New Beer Weekend #111

Good share, it 100% gives much more meaning to that label.

I vividly remember when Elysian showed up here years ago, I was very fond of space dust and then the blood orange pale, something fuzz..?

Funny enough my brother in law was drinking space dust at one of the phish shows we caught together this summer as the option to buy inside. He said it was still a pretty tasty IPA, by the time I met up with him his can was empty, so that meant no revisit for me, sigh.

 

OK, I'm back (back again). @jonphisher, you're probably thinking of Superfuzz. My previous diatribe notwithstanding, I will say, the art side of their marketing team has pretty consistently killed it. But that's neither here nor there. @rgordon... Time already seems to be accelerating, so I can only imagine what will happen when she descends upon us! My wife's sister has three children, so the grandparents on that side have some experience, but this one will be the first on my side of the family, and it's been so fascinating watching the responses from my parents. I knew both would be excited and have fun with the grandparent thing, but I have been surprised at the balance of it... my Dad has been the one who's an absolute puddle, while my Mom has been excited, but a bit more steady about it all. I figured it would be the other way around. Just goes to show what I know! We're especially excited at the prospect of my own Grandma getting to meet her and having the Great picture (Great Grandma/Great Granddaughter). That's the way to impact 7 generations, right? @2beerdogs: thanks! I haven't been on the site as often as I used to, so that makes it easy to miss such things!


(Washington goats)

On to beer.
I've been up for far too many hours already, and I've got the house to myself for the day, so I figured I'd dig in a little bit early. My beer for this morning is Fortress of Lies, from Varietal Beer Co over on the eastside, and it's one that I got to add to the site! That's always fun. Varietal bills it as a 'tropical double brown ale.' So first confession of presumption: I read that, and the blurb on the label mentions 'This beer contains no fruit,' so in my mind I was secretly hoping that it was a 'brown ale' that was hopped to all hell and was secretly a back door CDA or something vaguely close to it. That's the first problem: I know better than to set expectations, and yet there I went, expecting this beer to be something irregardless of what the brewers intended of it.
Narrator: it was not a backdoor CDA (nor is it a bock of any kind. I'll explain the goats later).


(California goats)

I poured it into the Guinness pint that I foolishly stole from a London pub back in the day (younger me was dumb. Older me still is, but in different ways), because in my mind it's funny. Because the beer is named Fortress of Lies, so pouring it into that glass feels like lying about what's in the glass. I never said it was clever.

In the glass it presents a dark cola brown, with a lot of carbonation clinging to the sides of the glass. I'm never sure if that's more a reflection of a poor job of washing the glass last time, or specific to the brew itself, so I try not to let such things impact my rating one way or the other. Nice soft head sits atop, but not for long as it quickly settles down to a patch and then nothing at all, leaving no trace of lacing or any of that fun stuff.

The nose. OK. So here's the first real curveball for me with this one. The label blurb makes mention of using an 'expressive strain of yeast,' and that's the best explanation I have for the dominant aromatic experience here. It smells musky. I don't know how else to put it. Like it smells of goats or something. Clean goats, to be sure, but that type of animal musk. Not funky like a saison, but the images it conjures in my mind are those of the many barns back home. This is why there are goat pics above (that first pic, of the WA goat [no, not Sue Bird, she's a different kind of GOAT, and that dagger three should have been the game winner. Dammit, Ezi!] was actually from a show my dad was playing at that farm. Good times).
I'm losing the thread here. The aroma. It is musky. That's the big take home. There's other stuff in there, but the musk takes front center stage and really doesn't leave a tonne of room for the rest. As it warms, that falls a little more into the background, but it's still pretty prominent. The other aromas are faint chocolate and a bit of nuttiness that could be augmenting the goatmusk. It's not off putting, but it's not really contributing positively to this particular beer either.

Flavour still carries a bit of musk, but while it dominates the nose, it's more of a footnote to the flavour. This is where the chocolate comes in. Bright sweet up front... it's the chocolate of chocolate syrup and a bit of vanilla. Waves of sweetness crash over the goat before the shore emerges with some bitter coffee, toasty malts, and that chocolate sweetness rounding out the finish.



This may be damning with faint praise, but this is not a bad beer. It's just not one that particularly appeals to me. Even moving past my self-inflicted expectation-based let down, it's just too sweet for me. The musky character of the aroma could work well in a different beer, but it just seems out of place with this one. I have a hard time rating things poorly, but this one is a miss for me.


(This is my Dad, along with Boo Radley, who is [mostly] enjoying his retirement up on the island with my folks. [My dad is the one in the back])

 

Your post reminded me of this sign I saw at Cloudburst last year.

 

Have a good labor day. Checked out at noon after a shower and we spent another $90 on books. We are in chapel hill Carolina brewpub.




Carolina consider all dimensions. Awesome hazy ipa. Aromas and flavors of big grapefruit, tangerine, peach, pineapple, passionfruit, papaya, mango, honeydew melon, berries, citrus rind, pepper, pine, wheat, cracker, herbal, floral, grass, grassy earth. Medium pine/rind bitter finish. Medium carb/body. Balanced creamy/bready and sticky/resinous mouthfeel. Long drying resin finish, min astringent. Awesome citra, Simcoe, mosaic profile. Very juicy/dank/earthy hops and a nicely soft oat/wheat backbone. 4.1


Cheers

 

Good afternoon NBW
One store of the many I frequent carries this beer consistently. I had to try it...

Superior
300mL bottle BBD OCT 2022 poured into a vintage bow tie glass at fridge temp 4.6% ABV. The beer pours bright light gold in color with nearly white head. The head recedes to a pencil thin ring and island. The aroma is slight with a hint of malt. The taste is semisweet corny, slightly tangy malt with a side of vague vegetable and negligible bitterness. The mouthfeel is thin bodied with above average carbonation and a mostly dry finish. Diacetyl is present to a noticeable degree. Overall, fair AAL.

My preoccupation with yellow beer seems to know no limits. 66 AAL reviews now. Cheers all!

 

No Boat - Spanish Harlem Mona Lisa. A double NEIPA from a local brewery I've never tried before (at least as far as I remember).

16oz can served in a pint glass. No date that I can see, but I typically wouldn't buy an IPA without believing it was relatively fresh. I bought it about a week ago at Special Brews in Lynnwood -- it's possible my reasoning might have been "I trust Special Brews" or "This is in their new arrivals section."

Pours a hazy amber-orange with a small head. Honestly my first thought on smelling it was "donut" -- followed by boozy and deep piney bitterness. That donut whiff is mysterious but persistent. Cake donuts with vanilla frosting.

Taste is deep, rich, ripe tropical fruit. Pineapple and mango. Strong resinous bitterness. Actually really nicely balanced.

Mouthfeel is thick, rich, creamy. Overall, this is a really nice beer.

 

Brunch burger with an over easy egg. I think I'm taking it home for dinner after all that greasy chips.


The apps


Carolina firecracker pale ale. Great west coast style. Aromas and flavors of big red grapefruit, tangerine, pineapple, peach, melon, berries, citrus peel/rind, wood, peppercorn, pine, cracker, toast, biscuit, herbal, floral, grass. Good sized pine/rind/spicy bitter finish. Medium plus carb, lt-med body, and fairly crisp finishing. Grainy malt and sticky/resinous mouthfeel. Lingering resin drying with min hop astringency. Mild warmth of 5.4%. Tastes like all Columbus hops. Very vibrant and dank with a clean pale malt backbone. Very classic tasting brew. Would buy again. 4


Cheers

 

So after yesterday’s flat marzen, thought I’d try a different one.

Poured that lovely honey copper color and topped with a manilla head, albeit briefly. Guess I wanted more.
The aroma was mild but all marzen scents, bready malts, wee bit sweet caramel, some noble hops.
The taste followed, not very complex but not sure a Märzen style needs to be. The malts are bready and a little sweet, the hops are present as an organic accent, and it’s just tasty.
The feel was a touch more viscous than expected, but that may have been to the age of the beer. Tough to get fresh foreign beer here.
OA, it’s good, a solid marzen. Prost!

 

Waiting for the rain and hopefully some drought relief. I actually went into work for 3-4 hours today. Then I came home and took the clothes drier all apart. Have to wait most of the week for gasket.
I love these 3-day NBW.
I decided it was Fest Bier time. After all I see many of you have been partaking in this style or Octo already.

4.02/5 rDev +1.5%
look: 4.25 | smell: 4 | taste: 4 | feel: 4 | overall: 4
Poured from a 16oz can stamped 08/16/22 to a Weizen at fridge temp.
This pours clear gold with bubbles nucleating throughout the session. Despite an average pour I got a huge homogenous white head. This fades within a minute to a chunky head. After that fades, lacing is non-existent.
The aroma is of cut grass with a subtle background of bread dough.
The taste is clean with a malt front and a nice dry hop finish. Sweet cut grass with a crisp finish.
Mouthfeel is light with some oiliness, but the carbonation is just right for it.
My first Fest beer of the season. Good start.

 

A departure from my normal

Stone 26th Anniversary
12oz can stamped Packaged 08/09/22 Enjoy By 12/07/22 10:37 R poured into a Spiegelau IPA glass at fridge temp 9.7% ABV. The beer pours bright honey colored amber with off white head. The head recedes to a rocky cap and leaves rings of lacing. The aroma is moderate in strength featuring caramel, candied citrus and pine. The taste is semisweet grapefruit with caramel malt and light pine coming through on the finish. Heavy bitterness. The mouthfeel is medium bodied with average carbonation and a semi dry finish. Plenty of slick hop oil presence, but not syrupy. Overall, excellent high ABV, West Coast IPA.

I really love a well made, bitter IIPA. Ironically, I rarely drink them anymore, as I trust very few brewer's to execute. Stone has my trust for another year, although I doubt we see a 27th Anniversary beer widely distributed. Cheers all!

 

Barrel Aged Karminator

9.3% doppelbock by Hoppin’ Frog

Pour from a pint can purchased at the brewery. Body is a medium to dark brown. Not much head or lacing during the tasting.

As expected by style, the beer is a glorious example of barley and malty goodness. Sweet caramel and toffee notes may push this one into the too sweet category for some folks. Not me. The whiskey barrel, present but not harsh, meshes well with the other sweeter ingredients; a good call as a bourbon barrel may have yield too sweet a product.

Nose is sweet caramel and barley with a touch of whiskey.

Mouthfeel is very good and true to the doppelbock-lager style and makes this one an easy drinker. Only the ABV may slow you down.

Delightful beer. Highly recommended.

 

Well well well...
Since its raining like cats and dogs and the thread lives....
Courtesy of Dane @Nugganooch
A collab between North Park and Weldwerks appropriately named....
Pours a hazy straw color with big white sea foamy head that stays around a bit for the 8.5%. Nice creamy cap remains with splotches of lacing.
Big tangerine, mango, pineapple, overripe dank fruitiness on the nose.
Sweet fruits upfront with that bruised stonefruit and cannabis. Pine needle bitterness balances out the fruit.
Lightly carbonated, a bit oily on the tongue but does dry out on the finish a little. Enjoying this collab. Good beer.
Cheers Dane!
Stay dry NE peeps!

 

Howdy again, I got out for some golf before the rain got involved so I've been enjoying some festbiers. The Von Trapp is one of the standouts for me so far, hell of a marzen that.

Pulled this: Stone Vertical epic 08.08.08, the 2015 re-brew which is bottled 08/26/15



Looks great, and smells of delicious, old, cellared beer. Being more thoughtful - malt sugar, brown sugar, some sweet simple syrup followed by a hint of oxidized hops (well-intention-ed) lemon peel and orange pith, briney melon, booze. Smells of old barleywine

Wow this is good. I'm, completely ignoring the style denomination because I think it's irrelevant. This is a strong ale, maybe lending itself to barleywine. Upfront is sharp barley malt and sugar, there's some mildly roasted character, followed by the faintest esters. Folks, I could go on and on about the this and that, this is a delicious barleywine style ale, it's not even 10% abv, it tastes wonderful. Cheers and enjoy.

This is particularly soothing after snap hooking my hybrid on the last after hitting it great all day. I can't get it out of my head!

Cheers!

 

Prairie Tiny Esses Kettle Fruit Sour; 5.9% ABV 4.03 overall

Pours a gusher, lost multiple ounces. Super murky pinkish, purple with a lot floaties, not a pretty beer. Some head retention & lacing

S: Fruit punch & lemonade

T: Lemonade, cherry. strawberry, more sweet than tart, passion fruit up front. Sweet fruit punch & lemonade, a little tartness & dryness. Finishes sweet & tart with loads of lime & sweet cherry

MF: Medium body, slight carbonation

Love the flavor on this, other aspects, not as much. Like sour cherry lime-aide, drinks very easy, might have to pick up a 4 pack & be more careful with the pour

 

That dog looks like ours, maybe a little chunkier