New Beer Weekend #167

No, but I sold lots of the wines and know the vintners well. They described it like good storytellers and left me with a lovely visual and gastronomic panorama.

 

Beautiful

 

Hey gang, very late but have more than made up for it today.

Beginning with the most recent to my palate from Heber Valley Brewing - Märzen



Canned 9.29.23

Purchased at the brewery for $7

Poured at fridge temp into a wine glass

Pours dark copper with a 2F sandy head that leaves some trace lacing. 3.75

Toasty bread and crust heavy aroma, nearly burnt caramel, sweet brown sugar, earthy hops. 3.75

Same as above only very light and subtle. Mostly caramel and sweet bread, noble hops. 3.25

Light and ultra crushable body at 5% abv, perfectly moderate carbo that softens out and light lingering caramel + hops. 4

Overall a great offering that leaned a bit in directions my other tastings haven't and very worthwhile. 3.75

 

Next up were two I enjoyed at lunch courtesy of Red Rock

Munich Dunkel



Purchased at the brewery for $6.50

Draft pour into a shaker pint

Pours light cola with ruby and chocolatey tones. 3.75

Big and dark malt + chocolate, lightly sweetened. 3.75

Dark bread, balanced malt and chocolate lead to a heavier perceived feel and heft than it actually is. 4

5% abv, mild carbo, slight froth and fairly sessionable. 3.75

Overall a nice Lager+ to sum it up nicely. 3.75

And Black Bier Schwarzbier



Purchased at the brewery for $3

Draft pour into a shaker pint

Deep cola + chocolate brown body with a slight bright tan head that faded quickly. 3.5

Dark toasty bread and mixed sweet spice on the nose. 3.75

Taste follows with a myriad of gentle fall esque spices that blend well. Allspice, cardamom, touch of cinnamon, brown sugar. 3.75

Light and easy drinking body with moderate carbo. 3.75

Overall a great Ofest adjacent I had two pints of back to back and am saddened that it's not canned. 3.75

 

Great Notion - Fresh Hop Juice Jr.

16oz can served in a snulip. Can is dated 09/11/2023. Bought it at Chuck's Hop Shop yesterday.

Pours murky pale whitish-amber with about a finger of head that settles quickly. Smell is bright citrus zest and pith, dankness, and resin.

Taste is right there with it, leans a bit toward lemon and a lot toward resin, stays very bright.

Mouthfeel is medium, slight grittiness, drying texture. Overall, very tasty beer.

 

Hello Late Night NBW.
Barely squeaking in here with a few new ones from downtown LA. One was good, one was "meh."

Godmother IPA from Bonaventure Brewing

Golden, translucent, and capped with a pretty solid cap. Foam tapers off a bit but leaves some generous, clumpy lacing. Good retention.
Nose has an interesting mix of woody citrus notes coupled some resin y pine.
Flavor follows. Goes in that WCIPA direction but has a slightly woody citrus note. It really is like lemongrass. Not bright and citrusy but more earthy and bitter.
Mouthfeel is on the lighter side of medium. Decent carbonation. Dry bitter finish. Nice.
3.73/5 rDev 0%
look: 3.75 | smell: 3.75 | taste: 3.75 | feel: 3.5 | overall: 3.75


Hot Tropic from Arts District Brewing

Barkeeper said this was just freshly put on tap. Is it hazy? yes. Not much head development. Low retention. Scattered lacing.
Nose and flavor are rather inconsequential. Not bad. Just not much presence. Yes, hints of guava and lemon. Some gritty grain as well but not thing really pops here.
Mouthfeel has a slightly fluffy feel.
Overall. Not bad. Not great. Did it.
3.34/5 rDev 0%
look: 3.25 | smell: 3.5 | taste: 3.25 | feel: 3.5 | overall: 3.25

On a sidenote, I was not impressed with Arts District. Granted I only sampled 2 of their beers, but the real turnoff was their customer service. "Indifferent" is the word that described the overall approach to people that I experienced. Also, I feel using a shot glass to pour a sample, to a customer that just tipped $2 on an $8 pint, comes off as not even trying to give the customer a chance to get a take on the beer.