New Beer Weekend #136

As @BigIronH posted a barleywine I thought I would too. Actually, that’s a fib. Blame Christine- she would post these memes “On Sunday We Drink Barleywines”
This one was given to me by a friend I met on Imgur (yes, the image hosting site) and it is decadent to the extreme to my palate.
The bourbon is front and center but the apple brandy doesn’t hide at all. Both play nicely together along with the base barleywine.
Super sweet, zero hops bitterness, just hip deep malt, bourbon and apple brandy. Glad it was only a 12 ounce bottle as I would have finished it even if it was a bomber. Hits many of my happy spots.
Cheers all!

 

Ha! I had it a year or so ago and also thought it better than regular Heineken.

 

Another one-and-done for me on this anniversary day for my favorite thread on my favorite website (thanks to @ChicagoJ and @Todd ), let’s see where this German Pilsner from my my favorite brewery takes me.



4.25/5 rDev +1.9%
look: 4.25 | smell: 4.25 | taste: 4.25 | feel: 4.25 | overall: 4.25
Pours a clear golden color with a voluminous white head that provides significant lacing. Beautiful pilsner. The nose is all about the noble hops (grass and a bit of lemon) and white bread.

The taste is also all about the noble hops, with the grass and lemon flavors drawing you back for another sip as the bready malt flavor provides balance.

The mouthfeel is clean and crisp, on point for the style. I’m a Transient fanboy in general, and I love to see them execute a German Pilsner at this level.

 

All right, I am back home now, after the day trip to the Brainerd lakes area, and it was a blast. I did also have a seltzer at 14 Lakes Brewing, that was quite impressive, but, that's not for here.

What is for here is this Imperial IPA I picked up at 14 Lakes:

Big Island DIPA - 14 Lakes Brewing - Crosslake, MN - 8.1% ABV

I'll submit an edit for the ABV for the listing, because the listing here says 8.9%, not 8.1%. I'm guessing they did change it.

This is a very complex IPA in the flavor department. It starts off malty, with tons on buttery biscuit and bread flavor. The middle is where the hops kick in, and they're tropical in nature. The hops continue on the finish as a pine/resin flavor and feeling. I am impressed with this beer, and like it a lot.

https://www.beeradvocate.com/beer/profile/50636/305177/

4.13/5 rDev 0%
look: 4.25 | smell: 3.75 | taste: 4.25 | feel: 4.25 | overall: 4.25
Poured from a crawler purchased at the brewery on 2-26-2023.
The beer did foam up out of the crawler a bit upon opening. Pouring into my glass I was trying not to be aggressive, but I got a thick 3 finger off white colored head. Some fluffiness to it. The head retention is pretty damn good, and the head clings to the side of the glass, forming a ring, as it dissipates. The pour looks somewhat clear, and is an amber colored pour. There's some carbonation rising in the glass.
I get a decent amount of hops on the nose. I get some citrus, on the aroma. I also get an earthy and floral aroma from this beer.
Taste is quite interesting. This 2x IPA starts out malty. I get a lot of bread, honey and buttery biscuit up front, which is interesting to say the least. The flavor in the middle is where the hops start in, and they're tropical and a bit floral. The back is where the hops turn bitter, and I do get some pine and resin flavor. Very layered beer.
The body is very full, and thick. The feeling from the hop bitterness and resin lingers in my throat.
Very interesting and impressive beer. I think this is more of an old school IPA, and I like it.


I might be done for today, not sure yet.

 

Whole hog cream pie stout
...has a nice solid black appearance
...light carbonation with an above average body. Has a creamy, slightly slick oily feel but all together a very nice body.
..aroma is a bit of alcohol upfront but then its marshmallow, cocoa, malt, Graham cracker and some roasted malt.
...taste is again alcohol forward but after that its exactly like the aroma.
..overall I'm not a fan of those oatmeal cream pies but this was really good. Not going to have a few after I mow the lawn but as dessert it worked really well

 

This was the beer I intended to drink yesterday to complete the trilogy of new to me Czech dark lagers. I will try to not channel @jonphisher who enjoyed this one yesterday:



Schilling Beer Company's Karluv 13, a 5.3% Czech dark lager.

Pouring from the can, it is pretty much cola color, but in the glass it's darkest brown with reddish highlights around the edge. Very clear. The ample tan head falls to a patchy cap with a nice ring on the edge, tenacious cling.

Light in the nose. A little bit of toasty bread, some herbal and spice hoppiness, roasty malts, coffee, darker chocolate like semi-sweet, caramel or toffee, and kind of a dough smell. Laid back and pleasant.

This is one flavorful lager. Plenty of toasted bread, a little of that raw dough graininess. I get just a bit of sweetness mid-taste. Herbal and earthy hops. Toffee and coffee that eventually yields to semi-sweet chocolate. A pleasing spiciness on the end that's somewhat licorice and black pepper. Mildly bitter on the finish. Maybe weird, but the taste combination reminds me of a Heath bar, except for the spicy bit.

The feel is light, yet smooth and a little creamy. Moderately carbonated. The aftertaste settles the spice note as black pepper. Earthy, dry.

Outstanding lager beer. Just a pleasant drinking experience overall, and I believe a more than solid example of the style. Just a question of how far over 4.0 this is going to land.

 

This time of year my tastebuds are problematic, new allergens awakening as Spring tries to wrest control from Winter here

 

Last new beer of the weekend here.

Green's Endeavor gluten free dubbel ale

500mL bottle Best Before 09/11/26 poured into a teku glass at fridge temp 7% ABV. The beer pours opaque dark brown with light brown head. The head recedes to an irregular ring and rocky island leaving a full web of lacing behind. The aroma is mild with brown sugar, dried fruits and cherry. The taste is semisweet toasted malt with with layers of brown sugar and earthy notes. Minimal bitterness. The mouthfeel is thin to medium bodied with average plus carbonation and a mostly dry finish. Overall, good beer. Not on par with the Trappist beers, but better than most American dubbel attempts I've sampled.

It's been around a year since I've found a new-to-me dubbel to review, so I picked this up when I spotted it. My experience now with two Green's beers is that they are much better than their ratings here. Maybe the product was a little rough around the edges earlier on? At any rate, I'm happy with what's in my glass.
Cheers all!

 

Really was a lovely beer wasn’t it? Just one of those very pleasant drinking experiences.

 

Bonesqw cherry cordial queen
...has a fruit punch appearance
..body is about medium and the same for carbonation
...aroma is cherries,cherry juice,vanilla and some earthy bitter hops
..taste follows the aroma,plenty of fresh cherry and juice as well as vanilla.
..overall its unique,decent flavor but it should come off as a dessert beer but the bitter hop bite doesn't match the profile

 

Side Project x Casita - Flim Flam

my review:

poured from a 750mL bottle into a SP BBT21 light bulb snifter. pours a barleywine-like puddle water brown with a thin dark khaki foam cap that fades away as quickly as it builds up. the nose on the one is marvelous, boasting elements of all three barrel types as well as toffee, caramel, chocolate, dark cherries, plums and marzipan. taste follows, and while it’s not as inviting as the nose, it’s still fantastic. a touch on the sweet side might be my only knock but overall this is fantastic. i get lots of toffee and caramel on the palate with a sweet dark fruit finish. to me, the rye component of the grain bill and the port barrels really make this thing special. i think the port adds to the sweetness level a bit but it works and barleywines tend to be a sweeter style of beer at baseline. thick, full and sticky mouthfeel. coats the mouth with each sip. a nice warming presence from the barrels. this was incredible!

4.5, 5, 4.75, 4.75, 4.75
overall: 4.8
rDev: +.4

cheers!!

 

Natural State Beer Co. Eclipse Schwarzbier, 4.9% ABV; 3.74 overall

Pours an effervescent cola/mahogany color with a sliver of fast-falling tan head. Some head retention & lacing

S: Some roasty notes, a little chocolate, nose could be better

T: Brown bread, a little roastyness, some dryness, slight smokeyness up font & a little dark fruit. Roastyness asserts itself more along with a touch of Chicory as this beer warms up. Finishes roasty with Baker's chocolate & dryness

MF: Medium body, fairly firm carbonation

Fairly drinkable, very respectable take on the style

 

I spent most of the last week in Florida visiting my dad and stepmom for the first time since 2019, and before that I spent a long, busy weekend in Sacramento with my kids' theater festival. We landed early this afternoon, just started unpacking, and went to lunch at one of my favorite local beer places (that happens to have fried cheese curds my kids love). Now we're back home, and I'm squeezing in one last new beer to fully review so I can participate in the thread this weekend.

Freigeist Bierkultur + Stillwater: Meinklang Organic Ancient Grain Sour Ale.

500ml can served in a curvy Fremont glass. Dated 25.03.23, which I *presume* is a "best by" date in about a month.

Pours clear golden-brassy color, small head that settles into a thin but dense ring and a very thin island. Smell is mild, some woody funk, some sourdough yeastiness.

Taste is moderately tart, grainy, slight honey sweetness. Lots of woody funk.

Mouthfeel is light. Overall, it's pretty good.

 

Have a good NBS. Been a while since I checked in. Life going great here. Working OT 48 hour weeks will take it out of you. I mostly come home to blaze it and watch movies with Julia. I still doing 1 workout/cardio per week. My deadlifts are getting better as with everything else with 5/3/1 workouts.

Julia hates were mundane job once again, I told her to just quit and look for something else. Would be better for her to not be tied to a job when I want to take ETO and travel. We are going to Milwaukee in Memorial day weekend, and also there is the MATS truck show in KY the weekend before easter. We are staying at her parents that next weekend.

Been a while since we been out, but went downtown for The Book of Mormon broadway show. I've never seen a broadway show but it was amazing. She has a history of being a theater buff. Also got me into reading a lot. I am up to 27 this year. Mostly Stephen King but I am trying to mix it up a bit.



We went to Stumble Stilkins tavern in Downtown GSO. We need to see the city more often as we are 15 minutes away from the heart of downtown. Apologies to @Ozzylizard since I don't think I have reviewed anything from his haul yet, but I am slowly progressing with the multiple BIF beers I have.



Wiseman Mountain calling ipa. Great classic ipa. Grapefruit, tangerine, passion fruit, citrus peel/rind, wood, berries, peppercorn, pine, cracker, bread, herbal, floral, grass. Med high pine/rind bitter finish. Balanced bready/sticky/resin med body. Feels like Simcoe and Columbus hops. West coast style crisp dry feel with mild astringency. No complaints. 4


Cheers

 

Hello Late Night NBW.
Haven't been partaking as much lately, but here's a decent local offering.

Grail Seeker by Society.

16 oz can stamped 2/13/23
Straw to gold in hue. Firm, confident white foam rises 2 fingers, holds for a spell, and eventually settles into solid 1/2 inch cap. Layers of lithe lacing abound.
Nose asserts windy circus notes upfront, followed by some green grass, berries, melon, and finally a hint of pine.
Flavor starts off with berry and lime zest, some oniony notes, grain, and slightly herbal, grassy finish.There's an overall "green" ambience going on here.
Mouthfeel is active, light, and finishes a bit dry.
Overall, pretty good.
3.74/5 rDev -2.1%
look: 4 | smell: 3.75 | taste: 3.75 | feel: 3.5 | overall: 3.75

Now I just need to catch up on some of y'alls musings.

 

Excellent work!

 

had this one on saturday and forgot to post. Double Barrel Assassin (batch 1 - bourbon/apple brandy) from Toppling Goliath

my review:

poured from a gold-waxed 22oz bomber into a TG DBA tumbler. pours a thick, oily black with a quick-to-fade dark khaki foam cap. bourbon and chocolate on the nose with an underlying apple brandy aroma. the dark fruits i have typically associated with assassin seem to be either not present or overpowered by the double barrel-aging. the taste is huge notes of fudge, bourbon, brandy and slightly sweet apple. it’s so well integrated though. as it warms and opens up, the apple brandy barrel component plays an even bigger role in both the aroma and flavor and compliments the fudge-forward base stout. the barrels are there in fullform on the nose and in the taste. a toffee / caramel flavor emerges in the finish after warming up to room temp. lots of complexity to this one. assassin has always been a beyond solid barrel-aged stout but the way the apply brandy barrels take this up several notches is unreal. thick mouthfeel. it’s quite smooth for almost 15% and being double barrel-aged. not sure what else to say about this one. it was incredible.

4.5, 4.75, 5, 4.75, 4.75
overall: 4.84
rDev:-0.2%

cheers!!