New Beer Weekend #145

I’ll keep the weed theme going later tonight…

The correct answer is cannabis

 

Got lucky with the rain today - so instead of cold, drizzly, raw it was just more or less seasonably cool. Resurrected an old basketball hoop, yet to be determined if the base holds the water counterweight yet. If it topples over, it didn't. Started some garden prep and found 30 flowerpots for strawberries then realized I had no potting soil. So I did a little aquarium cleaning.

Purchased in Maine, but originating in CT is tonight's volunteer:



You all got this from the picture, right? Abomination Brewing Midnight Snack Tiramisu. A 14% Stout brewed with mascarpone, lady fingers, whipped cream, coffee, and cacao nibs. Let's see what this is all about- cool label.

Pours like chocolate sauce in color - fortunately not in thickness. Very few bubbles that were darkish browin in color and kissed a nanosecond or two, it seems.

Very good coffee aroma initially, followed by substantial chocolate. For all the additives, there is a decent roast malt smell, every so slightly charred. There's a sweet aroma as well which I could chalk up to the mascarpone, lady fingers, and whipped cream conspiring together.

This is tastefully sweet on the sip - just right for my taste, at least today. The other flavors begin to emerge a bit as this warms up. It remains coffee and chocolate forward, but the other tiramisu components are lending some nice layers of flavor. There's definitely vanilla, a little cookie or biscuit-like flavor, mild char that is well-checked and non-intrusive. There is a little fruit and I will go with dark cherry.

Feel is pretty thick. The alcohol is pleasantly pleasant and there's a smidgeon of bitterness.

Tasty, full flavor but not overly sweet and not overblown. The pastry is not dominating the stout, and I'm not sure it makes it to pastry stout territory. This is some good stuff and I'll be savoring it for a while. I'll say 4.3 or so on the trusty BArometer.

 

I'm delighted you're delighted! Enjoy, man. Come back out and visit again! Stoup has lots more of that beer than I could fit in that box. I could look into shipping you a keg.

 

Glad you enjoy! It’s a great single hop series, especially when they use one of these new, experimental hop varieties.

 

Ok, so this was from last night. Posted on WBAYDN as there wasn't an NBW, but want to represent.
OMMEGANG 25TH Anniversary Ale.

This was lurking in the cellar, on a dank, gloomy and wintry night. Not sure where or when it came from, but seemed apt. Gave off Three Philosopers vibes, from the bottle alone. Good enough for me.
Thin head, as seen and not a real lot of initial aroma. Quad/Barleywine color, but somewhat lighter.
Aroma not overpowering, had that dark stringent wine- like aspect. Still, enticing.
Going from memory, but the first sip was warming, pleasant, dark and mellow on a gloomy evening. Quad vibes.
Initial thought, wish I'd bought more than one. This will likely be a ghost ship of a beer.

P.S. Later on, had a 2023 Bigfoot. Excellent follow-up. Seems like the Ommegang was more like a mellower Barleywine than a Quad.
Will be on the lookout for more, but think this is like Shangri-la.

 

I’ll start looking for a kegerator

 

#2, beer and glassware from @Coronaeus and bottle opener from @Roguer. These NBS BIFers are multi-faceted!





4.44/5 rDev +1.6%
look: 4.5 | smell: 4.25 | taste: 4.5 | feel: 4.5 | overall: 4.5
Pours onyx black with zero leakage anywhere and sports a creamy, substantial dark tan head that provides a surprising amount of lacing given the ABV. The nose features roasty char, rich milk chocolate, and a nice bit of bourbon. No sign of the strawberries.

The strawberries are very present on the taste, though combining with the char and decadent milk chocolate flavors to coast into the slightly boozy bourbon finish. Absolutely delicious beer that masks the 11.4% ABV surprisingly well.

The mouthfeel is rich and creamy, perfect for this dessert-like BA imperial stout. What a pleasure it is to drink this well executed beer.

 

Hey what's going on?!

Time for new beers.

I have a simple rule...

I see an owl or a cat on a beer can... I buy..

Ergo... my latest new beer is:



Poured from the can into a Spiegelau IPA glass.

Gorgeous pale amber, with exceptional crystal clear clarity. Shines like a gem with topaz orange and lots of fine carbonation. Big rock white head, easily punching four fingers with thick retention. Looks like just a great big bold and rich IPA.

Mild touches of grapefruit and pithy citrus like hop on the nose. Interestingly comes with a bit of heat, and almost smokey quality as well. Seems to hit hot but with a decent simple profile, nothing too exotic either.

Fun simple palate. Mild sensing chewy backbone, but a light malt base for a hint of rind like grapefruit and hinting bitterness. Finishes almost pine like in aftertaste, with soft grapefruit and an almost orange and melon like quality.

Fairly basic IPA but gets the job done.

look: 4.5 | smell: 4 | taste: 4 | feel: 4 | overall: 4 | BA Score: 4.03

Cheers!

 

Zero gravity yuzu lager
...cloudy pale orange appearance
...medium carbonation with about a medium body but has an odd but pleasant thick feel.
...aroma is orange fruit and peel along with other fruit,earthy,tupelo honey, and a bit of grain and cereal.
...taste is mildly sweet citrus fruit and slight bitter peel. Earthy,very mild bitter hops with some cereal and grain.
...overall its different but nonetheless done really well

 

Hoppin' Frog - Imperial Berliner Weisse

12oz can served in a pair of Georgetown sampler glasses. Best By May 11 2025. Got it from @Ozzylizard in NBS BIF #17.

Pours fairly hazy whitish yellow with a small head and light carbonation. Smell is light...lemon, a little wheat, a little kettle sour aroma.

Taste is more in the lemonade direction than the kettle sour direction, though kettle sourness is there. There's a little bit of sweetness that adds to the lemonade-y-ness, but I can't nail that down to anything specific.

Mouthfeel is light, airy, very dry. Overall, it's not my favorite beer by any stretch, but it's probably the straight berliner weisse I've liked most.

 

Received from @JayORear in an LIF associated with NBW BIF #17.
Poured opaque raw honey color with a very light apricot color head which barely reaches 1 centimeter and dissipates quickly but leaves regular lacing.
The aroma is lost on my Covid affected nose.
The taste is not. There is a menagerie of citrus and pitted fruit flavors in each swallow that terminates dryly with a dank finish. Really curious how they did that. It’s tasty, juicy and dry.
The feel defies the appearance of a juice drink. No particulates at all, but some body to hold all the flavors that assault your taste buds.
OA, while I don’t drink 10% ABV beers every day, this one would certainly be a good option for when I do want one. Thanks for sending me this excellent beer!

 

How on Earth have I not had this beer before? My guess is that I've seen it, but never picked it up till today, because I assumed I've had it.


Deer Brand - August Schell Brewing - New Ulm, MN - AAL - 4.8% ABV

I bought this about a mile away from the brewery at the Hy-Vee liquor in New Ulm this morning, and brought it back to my central MN home.

If you're expecting a thick RIS from this beer, you'll be disappointed. If you're looking for a tasty, well made AAL, well ,you're in luck with this one. Great flavor, and no skunk in the flavor. I am happy with this and it's a good one to close this Saturday with.

https://www.beeradvocate.com/beer/profile/417/4886/


3.57/5 rDev +10.9%
look: 4 | smell: 3.25 | taste: 3.75 | feel: 3.5 | overall: 3.5
From a can:
This beer is very clear looking, and light golden in color. It looks like there's a tornado of carbonation rising in the glass that produces a 1 finger white head. The head has small bubbles and looks frothy. There's almost no lacing on the glass.
Very slight grain/biscuit nose. Not much else to report.
This is a malty beer. Up front is is the grain biscuit flavor. This turns a bit sweet, but not too sweet on the back with a honey flavor.
The carbonation really shows up in the body - this is a very bubbly feeling beer. The bubbles tickle my tongue, and my throat. The body is light, though the back seems thicker than the front.
If you're expecting a top notch (insert style here) beer, you're going to be disappointed. If you're looking for a well made AAL, well, I'd say you're in luck. This is good for what it is.

Be back tomorrow after work with more.

 

Let's have another beer shall we?!



Poured from the can into a Libbey style pilsner glass.

Pale brass yellow, and slightly hazed, with light carbonation clinging and flowing slowly up. Light touching head, very creamy in appearances with a solid three fingers of height and top.

Subtle aroma for a smoked lager. Light touches of smoke and caramel, and a faint touch of buttery diacetyl. Gives a sense of cream which takes away from some of the clean character.

Palate kind of misses. Mid palate seems fine, with minimal touches of malt depth but a solid presence. The aftertaste unfortunately is where the beer falls apart. At first it seems like a hop like burn, but it's definitely more like a bitter tannic wood, that really grows and grows to being sticky, oily, and bordering on medicinal. Tannic wood finish, with minimal malt sweetness, and surprisingly not bringing sweet umami like smoke character. The diacetyl luckily doesn't come out on the palate it seems.

The bitterness is tolerable to a point, but also isn't in a typical bitter beer realm (ie. IPA, fruit etc..). Comes out like drinking burnt wood, than a sweet smokey lager.

look: 3.75 | smell: 3.75 | taste: 3.25 | feel: 4 | overall: 3.25 | BA Score: 3.48

Cheers!

 

Cheers to @sulldaddy for this Tribus Beer Co. Mocha Night Night Imperial Stout, 10.5% ABV ; 3.9 overall

Pours an effervescent chestnut/ Mahogony color with a pinky of caramel colored head. Not much head retention or lacing

S: Some smokeyness, roasty malts, nose is pretty constrained

T: Coffee, smokyness, a little carob & slight booze bite up front, along with dryness, a little cocoa & vanilla sneaking as well. Fairly dry & roasty as this beer warms up, some caramel & plenty of smokeyness, plus a little Chicory, plus more cocoa & vanilla. Finishes roasty, dry with woody hops, cocoa, vanilla & campfire & just a kiss of caramel

MF: Chewy with pretty firm carbonation, fairly warming
Solid effort, if you like you IMP Stouts roasty & smokey, this for you.

Considerable heft, took me a bit to finish this 500 mL? offering. Much to like here

 

As promised the weed theme continues, courtesy of @snaotheus this beer combines two of my favorite consumables…man I forgot to take a picture upon pouring…

Fremont - Kush (Chronic IPA 7%)



Golden color, great clarity; white head with really nice retention.

Nose is huge weed…like I may never use the term dank on a beer again, it’s wild; some fresh fruit aromas, zesty citrus, and and some subtle malt sweetness.

The taste is all weed too; it even has that astringent little bit you get from edibles…along with the weed some malty sweetness and overly ripe citrus; with some other fruitiness mixed it.

Medium body, very crisp with a nice hint of bitterness; hops lend a resiny feel, a really nice clean ipa.

If you want an ipa that tastes like weed you will not get closer, at least in my experience, as close as it gets.

I was insanely impressed with the weed this beer had but then I learned they added terpenes so now it 100% makes sense. This beer is still awesome and delicious, I initially thought they were able to pull this from hops. It’s still a great lovey beer, its taste and aroma just make more sense now. They nailed it!

—————

See you all tomorrow, period 2 here we come…glass courtesy of @Coronaeus

 

What's funny last rotational of Silver Spaceships I wasn't impressed with to much, was a pint n done. I liked this 1 more. It's tame but it slides down with ease. Batches range since they they are always experimenting. Makes it interesting. You'll be drinking on more Odd for sure.

 

Shape of Haze to Come (Key Lime, Vanilla, Cinnamon, and Lactose) and Shape of Haze to Come (Pineapple). Both DDH Hazy IIPA from @Ozzylizard in NBS BIF #17.

Look: They are very similar – hazy amber-yellow. Key lime has very little head, pineapple has a little bit more. I think pineapple is slightly lighter in color.

Smell: Key lime definitely has a key lime aroma (though not totally sure I would name it that if it wasn’t on the label). There’s a little bit of cinnamon and vanilla to go along with it. Pineapple definitely has a canned pineapple juice vibe to it.

Taste: Key lime…wow. That first sip was an experience. Creamy sweetness, lime skin bitterness, some kind of coconut note, with a none-too-gentle slap of cinnamon. Subsequent sips are more of the same, but not so jarring since I know what to expect. Pineapple has a similar hop character – citrus rind bitterness is pretty prevalent. It also has the creamy sweetness, but it doesn’t have a key lime pie or coconut character. Pineapple is not so distinct, I get mostly a vague tropical fruit juice. Bitterness does seem a bit more muted.

Mouthfeel: Both have a pretty creamy texture, but the pineapple has a dryer finish.

Overall: Without doubt, my preference is for the pineapple, but that’s because of the cinnamon. I can definitely enjoy the key lime, but I would absolutely enjoy it more without the cinnamon (or if it was turned down by like 90% or so).

Once again, Bob, I have to thank you for a fascinating beer experience! Very interesting, and also enjoyable!