New Beer Weekend #182

Exactly. Sand between the toes and a cold one of these totally works every time.

 

I was horrified when I found it. Thinking major faux pas on my part to disrespect a generous gift like that. But like I said, it was delish and still had carbonation. Thanks Again!

 

I guess the stars are aligned this week for popping well aged (in my case over aged) beers. The beer gods are smiling upon us.

 

I’ve seen it since late last year at multiple places throughout the state fyi.

 

Geburtstagskranz By The Bruery
9.5% stout aged in bourbon barrels with vanilla and cacao nibs and tart cherries added.

Poured from the bottle, the color is dark black with light brown head. Good lacing during the tasting.

Very fragrant bourbon aroma as soon as the bottle was opened. Add wafts of chocolate

Taste follows nose as the bourbon is front and center. ABV is felt a bit though the bourbon is never hot. The cherries balance the vanilla, malt and bourbon with a light tartness. As the stout warms, the cherry flavor amplifies and its sweetness is expressed. Finish dries up rather quickly.

Soft mouthfeel with good carbonation.

A big stout whose best fit is for fans of tart cherries. I am one and enjoyed this one very much.

Kudos to @2beerdogs for this stout as part of BIF stouts and barleywines #1.

 

Old Irving Trail Buddies, an added junk laden stout if there ever was one!
3.09/5 rDev -23.3%
look: 4.5 | smell: 3 | taste: 2.75 | feel: 4 | overall: 3
Thick, black oily looking pour, small brown head leaves a bit of lacing. Nose reminds me of artificial peanut flavored candy I hated as a kid, some chocolate and nuts and graham crackers. Taste buds agree. Thick'n chewy, smooth, creamy, easy drinking at @12.5%. This is a sickly sweet disaster. Label should read "Imperial Pastry Stout".

 

Goose Island 2023 Eagle Rare BCBS, 14.5% ABV; 4.52

Pours an effervescent mahogany with a pinky of mocha colored head. Not a lot of head retention or lacing

S: Dark fruits, pipe tobacco& boozy barrel, leafy hops at room temperature

T: Follows the nose, along with dark chocolate, woody hops, & a touch of barrel burn up front. Dark chocolate, vanilla, a touch of coconut, plus mellow Bourbon as this beer warms up, a little caramel as well, oaky dryness as well. Finishes with a little caramel, barrel warmth, & a touch of caramel mocha

MF: Chewy body, restrained carbonation, warming, body thins a touch as this beer warms up

Super drinkability for the style, loving the flavor balance on this. Great beer, but not ponying up for this again this price

 

Back for another new-to-me SoCal IPA - very good - cheers!

4.26/5 rDev +2.4%
look: 4.5 | smell: 4 | taste: 4.25 | feel: 4.25 | overall: 4.5

Packaged on December 27, 2023 - consumed on January 14, 2024 - poured from a pint can into my Dogfish Head shaped pint glass.

Lightly cloudy amber to gold gradient with a fat fist of dense ivory up top. Excellent retention, thick, sticky tendrils of lace.

Resinous, lightly spicy/floral aroma with candied ginger, tangerine, lime, and faint tropical notes (guava?) as well. Restrained yet inviting.

Bright, fruit-forward, gently floral palate entry. Moderate but persistent bitterness alongside a complex array of hop flavors offset with a clean crackery malt bill leading into a mineral-laden (hints of white wine grapes) dry finish. Some residual earthy/herbal flavors.

Medium-bodied, creamy, yet zesty and well carbonated. Lightly warming/hearty yet refreshing.

Another wonderful seasonal variation from Pizza Port - lots of synergy going on with the hops (Citra/Idaho 7 for fruit; Loral for herbal/earthy notes, and Mosaic to tie everything together?) with a lean clean backbone.

 

I had it on draft at the brewery and I didn't pick up any of the funk character you described. It drank like a pretty traditional bock to me, hitting the right deep malt notes I like in the style while still maintaining high drinkability. I wouldn't expect funk character in a bock - I'm guessing you got an infected can?

 

A Czech dark lager named Nighted, from Levante.

16oz can served in a footed pilsner glass. Stamp on the bottom says, "BEND THE NEE! #1525 14:38". Got it from @Braunmeister_1943 in a trade.

Pours black with a medium+ head that settles into a thick skin that climbs the walls of the glass. Plenty of active carbonation, visible at arm's length. Beer is translucent where it's thin enough, but definitely not through the main body. Smell is roasted coffee, subtle hint of something in between maple and molasses sweetness.

Taste is much more on the sweet side, not sure I would use maple or molasses to describe it. Maybe a dark honey? Coffee and roast is certainly not lost, though, they're quite strong, just not the main theme anymore. Late in the flavor there's a nice clear grainy note.

Mouthfeel is just on the heavier side of light; smooth and clean. Overall, I'm impressed, this is quite good.

 

Our son is visiting and he wanted Zombie Dust (as a very young beer nerd, he had ZD before he even had Budweiser), so it’s a ZD night - and I’ve never properly reviewed ZD despite having enjoyed its charms for a decade+, so here we go.

PS: we picked this up at the brewery yesterday on our way home from O’Hare, so it’s very fresh (bottled 12/12/23), which is critical for this Citra-hopped beer.





4.5/5 rDev -1.5%
look: 4.5 | smell: 4.5 | taste: 4.5 | feel: 4.5 | overall: 4.5
Pours an unfiltered orange color with a fluffy white head that positively clings to the glass like Velcro to a sweater. Gorgeous APA.

The nose is all about the Citra hops, with a savory melange of tangerine, apricot, peach, and mango aromas, plus a smidge of caramalt for balance. This is gonna be fantastic.

The taste is really citrus forward as expected, with the delicious tangerine flavors up front, with the mango and apricot following, and a bit of peach, but I’ve always thought it was the malt balance that made this beer - and kept it in the APA category. Such a treat.

The mouthfeel is medium and drying, perfect for this beer. World class beer, IMHO, especially when it’s fresh (30 days or less from the bottling/canning date).

 

And just one new brew for me today, The Bruery's Third Course was a good one:

https://www.beeradvocate.com/beer/profile/16866/676909/?ba=bluejacket74#lists





Maybe another new one tomorrow if NBW is still open for the holiday weekend here. Cheers!

 

Happy NBS!

Having a very nice American Barleywine Style Ale, 13.2%. Kinda surprised me, this style from this brewery, had to try it. Very nice, dark fruit complex, whiskey/oak, vanilla, licorice.

Cheers!
https://www.beeradvocate.com/beer/profile/27645/676865/?ba=Wasatch#lists

 

Good evening NBS denizens!
Dealing with back to back snow storms takes a lot of work. Have to get some additional calories for the effort!

Poured stout black with a dark brown and briefly lived head of foam, very little lacing. Must have been an off bottle as most are reporting good foam and lacing.
The taste is coffee and cocoa with some hops riding herd on the malts. Not bitter at all, but not soft chocolate malt either, a nice, solid, nothing fancy, non imperial stout.
The feel is more carbonated than I expected from the lack of foam, but it doesn’t detract from the flavor, just unexpected.
OA, I think I could drink a 6 pack if I had bought one, but I don’t think I would go buy more.
Cheers all, I’ll be back for at least one more tonight.

 

Single Hill - Tempest, a barrel aged sour ale with peaches.

12oz can served in a snulip. Can is dated April '23.

Pours a slightly hazy peach-amber color with a very small head that dissipates quickly and leaves a thin ring of fine head. Smell is very tart, slight white wine and oak, and lots of peach / stonefruit.

Taste is very tart, lots of peach, both over- and under-ripe. Peach skin, some chardonnay butteriness, a little bit of pineapple juice.

Mouthfeel is dry and light. Overall, pretty good.

 

Welcome to New Beer Sunday #986!

Typically I rate beers first and the post in WBAYDN, but I did this in reverse order. This was comped at our favorite Thai Restaurant, Archi’s.

Sapporo Premium Beer



Bottle notes: 4.9% ABV 12 oz bottle, could not determine the bottle date.

Appearance: Crystal clear light straw base, light carbonation, generous bright white head lingers for a few minutes before leaving a thin layer over the base. 3.25

Aroma: Crisp malt aroma, lager yeast, hope crisp and fresh. Very nice. 3.5

Taste: Consistent with the aroma, sharp cracker taste, nice lager yeast. Malt hops and yeast work well giving a solid crisp lager. 3.75

Mouthfeel: Lightly dry, light crisp thin body. Drinks lighter than the 4.9% ABV, hops and malt linger well on the finish. 3.75

Overall: This is a solid lager, hits my preferred taste profile, crisp clean and refreshing. Will order with confidence in the future. 3.75

Will likely be back with more later tonight.

 

Greetings. I'm late to the party this weekend as I was visiting family down in Philly and just got home a little bit ago, just in time to watch the Packers finish off the Cowboys. The Eagles may suck, but at least the Cowboys choked in the playoffs yet again, so the season has not been a total failure.

Anyway, my first new beer of the day comes courtesy of @Coronaeus. This is Saison du Coteau - Marquette from Robin - Bier Naturelle, and it's fantastic.

4.25/5 rDev 0% (Added beer to database)
look: 4 | smell: 4.5 | taste: 4.25 | feel: 3.75 | overall: 4.25
This beer absolutely exploded when I uncapped it. I'm talking beer all over me, the counter, even the nearby toaster. Oddly, it wasn't a gusher after that initial explosion. It was simply champing at the bit to be opened. A careful pour ended up with an amber colored beer with loads of fizzy white head, and an overall attractive appearance.

Aroma is wonderful. Very aromatic, with earthy funk bursting from the glass. I'm not sure if Brett is used in this or not, but it sure smells like it. Nice grape must rounds things out, with the overall result a wonderful hard to describe aroma that I love.

Whereas on the nose the grapes complement the Saison funk, on the tongue they are more evenly balanced, with the grapes almost leading the way. The funk is more discrete, as is the earthiness. Light and easy to drink.

Overall, this is very, very nice. Super tasty and easy going down.

 

Southern tier mokah
...motor oil black appearance with fading thin tan head.
...medium light carbonation with a thick creamy body. Carbonation is just a tad bit distracting but overall a great feel.
....aroma is no surprise, a mix of black coffee,milk and dark chocolate to the point of almost being like decadent brownies .theres malt,roasted malt, with some chocolate pastry.
...flavor is as rich and decadent as the aroma with just a bit of bitterness thats really nice along with a mild alcohol burn.
...overall its more of a dessert beer but on a night where its about to drop in the teens its working really well