New Beer Weekend #146

Greetings, esteemed & enlightened espousers of beers,

Been a weird week, weather wise. Was mostly highs in the low 80s til Friday, when the temperature dropped down into the low 50s and rain reigned. Since then the mercury has inches upwards a bit, but we're still in the high 50s here in Spokanistan.

Last week I stayed out of NBW on account of drinking an incredible array of mostly lagers at Whistle Punk's 6th anniversary on Friday and Saturday. While the resulting hangover was not nearly as soul crushing as I'd feared (something to be said for drinking lots of beers below 6%, I guess), I was nevertheless all beered out by Sunday. This past week I was afflicted by knee pain of a sort that seemed different. Having a friend who suffers from gout, I couldn't help but notice a similarity, so I decided to take a few days and not drink alcohol, till it went away, and then drink again, and see if it came surging back. Well, there's been no knee pain since yesterday evening, so let's see what happens...

Started with this "hazy imperial IPA" courtesy of @russpowell:

https://www.beeradvocate.com/beer/profile/38015/649455/?ba=woemad#lists
Here in the PNW, a lot of attempts at a hazy, NE style of IPA winds up being more of a fruit juicy IPA than anything else, as opposed to a genuine NE hazy of the sort by Tree House, Hill Farmstead, etc. This is sort of like that, but quite a bit sweeter. It wasn't a bad beer to drink, but it's not my idea of a hazy DIPA, and was way too sweet for me to have more than one (plus, at 9% abv, it'd kick my ass were I able to try sessioning it). Not quite my cup of tea, although I am grateful to have had the chance to try it.

Next up was a beer I was prepared to bail on quickly, given I'd forgotten about it for a couple years!
Every 6 months or so, there's a competition amongst 6 Spokane breweries called the Lester Cup (I have no idea why), and in winter, 2021, the chosen theme was pastry stouts. I decided to buy a sixer of cans of them (the majority of which turned out to be underfills, I'm saddened to report), and I drank four before I was sufficiently disillusioned to stop making a priority of trying them. I discovered this afternoon I still had two, so I decided to crack one open today.
This is Humble Abode Brewing's Tiramisu Stout:

https://www.beeradvocate.com/beer/profile/56849/530900/?ba=woemad#lists
This had aged better than I thought it would for an 8% pastry Stout shoved into the corner of a fridge for 2 years!
Although the nose was somewhat weak at this point, the flavor came through fairly well and was decently reminiscent of tiramisu. Mouth feel was a bit watery, but otherwise it was quite drinkable and not bad as a dessert beer following the ham and cheese sandwich I had for lunch.

 

The list of foods you are supposed to avoid if you have Gout is very depressing

 

Social Project Brewing's Heat Waves Triple Hazy IPA, 9.5% ABV; 4.09 overall

Pours an effervescent and hazy gold with one finger+ of cream colored head. Pretty good head retention & lacing

S: Pineapple, other tropical fruits

T: Grapefruit, pineapple, passion fruit & green melon up front. Pineapple, Pomelo, & Green Melon, once the beer warms a bit, Finishes with grapefruit, pineapple, passion fruit & guava & just a kiss of lime

MF: Medum body, fairly firm carbonation, good balance.

Super drinkability, ABV is very well hidden, pretty darn juicy

 

It is indeed. Anecdotally, I'm not sure if I have it or not, I just don't have a triggering incident where I did any obvious damage to my knee that could result in the pain I was feeling earlier. Then again, I am all too aware that I have reached an age to where I can injure my knee by walking across a fucking room!

 

Whoa! Bit of a gusher. Looking at the pictures, I'd be concerned that it was infected, but judging by your experience in tasting it, that doesn't appear to be the case. I guess it was just happy to see you!

 

Good evening NBW
My weekend got away from me. I needed to get at least one more review posted here.
I bought this 4 pack a few weeks ago but hadn't gotten to it.

Taxman No Sparge
12oz canned 3/10/23 poured into a tulip glass at fridge temp 12% ABV 32 IBU per can. The beer pours semi bright amber with sticky khaki colored head. The head recedes to an uneven cap and completely laces the glass above the beer. The aroma is moderate in strength featuring pale malt, orchard fruit and banana and clove. The taste is semisweet, slightly hot (ethanol heat), pale malt with earthy hop notes and mild plus bitterness. The orchard fruit is there in the background. The mouthfeel is medium plus bodied with average carbonation and a semi dry finish. You can tell they used all malt to create the ABV by the flavor, head and body. Overall, very good strong Belgian ale.

 

Hey what's going on!?

Busy weekend, and I am down for a brown, so let's do this!



Poured from the can into a Spiegelau IPA glass, sure we shall forego the nonic!

Really nice in this glass. Accentuating a bit more light and space, we got real nice ribbed hues of brown from dark ruby and light caramel, to a classic solid mahogany. Even with the darkness up to the light there is great clarity, and nice looking rich IPA like head. Topping with three rich retention full fingers of tan color and some big soapy lacing as it slowly settles.

Interesting aroma. Hop forward with soft tea like accents, and a distinct mineral like water scent. Light touches of toast brown bread, and more of a bigger sense of milk chocolate.

Palate brings some interesting senses. A little bit hair light bodied and flirting with wet consistency, and getting into session IPA territory. Speaking of IPA noticeable hop forward presence of pine and tea notes mixing in with a little touch of herbs. Seems slightly clashing and knocking out some of the nice chocolate malty flavor that is trying to peak out. Muted toast on the finish, but almost gets a boost from the hop bitterness and bringing out some of the toast by giving some extra dry-"ness".

Interesting take on a brown, but it seems like the hop addition hasn't really made the right impression and the base solid brown character can't make a bolder statement. Still there's solid flavor in here that can't totally be faulted.

look: 4.25 | smell: 4 | taste: 3.75 | feel: 3.75 | overall: 3.75 | BA Generated: 3.84

Cheers!

 

Now I'm working on this.


https://www.beeradvocate.com/beer/profile/36073/578039/?ba=woemad#lists
Holy Damn, that's tasty! Received from @Roguer in the previous edition of the NBS BIF, I've been derelict in my duties drinking it. Although the brewery it comes from is not, strictly speaking, new to me, having sampled a barrel aged stout from Barreled Souls at a bottle share about a year ago, this beer was definitely new to me, and it's been too long since I've had a barleywine. It also emphasizes that I'd really like to travel to Maine and sample a number of beers there at the source.

 

Dragoon ipa by Dragoon brewing of Tucson

new brewery for me


4.06/5 rDev -1.5%
look: 4.5 | smell: 4 | taste: 4 | feel: 4.25 | overall: 4
Brewers notes: Notes: This is a true West Coast IPA–it is pale in color, with with bracing bitterness, high alcohol content (about 7.4% abv) and a fruity/floral/citrus hop aroma. It is made from a simple malt bill: North American base and pale caramel malt. We use copious amounts of Northwest hops (Summit, Columbus, Magnum and Zythos) all throughout the boil, with most of it going in within the last 15 minutes. After fermentation is complete, we dry hop it with approximately 1 boatload of each of the same hop varieties.

Can poured into a pint glass

Slightly hazy bronze orange , one finger rocky off white foam cap , cloaking lacings

Orange citrus, floral aroma , whiff of pine

Taste is citrus , pine, dank finish

Smooth ,hop bite on the finish

Good beer

 

Or waking up the wrong way

 

I was working on doing some reviews today, but my buddy was like hey, let us go and golf. Of course, I dropped what I was doing to smack a white ball around for nine holes in the low 50s with a chilly wind. Now that I am a bit cold and thirsty, I will do a few reviews tonight. I wish the weather outside would stay above 55; I am tired of working out in the cold. Anyways, enough bitching about the bipolar weather. I picked up this beer on my cross-country trip. I sent one to Jay. I never tried it before, but I was a bit disappointed. The beer had a solid malty backbone that was a touch sweet. The hops hid within the malty sweetness. I hoped for a brighter nose and flavor; it came across as muted. Overall the beer was okay, a nice sipper.

 

Hoppin' Frog - Cinnamon Dream, from @Ozzylizard in NBS BIF #17

16oz can split between a pair of WABL sample glasses. Can is dated MAR 09 2025.

Pours a dark brown, not hazy, small head. Smell is cinnamon, cinnamon, a ghost of chocolate, and more cinnamon.

Taste is cinnamon bitterness first off, like cinnamon bark, without much sweetness to balance it. I get a little bit of the cinnamon spiciness after a bit. A nutty sweetness.

Mouthfeel is medium bodied, spiciness actually gives it a bit of a carbonated feel. Overall...it's not bad, but it's way too much cinnamon for me.

I truly appreciate you trying to push my limits and find a cinnamon beer that I like...but this wasn't it.

 

I am reviewing this massive 9% pilsner that Jay sent me. I will do the other one in this series in just a few. The malty backbone in this beer is beefy and nearing ridiculous. The appearance is standard for pilsner, except the color is darker, and the head does not last as long (probably the high ABV). Nosing the glass, the malty sweet aromas cover the hop aromas, making it difficult to discern what is what. The taste follows the same line. It took me a bit of time sipping on this beer to decide whether I liked it. When I get a pilsner, I have this preconceived notion of what it should taste like, which screws with my head a bit when consuming this beer. I am glad the brewers took the time to create something different. I would get this beer again, except I would need an Uber after two. @JayORear

 

Peach Brandy Leto - Mortalis Brewing

(Full breakdown in this thread)

Awesome variant; huge thanks to Mortalis for sending one my way. Peach cobbler nose, w/ notes of vanilla, mascarpone frosting, shortbread cookies, & caramelized peaches. Palate w/ more barrel; charred oak, burnt caramel, peach whiskey. Long, warm finish.

 

Thanks to @sulldaddy for this East Rock Brewing Old Leatherman Dopplebock, 8.5% AB; 4.18 overall

Pours an effervescent chestnut with one finger of tan head, drops off pretty fast. No head retention or lacing

S: Spicy brown bread, a touch of gingerbread, molasses shows up once the beer is warmer

T: Follows the nose, a touch of molasses, some slight nutty notes, dryness & leafy hops up front, a touch of figs. Brown bread, a little bit of fig jam, dryness & leafy hops as this brew warms through, a touch of treacle as well. Finishes toasty, dry with a touch brown sugar, leafy figs & brown bread

MF: Medium body, slight carbonation, warming

Super solid take on the style, pretty darn drinkable

 

I am going to the second one in the Lakes and Rivers Collaboration Imperial Schwarzbier. This beer is akin to a porter now with a more significant malt presence. The appearance is three-fingers thick with a rock-steady head. The Nose is typical for this style but more amped up with char, Maillard, coffee, chocolate, molasses, and floral. The flavors do match the Nose closely. I did enjoy this beer and look forward to the next one from Jay. Thank you! @JayORear

 

Technically, breaking the rules here, I've had this a couple times, including once with @jonphisher, I think. I remembered liking it, and I bought a four pack to send out a few and to have one for myself to actually review. So here we are: Obec - Czech Dark

16oz can served in a footed pilsner glass. Canned on 08/31/22. Bought it at the brewery a couple weeks ago.

Pours very dark brown, almost black, with about 1.5cm of head. Smell is toasted nuts and toffee, some sweetened dark roast coffee.

Taste is moderately sweet, dark toast and light chocolate, light bitterness crossing between grass and roastiness.

Mouthfeel is very light, quenching. Overall, nice dark lager.

 

Does my heart good, man, that's the one beer I was most confident would be a home run for you. Glad you liked it!

I assume you're headed straight to Brew 7000 next?

 

Social Project Brewing's Higher Ground 2X Hazy IPA, 8.0% ABV; 3.84

Pours a pretty hazed gold with plenty of bubble, & a finger of cream colored head. Average-ish head retention & lacing

S: Breadyness, some citrus, fades once warm

T: Sweet oranges, green melon, peaches, some guava up front, just a little pineapple acid too. Passion fruit, nectarine, kiwi fruit & green melon as this beer warms up, Finishes with nectarine, passion fruit & a little pineapple

MF: Medium body, moderate carbonation

Very drinkable but flavor profile dipped just a little at the end, still damn tasty