New Beer Weekend #228

Tucher pils
...incredibly clear light gold appearance
...medium carbonation with close to medium body
...aroma isnt overpowering but theres yeast,grain,cereal, and dinner rolls
...taste is grain,toasted cereal, dinner roll, mildly floral and earthy
..taste has very mild sweetness with grain,toasted cereal and some bitter hops.
...overall its a really nice well done pils

 

Troegs gingerbread cookie stout
...solid black appearance
...below average carbonation with a medium body
...aroma is foremost gingerbread cookies. Malt, molasses, and the higher abv shows up a bit
....taste is ginger, boozy,gingerbread cookies, malt and molasses.
...overall it definitely delivers as advertised. Very good dessert beer

 

Back with another gem from New Mexico.
Costume Party by Ex Novo


Thanks again @Hophead
Canned 10/28/2024
Pours a hazy gold in color. White fluff rises more than 2 fingers in height and takes its sweet time settling down to firm film. Speckled lacing.
Nose is very "green." It sends wafts of berry, mango, the most subtle citrus rind, hints of juniper berry, alfalfa, maybe some fruity bubble gum, and finally a creamy malt note.
Flavor starts off (again with a very green delivery) with juniper berry, citrus along the lines of kefir lime (but smooth), hints of mango, guava, and finishes with a subtle, almost creamy sweet/bitter finish.
Mouthfeel is spot on for style. Carb keeps things alive but not over the top.
4.19/5 rDev +0.5%
look: 4 | smell: 4.25 | taste: 4.25 | feel: 3.75 | overall: 4.25

 

LOVE THE GLASS!

 

Good day BAs! Back with the penultimate brew from the BA Big Beer Box 2024:



Imperial Walker’s Reserve from Firestone Walker. 16.9 fl oz bottle, from BA Big Beer (2024) box, $13.76 including shipping and tax, $ 0.814/fl oz. Purchased on-line from Half Time. Reviewed 01/12/24 (Review 3407). Note that I use DD/MM/YY protocol.
Printed on front label “2022 VINTAGE”. Stored at 39 degrees at home. Served at 54.5 degrees F (Label states “SERVE AT 55O”) in a hand washed and dried Jester King snifter. The final temperature was 59.5 degrees F.
Appearance – 4
First pour – Medium Amber (SRM 15), clear
Body – Amber Brown (SRM 18), opaque. Under direct light, same. When rear-lite, hazy amber.
Head: Average (Maximum 1.5 cm, aggressive center pour), almond, medium density with a rocky top, dropping to a 0.3 cm crown and thin, partial cap.
Lacing – Fair. Thin sine band of near-microscopic bubbles.
Aroma – 4.5 – Sweet smoke. No hops, no bourbon, no barrels. No ethanol (11.5 % ABV as marked on label).
Flavor – 4.5 – Distinct beechwood smoke – sweet, chocolate, hint of brown sugar, some dark fruit. Initially, no bourbon, no barrels. Moderate gastric warming.
Palate – 4 – Medium: just past watery; soft carbonation.
Style: Follows the style guidelines as condensed by BA.
Final impression and summation: 4.25 The bourbon shows up on the aftertaste – the beechwood smokiness carries throughout. Beechwood is what Schlenkerla uses to smoke the malt in their Marzen – a deliciously unique taste. I’ve had other US versions of rauchbier, none of which hold up to the Bamberg styles – this brew can!
Rating 4.37, rDev +4.5%

Anybody out there hasn't tried theirs/is scared of rauchbiers - I'm willing to trade...

 

Good morning NBS/nbw and thanks @Beersnake for hosting this week.
Toadys offering is from Great Lakes, this barrel aged version of the Christmas Ale, drinks nicely,
just enough barrel touch and deftly applied adjuncts make for a lovely experience.
Cheers all

Barrel Aged Christmas Ale

Winter Warmer | 8.2% ABV
Great Lakes Brewing Co. in Cleveland, Ohio

Reviewed by SABERG from Massachusetts

4.09/5 rDev -0.5% | Average: 4.11
look: 4 | smell: 4.25 | taste: 4 | feel: 4.25 | overall: 4
Poured from a 16 oz can dated 2024, into the test glass
A - Redish brown color, excellent clarity, active carbonation. A support blanket of assembled sphere's resides during the experience.
S - Cinnamonn, cherry, vanilla notes. Spicy thread in there, ginger, and peppery esters.
T - Ginger, cinnamon, bourbon elements, including that subtle vanilla thread. All on a solid base beer, amber ale maybe?
M- Medium in body, Spicy and edgy, with a snappy crisp bite. Linger is vanilla, and hints of bourbon
O - A beautiful beer in the glass, flavors are broad and delightful. Worth seeking out.

 

Time for the next beer in this NBW thread, and this one has been sitting around for awhile.

Bretta Weisse - Firestone Walker Brewing - Berliner Weisse - 4.7%

This beer is from 2017.

Very funky and wild tasting. Tart fruit flavors. Very drinkable. Delicious.
Review:
https://www.beeradvocate.com/beer/profile/2210/88903/
4.18/5 rDev +2.7%
look: 4 | smell: 4 | taste: 4.25 | feel: 4.25 | overall: 4.25
From a 12.7 oz bottle bottled on 03/20/17

Nice pop when I took out the cork. The beer is very clear looking in the glass and has a dark golden color. The head is a 1 finger white head and it did not last too long. There's a bit of lacing on the glass.
The aroma is quite wild and funky. I get a tart apple aroma on my nose. I get some floral elements as well as some grassy elements.
Taste - This beer is very tart in a pleasing way. I get tons of tart apple and cherry in the flavor. There's a bit of a grassy element up front. There's a faint sweetness that hits on the back.
The beer is quite bubbly feeling on my tongue. Very tart feeling. The beer feels somewhat syrupy and sticky.
This is an old beer, but it has held up very well. Very delicious a fun beer to try.

There will probably be another today. Cheers!

 

Have you had regular Christmas Ale? It is my favorite holiday beer, oh that perfect balance of ginger in there; seems like that translates into the barrel aged as well.

PS…I got a Christmas beer incoming tonight too.

 

I have , and will enjoy that one again
I agree with you the balanced ginger and cherry are fantastic
Cheers

 

51 cl bottle poured into my fave lager glass. Fair foam for the photo, disappears quick. Golden brew.
Nose is inviting maltiness, pure and simple.
Taste is malty, slightly sweet, followed by fine noble and floral hops. There’s a vague bitter note. A little watery, but that’s OK. It doesn’t detract from what it is: a German Festbier.
Mouth is full-bodied and smooth, perfect effervescence.
Overall, caught wonderfully fresh, this is a nice seasonal delight.

4.03/5 in the BA DB.

 

Poured into a 20 oz tulip glass bottled on 8/15/24. Pours near pitch black with a 2 finger brown head that settles rather quickly leaving no lace. 4

Aroma is dark chocolate, toasted coconut, vanilla beans, coffee grounds, amaretto, and slightly charged bourbon. 4.25

Taste follows deep dark chocolate, toasted coconut, vanilla, amaretto, and healthy dose of bourbon lingers sip after sip. 4.5

Mouthfeel is bigger than medium, soft gentle watery carbonation, a touch dry, and at 14.6% it is a slow cold evening sipper that will open up with time. 4.25

Overall these are always a fun experience, but I really wish you didn’t have stand on your tip toes to get a head and it left some lace as it settled. Still very impressive. 4.25 Cheers all.

 

Drekker/Little Thistle collab But To Whom Shall I Give My Rose Lager, 4.8% ABV. Pours light gold with a two-finger snow-white head that left light lacing. Aroma is light grape and sweet malt. Taste is quite bitter hops. Decent dry mouthfeel, overall good.

3.83/5 rDev -0.3%
look: 4 | smell: 4 | taste: 3.75 | feel: 3.75 | overall: 3.75

This has stared at me from the back of my fridge for a month because I'm not much into American lagers. Can't help but think there's a sexual connotation in that name. Figured I'd clear out the space for the Wednesday Drekker drop. Watching the Vikings lose, hopefully.

 

Life Jacket
15.04% Barleywine by Revolution



Poured from a twelve ounce can, the body is a brown with a small initial head and no lacing.

Aroma is a boozy mix of bourbon, vanilla, oak and fruit. Nothing subtle here but enjoyable.

Taste follows nose as the barrel is dominant though not overly hot. The fruits stand out much more in the taste as it warmed; the mango and passion fruit arise and work with the oak. There's an overall sweetness that makes this barleywine more like boozy candy once it warmed up. I did not pick up coconut.

Mouthfeel is poor as there is no carbonation after the initial pour. I'd expect a heavier mouthfeel, but it's closer to thin with a somewhat boozy finish.

An ambitious barleywine that falls short for me. Perhaps a more adventurous palette is needed. Drink it cold.

 

My new beer today is a Kolsch from Tox Brewing in New London CT. There is one 5-yr old review in the BA database before me and the beer is labeled retired. But I picked this up last weekend at the brewery's new taproom.

4/5 rDev +2%
look: 4 | smell: 4 | taste: 4 | feel: 4 | overall: 4
Poured from a 16oz can dated 09/23/24 to a Stang/can glass at fridge temp.
The body is a fairly deep, but clear gold. Random, yet subdued nucleation is visible throughout the session. The white head of rather large, but uniform bubbles fades to a ring after 2-3 minutes. Lacing graduates from the low side of moderate to nothing at the bottom of the glass.
Smelling brings a sweet peppery fermentation smell.
The taste experience is peppery and herbal for a brief instance with sweetness taking over accompanied by a sensation of white wine. All that goes away with the dry finish.
The mouthfeel is medium but it could use a little more carbonation.
A good Kolsch, very style representative.

 

All right, this will be my final beer of the weekend, and it is a good one. I have to thank @cheeseheadinMinneapolis for muleing it to me.

Twenty Six - Buffalo Trace Rye - Central Waters Brewing - Amherst, WI - American Imperial Stout - 13.3% ABV

Wow! I had a feeling that this would be an amazing beer, and I'm not disappointed. The flavors just are so right together. Everything just works together so well. Delicious, and so happy you kindly picked it up for me Todd.

Review:
https://www.beeradvocate.com/beer/profile/652/714347/

4.6/5 rDev -1.1%
look: 4.5 | smell: 4.5 | taste: 4.75 | feel: 4.5 | overall: 4.5
From a 22oz bottle.
There was a great pop and a good deal of smoke upon opening the bottle. This beer is pitch black pouring as expected. There was a 1 1/2 finger brown head to the beer that dissipated fairly quickly leaving a ring around the glass, and no lacing.
Aroma is so full of vanilla, caramel, toffee, coffee, chocolate, dark fruit and the sweet smell of Buffalo Trace bourbon. Very pleasing.
Wow. There's lots going on here. There's just a ton of chocolate that has both sweeter and dark notes to it. The vanilla is just off the charts strong and pleasing. A good hit of caramel and toffee show up. There's coffee notes on the back. There's also hints of Buffalo Trace throughout. All flavors are strong, yet well balanced with each other and blend well together.
Decent thickness to the body. Very smooth and full feeling. There's a nice faint burn that tells you to take it slow.
Damn delicious. Central Waters is well known for their BA stouts, and this is downright delicious.


This is my closer for the weekend. See you all for the next NBW round in a few days. Cheers!

 

Prairie Happy Y'allidays Hazy IPA with Chinook, Columbus, & Simcoe Hops, 6.8% ABV; 4.07

Wish the beer was as good as the Can Art

Pours a hazed gold with 2 fingers of pearl colored head. Nice head retention & sheets of lacing

S: Some citrus & tropical fruit, tangerine pushes to the front once warm, some oranges as well

T: Tangerine, pomelo, white grapes & green melon, plus a little dryness. Pomelo & dryness as this beer warms up, just a little pineapple too. Finishes a little dry with pomelo, pineapple & white grape

MF: Medium body, dialed back carbonation, good balance, some acidic notes

Juicy, easy to drink, a little more sweetness would've moved this along

 

Part of the haul I brought back yesterday whilst dropping our second tax credit - though only partial at this point - back in Providence to continue her pursuit of perfection in the area of drawing stick figures. The beer: picked up a slight nose of a double-half-triple esspresso soy latte. Tastes of a watered down double-half-triple esspresso soy latte WITH a double shot of caramel. A slight hop bitterness helps balance the sweetnes of the watered down-half-tripple esspresoo soy latte WITH a double shot of caramel. Essentially, a very good seasonal beer. 10/10. No other notes.

 

Good Sunday afternoon, New Beer Sippers and commentators. It certainly feels like December today. Perfect Stout weather (actually, for me it always is). I considered reviewing one the 2024 BCBS variants today but opted instead for Rooted Below, an Imperial Stout from Heist Brewery in Charlotte. I bought this bottle earlier this week at The Beer Study in Durham, NC. It is aged for 30 months in Heaven Hill barrels and 22 months in Elijah Craig Toasted barrels. This is the "base" version of Rooted Below. There are several variants. The bottle isn't dated but I suspect it is newly-released because the bourbon notes are very strong.

Poured at 58°. It is nearly ink black in color with a half finger cap of frothy, dark mocha foam that collapsed into a thick ring around the glass. A fragrant nose of dark chocolate, coffee, molasses, and distinct bourbon. Very nice flavor of bakers chocolate and acidic coffee over an earthy char base. It is not overly sweet. The barrel effect is strong and initially the Stout is fairly hot and boozy although it mellows as it breathes. In addition, over time I am noticing some very enticing notes of dark fruit. Swishing the glass helps. This Stout has a thick - almost chewy - mouth feel with mild carbonation, and the 13.8% ABV is noticeable. It is a slow sipper. I wish the barrel notes were toned down a bit. I believe it would benefit from cellaring.

4.38/5 rDev +5.5%
look: 4.25 | smell: 4.25 | taste: 4.5 | feel: 4.5 | overall: 4.25

I wish I had purchased another bottle but at $25.99 I wasn't going to chance it. Given the 52 weeks of barrel-aging I understand the price point. Cheers!