New Beer Weekend #140

Tbh I haven't tried this one yet, so I have no notes for ya!

 

Back yet again, and this time it is a beer that @Beersnake1 sent to me.

Whistle Monkee - Firestone Walker - Quad - 13% ABV

I guess go big, or go home - wait, I am home.

I've had the Stickee Monkee, but this amps it up a bit. The barrels are throughout the beer, but they don't overshadow the beer. This is very delicious. I am so happy and thankful you sent it to me. Thank you from the bottom of my heart.

Review:
https://www.beeradvocate.com/beer/profile/2210/604758/

4.54/5 rDev +1.6%
look: 4.75 | smell: 4.5 | taste: 4.5 | feel: 4.75 | overall: 4.5
Nice bit of smoke upon opening the bottle. This beer is an amber pouring beer. It looks darker in the glass, almost brown, but, when held up to light, the amber shows through. The head is tan colored, and 1 1/2 finger. Decent retention for the higher alcohol content. There's some decent lacing on the glass.
The nose is very rich smelling. Tons of dark fruit. Tons of caramel. There is a boozy aroma that comes in from the barrels, it smells like whiskey, as it should.
Taste - quite impressive. Dark fruit and some cherry starts off the party. The dark fruit/cherry seems to fade to a bit of caramel in the middle, which adds a hint of sweetness. There's some vanilla on the back. There's hints of the Whistle Pig barrels mixed in throughout.
Full bodied, thick and smooth feeling. There's a bit of a burn, but it's slow to develop, and hits way on the back. It's more warming than anything.
This is a solid beer, and I highly recommend it if you like the style.


I'm guessing I'm done for today. See you all next weekend sometime for the next New Beer Weekend.

 

Good evening NBW
My last new one for the weekend

Belhaven Scottish Ale
14.9oz widget can stamped OCT 31 23 P3 L2194 poured into a nonic pint glass at just above fridge temp 5.2% ABV. The beer pours bright dark amber with tight nitro khaki head. The head recedes to a half inch cap. The aroma is surprisingly sweet pale malt with tea and floral hop notes. The taste is semisweet pale and toasted malt with tea-like and herbal hop flavor. Mildly bitter. Mouthfeel is thin to medium bodied with typical "nitro" feel and a mostly dry finish. Overall, good.

I just poured a bit of Ardbeg 10 and will finish my weekend with the pair. Cheers all!

 

What a glorious day here today! Beautiful outside and in. Our bell choir played at church this morning - due to one thing and another we are down from 8 players to 5, so whole new world with serious musical limitations right there. Three hours of rehearsal and somehow pulled it off. Lunch and dinner from a favorite Thai joint - one waitress has know our grandson since he was born and loves seeing him - "you eat spicy food...good for you". Long woods walk, the sprout jumping on the trampoline, him convinced that digging up a mound of dirt and collecting downed limbs was exploring for treasure... Only blot today was dropping off our taxes knowing what's in store for us giving the gubmint even more of our cash to waste.

Ok...STFU and get to the beer...well, I can be chatty since this beer by all accounts will speak for itself.



Can ya hear it? From the BA stout box...it's the myth...the legend...barrel-aged Ten Fidy. I have not seen an Oskar Blues anything around here in a few years, so the brewery is already a unicorn in my forest, never mind this beer.

Pours black with a surprising two fingers of brown head. It actually lasts quite a while, but eventually surrenders and becomes a few islands with a solid ring, pretty strong cling.

The smell is actually quite subdued to me. It's all there, but it doesnt seem to be eciting the glass with much urgency. Bourbon, great coffee and chocolate, roasty malts, a kind of caramel or molasses note, a light kiss of vanilla, wood.

The flavor explodes. Everything that should be in a stout of this ilk, nothing that doesn't belong, and everything in its place. Very good bourbon flavor leads the parade. There's a superbly smooth coffee taste that combines with milk chocolate for a kind of mocha effect. The chocolate lingers a bit on the lips. A little bitterness from the coffee but no acridity or unpleasant cherry taste. Not much char at all, in fact. There's a pleasing woodiness - I guess that is barrel presence. A bit of vanilla, slight touch of sweetness. Well after the swallow there is an aromatic spicy anise taste. All these flavors are extremely well-integrated.

Medium bodied, moderately carbed. It's not as dry as I thought it would be. Ultra-smooth, slightly bitter residual on the tongue while the licorice thing lingers as an aromatic. It occurs to me that it actually has a hard liquor feel to it.

I can sit here and dissect, but this beer just as easily lends itself to good old enjoyment in its totality. While the bourbon is strong, my fellow Jedi, it somehow doesn't dominate with a heavy hand. It's just unabashedly there in the foreground, but everybody else stands up loud and proud. This is some awesome sauce in a can. Well-crafted and it seems the barrel aging is flawless - deserves every bit of hype it gets, if ya ask me. Easily in the mid 4 ballyard.

 

Goose Island '22 Bourbon County (Heaven Hill barrels). Appearance is what you'd expect from BCBS. Quite dark with a finger of dark mocha head. Lots of smooth barrel character on this one, bringing lots of vanillin, coconut, bourbon, and charred oak. Typical wonderful barrel character that you'd expect from BCBS, but just ticked up another notch. The base brings dark chocolate fudge, slight milk chocolate, caramel, fig, slight prune, brown sugar, some tobacco, slight peat. Medium body. Feel like it's thinned out a bit from the barrel. Sticky, oily, slick. I haven't had the regular this year, but I heard this particular Heaven Hill 4 pack is superior. I wouldn't doubt that, given the richer-than-normal barrel character. Still have to try the '22 regular at some point to compare. Glad I have 3 bottles left of this one!

 

I had to add it to the database so apparently few BAs have tried it yet. I’m curious what you find in the flavors!

 

The Mother of All Storms
14% barleywine by Pelican

The old Billy Baroo. I've passively sought this one for years. Departed Advocate @scream extolled the virtues of this barleywine and that made an impression, but I previously had never heard of Pelican Brewing let alone see this beer.

Thanks to a random act of kindness on my part (an unsolicited comment led me to send beer months later to @snaotheus). I included the beer style he spoke of (red IPA) and other big hitters. The box he sent was a murderers row of beer and it included The Mother of All Storms. And today's the day.

Poured from a 500 ml bottle, the body pours a starless sky black and appears to be motor oil. No visible carbonation, head or lacing except a small number of lonely bubbles at the edge of the glass.

Aroma is an enticing mix of bourbon, oak and vanilla. Notes of chocolate waft in and out.

Taste follows nose but with a much amplified power. The bourbon heat is felt on finish, but is not overly done. Same can be said if the bourbon sweetness. The malt brings a leather, tobacco, raisin aspect to the dance.

Mouthfeel is smooth. Despite appearances, there is a low carbonation tingle. Just enough to be pleasant. A touch of sticky sweetness in the lips ends the swallow.

As good as advertised. My only regret is to never have shared a bottle with Don. Cheers buddy.

 

This one is courtesy of @hopley Definitive Brewing Co. Distant Gardens New England DIPA, 8.0% ABV; 3.98 overall

Pours a very hazed gold with one finger of eggshell colored head. Good head retention, better lacing
\S: Some juicyness, a little cattyness, not the strength of this beer to be sure

T: Plenty of oranges, pomelo & little lime & green melon up front. Some dryness, lime, green melon & pineapple & tangerine as this beer warms up. Finishes with pineapple, sweet & acidic, green melon & dryness

MF: Medium body, fairly firm carbonation, some acidity. Nicely balanced

Very good for the style, the nose is very muted

 

Love a Thai Beef Salad as long as good meat is being used. A lot of local Thai places here cheap out on the quality here.

 

Love it when fresh. Not bad with some age, but a different beer all together IMHO

 

You beat me to it, blast! Haha

I find myself often adding the beers I drink that are local obviously

 

Welcome to a very late edition for me of New Beer Sunday #944. I am emersed in our 2023 March Beer Madness Tournament, and was hoping to post this in both threads if this beer was far enough behind Guinness. Guinness is only down three, 23-20, so I implore any and all Guinness fans or Irish to join us in the link above and post a picture of a Guinness or two you pull out to enjoy, and we can celebrate a chance at The Final Four.

I never hated a beer before rating it, and I only hate this beer that I never even heard of until suggesting it for the tournament a few weeks ago based on it's rating count and quality. I hate it because it is beating my Guinness. I will try to set those feelings aside in the sake of Beer Science.

Schneider Weisse Tap 6: Mein Aventinus



Can Notes: Purchased at room temperature at The Beer Temple yesterday, $18.73 for a four pack of 16.9 oz cans canned 4/1/22 @ 9:35 AM (can code L22091 09:35 010422). Not sure how long the recommended shelf life is. 8.2% ABV, Imported from Germany. German Wheat Beer, Weizen-Doppelbock, Tap 06, since 1907. Ingredients: Water, Wheat Malt, Barley Malt, Hops, Yeast. Unpasteurized, unfiltered, no preservatives. Cool and dark storage. 8-12 C. Product of Germany. Brewed and canned by: Schneider Weisse G. Schneider & Sohn GMBH, Kelheim. Imported by Win-It-Too Inc., Middleton, MA USA. GBN Global Beer Network. Bayerisches Bier. Geschotzie Geografische Angabe.

Appearance: Multiple pours into my new comped teku glass. Murky beige brown base, egg white head bubbly, leaves no trace but a creamy cover over the base. 4.0

Aroma: Pumpernickel, raisin bread, plum. Light in strength, decent to nice in pleasure. 3.75

Taste: Taste stronger than the aroma leads, getting more plum as this warms, but raisins and fruit bread. More fruit, less malt than I envisioned, and the beer is the better for it. Liquid fruit cake. 3.75

Mouthfeel: Syrupy sweet, light prickly carbonation, drinks easier than the ABV at first, then trends toward it as I work through the can. Faint dryness, sweet but within reason and style guidelines, plums and raisins linger in the finish. 4.0

Overall: This is a solid offering, not really within my normal radar in terms of style, but this beer delivers. I am wondering if the near year on these cans have adversely impacted this tasting. I am enjoying this beer, but will revisit if I can find a draft or much fresher version that changes my observations of this can. Still well crafted and I am enjoying this as is. 4.0

Still have an eliminated March Beer Madness beer for next week, and one from Allagash I'm looking forward to.

Cheers

 

Very excited for this one and not too late for NBW

Thanks @Whyteboar for making a wish come true!

Founders - Underground Mountain Brown



Bottled on 7.29.19

Poured into the ol' weizen glass at fridge temp.

I feel like this belongs in a cellar thread. Only opened one beer up older than it was it was like a 5 year Ommegang - my watch has ended

Onto this however; pours a deep dark hickory with a fairly impressive head that left some consistent and sticky lacing and settled into a 1/4 finger ring. 4.25

Strong brown sugar,medium roast-esque coffee, and robust chocolate. Hints of bourbon-like vanilla and caramel. Sweet but not at all overwhelming and I'm really digging it. 4.25

At fridge temp I get medium coffee again, some lighter chocolate, and just a bit of bourbon vanilla and caramel.
Warmed up the coffee almost fades away to leave behind the bourbon and some more noticeable booze. 4.25

Body is surprisingly drinkable and a tad heavier than light, and lighter than moderate. Very drinkable for a higher abv, which again is a win in my book. Hint of booze, but not lingering. Warming for just a minute or so before fading. 4.75 damn I wanna give this a 5 really bad I enjoyed it that much.

Overall definitely the most approachable and not overwhelming bigger beer I've consumed to date. Flavors were dynamic, and brilliant in a way I don't usually see in the style. This took them all and perfectly balanced them. 4.5

 

I'm glad you enjoyed it!