.

Overall an interesting beer that I look forward to trying on draft. Likely a summer favorite.

 

Crush the Groove from Reuben's.

16oz can served in a big snifter. Dated 02/09/22. Bought it at the brewery last weekend.

Pours very pale yellow, hazy, about an inch of head, thick and creamy. Smell is lemony, citrus pithy, fairly mild.

Taste is interesting. It's kind of a cross between east and west coast profiles. I get a lot of resin bitterness that comes across as fruit skin bitterness, I also get some tropical juiciness that's not very ripe.

Mouthfeel is medium, dry. Overall, it's pretty good, but not a superstar.

 

Well beer fam, this is the last new beer I have in the fridge, and that is a good thing because @ovaltine sent me a message just a few hours ago. I think I will have my no new beers problem solved and then some. This is courtesy of @Roy_Hobbs surprise box via the current BIF. I'm not a big fan of fruited sours but I'm happy to try free beer shared by friends, I actually quite enjoyed the blueberry one sent my way. This one has black currants...

Conshohocken Brewing - ALTernating Currants



This beer has a beautiful dark red too it, like the red of cranberries. The head actually lingered a little longer than I thought it would but no there isn't much but a ring. Substantially opaque.

I'm not familiar with currents really but I'm guessing they have to taste like cranberries cause that is exactly what this beer smells like. It shows a sweet undertone that accompanies the sourness.

In this case taste definitely follows what I expected from the nose, and I can't help but think cranberries. There is a note from the yeast too hiding there in the background.

Mouthfeel spritzy light and refreshing, it stops just short of mouth puckering sour for me.

I have the same reaction towards this beer as I did the other...If I wanted something refreshing outside on a hot day I would gladly say yes to this beer in that occasion. It is well balanced, easy to drink, the sour/sweet flavor adds to how refreshing it is. Thanks for sending my way to try.

 

Glad you like it. It has become a semi-frequent resident in my fridge/gullet.

 

Yeah that was a big sports school - especially football. I played at Old Tappan. I mean I sucked, but I played.

 

Looks and sounds fantastic. Find this locally, or on travels?

 

Your comments + pic made me look this place up. I used to frequent Vancouver Isle and have a buddy that lives there. I need to reach out. HAHA

 

Another new to me beer and brewery.
I will start by saying Im not a huge fan of kettle sours.
Urban Artifact Kaleidescape
Midwest Fruit Tart brewed with Orange, Pineapple and Guava
Pours a hazy yellow/gold with a creamy, slightly off white head.
Spotty lacing.
Aroma is wow!! This is fruity - the orange blows your mind initially, then pineapple and guava chime in. This is truly tropical fruit salad.
Taste follows with all that fruit, slightly acidic, tart not sour, zero malt that is noticeable to me. This is all about the fruit and in this case I think its great.
Tiny lasting carb throughout the medium body. Some green hops peek through on the drying finish. Not sweet.
Definitely fits the bill for a fresh Midwest fruit tart, though the fruits are nowhere related to the location. Pretty fun to drink this fruity concoction that has zero hint of 8.5%.
Really nice change of pace here.
Cheers!

 

Greetings, NBW. A bittersweet day today. We did our first Palm Sunday cantata (this morning and tonight) after we lost our organist and good friend of my wife, me and our grandson to Covid. It was good, we performed well, yet it was not quite the same. So here's to Mike - a wonderfully talented keyboardist, musician, and a kind human being.

Sigh... apparently it will have to wait a few minutes... Not a new one to most here, but I've never had it before.


Orval. I'd call that a honey color with marshmallow fluff filling the glass. It is a little hazy but you can still see thru it. The head stubbornly falls to a dollop, but is leaving huge residue on the glass.

The aroma is fruity banana esters, slightly sweet, a bit of bubble gum. White grape, some extremely mild funk, some earthy brett. A bready note supports all of the aromatics. Maybe a little lemony citrus to cut through the rest and liven it up some.

The taste is intriguing. Not at all what I expected from the nose. It is really soft. I get the esters and bubblegum notes first with a great malty sweetness, but with further sips the aromatic notes recede a bit and it lays more malty and spicy. It strikes me more like a wild ale, quite yeasty but with more than enough malt to tie everything together. If it is funky at all, it is very laid back. There is some spiciness that seems like a bit of coriander and a hint of anise. It's fairly phenolic giving it a nice peppery sensation. Fair amount of bitterness on the finish, and there is a lemon note that lingers and helps reset the taste buds.

I'd call the body medium, more of a lively carbonation, pretty dry. The bitterness, while evident, is pleasantly mellow.

It's unique - and somehow everything that is going on plays nicely in the sandbox to deliver a highly enjoyable drinking experience that I really can't put into words. This is certainly a case where the gestalt matters. It's fun, makes me happy. Thinking this will land around 4.3 on the old BArometer. If my math is right, a minor milestone as this is my 500th review.

 

Cheers to Mike.

 

My first beer from Headless Mumby, a Washington brewery that I think specializes in lagers. This is their smoked rye lager.

Pours a dark amber color, clear, with a medium sized head and a pretty substantial amount of carbonation. Smell is quite noticeably camp-fiery.

Taste is more smoked than rye, I'm not sure I can recognize anything really "rye" about it. Something sweet underlying the smoke. Smoke is the dominant flavor, but it's not overpowering. If you wanted to session a rauchbier, this might be a good candidate, because I don't think it would get super overwhelming.

Mouthfeel is light and clean. Overall, it's a pretty good beer.

 

I literally LOL'd so loudly at this post that Ranger sprinted from the room, because you just described my HS football "career" to a T - I sucked, but I played. We were the same guy of roughly the same vintage, 700 miles or so apart. Well done, my friend.