New Beer Weekend #184

Keepin’ it Simcoe!

This is the second beer I will be discussing from the Fat Head’s Head Hunter IPA Hoppy Variety IPA (12-pack): Simply Simcoe IPA.

I was unable to find out much about this beer via a web search but from the name “Simply Simcoe” and the ‘banner’ on the top of the can proclaiming “Keepin’ it Simcoe” my guess is this beer is solely brewed using Simcoe Hops.

In the past (e.g., a decade+ ago) I homebrewed a lot with Simcoe hops since I was a big fan of the piney flavor this hop variety provided, then. Lately the Simcoe hops that I have purchased have been more fruit forward with little to no pine flavor. Still a tasty hop but a tad disappointing to me since I really liked this hop in the past.

On the can it provides the information:

· 7.5% ABV

· 80 IBU

Well, let’s see what a double dry hopped IPA from Fat Head’s tastes like.

Served in my Spiegelau IPA Glass:

Appearance:

Golden yellow with a BIG white head.

Aroma:

A notable aroma which is mostly citrus but in the background there is some pine and even some general fruitiness (e.g., stone fruit)

Taste:

The flavor follows the nose with mostly citrus flavors but also some pine and fruity as well. There is a notable bitterness.

Mouthfeel

Light-medium bodied with a dry finish.

Overall

This beer is excellent!! In my perfect world this would be a year-round beer for Fat Head’s brewery.

Cheers!

@rotsaruch @RobH @KOP_Beer_OUtlet @JayORear @ESHBG

 

Poured into a 20 oz Snulip glass canned on 11/03/24. Pours near pitch black with a 2 finger sticky mocha head that leaves some thin streaks of lace with very nice retention. 4.5

Aroma is cocoa, graham cracker, marshmallow, coconut, and vanilla bean. 4.25

Taste follows chocolate, graham cracker, marshmallow, coconut, and vanilla pretty much a s’mores. 4.5

Mouthfeel is above average, soft gentle carbonation almost creamy, not sticky or dry, and at 11% it has big body and flavor, but still very approachable. 4.75

Overall this is a very nice Imperial Stout. I would recommend giving this one a shot for sure. 4.5 Thanks @Victory_Sabre1973 for getting us going this weekend. Cheers all.

 

I don't think Fat Head's knows how to make a bad beer.

 

I think you are correct here. I have not had any beers from Fat Head's which I did not enjoy drinking.

Cheers to Fat Head's!!!!!

P.S. I am thankful that I can buy Fat Head's beers at my local beer retailers.

 

When I’m in WV I have to drive to Ohio to get Fat Heads; and we never see it in FL. Great beers!

 

Thanks @Victory_Sabre1973 for starting us up this morning!

Fridge clean out continues with Samuel Smith India Ale

Appearance: Deep gold, good head.

Smell: Notes of toffee, minerals.

Taste: Mild bitterness at the start, then smoothly transitions to a mild toffee flavor. Finishes mildly bitter with some grassiness. Easy drinking.

Overall: Bought the gift pack since I love the Sam Smith pint glass, other than it is now not big enough to pour the full 18.7oz bottle into. The India ale is well-made, easy drinking, and mildly hoppy. Fits an English-style IPA to a tee.

 

Today’s new to me beer is a purchase from Tavour which lately, at least for me, has been a crap shoot (overhyped beers v. noteworthy beers)…somewhat in the middle I find Big Bad Baptist Brew Master’s Keep (2023) BA in whiskey barrels. Sounds good to me, let’s go!



Poured at 53° into a lovely snifter gifted to me by @GrumpyGas . Creamy tan head with a few rocks; brief cap retention leaves well preserved islands of micro dots to last sip!; heavy ring; bands of sticky lacing; black with ruby edges; medium plus legs on swirl. Caramel malt, char, sweet whiskey nose. Bitter roast malt entry; caramel & chocolate malt; bourbon in background; black licorice, almost spicy finish. Dry wooden tongue coating; medium plus body, light carbonation; some mouth warmth from 14.1% abv; not adjuncty. Overall, bitter, almost burnt, linger; barrel notes beat out base flavors thus unbalanced for me.

4.75 | 4.25 | 4.5 | 4.25 | 4.25
Score: 4.38 rDev +0.7%

A very tasty beer, but I lean sweeter. I’d drink again, but the dryness and taste is not for me. If you like your BBA impy stouts bone dry with no sweetness, this could be your beer. Cheers y’all!

 

From @Roguer :

“Naturally, then, this variant can naturally be compared/contrasted not just with OG KBS, but also with Prairie Bomb! and Westbrook Mexican Cake.”…

Still waiting to find this KBS variant in FL…and I’ve yet to find a “Cake” that surpasses the OG - Westbrook’s Mexican Cake. Cheers buddy!

 

There was a time. I remember seeing it there when I visited my Brother. The next time, it was gone

 

My friendly neighborhood Franconian brewery, Bierkeller, has a Roggenbier as one of their seasonal releases.

This is way outside my usual frame of reference. Roasted malt, light sourness, grassy, light citrus and pear flavors. Ambivalent.

 

Our son's girlfriend is visiting this weekend. Must be serious. Either she's here or he's there every weekend. We like her a lot.
My new beer for today is Mosaic Single Hop IPA from La Cumbre.
This beer is a clear gold color with a small white head and a tiny bit of lace.
Aroma of sweet fruit and outdoors/flowers.
I get a taste of orange, pineapple, with some light pine.
Medium-bodied, not bitter.
Another great beer from La Cumbre.

 

Thank you for opening the weekend @Victory_Sabre1973 with your Italian classic!

Exhausted after taking beer inventory (305 between the refrigerator and cellar). Once again hoping that number is below 150 at year-end.

Taking advantage of my first West Coast beer haul with two fresh IPAs this weekend. The first is from a solid brewery in Spraks, just outside of Reno.

Revision What What



Can Notes: Four pack purchased refrigerated at Speedee Mart on Sahara in Summerlin for $17.33. 16 oz canned 11/27/23, 9.1% ABV, 85 IBUs. West Coast-Style DIPA. Brewed and canned by Revision Brewing Company, Sparks, Nevada.

Strata, Simcoe, Citra and Mosaic hops create waves of hop flavor and perhaps a bit of a smackdown over a lightly sweet malt backbone.

Appearance: Poured about half the can into a slender tulip glass, yielding a golden tan clear pour, with medium carbonation trickling down after a few minutes and a generous white puffy head which leaves soupy lacing and a thick rich creamy cover around the base, Poured the rest of the can into the 500 ml glass and formed a nuce creamy layer above the base. 4.5

Aroma: Tropical medley with tangerine, grapefruit, orange. Where is the pine? Mild in strength. 3.75

Taste: Getting more traditional WCIPA flavors with the pine front and center, citrus follows with grapefruit and tropical hints hanging in the back with the malt where they belong. This is solid, gulping aggressively. As I reach the halfway mark, and it warms a bit, the malt emerges but does not muck up the proceedings with excess sweetness I find at times with a 9% + ABV IPA. Well executed. 4.25

Mouthfeel: Firmly bitter, dry. Drinks strong, feels stronger with the bitterness. The sweetness battles with the sweet flavors and malt, but bitterness wins out even after the malt assertion during the second half. This is not for the meek or weary, a bitter pine lingers nicely on the finish. 4.75

Overall: This is a very solid WC DIPA. Avoids any pitfalls, showcases bold flavors, and the malt while stronger than for a standard IPA works well providing a backbone but not hitting you over the head with it. Well done Revision, and thank you @DTLVTOUR for the recommendation! 4.5

 

Today I am trying Azure from Tree House. It is one of the rare TH descriptions that lists the hops used. A couple of NZ hops lead the bill but Germany and USA are in there too.

4.2/5 rDev -2.6%
look: 4 | smell: 4.5 | taste: 4 | feel: 4.25 | overall: 4.25
Packaged in a 16-oz can stamped 1.8.24 (and a snow flake) to a Nonic at fridge temp.
Opaque orange hazy body, 0.75”/19mm white head of multi-sized bubbles.
The Nelson really contributes to the aroma- white wine, and white grapes but there is also a little spice.
That white grape sensation is ever so brief in the taste. That spice flavor and hop bitterness pretty much take over. After the swallow there is mellowness, almost like a sweet key lime pie.
The body is moderate for a Tree House NEIPA, the carbonation is just about right.
This one is a real changeling from pour aroma to after taste. Nothing wrong with that and I would purchase again.

 

Hey there weekenders. Finished up the day's chores and now it's time to relax with a beer and snack for the rest of the afternoon.

Today's new beer is Jack's Abby Golden Lager, which they've branded as a pilsner. As far as I can tell, it is their standard pilsner base but they've swapped out the hops for callista. They've done a few of these swaps this summer and fall. My favorite was the one with Polish hops while this one is at the bottom. Still a well-brewed beer, but I don't really like the hop profile.



Pours light gold with a one-finger white head that lingers.

Aromas of grapefruit and pineapple over a pilsner malt base of white bread and bread dough.

Unlike the smell, the taste starts off as a traditional pilsner with the influence of the callista hops not coming through to the end. The usual characters are present: cracker, white bread with honey, bread dough. Then the callista comes through with grapefruit, slight orange, some pineapple and a dry bitterness. The hop notes longer through the finish and aftertaste.

Medium, fine carb and a fairly light body.

Overall, this one is a bit of a miss for me as the hop profile takes the lead and am not a big fan of that profile.

 

White Elm Apple Brandy BA ¡CHAMPURRADO! Imperial Stout, 13% ABV. Pours thick and black with a one-finger brown head that left no lacing. Aroma is apple, cinnamon, and brandy. Taste is apple, cinnamon, brandy, slight chocolate, and peppers in the aftertaste. Decent thick mouthfeel, overall outstanding. I'm not a big fan of apple or pepper beers, but this is done well.

4.52/5 rDev -0.7%
look: 4.25 | smell: 4.75 | taste: 4.5 | feel: 4.25 | overall: 4.5

Finally having some nice sunny warm weather here after weeks of frigid cold, high wind, blizzard, followed by warmer, cloudy, foggy weather. Today it's sunny and 35. Lots of people are out and about and the snow is melting, which will mean more fog...

 

I've stretched the rules a bit in the past and I haven't been reprimanded by management, so I'll try it again: This isn't my first time trying this beer. But it's probably the first time I've had it in 16 or so years, and I've never sat and paid enough attention to review it. So it's a new experience with this beer. Courtesy of @jonphisher.


Yuengling Traditional Lager

24oz can served in a big stein. 23325322322 is the date on the bottom of the can.

Pours a clear umber color with a big, two finger head, that settles into a clumpy layer with chunky lacing. Smell is yeasty, light breadiness, a little bit of nut or toffee.

Taste is kind of similar. Yeast and breadiness are definitely still there, but nuttiness is more noticeable. There's an earthy bitterness and just a hint of honey sweetness.

Mouthfeel is light, very dry. Overall...better than I expected. Not an out-of-the-park home run, but I wouldn't be sad to drink this at a tailgate or a non-craft-beer friend's party. I could interchange it pretty happily with Hamm's for some variety.

For anyone who remembers my Alaskan math teacher friend's predicament...he got a heart a couple weeks ago, and got to go home on Wednesday night. He still has a long and uncertain road in front of him, but this is great news.

 

Once again I'm trying a classic beer I've never had before. It's not bad, but also nothing stands out for me — mild, not very hoppy, boring pilsner.

 

Had a couple big Bruery stouturday brews today:

https://www.beeradvocate.com/beer/profile/16866/678067/?ba=bluejacket74#lists



https://www.beeradvocate.com/beer/profile/16866/677744/?ba=bluejacket74#lists



I liked the blueberry one more than the chocobanana one, but then I like blueberries more than bananas. Plan on having some more new brews tomorrow, happy NBW everyone!