New Beer Weekend #229

2 or 3 years ago

 

Spacecat Whistleville Pils


3.75/5 rDev +10.9%
look: 4 | smell: 4 | taste: 3.5 | feel: 4 | overall: 3.75
Pours golden straw yielding a whip head, very inviting. Aroma is sweet, taste is refreshingly mild crisp, clean, muted German hop presence. It’s tasty and goes down quickly. Creamy feel for a Pils. Prolly good for all seasons.

thanks to @woodchipper !

 

Happy NBS!

Having a very tasty/juicy NEDIPA from Equillibrium (NY).

https://www.beeradvocate.com/beer/profile/47536/614025/?ba=Wasatch#lists

Cheers!

 

I'm happy for you. One of my first thoughts when I tasted it was, "Oh crap, I sent this to other people."

Then it was, "Well, I seem to be in a minority on BA for this kind of beer, so maybe it'll be OK for them."

Glad you liked it!

 

Good evening NBW
I had the house to myself for a while, so I pulled out a bottle that I suspected would be a big hit or a big miss

Olde Hickory Iberian Walker

Barleywine aged 80 months in a port wine barrel.

12oz bottled 11/12/2021 poured into a teku glass at fridge temp 10.6% ABV. Purchased at room temp in Ashville, NC a few months ago. The beer pours dense dark brown with minimal highlights and light brown head. The head recedes to a pencil thin ring and little else. The aroma is moderate in strength yielding old books, oak, leather, prune, fig and brown sugar. The taste is oxidized caramel malt with oak, red wine and a touch of red fruit preserves. There is a medium plus hop bitterness with earthy flavor mixed in the malt. The feel is medium plus bodied with low carbonation and a mostly dry finish. Overall, unfortunately past it's prime. This tastes like a barleywine that would have been tremendous, but age & storage has played a factor with this bottle.

Cheers all!

 

OEC Brewing Coolship Lager Black

courtesy of @woodchipper

3.53/5 rDev -13.5%
look: 3.25 | smell: 3.25 | taste: 3.75 | feel: 4 | overall: 3.25
Pours opaque red tinged black with a root beer head. Sweet malty aroma. Immediate impression is dark pretzel flavor, sweet malty finish. Tasty and different, medium feel and dry finish. In Walgreens when expectations are high, above 3 gets you a raise.

 

TreeHouse Trail Citra


4.25/5 rDev +0.7%
look: 4 | smell: 4 | taste: 4.5 | feel: 4 | overall: 4.25
Wow exceptional Pils , pours golden with rich heady that clings down the glass Aroma is fresh citrus, tangerine orange. Taste follows . Light , delicious, I love it

 

A fulfilling weekend here for myself and the Phisher fam in general. Got tons of family dinner leftovers, ham bone soup in the crock, got some Holiday beers for this weekend’s upcoming tasting, and Christmas movies and this beer to close out the weekend. I really love this time of year and sipping a beer by the tree, especially on a quiet Sunday night.

This beer caught my eye because of the ginger. Great Lakes is by far my favorite Christmas beer and it always has been; so when I saw this one locally as a cheap single that contained ginger I had to go for it. Have you had this one @ChicagoJ

Revolution - Fistmas (Red Ale with Ginger and Orange Peel 6.5%)



Pours a clear amber, touch of cloudiness if held to light, head is white with khaki hints, good cap retention; struggles to lace but some specks here and there.

The nose is perfume like; there is some definite orange, its reminds me of fresh zest; then comes ginger hides, it melds beautifully with the orange; some toast and caramel malt also present.

Taste is very well balanced amongst malt, ginger, citrus, and hops (?); a definite hop presence, comes off as light earthy pine; good caramel malt, orange and ginger really bring this thing to life; its almost refreshing for a second, there is some bitter fruit skin character.

The body is medium, mid range carbonation; good low end of moderate bitterness; finishes clean with no overbearing sweetness, the ginger leaves that spices feel that I love but its quite low.

This beer is really good and well balanced; it has that richness I love in a holiday beer and the adjuncts are very well balanced; hops were a surprise and nice touch to make this one just a little different than other Christmas ginger spiced beers. I enjoyed it but if I want ginger I’m going to my true love GL Christmas.

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Happy new beer Sunday to all and to all a goodnight Have a great week everyone, and I cannot wait for a holiday beer filled weekend next week thanks to @thebeers, hope to see a lot of you there.

 

Good evening, beer fans. Is there some rule that Christmas lights have to be untangled three times? Got some up but spent more time unsnarling than "putting".

Impulse buy today:



Mayflower Brewing Pursuit of Sappiness. A 7% brown ale with maple syrup. In theory this sppeals to me...good theory while it lasted.

Pours a crystal clear deep reddish brown with a tight half inch of khaki colored foam that falls to a respectable cap. Clings just a bit. Good looking.

Kinf of a weak, raisins brown bread smell. I'm getting nothing resembling maple. A little molasses/brown sugary smell.

The taste...ummmm...it's a mess. Weird bitterness, kind of a slightly sour note. Burnt sugar or overcooked caramel. No maple. Strange wood resin/oily flavor and the bitterness is constant.

Feel - super drying and harshly astringent. Odd paste-like aftertaste. Unpleasant burn on the tongue.

This is flat out not a good beer. I'm running through my lexicon of brewing flaws but this doesn't seem to be flawed by process, although I can't imagine a brewmaster putting their name on it.l but intent, either. Unfortunately I have three more of them and I guess I can feign optimism and hope this is a bad can but I doubt it. Existing reviews are actually good - I don't remotely get anything resembling what's described therein. I'm not a drain pour kinda guy but the sink beckons... Epic fail.

 

Tripping Animals - La Torta Negra (2023)

500ml bottle served in a snulip. Bought it at Craft Beer Quick Stop in Phoenix in March. 2023 vintage.

Pours black with a dark brown, clotty, chunky dusting across the surface. Seems to leave sediment and film instead of lacing. Smell is bourbon and dark roast coffee, boozy and vanilla. Molasses, charred maple syrup.

Taste is dense sweetened coffee and vanilla, alcohol burn is much more subtle. Molasses seems more of an accent, maple syrup seems less charred. Simple syrup sweetness?

Mouthfeel is smooth, silky, soft, creamy. Overall...this is a very, very nice beer that does not look nice, at least how I poured it.

 

Avery Patrol Dog Pale Ale. 5.7% ABV; 3.55 overall

Pours a hazed honey color with a thumb of beige head. Nice head retention & lacing

S: Bready, toffee notes, leafy hops once warm

T: A little bready, leafy hops, some citrus notes, a little green melon up front. Breadyness, more leafy hops, a little citrus, a little green melon & pear once this beer warms up. Finishes bready, a little dry with leafy hops and green melon

MF: Medium body, fairly crisp carbonation, skews a little malty/sweet

Drinks okay, but another one & done. So far this12 pack is underwhelming

 

4.03/5 rDev -0.5%

look: 4.25 | smell: 4.25 | taste: 4 | feel: 3.5 | overall: 4

Poured from a 500ml bottle with a handwritten date of 3-21 into a snifter at 54 degrees.

Look- Deep brown, opaque, medium brown frothy head, below average head retention and lacing, plentiful small particulate visible at the margins.

Smell- Cinnamon, cocoa, raisin, caramel, mild oak, between medium and high strength of flavor.

Taste- Cinnamon, cocoa, caramel, oak, medium strength of flavor.

Feel- Thin body, average carbonation, mildly mouth coating, mildly mouth warming, moderately bitter, moderately sweet.

Overall- Nice appearance, aromatics and flavor. I expected the barrel aging to provide some whiskey notes, but I could detect none. Mouthfeel was very thin, which detracted from the experience. Definitely would have benefited from more time in the barrel. This beer provided a good drinking experience, but I saw almost no improvement from the non barrel aged version.

 

Lumberbeard - Always Finish What You Stout

16oz can served in a stemmed wineglass. Released December 2023. Bought it yesterday at Full Throttle Bottles.

Pours black with a small, light-colored head. Moderate to low carbonation. Smell is caramel, toffee, nuts, chocolate. Coffee, charred oak.

Taste is similar, but a noticeable alcohol bite and a stronger char. Moderate simple syrup sweetness, maybe on the shy side of that. Anise and/or black licorice.

Mouthfeel is big, smooth, almost chewy. Overall, very nice.

 

Kudos to our Left Coast Cadre, bring new beers late. I feel like 6 pages is there

Prairie Banana Montana BA Imp Stout, 13.9% ABV; 4.06 overall


Pours an effervescent ebony with fast falling mocha colored head. Near zero head retention & lacing

S: Plenty of banana, vanilla, fades a lot once warm

T: Follows the nose, some treacle & caramel up front, faint hint of barrel, a little dark chocolate & green banana too up front. Cinnamon comes through once this beer warms up, along with vanilla, banana & treacle/brown sugar, some booze presence. Finishes with banana crem liqueur, a little cinnamon & some caramelized brown sugar with a kiss of booze & green banana

MF Chewy, low carbonation, warming

Decent, but to heavy with cinnamon for me, they were shooting for a Bananas Foster target but came up a bit short. Just needed more from this, this is why I only buy singles from these guys anymore. At over a buck an ounce, I need more

 

Good evening from west Michigan! Had another two today (Not going to be the new norm!) and the first is an oatmeal stout I picked up in the Nashville area-
Stout of Tune (appropriate for Nashville, eh?)

The pour is the color of medium roasted coffee but with additional shade, or black tint to it. Curious, but certainly not off putting. The beige head was excellent.
The taste is a quite solid representation of the style; coffee and chocolate with a hint of dark fruit and a little nutty flavor. Props for the coffee harshness touch at the swallow.
The feel is also very typical of the style; the oatmeal offers a nice texture that is usually only found in beer with oatmeal.
OA, nice stout, certainly one I’d be happy to have on tap if it was local.

This was my dinner beer, ate chili dogs with sweet potato tots while gaming with friends online. Good evening, and nice cap for the weekend.
Back in a few with my nightcap!

 

4.73/5 rDev +8.5%

look: 4.75 | smell: 4.75 | taste: 4.75 | feel: 4.5 | overall: 4.75

2023 vintage: 12.2% ABV

Poured from a 500ml bottle into a snifter at 58 degrees.

Look- Black, opaque, dark brown frothy head, below average lacing, average head retention, plentiful visible particulate at the margins.

Smell- Bourbon, cocoa, black licorice, vanilla, oak, high strength of scent.

Taste- Bourbon, cocoa, oak, coconut, vanilla, slight lime at finish, highly boozy, mildly sweet, very high strength of flavor.

Feel- Medium body, slightly below average carbonation, highly mouth warming, highly mouth coating, sticky, highly boozy, moderately bitter, mildly sweet.

Overall- Black and opaque in appearance with plentiful visible particulate at the margins. Bouquet was bourbon soaked with notes of cocoa, licorice, vanilla and oak. The flavor was very vibrant with bourbon at the forefront balanced by cocoa, oak, coconut, vanilla, and slight lime at the finish. The feel was medium body with highly mouth warming and coating properties. Overall this beer was a complex and delicious beauty. It provided a wonderfully enjoyable drinking experience.