New Beer Weekend #173

No worries, I suspect @Dimidiata only specifies Sundays as that's what her Meme says. But that's just a guess; I am sure she would be happy with Barleywines 7 days a week, so no harm, no foul! Besides, a 6 year old BW? Always good.

 

Well after an early night yesterday and a brief but not new cold brew coffee stout out of the growler I'm ready to go!

Pipeworks - Ninja vs Unicorn


Canned 9.5.23
Purchased from the dabc for about $3.50
Poured at fridge temp into a fake Pretentious glass

Pours an unfiltered orange-y golden with a bright white head. Tons of visible rising carbo, and near full sheet-like lacing. 4.5

Off the can the aroma is dominantly dank with a touch of spicy floral and earthy hops. Off the glass is a different story. Largely peach, apricot, both soft and sweet. 4.25

Spicy hops, a tiny hint of the 8% abv, some mixed fruit and dank hops again. 4

Mild carbo despite seeing all those rising bubbles. Lightly coating oil/resin. Definitely soft and an easy quaffer. 4.25

Overall I think the only thing I'm missing on is taste and I don't blame the beer or canning date, but those damn room temp shelves at the dabc. Nonetheless I agree with the bulk of BA-dom, this is a world class IPA. 4.25

Cheers friends!

 

Fat Squirrel Nut Brown Ale. part of my haul from new glarus yesterday and this couldn’t be more seasonally appropriate and a great warm up before going out to rake leaves.

this is definitely a more traditional brown ale as opposed to an american brown ale. pretty clean, malt forward with some light chocolate nuttiness to it. super easy drinking yet the mouthfeel gives it a heftiness you wouldn’t expect coming in at under 6% abv. cheers to new beers!!

 

Omnipollo Elmer Imperial Stout, 15.5% - Sweden should be proud! Skål!



-Look: Burnt dark-brown to black - time for an oil change.
-Aroma: Decadence. Milk chocolate, vanilla, coconut.
-Taste: Rich milk stout, chocolate, vanilla, coconut, mild alcohol.
-Feel: Medium oily elixir, coating, chewy, slippery, warm.
-Overall: Head-spinning, delicious, forbidden, shame...shame.

 

Long Live truly is an incredible brewery. My office being 5 minutes from them is dangerous haha

 

Fair State Grodziskie

Appearance: Clear pale yellow, good head.

Smell: Nice smoky oak smell.

Taste: Hits with some ashy smoke right away, gives a little wheaty/bready note in the mid-palate, then finishes with a long-lasting smoke kick.

Overall: Man, I love smoky beers and this really hits the spot! Nice smoke flavor throughout, with a touch of wheat. If only there was a year-round grodziskie in 12oz cans here in MN, a guy can dream I suppose!

 

Starting the day off right with another mystery beer courtesy of @BigIronH



Pours a very dark brown with 2 fingers of frothy tan head that slowly fades to a thin cap and leaves decent lacing 4.25

The nose almost suggests some sort of fruit forward coffee, and I'm really digging it. It also could be maple. I'm not thinking barrel aged on this one. I'm picking up on aromas of sweet blueberry, maple syrup, light roast coffee, cocoa powder, vanilla bean, sticky caramel, raisin, brown sugar, and dark bread 4.5

The first taste seems to confirm my assumptions, though it is definitely way more subtle than the aroma. On the front end of the sip I'm tasting maple syrup, milk chocolate, light roast coffee, blueberry skin, dark bread, molasses, burnt caramel, light cinnamon, and vanilla. The swallow brings notes of maple syrup, blueberry compote, light roast coffee, dark toast, milk chocolate, vanilla ice cream, light caramel, and cherry 4

A medium body pairs with gentle carbonation, resulting in a slick beer. Finishes truly neutral 4

Time for the big reveal...



It's Pigeon Hill Cinna-Gram on French Toast! An Imperial Stout with maple, cinnamon, and vanilla. I'm surprised it's not from Odd Side given all that Harley sent me from that particular brewery. I was right on target with the maple being a main component of this, though I'm surprised there's no coffee, and I would have never guessed barrel aged, I didn't pick up on any barrel. I did pick up on vanilla pretty consistently but only one mention of cinnamon throughout my review and I didn't find it to be prevalent. A fun beer to start the day 4.25

 

Does your son know who Kargath Bladefist is? Its got those vibes. I definitely figured it was an orc-like creature guarding a chest of loot, but I could be as far off with that as I was with my beer guess.

 

Good afternoon friends! And to any and all veterans, thank you!!!
Started with the lowest ABV in the porch crushing box that @Rug sent, a pastry stout that is both sweet and a tasty Stout.


Poured stout black into my snifter and presented good carbonation with a proud 1” head and broken lacing.
The aroma is lost on my Covid damaged nose.
The taste is sweet, which one would expect and if I hold my mouth just right I can almost get graham crackers. The chocolate and vanilla are quite present and I expect the lactose adds a soft sweetness to it all.
The feel is thinner than I expected for a pastry stout, but by no means off putting. Drinks easily and perhaps too quickly.
OA, nice pastry stout that doesn’t ruin the base beer by overpowering it with candy.

Now my dogs are demanding my attention so back outside I go.
Back later with one of my “wants” ever since I saw it first posted here. Really looking forward to that @Rug

 

The Nothing

9.2% by Smog City Brewing

Poured from a pint can, the body poured a jet black. Creamy tan head with very good lacing.

Aroma is a delightful mix of chocolate and heavy malty char.

Taste follows nose. A hoppy bitterness enters the fray and meshes well with the lightly sweet but deep malty flavor.

Mouthfeel was very soft and carbonation was good.

An excellent stout with a welcome bitterness. Thanks to @2beerdogs for this beer!

 

Hello again beer friends, nice to see so much action this weekend. Yard work done, I have a few minutes to myself so I figured it was a good time to ponder a beer with all you fine people. This is the last of my Galicia beers, for now, and this is from the brewer's of Estrella Galicia, a premium one of their beers, they label it a doppelbock; certainly looks lighter than the German's I've had but the strength is there...

Hijos de Rivera - 1906 Red Vintage (Doppelbock 8%)



Pours clear amber, slight brown tinge to a mostly white head, fluffy, not long lasting but good retention and nice lacing too.

Nose is not much, bland; there is definitely some light DMS, this seems to be lightly present in all of their beers I've had, not off putting, in fact the opposite IMO; light sweetness paired with some lightly toasted bread notes; I'm trying hard to pick up any hop presence but it is hard to pick specifics out for me on this beer, sort of just mixes with the malt and DMS to smell "crisp" as in it has a little pop to the aroma.

The taste is rich in malt that comes off with some caramel/toffee like vibes, there is a grain, lightly astringent, bite on the finish that reminds me of nut skin; the hops are lightly spice forward in nature.

Feel is medium, rich and hefty malt presence but it does not inhibit drinkability; goes down very clean and easy, light hint of abv on the back end, just a light warming sensation at the back of the throad; low to low-medium bitterness.

It is hard for me to say I enjoyed this one but I think that is just preference, the second lagers start to veer above 5% range they tend to become off putting to me. Something about the alcohol presence without the body to support it, just never has boded well with me. It is a well made beer for sure, but just not the one for me.

---------------

No Galicia story time like last time, too tired and busy after this; I look forward to all you stout lovers posts. I do not need beer but my favorite brewery just re-released their canned Imperial Stout. I have never tried it so maybe, just maybe, I'll do something crazy and buy a big old stout 4 pack. Cheers everyone!

 

WOW, starting off this Veteran's Day weekend with a big thanks to all of the Veterans (my dad included).
And what a beer beginning! Thanks to @CarolinaCardinals for hitting me with this absolutely glorious beer.

Dreams

A beautiful, deep walnut brown hue is capped by a khaki head that looks silky smooth. Gentle wisps of lacing form scant lines.
Nose is straight up dessert. Deep chocolate, like lava cake. Hints of coffee and toasted coconut round out the nose.
The flavor goes further. The chocolate is rich and deep but not overly sweet. Toasty almond and coconut notes add another dimension. The coffee brings in some roast, but blends seamlessly with everything.
Mouthfeel is smooth, creamy, and lightly carbonated. ABV is not hinted at, which at 15% is surprising.
Overall, this one is a gem.
4.41/5 rDev -0.9%
look: 4 | smell: 4.25 | taste: 4.5 | feel: 4.5 | overall: 4.5

Thanks Tom! My Brother rolled into town and this is what we shared first.

 

Glad you like that one. My take on that one is that it's more of a classic RIS with chocolate added as opposed to the typical pastry stout approach.

 

Awesome, glad you liked Derek! And that is a perfect sharing size! Cheers!

 

Happy Birthday!
Cheers to many more

 

My second contribution to this weekend's thread - cheers!

4.31/5 rDev +1.7%
look: 4 | smell: 4.25 | taste: 4.5 | feel: 4 | overall: 4.25

Poured from a 12oz bottle into my snifter.

Opaque bistre body with a thin almond cap. Fine, broken, soapy lacing; fast-running tears. Decent retention.

Sweet, potent aromatics suffused with brown sugar, cocoa nibs, bourbon, vanilla, and hints of coconut, tobacco, and loam.

Malt balls and bourbon on the palate - mild, grassy, fleeting bitterness joins the baker's chocolate/burnt sugar/coffee notes. Finish is quite dry and sudden with hints of char. Barrel notes return in the aftertaste as you exhale. Burly yet lithe and well balanced.

Medium-full bodied, faintly oily with moderate carbonation. ABV fairly well concealed, contributing more flavor/body than heat.

Remains very drinkable with the barrel aging adding complexity without overwhelming the base beer. Excellent as usual.

 

Apostelbräu - Roggen

When I started my mission to try every beer style on BA a few years ago, one of the hardest styles to tick was Roggenbier. I think it was the third or second to last style to find (the last one was Wheatwine). Finally I happened to find one while visiting Vienna (a place that also offered me the chance to try my first Cantillon and my first Westvleteren). After that I don't believe I ever came across one.

In recent months I have been helping various BAs get their 120 styles, most notably by providing several of them with Happoshu that I brought back from Japan.

One of the most challenging styles to get remained the elusive Roggenbier. And what do you know, I found 2 different ones this week at a store not far from my work. I grabbed some for my fellow BAs and also some for myself.

The first one is Roggen by Apostelbräu, in Bavaria.

It pours a cloudy brown with a nice ring of foam. Very cloudy, and opaque. The aroma is much like of a weizen beer (the beer contains barley, wheat and obviously rye). The taste is like a Dunkelweizen but much milder, and in my books this is a good thing. The esters are just not in your face. Not too carbonated which contributes to a thicker mouthfeel but in reality it's a pretty light liquid, which you realize after you swallow it. Clean finish, which surprised me.


look: 4.25 | smell: 4.25 | taste: 4.25 | feel: 4.5 | overall: 4.25

 

thank you! cheers!!