New Beer Weekend #125

Good morning BAs! Thanks, @SawDog505, for starting this weekend's festivities! My first New Breakfast Beer on this Saturday is a wonderfully delicious Czech Dark Lager from a brewery I've not heard of previously, City Built Brewing in Grand Rapids, MI. This will definitely be a stop on my next trip to Grand Rapids!



Krewe de Rex from City Built Brewing. 16 oz can. Stored at 34 degrees at home. Received from @Whyteboar in NBW BIF #16. Reviewed 10/12/22. Note that I use DD/MM/YY protocol.
Undated can. Served at 41.9 degrees in a hand washed and dried Jester King snifter. The final temperature was 44.7 degrees.
Appearance – 3.5.
First pour – Amber Brown (SRM 18), clear.
Body – Brown (SRM 20), opaque. Under direct light or rear-lite, same with light penetration at the edges - xanthic.
Head – Average (Maximum 4.7 cm, aggressive center pour), wheat, medium density, quickly diminishing to a 0.4 – 0.5 cm crown with a thin, rocky cap.
Lacing – None.
Aroma – 4.5 – Strong toasted malt, slightly bitter, no yeast.
Flavor – 4.5 – Flavor follows the nose – toasted malt, slightly bitter, no yeast. No ethanol (4.9 % ABV as marked on label) aroma or taste. No gastric warming occurs. No dimethylsulfide or diacetyl.
Palate – 4 – Medium, creamy, soft carbonation.
Final impression and summation: 4 (After deducting 0.25 point for undated personal container) Delicious! The toasted malt is well-balanced with the hidden hops so that the malt has only a slight advantage in both flavor and aroma. The amount of bitterness is perfect.
Rating 4.29, rDev +6.5%

 

New England comes to South Carolina

A good friend traveled down to South Carolina a couple of weeks ago to visit his son and daughter in law. While there he very kindly thought of me and brought back a mix-a-six of locally brewed craft beers. I am very happy to receive this generous gift especially since I am not too familiar with the beer scene in South Carolina. I did spend a night in Charlestown, SC a few years ago on a return road trip from Florida visiting friends in Tampa and Cocoa Beach. One of the local breweries that I enjoyed drinking their beers was Holy City Brewing Co. I learned during this visit that a nickname for Charlestown is Holy City:

“If you are lucky enough to get to see Charleston from the water, you will understand why it is called the Holy City. Church steeples dot the skyline and offer a visual glimpse into the past, when Charleston was known for is religious diversity and tolerance.”

But back to today’s beer: Hazelwood Indo Outdo New England IPA.

Hazelwood Brewing is located in Lexington, SC.

From the brewery’s website:

“7.5% ABV

35 IBU

Hazelwood Brewing Company

Hazelwood year round hazy IPA. Whirlpooled and double dry hopped with Citra/Sultana/Simcoe. Brewed with Oats & Wheat.”

The beer I have in hand has a differing list of hops on the label: it lists Denali as opposed to Sultana. Well, I am not too familiar with either Denali or Sultana hops.

Let’s see how this hop blend tastes.

Served in my Spiegelau IPA Glass:

Appearance:

Hazy straw yellow with a BIG rocky white head which has excellent head retiention.

Aroma:

Vibrant aromas of tropical fruits and some citrus as well.

Taste:

Flavor follows the nose with a combination of tropical fruits and citrus. There is a moderate bitterness.

Mouthfeel

A smooth mouthfeel with a dry finish.

Overall

I really enjoyed drinking this beer, it is very good – excellent. Hazelwood has nailed the Juicy/Hazy IPA style with this beer.

Cheers!

@rotsaruch @RobH @KOP_Beer_OUtlet

 

Thanks for the kickoff @SawDog505. I'm settling in for a day of soccer, beer and catching up on work & other stuff.

It always seems fitting to enjoy a breakfast beer courtesy of @Ozzylizard, a generous BA if there ever was one.

This is Double Barrel Dark Apparition, a Russian Imperial Stout aged in bourbon barrels and white port casks.

4.34/5 rDev -4%
look: 3.5 | smell: 4.5 | taste: 4.5 | feel: 4 | overall: 4.25
Served at 55 degrees. Appearance is standard for the style. Darkest of browns bordering black with a small amount of short-lived beige colored head that receded quickly to a thin ring. The aroma comes out of the glass in waves of caramel and molasses with some lingering barrel notes in the background. Very sweet smelling, but that's ok...this beer smells amazing.

For the taste, let's just say this is wonderful. This isn't a surprise based on the nose, but it leads with rich molasses, but evolves over time to bring forth some faint chocolate and barrel. While I wouldn't likely have picked up on this unprompted, the port casks are there if you look for them in the aftertaste. Maybe slightly less roast than I would have liked, but that is a tiny nit. This is a very tasty beery that absolutely belies it's 13% ABV. The feel is almost a tad then when it first hits the tongue, but then has more substance once fully consumed.

Overall, this is an excellent beer. Thanks, Bob!

-----------------------------------------
Side note...Go Morocco and go England!

 

Onsen by Living Waters Brewing

last business trip of the year takes me to Nashville and a highly rated brewery that I have never tried before . Drove past igg tv once and traffic took forever to get me back across the road ( why did the Nashville chicken cross the road …?) . Bunch of biuilfibgs , walk inside on a Friday night, only five customers in the place…it’s a combination cofffee shop and brewery . Consult my apps and select Onsen ..




4.5/5 rDev 0%
look: 4.5 | smell: 4.5 | taste: 4.5 | feel: 4.5 | overall: 4.5

New brewery, new beer,

double IPA New England style

double dry hopped with Galaxy, strata and Citra hops

Poured into a pint glass produces a hazy lightly colored orange liquid capped by a one finger creamy off white foam cap good retention, nicely streaked beer Lacings coat the glass

Aroma is fruity, orange, citrus, tropical fruits

Taste is tropical fruits, juicy fruit gum, bubblegum , passion fruit, guava , really good flavor

Smooth creamy mouthfeel , hop taste with no bite , very good mouthfeel

Great beer, recommended , ready to try more from this brewer

 

Couple from Bell's, starting with Juicy Gossip Session IPA

Appearance: Clear yellow, ok head.

Smell: Dry citrus pith.

Taste: Mild sweetness, then moderate citrus with a sugary candy note. Light bodied.

Overall: Beer #1 from the Bell's IPA mix pack. I wanted some easier drinking hoppy beers so gave these a try. Juicy Gossip is fine, hoppy but pretty balanced, enough body to not just be hop water.

Bell's Official Hazy

Appearance: Hazy/cloudy yellow, huge head.

Smell: Mild citrus.

Taste: Moderate citrus to start, low sweetness but not bitter either. Vaguely pithy/rind flavors. Bready undertone. Medium-light bodied.

Overall: Beer #2 from the Bell's mixed IPA pack. Another “fine”, decent, ok beer. Nothing particularly outstanding about it, but gives a hop fix without being too light or too heavy.

 

Good morning NBW
A pick up from my interstate journey this week. Indianapolis has a better import presence than southwest Indiana so I try to take advantage when passing through.

Arcobräu Coronator
330mL bottle production date 21291 poured into a perfect pint glass at fridge temp 7.2% ABV. The beer pours opaque dark amber with mahogany highlights and khaki colored head. The head recedes to a thin ring and puffy island. Spotty lacing. The aroma is a delicate mix of toasted and roasted malt notes including toffee and cocoa. The taste is semisweet caramel malt with hints of cocoa and firm, moderate, earthy bitterness. The mouthfeel is medium bodied with average carbonation and a semi dry finish. Cleanly lagered. Overall, very good to excellent. I didn't have high hopes for a single at 14 months of age purchased at room temp days ago, but this beer is delicious and clearly well made.

Cheers all!

 

I was out Friday afternoon day drinking at a brewery near me again. Before my friends showed up, I was able to take some notes on this.

New Magnolia Brewing's Bubble Funk. Saison at 5% ABV.



Pours a pale yellow color. A one finger white head forms, and recedes rather quickly. Just a spot of lace left behind.
Phenolic and ester like bubble gum aromas, and hard candy. Not particularly impressed with the nose.
Taste wise, oh, that bubble gum again is up front and dominate. Mixed with sour and hard candy. Kind of like watermelon jolly ranchers. This becomes sickly sweet after a while. Then, out of nowhere, a lingering cooked corn and cereal grain flavor in the finish. Kind of like DMS almost.
A medium body with moderate carbonation. This is resin/sugary. and sticky though. It became a chore to drink, and not something I wanted to finish after a while.

I keep trying New Magnolia's Saisons, and I keep being let down. I can see they wanted to play with the idea of the plastic like phenols and esters that can also give off a bubble gum kind of character. Though, it just became like liquid candy after a while. Not something I would recommend and I'm probably done trying their Saisons for now.

Overall score is 2.84, I don't really care to give a letter rating to that, just kind of blah.
https://www.beeradvocate.com/beer/profile/58057/632393/?ba=champ103#lists

 

Errands completed (a trip to the recycling center and grocery shopping), now it's time to drink some beer.
My new beer for today is LuLu's Lager, a Mexican-style lager brewed by Crystal Springs Brewing, and it measures in at 4.5% ABV.
Pale yellow, clear. Two-finger head that dissipates quickly. Good deal of lace.
Not much aroma, grain and floral.
Fresh corn taste, a bit of hoppiness late.
Light-bodied. Good summer beer.

 

Thank you @SawDog505 for kicking off the Weekend! I have two new Illinois brewed WCIPAs released for the first time this Fall, featuring a standard version today and a wet hopped double tomorrow.

Really happy when I come across DESTIHL beers from Normal (Go Redbirds!) located in the central portion of our state. This one is from their Deadhead IPA Series.

DESTIHL Deadhead IPA Series: West Coast Style



Can Notes: $2.25 single 12 oz can purchased at Beer on the Wall 11/18. 6.9% ABV, 60 IBU canned 11/10/22. Purchased at store temperature, refrigerated upon returning home until opening this morning.

Support Flavor. Boycott Bland. Like the bold colors & patterns of a tie dye shirt, this West Coast-Style IPA is bursting with psychedelic hoppy & fruity aromas, swirling with abundant American hop flavor & bitterness and a vintage malt backdrop. Cheers!

Appearance: Multiple pours into a 16 oz nonic. Clear golden straw / tan mix base, light carbonation, generous soapy bright white head lingers for a few minutes before leaving clumpy lacing. 4.0

Aroma: Citrus, pine and grapefruit, in that order backed by a bit of tropical (pineapple) for a modern twist. Smells sweet, strength medium to strong. Nice. 4.25

Taste: Strictly old school here, pine and citrus, nicely dry and bitter, no tropical flavor which is fine for me. Malt sits way in the back with its head down as he very well should when it comes to this style. Hits all the high notes for me, really enjoying this beer. 4.5

Mouthfeel: Dry and bitter, though approachable for non strict adherents to this style. Feels less than 60 IBUs. Hops shine through, traditional hops, drinks light and easy. Dry bitterness lingers like a rival you just vanquished in a sport or in life. Glorious. 4.5

Overall: DESTIHL came through and delivered without the tendency for Midwest brewers to malt things up. Then again, this is DESTIHL we are talking about, and they are a great brewery. Always nice to see a traditional WCIPA brewed in Illinois. Highly recommend if you enjoy OG WCIPA style! 4.5

Musical accompaniment - Box of Rain last concert.

 

I’ve been curious about this beer but didn’t want to buy a whole six pack as a test. Thanks for sharing your thoughts…it showed up here a year or so ago but haven’t tried since it’s been around.

 

FWIW it has been my experience that Doppelbocks hold up well with age (e.g., about a year) and that with aging they develop some extra complexity of dark dried fruit flavors.

Good to hear that you enjoyed this beer.

Cheers!

 

I'd guess a good 80% of my NBW beers come via our BIFs, but for my next beer I'm going with something both lighter and that I purchased.

Sonata from Fox Farm

From the brewery:
Introducing Sonata, our first Kriek-inspired beer and the latest addition to Music Vale Compositions, our program of 100% spontaneous ales. Blended from a variety of oak filled over the 2019-2021 brewing seasons, Sonata was refermented on New York-grown cherries to the tune of 5 lbs of fruit per gallon. More than any other fruit, there is a deep and storied tradition of tart cherries in spontaneous beer - and for good reason, it’s an incredibly complex fruit that works beautifully in these beers.
Bottled May, 2022 | 750 ml or 1.5 L | 6.1%


3.69/5 rDev 0% (added to database)
look: 4 | smell: 3.75 | taste: 3.5 | feel: 4 | overall: 3.75
Appearance is a bright, cranberry red with plenty of pink fizzy head that dissipated quickly. Aroma has plenty of earthy funk complemented by an ample amount of tart cherry. On the tongue this is bright and lively. There's plenty of funk, which I love, but maybe a little too much cherry for my personal preference. It doesn't taste artificially sweet, but there is no mistaking the cherry. Very light bodied and plenty lively.

If you like cherries, you'll love this beer. It fell under the "good +" category for me, mostly due to the fact that I'm not as partial to cherries as I am raspberries, peach and some other fruits.

Side note: The quality of Fox Farm's beer is excellent, but I also love their can's and bottles. Cans are beautifully simple while their "Music Vale Composition" (their spontaneous program beers) bottles have a simple class to them that I also like.

Side note #2 - Congrats Morocco. Hoping England can take out France in an hour.

Side note #3 - RIP Grant Wahl. A reminder that life is fragile and you never know when your time is up, so don't take anything for granted. 48 years young.

 

Hello New Beer Weekend!!!

I have been working all morning trying to get ready to head up to Lake of the Woods for some ice fishing. I am now all packed, and just waiting to head on out in a few hours. So, it's time for a beer. This one is thanks to @Beersnake1 .


Foggy Window - NEIPA - Monkish Brewing - Torrance, CA - 8.1% ABV

It is true that I am somewhat burnt out on this style. That being said, when it's done well, I am a fan of it.

This is done well. Very soft and juicy feeling. Taste is toward sweet tropical fruits - mango/guava with a hint of pineapple on the finish.

I am impressed, and so happy and thankful that this was sent to me. Thank you so much for it.

Review:
https://www.beeradvocate.com/beer/profile/28657/226305/

4.52/5 rDev +0.4%
look: 4.75 | smell: 4.5 | taste: 4.5 | feel: 4.5 | overall: 4.5
This is a hazy and murky looking beer. The color reminds me of pineapple juice. Looks kinda pulpy. The head is white, fluffy, cloud like, with small bubbles. 2 Fingers is the pour, and the head retention is long lasting, with amazing lacing that sticks to the glass like super glue.
Very tropical aroma here. The aroma leans toward sweet tropical to me. Mango, and guava seem to be the main aromas, with a hint of pineapple in the mix.
Taste - The flavor follows the nose and the hops are more sweet. Lots of mango and guava going on here. They hit hard and early on in the mix. The finish is more tart and a hint of bitterness, which leans toward pineapple. That flavor isn't too strong, but there.
The body is pretty damn soft and juicy feeling. Not really boozy feeling at 8.1%.
This is a very well made NEIPA. Impressed.


I will be back later tonight for something else. Cheers all.

 

Pulpit Rock - Tall, Dark And Snappy (Czech Dark Lager)

beautiful dark brown pour with a huge wet sand colored foam head. lacing and thin foam cap remain throughout the pour. 4.5

dark, rye bread, cocoa and earthy hops on the nose. 4.25

taste mostly follows the nose but it has an amplified bitter, earthy finish. 4

medium-full mouthfeel. less carbonation than a czech pale lager but that’s expected. 4.25

overall, i love this style and this one was very well done. it’s quite drinkable but has enough warming qualities for a colder late autumn day. 4.25

overall score 4.17
rDev +5.3%

cheers to new beers!!

 

After a walk around my neighborhood on a cool wet morning, a Belgian style ale seemed appropriate.

North Coast Brewing Co. Brother Thelonious

Pours a clear reddish brown color. No sediment or floaties. Small cream colored head and spotty lacing.
Inviting cherry and clove aromas.
A sip unlocks toffee, dark chocolate, fig and clove flavors.
Slightly sweet but not objectionable. No alcohol burn. Substantial body with light hop bitterness.
Nine times out of ten I have picked up a Belgian when in the mood for a strong dark abbey ale. I think that Brother Thelonious holds it own against Belgian competition.

 

I'll warn you, I truly love the Doppelbock style. I can't say that Coronator is better than the other widely available imports, but I really enjoyed it today.

 

Hello NBW fam; had a rare chance for an early beer today so I went for it. I grabbed a single of this beer when I realized it contained chinook and centennial, two hops I love that are also in another beer I really can’t wait to try tonight. Anyway a rare ipa for me and a double at that. Ive enjoued blizzard of hops a lot when I’ve had it so here goes double…

Troegs - Double Blizzard




Pours a hazy gold, decent light penetration keeps this out of murky gross territory. Not much to mention on head, retention or lacing; just a thing dense ring remains.

Very vibrant nose on this beer; very pineapple forward, orange sweet citrus, nose wants to get pine from the chinook but it’s all masked by the above; oh well.

The taste mirror the nose with some slight variation; the citrus is more rind/pith, and the pineapple takes the background, there is an ever so gentle pine finish.

At 8.3% this is on the bigger side of medium, it is nice and dry and has soft toned down bitterness on the finish; drinks remarkably clean. I pick up a hint of the abv on the finish, slight nasal cavity warming sensation.

This beer is quite good in terms of new meets old world hops; I would say it leans slightly heavier into the new world side of things. I was hoping it would lean more old but that is just preference; a well constructed beer that I would recommend trying.

I haven’t been as excited as I am for the next beer I plan to have in quite some time; it’s like my favorite brewery and I have “ESPN” or something.

—————

in my remaining quiet time I will watch Kevin’s Macalister destroy Harry and Marv in NYC…see you later everyone.