New Beer Weekend #96

Varvar - Kohaty

(NE?)IPA with Kohatu, Azacca and Mosaic hops, from the Ukraine (6.5%).



Pours a cloudy, deep golden amber coloration with a small, fluffy head. Smells of biscuity, slightly caramelly malt and tropical/stone fruit hops, with notes of papaya, mango and peach.

Taste is a good balance of biscuity, slightly caramelly malt and fruity, slightly floral and resinous hops, with tropical, stone fruit and lighter citrus notes of papaya, mango, peach and tangerine, with just a hint of pine as well. Finishes sweet, with a very light bitterness and some papaya, peach and tangerine lingering in the aftertaste. Smooth mouthfeel with a medium body and carbonation.

While I really enjoyed the stouts I've had from Varvar so far, this (NE?)IPA left me a little disappointed, although still making for an enjoyable enough brew though. There's no haze to this, a good, almost juicy hoppiness, although it's quite malty and sweet as well, with hardly any bitterness in the finish and a full, soft'ish mouthfeel.

So is it supposed to be a NEIPA? Hard to say and I don't think it makes for great one, not being hazy enough and too malty, but a pretty nice IPA in general, although being a bit too sweet and floral for my personal taste, while lacking in bitterness.

 

Cloudwater / The Veil - Chubbles II: Discovering Pilsengris

New England IPA with Galaxy, Enigma, Citra, Amarillo and Vic Secret Hops, from England (8%).



Pours a hazy, bright orange coloration with a medium, fluffy head. Smells of light biscuity malt and tropical/citrus/berry hops, with notes of passion fruit, white grape and orange.

Taste is an excellent balance of light biscuity malt and fruity, juicy, slightly dank and grassy hops, with tropical, berry and citrus notes of passion fruit, papaya, white grape, gooseberry, orange and tangerine, as well as just a hint of herbal weed. Finishes with a light/medium bitterness and some passion fruit, white grape, orange and weed lingering in the aftertaste. Soft, pillowy mouthfeel with a medium body and carbonation.

Another superb NEIPA from Cloudwater with incredibly vibrant, expressive and well-defined hops, while the Enigma stands out here in particular with those white grape and gooseberry notes typical of the "Australian Nelson Sauvin", as well as passion fruit from Galaxy and some citrus and dank undertones from Citra, finishing with a good bitterness for the style. Great body and mouthfeel as well, while the sheer intensity of the hop character almost makes this feel like more of a TIPA, that indeed kinda reminded me of their Chubbles Chubbles TIPA.

 

Brauquadrat / Schwarze Rose - Blocks'n'Roses

Red Ale with Hallertau Mittelfrüh, Callista, Talus and Enigma hops, from Germany (6.6%).



Pours a cloudy, maroon red coloration with a medium, fluffy head. Smells of bready, caramel malt and berry/citrus hops, with notes of strawberry, blackberry and grapefruit.

Taste is a great balance of bready, caramel malt and fruity, bitter and slightly herbal and floral hops, with berry and lighter citrus notes of strawberry, blackberry, gooseberry and grapefruit. Finishes with a medium bitterness and some red berries and herbal accents lingering in the aftertaste. Smooth mouthfeel with a medium body and carbonation.

I honestly can't remember the last time I saw a Red Ale on the shelves around here, coming from a pretty new German craft brewery as well. Of course I would have bought this no matter the style because of the incredibly awesome label art, but it actually makes for a very enjoyable example of the style as well, with a great balance of bready, caramel malt and berry hops, with the Callista being perfect here, adding those red/black berry notes while Enigma adds just a hint of white berry as well, being complemented by hints of citrus and herbal, floral accents.

Currently listening to: Guns 'N Roses - Paradise City

 

Heathen Brewing Co. -- Barrel Aged Highland Charge
Wee heavy Scottish ale
ABV: 11.0%; pouring temperature: 42 °F; bottling info: 2021
Source: Tavour



3.65/5 rDev -11.2%
look: 3.25 | smell: 3.75 | taste: 3.75 | feel: 3.5 | overall: 3.5

Dark, brown-ish body; lots of carbonation but no head. Mild roasted grain nose; some alcohol hints; well-buried herbal notes. Nice flavor; sweet caramel with suggestions of brown sugar; figs; mild to moderate bitterness; a faint trace of whiskey in the background. Heavy body with a mild coarseness; sticky residual sugars; light alcohol warmth.

The lack of any appreciable head makes for a lackluster appearance. The other characteristics are generally okay if hardly memorable. The barrel aging isn't over-done which is a plus.

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...all the heavy, wet snow and cold temperatures were very conducive to having a nice wood fire going, playing some backgammon with Mrs. BeerGoot, and, of course, nursing a big ale...

 

Wow, it's well past midnight here and we're still on page 1? This has got to be one of the slowest NBWs in a while, get in on it people !

De Moersleutel - Mexicoffeecake

Imperial Stout with coffee, cacao nibs, vanilla, cinnamon and chipotle peppers, from the Netherlands (11%).



Pours a pitch-black coloration with a medium, creamy, mocha-colored, lasting head. Smells of roasted, caramel malt and distinct coffee, with some chocolate and hints of vanilla and cinnamon coming through as well.

Taste is an excellent balance of roasted, caramel malt and strong notes of coffee and dark chocolate, as well as some vanilla, cinnamon and chili peppers, with hints of tobacco and licorice as well. Finishes with a medium bitterness and some coffee, chocolate, vanilla, cinnamon and chili peppers lingering in the aftertaste. Full mouthfeel with a rich body and low/medium carbonation.

I'm so happy to finally have found another stout from De Moersleutel instead of their shitty NEIPAs and it's honestly one of the best stouts I've had in a while. Of course I love Mexicake stouts in general and this is just so well done, with the addition of coffee feeling a bit overpowering at first, especially in the nose, but really mellowing out as this warms.

All of the additives are just fantastically balanced here overall, each adding to the flavor profile without feeling too overpowering, although the coffee and chocolate probably stand out the most here, with almost the right amount of chili heat, which could still be just a tad more pronounced for my personal taste.

 

...in my view, there are plenty of high ABV and/or barrel aged beers that produce decent and, at times, magnificent, heads. And for a Scottish ale (or perhaps this should be a Scotch ale due to its high ABV), unless there is something with the particular barrels used for aging, I tend view the lack of head as a severe detriment. It's not like the style is a wild ale or saison or chili beer that one would expect little to no head...

...and I agree with you that the appearance rating isn't as heavily weighted, but the beer did have a deep, dark appearance that I find appropriate for a Scottish / Scotch ale, so that's why I didn't rate it a 3.0 or less. I mean, if it had a clear, straw yellow body, I'd probably give the appearance score of 2.5 or 3.0 (which on a 1 - 5 rating scale still would have put the score at average or slightly above) because it wasn't to style (or the brewer's intent - as far as I can divine such things)...

...Subjective appearance score on my part? You bet. Fair? Argumentatively so. The final word on this beer's looks? It ain't me, babe. No, no, no, it ain't me...but I do have an opinion...