New Beer Weekend #140

I don't usually buy Belgian styles very often but I saw this and a BA RIS from a somewhat local brewery "down the road a fair piece" (heard that in a movie last nite and liked it) that I've visited several times, Pig Minds.

Drunken Rook is a Barrel Aged Belgian Style Strong Ale, kinda looks dark to me but what do I know.

Reviewed by ZebulonXZogg from Illinois

3.9/5 rDev 0%
look: 3.75 | smell: 3.75 | taste: 4 | feel: 3.75 | overall: 4
A ruddy brown pour offers some reddish highlights in the sun, small head's gone in a flash. Nose gets plenty of bourbon and some fruit. Flavor is quite fruity, plum, raisin, cherry and some booze in the finish. Thin, not much carbonation. I don't usually care for Belgian styles, probably because of the yeast, not getting that here. I'll probably get this again, tasty stuff.

 

First one from @Whyteboar, and thank you for it!

After some bitter and heavier brews I was in the mood for a lighter beer.

Transient Artisan Ales - Brüh Kölsch style



First off, love the name!

No canning date

Poured at fridge temp into a weizen glass

Pours a bright straw yellow with a soda-like white head. Opaque bordering hazy with visible carbonation rising. 4

Hoppy and earthy aroma, some sweetness on the backend and a hint of crisp malt. 4

Immediately hit with earth honey that really blew me away. Second sip left me with more raw honeycomb, herbal grassiness and subtle malt. Really an excellent combination and showcase of flavor. 4.5

Effervescent carbo, absolutely crushable and easy on the palate. 4.25

Overall a killer representation of the style that floored me on the taste that was truly a masterpiece. 4.25

 

Glad you liked it! Transient is putting out a lot of top notch stuff and I like to get others into them. Blame @ovaltine - he was the original pusher for them and I am glad he was!

 

Greetings NBS friends. I have a couple of beer tonight. The first is from my friend @JayORear in NBS #16 and is a beer I sought with extreme prejudice.

Let’s GOOOOOOOO, NBS!!!





4.42/5 rDev +4.2%
look: 4.5 | smell: 4.25 | taste: 4.5 | feel: 4.25 | overall: 4.5
This pours a gorgeous amber color that is nearly clear with a creamy light tan head that rides the body of the beer down the glass and retains a cap on top. Absolutely beautiful amber ale.

The nose features nice stone fruit notes of apricot and peach, a nice citrus note (ripe orange), a bit of resiny pine, and a substantial bready malt note.

The taste is led by the fruits (apricot, peach, and oranges), with a quick transition to a nice resiny pine flavor that imparts some bitterness, and that bready malt flavor at the back of the palate, joined by a smidge of alcohol warming, commensurate with the 9.5% ABV. Magnificent stuff.

This beer is well carbed with a full, substantial mouthfeel that verges on oily, on point for this beer. This is a major “want” of mine, and it exceeded my expectations. I just wish I had a 6er to enjoy a couple of pints at a time as a wonderful supper to enjoy on a chilly spring evening.

 

The gem from @hopley Many Thanks! Bissell Brother Swish Ale, New England IPA ( seems like a double to me ) 8.0% ABV; 4.41 overall


Pours a very hazy gold with a thumb of cream colored head. Average head retention & lacing; thought I had a clean glass???

S: Citrus & tropical fruits, nice nose

T: Oranges, dryness, mangoes, dryness & green melons & strawberry up front. Mangoes, peaches, green melon & a little acidic pineapple, plus a little dryness as this beer warms, Finishes a little dry with plenty of pineapple, green melon & strawberry

MF: Medium body, restrained carbonation, nicely balanced, acidity on the tongue

A brilliant take on the style, pretty juicy

 

I’d like to have followed up @NorsemanOne with one of the excellent looking beers he smashed my porch with, but @WunderLlama sent some IPAs that had to be consumed sooner.

the last of the NEIPAs that was sent to me by @WunderLlama and it was spectacular.
The tinted orange pour had the lightest apricot colored head and just looked beautiful.
The aroma was sadly lost on my nose. Stupid Covid.
The taste was all Citra hops and the citrus flavors that those bring- but- the oats and lactose added this smooth sweetness that was unexpected. I mean there is no hops bitterness at all. I like the bitterness normally but this is so well done that I think I could drink these daily.
The feel is about what you would expect with oats and lactose- smooth and creamy.
Not my normal preference, but none of the beers he sent me have been, they’ve all been good and out of my wheelhouse.

 

Alas the weekend is not over, and you still have time, cheers!

 

3.41/5 rDev -5.3%

look: 4.25 | smell: 3.25 | taste: 3.25 | feel: 3.75 | overall: 3.5

Poured from a 11.2 ounce undated bottle into a Guinness Pint Glass.

Look- Deep ruby brown, opaque, frothy light tan head, above average head retention and lacing.

Smell- Toasted barley, slight coffee, weak strength of scent.

Taste- Toasted barley, slight coffee, slight chocolate, weak strength of flavor.

Feel- Between thin and medium body, mildly creamy, moderately bitter, silky, mildly mouth coating.

Overall- This beer was a deep ruby brown with above average head retention and lacing making the appearance nice. The bouquet and flavors were weak and simple. The body was smooth and silky, but much thinner than anticipated. Overall this beer provided an underwhelming drinking experience.

 

Once upon a time it was being contract brewed in Canada, so maybe that's what you originally had and technically this is new to you.

It's definitely a classic for a reason, and I personally think it's better now coming out of St. James Gate. Glad to hear that I prompted you to give it a try!

An Irish bar owner gave me my first one to try back in 1982, and I've been a big fan ever since.

 

It actually comes in 4 packs, so I always wish I had a sixer too.

I loved it this year as well. I might not even get the regular next year and just focus on the double.

 

I’d do the 4-pack in triplicate, my friend. A magnificent beer, IMHO.

 

Sixpoint The Piff - I was discussing Sixpoint recently and with seeing the beers in the threads in the new cans I realized that it's been a minute since I've had an SP beer and came across a single of this so giving it a go.

I like hazies and Sixpoint does them well. I also like how they are constantly playing with the lineup and there is/was Resin, Anti-Resin, Puff, The Piff...

Pours a hazy light orange, decent head. Smell is interesting and it's like a fruit bowl with a slight hint of spice. Taste is nice, complex and not too sweet and ends balanced and the 8.6% is well-hidden, almost dangerously so. This is a winner and what makes it even better to me is that there's no Mosaic in it. Budmo!

 

#2, this will be sent to my target in NBS BIF #17 - along with a plethora of other Transient beers that fall in the imperial stout category.

Reinforce your porch. IJS.





4.5/5 rDev 0%
look: 4.5 | smell: 4.5 | taste: 4.5 | feel: 4.5 | overall: 4.5
Pours onyx black - literally an oily, pure black - with a sizzling dark tan head that flees the glass with impunity. Definitely looks the part of a BA imperial stout. The nose features equal parts of barrel, maple, rich milk chocolate, vanilla, and cinnamon graham cracker. Drool.

The taste is all about that interplay between the rich milk chocolate, vanilla, maple, cinnamon graham cracker, and that magnificent barrel note, which sits at the back of the palate and is the anchor for this adventurous beer.

The mouthfeel is rich, decadent, and on the creamy side, perfect for a beer of this magnitude. The Transient imperial stout stout game is world class, IMHO , and this beer is another example of their prowess in that space.

 

Stonecloud Brewing's Brettanoymces Drie Presents Straight Juice, BRO IPA, 6.2% ABV; 4,07 overall

Pours a ever so slightly hazed gold with a pinky of eggshell colored head. Average-ish head retention & lacing

S: Wet horse, barnyard, & some citrus notes fighting through, only the wet hay persists

T: Brett sourness, pineapple, lemons, a little breadyness & dryness up front. A touch of grassyness, mixes in with the tangy Brett, plus oranges & more dryness as this beer warms through, a little pear works in as well. Finishes with dirty/funky pineapple, dryness & grassyness, plus a little green melon

MF: Medium body, fairly firm carbonation, good balance for what this is. Carbonation smooths out a little once warm

I like these beers as one offs, drinks fairly well, but God knows when I will drink the last 2 of this 4 pack

 

Not protected by NC Wildlife rules?

 

Were there non-disclosure forms filled out about shenanigans that took place in Aragon Alley???

 

Holler if you are itching to get the Natural State box checked...

 

Following the lead of my bif16 sniper target @whtyeboar



Double dry hopped double citra daydream by other half

4.5/5 rDev +0.2%
look: 4.5 | smell: 4.5 | taste: 4.5 | feel: 4.5 | overall: 4.5

Canned 2.6.23, opened 3.25.23

Brewery Notes: A hazy Imperial IPA brewed with milk sugar, oats and a single hop variety, Citra. Notes of candied lychee, orange and sweet tropical fruit. Smooth and dreamy. Blasted with Citra pellets and finished off with Citra Lupulin powder on a bed of pillowy oats. Double Dry Hopped Citra Daydream is an Oat Cream IPA. Part of our Dream/Daydream series, it's packed with Citra hops and Citra Lupulin powder, oats and a hint of lactose sugar to smooth it out.

Purchased at empire liquors

Poured into a pretentious beer glass results in a hazy orange liquid , two finger off white creamy foam cap, very good retention , spotty lacings , settles to a ring

Aroma is orange citrus , peach, apricot

Taste is orange citrus, apricot, peach

Creamy smooth mouthfeel , luscious, silky , so smooth , no hop bite

Very good beer

 

Good evening NBW - ers. Raw cold day here. Patterned in the yahd a bit, but one of those days where the cold penetrates to the bone. I know when I'm licked...

Slower than most working through the BA stout box with tonight's entry:



Adroit Theory's Eat the Rich. A Russian Imperial Stout, 12%, no extras. If I follow the secret decoder ring correctly, this would be batch 1306.

Pour meets expectations - dark, nearly black but largely the deepest brown. Dense tan head that leaves a cap and ring. Some decent cling to the glass.

While I do enjoy my adjuncts, it's kinda nice to stick my nose in a glass and not be assaulted by peanut butter, vanilla, cinnamon, etc. This has about as straightforward a stout aroma as it gets. Roasted malt, coffee, chocolate, earthy. A minor dark fruity contribution, leaning towards prune.

The taste is equally straightforward. Lots of roastiness, coffee, chocolate all in the foreground. The intensity builds to the point of developing some char and woodiness, but doesn't cross over into nasty acrid-land. Dark, brown breadiness. Prune or maybe dried dark cherry. Definitely has the earthy thing going on. The chocolate actually lingers pleasantly on the lips. There's restrained bitter in the aftertaste and a little peppery licorice imparts a spicy tingle.

The feel may be a tad thin, but it's fine. I get some warmth from the otherwise hidden alcohol. Dry, slightly astringent, a touch of chalkiness. Creamy and smooth. After a few bigger sips, the licorice becomes more peppery spicy.

Ok...overall, a straight up, excellently made Imperial Stout that is enjoyable to drink. Nothing seems out of the box to me. In the 4.3 range. While I "get it", not a fan of the label art, but that's got nothing to do with the beer.