New Beer Weekend #137

This afternoon’s new beer is one I’ve held on to for a long while and finally decided to open. This is Brasserie Albion Caithness 2020. It is a smoked Scotch ale aged 12 months in an oak barrel. It is meant to recall a 120 shillings beer. According to the label tag, it is best enjoyed in slippers by the fireplace. I’m having it while baking cookies for the kids.

The bottle:



The tag:



and, the pour:



Pours a deep ruddy brown with minimal head that fades to nil in a few dozen seconds. The beer is murky and largely still.

Smoked honey ham jumps out at the nose. Dry wood, brown sugar. Smells great.

The taste follows. Substantially smoky (love it), lightly sweet with a dry barrel quality that leads to a very long and enjoyable finish. Not boozy in any fashion.

Light bodied, light carbonation.

I really like this. My experience with Albion has been consistently good. They excel at these historic British styles. I need to get more.

Cheers!

 

Wow, that looks amazing! Bottle Logic is as good as it gets and Derek sends great beer!

 

Greetings all from the great northwest where we have more of the same late winter weather. Snow overnight 40 degrees in the afternoon.

Today we have Colossal Claude from Rogue Brewing. .
https://www.beeradvocate.com/beer/profile/132/532330/

A drinkable Imperial IPA but a little fruity for my taste.

Until next time

 

Like many weekends, I will have a few beers at Great Heights in the afternoon. Sunday afternoon drinking is the best

They had a new beer with the Pink Boots Society. Which is mainly a source for women to be more active in the brewery and liquor industry as a whole. I have had several Pink Boots beers from Great Heights, they have all been pretty enjoyable. My thoughts on this one below:

Lily Saison, 6.0% ABV



Pours a clear golden/yellow color. A small white head forms, and recedes quickly. Light lace is left behind.
Aroma is kind of perfume like hops. With a light spicy and phenolic character. Citrus peel hoppiness in the finish.
Taste wise, follows the nose with the citrus peel like hoppy character. I get almost no yeast, with more of a soapy character than anything. Some sweetness and a light bitterness lingers.
A medium body and moderate carbonation. A bit soapy and oily. I would like it to be drier and crisper. Not hard to drink, if you don't think of it as a Saison.

Not really a Saison at all. I might even be tricking myself into thinking there is a bit of phenolic yeast in the nose. Its mostly a light hoppy pale ale. With a bit of soapy slickness. As something to drink at the brewery, not particularly bad, but Great Heights does way better. I have also liked other Pink Boots beers from Great Heights, specifically, that are much better.

Overall score is 3.38, putting that in the B- territory.
https://www.beeradvocate.com/beer/profile/50326/644039/?ba=champ103#lists

 

Stoked! I really like this beer.

 

#2 today is....
Grimm Tesseract DIPA.
Pouring gold slightly hazy - liking the fact that it's not turbid- with a decent white head that recedes to a cap. Nice lacing.
On the nose pineapple, mango, citrus and citrus flowers, melon and a bit of dark berries.
Taste follows, cantelope, citrus, tropicals melding with a light pleasant bitterness.
Medium/light body, soft highly drinkable for the unnoticeable 8%. Dries on the finish with lingering light bitterness. Light carbonation.
2 for 2. Another winner.
Cheers!

 

So I'm happy to finally be joining you all again on this fine weekend...some fine beers you have all had and some that I haven't caught up on yet. This is a beer I've been pretty excited to try, Cape May brews some great beer and this is a new beer from them, seasonal or flagship, I guess time will tell...Love the name, and label cause they pair perfectly with this beer, visual proof to follow...

The Jersey shore has some stigma around it but south jersey is like a different world to what people assume when they think of NJ and that applies to the shore as well. Cape May is a really neat shore town, it is very unique, if you've ever been you know this, really cool old houses all around and, well, the Southern most part of the NJ shore...rambling over, on to the beer.

Cape May Brewing Co - Cape May Gold (American Golden Ale 4.7%)



To start it pours very light pale in color with great clarity, so pale it leans towards AAL look; pretty decent white head forms, OK retention but is never devoid of head; is it settled it left some dense splotchy lacing.

The nose is pale malt forward, moderate hint of sweetness; followed by wisps of grain and cereal...minor hints of herbal leaning hops.

The taste is much more full than you'd expect from the light color...the pale malts are quite rich and present, it reminds me of white bread but with more oomph and flavor, just the perfect hint of soft sweetness. As soon as the malt is done showing itself there is a refreshing kiss of hops, almost pithy in nature, but finishing more herbal in nature as the nose foreshadowed.

Great light bodied beer, so so easy drinking without any sense of being to watered down...carbonation is lively but smooth, a very gentle bitterness hangs on in the finish and the white pale malts lingered pleasantly on the tongue.

This is all I ever want in a beer, it is just so so simple...and yet it isn't. You could honestly drink this beer like water and not even notice you were doing so but then if you stopped a minute to sit and ponder you could live there for long time too. Beers like this are ones I love to share because this is one IS beer to me. I certainly hope they can up some more for maximum freshness in summer weather...great beer.

That may be it for me today but time will tell....love you all and see you all next weekend. Cheers everyone!



Finally found a single to try before going six pack @DrStiffington. I think you’d enjoy this one too.

 

Late start for me on this New Beer Sunday #941. Was like a kid on Christmas Eve in anticipation of this beer, which I was very excited reading about over the past month here on Beer Advocate. It's inspiration is an incredible beer, though the hype has waned over the years. Most have really loved this new beer to all, including @ovaltine review link here, with I'd peg 1/6 or 1/5 not liking very much if at all. The moment of truth has arrived.

3 Floyds Zombie Ice



Can Notes: Purchased single can on 3/1 at store temperature for $3.00, 12 oz canned 2/13/23. Refrigerated upon bringing home until opening. 8.5% ABV, undead Double Pale Ale. Brewed & canned by Three Floyds Brewing LLC, Munster, Indiana. It's not normal.

Crafted with an unholy amount of Citra hops, this double undead pale ale heralds the Zombie evolution after the dust has settled from the apocalypse.

Appearance: Aggressive initial pour followed by a top off pour into a 3 Floyds branded I believe 14 oz nonic glass. Nice creamy rich head lingers for several minutes. Medium initial carbonation trickles slowly after the pour. The clear base crystal clear, a lighter tan bronze base, orange when held in front of light. Looks great. 4.5

Aroma: Citrus aroma leads, pine backs. Medium in strength. As expected. 4.0

Taste: Very full citrus flavor punches you upside your skull, caramel malt serves as the brass knuckles. Pine comes in for a second blow, leading to a nice balance. Sounds harsh with the violent words, but this is in fact quite enjoyable. The first gulp seemed harsh, but sipping further brings out more malt and a much more mellow experience. 4.5

Mouthfeel: Creamy full body, carbonation negligible. Mildly dry and bitter, drinks a bit under the high ABV. Heavy malt presence, heavy than I typically prefer, though it comes off well and it as advertised. Light resinous pine on the finish. 4.25

Overall: As advertised, this is a bit more malty than the OG, but perhaps I'm not remembering the standard version well. Really dig the citrus pine combo, drinks strong but not overly. I had a lot of high expectations for this beer, and for the most part, 3 Floyds as usual delivered. Will buy more, for certain. 4.5

I really need to conduct a side by side once I find a standard Zombie Dust brewed within a similar date as Zombie Dust. Perhaps I'll run into a variety pack or find singles this week or soon to complete.

 

NBS #2. I feel like the last BA on the face of the earth not to have tried Chocolate Cherry KBS. It's not the best of the franchise but nonetheless a very good BA Stout.

Bottled on 12/5/2022. Poured into a Founders KBS snifter at 54°. It pours nearly black with a large, creamy, light mocha-colored head and thin sheen of lacing. The fragrant nose is very chocolate-forward with a nice whiff of tart cherry. The taste works. It doesn't come across as gimmicky. Nice, sweet chocolate, a hint of freshly-brewed coffee, and a dose of tart cherry that compliments and doesn't dominate. It definitely has the taste of chocolate-covered cherry candy. For a KBS variant the mouth feel is rather thin. But the 11.6% ABV is nicely hidden. Overall, while this isn't my favorite KBS variant it's nonetheless well-brewed and it accomplishes its mission.

4.23/5 rDev +1.7%
look: 4.25 | smell: 4.25 | taste: 4.25 | feel: 4 | overall: 4.25

Is it just me or has the proliferation of variants destroyed the mystique of KBS? They are all tasty and whatnot but I feel like, "it's yet another KBS that I have to try."

 

Sounds like we had a similar experience (and a similar glass!) with this beer. I’m glad I picked up a couple of 6ers (something I do NOT do very often), because I’m interested to see how it develops with the substantial malt backbone. In my experience, ZD after 30 days is a VERY different beer than it is fresher.

 

A couple today, the first is from a magnificent LIF box in NBS BIF #16 from @JayORear.







4.35/5 rDev +0.2%
look: 4.25 | smell: 4.25 | taste: 4.5 | feel: 4.25 | overall: 4.25
Pours a very hazy pineapple ocelot with a creamy white head that provides ample lacing. The nose is crammed with dank citrus notes that include grapefruit rind, tangerine, and passion fruit, with some pineapple and earthy pine notes as well.

The taste features the grapefruit and tangerine, with the pineapple really coming forward along with the passion fruit and some earthy pine notes for a beer that is way too easy to drink for an 8.4% ABV beer.

The mouthfeel is full and pillowy, per the style. The Fidens hop game is world class, IMHO.

 

Mythos Lager



2.69/5 rDev -1.5%
look: 4 | smell: 2.5 | taste: 2.75 | feel: 2.5 | overall: 2.5
Green bottle poured into a glass

Clear golden liquid, occasional carbonation streams , frothy white layer reduces to spotty lacings and a ring

Slight grassy aroma

Thin lightly flavored lager , grassy , slight sweetness

Fizzy mouthfeel

Nice beer

 

Adroit Theory, Eat the Rich.

My 9th from the Extreme Beer Box, I suspect when all is said and done the will be my favorite. Why? A no bullshit Russian Imperial Stout The brewers were nice enough to omit peanut butter, unnecessary coffee, chocalate, ghost peppers persimmons (I didnt even know what a persimmon was, had to look it up) and cat turds. That being said....

4.35/5 rDev +6.9%
look: 4.25 | smell: 4.25 | taste: 4.5 | feel: 4.25 | overall: 4.25
Just lovely, almost black, big brown head fades to a ring. Snot machine says roasted stuff, malts, coffee. Taste buds say there's some fruit back there, plum, maybe cherry, some chocolate on the back end. Thick, but not quite chewy. I certainly will look for this.

 

This was supposed to be my nightcap, but it's getting dumped. Fought through at least 4 ounces, but this one's a NO.

Again the Grain 70K Bourbon Barrel Aged Imperial Milk Stout

16oz can stamped 02/11/27 (I'm guessing that's a best before date...) poured into a Spiegelau stout glass at fridge temp 12.2% ABV per label. The beer pours pitch black with zero light penetration and medium brown colored head. The head builds quickly and sticks leaving a huge cap and complete lacing as it recedes. The aroma is muted roasted malt and zero bourbon or barrel. The taste is tart & sweet malt with a hint of bourbon. Infected I believe. Reminds me of an foeder aged sour really. The mouthfeel is medium bodied with average carbonation and a semi dry finish. Overall, poor. I don't know when these were released, but this can is bad! Wait until 2027 and you're definitely doing a science experiment...

There were stacks of this in both the Kentucky liquor stores I hit up last week. It's been a few months since I was there before, so this has to be a fairly new release. I can't envision this was the intended experience. I've had Bo & Luke in the past and it was great, so I had high hopes. Glad I just bought a single.

Cheers all!

 

#2, this is from BIG STOUTS Extreme Beer Box. I need more Extreme Beer Boxes in my beer nerd life.





4.35/5 rDev +6.6%
look: 4.25 | smell: 4.25 | taste: 4.5 | feel: 4.25 | overall: 4.25
Pours black with a nice sudsy dark tan head. Beautiful impy stout. The nose has some roasty char, chocolate, and some stone fruit (dark cherries and plums). Very nice.

The taste is a nice balance split betwixt the roasty char, chocolate, dark cherries, and plums. This is SCARY easy to drink for a 12% ABV beer, because there’s zero alcohol present. As in none.

The mouthfeel is full and edges toward creamy. This is a big stout I’d regularly drink if I had access to it.

 

Kona longboat lager
Extremely clear light gold appearance.
Around medium carbonation with the body being a little light.
Aroma isn't too overwhelming but its corn,malt,corn syrup up front. Theres some bread and cereal in the background.
Taste is ok but its the syrupy corn sweetness that starts to wash everything else out.
Overall,glad I got a single

 

Here’s one that I never thought I’d see but upon seeing it thought it made perfect sense.

Dragon’s Milk Reserve with Chocolate and coffee. May as well pull out the natural flavors of the imperial stout and shine the light on them.
Poured stout black with a short beige head which left reasonable lacing.
The aroma was sadly lost on me, apparently it’s got to be citrus or something before I can smell it. Hopefully that sense will return soon.
The taste is actually delightful, I’m never impressed by this beer anymore but this one I am enjoying more than any other variant I can think of. Chocolate and coffee play nicely together with the base BA stout and really, that’s about it. Fairly one dimensional but it’s a tasty dimension.
The feel is pretty much what DM is known for, a bit thin for a BA stout but I expected nothing different.
OA, kinda glad I picked up a 4 pack instead of my usual single (trying hard not to keep adding to my cellar!)
Tasty treat!

 

Last one for the weekend NBW

I picked this up a few months ago in Bloomington, and kept skipping over it week after week. Absolutely should have reviewed it during Cellaruary, but it wasn't to be...


De Molen Hemel & Aarde

11.2oz bottle with a partial date code that could be 12/03/12 or 12/03/18 poured into a tulip glass at fridge temp 10% ABV per label. The beer pours black, no highlights and minimal brown head. The head recedes to a thin ring and little else. The aroma is smokey peat and old leather. The taste is semisweet, peaty, oxidized malt with notes of pipe tobacco and leather. Negligible bitterness. The mouthfeel is medium plus bodied with low carbonation and a semi dry finish. Overall, interesting. Not sure I'd gamble on another dusty bottle at room temperature, but I'd probably jump on a fresh bottle just for the experience.

Cheers all!

 

Avery white rascal Belgian white ale
...cloudy light amber
.. light but slightly prickly carbonation with around a medium body. Has a slight full thick feel to me.
..aroma is mild spice,almost like orange juice,malt,yeast,citrus peel with a little bubblegum in the background.
..taste ihas a mild sweetness, citrus peel, malty, some bubblegum. Has an almost candied citrus peel aftertaste that lingers but is pleasant.
..overall there's nothing to complain about with this one

 

Repo Man
6% rye stout by Revolution

Poured from a twelve ounce can, the body is a very dark brown. Small initial head and little lacing.

Aroma is light - just a touch of light rye malt.

Body provides a pronounced malty char from the rye. There are notes of bitterness and chocolate that pair well with the rye malt.

Mouthfeel is average as is the carbonation. A nice dry finish fits this beer's profile.

A very enjoyable and reasonably low ABV stout that would be in my regular rotation if available.