New Beer Weekend #175

Troegs The Naked Elf - When I saw that this was being released in the holiday mixed pack I was excited, as I've always wanted to try this and it sounds more up my alley than The Mad Elf, which I enjoy but can be a bit much for me by the end of the glass because as it warms it gets a bit sweet and I can really taste how big the beer is.

This is ME minus the cherries, honey and chocolate malt and is 8.2% vs ME's 11%, canned on 09/28 and FB 02/20/24. I'll be brief: this is an excellent Belgian and I would gladly drink again, it lives up to the marketing and it's ME minus those things and in turn a little dryer, not as big, dark and not as sweet; the Belgian characteristics are more pronounced than ME, which can get drowned out a bit by the other ingredients. This is also missing the touch of metallic [when it is colder] I get from ME that I've seen other reviewers comment on also. Good stuff, would gladly drink again and most likely will before the season ends.

 

Good afternoon NBW
I picked this up yesterday at the sketchy time machine bottle shop.

Timothy Taylor Landlord

500mL bottle stamped L2306 poured into a tulip pint glass at fridge temp 4.1% ABV per label. The beer pours opaque brownish copper with light khaki head. The head recedes to a thin ring and island. Minimal lacing. The aroma is mild with sweet malt and tea like hops. The taste is semisweet pale malt with notable orchard fruit yeast influence and black tea like hop flavor on the moderately bitter finish. The mouthfeel is medium bodied with just less that average carbonation and a mostly dry finish. Overall, good. This bottle was purchased at room temperature yesterday and is presumably 13 months old. I would jump at the chance to sample fresh as all the ingredients seem to be there.

Cheers all!

 

Pecan Porter, from 512 Brewing.

12oz bottle served in a tulip. Packed 01/06/23. Got it in a trade with @MrSandman101.

Pours black or very dark brown, big head, maybe two fingers tall. Head collapses but leaves a thick, dark tan, half-centimeter cap. Smell is toasty, nutty, sweet, roast. Maybe raisins.

Taste is nicely on the roasty / chocolate side. A little smoke gets up the back of the nose. Dark, sweet bread.

Mouthfeel is rich and smooth. Overall, nice porter.

 

Bloomin blonde ale.
...a nice attractive light gold appearance
...around medium carbonation with a slightly thin body but overall still had a nice feel.
...aroma isn't overpowering but theres malt,bread,cereal and just a little bit of earthy hops.
...taste is very similar to aroma,pleasing but again not overpowering.
...overall it was a decent beer that was a good match for the food served.
I may not be clear completely as its been days around in-laws and at first this tasted like the best beer I've had in years.so take my opinion with a grain of salt

 

Back for one more - salud!

3.79/5 rDev -1.8%
look: 3.5 | smell: 3.75 | taste: 3.75 | feel: 4.25 | overall: 3.75

Packaged on October 4th, 2023 - enjoyed on November 26th, 2023 - poured from a pint can into my Samuel Smith nonic.

Clear russet to seal brown body with bright auburn/sinopia highlights. Soft soapy head recedes to a light surface slick and collar. Fine sandy lacing; milquetoast retention.

Toast and coffee in the nose - smooth and inviting.

Pancake batter, caramel, and Mexican hot chocolate on the palate with cinnamon and low earth hop notes emerging at times. Medium finish, with the malt subsumed under the adjuncts. It seems more sweet than it actually is. The coffee helps add some bitterness and complexity for balance.

Creamy, medium-light bodied, ABV well concealed, gentle carbonation.

Best consumed fresh as once the coffee falls off I think the flavor will be too one-dimensional. Enjoyable enough, but more of a "flavored beverage" than a traditional ale - alas.

 

Always glad to see more Texas beers reviewed here. 512 Pecan Porter has always been a favorite for me. Unfortunately, like your bottled date. I can never find their packaged stuff very fresh though

 

Poured into a 13 oz Teku glass canned with in the last 3 weeks for sure. Pours an attractive hazy orange yellow with a two finger sticky slightly off white head that leaves thick streaks lace with excellent retention. 4.5

Aroma is bold cantaloupe, guava, passionfruit, mango, mandarin, and apricot. 4.5

Taste follows cantaloupe, guava, passionfruit, mango, mandarin, and apricot. Balanced with massive flavor. 4.5

Mouthfeel is big, soft gentle carbonation, maybe a tad sticky, and at 9.4% it goes down extremely easy especially with the huge flavor. 4.75

Overall I am digging this one a lot. I would recommend for sure. 4.5

 

Alright continuing my tour of my new beer region, I am reaching for my second ever Trillium brew (following the Pot + Kettle - Vanilla that I had... last week? Someat' like that). I love love the concept behind the street (and later avenue) series. It's sentimental and cheesey and all intertwined and that's right up my alley.



Trillium - Mass Ave

The pour is completely opaque, and the colour is like a slightly less orange nectarine. There's a small off white foam that never really builds, but stays as a light powdering throughout. Decent retention.

Nose has chalky citrus and bruised fruit. It's overall quite a bit fainter than I expected.

Flavour is pleasant and fairly rich. There's a lot of pineapple and apricot and a bit of lime and some underripe peach. A little bit of alcohol to the finish and a lot of that sickly bitter/sweet character that I often get with dry hopping and honestly find somewhat offputting. As it warms, the peach and apricot come further to the forefront.

The finish is very much that oversaturated sickly bitter/sweet character I mention above that also kind of never really sits well in my stomach. I'm in the wrong region for my IPA preferences. It's richly oily-ly bitter. The bitterness is a blend of like peach skin, slight citrus, and pine sap. The body is medium thick and moderately carbonated.



Cheers!

 

Old Irving Krampus Cookies 2023 BA Milk Stout aged in Willet, 1792 and Basil Hayden Barrels..

3.42/5 rDev -18.2%
look: 4.25 | smell: 4 | taste: 3 | feel: 4 | overall: 3
Almost jet black, thick'n oily big brown head is gone in a flash. Big boozy aroma, chocolate, vanilla. Flavors match the aroma plus some milk sugar/lactose. Poured at fridge temp the beer was fine, as it warmed it got ridiculously sweet. Smooth creamy mouthfeel, lingering sweetness. Too much vanila and cocoa, cut the lactose.

....way too sweet, I need a Centennial to cleanse my palate.....

 

Bourbon County Brand (Reserve) Stout aged for two years in ten year Eagle Rare Bourbon Barrels:



Black pour at 53° with ruby edges; very good cap retention; solid ring; soapy lace; thick minus legs on swirl. Semi sweet bourbon nose; boozy retro nasal. Bourbon chocolate entry; light spicy oak; cherry | tannic flavors on backend. Smooth feel, viscous body, yet not adjuncty; light carbonation; alcohol burn on tip of tongue; warmth in mouth from 14.5% abv; dry barrel finish. Overall, well balanced base/barrel; light body for abv; a tasty sipper.

4.5 | 4.25 | 4.5 | 4.5 | 4.5

Is it great? IMO no. Is good? Absolutely! Is it worth $35.99 before tax? No, IMO.

Cheers gang!

 

New beer #2
Sketchy bottle shop strikes again. I have no rational reason to have bought this beer, just curious

Avery Ale to the Chief

22oz bottled 07-17-16 poured into a tulip glass at fridge temp 8.1% ABV. The beer pours opaque medium amber with khaki colored head. The head recedes to a thin ring and small island. Minimal lacing. The aroma is mild with toffee coated cardboard and a hint of piney/citrus. The taste is semisweet oxidized caramel malt with fading pine and citrus. Moderate bitterness. Mouthfeel is medium bodied with average carbonation and a mostly dry finish. Overall, not great. This strong ale wasn't intended to sit in a bottle shop for 7+ years...

Cheers all!

 

Day 4, back home from Mrs O’s sister’s house, a quick one and done before we go out to dinner. This beer fits this weekend’s theme. Happy Thanksgiving weekend, everyone.





4.35/5 rDev +2.8%
look: 4.25 | smell: 4.25 | taste: 4.5 | feel: 4.25 | overall: 4.25
Pours a very hazy peach color with a delightfully creamy white head that is sticky. Beautiful beer. The nose is bigly with ripe peaches, mango, pineapple, and grapefruit. Very nice.

I love peaches, so the fully developed peach flavor is very welcome on the taste, and the mango, pineapple, grapefruit that follow and nice bit of sweet oats at the back of the palate are appreciated. This is crushingly drinkable for an 8% ABV beer.

The mouthfeel is full and soft, as expected with Tree House juice bombs. Another welcome addition to that burgeoning family of beers.

 

Drinking this very good 24 months x 4 different bourbon barrel stout while watching the Bills play. This is called Black Lava Baklava by Lavery Brewing Company and was sent to me by @Ozzylizard.

This one has a huge bourbon barrel nose. There is nice bourbon burn but it is quickly put out by the lactose in this which makes it feel like a nice dessert beer. I pick up the cherries in it for sure. This was a pleasant surprise, I thought it would be my least favorite out of the group of beers he sent me but turns out to be one of my favorite so far.

 

Cozy

9.2% Baltic porter by Treehouse

Poured from a pint can, the body is a very dark brown with a good fluffy initial head. Good lacing.

Nose is a mix of charred malt and a light roasted coffee.

Taste is the malty char, bold and up front. A wee hint of chocolate is present but it offers an unsweetened note. The mix is a welcoming blend of strong flavors that masks the high ABV.

Mouthfeel is soft and smooth. Carbonation is strong.

Very good porter that embraces the style much to my happiness.

 

Finally time to sit back and enjoy a beer with you all; thanks for sharing your beers all weekend long! Now I can finally add one too.

A dreary cold night, tree is perfect lighting for this night. All of us mentally preparing to go back to reality of work tomorrow after a nice little break. Gonna be a long week but it’s what we do and it’ll be next weekend before we know it.

Today’s beer courtesy of my BIL, a gift from his visit to Mill’s River, a beer that scares me but I will do what I can with it. Seems about perfect for the night, weather, Sunday and all…

Sierra Nevada - Barrel Aged Narwhal (Imperial Stout 11.9%)



This one pours thick and black; the quick rising head caught me off guard, nice light brown creamy and frothy looking, settles kind of quick but leaves nice thick film thah lingers.

The nose is very rich in dark chocolate, fudge like; some alcohol tinkles my sinuses, a bite of dry oak, very light coconut like; and charred wood.

Taste is again heavy on the chocolate; like dark fudge brownies dipped in bourbon, without all the sweetness, noticeable oak tannin presence, nice balanced dose of roast on the finish.

This beer is in incredibly smooth for how big it is; big body with almost zero alcohol hint, it is there but negligible, nice little bit of bitterness on the finish with a nice low carbonation.

This is a very well made beer, it show’s remarkable balance and isn’t overdone in anyway. A remarkably smooth sipping beer.

———————

Have a great week everyone see you in 5 days time

 

All right I'm back again after work, and it's time for a beer. I was thinking a lot today about which one I was going to pop open, and decided on this one.


Practitioner Of Duck Art Volume 1.666 - Oliphant Brewing - Somerset, WI American Imperial Stout - 13.5% ABV

I've had the previous version of this beer, this one has been aged in 2 barrels and blended. This blending really showed up in the flavor. It seemed when the barrel component came into the mix, it was different layers of flavor, from different barrels. This is damn good in my book.

Review:
https://www.beeradvocate.com/beer/profile/36484/680453/

4.3/5 rDev 0%
look: 4 | smell: 4.5 | taste: 4.25 | feel: 4.25 | overall: 4.25
From a 16oz can purchased at the brewery.

This beer is pitch black in color, and looks somewhat thick while pouring. There's no light at all shining through the glass. The head that formed is 1 finger and brown in color. Not too long lasting, but that's expected from the ABV. There's no lacing on the glass, just a ring around the edge of the glass.
The aroma is so full of barrel notes. Lots of rich caramel and toffee. Nice bit of chocolate, vanilla, and dark fruit also shows up in the aroma mix. Faint boozy aroma.
Taste - The flavor is nice and layered. and as the layers come together, they mix, and add to each other. Dark fruit starts it out. The vanilla, chocolate, caramel and toffee seem to hit next. The finish adds the barrel flavor to the mix. The barrel flavor seems to me to be a 2 hit, from two different barrels. No, I can't say what barrels were used, but I do like it.
Fairly thick body. Full and smooth feeling. Somewhat of a burn on the backside, though the smoothness of the beer balances out the burn.
Tasty beer and very well made.


I think I'm done with new beers this weekend after this one. I'll see you all next weekend. Cheers!