New Beer Weekend #149

Starting off this weekend this evening with a Small Gods Brewing Co. Promised Land Hazy Pale Ale. Small Gods are in Sidney BC. I received this in the Canadian BIF that ended recently.



Pours a light orange-yellow with an incredible fluffy, pillowy white head that spends a lot of time in the glass. Lovely lacing as the beer is enjoyed.

The aromas are strong and enticing. Lots of citrus, pith, and some piney notes sitting in behind.

Taste follows closely with the citrus pith taking centre stage. Orange, lemon and pine also present. The finish is fairly crisp and slightly bitter.

The body is light. The beer is crisp. The flavours are not overwhelming and the beer is very easy drinking.

This was a very nice pale ale from a new to me brewery that I’m glad to have tried.


Cheers!

 

Another new beer for me and I have had a bunch of it over the past few weeks to finalize my thoughts. I won't give any beer a 5 unless I have had all the top contenders in the style, but I am loosening up my ratings especially when I really enjoy a beer.

Boulevard Tank 7 American Saison Ale - Final Tally = 4.38 = Outstanding

L- 75% transparent, burnt orange liquid - creamy tight light tan foam that turns spongy as it slowly settles 4.5

N- Apple, produce dept yeastiness, allspice, clove, cinnamon 4.00

T – apple skin touch of mango skin, Clove, apple, grappa, heat or alcohol, wood barrel, a touch of light herbal thymol (hops) and maybe black pepper. 4.5

F- super fine effervescence, slick and smooth medium body, dry lightly alcoholic finish, mild heat. 4.5

O- A fine beer and a style that I like especially if this is close to a top representation. I appreciate no real barnyard and like the subtle flavor cues. Good tang to help the malt. 4.5

 

Just like that we're back together doing what we love to do, share new beers with one another...another absolutely beautiful weather day, long three day weekend, unofficial start of summer, family time, what more could we ask for. A thought goes out to anyone who has passed away in service. I couldn't resist this one tonight, comes courtesy of the very generous @johnniehops from Oregon. He went out of his way to wait for and find this beer for me, and he has shared quite a few delicious beers with me in this trade and a past one.

Buoy Beer - NW Red Ale (NW Red 6.7%)



Pours chestnut-hued amber; off white head that leaves a nice little cap that lingers around a while; spots of lacing, very very close to crystal clear.

The nose is both malty, toffee like, and hoppy; the malt shows some toasted character as well, the hops are deep earthy and resin filled, biting.

Hops are front and center on this beer; pinecone, earthy and grassy but cut quickly by toasty caramel malt and a grapefruit like zip of citrus.

Medium body, pretty substantial compared to other NW Reds I have had, this verges into IPA land; dry and clean, lingering pine driven bitterness. It drinks quite smooth but it is a bigger beer.

I enjoyed this beer and would recommend to anyone who enjoys a good malty and also hoppy beer. What I have loved about most NW Reds I've tried is their drinkability and abv range, this one verges into IPA-land ABV wise and feel wise; but I knew that going in from the ABV.

I will continue to seek out this style when I can...had Laurelwood Free Range Red and a Block 15 Ridgeback Red this week too, both delicious.

----------------

I may sneak another one in tonight for the long weekend, we shall see...if not have a lovely night and see you all tomorrow.

 

Was a stellar beer 20-ish years ago

 

New to NWA, Spindletap Brewery outta Houston. Spindletap Heavy Hands New England IPA, 8.0% ABV; 4.09 overall

Pours a very hazed gold with a thumb of eggshell colored head. Lovely head retention & lacing

S: Mangoes, Guava, Pineapple, fades a touch as this warms

T: Pineapple, Mango, a touch of orange, lime & dryness up front. Pineapple dominates as this beer warms up, lime & a little green melon & dryness too, a little papaya as well. Finishes with pineapple, green melon, dryness & lime

MF: Medium body, fairly firm carbonation, some acidic notes, balances pretty well

This is a solid take on the style, that should sell well around here, pretty drinkable

 

Thanks for the start of NBW, hope all is well with you and your family this memorial day weekend.

 

No Picture. I started today with Cosmic Creature from Deschutes. Bright citrus, danky pine needles with honeysuckle flowers, white pepper, and tropical fruits. The malt is toasted, bready, and with some sweetness. The malt has a firm backbone and holds the hops in check. The flavors are on par with the nose. The mouthfeel is astringent, finishing dry and crisp. Deschutes make IPA and PA well. This one is no exception; it is crushable on this cloudy Saturday. Cheers my BA friends.

 

Log cabin evening coffee
....almost completely solid black appearance.
....light carbonation with a medium body,bit of a creamy feel.
....aroma is alcohol, mocha,vanilla,malt,roasted malt, roasted almost burnt coffee beans.
...taste is mocha, malt,vanilla, roasted malt, alcohol, coffee grinds.
...overall a really interesting nice beer.
Many thanks to @Blogjackets

 

Hello all, and thank you @Roguer for kicking off this 3 day NBW.

I picked this up at a local Meijer, the price tag on the shelf stated that it was 999.99 for the 4 pack. Huh. The price scanner showed a far more reasonable amount. Either way it caught my eye.
Poured basically stout black with a brown head that struggled to get far.
It did manage to leave reasonable lacing.
The aroma was lost on my Covid affected nose.
The taste was not at all what I expected, I actually got cola flavor, the bourbon was late in the swallow and any lactose was lost in the middle.
The feel was, again, not what I expected. Generally lactose, especially at imperial levels, adds a smoothness and viscosity, this has little of either.
OA, well, I bought the 4 pack expecting something different, and maybe a few months in the cellar will help.

 

Wolf ridge night method milk stout
.... solid black appearance with a very thin tan head.
....medium light carbonation with an above average body.
...aroma is roasted malt,espresso, malt,dark bakers chocolate.
...taste has a very mild sweetness with plenty of dark roasted coffee bitterness. Roasted malt and dark bakers chocolate.
..overall this was an excellent milk stout,best I've had in some time. Thanks again to @Blogjackets

 

As stated in WBAYDN not sure if this was from @sulldaddy or @hopley Barreled Souls Salted Caramel Stay Puft Imp Stout, 11.3% ABV; 4.0 overall

Pours a not so effervescent mahogany with rapidly falling tan head.

S: Caramel, chocolate, marshmallow, starts to fall apart as the beer warms

T: Follows the nose, a little smokeyness, & creme Brule', just a kiss of iced coffee up front. Creme Brule' with kiss of salt & weak coffee once warm. Finishes with warming booze, sweet, salty caramel & vanilla& a kiss of watered down coffee

MF: Medium body, subdued carbonation

This is great, despite fact it is attacking a cavity I need to get taken care of. This ingredient really pops this beer for me. Super drinkability for the heft. The flavor was great, the rest needed to follow along

 

I don't know about 20 yrs ago but I generally like most of Odell's offerings. The new Mt. Standard triple IPA I did not care for but overall, yes quite good stuff. And I have had some of the top ranked wheat beers and some average ones and this one is down among the lowest tier. I did check the smeared exp date and it looks like 10-23 so should still be good.

then again, it is just my opinion, tastes vary.

 

Have a good Sunday. Finished up Milwaukee metalfest night two with @GreenBayBA and I saw 2 of the best live performances on my life. I am only a casual enjoyer of Suicidal Tendencies, but they fucking kill with energy live. They played most of the classics and Mike was being a weirdo as usual lol. Always been a fan of Anthrax, and Persistence of Time is my favorite. The tone and wall of sound is huge and perfect. Robb Flynn from Machine Head was playing I Am The Law. Plenty of classics. I saw Micah in the circle pit to the last song. I didn't even mosh but I burned 4000 cals today. So I had to get the Gerorge Webb after the beer fast, so I got the 7 burger bag with fries, $16.95 plus $10 more for full pickle/tomato/mayo/lettuce/grilled onions. I have been vaping all damn night too so its been pretty stoned, a fucking best weekend of my life. Just saw your post from Friday @Danmullens1 , we are her til monday at checkout. Still have a Lamb of God and Machine Head tomorrow, plus more. Really missing @Roguer out here, we will have to meet members of allagaeon together next year. I asked Stancel and they are writing a new album this year before headlining










Sharing a la gosa rita crowler with Julia. Fantastic gose. Vibrant lime juice, citrus peel/zest, orange, white wine, green apple, sea salt, wheat, bread; hay, straw, pepper, lacto funk. Med tart/sour/lactic/saline finish. Crisp clean refreshing with minimal puckering. Not overly lactic. Spot on. Perfect pairing with stoner burgers.



Cheers

 

Seriously I need to see so many bands again. Some other pics from yesterday and Friday. Blood incantation, frozen soul, jungle rot, black dahlia, immolation, toxic ruin, crowbar, dying Fetus. This is the first time I've seen BDM unfortunately after Trevor's passing, but it was killer. So much nocturnal songs. We missed quite a few bands but that's just the roll of the dice @GreenBayBA I need to get a dying Fetus shirt tomorrow. They really rush you out after midnight

















Sharing the 13.3% lakefront oatmeal stout with julia, a good chill smoke time after eating almost all those damn burgers spongebob is on and the sun is coming up over the lake. Micah will be here in 6 hours and I'm a bit wired fantastic imperial stout. Aromas and flavors of big dark chocolate, cocoa, coffee, roasted nuts, toast, dark bread/crust; light molasses, toffee, vanilla, bourbon, oak, coconut, raisin, fig, date, smoke, wood, charcoal, pepper, pine, herbal, grass, yeast earthiness. Light herbal/pine bitterness and oak tannin spiciness on the finish. Medium carbonation and full body. Very creamy/silky oat mouthfeel, light slickness and lingering sticky/chalky/tannic dryness. No cloying acrid astringency. Mild increasing lingering warmth of 13.3% and barrel booze. Super smooth for the abv, the barrel presence was really solid. It took me 2 hours to finish the split crowler. It really hits you quick, dangerous for me now vs tolerance 3 years ago. I still not had a hangover but maybe a hint of that feel 4.3



Cheers

 

Exactly what type of black electrical tape? Slightly folded at the the end for an easy pull off so the drinker doesn’t have to look for the end and then dig his fingernail in first and then pull? Yup, that’s my user friendly trademark! Really liked that salted caramel variant; not too hard as I’m a fan of that candy flavor, but think they did a good job executing that one…cheers!

 

Good day BAs! Off and running on a beautiful long weekend - sunny 65F/18C and promising to be another nice day - which means more time in the yard and garden (After Noir Alley, of course!). And maybe another beer or three...

Today's New Breakfast Beer:



Smashing Jalapeno Blonde from Hoppin’ Frog. 12 oz can picked up at the brewery 24/05/23. Reviewed 28/05/23 (Review 3115). Note that I use DD/MM/YY protocol.
Stamped on bottom of can “BEST BY APR 27 2024”. Stored at 34 degrees at home. Served at 39.0 degrees F in a hand washed and dried Jester King snifter. The final temperature was 46.4 degrees F.
Appearance – 4.
First pour – Pale Straw (SRM 2), slight haze.
Body – Pale Gold (SRM 4), opaque. Under direct light, same but translucent. When rear lite, same.
Head: Average (Maximum 3.5 cm, aggressive center pour), snow, high density, quickly diminishing to a 0.2 – 0.3 cm crown and a thin partial cap.
Lacing – Poor. Just a few thin pennants of tiny bubbles.
Aroma – 4.5 – No hops, no malt, no yeast. Distinct and strong vegetal pepper smell. No ethanol (5.2 % ABV as marked on the label).
Flavor – 4.75 – Begins slightly sweet and distinctly jalapeno, no malt, no hops, no yeast. Begins with a mild burning at the back of the throat which advances to the incisors. No dimethylsulfide or diacetyl. Solid gastric warming but no ethanol flavor. In fact, no flavor other than jalapenos.
Palate – 3.75 – Medium; watery; lively carbonation.
Final impression and summation: 4.25 This is one solid chile beer! I’d love to rate it higher, but the lack of beeriness drags it down a bit – no particular maltiness or hoppiness certainly throw it into the blonde ale category, but it hardly seems a beer at all, just a delicious jalapeno mouth wash!
Rating 4.45, rDev +37.8

 

Surly The Thaw, 2nd release in their "Bottle Project" of barrel-aged barleywines. This was aged in bourbon and port barrels with black currants.


Appearance: Murky brown-amber, good head with interesting light rose coloring.

Smell: Dark chocolate-raspberry truffle. Cocoa powder.

Taste: Mildly tart dark fruit to start-must be the currants. Mild woodiness in the background, Mild chocolate note in the finish.

Overall: The second release in the bottle project by Surly. It's another interesting experiment, this time the barrel doesn't overpower things but stays in the background. Big currant flavor and kind of reminds me of a kettle sour at times.

 

Good Sunday morning, BA! On Friday, a friend of ours hosted us for a beer and whiskey tasting that included some beverages he brought back from a recent trip to Scotland. Of the beers, the Glen Spean Brewing Company's Dark Mile was the most enjoyable (too bad the brewery isn't in the database), with a nice English porter base enhanced deftly by the fruit addition (didn't get much vanilla). The Ola Dubh Highland Park barrel aged bottles didn't really show much sign of being in Scotch barrels, though I wish we'd had the regular Old Engine Oil to compare to. The Scotch itself was easily the winner of all, though, but I mentioned that in the whiskey thread already.


Anyhow, on our way over to my friend's place we made a quick stop by the TW. It is near his house, and I was mainly going to pick up a couple cigars for this weekend, but there on the shelf sat a bunch of cardboard-boxed beverages by a California brewery. I always check any barrel series Firestone Walker box on the shelf to see what it is. I usually bypass the cocktail-inspired bottles, but this box contained a long time want of mine - Double Double Barrel Ale (or Double DBA). So of course, in the cart it went.


The pour is lovely - I'm more and more enamored by clear pours each day. I've never minded a little haze and of course have gotten used to very hazy to cloudy beers, but a clear beer still turns me on a bit more - especially if it has a sturdy head on its shoulders.

But I digress. The head on this 12+% beer is very solid for its strength, with some bubbles suspending above the beerline after a swirl brings the aromas of figs, raisin, and bourbon-soaked cherries. The alcohol is actually a little on the strong side in this beer, and its bite might add to spiced rum cake impression I get.

The first sip opens as a rich tea paired with a raspberry scone. The bourbon notes tickle the outside of my palate as high tea crosses right down the middle. Subsequent sips lose the anomalous tartness of the first one, returning the fruit flavor to cherry from raspberry - specifically the Luxardo cherries that some use for cocktail garnishes.

The bourbon in noticeable, and there is a bit of a warm nip from the ABV of the beer. So, the funny thing is that I mentioned skipping FW's cocktail series barrel aged beers, but Double DBA actually reminds me of the classic straightforward whiskey drinks - more Manhattan than Old Fashioned, but in that vein.

But in the end, what I really like about this beer is the dark bread I get from the malt that provides a strong backbone for the whole experience. Its presence I think helps to give me the Manhattan vibe, pairing with the the bourbon notes to turn things into a rye whiskey feel (and I am a fan of rye). I am very happy to have finally gotten a chance to try this, and hope to come across more while it is being produced again.

Slight aside: when I looked this up, the results didn't turn up any hits that had more than a handful of reviews. I was sure this was a more widely available beer at one point, and with a little digging, I found the retired entry in the database, using the longer name (I think FW rebranded their regular beer into its acronym a few years ago). Anyhow, even though this version is also labeled as "Batch 10,000" and has a slightly different ABV than the old entry, I believe it to be the same beer and will be reviewing it under that record. I leave it to the mods to determine if we should un-retire the entry or have a separate entry to confuse things for this version that just happens to be the brewer's milestone batch.