New Beer Weekend #94

A collaboratively brewed beer - sorta

Today’s beer is interesting in that it is brewed by Ommegang but it was “crafted” by Liefmans; I presume that Leifmans developed the recipe and provided the important ingredient for this beer of the yeast blend (including lactic acid bacteria I assume).

Below is how Ommegang details this beer:

"Solera

Tart golden ale

Gently tart, delicately sweet and completely refreshing, Solera is an incomparable ale crafted for Ommegang by Liefmans, our sister blendery in Belgium.

A mixed-culture fermentation in open copper vats is followed by months of aging. Similar in approach to the classic “solera method” of blending liquids of varying ages, master blenders regularly mix new batches with older ones to achieve the perfect balance of sweet and sour.

Solera is the new name for Pale Sour. Same delicious beer, now in adventure-ready cans.

6.9% ABV

9.2 IBU

Year-round AVAILABILITY

HOPS: Hallertau, Magnum

FERMENTABLES: Pilsner malt, dextrose

YEAST: Liefmans mixed culture”

Let’s ‘pucker up’ and see how this beer tastes.

Served in my Heavy Seas tulip glass:

Appearance:

Straw yellow colored with some haze. A small white head which dissipates rather quickly.

Aroma:

There are fruity aromas with a hint of tartness.

Taste:

The flavor follows the nose with fruity flavors and some tartness. The bitterness level if low – moderate.

Mouthfeel:

Light/medium bodied, a spritzy/tangy carbonation for the first few sips and a dry finish.

Overall:

I think this beer is quite good. An enjoyable warm weather drinking beer.

I personally appreciated that the sour level was low; tart as the label frames it.

Cheers!

@rotsaruch @KOP_Beer_OUtlet @RobH

 

Thanks for the kick-off @Roguer.

We're back up in NH to open up our place for the season. Since "opening it up" doesn't entail a whole lot, I hope to watch plenty of soccer and drink plenty of new beer today. First up is this can of Coffee House Porter from Berkshire Brewing Company.

3.64/5 rDev -10.6%
look: 3.75 | smell: 4 | taste: 3.5 | feel: 3.5 | overall: 3.5

Pour is deep, deep brown bordering black with a finger of mocha colored head with excellent retention. Aroma is really nice, with plenty of roasted malts and some chocolate. Coffee definitely takes the lead on the tongue, followed by plenty of roasted malts and a little bit of chocolate. Feel is thin-ish but with a decent amount of carbonation.

Overall good beer. I came in well under rDev, but I'm actually enjoying this quite a bit.

 

Good morning BAs! Today’s new beer showed up in yesterday’s Tavour box - Hoppin’ Frog’s “Infusion A Coffee Porter” with chocolate and peanut butter:



Canning date is smudgy, but looks like Feb. 2022. Poured at 55°. Dark brown body with ruby see through; creamy tan head with a few rocks; very little cap retention, solid plus ring; some soapy lace at first; thin legs at best. Roast coffee and dark chocolate nose. Bittersweet dark chocolate initially, followed by roast coffee; more a toasted nuts flavor than peanut butter on backend. Light body but not watery; moderate minus carbonation; no warmth from 6.2% abv. Overall a very tasty coffee Porter; no artificial flavors detected; the coffee and chocolate complimented each other; nice coffee in the linger; not much “peanut butter” which is alright by me; a great breakfast beer I will happily drink again.

4.25 |4.25 | 4.5 | 4.25 | 4.25
Score: 4.35 rDev 0 First Review

Cheers and have a great Saturday y’all!

 

Couple of New Belgium/Voodoo Rangers this weekend:

Juice Force

Appearance: Cloudy yellow, good head.

Smell: White grapefruit.

Taste: Extremely juice-like. Mix of grape, grapefruit, pineapple, mandarin orange juices. Very fruity. More cocktail-like than beer-like. Light body.

Overall: This one from New Belgium is probably the most juice-like beer I've ever had. It doesn't taste like juicy hops in beer, it literally tastes like a mix of juice. Not much beer character. It tastes pretty good, even though not very beer-like, and it does say it will be a juice force.

Agent 77

Appearance: Cloudy yellow, huge head.

Smell: Citrus, pears.

Taste: Mild sweetness, pear, white wine-slight apple, a mineral note. Very low bitterness, light feel.

Overall: Nelson is a unique hop showcased by Agent 77. Interesting white wine flavors, but still definitely a beer. Easy drinking and light feel. Kind of interesting to have a non-supercharged high-octane version of a Nelson-hopped beer.

 

Next up is another beer from Berkshire Brewing Company. Berkshire is an OG brewer that I'd only had a few beers from before stopping by their brewery for the first time last fall.

Drayman's Porter

3.44/5 rDev -12%
look: 3.5 | smell: 3.25 | taste: 3.5 | feel: 3.5 | overall: 3.5

Color on the pour is a translucent light brown that reminded me of pouring a Coke. In the glass, it's a dark brown with some light getting through. Relatively minimal beige colored head that receded to a thin yet persistent cap. Aroma is relatively nondescript, with some light roasted malts and underlying notes of pumpernickel.

Taste largely follows the nose, with light roast, moderate bitterness and a dry finish. Fairly light and easy drinking. Overall while this doesn't jump out in any particular way, sometimes it's nice to just drink a simple, no frills beer. I'd gladly try again.

I'm well under rDev again, but like my first beer, that doesn't mean I' not really enjoying the beer.

 

I am 100% with you here - I don't like weedy/dank flavors either.

Cheers!

 

Thanks for kicking things off, @Roguer!

I bought my first beer this weekend for my own in-house Cinco de Mayo, but ended up having a different beer on the day, a beer from Mexico which I’ve had before (which beer, BTW, will probably also sneak into the upcoming Dark Lager Online Tasting… May 13-15. Be there! Planning & tasting thread(s) to be posted soon, right @FBarber?).

I've had one other beer from this brewer, the self-proclaimed “nation's first Latino-influenced for-benefit beer company”, and I enjoyed it a lot.

Here is how they describe themselves:

“We are fusing Latin and local Minnesota culture, one cerveza at a time.”

La Doña Infierno de Mayo Helles Lager
ABV: 5.0%
IBU: 40

Given the previous beer I had from La Doña and how they describe themselves, I am not expecting a true-to-style German helles lager. That is just not what this brewery is about. I am expecting this to be a bit of a fusion beer – whatever that means, exactly, IDK; but probably not a straight German-style helles.

As to the name, "Infierno de Mayo"...

The German word “helles” or “hell” is “bright” in English, and “brillante” in Spanish.

But American craft brewers seem infatuated with the occult, (not to mention sophomoric humor) so, naturally, many of them just leave it as “Hell” (and think they are being cute, I suppose).

“Hell” in English is “Infierno” in Spanish.

So, the name of this beer is an indirect pun. Aye yi yi …

OK. Enough falderal... On to the beer.

Great looking bright helles. Crystal clear golden yellow, amply carbonated. Topped by a stark white 1 inch thick fluffy head with excellent retention. As the head recedes, it sinks in the middle unevenly and leaves gobby sticky lacing.

The aroma was the familiar German lager-esq when I cracked the can. Nose in the glass, though, is different; dank with a pleasant aroma that is hard for me to describe; toasty is not quite right; perhaps baked, but that’s not right either? Anyhow, it is a nice, but not what I would have expected, aroma.

Whatever it is, it continues into the taste as well. Given the niche La Doña has set for themselves in the craft beer market in the Twin Cities, as I stated above, I was in no way expecting a true-to-style German Helles, and it certainly lives up to that! The flavor is earthy, dank, baked/toast, grass, and yet none of those descriptors really capture the overall flavor. With the dank (although not overdone) flavor, perhaps they were going for a “marihuana pa' fumar” (as the song goes) vibe. I like it. It is easily quaffable. It’d go great on a hot day. There are not a lot of flavor transitions from the initial to the finish. It finishes like it starts, in other words. There is little to no bittering and the aftertaste is smooth and toward the dry side, ending perhaps just a bit sharp and pungent.

Mouth feel is creamy with good carbonation.

Overall, a quite unique helles (bright) lager, indeed. If you are expecting a German-style helles lager, move along. If you are looking for something a bit off-the-wall unique and yet still enjoyable and quaffable, give it a shot.

My rating, below, is on the level of pleasure I got from drinking it; that is, on how well I liked it as a quaffable spring/summer beer. Since I knew (or highly suspected) going in that this beer would not be even attempting to be a faithful German-style rendition, grading it on that scale seems to me to be unfair.

L: 4.25 | S: 4.0 | T: 4.0 | F: 4.25 | O: 4.0 | Rating: 4.04

 

I’ll help out later @Roguer my whole morning has been converting a crib to a bed for our 3 year old. Let’s just say I’ll need beers later…

That’s neat about a place in NH. We’ve never been, we visit Vermont once a year to visit friends but I’ve always been curious about NH. I’d love to see the white mountains sometime. It seems like a less talked about mountain state, does less tourism make for more peaceful stays?

 

Hey what's going on?

Time for a new beer. Can this rain please go away... it's been unrelenting...

that said, drinking a new brew... these always get interesting.



Poured from the can into a nonic(k) pint glass.

Peach orange to slightly sludge like red berry color. Opaque with a nice off white forming head that is slightly tinged orange and manages a good three fingers. Minimal retention, and a good elevator descending head at a somewhat quick pace.

Pretty good mix of fruit sweetness and balanced sourness. Real good sense of strawberry almost as if the seeds were being stuck in your teeth practically. Other fruit flavors make their way particularly the mango which has a real sticky syrupy quality.

Palate seems a bit more like fruit juice than beer. Box juice of concentrate tropics, with a tinge of prickly carbonation. A light touch of sour character just brings the product back enough into the beer realm, but still give the idea of a sour fruit box drink than anything else. Nice touches of strawberry and mango, with faint playful carbonation, and maybe even a mineral finish.

Comes off a bit too much like a juice soda unfortunately, but is solid in the flavor department at least.

look: 4 | smell: 4.25 | taste: 3.75 | feel: 3.75 | overall: 3.75 | BA Generated Score: 3.89

Cheers!

 

40 IBUs is very high withing the context of the Helles beer style. Some folks may even opine this is too high even for a Pilsner.

Given the 40 IBUs listed above I am wondering if they used some hops for the aroma addition here which would be atypical for the Helles style.

Not to put words in your mouth but...would the word "earthy" maybe apply here?

Regardless of my comments above it sure sounds like this was an 'interesting' beer given the branding of Helles.

Cheers!

 

Even in NJ too, non stop, it is insane. Makes me want to warm up with a nice huge barleywine later

 

Surly Brewing and Other Half Brewing Thiol & Error DDH hazy IIPA. The look is murky peachy orange, with a light white foam roof, which quickly disappears. The smell is apricots, peaches, oranges, white grapes, champagne, and a kind of popcorn scent. The taste is like white wine. Almost completely. There are passion fruit flavors, but they are minimal compared to the flavor of white grapes. Not too sweet. The mouthfeel is very champagne-like. High carbonation, light, and smooth. Very clean. Overall, this tastes like a murky White Claw beverage. Which doesn't make it too bad, but I was hoping Other Half Brewing would elevate what Surly Brewing is typically able to accomplish in this genre.

 

Thanks for kicking the weekend off @Roguer ! 9 AM CDT is a reasonable starting time seeing no European drinkers at this juncture.

Thoroughly enjoyed catching up on the April NBW/NBS threads, really enjoyed the flurry of April activity. This is the second of three New Glarus Wild Ales planned for this weekend (the first featured in the Cellar Review thread since it was enjoyed yesterday).

Feel obligated this weekend to note before reviewing that this review is based on my actual truthful experience tasting this new to me beer.

New Glarus R & D Vintage 2017



Bottle Notes: Vintage 2017, 50 barrel batch. 16.9 oz, brewed October 2014 through January 2016, bottled 4/26/17. OG 12 P, ABV 5%, IBUs 24. Brewed and bottled by New Glarus Brewing Co., New Glarus Wisconsin.

Brewer Bottle Notes: Naturally occurring spontaneous fermentation creates this American Gueuze. Coolship brewed and wild cave aged. Dan's masterwork blend of three years brewing is sour citrusy, horsey and vintage worthy.

Appearance: Single pour of about half the bottle into a large tulip glass. Clear effervescent gorgeous base, soapy bright white head quickly recedes, nominal quickly receding lacing thereafter. The champagne of Wild Ales! 4.5

Aroma: White wine, citrus, very funky, slightly tart. Enticing. 4.25

Taste: Consistent with the aroma, though with significantly decreased strength. Mellow slightly tart grape, lemon and light citrus. A subtle vibe which works well with the style, flavors blend well. Appreciating the oak as this warms a bit. 4.25

Mouthfeel: Light to medium body, sweet and somewhat syrupy, light carbonation persists throughout. Light and easy drinking, dry and light tartness, both linger a bit in the finish. 4.0

Overall: Very nice blend held up well. Nice subtle yet complex offering, everything really comes together well with this blend. Glad I followed the hype and picked this up during my Wisconsin brewery tour, and that I have another bottle on hand. Cheers! 4.25

Plan on returning tomorrow with Vintage 2018. Cheers!

 

Sneaking one in at the in laws. It’s my father in laws birthday and all he wanted to do was fry a Turkey cause he’s never had one before, they succeeded, so I will soon be eating fried Turkey!!

Been wanting to try more slack tide and my brother in law grabbed a six of the one I wanted to try, their west coast ipa. Their is a best brewery in NJ discussion in the northeast forum, this brewery was mentioned by a few of us, they are great!

slack tide - angry osprey



Beautiful copperish color, almost clear, great head retention and some nice lacing. Their beers have some serious head and lacing every time it seems.

Nose is a nice combo of malt; almost a little toasty, citrus rind, little bit of sap and an underlying very subtle fruity note.

Taste leans into the rind and sap; with a nice malt presence but not overpowering; shows very nicely in the aftertaste. Very well balanced and to style.

Medium body; nice soft carbonation; dry resiny dry hop feel on the tongue, nice medium biting bitterness.

This is a great beer and another impressive one from slack tide, what a great south jersey brewery.

@DrStiffington

 

Toppling Goliath Brewing Radiant Haze NEIPA. From a 12-pack variety of Toppling Goliath Brewing beers. The can art is outstanding. The look is very beautiful lemon pudding swampy sunny yellow-orange. Just how I like it. The smell is coconuts, mangos, lemons, oranges, and sweet onions. The taste is pure Toppling Goliath. You know it. You feel it. It embraces you. It reminds you of how jealous you feel when people in Hawaii or Alaska or Maine or wherever, seem to be able to purchase and post their releases before you do in Wisconsin, even through Toppling Goliath Brewing is about the distance of an Aaron Rodgers hail Mary pass from Wisconsin. The flavor is coconuts, tropical fruit, with the buttery electricity that only this brewery can achieve. The mouthfeel is like any of Toppling Goliath Brewing's finest NEIPA releases, juicy, thick, full, and smooth. Overall, this beer is on par with any of this brewery's well-regarded NEIPAs. It came from a 12-pack that cost $19.99. Outstanding!