New Beer Weekend #124

Lately I'm a sucker for locally brewed West Coast IPAs. This is probably because they seem to be a vanishing breed around Connecticut. I grab them whenever I see 'em.
This week I picked up Breakwater from Myrcene in Old Saybrook CT.

3.99/5 rDev 0%
look: 3.75 | smell: 4 | taste: 4 | feel: 4 | overall: 4
Poured from a 16oz can undated that was picked up at the brewery 3-days ago. My understanding is that they have only had this beer available for a few weeks. Poured to a Nonic at fridge temp.
The body is a deep translucent gold. A multi-sized bubble, one inch, off-white head sits on top but fades to a thin layer. Lacing is medium throughout the session.
There is pine and minor citrus aroma in the nose.
The taste brings pine to a lesser extent than the smell and the citrus shows itself as grapefruit. Mildly bitter at the front it finishes more bitter and super dry. There is a subtle medical note in between.
Mouthfeel is medium with some oiliness and good carbonation.
This is a solid WC IPA.

 

Alright I'm starting early today. My mom's off at her show, my wife and baby are napping in the other room, so I'm going to risk getting in trouble and get the festivities started.
This morning I am starting with a beer sent my way by @2beerdogs, as part of a ninja strike during BIF #16.

Madewest evidently does a series of collaboration brews, which they call 'Short-Lived.' This is Short-Lived with Fieldwork Brewing, and is listed as being 'thiol-boosted.' I must admit: I have no idea what that means. Like, in general, I don't really grasp what thiols are/do, because I avoided OChem like the plague. I even channeled my college major around not having to take OChem (and as such, my sister likes to tease me that I didn't really get a degree in neuroscience, that instead it's just a glorified psych degree. Honestly... I can't entirely fight her on that one.). But even beyond organic chemistry, I especially have no idea what that means within a brewing context (EDIT: a better google search tells me it's intended to improve the aroma?).
Let's find out!!



Madewest - Short-Lived featuring Fieldwork Brewing
First off, this has one of the more beautiful pours I've seen in a long time. It's the yellow gold that is cliche for beer for a reason, with a velvety soft white head that shows no interest in dissipating. As I drink the glass down, the foam leaves massive reminders of itself on the side of the vessel. It's not totally clear, and that's really the only complaint I have about the appearance.

The aroma is a blend of light, crackery malts, with hops that are somewhere in the zone of floral sweet bordering on nectar, as well as presenting a bit of an earthy edge with some light citrus.
So if we accept that the 'thiol-boosted' label on the can (I'm really making more out of two little words than I should. Sorry Madewest. But it's really on you for listing that as part of the sales pitch of the beer.) alludes to the aroma being elevated, then I find it a little disappointing. If it weren't specifically called out, it would be lovely and I'd see nothing wrong with it. But if you're going to market your beer as ostensibly being this wonderful aromatic experience, then being simply lovely and fairly standard isn't going to fulfill that promise. Anyway, I'm picking nits. It smells nice.

Flavour presents light hops. Creamy grassy and lightly earthy. Honestly it kind of reminds me of drinking a nitro beer. Not quite that creamy in the body, but that overall impression with the gentler, more delicate flavour and a nice smoothe body. What I keep coming back to is that this would be really refreshing on a hot summer afternoon. Hell, it's still pretty damn enjoyable on a freezing winter morning!
It would be easy to drink a little more of this than you intended, as it drinks more like something in the 5% range rather than the 7% it truly is

Similar to my gripe about it being labelled as 'thiol-boosted,' I feel like the beer the brewer describes and the beer in my glass don't really resemble one another hardly at all. I enjoy the beer in my glass. But when it veers so much from the brewers description it always raises my eyebrows a bit, but at the end of the day if it's an enjoyable brew, it's an enjoyable brew, even if partly by accident.

Thanks Derek for sending it my direction and I hope you're feeling better!!

 

Infinite Jest reference in a beer? I wonder what Don Gately would have to say about that!

 

Mirage - Scrapbooking DDH IPA at The Beer Junction. Shopped here before, first time having a beer here. Awesome place. Writing extra tersely on phone.

Pale whitish-yellow, completely murky, small creamy head. Hoppy aroma, citrus pith, resin, orange Julius

Taste is similar, juicy vibe but not too sweet, reasonable balance with hop resin bitterness.

Mouthfeel slight creaminess, some chalkiness. Really nice.

 

Our takes usually mesh, and was happy to see your review while cutting and pasting the link to my post. I may grab Monti’s on the way home, as I’m really Jonesing for a Cheesesteak after my research regarding a quick Philly trip with cheap flights (postponing until perhaps the Spring when the weather is better). Will post a review if I do, holding it to the high standards I hold to Cheesesteaks and Italian Beef.

Spiteful is thankfully chill today so I ordered their 10th Anniversary WCIPA.

Spiteful Brewing A Decade of Spite



Taproom Notes: $7 16 oz draft, 6.0% ABV, El Dorado & Idaho 7 Hops. West Coast IPA.

Deeper Dive, Social Media Cut & Paste: Happy Anniversary!! Super fresh Decade of Spite West Coast IPA is ready for you in both 4pk cans and draft. Deliciously dank and tropically pungent with a delightful bitter finish - this beer screams Spiteful.

Appearance: 16 oz draft (RIP Imperial Pint Taproom Option) poured into a nonic glass. Murky golden tan base, light carbonation, egg white head, significant fine lacing and cover over the base once the head recedes. 3.75

Aroma: Very dank, similar to many aspects to Working For The Weekend. Pine, weed-uh, light citrus, more weed, sweaty socks, cat pee. You name it, this beer has it all. 4.5

Taste: Consistent with the aroma, slightly lighter in potency, nice easy and mellow. Dank pine the MC and main event, in the manner I hoped and dreamed of last night while contemplating this mini trek toward Lake Michigan. Very light and easy in terms of potency, very manageable for one looking for an approachable beer with this taste profile vs. a Traditional Old School WCIPA. I read about Chicago’s Omega Yeast Cosmic Punch providing a Tropical kick, getting slight hints but to be honest I love this just the way you are (cues Billy Joel). 4.25

Mouthfeel: Faint carbonation holds throughout, medium watery body, leans dank and bitter but approachable for those who may hesitate. Drinks at to below the 6.0% ABV, light darkness lingers, easy like Sunday Morning Afternoon. 4.0

Overall: This is nice light easy take on take on the West Coast style. Light and manageable for someone dipping their toe into the pool, satisfying for one who appreciates the style. Well done Spiteful Brewery, and looking forward to your next ten years!!! 4.25

This is likely the end of the line for new beers on my end, but really enjoyed the mini field trip to Northeast Chicago!

 

Pulpit Rock - Koffee Kolsch

burnt orange appearance. 3.75

heavy coffee on the nose and in the taste. 4.25/4

medium-full mouthfeel; kind of a sticky finish. 4

overall, pretty one note as it’s very strong coffee but as a coffee lover, i enjoyed it enough. 4

 

Back for round two today, so many fine beers have been posted this weekend. I will be joining those of you who have drank Anchors Special Ale this year. I haven't had this beer in many many years now but so many of your postings last week made it sound too good to pass up.

Anchor - Our Special Ale 2022



Lovely pouring dark brown opaque beer; dense spongy head forms quickly, off white in color with some nice retention; lacing is very present at first and slowly becomes less and less.

Nose is very interesting on this beer; instantly get an aroma that reminds me of balsam followed by amaretto like smell, like almondy; undertones of chocolate, baking spices and dark toast.

Taste brings again reminds me of almonds with pine needles but there is a richness that was not present in the nose; like rich dark and toasted bread with some backing spices tossed in; on the finish those spices leave an aftertaste reminiscent of gingerbread to me but with some botanical undertones.

Medium body but super smooth on the tongue, there is a moderate dryness as well as a lingering bitterness on the finish; almost like a dark chocolate type bitter, this beer is quite bright to me and almost wakes you up. I've never done smelling salts but maybe this is it in beer form.

Overall this beer has a lot going on and somehow achieves a pretty good balance; there is something mixed drink like about to me; like someone made a holiday gin and tonic or something like that. I can't wait to sip the rest of this and finish it up with our bean and sausage soup that we have for dinner, this will go very well with a hearty meal.

This will be it for new beers for me this weekend, thanks for the fun as always. I'll be lurking the rest of the day and catching up with you west coaster's posts tomorrow. Cheers everyone have a great week.

 

Thanks! I’m so pumped we went with colored lights this year; first time in the ten years we been in this house together. I love looking at the colors at night in the dark.

Oh and @Beersnake1 this is for you…I was able to make the nuts; kid you not it took me all of 15 minutes to do but damn was it a forearm work out to mix them until that maple turned into maple sugar. I almost cramped up…

I stuck my face over that pot a whole lotta times…



End product, a whole cookie sheet where I laid them out before pouring into jars…



PS when they are still warm they are at their most dangerous but almost just as dangerous when cool. Happy Sunday

 

Good Sunday afternoon, New Beer Samplers and commentators. I'm kicking off one of my favorite times of the week with another fine DIPA I received from @BigIronH in the BIF: Double Projection, from Wax Wings Brewing Co. in Kalamazoo, MI. It's not only a new beer but a new brewery for me. My brother-in-law lives in Kalamazoo and while we often talk beer he's never mentioned this brewery. I'll message him to see whether he's been there. It appears to be single-hopped with Mosaic.

It pours a hazy, dark tangerine color with a two finger foamy, bright white cap and thick, soapy lacing. It boasts a big, fruity nose with lemon, grapefruit, pineapple, and a whiff of red berry. The fruit is even sweeter in the taste. In addition to the tartness of the lemon and grapefruit I taste ripe melon, pineapple, peach, and lots of berry. The Mosaic hops really shine. There is a nice, dank bitterness throughout. The mouth feel is thick and creamy with a pleasing level of carbonation, and it doesn't drink like 9% ABV. Don't pound it too quickly. Overall, is a very fine Mosaic hopped DIPA. I really enjoyed it.

4.24/5 rDev +1.7%
look: 4 | smell: 4.25 | taste: 4.25 | feel: 4.25 | overall: 4.25

Thank you, Harley. This is great!

 

Seriously, that was very cool that they sent you such a detailed response to your inquiries about the beer. Not a lot of places would take the time to do that.

 

Trying a new lager beer from Åbro bryggeri, Sweden's fourth largest brewery, Nästgårds Lager. 6% abv. All-malt, Pilsner and Munich malt. Decoction mashed (single decoction most likely, used in several of the brewery's other beers, it is the only brewery among the Swedish macros utilizing decoction mashing). 191 kcal per 12oz (original gravity is likely at or around 13% plato based on other beers of this abv and calorie count).

The aroma is hoppy, in the vein of a hoppy German lager beer as opposed to a dry hopped craft beer, yet still notably hoppy with a bright German hop aroma, along with a fresh pale malt aroma. There is also some distinct diacetyl which is a hallmark of this brewery's beers and which helps set this beer apart from similar beers made by the other Swedish macros, who either lean towards clean German lager beers or fruitier Danish lager beers. The taste is hop foward again with a bright German hop flavor along with a rich pale maltiness that verges on sweetness but is held in check by the bright hop flavor and the hop bitterness, which is no doubt around the 30 IBU mark. Diacetyl is again present. The aftertaste is moderately bitter and hop aromatic.

The label design makes it seem like the marketing team had half an hour to throw something together before their deadline was due, or that the brewery didn't really want to put out a new beer to compete with the rest of their lineup, but at the same time didn't want one of their competitors to win the tender. Very generic and ugly looking. But tastewise I think it is a credible and tasty lager beer that delivers good hop and malt flavor tied together with a refreshing hop bitterness.

 

Cross posting from A Salute to Saisons (2022) - although this makes a mockery of style guidelines.

4.17/5 rDev 0%
look: 2.5 | smell: 4.25 | taste: 4.5 | feel: 3.5 | overall: 4.25

Best before end 2028 ("or many more"). Poured from a 250mL capped bottle into a small Duralex tumbler. Served a bit under 55F.

Opaque bistre body with copper highlights, no head, nearly still. No lacing.

Rich, dark malt aroma with hints of cocoa, tobacco, and a hint of oak.

Brutal, intensely concentrated waves of malt unfurl on the palate, lashing your taste buds with char, demi-glace, Russian caravan black tea (prior to adding water from a samovar), baker's chocolate, and tobacco leaves. Moderate bitterness from astringency more than hops. Perhaps some peppercorn/caraway? Powerful, withering, fairly dry, dusty finish dies away like a repressed nightmare. Whispers of barrel/funk/phenolics are quickly subsumed by the malt.

Hot, spirited, oily, medium-heavy, nearly still body.

The most befuddling ale style-wise - closer to adambier, eisbock, or strong ale than saison. Rated more for enjoy-ability.

 

Back with my 3rd beer (2nd NBW). This is another beer left from Thanksgiving guests. Don't mind if I do.
A 6.3% NEIPA from Old Planters in Beverly MA. Seems some guy from the show Wicked Tuna likes their beer, so they brewed one for him. I'm aware of the show but have never watched it so the guy means nothing to me.

3.63/5 rDev -4.2%
look: 3 | smell: 3.75 | taste: 3.75 | feel: 3.5 | overall: 3.5
Poured from a 16oz can dated 10/28/22 to a Nonic at fridge temp.
The body is an opaque dark apricot, a little off putting honestly. But the head is a beautiful puffy pure white of super fine bubbles. Frothy comes to mind.
There is peach and must in the aroma.
The taste is a hoppy front and a fruity finish, kind of a switch from most beers of this style but it does leave the mouth very dry after the swallow. The stone fruit is in there and so is a little hop burn. The finish afterglow seems to have lime or lemon flavor.
Mouthfeel is medium as is the carbonation.
Kind of on the fence with this one. Ugly body, a little hop burn, but some pleasure can be found in that stone fruit front.

 

Cheers to @ovaltine for this BIF 16 beer. Phase Three Full Frame DIPA, 7.8% ABV; 4.14 over all

Pours a very hazed gold with one pinky of tight pearl colored head. Sheets of lacing, above average head retention

S: Tropical Fruit & citrus, fades a touch as this beer warms

T: Dryness, oranges, a touch of grapefruit & green melon up front. A little papaya, green melon & tangerine as this beer warms up, dryness & a little grapefruit. Finishes dry with grapefruit, lime, & a little mango

MF: Medium body, creamy carbonation, nicely balanced

Drinks a very easy. My first Phase Three offering, nice

 

Enjoying yet another beer courtesy of @foundersasap, and it's another one I've seen several of you review that I'm glad to now be able to try.

Pours the darkest brown with a finger of relatively dense coffee ice cream colored head that receded to a thing cap & ring. Decent lacing and legs. Oats are clearly present on the nose and somewhat mask any roasted notes. Rye notes that I didn't necessarily get on the nose show up in the flavor, creating a little bit of spicy heat. Still not much in the way of roasted malts. Chewy, tasty and enjoyable.