New Beer Weekend #215

They make on of the best English Bitter I have ever had.
Great attention to detail.

Cheers
Cheers

 

My heart is warmed to see you back.

 

Dang, I was hoping to find it but the store I went to was lacking in options. It was this one and a super fresh helles, hand labeled, I will get to next weekend I think.

I love their amber to but didn’t come across that one either on this trip I’d love to visit them but they are way up there.

Have you been to the brewery?

 

After a successful start to the Iowa State tailgating and football season yesterday, back to NBW with a new arrival to Minnesota, Pizza Port Swami's:

Appearance: Clear gold, good head.

Smell: Citrus, bit of dankness, bit of sweetness.

Taste: Nice example of a west coast IPA. A bit of sweetness followed by a solid citrus bitterness. Not over-the-top bitter. Medium-light body. Finishes dry and citrusy.

Overall: A very good example of west coast IPA, glad they have shown up in MN. As long as they are fresh, will have to get a 4 pack every once in a while.

 

Enjoying a Misty Rose framboise and a Cirrus white IPA from Brasserie du Grillen while in Colmar

 

I have not been there, its a goal for this october
Cheers

 

You know the drill, if you do, please share your experience, photos and beer

 

Hello New Beer Weekend!!!

Well, I wasn't sure I'd be here this weekend. Last Sunday I just got slaughtered by a cold. It hit hard and I just was totally out of it. At least it has been going away fairly fast, and I'm able to join you all this NBW.

I will also welcome back @utopiajane to virtual bar. It's good to see you again. You and @cavedave really inspired me to get better at reviewing beers.

Now, to the beer. This has been sitting around since I got it back in early June.

Duvel Triple Hop Cashmere - Belgian IPA - 9.5%

Ok, this beer sure as heck doesn't feel like 9.5%. There's no hint of burn here at all. There's just a very pleasing mix between Belgian yeast and Cashmere hops. This is just one hell of a treat. I wish Duvel were distributed here in central MN. @Alefflicted and I are doing some research to see if we can get them back here after the distributer pulled out of the central MN market.

Review:
https://www.beeradvocate.com/beer/profile/222/407935/#navigation
4.08/5 rDev +1%
look: 4.25 | smell: 3.75 | taste: 4.25 | feel: 4.25 | overall: 4
From a bottle best by 10-24

Very heavily carbonated beer. There's just a geyser of carbonation rising into the glass. This is a slightly murky golden color. The head is very frothy and white - 3 finger. The head retention is decent, and there's some lacing on the glass.
The aroma is quite floral in nature with a good hit of bubblegum. There's hop notes as well in this beer. The hops seem almost an afterthought in this beer.
The beer has a malty start to it, then the flavors really kick in. I get a good hit of Belgian yeast in a candy/bubblegum flavor. There's a wild floral hit that comes into play. These flavors are added to by a pleasing hop bitterness that finishes this beer flavor profile out very well.
The body is very clingy and sticky. Very full feeling. It is somewhat smooth, and doesn't drink like a 9.5% beer.
Damn, this beer is downright delicious!

I'm still not at 100% so this may be it for the weekened. Time will tell.

 

Lazy Sunday. Watching golf (Scheffler has a commanding lead) and drinking this nice NEIPA from Troegs.
This beer is a hazy orange color. One-finger white head that dissipated rapidly. Scant lace.
Aroma of fruit and sweet malt.
Taste of mango, grapefruit, a little pine. Caramel background.
Not very bitter, easy to drink.

 

Goood afternoon all you beer drinkers, thinkers, choosers, chasers, embracers, describers, imbibers, selectors, inspectors, home brewers, pursuers, and all those who enlist, insist on, and cannot resist a new beer from on the ridge in Mid Hud Val, NY. Happy New Beer Sunday!

Remember when we used to introduce our posts as whatever style of beer we were drinking? Like "New Stout Sunday", or "New Strong Ale Sunday"? And we'd post as replies to someone else who opened with the style we were having?

Beauty day here, one that got me thinking it's 5+ years since the health emergency that changed everything for me. A strange set of circumstances involved in that, and when it's written as a short story it will be titled "How Getting Stung By A Hive Of Yellowjackets Saved My Life." That project, of course, will need to wait until after completing this present project to write a sci-fi trilogy that aspires to much more (book 2 amost finished).

Very excited to be able to post on my favorite thread! I drink one beer from the cellar per month now, and September's beer definitely is the last "new" beer in the cellar.

About my cellar. I never planned to age beers, the idea of the cellar was always to have a great selection of beers for the many tastings we did at our frequent get togethers, and also to enjoy at home brew club so we could taste the finest beers pros made and improve our own skills. I loved to trade and ended up with a lot of beer, more than we could consume, including a vertical of FW Anniversaries, of which this 14 is the final one. The cellar is down to its last few years of bottles, and hopefully I get to enjoy every one of them.

FW 14 Anniversary Blend, live review


Pours as you see with plenty of carb. and beautiful color, but that head ditches pretty quickly.

Gave it a minute to open in the glass and putting to nose for first sniffs. Charlie P. says we get all the best aroma in the first four sniffs. What do you think? Okay, hmmm... yumm it is a full aroma of luscious boozy caramel, honey bread, some backing bitter notes, plum, hints of char and cola, with add.'al nondescript fruitiness lightly underlying. Delish!

7 big sips in. Oh baby, this has turned into something exceptional! Not all the others in the vertical held up, let alone improved like this has. How could it be this bright and clean, yet soft and more blended? All the flavors of the nose are joined by vanilla, deeper bitter complexity, leather, to end with every flavor still hanging around. Balanced, clean, complex, interesting, mind blowing.

A warmth of clean alcohol is only hint of the ABV, zero fusel or other degradation, mouthfeel is wayyyy too easy to drink, despite it having cling and thickness, plenty of carb. to keep mouth happy, and a clean linger that demands next sip NOW! I gladly oblige.

If you have one of these I recommend enjoying it when you are pleasantly buzzed on the first early pickings of hg weed (clear trichomes, IYKYK), as it is perfect for this. Drinkability for a strong ale is in red flag warning territory. Superb


Thanks to all of you for keeping NBS/W Fresh, Fun, and Informative! Cheers!

 

Seeing both you and @utopiajane on a Sunday reminds me of the "old days" of NBS.

 

Is said widely praised brewery Schell’s @ChicagoJ ? I will have to wait and see but considering it’s from a Minnesotan that is my final guess.

 

Happy you could join us this weekend @cavedave I have a beer from your neck of the woods I will share sometime in the coming weeks. A chance bathroom stop on our way back from vacation finally got me this long time want of mine.

I will play said game later, I have a not so popular style to respond to in this thread. Now whose post may I be responding too??? hmmmmmmm

 

Oktoberfest Festbier
6.5% märzen by Schnitz Ale Brewery



Poured from tap into a dimple mug, the body is amber with a small head. Not much lacing. Note: the beer is a bit lighter in color in person than from photo at the bar.

A sweet malty nose carries over into flavor. A sturdy malt base provides sweetness and is met with a small hop bite, balancing the beer somewhat (which still leans sweet and that's okay with me).

Good carbonation and very soft mouthfeel. Things quickly dry up with a little lingering malty flavor.

Delightful local festbier.

 

Glad to finally get around to jumping in this weekend and great to see this side of the virtual bar so busy and the return of several legends who have been only names spoken in reverent, hushed tones during my time on NBW.

I'm joining in the fest season earlier than I usually do with a Marzen I've been meaning to try for the past few years. Fall allergy season is kicking in so I might need to revist this review as I work through the pack.

Berkshire Brewing Life on Marzen
6.8% Marzen



Pours bright amber with a two-finger white head that lingers for a few minutes before dissipating to a coating.

Aromas of caramel and earthy/woody hops combine nicely over a base of toasted malts.

The sip starts with a big hit of sweet caramel and some toffee, then quickly broadens to include toasted rye bread and molasses. Hop bitterness comes through in the latter half of the sip and lingers through the finish and aftertaste.

Moderate carb causes a slight tingle on the tip of the tongue. Medium body that feels heavier than it is.

Overall, an enjoyable Marzen but a bit heavy feeling--not something I could envision having seval masskrugs of--and a little too much hop bitterness for me as well.

 

I remember when that happened. I also remember a pic you had on facebook showing how much weight you lost after your new lifestyle. I’ll never forget the things that people have taught me here. Like yourself. You taught me what attenuation means and you said “mouthfeel is the frame for the flavors of the beer.” You have a great love for beer that you’ve passed on to a lot of people. Cheers!

 

Good Sunday afternoon NBS/nbw and thanks @ChicagoJ for a great intro this week
Special weekend indeed, with our host, contributors emeritus @utopiajane, @cavedave stopping in.
So glad to "see"you both here again.
It is full on peach season here in WMass, last few seasons were a total bust, killing frost in April one year, too much rain the next. This year is bumper and deliciuos.
Todays offering is a fruited variation of Half- light Sunbeam by Brick and Feather.
The addition is fresh local peaches. Not sure where in the process the peach were added.
I suspect they pulled a 1/2 tank and "dry - peached", and added some conditioning time. Only a guess.
I chose not to add this to the database as it is likely a one off.
Having a found appreciation for Peach in Lambics, and no experience with peach IPA's
there is a bit of trepidation.
Here goes

A - Hazy straw color, opaque with a thin white cap. Steady ring after ring with each draw.
S - Citra hops, so we begin with peach and apricot, then the fresh peach drives the bus.Really nice nose on this offering.
T - Certainly fruit forward but, with a solid malt base, Certainly peach, a bit of musk melon, tangerine, and bits of lemongrass.
M - Its a soft NEIPA, with the trap of smoothy avoided nicely. Texture is round and full, gentle carbonation, cleans up nicely. A very welcome dry finish is well done.
O - A really good offering, with the fruit rounding out the body, and knocking away any real bitterness. I am thankful for the brewers vision and effort on this one.
Cheers all

 

My second new beer from yesterday's visit to Counter Weight Brewing. I had this on tap yestersday and it was slightly better, but this can is pretty good too. This is a 6.4% IPA with Nelson and Riwaka.


Poured from a 16 oz can dated 08/15/24 to a Nonic at fridge temp. Purchased yesterday at the source.
4.0 The body is opaque and of a pale orange color. An aggressive white puffy head sits immediately after the pour, but fades soon to a single layer then a ring. Lacing is moderate.
3.75 The aroma is slightly onion at first, but that becomes more citrus and grape as things settle down.
4.0 The flavor is bright, white grape, citrus rind and peach.
3.75 The mouthfeel is medium creamy with significant carbonation.
3.75 Overall a nice Neslon brew.

 

I can manage with a case of beer and a few smallish items when on foot. I don't need much in bulk, but if I do, driving there is of course an option.