New Beer Weekend #198

Good evening BA
I took a chance picking this one up while out of town since it didn't drop locally.

Founders Ginger, Spice, Barreled and Nice

12oz bottled 9/19/23 poured into a tulip glass at fridge temp 12.8% ABV. The beer pours murky pale amber with chunks suspended and light beige colored head. The head recedes to an irregular ring and single layer of bubbles. The aroma is mild, but strongly reminds me of gingerbread. The taste is sweet liquid gingerbread with a hint of bourbon on the finish. No real bitterness with the ginger, clove and bourbon working together to balance the sugar and doing a decent job. The mouthfeel is medium plus bodied (I'm trying to block out the chunky floaters) with less than average carbonation and a semi dry finish. Overall, unique.

 

Time for another beer. I am at a bar in New Bern called Pirates Cove, and having this on tap.

Beekeeper- Gizmo Brew Works - Raleigh, NC - American Pale Wheat - 5.5%

The honey in this beer is the star of the show, and the main flavor. Very tasty tonight.

https://www.beeradvocate.com/beer/profile/31481/122175/
3.73/5 rDev +1.1% look: 3.75 | smell: 3.75 | taste: 3.75 | feel: 3.5 | overall: 3.75 On tap at Pirates Cove in New Bern, NC Murky hazy straw colored pouring beer. There is a faint white head from the tap. The aroma is a bit of honey on it. I also get some banana and clove. Taste - honey is the main flavor that shines through. The honey sweetness is not overpowering at all, but lingers. The banana and clove flavors also show up, but aren't too strong. Faint hop hit up front. The body is decent. The feeling of the honey flavor lingers. Tasty, refreshing and easy drinking.

Probably one more for the new beer weekend in a bit, after dinner.

 

Cheers to @jschott75 for this Superbowl Square payout

Off Color Brewing's Mezcal Barrel Aged Beer For Tacos Gose, 5.8% ABV; 4.23 overall

Pours a chill hazed gold with one finger of pearl colored head. Minimal head retention & lacing

S: Lemons, salt. Mescal barrel once warm

T: Follows the nose, with a oaky dry & tasty Mescal hit, lime as well up front. Lime, salt, Mescal barrel & dryness as this beer warms through. Finishes lemony, salty with some Mescal dryness

MF: Medium body, lively carbonation, some enamel chewing tartness

Fun, tasty Gose, worth a pickup if you enjoy the style. This time of the year I am a fan

 

Piggy backing; Happy Anniversary

 

All right, last one of this NBW.


Chatham Street Wheat - Shortway Brewing - Newport, NC - American Pale Wheat Beer - 6.0%

This beer had potential, but just seems muddled to me in the flavor department.
https://www.beeradvocate.com/beer/profile/52866/347234/
3.24/5 rDev 0% look: 3.75 | smell: 3.5 | taste: 3 | feel: 3.25 | overall: 3.25 On tap at Pirates Cove bar in New Bern, NC This beer is a fairly clear pouring beer. Golden in color with a white head. Faint clove and banana aroma. Taste - somewhat muddled in my opinion. I do get clove, but the banana is weak. Some sweetness here. Body is ok, but, the feeling from the flavors detract from the feeling. Could have been great, but this beer is just lacking in my book.

All right, more beers tomorrow on vacation in the WBAYDN thread. Cheers from NC

 

I've had a couple Ethiopian beers, both from Harar. The only noteworthy aspect of either was their origin.

 

Greetings, fellow NBWers,

It's a damp Bloomsday/Cinco de Mayo in the wilds of Spokanistan. Rain off and on all day, with temperatures not rising above the high 40s. Unlike around 32,000 folks, I chose not to run Bloomsday, and I think I'm okay with that.

My first new "beer" of the weekend was consumed last night after work, a non-alcoholic witbier with added orange flavor:

https://www.beeradvocate.com/beer/profile/20680/680475/?ba=woemad#lists
It was basically like a diet orange soda. Kinda bummed, as Fremont's na IPA was actually really good, but this was pretty meh.

Today I chose to recognize Cinco de Mayo by hitting and reviewing pFriem's Mexican Lager:

https://www.beeradvocate.com/beer/profile/29573/290766/?ba=woemad#lists
It's nothing Earth shattering, but it's a decent warm weather lager. Still not sure when the warm weather will be here on a reliable basis.

 

Alright friends, it’s been too quiet here this weekend so l lied, a second new beer tonight.

Oh and @HoppingMadMonk forgive me for I have sinned, yes I have had this beer but a long time ago, well before review days.

I love the idea behind this beer, and I love how it’s written so I shared that as well, a NJ beer from Atlantic Highlands.

Carton Brewing - Unjunct (Stout 8.5%)





Pours black, light brown head; dense and creamy, slow to dissipate leaving a thin patchy film.

Nose bittersweet dark chocolate, dark fruit skin; faint smokiness in the foreground, and dark roast coffee.

The taste on this one comes in waves; it is very dark fruit forward at first, cherry like to me, some date character; then comes the dark and bitter roast; it finishes with a lingering, and strong, roasty dark chocolate aftertaste,

Medium but leaning towards high end for body; silky smooth, low carbonation, moderate bitterness that comes off as both hop and roast driven; like twang on the finish, that dark fruit bittersweet feeling; no hint of the 8.5 at all.

This is a fun beer to sip on, flavors come in waves and as it warms those waves morph even more; a great beer to sip and ponder.

Have a great week everyone

 

Mountain Fork Brewing Hocha Cheer Barrel Aged Dark Belgian, 9.4% ABV; 4.1 overall

Pours a chill hazed Chestnut with a pinky of sand colored head.

S: Figs & jammyness, some leafy hops & barrel notes once warm.

T: Follows the nose, oaky dryness, some Sour Mash, some brown sugar as well, plus leafy hops up front. Brown sugar, jammy notes, figs, leafy hops & a little Bourbon Twang as this beer warms up, some cola flavors as well. Finishes with leafy hops, brown sugar, a little sour mash & figs

MF: Medium body, lightly carbonated, warming

Barrel adds a lot but doesn't overpower this. I called this a quad but could also be considered a super-charged Dubbel I suppose, not a ton of wildcard yeast flavors by any means. Another sleeper from these guys

 

Do not fret my son for you are forgiven. Especially as that is a very good beer as I recall

 

Seems a sin may be in your future…if you an unjunct happen to cross paths.

 

Iron Sharpens Iron



13.8% altbier by Jackie O's

Poured from a 12.7 ounce bottle, the body was s a dark brown with no head and a small tan bubble ring at the edges. No lacing.

Aroma is bourbon barrel with notes of vanilla, caramel and oak.

Taste follows nose but everything is amped up. A bit more oak expressed than perceived from the aroma. The barrel is assertive but no burn. The sweet bourbon is the main featured taste, but the other characteristics are not buried. The ABV is deftly masked

Mouthfeel is good despite low carbonation. A comforting slick barrel coating.

A fantastic altbier that admittedly is the only barrel aged alt I have ever tried. Tip of the cap to Jackie O's and Good Word Brewing for this great collaboration. Bought on a whim, but now to buy more!

 

That is the highest ABV altbier I’ve ever seen, damn. Sounds good though!

 

Really good. I’ll be getting more. Can grab one for you if interested. Just lmk.

 

Peruvian Morning
11.7% Stout by Central Waters



Yesterday I had this one with breakfast and chores, so just general notes. Delicious stout with a bit of bourbon barrel and good rich coffee flavor in taste and aroma. Notes of chocolate in the background Well masked ABV. Nice mouthfeel and carbonation make this one an easy sipper. If found locally, it would be in my winter rotation. Thanks to @Danmullens1 for delivering the goods.

 

Barrier Brewing & Other Half Collab — Half & Half, Imperial Milk Stout with Coffee
This was a spontaneous purchase. And I'm glad I did it.



The appearance is a pitch-black coffee-looking liquid with a light-brown coffee-like head. Like a coffee Americano, the head quickly disappears.

The smell is of strong dark roast coffee.

The taste is of strong coffee, nicely bitter and not very sweet. It is so powerful that my next beer tasted weak and bland later in the day.

Overall it is a fantastic and dangerously easy-to-drink coffee stout.

 

Surly - Mosh Pit juicy pale ale

12oz can served in a footed pilsner glass. Can is best by 06/21/24. Received from @ovaltine in NBS BIF #18.

Pours a mostly clear burnished brass color with a smallish head that turns into a very even skin. Smell is mild, grainy, slight hint of old hay, vague tropical, like maybe a not-so-ripe mango.

Taste is not exactly dominated, but certainly overshadowed by the old hay. I've had this can for over a month, so maybe part of that is my fault, but we're also more than six weeks from the "best by" and I highly doubt this beer is at its best. Most of the tropical stuff actually turns a bit more bitter, like mango skin. Grainy-bready stuff is nice.

Mouthfeel is medium or a bit lighter. Overall...it's not bad, I wouldn't decline if offered, but I wouldn't order it in its current state.