New Beer Weekend #120

Coriander seeds are not a common culinary ingredient (at least for me). I enjoy eating Chinese food and a local restaurant makes a Kung Pao Chicken dish that I enjoy eating. Every couple/few bites of eating that dish would have an interesting flavor to it which confounded me for a while. Don’t ask me why it took more than one time eating this dish but I did discover that what was creating these periodic interesting bites was they use a bit of split coriander seed as part of the ingredient list for this menu item. I really do not have good words to describe this interesting flavor but I personally enjoy it.

From a quick web search:

“Before grinding, coriander seeds smell floral and contain a mix of citrus, sweet and spicy. If you’ve ever had curry you’ll be reminded of it. When the seeds are ground after roasting, the nutty flavors get enhanced. They also taste a little bit more lemony.”

https://foodiosity.com/what-coriander-tastes-like/

Cheers!

P.S. Beer appreciation and flavor associations is not an easy thing. One point of example is my post today concerning Hanabi Helles where I used the term “candy” to describe the beer’s flavor. That was the best I could come up with but perhaps the term “marmalade” is ‘better’ for this beer?

 

First time trying something from this Oregon (Eugene) based brewer - this is a strong scotch ale aged in bourbon barrels (sourced from Heaven Hill) with the addition of vanilla beans. Pretty good - would like to try one of their wild ales next.

3.93/5 rDev -6.9%
look: 3.25 | smell: 4 | taste: 4 | feel: 3.25 | overall: 4.25

2022 vintage. 12.5% ABV. Poured from a 500mL bottle into my Gordon thistle.

Chestnut to cordovan liquid with copper highlights and a short-lived beige cap. No lacing; vague legs.

Stewed plums, toffee, caramel, and a touch of vanilla in the nose. Barrel notes (vanilla, pipe tobacco) emerge and grow stronger as the ale warms. Well balanced.

Malty, caramel forward palate entry with hints of burnt toast and smoke (peat?) around the edges. Sugar begins to take over, with the bourbon flavors accentuating the alcohol heat and oaky char in the medium finish. Hints of ceylon, molasses, and raisins add a little complexity.

Slightly thin body, mildly astringent with some (but not excessive) heat. Carbonation seems both a touch low yet fizzy.

While the vanilla isn't overwhelming, the barrel overtakes the base beer, and hides some of the powerful malt character I hope to find in the style. Still, this is thoughtfully crafted and balanced. Highly quaffable and more than the sum of its parts.

 

Up next is another beer from @foundersasap. I haven't had a red ale for a while, and am looking forward to this one.

Beer pours a bright translucent rusty amber with plenty of foamy off-white head. Good retention and soapy lacing. Overall a good looking beer. Aroma is somewhat subdued, with floral and bready notes. Taste is simple, yet enjoyable. Grainy with a little bit of floral hops and low bitterness. Mostly dry finish, crisp and clean with a medium amount of carbonation and an easy finish. Very easy to drink. Another beer I could drink several of in one sitting with no hesitation, which in my book is an underappreciated attribute for a beer.

 

Here we are again for one of my favorite parts of the week, drinking and sharing beer with all of you. Got some peace and quiet on this insanely annoyingly hot day, almost 80, what better beer to open than a lager from Toronto, beer and glass courtesy of @Coronaeus

Red Tape - Birdie Pilsner



Dark shade of straw, opaque, white head with decent cap that lingers for a while, no lacing.

Nose is moderately sweet, saltine cracker, zesty citrus and somewhat black pepper like hops.

The taste is also moderately sweet, more white bread like that cracker; yellow citrus zest, and same black pepper like hops just more subdued than in the nose.

Light body, nice soft feel, low bitterness, drinks smooth, touch of sweet on the tongue. The sweetness sort of lingers and detracts from its drinkability; very refreshing nonetheless.

Thanks for sharing this one too Peter, I have one lager, a marzen, left from you that I wanted to open this weekend but with temps the way they are I may save it for next. I may not have the will power though.

See you all later this weekend in some form or another!

 

Found this recently but for $6.50/bottle (before tax/deposit). Haven't had a Kasteel in many years, but remember them fondly.

 

Yesterday I had my hand on Founder's Porter, one of my favs of style. Instead I grabbed this for the same price in basically the same packaging. This isn't bad, but I now wished I stuck with tried and true.

3.64/5 rDev -3.4%
look: 4 | smell: 3.75 | taste: 3.5 | feel: 3.5 | overall: 3.75
Poured from a 12oz stubby brown bottle to a Nonic at 48F. Label says bottled on 01.04.22.1. Not sure what that last 1 means.
Body is opaque black. A ¾” khaki head of multi-sized bubbles forms immediately after the pour, but fades to ¼” soon enough.
The nose is malty, earthy and musty.
The very front of the taste has a wisp of sweetness, but that is instantly overtaken by the earthy malt. The finish is dry as ash but there is a hint of the Simcoe.
The carbonation is medium, as is the mouthfeel.
A fairly good example, but not a top porter.

 

Yes, their beers are pricey. I am fortunate that I know a person who has the financial wherewithal to afford these beers and generously provide them to paupers like me. Life is good!

Well...I suppose an appropriate way for me to discuss this specific topic is that the Hanabi Chevallier Helles was just not a beer for me. I have no basis to doubt that some other beer drinker would be quite pleased to drink this beer and state the bottle is worthy of 15 bucks (or whatever the price is).

As I am sure you are aware, those beers cost more than than here in the US. But I can't disagree with you overall message here.

I am by no means an expert of Hanabi Lager Company but I am under the impression that their MO is to brew beers which feature hard to come by malts (i.e., heritage malts). For folks who are seeking this sort of thing then Hanabi is providing a needed service; you just need to have a well stocked piggy bank here.

Cheers!

 

Hi guys, long time lurker. Love this website and this is one of my favorite threads.Even though I keep tasting notes and ratings on a excel spreadsheet ,I am not used to or comfortable about vocalizing to others my thoughts on a particular beer. However you people seem to be very welcoming of newbies so here goes..

Local brewery that I'm not a big fan off but stopped by last night with some friends. Three Heads Brewing. DDH Hazy Kind IPA.

Lighter side of medium with a nice soft mouthfeel. Brewed with flaked oats but wish body wasn't so thin. Has nice blend of mellow citrus,tropical,and pineapple hops.. extremely well balanced and goes down super smooth. Probably their best beer that I have had. Wish it had a little more body and hop presence.Bought a 4 pack and glad I did.

Cheers!!

 

Glad to have you! This is a great group....I post all the time despite having approximately zero idea what I'm doing as a reviewer. I share my thoughts, and that's good enough for this group. Speaking of which...time to go grab another beer. Be back shortly!

 

Welcome to the best thread on the site! And fear not, I think I stink at rating compared to many on here, the point is just to try. That way we all learn something new.

 

Thanks for joining the fun @brucepf92, come back often. The more the merrier, finding this thread was the best thing that ever happened to me in my BA life.

PS…switchback is available in CT @woodchipper ?

 

A couple weeks ago I stopped by a tiny brewery in NH, Post & Beam, that I'd hear good things about. I tried my first couple beers from them last night, and was impressed. Today I'm going to try out Bitter Buffalo, a "British Style Pub Ale".

Pours a translucent golden color with plenty of foamy white head. Head hung around for a while before receding to a perma-cap and ring. Enticing looking beer. Mild malts and hops on the nose, but overall for reasons I can't put into words I'm not a huge fan of how this one smells. Taste is similarly unremarkable. Low bitterness, generic malts. Slightly under-carbonated. Overall, I'm underwhelmed by this one. It's super easy going down, but it's the kind of beer I'd want to drink out with friends where I'm not paying attention to what I'm drinking.

This one was a miss for me. Not bad, but unremarkable.

 

Welcome to my favorite thread on this site. I've been participating in the thread for 7 years or so, and have found this to be a receptive group - and you wrote a good review. Told me everything I need to know about the beer, and whether I'd purchase it if I came across it (I would, and not just for a tick - it sounds like the type of hazy I enjoy).

 

Hi folks, been a little while. I grabbed 3 bottles of Thimble Island's Oktoberfest, it's a marzen (I'm told). These were on closeout but they are this year's batch so no concerns re: quality.



Pour is golden, maybe a touch more copper than gold. Head hanging around nicely, it's just off white, dense bubbles, looks a pretty pour.

Nice is caramalt, brown sugar, apple and maybe also apricot upfront. I get a hint of jammy, sweet sugariness upfront but it quickly recedes to some herbal bitterness.

Mouthfeel stands out above all, wow this feels awesome on the palate. Really full and robust, it surely can't be below 6% with this sort of stature. Taste is also rounded and robust. I'm very pleasantly surprised. I've only really had Ghost Island by Thimble Island (which I think is excellent), but this is actually quite impressive.

I much prefer festbiers/wiesns to marzens, but this one's really lovely. Really polish and nuanced, nothing too loud one way or the other. Sweet, simple, pronounced malt body leading into spicy and peppery, pithy almost, hop character in the finish. Very nice beer.

Just searched and website says it's 7%, so that bit of context should play in. Makes no sense being that high of an abv but alas, what are you gonna do. Maybe I'll pretend it's spring and Maifest instead...

Cheers!