New Beer Weekend #94

Howdy folks! Finally getting to this lovely drop in this thread. Such a beautiful brew it is!
Hammerheart Snosmaltning Smoked Lager 7.1% ABV w/Sabro & Sugar Rush Peach Peppers.
4.16/5 rDev -0.7%
look: 4.25 | smell: 3.75 | taste: 4.25 | feel: 4.5 | overall: 4.25
by LesDewitt4beer from Minnesota
16oz can into a tall Lager glass.
L: Pours relatively clear orange caramel w/a 1" off white rocky head, decent retention down to thick edge foam, mild carbonation, light sticky lacing.
S: Caramelized malts, light smoke, musty pepper, earthy, lightly grassy, a suggestion of ripe fruit.
T: Malts, caramelized malts, ripe peach, wood smoke, pepper capsaicin heat, musky pepper, bread dough, light citrus, woody, grassy, gently sweet. Well malted med-long finish.
F: Snappy, smooth, creamy, semi-juicy, medium heavy bodied mouth feel w/well balanced & quilted hot pepper heat. It has a fairly clean med-long lingering finish.
O: An inviting full flavored Lager that isn't too complex. Well articulated flavor facets are tangible, well balanced. Very easy drinking at 7.1% ABV. No alcohol detected. Brewery status is unknown. It is excellent in it's style.

 

Welcome to New Beer Sunday 898! Back with a second New Glarius, this one Vintage 2018, despite the fact the listed bottle date is the same as Vintage 2017 (4/26/17).

New Glarus R & D Vintage 2018



Bottle Notes: Vintage 2017, 20 barrel batch. 16.9 oz, brewed 2014 through 2016, bottled 4/26/17. OG 12.2 P, ABV 6.1%, IBUs 24. Brewed and bottled by New Glarus Brewing Co., New Glarus Wisconsin.

Brewer Bottle Notes: Faithfully preserving spontaneous coolship fermentation since 1994, Dan employs oak tanks, aged hops and local wheat to create this hazy sour blonde delight. Vintage worthy, it smacks of citrus sour and horsey notes.

Appearance: Poured about 12 oz, multiple pours into a large tulip glass. Clear effervescent gorgeous base, creamy bright white head leaves generous layer over the base, lacing recedes into the glass, a slow slide of fine bubbles. Heavy carbonation throughout. nominal quickly receding lacing thereafter. Even more champagne like than the 2017 version enjoyed yesterday! 4.75

Aroma: Grape, citrus, lemon, funky, oak, slightly tart. Sweet, strong, enjoyable. 4.5

Taste: Consistent with the aroma in profile and strength. Mellow slightly tart grape and citrus, subtle blend comes together well. Oak emerges as this warms. 4.25

Mouthfeel: Medium body and fizzy carbonation persists throughout. Stronger ABV felt from the onset. Dry and tart, within style, light easy drinking, dry finish. 4.25

Overall: Very nice blend, everything comes together to present a refreshing wild ale. Gentile flavor and feel provide a nice soft easy enjoyable offering. More carbonation and less sweet syrupy texture than the 2017 vintage enjoyed yesterday but both bottled the same day, this one has distinct differences I enjoy a bit more. Well done! 4.5

Cheers!

 

Raspberry Beret from Best of Hands

16oz can split between three little glasses. Bought it about a week ago at the brewery.

Pours thick, murky, pink. Little or no head. Smell is moderate tart, more cranberry than raspberry.

Taste is very tart, raspberry, maybe an oaky vanilla. Maybe a little bit of cranberry sauciness.

Mouthfeel is leaning toward thick, but very effervescent. Overall, quite nice.

 

I am looking forward to that. I love the Farm to Brewery movement. I have a friend that does this in Idaho. None of his stuff is canned, it is only kegged.

 

Poured into a 16 oz Snulip glass canned on 1/18/22. Pours a pinkish orange with a finger plus sticky off white head with orange hues that leaves some thin lines of lace with nice retention. 4

Aroma is peach, black cherry, a hint of vanilla, and apricot. 3.75

Taste follows peach, black cherry, apricot, plum, and a little vanilla, a tad puckering but kept in check. 3.75

Mouthfeel is thick, not really dry, plenty of life, and at 5.7% rather big flavor but goes down easy enough. 3.75

Overall I am a huge fan of the NEIPAs they brew, but they are still a tad one dimensional for me. A good sour. 3.75

 

They did list the ingredients on the can, I guess as this is such a new beer I could have put that information in. Let me see…
The label states:
“Made with water, millet, buckwheat, rice, certified gluten free oats, sunflower seeds, hops, yeast.
Not sure if that’ll help but it is all I have at the moment.
I’d be happy to send you a can or so of what they have available if you want to try them.
Cheers!

 

Good Sunday afternoon, New Beer Sippers and commentators. And happy Mother's Day to all BA Moms and Moms of BAs. Mrs. Mac's had a nice day, having FaceTimed with both kids (one's in North Carolina and the other, the archaeologist, is in Israel). She also sang in the choir at Church today which she loves to do.

It's been rainy and unseasonably cool the past few days and I've been drinking darker beers - today I'm finally trying an English Barleywine, Outen the Light, from Bonesaw Brewing Company in Glassboro, New Jersey. I haven't visited this brewery yet since it's just far enough away to be inconvenient. But I've enjoyed the canned beers - mostly IPAs - that I've had. This Barleywine was released in 2021. The short version of my review below is that it has everything I'd want in the style but is very sweet and boozy (15.3%).

Poured into a tulip glass at 43°. It pours mahogany with dark cola hues and a thin, foamy, toffee-colored cap and minimal lacing. It has a good nose featuring brown sugar, caramel, raisin, fig, and cola. It's quite sweet with lots of brown sugar and caramel, along with notes of chocolate. The fruit is also front and center - lots of fig, raisin, and perhaps a hint of black cherry. The taste of cola is also prevalent and it has a soft drink quality. The rye whiskey influence is subtle at first but as it warms it becomes more noticeable and boozy. Another benefit of warming is some cigar and a slight hoppy bitterness at the finish. It's moderately bodied with an appropriate level of carbonation and there is no escaping the 15.3% ABV. This is a big Barleywine that should be sipped slowly - both due to the alcohol level and to let the tastes develop. Overall, this is a very good English Barleywine but it's definitely on the sweeter end of the spectrum.

4.24/5 rDev -3%
look: 4 | smell: 4.25 | taste: 4.25 | feel: 4.25 | overall: 4.25

Have a great weekend, everyone. As always, I'm enjoying reading your reviews. Cheers, NBW!

 

For New Beer Sunday 900 I will reach deep into the basement.
Cheers

 

That sounds like a perfect plan. I’ll join you.

 

They're building a new, larger brewing facility and tasting room on Route 9 just south of Route 83. I'm not sure when it will open. I like the current location - it's small and intimate and you can always strike up a conversation there.

 

That looks great! We have a Shake Shack about 15 minutes away and I've never been there. That will change pronto!

 

Kind of reminds me of one of my clients. LOL! Sounds like a great Stout.

 

That pour looks killer! Not sure I've had a beer with amburana that I haven't loved!

 

That’s cool to hear, when I do make it to the taproom this year I’ll let you know. Your reviews of their beer are what prompted me to give them a try.

 

Three berry hill by southern grist



4/5 rDev 0%
look: 4 | smell: 4 | taste: 4 | feel: 4 | overall: 4


Sour ale brewed with lactose , raspberry, blueberry and strawberry purées

Can poured into a tall stange type glass, two finger pink foam cap , murky ruby red liquid

Aroma is raspberries, strawberries

Taste is tart strawberries, raspberries

Tart fruity flavor

Good beer

 

Sierra Nevada Atomic Torpedo - I have wanted to try this beer but not enough to buy a whole mixed pack so was waiting to see a single. I've read reviews that said it's very similar to regular Torpedo but that beer has a very specific taste profile to me and I don't think I'll have the same impression.

Pours a dark orange color, slightly hazy, with a huge fluffy head. Smell is a little Torpedo-ish but I'm definitely picking up a bit of fruit. Taste is interesting, I can pick up on the Torpedo base profile but there's definitely a fruity/juicy aspect to it; nice crisp snap from the malts too. ABV is well hidden and an East meets West Coast beer would be an accurate description. I'm digging this and would gladly drink it again. Budmo!

 

Stonecloud Allegedly Cold IPA, 7.0% ABV; 3.72 overall

Pours an effervescent gold with one finger of eggshell colored head. Average head retention & beetter lacing

S: Citrus, breadyness, white grapes

T: Follows the nose, plenty of tangerine & orange, not much sweetness though, plus green melon up front. A touch of white grapes mix in, along with green melon & tangerine, plus dryness. Finishes grassy with green melon & white grapes & just a little orange

MF: Medium body, fairly delicate carbonation, decent balance

Drinks easy, but had higher hopes for this Cold IPA

 

Day 2, ho hum.





I’ve gotta admit, I hate this beer. I mean, first off, lookit how ugly it is? All clear and stuff with a big head that frankly sticks around WAAAAAY too long - and actually accentuates the golden color - it’s so clear I can see Joy flipping me off through the glass!!! C’mon, who wants to see that? If this was a hazy, I’d be completely in a state of Bolivian.

And it smells, too - like all citrusy and piney and what the old folks call “dank” (I read lots of books about old people beer history), and all I can think is, “this ol’ beer is gonna be really bitter.”

And (of course) I’m right!!! It’s really bitter, with that resiny pine closing after that “dank” citrus flavor - and there’s even some malt, for corn’s sake. I want juicy fruit, doggone it, not some dank, bitter balanced beer.

And what’s with this dry mouthfeel??? I DON’T WANT TO DRINK THIS, BUT IT KEEPS PULLING ME BACK IN!!!!! And it’s sneaky, too - it completely hides the 10% ABV. THIS IS A BEER THAT IS UP TO SKULLDUGGERY!!!

I honestly feel like the Zombie Apocalypse is upon us if this is the kinda beer that’s considered “good beer,” so I’m willing to sacrifice myself for all of humanity and suggest that anyone that has this beer to send me this beer so I can dispose of it.

It’s the least I can do.

Rated 4.50.

 

Hey NBW! Today is Mother's Day, so I spent a bunch of the day with my close family, drinking a few good beers while I was at it. I have one remaining in my fridge that is new to me, and therefore it is the one I am featuring in my post today. This is Nelson Drip from Finback. It's a 9% DIPA dry-hopped with Nelson and... Cryo Pop? Oh, great, another marketing-driven bullshit hop product that I consistently feel is allllllll talk and no substance. This was canned on... oh... they uh... didn't put a date on this one. Yeah, given Finback's typically-good track record on fastidious can-dating combined with the use of some hop extract gobledygook, I'm going to go ahead and say that this better be super-impressive or I'm going to feel annoyed. That's that.



Nelson Drip pours quite nicely. It's an opaque, orange-yellow beer with a saturated appearance that is topped off by a retentive head of bone-white foam measuring at least two fingers. This collar lasts for more than five minutes after the initial pour, and it leaves behind a substantial amount of cobweb-like lace that appears in defined tiers. It's a looker, I think. Definitely aesthetically-solid!

Nose is a little more biased towards stone fruit than I want in a beer featuring Nelson... especially when said beer also has Nelson in its damn name. There is an anonymity to the scent that I am not jiving with whatsoever; like the soul of Nelson was there but it's been co-opted by whatever this Cryo Pop business is. I admit I'm going into this with a bias against "hop extract products," and I will also admit that every moment of research I do on them leads me to become more and more against their usage. I'm going to be frank and upfront here... this smells like very little. There is nothing special or exemplary here. It smells like hops that have lost their soul. I'm not trying to be deep or contrarian or a hipster... this just doesn't hit correctly. It isn't Nelson.

The taste is alright... upfront I get some slight acidity and a bit of the white grape note I associate with this spectacularly-defined hop. There is a carbonic acid "bite" to this that is a little odd, but there are also some solid flavors of tropical and stone fruit that mingle well with hints of bitterness in the finish; a welcome element that I just don't taste or experience in many modern DIPAs. Overall, though, this really feels under-tuned. It's not right. Something about it is very much missing, and... hey, I really never want to be this asshole. I promise. But, this is missing its soul. There is a husk of a DIPA here. From a brewery known for its intense, well-defined hop combinations and experimental know-how when it comes to IPAs. It is a bit heartbreaking. I know that my posts on this little forum don't amount to much, but... I am more than a little worried about the ongoing loss of relative impression in IPAs. Hop extracts, and processes which aim to improve efficiency or extraction of hops, are potentially going to rapidly reduce the point of hop varietals and hop scheduling. Some breweries may see this as a win, in that things will become easier and less overly-complicated for them. Some breweries may embrace the tide while still creating great beer that defines itself within the context of improved efficiency while still performing artisanal and intriguing feats with hop varietals. And some will begin, or continue, to make boring beer after boring beer in the name of "efficient" processes. All while being praised in perpetuity for their lameness, by those who don't know any better.

I'm really, really starting to become a cynic at this point... I'm sorry, and it does suck for me.