New Beer Weekend #143

Roughtail Brewing's Jersey Devil's Jorts DDH DIPA, 8.3% ABV; 4.38 overall

With El Dorado, El Dorado Incognito, Citra & Rakau hops

Pours an effervescent & very hazed gold with one finger of eggshell colored head. Sheets of lacing & good head retention

S: Tropical, citrus fruits & strawberries

T: Tangerine, green melons, peach, dryness & lime up front, a touch vanilla as well, some dryness. More limes, kiwi fruit, tangerines, a little pineapple & vanilla once this beer warms up. Finishes a little dry with a touch of lime, sweet orange, limes & a little pine showing up late

MF: Medium body, creamy carbonation, nicely balanced

Super easy to drink, very solid hazy DIPA from one Oklahoma's best brewers of this style, pretty juicy

 

At least the Sixers won!

 

Happy weekend everyone!
NEBCO Fuzzy Baby Ducks 6.25 ABV IPA.

Nice apricot color looking beer. 1 1/2 inch head that quickly fades to a subtle ring that sticks around.
Aromas are fairly muted citrus.
Mouthfeel is lighter side of medium with ample carbonation.
Taste is all citra hops; unsweetened oranges, some mango and grapefruit. Nice hint of malts that balance beer nicely.
Finish is fairly dry with nice bitter notes of oranges and maybe some pine.
This is a very good well balanced all Citra IPA.

 

I have a fridge full of new to me session beers and not sure how many I'll be able to get to this weekend but starting off with Samuel Adams Summer Adventure Lager - I am a Lager fan and enjoy lime in my Lagers and while I do enjoy pineapple on its own, not sure how this will work in this beer.

Pours from a bottle (EB Sept.) a clear yellow, very carbonated. Smell is okay but kind of odd and I'm picking up some sweet malts and Lager yeast. Taste is decent, doesn't lean any one way and doesn't end too sweetly, nicely balanced and ends a bit dryly; but I'm not picking up much lime or pineapple.

I like this and it would be a crowd pleaser but I see no reason to buy this again, as a Corona with lime or many other beers would suit me just as well; and the nose is kind of turning me off. Worth trying? Sure, but not something you should go out of your way for. Budmo!

 

I had a plan …..

And then my very good friend @Roguer (who is as good a dude as you’ll find on BA) suggested as my sender in NBS BIF #17 that I conserve some of the howitzer of a hit of Tree House hops he smashed my porch with a couple of days ago for the official share date next weekend.

So it is written, so it shall be done.

Which is a fancy way of saying, I pivoted. Specifically, to a pair of beers from iconic West Coast breweries, one of which is completely new to me, and the other which I’ve never officially reviewed.

This is Stone Delicious Double IPA, a “gluten reduced” WCDIPA.





3.98/5 rDev -4.6%
look: 4.25 | smell: 3.75 | taste: 4 | feel: 4.25 | overall: 4
Pours a beautiful clear copper color with a sudsy oatmeal colored head that provides a nice amount of lacing. Beautiful WCDIPA. Nice citrus notes on the nose, especially lemon and tangerine, and a touch of biscuity malt, but it’s a bit ….. muted.

The taste is a bit more open, especially the tangerine and biscuit flavors, and the lemon gets a little time to shine as well. Very easy drinking for a 9.4% ABV beer.

The mouthfeel is full and drying, on point for the style. I’m glad I bought a 6er of this, and I understand it’s “gluten reduced,” but I feel it could’ve been ….. more, thus the negative rDev, which doesn’t happen much for me, especially with Stone hop bombs.

 

What a couple of days we have had here! It’s like late June in early April. I took the kids to the zoo today and listened intermittently to the Jays hand the Rays what I expect will be the second of 13 consecutive losses. A nice start by Kikuchi after a decent one by Berrios, and all is looking bright at Rogers Centre. As an Expos fan living in Ontario since ‘99, I’ve tried to adopt the Blue Jays as my team over the last couple decades. I jumped half way on board back during the last playoff runs. I’m trying to jump fully on board this year. I like the team.

Today I’m having a first beer from a new to me brewery, Fine Balance out of Kingston, Ontario. The is one they call a New Zealand Pilsner. From the brewery’s description it is a German style Pilsner brewed exclusively with a mix of New Zealand hops. The only one they name is called Hort9909 which they say is a cross between Hallertau Mittelfrüh, Saaz and a wild German varietal. Sounds interesting.

Fine Balance Precipice New Zealand Pilsner.



Pours an unfiltered straw gold with a bold pillowy head that leaves scattered lacing as the beer is enjoyed.

Cereal on the nose, a light pine note, lemon and some grassy elements mingling together. There is an indistinct tropical note as well.

Taste follows with a more noticeable cereal quality, some grassy/herbal notes and a more distinct citrus hit. There is a solid bitterness that lingers after the finish.

Lighter bodied with a strong effervescence. Enjoyable.

This was a great Pilsner experiment. I tend to enjoy experimental hop combinations in a solid Pilsner. This was among the better I’ve tried and would gladly try again any time.

 

I had the same experience as you described. It was muted so I stowed 4 of em away and when I came back around, maybe 2-3 weeks later it was delicious. So delicious I drank em all without leaving a review. Fingers crossed you have the same experience.

 

Alpha Abstraction Volume 23
8% New England style IPA by Wild Leap

Poured from a twelve ounce can, the beer is a cloudy yellow-gold with a fluffy white head. Good lacing.

Nose has a delightful citrus grapefruit aroma. Double dry hopped with Eclipse hops.

Taste is true to style: very low bitterness and a subdued citrus flavor. Juicy but not over the top. Finish is a light pine hop. The ABV is completely masked.

Carbonation is solid and mouthfeel nice: soft and easy.

A solid drinking IPA in a style that I don't drink too often because I have been spoiled by Advocate boxes with Treehouse beer made by the Mandalorian Armorer. This is the way.

 

No surprise that another Boulevard beer is good with me. 2023 Churro Grande: Imperial Brown Ale at an easy 13.5%. I bet this tastes great with a snow white vanilla ice cream. Let me get some of my B&J for the sake of science. Not bad, def be good with straight vanilla. This is unapologetic and honest. Label says it all. Yum.

 

Lakefront maibock
...clear,odd but attractive copper ruby appearance
...bit of a thin body with light carbonation
...aroma is nutty/chestnut,malt,yeasty,barley, with what almost seems like cherry.
...taste is malty and that lingers but a hop,earthy flavor quickly shows up which isn't too bitter.
The hop bite doesn't match the rest of the flavor profile and is making it hard to enjoy. Wasnt too cold so will pop another in the fridge and hope for a better result

 

You have given me hope!!!!! Seriously, thanks for the feedback.

 

"Landscapes 2" by Sante Adairius Rustic Ales

4.24/5 rDev +5%
look: 4 | smell: 4.25 | taste: 4.25 | feel: 4.25 | overall: 4.25

Poured from a 750mL bottle into my Troubadour tulip.

Cloudy jonquil body with three fingers of cosmic latte mousse up top. Fine, soapy lacing; excellent retention.

Sweet/tart/funky/floral aromatics - wild grass, citrus, and farmyard notes.

Flavor follows the nose with oak, white wine, and tangerine peel. Earthy, citrus-laden, faintly floral hop notes with low but persistent bitterness. Medium-dry, complex finish. Superb balance.

Medium-bodied, well carbonated, refreshing and lightly tannic.

Very good domestic take on the style. Nice "wild" influence, but not aggressively sour.

 

#2, I think I had this iconic beer 12 years or so ago, but at that point in my beer nerd journey, I was doing ratings almost exclusively - and somehow I placed this magnificent beer at 4.28. I’m pretty good at beer math, but that math eludes me.

So here we go with a full review on the 2023 vintage. I’m so glad I have a 6er of this - I may need to augment that supply, because this is (spoiler alert) world class.





4.5/5 rDev +8.7%
look: 4.5 | smell: 4.5 | taste: 4.5 | feel: 4.5 | overall: 4.5
Pours the most beautiful amber color you could ever want to see, mostly clear, with a brilliantly creamy light tan head that provides a surprising amount of lacing. A truly gorgeous barleywine, IMHO.

The nose is resplendent in rich toffee and resiny pine notes, with a smidge of stone fruit tossed in to turn that drooling engine on in anticipation of the taste.

Which is completely fulfilled, with that decadent toffee flavor melding with the nicely bitter resiny pine and dab of stone fruit to produce a barleywine that is balanced yet aggressive, putting you through a flavor ride that doesn’t relent. Absolutely delicious beer, IMHO.

The mouthfeel is rich, creamy, and decadent, commensurate with the heft of this beer. What a treasure it is to enjoy a beer that is executed this well. World class stuff, IMHO.

 

You talked this up so well I need to open mine. My post laser tag beverage while the kids shower. They annihilated me.



Yep, this is pretty great. Roasty, slightly overdone toasted dark bread with seeds is what I get primarily. The oak and grassy hops at the finish close this out nicely. Phils will get hot soon, no doubt. Cheers good sir!