New Beer Weekend #112

Single Hill - Festbier

16oz can served in a pint glass. Dated 09 Sep. Got it at the brewery yesterday, sort of. I went on a "fresh hop field trip" with Reuben's Brews, and after we drank a large quantity of Reuben's Brews that they brought with us, they filled up their cooler again at Single Hill, and this was one of those beers.

Pours clear light golden, with maybe two fingers of bone white, coarse head, that settles into a big fluffy thick ring and a dusting with big fluffy islands. Smell is grainy and grassy, clean, slight yeast/bready aroma.

Taste is grain tea, tons of honeysuckle, a bit of grassy bitterness, maybe some orange blossom.

Mouthfeel is dry, light, clean. Overall, this is a very nice beer.

 

Greetings all from the great northwest where we are still celebrating the big win yesterday for the Washington State Cougars at Wisconsin. Big Win! We have unhealthy air today due to smoke from distant wildfires, so it's a good day to watch some NFL Football.

Today we have Zero Day Imperial IPA from Flathead Brewing in Montana.
https://www.beeradvocate.com/beer/profile/12496/413758/

Very malt forward with mild bitterness. Very drinkable for the style.

Until next time

 

I have loved every beer I’ve had from them. I really was hoping to visit when we were up there this summer but it just didn’t work out. Next year it is!

 

Probably Rushing Duck's best known beer is its DIPA War Elephant. This delight, which I will drive almost 60 miles each way to get when fresh, is a malty, very bitter, hop bomb. RD sometimes tinkers with it for its anniversary. For the 10th they've gone all out. Decade of Destruction is hopped with Mosaic, Citra, and Cascade, and dry hopped with Nelson Sauvin, Azacca, Sabro, Idaho 7, Galaxy, Simcoe, and Vista. It's outrageous trying to taste all the flavors as the glass warms. At any given moment you're tasting something different and it's unfiltered so the flavor will keep evolving. This is what craft brewing is all about!

It pours a turbid, dirty orange color with more than a half finger of creamy, milk-white head and thick, sudsy lacing. Great looking pour! On the nose there is lemon, lime, grapefruit, white wine, ripe melon, pineapple, floral hops, and an earthy, crackery malt background. Wow, this is dank as hell! It opens with tart lemon and grapefruit, lime, and pineapple. But as it warms a bit the taste explodes with ripe melon from the Vista hops, dry white wine from the Nelson Sauvin, tangerine from the Idaho 7, mint from the Sabro, some red berry from the Simcoe, and spicy pine from the Galaxy. Like the base War Elephant there is a strong malty backbone. There's just an explosion of flavor and a strong but clean bitterness throughout. This ale has a thick, creamy mouth feel with pleasant carbonation, and you don't feel the 10% ABV. I can only say, "wow," this is a stellar variant of War Elephant. Rushing Duck is setting a high bar for itself.

4.44/5 rDev 0%
look: 4.5 | smell: 4.25 | taste: 4.5 | feel: 4.5 | overall: 4.5

Have a great week, everyone. Cheers, NBW!

 

Boulevard Space Camper Red Spectra IPA, 5.7% ABV; 3.91 overall ( Liked the second can way better than my first one ).

Pours an effervescent copper/orange with 2 fingers of beige colored head. Above average head retention, slightly better lacing

S: Cakey, piney

T: Follows the nose, some dryness & pine up front. More dryness as this beer warms, along with a little caramel & toastyness, plus pine. Finishes toasty with pine & a little dryness

MF: Medium body, subdued carbonation, good balance

A solid Red/Amber Ale, pretty drinkable

 

Sipping on this one throughout the afternoon. This is the last beer I have from our Vermont summer vacation. @ichorNet reviewed this beer in this thread a while back and it stuck with me big time so when I saw this up there I grabbed a single. I rarely visit this big beers anymore but man @ichorNet your review got to me…

Green Empire - Special Brownie (stout with hemp aged in gin barrels conditioned on chocolate)



Pours black, slow rising carbonation, light brown creamy looking head, settles to a thin film with islands of thicker bubbles.

Nose is big on gin, like a mix of a botanicals; lime, pine and juniper. Some heat greets the back of the nasal canal as well as some chocolate and roast.

Taste initially shows the same herbal gin qualities but it is followed up by a rich semi sweet chocolate; and by god there is the perfect little note of the special part of special brownies. I wondered if the hemp would show and it certainly does on the finish.

Big body that stops short of being too thick, low carbonation lends itself to a semi creamy feel. Low roasty bitterness with some minor warming from the abv.

A cool and unique drinking experience, I’m glad I grab this beer to give it a try. Certainly pairs with a slow rainy Sunday afternoon that will slowly morph into evening.

Be well everyone. See you all next weekend!

 

3.99/5 rDev +1.3%

look: 4.75 | smell: 3.75 | taste: 4 | feel: 4 | overall: 4

Poured from a 12 ounce can into a tulip glass.

Look- Straw, very hazy, small visible particulate, frothy white head, above average head retention and lacing.

Smell- Grapefruit, coconut, pineapple, lemon.

Taste- Grapefruit, coconut, pineapple, lemon.

Feel- Between thin and medium body, moderately prickly, average carbonation, between low and moderate bitterness, crisp finish.

Overall- This was about 90% NEIPA and 10% West Coast IPA. It was a pleasant drinking experience with almost no astringency and a crisp finish.

 

ISO!!!

 

Pappy’s Pilsner

5.2% German style Pilsner by Noble Beast Brewing

Pint can poured a clear yellow body with a fluffy head. Modest lacing during the tasting.

Nose is light malt with a floral hop. Taste follows nose with the hops providing a substantial bitter bite.

Mouthfeel is nice and soft with a crisp finish and good carbonation.

Fans of sweet Pilsners might find this one a bit too bitter. Pappy hits the sweet spot for me.

 

I have a couple of new beers for Day 2, from a brewery that is also new to me - Bad Dad Brewing Company out of Fairmount IN, aka the hometown of James Dean. I’m partial to the name of the brewery, so let’s see where this first beer takes us.





3.63/5 rDev 0%
look: 4 | smell: 3.5 | taste: 3.75 | feel: 3.5 | overall: 3.5
Pours a hazy copper color with a sudsy oatmeal colored head that provides ample lacing. There lemon citrus on the nose, and a decent amount of caramalt as well.

The lemon flavor is prominent on the taste and balanced nicely by the caramalt flavor, but the mouthfeel is a bit on the softer side.

Overall, worthy of a try, but not something I’d revisit.

 

Pipeline Karate Cats Blood Orange IPA, 6.9% ABV; 3.99 overall

Pours a very effervescent gold with 2+ fingers of eggshell colored head. Average-is head retention & lacing

S: Oranges & lemons, plus cantaloupes once warm, a touch of peach& apricot as well
T: Sweet, tart & sour oranges, plus a little dryness up front. More of the same as this warms, the blood orange bitterness starts to dominate, a little dryness & grapefruit sneaks in. Finishes dry, citrussy & bitter

MF: Medium body, slight carbonation

Drinks easy, really brings the advertised flavor in a good way, exceeded my expectations

 

https://www.beeradvocate.com/beer/profile/147/618118/



12 ounce can.

Bottom of can reads:
"CA 08/12/22 E1137
EJBY 12/10/22"

Moderate pour yields a 1.5 inch off-white head over a copper body with sticky lacing.

Nose of mostly pine with a bit of malt and citrus.

Taste mirrors nose closely with pine resin leading the way backed up by some citrus notes.
Finishing bitterness is almost all pine resin with a hint of malt sweetness.

Great mouth fulfilling mouthfeel.

Overall, another wonderfully bitter hop bomb from Escondido, CA.

Cheers!

 

I do not envy you right now, I can’t imagine house hunting nowadays. Best of luck Frank! Hope you find one sooner than later.