New Beer Weekend #123

Good morning NBW
I bought a single of this and I'm the only one up in the house cooking, so perfect timing.

French Toast Bastard
12oz bottled 09.19.22 poured into a Founders mug at 55° Fahrenheit 11.1% ABV. The beer pours medium brown from what I can tell with reddish tinted khaki colored head. Head recedes to a thin ring and single layer of bubbles. Lots of lacing left behind. The aroma is pronounced maple with vanilla and cinnamon trailing. It might be my mind playing tricks, but this actually smells like French toast. The taste is sweet, sticky maple with cinnamon jumping out next. Very little bourbon or barrel and just a hint of Scotch Ale. Zero bitterness. The mouthfeel is full bodied & sticky with average carbonation and an undry, cloying finish. Overall, mixed bag. They nailed the beer smelling and tasting like a food item thing, but failed to impress me with a BBA Scotch ale.

I was worried about the cinnamon, because I'm pretty sensitive to that in beer, but the artificial maple and cloying nature of this beer is what would keep me from buying more.

My theory is that Founders uses recycled barrels for these beers with big, expressive added flavors thinking that it's ok for the barrel to take a back seat. For my taste, only the Mackinac Fudge has worked out. I'd rather just have raw bourbon and barrel for highlights on a well made beer.

Cheers all and Happy Thanksgiving!

 

Nordic Pilsner lager from Millstream Brewing in Amana, IA, courtesy of @beergoot. To please Allfather, it is in a proper vessel. The look, I poured some in a clear glass, is clear, corn/honey yellow. Beautiful. There was a lot of foam in the initial pour. The smell is clean, crisp, bountiful, fresh bread, honey, and lemon. It is much sweeter and pleasant than most Pilsners. The taste is strong with honey, dough, lemon, and butter. Quite delicious. The mouthfeel is clean, smooth, light, and buttery. Very nice. Overall, this beer stands out from other Pilsners, with more pronounced flavor and aroma. It is very enjoyable to drink. I don't believe I washed my drinking horn very well, so hopefully there will be bacteria added that causes pleasant hallucinations, like the old keg lines we never washed in my fraternity house. This beer is worth seeking out.

 

First beer for me this holiday afternoon is Boon's Oude Geuze Black Label No 6. 7% ABV. I always love Boon, but don't think I have seen this before.



Pours a hazy orange color. A noisy, spritzy, bubbly white head forms to about a finger. That recedes to a ring in a minute.
The nose is powerful and pungent. Ripe grapefruit and dried citrus peal. A musty and "funky" aroma that I love.
Taste wise again oh, that pungent grapefruit is almost juicy up front with other citrus like components. That become wonderfully acidic and sour. Musty basement like funky again. A tiny amount of oak and vanilla. Finishes with just enough acidic bite. This is wonderful.
A medium body that is beautifully effervescent at first. Which becomes a bit softer as this breaths. The puckering acidity is perfect, and leaves a lingering dryness that just begs me to keep coming back for more. This is very drinkable.

Just an excellent example of an Oude Gueuze. This has all the flavors and characteristics you would want for the style. Though its also balanced, as the acidic sourness and funk never become the main show. Thats all I have to say, highly recommended.

Overall score is 4.36, an easy A bordering on A+
https://www.beeradvocate.com/beer/profile/47/200292/?ba=champ103#lists

This also pairs wonderfully with some funky cheese. Some Stilton and Scottish Cheddar.


I have more to come over the long weekend, see you guys around.

 

Now I need to get you a slack tide knockdown…

 

Happy Thanksgiving BA! I hope everyone is doing well and enjoying some good food today. As well as family and definitely a beer!!

For me, I’m trying Otherlands’ “Verdance” grisette today. Courtesy of my NBS BIF 16 sender, the one and only @BBThunderbolt. Thanks a ton Terry. I love this style and farmhouse ales in general.

She pours a glowing, hazy straw gold. A finder of effervescent head rises and recedes quickly to a thin white ring. No lacing, but plenty of streaming carbonation. This beer heavily resembles a fine champagne. Nose is tart citrus, pepper, some earthy herbal notes, and hay. Taste follows suit with an excellent subtle funky flavor on the finish. Feel is crisp and refreshing with a tart finish. Overall, an easy 3.75/5. Well above average.

Cheers all.

 

Are you mixing up the cape May one I sent you? That was a cold black ipa, slack tides is straight up black ipa. Best one I have ever had, i say that without hesitation.

 

Dunkel Brau from Petskull Brewing in Manitowoc, WI. The color is deep brown with rich crimson highlights. There is a beautiful brown thick foamy fedora hat. The smell is strong with nutty brown bread, pancakes and coffee, chocolate and graham cracker. The taste is pumpernickel bread, almonds, chocolate, and coffee. It is very rich. The mouthfeel is thick, rich, and full, with medium carbonation. Overall, this is a delightful beer to enjoy with a hearty meal, and a sweet dessert.

 

Alesmith Barrel Aged Speedway Stout

Appearance: Black, small brown head that fades out after a minute. I can hear it fizzing like a coke.

Smell: Chocolate, wood, vanilla, coconut, nice aroma.

Taste: Big chocolate up front, nice mild wood and vanilla, then finishes with more chocolate. Very smooth, alcohol is well hidden. Soft feel.

Overall: I've been wanting some barrel-aged stouts as the weather is starting to turn colder. Picked up a single of BA Speedway Stout. It's been years since I had the non-BA version, so can't really compare them. The BA was very tasty, big chocolate flavor and well-integrated barrel. Very good!

 

Unexpected new beer today; phisher thanksgiving tour left my sisters and arrived at my in laws. Here a new beer greeted me from my brother in law; I haven’t had this beer in 10 years or more and I know the recipe has changed so here is my new intro to new castle brown.

Newcastle - Brown Ale



Pours a dark shade of brown, crystal clear, light brown dense and creamy head; retention in form a thick uniform film; moderate initial lacing.

Nose is caramel malty sweetness, weak watered down coffee, some darkened toast, and damp woodsy smell.

Taste is malty sweet, a dark toffee like taste, weak earthy coffee, with minor generic hop note on the finish.

Body is light but slightly sweet and syrupy to me, smooth though with a low but noticeable bitterness on the finish.

I liked the flavors of this beer a lot but it was just a little overly syrupy on the tongue to me.

Happy Thanksgiving everyone; looking forward to sharing beers together over the next few days. Cheers everyone.

 

I've had this in my fridge for a while. My dad gave it to me at Christmas a couple years ago. We have some connections to Lazarus Brewing in the family and I always love getting to try their beers.

Pours a crystal clear light amber color with no head.

The smell is typical sour ale with Brett and a hint of tequila.

The taste is dominated by Brett with a nice tequila backbone. It's not sour but does show a bit of fruitiness.

The mouthfeel is dry and low carbonation. The low carbonation detracts a bit from the beer.

Overall, it's a complex flavorful beer that's nice to sip.

 

Sierra Nevada Pale Bock cheers @ovaltine 6.8% ABV; 4.02 Overall

Pours an effervescent gold with 2+ fingers of pearl colored head. Great head retention & lacing

S: Huge breadyness, some pear notes,

T: Follows the nose, some dryness, mineral & soapy hops as well up front. Breadyness, pears, a touch of honey malt & soapy, herbal & grassy hops as this beer warms up, a touch of dryness. Finishes fairly sweet, grassy & with a little pear.

MF: Medium body, fairly moderate carbonation, skews slightly hoppier than expected

Solid Bock, honestly; I had higher hopes, but I like it more than most reviewers. A sipper for sure

 

Hello New Beer Weekend!!!

After passing 4 breweries, on my drive to the turkey day gathering, that I like, being closed for Thanksgiving (Bobbing Bobber, August Schell's, Starkeller, and Lost Sanity), I need a beer.

This beer is courtesy of @Beersnake1

Beats is Infinite - Monkish Brewing - NEIPA - 8.3% ABV

I know my average is below normal yet again for a NEIPA. That being said, I really like this beer. Great flavor, but the feeling is what got me. It is so soft, it almost has a lactose flavor to it. Smooth and juicy. This is done right. Delicious, and thank you Beersnake1!!!


Review:
https://www.beeradvocate.com/beer/profile/28657/261133/

4.3/5 rDev -3.8%
look: 4.25 | smell: 4.25 | taste: 4.25 | feel: 4.75 | overall: 4.25
This beer pours a juicy looking lemon colored pour with a very thick white head - 3 finger. It took several tries to get it all in the glass. The head retention is decent, and there's some lacing on the glass. The head looks quite fluffy, and the bubbles are small.
I am getting a good deal of tropical citrus on the nose. I get a bit of grapefruit and some pineapple.
There's some grapefruit and guava along with pineapple in here that I get. I don't think there's lactose in here, but I'm getting an almost creamy flavor. The finish has a bit of bitterness on the back.
This beer is VERY soft and very juicy feeling. I was getting a lactose flavor, but it was more of a feeling in my mouth and throat, than an actual flavor. Smooth is a good way to describe the feeling. Feels like silk going down.
This is a beer of the NEIPA style done right. I know I'll be below the average, but I'm very happy with this beer.


I think I have at least one more in me today. Be back later.

 

Happy Thanksgiving, extended NBW folks. I hope everyone is enjoying the day however they see fit. Missed a couple of weeks - ridiculously busy so today seemed a breeze. After a true Arlo Guthrie day here (with compost instead of the garbage), time to relax with a beverage. This one seemed a perfect beer to split after a second slice of pie.



Tree House Tree of Bliss - a barley wine aged forever in bourbon and brandy barrels, then finished on sweet orange peel, fruit forward coffee, and vanilla.

Two word review - holy shit.

Pours a thick looking deep brown with a brief appearance of a little bubbly foam. Looks thick and nearly still.

The initial smell I get is chocolate, the a sweetness that is brown sugary, caramel, toffee. Fruit - initially I thought dark sweet cherry but as it warms there's a bit of apple. Bourbon and a grape must contribution that i assume is from the brandy. If that wasn't enough, light coffee, sweet orange come in to play.

The taste actually follows in one incredibly smooth melange. There's just a hint of alcohol. The orange gets a bit feisty as it warms up, but pleasantly so. It isn't taking over, it's adding a complimentary flavor. The sweetness is moderate. A little leathery note. Definite grape must, and I think dark cherry and just an aromatic flavor of apple. Very light taste of vanilla. The interaction of the flavors is so smooth and everything is superbly integrated. There's a small spicy taste that seems like licorice - very faint on the tongue way after the swallow.

It is not as heavy as it looked on the pour, but it is well beyond medium on the mouth feel. Barely carbonated, just enough to notice. Not syrupy, but a tad bit sticky. Slightly dry finish. No bitterness to speak of.

This is a genuine treat and very apt for the day as we wind down. This is just delicious to me. I'm like six sips in and the missus' is almost gone so I think she likes it too. Right around the 4.5 mark, could go higher.