New Beer Weekend #225

Dogfish Head - Mid-90s Micro-brewery Style Red Ale

16oz can served in a curvy Monhegan pint glass. Canned 08/19/24. Shipped to me by the inestimably generous @jonphisher.

Pours an almost murky brown-red with a short-lived medium sized head that settles into a thinly clumpy layer and a thick, clinging ring. Smell is nuts and not-so-sweet toffee, dark bread, a little bit of rising bread yeast.

Taste is a nice blend of grain and toffee sweetness with roast, nutty, earthy/barky bitterness. Leans toward the bitter side, which is even better for me.

Mouthfeel is medium to light, maybe a bit on the water side. Overall, this is a very nice beer.

 

Bottle Logic - Flash Point (2024, bananas foster barleywine)

500ml bottle served in a big snifter. 2024 released. Gifted to me a couple weeks ago by @Beersnake.

Murky brown, dark and barky, small head. Smell is banana, vanilla, caramel, moderate spice.

Taste is tons of dates and toffee, with nice caramelized banana as an accent (a strong accent). Lots of vanilla, brown sugar, cinnamon is barely noticeable. Comes across with just a bit of a rich, rum-infused carrot cake vibe, which I associate more with nutmeg than cinnamon.

Mouthfeel is thick, smooth, rich, just a bit of cotton-mouth dryness. Overall, quite good.

 

Boulevard 35th Anniversary Ale, no details on the bottle bit it is F ing awesome.

12.5% ABV; 4.65 overall

Pours an effervescent chestnut/mahogany with a pinky+ of fast falling tan head, viscous. Zero head retention & lacing

S: Port, oak red grapes. Figs, vanilla & more once warm, some boozy dark cherry

T: Follows the nose, rich, rich red grapes. plenty of barrel, some figs & other Jammy notes up front. Boozy raisin & plum notes, even a little prune with dark chocolate & dark cherry on the fringes, plus a little raw barrel & leather. Finishes with Port notes, booze raw barrel, treacle, boozy raisins & much black cheery & a little Tobacoo

MF: Medium body, low key carbonation; super warming. Carbonation ramps up a little once warm, just makes this beer even better

If you find this, buy this; so blown away how good this is. Worthy Anny beer for the ages! A damn masterpiece

 

Good morning/afternoon BAs, depending on your location this Sunday! Whenever i come to Texas, I try to drink brews the pack toads don't haul into NW PA - not always TX beers, but those from the general area, i.e. OK, MX, LA. This trip I went heavier into OK with some Prairie Artisan Ales, a brewery which previously had only contributed about nine beers to my data base, mostly rating <4. I dunno, maybe there's just a lack of good beers here in the SW, but to my taste, Prairie Artisan produces thin, watery excuses for BA Imperial stouts that should be about $10 cheaper/bottle. Again, that's only my opinion - I know some of yinz think they're great, and that's OK - I love Hoppin' Frog brews that many of you don't. Anyway, today's venture into the Prairie:



Barrel Aged Christmas Bomb from Prairie Artisan. One 12 fl oz bottle, picked up at Spec’s on DeZavala, SAT, 06/11/24, $ 14.97 (Including tax), $ 1.25/fl oz. Reviewed 10/11/24 (Review 3390). Note that I use DD/MM/YY protocol.
Stamped on shoulder in yellow ink “10/03/2023”. Stored at 34 degrees at home. Served at 57.1 degrees F in a hand washed and dried Jester King snifter. The final temperature was 61.8 degrees F.
Appearance – 3.5
First pour – Ruby Brown (SRM 24), light barely penetrates but shows up ruby.
Body – Black (SRM 40), opaque. Under direct light, same. When rear-lite, same except at the edges where light barely penetrates - ruby at the bottom and icteric at the upper edge.
Head: None (Aggressive center pour). Just a low density bronze broken bubble ring that disappears almost instantly, leaving neither cap nor crown.
Lacing – None: as expected at 13% ABV.
Aroma – 3 – Extremely weak hints of whiskey - no yeast, no hops, no malt, no distinct barrel, no spices. No ethanol (13 % ABV according to the label).
Flavor – 3.5 – Does NOT follow the nose – slightly sweet and spicey – primarily cinnamon, my favorite spice. No yeast, no hops. Hints of whiskey and chilis, sans the vegetal taste. No oak barrel. No dimethylsulfide or diacetyl. Moderate gastric warming occurs.
Palate – 3 – Medium; almost creamy; soft but lively carbonation.
Style: Follows the style guidelines, as loosely condensed by BA.
Final impression and summation: 3.25 Almost average brew at a premium price. At least there is no flotsam to strain through my teeth. Thin-bodied for an Imperial stout, but at least this has some spiciness and hints of the barrel aging.
Rating 3.28, rDev -26.8%

 

Still need to catch up on the rest of Saturday evening, but enjoyed your visit to the Family Farm and Dogfish Head @jonphisher . Did you get a chance to see your new nephew? Next time I'm with a car in/near Philly I want to visit Dogfish Head. Also enjoyed seeing Paul @champ103 and Moe return to our thread.

On to New Beer Sunday #1029! Pulling an audible and slating my final two from Micah @GreenBayBA to close out this Veteran's Day edition of NBW. Enjoyed your video yesterday, only thing missing was a Mark Wahlberg "word to your mother" shout out to the deer.

This looks like a perfect breakfast or dessert beer from likely my favorite Wisconsin Stout Brewery.

Central Waters Cherry Kringle Stout

4.33/5 rDev -1.4%
look: 4.25 | smell: 4.25 | taste: 4.5 | feel: 4 | overall: 4.25



Full review linked above. A cherry kringle is (similar to a cherry filled coffee cake). Door County is close to Amherst, and is known in part for their cherries.

Bottom line, this is very sweet, and the bourbon is subtle, but this works well for a breakfast or dessert beer. Thank you Micah for your generosity and selection. I will pull my final bottle from you tomorrow.

Cheers!

 

@ChicagoJ a trip to Dogfish is definitely worth it. Especially in nice outdoor weather, they have a really nice set up outside and a great little menu of food to enjoy: personal pizzas, salads, always a sandwich option and Bavarian pretzel with beer cheese. Always a highlight of our trip.

 

Good Sunday morning NBS/nbw and thanks @Beersnake for hosting this weekend.
Todays offering is from Barn Brew Co, but brewed at East Rock Brewing in New Haven Ct
The offering is billed as a helles, it walks more closeley to a German Pils in my opinion.
But that is maybe a bit picky, It is really tasty and has great feel,

Enjoy your day all
Farmer's Lager

Helles | 5.2% ABV
Barn Brew Company in Groton, Connecticut

Reviewed by SABERG from Massachusetts

4.02/5 rDev +9.5% | Average: 3.67
look: 4.25 | smell: 4 | taste: 4 | feel: 4 | overall: 4
Poured from a 12 oz can dated BB 5/11/25 into the test glass
A - Excellent clarity, lemon yellow color, gently carbonated, thin white cap
S - A bit of noble hops, light grainy thread with some fresh baguette, and honey notes
T - Biscuity grains, with a bit of lemongrass in the mix, from the hops
M - Lite and crisp, excellent feel, dances across the palate, A bit of tension with the sliightly bitter side winning.
Dry finish.
O - A very good offering, excellent texture, lovely concise flavors, a real treat

 

Hello NBW.
Popped down to San Diego and had to enter this into the DB. Originally put it in wrong due to info from the restaurant that had it on tap. Had the name wrong, the style wrong, and was missing the ABV. Sorry Mod Team, and thanks for fixing this!
Willie Nelson New Zealand Hopped IPA
On tap at Haven in San Diego.
Pretty, slightly hazy gold capped with a bountiful white cap of foam.
Nose initially presents pineapple and peach with hints of citrus zest.
Flavor follows the nose but is more tamed.
Mouthfeel is just shy of medium heft, decent carb, and finishes a bit prickly.
3.58/5 rDev 0%
look: 3.75 | smell: 3.75 | taste: 3.5 | feel: 3.5 | overall: 3.5

 

Good afternoon NBW
I've been picking up some widely available stragglers that have eluded me. This is one

Tsingtao

12oz green bottle with no discernable date code poured into a pilsner glass at fridge temp 4.7% ABV. The beer pours bright pale straw yellow with nearly white head. The head recedes to a thin ring and island. The aroma is faint with just a hint of cereal grain. The taste is semisweet pale malt with a funky (possibly rice driven?) sweetness mid sip before a mildly bitter finish lacking hop flavor. The feel is thin bodied with average carbonation and a mostly dry finish. Overall, ok. The corn / rice syrup mid palate kills it for me.

Ironic to me that this beer has a higher ABV than Bud or MGD yet is classified as a light lager here in the database. Cheers all!

 

Hello New Beer Weekend!!!

On the road today at Fat Pants Brewing in Eden Prairie, MN and having this

Bernstein - Marzen- 5.9%

Good flavor to this beer. Lots of grain, biscuit and caramel. Tasty.
https://www.beeradvocate.com/beer/profile/57917/510529/
3.71/5 rDev -3.6%
look: 4 | smell: 3.5 | taste: 3.75 | feel: 3.75 | overall: 3.75
On tap at the brewery

Clear amber pouring beer. There's a white head in the glass.
The aroma is light. I do get hints of cereal, biscuit and caramel.
The flavor is a grain flavor. I get caramel notes in this beer. Some biscuit. It kind of has a amber beer flavor.
Very clean body. Smooth. Decent feeling and fullness.
Tasty and delicious.

Be back at another place in a while

 

Drekker Chonk Berry Parfait Sundae Sour, 6.5% ABV. Pours opaque maroon, with a slight pink head that left puree residue. Aroma is blueberry, strawberry, cherry and vanilla. Taste follows, plus lactose, moderately sweet, slightly tart. Decent thick and creamy mouthfeel, overall outstanding. Great combination of fruit.

4.39/5 rDev 0%
look: 4 | smell: 4.25 | taste: 4.5 | feel: 4.25 | overall: 4.5

 

Back to Back. Couldn't resist one more at Fat Pants Brewing in Eden Prairie, MN.

Crooked Water Barrel Chaser - 15% - RIS.
Wow, this is delicious as heck. So much vanilla forward. Great back end flavors. No burn even though it is 15%. Wow.
https://www.beeradvocate.com/beer/profile/57917/685368/
4.42/5 rDev 0%
look: 4.75 | smell: 4 | taste: 4.5 | feel: 4.75 | overall: 4.5
On tap at the brewery.

On nitro. This is a pitch black pouring beer. The nitro made the head look creamy as it formed. There is a brown head that lasts long as heck. Lacing on the glass.
Tons of vanilla on the nose with notes of chocolate, caramel, toffee, and ton of barrel aroma.
The beer just has a great vanilla hit right away. The flavor mellows to chocolate, caramel, and toffee. There's a smooth barrel note on the back.
This beer is so damn full feeling. Very smooth and creamy feeling. There is no burn to this beer.
Wow, this is just damn delicious.

 

At Chanhassen Brewing in Chanhassen, MN and having this

Earl Grey - Rye Beer - 5%

Great tea flavor here. It just cling and lingers. There's a peppery middle and a bitterness on the finish.
https://www.beeradvocate.com/beer/profile/60736/543300/
3.79/5 rDev -8.7%
look: 4 | smell: 3.75 | taste: 3.75 | feel: 4 | overall: 3.75
On tap at the brewery

This is a slightly murky looking beer and amber colored. There's a white head that has some lacing on the glass.
The aroma had a full on tea hit to my nose. I also get some hints of caramel.
The flavor is full on earl Grey tea. Thus flavor just lingers throughout the profile. I get a peppery flavor that adds to the tea. The finish has a nice bitterness.
The bitterness has a nice feeling. The body is decent and full feeling..
I an a fan of this beer with tea added.

Be back at the next stop.

 

Gold Dot - Hopfenherb Pils de Pils

16oz can served in a curvy Monhegan pint glass. Can is dated 09/06/24. Bought it almost two months ago at Chuck's Hop Shop Seward Park, but it was lower priority than the 100+ fresh hops that stole my attention after I bought it.

Pours clear burnished golden with about a finger of head. Head settles quickly, leaves about a half centimeter cap, moderate carbonation to sustain it. Smell is bready, grassy, fresh and clean, a little lemon rind and something herbal.

Taste is more on the hoppy side than the aroma suggested -- lots of earthy grassy bitterness, some lemon rind, but no shortage of the bready yeasty stuff the nose promised. Strong bitter finish.

Mouthfeel is around medium, maybe a bit heavier than I expect for a pils, but it's got a clean, crisp finish. Overall, this is a lovely beer.

 

New beer #2
Part of a new Torpedo mix pack

Pacific Torpedo

12oz bottle PKGD 09/20/24 poured into a tulip pint glass at fridge temp 6.5% ABV. The beer pours bright light gold with cream colored head. The head recedes to a thin ring and single layer of bubbles. Spotty lacing. The aroma is moderate in strength featuring candied orange, grapefruit and pine. The taste is bittersweet caramel & pale malt with big pine, grapefruit and earthy resinous bitterness. The feel is medium bodied with average carbonation and a mostly dry finish. Overall, delicious, old school, West Coast IPA.

Between this mix pack and Celebration, I know what's stocking my fridge for a while. Cheers all!

 

Pinta Barrel Brewing - Unity. Imperial porter with cocoa nibs, vanilla & forest fruits aged for 16 months in Heaven Hill bourbon, amarone red wine & marsala barrels.

330ml bottle served in a slightly tulippy stemmed wineglass. Best Before 01.05.2029. 2024 vintage. Bought it at Swiat Piwa in Poland in August.

Pours dark, almost black, murky, almost still. Small amount of very fine, very slow carbonation. Smell is dessert -- chocolate, vanilla, background of booze. Tons of chocolate.

Taste is...hm. Chocolate is still the predominant vibe. But I get a lot more molasses, wood, vague dark fruits. Less vanilla.

Mouthfeel is medium, fairly thin for the style. Overall, it's good and interesting.

 

Made a trip to OEC Brewing yesterday and came home with four new beers.
Starting off with Coolship Black Lager.
From the brewer-
Our Coolship Lager Black gains its signature color from the use of European roasted malts. It is brewed using a traditional double decoction mash and hopped with fine European noble hops, After the boil it rests in our copper coolship for 1 hour. It is then transferred over our baudelot cooler into our open tanks for fermentation. After a cool fermentation using a classic Czech lager yeast it is cellared for several months prior to release.

3.74/5 rDev -8.3%
look: 3.5 | smell: 3.75 | taste: 3.75 | feel: 3.75 | overall: 3.75
Poured from a 16 oz an undated can that was purchased at the brewery yesterday to a Nonic at fridge temp.
The body looks like really dark cola or rootbeer with a tinge of red. A tan 1-inch of multi-sized bubbles sits above.
The aroma is sugary malt.
The taste is malty also, but not as sweet as the smell suggests. There is a chocolate note and the finish is ash dry.
The mouthfeel is light, carbonation is appropriate.
Not bad, but not a killer.

 

Now at Back Channel Brewing in Spring Park, MN and having this on the shore of Lake Minnetonka

Iron Ranger - American Stout - 6.6%

This beer packs a ton of flavor into a smaller package. So much coffee, chocolate, roasted malt and a nutty flavor. Delicious.
https://www.beeradvocate.com/beer/profile/49773/304064/
3.98/5 rDev +11.2%
look: 4 | smell: 4 | taste: 4 | feel: 3.75 | overall: 4
On tap at the brewery.

This is a pitch black pouring beer. There's a bit of a brown head on the beer.
Nose has roasted malts, hint of chocolate, coffee and a nutty aroma.
Taste has a good roasted malt and coffee flavor up front. The back has chocolate and a nutty flavor.
Body is smooth, and full feeling.
There is a lot packed into this package, and I like it.

I will likely have one more today, but might be when I get home.