New Beer Weekend #226

No Speedway? Hmmm

 

That would be a great hit in NBS BIF...Just sayin'.

 

I'm embarrassed to admit, I did not know that the National Museum of the Pacific was there. Just made the list. Thanks, Jack.

 

This!

 

Another beer courtesy of @TCgenny this week. This is Androids & Adjuncts, an English Barleywine conditioned on hazelnuts and cocao nibs. This 11% beer is made by Wayward Lane Brewing.

3.8/5 rDev -5.5%
look: 4 | smell: 4 | taste: 3.75 | feel: 3.5 | overall: 3.75
Poured from a 12oz can with an illegible date to a semi-tulip glass at fridge temp, but allowed to warm.
The body is brown with a red tint, quite clear, but the deep color stops quite a bit of light. A minimal off-white head sits above and fades to a ring.
There is quite a strong cocoa, hazelnut and coconut aroma, just like the writing on the can suggests. But it is distinctly not like an Almond Joy bar (no sense of cheap fructose). It is slightly medicinal though.
The taste is similar up front, but quickly the alcohol makes itself known, then fades away leaving mostly a cacao feel and a super sweet finish. And there is malt throughout. All of the previous is at level 11.
The mouthfeel is medium, but sticky.
A heavy duty beer for sure.

 

Hey what's going on!?

I am having a pretty solid productive weekend, and I am sure the insanity of the holidays will be upon us once again... Luckily I have had some tasty beverage as of late.

What's new for our hero today?



Poured from the can into a Spiegelau IPA glass. Canned October 21st 2024.

Turbid and chunky custard looking, with actually more of an orange than lemon yellow appearance. Just the faint hint of carbonation, clear and poking among the ridges going up in slow motion as if it was travelling through mud. Fluffy thick and rich topped head. Big and bellowing with off white color and thick laced and giant retention.

Excellent hop aromatics. Dank notes but without the huge thickness or overpowering senses. Sweet grassy herbs and almost chamomile tea like as well in the aroma. Lots of wafting perfume rich senses but not too overboard.

Palate is a delicious wallop. Super creamy body with a hop bite that cuts with some bitterness into the vanilla sweetness. From there the flavors get more diverse, with creamsicle orange and tropical fruits mixed in with excellent sweetness. But we aren't done yet. An excellent pine bitterness cuts through so nicely to give the beer an excellent bitter edge to the wonderfully fruity sweetness.

Wonderfully controlled at this high abv as well and excellently drinkable. Probably one of the most impressive triple IPAs I have had in awhile.

look: 4 | smell: 4.5 | taste: 4.75 | feel: 4.75 | overall: 4.75 | BA score: 4.65/5

Cheers!

 

Blood pictures on French caves.,., fuck yeah!

 

Good Sunday afternoon, New Beer Samplers and commentators. Yesterday, when I was down the shore I stopped at several breweries, including Meyers Lighthouse in Cape May County. This venue opened during the summer and is an imaginative business model. The owner already has a brewery in Philadelphia. For the New Jersey location he chose a dilapidated miniature golf course on Route 9. He built a 7-barrel brew house (which is bigger than the one in Philadelphia) and totally renovated the mini golf course. They did a nice job! So you can play and drink beer or, more likely, your kids can play while you drink beer. The owner is already planning a new building to expand the brewing operation, and intends to distribute cans (now you can only get them onsite).

Yesterday, I drank a pint of the newly-released Scotch Ale called Groundskeeper Willy, which is a clever name given the golf theme. I bought cans and am now doing a more thoughtful review. My first observation is that the ale is significantly more bitter from the can than on draught. I'm okay with that because to my taste many Wee Heavies are overly sweet.

It pours a slightly hazy, orange-hued iced tea color with almost a finger cap of fluffy, ecru-colored foam and abundant soapy lacing that lasted through the pour.. The fragrant nose includes sweet, roasted malt, caramel, burnt peat, and tobacco smoke. The taste opens with malty sweetness that is almost immediately balanced by strong burnt bitterness from the roasted barley. There are also notes of cigar ash and earthy, burnt grass. The mouth feel is full-bodied and creamy with pleasant carbonation, and the 6.4% ABV allows for easy drinking. Overall, Groundskeeper Willy is a solid example of the Wee Heavy style. Someone unfamiliar with the style could be turned off by the burnt bitterness but I like it. This is a good recipe and I hope it is brewed again. It would be great if the next batch is peated.

3.98/5 rDev 0%
look: 4.25 | smell: 3.75 | taste: 4 | feel: 4.25 | overall: 4

I have an Irish Stout to review next. Cheers!

 

I'm sticking with my Celtic roots. Next up is Shield, an Imperial Oatmeal Stout with Coffee, aged for 9 months in Crolly whiskey barrels, from Lough Gill Brewery in County Sligo, Ireland. Man, this is sublime drinking! I'm glad it is canned in an 11.1 oz. format.

Poured from undated can at 59°. The color is ink-black and the modest cap of frothy, light mocha-colored foam fizzled away quickly leaving a thick ring. A nice, fragrant nose featuring roasted malt, burnt coffee, caramel, brown sugar, tobacco smoke, earthy char, and noticeable whiskey. Whoa, this is superb! The taste is coffee-forward but it is hard to separate from the Crolly whiskey. Initially, it is very boozy but as the Stout breathes in the glass the alcohol mellows. As I sip I begin to taste the Oatmeal. The Ethiopian and Guatemalan coffee is strong and acidic. There are subtle notes of chocolate and toffee. The base is strongly earthy char and tobacco ash which gives it a real attitude. All of the flavors are bold but they are highly complimentary. There is fairly strong bitterness throughout. The mouth feel is viscous and oily with low carbonation and you cannot escape the 14% ABV. Sip it slowly and let it develop. Shield is almost like a Cordial. It would be great to sip before a fire on a cold Winter night.

4.36/5 rDev +0.9%
look: 4 | smell: 4.25 | taste: 4.5 | feel: 4.5 | overall: 4.25

I'm glad to have found this Stout in a local bottle shop. Sláinte, NBW!

 

It would, but I only had one. I'll see if there's more the next time I have time to go to Lupulin Brewing.

 

Came across a single of this and grabbed it for old time’s sake. I’m sure back when I had this I didn’t know much about the style that it represents, and I was still in my early beer days. I wanted to revisit it proper, so here we are, my final contribution of the weekend.

Goose Island - Honkers Ale (English Bitter 4.3%)



Pours orange hued amber; very light cloudiness, head is dirty white; I get good retention and lacing in nucleated glass.

Nose is lightly sweet, little bit of hop presence, slightly floral, little bit of bread, some generic fruit character.

The taste is doughy bread, light sweetness; fruitiness again, bit of citrus character on the finish, lingers nicely in the aftertaste.

Body is light, it is a smooth and easy drinking beer; creamy and soft, lower carbonated, and has a nice moderate bitterness on the finish.

This was quite good, hops are there but do not overpower, the floral character was quite nice; in feel they showed themselves just enough to me while painting a refreshing drinkability.

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Hope to see you all again next weekend, have a good week everyone.

 

This Rueben's Brews Kolsch German Style Ale is from the NBW BIF#18 LIF
5.0% ABV; 4.01 overall

Pours a very effervescent gold with 2+ fingers of eggshell colored head. Beautiful beer, stays bubbly throughout the entire can, good head retention

S: Bready, pears & apples, some perfumy hops late

T: Breadyness, a kiss of lemon & Golden Delicious Apples up front. Some floral & peppery hop notes as this beer warms up, more grainy than bready, a little bit white grape too. Finishes with slight dryness, some pear & bready notes & more lemon & a bit of grassyness

MF: Light/medium body and delicate carbonation. A touch of grit at the end

Nice drinkability, true to the style

 

Well, I decided one final beer is in order today, and I have to thank @beergoot for it. Thank you from the bottom of my heart for sending it to me.

Chopping Wood - Festbier - Mountains Walking Brewery - Bozeman, MT - 6%

I am really digging the hop profile here. It is backed up by a great earthy flavor and some biscuit. I like this a lot and am so damn happy and thankful for the chance to try it.
https://www.beeradvocate.com/beer/profile/51963/568535/
4.02/5 rDev +3.1%
look: 4.25 | smell: 4 | taste: 4 | feel: 4 | overall: 4
From a 16oz can, no date on the can.

This is a beer that pours a darker golden color. There's a slight bit of murkiness to the beer. There's a 1 finger white head that has a nice frothy look to it. The head retention is great and there's some lacing on the glass.
There's a nice biscuit aroma to this beer. I get an earthy and grassy aroma as well. It reminds me of fresh cut grass almost.
Taste - First off, this is a hoppy beer. I am getting a lot of hop bitterness in it, that's pleasing. The beer has a very earthy/grassy flavor to it. I do get hints of a malty sweetness to it.
I am really digging the hop bitter feeling to this beer. Very nice full bodied.
This beer is downright delicious overall. A huge pleasure to try.

This is it, and see you next weekend! Cheers!

 

I'm hoping to make it to Montana sometime in 2025, and I will be on the lookout for their beers while there.

 

Hello friends. I try to beer here more than I am.

Fox Farm - Allfort



Nose is malty and there’s barrel sourness. In fact it’s quite woodsy and sharp. Reminds me of foeder sours.

It’s very balanced. A smidge meaty, kind of like a smoke beer. Hint of sweetness but fairly dry. Again, supremely balanced. Finishes right down the middle. The Styx of malt and hops.

Though it doesn’t feel boozy it’s a sipper purely on complexity. Lovely beer.

Cheers everyone and have a great Sunday evening!

 

Poet's Walk
10,6% American barleywine by Suarez Family Brewery



12.7 ounce bottle.

Vigorous pour yielded a meager tiny white head. No lacing.

Aroma has notes of raisins, molasses and hops.

Taste follows nose. Raisins, figs, leather and hops. Lightly sweet with wisps of caramel and leather. Finish has a modest hoppy bitterness.

Mouthfeel good. Soft and rich. Light carbonation.

Very good barleywine on the sweet side for an American barleywine.


https://20842.org/ss/poetswalk.jpeg