New Beer Weekend #93

That's my favorite 3 Floyds beer - by a LOT, especially when it's fresh.

And you are absolutely correct - someone looking for a hazy in look, taste, and feel with that beer will be sorely disappointed.

The Dreadnaught is not to be trifled with.

 

I don't know. Maybe the bottles I've seen posted in the past are 750 ML rather than a "bomber," which to me means 22 oz. Or I could be mistaken and the photos I've seen are close-ups of 12 oz. bottles. I like the 12 oz. format for a 9.5% Stout. I wish brewers would abandon the 22 oz. bottle.

 

Huh, guess what I'm about to post......

 

Musk of the Minotaur


7.2% double dry-hopped AIP from Hoof Hearted Brewing

From a pint can (canned on 3-29-22), the body pours a hazy light yelllow. A small fluffy head appeared on pouring and medium lacing throughout the tasting.

A light fruity nose of melon and citrus upon opening the can. Very appealing.

Taste is a ligher version of the nose. Hops add a light bitterness up front; mid-to-finish features the fruit. As above but perhaps with some guava-melon sweeteness. Really nice. No noticeable ABV.

Mouthfeel is nice, assisted by good but not overdone carbination. Light feel with a drying finish. Satisfying.

 

We all have differing philosophies on how to rate "enjoyment" - @Roguer and I do things differently, for instance. I use overall to indicate pure enjoyment; usually it falls within the other scores, but sometimes its higher or lower than the "technical" rating, as best as I can give one.

Outside of the rating effect, there are often times where a beer can just hit you well, whereas it might not on another occasion, and I'd bet one's "enjoyment" rating regresses to the "technical" rating in most cases.

That said, I reviewed DFH's Kernza Pils a few weeks back, and thought it iffy as a Pilsner, but not a bad beer. One day last week, I grabbed one to sip on a leisurely walk with the mindset that it was a balance pale ale. I was enjoying it and wondered why I had rated it fairly average to low.

Then I realized I rated it as a Pilsner more than as a enjoyable beer. And I don't think that's wrong, because 99.9% of others looking at a beer will see the "Pilsner" term and general rating before they see anything in my NBW review, if they ever see that.

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I'm pretty sure I've had Lollihop by Tröegs before, but since I'm on the posting-previously-had-beers bandwagon, here's the link to my review.

 

Captains Log Stardate Wutever, Homeslice. Our test sublect on the planet of Northeast Kiribati seems to have survived his attack of the 14% stout, and is recovering with a gentle 3.8% brew, Dark Mild by Forest and Main. The subject seems to have a favorable view of this quaff: https://www.beeradvocate.com/beer/profile/27273/592884/

 

You may be right about the sizes. I know they changed the name of Aphrodisiaque to Aphrodite for the US market. They may bottle the stouts differently for the US as well.

I’m with you though. I love the 12oz/341ml bottle for a big BA stout.

 

Y'all I made a grave error.
I initially scheduled this wrist surgery for like a year ago, but it kept getting rescheduled and pushed back and I completely forgot about it (and that it had been ultimately rescheduled for the end of April) until I got the reminder/notification to go get my pre-op covid screen. This is all well and good, and I finally got the surgery (ganglion cyst excision/carpal tunnel release), but where I done messed up is in the fact that I'm now not supposed to lift anything heavier than a coffee cup with that hand, and we're supposed to be moving this and next week. Oops. Confounding matters is the fact that they told me I should be able to return to work pretty much immediately. But they must assume everyone works in an office/at a computer, because what they meant is that I should be able to type at a keyboard immediately. I've got this stupid cast on for a total of two weeks, and I can't do my job with it on. So unless they can find some orientees for me to steal and be the preceptor for, that also means two more weeks out of work. Including the surgery, the wedding, and covid, I worked a grand total of three days in April. Fuck.



Anyway.
I haven't been on a beer run in quite a while, so I'm continuing to work through stuff I've got on hand, which is probably a good call (also an unintended pun!!). For the second week in a row I'm grabbing one of the Floodland beers I've had sitting in my fridge for a while.
Senescence is a oak fermented saison that he says was inspired by stories of 19th and 20th century Belgian and French farmhouse beers. I didn't have any Belgian nor French beers in the 19th nor 20th centuries so I can't speak to the authenticity or anything, but the short version is: it drinks like a solid if unspectacular saison.



The pour is not quite but almost clear rich golden yellow with a decent little pile of white foam that actually sticks around and leaves flecks and shapes on the glass as I sip down.

Nose is robust and enjoyable in a traditional saison type of range. Some funk, trending towards the earthier/farmier side of the spectrum, and some tart, which in this case is more supportive than sharply acidic. Really pleasant.

The flavour follows in the footsteps of the aroma, but I think it works better on the nose than on the tongue. Which is not to say it's tastes poorly, by any means, but while the nose stimulated my imagination and got me excited, the flavour is solidly enjoyable but doesn't stand out as quite as much of a strength for the brew, in my opinion. The yeasty funk is warmingly earthy and again in that barnyard range of saison flavours. The tart is a little more lemon and raspy, but still not harsh. It all builds to a pretty prominent yeasty finish that marries that funk and the raspiness and leaves a lingering impression of a finish. The oak comes in to help smoothe things and offer some of that more vegetal/green woodiness.

Overall, similarly to last week, this is not one of my favourites from them. It's still quite good, just not up to the lofty standards that their other offerings (in particular some of the fruited saisons) have set in my mind. I like it: it's refreshing and wuld be especially pleasant, I would imagine, on a warm afternoon on the porch, but I've had bottles I've enjoyed more from them in the past.

Cheers y'all, hope you're having a good weekend!!

 

South X Southeast Minnesota Brewing, Pine Island, MN
Maypole Maibock 7.0% ABV, IBU: 25
Part of the yesterdays Rochester, MN taproom run.

look: 4 | smell: 3.75 | taste: 4 | feel: 4 | overall: 3.75
Had a half pint at the taproom, bought a 750ml can for home. I'm a drinking it now.
Look: transparent darker gold body, decent head that leaves some lacing.
Smell: sweet malt, floral, bread, alcohol
taste: follows the nose plus a hint of honeycomb and maybe corn and a flower flavor. Not really all that sweet, hints of bitterness.
Feel: decent body, good carbonation 7% abv for sure

A Solid beer, 3.89/5

https://untappd.com/b/south-by-southeast-maypole-maibock/4291495
https://www.beeradvocate.com/beer/profile/59715/602094/

 

Let me add some things if I can. First off, I am not a whiskey expert in the slightest, secondly, I couldn't tell you how specific things really are regarding legality and Kölsch in Germany today. With that in mind, nothing I am saying is gospel. Regarding the statement: "once it is distilled to the guidelines of Bourbon, it retains that title regardless of what is added to it after the fact," I am under the impression that that isn't legally accurate. Once you add flavoring to bourbon, it is no longer legally bourbon (even if some producers ignore this). This is probably why "flavored whiskey" is a common term. The comparison of bourbon to Kölsch needs to be taken much further because oddly enough both beverages are legally defined by where they are produced rather than simply process. This derails the "if it fits the style guidelines" argument.

I don't know if Kölsch sold in Germany really needs to be compliant to the Reinheitsgebot today. If that is actually the case, then once you add fruit to a Kölsch it couldn't be sold as Kölsch in Germany. @Roguer - despite your soft spot for Kölsch as a more defined type, you still seem to be very open-minded about what can be sold as Kölsch. Once again, the comparison to Pilsner is more appropriate than presented. Like Kölsch, producers of Pilsners once fought to have the term protected. There's a reason why you see so many German beers referred to as "Pils." Nonetheless, "pilsner" became a generic term in the eyes of many. Kölsch producers wanted to avoid the same fate and were more successful. You also mentioned "imperial strength" as being OK. I don't know if Kölsch actuallly needs to be Vollbier at the moment legally, but at the very least, German producers would probably not produce a Kölsch with a starting gravity higher than that constraint.

Regarding the statement: "Don't use a style label if what you're brewing doesn't have anything to do with the style anymore," one can argue that the introduction of coffee or fruit to a beer actually departs from a style more than an uncharacteristic malt or hop choice. Craft beer today tends to tell a somewhat different narrative, but that doesn't mean that it's the only properly applicable narrative. There have been a handful of posts on BA that really challenged my initial perspective when I first joined this site. I might be remembering this incorrectly, but back when Dogfish Head brewed a pilsner with pear juice, I remember a post from @jesskidden that expressed the idea that once you add pear juice, it might not be a pilsner anymore. If I remember this incorrectly, then I have invented a fiction that has had a great influence on me. My reaction at the time was informed by how craft beers were marketed. Why wouldn't it still be a pilsner (a pilsner with pear juice)? I gave his post a lot of thought and it opened my eyes to a different (and very valid) perspective. I am not sure exactly where I stand on the issue... but to bring it back to your statement above - does pear juice "have anything to do with the Pilsner style?" The answer to that is no.

 

Roughtail Panzel's Peaches Triple IPA, 9.2% ABV; 4.19 overall

Pours a very effervescent gold with 3+ fingers of beige & plenty of floaties. Great lacing & above average head retention

S: Peaches, vanilla
T: Follows the nose, some oranges & limes as well up front. More each, vanilla & oranges with some bitterness & green melon as this warms, along with a little dryness. Finishes with vanilla, peaches & oranges, plus a little leafy hops

MF: Medium body, creamy carbonation

A pretty solid hazy DIPA, ABV is very well hidden

 

It is still bourbon though. And that’s where the entire discussion sits for many who choose to argue the point. It becomes bourbon with xyz flavorings which is indicated on the packaging. Dirt is still dirt even once I add miracle gro to it. Likewise for beer, bourbon, or anything else you can think of. This is simply one school of thought. Cheers.

 

Since not everyone would agree with the first part, then the second part is certainly correct. Cheers to you too! (I am drinking Bud Light... not a new-to-me beer).

 

Bourbon can legally be made in any state, lots of distillers in Texas make actual legal Bourbon (they couldn't put Bourbon on the label otherwise). Kentucky Straight Whiskey is defined by where it is made.

 

... in the United States. (I could have mentioned it to be clearer)

 

Yep, do'h (on my part ha). But yeah, agree with everything you said above as well.

 

@Roguer
I just went to the Gaffel site to see what kind of products they produce today. They sell: a Citra hopped "pale ale," non-alcoholic Kolsch blended with different fruit juices, Kolsch blended with lemonade, their unfiltered Kolsch-like "Wiess", and two beers they actually call Kolsch (unlike the blends) - their regular Kolsch and their non-alcoholic version.

 

I like dank. This beer is dank...and I like it! My wife said that it smells like bud...as in herbs. It is groovy and I'm digging it's lemon slick danksmanship. It's been a while since I've had a truly dank brew and this is quite nice. Chairs!
Blackstack Real Estate WCIPA collab with Crosby Estate grown Comet hops.
4.06/5 rDev +4.4%
look: 3.75 | smell: 4 | taste: 4.25 | feel: 3.75 | overall: 4
by LesDewitt4beer from Minnesota
16oz can into a pint glass.
L: Pours crystal clear bright straw yellow w/a 1" bright white head w/medium descent to edge foam, fair carbonation, essentially no lacing.
S: Dank hops, light diesel, cabbage, grassy, floral, wildflowers, light citrus, caramelized malts, light yeast.
T: Floral hops, dankness, lemon zest, very clean tasting w/a clean finish, some citrus, light melon, sweet caramel and light honey in the center but dank at beginning and end. Bitterness is not intense but it goes deep.
F: Crisp, soft, creamy, smooth, med-light bodied mouth feel w/a slick, fast finish that is lightly drying.
O: Almost like a session IPA but not as crisp though it is EZ drinking, quaffable and quenching. A uniquely hopped, fruity & lightly zesty IPA w/earthy undertones. No alcohol detected. It is very good in it's style.

 

All of my beers this evening are courtesy of my friend @jonphisher and NBS BIF #15 - The Second Shipment.

This first beer is actually two beers in a side-by-side. One of these beers I had on the regular whilst we lived in Minnesota because my local carried multiple Victory beers and I happened to absolutely LOVE this one.

The second is new to me and a variant - one I’ve wanted to try since I’ve heard of its existence. Thanks to Jon, I get that chance.

Let’s do this live.





The first thing I notice when I pop the cans - lots of hops out of the dry hopped version, very citrus forward. Nothing wrong with that, but it’s very noticeable - like “sledgehammer on the nose” noticeable.

The second thing I notice is the look, specifically the OG is crystal clear, while the variant has a decent amount of haze. I don’t have anything against a little haze, but German pilsners in my experience a pretty much “see through” beers, and the variant is not that.

The nose in the OG is classic German pilsner, with loads of grass, a nice lemon note, and bready malt. The variant features significantly more citrus notes, with passion fruit accompanying the lemon. There is some bready malt, but it’s note as prominent as it is in the base beer.

The taste of the base beer is again that classic German pilsner, with the lemongrass forward, complemented by the bready malt flavor. A perfectly balanced pilsner, IMHO. The variant is significantly more hop forward, with the lemon and passion fruit flavors really dominant, thought there is some bready malt.

The mouthfeel for both beers is crisp, though I think the base beer is a bit crisper. What this comes down to is the original being more of a traditional German pilsner, while the newbie is more of an IPL. Both are exceedingly crushable, but I definitely prefer the old school version.

I rated that beer 4.25 years ago, and would stick with that, if not nudge it up to 4.35 (bumping up the taste to 4.50), while I’d place the newer iteration 4.11 (3.75, 4.00, 4.25, 4.25, 4.00).

Man, was this fun. Thank you SO MUCH, Jon, for setting this up.