New Beer Weekend #197

Almost grabbed the Carton version when I did home delivery to get some goodies for various people.

 

All right, final beer for today, and possibly the weekend.


Hauenstein - New Ulm Brewing (August Schell) - New Ulm, MN - AAL - 4.55% ABV

This beer is in the class of how the heck have I never had it before? I have not till today because I just didn't want to get a whole case of it. I was able to find a bottle in a locally owned liquor store in New Ulm and went for it. I am surprised by it. I was expecting the worst, yet, I got something quite tasty and refreshing.

Review:
https://www.beeradvocate.com/beer/profile/30278/16108/

3.69/5 rDev -0.8%
look: 3.75 | smell: 3.5 | taste: 3.75 | feel: 3.75 | overall: 3.75
From a 12oz bottle. No date on the bottle.

Nice pop upon opening the bottle and a good bit of smoke coming from it. I was not expecting the insane head on this beer at 5 fingers at its biggest. This is a super clear pouring beer. Light golden in color. Head retention is ok, but considering the vast amount of it, not surprising.
The nose is light malty, and grainy. There is a slight hint of skunk in the aroma also, but very slight, and not off putting.
Taste - This is a grain beer, and that is the main flavor. It starts off more of a cereal grain flavor. The backside is a buttery biscuit flavor. No bitterness, and no skunk that I was getting from the nose.
Light, crisp and clean body. Slightly bubbly feeling.
I have passed on this beer many times over the years because I didn't want to invest in a case of it. I now know that this is a damn delicious beer in the style, and I should consider a case of it for easy drinking. I am surprised and pleased.


All right, I will see you all down the road. Maybe a Country Road next week? Who knows? Cheers all.

 

Nice write up Tim, glad you liked it. I was actually hoping to come across something else to replace this one in your box since I wasn't a huge fan but I couldn't come up with anything. Cheers barleywine brother!

 

Fox Farm - American Zoigl, from @Roguer in NBS BIF #18

16oz can served in a footed pilsner glass. Canned on 03/13/24.

Pours clear brassy gold, pretty big creamy head, visibly carbonated. Smell is grassy and lemony with a light biscuit dough background, some honeysuckle.

Taste is more floral but less specifically honeysuckle, sweetness, with a lot of grassy character. Bitterness builds up pretty quickly.

Mouthfeel is very light, very clean. Overall, very nice beer.

 

Eureka Heights' Space Train, American IPA, 5.5% ABV, canned on 4/5/24

I was looking for a relatively low ABV American pale ale/IPA today at the store today and settled on this one. Glad I did. Fantastic little grapefruit/tropical fruit bomb, nothing big or bold in any direction with nice, almost biscuity sweetness from the malt and great fruit flavors from the hops and a teensy little hop bite ... not very bitter, but that hop bite does seem to grow a bit as you get into the glass. The fruit flavors include some mango.

I'll do an official review later, but I'd ballpark it a 4.25 look, 4.75 aroma (sweet grapefruit!), 4.25 taste, 3.5 feel (it's a tad soft) and an easy 4 overall. Maybe a 4.25 overall. I've got five more cans to work out the final tally.

Cheers!

 

At the Pub, got a seat this time so will stay for a couple. Downtown Ambler is hopping for a Saturday night.

First pour is cask, because cask.

Forest & Main ESB



Pub notes: 20 oz cask pour into mug. 5.6% ABV.

Appearance: Dark bronze pour, tan egg white creamy head lingers for a long time. A little cloudy, can’t see much carbonation but it’s dark in here. Looks solid. 4.25

Aroma: Unsweetened ice tea, backed by dark rye. 3.75

Taste: Heavy ice tea unsweetened vibes, malty, bready, pumpernickel. Pretty good. 3.75

Mouthfeel: Light easy drinking, cask so no carb. Light watery body. Pumpernickel finish. 4.0

Overall: Good cask selection, a little more ice tea than expected, but enjoyed all along. 4.0

 

There was a delay posting my ESB beer review and the couple hours which passed since.

Harry’s Tap in downtown Ambler. Had a few light ABV beers, so hopefully I am set to jump into this one.

Maine Dinner



Bar Notes: $9.50, looks like a 12 oz draft snifter pour. 8.2% ABV.

Appearance: OJ, turbid, slight head AWOL quick with light cover over a small portion of the base. Can’t see carb, but none floating up relatively quick in. 3.75

Aroma: Strong persistent aroma, citrus, light darkness, lime and light relish and pickle. 4.5

Taste: Matches the aroma, citrus, orange tic tacs, lime, getting pickle juice again. Interesting blend, but OJ the take away. 4.0

Mouthfeel: Drinks pretty strong, though could be contrast versus the Forest & Main selections enjoyed earlier. Sweet overall, Orange Crush vibes now deep into it, includes the finish. 3.75

Overall: Solid offering, mostly citrus / orange juice flavor, unique in terms of Maine offerings I’ve experienced. Than you @cjgiant for pointing this out, and really nice meeting you and your BA GF tonight. Look forward to our outing to meet @jonphisher tomorrow in New Jersey. 4.0

 

Cheers to @mhksuccess for this Superbowl Square brew

Beautiful Something Helles Lager, 4.8% ABV; 3.98 overall


Pours a chill hazed gold with a thumb of pearl colored head. Nice head retention & lacing

S: Bready, soapy & perfumy hops

T: Bready, grassy, hints of lemon & soapy hops up front. Dryness, grassyness, hints of lime as this beer warms up. Finishes dry with lime, soapy hops & a little grain sweetness

MF: Medium body, restrained carbonation, nicely balanced

Solid take on the style, easy to drink

 

Toppling Goliath Cosmic Archer DIPA, 7.8% ABV; 4.02 overall

Pours a very hazed & chill hazed ( warm in this room ) honey color with 2 fingers of cream-colored head. Average-sh head retention ^ better lacing

S: Oranges, peaches, green melons, mangoes & guava once warm

T: Pomelo, dryness, some grassy hops & green melon up front. Powdery dryness, pomelo, & grassyness as this beer warms up, limes. Finishes very dry with tart orange, limes & green melon & a kiss of grapefruit

MF: Medium body, dialed back carbonation, pretty good balance

Kind of middling for these guys, that can't all be gems I suppose. Wish it was a as good as the nose

 

Today I went to Perrin Brewery for the release of No Rules. Spoiler, I didn’t buy any cans of the current release as they were $20 per pint. Sorry, I am just not going to contribute to that trend.
So I had a flight of some of them.

Double Barrel Decadence was a double barrel version of their locally famous fudge cake stout (they threw literal chocolate cakes into the mash) that was barreled 9 months in bourbon barrels and then 12 months in whiskey barrels.
The chocolate was no longer prominent in the flavors, taking a back seat to the barrel effects. Just bourbon tends to leave the sweetness, but the year of whiskey really amplified the barrel edge, eliminating any lingering chance of being mistaken for a pastry stout.
The next one was a Cuvée, or so they called it. It’s also referred to as a blend in other sources. The least impressive of the lot, but certainly not a bad beer at all. Barrel aged blend of stouts? Yes please. It was just up against some very stiff competition.
The third one was the most decadent, and I don’t even know what is in a White Russian.
White chocolate (which really isn’t chocolate) was the most prominent flavor, I’d never had that before. Lots of vanilla, lactose maybe, and the No Rules base porter. It’s so different it actually tempts me to pay for a can of it.
The next one is actually better, in my opinion, the double barrel variant. I never learned how long it spent in what barrels, but I suspect from the flavors that it was in whiskey barrels longer than or at least after the bourbon barrels.
The array of flavors that assaulted my taste buds was amazing, coffee and chocolate and coconut and hints of bourbon with a finish of rye whiskey. It’s truly good.
The last one was a mistake on my part, and I hadn’t even had any beer yet. I marked the wine barrel variant instead of the “base” version.
Happy accident though, normally red wine barrels leave too much tannin flavor for my preference but this one was devoid of that- the wine, if anything, added a little grape flavor to the normal “dark fruit” taste found in so many stouts, and apparently some porters. I ended up enjoying this one more than I thought I would.
They were all at 15% or higher so these were savored for a while while I wrote down my thoughts on each of them.
Tomorrow is Transient’s birthday/anniversary so I will be there for a bit. We’ll see what happens there.
Cheers!

 

Wow, this is a gem!
Ghost Sinatures: Motueka bt Marlowe Artisinal Ales
I even got to put this, my first from them, in the DB.
Thanks to @zeile33 for sending this in NBS BIF #18
No date.
Turbid, faded gold with a fluffy white head. Beautiful. Great retention, scattered lacing.
Nose is lush and gentle. Floral citrus starts off: lime zest and orange rind. But then a silky peach note comes in followed by whispers from a slightly herbal grass. And underneath it all is an almost creamy grain note.
Flavor is a delicate version of lime pith that is elegantly floral on the tongue. An almost indiscernible pineapple note comes in and makes way for green grass, and finally a smooth sweet lime finish.
Mouthfeel has what I like about a well done NEIPA, it's fluffy. The carbonation is active but unobtrusive, and the finish is smooth and lightly bitter.
Overall, I'd hit this weekly if I could. Amazing what can be done with Motueka.
4.34/5 rDev 0%
look: 4 | smell: 4.25 | taste: 4.5 | feel: 4.25 | overall: 4.25

 

One from my trip up to Wichita. River City Brewing's Rob's Mexican Cake Imp Stout. Aged in Heaven Hill & & Rogue Barrels with Cinnamon, Almonds, cocoa nibs, Vanilla Beans & Habanero Peppers, 14.0% ABV; 3.91 overall

Pours an effervescent cola/mahogany color with a sliver of hazel colored head. Head doesn't really hang around. Zero head retention & lacing

S: Cola, cinnamon & vanilla

T: Follows the nose, some barrel presence for sure, a touch of dryness, vanilla & cocoa, a boozy Horchata vibe going on here. More cinnamon, barrel dryness, some peppery heat as well once this beer warms up, plus hints of cocoa, coffee & vanilla. Finishes with barrel, pepper heat, cocoa & vanilla

MF: Chewy, near zero carbonation, warming, a little carbonation build as this beer warms up

A sipper to be sure, didn't quite wow me, but still pretty enjoyable

 

Can’t wait to buy him and @cjgiant a beer in a few hours

If/when you ever come back to NJ you gotta let me know.

 

Typically at home in the late morning (or early if still up overnight) to kick off New Beer Sunday #1001. @jonphisher @cjgiant + 1 and I have a meeting across the river today.

At minimum will be recording voice memo reviews and posting written summaries of my first New Jersey beer experiences later today. Looking forward to what everyone else is enjoying around the glove this weekend.

Cheers!