New Beer Weekend #113

Bellwoods A Pale Ale with Loral.



Pours a clean straw gold with ample head that dissipates slowly leaving a sizeable ring around the glass’s edge as the beer is consumed.

Floral hops on the nose with a little lemongrass asserting itself above the general floral aroma.

Light. Floral hops on the tongue. A hint of bread-y malt in the background. Fairly muted overall.

Lighter bodied and very easy drinking.

Enjoyable beer.

 

And this behemoth courtesy of @2beerdogs as part of the NBW 15 BIF madness.



Bruery Mounds of Coconuts 2018.

Pours a deep dark brown/black with generous head that dissipates to a thin ring fairly quickly.

Vibrant aromas of figs, stewed fruit, red liquorice and fresh and lightly toasted coconut. Light bourbon barrel notes peak through as well.

Taste follows with the barrel coming through stronger and the coconut dancing up front with a little liquorice and mincemeat. Despite the high ABV, this is not boozy. The flavours of the stout and barrel notes dominate.

Full bodied, strong and very enjoyable.

This is an excellent lightly add-junk-ed barrel aged stout that I plan to enjoy over a couple days. Thanks @2beerdogs. I’m really enjoying this while watching my kids play nicely for a change. Cheers!!

 

Good afternoon NBW
A couple at Henderson Brewing Company Henderson, KY

Vier Imperial Pilsner
1/2 pint draft at the brewery. Beautiful beer. Bright gold with nearly white head. No much aroma cold on draft. Taste is vibrant pils malt and floral and citrusy hops. Moderately bitter. The mouthfeel is medium bodied with average carbonation and a semi dry finish. Cleanly lagered. Overall, very good imperial Pilsner.



Commonwealth Common - Kentucky Common
Draft pour at the brewery. Light amber. Not much nose. The taste is slightly corny, slightly toasty, slightly tangy. Minimal bitterness. Thin bodied with average carbonation and mostly dry finish. Overall, ok. I grab these weirdo obscure styles every time I see them now in case BA decides to expand the style list...

Cheers all!

 

It’s amazing when they get along and play nice; damn problem is it never lasts long enough. Glad they’re letting dad enjoy his afternoon snack.

 

Taking a break from the big Bruery stout with a few sips of this that my wife generously left me to try.

Stonehooker Grisette.



My wife works in various spots around the Toronto suburbs on weekends. She was working next door to this brewery last weekend and stopped to grab a variety for me to try (and a couple for her). So far they have been lacklustre. This is no exception.

Pours a pale straw with ample head.

Belgian yeasty notes on the nose with the usual banana and clove and even a little citrus.

The taste emphasizes the cloves with little hop presence. It’s fine, but one-dimensional.

This has a surprisingly quick finish. Light. The reads like a middle-of-the-road Belgian pale ale rather than what I like to expect from a Grisette.

A serviceable Grisette that I doubt I’d buy again. Cheers!

 

Cross posting this from the Oktoberfest tasting thread, let’s check out TG’s lager game.





3.92/5 rDev +2.6%
look: 4.25 | smell: 4 | taste: 4 | feel: 3.5 | overall: 3.75
Pours a gorgeous copper color with a creamy oatmeal colored beer that sticks around as a cap and provides moderate lacing. Beautiful beer, IMHO.

The nose features sharp caramel notes and biscuits as soon as the top is popped, and a nice wheat bread component that works really well.

The taste is led by the caramel flavor, and there’s a nice biscuit flavor and some bread that tamps down the sweetness. The mouthfeel is medium, but a bit soft and watery, which is a bit of a miss, IMHO.

This is still a worthy fall beer that I’ll enjoy through the 4-pack, but if that mouthfeel had been a bit more dialed in, this would be a “run back to the beer store for more” Marzen.

 

Hello NBW family I’m happy we have another chance to get together discuss life and beers while we do so. First full week of the school year in the books, youngest officially started preschool and oldest still loving kindergarten like he did last week. I jinxed it last week saying we’d be back in our house for this NBW, still at the in laws but tentatively finishing our bathroom Wednesday….fingers crossed.

This beer is a beer I almost tried to trade for last year and was shocked when I learned it would see distro, I could not be more excited about this beer.

Lawsons - Big Hoppy



Pours black with a creamy tan colored head; pretty vigorous and quick formation, as it settles there is plenty of lacing left behind, full film lacing on side opposite of drinking…some great retention too.

This is definitely a black ipa, the hops jump out of the glass. There is an underlying dankness to this beer with very pleasant hints of evergreen and damp earthy forest air and just the slightest hint fruity grapefruit; underneath it all is some roastiness with minor notes of coffee. Smelled a good 5 minutes before taking a sip…

Oh boy! What a shot of resiny hoppy goodness. This is like biting into a hop cone hugely grapefruit forward with a substantial sappy pine note. Much like the nose it’s all hops first; aftertaste and finish is very roast forward and comes off as more a bitter dark chocolate than the coffee expected from the nose.

Medium body; a smoother than expected carbonation, almost creamy. Huge bitterness on the finish both hop and roast driven. Lingering dry and resiny feel tingles on the tongue long after the sip is gone. Minor hint of warming form the abv.

What a beautiful beer; it is all about the hops first then the dark malts come in to say hi. Well balanced and great combination of flavors. So glad this beer made its way to NJ.

@TongoRad you were right!

———

It has been hard living out of our house at times; only realize after being away just how special a home is. I always knew this but being away really hammers it home. at the same time extremely grateful to have such great family. My father in law loves funny YouTube videos and it has become routine while we’re here for him to watch “funny dog” videos with the boys after I give them their baths. This is what I saw as I sat and typed these notes and drank this beer. What a treat!

 

Allagash rarely disappoints.

https://www.beeradvocate.com/beer/profile/4/193885/

#LFGM



16 ounce can.
Packaged 08-16-22.

Moderate to vigorous pour yields a one inch tan head over a near black body with fairly sticky lacing.

Nose of roasted malt, malted milk, and slight coffee.

Taste is malty goodness, a bit of bitter chocolate with hop bitterness from middle to finish.

Nice, medium full mouthfeel.

Overall, being a sucker for Black IPAs, this one stands out in my book.
Try you some!

Cheers!!

 

Especially when it can be combined with drinking beer.

 

I almost grabbed this but knew big hoppy would show up, I guess I know what I’m buying next beer run

 

3.54/5 rDev -11.9%

look: 4.5 | smell: 3.5 | taste: 3.5 | feel: 3.25 | overall: 3.5

Poured from a 16 ounce can dated 4/12/22 into a snifter.

Look- Black, medium brown frothy head, opaque, average lacing, above average head retention.

Smell- Coffee, cocoa, toasted oats.

Taste- Coffee, cocoa, vanilla, toasted oats, mildly sweet, moderately bitter.

Feel- Between medium and full body, moderately bitter, below average carbonation, very mildly mouth coating, milk like feel probably due to the lactose.

Overall- Flavors and bouquet not very well balanced for my liking. The low carbonation and silky/medium thick feel is nice for milk, but not what I’m looking for in a beer.

 

Ocktubberfest

5.7 % Marzen but Taft’s Ale House

Body poured a pale yellow with good fluffy head. Good lacing throughout the tasting.

Nose a a bit of malt and a lot of honey.

Taste follows nose but the malt and honey are much diminished in flavor. A light hop bite is added to the mix. The mix is nothing special.

Mouthfeel is light and carbonation low.

This beer is listed in the Marzen style and it lacks the basic characteristics of the style. No richness, no big malty flavor, no roasty flavor, etc. Meh.

 

Good evening NBW
My first oktoberfest beer of the day

Mile Wide Paristown Festbier
16oz can from four pack dated 082422 poured into a mug at fridge temp 5.5% ABV. The beer pours bright, very light copper in color with light khaki head. The head recedes to a thin ring and single layer of bubbles. Spotty lacing. The aroma is mild with toasted whole grain bread. The taste is more of the same, semisweet toasted malt with hints of earthy hop flavor. Mild bitterness. The mouthfeel is thin to medium bodied with average carbonation and a mostly dry finish. Cleanly lagered. Overall, very good Märzen with a confusing label.

I entered this beer in the BA database as a Festbier, per the label. I had a Märzen from these guys last year so I didn't think much about it. It's far too toasty to be a Festbier in my opinion, but I haven't decided whether to send in a change request. Ironically, I've had two other Oktoberfest beers from Louisville this year, both were titled Festbier, and both were way more caramel or Munich malt driven than this one. Odd, because I rarely see an American oktoberfest labeled as Festbier regardless of intent. Maybe it's a new "it" term amongst the Untappd crowd. Anyway, this beer is tasty no matter what's printed on the can. Cheers all!

 

@BBThunderbolt hooked me up with a decidedly non-Kentucky brewed example of the style, Husker Bru, from FrinGe, and it was very drinkable stuff. Whole lotta flavor for something only 4.2% abv.

 

Late start today after beer shopping. New to me breweries is my theme this weekend. Tonight's selection may not be as helpful to others, as they have ceased operations a few months ago, but these beers should hold up well and ironically I've seen more of their beers since their announcement. This selection is significantly (1355 vs. 214) their highest rated selection on Beer Advocate.

Spencer Brewery Trappist Ale



Bottle Notes: Purchased for $4 plus tax at Beer on the Wall at store temperature 9/7/22, refrigerated at home until opening tonight. Best by 8/19/23, 11.2 oz bottle, 6.5% ABV. Brewed and Bottled by The Spencer Brewery, Spencer, Massachusetts.

Inspired by traditional refectory ales brewed by monks for the monks' table, Spencer is a full-bodied, golden-hued Trappist ale with fruity accents, a dry finish and light hop bitterness.

Appearance: Single center pour of the entire bottle into a large chalice. I admired the full creamy bright white bubble head, which lingered for a few minutes before settling into a creamy decadent cover over the base and fine lacing which slides back throughout the pour. Base is a cloudy tan orange, consistent with the style. Light to moderate carbonation during the pour. 4.0

Aroma: Clove and banana strong and pleasant, pepper spices things up a bit. Yeast strong. 3.75

Taste: Banana front and center, clove with orange and pear backing. Hops contain the sweetness peaking out at times, well balanced and crafted. 3.75

Mouthfeel: Light fine carbonation adds to the medium creamy body, very light and easy drinking, clean finish. 4.0

Overall: Not sure how long this bottle lingered before opening, but it held up well. Standard Belgian Pale Ale brew, nice banana and clove, everything within it's lane, good offering overall. 3.75

Will be back with a more timely review for New Beer Sunday. Will catch up with the this thread in the meantime. Cheers!

 

This one was 4.4% and reminded me of an amber lager. Here's what the brewer has to say.


Commonwealth CommonHistorical Beer - Kentucky Common

4.4% ABV

25 IBU

Henderson Brewing Company

The Kentucky Common is one of the few styles of beer indiginous to the US. It was originally made in Louisville with barley, corn, and darker malts to balance the water. This beer is an amber thirst quencher

 

Jack's Abby Pre Pro Pilsner - according to them: A unique double mash corn decoction process paired with old-school American hops make this a classic American combo.

Crystal clear straw yellow with a foamy white head with excellent retention and lacing.

The aroma is initially corn and fairly sweet, but there's a nice floral and herbal happiness that emerges and rounds this beer out.

The taste is where this one shines. It us slightly sweet, nicely balanced by a controlled bitterness. The aromatics emulate noble hops quite well. Floral notes and bright herbal followed by a very faint peppery spiciness.

Light, refreshing feel with moderate carbonation.

Overall, this is an excellent beer. It is classified as a German pilsner here, but with what little I know on the subject In thinking this is a CAP paging @JackHorzempa . Whatever it is it does tick the style boxes pretty squarely and it is highly drinkable, but I guess technically not a "session" beer at 5% - I still think I could knock back a few in an afternoon. Easy 4.25 or higher on this one from the outstanding lager makers up in Framingham, MA.