New Beer Weekend #159

It’s been pretty apparent to me for awhile that we are beer nerd brothers from another mother, Jon. I dug this beer and I hope it appeals to you, too.

 

Well that downright sucks. When we lived in McKinney a few years ago, I had pretty easy access to all the SN stuff I wanted. If that’s changed, it’s truly unfortunate.

 

#2, if I’m breaking out the Masters glass, it’s probably a special occasion. The 20th anniversary of KBS qualifies, IMHO. I’m joining our friend @GreenBayBA in reviewing this beer today, so let’s see where it leads us.





4.44/5 rDev +6.2%
look: 4.5 | smell: 4.25 | taste: 4.5 | feel: 4.5 | overall: 4.5
Pours a dark cola brown and settles as black in the glass with a rich, creamy tan head that absolutely grips the glass. Gorgeous beer. The nose has a smidge of barrel, roasty coffee, rich chocolate, vanilla, and blueberries. Lot going on here.

There’s even more going on with the taste, with a subtle barrel note yielding to lots of roasty coffee and chocolate, a nice vanilla note - and delicious, tart blueberries, which is what makes this beer for me. That tartness keeps reeling me back in for another drink. So delicious, IMHO.

The mouthfeel is full and creamy decadence. I still think the OG is the champion of this family of beers, but this variant is a more than worthy addition to that collection of world class beers, again IMHO.

 

Greetings, New Beer People, wherever you may be and whatever you may be drinking.

As it happens, this beer and this brewery are both new to me:



Fortside Pilsner
12-ounce can purchased at ABV Public House in Hillsboro, OR. Date stamp reads "CANNED STRONG 05/22/2023". Poured in a small Becher glass for the photo, but enjoyed in an insulated tumbler since we're having beers on the patio this afternoon.

Look:
The body is pale straw yellow and slightly hazy. Looks unfiltered. A careful pour raises two fingers of loose, sudsy foam. The head collapses pretty quickly and leaves spotty lacing behind.

Smell:
A simple and pleasant combination of doughy Pilsner malt adorned with delicate floral hops. The malt is on the sweet side, but not unpleasantly so. There's also a touch of sulfur.

Taste:
What you smell is what you get. Softly malty, and a bit sweeter than I prefer in a Pilsner. The middle is bland and kind of watery, but it's redeemed by a nice hit of noble hop spiciness. Finishes with mild sweetness that shows a nice toasty flavor at the very end.

Feel:
Light-bodied and clean. Seems a bit undercarbonated. Super easy to drink.

Overall:
Fortside Pilsner has decent hop character, some nice toasty notes, and excellent drinkability. But the first and last impressions it leaves are "Bland and watery." It's a well-made beer and there's nothing wrong with it. But there are far better local Pilsners available.

 

I still see and get Pale Ale and Torpedo a lot, and Narwhal when in season. Though the variety has just gone way down hill. The Kroger and HEB near me use to always have stacks of their seasonal's whenever they were available. Haven't seen them this year. A really good sales rep for Sierra Nevada use to work and restock a lot in my neighborhood, and he was a great guy. Haven't seen him lately, maybe he has moved on? If so, I hope higher up in Sierra Nevada. Maybe the big Specs warehouse downtown has some more, but I just don't get a chance to go there a lot.

 

Stillwater extra dry sake saison
....semi clear pale gold light amber appearance
...carbonation and body both hover around medium
...aroma is an interesting mix of grain,cereal, malt/honey, mild earthy floral hops. There is an odd but pleasant scent that could be associated with sake.
...taste is really nice mix of tart,dry, grainy, earthy honey. There is an element that reminds me of fermented plums.
...overall really interesting, flavorful and definitely glad I picked up a 4 pack

 

Peaches & Cream


7.2% nitro fruit tart by Urban Artifact

Poured from a twelve ounce can, the body is a faded, cloudy yellow-orange. Not much head and light lacing.

Taste is a nicely tart burst with background peach flavor. As the beer warmed, the tartness became less aggressive allowing a wee bit of sweetness to surface.

Mouthfeel is soft thanks to the nitro and carbonation is light.

An enjoyable beer on a hot afternoon. Thanks to @basaywhat for originally point this brewery out to me by way of trade. Being an Advocate has its privileges

 

I’m back! With a Schwartzbier: new beer and new (to me) brewery.

Poured looking like carbonated coffee with a light beige head that left scant lacing.
No aroma for me.
The taste is a very pleasant balance of dark roast coffee (not harsh, just not mild) and a floral hops presence. I generally prefer a more biscuit flavored malt with less noticeable bitterness but this really works pretty well.
The feel is nice, smooth and crisp simultaneously. Not in the least bit chewy.
OA, as I said, it’s not my favorite take on the style, but it’s a very good beer despite my preference.
Cheers all!

 

Well, we are back at home base after a wonderful two weeks in Maine. One place we can recommend wholeheartedly are the Coastal Maine Botannical Gardens. It was a 90 minute drive from where we were staying. Tickets were $24 for adults and $12 for the sprout which had the rip off spidey sense tingling a bit. Worth every penny and minute on the road. Beautiful gardens, all kinds of things to learn. Bee exhibit, butterfly house, plants and ideas galore, sensory garden, culinary garden and more...plus five giant trolls. Mostly easy trails and lots of very easy wide pathways, but even where paths were cut through the woods, minimal disruption of the native habitat - diversity on display.

After being blown away by the unavailable- except-on-tap-that-day Stagg barleywine, we did pick up a couple of the available Barreled Souls big ol' barleywines. We thought about splitting one tonight to celebrate (or mourn) the end of vacation, but a long drive with lobster rolls brought home for supper seemed to suggest a different route.

So, tonight's victim:



Speakeasy Sotol Sunrise gose, 7.7% ABV, from Barreled Souls, another fine entry in the Speakeasy series. This one features orange, cranberry, and pomegranate which I guess is a nod to a tequila sunrise, except aged in Sotol barrels.

Here is the primer on Sotol which is related loosely to mezcal and tequila, but from a different plant.

It pours a murky orange with a pinkish hue. Half inch of tight foam that is short-lived and leaves nothing behind. Not the prettiest thing I've seen, but ok.

The smell is of the three fruits, a bit of malt and a bright, grassy/earthy/herbal smell that must be the Sotol. Slightly boozy smell, slightly sweet, maybe just a touch of smoke.

The flavor - well, I just plain like it. The fruits are a nice blend and I can pick out the orange easily, the tart signature of the cranberry with some thought, and the richer/darker fruit flavor of the pomegranate. Since I've never had the liquor before, I assume that the barrel takes over with bright grassy and herbal notes, a little earthiness, I think I find a trace of smoke, and there's a very pleasant sweetness that is not heavy despite the full boat of fruit flavors. It reminds me a bit of dark Karo, although I'm probably admitting my age to say that. There's a detectable beer-ness as I have found with other Speakeasy beers. There's also a very unique taste going on here that I can't quite describe - nutty, grassy, herbal, woody, subtle smokiness. Lemongrass, maybe. There's a tingle on the aftertaste that's adding more interest. Just enough fruit-driven acidity to provide a little zip. There's a subtle amount of salt that ties this all together.

The feel is juicy and I'll use the word "lush" - it's not exactly thick, but it has some heft to it. It's refreshing enough.

I'm kinda thinking guilty pleasure here - it's nothing like I expected in the best way possible. The little bit of beer snob in me says I shouldn't like this, but I just dig the overall effect they've achieved with this beer. So my score will admittedly reflect the happy taste buds here with a high contribution from the overall category. I'm going to say this goes 4 to 4.2.

 

Dock street futuro Italian pilsner
...clear pale gold appearance with a very thin lasting head.
...at least medium carbonation with a just slightly thin body.
....aroma isn't overpowering but theres grain,bitter citrus peel along with earthy bitter hops.
...taste is a little sour,fermented,hop bitterness that lingers. Very mild malt sweetness thats masked by the bitter hops.
...overall avery good beer,more bitter than the average pilsner but still very good

 

Evening my beer compadres; I hope all is well with everyone. I wanted to pop in here and say Hi. I am currently working on the Donut box from Brurey. I was Canned around May 2021. I opted for the Abuelita's Special a 10.5 BBA with cinnamon vanilla and chocolate adjuncts. This has been my favorite one from the box. The cinnamon hits perfectly, usually, I get cinnamon beers that smell like dusty barn wood. The additional adjuncts blend seamlessly with the barrel-aged stout. A few minor complaints I had, I would prefer a slightly chewier texture, and the head retention lasted a bit longer, leaving some delicately tatted lace. Anywho, good to see everyone, and I have enjoyed reading. Thanks, Cheer -J

 

Ooh, I have enjoyed that beer this summer.

 

Good evening NBW
I went ahead and pulled the trigger on review #2000. It is my avatar after all...

SN Oktoberfest

12oz can stamped 53 PKGD 071323 11:24 poured into a mug at fridge temp 6% ABV. The beer pours bright, very light amber in color with off white head. Head recedes to a thin ring and a few splotches. No lacing. The aroma is mild with floral hops slightly edging out pale malt as the dominant fragrance. The taste is semisweet pale and toasted malt with pronounced hop flavor (grassy + floral, hints of pine) before firm, moderate bitterness. The mouthfeel is thin to medium bodied with average carbonation and a dry finish. Cleanly lagered. Overall, clean and nails the feel, but it's very hop forward for even a festbier.

I will mention that I always quit drinking IPAs a month before Oktoberfest season hits so I can enjoy the focus on malt. That typically leads to any amount of hop flavor or bitterness hitting me extra hard when reviewing. The Hofbrauhaus I had earlier had some hop presence, but nothing like this beer. Majority of this 12 pack might languish in the back of the fridge until later in the fall when the hops fall off or my palate is broken by fresh hop IPAs and this beer begins to taste like an AAL.

Cheers all!

 

That's a great idea, and I think I'm going to borrow it before maibock season next year.

 

3 Floyds Zombie Ice - I haven't had much from this brewery because they weren't in my area for a long time and by the time they arrived there was so much to choose from and they commanded a premium price so it was easy to skip over them. But I've had Zombie Dust and Gumballhead and enjoyed them but didn't quite get the hype so I'm going into this one with level expectations.

Pours from a can (a little smudged so it's ether 06/08 or 18, my guess is 08) a slightly hazy orange color with a strong, frothy head. Smell is good and there's hops/fruit, malts and a hint of alcohol. Taste is very good and a lot of fruit going on but not too sweet and ends nicely with a dry bitterness. Yes, there's some age on this but it hasn't hurt it at all from what I can tell. Dangerously drinkable for 8.5% and I looked it up to see what hops are being used and it's Citra which explains why I like this so much, it's one of my favorite hops and it really shines here. I don't drink DIPAs as much anymore but this is one I would gladly have again when in the mood...cool can art too. Budmo!

 

American Solera That's So Stephen West Coast DIPA, 8.0% ABV; 3.89 overall

Pours an ever so slightly hazed gold with one finger of cream-colored head. Good head retention & lacing

S: PIneyness, mangoes, cattyness

T: Pineyness, dryness, a touch of biscuitty malt up front. Some grapefruit fights through the pine as this beer warms up, plenty of dryness as well. Finishes very piney with plenty of dryness & a little grapefruit

MF: Medium body, dialed back carbonation, pretty good balance

Would've like this better if it was a little less dry, still not bad

 

Anthem Brewing Chuggles Barrel Aged Barley Wine, 12.5% ABV; 4.34 overall

Pours a very still & somewhat ruddy chestnut with instantly disappearing tan head. Zero head retention & lacing, may be from the wax floating around in the glass. Tried to fish it out

S: Bourbon, maple syrup, figs, brown sugar, the nose is all that

T: Cakey, some leafy hops, plenty of boozy oak & fig & raisins & dryness up front. Cakeyness, brown sugar, leafy hops, dryness & less booze presence as this beer warms up, Finishes dry, cakey with a little booze bite & leafy hops, plus some brown sugar & a touch of woody hops

MF: Pretty chewy, low carbonation, warming

Very good take on the style. Would certainly pick this up again

 

Still awake here in the pacific northwest. This beer ended up requiring a good amount of time and patience.



Machine House Barrel-Aged Stock Ale
500 mL bottle purchased at Uptown Beer Co., Portland, OR. 2023 Vintage, bottled in August 2022. Poured into a Bottle Logic snifter a few ounces at a time.

Look:
The beer is a deep burnt orange with brilliant amber highlights. The first pour didn't yield much of a head, although a skin of ivory foam made a brief appearance before retreating to a minimal ring. Subsequent pours raised foam that lasted longer, but left no lacing.

Smell:
Whiskey dominates the nose, along with oak and layers of dark fruits: tart plums, figs, raisins. The oak and fruit combine for a rich red wine character. Underneath are light, earthy notes of oxidation. Over time, the beer adds soft notes of caramel, oatmeal apple cookies, and mulling spices to the nose.

Taste:
Starts off like a big, dry red wine, with tons of oak, red grapes, and some tannic astringency. Medium sweetness follows, shaded with notes of grape skins and cranberries. As the beer warms, a bit of bready/nutty flavor kind of like panettone briefly grabs the spotlight. There's also a layer of mild, musty oxidation and hints of anise, cloves, and bitter orange on the breath. 45 minutes after opening the bottle, more sweetness emerges, showing light caramel notes and lush fruit reminiscent of a medium dry sherry. Oak reasserts its dominance in the long finish. Whiskey lingers underneath it all.

Feel:
Medium-bodied and somewhat sharp, with delicate carbonation and a surprising amount of alcohol warmth. Drying finish.

Overall:
I feel like the barrel is overwhelming the beer. Whiskey dominates the nose, oak overloads the tongue, and there's more alcohol heat than you'd expect from a beer with an ABV of 9.5%. I wanted to like this beer, and it did evolve over the 90 minutes between the first sip and the last. Ultimately, though, it was kind of exhausting, and didn't yield quite enough rewards for the effort it took to get through the bottle. Your mileage, as always, may vary.