New Beer Weekend #127

Hey! NBW starting on a not-quite holiday Friday? I'll play, but I guess we'll see if the thread gets deleted. Anyway, I want to show off this beer @jonphisher sent me, as I wait for a BCBCS to chill and hunker down until the ice on the roads thaws (and I have a reason to go somewhere).


Troegs - Double Blizzard

16oz can served in a curvy Fremont glass. "Freshest by 03/30/2023." Received last week.

Pours fairly hazy with a medium sized head, settles into a dense ring that climbs up the side of the glass and a remarkably even, pretty, thick skin. Smell is citrus, pine, moderately juicy. Maybe some orange pith.

Taste is all that and more -- really bright, super pithy, fairly hefty resinous pine/grapefruit bite, noticeable booze.

Mouthfeel is big, reasonably thick, heading toward chewy but not quite there. Has a little bit of a chalkiness to the texture. Overall, this is a nice, hefty DIPA.

 

It was blessed by Todd...

 

Woohooo! I’ll join my favorite beer people soon…can’t wait.

Glad you enjoyed @snaotheus that was the first IIPA I had in a while and thought it was pretty well done. Plus those PNW mountains on the label

 

Mother's Brewing Co. Winter Grind Vanilla Latte, 6.0% ABV; 3.44 overall


Can pours an effervescent chestnut with a sliver of tan head. Some lacing & head retention

S: Weakish coffee & vanilla, even that fades as it warms

T: Coffee is stronger on the tongue than the nose, some vanilla, woody hops & dryness up front. Coffee starts to water down as this warms, fairly dry with creamy vanilla, some astringent notes. Finishes dry with bitter coffee & chicory notes, plus some vanilla cram

MF: Light/medium body, restrained carbonation. Body thins out as this beer warms

This just not my thing, body is too light & the coffee flavors remind me of day-old coffee with some vanilla added

disclaimer: I do think their regular strength Coffee beers are better on tap

 

Let’s get this holiday weekend started; temps have plummeted a beer box from a small trade with @NorsemanOne just arrived. Figured I would pour this one first into one of my favorite glasses courtesy of @BBThunderbolt

Not sure how many new beers I’ll get around to this weekend, with the festivities but I hope it’s a few, so wanted to fit one in early in case.

Upslope - Oatmeal Stout (5%)



Pours clear and very dark brown; dense light brown head forms beautifully, settles with a nice cap and substantial initial lacing.

Nose is a chalky and roasty char, almost burnt, like over roasted coffee, dark fruit and chocolate.

Taste burnt toast, unsweet cocoa powder; with a huge hit of bitter roast on the finish, like the nose minor dark fruit, dark cherry, as it warms.

Light body; very drinkable, chalky dry with a very noticeable roast driven bitterness, the kind you get from burnt toast.

Very drinkable and enjoyable beer for me; a nice stout heavy in the burnt bitterness department. If you like bitter you will enjoy this beer.

 

Drekker Creeper's Pet Cider Smoothie Sour, 6% ABV. Pours thick and bright opaque orange with a ring of orange bubbles that left puree residue. Nose is apple cider and mango. Taste follows, plus vanilla, moderately sweet slightly tart, salt on the close. OK mouthfeel, overall very good.

3.84/5 rDev -0.8%
look: 4.25 | smell: 4 | taste: 3.75 | feel: 3.75 | overall: 3.75

 

I've got a surprise for you. I'll try to get it out soonish.

 

Dude…after all you’ve been through the past month you’re still spreading love, seriously…

As long as I’m drinking beer I’ll never leave this group of awesome people. Cheers Terry!

Like I said small box of new facility tonewood beer will be headed to Bellingham when you’re well and recovered. I’ll give it a few months…

 

As a part of our pre-wintry mix travels yesterday, we stopped by Gigantic and had some food and a beverage. Then we got a dozen to go. Using the back anteroom as a cellar-temp cooler for this rye-barrel aged RIS:


This Most Most Premium beer reminds me of nearer home harkening to the naming convention The Veil used. We grabbed a few barrel variants but this is the one I opened first.

Bubbles struggled to break the surface, but they finally did, mimicking the suspense of a main character driving an exploding car into a body of water as the camera sits on the stilled lake waiting for signs the hero survived.

The last pour showed the most promise of tan protein encased gas, but none really impressed that much. Oily legs stick to the glass on a swirl, but the bubbles remain reticent. The nose is familiar, with a lightly stale damp wood backing the more anticipated sweet barrel notes atop fig, date, and bakers chocolate.

Taste has a light tang that could be the barrel, and again is familiar. The visible struggles of carbonation carry over to direct contact, but it’s not a big detraction. Back to the tang, it has enough force to evoke a not-too-tart cherry impression. Dark fruits backfill this. I can’t say I’m getting anything specifically rye here, but I’m not sure I’d expect or want to pick it out without a comparison beer.

Overall, with this beer I basically am sitting on second base in the ballpark of what I expect from a barrel-aged stout.

 

Soul & Spirits Hopper Bolic Hazy Juicy IPA, 6.7% ABV; 4.24 overall

Pours a hazed gold with 3 fingers of rocky pearl colored head ( gushing ). Insane lacing, very good head retention, minor deduction for the gushing

S: Tropical fruit, citrus

T: Sweet orange, tangerine, lime & passion fruit & dryness up front. A little grapefruit as this beer warms up, more sweet orange & a little guava. Finishes juicy & sweet with a little dryness & lime

MF: Medium body, creamy carbonation

Pretty good flavor, nice & juicy, crushable, just have a glass handy or open it over the sink

 

Damn, I'm jealous. I can find Sam Smith Oatmeal Stout, which is very good. I would like to have more to choose from. I was spoiled by Young's and it's gone.....

 

Well, this is a pleasant, unexpected surprise - an early start to my favorite thread on this board. Only one beer for me on a bitterly cold and snowy evening in Northern Indiana, and it’s appropriately named, given our current weather situation …..



You can’t really see it in the pic, but the snow is BLOWING all over the place, and it is C-O-L-D (-30 Deg F) with all that wind. But it’s supposed to warm up tomorrow, with the snow stopping in the morning around the 12” mark, so we’re good to go.

On to tonight’s beer!





4.5/5 rDev +1.8%
look: 4.5 | smell: 4.5 | taste: 4.5 | feel: 4.5 | overall: 4.5
Pours a very hazy pineapple color with a creamy white head that coats the glass in lacing *********s. Gorgeous hazy. The nose is dank exotic citrus notes, including ripe oranges, guava, and passion fruit, some berry notes, and a subtle creamy oat aroma.

The oranges and guava are forward on the taste and absolutely delicious, joined by strawberry and creamy oat flavors that work exceptionally well, especially with the full, vibrant mouthfeel.

There’s a reason that Tree House is the “go to” hazy brewery for so many beer nerds, and this beer is yet another example of their prowess in that space.

 

Goose Island's Bourbon County Reserve. @FBarber was drinking it and my nine-year-old son wanted me to keep up with him. Luckily my wife is helping.

500ml bottle split between a pair of little Cantillon wineglasses. Drink by 27 July 27.

Pours black, thick and viscous, with a small head (which kind of surprises me, I expected none) that lasts a while. If you look carefully, there's a tiny amount of tiny active carbonation. Smell is booze, oaky bourbon, char, coffee, lots of anise. A little bit of vague sweetness that sort of hints at vanilla.

Taste is not as overpoweringly sweet as I expected. It's sweet, but balanced out a little bit by the char and coffee. Booze is a little too noticeable for me to love it. Bourbon comes across more "in whole" than as a hint -- like some got poured in. I also get a little bit of toffee, which is pretty interesting.

Mouthfeel is thick, smooth, a little chewy, still and sticky. Overall...it's really good (though not good enough to justify the price point).