New Beer Weekend #115

Hello NBW friends. I have a single beer tonight that is a collab between two of my favorite breweries, so I’m pretty pumped, but before I share that, I’ll join my friend @WunderLlama and invite anyone that participates in this thread to join us in NBW BIF #16.

You’ll get lots of great beer that will be new to you - and probably from multiple directions, especially if you’re a BIF newbie (Ninja strikes!!!). I’ve participated in 11 of these now, and I’ve enjoyed some magnificent beers and made some great friends along the way.

On to tonight’s beer.





4.31/5 rDev -0.9%
look: 4.25 | smell: 4.5 | taste: 4.25 | feel: 4.25 | overall: 4.25
Pours a turbidly hazy straw color with a substantial, creamy pearl white head that provides moderate lacing. The nose is a juicy banger with orange creamsicle dominating, but yielding a bit to an herbal lychee aroma and some mango and melon. Very nice.

The taste is really aimed at that orange creamsicle flavor profile, which is delicious, and there’s loads of creamy oats which works well, but there’s a bit of hop burn that, on my palate, knocks this back a bit.

The mouthfeel is on par for the style, with a bit more creaminess than usual in a hazy - I’m guessing there’s a TON of oats in this particular beer.

I love the TG/ Equilibrium collab, and it’s more than worthy of your time - but I think it could’ve been executed a little better. And yes, I’m probably picking nits here, but with breweries of this caliber, my expectations are higher.

 

Have a good Saturday. The Storm passed through with no power outages. Apparently in Asheboro it dissipated. Me and Julia watched A Princess of Mars made in 2009, and it was exponentially horrible vs the Disney version. The writing was shit, and the special effects were shit. It was laughable at times in shittiness.

Was expecting to stay in all weekend, but the rained stopped and all the Ofest Celebrations are still in effect. Even Wrightsville Beach said they were open last night. Thought about going to South End in GSO, but we haven't been to Red Oak Biergarten in Whitsett. Monday is 2 year anniversary with Julia. 3 years ago was mental breakdown city and work problems. Never give up on life. We both have anxiety a lot, and understanding each other is the #1 reason we know we are going to be living together with 3 cats til the end. Open communication and empathy is love and understanding



Red oak okoberfest. Really good ofest. Lasting creamy head retention and soapy lacing on the glass. Muted but clean nose of caramel and biscuit malts. Taste of big brown sugar, brown bread/crust, toast, nuttiness, light roast, wood, herbal, grass, pepper, pine, yeast earthiness. Light to moderate herbal/grassy/spicy bitter finish. Medium carb and medium plus body. Creamy/bready malt and sticky hops mouthfeel. Lingering resin drying with no astringency. Very clean lager flavors with minimal fruit. There is a hint of metallic twinge in the nose and flavors. Very smooth and rich Munich malts and balanced noble hops. Well made for the style. 3.81


Cheers

 

Good evening, all. Doesn't seem to be many of us here this weekend. I sincerely hope any of our Florida and Carolina BA's are safe. The remnants grazed us here, but it was just annoying rain and cold.

In the glass tonight is Definitive 35, a 3.5% session ale brewed with raspberry and peach puree. I had the session IPA this summer, brewery release, and it was pretty good. So how's this session brew?



Well, it was canned on July 1st, so I suspect that hasn't helped, but let's see.

It looks good. A cloudy, peachy deep yellow/orange, but not much reddishness which I'd expect from raspberries. The head billowed out the glass before falling to rafts on the surface, a bit slow on the camera here.

The smell is straight up peach.

The taste brings a bit more with some nice, light malt, a touch of sweetness, lots of peach and a touch of raspberry. There's a peach pit like bitterness, but not objectionable. Lightly flavored overall, but somewhat heavy on the peach. A little tea taste. A bit more raspberry tartness would balance this much better.

Feel is light and refreshing, very little carryover in the flavor, so it's actually pretty clean. Juicier than expected, not overly carbonated and I think that's a good thing. Keeps it from feeling like a soda pop.

Overall, it certainly delivers on being sessionable. Partly. Light tasting, light feeling, refreshing. I think, however, that with the peachiness being a bit heavy I really can't see drinking more than one or two. Mixed feelings here... Slightly out of balance and maybe driven to the one directional side of things. I get the concept, but enjoyed the 3.5% IPA more than this one even thoigh that may border on heresy. Thinking the flavor, although peach-centric, saves this one and it will land in the 3.75 region. It would be a good beer for a mixed crowd for a heat of the summer BBQ.

 

Just like that another week goes by, hello NBW family. I'm excited to finally join you all with my first beer of the day. It is a special one for me...ever since I had Great Divide Fresh Hop years ago these beers I always look forward to them, little did I know I would finally experience fresh hop season in Seattle for a few days thanks to a wedding last year.

Tonewood makes one every year but this years is something special and its the first one that reminds me of the ones I had last year in Seattle. 400+ lbs of amarillo hops overnighted from Oregon, in past years I remember Tonewood driving up to Maine to get fresh hops but with the new brewery open they went big and it made a world of difference. They said they tasted "damp PNW pine needles," I'm in!!!

Tonewood - Midnight Landing



Pour a dark and dirty shade of gold, white head settles to a nice think layer with a nice collar and plentiful dots of lace. The beer is quite clear; just some slight cloudiness but light penetrates easily.

Vibrant nose on this beer...sweet lemon zest, a white grape peachy like smell going on and some delicate pine.

The taste is also big on zesty lemon, the delicate pine becomes a bit more pronounced for me in taste and hits the tongue as soon as you take a sip; also get an overripe fruit vibe.

Feel is where this beer shines the most for me, I mentioned it above when comparing this to the beers I experienced last year. It has the same tongue coating resiny sticky fresh hop feel to it, the bitterness is interesting...it is there but less pronounced and gentle in a way. Medium body, clean and dry; leans traditional with hints of modern IPAs. The resiny hop presence really coats the tongue and lingers long after the sip is gone.

Well well well, what a fresh hop beer! This compares mighty close with what I experienced last year and I couldn't be happier. Give this thing some more bitter on the back end and it would bump it up even more for me.

Oh and I couldn’t resist this purchase of their new lighters; it just paired to well with this beer…

 

Stonecloud Two Hopcones & A Microphone, 8.0% ABV; 3.33 overall


With Eldorado & Motueka hops
Pours a very hazed gold with 2+ fingers of eggshell colored head. Great lacing, good head retention

S: Bready, green melon, white grapes, fades as it warms

T: Super dry, bready, green melon, papaya & a little grassyness, plus cakey sweetness up front. Lime, woody hops, cakyeyness, much dryness & some tangerine as this warms. Finishes dry, cakey with papaya & grassyness, but mostly messy

MF: Medium body, tamped down carbonation; skews too malty

9 weeks old & seems to be fading, drinkable enough, but nothing to get excited about. I don't feel I got what this beer was aiming for. A rare miss from these guys or it just has to be fresh as the morning snow & not sure how that beer works anywhere

 

Hello New Beer Weekend!!!

I'll also chime in to recommend those interested to sign up for the NBS BIF #16. It is a lot of fun, and things can get crazy over there.

I just got home a bit ago from my trip to Dallas for their Oktoberfest celebration. Oh, did I mention Dallas is in Wisconsin? Yep, the big city was hopping with the party today, and it was a blast there, and I'll be back next year to enjoy it.

Being in Wisconsin, I was able to find new beers that I've never had before, along with several old friends. Since this is NBW, here's a new friend to share with the virtual bar:


Couple, Two, Tree - 1840 Brewing - Milwaukee, WI - American IPA - 6.7% ABV

I am burnt out on the hazy IPA thing. When done right, they're amazing, however, most aren't done right. When I see West Coast IPA, it gets my interest up a bit, well more than a bit if it tastes good. This does. I will start off by saying that I'm not a big fan of "dank". The smell is repulsive to me. There is a bit of dank in this beer, but it's not offensive. It doesn't show up much in the flavor, It's there, but the other flavors more than make up for it. This isn't super bitter, but it is full of flavor, and I'm impressed.


Review:

https://www.beeradvocate.com/beer/profile/50242/596468/


4.02/5 rDev 0%
look: 4.25 | smell: 4 | taste: 4 | feel: 4 | overall: 4
Semi clear golden pour. The head is quite thick - 3 finger, white, fluffy, and long lasting. There's some lacing on the glass.
The nose is quite earthy, pine, and dank. Not offensively dank, but dank.
The dank hits right away, and is replaced by pine. The back of this beer turns toward citrus. Mango and cantaloupe seem to be the flavors I get, with some dank still showing up.
Sticky body, and pretty thick overall.
Fairly good IPA, and I do recommend it.



I think I've got one more in me tonight, and it will be something I also found in Wisconsin, and was shocked to see there. Be back in a bit.

 

7 beers in 25 minutes, well done…apparently great minds all drink at the same time. Who knew???

 

I love the labeling of that beer on that bottle; it almost looks like a whisky label or something.

And yes as far as BIF and craziness; I think I had over 60 lbs of beer show up on my porch one day thanks @ovaltine and @FBarber my poor mail carrier.

 

We decided not to wait an hour in line for a bratwurst after the food trucks ran out. We will come back eventually though. Just enjoying some beer. We gotta use all our beer tickets


Red oak big oak. Great vienna lager. Great head retention and spotty soapy lacing. Muted Aromas of Munich malts, slight fruit as it warms. Taste of caramel, brown sugar/bread/dough, toast, nuts, herbal, wood, grass, pepper, pine, and slight roast. Light to medium herbal/grassy/spicy bitter finish. Medium carb/body and fairly crisp/clean finishing. Balanced bready/grainy malt and sticky hop mouthfeel. Lingering resin drying with no astringency. Minimal warming 7%. Very clean lager flavors with minimal fruit. Clean/rich Munich malts and balanced noble hops. Definitely their best beer I've had. Very impressive for the style. 3.98


Cheers

 

Luscious by The Alchemist




4.43/5 rDev 0%
look: 4.25 | smell: 4.25 | taste: 4.5 | feel: 4.5 | overall: 4.5
British Imperial Stout

Chilled can poured into a snifter

Pitch black motor oil , deep ruby red, creamy 1.5 finger foam cap, good retention, settles to a ring , a few lacings

Aroma is roasted malts, coffee, whiff of vanilla

Taste is coffee, flavorful but with acridness, roast malts, dark fruits, chocolate

Very smooth, velvety, low fizzy sudsing, syrupy, alcohol is very well hidden

Eponymously named beer this Luscious is

Here is what Alchemist head brewer John Kimmich says about this brew

 

All right, back for round #2, and this was something I picked up while in Wisconsin - St. Croix Falls to be exact, and I did not expect to see it there. @WunderLlama had a beer from said brewery earlier today.


Copper Legend - Jack's Abby Brewing - Oktoberfest - 5.7% ABV

How the heck did this make it to cheese land? I don't think I've had any of their beers before, so this was something I had to get at the liquor store.

It's a good beer, though a fairly standard American Oktoberfest. Lots of caramel from the malts, along with bread/biscuit. Slight bitterness and funk on the back. This is good, and I'm glad to have bought, and tried it.

Review:
https://www.beeradvocate.com/beer/profile/26520/72867/


3.72/5 rDev -2.1%
look: 4.25 | smell: 3.5 | taste: 3.75 | feel: 3.75 | overall: 3.75
Clear copper color with a slightly off white head - 3 finger. The head retention is decent. Some lacing on the glass. There's a decent amount of carbonation bubbles rising in the glass.
Slight biscuit on the nose, a bit earthy and some yeast aromas.
Lots of caramel from the malts here. There's biscuit also that comes into play. slight funk on the back side, and a slight bitterness from the hops.
Clean crisp body. Decent for the style.
A good American Oktoberfest.


I should call it a night. Depending on how bad the Vikes do early tomorrow morning, I might be headed to Brainerd for a brewery run with a good friend - jeez 2 of them in a row? Maybe. If not, I know I'll have more beers that I picked up today to enjoy tomorrow if they blow it, and my friend gets tanked while watching. Me - I don't give a damn, I'm old, and have been burned way too many times in my almost 50 years.

Cheers all!!!

 

I scored a 4 Pack too on the way back from Dallas, didn't try it yet. I came up empty on the new Whole Hog beer (Oatmeal creme pie stout). I did get some Revolution Ofest at Woodman's.

 

You went to Dallas also today? Did you enjoy their Oktoberfest?

 

Extended Stay

7% IPA from Pizza Port

I drank this beer from pint can while watching football and it was a pleaser. Good aroma and taste from the tag team hop bill of Motueka and Nelson. A tropical fruit (papaya and lime) winning combination with a pleasant hop bite near the end. ABV didn’t register to my senses. Good mouthfeel and carbonation made this one an easy drinker.

 

Ya I went, did you checkout the cars? did you see the 71 De Tomaso Pantera in the old garage shop next to the Buick GN that looked like new?
Had a good time.

 

Good day BAs! Thanks again today to @SawDog505 for starting the NBS portion of NBW! Today's crosspost with WBAYDN for NBS is:



This is from my local brewpub - average food and average beer, massive crowds. Desperation reigns! So they've finally begun canning.

Bossa Nova from Trails to Ales. Purchased at Franklin Beer, Franklin, PA, 21/09/22. $ 4.00 (Including tax)/16 oz can ($ 0.25/oz). In reefer at store, stored at 40 degrees at home. Reviewed 02/10/22. Note that I use DD/MM/YY protocol.

Undated can. Served at 49.8 degrees in a hand washed and dried Jester King Snifter. Final temperature 55.2 degrees.
Appearance – 3.
First pour – Amber Brown (SRM 18), clear.
Body – Black (SRM 40), opaque. Under direct light, same but precipitate obvious. When rear-lite, black, and opaque except at the edges.
Head – Average (Maximum two cm, aggressive center pour), khaki, high density, rapidly diminishing to a four mm crown and cap, fed by effervescence.
Lacing – None.
Aroma – 3.25 – Iced coffee (Think McDonald’s). No hops, no malt, no yeast.
Flavor – 3.25 – Follows nose. No malt, no yeast, no hops. No ethanol (10 % ABV as marked on label) aroma or taste. Moderate gastric warming occurs. No dimethylsulfide or diacetyl.
Palate – 3 – Medium, creamy, soft carbonation.
Final impression and summation: 3. (After deducting 0.25 point for undated can.) Think of a cup of moderately strong coffee that someone told you contained a shot of absolute alcohol.

Rating 3.16, rDev 0%.