New Beer Weekend #129

I will do. Will probably happen tomorrow, I'm going to lay off the trade beers for today. Let my palate reset a bit.

 

Back again. That was a lovely pint.

Another close out then. And fortuitous because I eyed this while it was available over thanksgiving.

Mayflower - Thanksgiving 2022 $4.99 for the 4-pack

This is an English old ale aged on toasted American oak (toasted I presume means we’re shy of bourbon’s “charred oak”)



Overall a lovely beer. Beautiful true amber, dark malty color. Head hangs around tidily, beautifully conditioned ale. Nose and taste up front really present sharp tobacco, malt sugar and early grey. There’s a heft of what tastes of something like fuggles upfront, sharp earthy hop character.
It ends herbaceous but truly mild and well balanced.

This is a lovely pint. Cheers!

 

Thanks for opening the bar @JackHorzempa ! Perhaps folks like me are scrambling to pick up new beers after the eight days over the past two weekends.

Loved your reviews and would like to come across the Maplewood @FBarber collaboration and Wild Onion @ZebulonXZogg beers. Drago is one of my favorite RIS, so curious to try this take from them.

I didn't feel like traveling far, so picked up the first Revolution Variety Pack I've bought in perhaps a year, with two of the four guaranteed locks (Anti-Hero and Jukebox-Hero, their Black IPA, and two for the weekend. I'll be sampling new beers in Los Angeles for however long New Beer Sunday lasts over Martin Luther King Jr. Day Weekend. Going with the haze first, saving the WCIPA for Prime Time Sunday.

Revolution Hip-Hop Hero





League of Heroes Box Beer & Can Notes: 12 oz canned 11/23/22 @ 11:22:10 AM, 7.4% ABV, 30 IBUs. Hops Nectaron, Zappa, Mosaic, Nelson Sauvin, Citra. Brewed and canned by Revolution Brewery, Chicago, IL.

The syncopated rhythm of fruit-forward Hazy yeast and new school hops pump the volume on a style that's uniquely American. The latest and greatest hop mix hits soft on the palate, but loud in tropical pineapple, stonefruit, and citrus.

Appearance: Foggy/murky yellow straw base, generous creamy thick head leaves generous cover over the base and soapy lacing in it's wake. Main pour and then top off pour into a shaker pint glass. 3.75

Aroma: Tropical fruit, tangerine, pineapple backed by citrus. Mild in strength and sweetness, smells good. 4.0

Taste: Sugar, Tropical Fruit, more Sugar. Tangerine, stone fruit and citrus. Hop bitterness emerges as this warms or perhaps because I'm getting accustomed to it. Now halfway in, I'm liking it more than first impressions. 3.5

Mouthfeel: Very sweet like SweeTARTS, the sweetest "Hero" I can recall by memory. As I work through this, some backing bitterness flails away to help contain with moderate success. Light body, faint carbonation, drinks lighter than the listed ABV. Somewhat dry and chalky. Sweet aftertaste. 3.25

Overall: This is sweeter than the typical Hazy IPA, doesn't really suit my typical taste preference, but is a decent beer that I'll enjoy for desert over my remaining two cans. Not a beer I'd order regularly. 3.5

Excited for the other new 2022 beer because it is WCIPA, though with some trepidation noting the cryo mosiac, and curiosity with I believe new to me Solero and Talus hops. Stay tunned.

 

Greetings, NBW beer nerds. Time for a mystery beer!!! This is from @woemad and NBS BIF #16 (and the glassware is courtesy of my friend @BBThunderbolt from a BIFer long, long ago).

And let’s do this live without a net!!!


Popping the top on the crowler, the first notes from the can are booze, followed by some malt. An aggressive pour reveals a mahogany brown beer that is crystal clear and sports a sudsy light tan head with some sizzle to it.

The nose is indeed a little boozy with some toffee notes and a bit of fruit ….. maybe cherries? I’m thinking a big, BA barleywine.

The taste has the booze, but it’s really smoothed out by what is a rich toffee flavor on my amateur palate, and there’s indeed a bit of stone fruit at the back of the palate, as well as a nice alcohol warming as the beer settles in your chest. Delicious.

The mouthfeel is full, substantial, and a bit creamy. I’m running with this being a BA barleywine and I’m putting it solidly in the 4.40 range.

 

Phase Three - P3 Baltic Porter


poured from a 16oz can into a delirium tremend snifter. pours a dark brown to near black with a small tan foam cap. dark fruits, light coffee and cocoa powder on the nose. taste is heavier on the dark fruits with a bit of dark bread malts, cocoa powder and coffee in the background. medium-full mouthfeel with a creamy smooth finish. hides the abv quite well actually while still being a big, bold beer. a little less carbonation than i expected but i probably shouldn’t be surprised at 10.5% abv. overall, i quite enjoyed this. a good cold weather beer.

4.25, 4, 4, 4.25, 4.25
overall: 40.3
rDev: +1.5%

cheers!!

 

Czech Dark Lager is the new hotness... Around here Heist and Charles Towne Fermentory both have them. I haven't seen the CTF beer, but expect that it is good. The Heist Tmavé Pivo is in a local store with a canning date of 12/8/22. I haven't had this style before, but since I like Schwarzbier, dunkels, fastenbiers, and dark ales, I was looking forward to it.

This beer had a nice tan two finger head and full lacing. It has a very pleasant coffee, pumpernickel, pepper, and light roast aroma.
Crisp and light to medium bodied. Pepper, coffee, nutty, bitter chocolate flavors. Stubborn carbonation. Less malty than schwarzbiers I have had.
Looking forward to getting Von Trapp and other US beers in this style.

 

Now for the reveal …..





Stone’s Throw, an English barleywine weighing in at 11.9% ABV. I missed on the barrel (it’s not BA), but per Untappd (shoutout to the sister company, @Todd ), it does feature cherry wood notes, so I’ve got THAT going for me.

This is a magnificent English barleywine, @woemad . Thank you SO MUCH for sending it my way (and thank you to @BBThunderbolt for the glass that perfectly showcases this beautiful beer).

And 3/4 of the way through the crowler, I’m pacing myself very cautiously with this big, brawny barleywine, so I’m one and done tonight, NBW friends. See you all tomorrow evening.

 

New Glarus Weizen Doppelbock

Appearance: Clear brown, nice head.

Smell: Bready, mild sweetness, banana.

Taste: Very nice, moderate sweetness, bread and mild gingerbread, mild banana sweetness. Thick feel and coating.

Overall: Finally got over to Wiscoland to pick up this New Glarus specialty. I'm a big fan of weizenbocks and this one hits the spot. Leans to the sweeter side instead of the spicy/clove side, which is a plus for me. Great stuff!

 

Lost Forty Work In Progress Rooster Illusion Hazy IPA, 8.0% ABV; 4,24 overall

Pours a very hazed gold with a thumb of pearl colored head. Great lacing & above average head retention

S: Tons of tropical fruit, fades a little as it warms

T: Guava, passion fruit, mango & a little bit of sweet orange up front, plus some dryness. Pineapple surfaces as this beer warms up, plus limes, green melon & mango, plus dryness. Finishes dry with pineapple, guava & mango

MF: Medium body, creamy carbonation, nice balance

Drinks great, another good Hazy from these guys

 

Good evening gang. Kinda busy but fun day. Set up the handbells for our concert tomorrow evening, lunch with our helper elf grandson and a friend from church, groceries. Then helper elf and I put a new cutting edge on the tractor bucket which damn well guarantees we won't see any snow...

Tonight's victim is Canned Heat Four Paws, a locally-made chocolate stout which is a fundraiser for Labrador retriever rescue.



Well, it looks like it should. Dark with a nice, tight khaki head that actually lasts a while and remains as a nice cap.

The smell is a bit underwhelming in the chocolate department, but it is very nice in the stout part. Perfect level of roasty malt, a tad bit of coffee, no burnt notes. Clean.

The taste brings a bit more of the chocolate, and the stout remains strong. Whether intentional or not, this beer to me has just enough chocolate and features the base beer very nicely. Pleasant malts, none of the nasty acridity that sometimes comes out.

Feel is on the light side, slightly dry, minimally bitter.

Overall, this is a perfectly adequate stout from a small local brewery beginning to fund their way. We've been to the taproom and it is a cool place to hang. All of the beers ww tried were approachable, easy to drink and well made. This used to be a hop-centric "more is better" type of brewery. New ownership, change of direction to arguably more profitable styles and a focus on drinkability with an experienced brew team - good to see. This stout will be around a 3.8. Good drinker, straightforward.

Looks like the unofficial theme is Czech dark lager...sure wish I had one amid the stockpile, but I don't.

 

Well hello there fellow beer friends, a pleasure to finally join you all...and with this sort of impromptu czech dark lager tasting that appears to be going on. I can only join you all for this because of the generosity of @snaotheus and several...read plenty...of beers he sent me this week. @JackHorzempa I believe this mug of dark lager is better than an emoji... The glass, from a local brewery, a gift from my best friend, we always exchange a book and a small book at Christmas...

And away....we....go

Block 15 - Carpathians (5.2% Czech Dark Lager)



Pours very deep and dark brown with a great light brown head; beautiful shade of brown, very creamy looking...nice thin little film lingers for the duration.

The nose is a slightly spiced; somewhat licorice like; dark bread, light unsweetened chocolate in the foreground as it warms.

The taste confirms the dark bread as well as a minor licorice like spice to it; this shows in the finish for me, some very light darker chocolate notes mixed in the middle.

Light to medium body, the mouthfeel is full but incredibly smooth and almost creamy in nature, dry and clean with a lingering little bit of bitterness.

This beer was very enjoyable to drink for me, well balanced and incredibly smooth on the palette, I enjoyed the little bitterness it has. Give it a try.

Thanks for sharing Ryan, loved this beer.

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Tree got taken out today, we left it up an extra week this year and it helped with bidding farewell...I personally always enjoy settling into the quiet months of winter before spring arrives, I find a lot of pleasure in the peace and quiet that winter can bring. Unfortunately it seems like winter weather is on vacation this year for the most part.

Winter gives two paws down to this winter so far…dreaming of colder days.

 

Lachouffe Cherry Chouffe, 8.0% ABV; 3.94 overall

Pours an effervescent amber color with a sliver of cream-colored head. Average head retention & lacing

S: Cherries, not much else

T: Sweet cherries, a little dryness, figs & woody hops, a little tartness as well up front. Sweet & tart cherries, some jammyness, plus dryness & a little bit of dryness, Finishes dry with plenty of sweet & a little tart cherry, dryness & some raisin

MF: Medium body, fairly firm carbonation

Interesting, fun offering, drinks fairly easy

Here's a pictire I took of the source about 20 years ago on our way to Bastogne from Germany. I loved visiting the Ardennes. Beautiful & choc full of WWII History

 

The Wolf

BBA Imperial Stout from 3 Sheeps Brewing.
Part of one of the boxes of beer sent to me by the incomparable @Victory_Sabre1973 for NBW BIF #16.
Poured Imperial stout dark (You know, black coffeeish) and was impenetrable black in the snifter, capped with a light brown head.
The aroma was largely lost on my chemically damaged nose, but I did get an almost sweet malt scent out. Interesting.
The taste was a solid foray into the now crowded arena or bourbon barrel aged stouts. There is no harsh edges to get in the way, it's almost sweet in presentation. Dark fruit, chocolate, a touch of tannin and bourbon. Quite pleasant.
The feel is just viscous enough for sipping, no slamming this one down. It really is sneaky in how high the ABV is. Really enjoyed trying this one, thanks James!

 

SPBC King's Ferry IPA 6.2% ABV



Pour from the growler produced a deep bronze body with moderate carbonation and a lingering head. Lightly hazy. Great nose on this. American hops steal the show. The taste is well balanced between the bitter hops and the malt. Notes of berries and grapefruit rind. Medium mouth feel that goes down smooth in spite of the characteristic IPA bitterness and mid-range ABV.
Overall it's another great beer from SPBC, who is filling up the chalkboard in their taproom with more and more proprietary options.

4.09/5

 

Thanks for the analysis and I agree with a lot of what you have listed. Thanks for the heads up about Von C's Czech Dark Lager. I have yet to pay them a visit, but I may have to do so now.

 

Hey NBWers

January Julius from Tree House an American Crusher Ale. American hops 2.5 abv
Not necessarily for dry January but a lower abv and caloric option

Poured from a can dated 01/04/23 once upon a time in Charlton
Called on the can an American Crusher Ale hopped with choice American hops

Cloudy straw colored, fluffy white head, soapy lacing and thin veil

Sweet candied fruit aroma, mango and citrus

Taste is in the light side, mango and citrus notes

Mouthfeel is crisp and tingly, slight astringent and tangerine rind finish

Overall it’s definitely crushable, has a crisp clean feel and a light easy drinking style.

4/ 4.25/ 3.75/3.75/3.75. 3.89 rDev 0, I was the first to add it and review it
It’s kind of growing on me as I drink it, could be an awesome lawnmower beer.

 

Greetings all from the great northwest where we have gray skies and rain for the final weekend of the NFL regular season.

Today we have Cold Smoke scotch ale from Kettlehouse brewing.
https://www.beeradvocate.com/beer/profile/1916/5592/

A good brew but the flavor is a little short on the scotch notes.

Until next time