New Beer Weekend #104

I do not think it was but I could be wrong, @FBarber help us out here…I know you’re flying solo though with the kiddos. Godspeed.

 

I have a couple of beers tonight, NBW peoples. The first is also part of the kolsch tasting thread.

If you can’t tell from my review, I enjoyed this beer.







4.37/5 rDev +14.1%
look: 4.75 | smell: 4 | taste: 4.5 | feel: 4.25 | overall: 4.5
by ovaltine from Indiana

Pours an absolutely crystal clear golden straw color with a creamy white head that is 3+ fingers after an overly aggressive pour and provides moderate lacing whilst sticking around for quite a while as you drink the beer (a finger+ after 5 minutes in the glass). An absurdly gorgeous beer.

The nose has a bit of a metallic note that yields to lemongrass and sweet bready malt aromas which don’t particularly stand out individually but work as a whole.

The lemongrass does take center stage on the taste, and it is delicious, perfectly balanced by the subtle bready malt flavor and an estery touch that is exquisite. The mouthfeel is well carbed and crisp, the definition of an easy drinker.

For the style, this is the best I’ve had. Truly a pleasure to drink.

 

Conshohocken Brewing Company Ring the Bell Unfiltered Pilsner - 16 oz can that was canned on 06/09. Pours a hazy yellow with a generous head. Smell is the usual Pilsner but there is something else going on here, in looking at the site that would be the Chinook. Taste is very good, clean and crisp but being unfiltered does add a bit of softness to it. It's slightly hoppy but nothing overwhelming and still well balanced. 5.2% ABV.

Product Details
Ring The Bell Unfiltered Pilsner is our faithful recreation of the classic Kellerbier style with a slight twist. Brewed with traditional European hops and Chinook, the result is a clean tasting unfiltered lager with a crisp, refreshing hop kick.
https://www.conshohockenbrewing.com...-4-Pack-5-2-ABV/p/199953771/category=50914738

Good price too, $9.99 for the four pack at a local retailer even though it's $12.00 on their site. Budmo!

 

So @budsNpils posted some ettaler in the lacing thread. We don’t get the bottles here but I saw this one which was brought over in the tank project that B United has, it was canned in CT. Excited to give this one a try, the only other ettaler I had was another B United canned marzen…

Ettaler - Heller Bock (appropriate glass courtesy of @FBarber; BIF shenanigans)



Pours a slightly cloudy honey like color; semi soapy looking head that disappears kind of quick; no lacing.

Nose is slightly toasted bread, straw, fresh cut grass. The most interesting smell to me is something reminiscent of cream soda; I haven’t had that in 20+ years but there is no doubt that is what I’m smelling.

Taste is lightly toasted bread with a grain husk quality to it, slightest hint of sweetness again just a little reminiscent of vanilla like you’d get in a cream soda. Some subtle noble hop spice on the finish.

Medium body, incredibly clean finish; finishes very dry with a low grain like bitterness. No hint of the higher ABV, you could drink this like a 5% helles but then be in trouble.

A very good beer of a style I don’t see much of. This one drinks so easily and is somehow incredibly refreshing and drinkable at 7.2%.

Prost NBW fam!

 

#2, nothing to see here, move along.





4.38/5 rDev +2.8%
look: 4.25 | smell: 4.25 | taste: 4.5 | feel: 4.5 | overall: 4.25
by ovaltine from Indiana

Pours a dark cola brown and settles as black in the glass with a dark tan head that sizzles and dissipates in seconds. The nose has loads of alcohol, a nice milk chocolate note, and a tart cherry aroma along with a bit of banana. Wow.

The bourbon is forward on the taste, with the rich milk chocolate and tart cherries following. The mouthfeel is rich, full, and creamy. There’s a LOT going on here, but it’s really well executed, IMHO, which isn’t surprising given Three Floyds’ prowess with big imperial stouts.

 

Good evening NBW
I don't normally spend this kind of money on a single, but I caved this once...

Untitled Art
Barrel Aged Double Fudgy Brownie Stout

16oz can stamped BORN ON:03/11/22 poured into a Spiegelau stout glass at fridge temp 14.2% ABV. The beer pours very dark brown with little light penetration and medium brown colored head. The head lasted about 2 minutes and there might be a dozen bubbles left around the edge of the beer. No lacing. The aroma is moderate in strength featuring big time fudge with a hint of bourbon. The taste is semisweet, boozey, super fudgy (think Hershey's chocolate syrup) with a tapering finish of dark chocolate, coffee and bourbon. Moderate bitterness just on the finish, which coupled with the ABV and barrel, keep this extreme beer balanced against the sweetness. The mouthfeel is medium plus bodied with just less that average carbonation and a semi dry finish. Alcohol is there, but I wouldn't guess 14+. Overall, very good. It takes some finesse to brew a beer this big that works out, but this one does.

Cheers all!

 

Good evening. Hectic work week with half my team on vacation, one with tendinitis, and the annual invasion of inexperience in the form of interns...

Hey, it's No 104 for the NBW thread...isn't that like our second anniversary? I haven't read the thread, so if that's been beaten like a rug, sorry.

I hear there's a kolsch tasting thread, so I'll play too.


I'll not even pretend I know what the label says, but I recognize the world Kolsch from Sunner in Germany. No idea how old, but let's get to it.

It pours a fairly dark straw color, clear with a fluffy inch or so of pure white head.

The smell is mild. A little buttered toast, some earthy hops, a little herbaceous. It's ticking the right things, but pretty gently.

The flavor is more intense. Ever so slightly sweet biscuity toasty thankfully without the butter. Noble hops that are herbal, earthy, a little grassy. Eventually some spicy pepper lingers behind. A very slight salty mineral thing in the aftertaste.

Feel is actually on the thick side. Not really crisp, slightly dry. Decent bitter kick. But it's almost chewy feeling so it's not doing much in the refreshing department.

Overall, it does hit the marks for the style. There's not a ton of aroma, but the flavor is nice, decently balanced. The fail for me is the feel - not an epic fail, but a miss in my opinion. Thinking 3.7 or so. Decent beer, but I don't want another one.

 

First reviewed new beer of the weekend: 3 Fonteinen Schaarbeekse Kriek (2020)

750ml corked/caged bottle served in a tulip. Bottling date 08/26/2020. Bought it earlier today at Chuck's Hop Shop Seward Park. It was expensive.

Pours a dark purplish red with a small to nonexistent head -- a thin white ring around the glass, with sparse carbonation. Fairly hazy. Smell is rich berry jam and oaky acid tartness.

Taste is similar -- rich berry jam, more on the oak and less on the acid, almost a funk to it, and something that hints at a butteriness, not diacetyl, but something that just makes it seem fuller and richer. Moderate fruit skin bitterness characteristic.

Mouthfeel is medium bodied, very dry. Overall, this is a very good beer.

 

Red Lodge Easy Sippah Session IPA, 4.6% ABV according to the profile; 4.08 overall

Pours a very effervescent gold with 2+ eggshell colored head. Nice lacing & head retention

S: Some grainy & citrus notes, a little peach

T: Green melon, lemons, pomelo, dryness, some sweet grain notes up front. Grassyness, lime, some woody bitterness as this beer warms, plus dryness. Finishes dry with lime, grapefruit & grassy bitterness

MF: Medium body, lively carbonation; nice balance

Not a huge fan of session IPAs, but this one hits right to be sure

 

Wayfinder - Kollaps
Completing the BA quadrifecta: WBAYDN, regional WBAYDN, special tasting thread, and NBW

16oz can served in a footed pilsner glass. No date, stamped on the bottom with something that appears to start with "sparkle."

Pours a crystal clear light yellow with a couple inches of fluffy head that settles slowly into a small layer and some thick, clumpy lacing. Smell is brightly floral, lightly lemon, grainy/bready sweetness, somewhat grassy.

Taste leans toward the bready/grainy sweetness with a more honeysuckle tone, lemon is lighter and grassiness is almost gone.

Mouthfeel is super light, very effervescent. Overall, tasty, easy to drink, nice beer.

 

American Solera DIPA is fun, 8.3% ABV; 4.11 overall

Pours an effervescent honey color with 3 fingers of pillowy eggshell colored head. Hazes up as the can empties, fantastic lacing & good head retention

S: Green melon, passion fruit

T: Follows the nose, cattyness, dryness, grapefruit up front. Cattyness, dryness, pine, & pomelo as this warms, plus nectarine & lime. Finishes fairly dry with pine, grapefruit & passion fruit

MF: Medium body, creamy carbonation, very good balance

Pretty darn dank, super drinkable. Some juicy aspects, but mostly hop brutality in a great way

 

My wife had to go through some re-certification training for one of her 4 or 5 jobs today (I lose count), meaning I was solo parenting all day. I enjoyed the following while making lunch for the kids.

Thin Man Corduroy Suit Pilsner.



Pours a bright effervescent gold with a full head that dissipates slowly leaving moderate lacing as the beer is enjoyed.

Toasted bread on the nose with some herbal notes. Grassy.

Taste follows with the herbal hop character taking centre stage. Toasted grains and some floral and grassy notes are present as well.

Bright, crisp, clean.

This is a solid Pilsner. Quite enjoyable.

 

Just catching up on my posting.

I've been hanging out on the Kölsch tasting thread, and finally got to one that was new to me.

This is a flavored Kölsch-style beer, and as I stated over in the tasting thread, I am not reviewing these according to the Kölsch style guidelines, since the brewer was clearly NOT adhering to the guidelines.

Clown Shoes Mangō American Kölsch
ABV: 5.5%
IBU: 25

Slightly hazy golden yellow body with moderate to sparse carbonation. Tall white head that doesn’t stick around too long, but it does leave sticky and stringy lacing.

The aroma is not too strong, but it is fronted by the mango aroma. Teasing the aroma pulls out a sweet bready aspect and other indistinct fruit, perhaps even floral, aromas. A pleasant and inviting combination.

The initial flavor is sweet bread with the mango following immediately. A bittering begins in the middle and carries through to the finish. The mango and bittering linger on in the aftertaste. The middle flavors have a bit of a sweet character but the finish is drier. The bittering no doubt helps with that.

The mouth feel is thin.

Overall, I didn’t think the combination was all that successful. The bittering, while actually mild enough, just did not seem to blend well with the sweet bread and the mango flavors. In its own way, it was enjoyable enough, but it won’t be a repeat purchase.

Again, I am rating these flavored kölsch-styles as they present themselves, not against the standard of the kölsch style.

L: 3.75 | S: 4.0 | T: 3.5 | F: 3.5 | O: 3.5 | Rating: 3.74

 

Heavenly Body Golden Wheat by Wellbeing Brewing, <0.5% ABV, 12 oz. Cascade and traditional German hops used.

Canned 111021. Sent from Ondernulpuntvijf. Served at around 10°C in my stemmed angled beer glass.



Appearance: pours yellow-golden with marginal haze strengthened by vapor condensation on the glass, 1.5 finger white head which is receding to a ring with little lacing, 4

Aroma: very interesting, malt-citrusy, 4.25

Taste: well balanced, citrusy, both sour and bitter in the back, 4

Feel: medium carbonation and body, 4

Overall: as I have found that wheat beers aren’t my absolute favorites, even if liking them, it gets 4

Score 4.06, so an average good beer in my book, like it.

 

Poured into a 16 oz Nordic glass not sure when it was canned. Pours a very attractive yellow with a finger sticky white head, that leaves thin lines of lace with excellent retention. 4.5

Aroma buttery Chardonnay, lemon, mandarin, mango, apricot, and hint of grapefruit rind. 4.5

Taste follows buttery Chardonnay, lemon, mandarin, mango, and some white grapefruit. 4.5

Mouthfeel is above medium, soft gentle carbonation, maybe a little dry, and at 8.5% big flavor, a little alcohol detected, but goes down far too easy. 4.5

Overall it takes talent to use this single hop and not allow it to be overbearing. They did it and I am very impressed. 4.5 Cheers all.

 

Poured into a16 oz Snulip glass I know it was canned in June, but I can’t make out the rest. Pours a hazy yellow orange with a finger sticky off white head that leaves globs of lace, with excellent retention. 4.25

Aroma mandarin, marijuana, passionfruit, papaya, and apricot. 4.25

Taste follows mandarin, marijuana, passionfruit, papaya, and apricot loaded with flavor. 4.25

Mouthfeel is above average, not sticky or dry, gentle carbonation, and at 8.6% with Galaxy and Strata big flavor, but easy sipping. 4.25

Overall another really solid beer, at the right price. Without a doubt worth a shot. 4.25

 

Happy Sunday Advocates!
My unreleased beer today was very much appreciated, even though it was not a love at first sight:

Brekeriet Beer (Landskrona, SWE) - LUCIFER - Sour Fruit Ale with passion fruit (5,6%)

On the nose, an explosion of passion fruit: a centrifuge.
When poured it looks more and more like a centrifuge: intense orange color, even the foam (abundant, but evanescent and which disappears by itself in a few seconds) is yellow!
Honestly, I was scared of being about to drink a fruit juice with that classic "sour" note (sour) almost forced to peep out and remember that the drink you are drinking is a beer.
Instead this fear is disproved by a splendid balance once tasted.
Light body, lively but not annoying carbonation.
Clearly the entrance scene takes it all in passion fruit, with tropical and even sweet hints, but which are very well resized by this tartaric note that "dries" the fruity taste and, even without taking on an evident astringency, dehydrates a little the tongue. A light tropical fruit taste remains on the palate.
Splendid balance because the taste of fruit and the acid note do not overpower, but follow each other and complement each other without creating a chain of excesses.
Fast, but quality drink.







Sláinte !
Cheers !