New Beer Weekend #201

Good day all,
Long weekend of work, facilty shutdowns all complete
Todays offering is from 2nd shift brewing a fine coffee stout
Cheers all
Liquid Spiritual Delight

Reviewed by SABERG from Massachusetts

4.16/5 rDev +1.2% | Average: 4.11
look: 4 | smell: 4.25 | taste: 4.25 | feel: 4 | overall: 4
Poured from an undated 12 oz can into the test glass.
A - Pours a very dak brown, with a short lived thin off white cap. a ring of evidence persists along the glass, during the experience.
S - Certainly a coffe stout, with darkfruit, bakers chocolate and some char in the mix.
T - The char and coffee are stronger here, with none of that aromatic dark fruit. Bakers chocolate is more prominent as well.
M - Nice level of bitterness runs the experience, not a hefty texture. The dry close is exceptional
O - A very good coffee stout, solid body, excellent flavors

 

My last contribution to this NBW thread most likely. I have been sitting on this for awhile now. Every time I went into the fridge looking for a new one I just wasn't sure about doing a 750ml crawler. Today is the day, now is it good?


L'Enfant Sauvage - Pantown Brewing - St. Cloud, MN - Saison - 8.5%

First off, they must have used Belgian yeast to make this. There's the bubblegum funk from it. Hints of banana also show through. I am damn impressed, and shocked with how high I rated it, but it is worth it in my book.

Review:
https://www.beeradvocate.com/beer/profile/54849/703573/

4.53/5 rDev 0%
look: 4 | smell: 4.75 | taste: 4.5 | feel: 4.5 | overall: 4.5
From a 750ml crawler dated 235th day of 23'.

The beer pours actually a fairly clear golden color. Small carbonation bubbles rise in the glass when I look at it through light. The head is a 2 finger white head with smaller bubbles. Overall the retention is poor and there's minimal lacing on the glass.
The aroma is very interesting and strong. There's tons of Belgian character to it. Notes of banana hit me. I get a strong bubblegum aroma. Hints of a wild and funky character. Damn, this aroma is so diverse. They must have used Belgian yeast.
Taste - Yeah, Belgian yeast was used. There is a bubblegum character to the flavor. Lots of banana as well show up. There's hints of a wild funk going on here. Hit of sweetness shows through, and a slight bitterness on the backside.
Body is very full. Slightly bubbly feeling. Not boozy. Smooth.
Damn, this is downright amazing. I am impressed as heck with it.

I think am done for the extended weekend. I wish you all the best and will see you all next weekend.

 

Continuing to drink this monster, I have a couple more comments to add: Cola. I think that's the "something fruity" that I mentioned before. But I definitely get some cola from it. The other thing to add is vanilla cream.

If anything, it's improving as it warms.

 

Congratulations on the new job! Wishing you all the best!

 

Sly Fox — Pikeland

Thanks to @jonphisher, I spent a few hours tracking down Sly Fox beers in New York. My son loves the subway, and since it was a rainy day, we went on a two-hour ride to Queens to enjoy MTA and see if I could get a new-to-me beer. Both worked out well.

This pilsner is yellow, with no lacing, and a quickly disappearing head.

The nose is spicy yeast, which immediately reminded me of another beer, see below.

The taste is also yeasty, with a prominent bitter hop bite.

The mouthfeel is thin, with a pleasant not overwhelming hoppy bitter aftertaste.

Overall it's an OK rendition of a German pilsner, but very American to my palate. I wouldn't compare it to any imports, especially not to Jever or Radeberger. The closest I can think about is Zero Gravity Green State, with its yeast and hoppy character.

 

Overcast but pleasant day today. Way behind on the gardening work even with three days to get on it. Not as fast as I used to be, that's for sure. We use self-designed self watering garden boxes and a lot of them need replacement. Found out they are a pain to empty out... Building a bunch of the 2.0 upgraded version I pieced together from Da Google...

So I should probably be docked karma for being a pretty long tenured BA and not having had this beer:



North Coast Old Rasputin. It's readily available and actually pretty affordable, so why haven't I tried it ere now? Dunno.

Pours a rich black coffee color and when I poured out the remainder I got the soft serve ice cream cone shape on the coffee ice cream colored dense and ample head. For all intents and purposes the liquid looks black in the glass. The foam cling is ridiculous.

The smell is surprisingly tame. Charred roasty malts, dark fruit, baker's chocolate initially but it starts to go toward milk chocolate after a bit. There's a little espresso and it's quite earthy with a hint of hercaceousness.

Compared to the aroma, the flavor hits like a sledgehammer. It's almost too intense. Incredible impact of roasted malt with an almost molasses hint of sweetness. Amorphous dark fruits. Baker's chocolate with its bitterness rolls through and there's a definite mineral tang, maybe even a tad bit of salt - Kalamata olives come to mind for whatever strange reason. A bit acrid but not too much. Bitter, day old coffee and a sneaky bit of vanilla. Very faint licorice note. The char, bitter, and mineral taste lingers and at the end while the chocolate bitterness mellows quite a bit. Or it's just overwhelmed. A little resin peeks out - it might be a "save me" sign from the hops. No sign of alcohol. Earthy as hell.

Feel - moderately carbed, coats the tongue, dries out a lot, and there's an interesting tongue tingling spice-like sensation after the flavor party subsides.

Overall a beer that deserves every single kudo it has gotten. Well-priced, readily available so the value is there. I find it dangerously drinkable. It's in the 4.3 - 4.5 range for me.

 

Nice, dad and son both enjoying the day off. Glad you were able to try it, I’ll have to revisit Green State, it has been a while since I’ve had it.

I have never reviewed it so when I do revisit I’ll add it to the thread.

 

I tried that beer for the first time ever within the past year or so and felt the same way from beginning to end of your post.

Now you’ve made me want to get a four pack sometime soon.

 

Daily serving mango & passionfruit

4.42/5 rDev +1.6%
look: 4 | smell: 4.5 | taste: 4.5 | feel: 4 | overall: 4.5

Brewers notes: Daily Serving was born out of our desire to express intense, saturated fruit character in beer form. After thoughtful experimentation with Permutation 6.47 and 6.51, we found that a base recipe similar to the German Berliner Weisse style, with its delicate, yet fluffy mouthfeel and even-keeled acidity is the perfect foundation for robust fruit additions.With a hefty addition of mango and passionfruit, the third entry to our Daily Serving series takes a refreshingly tropical approach. Deep orange in color, with a heavy, glowing haze, mango smoothie is the first thing that comes to mind when the can is cracked. Waves of passion fruit juice, orange creamsicle, and apricot all make an appearance on the palate. Medium-bodied, lightly sweet, and incredibly soft, Daily Serving: Mango & Passion Fruit is a vivid drinking experience throughout the entire glass.

Orange juice looking liquid, big bubbled glassy foam bubbles quickly recede to a thin white ring

Aroma is mango and passion fruit, sweet , tart

Taste is a passion fruit and mango smoothie, peach, sweet tart

Minimal sudsing

Good beer

 

Glad to help you spend your money

 

Arizona Wilderness - Dill...alongside my good buddy @ovaltine.

16oz can served in a footed pilsner glass. Not sure if I can actually read it correctly, but I think it's dated 02/04/2024. Sent one of these as a mystery beer for @ovaltine in NBS BIF #18, since he finally drank his it's time for me to drink mine.

Pours mostly clear orange-amber with little or no head. Smell is nondescript kettle sour, maybe a little pickliness.

Taste is kettle sour, salt, cucumber, general brininess. I think I get some vague floral sweetness.

Mouthfeel is medium bodied, maybe a bit lighter. Overall...it's not bad. It's not great. It's certainly pickle-oriented.

 

I promised myself not to travel for beer, but walking to that store in Queens would be about 15 miles roundtrip. Doable, but not on a day like today. But it indeed worked well for both of us. The store is not what I expected — not sure I would ever go back, but we'll see. Now I have three more Sly Fox lagers to try. I will report back.

 

Probably one of the most underappreciated beers out there & too am guilty if by passing it at the store. There was a time when that was the only Imp Stout of any style worth a shit I could get in Oklahoma

 

Mountain Fork Brewing ( Broken Bow, OK ) Double Barreled Imp Stout, 11.0% ABV; 3.86 overall

Pours an effervescent cola/mahogany color with a pinky of mocha colored head. Some head retention & lacing, plenty viscous

S: Whiskey barrel, dark fruits, cola note once warm

T: Follows the nose, a little coffee, chocolate & woody hops up front. Pretty dry, barrel presence, figs & woody hops as this beer warms up, more coffee notes. Finishes dry with plenty of barrel, leafy & woody hops, plus a little dark cherry & cocoa

MF: Chewy as hell, low carbonation, very warming. Carbonation picks up as this beer warms up, but the body thins out, plenty warming

Commendable stab at the style, but no serious depth here other than the flavor. I am not a fan of these bruisers in large bottles anymore, but these guys are just trying to find a market

 

Hello again friends!
My last new beer for this long weekend:

Picked this up as part of a mix 6 while searching for Speedway Stout (think I got the last two 4 packs in the city)
It surprised me how good this was, a strong hit of coffee, a hint of chocolate, and miles of roasted malts. A tiny hint of bitter that closes the loop, encouraging another sip of this full bodied beer.
Seriously wishing more than 50 pounds for checked luggage was available without exorbitant prices. Ah well, next year I will be more selective.
Cheers all! Can we get to 11?

 

A little cross post from the RIS Tasting thread and she's holding up well. Maybe the faintest note of oxidation...maybe. But toasty, deep leather, plum, wood, non sweet cocoa, and coffee. A great take on a classic style.

 

We are close to 11.

 

Swung over to Bootleggers and enjoyed this one, and entered it into the DB.
Hop Hatchet Hazy
On top at Bootleggers OK in Fullerton, California.
Definitely hazy. Cloudy. Peach juice in color. Fluffy whitehead, quickly dissipates into a thin ring.
Nose has an initial pop of dank weed that makes a quick left turn towards tropical, pineapple, mango purée, and citrus zest.
Flavor starts off with zesty grapefruit, pineapple, lemongrass, and a mellow hint of the weed.
Mouthfeel is tingly but not just from the carbonation. Finishes a bit earthy in its bitterness.
3.71/5 rDev 0%
look: 3.5 | smell: 3.75 | taste: 3.75 | feel: 3.5 | overall: 3.75

 

Ok. I am done here. Just sipping my Narwhal. Any other left coast, best coast peeps here to bring this to 11. @snaotheus @woemad @BBThunderbolt @Beersnake Any last musings?