New Beer Weekend #152

Could be the last one for me, not sure yet.

Uinta - Port O'Call



Brought back for Uinta's 30th anniversary!

Now at 9.5% strength

Canned 4.28.23

Poured at near fridge temp into a willi glass

Pours a deep rusty copper with ruby tones in it. Clear body when held up to the light, with a 1F+ tight foamy head. 4

Aroma is subtle but with light and clear caramel candy sweetness and a heaping of sweet red grapes and wine. 4.25

Belgian yeast, some dark caramel, touch of prune/date stonefruit, and red wine and fairly clean and tasty oak. 4.25

Fairly biting and sharp carbo, but mellows out as it goes down. Very dry and dry finish, only slightly lingering grape tartness. 4

Overall I was very excited to see this come back (underage when it first came around) and my expectations were happily met. For about $4/can this is one I'll happily buy again and hopefully age a few as well. 4

4.16 in the BA DB

 

Good evening NBW
Just got in from a NE Indiana to SE Indiana road trip. New beers went to the fridge, so I pulled out a previous purchase to review.

The Duck-Rabbit Rabid Duck RIS

12oz bottle notched to indicate enjoy by 3/2023 and store cool. This bottle was purchased at room temp a month ago and refrigerated after 10% ABV. The beer pours dense black with a tight, nitro look head of medium brown foam. The aroma is mild with dark chocolate and lesser coffee and caramel. The taste is bittersweet roasted malt with a touch of tangy, ashy moderate bitterness. The mouthfeel is medium bodied with average carbonation and a mostly dry finish. Overall, very good. More like an imperial version of Guinness than most RIS with the tangy element.

Cheers all!

 

I have had some pretty high level sensory training over my career. The kast time they decided i was a "super taster" - all that meant was i ended up on every taste panel there was! This is definitely a mouth feel thing and not a taste. To me, whatever it is seems to mute the bright aspects of the taste to an extent. I absolutely can't find the right descriptor.

Astringency is something I am very familiar with thanks to our little red berries, and this isn't it. The only thing linking the two beers is corn, but I've had beers made with corn before and not had this sensation. No indication on either can about what type of corn was used.

It's just strange and I can't figure it out, which brings out the stubborn tenacity in me. I'll get over it, eventually.

 

I was having a hard time deciding which beer to pop into tonight to celebrate my first ever fathers day as a father. I was even seriously contemplating just skipping out on this thread this weekend, even though it's the last opportunity I'm likely to have of joining for at least a couple of months as I go back to work next weekend (and work every weekend). My wonderful wife looked aghast when I said I might skip out this week, and told me I need to pick something out since for a fathers day NBS (I don't think she even realized it's my last free weekend for a while). She came in clutch once again when I was agonizing over what to choose. When she heard that I had a BA stout named Father of All Tsunamis she looked almost disappointed in me, as the answer was right in front of me the whole time. She logically pointed out the thematic tie-in with the name, and then told me she'd drink some of it, so I didn't have to worry about drinking a bunch of high ABV stout shortly before bed. I think she wasn't even worried about me, she just wanted the rich dark delicious for herself.



Pelican Brewing - Father of All Tsunamis (2023 edition)

The pour is lovely, but nothing ground breaking. Almost-black, as per style, with a little fringe of khaki brown foam that recedes to the edges pretty quickly, leaving just a ring and a few scattered islands.

The nose is pretty simple, but in an enjoyable way. Clean and easy with a lot of bitter coffee, some dark dark chocolate, and a sprinkling of warmth by way of the vanilla and spice of the barrels. Straightforward, without a lot of tricks and gimmicks.

The flavour kind of approaches in waves, which feels appropriate for a brewery on the beach (if you ever find yourselves in NW Oregon, do yourself a favour and get a beer at their brewpub. Preferably around sunset if you can. Their location is pretty much unparalleled). It starts bitter and sweet, almost like molasses. The bitter then takes a step forward, with the espresso coffee in particular leading the charge. High cacao-content dark chocolate comes in next, and the spice from the rye barrels and the tight sharp carbonation play off of each other and kind of escalate one another, like Thing 1 and Thing 2. The vanilla-ness from the barrels is more of kind of an aura radiating out of the shape of the rest of the profile moreso than being an independent discrete flavour on its own.
The alcohol is prominent, but well integrated. I would not describe this as hot or boozy, though it does not try to hide its high ABV either.

Overall, what I keep coming back to with this one is that it's simple, straightforward, and well executed. Bitter dark malts (espresso bitter especially, but definitely some dark chocolate as well), and spicy rye whiskey barrels. No frills. It's like the Motorhead of beers: nothing fancy, just straightforward, reliable, balls to the wall rock and roll. Dark and heavy with a lot of alcohol. Reliable, and if it's your thing, you won't be disappointed, but if you want something with a bunch of fooferaw, you might be left wanting.
I'm rambling again, per usual. I'll wrap it up just by saying, happy fathers day to all y'alls who are fathers, love fathers, or have a father, and cheers!!

 

Fremont - Mezclar (2023)

16oz can split between a pair of WABL sample glasses. Can appears to be dated 03/08/23.

Pours extremely dark brown with a small tan head, little carbonation. Head is khaki colored and dusty, very fine. Smell is boozy, maybe a rye character, chocolate and char.

Taste is still a bit on the boozy side, leans toward bourbon flavors like char, oak and vanilla, has some chocolate, a little cola.

Mouthfeel is medium or a bit heavier. Overall...it's pretty good.



G'night, NBW!