New Beer Weekend #182

North Coast - Brother Thelonious.


3.99/5 rDev +4.5%
look: 3.75 | smell: 4 | taste: 4 | feel: 4 | overall: 4

Poured from a 12oz bottle into a stemmed tulip

The beer pours a muddy brown with about a fingers worth of tan head that recedes slowly leaving behind a small amount of lacing.

The aroma is sweet with dark fruit, raisins, molasses, brown sugar, caramel, and a nice yeastiness.

Taste is similar to the nose; sweet with dark fruit, raisins, molasses, caramel, yeast and a nice earthiness. Medium bodied and mild carbonation, lingering aftertaste with a slightly dry fiinish.

Overall this is a very nice beer, and it is one that I would love to revisit

 

Joining you all tonight with another @snaotheus beer…got my cold night walk in, now time to cozy up with a beer on game night @Coronaeus

Bizarre Brewing - Steam Noir (Black Lager/Steam Beer 5.3%)



**really interesting and long description of this beer for those interested:
https://www.beeradvocate.com/beer/profile/63862/637714/

Very dark brown, light brown head, had to coerce with vigorous pour, it was pretty quick to dissipate.

Nose is chalky cocoa, light roast, very light raspberry like note.

Graham cracker like quality, some light roast, light earthy chocolate, touch of oak tannin and red wine on the finish; the dark malt is mostly present in aftertaste with the graham cracker out front.

Mouthfeel is light medium; creamy and smooth, drying on the tongue, light bitterness.

Another fun beer from across the country, thanks Ryan.

—————

Gonna cozy up this week and look forward to sharing beers again next weekend. Have a good week everyone and stay warm.

 

Bright and sunny Sunday here at the stronghold. Pushing sixty degrees yesterday and barely made 33 today. Still I will take sunny and cold any day. Glad to see the Packers representing my adopted second home state. I have a team to follow for at least another week. Dual citizenship!

In the glass:



Speakeasy Apricot Smash. This is a barrel-aged gose with apricot and thyme from Barreled Souls. I don't know much about it other than the label saying barrel, apricot, thyme, gose. It wasn't in the DB here and not on the Barreled Souls website that I can find.

Aggressive pour resulted in a huge off white foamy head. The liquid is a slightly cloudy tea color. Somewhere south of beautiful but not horrible. The head falls to a spotty cap but leaves lots of residue on the glass.

The smell is subtle barrel notes, not too much apricot, and very earthy thyme.

The taste is oddly pleasing. It's very heavy on the herb, not a ton of apricot, and some oakiness. Nice acidity and just a trace of sweetness. There's a sting right at the end of the taste - a bit of a surprise. I think it's a phenolic bite but could be helped along by the thyme. A little pepper creeps in and a pleasant bit of bourbon taste comes in late, too. I assume bourbon barrels were used since the Speakeasy beers are cocktail inspired.

It's fairly light, but very lively and bright. Not super-refreshing.

I am enjoying it, and liking it more as i drink it. The flavors are nicely integrated after the initial big smack from the thyme. Repeated sips calm that down, too. It's a very different, interesting flavor combination that I suspect would be quite polarizing. I like it, but won't buy it again. Well made within the Speakeasy family concept, but not my favorite.

 

Well that makes a lot more sense as it was really out of place. Still surprisingly good but in a very odd way. I'll see what the rest of the pack is like and shoot JA a message if it continues. I think they would have noticed if the entire canning run was bad.

 

Lolev - Demeter, a barleywine

16oz can served in a little tulippy snifter. Can date appears to be 09/11/23. Got it from @Braunmeister_1943.

Pours a clear mahogany, small wispy head, extremely fine carbonation, looks thick. Smell is fig newton, oak, maybe nuts and toffee.

Taste is vaguely similar to the aroma. Way more fig, something almost like dark raisins, oak or some kind of wood is there, some kind of earthy bitterness on the back end.

Mouthfeel is thick, chewy, and satisfying. Overall, very nice barleywine.

 

It’s been quite a day, so much snow. Thought I’d try a beer that someone (@2beerdogs or @BBThunderbolt?)
Mentioned a while ago and I saw it just sitting there and I picked it up.
Bottled October 2016 - how long it sat on the top shelf of a local bottle shop, I have no idea. Rescued it a few weeks ago.
Poured a murky chestnut color and a huge light brown head, which considering the age and storage, is amazing.
The taste is a melange of dark fruit and caramelized brown sugar, a touch of banana and cloves. Chocolate, if it was ever present, is no more. No bitter edges, no idea if any ever existed in this.
The feel is a delight of soft carbonation and gentle viscosity. I may finish the bottle in one night.
OA, wish I could have tried this when it was fresh, but we all know what wishes are good for.

 

Poured into a 20 oz tulip glass not sure when it was bottled, but I heard months or years in the barrel and a year in the bottle. Pours a murky mahagony, with a 2 finger sticky tan head that leaves something thin lines of lace. 4.5

Aroma is fig, toffee, brown sugar, oaked vanilla, dates, and boozy caramel. 4.5

Taste follows toffee, oaked vanilla, fig, dates, brown sugar, butterscotch, and charred bourbon. 4.5

Mouthfeel is above average, gentle carbonation, maybe a tad dry, and at 11.11% a complex sipper that goes down a tad easy. 4.25

Overall this was a great experience. A very nice BA Barleywine. I would recommend for sure. Extremely complex. 4.5

 

Prolly @2beerdogs , I rarely see Bruery stuff on the shelves here in NW Kiribati.

 

Hardywood fluffy gbs stout
....solid black appearance with a lasting 1/4inch tan head.
....just below average carbonation with an above average body that has a bit of a thick creamy feel.
....aroma is boozy,alcohol, vanilla,marshmallow which dominates.
There's some chocolate and mild coffee there as well.
...taste is sweet,some ginger spice that has a little bite. Marshmallow with malt,roasted malt, and coffee and chocolate.
...overall its another great dessert beer from hardywood

 

Freshness is key. i would say the same for Pliny as well

 

Skydance Brewing Pacific Palms West Coast Pilsner, 5.6% ABV; 3.8 overall


Pours a hazed gold with a pinky of eggshell colored head. Stays hazy, nice head retention & great lacing

S: Some breadyness & citrus, grassy & some grainy notes once warm

T: Follows the nose, limes & tangerines, some grassy notes, a touch of green melon & dryness up front. Pomelo, a little lime, white grape skin & green melon as this beer warms up. Finishes with green melon, grainy notes & a touch of white grapes

MF: Medium body, moderate carbonation, a touch of grainy/chalkiness

Drinkable& somewhat interesting, but not the homerun I was hoping for/ A double at best

 

Hey I can relate, I've had at least a couple beers in my life that I could tell were off but that I still secretly kinda enjoyed the unintentional funk notes anyway.

 

"Not I," said this fly.