New Beer Weekend #216

What I did for my summer vacation – part 3 (the final chapter?)

One of the places we visited when vacationing in Vermont was the Hill Farmstead Brewery. The brewery is kind of in the middle of nowhere and thanks to some tips from a person working at a bottle shop in Waterbury we properly navigated to/from the brewery. The to part was not tough but the return leg was a little challenging since there is no cell service at the brewery’s location; we remembered the names of the streets to get there and just backtracked.

Below is a photo of the brewery from the front lawn:



It is quite a pretty, scenic location and I would recommend a visit to BAs who may be in Northern Vermont.

Today’s new beer is Poetica and below is how this beer is described in the Hill Farmstead tasting room’s menu:

“A blend of single decocted and step mashed. Old World German-style pilsner; lagered in wood for 3 months, and carbonated via krauen.”

This beer has quite the interesting brewing process in that the wort is blend of both a decoction mash and a step mash. I don’t recall ever reading about a beer like this. Also, the lagering duration for 3 months in wood is quite different as well.

Let’s see what all of this atypical brewing processes yields.

Served in a beer mug:

Appearance:

Straw yellow with a white head.

Aroma:

Mostly hop aromas of earthy and floral along with bready malt in the background.

Taste:

The flavor follows the nose with mostly earthy/floral hop flavors but also some bready malt flavor as well. There is a medium bitterness.

Mouthfeel:

Medium body with a dry finish.

Overall:

This beer is very good - excellent. I enjoyed drinking it while looking over the fields below.

Cheers!

P.S. I picked up two four-packs at the retail store and I will discuss those beers over the coming weeks.

@KOP_Beer_OUtlet @rotsaruch @RobH @Bierman9

 

Thank you @Beersnake for getting the weekend here started!
As is my normal week day practice I have 1 beer a day. This one tasted very big yet was exactly the same ABV as the other three beers in the mixed pack.

Double Barrel Reserve from Griffin Claw Brewing. The pour was a mess, but that was my fault. The carbonation started pushing the head out of the opening right after I popped it and I tried to contain it. Fool I.
In any case, once I got the mess cleaned up the head, which wasn’t impressive in the glass at all, had diminished even more.
The taste leads with bourbon and rather follows with it too. There is some stout in there trying hard to get noticed and it almost succeeds. After 2 years I thought this would “cool” down but I was wrong.
The feel is lightly viscous, rather what I wanted for a 12% stout.
OA, for a change this tastes more like a 14 or higher ABV beer but is only (LOL - only) 12%. Normally it’s the other way around, the ABV is hidden somewhat. Not here.
OA, it’s actually kinda nice, feeling like I’m drinking a huge beer yet not. Don’t know if I want to repeat it often, but it’s good for tonight.
Cheers!

 

Great start, never ever, ever a Fosters or even a Coopers?

 

Gotahold Brewing ( Eureka Springs, AR ) Temporary Ripple Hazy India Pale Ale, 6.4% ABV; 4.02 overall

 

That Oil can is guilty pleasure all should endure

 

Here's the review, damn; today that extra hour kicked my ass.

Pours a hazed gold with a thumb+ of eggshell colored head. Above average head retention & lacing

S: Green melon, some coconut, nose could be more

T: Follows the nose, also some tangerine & pineapple up front. Tangerine, a little dryness & more green melon as this beer warms up, plus more coconut. Finishes with coconut, pineapple & a touch of white grape

MF: Smooth carbonation, medium body, very creamy, guessing oats are in play. Great balance

Easy to drink, these guys really hit on some styles, well done

 

Cold 33 cl bottle dumped into a kitchen glass.
Big foamy top drops to nothing in a bout a minute, leaving cloudy brew with a scum pond tam.
Funkasaurus on the nose beam. Vinegar with some incense, maybe.
Tastes aight. Fruity orange zest, tarty sourness, little lip lingering sweetness. Lovely bitter pop. Hefty burp.
Mouth is medium, got up top high carbonation.
Overall, refreshing hoppy and clean Belgian blonde that I’m finally getting around to trying.,.

3.79/5 in the BA DB.,.

 

I had a couple new-to-me low-ABV beers yesterday afternoon that I enjoyed quite a bit.

Pingpong, a table beer from the Ale Apothecary

4/5 rDev +0.8%
look: 4 | smell: 4 | taste: 4 | feel: 4 | overall: 4
500mL can (packaged 4/6/2023) into a tulip. Pours a clear pale yellow with a 1-finger white head.

Aroma is kind of a grainy vinous funk—definitely some sour lemon/green apple notes along with a bready malt character. Intriguing.

Taste is somehow less powerful than the aroma. It has the same crackery pale malt quality and a gently tart quality, but the latter is diminished—which actually works fine because what we have here is a clean, light beer with just a hint of wild/spontaneous fermentation, which makes this super approachable to someone who might just be dipping their toes into more adventurous beers.

Mouthfeel is light and crisp, refreshing and drinkable.

Overall an enjoyable, sessionable table beer that I can’t imagine growing tired of. Should be available in 12oz 6-packs.
_________________________
Velvet Glow, a helles from Russian River

3.91/5 rDev -3.9%
look: 4 | smell: 3.5 | taste: 4 | feel: 4.25 | overall: 4
12oz can (packaged 5/26/2024) into a tulip. Pours a pale golden color with a big frothy white head, patchy lace.

Aroma is very faint with vague notes of grainy malt and floral Old World hops. Really not much to go on in the olfactory department.

Taste is likewise light and delicate—but “stronger” than the aroma. Pale biscuity malt and light floral hops with a very slightly bitter finish.

I think the mouthfeel is my favorite part of this beer. It just hits the right balance like a cold glass of water. Very drinkable/sessionable.

Overall a solid, clean, enjoyable lager. I could easily drink several of these at a sitting without giving it much thought.

 

Cheers everyone and happy new beer weekend. Let me just say that I love this thread. I've had a good time this week reading all your puns and "beefs" in off topic. I have the cataract surgery behind me now and I feel genuinely happy for the first time in a couple years because I can see so much better. I have Oktommegang today.

Poured with two and a half fingers of fast falling head of cream colored foam on a honey copper body. It's not quite clear.

Nose is traditional toasty malt with a touch of sweetness. Light grassy hop on the nose because it's so fresh.

Drinks very well. Traditional rich, breaddy malt flavor with a light hint of sweetness. No flaws. No diacetyl, no dms, no esters from yeast or alcohol. It's 5.8%. It has a bit of fizzy carbonation that surprised me a little. It's the only part of the beer you could say is Belgian style. They did the same thing with a black lager and with tremendous results.

Do I think the carbonation suits the style? It changes it. The bubble gives carbonic bite in the finish. It also gives the malt a taste like it's slightly creamy. Try it and see. The fizz leaves the mid palate with a gentle fullness but then takes some of that away in the finish. It finished with a lightly sweet fizzy bubble. After the bubble there is a malty aftertaste. It's not like any other German marzen. It's not sugary or heavy. In fact, that bubble makes it seem lighter than it really is. What it's not is smooth, but instead it's jaunty and fast. No hops in the finish or the mouthfeel.

The head fell in sheets and spots and hugged the glass until the last sip. It looks like Ommegang has made a Belgian style marzen beer with delicious and unique results.

To score the beer proper, you would give ticks for haze, the fast falling head and the fizzy bubble. You might tick for the sweet seltzer finish even though the malt does come back in the aftertaste. You would then tick or not in the overall impression. My overall impression is that they intended to create a Belgian version on this style; and that they succeeded.

If I were to score it it would be a 3.65.

 

Let's talk about scoring a beer and talk to another thread as well. The overall impression is not about how much you liked or disliked a beer. The overall impression is the place to put your knowledge on a style against the beer as a whole, not just the flavor; although taste is a very important parameter when meeting the style guidelines.

Ommegangs beer would have been a 3.5 or lower except for my overall impression. The fact that the Belgian presentation changed certain aspects is a consideration. To score a beer requires a certain commitment to the style.

That's why I like this thread. A beer taster cannot ever predict popularity and to me that is equilibrium. My giving it a gentle rise from 3.5 to 3.65 acknowledges what I think they tried to do. Is it a success? If they succeeded in bringing a Belgian standard to a different/ German style then yes. The beer also gets that gentle rise because it's clean in the flavor. Cheers!

 

Happy new beer weekend one and all...happy to be back and thanks to you Friday warriors for posting and getting us started @Beersnake. I think the only Australian beer I've had is Foster's, though who knows if that can was even brewed there...I'm not sure if they're owned by anyone, etc.

Today was one whirlwind of a week; first week back with students, soccer, PTA events, etc. I'm grateful to at least have two days to let my brain unwind before it spins again come next week. I've taught the same subject for 13 years and was randomly thrown a new science class to teach this year. @sulldaddy your week sounds sort of like ours may have been, soccer, school, obligations, repeat...OK enough rambling, time for a beer; I had last night but didn't post so I will share now.

A long time want of mine and a chance bathroom stop on our drive home sealed the deal; was able to grab a four pack at a store where we stopped for lunch and bathroom; DeCicco and Son's off the highway in NY.

Newburgh - Brown Ale (4.2%)



Pours a dark chestnut brown, nice light brown, frothy and lingering head, but when it does collapse there really isn't much that remains.

Nose is a mix of light toast, watered down cocoa, faint light roast coffee; hops come off as earthy and damp.

Taste leans mostly into the toast character, same watered down lightly sweet cocoa/milk chocolate, little bittersweet, hops again present, little earthy; English like.

Light-medium body, soft and creamy carbonation; little light hop bitterness on the finish, little bit of malt sweetness seals the deal, smooth and drinkable.

This is about the exact beer I’d hope it would be. A well made brown with plenty of English character, with a touch of hop character. Glad I was able to finally grab a four pack of this beer.

@zid @TongoRad

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Hoping to contribute at least one, hopefully two more beers, to this wonderful thread before the weekend ends. Time will tell just how many...

Have a great Saturday everyone, be back later with

 

This is why I have a hard time rating beers @utopiajane. I personally have a hard time putting aside enjoyment, like/dislike, so long as the beer isn't completely off style guidelines.

I much prefer trying to describe what it is that I'm experiencing with my senses to help, and let others choose for themselves whether it seems like an experience they would like to have or not.

How much a person "docks" a beer thats off style is a little more subjective to a degree, at least for me it is.

Using your review as an example; I know exactly what I would get if I tried that beer. I well made marzen, with hints of Ommengang belgian-ness. It tells me much more than a number, or rating system, ever could. It reads as a beer I would enjoy just for the experience of how does a Belgian inspired brewery pull off a German style lager.

 

"Endure" is exactly the description. 'Way back before I "discovered" BA, I used to buy Fosters among other room temperature brews at a small mall near Youngstown, OH, on mandatory shopping trips with Mrs. Lizard. My most vivid memory of Fosters is seeing all the cans lying in the early morning gutters in London before the street cleaners went to work. it still may be my lowest rated brew.

 

Wow that's changed a lot since I was there. Ive been once 10+ years ago and we just stood in a queue in the parking lot baking under the sun for over two hours to get our growler fills. Seems like a much more enjoyable time now.

I hope it's something you know about?? When I was in HS they made our chem teacher teach physics as well so they didnt have to hire another person. Her chem course was great, physics not so much.

 

Cheers to that!!

 

Environmental science, so it’s an interest of mine that I know a lot about, and also taught years back. It will not be as good as my chem class I am sure, as I’ll be creating my own spin on it as the year goes on. But I care too much to not put my heart into it

Also have taught lower level physics to kids so all the experience helps.

It is crazy that they do the same thing to new teachers too though. It’s funny though, it’s how we all learned and became experts. Do it and figure it…one thing teaches new teachers to teach and it’s stressful and crazy, getting thrown to the wolves.

 

I agree with what @jonphisher has expressed--this is why reviews are so important (and why BA is a far better resource than Untappd) as you can express your thoughts about style conformance, brewer intentions, and personal taste. I try to exclude the third from my ratings and include the first two.

For example, here's one that Jack's Abby said was a Helles but based on the can information it was clear they weren't going for a traditional rendering. On personal taste, this would have been around a 2.5, on style probably less, but I heavily weighted brewer intention and bumped everything up. https://www.beeradvocate.com/beer/profile/26520/714143/?ba=KP7#lists

And another. Once this beer warmed up, it was quite good--around a 3.75 or a bit more for taste. But the brewer had said it was a Scotch Ale (not a Scottish Ale) and that it was loaded with caramel flavor. For me, it wasn't and it was a poor example of a Scotch Ale, so I pushed everything down. https://www.beeradvocate.com/beer/profile/68526/712968/?ba=KP7#lists


In both cases, writing up a review and talking about it in this thread provide the real value.