New Beer Weekend #130

Your picture and the above instantly made me think of our old friend Jon Snow...

 

Not familiar, however I am gettin old Cheers!

 

May have been ambitious with my four to go beer purchases, but hopefully I can enjoy 2-3 tonight.

I said I would come back with another RR beer, so here we go.

Russian River STS Pilsner



Appearance: Multiple pours into a pub style glass, one half way and a second slower pour to keep the yeast in the bottle, which I may add after completing my review.

Clear golden straw pour, nice creamy white head lingers a few minutes leaving soapy lacing throughout and a creamy cover over the base. Carbonation mild, not sure how the lack of a Pilsner glass is contributing on that front, though this glass style has sustained carbonation well in the past. 4.0

Aroma: Beautiful strong cracker leads, pepper follows with a hint of salt. Grass also noted. Smells great. 4.5

Taste: Consistent with the aroma, though much lighter in strength. Pleasant cracker backed by pepper and salt, grass not noted, not as crisp as I expected with the bottle notes. 3.5

Mouthfeel: Light and easy, a bit below the ABV. Dry, minimal carbonation to add to a light watery body. Pepper and light dryness lingers. 3.25

Overall: This looks and smells great, but falls flat in the taste and mouthfeel components. OK Pils, but at this price point it needs to be on point. 3.25

Hoping for at least one more after a break.

 

Lazy football day after church with the lousy weather continuing. We have gotten a coating of snow, but mostly it is just damp cold and the wind was howling. No fun, but far from any extreme so that makes it, well, OK at least.

Tonight's selection is from Barreled Souls:



You can all read that, right? It's called Ghost Monkey, one of their sour series. This one contains raspberry, chocolate, and hazelnut.

It looks like pink lemonade initially. I swirled the can and found the chocolate...it didn't improve the look. After that addition it looks like kinda brown pink lemonade. Soap bubble head that collapses almost as it forms. Books and covers applies, I suppose, so let's see what else is in store. Adding an observation as it sits - the surface is pretty active with microbubbles popping...it's alive????? Well, effervescent I guess.

It smells remarkably bright - fresh raspberry, a fleeting nutty aroma, and milk chocolate. It's quite pleasant on the nose. The raspberry is the big contributor here - its not jammy or cooked. There's a little tea aroma. Ok...things are looking up a tad.

The initial taste is just a bit unusual, but it's growing on me. The raspberry leads with a nicely balanced fruit sweetness and acidity. There's the tea thing going on that I usually find with raspberry, and a kind of seed-like resiny flavor. The milk chocolate serves as a sweeter counterpoint and takes the edge off what could be a jagged taste if left unbalanced. There's a vaguely nutty note - it is present but not strong and kind of weaves in and out. Not much of the base sour shows up here.

The feel is surprisingly hefty - it isn't thick like a fruit smoothie, but it has more viscosity than I'd expect. The acidity is noticeable but not excessive and to me it is clearly driven by the fruit. The sweetness of the chocolate keeps things in check. There's a pleasant tingle on the tongue, although I'd call carbonation moderate. I think that is also thanks to the fruit.

On the whole, I'm liking this just fine. It's butt ugly looking, but if I hadn't swirled up the chocolate, it would have continued downhill to hot mess status. So maybe a sippy cup and a straw is the way to go. It's an odd duck, that's for sure, but the flavors work together very well. I'll ding it for appearance, but the smell and taste are making me happy. Thinking around a 3.75 or so trying not to let liking it influence things too much. Recommended if you feel adventurous.

 

What was the price point? I pine for these beers, it’ll be good to feel the value isn’t great (compared against what is easily accessible to me). Oh and is it a quart/750ml?

 

Hey all, happy Sunday evening! Been a productive day, finally got some sunshine and above freezing temperatures.

Poured a warm honey color with a two finger off white head that left rings of lacing.
The aroma speaks of coffee and malts with a little vanilla.
The flavor follows, coffee in a light amber beer is rather odd for me as I normally get that flavor in stouts, but there it is. The vanilla accents the coffee rather than adding to the flavor.
The feel is nice, very easy drinking, almost soft.
Not one I see often so glad I got one to try. I’d happily drink it again.
Sent to me by a friend I meant on Imgur and started trading with.
Cheers all!

 

Went to grab dinner at a Mexican place I've long been curious about, but had never tried before. It was kinda meh. Big portions but indifferent quality. But they were across the street from For The Love Of God Brewing, who I haven't visited in a while.

So I hit their 3 Years, a hazy DIPA.

https://www.beeradvocate.com/beer/profile/57448/637032/?ba=woemad#lists
Had to add it to the database.
Nice double hazy with tropical and stonefruit overtones, along with a tangyness that was hard to pin down but didn't stop me from enjoying it, but I also felt one was enough for a sitting.

Might go for an adjunct stout next (this brewery loves hazies, sours and pastry stouts). We'll see.

 

Odell Juicy Tempo IPA, 7.7% ABV; 4.08 overall


Pours a very hazed honey color with one finger of cream-colored head. Splotchy lacing & good head retention

S: Leads with tropical fruits, some citrus; green melons, papaya, tangerine & grapefruit. Leafy hops show up late

T: Passion fruit, guava, green melon, pineapple, a little dryness up front. Mango, passion fruit & little pomelo as this beer warms up, plus pineapple & leafy hops, some dryness. Finishes dry with passion fruit, green melon & grapefruit

MF: Medium body, fairly firm carbonation, turns creamy as this warms, nice balance

Easy to drink, very solid take on the style

Sleeping at the wheel, forgot to add the pics

 

Went with Valley of the Shadow, an Imperial Pastry Stout brewed with coffee and maple syrup, and it's...not great.

Very thin, and reminds me more than anything else of a boozy Dr. Pepper. Can't all be winners.

 

Christ, I think it has been about 20 or 30 years since I've had THAT beer, remembering it being damn tasty

 

Salutations and greetings fellow NBSers! I'm still in a bit of a weird spot, but went with some friends down to Mount Vernon today, where we hit Temperate Habits, Skagit River, and District breweries. Stopped at Garden Path on our way home.

I'm home now, and drinking a beer my friend Justin grabbed for me over Thanksgiving weekend, a Winter Warmer from Stoup, Powder Tracks. A bit thin in the body, but otherwise smooth and quaffable: https://www.beeradvocate.com/beer/profile/33525/529146/

 

Yes I try to rate with 3 being a “baseline” of “average”. No reason to feel bad man. I had a great time sampling it all. Cheers.

 

Have a great NBS. Been a busy full week of work after the new year. Life has been the best of all time, 2023 will be better. Every day is a gift. The promotion position got approved, so I should be getting an interview soon. I met with a colleague/friend last night at Four Saints. Funny how life works I met someone else into metal, guitar, and beer; so we will be jamming out more soon. I introduced him to Gojira yesterday and he was blown away. So there are about 200 more bands I need to share lol. I got my USB guitar interface up and running again. Also have the Gojira plugin for the sounds.

I loved Four Saints. It's been a while since I went away locally more than 10 minutes away from home, we had an amazing time with the 3 of us. Talked to the bartenders plenty. Great service and spot on beers. They said all the bartenders are Cicerone Beer Servers, as I am, but one of them just missed the mark recently for Certified. I would definitely have to study for that test. The multiple choice test was just off the top of my head.

Four Saints that's no moon. This is fantastic. Aromas and flavors of lemon, orange peel, pear, apple, coriander, peppercorn, wheat, cracker, herbal, wood, grass, and yeast earthiness. Medium herbal bitterness, spicy yeast, and tart/tangy wheat in finishing. Medium high carb, lt med body, crisp clean refreshing finish. Balanced creamy/ grainy wheat, sticky hops, and light acid/ tangy mouthfeel. Minimal warming 5.3%. Very flavorful and amazing for the style. Great yeast complexly and balanced spice. 4.25


Four saints bitter brothers esb. Aromas and flavors of caramel, toast, biscuit, toffee, nutty, light coffee/roast, wood, herbal, grass, peppercorn, pine, light dark fruit, yeast earthiness. Medium pine/herbal/roast bitter finish. Medium carb and body. Balanced creamy bready malt and sticky resinous hop feel. Long resinous drying finish. No astringency. Minimal warming 4.8%. This is spot on stuff. I love it. 4.25


Four saints stout one. Fantastic American stout. Aromas and flavors dark chocolate, cocoa, coffee, roasted nuts, toast, dark bread, pine, wood, pepper, herbal, grass, snoke, char, yeast earth. Medium pine/woody/char bitter finish. Medium carb and body. Balanced creamy/bready malt, sticky hop and chalky roast feel. Light resin and drying char. No acrid/astringent. Very clean and rich malts and balanced hops. Feels a bit like a dry stout too. 4.25


Cheers

Ps Asheboro waffle house is amazing and fast service

 

Thank you! He is.

 

Thank you, Fred! No Sicilian but a quarter Friulian from the opposite end of Italy. I don't think they're quite as into granting favors.

 

Exploring a broader range of RR and Kern River was one of the beer goals of my trip. Here is the first of two new to me beers, hope it lives up to the name.

Kern River Just Outstanding IPA



Can notes: Purchased refrigerated, refrigerated upon my return to the hotel until opening. $3.69 single 16 oz can, 6.8% ABV, canned 12/12/22. Kern River Brewing Co. Ale. The name says it all.

Named after a local mountain bike trail, this India Pale Ale balances just enough malt with an abundance of Simple and Amarillo hops that we hand select every year from the Pacific Northwest. With a massive dry-hop charge, this beer is bursting with pine, earth and floral aromas, kind of like biking through the mountains outside of Kernville. If you like your IPAs hoppy and clean, you will find this one Just Outstanding.

Appearance: Multiple pours into a pub style glass. Golden yellow orange murky base, mild carbonation, generous rich creamy white head that leaves creamy cover over the base when the dust settles a few minutes later, and nice soapy lacing. 4.0

Aroma: Citrus, tangerine, and pine, in order, mild in strength. 3.75

Taste: Much stronger than the nose indicates, a flip with a beautiful pine front and center and little brother citrus tagging along and proud to do so. Tangerine lurking to see if the coast is clear peaks his head out every now and then. Citrus grows up fast and bears equal footing as this warms a bit. Enjoying tasting the battle. 4.25

Mouthfeel: Love the balance of the blended sweet flavors held in check by a hop bitterness, though sweet sips edge out bitterness. Drinks a bit higher than the ABV, alcohol felt a bit but within reason. Citrus and pine linger post sip, and I’m enjoying. Carbonation dues out relatively quickly. 4.0

Overall: This is a solid IPA, a bit of a modern take in terms of a sweeter pour than expected, but overall this is a beer I look forward to enjoying again. Very good, close to outstanding, at least on my end. 4.0

 

I've been hanging onto this one for a while. I'd picked it up to pop into when my brother and sister-in-law were in town as she is a huge fan of plums, and has expressed enjoyment of the more tart beer options we've split previously. At this point, though, she's pregnant, so probably won't be drinking much for the foreseeable future whether visiting or not, so I may as well crack into it myself!!



Pfriem - Pruim

This one pours a ruddy colour that honestly reminds me of moderately bloody urine. Small white fuzzy head that dissipates to just the ring around the glass. Minimal to no lacing.

Nose is evident immediately upon popping the cork. Big jammy plums... I think my SIL would have enjoyed this one. Anyway, it's the jammy plums up front, with a bit of earthy wild character, but that side's mostly restrained for now. As it warms, the jammy plums get sweet and almost give a kind of raspberry character.

Flavour is less dominated by the sweet jammy fruits (though fear not... they are still quite prominent). There's a bit more brambly and yeasty wild character compared to the nose. The fruity plums are still a big part of the proceedings, though, and it even has a slight twinge of like a watermelon note towards the end as it continue to open up.
The finish is a little more dry than I would have expected, but overall it's just really wonderfully balanced between that sweet fruity character and the earthy yeasty wild character.

I've had a fair amount of Pfriem beers over the years, and this is one of my favourites. Wish I could have shared it, but the reasons for not doing so are pretty exciting, and I'm glad to be enjoying it at least now!!

Cheers!

 

Drove my car up to a restaurant near my office to meet Japanese travelers for a business dinner. It didn't blow up. I made it home. This is a good sign.

Hop Butcher for the World and Is/Was - Magic

16oz can served in a curvy Fremont glass. Can is dated 11/9/22. Yet another tasty Chicago beer from @FBarber.

Pours a moderately hazy pale yellow with a fairly large, reasonably durable head that turns into a very thick meniscus. Smell is fruity and slightly tart, it made me think (gently) of kiwi and pineapple, but I think it's actually closely related to the banana / vague fruitiness you get in some lighter Belgian beers. A little lemon and a little grass.

Taste is similar, exotic fruit juiciness at the forefront, a little tartness, moderate herbal grassiness, some straw or hay. A little grassy bitterness is more evident now.

Mouthfeel is fairly dry, though not exactly light. A little hint of a gritty / chalky texture. Overall, this is a really tasty beer.

 

Been around 15-20 for me. Had the version aged in Calvados casks. Would love to try it again, but I haven't seen it in eons.