New Beer Weekend #215

I hate you less, thought you were doing another work trip

 

Dapper Rye
16.5% Stout by Goose Island


I shared this one with a friend while watching football games. I did not take notes. Thanks to @ChicagoJ for this impressive stout.

Aroma and taste are mostly barrel but strong notes of chocolate and caramel, present but not overly sweet.

Mouthfeel is good and strong carbonation.

The Skinny: It’s a monster. 16.5% with good rye flavor. The stout is powerful without a hammer of booze. Contrast KBS the original which had/has that enjoyable slap in the face with a trout kick. More powerful without the overt alcohol kick, it’s a must try for fans of rye.

 

Lively day here - humidity completely gone, nice breeze, in the mid 70's. Didn't get a lot done but it was surely nice

Hmmm...I did feel a disturbance in the beerforce...I can't possibly say how happy I am to see the green eye avatar and posts from @utopiajane and in the same thread posts from @cavedave. Great to "see" them both - let's leave it at that.

So...I guess the last beer of summer. This one has been in the fridge for quite a while:



New Holland Dragon's Milk Reserve - Oatmeal Cookie variant. Barrel-aged, of course.

It pours a very dark cola color looking thru, but essentially its black in the glass. Strong inch or so of khaki foam. Sticks a bit. In this glass, it ended as a ring and island.

Smell is wonderful. The oatmeal cookie is definitely there. Vanilla, cinnamon, cookie dough. Then the base stout asserts itself with roasty malt, tad bit of coffee, sweet and darker chocolate, bourbon, a bit of woody oak, and a slightly different vanilla.

The taste is quite luxurious. Get the oatmeal.cookie part first again with cinnamon, maybe nutmeg, vanilla. Then things get stouty with chocolate, roasted malts, a couple waves of vanilla - I think one is sweeter "cookie" and one layer is "toastier" and from the barrel. Dark chocolate and a sweeter cocoa, a wee bit of coffee. Somewhat sweet and a little sticky. A little raisin for good measure, minimally bitter.

Full bodied feel, medium carbonation, has the creamy feel from the oats. Smooth alcohol warmth.

Overall this is outstanding. Not a common one to find in my area but I will seek out other variants. Full of flavor but not overwhelming and delivers the oatmeal cookie promise nicely. Easy 4.2 for me, maybe a bit higher.

 

Another of the beers that @Ozzylizard hauled back from Germany and then drove it to West Michigan to give to me.

After the earlier smoked Porter, I still had a hankering for the style. Or sub style. This one fit the bill nicely.
Poured a murky gold, reasonably carbonated with a one finger beige head.
The taste was oddly like smoked banana bubblegum. But in a good way.
The feel is very lightly viscous.
OA, it was very good and I am glad I got to try it.
Thanks Bob!

 

Loved that when I was in Bavaria that I could go to a Getrankt Markt ( probably misspelled ) & come away at least 6 to 10 random awesome beer that were never getting imported to the US of A.

 

Tripel Hazard. 8% Tripel by Fat Head’s



At Fat Head’s Brewery, poured in a snifter from tap the body is a gold-orange that is slightly hazy. Small head and not much lacing.

Aroma is clove and bubble gum.

Taste follows nose but less amplified. A soft bitterness overshadows the banana and clove, but doesn't completely hide them. The combination seemed odd at first, but it grew on me.

Mouthfeel is soft with good carbonation.

In the end, I enjoyed this beer that I prefer to call an angry Hefeweizen

 

A few breweries know how to make their beer last longer even if they preach to drink them fresh. I don't age anything on purpose, but Heady or SN Celebration stay consistent for a long time. Someone needs to start a list of beers that can survive a long shelf life.

 

You might want to visit the Cellar Reviews 2024 thread - they post the good, the bad and the ugly. Lots of available data in there!

 

Lolev Beer - Grandar
An interesting Imperial Pilsner from a Pittsburgh brewery that I have been digging on lately.

Cross-posted in WBAYDN #4335 and What Mid-Atlantic beer are you drinking now? (2024)

 

Fort George - Focus

16oz can served in a curvy Monhegan pint glass. Can is dated 08/12/24, bought it a few hours ago at Chuck's Hop Shop Seward Park.

Pours clear light amber-gold, medium sized dense head, moderate to high level of active carbonation. Smell is honeysuckle and lemon rind, some biscuit, generalized citrus zest bitterness.

Taste is definitely focused in on the grapefruit rind and generalized citrus zest bitterness. Floral and honeysuckle stuff is there, but that's a heck of a hop bite.

Mouthfeel is light, clean, dry, crisp. Overall, very nice WC IPA.

 

Brothership Brewing, Mokena, IL
Experimental Series: EXPT: 005 16oz can. canned 7/09/2024. 7.75% ABV
Double Dry Hopped New England Double IPA with DynaBoost Citra + Nectaron + Citra.

I pick this up at the Sheboygan, WI meet. Somebody handed it to me on the very end. Don't remember who it was. Can was kept cool or cold very since I touched it.
Nice looking beer.
Smells good.
Taste is grapefruit, melon, cantaloupe, Maybe a hint of pineapple. Somewhat bitter overall.
Nice mouth feel.smooth and soft. A hint of creamy.
This is a good beer. I will give it a 4.27/5 But for this style of beer you should not put much weight into my numbers.

https://untappd.com/b/brothership-brewing-expt-005-experimental-series/5900671

 

Browar Zamkowy Cieszyn - Wheat Wine Cieszynskie

330ml bottle served in a tulip. Bought it at Swiat Piwa, I think, about a week ago. Dated 28.11.2019.

Pours dark, murky brown with a HUGE creamy dense head. Lots of slow, active carbonation that looks like it's struggling up through motor oil. Smell is tons of oak, some molasses and toffee, a little fresh-cut-greens medicinalness, some booziness.

Taste is toffee and oak. Mostly those. Generic woodiness, some caramel and nuts sweetness.

Mouthfeel is dry and light, shockingly so for a 10.5% beer calling itself a wheatwine. Overall, it's interesting and tasty, but not something I'd point to as an icon of the style. Needs to be a bit thicker and creamier, a bit less woody, a bit sweeter. But far from a bad beer, quite enjoyable.

 

That's what I'm talking' about!

 

Happy Beerthday!