New Beer Weekend #98

Cloudwater - Crystallography: Centennial & Loral Edition

Double West Coast IPA brewed with Centennial and Loral hops, from England (8%).



Pours a slightly cloudy, golden amber coloration with a medium, fluffy head. Smells of doughy, slightly caramelly malt and floral, resinous, citrus hops, with notes of grapefruit and pine.

Taste is a great balance of doughy, slightly caramelly malt and fruity, floral, resinous, slightly spicy hops, with citrus notes of grapefruit and lime peel, as well as some pine and black pepper also coming through. Finishes with a medium bitterness and some grapefruit and pine lingering in the aftertaste. Smooth mouthfeel with a medium body and carbonation.

I really prefered the original Crystallography over this edition, but that's mainly because I'm not a huge fan of Loral hops, which bring distinct floral undertones to this that I personally dislike. Nevertheless, there are some really nice notes of citrus and resinous pine to this as well, finishing with a great bitterness. Certainly makes for a great West Coast IPA with that bitter, resinous character and slight caramel malt backbone, just a bit too floral for my personal taste.

 

What an excellent and enlightening response!

 

FrauGruber - FrauGruberliscious: Himbeere/Vanille

Fruited Kettle Sour with raspberry and vanilla, from Germany (6%).



Pours an opaque, deep maroon red coloration with a large, foamy head. Smells of fresh, vibrant, tart raspberries, with just a hint of vanilla coming through as well.

Taste is a great balance of a quite narural, fresh and vibrant tart raspberry character and a rather subtle hint of sweet vanilla, with great, spritzy lactic, citric acidity. Finishes with a medium tartness and some raspberry lingering in the aftertaste. Soft mouthfeel with a medium body and carbonation.

As usual, their FrauGruberlicious series does not disappoint, I wish their NEIPAs were still this consistent. While the vanilla is rather subtle here and could have been amped up just a little, this doesn't bother me too much, as I'm not a huge fan of pastry sours and can do without an overdone sweetness.

The fruitiness is quite vibrant and expressive here, with a great tartness. Overall, this makes for a very enjoyable, easy-drinking and refreshing summer beer that fits the current temperature perfectly.

 

Beer'd ran off four small-batch doughnut-inspired/collaboration beers, and there's no way my partner and I were going to miss that.




Apple Cider Donut Graf
Graf, 5.6% ABV

I've never had a Graf. I've never heard of a Graf. (Untappd has, however.) It's a hard cider/ale hybrid, where cider is poured into the beer wort, then fermented with ale yeast.

This particular Graf has notes of apple (obviously), cinnamon, and other dry spices quite reminiscent of Fall. It drinks wonderfully easy, albeit a bit thin, and it really seems like a beer better fit for that season than late Spring/early Summer, but I could see this being a nice refreshing option in hotter months, as well. ~3.70

Deviant French Toast Beer
Fruited Pale Ale, 6.0% ABV

Not mentioned above is that the fruit in question is clearly strawberry. I'm not a fan of strawberries, but I didn't find them overpowering here (my wife thought they were quite stronger, but she likes strawberries, so that wasn't a problem). Other notes included maple syrup and cinnamon, both fairly restrained. Not a particularly "pale" ale (funny enough, the color is fairly appropriate for a beer named after French Toast). Thick and delicious, probably my favorite of the bunch. ~4.15

Zest Sweet Potato Donut Ale
Sweet Potato Amber Ale, 7.3% ABV

The most potent beer of the bunch. I didn't really get much that I would clearly identify as sweet potato, nor do I quite get where the "zest" in the name emerges, but what I did get was a really delicious beer. Sweet but not cloying, medium bodied, quite drinkable. Probably the most interesting of all four. ~4.00

Young Buns Mystic Cream Stout
Cream Stout, 6.9% ABV (noice)

This is actually the second Young Buns Donuts of Mystic, CT collaboration with a local brewery named after Young Buns. The other, Young Buns Streusel Doughnut Cream Ale, is a delightful and light cream ale with vanilla and brown sugar from Outer Light Brewing Company (OLBC). I really liked that one, in particular because I didn't find it over the top or crazy sweet. It was a drinkable cream ale that showed its influences without bashing you over the head with them.

In a way, this beer has some similarities despite being a stout. Easily the ugliest of the four options (seriously: not attractive), it's rich, creamy, and flavorful, but it's not over-the-top sweet or chewy. It's got that nice silky mouthfeel of many milk stouts: smooth, but not exactly thick. It's restrained in presentation (similar to the other Young Buns). My only complaint is that it's got quite the cola note going on, which increases as it warms, and consequently loses the plot on the whole "doughnut" thing it had going on. ~3.95

Cheers!

 

As an aside, my immediate worry when coming across a Graf was: "Oh no. It's going to be Redd's Apple Ale all over again." Redd's is probably the worst thing you can put in your mouth without going to prison, so despite Beer'd's reputation and skill, I was a bit hesitant.

Turns out: I like Graf! (I also like tennis, but that's a different Graf.) I could get behind more breweries trying out something like this, especially in the warmer months. I don't so much drink hard cider anymore, but this really does drink more like an ale.

 

Thanks to @JackHorzempa for kicking things off today. First new beer of the weekend is Joe in Black Lager from Lansing Brewing. Compliments of @Whyteboar in BIF 15. Comes in at 4.2% ABV.

Poured at fridge temp. Pours a very dark brown with tan head. Good carbonation. The nose is fantastic. Toffee, candy, chocolate, slight pipe tobacco, big bready malts, and a little bit of black licorice. Maybe a slight brown sugar note. Stone fruit starts to come through. Really enjoying the nose on this one!

The taste is very smooth, somewhat light. Again, lots of nice malts break through right away. Sourdough bread, toffee, left over pieces of burnt wood from a fire, a dirt/earthy note, along with a bit of black licorice. The tobacco from the nose comes through after a while. Maybe a slight coffee ground taste as well. Super smooth and mellow.

Mouthfeel is light. This is an easy drinking lager. Really tasty and enjoyable overall. Cheers!

4.16/5 rDev +12.4%
look: 4 | smell: 4.25 | taste: 4.25 | feel: 4 | overall: 4

 

Brasserie De L'Ermitage / Gueuzerie Tilquin - Saison Lambic Fruits Des Bois

A blend of Saison from L'Ermitage and 1, 2 and 3 year old Lambic from Tilquin, fermented with forest fruits, from Belgium (7.5%).



Pours a cloudy, light purple coloration with a large, foamy, quickly fading head. Smells of light doughy malt and wild berries, with notes of black/red currants and blackberry, as well as hints of musty funk and tannic oak.

Taste is an excellent balance of light doughy malt and fresh, vibrant wild berries, with the red and black currants standing out particularly, as well as lighter blackberry, raspberry and blueberry, with some distinct, tannic oak and hints of musty funk and balsamic vinegar coming through as well. Finishes with a medium tartness and some wild berries, funk and oak lingering in the aftertaste. Smooth mouthfeel with a medium body and carbonation.

While I had kinda different expectations of this based on it being a blend of Saison and Lambic, it still makes for a very enjoyable brew that leans a lot more toward Lambic than Saison though. I had expected a slightly lighter, more easy-drinking summer beer here, while this really feels more like a quite intense, full fledged Fruit Lambic with its heavy notes of wild berries and oak, as well as hints of funk and vinegar.

There are quite subtle hints of lighter fruit, like apricot and gooseberry, as well as hints of spice to this as well, but ultimately it really does feel more like a rich and complex Lambic than a light and refreshing Saison. Not that there's anything wrong with that and this is indeed quite enjoyable for what it is, I just had expected a somewhat lighter brew from the label here.

 

Yes, it sure does. Tons of flavor!