New Beer Weekend #211

We are back to the home base. Completely opposite driving experience- traffic was spotty but always moving. Already miss the lake - well, as soon as the car was packed actually - its like a sauna here in SE Mass. Unpacked the essentials from the car and called it good.

Here's one from the trip:



Definitive Gazr Red Ale which makes it an American Amber here.

Pours a rich reddish amber color with a very light tan head that build nicely but falls fairly fast to a little ring and some microbubble remnants. No lacing in particular.

Smells slightly sweet, toasty/bready. Toffee comes through and a vague fruitiness that I'll say is apple. Earthy. Not finding much in the hops or otjer aromatics department.

The taste follows closely - toffee sweetness along with clean, bready malts. The vague fruity ester does present as apple, one of the sweeter varieties. Substantial bitter hit mid-taste that lingers that gets overlaid by a very mild spiciness.

The feel is fairly light, I find it fairly drying.

Overall it's accurate enough to the style and I am enjoying drinking it but I'm glad I only took one. Thinking 3.7-ish balancing my liking versus being a well-made beer.

 

Not my favorite style to be honest, but a satisfying choice on this 99F day - prost!

4.01/5 rDev -0.7%
look: 3.75 | smell: 4 | taste: 4 | feel: 4.25 | overall: 4

Packaged on July 19, 2024 - enjoyed on August 3rd, 2024. Poured from a 12oz can into my Moonlight willybecher.

Pale maize body, unclear, topped by a finger of ivory, receding to a thin lasting cream cap. Fine, sandy lacing; decent retention.

Sweet malt and a gentle noble-hop presence in the nose. No off notes.

Cereal grain and sweet malt on the palate. Mild but persistent bitterness; hints of pear, spice,and hay. Medium-dry yet crisp finish.

Light bodied, effervescent, and refreshing.

A good example of the style, though it would be better paired with food (e.g. a pretzel and spicy mustard).

 

Another scorcher and humid weekend here in the jungles of south jersey. Some wild storms yesterday, some just past tonight but so far nothing too bad yet, fingers crossed that stays. I’m not sure how many heat waves I can take this year, I hope this is the last.

Tonight I have a beer I’m very excited for, not a style that shows up often and this one is super fresh and straight outta Littleton, NH

Schilling - Vorhe (Franconian Lager 4.3%)



Pours a let shade of copper, mostly clear but with a light chill haze; head is lightly dirty white, collapses slowly and cohesively, settling to a nice thin film.

The nose is quite aromatic; a light mix of herbal, but floral leaning hops greet first; toast; bread crust; rustic sort of grain bread vibe, just lovely.

The taste brings most of the same, however, the malt driven notes shine more; the hops shift noticeably and contribute a lightly spicy character, that ends grassy quality.

The mouthfeel is light and incredibly clean; there is a firm biting, yet restrained bitterness that really shines on the finish, sip disappears instantly from the palate.

This is a really well made beer and a true pleasure to drink, glad I grabbed a four pack. Also thank you to this lovely weekly thread of ours for prompting this new beer purchase.

Have a great evening everyone

——————

Took my favorite Phillie and Leaf respectively out to mini golf today, we almost melted but we survived… @FBarber and @Coronaeus

 

I hope you had a good vacation @LeRose good to hear that you didn’t experience nightmare traffic like on the way up.

I always find coming home from vacation bittersweet; but if it was coming home to this weather; it’d be all bitter

 

Deschutes Brewery — Fresh Squeezed IPA

Despite not being a big IPA drinker, I'm glad that Deschutes beers are now available to me.

This is a copper brown beer with a sticky head.

The nose is candy fruity and somewhat perfumy hops.

The taste is fresh bitter hops, spruce, and malt backbone.

Rich mouthfeel with a lasting pleasant bitter aftertaste.

Overall, it is an excellent West Coast IPA.

 

This is one of my favorite IPAs, sounds like you enjoyed it quite a bit as well. I have some Black Butte in the fridge now. Is that around for you as well? We don’t get Mirror Pond but I wish we did.

 

Thank you - and I couldn't agree more. Add to that the closer to retirement I get, the harder it is to come home in general! The weather was a mixed bag but the lake water was perfect and there wasn't a day we had to stay inside.

 

Tanzanian Vanilla Bean Truth by Tree House


4.49/5 rDev -0.7%
look: 4.25 | smell: 4.5 | taste: 4.5 | feel: 4.5 | overall: 4.5

Beer advocate review #2500

Brewers notes: Tanzanian Vanilla Bean Truth is a twist on the original version of one of our favorite barrel program offerings. This variant has been aged for over two years in select wheated bourbon barrels and then conditioned upon heaps of purposefully selected Grade A Tanzanian vanilla beans. Much like the original, it pours a viscous black color into the glass with a mocha-colored head. When poured cold, the flavor profile leads with chocolate wafer cookies, bourbon-vanilla heat, and rich dark chocolate. As it warms, the individuality of this vanilla truly begins to shine, revealing a more pronounced and creamy richness, subtle cacao, and hints of honey and caramel. It is our hope that this beer brings you a bit of the familiar with a splash

500ml green waxed and capped bottle. Chilled and poured into a Tree House Teku , thick, thick syrupy motor oil , black liquid with a thin brown ring that quickly fades , one off lacing

Aroma is bourbon, brown sugar , cocoa

Taste is bourbon, cocoa, creamy vanilla, soy sauce umami, dark chocolate

Smooth , thick, viscous, mouth coating , gently sweet, small heat on the finish , abv well hidden

Good beer

 

Had Mirror Pond on cask ( In Oahu of all places, soo f-ing good ).

 

Social Project Sleep Now In The Fire Triple Hazy IPA w/Simcoe, Rakau & El Dorado Hops, 9.6% ABV; 4.2 Overall

Pours a very hazy god with 2+ fingers of cream-colored head. Some floaties, nice lacing, above average head retention

S: Pineapple, guava, started strong, but faded a bit

T: Pineapple, pomelo, a little dryness, lime up front, hints of coconut as well up front. Pineapple dominates, some lime & coconut, guava, green melon & a little dryness as this beer warms up, Finishes a little dry with pineapple, lime & green melon

MF: Medium body, creamy carbonation

Dangerous drinkability, another hazy IPA winner from this brewery, If all was as good as good as the flavor, this an elite 3X IPA

 

Another NBS BIF#18 LIF beer from @Whyteboar

FH Beerworks ( CO Springs ) German Chocolate Cake Stout w/Chocolate, Vanilla, Coconut, Coffee, & Lactose, 7.0% ABV; 3.62 overall

Pours an effervescent mahogany with a thumb+ of mocha colored head. Head drops off quickly, no lacing either

S: Coffee, vanilla & cinnamon ( not listed on the can ); gets better as this beer warms up

T: Follows the nose, pretty dry; coffee is like how my Dad liked to drink it, fairly weak, a little cocoa as well up front. Vanilla starts creeping in as this beer warms up, weak-ish coffee, a little roastyness & cocoa too, coconut on the edges. Finishes fairly dry with vanilla, chocolate, coffee acidity & coconut

MF: Medium body, somewhat prickly carbonation, body thins out as this warms

Not a bad effort flavor-wise, easy enough to drink, body wasn't all that

 

Wheatie trying some Blondes.

Was going through a lot of Blondes till noticing this guy is uncharacteristically strong. Immediately got my interest.

L: Clear and Gold with nearly 2 fingers head. Lots of tiny bubbles surging to the top as you get through the glass.

S: Staight up honey.

T: Initial booze bite that rapidly falls off. What follows is yet again, straight up honey. A dense honey though, more complex than your typical bear bottle kind. Definitely bigger body for the style, I'm thinking a Medium Mouthfeel. Soft and sweet finish.

Definitely a treat for sweet tastes. This is bigger than Bruery's Or Xata, has a simpler adjunct profile, and better availability in my experience. Might keep this for my "I want the buzz quick and now" catagory.

 

Modelo Negra on the porch with Joy Division.

 

Good day BAs!

Today's New Breakfast Beer:



Vanishing Point 07 - from Innis & Gunn. 16.9 fl oz bottle, purchased from Franklin Beer, Franklin, PA, 30 Jul 2024, $ 18 (Including tax), $ 1.07/ fl oz. Reviewed 04/08/24 (Review 3332). Note that I use DD/MM/YY protocol.
Stamped on shoulder in bright yellow “BBE Jun 2028 L3180 09:13”. On room temperature shelf at store. Stored at 34 degrees at home. Served at 54.6 degrees F in a hand washed and dried Jester King snifter. The final temperature 59.5 was degrees F. Box directions are a bit ambiguous; “Best served chilled”.
Appearance – 4.
First pour – Deep Amber (SRM 15), clear.
Body – Brown (SRM 20), opaque. Under direct light, same. When rear-lite, same with light penetration at the edges, amber brown.
Head – Average (Maximum 3.2 cm, aggressive center pour), buff, high density, short retention, leaving a 0.5 cm crown and complete cap.
Lacing – Fair. Part of the crown has been dragged down, leaving a 45-degree slope of near-microscopic bubbles, complete with tiny stalactites.
Aroma – 4 – Tends toward cocoa with a ghost of scotch barrel. No hops, no alcohol (11 % ABV, according to the label).
Flavor – 4.5 – Reminiscent of a mild blended scotch with a touch of fruitiness from the port barrels. A bit of cocoa from the malt, no hops, no alcohol. No dimethylsulfide or diacetyl. Faint gastric warming.
Palate – 4 – Medium; creamy; caressing carbonation.
Final Impression and summation: 4.5 The whole is greater than the sum of its parts. Very good Imperial stout but at 3x the price of my favorite beer for a 500 mL bottle, I will not be pounding these.

Rating 4.3, rDev +1.4%

I didn't post a review of a new beer yesterday although I'd had one, sort of. In response to a question I apparently provoked but didn't find until today, yesterday's New Breakfast Beer:



Delirium Tremens - from Brouwerij Huyghe. Four pack of 11.2 fl oz bottles, purchased from Discount Beer, Erie, PA, 02 Aug 2024, $ 27 (Including tax)/four pack, $ 0.603/ fl oz. Reviewed 03/08/24 (Review 3331). Note that I use DD/MM/YY protocol. This is not a new beer for me; I last had it 08 Jul 2006 but had not written a review.
Stamped on rear label “06:21 L23-22125”. On room temperature shelf at store. Stored at 34 degrees at home. Served at 53.2 degrees F in a hand washed and dried Jester King snifter. The final temperature was 56.4 degrees F.
Appearance – 4.
First pour – Pale Straw (SRM 2), slight haze.
Body – Straw (SRM 3), slight haze. Under direct light, same. When rear-lite, same.
Head – Large (Maximum 4.6 cm, aggressive center pour), white, high density, short retention, leaving a 0.4 – 1.2 cm irregular crown and complete cap. As soon as the cap was removed, the foam began overflowing the bottle.
Lacing – None.
Aroma – 3 – Weak but predominantly yeast. No malt, no hops, no alcohol (8.5 % ABV, according to the label). None of the expected clove or banana.
Flavor – 3 – Follows the nose. No malt, no hops, no alcohol. No dimethylsulfide or diacetyl. Faint gastric warming.
Palate – 4 – Medium; almost creamy; aggressive carbonation.
Final Impression and summation: 3.5 Toward the end, as it warms, some clove becomes evident.

Rating 3.26, rDev -21.1%

So, in response to the question from @StBrewnard, in my case I generally prefer the clean taste of a German lager to the yeasty/musty taste of most Belgian/Nederlandish brews - Flemish Reds/Browns excepted.

 

Poured into a 16 oz Snulip glass not sure when it was canned but recent. Pours a very attractive milky hazy yellow with a 2 fingers sticky white head that leaves thick streaks of lace with excellent retention. 4.75

Aroma is peach, mango, mandarin, pear, and apricot a good amount going on. 4.25

Taste follows peach, mango, mandarin, honey dew, pear, and apricot better than the nose. 4.5

Mouthfeel is above average, soft gentle almost creamy mouthfeel, not sticky or dry, and at 8.5% big flavor, but very easy sipping on a hot afternoon. 4.5

Overall this is very nice. Nectaron is a rather new hope and gives a nice flavor, but is rather unique one. 4.5 Cheers all.

 

Yes, I enjoyed it. Fresh Haze was also nice. Black Butte is also now available, but not everywhere, I bought a sixpack this morning and will report back later today.

 

Deschutes Brewery — Fresh Haze IPA

Bright orange beer topped by 2 fingers thick head with lacing.

It smells like freshly squeezed orange juice.

Tastes like a screwdriver — orange juice with a touch of alcohol, not a typical hazy IPA.

The mouthfeel is like a cocktail, with a citrusy and bitter aftertaste.

Overall, it is a very interesting beer. Offer it to someone who doesn't drink beer.

 

Good afternoon NBS/nbw and thanks to @Whyteboar for hosting this week
Todays offering is a very rich and full bodied BCBS variant from 2023
The base beer is legendary, this treatment is concise and quite a delight
Cheers all



Bourbon County Brand Stout Reserve (2023) - Eagle Rare 2-Year

American Imperial Stout | 14.5% ABV
Goose Island Beer Co. in Chicago, Illinois

Reviewed by SABERG from Massachusetts

4.26/5 rDev -5.8% | Average: 4.52
look: 4 | smell: 4.25 | taste: 4.25 | feel: 4.5 | overall: 4.25
Poured from the 500ml bottle into the test glass
A - Dark and forboding, a thin cap assembles and exits. Slick lines hand on the glass with each sip
S - Bakers chocolate, vanilla, char, hint of black cherry, and fudgey batter
T - All the aromatics, with some black currant, and espresso
M - Hefty, rich on the palate, smooth finish with a boozy linger
O - A very impressive stout, the single origin barrel treament is not lost on me.
Great offering