New Beer Weekend #110

Poured into a 20 oz tulip glass canned on 8/15/22. Pours a beautiful milky yellow with a 2 plus finger sticky white head that leaves thin streaks of lace with amazing retention. 5

Aroma papaya, mango, cantaloupe, passionfruit, a hint of blueberry, and apricot. 4.75

Taste follows papaya, mango, cantaloupe, passionfruit, a little blueberry, and apricot. 4.75

Mouthfeel is above average, soft creamy carbonation, not sticky or dry, and big flavor, but insane drinkability at 8.3%. 5

Overall this one is pretty amazing. Citra and Rakua hops and really special. 4.75

 

Great Notion - Big Papaya.

16oz can served in a tulip. Dated 07/11/22. Bought it at Special Brews in Lynnwood earlier today. It's my wife's choice.

Pours a slightly murky amber color with a modest head. Smell is super bright and fruity, very tropical, I assume it's more specifically papaya.

Taste is similar, but has a pretty strong streak of the kettle sour flavor. Gives it a mango skin vibe pretty strongly, too.

Mouthfeel is medium thickness, kind of sticky. Overall...it's not my deal.

 

Happy Saturday. Had a pretty relaxing day. Woke up at 1230pm. Laundry and such. Went to Lowes food around 9PM and they still had a lot of sushi left, so that was dinner. Also had the Wild Mikes frozen pizza on sale, and bogo Tillamook Ice cream. No bulk ground beef available, so I'll get it another day. We got a set of reusable bamboo chopsticks for $3.50 and they are actually pretty high quality! Sushi with a fork is an abomination, and it falls apart anyways. Needs more gripping force.



NBS BIF from @snaotheus . Old Schoolhouse Betty Mopper. Canned 4/6/22. Great hazy IPA. Aromas and flavors of big red grapefruit, tangerine, peach, pear, pineapple, passion fruit, mango, honeydew melon, guava, berries, citrus rind, cedar, mint, peppercorn, pine, wheat, cracker, toast, herbal, floral, grass, yeast earthiness. Light-moderate pine, citrus rind, herbal, woody, spicy bitterness on the finish. Medium carbonation and body; balanced creamy/bready malts and sticky hops in the mouthfeel. Some lingering resin drying after the finish, minimal hop astringency. Mild warmth of 6.9% and hop burn after the finish. Great profile of Mosaic, Azacca, Simcoe, Loral hops. Great balance between juicy and vibrant/dank/earthy hop notes; with a nicely soft oat/spelt malt backbone. No complaints. 4


Cheers

 

Ironically, I wasn't terribly far from there, today. But it would have been a brewery too far.

 

Good morning BAs! Today’s new to me juice is a hazy IPA from Unity Brewing Co., Southampton, UK in collab with Vague Mag. No hops listed but my bar manager buddy said I’d like this brew - let’s go!



Hazy gold pour with clarity under mixed bubbles white head; good cap retention; heavy ring; some soapy lacing. Grapefruit and grape must nose (Sauvin?). Grapefruit entry with mild lemon peel right behind; firm malt base; white grape finish. Dusty tongue coating; medium full - soft rounded body (oats); moderate minus carbonation; no warmth from 6.4% abv; no astringency. Overall a very drinkable yet average IPA, but better than most hazies I’ve had in England; pleasant citrus linger; I could easily and gladly drink another.

4.5 | 4.0 | 4.25 | 4.0 | 4.0
Score: 4.13 rDev 0. I added beer to database.


Off to London later today. Have a great Sunday y’all!

 

There's a couple of differences per the style originators, not the least of which involve the malt bills, but re: the yeasts specifically, its kind of an odd one in that it uses lager yeasts but ferments warm.

Ooohhh... My aunt lives about fifteen minutes from there, in Bourne. Mayhaps we need to visit her again soon...

This is mesmerizing. And slightly terrifying.

 

Tillamook ice cream is the the best there is for store bought ice cream. I could eat it by the gallon @superspak

Glad everything with your family turned out ok @FBarber …scary stuff.

Safe travels @DoctorZombies

 

From late last night:

Bellwoods x Nod Hill A Beer They Made Pale Ale with Chamomile.



Pours a light, clear straw gold with moderate head that sticks around a while.

Chamomile jumps out on the nose. A lighter tropical fruit melange sits in behind.

Taste follows nose. Strong chamomile dominates. Tropical hops sit in the background.

Clean. Lighter body. Quick finish.

Enjoyable.

 

Thanks for the heads-up! I picked up a four-pack just yesterday (with a bit of trepidation) because as much as I like Founders, what's a BBA marzen going to be like? Too bad my distributor was out of Highball Drifter, I went in to buy a case.

 

Good day BAs! Finally got caught up wit the NBW thread - thanks @Mdog for starting this weekend's thread!

My New Breakfast Beer is one (actually two) received in a recent trade with @Peach63:




Sprucifer from Three Heads Brewing. Received two cans in a trade with @Peach63. Stored at 37 degrees at home. Reviewed 28/08/22. Note that I use DD/MM/YY protocol.
On bottom of can “CANNED ON DEC/02/2021”. Served at 44.6 degrees in a hand washed and dried Jester King Snifter. Final temperature 53.2 degrees.
Appearance – 3.5.
First pour – Pale Straw (SRM 2), opaque.
Body – Pale Straw (SRM 2), opaque. Under direct light, same. When rear-lite, same.
Head – Large (Maximum six cm, aggressive center pour), white, high density, good retention although it does open, receding to a jagged five to twelve mm crown and a rocky cap. As the head recedes, a band of lacing marking the top of the head remains, with chunks of lacing hanging on the glass between the crown and the top band.
Lacing – Fair. Islands and broken bands of tiny to small bubbles. See also above.
Aroma – 4.5 – Conifers, clean and strong. No malt, no hops, no yeast.
Flavor – 4.25 – Begins lightly bitter and resinous, like chewing a few needles. No malt, no yeast. No ethanol (6 % ABV as marked on label) aroma or taste. No gastric warming. No dimethylsulfide or diacetyl. Ends with a slight burst of bitterness.
Palate – 3.5 – Medium, smooth, lively carbonation.
Final impression and summation: 4 I was slightly concerned about the potential flavor drop for a nine-month-old IPA, but I should not have. The terpenes from spruce seem to hold up better than those from hops, at least to my tasting apparatus, and have a delightful aroma. And I found the label art amusingly apropos. I enjoyed this brew immensely and think I’ll have another. Thanks Danny!
Rating 4.14, rDev +10.1%

 

Good Morning NBS/nbw and thanks @Mdog for hosting this week.
We are off to continue the emptying of our parents house in prep for the market.
Bitter sweet are these days.
Todays offering is a recent reintroduction to our area, and I'm glad to see this stout in these parts.
Great body, lovely hop bite, and excellent dry finish.
Cheers all

Big Bear Black Stout

American Imperial Stout | 8.1% ABV
Bear Republic Brewing Co. in Cloverdale, California


4.04/5 rDev -2.2% | Average: 4.13
look: 4.25 | smell: 4 | taste: 4 | feel: 4.25 | overall: 4
Poured from a 16 oz can dated PKG3/15/22. into the test glass
A - Cobalt black color, lovely, thick mocha cap, leaves ring after ring with each draw.
S - Burnt coffee, dark chocolate, a bit of orangey hop, mingles with piney hops.
T - Bakers chocolate, roast malts, molasses, pine, black pepper.
M - Leans toward the bitter through the experience, a bit of heft to the body, outstading dry finish
A - A very good American Stout, lots of body, excellent dry finish, hops are plentiful and balance well with the grain bill.

 

Poured into a 16 oz metal pint glass canned on 8/12/22. Pours a hazy yellow orange with a finger plus sticky white head that leaves loads of thick streaks of lace, with nice retention. 4.5

Aroma is peach, mango, honeydew, pineapple, and apricot. 4

Taste follows peach, mango, honeydew, pineapple, and apricot. 4

Mouthfeel is above average, gentle carbonation, not sticky or dry, and at 8.5% plenty of flavor but easy going down. 4.25

Overall I will be honest, reviewing a beer out of anything other than a glass is difficult. Still real nice, 4.25.

 

Good morning NBW
We picked up a 12 pack of this brewery only release in North Carolina a few weeks ago. My wife had been crushing them, so I thought I better get a review in before they are gone. My 2nd kristallweizen ever and 85th SN review.

Old Chico Crystal Wheat
12oz can stamped 080122 C 09:32 (presumably 27 days old and brewed in California) poured into a wheat beer glass at fridge temp 4.8% ABV. Purchased at the Mills River gift shop two weeks ago. The beer pours bright, light gold in color with nearly white head. The head recedes to an uneven ring and a splotchy layer of bubbles. Full, web-like lacing is left on the glass. The aroma is mild with only wheat malt to my senses. The taste is semisweet wheat and 2 row malt with floral and grassy hops. Mild to moderate bitterness. The mouthfeel is medium bodied with average carbonation and a mostly dry finish. Overall, very good beer. Not in the classic German style, if that's what you're looking for.

Carry on friends. I have some chores to do, but I'll be back later.

 

Elevation Barrel Rack BA English Barleywine aged in Deerhammer whiskey barrels. Canned 10/15/21. Thanks @Prager62!

Pours a dark amber/light brown color with just over a finger of a dense, tan colored head. Nice retention to the head for a 12.5% beer and for the fact the brewery says they purposely dialed back the carbonation. 3.75

Aroma showcases dark fruit and sweet malt as you'd expect for the style. Fig, some raisin, dates, caramel, good amount of molasses, brown sugar, slight nuttiness. Barrel brings obvious notes of whiskey and charred oak. 4.0

Taste is a nice melding of the base beer and barrel. Fig newton, dried dates, slight prune, molasses, toffee, brown sugar, slight nuttiness, biscuit, charred oak, whiskey, slight vanillin, earthiness. There's some whiskey heat, but it seems the 10 months age has smoothed this out just a touch based on earlier reviews. 4.25

High medium body. Slightly dense, oily, slick. 4.0

This is a solid BA English Barleywine. The barrel character is quite nice and a good complement to the base beer. 4.0
Overall: 4.09/5 (rDev +2.5%)

 

You realize that when she brings you beer from MBC and Allagash, you have to buy her like a helicopter or something of commensurate value and awesomeness, right Jon? She sounds like the MIL of all-time keepers.

 

She most definitely is; we provided her with her first grandkids and they’re pretty awesome, I’ll consider it even