New Beer Weekend #184

Good evening, kids. The string of raw, damp Saturdays continues here. No rain but that's coming - were due for the crappy unholy trinity of rain/snow/ice we get here in SE Mass. We had a great dinner last night at our favorite Indian restaurant before seeing Ain't Too Proud To Beg at the theater. Of note, an appetizer of lentil flour donuts in a "soup" - very fun texture/taste and a late-arriving onslaught of spicy, peppery goodness. For an entree, I'm not generally a lamb fan, but the description was too good to ignore and it was the best dish of any kind I've had in a long time. Loads of curry with just a riot of mystery spices in a paste-like sauce with thinly sliced red chili peppers and a ridiculous coat of fresh ground black pepper. It always amazes me how a seemingly innocuous add on like a thinly sliced fresh pepper or scallion can make a dish pop, but it provided brightness against the heavy protein and intense sauce. Always good food, but upped their game on this one.

Ok...so a weird one in the glass tonight:



Blood Moon Presence from Provlamation Ales. On the label it is a Belgian Strong Ale, on here it's a quad. It is rested on red wine grape must.

It pours fairly opaque after a mini-gusher on opening. It's kind of a muddled brown ruby color. When it gets to room temp, it is brilliantly clear and beautifully red highlighted sherry color. Healthy beige foam that leaves a sturdy ring and thin cap o' bubbles.

The aroma is strange. I get very faint red wine, alcohol, then a mixture of dark fruit like fig, candi sugar, brown sugar. Fairly strong apple. A whiff of banana. Some breadiness and caramel. It's a bit hard to 'splain. It's in the ballpark of a quad but seems to have other elements.

For me, the confusion continues into the taste. The wine grape aspect is more assertive and is accompanied by a healthy tannic bite that fishes peppery. There's sweetness, fig and prune flavor, brown sugar and molasses, overcooked caramel. Honey. Not overly sweet but sweet flavors. A little bit of acid. I get apple on the aromatic side, a touch of clove, and a very ripe banana. There's a peppery/clove bite on the end and almost a Juicy Fruit aromatic.

I find the feel almost unpleasant. It is medium bodied at best and fairly well carbonated. Dry, but it sticks in the throat - not syrup but it just catches there. The alcohol is definitely noticeable. There's a slight fruity bitterness.

Overall, this is a very odd beer. I'm not finding it to be the fun kind of odd - its frustrating odd as it had no clear direction to me of what it's trying to be. I'm thinking wine barrel conditioning might be a better way to get that character into this beer and round it out with some fuller flavor development. It's kinda sorta Belgian-Strong-Quad-esque - a little bit of a muddle. Thinking 3.7-ish.

 

I had this tonight as someone on Imgur requested an opinion. So I gave it to him. Or her.

So - I went to the mother ship today because they had on their online tap list Double Barreled KBS. Sadly, they had run out a couple days before. So I grabbed this out of the gift shop.
Poured stout black with a light brown head which left reasonable lacing.
Got nothing in way of aroma; stupid Covid.
The taste started with hazelnut coffee and chocolate (Nutella anyone?) with a little stout coming in last. Not a pastry stout but darned close. It really doesn’t even scratch the imperial stout itch.
The feel is properly viscous, but has the distinct impression of having hot chocolate mix added in. Odd. Ah well, they can’t all be amazing!

 

Thanks to @The_Kriek_Freak for this Sacred Profane Dark Lager, 4.0% ABV; 4.42 overall

Pours an effervescent mahogany with one finger+ of tan head. Nice head retention & better lacing

S: A touch of roastynesss, dark bread, a trace of dark fruits

T: Follows the nose a touch of molasses& dryness up front, I am also some peppery notes. Some smokeyness mixes in with brown bread & a little peppery spice as this beer warms up. Finishes a little dry with smokey notes, & peppery & woody hops

MF: Medium body, restrained carbonation

Great take on the style, very drinkable but plenty of flavor

 

Could be the artist is just a crap painter?

 

I'll never turn down a Czech style dark lager from Magnanimous Brewing. This one's solid. Not one of the upper echelon, but I've had worse. I applaud them for taking on this beer style. It's good.

 

Bentonville Brewing Grand Gru Belgian Style Tripel, 8.0% ABV; 3.8 overall

Pours an effervescent gold with a pinky of beige head. Some head retention & lacing

S: Perfumy hops, pears, Golden Delicious Appels

T: Dry, loads of pears, white grape, grassy hops & a treacle sweetness up front. Grassy & floral hops, pears, dryness & more apple as this beer warms up. Finishes sweet, dry with white pepper & orchard fruit & some yeasty phenols showing up late to the party

MF: Medium body, delicate carbonation, skews a little sweet

On point for the style, pretty good flavor & drinkability

 

Thanks to @2beerdogs for this Bosque Brewing Fresh State Maple Coffee Stout, 7.5% ABV; 4.01 overall

Pours an effervescent mahogany/ebony with a thumb of tan head. Lovely head retention & lacing

S: Coffee, maple candy, fades as this warms up

T: Follows the nose, plenty of dryness & a little woody hoppyness up front. Coffee that is pretty sweet & a little watered down once this beer warms up, plenty of dryness & woody hops as well. Finishes with maple candy, then iced coffee, dryness & woody hops, plus some vanilla

MF: Medium body, slight carbonation. Carbonation picks up a little as the beer warms up

My can says 7.5% ABV; but would believe a lesser amount, pretty drinkable, but not at the great level. I think the Maple component redeems this beer

 

I like the label, I think eerie whimsy might have been the artist's intent.

 

Good day BAs! Well, today's New Breakfast Beer is one Ive been hoarding for the last month while waiting for a chance to try it - it sounds FABULOUS!



Well. That was disappointing.
Rye Whiskey Barrel Aged Thai One On – from Hoppin’ Frog. Picked up at the brewery on 12/12/23, a Rare Beer Club selection, priced at $13.74 (Including tax and tip)/ $ 0.624/fl oz. Reviewed 28/01/24 (Review 3233). Note that I use DD/MM/YY protocol.
Undated bomber. Stored at 34 degrees at home. Served at 55.9 degrees F in a hand washed and dried Jester King snifter. The final temperature was 60.9 degrees F.
Appearance – 3.5
First pour – Pale Amber (SRM 9), slight haze.
Body – Medium Amber (SRM 12), opaque. Under direct light, same with many tiny bubbles arising. When rear-lite, body glows but is only translucent.
Head – None. What there was lasted only as long as the pour. No cap and only a few pieces of a stringy bubble ring, constantly being renewed by carbonation.
Lacing – None.
Aroma – 3.5 – Weak coconut and mulled spices. No yeast, no hops, no malt, no rye, no barrel, no alcohol (7.6 % ABV as marked on the label).
Flavor – 4 – Begins slightly sweet with mild spices. No yeast, no hops, no malt, no coconut. No dimethylsulfide or diacetyl. No ethanol. Ends with a hint of spice, rye, no barrels, and some mild gastric warming.
Palate – 4 – Medium; watery; lively carbonation.
Final impression and summation: 3.5 (After deducting 0.25 point for an undated personal container) I enjoy Thai food, unfortunately this didn’t remind me of it. To my senses, this is more of a spiced ale, with kind of a winter warmer vibe, minus the cinnamon. A rare misalignment for the Frog and me!
Rating 3.75, rDev +0.3%
Amazingly, I rated it higher than @Sabtos who apparently lives/works at the brewery and gets to try all these caecilian libations on tap/before the rest of us plebians hop into town.

 

Chocolate Hazelnut Porter by Heretic

A solid 7% porter that poured dark black with a small light mocha colored head when poured from a pint can. Modest lacing.

No significant nose even as it warmed.

Taste was a light sweet chocolate,. The other elements, a bit of malty char and a touch of hazelnut, were muted. The overall flavor was pleasant but restrained. Perhaps this is a good thing.

Mouthfeel was soft and carbonation a bit light.

Okay if unspectacular porter. Fans of chocolate might enjoy this one. Tasting note: a buddy shared this one and the can was undated and at least a few years old. If I stumble across this beer again, it showed me enough to try it again.

 

Good morning Sunday morning imbibers! Today’s new to me beer is another recent Tavour arrival - “Maple Bourbon Barrel Paradise” (2023) with coconut and vanilla, by Prairie Artisan Ales:



Bottled 11/1/23. Poured at 54°. Fizzy dark tan head with a few rocks; cap dissolved quickly leaving small islands of micro dots, a thin ring and flecks of coconut; small spots of lace on agitation; no legs; dark brown body with ruby edges. Nose is chocolate and maple; no maple or coconut. Entry is sweet maple sugar candy and chocolate; some coconut; a little vanilla as beer warms, but could not find bourbon. Full minus body; smooth viscous/adjuncty feel; some mouth warmth from 14.3% abv; light carbonation. Overall, very sweet; base plus maple sugar mainly; very little coconut and vanilla; no bourbon.

4.0 | 4.0 | 4.25 | 425 | 4.0
Score: 4.13 rDev - 6.8%

This beer, imo, is overly sweet. The lack of bourbon in nose/on tongue is disappointing. Adding coconut and vanilla seems like an effort to add flavors where only sweet maple existed. While only 3 months old, the coconut is present but not so much, so my recommendation is drink this beer now unless you want a sugary sweet one trick maple pony imperial stout. Cheers!

 

KBS Spicy Chocolate


There are many reviews on this stout, so I’ll cut to the chase. It does not deliver on two fronts: it lacks the barrel of the original (and best in my book) KBS and the spicy flavor is lackluster.

Yesterday I drank a beer by Masthead called Ice Melter. Now there’s a spicy beer. This stout had a background flavor that I struggle to call spicy.

At this point, I wish they dropped the KBS brand for beers that are not going to be barrel forward. I know, I know… it’s just using marketing leverage. However KBS has a connotation for me that springs from a beloved beer. Tastes vary so perhaps some folks find this beer spicy. Definitely not me. My friend who generously bought a pack for our game day yesterday offered me a couple extra bottles of this beer. I declined the offer. As always, your mileage may vary. Cheers.

 

Very unusual for sure and it definitely blurs the style lines. But I think BDSA is the closest.

 

Nice and sunny here, but winds gusting to 35 mph, so I'm joining you with a new beer.

Burial "Name starts with 'Experiential Projections' and continues for a paragraph". I just can't.
This a nice WCIPA. Burial says: "based in a mineral-driven water table, the palest barley, a touch of kilned malt, and the full onslaught of C hops. We added Citra, Chinook, Cascade and some Simcoe Cryo on the hot side, and followed that up with a double dry-hop of our hand-selects by the same name."

4.37/5 rDev +6.8%
look: 4.5 | smell: 4.25 | taste: 4.5 | feel: 4.25 | overall: 4.25
16 oz. can dated 12/28/23

Orangish lightly hazy gold color. Two fingers varying cream head. Full lacing curtains, surface continents and ring. No sediment or floaties.
Rich orange, grapefruit pith, and yes pine aromas.
Nice spiky hop bite up front. Grapefruit, pine, light melon, with a mandarin orange lingering aftertaste.
Good carbonation. Balanced for the style. Nice lasting carbonation.

I'm enjoying this, but is it worth twice the price of Surf Wax?

 

San Francisco Knights, a 5% ABV California Common (AKA Steam) beer brewed by Magnify Brewing in Fairfield NJ. I drank this brew on tap at the brewery and from a can at home. This is not just a new beer to me but, but a new beer period just brewed for the 1st time. It pours golden Amber with a thick long-lasting head. There is a nice malty aroma. The taste is also malty but balanced by Northern brewer and Fuggle hops. Full mouthfeel and a dry lasting finish. Overall, an excellent lager beer that will be even more enjoyable in warmer weather. This beer was brewed as a tribute to Anchor Steam. it's very different than Anchor Steam but a nice example of the style.
A Thank You to @EDedsings57 for posting about San Francisco Knights in another thread/.

 

Getting ready for some football.
My new beer for today is Grapefruit Science from Equilibrium Brewery. It is described as a "pilsner with Motueka, grapefruit, and grapefruit zest."
The beer is a gold color with a faint haze. A small white head and a little bit of lace
Aroma is almost all grapefruit, with an herbal element.
Taste follows the nose. Mainly grapefruit with an herbal aftertaste.
Neutral mouthfeel.