New Beer Weekend #202

My weekend is seven days, then I get another, then another, then another, then anysm,

 

Jack's Abby — Destination: Australia

Another week, another new Jack's Abby lager. Not to be confused with Destination: Australia collab that had finger limes as one of the ingredients from a few years ago. This new pilsner is cool-pool hopped with Galaxy, Enigma, and Vic Secret.

The appearance is of a clear dark yellow beer with a thin but retaining head.

Not much of a nose, which is common for Jack's Abby.

The taste is bready malt with a nice amount of hop bite.

Full body, with excellent crisp aftertaste.

Overall, this is an excellent new-world pilsner, with hops not too overwhelming.

 

Holy shit! NBW is off & running!!!

Toppling Goliath TG Pils, 5.6% ABV, 4.3 overall

Pours an effervescent gold with 2+ fingers of pearl colored head. Good head retention & lacing

S: Bready, some grainyness, soapy & perfumy hops

T: Follows the nose, some lemony hops, a little dryness up front. Grassy bitterness, limes, breadyness & dryness as this beer warms up. Crisp, clean finish, limes & breadyness, with grassy hops to boot

MF: Medium body, fairly crisp carbonation, good balance

Well put together Pils, easy to drink

 

Not sure how to proceed here, this is labeled as a Golden Ale yet styled as an English Pale Ale. If there was an Irish Golden Ale style, this would be somewhere near the top. Its BA score is 87 and it is ranked at #12 from 70 ratings and 26 reviews. The #12 rating will likely flatten out over time. I'm reviewing this one based what it states on the label and I'm going high.
Can notes:
Enjoy the canned version of our Irish Gold Golden Ale. Traditionally brewed with lightly roasted Cara malt and finished with First Gold aroma hops. A tastier ale with a gentle bite.
Malts: Irish Ale, Vienna & Cara. Hops: First Gold, Admiral.

Ingredients: Water, Malted Barley, Hop, Yeast.



Irish Gold

English Pale Ale | 5.2% ABV
Sullivan's Craft Brewery (1702) Ltd in Kilkenny, Ireland

4.19/5 rDev +8.3% | Average: 3.87
look: 4.25 | smell: 4 | taste: 4.25 | feel: 4.25 | overall: 4.25

An easy pour kept the creamy white head at a fat finger, long retention and a lasting craggy cap. An even coating of lace remains. Cloudy looking golden-straw color shows clear and shiny golden yellow in bright light.

Mild smell of fresh baked bread, biscuit, dough and toast. Low herbal hop aroma matched by fresh and toasted grain. It smells as if it could be sweet from the Vienna and Cara malts.

Semi sweet with low bitterness at first, a sweet taste of malt quickly becomes semi-dry and toasty with an equal rise in bitterness. Hop flavor has added spicy basil and a light salty bitterness. A hint of caramel apple, raisin, and faint banana appear. The finish is dry with average bitterness, it slowly winds down to a pleasantly lingering spicy bitter aftertaste.

Soft medium bodied feel thanks to the lasting carbonation and the study malt backbone. Smooth and very well balanced, alcohol is well hidden, and the smell/taste/feel improves greatly as it warms. The initial caramel sweetness and the higher-than-average toasted malt character pushes this away from EPA style guidelines, and I don't care.

Sorry @jonphisher , I might not try the Stout until Sunday.

 

It looks like Todd is an hour ahead of you now, just saying..

 

River City Brewing's Rob's Exquisite Imperial Stout ( 2022 aged in Cruzan & Coconut Rum Barrels ), 15.0% ABV; 4.41 overall

2022 Vintage pours an effervescent cola/Ebony color with a pinky of mocha colored head, Coconut pieces floating around. Not the prettiest beer, traces of head retention & lacing, viscous

S: Some booze, some chocolate, coconut once warm, a kiss of booze

T: Tastes like bloody German Choclate Cake with a little booze mixed in & just some lovely hints of those two types of Rum barrels mixed in up front. Chocolate, vanilla, plenty of coconut, & dryness as this beer warms up. Finishes warming with all the classic flavor, plus a pleasing Rum flair

MF: Medium/to somewhat chewy, low carbonation, certainly warming. Carbonation picks up a little once warm

Nails the advertised flavor, nice drinkability; ABV is nicely disguised. Easily the best of their BA Imp Stouts I've tried so far. This one will make me take a flyer on more for sure!

 

Parsons North Brewing's Doppelbock is a good representation of this style and a solidly good beer overall that I am quite enjoying right now. And it is my first new beer of this weekend.

https://www.beeradvocate.com/beer/profile/55014/637688/?ba=neenerzig#lists

Eric

 

In a couple weeks, that's how my work schedule will evolve. So maybe I'll be posting new beers on Thursday evenings!

 

@JackHorzempa looking forward to your Logjammin' recap...if you happen upon them wondering about Birdsmouth Brewing up in Monmouth County. They are an all lager brewery but I haven't been up there, a place on my, hope to visit one day NJ list. Also my money is on Tonewood having OG Lager as an option, a beer that I think is very very good. Have fun today, perfect weather streak around these parts continues.

 

I forgive you @Amendm that one sounds like a winner too, give that stout a straight up vigorous down the center pour. If I remember my review it had some of the best lacing I've had in any irish nitro stout. Also I seem to be in the minority in loving nitro cans but I am not ashamed

 

Thanks for the tip about Birdsmouth. I will make sure to stop at that booth. There are over 70 breweries that will be attending this year's event. Unfortunately Tonewood is not listed. Hopefully just an error on the website?

Cheers!

 

Well, shoot! I hope it’s an error too I just assumed they’d be there. I guess we’ll know by afternoon

 

I just read in a thread in the Mid-Atlantic forum that Philly Beer Week started (yesterday) and for today a number of Philly craft beer bars are having after Logjammin' events.

Until I read this thread I had no idea that Philly Beer Week was still a 'thing'. ¯\_(ツ)_/¯

Cheers!

 

Damn those nachos look good!

 

Good morning NBW, here's Steel Toe Schwarzbier:

Appearance: Clear dark brown, good head.

Smell: Nice roasted malt aroma.

Taste: Nutty at first, then the roasted malt takes over and carries through the finish. Maybe a little grassiness in the finish as well. Not too heavy, not too light in feel.

Overall: Steel Toe is an underrated brewery and I've been trying to buy more of their stuff lately. This schwarzbier is tasty, roasty, and refreshing. Another good one from Steel Toe.

 

Tonewood is indeed there Jack. And yes I remember driving over the bridge for events years ago, it was a week full of neat events and visiting breweries, I guess not so much anymore.

I will be at my nephews 5th bday party as you sip on lagers in the sun. Enjoy!

 

Cool! I am waiting in line hoping they will let us in soon.

Cheers!

 

Thank you for clarifying @Snowcrash000 , and your role in creating this earlier jump on the weekend. @Orca , if anything, this clarification gives all of America a chance to open the thread at a reasonable hour (during daylight saving time 8 PM EDT - 5 PM PDT, with a slight advantage to the East during the four months standard time (7 PM EST - 4 PM PST) as GMT (aka BA time) is not adjusted for daylight saving time.

My second selection this weekend is being poured today at the annual Firestone Walker Invitational. While I'm not a fan of big crowds, would like to one day attend, as I hear from everyone who has attended it's a great time. This beer is a collaboration with a local Chicago Brewery. Link to full review below.

Firestone Walker Brewing Co. & Half Acre Beer Company Trailing West Pils

4.2/5 rDev +5.3%
look: 4 | smell: 4.5 | taste: 4 | feel: 4.25 | overall: 4.25



Overall: This is a solid offering, wish this was a 16 oz or that I had more than one. Met high expectations coming in for a Firestone Walker Pilsner. Wish I was enjoying this at the Festival vs. a cool rainy day in Chicago. Buy with confidence. 4.25

Usually not the high score on BA (seem to be more generous vs. the average RateBeer rating), but there are four, but no others 4 or higher. Really reminds me of Pivo dialed a little back a bit in terms of dryness and hops. A solid offering, would buy more if I wasn't still working through extensive backlog of beers.

My collaboration tomorrow is from Europe, will be likely pulling the trigger in the early morning as I'm having trouble waiting even that long.