New Beer Weekend #118

Greta is amazing and is determined to live. She is testament to living, day by day.

 

Cheers to Greta!

 

I couldn’t resist sitting in the sun and enjoying a beer, it’s beautiful out here.

I didn’t have any new beers this weekend, so I was going to go down the street to grab a few but then a box from the great north arrived from @Coronaeus Not only did it have all beers I can’t wait to try but it had this special glass too. Peter learned I was a Leafs fan living in NJ so of course being the great person that he is, remembered, and sent me this glass! I’m ecstatic about it!

Left Field Brewery - Mr. Oktober



Medium straw in color, pretty much crystal clear, perfectly white frothy head; nice retention with splotch lacing.

Nice malty nose, very aromatic in nature; hint of something sweet with floral undertones.

Taste mirrors the nose, same deep rich pale malt, ever so slight white grape like sweetness.

Light to medium in body, vigorous yet smooth and soft creamy carbonation on the tongue, a low nice little bitterness. Absolutely clean; dry and instantly vanishing finish.

This beer is awesome to be honest it really reminds me of my favorite festbier, weihenstephan. It has a lot of the same things I notice in that beer. But gasp…right now I’m enjoying this more. It’s slightly lighter in feel, lower in abv, and the slightly hoppier finish make this so drinkable to me.

Peter you are a true beer mind reader, this thing is awesome. Now which beer to drink in this new beautiful glass during the game tonight…

 

Cheers! I’m a big fan of Left Field. Great spot, with beers that are consistently good to very good. Before COVID they used to run an annual bus trip to Buffalo to see a Bisons game. They’d have a couple of their beers on the bus and I believe made a stop in at Thin Man before the trip back. Also, this is the brewery mascot, Wrigley. How could you not love this guy?!

 

I can't see the bottom of the can in your photo but I suspect that this Left Field beer is fresher than the Weihenstephaner Festbier that you purchased. Plus is didn't experience a long trans-Atlantic journey.

Cheers!

P.S. I purchased a six-pack of Weihenstephaner Festbier this year (one bottle left) and while I enjoyed drinking those beers they did taste a little 'tired' to me.

 

Good afternoon NBW
I am setting on an actual pile of new beer after trips to North Carolina and northern Indiana on my vacation. I'm starting with the biggest and bulkiest to reduce the visual impact of the garage fridge being packed full of beer...

Black Mountain Brewing Velvet Ember

32oz crowler purchased at the brewery. Crowler was marked 6.7% ABV, but the menu there had it at 4.7%. The beer pours opaque dark amber, nearly brown. The head is light brown in color and settles to a thin cap on a gentle first pour. The aroma is mild with smoked ham and sweet malt. The taste is mild campfire smoke up front with some rich, sweet, toasted malt notes in the middle before smoked ham or bacon finish. Mild bitterness. The mouthfeel is thin to medium bodied with just less that average carbonation and a mostly dry finish. Overall, clean Rauch bock with subtle smoke and tasty malt.

I'll be a minute on this big old can, but I've got plenty more new beer for the weekend. Cheers all!

 

We’ll add that to our list of stops when I finally make it up there.

 

I would 100% say that is contributing to my enjoyment...couple that with a very very well made beer and I believe you'd call it a twofer

 

Just smashed my "bad" knee real bad. Medicating with beer. First up, a dry hopped Italian Pilsner from Black Hog in Oxford CT. This beer is entered in the BA database as a Bohemian/Czech Pilsner as Italian Pilsner is not an option.
Here is an article about the origin of Italian Pilsners- https://www.hopculture.com/what-is-an-italian-pilsner/

3.97/5 rDev -4.3%
look: 3.5 | smell: 4 | taste: 4 | feel: 4 | overall: 4
Poured from a 16oz can stamped HOME SLICE 7/20/22 to a Pils glass at fridge temp.
Body is medium gold with a slight haze. It's not hazy enough though to block the view of the nucleation bubbles. A pure white mushroom head of multi-sized bubbles pokes above the rim of the glass. Despite the nice head lacing is disappointing.
The nose is hoppy and grassy. Maybe what a bine field smells if you brush cut everything at the end of the season.
The taste has familiar Pilsner notes, but with quite a bit more hop emphasis. Actually the finish is pure hop with a quite faint hop burn sense.
The carbonation is generous.
Despite the really mild impression of hop burn I really liked this beer. I don’t like cold pizza though (the solid stuff).

 

Thank you @WunderLlama for kicking this off for this glorious weekend. Also kudos to @DoctorZombies for pulling an apropos 10th Anniversary selection as today also marks the 10th anniversary of What Beer Are You Drinking Now!

Have a few highly anticipated (for me) beers lined up, perhaps more if I am motivated to leave have more on the road (initially planned to hit Kenosha, just too nice to leave Chicago as we are nearing 80 F!).

The first selection is my last planned new to me Oktoberfest beer, this one from a legendary German brewery.

Warsteiner Premium Oktoberfest



Bottle Notes: Purchased this single 11.2 oz bottle 9/23/22 at store temperature for $1.99 with tax, refrigerated until opening this afternoon. No bottled date, best by March 10, 2023. Oktoberfest Special Edition. 5.9% ABV. Product of Germany. Munich Type. A family tradition since 1753. Warstein, Germany.

Naturally brewed according to the German Purity Law. Warsteiner Brauerei. Haus Cramer KG. 59564 Warstein / Germany.

Ingredients: Brewing water, Barley malt, Hops, Hop extract.

Appearance: Single pour into a medium sized mug. Generous bright white head lingers for several minutes before leaving a creamy cover over the base and nice lacing in its wake. The base is crystal clear caramel with tiny but persistent carbonation throughout. Looks like a movie prop beer. 4.5

Aroma: Nice bready aroma in proper measure / not too sweet. Getting floral notes as well, medium in strength. 4.0

Taste: Consistent with the aroma, nice caramel and bread lead, hops helps balance the proceedings with no discernable hops flavor. Caramel malt really works well for my palate. 4.5

Mouthfeel: Light persistent prickly carbonation sustained throughout. Drinks way under the 5.9% ABV. Sweet overall, but hops keeps it in check like a dog tending to a herd of sheep. Light pleasant caramel lingers after. 4.5

Overall: This is a very solid Oktoberfest beer. This leans on a borderline Marzen and Festbier, bringing on the best qualities both have to offer. Just a simply well executed beer, will definitely hunt down more than a single in future seasons. 4.5

Switching gears tomorrow with a new take on a Chicago classic celebrating its 10th canning anniversary next week.

 

New Holland Brewing Dragon's Milk Reserve 2022 Reserve 3. @Roguer made me curious about this beer. I understand where he is coming from. I have a more favorable opinion of this series. Let's see how this goes. The look is outer space black. There was a one bratwurst light-brown foam top, that reduced half of its size, then maintained a nice representation. The smell of chocolate, marshmallow, and graham cracker come through evenly. There is a faint odor of bourbon. It is a nice combination. The taste blends chocolate, marshmallow, and graham cracker quite well. The flavor of the base beer is there. No flavor jumps out above the others. It is not too sweet, which I was apprehensive about. The flavor is good, but this is not a special occasion BA stout. The mouthfeel is smooth, oily, a bit thin, but full. The carbonation is minimal. This beer, and the whole Dragon's Milk Reserve series, is not a beer you stand in line for. It is specifically designed to drink in the season it is released in. As I drink this, it is warm, there are no sounds of any animals or insects, the comforting smell of burning leaves is ever-present, and the trees provide the most beautiful blend of colors that nature has available. This beer is perfect for this moment. I have other BA stouts in mind for other occasions.