New Beer Weekend #91

Yup, back with more of the savagery inflicted upon me during NBS BIF #15 by @Roy_Hobbs . Next up is Tree House's Very Gggreeen (what is up with all the multi lettering in the beer names of this brewery?). I find it to be a fairly average take on the style: https://www.beeradvocate.com/beer/profile/28743/420834/

 

Hello New Beer Weekend!!!

Well, I was inspired today to make a side trip to Wisconsin to find an interesting sounding Thumbprint beer, before I went to lunch with the family south of the twin cities metro. Yeah, the trip to Wisconsin was out of the way, but well worth it, as was lunch with the family. I'm glad I went over to cheese land before lunch with the family, because as soon as I got back into my central MN town, it started snowing - LOVELY!

Well, here's 2 from my Wisconsin stop today, and I'm quite pleased with both.
First up, and it went down WAY too fast:


Mocha Berry Bock - New Glarus Brewing

This was the beer that inspired my road trip to Wisconsin today, after hearing about it elsewhere. I was told it has been out for a while, but, I was hoping for the best. I found this at my first stop in Hudson, and I'm happy I picked this up. It is damn delicious. You wouldn't think berry flavors and a bock beer would work together, but it does, and it does damn well. I highly recommend this beer.

Review:
https://www.beeradvocate.com/beer/profile/590/570967/

4.41/5 rDev +9.7%
look: 4.25 | smell: 4.5 | taste: 4.5 | feel: 4.25 | overall: 4.25
by Victory_Sabre1973 from Minnesota

This beer pours a reddish brown color. The head is somewhere between red and white. The head is 2 finger and long lasting, however, there wasn't much lacing.
The nose is a berry bomb. I get blackberries, and raspberries. Well balanced, and pleasing to the nose.
The flavor is a berry bomb up front. I get raspberries, and blackberries in the flavor. They're a combination of sweet and tart. The berries linger, but are added to, on the back with a nice biscuit, bread malt flavor that adds even more to this beer.
The body is decent. Very smooth feeling.
This is delicious, but it went down way too fast. I do recommend this.


Now I am working on this, that I picked up at Casanova Liquor in Hudson.

Top Shelf Collaborations - Grotto - Imperial Stout - 13% ABV - collab with Casanova Liquors.

Damn! I am impressed with this one. I had to add it to the system here, and my review is only the 4th over at Untapped. I am very impressed with it, though the only real strike against it is that it seems a bit thin for the ABV. It's still damn good, though.

Review:
https://www.beeradvocate.com/beer/profile/28879/599511/

4.44/5 rDev 0%
look: 4.25 | smell: 4.5 | taste: 4.5 | feel: 4 | overall: 4.5
by Victory_Sabre1973 from Minnesota

This beer pours a very dark brown color, almost black. The head is a 2 finger brown head. The head retention is ok, but almost no lacing on the g;ass.
The nose is a beautiful combination of coffee, pistachio, chocolate, and caramel.
Taste - There's coffee throughout the beer flavor. The pistachio hits more up front with me, The chocolate is more on the back, with caramel notes from the barrels used to age this beer.
The body does seem a bit thin, yet it's decent. There's a slight boozy feeling from the 13% ABV.
This is a solid beer that I picked up at Casanova liquor in Hudson. I'm glad I got it, but, wish i would have gotten a couple more.


I may be back for more tonight, only time will tell .Cheers all!

 

I feel like I'll be reviewing beers from @Ozzylizard for the next two years such was the scale of what he sent my way. For today, I'm going with T.O.R.I.S. The Tyrant, a BA Triple Oatmeal Russian Imperial Stout.

3.97/5 rDev -7.9%
look: 4.25 | smell: 3.5 | taste: 4 | feel: 4.25 | overall: 4.25
Stamp on the can says best by January, 2025.

Served at 50.9 degrees and poured into a tulip. Pour is about as dark and as close to black as you can get with a beer. An aggressive pour resulted in a half inch of dense deep mocha colored head that receded to a thin cap and an omnipresent ring. Good looking beer overall.

Aroma is pleasant, yet subdued. I usually detect chocolate as a secondary smell, but in this case it's playing the lead role. Maybe a hint of booze / barrel playing support roles.

The taste is very different from the aroma. Intense roasted malts / char, barrel, whiskey and alcohol. If there's chocolate there, it's like baker's chocolate with more intensity than sweetness. Very pleasant warming from the alcohol, and a very full, chewy, yet smooth mouthfeel.

Overall, this is a very well done beer. No real tricks, just a good barrel aged stout.

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

I'm with you. Give me simple but well done vs. "throw a bunch of crap together" any day of the week.

At the risk of contradicting what I said directly above, this sounds really interesting.

 

FTFY!

 

Next up from invasion perpetuated by @Roy_Hobbs , is one of the two brews I was most apprehensive of, Donut Soup from Pipeworks. A "Imperial stout with lactose, cacao nibs, vanilla, coffee, and natural coconut flavor", well that's certainly busy. It didn't really work for me: https://www.beeradvocate.com/beer/profile/28178/404801/

 

Back home and I've got one more in me...



This is J. Wakefield's Con Sazón, a triple dry-hopped TIPA weighing in at a hefty 10.5% ABV. It was canned on 2/25/22 making it almost a couple months old, but I'm hoping that, considering it showed up only recently on shelves in my area, it still packs quite a punch and that it will satisfy with aplomb.

Con Sazón feature Galaxy, Simcoe, and Strata hops and, well, that is an awesome little lineup that really represents a diverse yet potent cross-section of the who's-who of modern hoppiness. Simcoe is like the old stalwart champion that has yet to be dethroned, Galaxy is the upstart that has still seen some spectacular victories, and Strata is the rookie-of-the-year that has immense promise but hasn't quite reached its full potential yet. The pour here is intense; an opaque hazy orange beer with a massive head of off-white foam lingering for the entirety of the session, leaving behind immense lacing and with great legs to boot... CS is really quite a looker.

Nose is quite a bit grassier and more herbal than expected, perhaps harkening to Galaxy's German Perle heritage, but it also calls to mind the intensity of Simcoe in its pine-like leanings as well, bursting out of the freshly-poured liquid with an intense dankness mingling with hints of grapefruit and passion fruit. Strata may be to blame for the latter element noted there, as I've seen more than one breeder refer to Strata as "passion fruit meets pot." I've seen it combined with Citra quite a bit, and I think the two make a great combo for sure, but Simcoe/Galaxy seem to allow it to shine similarly, though perhaps with less tangerine overtones.

Nice flavor profile, deftly balancing the piney dankness of Simcoe with the tropical aspects of Galaxy while still maneuvering through the complexities brought by the collaboration of the hops on order... there's some more herbal stuff happening but I think it adds to the character of this beer, which hides its alcohol content rather admirably while delivering a palatable and enjoyable hop-driven depth-charge to the senses. Strata still seems to me to be a hop that has yet to find its true place, but I think it has a lot more potential than many other modern hop varietals, and I'm enjoying sipping on this one for sure. Would buy again!

 

When we go to Taps, the Irish Red is my wife's go-to. They've won numerous awards for this one.

 

Melvin Space Station DIPA, 8.0% ABV; 3.86 overall

Pours a hazed gold with a thumb of pearl colored head. Good lacing & average head retention

S: Some citrus & tropical fruit

T: Mango, green melon, dryness & tangerine up front. Orange, green melon & powdery dryness as this warms. a little Kiwi Fruit as well. Finishes dry with, orange, green melon & kiwi fruit

MF: Medium body, restrained carbonation, good balance

Solid DIPA, but not one I'd do again

 

After a couple of beers yesterday, including an excellent German pilsner from my friend @jonphisher (more beers from him next weekend, both Saturday and Sunday - 5, to be precise), I had a plan for today to tackle the last couple of sours from the virtual EBF, but something about a sour with donuts and peanut butter & jelly included isn’t revving up my beer nerd engine this evening.

I know, weird, right? Everyone enjoys a good ol’ PB&J&Donut sour, correct?

So on to Plan B, which evolved from a last minute trip to the store to pick up an Easter card for Mrs O - and while we’re at it, let’s check on the beer!

I found a deal for Founders Centennial ($17 for a relatively fresh 15-pack that will head to the camper/lake next week ) and a New Belgium Voodoo Ranger mix pack with a couple of new beers to me.

I enjoy the Voodoo Ranger stuff, and it gives me a chance to use my NB glass, which I also enjoy, so Plan B is implemented. Let’s GO (and Happy Easter, NBW friends)!!!

PS: speaking of Ranger, look between the glass and the can in both pics - he’s a photobomber from WAAAAAY back.





3.93/5 rDev +3.4%
look: 4.25 | smell: 3.75 | taste: 4 | feel: 3.75 | overall: 4
by ovaltine from Indiana

Beautiful golden straw color with a fair amount of haze and a creamy white head that CLINGS to the glass. A beautiful hazy. The nose has the ubiquitous citrus notes Galaxy hops are noted for, with passion fruit and grapefruit most prominent.

The taste is led by the passion fruit, and the grapefruit is also present, with a bit of malt for good measure. The mouthfeel is medium and a bit on the softer side.

This is easy to drink, which is admirable given the 7.7% ABV, but it is a bit “by the numbers,” because there’s nothing that really stands out - it checks boxes, but not enough to make you think, “Wow, I’ve gotta find more of this.”

 

That to me is the beauty of this thread, drinking and sharing good beers with one another, no matter how known or unknown a brewery may be...

Shortly I will finally be joining the fun again, I would've again already with another beer, but with the one I have planned I think its gonna be the knock out punch for the evening.

 

Good Heavens, them belly full? Here we are gang at the tail end of Easter Sunday. Old baseball games on from 30 years ago all day and tinkering with garden seedlings. All this Sunday bliss only to give my tummy a seminar on gravy and yorkshire puddings.


With the voices of Jon Miller and Joe Morgan keeping it Sunday; I think its time for a lager beer.


Pabst Blue Ribbon *Strong 5.9% Abv


Poured from a cold tall boy can into a lager glass; Jose Canseco Pabst pours the proper pale Instantly looks like rice malt was used. Roaring science project carbonation and a decent ¼’’ head that sticks around and laces and the tiny bubbles rise up and collect..


Aroma has you walking past a candy shop. Not too sweet and pleasant to the nose and senses. Faint lager malt.


Taste is interesting - its the texture that creates interest. The head on the beer never fades; upon tasting the foam coats the roof of your mouth. That’s pure glucose adding body to the beer. The liquid is thin and sweet; but not overly sweet. It does taste more like sugar than malt but I’m not offended.


Time for a decisive heroic gulp.


Its not bad. I can see the beer being even more enjoyable colder with some of the taste notes more muted and you can just enjoy the body of the beer and its texture upon consumption. Pair with classic ball park type food.


I’m gonna pencil this one is as a malt liquor.


3 out of 5 based on style.


Happy Easter and continued Passover everyone!


Praise New Beer Sunday.

 

I'm with you on these beers. It was a shock to my beer sensibilities to find out that I really enjoy these slushy fruity things, but I'm in the same boat - not exactly sure how to evaluate them. I can imagine a poorly executed one being a horrible, disgusting mess, and the missus and I have been lucky so far. The Mortalis names have been confusing, but by what I can gather Hydra is like the base beer from which the variants arise. Our favorite so far is the Melted Gelato. The jelly donut one is close second. They are fun and a nice treat, but they also start tasting pretty similar. I think they need to be spread out in time so each one is its' own experience.

 

I needed a palate reset after that Pipeworks brew, but now, I'm back fighting the fight against @Roy_Hobbs ' assault. Forest & Main Deep Peace Stout. A very good basic (no add-junks, barrels, or other bullshit) beer. Get it if you see it.

https://www.beeradvocate.com/beer/profile/27273/595396/