New Beer Weekend #223

Really feel like were in the thick of seasonal change here, drought aside, good fall weather and my preference and fridge is slowly shifting to include a few more darker beers and a pumpkin beer or two!!!

I’m not sure why people love to hate on pumpkin beers so much, I don’t get hating on any beer style but for some reason it seems cool to hate these ones even more the the other usual suspects.

I have two questions for you NBW friends:

1. Is pumpkin ale the OG pastry beer???
2. Why is it so common to hate on this style?

For this one I’m putting on my hatter shades and opening up one I haven’t reviewed or had in probably 10 years or so. I remember this being one of those “you have to try it” beers people recommended years back. Grabbed a single to enjoy and review on this last weekend before Halloween.

Elysian - Night Own (Pumpkin Ale 6.7%)



Pours hazy orangey brown; head is lightly off white, dissipates quickly but to its credit nice opaque think film persists with a solid ring, no lacing.

Nose is a very balanced and not overpowering mix of pumpkin and pumpkin pie spice; definitely a meaty pumpkin/squash presence, followed on backend by spice; nutmeg, or maybe clove being most dominant, ginger like bite and maybe cinnamon, I’m not sure I did not look at the included spice list.

Taste is very nice, to be honest the nose led me to believe the spices would be more pronounced, theres a nice pumpkin presence; the spices balance it out nicely, there is a definite ginger like presence; then your typical mix of pumpkin pie spice but again, far from overpowering, really nice; minimal malt presence or it’s masked by the pumpkin side of things.

Body is medium; carbonation is a tad lower, giving it a nice creamy smooth texture, there is this perfect little warmth on the finish from the abv, in this case its so subtle it enhances the experience; there is no bitterness but some light spice presence that I attribute to the ginger maybe.

I’m glad I grabbed a single of this beer, a nice warming festive beer for a very cool fall night here in NJ. If you haven’t had this one in a while revisit it, or give it a try.

----------------------------

I may not have time to get a new one in tomorrow and for that I apologize but I promise to read each and everyone of your fine posts NBW friends. Cheers to the changing seasons!

 

Amazing apps. Loaded fries, Buffalo cauliflower, fried Brussel sprouts.


Southend oktoberfest. Great festbier. Aromas of clean bready malts and light fruit. Taste of cracker, bread dough, wood, herbal, grass, peppercorn, pine, and light yeast earthiness. Lt-med pine herbal bitterness on the finish. Medium carb and body. Balanced bready malt and sticky hop mouthfeel. Fairly crisp clean finishing. Lingering sticky hop drying. Clean lager flavors of pils/Munich malt and balanced noble hops. No complaints. 4/5


Cheers

 

Greetings, fellow NBWers,

I've been doing a pretty lousy job of posting to this thread lately, and there's a decent chance that will continue, as I've decided that overall, apart from occasional bouts of time off for good behavior, I'm going to be reducing the amount of beer I drink. I'm still unpacking from moving halfway across the city, and I expect that will continue for a while. I'm also no longer living within walking distance of numerous local breweries, which means I won't be having as many beers from them. There are pluses to my new location, however. This was the view I had of the sunset last night while at work, which is in relatively easy walking distance of the current casa woemad:


In a couple hours, I am planning on going to a Halloween party at Iron Goat Brewing. Since I won't be able to walk there, I'm tuning up for the occasion with an NA beer that happens to be new to me.

https://www.beeradvocate.com/beer/profile/63/588072/?ba=woemad#lists
Although it didn't quite blow me away, especially in the mouth field department, where it seemed rather thin, I have to say that this is the best NA dark beer that I have had yet, and would definitely drink it again. At some point I'll have to line up a side-by-side comparison with the regular octane version.

Not sure if I will take part tomorrow or not. If not, have a great week!

 

Covert Artisan Attache Democracy Pick-B BBA Imperial Oatmeal Stout, 12% ABV. Pours black, with a ring of brown bubbles that disappeared quickly, leaving no lacing. Aroma is vanilla, chocolate, and cherry. Taste is chocolate, cherry, vanilla, and coffee, moderately sweet, slightly bitter. Excellent mouthfeel, if a bit light on carbonation, overall world-class. Barrel is 4-roses.

4.54/5 rDev 0%
look: 4 | smell: 4.25 | taste: 4.75 | feel: 4.25 | overall: 4.75

This is one of three BBA Imperial Stouts released today by Covert Artisan. Their attache club selected the add-junks, and this is world-class. I'm shocked I liked it because I haven't liked 4-Roses BA in the past. They do need to avoid wrapping the name like that, annoying when brewers do that, but I'll forgive them this time.

 

Hey, kids. Glad to be back. Pretty easy day with some yard puttering and woods walk with the sprout. Sorta saved from real yard work as after procrastinating as long as I could, I found the fuel can for the mower empty. Oh darn... And ya know, there's gonna be more leaves falling so let's not rush things...

I found this battered can buried in the fridge. No idea where or when we bought it. Or why. No gusher on opening an unpasteurized and dinged up can, so let's dive in.



Lone Pine Holy Donut Dark Chocolate Peppermint American Imperial Stout, 9% ABV, brewed with doughnuts, dark chocolate, and peppermint.

It pours nearly black with the obligatory beige head. The foam lasts a couple minutes and leaves an island and ring. The ring coats the glass nicely on the sip.

The smell is pretty subdued. Mostly stoutlike with some chocolate and a bit of peppermint. Dark malt, minimal char, slightly sweet.

The taste is better than I expected. You can tell it's a stout no doubt. Dark and roasty with just a touch of char and grainy bitterness. Slightly sweet. Then mid-taste there's slightly bitter dark chocolate that is fairly assertive but eventually blends back in. As it finishes, the peppermint says a hearty hello - its pretty strong and carries into the aftertaste. And my knock here is it's a peppermint oil kind of flavor- not artificial, but not herbal like i wrnt outdide and picked it, either. Peppermint candy without the extra sweetness. I don't really get donut but maybe there's some chunky bits or crumbs in the rest of the pour...damn I miss my big Duvel that held a pint...

Mouthfeel is medium bodied, minimal carbonation. A bit chalky. The peppermint builds up and creates a bit of a sting and us a tad bit tongue-numbing. Pretty dry as well.

Overall, it's not bad but I wouldn't get it again. Meets the intent for sure. I'd rather the peppermint be more herbal. Everything is fairly well integrated but the peppermint takes over just a little by accumulating in the end. That is why I'm feeling it's a peppermint oil/extract - the residual really sticks. I'm feeling 3.6-ish but we will see how it goes.

 

My preferred term is Pale Oktoberfest vs. Festbier but yes, the Sierra Nevada collaboration is one of these IMO.

Cheers!

 

Southend Wendover river. Great American blonde. Aromas and flavors of cracker, bread dough, pear /apple fruits, wood, peppercorn, pine, herbal, floral, grass, yeast earth. Medium pine/herbal/woody bitter finish. Medium carb and body. Fairly crisp clean refreshing finish. Balanced bready grainy malt and sticky hop mouthfeel. Lingering sticky hop drying, no astringent. Very flavorful and spot on blonde. Balanced clean malt and noble hop flavors. No complaint. 4/5


Cheers

 

1/2 No, mostly tastes fake & forced. I tend get a lot of metallic notes in a vast majority. The ones I can stand are higher gravity & lean towards Stouts. Also, not a huge fan of cinnamon

 

Nice view at least

 

Natural State Beer Co. Vienna Style Lager, 4.9% ABV; 3.62 overall

Pours an effervescent hazel color with one finger of cream colored head. Below average head retention & lacing

S: Brown bread, toastyness, fades a bit once warm

T: Some brown bread, caramel, a little grassyness, & woody hops up front, fairly dry. Toasty & dry, some caramel & woody hop notes as this beer warmed up. Finishes toasty & dry with woody hops & a little bit of brown bread

MF: Medium body, restrained carbonation, body thins out a bit once warm, okay balance

No real depth of flavor, I'd compare it more or less to Dos Equis Amber, drinkable, but forgettable, better body would've really helped the cause

 

The Mrs. is still getting tomatoes here

 

That 20+ BA ales to try is great problem, rest assured, I would have to drive hundred miles to be in the same situation. Sprinkle in some of those horrible NA beers hogging up cooler & shelf space

 

Awesome pic, keep having fun guys!

 

Prairie Hawaiian TKO Kettle Sour with Pineapple, Strawberry, & Tangerine, 5.4% ABV; 4.32 overall

Any can art featuring the State Fish the Humuhumunukunukuapua`a is a winner in my books. There was a time when I could spell that without cutting & pasting.


Pours a hazed & turbid honey color with one finger of eggshell colored head, Great lacing & meh head retention

S: Citrus, some strawberry, & pineapple, Tropical party that sticks around for the duration

T: Tangerine & lime up front, some strawberry, & pineapple & a little coconut. More pineapple, some coconut, strawberry, & tangerine as this beer warms up. Finishes with sweet acidity from the pineapple & tangerine, a little strawberry & passion fruit

Medium body, fairly lively carbonation, plenty of acidity, but not in a bad way

Through the roof drinkability, this is how I like my sours now, no Tums required. All advertised flavors show up & impress

 

Good evening denizens of NBW! Have I had some new beers this weekend. Last night was our monthly SAN which due to circumstances turned into more of a PAN (some of the porters I had were lower ABV than most of my stouts) and the other two participants each added an additional porter, both of which were new to me. But that’s for a different post, I will work my way backwards, starting with my nightcap, and maybe get to the two new ones I had at the circus. (Seriously, Ringling Brothers Barnum and Bailey still have a circus. No animals, which was odd, but amazing acrobatic and balance skills)
To make things even more complicated, my nightcap was from a brewery that has apparently been closed for years.

The Alpha and Omega, from East Sixth Brewing in Arkansas. The label looks like it came from Coletrain’s in Colorado Springs, but maybe @russpowell sent it to me a few years ago? Mox nix, I drank it tonight.
For a beer that’s likely more than a couple years old, it held up quite well.
Poured stout black with a very respectable light brown head which left decent lacing.
The taste was the proverbial dark fruit but they were all coated in chocolate. It wasn’t actually sweet, just the taste gave me the impression. No char or bitterness at all.
The feel is very lightly viscous, and the ABV (10%) is unnoticeable, making this way too easy to drink.
Quite enjoyed this, rather sad that the brewery no longer exists. But maybe the brewer is now at another brewery!
Wow, I should stop now. Cheers all! Back tomorrow for yesterday’s beers.

 

Could've been me or perhaps @jvgoor3786 ?? My memory on this stuff is terrible. Years ago

 

So as some of you know, I had the great pleasure of connecting with our very own @snaotheus earlier in the week...but sadly, missed the chance to imbibe a second night with him and my neighbor @Beersnake (who I am still sans handshake tick with in spite of proximity). Ryan dropped 8 very tempting beers in my hand. And being fresh hop season, he bestowed some wonders.
Wet Season: Columbus by Ravenna
My first from this brewery

Tanks to the esteemed snaotheus for bringing this aromatic gem to me.
Pretty, golden color with a steady stream of tiny bubbles feeding a silky white head. Initially, the foam cap rose nearly 2 fingers in height but settled into a consistent, filmy cap.Smooth curtains of lacing.
The nose explodes with lemon rind. And I'm talking lemon rind from the old tree in my parents backyard. A firm, confident, "I'm lemon, hear me roar," kind of lemon that is so firm that it chooses to make way for both herbal and peppery notes.
The flavor is faithful to the nose. The lemon zest goes beyond the herbal towards a pithy bitterness. Firm, a bit chewed grassy notes meet some wood grain. Eventually a hint of pine resin chimes in as well.
Mouthfeel is as expected for an IPA. Carbonation works well but doesn't stay for the whole ride.
4.06/5 rDev -0.7%
look: 3.75 | smell: 4.5 | taste: 4 | feel: 3.5 | overall: 4

 

On a sidenote...Ryan's beers are making some great World Series games even better. Go Dodgers!