New Beer Weekend #218

Thanks for kicking off now @jonphisher
Lawsons festbier
...clear light amber appearance
.. medium carbonation with a close to medium body but added up to a nice feel
...aroma is malt, grain, and what comes off like Graham cracker. Very mild mix of floral and almost seems like there's a bit of vanilla??
..taste is mildly sweet but a mild hop bite and dryness,especially in the finish that balances it out.
Grain,Graham and malt also show up.
...overall its a really great festbier

 

Thanks @jonphisher for getting us started, new beers are a little scarce now. I do have 2 good ones teed up for Saturday & Sunday

 

Forgotten Boardwalk - Lucy the Elephant. A golden milk white cream stout. Thanks to @HoppingMadMonk for sharing this stout.



Poured from a pint can, the body is almost a marzen amber, perhaps a bit darker. Good initial head but not much lacing.

Aroma is a nice mix of light roast coffee and malt.

Taste follows nose with perhaps a wee bit more coffee flavor. A light caramel sweetness balances the coffee. No char or bitterness. A bit of lactose in the mix, but it's light and mostly at finish, which is slow with a nice fading coffee flavor. No sign of the ABV.

Mouthfeel is medium with light carbonation.

An enjoyable after dinner stout that is neither bitter nor overly sweet. Reminds me of a coffee ale I enjoy from Ignite brewery named Blonde Barista.

 

Glad you enjoyed, usually white stouts to me aren't very good but that one was enjoyable. Hope you and the gnome are doing well

 

Thanks for kicking off the weekend for us @jonphisher! Hope all is well with you and yours.
I flew over to Colorado last night (after midnight when I left the airport) and today was going up to Deckers to pick up my MiL’s “putt putt” and if all goes well I will be driving it back to Michigan over the next two days.
So far it’s been mixed, we got it started and down to Woodland Park without running out of gas. But two tires are leaking and the battery is shot.
Time for a beer:

I picked up this one at Patriots Liquor on the far east side of the Springs.
The pour was stout black with a 1 finger tan head which left impressive lacing. Good looking stout.
The taste was very well balanced between chocolate and cacao, breakfast blend and espresso; just a touch on the bitter side but that in no way affected my enjoyment of the beer.
The feel is very lightly viscous, which it almost had to be to carry all the flavors in this one.
OA, solid RIS, maybe not in my top five but I will have no trouble finishing the 4 pack.

Hoping to get a tire replaced in the morning, as well as a fuse replaced, an 80 amp fuse. Woof.
I will try to get some photos of the car tomorrow. Cheers!

 

Brasserie La P’tite Maiz (France) ‘Breakfast & Furious’ Russian Imperial Stout

33 cl can poured slightly warm into a snifter in Toulouse, France. Little spritz of head is stubbornly offered up above deep brown brew.
Having read the ingredients, I came into this experience with high hopes:
Water, barley & wheat malts, oat flakes, hops, cocoa, cinnamon, ginger, clove, lactose, sugar and yeast.
OK then!
On the nose, it’s prunes soaked in an allspice bath. Pleasant enough.
Full pull and sit back.
First thing is the spice mixture is jumbled. Thankfully the cinnamon is used sparingly, but it’s noticible. There’s a chocolote note that shares space with sweet black cherries. I think the brewer chickened out with the cloves. Barely a whimper. And I couldn’t find ginger (nor the professor or mary anne) anywhere. The hops come blaring up the middle for a gain of seven on third down, but taste almost sour, and a bitterness lingers long enough to mute the spices from emergence on the finish. The 12% ABV leaves a skid mark on the tongue.
Mouthfeel is smooth from the addition of oats and lactose, but don’t add density. It’s kind of a thin brew, really. There is medium-touches-high carbonation.
Overall, this is a muckeyed up RIS that’s wonky and disproportionate. If you’re gonna say “clove and ginger”, bring some! So, minus the bear, it doesn’t suck. It carries the hallmarks of a classic RIS.
And it works as a Breakfast Stout at 10:00 AM on Saturday morning with a croissant chaser.,.

4.05/5 in the BA DB.

 

A crosspost from WBAYDN yesterday, but I had to share. This a collab between Cherry Street Brewing in Alpharetta, GA and Bold Monk Brewing in Atlanta: MönchStrasse Kellerbier 4.5% ABV. Draft only - as a Kellebier should be. The hops combo is not the usual. German Noble - Hallertau and American - Centenntial. Right off it has pleasant aromas of spices, earthiness or herbalness with some hints of floral and tropical fruit notes. Flavor follows suit. Low bitterness and semi-sweet. Light to medium bodied. Great head retention. Moderate length clean finish. It's one of those rare beers where all the elements of aroma and flavor are well balanced and built into a package that is quite sessionable. A true "beer drinkers beer". Man, this should be one of their regular beers. Two solid GA breweries collab on an outstanding beer. Well done guys!

 

Really enjoyed your open this weekend @jonphisher . That Tonewood APA sounds like a beer I'd really like between the taste profile and ABV. New Glarus IPA stands out in my mind among my favorite New Beers this year. Just love when breweries can make 4-7% ABV beers burst with flavor yet keep the alcohol, calories and malt on the minimal side.

And good luck with your car and trip back home Craig @Whyteboar . I have the last two "drink fresh" style beers to review from Sheboygan trades slated for the weekend. The two selections are both from David @DoctorZombies and both from new to me brewery in West Columbia, South Carolina. Really liked (4.41) the NEIPA I tried from his trade last week, and hoping this can at least get close to the high enjoyment from a style I don't always seek.

Savage Craft Ale Works Galaxy Banger

4.09/5 rDev +5.1%
look: 4.25 | smell: 4 | taste: 4 | feel: 4.25 | overall: 4.25



Full review linked above, will highlight my taste and overall experience for a more condensed explanation of my enjoyable experience this early morning, though late night for me.

Taste: Taste much more restrained, citrus, grapefruit and dank pine with a good dollop of bitterness, but still a bit sweet overall. Taste strength above medium, nice flavor. 4.0

Overall: This beer held up well under my beer backlog, delivering a flavor and feel I enjoy 3 months after canning. All aspects suit the style, really enjoying the fact the hops balanced out what i suspected may be a very sweet beer based on my pre drinking aroma from Go! when I cracked open the can. Another solid, thoughtful selection by David, he never lets me down. Glad I have another from this brewery and David slated to enjoy tomorrow. 4.25

See you tomorrow with a cream ale, a style I have limited experience to fall back on.

 

Good day BAs! Thanks @jonphisher for opening the bar! I've enjoyed reading the reviews so far - @ATL6245 - I've enjoyed many kellerbiers in Deutschland, but I've never had one in a clear glass container - they're usually hazy due to yeast corpses and tend to be served in opaque steins. But maybe your guys filter theirs - anyway , glad you enjoyed it!

Today's New Breakfast Beer, cross-posted with WBAYDN:



Barrel-Aged Where Our Secrets Go – from Voodoo. 16.9 fl oz bottle purchased from Franklin Beer, Franklin, PA, 05/09/24, $ 11.50 (including tax), $ 0.681 /fl oz. Reviewed 21/09/24 (Review 3361). Note that I use DD/MM/YY protocol.
Undated bottle. In room temperature storage at store. Stored at 34 degrees F at home. Served at 54.1 degrees F (Label says serving temperature 55 F) in a hand washed and dried Jester King snifter. The final temperature was 59.0 degrees F.
Appearance – 4.5
First pour – Amber Brown (SRM 18), slight haze.
Body – Black (SRM 40), opaque. Under direct light, same. When rear-lite, same.
Head – Average (Maximum 3.2 cm, aggressive center pour), tan, high density with a rocky top, short retention, leaving a 0.4 cm crown fed by carbonation, and a thin complete cap.
Lacing – None.
Aroma – 4.25 – Weak roasted malt and sweet bourbon. No hops, no alcohol (9 % ABV, according to the label).
Flavor – 4.25 – Slightly sweet with subdued roasted malt and maybe some bourbon. No alcohol. No dimethylsulfide or diacetyl. Slight gastric warming. Ends with a touch of dryness.
Palate – 4 – Full; creamy; lively but soft carbonation.

Style: Follows the style guidelines, as condensed by BA.

Final Impression and summation: 4 (After deducting 0.25 point for an undated personal container) Decent imperial stout, shows what Voodoo is capable of when they decide to produce from their barrel aging program – certainly not as hot as many of their releases.
Rating 4.19, rDev -1.6%

 

Thanks for kicking us off this week @jonphisher. My first new beer of the weekend comes from a few BIFs back. Always seems fitting when your breakfast beer comes from @Ozzylizard

Looks like cola coming out of the bottle before settling into a slightly deeper shade of brown in the glass. Some short-lived tan head that receded to a very thin ring.

Up close, the aroma has loads of rich malt notes. Molasses, brown sugar, figs and booze.

Alcohol is more prominent on the tongue. I still get the molasses and fig from the nose, but add in wood flavors and loads of booze. Feel is surprisingly thin.

Overall, this is an interesting beer. At 17.3%, I assumed the alcohol would be noticeable, but it's more prominent than I expected. The warming it provides on the finish is really nice, while on the tongue I'd prefer to be slightly less front and center. Either way, this is a really nice sipper for a Saturday morning.

 

Look at that lace. That is a looker.

 

I'm not sure. My guess is it was filtered, but they may have used some clarifying agents. Or it very well may have dropped clear in the tank. It was a damn good beer nonetheless. Cheers!

 

It held all the way to the bottom too!

 

Hey BAs! My new to me breakfast beer today comes from West Sixth Brewing, Lexington KY - BBA Kentucky Coffee with coffee and vanilla:



Bottled 2024. Purchased at the brewery August 2024. Poured at 54°. Creamy/fizzy reddish tan head that quickly retreated leaving no lace and a brief ring; thin legs at best; dark black body with No ruby edges. Nose is chocolate up front, followed by roasted coffee, then bourbon. Taste follows nose; vanilla middle; mild roast coffee bitterness; sweet chocolate/bourbon ball candy finish. Silky smooth feel; not adjuncty; light carbonation; alcohol burn on tip of tongue; mouth warmth from 12%abv. Overall, an outstanding BBA Coffee Imperial Stout; plenty of coffee which co-mingles effortlessly with the chocolate and vanilla flavors. Worthy.

4.0 | 4.25 | 4.5 | 4.5 | 4.5
Score: 4.41 rDev: 0
I added beer to database.

Outstanding beer from a brewery previously unfamiliar to me…Wish I had bought 2 bottles! Visit this brewery if you find yourself in Lexington, KY!

 

My one chore for the weekend is to put some stain on the outdoor table and chairs. While I am psyching myself up for the task, I'm watching college football and drinking a new beer. This is Back Bowls Brown Ale from Diebolt Brewing in Denver. The label says it is "a reboot of our GABF Silver Medal Braggarts Brown Ale."
The beer is a pretty red/brown color. A long-lasting tan head.
Sweet malt aroma, nutty.
Taste of caramel, roasted nuts. A little late bitterness.
Medium-bodied, easy to drink.

 

Timber Ales Fields of Fall. An imperial stout with pumpkin, nutmeg, vanilla, and cinnamon. Which sounds scrumptious. 12% ABV. I planned to drink this beer on this date the moment I saw it on the nightstand of my hotel room, after apparently being abducted by aliens the night before, since I had no memory of the previous evening. Either the aliens left this beer for me, or one of many BAs I was with that weekend, intentionally or unintentionally, left it for me. My guess is it could have been given to me by @Whyteboar, @Blogjackets, or @DoctorZombies, but there are other candidates who it could have been. On to the review. The color is super thick black with a tint of brown. Almost chunky. There was no foam. The smell is a wonder bouquet of fall scents. Pumpkin, nutmeg, vanilla, and cinnamon blend together in a beautiful way. The taste is dialed in perfectly. Thick peanut buttery pumpkin flavor takes the lead, but caramel, vanilla, black licorice, and almond flavors follow, with a cinnamon-amon-amon finish. The mouthfeel is probably the thickest I have ever experienced. Chunky, gooey, and thick like a milkshake, but delightfully so. It has minimal carbonation. Overall, this beer exceeded high expectations. I should have waited for cooler fall weather when the leaves are at their absolute colorful peak, but I could not wait. I am glad I did not.