New Beer Weekend #127

Another from the Box

Golden State Cerveza
12oz can BEST ENJOYED BY 01/22/2023 poured into a vintage bowtie glass at fridge temp 4.8 % ABV. The beer pours bright golden yellow with nearly white head. The head recedes to a thin ring and single layer of bubbles. The aroma is pale malt and cereal grain. The taste is semisweet pale malt with a hint of vegetable and diacetyl. Minimal bitterness. The mouthfeel is thin bodied with average carbonation and a mostly dry finish. Overall, not great.

 

Drekker Mass Shadow NEIPA, 7% ABV. Pours hazy orange with a 2+ finger white head that left real nice lacing. Nose is not much. Taste is slight citrus, perhaps some grapefruit, slightly sweet, moderately bitter. Dry mouthfeel, overall very good.

3.93/5 rDev -3%
look: 4.25 | smell: 3.75 | taste: 4 | feel: 3.75 | overall: 4

Last new beer on hand, now back to drinking down the cellar for a while. Beef roast in the crock.

 

Ok, next beer, and, well, it's a very confusing beer to me.

Strong Compass - American Strong Ale - Warrior Brewing - 9.3% ABV

Even if I were sober at this point, this beer would mess me up. I get wild Belgian aromas from it. I get a tart apple flavor, and I get caramel, and vanilla. I shouldn't be getting the wild part in this beer, but I do. I like this, but confused AF.

Review:
https://www.beeradvocate.com/beer/profile/60972/634532/


4.09/5 rDev 0%
look: 4.25 | smell: 4 | taste: 4 | feel: 4.25 | overall: 4.25
This beer is a clear golden colored pour. The head is 1 finger - poured from the can - white, frothy, and decent retention. There's not too much lacing on the glass, but, there's a bit of a ring where the head was on the glass.
The aroma is confusing as heck to me, to be honest. I get a sour apple aroma in this beer. I'm totally confused here. I like what I smell, but, I totally don't know what to think about it based on the style.
The flavor is also interesting. I get so much Belgian wild ale flavors here, though, it isn't one. My compass, which my grandpa got, as a teenager, in 1918, is going bonkers here. I get sour apple flavors. I get vanilla. I get caramel, and toffee. I'm not going to lie, my hands are up. I am so confused with the flavors here, and it's not because I'm drunk - it totally confuses me.
the body seems pretty good, and full.
I wish I had a super taster palate, though, even if I did, this would be a confusing beer. I like it, but, have no clue if I'm rating it right. I am not going to lie, but this is the toughest beer I've rated. I have no clue to if I'm on the target.


I may as well be done here, because this beer messed me up. I hope all enjoyed the holidays they celebrated and the new beers as well. Cheers all.

 

Final beer for the four day weekend, returning with the same brewer I kicked off the weekend with.

Roaring Table Deluxe Home Beverage



Can Notes: 16 oz canned 11/3/22, Surpassed By None. Purchased 11/23/22 for $4.00 w/ tax for a single can at Beer on the Wall. 5.6% ABV, Extra Pale Ale. Brewed and canned by Roaring Table Brewing, Lake Zurich, ILL. Hops Magnum, Cashmere, El Dorado, Strata. "A Famous Name Since 2022"

Always of the Highest standard, this sparkling Ale comes Direct from our storage tanks to You. Enjoy the true, pure, REFRESHING beer that satisfies the Taste and Cools the palate. Ready today from the Fines dealers in the trade!

Appearance: Multiple pours into a shaker pint glass. Creamy, bubbly generous white head lingers a few minutes before leaving clingy soapy lacing in its wake. Base is clear light yellow straw color, carbonation medium tricks to slow after a few minutes. 3.75

Aroma: Leads with fruit, citrus and tangerine, backed by pine. Smells fruity and sweet, light in strength. 3.5

Taste: Stronger than the aroma, but consistent in profile with the tangerine bossing around a light citrus and pine. As I work through this, a nice pine and dankness emerges to complement the sweet tangerine, and by golly it has. I am glad the beer took this turn about 10 minutes in. 4.25

Mouthfeel: Carbonation felt more than seen, somewhat heavy, giving girth to an otherwise light to medium watery body. Light and easy drinking consistent with the ABV. Lightly dry and ends up neutral, with the sweet fruit balanced against the pine and mild dank bitterness. 3.75

Overall: The El Dorado is the star of the show with this one, love the overall balance and varied flavors for this light drinking beer with a big heart. Overall solid effort from Roaring Table, because Roaring Table. 4.0

Looking forward to catching up with the thread today before another Christmas dinner planned for tomorrow.

 

Happy St. Stephen’s Day, or Boxing Day.
I likely won’t be drinking any new beers today as it’s the mug club at our local brewery.
But I did want to share one of my favorite songs for the day.
St. Stephen’s Day Murders, hopefully it links right.
Cheers all!

 

Day 4!!!! This first beer is from my friend @woemad and NBS BIF #16. And what is that lurking in the background …..





4.03/5 rDev 0%
look: 3.75 | smell: 3.75 | taste: 4.25 | feel: 4 | overall: 4
Pours a golden straw color that is nearly clear and props up a sudsy white head that I wish was a bit more substantial after an aggressive (nearly vertical) pour. The nose is grass, cereal grain, and a touch of lemon.

The lemon is much more pronounced on the taste, with the grass following and cereal grain following with a lingering bitter finish. I thought I’d get some corn from this, and there is none - it drinks very similar to a noble-hopped German pilsner. Delicious stuff.

The mouthfeel is crisp, per the style. This is a terrific lawnmower beer, one I’d drink from a hose in the summer.

 

Cool tune @Whyteboar NBW educates not only beer but holiday; I never knew this was a day till today, the more ya know…

 

#2, the idea for the base beer of this Mega-Iconic beer in our beer nerd universe was hatched in my hometown (South Bend, IN) at a restaurant named LaSalle Grill 30 years ago, over bourbon, beer, great food, and cigars.

Look it up. And I’ll be dining with Mrs O at that restaurant on 2/4/23, so I’ve got THAT going for me.

Today, I am loving this variant, while trying to answer the question: is it worth it vs the base BCBS?

Read on, my beer nerd friends like @FBarber and @snaotheus .







4.63/5 rDev +2.2%
look: 4.5 | smell: 4.5 | taste: 4.75 | feel: 4.75 | overall: 4.5
Pours onyx black with a dark tan head that is at first glance substantial, but as is the case with many of these high ABV beers (14.4%), sizzles itself away in a matter of seconds. Gorgeous BBA imperial stout.

The nose features bourbon (duh!), oak, lots of stone fruit (black cherries), dark chocolate, and some char. It’s in line thus far with the base beer, which is a good thing from an enjoyment standpoint, but I’m not sure what the difference is from the “base” beer.

The taste, though, for me does emphasize the differentiation, especially with the stone fruit (which I love, because I am a black cherry fan from way back) and the elevated oak flavor I get, which works well with the cherry and dark chocolate flavors. There are zero rough edges (as in alcohol heat) with this variant, something that isn’t always the case with the base in my experience.

Another differentiator with this variant vs the base is the mouthfeel, which is obviously substantial, but the way this beer costs the palate is sublime. It’s too easy to drink QUICKLY, which can be a problem with a beer of this gravity.

Fortunately, I am a trained professional.

In summation, this beer is truly a pleasure to drink, and I’m glad I have a second bottle to age to see how it develops. But is it worth 3X the base? As a one-off, yes, but not as a “go forward every year” variant, IMHO. That would not do justice to the revolutionary legacy of BCBS, IMHO.

 

Godspeed - Bůh Originální Ležák

355ml can served in a footed pilsner glass. Can is dated 08/June/2022. Received from @Coronaeus in a mulligan box from a LIF associated with NBS BIF #15.

Poured pretty clear until I added the last centimeter or two. Big head -- maybe 3 fingers. Settles slowly. Lots of carbonation. Smell is grainy and clean, maybe a hint of grass.

Taste is much more prominently in the hoppy direction. Lemon zest, lots of cut grass, pretty strong bitter finish, lots of floweriness. Mild honeysuckle sweetness, slightly sweet doughiness.

Mouthfeel is light, crisp. Overall, very nice.

Nice change of pace from the barrel aged stouts and barleywines and foeder-aged sours. Nice, clean, satisfying.

 

Boulevard Mango Jungle Sour Ale, 4.2% ABV; 4.12 overall

Pours a hazed gold with 2+ fingers of eggshell colored head. Meh head retention & lacing

S: Plenty of Mango, some citrus

T: Sweet mango, a little dryness. a little tangerine, a little tartness & papaya up front. A touch of salt & dryness, but mostly sweet Mango. Finishes mostly sweet, some oranges, a little dry & tart

MF: Medium body, moderate carbonation. Carbonation picks up a little once warm

I could crush this in the Summer, just enough tartness to offset the Mango sweetness

 

Shadow of their former selves, just sad

 

Cooked perfect, my Wife insist on another 20-30 minutes in the oven

 

pFriem - Wit

16oz can served in a pair of WABL sample glasses. I think the date is 06/04/22.

Pours surprisingly clear, pale yellow, small head, lots of carbonation. Smell is banana and honey sweetness, a little doughy yeastiness.

Taste is surprisingly sweet. Simple syrup and honey, a little bit of banana, doughiness is toned down a little bit but it's still there. A little bit of a lemony character.

Mouthfeel is light and effervescent. Overall, it's good and interesting to drink, leaning a bit too much toward the sweet side, seems like a fairly unconventional witbier.