New Beer Weekend #127

Tree House JJJollyyy Juice. Poured into a 13 oz Teku glass canned on 12/06/22. Pours a very attractive yellow orange with a finger plus sticky white head that leaves thick streaks of lace, with amazing retention. 4.5

Aroma is mandarin, peach, mango, passionfruit, apricot, and white grapefruit. 4.25

Taste follows mandarin, peach, mango, passionfruit, apricot, and a little grapefruit bitterness. 4.25

Mouthfeel is above average, not sticky or dry, soft gentle carbonation, and at 8.2% it goes down extremely easy. 4.5

Overall another excellent NEDIPA from for me, the best in the business of making them. I recommend for sure. 4.25 Cheers all and I will try to make up for my slacking today. A ton of new stuff on hand.

 

Poured into a 20 Snulip glass not sure when it was canned. Pours a very attractive purple with a finger pink head that leaves thin streaks of lace, with nice retention. 4.75

Aroma is plum, blackberry, raspberry, vanilla, and black cherry. 4.25

Taste plum, blackberry. raspberry, vanilla, and black cherry. 4.5

Mouthfeel is above average, plenty of carbonation, maybe a tad dry, and at 6% huge flavor but easy drinking. 4.5

Overall this is pretty fantastic sour, I would highly recommend. 4.5

 

So glad you liked it, Ross.

 

Sounds like a solid "old school RIS" take. I love a lot of the sweeter BA versions but sometimes I really want that traditional, not too sweet, woody, hint of anise, earthy char, RIS.

Oh, and your bottle opener, I am in love.

 

So very sorry to hear of your loss. I've been through a few losses such as yours. It pains the heart profoundly. Focus on the good life you had together albeit never long enough.

 

so sorry to hear this and for you loss.

 

Well Hello Monday morning NBW.
I was lucky enough to receive this gem from @Coronaeus nearly a year ago and took the Noche Buena with family as my opportunity to finally enjoy.

Barrel Aged Nanaimo from Bellwood's Brewery in Ontario, CA.

She's a looker. Profoundly dark, charred walnut in hue. A most inviting mocha colored cap settles in to a thin, tightly packed, creamy looking fluff. Graceful curtains of lacing shimmer as they slowly descend, leaving a scattered patchwork of diehards.
Nose abounds with bourbon kissed chocolate, caramel, and the most gentle char notes on the back side. Hints of sweet dark fruit are discernible as well.
Wow, the flavor through faithfully but is much more varied. Yes, all of the bourbon tinged sweet malt notes are there, but the deepness of the dark fruit is nuanced: fig, medjool dates, stewed cherries (sans citrus), and prunes. But all of these notes are understated and found as it warms. It is sweet, yet not cloyingly so. And the fruit notes, hint of cinnamon, and char all make for a wonderful experience.
Mouthfeel is full enough for style, slightly oily, low carbonation, with a hint of warmth. A true sipper.
Overall, YES!
4.21/5 rDev +2.4%
look: 4 | smell: 4.25 | taste: 4.25 | feel: 4 | overall: 4.25
Thanks so much for this one Peter!

 

@Roy_Hobbs I am in this boat. I actually popped a 2012 BCBS last night. It was still solid. I love it, but I don't feel the need to grab some each year like in the old days.

 

Good afternoon NBW
This will be in contention for the most enjoyable beer in this mixed case, which is not saying much.

Kona Pipeline Porter
12oz can PKGD ON AUG08 22 poured into a juice glass at fridge temp 5.3% ABV per can. The beer pours opaque medium brown with mahogany highlights and light brown head. The head recedes to a thin ring and single layer of bubbles. The aroma is mild with cocoa and coffee. The taste is bittersweet roasted malt with more cocoa and (slight) coffee. Mild bitterness. Mouthfeel is thin to medium bodied with average carbonation and a mostly dry finish. Overall, good.

Cheers all!

 

Today has been a lazy day of watching soccer and reading a book I got for Christmas that I can't put down (Five Decembers by James Kestrel). Finally got my butt off the couch to grab a beer and decided to pull out this 6 year old bottle of Dino Smores from Off Color Brewing.

3.48/5 rDev -15.7%
look: 3.5 | smell: 3.5 | taste: 3.5 | feel: 3.25 | overall: 3.5
Bottled December, 2016 so this one has some age on it. Pours a cola brown. Small amount of short lived head. Aroma isn't anything great, but holds its own, especially after 6 years. Notes of cocoa and sweet chocolate, and an underlying booziness. Taste is much more that of a porter than a stout, with some pleasant roast the dominant characteristic. Any depth or complexity is lost to time. Feel is light and thin. Overall, time has caused the flavor of this beer to simplify greatly, but it's still enjoyable.

 

I wasn't expecting another day of NBW, but am happy to enter another beer into it.

Raspberry Chocolate Torte Darkness - Surly Brewing - RIS - 12% ABV

I wasn't planning on buying any of the BA variants this year after last year's lackluster lineup. I'm glad I did, because both that I've had this year I've liked.

Review:
https://www.beeradvocate.com/beer/profile/13014/625879/

4.25/5 rDev -1.4%
look: 3.75 | smell: 4.25 | taste: 4.25 | feel: 4.5 | overall: 4.25
This beer pours pitch black. The head was brown, with huge bubbles. The head dissipated almost instantly. There's no lacing on the glass.
Raspberry is the star of the aroma. It is a deep rich aroma. The raspberry is backed up with notes of chocolate.
Raspberry starts off the flavor train in this beer. Deep and rich tasting. The raspberry leans toward the tart side. The chocolate comes into the mix on the backside. The chocolate and raspberry flavors work well together.
There's a good deal of heat from the alcohol in this beer. It's not over the top, but it's there. Thick full bodied.
A delicious take on the base beer.


I think I'll be back later for another. Might finish up the Darkness train.

 

Liquid Riot has come to Vermont!

https://www.beeradvocate.com/beer/profile/31515/543473/



16 ounce can packaged 10/27/22.

Moderate to vigorous pour yields a 1/2 inch tan head over a black body with sticky lacing.
Head dissipates down to a ring in a couple minutes.

Nose of dark malt and milk chocolate, slight coffee, and even slighter vanilla.

Taste follows nose with the milk chocolate giving way to some bitter chocolate and coffee from the middle to a fairly dry finish. Also, a bit of malted milk coming through as it warms.

Nice, almost creamy mouthfeel.

Overall, quite a tasty treat from Portland, ME.
Cheers!

 

Another

Red Hook Big Ballard
12oz can stamped 13JAN 23 poured into a Spiegelau IPA glass at fridge temp 8.6% ABV. The beer pours bright medium amber with light khaki head. The head recedes to a thin cap and leaves a little lacing. The aroma is caramel malt and cereal grain. The taste is bittersweet malt with a watery hint of caramel, stewed vegetables, more cooked cereal, citrus, ethanol and pine. Moderate bitterness. Mouthfeel is medium bodied with average carbonation and a semi dry finish. Overall, not good, will not finish. Overbearing ethanol and cooked grain for the little bit of caramel malt and hops.

I'm really surprised by how badly these beers are tasting. I would have thought they were trying to make some brands relevant again instead of a cash grab...

 

Beer #2 has also been gathering dust on my shelves for years. Like my last beer, I think this is 6 years old. This is Eric, More Cowbell, a milk stout from Singlecut.


Bottled somewhere in the 2016 range from what I recall. This has been sitting on a shelf in my basement for a long time and I'm finally getting around to opening it. Not expecting much given its age.

Appearance is better than expected. Generic deep brown, but a surprising amount of khaki colored head that receded to a thin ring. Aroma on the other hand is.....just not good. I can't pick out any notes other than poo. Taste is mostly bland nothingness, reminiscent of a watered down porter with a light body and a very thin feel. Overall verdict.....it's not you, it's me. Shame on me for not drinking this years ago.

 

Silverferrari: Enhanced The Veil Brewing

8% ABV
"silverferrari: enhanced is a brand new luxuriously hopped DIPA brewed and dry-hopped with our freshest Motueka and Galaxy hops, elevated by our meticulous enhancing techniques. Bursting from the glass with fresh exotic fruit and lime zest."
Aromatic citrus, pine, and tropical scents. Smooth, creamy mouth feel. Sour pineapple and lime. Bitter aftertaste and dry finish. Very good.

 

That last beer wasn't worth finishing, so I'll pivot to yet another 5-6 year old SingleCut beer. This one is Heavy Boots of Lead, and imperial stout.

Undated bottle, but I believe this is from 2016 or 2017. Served at 50 degrees.

Appearance is typical brown / black, but with plenty of light brown head that receded to a nice cap / ring. Aroma is chocolate and light roast. Slightly sweeter than expected. Roast is more prominent on the nose. There's not a ton of complexity to the beer, but I suspect any of those nuances have been diminished by the time on the cellar shelf. As it stands, it's a solid stout that's still worth drinking.

 

Well, I will finish off the Surly BA Darkness variant hit parade for 2022/23 with this one.

Lumberjack Breakfast Darkness - Surly Brewing - RIS - 12% ABV

The base beer is all the same for the variants, that being said, it's amazing how different they look. The last one I had - Raspberry Torte - the head dissipated immediately, and the bubbles were huge. This beer the head was very thick, frothy, small bubbles, and VERY long lasting. A good customer at where I work said (on UT), and I quote - "Everything CBS but richer and more flavorful."

I've only had CBS once, but, I'd agree. This takes it up a level. I said before I wasn't planning on buying the BA variants after last year's mediocre release, but, this year, they did a great job. I might warn @Whyteboar that these will be coming his way in the near future in the next BIF box.

Review:
https://www.beeradvocate.com/beer/profile/13014/625878/

4.73/5 rDev +4%
look: 4.75 | smell: 4.75 | taste: 4.75 | feel: 4.5 | overall: 4.75
This beer pours pitch black. The head is VERY thick, and frothy looking - 4 finger - and very long lasting. The lacing looks like it sticks to the glass with super glue.
Aroma - a couple years back I got some maple tea at the Duty Free Store on the Minnesota/Canada border. The aroma reminds me of that. There's lots of maple in it. I also get some coffee, vanilla, cinnamon and chocolate in the aroma.
Taste - Wow! The coffee starts out the party. Very pleasing and powerful. The maple seems to come in next for me right after the coffee hit. The chocolate, cinnamon and vanilla take up the rear.
There's almost no alcohol heat to this beer, just a faint hint on the back. The body is very full and thick.
This is an amazing beer. Wow!


I'll see if I can do another after 2 RIS.