New Beer Weekend #97

This sounds exactly like Memorial Day Weekend around here, which is Monday.

We live on a semi busy street (suburban traffic wise) but yesterday on a Friday night, way quieter than normal. It’s usually like this now till the end of summer on the weekends, shore season has begun…

See you with a beer later @Shanex

 

It’s good to have friends - Snowbirds

A couple of friends who winter in Florida came home (to Pennsylvania) a couple of weeks ago and they know I am a fan of Cigar City (e.g., Jai Alai on draft in Florida) so they brought me a present: a can of Cigar City Fancy Papers Hazy IPA.

Why the heck did they choose “Fancy Papers” to name this beer? On the back of the can is a story:

“With notes of mango and tangerine, this Juicy IPA was developed with the same kind of craftmanship and artistry that can be found in labels printed on fancy paper and applied to the lids of cigar boxes of yesteryear.”

Oh, so a cigar (box) thing.

On the Cigar City webpage there is alternative descriptor text:

“Fresh cut grass and tangerine on the nose are complimented by a white wine grape and bread-like aromas. Flavors of guava, melon and lime leaf present themselves harmoniously with sauvignon blanc and bready malt flavors playing supporting roles.”

And even a tasting video:



Well, let’s see that my palate says about this beer.

Served in my Spiegelau IPA glass:

Appearance:

Yellow colored with some slight haze and a BIG white head.

Aroma:

Mostly tropical fruits with a hint of some citrus. There is an ‘impression’ of juicy here.

Taste:

The flavor follows he nose with mostly flavors of tropical fruit and some citrus accompanied with a juicy quality. There is just enough malt to provide a sense of balance. Medium bitterness.

Mouthfeel:

Medium bodied with a dry-ish finish.

Overall:

I enjoyed drinking this beer. It is very good!

Cheers to good friends & tasty beer!

@KOP_Beer_OUtlet @RobH @rotsaruch

 

Good morning fellow beer lovers. I hope to enjoy a few new to me beers this weekend, but fear it may be all downhill from here, as this first one is absolutely outstanding.

Jackie O's - Decorating Pieces of Time - Received from @Ozzylizard in the latest NBS BIF. I come in under rDev about two thirds of the time, and when I'm over it's usually with lagers or saisons. It's ever more rare for me to come in over rDev on a highly rated beer on BA, but that's what happened here.


4.55/5 rDev +4.1%
look: 3.75 | smell: 4.25 | taste: 4.75 | feel: 4.5 | overall: 4.75

Served at ~50 degrees. Color is reminiscent of an Arnold Palmer (iced tea / lemonade). Light-ish brown with a decent amount of light showing through on the actual pour. Once settled into the glass, light only gets in around the fringes. Tiny, short-lived head, consistent with my expectations. Thin, persistent ring.

Aroma is wonderfully rich. Sweet malts, caramel, toffee, fig and more combine to make a very enticing aroma. The 12% is well hidden on the nose.

Taste is outstanding. The same molasses / toffee notes show up, but they are very well complemented by the bourbon / apple brandy barrels. The bourbon barrel / oak doesn't dominate as it does with many BA beers, which in this case I think really works to its advantage. The inherent rich sweetness of the beer combined with the apple brandy barrels just really works. Alcohol is really, really well hidden.

Very full mouthfeel. Smooth, creamy and very easy going down.

Overall, this is one of the best beers I've had this year. Going down dangerously easily.

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Gotta say one of my favorite parts of NBW is the creative descriptors that people used. @Shanex...I loved how you described this.

 

Thanks @Shanex for getting us started, amazingly before WBAYDN. This is a NETIPA from Grimm. Poured into a 16 oz Snulip glass canned on 4/27/22. Pours a hazy orange yellow with a solid finger sticky white head that leaves some thin streaks of lace with excellent retention. 4.5

Aroma is mandarin, peach, papaya, apricot, and grapefruit rind. 4

Taste follows mandarin, peach, papaya, apricot, and grapefruit big flavor, but rather easy sipping. 4.25

Mouthfeel is above average, soft gentle carbonation, maybe a tad dry, and it goes down rather easy for 10%. 4.25

Overall this is a really nice brew, not dazzling but I would say with a shot. 4

 

After a couple weekends of travel for work and vacation, back home for this long weekend.

Starting with a long-time want, Firestone Walker Parabola:

Appearance: Black, thin head.

Smell: Rich, chocolatety, boozy, wood, vanilla.

Taste: Really thick and coating right away. Big vanilla barrel note that transitions to rye spiciness. Chocolatety and mild sweetness. Kind of separates into beer and barrel factions before coalescing again by the end of the glass.

Overall: Sort of a whale for me, I've been wanting to try for years and finally FW sent some to MN. Very thick stuff, tasted great then kind of had an awkward phase of “here's beer” and “here's barrel” before coming back together as a unit. Tasty stuff!

 

BlackStack Brewing and WeldWerks Brewing collaborating on a DDH NEIIPA got my attention. The look is standard yellow-orange murky haze. Minimal white head that quickly retires. The smell is not very strong. Muted tropical fruit. I could not detect any specific fruit odors. There was a little bready dankness, but not much. The taste is similar to the smell. Slightly fruity, slightly bitter. Very generic. Not a good flavor. A flavor you would tolerate knowing there is alcohol involved, and you want alcohol in your bloodstream. The mouthfeel is entry-level hazy IPA. It is beer. That is about all my mouth perceives. Overall, this beer is similar to a number of "hazy" "juicy" IPAs I have experienced by breweries who try to make a NEIPA so they have one on their tap list, but they don't really have a passion for the style, or just aren't good at brewing the style. This beer is about the most generic hazy IPA I have experienced. BlackStack Brewing believes their NEIPAs are so good they can charge more than any other brewer for them, and don't need to date their cans. I purchased this can because it just arrived at the store, and because WeldWerks Brewing was involved. I paid a premium for a very boring beer.

 

Nice to see you kicking off the weekend @Shanex, an early morning (or early afternoon in France) partner in crime in the WBAYDN threads. Planned train to Kenosha nixed because alcohol is not permitted in the train this weekend, foiling the planned beer run.

The audible is to go into the cellar and have a Saison Battle Royale, if there can be such a thing, between two great American Breweries over the weekend.



East Coast (LHS): Represented by Oxbow Brewing company in Maine.

Vs.

West Coast (RHS): Represented by Deschutes Brewery in Oregon.

Vintage: Saison vs. Saison, vintage May (Oxbow) and April 17 (Deschutes), both in 2017.

And away we go....

Oxbow Brewing Company Barrel-Aged Farmhouse Pale Ale



Bottle Notes: IIRC purchased during Fountainhead's last day in business, cellared until June 20, 2021, refrigerated thereafter. Barrel-aged Farmhouse Ale. Production time 14 months, bottled May 2017, enjoy within 5 years (just made it).

16.9 oz, 6.5% ABV. Brewed and bottled by Oxbow Brewing Company, Newcastle & Portland, Maine. Bottle-Conditioned.

Barrel-Aged Farmhouse Pale Ale is produced by blending varying vintages of our flagship farmhouse ale that have been resting in French and American oak barrels.

Appearance: Clear golden orange base, heavy carbonation becoming mild a few minutes in, light white head lingers a bit before receding quickly leaving nothing in its wake. 4.0

Aroma: Nice aroma right after opening, boldness continues throughout. Mild and pleasant funky yeast leading, getting nice oak barrel, sweet grape and peach. A traditional saison, smells great. 4.5

Taste: Follows nose, tart and mildly acidic lemon leads, grape and lemongrass follow. Not getting the peach or oak from the nose. Very nice, well blended sasison. 4.25

Mouthfeel: Stronger sensations than the taste, the tartness and acidic nature is well done, nicely dry, crisp and clean drinking, carbonation light and fizzy complements well. Very easy drinking, hard to restrain myself from drinking it all while reviewing. Perhaps my 9 mile walk is working into this, but really enjoying. 4.5

Overall: Wonderful offering from Oxbow, as anticipated. Really well put together saison, traditional, bold in the proper areas, subdued and mellow in taste. Brewed in the right measure, what an enjoyable treat. 4.5

Cheers!

 

Elephant Rock IPA

7.7% IPA from Pike’s Peak Brewing

Beer pours a murky orange-yellow with good initial head and modest lacing throughout. Caveat beertor: Twelve ounce can with no apparent dating.

Nose is citrus, pine and malt. Aroma is a bit malty for my IPA tastes, but let’s give it a fair shake.

Taste follows nose and adds a nice bitterness that hits up front and quickly dissipates. The 7.7% is hidden but the malt gets close to sweet but never goes too far. The citrusy, lemony flavors helps to balance that malt a bit.

Mouthfeel is fair. A moderate carbonation.

A solid IPA that might have benefited by leaning more to its bitterness and less to balance. Would be interested in trying it on tap.

 

It's getting to be that time of year. We've had three days of 100 degree weather out of the last five. I was late getting the dogs walked, and it was 86 degrees at nine am. Needless to say it was a quick walk for the pooches.
I picked up a four pack of this yesterday, and am finding it to be an excellent post-walk beer.

A clear gold color with a small white head and a bit of lace.
Aroma of corn, sweet malt, and grassy/floral hops.
Taste follows the nose.
Crisp finish. Very welcome after walking the dogs on a hot day that's getting hotter.

 

In one of our recent BIFs I was ambushed by @2beerdogs who absolutely crushed me with an amazing variety of beers, many of which I haven't broken out yet. Today I'm giving this bottle of The Purple, from de Garde a try. I think this is my first de Garde beer. I've eyed their beers from afar for years and am glad to be able to give one a try.

The Purple - A spontaneous wild ale with black & red raspberries aged in oak barrels for two years.

Bottled October, 2020. The pour makes it immediately clear how this beer go its name. In the glass it's a deep, deep purple but on the pour it's a vibrant, berry purple with very bright purple head. Different, but good.

Aroma is bursting with berry. It's somewhat one-dimensional, but still smells really enticing.

Taste is less berry-forward than I expected based on the appearance and nose. There's a strong oak presence, which after two years in oak barrels makes some sense. It somewhat overpowers the underlying raspberries and blackberries. There's a decent funk going on as well.

Fairly lively with a long, oaky finish.

Overall, an interesting beer. For my tastes it's a little imbalanced on the oak side, but this is still quite enjoyable.

 

There is something that is just innately satisfying to me to see a beer branded with just the word “Beer”.

A preferred lager for me in the very recent past was Victory Classic which they label as being an Easy Drinkin’ Lager. I have discussed this beer a number of times on BA threads including NBS:



https://www.beeradvocate.com/community/threads/new-beer-sunday-week-791.637937/#post-6872978

Until about a year ago I was able to buy this beer by the 15-pack for 20 bucks at my local Wegmans supermarket. I couldn’t tell you how many 15 packs I purchased of this beer in the last couple/few years (a half dozen I suspect).



According to the Victory website they still produce Victory Lager but since it is AWOL now at my local beer retailers this beer is effectively gone (for me). Quite disappointing.

Cheers!

@erway

 

Is that the blackstack or the weldwerks version? I've found that, my inner Homer is gonna cry, most of weldwerks ipas have become a ubiquitous hazy ipa. I have a very hard time getting anything that really stands out. Conversely places like outer range are still making interesting ipas that happen to be hazy here in CO. The torch passes on.

 

It’s funny we’re not big shore people but we benefit from everyone else going all summer long. I’m one of those people who hates sand and direct sun, yes I’m no fun.

But as a teenager it was a special place though, so many good stupid behavior memories. I’ll be drinking a very American and Bruce/NJ themed beer later today or later this weekend…

 

My only experience with WeldWerks was their DDH Juicy Bits which I discussed in a NBW thread:



https://www.beeradvocate.com/community/threads/new-beer-weekend-34.656200/#post-7204254

Was (I am presuming past tense here) WeldWerks known for non-hazy IPAs? Which brands of non-hazy IPA? When was the last time you have seen this beer(s)?

Cheers!

 

That is a great beer name for a beer like that @lordofthewiens