New Beer Weekend #233

Damn, I love your pics.

 

About to do the same...

 

Last beer of the weekend comes courtesy of @KP7. I was very excited when I saw this beer in the box that he sent me. An old standing brewery that I explored early on before I really knew much about beer; what a surprise to see this one in my house so many years later.

Perfect for the long blast of cold we have tonight and going forward; enough talk; beer time.

Ipswich - Oatmeal Stout (American Stour 7%)



Pours darkest of browns, lightly browned head; thick sustaining bubbled cap sticks around nicely.

Nose has a very slight yeasty note; char, woody character, some dark and rich chocolate in the mix.

Taste is dominated by roasted malts; roast, char, espresso; then comes the american hop character; grapefruit skin like, some woody and earthy character also shows; perhaps some perceive light smokiness on the finish; almost just like campfire ashy.

Body is medium; oat is evident, silky and smooth, great hit of strong bitterness as this one goes down.

This beer is so good and just screams classic to me; when craft was craft, I could imagine having a friend trying this in my early 20s only to hear them same “gross! this tastes like an ashtray,” or something similar. Thanks for sharing @KP7. Looking forward to reading your thoughts when they come.

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Cheers everyone and have a good weekend; Friday can’t come soon enough

 

Equilibrium Brewery Lucid Dream Wave DIPA, 8.2% ABV; 4.28 overall

Pours a very hazy gold with a thumb+ of eggshell colored head. Excellent head retention & lacing

S: Citrus & melons, a little tropical fruit as well, some peach late

T: Tangerine, green melon, passion fruit, some dryness up front. Pomelo, a little green melon & dryness once this beer is warmed up, a little orange grassyness too. Finishes a little dry, slightly acidic with lime & oranges

MF: Medium body, subdued carbonation, good balance, some acidic notes late.

Good drinkability, turns into a juicer as it gets warmer

 

Sounds very interesting. Glad it worked out in spite of the years.

 

"On Sundays We drink Barley wines" or so @Dimidiata would post. I thought, hey, not a bad idea, especially when @Resistance88 sends you one!

Right - most the BWs that I've had recently have been very malt forward with little to no hops edge to balance things out. This one doesn't have that issue. It's what I imagine the original style may have been like, caramel, worn leather and dark fruits with a strong hops backbone. Not sure it's my favorite take on the style as that aforementioned backbone is a little too strong, or maybe it's just my palate. Matters not, it was delicious and I might have quaffed it a bit too quickly trying to ascertain precisely what I was drinking. (Y'all do that, right? Drink until you have it figured out?)
Thank you Thomas for letting me try this as I seriously doubt we'll see it in west Michigan.
Cheers all!

 

@ChicagoJ The man speaketh. What he says goes as far as the beer scene in H-Town.

 

Goose Island BCBS Vanilla Rye, 14.0 % ABV 4.31 overall

Pours a somewhat effervescent mahogany with a sliver of mocha colored head. Some head retention & lacing, plenty viscous

S: Plenty of vanilla, some barrel notes, also maple notes

T: Vanilla, raw barrel with some dryness & booze bite up front, a little toffee & some carob notes. The rye barrel claws back flavor from the vanilla, still plenty, touches of peppery rye as well & a little maple candy as this beer warms up, some pipe tobacco & dark fruits as well. Finishes with plenty of vanilla, more maple candy, & barrel twang & dryness, a touch of dark cherry & peppery rye

MF: Fairly chewy, boozy warmth, restrained carbonation

Liked this, didn't totally love it, a little to vanilla dominant for my liking. I have a second bottle I plan to bury that for a few years at least. I wish that Rye would've been more front & center

 

Same rating did get much better as this warmed up.

 

Just like I am now gonna crib “crib” from you.

 

Samuel Smith - Yorkshire Stingo

It pours a maroon hue with a tan head that has unbelievable retention. The nose is that of a very malty beer and kinda reminiscent of an old shelf turd IPA if you've ever sniffed one of them. The taste is very complex and starts with raisins and other dried fruit, and continues with a slight bitterness. The mouthfeel is less thick than I was expecting but nonetheless very complementary for the flavor.

It's been a long time since I saw this beer on shelves and definitely never as fresh as this. I have tried many beers from Samuel Smith and they are all OK. I wonder how they compare to having them fresh on draft in the UK.