New Beer Weekend #221

Just looked and San Miguel is jointly owned by Kirin. I'm sure they are just using whatever facility can produce cheapest. Like the "German" AB brands brewed in St. Louis now...

 

Good afternoon NBW
Not a country tick, but a long time want. This should be the last day above 80F this year, so I'm getting after it. I believe I've only seen this one out of date code in green bottles previously, so I grabbed one immediately when the opportunity arose.

Sünner Kölsch

500mL brown bottle notched best before 1 25 poured into a Sünner signature stange at fridge temp 4.8 % ABV. The beer pours very bright pale gold with nearly white head. The head recedes to a thin ring and single layer of bubbles. The aroma is mild with pale malt, mineral and a hint of apple / pear / blooming flowers. The taste is semisweet pale malt with more flowery apple & pear before grassy mild bitterness and hard water minerals finish things off. The feel is thin bodied with average carbonation and a drying finish. Overall, delicious Kölsch despite the miles and months of travel.

I'd have to look at scores to see a winner, but I've now reviewed the four most well known exported Kölsch out of Köln. Delicious beer style.

Hoping to get that next country tick in later. Cheers all!

 

Been too long..
Hey NBS
I picked this up at the beginning of the summer at Sixpoint in Brooklyn.
Wild Raspy barrel aged wild ale with raspberries.
Pours a clear rosey gold with a bright white minimal head that forms a ring with a couple of spots of lacing.
On the nose Mild raspberry fruit and funk as well.as some vinous oak.
Taste is fruit, light tannins, the raspberry is quite fresh and snappy, lightly tart, some winey notes.
Medium/light body, tight carb throughout, very balanced not puckering which I like alot, lasting fruity finish that is dry.
I was never expecting this type of ale from Sixpoint. I really enjoyed this one. No heartburn from overly sourness either that occurs when I drink these types. Really nice brew. Cheers!

 

Nice seeing you around again @tasterschoice62 hope all is going well.

 

OTTO an Oktoberfest from Twin Elephant Brewing in Chatham NJ. Twin Elephant does something I wish more breweries did . That is list the ingredients on the can. This beer was brew with Vienna,Farmhouse Pils, Light Munich and Caramunich malts, Tradition Hallertau and Mittelruh hops and Lager yeast. OTTO pour dark bronze with a white head . The aroma is malt as is the taste which has a hint of bitterness. The mouthfeel is full the finish is dry. Overall an excellent Oktoberfest one of the 2 best ones Inhave tried this year.

 

Alluvial Nolanbrau Octoberfest


Appearance: Clear amber, good head.

Smell: Fruity malt, touch of caramel.

Taste: Moderately sweet, lots of fruitiness-like pears. Caramel shows up more in the finish. Medium bodied.

Overall: Not a big marzen fan but picked up a four pack at the brewery. It's fine, seems pretty fruity instead of bready or caramel-y. Easy drinking marzen octoberfest.

 

Just returned from an "end of season farmer's market" party at Little House Brewing. No posts, too busy socializing.
Home now with yet an other new Energren Beer. Valkyrie, a German style Amber, 6.2 ABV, 35IBU.
Over aggressive pour, but it did look cool with the head pouring down the glass. I hurried with the phone, but didn't catch it.

3.93/5 rDev +1.8%
look: 3.75 | smell: 3.75 | taste: 4 | feel: 4 | overall: 4
Poured from a 12 oz can dated 04/23/24 to a can glass at fridge temp.
The body is red/brown, not hazy but dark enough to only pass some light. A big off-white head that overflowed the glass probably due to an overly aggressive pour.
Smells of sweet and musty. Wet composting leaves with sugar on top.
The flavor is similar. Musty, dry, hops trying to poke through.
The mouthfeel is light. Carbonation cleans that out well though.
A nice malt excursion.

 

This was from another thread but not used, just have to say I love Ken Nordine and miss his Word Jazz show which used to air Sunday Midnights when WBEZ played music.

Paczki are sold year round, but hit peak demand for Fat Tuesday. They are Polish pastries people traditionally baked with anything sweet they had on hand to purge before Lent. I photographed this one after shopping upon my return from Vegas, but actually saw there were raspberry paczki so that is what I ultimately purchased. Very similar to a Bismarck, but typically made with powdered sugar.

Catching up on threads over the past two weeks and came across Tactical Bob's passing last night. Condolences to everyone who knew him, and those who were exposed to him via your tales on BA.

 

Fort George + Ruse - Sediments of Memory Fresh Hop

16oz can served in a big snifter. Dated 09/12/24. Bought it at Ridgewood two weeks ago.

Pours pale whitish yellow, murky, little head, just a thin dusting across the surface. Smell is gorgeously juicy framed nicely by grass and resin.

Taste is right there with it -- tons of orange, some pineapple. Orange zest and orange rind bitterness.

Mouthfeel is a little on the thin side for a hazy. Overall, it's really good.

 

Good Sunday afternoon, New Barleywine Sippers and commentators. We returned from our lightening (a little over 48 hour) trip to North Carolina. It was manic but great fun. I'm glad it's a 3-day weekend! The only new beer in my fridge is an English Barleywine aged in Tennessee whiskey barrels from Oyster Creek Brewing Co. in Waretown, New Jersey (Exit 69 on the Garden State Parkway for those of us in NJ; about 30 miles north of Atlantic City for everyone else).

Oyster Creek Brewing Co. is located in a strip mall on Route 9 (the same highway immortalized by Bruce Springsteen in the song Born to Run). It takes its name from a nearby nuclear power plant and its brews are nuclear energy themed. Its flagship beer is a Cream Ale called Yellow Cake. Needless to say, this brewery is not a household name. When a small brewery like Oyster Creek releases a barrel-aged Barleywine, you never know what you'll get. My expectations were not high. But this is really quite good!

The color is the classic Barleywine orange-brown. Almost no head; just an ecru-colored ring, which isn't surprising given the ABV. The smell is spot-on with roasted malt, caramel, raisin, fig, and subtle whiskey. Its flavor is better than expected: Raisin, caramel, and brown sugar-forward, and the whiskey barrel notes are soft and not distracting. It is not overly sweet. In fact, there is a slightly bitter bite at the finish. The alcohol level is obvious - it is more than just warming. The mouth feel is good but I wish it were a bit more viscous. As said, there is no escaping the 15% ABV. Sip this behemoth slowly. I wish that Oyster Creek had packaged it in a 500 ML bottle. Overall, this English Barleywine exceeded my expectation.

4.13/5 rDev 0%
look: 4 | smell: 4 | taste: 4.25 | feel: 3.75 | overall: 4.25

I assumed I'd drain pour the rest of the bottle but it's going into a growler for later tonight. Have a great week, everyone. Cheers, NBW!

 

Always get a quality education on the breweries of NJ from you @MacMalt

 

Welcome one and all to New Beer Sunday #1025. Going with the promised second of two from this Chicago Brewery, hoping it held up well over 3 months. I typically like a little age with my DIPAs, so let's see how this panned out. I shared the other three from my four pack in July, it's the #26 ranked overall Illinois Beer via BA raters.

Hop Butcher For The World Double Grid

4.52/5 rDev +1.8%
look: 4.5 | smell: 4.25 | taste: 4.5 | feel: 4.75 | overall: 4.75



Full review linked above. Bottom line, this beer held up very well refrigerated over three months, and the high community rating for this one is well deserved. My taste take quoted below.

That's it for drink fresh beers for me, and I have enough new to me Barrel Aged bangers to keep my busy perhaps through year end. Will start with those acquired via Sheboygan trades before digging into about a dozen from Chicago.

Cheers!

 

Sunday round #2
Country #46 Sri Lanka

Lion Stout

500mL can BB: OCT 2025 poured into a tulip pint glass at fridge temp 8.8% ABV. The beer pours absolute black with zero light penetration and medium brown colored head. The head recedes to a thin ring and single layer of bubbles. Heavy lacing. The aroma is moderate in strength featuring ash, very dark chocolate and coffee in no particular order. The taste is bittersweet roasted malt with tangy, earthy notes and an ashy, moderately bitter finish. The feel is medium bodied with average carbonation and a mostly dry finish that can lean towards watery. Alcohol is well hidden. Overall, decent export stout.

This beer will not be replacing Guinness FES as the official house beer of the Jkblr residence. I am quite happy to have had the chance to try it.

Cheers all!

 

Breakside - Fresh Hop Mosaic IPA

16oz can served in a big snifter. Can is dated 09/18/24. Wife bought it at Town & Country yesterday.

Pours mostly clear honey amber with a big, homogeneous head that settles fairly quickly into a thick, uneven cap with some fairly persistent and fairly thick lacing. Smell is dank, melony, fruit cup, moderate juicy sweetness.

Taste is right in the same lane, light earthy bitterness, more grass and cut greens but not too sharp.

Mouthfeel is on the thin side, dry. Overall, very good.

 

Sacred Profane - Dark Lager, thanks to @jonphisher

12oz can served in a footed pilsner glass. Can is dated BB 11/15/24. @jonphisher sent it to me.

Pours dark, basically black, with a big tan head. Smell is dark roast coffee, almost char.

Taste is similar -- heavy roast, light black licorice sweetness, some grain tea in the background, bordering on char.

Mouthfeel is light, almost watery. Overall, nice, tasty beer.