New Beer Weekend #231

So, is NBW continuing through Christmas? If so, I have some postings to do!

 

Who exactly lays down the law on that decision??nbw Christmas edition? I'll toss a few new ones back in support

 

Well, I’m going for it.
Mug Club at my local tonight, I generally drink their Porter as it is excellent. (Seriously, it’s really good)
But they just tapped one that I hadn’t had in a while and didn’t remember as being awesome. Still isn’t, but came darned close.

Poured dark brown, not quite “stout black” but looked very appealing with its one finger light brown head.
The taste is a well balanced coffee stout, more stout (and its standard flavors) than coffee, which is how I prefer it.
The feel is almost viscous, almost certainly due to the oats being in the mix.
OA, this surprised me tonight as it is considerably better than the first time they brewed it. Good beer!

 

Contemplating being a badass like @Whyteboar and post a new beer but I've already been called to the principals office twice...Todd scares me

 

Atta kid! It's Christmas week ... I say live it up, NBWers!

Me too. I love him and his amazing website, but I dare not cross him.

 

I'm joining you, @Whyteboar...I have a week off starting a couple hours ago, and what better way to celebrate than extended NBW?

Deth by Cherries, by Revolution

12oz can served in a curvy Fremont glass. Filled 11-11-20. Got it from @ovaltine in NBS BIF #18.

Pours silky black with a big fluffy head, settles moderately quickly into a thick layer sustained by a pretty copious amount of carbonation for the style. Smell is rich, roasty coffee and chocolate, fruity / grainy spice twist.

Taste is sweet, maraschino cherry, almost a coconut vibe, with chocolate and rye spice in the background, toffee and nuts.

Mouthfeel is medium, thinner than I thought it would be, neither chewy nor sticky -- could use a bit more heft, but still pleasant. Overall, very nice beer, would prefer it a bit more if it toned down the coconut vibe (which is making me nervous about Coconut Deth that was in the fridge next to it).

 

@Whyteboar is my new inspiration
....eibauer schwarzbier
...clear chestnut appearance with a tan head that slowly dissipates
...light carbonation with about a medium body
..aroma is malt,caramel, rye bread and a slight bit of toffee
....taste is almost dry, rye bread and malt.
...overall I made it sound to simple as it was actually very flavorful and interesting.
Please don't call me over the intercom to go to the principals office Todd

 

Dovetail - Vignette Kriek 2020

375ml bottle served in a stemmed glass. 2020 vintage. Bought it a year and a half ago at Dovetail.

Pours slightly hazy purplish-amber with a small head, little retention, and lots of carbonation. Smell is tart, dry, cherry juice and cherry skin. Oak, some barnyard funk, some old hay.

Taste is also dry, more on the funky side than the tart side, definitely features some stem and skin character. Cherry juice is hard to recognize with so little sweetness.

Mouthfeel is very very dry, very very light, airy. Overall, very nice beer -- leans a tiny bit toward saison/wild ale than lambic.

 

Thank you for your boldness @Whyteboar , @HoppingMadMonk and @snaotheus . Had my standard beer for the day earlier, but pulling this one out before midnight here, the 8.45 oz a perfect size for this BA stout.

Hoppin' Frog T.O.R.I.S. The Tyrant

1.85/5 rDev -57%
look: 4.5 | smell: 2.5 | taste: 1.5 | feel: 1.25 | overall: 1.25



12/23/24 - (Can - Home) (Chicago, IL) Can Notes: Purchased single can on December 13, 2024 at Beer on the Wall Park Ridge refrigerated for $6.26 including tax, refrigerated upon returning home before opening this late evening. 8.45 oz, no can date (guessing 8/23/24 with the best by date of 8/24/33. 13.8% ABV Triple Oatmeal Russian Imperial Stout. Store in a cool place. Brewed by Hoppin' Frog Brewing Company, Akron, Ohio.

This super tasty Triple-Oatmeal Imperial stout is rich, dark, and flavorful. Yet amazingly balanced and silky-smooth. That's the way we like it, and an obvious progression in our Imperial Stout family. There comes a day when you break out of your shell and stretch your wings. Now is the time - time for T.O.R.I.S.!!

Appearance: Full pour into a handheld snifter. Rich dark creamy tan head lingers a few minutes before leaving a razor thin cover over the very dark brown near black base, and a creamier accumulation around the rim. 4.5

Aroma: At room temperature for 20 minutes before diving in. Smelling a smooth and strong rubbing alcohol, chocolate cake batter tries to keep up, but the barrel dominates. Smells like moonshine. WTF! 2.5

Taste: Mirror image of the aroma. Rubbing alcohol and marginal chocolate cake bater. This is very bad. 1.5

Mouthfeel: Alcohol burn bad alcohol flavor dominates all. Very strong, higher than listed abv, Rubbing alcohol, moonshine, start to finish. 1.25

Overall: Not sure if something happened to this can along the way, but no beer including a triple BA stout should come out like this. Hoping my B. O. R. I. S. cans turn out better. 1.25

Hope to have better success until this thread closes. Perhaps keep it open until Boxing Day or New Years Day 2025!

 

Jester King - 分 桃 (Fēn Táo)

500ml bottle served in a pair of WABL sample glasses. Blend 10, July 2024. Bought it about two months ago at Full Throttle Bottles.

Pours clear yellow with a brassy amber tint to it, almost no head, moderate active carbonation with basically zero retention. Smell is peach, stewed peach, peach preserves. Maybe a little on the unripe side.

Taste is juicy peach, again a little on the unripe side, rather subtle. Oak and hay is quite noticeable, tartness is not quite as powerful as I would like but in the right ballpark.

Mouthfeel is dry, smooth, still. Overall, very nice.

 

Christmas Eve, a bigger day than Christmas for many in terms of family and Midnight Mass. Will pull out some Kringle from Racine Bakery after I complete about half of this selection and my rating notes. This is not the closest brewery to home, but is the closest I enjoy and will visit and purchase off premise, more so Une Annee than Hubbard's Cave, walkable from the adjacent suburb to my neighborhood.

Une Annee Cherry Quad

3.73/5 rDev -1.1%
look: 4 | smell: 3.5 | taste: 3.75 | feel: 4 | overall: 3.75



12/24/24 - (Can - Home) (Chicago, IL) Can Notes: Purchased single can on December 13, 2024 at Beer on the Wall Park Ridge. Purchased at store temperature for $3.98 including tax, refrigerated upon returning home before opening this morning. 16 oz, no can date, distributed to the store w/e 11/29/24. 11.0% ABV Abbey Ale with Cherries. Une Annee Brewery LLC, Niles Illinois.

Appearance: 3/4 can pour into a large chalice yields a cherrywood base, short lasting tan egg white head that leaves a dusting over about 10% of the base and a light creamy ring above the base. I like it. 4.0

Aroma: Both tart and sweet cherries, bold and pleasant. Let this warm past 15 minutes at room temperature and this stays consistent throughout. Base quad aromas are suppressed. Enjoying what I am experiencing, but would have liked the quad to also shine through. 3.5

Taste: Cherry very strong and tart, not sweet. Getting some off the quad flavors, and enjoying the fig, raisin and clove. Cherry still a bit strong, but digging the more balanced treatment vs. the aroma experience. 3.75

Mouthfeel: Gentle faintly felt carbonation, sound stronger than feel. Alcohol felt, though the cherry masks the extent. Enjoying the tart aspect more than if this was very sweet as this is balanced on a sweet / bitter compendium more so than the flavor components. Tart cherry, clove and fig finish. 4.0

Overall: This is a solid offering, consistent with the cherry quad discerption. Enjoyed the tart cherry component and emerging quad flavors the most. Would likely pick their standard quad in general, but this brings joy to the Christmas celebration. Merry Christmas Une Annee, thanks for sticking with the Quads and other Belgian styles!! 3.75

 

ditto!

 

I wish more brewers would go this route. It is a shame that can didn't measure up.

 

It's a Christmas miracle, @HoppingMadMonk! You've been pardoned!

 

Huge sigh of relief as I avoided a trip to the principals office and detention. @Todd makes me shake in my boots

 

Thank you Todd! Let the festivities continue!

 

Thanks, Todd! And thanks to @Beersnake for asking permission.

I've got a new-to-me classic IPA in the fridge that is screaming to be opened. Be back in a few.

 

Humble Forager/Forager Brewing collab Elm 33mo BBA English Barleywine, 14% ABV. Pours thick and black with a ring of brown bubbles. Aroma is bourbon, fig, and vanilla. Taste is bourbon, fig, vanilla, chocolate, and caramel, quite sweet, faintly bitter. Excellent mouthfeel, overall world class. Nicely complex, drink slowly, let it warm.

4.77/5 rDev 0%
look: 4.25 | smell: 4.75 | taste: 5 | feel: 4.25 | overall: 4.75

F'ing incredible, now my 7th favorite beer. Hopefully they come out with this one more often. Currently it's only available in their 5th Anniversary mixed pack. I'll have to buy more packs ($35 a pack though). I have two left to try from the pack (one BBA stout, one BBA barleywine), and then the two bombers one BBA stout, one BBA barleywine).

 

Drinking Cherry Adam From The Wood for the first time, alongside regular Adam (side-by-side notes here if you want). Forgot to take a picture, so here are just the words...

12oz bottle served in a little WABL sample glass. 2016 vintage. Bought it at Bottleworks a couple days ago.

Pours black, slightly translucent, with basically no head and only a little visible carbonation immediately on the pour. Smell is booze, wood, chocolate, cherry, sawdust.

Taste is lots of cherry, some dates, kwik chocolate sweetness, booze and lots of molasses. Some root beer.

Mouthfeel is medium to thin, smooth, flat. Overall, very nice, but would be better with a hint of carbonation and a bit more silky texture.