New Beer Weekend #199

@Snowcrash000 taking us to church to open up NBW

 

@Snowcrash000 thanks for getting us off to an early start!

 

It’s Springtime for…

For those BAs who are less familiar with the Kölsch beer style I would recommend the article “What is a Kölsch beer?”.

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

Well, back to today’s beer which is Maine Spring. From the Maine Beer Company website:

“Spring

Kölsch

ABV 5.0%

Annual Release

Available on tap & in bottles in our tasting room

Native to Maine woodlands, Azure Bluets appear where they are least expected. To many, they are a welcome first sign of spring, appearing in early April as the snow begins to melt. They pepper the ground in tufts of tiny stars with pale blue petals and a yellow center.

This Kölsch style ale recipe stemmed from the Black Barn Program, and has since grown to become a perennial favorite.

Aromas of lemon, honey, and rose, followed by notes of fresh-cut grass, and bread dough.

Hops: Cashmere, Hallertau Mittelfrüh (GER)

Malt: Maine Malt House Pilsner (ME, USA), Blue Ox Vyenna (ME, USA), Weyermann Acidulated (GER), Weyermann Carahell (GER), Briess American Honey (WI, USA)”

https://mainebeercompany.com/beer/spring

And an extract from the above linked article:

My Requirements for a Kölsch

• Flavor: a combination of Pilsner malt flavor and subtle fruity esters (white wine flavors) from the Kölsch yeast
• Low-moderate bitterness and zero hop flavor/aroma
• Very light in color: straw colored
• Mouthfeel: light – medium bodied with a crisp/dry finish

Enough jibber-jabber, let’s drink this wonderful beer.

Served on draft at Local 44 in Philadelphia:

Appearance

A straw yellow color with a white head.

Aroma:

There is a combination of bready (almost cracker-like) Pilsner malt and fruity aromas and some floral in the background.

Taste:

Flavor follows the nose with a pleasing balance of bready Pilsner malt flavor and subtle fruity (wine-like) flavors, and some floral in the background. There is a low/moderate bitterness

Mouthfeel

Medium bodied with a dry finish.

Overall

I very much enjoyed drinking this beer. It is an excellent Kölsch beer IMO.

Cheers!

@rotsaruch @RobH @KOP_Beer_OUtlet

 

@Snowcrash000 started us off with three Tired Hands beers. 5+ years ago there used to be HUGE lines for people to buy these beers during their weekly releases (Wednesday afternoons) to buy their canned beers. After a while, the customers would place chairs to hold a place in line for when the beers were released (e.g., 2:00 pm). Below is a photo a BA took back then of the chairs placed to hold those places in the line:



I can now buy Tired Hands cans at my local Retail Beer Distributor. My, how things have changed.

Cheers!

 

Time for some juicy hops. Tree House ALWAYS delivers, IMHO.





4.42/5 rDev -0.7%
look: 4.5 | smell: 4.25 | taste: 4.5 | feel: 4.25 | overall: 4.5
Pours a very hazy, turbid yellow color with a dense, creamy white head that leaves moderate lacing and sporadic bubbles and a ring on the body of the beer. Gorgeous hazy.

The nose features lots of mango and grapefruit notes, along with pineapple and star fruit notes. The taste replicates the nose, with the mango and grapefruit notes most prominent and very tasty, with the pineapple and star fruit flavors in the background. Deliciously drinkable.

The mouthfeel is on par with other Tree House hazies, soft and inviting, adding to the drinkability. This is outstanding, IMHO.

 

I always experience my beers live during the Weekend window, which has changed since my start late last decade from Sunday, to Saturday and Sunday (plus Holiday weekdays), to now Friday 6 PM (or earlier) Central Daylight/Standard Time. Hope we can continue the tradition to kicking off the thread with an introduction of what has made this thread now beyond 1000 weeks in the making special.

Whether you are long time participants, lurkers who might want to jump in for the first time this weekend, or somewhere in between, this thread gives us an opportunity to share, experience, enjoy our first shot at a particular beer. Could also be your first stab at a brewery or style. Whatever it may be, please post a photo if you wish, and paint a picture of how your beer looked, smelled, tasted, felt and an overall impression. Perhaps post your review in our ever expanding database.

It's a beautiful weekend here, so may take advantage on Saturday and or Sunday to hit a few Chicago breweries. This beer was contract brewed in Baltimore Maryland, but sold here, so I guess Chicago sold is the theme this weekend as I may have one or more Goose Island beers brewed beyond Fulton or the new Salt Shed Brewpub. I do these live, so never know how it will turn out until I am typing in my thoughts here.

I never drank at Local Option, but I still remember their incredible sale at the start of the government lockdowns in April 2020, and making two trips via Metra to bring home boxes of great beer. They occasionally have a contract brewer create draft beers for them, and this is the first time I saw a canned offering of these. I made an exception to my rule of buying undated cans, as it was recently distributed to my primary beer store for NBW/NBS single can purchases.

Local Option Bierwerker Outlawger



A bit wordy with the preamble, so just the review link and overall impression.

https://www.beeradvocate.com/beer/profile/16773/118065/?ba=ChicagoJ#review

4.01/5 rDev +3.4%
look: 3.75 | smell: 4 | taste: 4 | feel: 4.25 | overall: 4

Overall: This is a very well brewed German Pilsner. Assuming this is fresh based on the cracking fresh pilsner flavors and feel. Really glad I picked this up and had my first go at a Local Option offering. I would like to try more either at Local Option or after a fresh drop. 4.0

 

Thanks for the opening @Snowcrash000


Tincture by Hopothecary Ales of North Reading, Massachusetts

3.82/5 rDev 0%
look: 4.5 | smell: 3.75 | taste: 3.75 | feel: 4 | overall: 3.75

Brewers notes: Tincture was one of our original recipes and was formulated to straddle the line between traditional and New England style pale ales. It is a medium bodied pale that is perfectly formulated to showcase the bittering, resinous and citrus-like characteristics of Columbus, El Dorado and Simcoe hops.

Undated chilled pint can poured into a prententious beer glass , three finger rocky off white foam cap over a clear dark amber liquid, good retention

Aroma is piney, orange citrus

Taste is pine, orange citrus

Mouthfeel is juicy, sudsy, sharp hop bite,

Good beer

 

Well, you da man!

Cheers!

 

@Snowcrash000 getting us started in style!
I’m trying to drink down some of my higher ABV stouts as our SAN will likely never be what it once was. Sigh.

Raining Hats and Dogs, a pastry stout from Prairie.
I know they can do a good pastry stout, and while some people might enjoy it, it’s far sweeter than I prefer.
Blis barrel aged with Madagascar Vanilla and marshmallow. Pretty much what it’s like to.
Maple syrup with vanilla and marshmallow? Look up “cloying” in the dictionary.
To their credit, all the flavors are present, and the stout was as well.
Would have been excellent for a “Pastry SAN” (stout appreciation night) and it *did* make a nice dessert drink so all is not lost.
Cheers all!

 

Rodenbach 2019 Vintage Oak Aged Ale (Barrel No. 137)
https://www.beeradvocate.com/beer/profile/216/619231/

I never pass up a chance to try one of these Vintage releases, and this one is very nice. i should have tried for a back-lit shot though.

Appearance: Poured a 750ml caged and corked bottle into a tulip. A thin bubbly tan head on a clear reddish brown. The head disappears almost immediately. No lacing.

Smell: Vinous smells. Wood and leather to a lesser degree. Some fruit, leaning towards cherry.

Taste: A base of red wine. So well melded that individual flavours are hard to pick apart. A smooth and mildly sour finish.

Mouthfeel: Light body and carbonation.

Overall: Very smooth and complex. Sweet/sour balance is right on. A top Flemish Red. Smoother and more completely melded than most of the other Vintage series.

look: 4 | smell: 4.5 | taste: 4.5 | feel: 4.25 | overall: 4.5

 

Lakefront Imperial Oatmeal Stout

Appearance: Black, small head fades out relatively quickly.

Smell: Big molasses note, dark chocolate, wood, booze.

Taste: Moderate chocolate/milk chocolate at first, then a transition into barrel wood and a little booziness. Kind of a weird mouthfeel, creamy at first but turns thin with the booze. Finishes with mild chocolate and a little alcohol burn.

Overall: Another interesting experiment beer, 22 months in barrels. Starts out pretty strong but the barrel kind of dominates the latter half. Glad to give it a try!
Thanks to @cheeseheadinMinneapolis for this one.

 

Welcome to Friday night...thanks for starting us off @Snowcrash000. If anyone is seeing this thread for the first time, I hope you will join us and talk about a new beer you're having this weekend. It's a fun little place to come and hang with like minded beer lovers.

I've enjoyed taking advantage of our international start time these days since I have a nice little supply of BA supplied new beers in the fridge right now.

May has gone from hot to normal back to cold, its been a wild ride thus far, luckily I had the perfect beer for tonights weather; cold rain and back in sweats weather...an American brown ale supplied by @Providence.

Fox Farm - Scatter (American Brown Ale 6.4%)



Pours a dirty chestnut brown; some cloudiness when backlit, spongy off white head, bubbly and craggy when settling, thin film is was persists.

Nose; dried out bread, lightly browned toast, coffee breath, woody spice, light chocolate and roast.

Taste is has a lot of toastiness to it but it verges towards roast, the hops really kick in on the finish; lightly resiny, maybe even a touch of pine; walnut and brownie qualities in the aftertaste.

Medium body; creamy carbonation and nicely bitter, has a nice stickiness to it, it’s quite drinkable for such abv.

I always enjoy a good American brown ale, the mix of bitterness atop the malt is just such a pleasant mix to me, especially if it maintains drinkability. This is a a well made beer, thank you for sharing this one Jesse.

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Enjoy whatever is in your glasses tonight and keep the Friday night posts coming Hope to be back tomorrow, in the meantime I'll read what you all are drinking

@ChicagoJ thank you for highlighting what NBW/S is all about, it's a neat little place we all have here.

 

HeyHo BAs! My new to me beer tonight is kind of a gimmick I could not resist. Alesmith has done a Coffee & Beer series of collabs with other brewers and grinders…How could I resist?

I bought all six and my first foray is “Coffee & Beer - IPA” a collab with Other Half, and with Cloud Cover Coffee. It’s an IPA with Mosaic and Ethiopian Keramo Single Origin Coffee:



Canned 3/11/24. Poured at 48°. Three fingers of fluffy white head sits atop a deep gold body with excellent clarity; excellent cap retention; medium minus lacing; solid ring. Bitter grapefruit, lemon peel and berries nose; some coffee as beer warms. Bitter grapefruit on entry; mild bitter coffee middle; bitter coffee grounds finish. Medium light body; moderate minus carbonation; crisp feel; no astringency. Overall, I’m glad the coffee was fairly mild; a good IPA but I did not like the coffee notes; the coffee and hop flavors did not work together imo.

4.5 | 4.0 | 3.75 | 4.0 | 3.75
Score: 3.88 rDev 0. I added beer to database.

One and done. I’d hesitate to try another coffee IPA in the future. Cheers y’all!

 

This beer reminds me of Hoplslam when fresh, & pretty much tracks like it taste-wise with some age on it