New Beer Weekend #108

3 Sheeps Brewing Shimmer DDH IPA. It has a golden clear honey color. It has a nice fluffy white 7-centimeter foamy top. The smell is dank coconut white wine grapefruit juice. The aroma is not very strong. The taste is coconut white grape orange bitterness. Bitter white wine. The mouthfeel is wine spritzer bubbly, higher carbonation, Busch Light from a keg tapper. Zoom in on the hop combination used, which is detailed on the can. I don't know how you could pull that off successfully. Like combining a good whiskey and nice vodka. Maybe someone can do it well, but I cannot envision how. If it happens, please alert me. This beer will fit in during some type of day-drinking session, but I need to figure out how. It is certainly unique. It has a nice flavor. I will drink more of it to understand the complexity in a more conceptual context.

 

Arrived in Farmington, CT…my aunt wanted to grab beer from this brewery because it is my uncle’s nephews place. We’ll the labels caught my eye, then I read the label such a cool concept. They had both a dark cream ale and regular cream ale. Drank this one earlier while my former chef cousin cooked me a steak…good times.

I’m gonna read more up on this beer but for now here is what the can shares…



Alvarium Beer Co - Cremo Dark Ale



Pours clear dark brown, ruby hues when held to light, some pretty good lacing on a nice light brown head.

The nose yields heavy dry cocoa powder, a little bit of roast, then a fruit forward coffee.

Taste is mostly cocoa, fruit forward coffee, roast comes out again nicely in the finish with a subtle bit of sweetness.

Light body, dry finish that carries a dark fruit like twang to it; low roast driven bitterness on the finish.

Really cool beer, the story and label could be driving my thought bias here but this definitely tastes like a beer of simpler times.

Cream Ale next, either tonight or next weekend…

 

Oh and at the request of @FBarber my crazy true fact:

In ONE DROP of water there are somewhere around 4,500,000,000,000,000,000,000 atoms.

 

My Crazy True fact is from WW2. More than 100,000 Allied Bomber Crew Members died in the war.

Toppling Goliath Oktoberfest Lager, 5.2& ABV; 3.57 overall

Pours an effervescent gold/honey color with a thumb+ eggshell colored head. Minimal head retention, a little more lacing

S: Bready, grainy

T: Bready, sweet, a little caramel, dryness & grassy hops up front. Dryness, sweetness & grassyness, with a touch of lemons as this warms, gains a little more bitterness as it warms & helps out balance-wise, but sweetness wins out in the end. Finishes dry, a little grassy, with a little caramel

MF: Medium body, slight carbonation, skews sweet at first

I was hoping for more, just not as moreish as this style can be. Rare miss from these guys

 

Last beer for today (and probably the weekend) is Stalks & Leaves, a Rye Saison from Forest & Main

Pours a fairly clear, straw color with nice fizzy head and a permanent ring. Aroma is hay and grass, with a light lemony funk. The rye malt comes through on the tongue and definitely leads the way. Beyond that the taste is somewhat of a generic, non-memorable funk. It's solid, but not noteworthy in any respect. Fairly lively feel. Solid, if unspectacular beer.

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You're in my neck of the woods (I'm in Simsbury....not at all far from Farmington). Alas, I'm up in NH this weekend, otherwise would have been a good excuse to meet up for a beer. Notices you hit up Alvarium as well. I've never been there, but it has a good reputation locally. Enjoy CT, and hope your drive home doesn't suck!

 

Thanks @Roy_Hobbs I’d have to look at a map but I definitely recognize that name. Did actually get to alvarium just grabbed some down the street.

Yea the drive up was way worse than normal I think I’m screwed no matter what on my way home so I’ll be leaving the family gathering early afternoon and hope for the best.

 

Toppling Goliath DDH King Sue DIPA, 7.8% ABV; 4.75 overall

Pours a hazed straw/gold with 3 fingers onf eggshell colored head/ Good head retention & very good lacing

S: Splenty of tropical fruit, cantaloupe, peaches & citrus

T: So follows the nose, green melon, much dryness, pomelo up front. More dryness, pomelo, lime && green melon, plus passion fruit as this warms, just a little cream sickle as well. Finishes dry with passion fruit, guava & pomelo

MF: Medium body, restrained carbonation & great balance

Super drinkability, lives up to the hype!

 

Voodoo Vienna Lager, which I picked up on my way out.

32oz crowler served in a big mug. Bought it earlier today at the brewery, the crowler is labeled as having been filled yesterday.

Pours a crystal clear brassy gold with a big, almost three finger head, that collapses into a thin clumpy layer. A little bit of active carbonation. Smell is grain tea, grain husk, a little toffee, a little toast.

Taste is mostly grain tea and lightly toasted bread, a little bit of grassiness.

Mouthfeel is light, almost thin. Overall, it's pretty good.

 

Brutus

5% stout by Missing Falls

A tasty straight forward stout poured from tap at the brewery. The beer pours dark black with modest head and minor lacing throughout the tasting. Carbonation was very good and mouthfeel appropriate for the style at the listed ABV. Drinkable.

Aroma was the char from the malt and a bit of peanut butter. Taste follows nose with the chat at the forefront and peanut butter in the background. For my tastes, this decision was a good one. It's a stout that tastes like a stout with a deftly added twist.

 

Thanks @FBarber for getting rolling this weekend. Poured into a 16 oz Snulip glass canned on 8/02/22. Pours a very attractive yellow with a half finger head that leaves thin lines of lace, with nice retention. 4.5

Aroma is mango, tangerine, coconut, peach, and apricot. 4.25

Taste follows mango, tangerine, peach, coconut, and apricot really well balanced. 4.5

Mouthfeel is above average, soft gentle carbonation, not sticky or dry, and at 6.8% big flavor but easy drinking. 4.5

Overall this brewery just keeps getting better. The used Citra Cryo, Sabro, HBC639, & Motueka in this gem. Cheers all. 4.5

 

Was fortunate to receive free soccer tickets thru my referee connections for the Optum field lounge at Gillette stadium last night . Field level seats with free food and drink included, what is there NOT to like? Gillette stadium has really raised their craft beer game in that they were serving Heady Topper and Sip of Sunshine at the Patriots pre season game vs the Ny Gents. Coincidence that Patriots coach Bill Belicheck has a residence on Nantucket where Cisco is located???? I am superstitious in my belief that I must drink a local brew to help the local sports teams win their games. Doesn’t always work but I’m doing my part for the team

Forever New England by Cisco Brewing




3.74/5 rDev 0%
look: 3.5 | smell: 3.75 | taste: 3.75 | feel: 3.75 | overall: 3.75

Inspired by the spirit, passion, and pride of Pats Nation, Forever New England is a crisp, hoppy and crushable 4.4% ABV golden ale, that’ll be the perfect gameday fuel for Pats fans, this fall. It’ll be available on draft at Gillette Stadium and Patriots Place, as well as at select Cisco beer gardens throughout the fall – with limited supply!!!

Poured into a plastic cup a hazy orange with no foam on draft at the Gillette stadium Optum field lounge

aroma is citrus orange, tangerine , malts

taste is citrus orange with malt

Clean crisp with a gentle hop nibble

good beer , however, I was more focused on watching the match rather than rating a beer . Appreciate Gillette Stadium for raising their craft beer game. Recommended if you are at the stadium for a game. My superstition held out as the Revs beat DC United 1-0. Go Pats! Go Revs!

 

Today’s new thirst quencher this hot sunny afternoon in the country - DEYA Brewing Company’s “My Phone’s On Snooze”, a raspberry Berliner Weisse with 500kg of raspberry purée added, clocking in at 3.5% abv:



Pours opaque purple/pink; pink foam; very good cap retention, solid ring and spotty lacing. Raspberries nose. Tart raspberries taste. Light body, moderate minus carbonation. Overall, there’s not a lot to talk about; the beer is a tic above watery; pleasant raspberries taste and linger; very refreshing; tart but not puckering; still, one is all I’d want in a session.

4.25 | 4.0 | 4.0 | 3.75 | 4.0
Score: 3.99 rDev +1.3%

Cheers and have a great Sunday y’all!

 

Unfortunately, it seems the fatwa is still active (It is - Iran's never pulled it) - nut jobs are everywhere.

 

I love the label on that beer.

 

Good day BAs! Thanks @FBarber for kicking off this weekend's thread!

I've been cutting 'way back on my beer consumption out of sheer boredom - much as I like IPAs, they're getting old and all taste damn near the same to me. Back in June I ordered some beers from Hair of the Dog, stuff that NEVER gets this far east, and sounds like they're in my sweet spot "bottle conditioned beers which improve with age". It cost almost 2/3 as much to purchase the shipping containers and to pay the shipping ($ 95.43) as the price of the brews ($ 160.20). Thus far I've been unimpressed.



Matt 2022 from Hair of the Dog Brewing. Purchased on-line from the brewer. Stored at 37 degrees at home. Reviewed 13/08/22. Note that I use DD/MM/YY protocol.
Bottle appears with only 2022 on the label, otherwise undated. Price for 12 oz bottle 16.41 (Including shipping) = $ 1.37/oz. Served at 55.9 degrees in a hand washed and dried Jester King Snifter. Final temperature 61.3 degrees.
Appearance – 3.5.
First pour – Deep Amber (SRM 15), slight haze (Bottle conditioned).
Body – Brown (SRM 20), opaque. Under direct light, looks like dirt road puddle water after you’ve just driven through. When rear-lite, some light penetrates at the edge, olive.
Head – None (Aggressive center pour). A few tiny bubbles align around the rim.
Lacing – None.
Aroma – 4 – Caramel/peaty. No hops, no yeast, no bourbon, no barrel.
Flavor – 4 – Begins with a hard palate burn. Candi sugar comes through, no hops, no yeast. Distinct bourbon! Some weak dark fruitiness. Sweet but not cloying. No ethanol (11.5 % ABV as marked on label) aroma or taste although the bourbon is stronger on the exhale. No vanillin or tannins. Distinct upper gastric burning, weak lower gastric warming. No dimethylsulfide or diacetyl. Slightly sour (!) ending.
Palate – 3.75 – Medium, almost creamy, barely noticeable carbonation.
Final impression and summation: 3.75 Respectable brew a bit on the syrupy side. Flavors are mulled and indistinct. Perhaps this needs to age a few years. One and done.
Rating 3.9, rDev -12.2%

Glad I tried it. Once. If I lived in Portland, I would have probably been a neckbeard fanboy.

 

Poured into a 16 oz Snulip glass canned on 7/11/23. Pours a hazy yellow orange with a 2 finger sticky white head that leaves thick streaks of lace, with excellent retention. 4.5

Aroma is peach, mandarin, pineapple, honey, and apricot. 4.25

Taste follows peach, mandarin, pineapple, honey, and apricot really well balanced with just the slightest hit of honey. 4.25

Mouthfeel is above average, soft gentle carbonation, not sticky or dry, and at 8% a good amount of flavor, but easy going down. 4.25

Overall this is another really nice NEDIPA from this brewery. They are the real deal. 4.25

 

Larry, you were pretty close: it is happoshu;

Below is from a quick web search (with emphasis in bold):

“Although the category existed much earlier, happoshu as a low-tax, beer-flavored beverage was born in 1989 tax law revisions as an attempt to allow Japanese brewers to better compete with cheaper foreign imports. Under the new law, happoshu made with less than 67% malt would be taxed at a considerably lower rate than beer.

The first happoshu to take off was Suntory Super Hops in 1994, which, at 65% malt, was still pretty close to beer. Sapporo Drafty, released the following year, lowered the bar, using less than 25% malt for an even lower tax rate, and selling at ¥160 when beer averaged around ¥200. From that point, almost no happoshu used more than 25% malt. It made no sense—they tasted nearly the same, but the tax was much lower. From 1998, Kirin Tanrei stole the show, quickly came to claim over half the happoshu market, and led happoshu sales to nearly equal those of beer.”

https://japanbeertimes.com/2018/10/beer-styles-happoshu/

It would appear from the above that there is a tax/business incentive to use very little (e.g., 25%) malt when producing happoshu.

I am not aware of any ‘official’ beer style guideline for Rice Lager. Maybe a ‘convention’ could be if a beer has ≥ 50% malt it is a Rice Lager vs. Happoshu?

Cheers!

 

We seem to share similar interests you and I; when I make it to Toronto I look forward to beers and conversation

The label 100% caught my eye then the beer itself and story did as well.

Here is the OG can which if I’m reading the site correct sold for $4144…