New Beer Weekend #105

#2, my first beer from these guys, let’s see where it goes.







4.29/5 rDev +0.7%
look: 4 | smell: 4.25 | taste: 4.5 | feel: 3.75 | overall: 4.25
Pours a murky dark brown color that settles as black in the glass with a minimal, sudsy tan head that evaporates in seconds. The nose has lots of chocolate and cocoa notes, some cherries - and chiles. Lots and lots of chiles. I am intrigued.

The taste is a sledgehammer combo pack of cocoa, milk chocolate, tart cherries, and chiles packing heat - and they literally hit simultaneously, something that I wonder if it is attributable to the fact that this beer has no discernible carbonation at all. Like none.

But there’s a creaminess, and loads of heat from the chiles (which I am really enjoying) that rests at the back of the palate.

This is a “kitchen sink” imperial stout - there’s a lot going on here, and there are some very rough edges, but there’s loads of potential with this brewery, and I’ll keep looking for their stuff to see where they venture next.

 

That’s kinda cruel.

I like that about you.

 

First time I've gotten to sit down and pay attention to a beer in a while. The whole week has been sucked up by activities associated with my brother-in-law's wedding -- this is a joyous distraction from pure beer activities. But, I'm glad I get to chill out and join NBW at the last minute.

Honey Tripel, from Independent Fermentations ("IndieFerm").

16oz can served in a big snifter. Received in a random assault from @WunderLlama that was associated with NBS BIF #15.

Pours a clear golden-orange with a fairly small head, fairly still. Smell is lightly fruity in the banana direction, hay and grain. Strong yeasty vibe.

Taste is actually very similar to the aroma, maybe stronger on the grain note, and some honey clearly comes across here.

Mouthfeel is light and smooth -- surprisingly so. Overall, this is an interesting and good take on the tripel style.

 

Good evening NBW/S folks. Nice relaxing day here by the lake. I got more sleep last night than I have in months. Of course, the insistence of SWMBO to take back roads instead of the highway thus adding hours to an easy drive could have contributed to my being aggravated ...oops...I mean exhausted.

So tonight's victim came with us in the cooler:



OEC Altbier. It says it is oak aged, traditional German step infusion mashing, hopped with Spalt Select hops. Open fermented for a week, oak for three weeks, then cold matured for four weeks. Let's get to it...

Pours initially clear, but picks up some haze from the bottom of the can. Kind of a dull reddish brown color. An enormous foamy tan head falls to chunks and leaves a ton of cling on the glass.

The smell is sweet and bready with a little vague fruitiness, maybe a touch of caramel, and a tad bit of Noble hop herbal spiciness.

This is malt heavy with a fair amount of sweetness. Almost a brown bread character, some caramel flavor almost toffee. It is fruity but hard to discern what the fruit is. If forced to pick I'd go cherry and a bit of grape must. There's a slightly herbal hoppiness, more sweet breadiness and maybe a very minute bit of chocolate. A cinnamon-like zip on the finish. There is a bit of a phenolic feel I presume from the oak treatment.

The body is medium in feel, fairly lively carbonation (thankfully), a mild bitterness. It is slightly sticky sweet.

Overall, undecided. It's honestly not meltin' my butter all that much, but it isn't an epic fail. I think it leans more toward a brown ale, but it has some of the style elements listed here for an altbier. So it's an OK-ish beer, and I'm thinking around a 3.7.

We are staying about 12 minutes from "the corner" in Portland, so I am hoping for some Maine goodies for next weekend...we shall see. The missus definitely wants to hit up Foundation, so the odds are good. Hopefully we can take a DIRECT route!

 

Wow, she got you the white whalez.

 

It was a fun week as it was the first road trip vacation for my wife and I with our almost three year old daughter. We travelled from Illinois to Charleston and spent four days on Isle of Palms. It's pretty interesting to be on the beach but only 30 minutes away from a city as exciting as Charleston. Anyways, everything went well and our daughter now wants to spend as many nights in a hotel as she can...Special thanks to @Mbgreg for a very thorough set of recommendations. We were able to hit a few, but wish we could have done more.

Anyways, onto the week night cap.

Barreled Souls Dropping Bars



4.19/5 rDev -0.9%
look: 4.25 | smell: 4 | taste: 4.25 | feel: 4.25 | overall: 4.25
Poured from a bottle into Side Project BBT glass.

Poured black with about three to four fingers worth of mocha colored bubbly head. It took about a minute for the foam to disappear. Smell is sweet, but not getting much else, at least not cold. As for taste, on my first sip, it was overwhelmingly sweet. I was obviously expecting sweet, but on first sip, I didn't know if I could handle the whole bottle. As it warmed, and I got accustomed to it, the taste started to open up and I could taste the chocolate more than anything else. A bit of toffee as well, but that also could be my mind thinking it should be there. It definitely turned into very drinkable. Feel is what you would expect for the style, medium and easy to drink without much aftertaste.

Overall, another nice beer from Barreled Souls. They've become one of my favorite breweries when it comes to stouts and barleywine.

 

Ology Passion Dragon Slushhhhh courtesy of @FBarber from a LIF associated with the NBW BIF.



Pours a bright sparkling red with no head. Sparkle fades fairly quickly.

Tropical fruit jumps out in the aroma. There is a spicy vanilla quality as well. I really like it.

Tropical fruit, I’m assuming a blend of passion and dragon fruit, with some vanilla and even a minty note on the finish. Quite nice.

Light body with a tart tang. I expected a fruit smoothie. This is much better.

Thanks Frank. This was enjoyable!

 

Her Body Her Choice, an IPA from Future Primitive.

16oz can served in a footed pilsner glass. Can has no useful date on it.

Pours a clear golden yellow with a big (approximately two inches) fluffy head that settles into stiff peaks. Smell is pretty mild -- slight lemon, a little grass. Maybe a little bit of sweet floral tone.

Taste leans heavily into the sweet floral notes with a nice backdrop of lemon zest and honey.

Mouthfeel is light and clean. Overall, it's a pretty good beer.

 

Well hello Late Night NB(S)W
Started off with a sublime new to me in 2016, but enjoyed again, Everett courtesy of our own @Roy_Hobbs
Then hit this lovely, old school Russian Imperial Stout (albeit barrel-aged) from @superspak
Dramanatrixxx Really enjoyed this one. And the Everett was a smooth opening act.
Thanks to superspak for this one. Received in NBS BIF (#12 I think).
Bottle stamped "PKGD 061718"
Lovely looking. Deep dark, almost black. Charred cocoa colored head, tiny densely packed bubbles could totally float the cap. Clumpy lacing. Great retention.
The nose abounds in graceful, nuanced, old school RIS: roast, cocoa, dark fruit, with hints of tobacco, earth, and anise. The barrel chimes in with smooth boozy warmth.
Flavor profile was thoroughly foreshadowed by the nose. What I love is the complexity and old school approach. The flavors are melded well, yet you could pull so many different components out, enjoy them, and then enthusiastically embrace the next note that steps forward. But none over the top, nobody steals the spotlight here. Not overly sweet at all.
Mouthfeel is spot on for style, decent heft, hidden ABV, and a smooth finish.
Overall, this is killer.
4.23/5 rDev +2.2%
look: 4.25 | smell: 4.25 | taste: 4.25 | feel: 4 | overall: 4.25