New Beer Weekend #237

Colbitzer pils, not sure my tastebuds are too accurate but figured I'd relax and join in
...very clear light amber appearance
...around medium carbonation with about the same for the body
...aroma is malty, grassy with roasted grain and some cereal
...taste definitely has some sweetness but not overly done. Malty and grassy followed by toasted grain and cereal
...overall it was more impressive than I was expecting and I think its probably a good post lawn mowing beer

 

That is some serious age on it.

 

Founders Hazelnut Fudge KBS, 12.0% ABV; 4.23 overall

Pours an effervescent chestnut/mahogany with one finger of mocha colored head. Almost above average head retention & lacing

S: Plenty of fudge, nutty notes, vanilla; coffee shows up late

T: Fudge, coffee, oaky notes, hazelnut coffee creamer up front, a little dry. Coffee, fudge, hazelnuts & oaky dryness, wanted more Bourbon, not getting that as this beer warms up. Finishes with some barrel finally showing up, some fudge, a little vanilla & a little hazel nut

MF: Medium body, fairly firm carbonation, somewhat warming

Good effort needed more body, barrel & less coffee to please me. Drinks easy enough, just doesn't deliver greatness

 

4.45/5 rDev +3%

look: 4.75 | smell: 4.75 | taste: 4.25 | feel: 4.25 | overall: 4.5

Poured from a 12 ounce bottle dated 1-8-25 into a snifter at 52 degrees.

Look- Black, opaque, dark brown frothy head, above average head retention and lacing.

Smell- Hazelnut, coffee, cacao, high strength of scent.

Taste- Hazelnut, cacao, coffee, bourbon, oak, high strength of flavor.

Feel- Between medium and full body, average carbonation, highly bitter, moderately creamy, moderately mouth warming, mildly mouth coating, silky.

Overall- Black and opaque with above average head retention and lacing. Bouquet was hazelnut and coffee forward with cacao notes. The flavor was also hazelnut forward, but cacao was more pronounced than coffee. Bourbon character was present, but more understated than I wanted. I think some age may mellow the hazelnut and allow the flavor profile more nuance. Body was between medium and full, but the beer had less mouth coating property than expected. Also, the bitterness was high enough it detracted from the mouthfeel. Overall this beer provided an interesting and tasty drinking experience, but would have benefited from less hazelnut intensity and more bourbon character.

 

Poured into a 20 oz Snulip glass, not sure when it was canned with in the last 3 weeks? Pours an attractive hazy orange yellow, with a 2 finger sticky white head that leaves thin streaks of lace, with nice retention. 4.25

Aroma is peach, mango, white grape, honeydew melon, mandarin, and apricot. 4.25

Taste follows peach, white grape, mango, honeydew, mandarin, and apricot nicely balanced with nothing dominating. 4.25

Mouthfeel is above average, soft gentle carbonation, not sticky or dry, and at 8.4% big flavor, but easy going down. 4.5

Overall this one with Citra, Citra Incognito, Krush, and Chinook is really solid. I was hoping for a little more. 4.25 Cheers all.

 

Wizard Of Gose - Blueberry & Raspberry from Bandit Brewery

They have a few different fruited Goses that I picked up the last time I was in the city. I will try go review them all in time.

Poured a 355ml can into a pint glass. A big, fine white head on a cloudy orange-pink. The head soon diminished to a faint ring. No lacing.

Fruit and yeast in the nose. A burst of tart fruit up front. Raspberry dominates. A long tart finish. The blueberry comes through at the end. Very slight salt.

A light body with good carbonation. Overall an interesting fruited Gose. More tart than most but well worth a try.

look: 3.5 | smell: 3.75 | taste: 3.75 | feel: 3.75 | overall: 3.75

 

A new Czech Pilsner from Great Heights brewing. Dancing House, 4.9% ABV.



Pours a brilliantly clear golden/yellow color. A white head forms, that recedes rather quickly. Little lace is left behind. The clarity is pretty impressive here.
Aroma has a bit of a mineral quality up front, that leads to doughy malts and baked bread. Grassy hops comes next. Simple and enjoyable.
Taste wise, like the nose that baked bread is up front. Like sourdough. Grassy, spicy hops mix in and a drying bitterness lingers.
A light body with effervescent carbonation. Super clean and finises dry. Really easy to drink. I can come back to this, and down in big gulps as the saying goes.

A really well done Pilsner. I hope this sticks around. The last Pilsner they made was only made once and I never saw it again. This is a solid offering that should be around more often.

Overall score is 4.08, A-
https://www.beeradvocate.com/beer/profile/50326/732122/?ba=champ103#lists

 

Fair State/Central Waters Northern Rivals

Appearance: Dark ruby-amber, big head.

Smell: Big fruitiness, then sweetness, caramel.

Taste: Moderately sweet caramel, then transfers over to dark and red fruits. More caramel and some piney hops in the finish.

Overall: I'm liking these Fair State barleywine releases, this is also a collab with Central Waters. American style, but not overly hoppy, good caramel and fruit flavors.

 

Back for another day, and this beer has been sitting in my fridge for quite a while. I have to thank @Whyteboar for it.

Genetic Drift - Plum - Speciation Artisan Ales - Grand Rapids, MI - Saison - 7.5%

I honestly wasn't sure what to expect with this beer. It is quite delicious, and refreshing. The plum flavor has sweet and tart elements to it. Very honored it was sent to me, and happy to have tried it.

https://www.beeradvocate.com/beer/profile/48069/721728/

4.24/5 rDev 0%
look: 4 | smell: 4.25 | taste: 4.25 | feel: 4.25 | overall: 4.25
From a 16oz can, no date on the can.

This is a somewhat murky looking beer. The color is hard to describe. There's some golden hints to it as well as some red hints. The head is a 1 finger white head that did dissipate fairly fast and left no lacing on the glass.
Aroma of the beer is tart, and I got the tartness while pouring it. Up close it is still tart, but has the plum character that also has a slight sweetness to it.
The taste is actually a bit sweet up front, but not in a bad way. The plum does go toward the tart on the backside, but there's still hints of the sweetness that poke through from time to time.
Bubbly feeling, though the head retention was poor. The tartness does linger in my throat. Somewhat smooth, and nice full feeling.
This is a tasty beer. I am happy to have tried it.


I will be back later for another beer. Cheers!

 

Our son is visiting for the weekend, so we are playing a lot of cards today. I'm drinking Not Subtle, an imperial stout from Prairie. I'm always ready to drink a stout from this brewery.
The beer is black with no head and no lace.
Aroma of booze, vanilla, chocolate, roasted malt.
Strong bourbon taste, some vanilla, chocolate, char.
Oily mouthfeel,, slight burn in the aftertaste.
Another good stout from Prairie.

 

Kristallweissbier by Weihenstephaer
5.4%



I love Hefeweizen ms and this beer has been iso for me for years. My gnome is at a cancer research conference here in Columbus, so I went out for beer and lunch. I waked into World of Beer and Shazam! It was on the list.

Poured from a pint bottle, the body is a clear gold with big fluffy white head. Excellent lacing.

Aroma is a lovely clove and banana/bubble gum. Heavenly.

Taste follow nose with the flavor slightly muted from the aroma, but still flavorful. The sturdy malt base asserts itself and balances the traditional hef flavors yielding an eminently drinkable beer.

Mouthfeel is very soft with a good weight and carbonation.

Lovers of Hefeweizens need to try this one at least once. A treat of a beer.

 

Well, time for another round, and this one is a heavy hitter for sure. It is also inspired by the Cellaruary thread, because it is at least 5 years old.

Raisin D'Extra - Dogfish Head Brewing - Milton, DE - Belgian Dark Strong Ale - 15%

Based on the look and aroma my mind was thinking imperial stout. I was getting the raisin and caramel notes on my nose. The taste really threw that out the window, though I still go the raisin. It is tasty, though seems thin to me. I am enjoying this, and may buy the last bottle of it at work. Who knows.

Review:
https://www.beeradvocate.com/beer/profile/64/3089/

4.07/5 rDev +0.2%
look: 4.5 | smell: 4.25 | taste: 4 | feel: 3.75 | overall: 4
From a 12oz bottle. No date, but it is over 5 years old. Stored and served at room temp.

Slight hiss and a bit of smoke upon opening the bottle. This beer is a very dark pouring beer, brown in color. Slight amber hints at the bottom of the glass. There's a steady stream of carbonation bubbles rising in the glass. The head that forms is 1 finger and tan in color with smaller bubbles. The head retention is quite amazing considering the ABV. There's no lacing on the glass as the head dissipates to a ring around the glass.
Aroma is really like an imperial stout. I get just a ton of caramel hitting my nose. Tons of raisin, which is to be expected based on the name. It does have a slightly boozy aroma, but I was also expecting this based on the ABV.
Taste - This is for sure not an imperial stout like my nose was telling me. I am getting a good hit of raisin which lingers throughout. I am getting a slight brown sugar sweetness to this beer.
The beer is bubbly feeling. The body does seem thin to me. There's really little burn to this beer considering the ABV.
This is a very interesting beer, and it threw me off a bit based on the aroma. I can buy another bottle of it, and may do so.

This is going to last me awhile. I may have one more in me today. Cheers!

 

Good day BAs! Thanks @MadMadMike for opening the bar!

Hey @Beersnake - nothing lasts forever, thanks to the second law! And that applies to old beer as well! Sorry about Olde School (Hint - it wasn't that good when it was fresher!)

Today's New Breakfast Beer and number 100 from Hoppin' Frog is:



Brother Kazoo Mix from Hoppin Frog. 4 x 16 fl oz cans, $ 21.19 (Including tax), $ 0.33/fl oz. Picked up at the brewery, Akron, OH, 30/01/25. Reviewed 01/02/25 (Review 3449). Note that I use DD/MM/YY protocol.
Bottom of can stamped “BEST BY FEB 16, 2027.” Stored in reefer at the distributor, at 39 degrees F at home. Served at 53.7 degrees F in a hand washed and dried Jester King snifter. The final temperature was 57.8 degrees F.
Appearance – 3 – as expected for this style.
First pour – Amber Brown (SRM 18), clear but dark.
Body – Black (SRM 40), opaque. Under direct light, same. When rear-lite, same but amber at the edges.
Head: Average (Maximum 3.7 cm, aggressive center pour), biscuit, high density with rocky top. Quickly drops to a 0.4 – 0.8 cm undulating crown and a thin, complete cap.
Lacing – Good. Wide band of near-microscopic to tiny bubbles, with several tiny stalactites. Connected to the crown by multiple short, narrow columns
Aroma – 4 – Chai with roasted malt and a hint of smoke. No hops, no yeast, no expresso, no ethanol (9.2 % ABV, as marked on label). No disulfide or diacetyl.
Flavor – 4 – Chai with a roasted malt background. No yeast, no hops, no ethanol. No disulfides, no diacetyl. Marked gastric burning, certainly more than expected from the alcohol content.
Palate – 4 – Medium; approaching creamy; soft carbonation.
Style: Follows the style guidelines as condensed by BA.
Final impression and summation: 3.75 I think the gastric burning is possibly due to the added expresso, which appears in neither aroma nor taste. The chai is the predominate aroma/flavor which lifts this above the average Baltic Porter.
Rating 3.89, rDev -1.8%

 

The Explorium Brewpub Barrel-Aged William 1066 Barleywine Salted Caramel. Please note the Good City Brewing glass, as The Explorium Brewpub recently purchased that brewery. The color is deep amber, with a lot of visibal carbonation, and a small amount of off-white foam. The smell is the best of any barleywine I have ever experienced. Hot caramel, milk chocolate, vanilla, and malt. An ice cream sundae. The taste is salted caramel, chocolate, vanilla, nougat, peanuts, and brown sugar. This is a pastry barleywine of the highest order. The sweetness is right where I like it. The mouthfeel is syrupy, silky, smooth, soft, and full. Delightful. This beer blew me away. While other breweries in Milwaukee, Wisconsin, are failing, The Explorium Brewpub is taking over. Their barrel-aged treats are very reasonably-priced and delicious. They are now a couple feet from Fiserv Forum, and down the street from Central Waters Brewing in Milwaukee, Wisconsin. Take note of this brewery when you are in town. Select this beer first, if it is available.

 

I don't remember seeing them when I was at Casanova last Saturday. I hope to make it to Green Bay for share this summer to try some from them, and get some old friends from your area.

 

They don't distribute outside of Brew City. I will for sure have their beers to share at my gathering in July, but hopefully I will see you sooner than that. Any reason to visit Minnesota is a good one.

 

As it is to visit your state. I know I'll be there in Wisconsin long before July, probably early March depending on weather.

 

Founders Hazelnut Fudge KBS, 12% ABV. Pours thick and black, with a five-finger brown head that left great lacing. Ahroma is strong fudge, coffee, and hazelnut. Taste follows plus roast malt and coffee, bourbon on the close, moderately sweet, slightly bitter, slight bourbon burn. Excellent mouthfeel, overall outstanding.

4.47/5 rDev +3%
look: 4.75 | smell: 4.5 | taste: 4.5 | feel: 4 | overall: 4.5

Had to bust out the KBS glass. I need to delve into my glassware more often rather than limiting myself to my main two.