New Beer Weekend #123

Beats is infinite by Monkish


4.32/5 rDev -3.4%
look: 4.5 | smell: 4.25 | taste: 4.25 | feel: 4.75 | overall: 4.25
Can received from @beersnake1in bif16 as a result of an LIF associated with that event

Nervously watching Germany and Spain battle each other in the World Cup

Brewers notes: Monk Double IPA showcasing Galaxy hops.



Poured into an antique Germania Pilsener Wiesbaden stemmed glass

Hazy pale orange , creamy one finger off white foam cap, good retention, cloaking lacings

Aroma is tropical , passion fruit, orange citrus

Taste is tropical , passion fruit, whisper of peach

Mouthfeel is silky smooth , creamy …wondering if they are using oats

2 for 2, really enjoying this brewery , thanks @Beersnake1

 

Mad Dog Tannen’s Cowboy Coffee

6.3% American Porter by Brew Kettle

This coffee-forward porter was made in collaboration with Rising Star roasters.

Poured from a pint can, the body pours a dark black. Small initial head that dissipates quickly but good lacing.

The aroma was a delightful combination of light coffee and cocoa.

The taste ramps up the Sumatra coffee flavor which works well with the light malty bitterness of the porter. Body is porter-thin: not stout weight. Just pointing that out. No complaints here.

Carbonation is moderate. Mouthfeel is light and easy drinking.

Overall a very nice porter for coffee fans like me. I look forward to trying this porter on tap.

 

Paunchy & Left Eye...ha

Got to love Townes Van Zandt, I'm assuming that is the reference

 

New Beer Sunday! Oh mid Sunday afternoon's - what a time to be alive!

Time for an ICE beer.

Sunday Afternoon, November 2022

On a cold rainy day, its time for some Ice beer. Poured aggressively into tall cylindrical pint glass ice cold from a frosty tall boy can. A very sleek industrial look to the can; with a name like Maximum Ice we could be talkng about close to anything here.
Maximum ICE poured aggressively into a tall cylindrical pint glass. This lager beer is an aureate bronze with subdued carbonation from the pouring style. Atop the brew sits a sticky service envelope white head with big bubbles from the sugar used. It dissipates slowly and laces the glass well. Its a nice looking cold beer.
Under the honker; aromas of wet brown bread, fresh sourdough, white salt crackers and a pinch of honey. The malt and bittering galena hops hit and create a pleasent fresh aroma; similar to a walk in refidgerator.
Maximum ICE tastes of light caramel, English biscuits and a touch of table sugar. The hops bitter the beer and add some astringency and needed dryness.
A highly drinkable lager beer of the ICE beer family. Maximum Ice has a refreshing and warming collection of light candied malts and well hidden alcohol. Its a nice beer.
As we huddle in; Its a solid representitive of its style. I can certainly see this ICE beer pairing well with some ball park hot dogs or a huge bag of potato chips.

 

Good Sunday afternoon, New Beer Samplers and commentators. Our holiday guests, including our granddog, have all left and peace reigns again. It's been a really nice long weekend. I was going to review Sir Isaac today but decided to take it easy after drinking a lot of beer and bourbon the past few days. First up is Focus Point, a 7% American "Vermont Style" IPA from Arvon Brewing Co. in Michigan courtesy of the generous @BigIronH in the BIF. This is a basic ale hopped with Citra and Mosaic.

It pours a hazy, golden-honey color with a large, creamy, bright white cap and thick, soapy lacing. The aromatic, fruity nose includes tangerine, pineapple, grapefruit, and a whiff of ripe red berry. Its taste, however, emphasizes tart, fairly bitter lemon and grapefruit with only faint notes of the sweeter fruit I smelled. The tried and true bill of Citra and Mosaic works well. While the hop bitterness isn't overpowering it's sharp and clean. This ale has a fairly lite, crisp mouth feel with solid carbonation and it drinks easily at 7% ABV.

4.06/5 rDev -4.2%
look: 4 | smell: 4.25 | taste: 4 | feel: 4 | overall: 4

A very enjoyable American IPA. Thank you, Harley!

 

Feeling a little euro here drinking an English Pub Ale and watching soccer, Post and Beam, Bitter Buffalo, thanks to @Roy_Hobbs for this one, easily generated head that quickly disappeared leaving a cap, faint aroma of malts, taste follows a bit sweet, grainy, smooth light bodied, decent beer even though it’s undercarbonated and a bit underwhelming.

 

This one's been in my beer fridge for awhile, can't explain why I kept putting it off. It's time.

3.58/5 rDev -10.9%
look: 3.75 | smell: 3.75 | taste: 3.5 | feel: 3.5 | overall: 3.5
Poured from a 11.2oz bottle dated 28 JUL 22 to a diagonally cut tumbler at fridge temp but was slowly sipped and allowed to warm.
The body is opaque black with a short, deep tan head on top that fades but provides some quickly disappearing lacing.
Chocolate is dominant in the smell as is the alcohol. Some dried fruit can be sensed also.
The taste brings the dried fruit out more prominently; cherrys, raisins, all “chocolate covered”. This beer bridges between the sweet and the bitter. Overall the taste is reminiscent of a box full of a fruity alcohol chocolate sampler.
Mouthfeel seems rather thin frankly, but it does make you lips sticky.
I am not quite sure about how I feel about this beer. It was worth the experience, but will probably not be a repeat purchase.

 

NBS #2: Other Half's Double Dry Hopped Riwaka + Motueka. My son-in-law-to-be bought a cooler full of Kane, Other Half, and Tired Hands to take back to North Carolina. I hadn't tried this one so I snagged a can. Motueka is one of my favorite hops. This ale is just what I hoped it would be: a nice balance of tropical citrus and grassy, herbal notes.

It pours an opaque, grassy, pastel yellow with a half finger of foamy, bright white head and lots of thick, clinging lacing inside the glass. On the nose there is lemon, lime, grapefruit, and grassy - almost herbal - notes. It definitely taste like New Zealand hops with strong lemon and lime, hints of tropical and stone fruit (especially as it warms a bit) and the unique herbal hint of rosemary or basil. What little hop bitterness there is is very clean. It has a dry, tropical punch quality. It's pleasantly carbonated and the mouth feel is surprisingly lite and crisp for 8.5% ABV.

While I can understand that this hop combo isn't for everyone, I'm a big fan of Motueka and really enjoyed it.

4.18/5 rDev +0.7%
look: 4 | smell: 4 | taste: 4.25 | feel: 4.25 | overall: 4.25

Have a great week, everyone!

 

Good Evening NBS/nbw and thanks to @SawDog505 for the early start this weekend.
I hope everyone had a lovely holiday with food and family, we certainly did, plus some live music!!
Todays offering is from Chicago, Revolution certainly has the barrel program dialed in. As a coffee stout fan, this one did not dissapoint.
A welcome closer to this full tilt weekend.



Café Deth

Oatmeal Stout | 14.8% ABV
Revolution Brewing in Chicago, Illinois

Reviewed by SABERG from Massachusetts

4.19/5 rDev -4.6% | Average: 4.39
look: 4 | smell: 4.25 | taste: 4.25 | feel: 4.25 | overall: 4
Poured from a 12 oz can dated 9/28/22 into the test glass
A - Gunmetal black, a quick pour created a loose knit off white cap. The cap quickly dissipated. During the remaining experience, threads accumulate in the center, gather and run to the edge.
S - Barrel vanilla, coffee, raisin, Char, bakers chocolate.
T - All the aromatics, with a deeper dried fruit experience, plum, dark roast coffe, with anise kissing the edge of black pepper.
M - Medium in body, sweet start is quickly shifted to center with enough biterness, finish is espresso dry, linger is candy, alcohol, and forever.
O - A beauty of a beast, the body is misleading, with each sip this punches coffee, bourbon, dark fruit, rich chocolate.
Worth every penny.

 

ok...back from watching the Germany / Spain game at a friend's house and it's time for another beer. This is Jail Fire, a Rauchbier from Muddy York Brewing Co. received from @Coronaeus

I love Rauchbier's....let's dig in

Appearance is a bright honey color with a relatively thin amount of medium density head. Aroma has light smoke and some caramel malts. On the tongue, the smoke is more pronounced, but still relatively subtle for the style. Some light caramel malts balance out the smoke. Light bodied and very, very easy drinking.

Overall, a little less smoke than I prefer, but for the average person, this is probably a good thing. I still really enjoyed it. I have a soft spot for easy drinking, well made beers, which this is.

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Super important point for Germany. Could easily have been three (Musialia's decision not to square the ball and then Sane at the end standing out in particular). Either way, decent chance of advancing, just need Spain to beat Japan and then they need to take care of business against Costa Rica.

I completely agree with the "underwhelming" comment on this one. I hadn't tried any of the Post & Beam beers I sent you before sending them, which is always a risk. The others have been pretty good, but this one was mostly a miss for me.

 

Sorry it wasn't your bag. You lost some chocolate beer virginity today.

 

Good afternoon NBW
My first time with this legendary stout.

Shitty picture, but it's Bourbon County Coffee

4.37/5 rDev -6.4%
look: 4.5 | smell: 4.25 | taste: 4.5 | feel: 4.25 | overall: 4.25

16.9oz bottle Drink By 06SEP24 GI 15:51 poured into an oversized snifter at fridge temp after a 10 minute warmup 13.2% ABV. The beer pours impenetrable black with no highlights and medium brown colored head. The head recedes to a thin ring and a scattering of micro bubbles. No lacing. The aroma is moderate in strength featuring bourbon, bourbon barrel, caramel, chocolate fudge and black coffee. The taste at fridge temp is black coffee and bourbon barrel in a rush before bourbon lingers. Once it warms, caramel and chocolate are there as well. Mild to moderate coffee driven bitterness. The mouthfeel is medium bodied with just less that average carbonation and a mostly dry finish. ABV is well hidden cooler, but starts to assert itself as the glass approaches room temp. Overall, excellent. Less coffee than I would have expected, but still an excellent BBA stout.

Big question, would I buy it again? Absolutely not. Would I buy it for half of the $27 I paid Friday, absolutely not. It's ironic that there were cases of KBS, Willetized, and Deth's Tar / Cafe Death at the store where I noted guys buying this one and others equally overpriced by the case...

I ticked it. I'm moving on. If I'm back it will be much later. Cheers all!

 

Getting into a highly regarded one here, TH Very Green, a whale sent my way thanks to @Roy_Hobbs, very heady aroma jumps right out of the can, beautiful pour with excellent head, sticky lacing down the glass, sweet fruit up front, but a hop bite on the back end, smooth creamy full mouthfeel, glad to have this “100” beer thanks Ross

 

Next up is Queen Machine OG from Tree House. The can describes it as "the ultimate expression of our Queen Machine single hop line-up". I describe it as "tasting a lot like every other Tree House beer". Maybe I'm just cranky switching from a Rauchbier (style I love) to an IPA (style I don't).

3.67/5 rDev -15.4%
look: 4.25 | smell: 4 | taste: 3.5 | feel: 3.5 | overall: 3.5
Appearance is a somewhat murky orange, with the highlight being a robust, off-white colored head with excellent retention, lacing and legs. Aroma is bursting with tropical notes (grapefruit, mango, papaya). Taste is similar to the nose, with a blend of miscellaneous tropical flavors and a little bit of hop bite on the back end. Feel is smooth, but slightly thin to me.

Overall, if you like NEIPAs, you'll probably love this beer. For me, as a non-IPA drinker, it's solid, but I lack the refined palate to be able to clearly distinguish among most of Tree House's offerings. As is often the case when I drink IPAs, they make me thirsty, which is the exact opposite of what I'm typically after when I drink a beer.

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I hope to be back later with one more beer while I watch the Eagles game.

 

Time to get real here and it's thanks to @Beersnake1

Reality Czech - Czech Pilsner - Moonlight Brewing - Santa Rosa, CA - 4.8%

Ok, I have no clue to as why I'm so low on the average, but I did like this beer a lot. Clean, crisp, easy drinking. Delicious.

https://www.beeradvocate.com/beer/profile/763/22173/

3.79/5 rDev -11.4%
look: 4 | smell: 3.75 | taste: 3.75 | feel: 4 | overall: 3.75
Clear golden pour with a 3 finger white head. The head retention is quite good, and it took a long time to pour the beer into the glass.
Slight malt/grain nose. A bit of bread biscuit here.
The flavor is malty as expected. The flavor has a lot of grain in it. Bread and biscuit. Slight earthy flavor. There's a slight bit of bitterness on the back from the hops.
Light, crisp clean body.
Easy drinking and delicious.

Maybe one more? We'll see.

 

Hows about a little Nelson tonight.
Been looking forward to this courtesy of @Nugganooch
Kern River Brewing
Camp Nelson IPA
Pouring a crystal clear golden color with a nice creamy head, excellent retention and lots of lacing.
Dank on the nose with lemon, lime, white grape and grass, herbal
Taste follows with white grape, citrus, a bit of mango. Theres a slight spicy peppery note that reminds me just a tiny bit of Alpines brew - doesnt have the darker caramel aspect of that brew though.
Nicely bitter with grapefruit/pine on the dry quenching finish. Medium_light body.
Stands on its own as great representation of Nelson hops.
Dug it. Thank You Dane!

 

My pleasure LB! Cheers mate

 

I didn't pick up any Bourbon County this year, but that won't stop me from staying in the family so to speak with this 2020 Bourbon County Caramella Ale, received courtesy of @Ozzylizard in NBS BIF #15 this past spring.

Pour a translucent, almost artificial red with a small amount of short-lived off-white head. Aroma is super sweet and caramel forward with barrel and maybe some apple lurking in the background. The taste is more complex than the nose. There's caramel for sure, but both apple and cinnamon are also distinctly present. I'm impressed by the deft touch used with the cinnamon, as 75% of the time brewers use more than I think they should and it overwhelms. That's definitely not the case here. This beer is very sweet, and combined with the ABV will mean I'll likely sip it over the next 2-3 hours. Body is light for the ABV, Overall, an enjoyable Sunday night sipper.

Thanks, Bob. Enjoying this one!

 

How about a little Dr Nandu.
Waited a but to take the pic.
Double Nandu Aeronaut Brewing
The single version is excellent. So the first thing I notice thats different is that this is hazy as compared to the single which is clear and caramel.
Understandable due to alot of dry hopping. Golden orange in color with a bright white and short lived head. Sticky lacing is prevalent though and a thin cap remains.
Lots of dank cannabis, soapy hops, dark berries, passionfruit, pineapple and sweet orange.
Tastes just as it smells with citrus coming in first, tropicals and cannabis, juicy fruit. Bitterness rounds out and balances the drink with a slightly slick but then drying tangy finish. Medium/heavy body with no hint of 8%. Totally different from Dr Nandu single hopped- as best as I remember. Ita hopped with Mosaic which I happen to dig. Delicious beer. Happy I bought the last 4pk. BTW Aeronaut is underrated...
Cheers!