New Beer Weekend #175

We did our big Thanksgiving celebration last night at my in-laws, with just a fraction of their large family present (just us, her parents, and her little sister+husband). It was good! It was a good Thanksgiving. We all get along really well, and all the drama and tears had already been spilled and resolved (largely related to other siblings' holiday choices), so the day was able to just be a joyful one, and errors in the kitchen were confined to their dish and didn't spiral out into a larger issue than they needed to be. Good times.
Today, the baby fell asleep in the car on our way back from the grocery store, so we drove around for two and a half hours while she slept, exploring some of the small side streets we would normally have no cause to traverse, rather than the most efficient, main road route we usually take whenever we're going anywhere around here.
Dinner was an experiment, branching into a new realm we're not really familiar with (Korean food), with dubu jorim, coconut rice, and a kale dish that's supposed to provide the nutrients the Mrs. needs. It was a resounding success. Super simple, tasty, filling...
Anyway, today I'm reaching for a flagship IPA from a brewery I've never tried before, but who I've seen grace these annals with some regularity.



Finback - Finback IPA

The pour is a very light yellow. Thin on appearance. And it's more clear than it is crisp. Nice little half finger head of white suds. Moderate retention. Nice lacing.

The nose is again light, and carries with it some citrus and a hint of floral impression. Clean crackery malts underneath.

Flavour is pleasant and a bit restrained. You see me using the word 'light' repeatedly, to be followed here with 'restrained.' And honestly, that's what this beer is. It's a throwback to a simpler time, and it's somewhat delicate. It doesn't meet the meta of IPA in the modern craft beer zeitgeist, but it harkens back a few (genre) generations. It really reminds me of some of the brews I remembered enjoying when I lived in San Francisco decades ago.
Anyway, again we have citrus and light floral character... almost an orange blossom special kind of thing, but more on the citrus side. There's a nice earthy bitterness and a bed of clean light malts.
This doesn't come out swinging, doesn't grab your face and force you to look it in the eye. Instead, it wanders aimlessly by, a vacant smile on its face that could be zen like contentment, or could be... simplicity within the skull, and seems more preoccupied taking in the few fluffy clouds in teh sky and appreciating the wildflowers than concerning itself with making a statement to you, the consumer.
I dig it.
I want to drink it on a lackadaisical warm summer day, with nothing to do but lay in the grass.

I think this would be better received if it marketed itself as an APA in the modern market (though it's higher ABV and IBUs for a traditional APA), but whatever, who cares how it's received when I can sit here with it in my glass, whatever the label?



Cheers y'all, stay safe, stay warm, make smart choices!

 

Silver Fern by Tree House Brewing Company

4.34/5 rDev -0.2%
look: 4.25 | smell: 4.5 | taste: 4.25 | feel: 4.5 | overall: 4.25

Brewers notes: New Zealand contains a kaleidoscope of changing landscapes and terrains, each peak and valley offering its own unique world. All that the sun touches is ablaze with otherworldly hues, and pink and purple mountains crest and devolve into fertile plains and thickets of dense jungle. Wandering under the shadows of these mountains and hills, the moon chasing the sun into powdery dusk, mysteries bloom against the darkness.
The Silver Fern, steeped in indigenous and modern New Zealand culture, is a sight unlike any other across the globe. The undersides of this primeval flora reflect silvery light, illuminating paths with haunting electricity and revealing trails to hunters as they are bent towards the canopy.

Silver Fern is a delicious Double IPA showcasing the magic of New Zealand's terroir when observed in the right light and wielded with proficient reverence. With a vigorous pour, Nelson and Peacharine Hops meld the sweet perfume of white grape and floral summer peach. Underneath this bouquet, Motueka bursts with sweet tropical fruits, and Waimea provides an undercurrent of citrus peel and subtle woody aromatics. We hope you enjoy this dangerously quaffable treat and ponder what treasures lie hidden in plain sight.

16 oz Canned on 11/7/23.

“Beer of the year?“

Yellowish orange hazy liquid , one finger white foam cap , streaky lacings

Aroma is orange citrus, white grape ,pineapple, lime , whiff of peach

Taste is peach, white grape, pineapple, orange

Smooth mouthfeel, soft hop kiss at the finish

Good beer

 

Received from @Rug in Stouts/Barleywines BIF#1 in an amazing box of beer.
Poured all the world like cold brew coffee with as much carbonation. Wee bit of sediment but not enough to taste.
The aroma was lost on me. Stupid Covid.
The taste though, is all dark fruit; figs and raisins and plums. Leather and spices follow up the fruit and oaky flavors round out the finish.
The feel is viscous, almost chewy. Almost perfect for the style.
OA, amazing old ale. I really need to try more of them.

 

Boulevard Rested Reserve 2X Barrel Aged Wheated Imp Stout, 12.0% ABV; 4.45 overall

Pours like 10K miles motor oil with a sliver of tan head. Viscous, some lacing, zero head retention

S: Carob, cocoa, plums, Li Hing Mui as well & dark cherry, hints of tobacco

T: Plenty of the nose, very dry, oaky as all get out, a little bit of Spelt there too, plus peery rye barrel burn up front. Dark cherry, plums, leafy hops, oakyness , a touch of salt that still makes me thin Li Hing Mui as this beer warms through & some red wine flavors as well. Just a little tannic flavor floating around, plus some leather dryness. Finishes with oaky dryness, a touch of Whisky peatyness, figs, plums & dark cherries, treacle & a little char

MF: Very chewy, restrained carbonation, warming. Carbonation picks up once warm

Barrel is restrained, but on point on this one, plenty of classic flavor profiles melding well with the wood. A sipper, super complex

 

I promised this revisit earlier, but got distracted by football & drinking Southern Tier Warlock Imperial Pumpkin Stout sent to me by the awesome @jzeilinger See my previous review below. Overall I would rate this slightly lover than the overall 4.0 I gave it then. Most of this review rings true, but need more body to go with these flavors to actually enjoy them

Pours an effervescent, crimson hued mahogany with 2+ fingers of billowy tan head. Nice viscosity,
faint lacing , no head retention (2.5)

S: Squash, pumpkin, nutmeg, cinnamon & allspice, great! (4.75)

T: Nutmeg, faint metallic notes, woody hops, & faint pumpkin up front. Squashyness, brown sugar &
cinnamon, plus micro-notes of roastyness as this warms, some charred notes also, a little caramel too.
Finishes with squashyness, nutmeg, vanilla, & woody hop notes, a little dryness, but rich enough,
that I dig this (4.25)

MF: Medium bodied, firm carbonation, thins out as this warms (3.5)

Drinks great, but wish it had a little more stout to it, I loved what Cape May's did years ago...
(4.0)

 

I absolutely loved this one, seems like you did too!

 

Praline Porter. Tasty beer from Odd Sides Ales. Good praline and hazelnut flavor without masking the solid malty, smoky porter. Easy drinking beer shared with me by a friend. Will have to search for this one. Cheers.

 

Oh yeah. Really wish Tavour (sp?) shipped to Michigan. The stuff is brewed here but I have never seen anything from there except IPAs in the wild.

 

Good morning US BAs and good afternoon our Euro brethern! Off to a sunny start for this post-Turkey Day sunday - all my leaves finished burning overnight. Today's cross-post with WBAYDN:


(After stripping the extraneous add-ons)

Bourbon County Brand Backyard Stout (2023) – from Goose Island. Acquired 24/11/23 from Franklin Beer, Franklin, PA. $ 13.50 (Including tax)/500 mL bottle, $ 0.799/fl oz. Reviewed 26/11/23 (Review 3179). Note that I use DD/MM/YY protocol.
Bottle is dated “11OCT28” on front of the label. On room temperature shelf at the store, stored at 34 degrees at home. Served at 56.8 degrees F in a hand washed and dried Jester King snifter. The final temperature was 59.3 degrees F.
Appearance – 4.
First pour – Amber Brown (SRM 18), light barely penetrates.
Body – Black (SRM 40), opaque. Under direct light, same. When rear-lite, same with light penetration at the edges only, red amber at the bottom and green earth at the top edge.
Head: Average (Maximum 2.5 cm, aggressive center pour), brown sugar, high density and fizzy, dropping to a 0.5 mm crown and no cap.
Lacing – Poor. Just a short, narrow line of tiny bubbles.
Aroma – 4 – Weak whiskey and generic berry aroma. No hops, no yeast.
Flavor – 3.5 – Begins cloyingly sweet with berries and whiskey. No yeast, no hops. No dimethylsulfide or diacetyl. Moderate gastric warming.
Palate – 4 – Full; creamy; moderate carbonation.
Final impression and summation: 3.75 Leaves my lips sticky – too sweet. Can’t say I’ve ever eaten mulberries, but I have at least had boysenberries and marionberries, albeit in jam but never in their natural state, so I can’t really attest to the accuracy of the flavor. To me, it’s just a sugary berry mess, like a kids’ cereal. Seems like a waste of barrels. Maybe one and done, may be a drain pour…
Rating 3.75, rDev -10.5%

ps: I finished the glass/bottle, but it didn't improve.

 

Enjoyed this bottle of Proclivity from Suarez last night but forgot to post. Decided to watch Band of Brothers for the first time with my wife out of town this week and was too lazy to get off the couch to type up my post.


3.7/5 rDev -13.3%
look: 3.75 | smell: 3.75 | taste: 3.75 | feel: 3.25 | overall: 3.75
2019 bottle. Pours an extremely clear apple juice color with fizzy white head. Aroma is lots of earthy funk with hints of lemongrass. Taste mostly follows the nose. Not all that tart, but some nice funk and lemon zest. Very light and easy to drink. A touch under carbonated. Overall, if you're into saisons you'll likely enjoy this one.

Hopefully back soon with a morning beer.

 

Transient Kentuckley Derbly. Imperial Stout aged in Weller Whiskey Barrels with double Vanilla, double Tugboat Coffee, and double Michigan Maple Syrup.

Pours pitch black with a finger of reddish mocha head that dissipates quickly and leaves nothing behind. 4.25

As expected, aromas bring big roasted coffee, vanilla, and maple. The bourbon barrel comes through with your basic notes of oak and bourbon. Accompanying aromas of marshmallow, chocolate chip cookie, and caramel. Smells sweet and decadent. 4.5

Taste is big on all of the adjuncts: creamy vanilla, sweet maple, and roasty coffee. The coffee and barrel bring some balance to the sweetness, with the barrel delivering drying oak tannin, char, and bourbon spirit. Brownie, marshmallow, caramel, roasted malt, and slight nondescript fruitiness round it all out. 4.5

High medium body. Creamy, slick, plenty sticky, oily. 4.5

The adjuncts shine in this one as you'd expect given it's double the typical additions to regular Kentuckley. The barrel still manages to come through though to add some much-needed balance. This is typical Transient stout execution. 4.5
Aggregate Score: 4.49

 

My morning beer for this Sunday comes courtesy of @Ozzylizard in a previous BIF. This is Bourbon County Brand Classic Cola Stout from 2021.

Good looking beer, although stouts all look more or less the same to me, especially once in the glass. This had a nice reddish tinge on the pour, and it maintains a nice thin beige ring. The nose steps things up a notch. It's rich and boozy with some nice vanilla notes.

I'm not sure what I expected this to taste like, but it wasn't this. It didn't smell much different than base BCBS, but the flavor profile on this one is definitely different. My first impression was how smooth it was, with a really pleasant alcohol warming on the finish. As my palate has adjusted, this absolutely has some "cola" vibes, particularly on the finish. I taste the base stout, but the amalgamation of the other ingredients creates a unique taste. A little bit of lime is the only individual note I can pick out.

Overall, very enjoyable and unique beer.

 

Back from 5 days in Iowa with the folks for Thanksgiving, brought back some Iowa beer:
West O Smoked Red Ale:



Appearance: Clear dark amber, ok head.

Smell: Some maltiness, a little metal note.

Taste: Starts with some toasted bread, low sweetness. Continues toasty and maybe a hint of spice. Maybe a little touch of smoke in the finish but mostly stays toast/light roast flavor.

Overall: Picked up a 6 pack while in Iowa for Thanksgiving, hoping for a smoky treat. Not as much smoke as I was hoping for, but a very interesting beer with both low sweetness and low hoppiness. “Red ales” without those characteristics are usually boring to me, but this one is interesting.

 

Welcome everyone to New Beer Sunday #979! Closing out the weekend with a new to my style (Gruit / Ancient Herb Style) which I hope to enjoy from a brewery I've enjoyed in the past. Staying indoors with the second snow, first will possible day plus accumulation without melting, of the season.

Scratch Single Tree Hickory



Bottle Notes: Undated bottle purchased refrigerated from The Beer Temple on 3/25/23 for $19.84. Kept refrigerated until opening this morning. 16.91 oz, 5.8 ABV, brewed and bottled by Scratch Brewing Company, Ava, Illinois.

Bottle-Conditioned sour ale brewed without hops. Bittered and flavored with hickory leaves, nuts, hills and bark, all harvested from our property, and fermented with our wild house mixed culture.

Appearance: Poured about half the bottle into a stemmed Teku glass. Clear tan orange base, generous egg white bubbly head for a minute or two before leaving faint cover over a small portion of the base. Heavy sustained carbonation. 4.25

Aroma: Nice bold aroma immediately after opening, sour tart lemon, peach, pair and a nice smokey fire essence I don't recall experiencing with a beer before. After warming a bit, the smokey notes take charge like Charles. Loving this! 4.75

Taste: Consistent with the aroma, including the lightly sour tart lemon shortly giving way to a heavy smoky flavor like a Grodziskie. Sour tart fruit to smoke with each sip. Burning wood and leaves. A very unique experience. 4.5

Mouthfeel: Medium crisp body, sustained light prickly carbonation. Drinks very light and easy, but the smokiness is very strong and would have liked a bit more balance here. Light easy drinking in terms of ABV, wood smoke fire lingers on the finish, though with a nice tart sweet lemon along for the ride. 4.25

Overall: This is a very smoky beer which is great for a trip around the block a few times a year based on the price and intensity. Simply amazing how they brew this. I expected a wood flavor but not the smoke. If I were to tweak anything, it would be a bit more balance. That said, I love smokey beers, and this is a fun unique experience that I look forward to finishing with hot wings in the oven. Don't have a basis for rating against this style or type of beer, but it's a very enjoyable offering by Scratch, need to hit their brewery on my next road trip. 4.5

Time to catch up on the weekend posts and start planning for next weekend. Cheers!

 

This is an easy drinking brew for its ABV. A basic and tasty IPA. Cheers!
Blacklist Harbor Hop IPA 7% ABV
3.97/5 rDev 0%
look: 4 | smell: 3.75 | taste: 4 | feel: 4.25 | overall: 4
16 oz can into a shaker pint glass
L: SRM 2 Pours a lightly clouded light caramel color with a 1/3" foamy & rounded white head that has very good retention, very good steady carbonation bubbles, thick frothy lacing with rhythmic patterns.
S: Caramelized malts, a hint of cookie dough, light grains.
T:Orange, tangerine, caramelized candied malts, background grains. Has a light hop bite and is mildly rich & tangy. Fruity, resinous, long lingering finish.
F: Moderately crisp medium to medium-light bodied feel with a long smooth slightly drying finish.
O: A gently full-flavored and lightly robust American IPA that has zest and is hop forward. No alcohol detected. Vibrant and alive with a slightly smooth finish. It is very good to excellent in its style.

 

Goose Island Bourbon County Backyard Stout, 12.9% ABV. Pours thick and reddish black, with a 1.5 finger brown head that left no lacing. Aroma is berry and chocolate. Flavor is berry jam, chocolate and toffee/caramel, moderately sweet and slightly tart. Decent mouthfeel, whatever the hell that means, overall excellent. I don't hate it.

4.33/5 rDev +2.6%
look: 4.25 | smell: 4.25 | taste: 4.5 | feel: 4 | overall: 4.25

I fully expected to dislike this, but it's excellent. Not overly tart, and I seem to be the only one that's tasting toffee/caramel.

 

Thanks for the start @lordofthewiens
I want to share about a topnotch Quad that @Rug sent me.
Truth be told, I don't usually crave most of the Belgian ales. But when I do, a quad or a Dubbel is usually what I lean toward. So I appreciate receiving this gem that was both tasty and reminding me to step out of my familiar haunts more often.

Straffe Hendrik Quadrupel
Thanks to Rug for sending me this gem.
Pours a deep garnet hue. Sandy head is both fluffy and milky. Light lacing.
Nose is rich. Deep brown bread notes, dates, toffee, a fruitiness that hints at port barrel, charred sugar and a light floral spice.
Flavor takes all of this and surges forward. Begins with a tempting blend of the deep, dark brown bread and the richer malt notes: dates, toffee, & caramel. Then a graceful transition to the dark fruit esters: prune, again a mild port note, and stewed apples that would be light on the cinnamon. Finally, the phenols bring a nuanced spice and hint of smoke.
Fairly active carbonation feel, medium heft, slightly dry, and gently warm.
Overall, this is one tempting Quad.
4.27/5 rDev +2.6%
look: 4.25 | smell: 4 | taste: 4.5 | feel: 4 | overall: 4.25

 

Last beer for the weekend for me is Barrel Aged Framinghammer - S'Mores from Jack's Abby.

3.4/5 rDev -19.2%
look: 3.75 | smell: 3 | taste: 3.5 | feel: 3.5 | overall: 3.5
Nice looking beer with plenty of tan colored head with excellent retention and lacing. Aroma isn't bad, isn't good, it basically isn't there. Surprisingly little to work with. Up close there are some faint roast notes, but there's not much going on here. Taste is similarly unremarkable. It tastes like a normal Baltic porter, with roasted malts and faint barrel, but very little that would make me thing "S'mores". It's a good beer, just not as I expected. In its defense, I think this has been in my cellar for a couple years, so maybe it's faded.

Overall, enjoyable Baltic porter, but nothing to seek out. 12% ABV is very well hidden.

 

My first English Dark Mild Ale, Proper by Stellwagen Beer Company. This is the 2nd review for this highly session-able and enjoyable Dark Ale. Cheers.

4.07/5 rDev -3.8% | Average: 4.23
look: 3.75 | smell: 4.25 | taste: 4 | feel: 4.25 | overall: 4
An average pour released a finger of creamy/soapy tan foam with long retention, large bubbles group together forming a rocky raft. Spots and blotches of lacing remain. Hazy (I see my fingers) dark chestnut body with copper highlights.

Toasted bready malt greets the nose with a hint of roasted character. Toffee, coffee and chocolate with some toasted and raw grain round out the smell. Hop aroma is mild, herbal and floral.

Neutral taste with low bitterness at first, chocolate up front followed by toffee then coffee. A toasted nutty taste appears featuring filberts along with raisin and baked pear. The finish is slightly dry with bitterness rising to medium, malt and grain flavors slowly drop off with hop flavor lasting into the mildly bitter aftertaste.

Medium-light bodied (on the lighter side) with soft and lasting carbonation, smooth feel, very easy to quaff. Alcohol is barely noticeable. True to style, except it could have been clearer and a little less bitter. Not much different than a low ABV English Brown Ale, that said, I must have more.

Canned on 10/12/23