New Beer Weekend #196

Thanks for kicking off the weekend @Beersnake , and for explaining the new time format in terms of expanding New Beer Weekend from Friday evening or Saturday morning/afternoon depending on where folks live. I will also use this convention for the upcoming Russian Imperial Stout tasting scheduled for Memorial Day Weekend (May 24-May 27 in the United States).

But before we get to that tasting, we have this weekend to celebrate and for this weekly gathering, our One Thousand New Beer Gathering. Yes, that is right, we will celebrate New Beer Sunday #1000 this weekend, so hope everyone has time to share a beer or two for this special occasion.

I made it through my cellared 2018 Bottle Logic Fundamental Stout earlier today, which I didn't know I would make it due to the intensity of the vanilla beans, but it mellowed out or perhaps my lunch got me through the bottle. Pulling out my planned Saturday beer for the Chicago Themed Tasting I have planned this weekend, and will figure out Saturday tomorrow.

Spiteful Nelson Time



Can Notes: Purchased at store temperature at Beer on the Wall March 16 for $2.51. 12 oz canned Valentine's Day, 2/14/24 at 12:48:01. Nelson Time Pale Ale, 6.0% ABV, Brewed with Nelson Sauvin Hops. Brewed and canned at Spiteful Brewing, 2024 W. Balmoral Ave, Chicago Illinois.

Dank Blanc Kiwi

Appearance: Poured about 2/3 of the can into a nonic Spiteful Glass. Generous bright white head lingers for several minutes, leaves clumpy lacing in its wake an a generous creamy cover. The base is a clear straw yellow pour, generous steady carbonation, almost as if poured in a flute. Outstanding! 4.5

Aroma: Nice aroma, tropical, pineapple, white grapes, dank. Mild in strength, higher in pleasure. 3.75

Taste: Consistent with the aroma, white grape and tropical blend of tangerine and pineapple. Nice. 3.75

Mouthfeel: Leans bitter, lightly dry and dank. Drinks light and easy, below the ABV. Gentle lightly fizzy carbonation backs the medium plus watery body, sweet flavors nicely balanced by hop bitterness. Sweet tangerine finish. 4.25

Overall: This is a nice light and easy take on Alley Time. Slightly different than expected, but consistent with the can tasting notes. Enjoying the Sauvin take, but getting more tropical and less white grape than expected. Not sure if a fresher batch would yield different results, but will explore next release. 3.75

See you tomorrow, from home and or out and about.

 

Whoa! Let's do the Time Warp again!!

Two for the road – Part 1

Earlier this week I returned from a long road trip to/from Texas to visit family/friends and to also watch the total eclipse of the sun (which was an awesome event to witness). Today’s ‘story’ involves some drinking from the past weekend (the return leg of the road trip) of new to me beers at two brewery taprooms; a twofer so to speak.

Great Raft Brewing in Shreveport, Louisiana

Some of you might be wondering about the name of Great Raft:

“Great Raft Brewing is named after the historic Great Raft of the Red River. The logjam made the river impossible to navigate until Captain Henry Shreve and the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers removed tens of millions of cubic feet of cypress, cedar and petrified logs from the river channel in the 1830s. The clearing of the Great Raft opened the Red River back up to ships, industry and agriculture, and was the beginning of a prosperous time for Shreveport.”

https://libations.explorelouisiana.com/breweries/great-raft-brewing

I had a number of Great Raft beers during my visit (two sampler boards worth) and all of the beers were very good – excellent. IMO Great Raft is a brewery worth seeking out.

One of the beers in my sampler was Southern Drawl which they market as Dry Hopped Pilsner with an interesting story: “German influenced but Southern brewed.”



Below is from the BA description of this beer:

“A re-imagined dry hopped pilsner that showcases Louisiana grown rice and American hops. This is the new face of American Lager – crisp, assertive, and uniquely Southern.

IBU: 30

Malts: Pilsen, Louisiana Rice

Hops: Hallertau Blanc, Mosaic

Yeast: House Lager”

Given the fact that adjunct (rice) is part of the grain bill and the notable bitterness (30 IBUs) I am of the opinion this beer is a Classic American Pilsner (CAP) vs. how this beer categorized on BA: German Pilsner.

I enjoyed the sample pour of this beer so much I later ordered a full pint of this beer.

Served at the taproom in a Stange type beer glass.

Appearance:

Straw colored with a white head.

Aroma:

The aroma is an intriguing mix of bready malt and a combination of floral and some citrus aspects from the hops.

Taste:

The flavor follows the nose with a combination of bready malt flavors and perhaps some rice cracker type flavor along with the floral/citrus hop flavors. The malt and hop flavors are nicely balanced. A moderate bitterness.

Mouthfeel:

Light - medium bodied with a dry finish.

Overall:

This beer is very good, I enjoyed drinking it. A well brewed CAP IMO.

While this beer is advertised as being dry hopped it seems to me, they did this judiciously such that the malt and hop aroma/flavor profile is in balance.

Cheers!

@KOP_Beer_OUtlet @rotsaruch @RobH

 

Two for the road – Part 2

Basic City Brewing in Waynesboro, Virginia

I also had a sampler board of this brewery’s beers and all of the beers were very good – excellent with the ‘winner’ for me being their Czech Dark Lager: Basic Ought. Below is how this beer is described on their website:

“Basic Ought Lager - Dark

5.4% ABV Basic City Beer Co Waynesboro, VA

Light body with discreet contributions from caramel and roasted malts. Dark & Smooth with finesse of sweetness. You Ought to have another one! **2022 & 2023 World Beer Cup Gold Medal**”

This beer had a ‘Goldilocks’ quality to it akin to how I detailed things in my article about Czech Dark Lager:

"I personally enjoy drinking all three of these dark lager styles but for my palate the Czech Dark Lager is my Goldilocks (just right) style with just a subtle (to none) roasty malt flavor and a pleasing hop flavor to complement the dark malt flavors. The key word for a properly brewed Czech Dark Lager is balance: It should not be too sweet, too bitter, too roasty, too much caramel,… with no one characteristic dominating the flavor profile.”

https://www.morebeer.com/articles/Czech_Dark_Lager

Served in a shaker pint glass:

Appearance:

A dark chestnut brown color with a reddish hue.

Aroma:

A subtle but quite noticeable aroma of toasted dark bread and a hint of cocoa.

Taste:

The flavor follows the nose with a pleasing combination of subtle chocolate and toasted dark bread. There is also a subtle but noticeable flavor of Coca-Cola in the background. A low/moderate bitterness.

Mouthfeel:

There is a soft/creamy mouthfeel with an off-dry finish.

Overall:

This beer is very good – excellent.

Cheers!

@KOP_Beer_OUtlet @rotsaruch @RobH @TomCat11

 

Well well @Beersnake thank you for that lovely write up, come one, come all join us with a beer that is new to you. I just so happened to have a new beer earlier this evening. One I was very excited to try; given the recent Dogfish Head thread.

Someone surprised me with this beer from their recent trip to Rehoboth. A hoppy malt liquor; with American malt and American hops…

Dogfish Head - Meisterstuck (Hoppy Malt Liquor 6.7%)



Crystal clear bright gold in color, soapy white head, little film of bubbles persists across the top.

Very hop forward, new school hops; bright and refreshing fruits, tropical like with hints dank, grainy, dry grass, and lightly sweet bread like malts in the foreground but make no mistake the nose is all about the hops.

Taste retains those fruity hops but they’re met by the malts noted above quite quickly; white bread crust that finishes with a nice bit of malty grain character.

The body is medium, but really easy to drink; it goes down remarkably quick and shows no sign of its 6.7 % ABV; smoothly carbonated; prickly bitterness on the finish, mostly dry…a very dangerous beer because it drinks like it’s about 5% and it’s very clean.

This is a cool beer, it reminds me of IPLs I’ve had but it has an unmistakable malt liquor like presence in taste, particularly on the finish. This one definitely caught me off guard though, it did say “hoppy malt liquor” but I did not expect such a burst. An incredibly unique beer that somehow works surprisingly well.

———————

Have a lovely evening everyone, and please join us once, twice, or more this weekend. Hope to add another DFH one tomorrow night

@thebeers

 

Hello New Beer Weekend!!!

You know, I think this is a good compromise here, allowing it to start at 0:00 UTC. It allows more participation for our fellow BAs on the other side of the planet we call home. I welcome them with open arms, and love their participation here in this virtual bar.

Now to my new beer, and it isn't from here (my here). It is a beer sent to me by @Roy_Hobbs . Now I know I said a couple hours ago in the current WBAYDN thread that my last there (which was a new beer) was my last of the day. Well, I'll pretend I'm in a new day.


Quiet Fire - Fox Farm Brewing - Salem, CT - Amber Lager - 4.8% ABV

I'm not going to lie, I am not the biggest Amber beer fan. A lot of them just lack flavor. This one doesn't. It has a very layered flavor profile. Delicious as heck, in spite of me being lower on the scale. Thank you for sending this to me Ross!

https://www.beeradvocate.com/beer/profile/45832/460197/

4.02/5 rDev -2.2%
look: 4.25 | smell: 4 | taste: 4 | feel: 4 | overall: 4
From a 16oz can. Canned on 02/07/24

Slightly murky lighter amber colored pouring beer. A bit of carbonation bubbles rising in the glass. The head is a 2 finger slightly off white head. Head retention is decent. There's some clingy lacing on the glass.
The nose is dominated by the malts. I get some roasted malts here. There is a bit of buttery biscuit. Hints of caramel and toffee.
Taste - There's a good hop bill in this beer that I didn't get in the aroma. A pleasing bitterness up front. After the initial bitterness, I get a nice buttery biscuit flavor. There's a roasted malt flavor to end the flavor profile.
Smooth and full bodied beer. The feeling of the hop bitterness is quite pleasing when it hits up front.
This style can be generic, but this beer is anything but. Great flavor and it feels great.

I'll be back on Saturday time here in my cold central Minnesota home. Cheers all!

 

Zony Mash Makin' Groceries Supers Session Pale Ale, 5.7% ABV; 3.66 overall

Pours a hazed gold with a thumb of eggshell colored head. Average-ish head retention & lacing

S: Passion Fruit & Guava, doesn't sustain itself

T: Follows the nose, dryness, hints of peach, green melon & a kiss of Pomelo up front. Some citrus sneaks in, tangerine & a little grapefruit, plus a kiss of pineapple & more passion fruit, peach on the edges as this beer warms up. Finishes with pomelo, pineapple & passion fruit

MF: Medium body, restrained carbonation, okay balance

Drinkable, but doesn't truly pull together

 

More NBS BIF18 haulage

Props to @FBarber for this Phase Three/The Bruery Curvy Tuesday Doughnut Inspired Imp Stout w/coconut, chocolate & vanilla, 13% ABV; 3.88 overall

Pours a bubbly chestnut-hued mahogany with two fingers of tan head. Below Average head retention & lacing; viscous

S: Uh, Chocolate Doughnuts, traces of booze. Fades down the stretch

T: Follows the nose, dryness, a little caramel& vanilla as well up front. More chocolate doughnut & dryness, booze fades, a bit of maple syrup too, once this beer warms up. Finishes dry with more choco doughnuts, just a little maple candy, coconut shows up late to the party

MF: Medium body, slight carbonation, fairly warming

Pretty good drinkability, much as advertised on the flavor. Heft is well hidden

 

Wait, what? I thought the RIS was set aside for something else. Not that I’m complaining, it’s what I voted for, just wasn’t expecting it.
Great news for me, though I will be visiting my mom and mother in law at the time in Colorado, so have no idea what I will have for the tasting. Home, I have a freaking cellar full of wonderful RIS. Ah well, always up for a challenge.

 

My dinner beer was one sent to me by der @WunderLlama in NBW BIF #18.

I think Trillium is trying to create a new style of ale; the NEPA.
Don’t know what hops are used for the double “dry” hopping, but they provide lots of citrus fruits and some pitted fruit flavors with a little melon and hops esters. Very well balanced, very refreshing, very good beer.
Cheers!

 

Friday, BA Time, May 24 through Monday, May 27 PDT.

Thanks for the write up on Great Raft Brewery in Shreveport @JackHorzempa ! At some winter/early Spring, perhaps the next one, I plan on a road trip through the South into Texas and then back through the Plaines before heading home, and this sounds like a great place for a beer or two.

I volunteered to host Memorial Day weekend if nobody else was willing or able. There was discussion of one the first week of May, but work got in the way of the volunteer host for the first weekend in May.

Hope you can bring a few from your Michigan cellar, or find a few there or along the way. Memorial Day seemed like the best compromise, in terms of adding days for the American holiday and most being off work for at least part of the holiday, and / or available to participate at some point over the four plus days (5 PM MDT Thursday 5/23 - 1 AM MDT Tuesday 5/28) using BA Beer Clock Time established this evening.

 

Zwanze 2024 on the left...

 

That is a very good looking beer; it sounds quite tasty too; I don’t even know what else was on tap but that descriptor from them would’ve got me to choose this beer.

And wow a drive to Texas from here most certainly is a road trip; probably fun to make stops along the way.

 

Remember the game “where in the world is Carmen San Diego”? This is the game I like to play with your posts A mystery traveler who likes to reviews beers in his secret little notebook, where is he now?

I’m pretty sure I know the answer this time, there is a small clue on the glass…Japan!?!?

 

The GF tried their flagship IPA on our trip to western Virginia last year. As I recall (from a few sips), it was pretty good. Might have to look for a few more offerings on this year’s trip.

 

If my memory serves me right you often visit Las Vegas? Do you enjoy gambling?

The 'highlight' of the city of Shreveport (and Bossier City across the river) is casinos. My wife booked us a room at Margariteville Hotel/Casino in Bossier City. Neither my wife or I like to gamble so the casino part was a 'waste' for us but maybe a big plus for you?

Cheers!

 

And necessary since my wife gets antsy after a few hours in the car.

The outgoing trip was Nashville (2 nights) -> Hot Springs (2 nights) -> New Braunfels, TX.

The return leg was Shreveport (1 night) -> Chattanooga (2 nights) -> Staunton, VA (1 night).

And needless to say but plenty of beer consumed along the way. I posted in another thread about a new beer I had in Nashville:

I am in Nashville right now (vacation, heading to Texas) and at lunch I had draft pint of Little Harpeth Chicken Scratch beer. Below is from the brewery’s website:

“LIGHT, REFRESHING WITH A HINT OF SWEET CORN

A crisp & refreshing traditional American Pilsner made from malted barley and locally grown corn. This beer has a slight residual sweetness from the corn & a floral / herbal hop aroma. Chicken Scratch is light on the palate & flavorful. Listed as a classic example of style category 27F-Pre-Prohibition Lager by the globally distributed Beer Judge Certification Program Style Guidelines.

Availability: Year Round: draft, 12oz cans

Alcohol Content: 5%

Original Gravity: 11.1

Finishing Gravity: 1.7

Bitterness Units: 28

SRM: 2.1

Color: Medium Straw

Yeast: German Lager

Bittering Hops: Saaz

Finishing Hops: Mittelfruh

Malts: Pilsner & TN Grown White Corn”

I thought this CAP (Classic American Pilsner) was very good!

Cheers!

 

Sounds like some really great times!