New Beer Weekend #169

After a non-alcoholic starter, we're on to the main course for today. I really wish breweries would stop pushing the release seasons forward. This is a proper fall beer for those crisp and cold days and would be great to have available in November and December. No need to release it in August.

Long Trail Harvest Ale
4.4% English brown ale



Pours a dark amber with a two-finger tan head that dissipates fairly quickly.

I get very little aroma straight off the pour, just some malty sweetness. And not really much more as it warms.

Things improve with the taste. There's a great interplay between sweet and bitter, with browned caramel, toffee, molasses, dark fruits vying with brown bread, roast coffee, almost-burnt toast, hop bitterness. A medicinal undercurrent comes to the fore near the finish.

Medium-bodied with low carb with a smooth feel.

This reminds me of the taste profile of a doppelbock, but at only 4.4% ABV. Definitely one to try out if you're looking for a lot of flavor on an alcohol budget.

 

Screen shotted for future reference, I cannot wait to cook at home again soon

 

Poured into a 16 oz Snulip glass canned on 9/29/23. Pours a very attractive hazy orange with a half finger sticky white head that leaves thick streaks of lace with nice retention. 4.25

Aroma is pineapple, tangerine, mango, peach, passionfruit, and apricot. 4.25

Taste follows pineapple, tangerine, peach, mango, passionfruit, and apricot. 4.25

Mouthfeel is above average, soft gentle carbonation, not sticky or dry, and at 7.8% it goes down very easy. 4

Overall this one from Branch and Blade Brewing is good, but a little more body and flavor would have elevated it. 4.25 Cheers all.

 

Well, I am home, and am having a beer now that I was planning on having first, but my side trip to Back Shed Brewing got in the way (in a good way).

BA Imperial Sword Maiden - Peated Scotch - Lupulin Brewing - Big Lake, MN - Imperial Porter - 10.8% ABV

I picked up 3 bottles of this back on Thursday at the brewery, when I was there for the release party for the Bob Feuling Brown Ale. Thanks to @Alefflicted , who pointed this out to me, I bought 3 bottles of it. It sounded interesting - an Imperial porter aged on peat. I am a Scotch fan, and I love a smoky peated scotch. How is this beer, since it's right up my alley, in theory?

When I had my first sip, typing my review, I was blown away, and was at a loss for words. The aroma when I was writing my looks part of the review should have been a clue as to what I was in for, but, I am still shocked how delicious this is. I will let my review speak for itself.

https://www.beeradvocate.com/beer/profile/40035/674771/


4.88/5 rDev 0%
look: 4.25 | smell: 5 | taste: 5 | feel: 4.75 | overall: 4.75
From a 12 oz bottle purchased at the brewery:

A bit of smoke came out upon opening the bottle. This looks very thick pouring for a porter. Holy cow. It is pitch black, and there will be no light shining through this beer. The head that formed was less than 1 finger, and brown in color. The head dissipated very fast. There's a slight bit of lacing on the glass, but most of it came when I bumped it.
The aroma hits from far away, and hit while writing the loos paragraph. Jeez, this a is barrel bomb, and I think in a good way. As I get it up close, his is a porter? Damn, this smells like a BA stout, and one hell of one. So much chocolate and caramel. I also get such a pleasing undertone of smoky peat. It's an aroma I love, it's somewhat mellow, but it's there. It may not be on the level of a very peat forward Scotch, but it's there.
Taste - Oh, my! Ummm, I am at a loss right now. This has a great porter flavor. There's notes of chocolate malts here. There's some caramel here. The star of the show, and I am blown away by it is the smoked peat. Holy cow. It just builds in layers. It washes over my taste buds in waves of building smoky peat. I'm in awe.
The smoky feeling lingers. For a porter, the body is amazing. There's no burn here. Very smooth feeling.
This is a world class beer, and I am blown away. I got 3 bottles, but I really wish I would have bought more. A trip back there might be in order. Wow!


I really don't know if I can top, or get close to this today. I may have another beer, we shall see.

 

Zero gravity cone headipa
...cloudy pale orange appearance with a very thin but lasting head.
...medium bodied with about the same for carbonation. Carbonation does come off a little..fizzy..mildy champagne like.
...aroma is mixed citrus,fruit and peel upfront. Malt,honey, and what comes off like grapefruit/orange juice.
...taste is almost identical to aroma with there being a strong malt profile and the bitterness is reigned in.
...overall i enjoyed it but ipa fans may feel it lacks that bitter hop bite

 

This is a beer I've been meaning to revisit, it usually makes it around. Next time I'm out shopping I will look for some.

 

Liquid Mechanics Coconut Anarchy Project (Russian Imperial Stout aged in 6-year Heaven Hill Bourbon Barrels with 25lbs/bbl of toasted coconut). Courtesy of @Prager62.

Pours a dark brown color into the glass. Sits in the glass as pitch black. Produces a tiny dark tan head that dissipates immediately. 3.75

Aroma consists of rich dark chocolate, toasted coconut, some peat, licorice, black cherry, some prune, roasted malt, slight nuttiness, molasses, some toffee, oak, and bourbon. 4.0

Taste brings 85% dark chocolate bar, caramel, toasted coconut, almond, some peat, licorice, prune, fig, roasted malt, molasses, charred oak, smooth bourbon spirit. Dark chocolate Mounds bar vibes with added complexity from the RIS base and barrel. 4.25

Medium to high medium body. Oily, slick, sticky. Warm, but not hot, probably thanks to the age. 4.0

The age has smoothed this one out, but probably has allowed the coconut to subside a bit. That being said, the coconut still comes through nicely and complements the base stout nicely. A highly enjoyable barrel aged RIS. Bitter, roasty, sweet, and decadent. 4.0
Aggregate Score: 4.09

 

Well the moving part certainly explains the fact that we haven't seen you in a while @kemoarps. Happy to hear you and the fam are doing well in in Upstate NY

 

I’ve had a lot of Stone beers. I’ve had a lot of Stone IPA’s. This is a 27th Anniversary Edition beer from that iconic brewery, so my expectations are high for this particular beer.

Let’s GOOOOOOO, NBSers.





4.17/5 rDev +0.5%
look: 4.25 | smell: 4 | taste: 4.25 | feel: 4 | overall: 4.25
Pours a hazy - not NEIPA hazy, unfiltered WCIPA hazy - mango color with a frothy white head that lingers and provides splotchy lacing. Looks almost like a cross between those two popular styles.

The nose is filled with tropical citrus note of mango, lemon, and pineapple, some peach, a bit of green grape, and there’s also a grainy malt note. Lots happening here.

The lemon and mango are really forward on the taste and the peach and pineapple are not shy mid-palate, with the dry green grape in the mix as well and grainy malt lingering at the back of the palate. Very good flavor profile, if a bit convoluted.

The mouthfeel is substantial and a bit oily, which happens with these big Stone DIPA’s, and works for me. I just wish this beer was ….. edited a bit more. It goes towards the hazy (juicy NEIPA) side and the dry (approaching bitter WCIPA) side.

I’d gladly drink it again (and will, because smashing a 6er of a 9.6% ABV DIPA isn’t in this old beer nerd’s beer nerd dictionary), but it doesn’t make my Top 10 Stone IPA’s (I’ve had a LOT of their beers - 75 before this one), because their “old school” IPA’s set a pretty high standard - as in World Class, IMHO.

This isn’t in that league, IMHO.

 

Upstate N.Y.! Love it. I get your ironic bent, but there are actually people who mean it. There's a brief scene in Mad Men where Don Draper tells someone he lives "upstate". I think they lived in Ossining. I'm from Yonkers, which is as close to NYC without being in it, and my Bronx friends would talk about "upstate", and summer bungalows...in Peekskill. The real upstate is north of Albany. Mountains and lakes. I lived there too.
But back to Westchester and the beer scene. I don't get up that way much these days, but you should check out DeCiccos. Its a mini- chain of high- end grocery stores, with excellent provisions. And they have an excellently curated beer selection. Prices are fair as I recall (for NY).

 

Had an overstimulating day, but enjoyed the eclipse viewing and am winding down the afternoon with a decent IPA. Cheers!

3.9/5 rDev -1.8%
look: 4 | smell: 4 | taste: 3.75 | feel: 4 | overall: 4

Packaged on September 19th, 2023 - enjoyed on October 14th, 2023 - poured from a pint can into my Dogfish Head shaped pint glass.

Clear gold body with a soft half finger of champagne/white foam.Soapy lacing; decent retention.

Citrus (yuzu, lemon, tangerine) and light berry in the nose.

Sweet, moderately bitter palate entry - fruit forward with an herbal edge. Strawberry, peach, and a apple-candy. Medium-dry finish with a hint of pine. A little surprised to see Strata and Chinook together - makes for an interesting if slightly conflicting flavor profile. Clean malt bill, neutral yeast.

Medium-light bodied, slippery but zesty mouth-feel with decent carbonation.

Not bad, but not worth seeking out or paying more for than Swami's - among the many seasonal WCIPA variants Pizza Port has put out, this is not among my favorites.

 

Stubborn Brothers Brewery Dairyland amber ale. The look is dark amber, with a very thick off-white foamy top. There was quite a lot of foam, but I may have handled the can poorly. It is a nice-looking beer. The smell is brown bread, vanilla, sweet malt, caramel, with a piney hop aroma. The taste is carmel, pretzel, light grapefruit, buttered brown bread, and cream. The mouthfeel is robust, smooth, thick, and creamy, with medium carbonation. Overall, this is a nice amber ale, from a northern Wisconsin brewery that is making some noise in the local craft beer scene.

 

Hey, kids. Great day outside today. We watched some of the eclipse coverage waiting for the little bit of it we could see here and despite some cloud cover we did see the little bit that was visible. Not so spectacular, but still pretty cool. The school gave the young 'uns glasses and we did a little explainin' to the grandson.

Played around moving some dirt and brush with the tractor, concluded I need to figure out a plan if I want to make any real progress besides dig a hole, fill it in. But it was fun.

So in the glass:



Exhibit A Cake! - it's in the dreaded herb and spice beer category, but its got pumpkin...The can says it is an autumn ale brewed with cinnamon and vanilla, pumpkin puree, pumpkin spice coffee cake from My Grandma's of New England, along with Daily Driver coffee from Share Coffee Roasters. The can also says each case sold supports 72 square feet of local Farmland.

The pour is initially clear and looks suspiciously like a brown ale, but it ends up kind of murky brown with whatever is left from the additives. Tight tan head falls to a ring pretty quickly. Not the most attractive thing when all is said and done.

I like the smell. It's not overpowering in the spice department. Clearly coffee, cinnamon, vanilla. Pumpkin fruit. A bit brown bready, maybe a touch of smokiness. The coffee is very nice. The net effect is sitting at the bakery dipping a pumpkin coffee cake into a nice cup o' Joe. A bit of hoppy earthiness.

And I like the taste - it's more of the same, essentially. The pie spice I don't find dominant at all. There, but tamed. Cinnamon, maybe nutmeg, a tad bit of brown sugar sweetness. Toasty bready grain taste. The coffee comes through and it seems a good quality coffee - bright and light. I get a definite smoked flavor. I'm finding the coffee is kind of the star for me as it peeks through just briefly. There's an earthy, slightly bitter hoppiness. A little peppery tingle on the back end. Starts ever so slightly sweet, finishes on the dry side.

Feel is medium, a little creamy. Flavor peaks quickly and fades cleanly leaving a little spice tingle.

Pumpkin beers aren't typically my thing, so good thing this really isn't one but it kinda is except it's not. I also get elements of a winter warmer from this concoction. Herb and spice or pumpkin, this one is excellent. Everything in the beer works together, but I think the coffee component elevates it. Put the pumpkin coffee cake with vanilla icing in the blender with the coffee, buzz it up, gimme a straw. Influenced by liking, around a 4.0 - 4.2.

 

Bradley brewery,local here in Jersey
...kind of a murky amber appearance with a lasting thin white head.
...thin body,about medium carbonation with the feel overall sort of disappearing in an odd way. Reminds me of certain lite beers.
...aroma is the best part,bread, dough,yeast,earthy floral honey with a little grain and cracker.
...taste doesn't hold up to the aroma,its identical but like a dimmer light on the taste and it was turned down a notch.
...overall its pleasant but could use a tweaking to get it better

 

Great looking beer there and I love the name.

 

Good evening NBW
I was hesitant to grab a four pack of this one, but the single was a no brainer. Might buy more...

Great Lakes Barrel Aged Imperial Lager

12oz bottle poured into a perfect pint glass at fridge temp 12.1% ABV. The beer pours bright, dark amber in color with chestnut highlights and light brown head. The meager head recedes to a thin ring and a few bubbles. No lacing. The aroma is mild with typical bourbon barrel and caramel. The taste is semisweet with a big bourbon hit up front easing into caramel, vanilla and toasted oak on the finish. Minimal bitterness with a decent ethanol bite. The mouthfeel is medium bodied with less than average carbonation and a mostly dry finish. Overall, good & different in a good way.

Cheers all!