New Beer Weekend #149

Nice opening @Roguer! But what about those who are Indulgers of IPA's happy NBW!

If any of you BA's have lost loved ones who sacrificed their lives for our freedoms on behalf of them I thank you. There is probably a better way to articulate my feelings, just wanna say that I don't take our freedom for granted and I know that its only thru the sacrifice of others that I have it..

 

Summertime Blues

It is not officially summer yet but for many people Memorial Day is the ‘unofficial’ start of summer And, today’s beer is definitely “blue” as you can see the color of the can in the photo below.

Oh, and a good Memorial Day weekend to you. As posted above a time to be thankful for those folks who sacrificed for us.

Today’s ‘new’ beer is Sierra Nevada Summerfest. I have consumed Summerfest in the past but this year’s version is brewed using a new recipe so as far as I am concerned it is a new beer.

So, what is ‘new’ about this year’s version you may ask.

Well, from a marketing perspective the folks from Sierra Nevada decided to brand this beer using the words “Summer Lager” as you can readily see on the can’s label. To the best of my recollection, I have never had a “Summer Lager” before so this is a first for me.

As regard’s the recipe, below is from the Sierra Nevada website (with bolding by me):

“Alcohol by volume: 5%

bitterness units: 28

Malts: Munich, Pilsner, Two-row Pale

Hops: Magnum, Saphir, Tettnang, Tradition

Yeast: Lager”

In past versions of Summerfest, the hops used were:

“Bittering Hops: Perle.

Finishing Hops: Saaz, Spalter Select.”

Also, for this year’s version the brewers at Sierra Nevada made an interesting choice for the barley malt using some Thunder barley malt. You can read more below (with bolding by me):

“Barley is an excellent crop to have in a farming rotation, especially when grown using no-till practices. Retaining above-ground plant material after harvest, coupled with below-ground root structure, protects and enriches the soil. Additionally no-till barley can be much less input-intensive as many of its counterparts, especially conventionally grown wheat. These attributes are why it can be a helpful crop on the landscape in critical watersheds; supporting soil health, building soil carbon, and improving water quality. The benefits of barley are enhanced by growing a winter-type variety - which is sown in the fall, opposed to spring - providing ground cover through the winter and spring months when the soil can be most prone to erosion.

Recognizing these unique elements of barley, Western Rivers Conservancy (WRC) decided to grow the grain on existing agricultural fields in the uplands of a ranch it conserved on Oregon’s Wild and Scenic John Day River. WRC transferred most of the ranch to the Bureau of Land Management, protecting 10 miles of the lower John Day and the critical lower miles of Thirtymile Creek, the most important steelhead spawning tributary on the lower river. However, WRC kept the upland agricultural lands in production and worked with a neighboring farmer to grow no-till barley as a carbon-friendly, salmon-safe crop. Thunder, a winter barley bred by Dr. Pat Hayes from Oregon State University, has become the predominant variety on this acreage. What was initially conceived as a small pilot project, is now in its sixth year of producing high-quality malting barley. WRC’s experiment is clearly demonstrating the viability of growing a truly fish- and climate-friendly crop in the high desert of eastern Oregon.

To further the story of conservation and the land’s ability to provide high-quality and valued agricultural products grown in a sustainable manner, enter Sierra Nevada Brewing Company. A crop is no good without a market, and this lot of barley has found a nice home with the Chico, CA based brewery who has always kept its eye on high-quality, low-impact brewing. Sustainability is embedded in all of their processes, tracing all the way back to the field where their barley is produced. The revival of the infamous Summerfest release provided an excellent opportunity to showcase what’s good for the land, is good for the people. Joining this partnership was Great Western Malting who took possession of the Thunder barley and was able to preserve the identity of the grain throughout the malting process to ensure this special barley found its way into the 2023 Summerfest release.”

https://ambainc.org/news-details.php?id=64417ab4a8e5e

What does a differing selection of hops and barley mean for this “Summer Lager”? As the wise owl likes to say: “Let’s find out”.

Served in my Polish Pilsner glass:

Appearance:

Straw yellow in color with a BIG white head (which dissipated quite quickly).

Aroma:

An enticing combination of bready malt and lemon-like & herbal hop aromas. This aroma sorta reminds me of a fresh Firestone Walker Pivo Pils,

Taste:

The flavor follows the nose with a combination of bready malt and lemon-like & herbal flavors. There is a moderate bitterness.

Mouthfeel:

Light - Medium bodied with a medium carbonation level. There is a dry finish.

Overall:

I enjoyed drinking this beer; it is very good. I appreciated the balance of malt and hops flavors.

It has been a while since I had a Summerfest beer (e.g., the beer was discontinued, etc.) but it seems to me this is the ‘best’ Summerfest version for my palate.

Cheers!

@KOP_Beer_OUtlet @rotsaruch @RobH @SierraTerence @ESHBG

 

Thanks for the opening @Roguer

coco king creamsicle by tree house brewing


4.43/5 rDev -0.2%
look: 4.25 | smell: 4.25 | taste: 4.5 | feel: 4.5 | overall: 4.5
Brewers Notes: Coco King Creamsicle is a rendition of King Julius featuring heaps of toasted coconut and whole-bean vanilla.

Can purchased at tree house Tewksbury , canned 3/16 opened 5/26 , poured into a pretentious beer glass

Deep hazy orange topped by a three finger off white foam crown

Aroma is vanilla and coconut

Taste is coconut, vanilla, orange citrus

Velvety smooth, soft, plush, sweet

Good beer

 

This year's Summerfest tasted 'different' for my palate and as you already read I am a fan of the changes. I would be interested in hearing what you think of it - maybe in next week's NBW thread?

Cheers!

 

Trying a new beer from Sweden's largest brewery, Pistonhead Regular Lager. It was released here around the middle of this month. This brand is used by Spendrups to sell lager beers dry hopped with American hops, this one uses German hops instead and isn't dry hopped afaik.

The color of the beer is a dark golden color, but still gold colored. The beer uses pilsner and munich malt which is a typical mix for big Swedish breweries. The aroma is malty with a bready toastiness coming from the munich malt no doubt. The hops are muted compared to what I was expecting, although there is a light herbal hop note in the background, but it is not in the foreground unlike the other beers of this brand. It smells like a regular lager beer from this brewery actually, but with a bit more richness.

The taste is again malt forward with toastiness from the munich malt being quite apparent. There is also a slight sweetness, which is understandable when one considers the original gravity which is 12.5% yet the abv is 5.1%. Their Kustom Lager is brewed to 11% plato with an abv of 4.9%. So this is a different kind of beer, more like an old school Swedish Export beer when OGs could still be in the mid to high twelves as opposed to the 11-12% which is the standard now. The 30 IBU provide a good counterbalance to the maltiness and gives the beer a bittersweet taste profile (the current standard for Swedish Export beers would be 23 IBU). The hops are again muted but present, it ties the beer together and prevents it from feeling incomplete.

It tastes very similar to the bigger brands of this brewery, but with the flavors amped up a bit, which to me is a positive, especially when considering that they've been able to keep the abv down to the level of a regular lager. More taste but without more alcohol is to me the key to brewing interesting lager beers and I think this is a worthwhile addition to their very broad portfolio of brands.

 

You should do it!

I have a Motueka IPA in the dry hop stage right now. I can't wait to drink this beer. I have brewed this before and it had a really nice lime zest aroma/flavor which makes it great for summertime drinking.

Cheers!

P.S. There is that word "summertime" again.

Edit: I ran into an old acquaintance (Ron) last evening, I had not seen him in a long time. He just retired and brewed his first batch of beer (Hefeweizen).

 

Voodoo Ranger Fruit Force


Appearance: Hazy yellow, big head.

Smell: Sweet, pineapple upside down cake.

Taste: Very sweet, lots of sweet pineapple, fruit cocktail, and hawaiian punch. Does maintain a “beer-like” body and feel instead of being watery juice.

Overall: Kind of knew what I was getting into here, pretty similar to VR Juice Force, this seems to be more pineapple flavored than fruit punch flavored. It's fine, but not really a repeat drinker.

 

Thanks for kicking the weekend off @Roguer ! Celebrating my first beer trade (versus the sharing done throughout the years), this one with @DoctorZombies . Will officially review my first West Virginia beer today, first South Carolina beer on Monday, and get to a long time want / desire during Prime Time in New Beer Sunday.

First weekend pour, a Kolsch, one of my favorite mild/warm weather styles.

Weathered Ground Brewery Eine Kleine Biermusik



Can Notes: Included in trade with @DoctorZombies . No can date, but Facebook post indicates the latest release was April 27, 2023. 16 oz can, 4.8% ABV, refrigerated over the past two plus weeks upon returning home. Cool Ridge, West Virginia. Can artwork by Jason Lockart.

Beer and music, Now there's a match made in Germany. We're paying homage with this Kolsch that is German inspired but Appalachian made. We start with the freshest local barley before the cool ferment with a famous Kolsch yeast strain. Finally, we age it cold.

This one is easy on the hops for a perfectly balanced crusher bier so accompany a daytime melody, or a moonlight sonata. Prost!

Appearance: Clear straw to bronze base, mild sustained carbonation, generous head on initial full pour, nominal lacing as I enjoy. 4.0

Aroma: Bready, pepper, salt cracker, mineral water come together for an enticing aroma, mild in strength as this settles. 4.0

Taste: Consistent with the aroma, nice baked bread lead, salt and pepper blend, lemon grass. Liquid bread, quite enjoyable. Becomes more salty as I reach the second but not overwhelming (I keep salt notes for Kolsch and Pilsner styles due to my strong salt sensitivity developed over the past two years). 3.75

Mouthfeel: Light crisp easy drinking, carbonation negligible. Drinks below the light ABV, hops bitter but contained and paired nicely with the bread malt flavors. Light salt dry finish. 3.75

Overall: This is a good down the middle Kolsch, flavors as expected / wanted. Sustained pleasurable flavors, light crisp and easy. The world needs more Kolsch, and this one delivers. Thank you David! 4.0

 

Good day BAs and welcome to memorial day weekend, here in Murica. Today's New Breakfast Beer, thanks to a massive retaliatory strike by @snaotheus:



Barrel Release Belgian Quad from Obec Brewing. 750 mL capped bottle from @snaotheus in NBW BIF 17. Reviewed 27/05/23 (Review 3114). Note that I use DD/MM/YY protocol.
Says “Special Barrel Release 2021” on the label. Stored at 34 degrees at home. Served at 58.2 degrees F in a hand washed and dried Jester King snifter. The final temperature was 61.3 degrees F.
Appearance – 4.
First pour – Amber Brown (SRM 18), cloudy.
Body – Brown (SRM 20), opaque. Under direct light, chocolate brown and opaque. When rear lite, same.
Head: Average (Maximum two cm, aggressive center pour), wheat, high density, quickly diminishing, reducing to a 0.3 cm crown and a thin partial cap.
Lacing – Good. Oddly, none from the first pour but the second glass yields a wide band of near-microscopic to small bubbles with some crude prominences.
Aroma – 3.5 – No hops, no yeast. Weak “dark fruit” and distinct ethanol (11.2 % ABV as marked on the label).
Flavor – 3.75 – Slightly sour but sweetens as it gets warmer. Very weak “dark fruit”, no hops, no yeast. No bourbon, no barrel. No dimethylsulfide or diacetyl. Mild gastric warming but no ethanol flavor.
Palate – 3.75 – Medium; lightly syrupy; soft carbonation.
Final impression and summation: 3.75 Weak in all aspects other than the ABV which is well-hidden in the flavor and less so on the nose. May need to age a year or two more.
Rating 3.71, rDev -4.6%

 

Good morning NBW
I had the opportunity to pick up some country ticks recently and this was one of them.

Quilmes (Argentina)

340mL bottle best before 11/05/23, so either 6 months from now or two weeks ago...
The beer pours bright light golden amber with off white head. The head recedes to a pencil thin ring and island. No lacing. The aroma is mild with sweet grain. The taste is semisweet pale malt with a hint of corny / vegetable flavor. Moderate bitterness. The mouthfeel is thin bodied with just above average carbonation and a mostly dry finish. Overall, good.

Cheers all! My Lithuanian malt liquor or European strong lager will have to wait until closer to bedtime...

 

Genesee Ruby Red Kölsch, 4.5% - a delicious grapefruit-juice dominant ale that seems more like a Fruit and Field beer than a Kölsch, but it is tasty!



-Look: Very pretty red grapefruit juice and pale ale color to it.
-Aroma: Zing! It's all pithy grapefruit zest but with a nice grainy base.
-Taste: Mmm, very good, grapefruit+, not bitter, with a soft powdery grainy malt.
-Feel: Low carbonation, it's like the zest cuts through the fizz.
-Overall: Beautiful summertime drink, thirst quenching and delicious!

Cheers!

 

@Roguer I love this years Summerfest too; there’s an intoxicating yet light aroma that comes off of it that I can’t get enough of. It also comes out nicely in the aftertaste, green herbal is the word that comes to mind for me. It doesn’t smell like cilantro or basil or rosemary but pleasantly aromatic like those green herbs.

Im also a sucker for them bringing back the SN look for these cans now

 

Central Waters Brewing Mai-waukee. A Maibock. At Central Waters MKE. With @superspak. The color is beautiful amber, with a little bit of white foam, which left nice lacing on the glass. The smell is caramel, honey, brown bread, butter, and lemon. The taste is brown bread, butter, lemon, and caramel. There is a slight sweetness. It is very pleasant. The mouthfeel is crisp, smooth, and full, with medium carbonation. Overall, this is a very nice Maibock.

 

Happy nbw. I am out in Milwaukee Metalfest with @GreenBayBA. We came to Central waters in downtown before they open today. We had an amazing time for the first day and I met Michael stancel from Allegaeon in person. i believe the bassist Brandon Michael was the one next to him. Julia is loving it too. She loved napalm death. What a killer show.




Trying out central waters twenty five. Wow what a world class stout. Aromas and flavors of big milk chocolate, cocoa, caramel, toffee, vanilla, bourbon, toasted oak, light char/herbal. Light whipped cream, coconut, marshmallow, butterscotch after the finish. Light char bitterness and barrel spiciness after the finish. Full body creamy silky feel. Light slick chalky and tannic drying. Mild increasing booze of 13.1%. Perfect barrel integration and balance. Not overly boozy on barrel but amazing presence and complexity. 4.5


Cheers

 

Back at it with @GreenBayBA. central waters and hinterland collqb pale ale with cascade. Awesome stuff. Aromas and flavors of big ruby red grapefruit, tangerine, peach, orange peel/rind, peppercorn, pine, cracker, bread, herbal, floral, grass. Medium pine rind bitter finish. Medium carb and body, balanced bready malt and sticky resinous hop. Fairly crisp with lingering resin dryness and minimal astringency. A very traditional and west coast style pale ale. Almost ipa level of aggressiveness. 4.1


Cheers

 

Julia just got food so I got carne asada fries. Me and @GreenBayBA need to leave around 2 for the first band main stage Undeath.

Central waters sport knitting. Awesome session sour. Aromas and flavors of big mango juice, sour lemon, lime, white wine, green apple; hay, straw, grass, pepper, lacto funk, wheat, bread. Medium tart sour finish. Light body crisp clean refreshing finish. Minimal pucker. Spot on stuff with vibrant and juicy/jammy fruit and balanced lactic flavors. 4.1


Cheers