New Beer Weekend #143

It’s not easy being Green?



Today’s new beer is a new brand from Fat Head’s: Green Grunge IPA. It is a seasonal release.

On the top portion of the can is the ‘mantra’ “Smells like Green Spirit”. I suppose some persons at the brewery are fans of Nirvana?

Below is how this beer is detailed on the brewery’s website:

“This heavy hitting IPA goes against the grain to give you a raucous hop experience. It’s loaded with Chinook and Citra hops lending grungy notes of grapefruit, berry, and citrus rind with a smooth piney, spicy, bitterness that invokes classic American “C” hop character.

6.5% ABV

65 IBU

BREWER DETAILS

HOPS: Citra, Chinook, Pahto

MALT: Pale 2-Row, Munich, Carahell

YEAST: American Ale

BEGINNING GRAVITY: 17.4 PLATO

ENDING GRAVITY: 2.6 PLATO

COLOR: Light Yellow”

Well, let’s see that “green” tastes like:

Served in my Spiegelau IPA Glass:

Appearance:

Yellow with a BIG white head.

Aroma:

A pleasant aroma of mostly fruity but there is some citrus as well.

Taste:

The flavor follows the nose with mostly fruity flavors but also some citrus as well. There is a moderate bitterness.

Mouthfeel

Medium bodied with a dry finish.

Overall

I enjoyed drinking this beer, it is a very good IPA. For my palate this beer has drinkability.

Cheers!

@rotsaruch @RobH @KOP_Beer_OUtlet

 

I'll 'vote' for that!

When I was done drinking the can I wanted to drink a second. All too often when I drink a Juicy/Hazy IPA afterwards I have zero desire for a second (even though I enjoyed the one).

Cheers!

 

Thanks @Roguer for the opening

o zapft 'es!
The Biggest One by Tree House

4.54/5 rDev +1.8%
look: 4.75 | smell: 4.5 | taste: 4.5 | feel: 4.75 | overall: 4.5



Brewers notes: (Triple IPA, 9.4% ABV, 16oz) The Biggest One is a triple IPA brewed and dry-hopped with a preposterous amount of hops. It tastes like the nectar of freshly pressed oranges, mixed tropical fruit, and juicy summer stone fruit with a massive and coating mouthfeel. It's a Tree House hoppy beer gluttony in the best way possible.

Can purchased at tree house Tewksbury , canned 3.16 , opened 4.13 poured into a prentetious beer glass

“ welcome baby maple”’

Hazy , syrupy dark hazy orange juice , capped my a dense creamy two finger off white foam cap, great retention , thick cloaking lacings , spotty lacings after some sips , settles to a ring

Aroma is orange citrus, mango, tropical fruits , bubble gum , peach

Taste is orange citrus, mango tropical fruits , bubble gum

Velvety smooth , creamy, slight sweetness , 9.4% Abv is very well hidden

Very good beer , recommended

 

Good morning BAs! Today’s new to me beer is from Bottle Logic:



Bottled 2022. 13.5%. Poured at 55°. One finger of creamy light tan head with a few rocks; fairly quick cap leaves heavy ring and a small island of micro dots; some spots of lace with agitation; heavy legs on swirl; deep ruby/brown body with excellent clarity. Nose is caramel and bourbon; boozy retro nasal. Toasted coconut and sweet caramel malt; a little coffee as beer warmed; coconut/sweet candy finish. Smooth semi viscous feel; alcohol burn on tip of tongue; heavy minus body; noticeable warmth in mouth from 13.5% abv. Overall the beer is boozy hot and very sweet; not much coffee but lots of coconut; bourbon takes a back seat to the caramel, but is present and accounted for…I like sweet big beers but this beer is a bit too much for me.

4.5 | 4.25 | 4.25 | 4.5 | 4.25
Score: 4.29 rDev - 2.1%

Cheers and have a great weekend y’all!

 

Back to spring weather after a few days of 80 degree weather.

Sitting down with a Surly One Man Mosh Pit

Appearance: Hazy yellow, ok head that doesn't stay too long.

Smell: Citrus, mild dankness.

Taste: Some sweetness, some citrus, and a fair amount of savory “meatiness”. Light bodied, finishes with mild to moderate bitterness.

Overall: I'm now pretty weary and wary of hazy IPAs, but decided to try a 6 pack of this Surly. It's fine, but just isn't what I enjoy these days. I prefer a more crisp, clean bitterness. These hazies are a little too mild and soft for my preference.

 

Good sometime around noon, folks. It's been quite a while since I've had a new beer on the weekend that I really wanted to get into for this thread. In fact, this beer is one that highlights being old, not being new. The beer itself is fairly new (looks like it's at least half a year old judging when it was added to this site) when compared to the brewery that produced it, which is over 75 years old. This is St Bernardus' Anniversary 75 brew.

The cork seemed eager to spread its legs as I gave it a little nudge to get it on its way. By physically holding back its excitement, I may have caused it to burst out loud once it was free. The initial pour was not gushing, but definitely foamed up aggressively. A slightly softer second pour brought about a better temperament from the beer. Dirty penny color (a bit lighter than the photo) with a bit of haze beyond just chill, which is obviously present, the bubbles atop the beer coalesced into sandy sea foam before I check out other aspects of the beer.


I did get a quick whiff of the beverage's breath when it made its aforementioned outburst. The nose had a slight funk to it in the way I wondered if St Bernardus might've gone with some spontaneous fermentation for their 75th. It's quite apparent this was a false initial impression when I smell now. There is a mix of honey caramel grain and dry grass and fall spice in the aroma. It seems to me that I should expect it will be a little sweet to open with a drying spice in back, aided by strong carbonation.

Can the look and nose of this beer paired with my previous experience with the brewer lead me to proper expectations of taste and feel?

Pretty close. High effervescence, even a little more than I expected. A strong dryness, but there's a little thread of light brown sugar that works its way into the finish. As to sweetness, it doesn't start out quite as sweet as I expected - a golden raisin and barley porridge that is battered down a bit by the strength of carbonation. Spice notes come in mid-palate and linger with a light numbing effect in back.

I really am enjoying this beer, with my main adjustment request would be to have a few less bubbles rushing around. The GF really enjoyed it and said, "I like it quite a bit. I had to consciously slow down drinking it because I was absent-mindedly going back for sip after sip."

 

Thanks for opening the bar, @Roguer.
We opened the pool up a week ago, and my single bit of work to do is painting the pool deck. Not an onerous task, but not a lot of fun either. Today's new beer is Coconut Milk Stout from Soulcraft Brewing in Salida, CO.
The beer is a black color with just the hint of a head.
Aroma is chocolate, vanilla, a little coconut.
Taste is dark chocolate, vanilla, and coconut.
Sweet, on the thin side.

 

Sounds like a beer I could enjoy…my best friend loves hazies and I still drink a bunch with him, but I too am wary and weary of the style for the reasons you mentioned above. Cheers!

 

I will try to grab some for your visit here. I love that beer. Especially since it is named after me. Actually, I just changed my avatar to a professional photograph of me as a one man mosh pit. Taken last weekend.

 

This 75th anniversary beer is stated to be a Tripel. I wonder how it compares to the year-round Tripel that St. Bernardus makes? An idea for a side-by-side?

Cheers!

 

I really enjoyed that one yesterday - a nice departure from the “juice bomb hazies” that Tree House does at the highest possible level, IMHO.

 

I saw the style classification when I went to review it. Unfortunately, I just have this one bottle, but if I see another and the regular Tripel, I will definitely do a side-by-side. I'd be especially interested as I would've thought today's beer leaned towards strong Belgian pale territory compared to what I think of in a tripel. That said, I wouldn't argue its that far astray from the style description on this site.

I checked quickly, and I see I gave the regular Tripel a straight 3.75 back in 2014 (back when you could give a single rating for the entire beer on this site). First, my former self did not like their standard offering as much as my current self liked 75. Second, I may need to buy the Tripel regardless of finding another 75th Anniversary beer.

 

Sweet! I look forward to reading this (if you can find another 75th).

Just a couple of days ago I watched the below video which contained some related discussion. Maybe you would enjoy watching this video too?



Cheers!

 

Ahnapee Brewery Cosmic Berry Smash. I am not much of a fan of sour beers, but this beer sounds intriguing. Neon pink color, with very light off-white foam. The smell is cherry, strawberry, grapefruit, raspberry, and lime. The taste is pre-workout powder generic berry. Non-descript. My brain is amped for an amphetamine-like rush, without receiving one. No particular fruit flavor stands out. Just sourness. The mouthfeel is champagne-like, light and soft, with higher carbonation. Overall, this is just another sour beer. No brewery besides New Glarus Brewing has made a sour beer that I really enjoy.

 

While I am subscribed to that channel, I have not watched his last two tastings (that one and I believe English ales was before it). I will probably catch up in the next week or so, even though I find the comparisons he does suffer from going for a breadth of options instead of digging just a little deeper into, say, at least half the options he usually has.

 

Appleton Beer Factory Almind Delight. An almond amber ale. The color is dark brown, with a nice light-brown, off-white foam. The smell is vanilla, almond, malt, coconut, and lime. Different from what I expected. The taste is very creamy. Vanilla ice cream with almonds, and light whipped cream mixed in. A pleasant surprise. The mouthfeel is smooth, full, and creamy, with medium carbonation. Overall, this beer is better than I expected. It is a nice change of pace.

 

Hopefully you will get a chance to watch it later.

As regards the difference between a Golden Strong Ale and a Tripel you will hear Jonny describe a Golden Strong Ale as being a more balanced beer between the malt, hop and limited yeast derived flavors while a Tripel is dominated by the complex yeast derived flavors. This is a perspective I agree with. I have homebrewed a Strong Golden Ale (a clone of Duvel) and I homebrewed several batches of Tripel and the difference in the level/complexity of yeast derived flavors is striking.

Maybe St. Barnardus chose a less complex yeast strain (or varied the fermentation profile) to create a less complex yeast derived flavor profile for this 75th anniversary beer? A strategy to create something different from their year-round Tripel?

Cheers!