New Beer Weekend #154

Happy Monday, fellow beer nerds. I've moved on from a very frustrating day in terms of customer service related to a new fridge and my internet provider, and now it's time for a beer.

I'm a huge fan of Fox Farm saisons, and this beer is a good example of why. Very much enjoyed it.

4.25/5 rDev +2.9%
look: 4.25 | smell: 4.25 | taste: 4.25 | feel: 4.25 | overall: 4.25
Batch 1, bottled May, 2021.

While this one wasn't a gusher, as soon as I uncapped it I could see the bubbles, free of their confinement, start to inch up the neck of the bottle. As a result, a very careful pour resulted in a beer with a very nice, fizzy white head that maintained a think 1/4 inch cap for several minutes before I finally gave in and took a sip. Color is a deeper yellow that's still plenty bright with loads of light shining through.

Aroma is lemongrass and hay, with floral notes as well. Very nice smelling beer.

Taste is beyond my skill to adequately describe. In general terms, there are floral and grassy notes with lemon like qualities, but not lemon. Light and not too tart. Very lively and light bodied. I don't get much Ginger, which is good because I find it can often overwhelm. I don't know what nettles taste like, but I suspect some of the fresh bright taste is attributable to them, but who knows. I had no idea what Yuzu was, but have now Googled it after writing the above to find that it's a citrus fruit of East Asian origin. I guess that explains the "not quite lemon" I was getting!

Overall, this is right up my alley. Another very good saison from Fox Farm.

 

@Roy_Hobbs my sister is in Lincoln, NH. If you’re familia any good recommendations or must do things for them? Food wise, exploring wise, etc.

 

Greetings, New Beer folks. I'm out running some errands on my bike, and my bike decided I could use a new beer.



(Standard disclaimer: No official review yet because I'm still working out the numbers.)

Living Häus Katie Dark Mild
On tap at Uptown Beer Co., Portland, OR. 12-ounce pour served in a snifter.

This beer is a collab with Obelisk Beer Co. of Astoria, OR.

Look:
The beer is a gorgeous deep chestnut brown with ruby highlights. It is topped by a tight beige head which slowly shrank to a thin collar.

Smell:
Dark malts redolent of roasted nuts and toasted brown bread. Notes of coffee, caramel, and a little blackberry.

Taste:
Starts with toasty, biscuity malt and a breath of coffee with a little caramel cream. Just enough sweetness to nicely display the caramel note. Stays mostly dry through the middle, where subtle fruity notes emerge. There's a ping of bright orange flavor in the finish, along with toasted brown bread and a hint of molasses.

Feel:
Light bodied and smooth, with soft carbonation. Excellent drinkability.

Overall:
While I wouldn't normally want to session dark beers on a warm afternoon, I could make an exception for this one. Light, satisfying, exceptionally moreish. Not too roasty and dry, and not too sweet. Delightful.

 

Day 3, continuing my trek through the WCIPA box. If a new one of these was offered every month, I’d buy one every month.

Or two (boxes). Man, do I love this style.





4.25/5 rDev +5.2%
look: 4.25 | smell: 4.25 | taste: 4.25 | feel: 4.25 | overall: 4.25
Pours a beautiful unfiltered golden color that cleans as the beer warms and you drink it, and it sports a cream off white head with moderate lacing. Beautiful WCIPA. The nose features some citrus and floral hops, resiny pine, and there’s a nice caramalt note as well.

The hook has been baited.

The hook is set on the taste with the big resiny pine flavors that provide a very nice bitterness, with balance provided by grapefruit and lemon flavors, and a nice dollop of caramalt that mingles with the residual bitterness at the back of the palate.

The mouthfeel is medium and dry, on point for the style. This is my first beer from Moonlight, and I’m a fan - they executed this OG WCIPA exceptionally well, IMHO.

 

We're still going on NBW, so how about New Glarus Totally Naked:


Appearance: Clear yellow, good head.

Smell: Bit of skunk at first, then mild bready aroma.

Taste: Mild sweetness, then a nice little toasted bread flavor. More body than expected for a 4.25% abv beer.

Overall: A good lawnmower beer or sit around the house because it's too hot beer. More flavor than your macro light beers while being the same abv. A good option when in Wisconsin.

Thanks to @GreenBayBA for this one!

 

I'll add one more to this extra long NBW thread.

Happy hour at Great Heights Brewing this afternoon. They had a new lager on.

Helles Lager, 4.9% ABV.



Pours a crystal clear golden/yellow color. A one finger white head forms with good retention at first. That gently recedes and light lace is left behind.
Not particularly aromatic, which isn't unusual for the style. Though a simple bread, biscuit, and very light grassy hop character is noticeable.
Taste wise, a fuller malty flavor. Toasted and baked bread, English biscuits that adds just a touch of sweetness. Enough grassy hops to let you know its there, but doesn't leave any real bitterness.
A light body with enough carbonation to have a little crispness. Though becomes soft and ultra smooth after a minute. A very nice clean finish as well. I enjoyed this a lot and can come back to this with ease.

This is a simple, enjoyable, and well made example of the style. Very much less is more here. There is enough malty nuance to keep this an interesting Helles, but also simple and balanced. Very nice, glad to see more well made examples of the style.

Overall score is 3.97, B+ almost to an A- score for me.

https://www.beeradvocate.com/beer/profile/50326/662225/?ba=champ103#lists

And yes, I am reading and enjoying a Joyce Carol Oates novel, an epic Gothic tale about demons in the early 1900's in Princeton ha.

 

Oh I love the Ola Dubh beers, and Harveistoun in general. Which reminds me, I should probably pick some more Ola Dubh's up when I get a chance ha. Bitter & Twisted was one of my favorites on cask when I was working in Scotland.

 

#2, I had this one’s 3-year big brother on Saturday (if a 15.5% ABV beer can be “little brother”). This is the kind of vertical I need in my beer nerd life.





4.6/5 rDev 0%
look: 4.5 | smell: 4.5 | taste: 4.75 | feel: 4.5 | overall: 4.5
Pours a pure black with no leakage anywhere and features a soapy, dark tan head that lingers a bit. Gorgeous impy stout. The nose is all about the maple, vanilla, roasty coffee, rich milk chocolate, and subtle barrel note. This is proceeding as expected.

The taste has a nice barrel flavor up front, but it pulls back and allows the milk chocolate, vanilla, and maple flavors an opportunity to shine, and oh do they succeed in that endeavor.

The mouthfeel is rich, creamy, and decadent. This is better than the 3-year because it’s not nearly as hot and all the flavors are provided the opportunity to shine. World class stuff here, IMHO.

 

Icarus unfiltered lager
...cloudy light amber appearance with an almost non existent head
...medium carbonation with about the same for the body
...aroma is earthy hops,yeast, doughy,grain and cereal with something that comes off like vegetable matter
...taste is almost dry with a bitterness that builds,dominates,and then lingers in the aftertaste.
There is some doughy yeasty bread there as well as some cereal.
...overall it is very good but to me a lot of bitterness for a lager

 

Aunt May’s Cherry Pie by Spanish Marie

new brewery , new beer


4.27/5 rDev 0%
look: 4.5 | smell: 4.25 | taste: 4.25 | feel: 4.25 | overall: 4.25

Brewers notes: Sour with Tart Cherry Ice Cream, Cherry, Amaretto, Graham Cracker, Vanilla, Cinnamon.

Purchased at empire liquors

Blood red liquid ,two finger fizzy ruby / pink layer quickly recedes, poured into a pretentious beer glass

Big artificial cherry taste, jolly ranchers, popsicles, cherry kool aid, cherry cough syrup, vanilla ice cream , graham cracker, hint of cinnamon

Very sweet , thick, syrupy, cherry flavor lingers , don’t get much tart

Over the cherry top




Truth in advertising on this beer, it’s good but definitely an unique take

 

Super heavy air here today - quite unpleasant outside. Tossed some baby backs on the smoker after some half hearted garden work. Ribs have been a challenge but this batch came out where I like it - tender but with a good bite. Have to jot down the adjustments to the method.

What's jumped into my sippy cup?



This is Eternal Void of the Alpaca Magi. The brewer calls it a dark sour, fermented in oak barrels with dark cherries, black currants, blackberries and raspberries. Here it's merely a wild ale.

Pours a bit muddy, dark reddish brown. Fleeting large bubbles on top that vanish quickly, no trace left.

The smell is certainly fruit forward and there's ample evidence of the oak barrel. The fruit is kind of a melange, but the individual fruits can be picked out. Slight cider vinegar smell and I'd say there's a little spice and a touch of wine must. It's potent - can pick up the smell a few feet away.

Oh my...this just tastes great. It opens with a fairly sharp acidity, but it is immediately quelled by the fruit components. The flavors morph, with the different fruits showing themselves at different times. Definite dark cherry, raspberry brightness, some deeper berry flavor from the blackberries and currants that I think are creating almost a mellow red wine taste. A little tea from the raspberry. A bit of a vinegar note, and that two stage acidity - a sharper and brighter fruit acidity comes in late. There's some bready malt in the background, and an oaky phenolic sharpness. Very faint kiss of black pepper, light lemony aromatics.

Medium body, mild on the carbonation. It's sour but the fruit smooths things over. Dry finish. I'm getting a slightly salty sensation way late.

Harmonious beer here, very deep in flavor. Very happy they had this in the brewery - the Alpaca Magi beers are more like unicorns for me. Heard about them, the brewery is 25 miles from my house and I've never seen one before. Easy 4.3 or higher here - putting the good beer smile on my face.

 

Jackie O's Bourbon Barrel Oro Negro

375ml bottle served in a little snulip. Vintage 2022. Got it from @Ozzylizard in NBS BIF #17.

Pours black with no head, looks still. Smell is bourbon and vanilla, burnt toffee and near-burnt nuts, sweet molasses, hint of something like cinnamon or nutmeg.

Taste is (for me) dominated by cinnamon. Nuts are still there, and something comes across as milk chocolate. Molasses sweetness. I was feeling a little bit of spice on my lips and thinking it was a bit odd for cinnamon to have that much power but not be totally overwhelming for me, and then I read on the label that it contains habaneros, and that's clearly evident now that I saw it. As it's warming up, the cinnamon is becoming even more powerful.

Mouthfeel is nicely thick and chewy. Overall...it appears to be a pretty good stout with a nice level of pepper, but too much cinnamon for me.

Nice try! When it was cold and the pepper was balancing the cinnamon, I was enjoying it! It's not a chore to drink, but it's definitely not my jam -- even so, I'm glad you're pushing my boundaries!

 

Equilibrium Wavelength IPA, 6.5% ABV; 4.03 overall

Pours a very hazed gold with a pinky of tight cream colored head. Stellar lacing & good head retention

S: Some tropical fruit, mostly pineapple,

T: Pineapple, pomelo a little dryness & tangerine up front. Some grapefruit sneaks in as this beer warms, along with a little dryness, green melon & lime. Finishes with pineapple green melon & dryness, a little tangerine

MF: Medium body, moderate carbonation, good balance

Very drinkable, taste profile isn't next level, but not bad at all

 

Jackie O's Bourbon Barrel Dark Apparition. Again, @Ozzylizard and NBS BIF #17 and all that...I wish I could honestly say that there was some kind of theme in my beer choices, but honestly, these just sounded good...so I guess that's the theme?

375ml bottle served in a snulip. 2023 vintage.

Pours black with a small, oil-brown ring of head around the edge, looks thick and still. Smell is roast coffee, char, vanilla, caramelized molasses.

Taste is hard in the caramelized molasses direction. I definitely get some vanilla and something that reminds me of dates and root beer barrel candies. Sweetness is there, not as strong as I would have guessed, with a bit of char and smoke (just a wisp) balancing it out.

Mouthfeel is thick, chewy, satisfying. Overall, very nice beer.

 

Prairie Pecans In Paradise, 14.7% ABV; 4.13 overall

Pours an effervescent black with instantly vanishing caramel colored head, WTH? Zero lacing & head retention

S: Barrel, dark chocolate, oakyness, vanilla & nuttiness. Gets more like raw alcohol as the beer warms up, not a fan, but recovers a bit once warmer

T: Barrel dryness, a little coffee, vanilla & dark chocolate, a little coconut & little boozeyness up front. Dark chocolate, coconut, vanilla & coconut as this beer warms up close to room temperature, plus some pecan. Finishes with oaky dryness, pecans, chocolate, a little coconut & a kiss of coffee

MF: Pretty chewy body, super-low carbonation, warming

One of the better Imp Stouts I've had from these guys in a while. Was glad picked this up in Oklahoma, at least $3 a bottle cheaper there than Arkansas

 

Machine House - Barrel Aged Stock Ale (2023)

500ml bottle served in a WABL sample glass. 2023 vintage. Pretty sure I bought it at the brewery (the original location in Georgetown).

Pours a clear ruby-brown with little or no head. Smell is wood and raisins.

Taste is...red grapes first, tons of oak second. Some caramel/toffee. More oak. Fairly sweet overall, but far from oppressive.

Mouthfeel is medium bodied, maybe a bit heavier, fairly still, slightly sticky, surprisingly pleasant. Overall, pretty nice beer.

See! I can buy my own beer. I'm a big boy.

 

Back for another round of this extended weekend, though, for me, it's still my extended work week.

I believe this one is thanks to @GreenBayBA

Bock Of The Future - Stillmank Brewing - Green Bay, WI - Bock - 6.3% ABV

Very interesting beer. I was really digging the aroma. Malty, buttery biscuit, grain with an earthy/grassy hint to it. The flavor had a lot of complexity going on. The earthy/grassy flavor started it off, with the buttery biscuit/grain flavor not far behind. The finish was hops all the way, and, well, quite bitter. This part is where I'm not too sure about this beer. I love a bitter West Coast IPA, more bitter, the better. Here, I just don't think it works out right. I think if it were dialed back just a bit, this would be an amazing beer.

Thanks Micah for this beer, I really appreciate it.

Review:
https://www.beeradvocate.com/beer/profile/40799/159504/

3.73/5 rDev +4.5%
look: 4.25 | smell: 4.25 | taste: 3.5 | feel: 3.5 | overall: 3.5
From a can BB date 8-29-2023
This beer is a clearer pouring beer, and golden in color. There's a nice amount of carbonation rising in the glass. The head that forms is 3 finger and white in color. The head retention is decent overall, and there's some beautiful lacing on the glass.
The aroma is full of malts. I get a ton of buttery biscuit. I also get a grainy aroma that is less pronounced, but there. I also get a slightly grassy/earthy aroma.
Taste - There's a lot of flavors going in here. In the aroma, I just got a hint of grass/earthy, well, in the flavor, it's very pronounced, and hits right away. There's the malty component, and I do get a good deal of buttery biscuit/grain flavors that kick in the middle. They provide a bit of sweetness. The finish is bitter, and actually quite bitter from the hops used. Not too sure the bitterness to this extreme fits right with this beer.
The body is quite full feeling - it does stick, but so does the bitterness, that seems to linger too much.
I'd say, if it weren't for the bitterness overload, this would be an amazing beer. There's a time and place for extreme bitterness, but this isn't it. I'm very happy to have had the chance to try it. It is interesting for sure.


I might pop in again tomorrow night after work. Cheers all!

 

NBW rolls on with Goose Island Bourbon County Brand 30th Anniversary Reserve Stout (needs more words in this title)

Appearance: Super black, small head fades quickly.

Smell: Rich dark chocolate, wood, booze.

Taste: Chocolate to start, very syrupy feel, switches into some booziness and barrel flavor before finishing with some more chocolate. Very mouth-coating.

Overall: A gift beer from a friend, I probably should have found some regular bcbs to try side-by-side. Very rich and thick, coating, the alcohol is still a bit hot. I enjoyed it but it probably would be better with a year or more to take some of the edge off.