New Beer Weekend #149

While spending many years in the SCA, I made a lot of armor for using. But I think a lot of the techniques would be similar.
DM me if you want to discuss it further, I may have some books that I could send you too.
Cheers, and congrats on such an amazingly understanding wife!

 

Just a couple new brews for me today:

https://www.beeradvocate.com/beer/profile/33939/657128/?ba=bluejacket74#lists



https://www.beeradvocate.com/beer/profile/32480/202972/?ba=bluejacket74#lists



Happy NBW everyone and hope everyone has a great week!

 

Vakyrie in Dallas, WI
Honey Brackett (Honeymoon) 22oz bottle. Purchased at the brewery taproom on 5/27/2023. Bottle is one or two years old. Transported home in a good cooler full of ice.

Taste is honey mead at first. Next you get some spice. The spice like a cinnamon, clove, raisin combo. The spice is not overpowering. it fades but lingers in the background to the finish. the honey mead comes back but mixed with a little caramel note and some apple/pear flavor, Rather sweet and very smooth. The body is slightly on thinner side for a big beer, but maybe that's for the better.

Interesting beer. I should have bought 2 bottles.
https://www.valkyriebrewery.com/mjod/index.html
https://www.beeradvocate.com/beer/profile/683/12001/

 

4.18/5 rDev -3.5%
look: 3.5 | smell: 4.25 | taste: 4.25 | feel: 4 | overall: 4.25

2022 vintage. Poured from a 500mL bottle into a snifter.

Dark auburn body with a lasting almond collar. Very fine lacing; modest retention.

Rich, sweet aroma with a wonderful mix of malt, fruit, and barrel elements. Caramel, plum, toffee, leather, vanilla, bourbon, chocolate, and some low herbal notes.

Potent, dense, chewy malt on the palate entry. Hops and alcohol provide balance, moderate bitterness, and complexity. Medium finish with some rye whiskey like spiciness, toffee, and fruit. Almost meaty.

Oily, creamy, medium-full bodied, gently warming with some residual menthol-like alcohol notes.

Very enjoyable, though not a great value.

 

Well, I didn't have another review in me last night, so, post work, and this extended weekend, I've got some in me today.

This is one I picked up when I was in Wisconsin a couple of weeks back, at the source.


Chonees Chonees - Oliphant Brewing - Somerset, WI - American Amber/Red Ale - 5.6% ABV

Well, off the bat, the can says it's a golden ale, not an Red Ale. I would say it's somewhere in between the two styles. It has a very amber hue, with some golden notes to it. Flavor wise, I'd say it's more toward the golden style. I might submit a correction, but, not sure yet. Flavor wise, it has a lot going on. Tons of honey adds a hint of sweetness to this beer, but it's not over the top. The chocolate and peanut flavors really go well with the honey. They all work together to create a very delicious beer.

Review:
https://www.beeradvocate.com/beer/profile/36484/656151/

4.18/5 rDev 0%
look: 4 | smell: 4 | taste: 4.25 | feel: 4.25 | overall: 4.25
From a 16oz can purchased at the brewery
Beautiful golden/amber pour. When I hold it up to the light, I don't get a lot of clarity, I also see lots of carbonation bubbles rising in the glass. The head that forms is slightly off white, and 1 finger. The head retention is decent, but there's no lacing on the glass.
The can has been out of the fridge for a few minutes and I get a nice honey aroma. The aroma is slightly roasted, and I get a faint nut aroma as well as a faint chocolate aroma. These aromas work well together.
Taste - Honey is the flavor that starts off the parade here, and this flavor lends sweetness throughout, but not over the top. The peanut and chocolate hit on the backside. The peanut seems slightly roasted, and the chocolate leans toward milk chocolate. I also get a creamy flavor with the chocolate. Don't know if there's lactose in here - yes there is according to the can.
Very smooth feeling beer, with the hint of carbonation tickling my throat. The body is quite full.
This is a tasty treat where all the flavors work well together.


Unlike last night, I do have more reviews in me, so I'll be back later for at least one more.

 

Equilibrium Photon Pale Ale, 4.9% ABV; 4.09 overall

Pours a hazy gold with a pinky of cream colored head. Great head retention & lacing

S: Citrus & tropical fruit, nectarines

T: Pomelo, dryness, green melon & leafy hops up front, plus guava. Passion fruit, green melon & guava, plus lime as this beer warms up. Finishes with green melon, lime, passion fruit & dryness

MF: Medium body, creamy carbonation, good balance

This beer gets better as it warms up, pretty drinkable

 

That's too bad. I'm a big fan of La Cumbre beers, and I keep trying blue corn lagers hoping that one of them will deliver something besides an appealing name.

 

Happy anniversary!

 

Glad to see someone else enjoying Orabelle. I quite like the beer in general, and recently found myself enjoying the first couple from a six pack. But the last two of that same pack had something going on with them (or maybe I had something going on that reflected in the beer). I've had the beer aged before without issue, but this six pack seemed to lose its nuances more quickly than I'd noted in the past. It might have been that cider note you mentioned being a little too strong, but I honestly don't recall what specifically I found off on it, just that I had some surprising disappointment this time around.

All that said, I will buy it again next batch I see, and I like your mention of Golden Monkey as a potential side-by-side - could be interesting.

 

Back again with another new beer.


Downunderstruck - Stone Brewing - Imperial IPA - 9% ABV

Oh, how do I love a very bitter, palate wrecker IPA. This checks off all the boxes with me. Bitter, pine, some citrus. This is delicious!

https://www.beeradvocate.com/beer/profile/147/653554/


4.23/5 rDev +4.2%
look: 4.5 | smell: 4 | taste: 4.25 | feel: 4.5 | overall: 4.25
Poured from a can dated 4-20-2023

This beer is a very clear pouring beer. Beautiful golden pour with some small carbonation bubbles rising in the glass. The head is 2 finger, and white. The head looks quite fluffy and frothy. The head retention is quite good, and as the head dissipates, there's some great lacing on the glass.
The nose has some tropical notes. I get some mango, and grapefruit. I also get a bit of pine in the aroma.
Taste - This beer starts off with the mango and grapefruit flavors. These flavors are quickly vanquished, and a slightly dank flavor hits in the middle. This doesn't last long, because the back is all bitter and pine, and very pleasingly so.
The bitter feeling from the hops really lingers in my throat. The body of this beer is very full.
Damn, this is a palate wrecker, and I love it. I know the NEIPA is the rage today, but I just love a well made bitter IPA.


I'll see if I can do one more today, though, I'll be enjoying this one for a while.

 

Founders green zebra pineapple
...pale cloudy gold appearance
...medium carbonation with about a medium body.
...aroma is pineapple along with other tropical fruit and skin. A sweet and tart candy like aroma with mild malt,yeast and cereal in the background.
....taste is definitely sweet but theres more than enough sour tartness to keep it in check.
...overall its very good but I can't imagine a broad appeal as it isn't a post lawn mowing type of beer

 

Good afternoon, New Beer folks. More sunny spring weather finds me getting some miles in today. My bike must've known I'd like a beer, because it brought me right to Uptown Beer Co.

And look! The beer menu shows yet another Hill Farmstead beer which I haven't tried yet.

(Sorry, no photo this time. The beer was just too tasty and crushable on this pleasantly warm afternoon.)

Hill Farmstead Mary Pilsner
On draft at Uptown Beer Co., Portland, OR. Served in a pint tumbler.

Look:
This is a slightly hazy straw gold beer capped with a finger of dense white foam. The head shrinks pretty quickly to a persistent skin and leaves majestic lacing as intricate as a black metal band logo.

Smell:
Classic doughy Pilsner malt with piquant floral/herbal hops and a slight yeasty note.

Taste:
Starts off with semi-sweet bready malt, which dries out through the middle and ushers in a fine cast of hop flavors: grass, bitter herbs, a breath of licorice, a touch of wintergreen. The delicate yeasty note that was promised by the nose adds an appealing rustic touch to the clean profile. Finishes crisp and snappy with firm bitterness and satisfying malt flavor.

Feel:
Light-bodied with moderate carbonation. Soft, quenching, and super easy to drink.

Overall:
Hill Farmstead Mary is a tasty and well-made German-style Pilsner. I particularly like the hop flavors and the soft mouthfeel. The subtle yeasty note adds character. I'm glad I got to try this.

 

Here's the first of three samples from BBCo's distributor
that I've had in the fridge for a few weeks.

https://www.beeradvocate.com/beer/profile/33136/630484/



12 ounce can with no discernible date.

Moderate pour yields a 3/4 inch off white head over a fairly bright amber body with lacing.

Nose is malt, caramel, cracker with slight hop bitterness on the finish.

Good feel with near medium carbonation.

Overall, a nice stab at an Amber Lager!

Here's the 2nd BBCo sample.

https://www.beeradvocate.com/beer/profile/33136/610588/

Cheers!

Here's the second from BBCo.



12 ounce can with no discernible date.

Moderate pour yields a one inch tan head over a near black body with lacing.

Nose of very roasty dark roasted malts, burnt pumpernickel bread.

Taste is a little burnt pumpernickel bread with a burnt caramel middle giving way to a dry finish.

Good feel with medium carbonation.

Overall, there are many, better dark lagers out there.

 

Thanks! I'll definitely provide updates as it progresses. Honestly, part of my sharing this little project with y'all yesterday was to create some accountability for myself, ha. If others know about it, even if they forget about it, then at least it's not JUST in my head and it's harder to push to the back burner.

Thank you! Yeah, she's pretty incredible. I'm a very fortunate man. I've heard so many good things about the SCA, glad to add another one to the list!

When I say that I'm VERY early in the process, I mean it. This is where I'm at as of today:


(some of the cans who've had their tops and bottoms removed, but not cut down the seam to flatten yet)


(the back porch setup. The real contraption of it is very small: it's that converted plant shelf in the foreground, with a razor blade nailed on to its edge to serve as the cutting apparatus)

 

Dinner beer, comes courtesy of @NorsemanOne in the insanity of NBW BIF #17.

Poured stout black into my snifter and was capped with a light brown, dense foam head of 2 fingers in height. It managed to leave rings of lacing.
The aroma was lost on my Covid affected nose. I thought I smelled bourbon but not sure why.
The taste was pure, unadulterated stout. Roasted malts, a touch of bitterness that kept it from getting too sweet, coffee and chocolate and dark rye bread were all in there, quite nice.
The feel was perplexing in that the “mouthfeel” was slightly viscous and spot on. The feeling of the flavors though, while starting strong, seemed thin by the end. Not sure if I have ever had that before.
It’s a solid stout, I’d be happy to have it on a regular basis.
Good beer, thanks Jonathan!

 

I’m impressed with your ingenuity! Simple and it works. Well done!

 

Day 3, Happy Memorial Day, everyone. Both of my beers today are from @Roguer and NBS BIF #17, and the glassware is from @Ozzylizard and a long ago NBS BIF (spring of 2018, IIRC).

This first one is an anniversary beer from a new brewery to me featuring kiwi and watermelon - that’s a flavor combo you don’t see everyday.

Let’s go!!!





4.21/5 rDev +2.4%
look: 4 | smell: 4.25 | taste: 4.25 | feel: 4 | overall: 4.25
Pours an unfiltered orange color with a sudsy white head that provides moderate lacing. It looks more the WCIPA end of the IPA spectrum than NEIPA. The nose really dominated by the kiwi and watermelon notes, and I also get an apricot note. Very nice.

The kiwi is forward on the taste, with the apricot following and a nice dollop of watermelon at the back of the palate. Very flavorful and VERY juicy, which is more in line with the NEIPA style.

The mouthfeel is medium and a little on the dry side, which tilts back to the WCIPA side of things. Whether this is a NEIPA or a WCIPA, it’s very good and one I’d revisit.