New Beer Weekend #236

Happy NBS to all. Been playing games with my old college roommate all weekend in a discord party. Got my support class over level 10 in killing floor 2 and played some Golf it! As well. Got under par on grassland, but the rest were ridiculous courses.

Boat has been needy again. Trying to get in the pantry and making a lot of racket on the door .
I picked him up and he was licking my arm.


Going to start up Fallout 3 again probably. I had a lot of fun yesterday morning and got only to the beginning of the wasteland.

Rusty Rail Fog Monster from @Ozzylizard . Great hazy. Fantastic head retention and dense soapy lacing on the glass. Aromas of grapefruit, apricot, pineapple, melon, citrus peel, wheat, bread, herbal, floral, grass, and yeast earthiness. A bit muted. Taste of grapefruit, tangerine, lemon, apricot, pineapple, melon, passionfruit, berry, citrus peel, peppercorn, pine, wheat, cracker, white bread, wood, herbal, floral, grass, and yeast earthiness. Medium pine, citrus rind, herbal, woody bitterness on the finish. Medium carbonation and body. Balanced creamy/grainy malt and sticky/resinous hop mouthfeel. Lingering resin dryness with no astringency. Nice softness in the mouthfeel. For the age of the can, it held up well: very mild oxidation, melanoidin character; and the hops were still nicely juicy and vibrant. Of the listed hops: Azacca, El Dorado, Citra, Mosaic, Amarillo. Azacca and El Dorado dominate on tropical/stone fruit notes. 4.03/5


Cheers

 

Fat Head's Simply Simcoe. I haven't had a single hopped simcoe beer in a minute, but I love em. Canned 11/12/24. Amazing IPA. Lasting dense head retention and soapy lacing on the glass. A pristine appearance. Huge nose of red grapefruit, tangerine, peach, pineapple, mango, blueberry, passion fruit, wood, citrus rind, pine resin, bread, herbal, floral, grass. Super vibrant nose. Taste of huge red grapefruit, tangerine, peach, pineapple, mango, blueberry, passion fruit, wood, peppercorn, citrus rind, pine resin, bread, herbal, floral, grass. Large sized pine, citrus rind, herbal, woody bitterness on the finish. Medium carbonation and body, balanced bready/grainy malt and sticky/resinous hop mouthfeel. Fairly crisp on resins, with lingering hop oil drying. Mild lingering hop astringency. but super smooth. Minimal warming 7.5%. One of the best single hop IPAs I've had. I am a sucker for Mosaic in the base beer, but this is the perfect showcase of Simcoe. Everything is near perfect on a west coast style IPA. Super vibrant balance of juicy and dank hops, with it being a bit stronger on dankness! 4.51/5


Cheers

 

Samuel Smith Oatmeal Stout. Pours a sort of "off-black" color (there's the faintest hint of light coming through) with a thick head. Cocoa comes through first in the aroma and maintains a strong presence. Tasting brings out cooked fruit, vanilla, and a hint of sharp spice I can't place. Earthy, roasty coffee notes on the back. Lovely silky mouthfeel from the oats - finishes light but not thin. Modest in both sweetness and bitterness. It's kind of like liquid dark chocolate, but not in a rich or heavy way. Quite nice.

 

I love this review and it describes a beer I love to a tee, particularly love this last part. Now you have made me miss this beer…

 

Allagash Curieux

Appearance: Hazy yellow, ok head.

Smell: Spices, Belgian yeast, bit of fruitiness.

Taste: Mild sweetness, yeasty, a bit boozy. Black pepper, mild wood. Finish is long with sweetness, wood, and booze.

Overall: A barrel-aged golden ale, the barrel is subtle but apparent, kind of covers up a lot of the typical Belgian golden/tripel notes. Still quite tasty and a nice treat.

 

Happy Sunday BAs! Today’s breakfast coffee arrived Friday in my Tavour box - Eclipse Garrison Brothers Bourbon Barrel Imperial Stout (2024) by 50/50 Brewing Co., Truckee, CA:



Aged 13 months in Texas Straight Small Batch Whiskey barrels…

No bottled date. Poured at 53°. Black with ruby edges; dark tan mixed bubbles head; ok cap retention; large island of micro dots; heavy ring; medium minus lacing; thin legs. Nose is bourbon, black licorice; some booze on exhale; chocolate. Entry is bourbon, oak, and dark chocolate; some vanilla as liquid warms; chocolate/bourbon ball candy finish; mildly sweet. Smooth silky feel; medium minus body; not adjuncty; some warmth from 12.4% abv; light carbonation. Overall, a sneaky easy drinking impy stout with little alcohol in the flavor; perhaps a bit thin for abv, but that contributes to the sneaky!; delish.

4.5 | 4.25 | 4.5 | 4.25 | 4.5


A pounder! Glad I got 4 bottles ($19/ea, 375 ml bottle). Kinda pricy, but worthy. Can’t wait to see how this beer ages. Cheers y’all!

 

Good Sunday afternoon and thanks @Victory_Sabre1973 for host NBS/nbw this week.
Today is a slow day as we cook and prepack for a trip to Taiwan later this week.
So lots of cleaning, managing the fridge and mental prep today.
This offering from Moor is billed as an Old Ale, I gotta say it is a good flavored offering, but could be pegged as a Robust Porter, or even Export Stout in a blind tasting IMHO.
That said a fine offering
Cheers all
Old Freddy Walker

Old Ale | 7.3% ABV
Moor Beer Company in Bristol, England

Reviewed by SABERG from Massachusetts

3.77/5 rDev -4.6% | Average: 3.95
look: 4 | smell: 3.75 | taste: 3.75 | feel: 3.75 | overall: 3.75
Poured from the 11.2 oz can, with a best by of 13/8/26 into the test glass.
A - Deep ruby/brown blend, thin ring is the only diplay of carbonation.
S - Yeasty nose, with a bit of char, brown sugar, a bit of plum, and raisan.
T - A bit of caramel, molasses, roast barley. a bit of tobacco as well
M - Thin in body, neatral on the palate, linger is toward cigar wrap shade tobacco
O - An interesting offering with a few surprises, that tobacco and molasses are complex.
I may seek out one more to compare

 

Stone Russian Imperial Stout, 10.5% ABV. Pours thick and black, with a nice four-finger brown head that left good lacing. Aroma is roast malt and chocolate. Taste follows, quite bitter, slightly sweet. Excellent mouthfeel, overall outstanding.

4.4/5 rDev +1.6%
look: 4.75 | smell: 4.75 | taste: 4.25 | feel: 4.25 | overall: 4.25

Getting ready for the playoff games, so we have shredded BBQ pork in the crock. Not sure how I never reviewed Stone Imperial Stout before, given that I've reviewed six other Stone stouts. I'm not a huge fan of the RIS bitterness, but scoring it to style.

 

Poured into a 16 oz Snulip glass canned a few weeks ago. Pours a very attractive hazy orange with a finger plus sticky white head that leaves thick streaks of lace with excellent retention. 4.5

Aroma is peach, mango, mandarin, stone fruit, honeydew, and apricot. 4

Taste follows peach, mango, mandarin, stone fruit, honeydew, and apricot better than the nose. 4.25

Mouthfeel is above average, soft gentle carbonation, not sticky or dry, and at 9.3% it has bigger flavor, but easy going down. 4.25

Overall this is good, but I was hoping for more. Easily worth a shot. Sometimes it takes a second run to nail it. 4.25 Cheers all.

 

This dry January thing is getting old. I may be back later with a "real" beer.

3.15/5 rDev -6.8%
look: 3.25 | smell: 3.25 | taste: 3 | feel: 3.25 | overall: 3.25
Poured from a 12oz can to a Nonic at fridge temp. Can and carton were both stamped 2410TRB whatever that means, maybe October? Purchased cold today.
A very light yellow body is hazy but lets light through. The ½” multi-sized bubble, white head fades to a single layer. Lacing is almost moderate.
The smell is a hint of citrus rind and some mustiness, but both a subtle.
Taste is lime/lemon rind and bitter.
The mouthfeel is light and carbonation is moderate..
This is nothing I would go out of my way for. There is barely any resemblance to the alcoholic Two Juicy.

 

From the land of the Jersey Devil, the NJ Pine Barrens...

Today’s beer is a special one, a beer of terroir; a beer steeped in friendship and local fauna. This beer is a collaboration between Tonewood and an old friend of mine who has made quite a name for himself as a foraging mixologist, he wrote the book “Slow Drinks.”

The beer is called Slow Saison…a rotating beer with each one containing unique foraged ingredients…

We explore the Pine Barrens quite a bit, for those who don't know it takes up about 25% of our state and it is such a unique and cool. Just today the oldest and I took a nice long hike amongst the pitch pines so it's fitting I drink this beer today...



I’m excited to try my first Slow Saison Volume, I owe it to my old high school friend Danny Childs…so here it is…

Tonewood - Slow Saison Vol. 3 (Foraged Saison 4.2%)



Pours a light lemonade and straw color; bubbly with a short lived head; close to zero retention and lacing.

Nose is bright and zippy; tart, lemon candies, oak, really pleasant and light floral character.

Taste wise this is a really refreshing and balanced beer; lemon, little bit of watermelon, oak, light brett character; earthy touch of sap forward pine.

Body is light; perhaps a touch watery, but it suits it well; light refreshing acidity and touch of pine bitterness; overall this thing finishes really clean and bright for a mixed ferm beer.

Really happy to have tried this beer, not a style I visit often but a really cool concept I’m glad to have supported.

————————

See all you lovely folk next weekend, have a great week and enjoy some beers between now and then. Go Birds!!!

 

Not a new beer to start things off for me today, but one I haven't reviewed on BA yet. A friend got a keg of this for his wedding. It was good that night, and still good the next morning as hair of the dog pints while cleaning up the venue.

Hopefully back in a bit with a second for the day.

Switchback Ale
5.0% American Amber



Pours copper/orange with a two-finger white head and a good amount of yeast haze.

Aromas of cracker, biscuit, honey, orange peel, and a hint of clove.

On the palate, this is a great mix of styles: American Amber, Witbier, and a bit of APA on the finish. It starts put a bit sweet with honeyed white bread and almost toffee. In the middle, I get some of those Wit characteristics, mostly as orange zest and something that is kind of clove-like. Nearing the finish, some bitterness comes through as earthy and slightly resinous hops along with citrus pith. The aftertaste lingers bitter, keeping all that sweet and citrus from overwhelming the palate.

Fairly light and fine carb give a pretty smooth feel. Somewhat light bodied.

Overall, kind of its own thing, it doesn't fit neatly into any one style. For me, the result is pleasing and a great option when I don't want the full Witbier experience.

 

That is one of my all time favorite beers!

 

Good Sunday afternoon, New Beer Samplers and commentators. This weekend marks the 6th anniversary of Untied Brewing Company in New Providence, NJ. Each year, Untied brews a special New England IPA release. This one has a big hop bill of Citra, Mosaic, Idaho 7, Azacca, Alora, and Waimea. I had a draught pour yesterday and it was a lot sweeter and tropical than it is from the can. I don't know why. It was canned less than a week ago and perhaps needs a little time to settle. My review is based upon yesterday's notes, as well as what I'm experiencing today. If I only had it from the can I would rate the flavor as 4 but it was a solid 4.25 from the tap yesterday.

It pours an opaque, muddy tangerine color with a full finger cap of creamy, bright white foam and thick, sudsy lacing. The smell is fruity with tart citrus and sweeter peach and stone fruits. It is complex and flavorful with notes of lemon, grapefruit, peach, pineapple, tropical fruits, pine needles, black tea, and earthy bitterness. The mouth feel is luxuriously thick and creamy with pleasant carbonation, and it doesn't drink like 8.5% ABV; it goes down very smoothly. Overall, this ale is ambitiously hopped and the flavors are complex and pleasing.

4.22/5 rDev 0%
look: 4.25 | smell: 4 | taste: 4.25 | feel: 4.5 | overall: 4.25

I'm curious how it will taste next weekend. Cheers, NBW!

 

Coast Brewing Stories of Sea Captains

Nelson, Comet, and Strata hops. Copper color with white head. The Nelson grape flavor is most prominent. Also a vegetal celery flavor. Sounds weird but I like it.

 

NBS #2. Mesmerizing Porter from Spellbound Brewing in Mount Holly, NJ (in the central part of the state; south of Trenton and north of Philadelphia).

It is dark cola in color and sports almost a finger cap of creamy, light khaki foam and thin film of lacing. The nose offers sweet malt with notes of caramel, molasses, and nuts. There isn't much sweetness in the taste, however; mostly roasted malt, bakers chocolate, burnt acidic coffee, and nutty char with a slight hint of caramel. It has a fairly creamy mouth feel with low carbonation, and it is very drinkable at 6.9% ABV. Overall, this is a solid American Porter but to call it "Mesmerizing" is a stretch.

3.77/5 rDev 0%
look: 4 | smell: 3.75 | taste: 3.75 | feel: 3.75 | overall: 3.75

I managed to rate it exactly to average. Not intentional. I don't have the math skills to do so even if I wanted to.

Have a great week, everyone. Cheers, NBW!

 

Back again with my second and last for the day. Hope everyone enjoys their football.

Really enjoyed this Von Trapp. Huge flavor yet goes down real easy. It's also the most exquisite red garnet when held up to the setting sun (you'll just have to take my word for it, I don't have the phone skills to hold the beer and take a photo into the sun without blinding myself).

Von Trapp Trösten
6.0% Smoked Dark Lager (can); Rauchbier (BA style)



Pours very dark brown with a three-finger light brown head.

Aromas of black bread, slight cocoa and chocolate. But mostly there is big, Schlenkerla levels of smoke.

The taste is more complex than the nose would indicate: semi-sweet chocolate, cocoa, and black bread are prominent throughout; there's an extra kick of vanilla sweetness right at the front of the sip that shifts to roast coffee and dark toast; the smoke pops up here and there, bringing an almost meaty quality; and there's just a hint of grassy hops that come out a bit more on the finish, blending with chocolate and smoke.

Somewhat low and find carb, with a medium-light body results in a smooth and easy drinker.

Overall, what a beer. It brings an awful lot to the table while without overwhelming or fatiguing the palate.

 

It's not as far up there for me, but I love it every time I drink it. Seems to be one of those beers with flavors that grow on you the more you have it. I suspect I would bump up the rating slightly if I'd had a proper pint.

Unfortunately, my local only carries 12 packs in cans, so I haven't grabbed it in a long time due to my limited drinking.