New Beer Weekend #100

Coconut Truffle - King Sized

7.4% stout from Trillium

The initial aroma was a pleasant mix of chocolate and coconut. The heavy chocolate in the nose drops off rather quickly.

Taste follows nose but is amplified. The chocolate flavor is heavy - almost like chocolate syrup - but somehow it doesn't get overbearing to me. If you don’t like chocolate, then stay far away. Coconut complements the chocolate well and is much less pronounced than the chocolate. You'll have to search for a stout char as there is a bit of vanilla in the background.

Mouthfeel is lighter than expected but not overly thin. A bit sweet on the tongue but given the focus of the brewers this much is expected. A delicious beer that will thrill chocolate and coconut fans and possibly disappoint fans of stouts with malty char.

 

American Solera Bub Heavy Premium Lager, 4.5% ABV; 3.85 overall

Pours a slightly hazy straw color with a thumb of pearl colored head. Average head retention & lacing

S: Grassy, some soapy notes, some perfumy notes once warm

T: Follows the nose, a touch sweetness & lime, plus a little dryness up front. Dryness & grassyness dominate as this warms, some soapy & lime notes. Finishes grassy, dry with a kiss of lime & white grape

MF: Medium body, slight carbonation

Easy to drink, non life changing, but solid

 

I give an take with this concept, because I am all for new things, but I am also a big fan of new breweries really trying to nail a classic style exceptionally well. That would probably impress me more.

 

This beer was a gift- NADA Pineapple Upside Down Shake from Athletic Brewing. It's kind of out of my comfort zone- no alcohol and "shake". However, I'm headed to a local charity beer fest later today, so no alcohol is probably a good idea for a first beer, I'm sure that I'll make up for it later.
As you can see, the label says "Pilot Program" which I assume is meant to be an experiment on a small scale.
Poured from a 12oz can stamped PACKAGED ON 4/21/22 to a Nonic glass at fridge temp
A medium pour yields a 16oz glass that is half deep-orange body and half off-white head. Lacing is pretty good for half the session, but dies out at the end.
The aroma is a little off-putting-musty, and sweet with a hint of pineapple that is about to go bad.
Thankfully the taste is different. There is pineapple but citrus pith dominates. The finish dries out the mouth with some nice hop bitterness. However, that weird aroma sneaks into the taste now and then.
The mouthfeel is medium for a beer with the word “shake” in its name.
Not too bad, but I would not purchase it myself.
L- 3.75, S-2.75, T-3.75, M-3.25, OA-3.25

 

Interestingly enough this brewery just brewed their first straight up true Czech pils, saving that one for Sunday.

I have high hopes as they nail most lager so well. We shall see if it’s all traditional or leans new. Only has Czech pils malt and Saaz, based on that it should be pretty classic but we shall see tomorrow.

 

Time for another new beer.

Been seeing a lot of pie and smoothie like fruited beers from breweries. Some have got their angles I think..

Is this the latest trend?? Gelato anyone?



Poured from the can into a tulip glass, sure why not!

Fluffy topped light pink and heading to a mix of white and pink color in the mix. Styrofoam like top with a bit of snappy sounding bubbles, with a somewhat murky body. The body color sort of streams to a mix of purple to pink and some mix of murky swampy brown strangely, making for just a weird looking hue on the eyes I must say.

Aroma is fairly pleasant. A real good fruity mix that is kind of neutral between sweetness and acidic sour quality. Berried fruit that doesn't come off with a dominant kind, but does play with characteristics of the added ingredients. There's just fairly a hint of graham cracker.

The palate brings some real interesting angles. Excellent tart flavor, real nice hints of blueberry and strawberry mostly, with just enough body in malt to push through. There's a faint hint of pie to graham cracker sweetness but doesn't get the beer into overly sugary or gimmicky. Real nice sourness with some depth, sticking to more of a classic fruited beer then a pastry or extreme smoothy.

The added sense of graham sensation seems faint but adds much to the flavor of the base fruit for a richer experience. Quite a nice take on a fruited sour.

look: 3.75 | smell: 4 | taste: 4.25 | feel: 4.25 | overall: 4.25 | BA Score: 4.16

Cheers!

 

The first five days after the weekend are always the hardest

 

Agree with your points. To me, 100 out of 100 times I’ll choose Lunch over this one. Too subtle for me at the high price point.

 

I'm digging into the beer archives a bit for my next beer I received this bottle of Big Bad Baptist from @Whyteboar back in NBS BIF #12 in (2020?). The beer itself was bottled in 2018 if the Google Machine is to be believed. Craig thought there was a chance this was one of the infected bottles that apparently plagued this beer on and off around that time, but thankfully that did not end up being the case here.

Rel #101. Pours a dark, dark brown with a faint hint of red. Fully opaque in the glass, with a think khaki colored head that quickly receded to a long-lasting cap. Aroma is really nice. Rich chocolate dominates, while the coffee and whiskey barrels have faded.

Taste is almost the opposite of the nose. No direct coffee notes, but plenty of roast and some really nice barrel flavors. There's not much in the way of sweetness, but that's not at all a bad thing. This beer is several years old, and while I can't attest to what it tastes like fresh, it has a certain balanced mellowness to it that I'm really enjoying. Full bodied and smooth going down.

Thanks, Craig! It took me two years, but I've finally finished off all the amazing beers you sent me!

 

Thanks for the opening @SawDog505

Fremont Brew 5000

4.61/5 rDev +2.2%
look: 4.25 | smell: 4.5 | taste: 4.75 | feel: 4.75 | overall: 4.5

Removing this brew from my “wants” list courtesy of @snaotheus in BIF14 , thank you!



Dated 4/1/2021, opened 6/18/2022

Ranked #9 on BA for the barleywine style

Brewers Notes: English-Style Barleywine Ale aged in Bourbon Barrels

Fremont Brewing began as a dream in 2008. Years later, our dream has come true in each and every one of you, our craft beer family. And like every family, we have had our ups and our downs, but we keep coming back together knowing we are stronger together. In your hands is a special nod to you, a gift for now that will continue to give many years from now should you have the patience to wait…Brew 5000. This English-style barleywine ale uses floor-malted English barley, Noble hops, and is aged in 10-15 year-old, single use bourbon barrels for 16 months to bring you a complex and subtle craft beer flavor experience. We brewed this to celebrate brewing our 5000th brew, and we look forward to sharing it with you, our craft beer family. “Barleywine Is Life." – You

Down & Dirty: Maris Otter Pale and Carafa 2 Special malts, White Wheat, with Magnum and US Goldings hops.

Color: Dark brown

Aroma: Brown sugar, vanilla, caramel, toffee and other sweet aromatics, with dried fruit and some stone fruit notes. Whiskey and oak linger in the background

Flavor: High sweetness, slightly bitter and definite lingering sweetness in a medium body with alcohol warmth and mouthwatering

Waxed and capped bottle poured into a spiegelau tulip snifter, dark brown/ruby red accented liquid with tiny streams of mice carbonation , fizzy taupe foam cap that quickly recedes to a ring

Aroma is sweet bourbon, tobacco, leather, raisins, dark fruits

Taste is sweet, brown sugar, bourbon soaked raisins, dark fruits , toffee. This is a sweet barleywine. The toffee flavor expands as the glass warms

Mouthfeel is slightly fizzy, syrupy, the sweetness lingers , the 12.2% abv is invisible

Oh my goodness, this is good, i will sleep with a smile on my face tonight , thank you @snaotheus

 

Lone Pint is CANNING Yellow Rose???!!!???

In 12 oz cans???!!!???

Ho-lee-chit.

 

Hi Folks. Happy to join for #100. I have several imports, basically been on an import kick the last while.

First up, after a couple Bitburgers (criminally underrated) is Erdinger's Weiss ( I don't recall ever having had this, it was always too mainstream where I've been. But saw this 4 pack in cans less than 6 bucks, so why not give it a bash)



So, looks the part, not quite as hazy as anticipated, which I like because the trub tends to give me heartburn. That said, smells quite traditional, mostly some malt character, a bit of wet earthy hop notes, and then yeast. Tastes great. I'm now pretty sure I've had it before, or maybe I'm thinking of Paulaner, Not sure, but it's just very classic. Feels so familiar, like the first time you grilled on a weber. Perhaps you haven't used one before but you can't help but feel like you have.

Lots of simple robust character here but the beer sure is worth the price of admission. Enjoy the cool weather. Fingers crossed Rory finds a way to find a couple birdies and close out the day at a decent number. Nice to see a tough course on display. Cheers!

 

Il Fût Un Temps : Tumultueux, from Messorem. A kellerbier.
16oz can served in a footed pilsner glass. Can is dated EMP 08/04/22. I'm assuming that means canned on April 8th, not best by April 8th or August 4th. But who knows what these wacky Canadians will do. @Coronaeus sent me this beer, probably as part of a LIF in NBS BIF #15.
Pours slightly hazy orange-gold with a really big fluffy head that collapses to thick chunky layer leaving large clots clinging to the sides of the glass. Smell is light, grainy, yeasty dough, a little lemon rind. Strong floral notes.
Taste is interesting. Something delicate -- I think it's more of the floral notes. Lemon rind turns more to a slight orange rind, maybe something orangey-but-not-quite-orange, like kumquat or something. Definite grass and citrus zest hop notes.
Mouthfeel is light, crisp, zesty. Overall, I'm enjoying this a lot.

 

Hello, NBS friends. I have a couple of beers to share with you this gorgeous evening in Northern Indiana, but first, a word from our canine sponsor.

This is Ranger, AKA as our four-legged baby - if a baby can be 10 years old (in May), VERY furry, and weigh 70 lbs or so. He loves to come to the lake, especially when it’s steak time (30 minutes and counting).

Ranger is a rescue we adopted as a pup 10 years ago while we lived in Minnesota (he was born in Tennessee and we got him at 9 weeks old). Share your pup pics, NBSers!!!



On to tonight’s first beer, I love “series IPA” brewery adventures, and this is no exception. Let’s go!!!



4.27/5 rDev +11.5%
look: 4.5 | smell: 4.25 | taste: 4.25 | feel: 4.25 | overall: 4.25
by ovaltine from Indiana

This beer pours an absolutely gorgeous - and ABSOLUTELY CRYSTAL CLEAR - golden color with a slightly creamy oatmeal colored head that provides moderate lacing. A beautiful beer to view.

The nose is lots of berries, a bit of dank citrus - and cherries. Interesting. That dank citrus flavor actually resides WAAAAAY at the back of the palate on the taste, with the berry and especially the cherry flavors (that would be the stone fruit referenced on the label, IMHO) really providing a delicious foundation up front.

Nicely bitter and featuring a full, dry mouthfeel, this is truly a WCIPA that is a pleasure to drink. I love the brewery and I’m really digging this adventurous hop-centric series of IPA’s.

 

#2, leading off with another Ranger pic - it’s like I’m a (VERY OLD) proud dad, but he’s a really good, sweet dog that happens to scare people to death because he’s fairly big and his bark sounds like Cujo. As long as you don’t mess with his daily Frosty Paw. If you do, all bets are off. IJS.



Beer #2 is from my friend @jonphisher and NBS BIF #15, which is still going strong. This is a magnificent imperial milk porter conditioned on coffee and BBA vanilla beans.

In other words, nothing to see here, move along.





4.5/5 rDev +2.5%
look: 4.5 | smell: 4.5 | taste: 4.5 | feel: 4.5 | overall: 4.5
by ovaltine from Indiana

Pours black with a substantial, creamy tan head, this is the picture in the dictionary for an imperial milk porter. The nose features rich milk chocolate, roasty coffee, and decadent vanilla bean. I am salivating.

The taste is led by the milk chocolate, and it melds perfectly with the roasty coffee and vanilla bean flavors. What stands out is the complete absence of alcohol on the taste in this 9.2% ABV beer - how is that even possible?

The mouthfeel is rich, creamy, and decadent. I could literally drink a keg of this.

 

Hello fellow beer friends, ah, the weekend finally time to drink some new beers with all of you while we share thoughts on what we are drinking and doing on this lovely lovely fall like summer night. I have several new local lagers to share this weekend and this is the first of them, new brewery to me too.

Triple Bottom - Seeds of Revolution (4.9% northern german style pils)



First off this is what a german pils should look like, it is crystal crystal clear light gold with a huge perfectly white head. It leaves some nice nice lacing, see above. What remains is some thick caps of white islands as I drink it down, great retention. This definitely qualifies as a looker @champ103, I'm drinking another of theirs later that I hope is just as pretty.

The nose is beautifully aromatic, cracker like, herbal, spice notes and some dry grassiness to it as well. Yea this beer is gearing up to be good...

The taste damn near perfect, cracker grassy and spice all in perfect harmony, very nice and hoppy but oh so balanced and drinkable. This reminds me of Jever in the most perfect way.

Beautiful mouthfeel, light body, perfect smooth carbonation, incredibly clean and super dry finish with a really nice bitter kick. This could be drank like water...so so refreshing.

So this is one of the best German pilsners I have had in a long long time. I'm having flashbacks to the first time I had prima pils. I could drink this beer by the liter without thinking twice, then regret it the next day. I'm tempted to rate this close to perfect...up next another lager from Triple Bottom.

-------

Meet Winter, she was our first child, we got her 9 years ago and she is 9 years old. This was the last picture I took of her free in our backyard before she tore her acl a few months later and had surgery. She's been on leash ever since but she is still a happy girl; she's a survivor and no doubt she would survive on her own in the woods with no human help whatsoever with her hunting skills (not anymore with the leg though ). I miss our long long walks but now I walk her out back whenever she goes out and take her on short ones down the street.

 

Alright, back again, this time with Primator - Maibock



This looks perfect, really does. Lovely, dark golden almost caramel/purplish color. Looks awesome. Smells great too. Toffee, caramalt, some sweet brown sugar. Not much by way of hop notes on the nose but that's to be expected.

Honestly, tastes great. And exactly what I imagine having 3 or 4 of while at a Maifest and finding myself feeling a little tipsy a little early. Only to have an entire schweinshaxe on mashed potato with sauerkraut and mustard. Followed by several more of the same.

Here it is, know how on say Friday you have some lagers, then an IPA, followed by a malty thing (either a barleywine or a stout) and you feel like every box has been ticked. This beer is all of that, all the time.

Cheers!

 

Here is a collaboration between two breweries I have complicated relationships with. I have championed and criticized them both. This IIIPA is 10% ABV. Let's see where this journey takes me. The color is peach-orange, with honey-yellow tones. It has a light white foamy lid that quickly fades. The smell is sweet, with a light tropical fruit emphasis. No specific fruits clearly identify themselves, other than a hint of pineapple and pear. The taste is bitter, with general fruitiness, and a bready aftertaste. The mouthfeel is soupy, thick, full, and quite carbonated. Overall, this beer is a boring high-ABV imperial IPA that is way overpriced. It is lesser than the sum of its parts. I think this is my least favorite IPA brewered by either of these breweries.