New Beer Weekend #242

Yeah, I could not nail down that barrel flavor. I can usually guess well if it’s a coin one like Blanton’s, Willett, HH, etc.. but Stranahan’s? Not on my own.

 

Really nice to see your return @Coronaeus and glad you were able to get away to catch up with a friend and hopefully recharge. Sorry to hear about your Mother-in-Law, dementia care takes a lot of patience and understanding.

Enjoyed reading all the posts with the boost via BIF activity. It's always fun to see what beers people choose to share and the guesses to the mystery beers.

It's time to introduce New Beer Sunday #1046! It turns out I do have a theme, as one of my wildcard beers is also an Anniversary Beer celebrating the second anniversary of Central Waters' Milwaukee Taproom, which is a must visit if you are in the area.

Central Waters Milwaukee Two - Roasted Oats Aged in Willett Bourbon Barrels (2023)

4.54/5 rDev 0%
look: 4.25 | smell: 4 | taste: 4.75 | feel: 4.75 | overall: 4.75



3/9/25 - (Bottle- Home) (Chicago, IL) Bottle Notes: Purchased at Central Waters Milwaukee Taproom for $20.00 on July 19, 2024. I refrigerated this bottle upon returning home before opening this morning. 22 oz, no bottle date, released in September, 2023. 2nd Anniversary Edition, Imperial Stout Brewed with roasted oats aged in Willett Bourbon Barrels for 18 months. Brewed & Bottled in Milwaukee, Wisconsin.

Appearance: Poured the first 10 oz into a hand held snifter, yielding a very dark chestnut near black base, creamy bubbly head which leaves a thin cover over the entire base and creamy accumulation round the rim. Carbonation bubble fine, looks great. 4.25

Aroma: After letting warm for 15 minutes, yields a rich roast malt, bakers chocolate and warm chocolate fudge. As this warms further, a nice rich smooth bourbon. Liking a neutral non sweet aroma brewed to my preference. Mild plus strength, higher enjoyment. 4.0

Taste: Much bolder and stronger expression than the aroma, but consistent. Bursts with bakers chocolate, chocolate fudge, caramel and toffee. Sweeter than the aroma yields, but held together well but an assertive Willett bourbon, excellent flavor from the barrels. Smooth, strong, wonderful. All of these flavors come together like a well orchestrated symphony. Excellent work. 4.75

Mouthfeel: Drinks strong, but not as strong as the 14.1% ABV posted on Beer Advocate (no ABV listed on the bottle). Very nice balance, sweet base and strong smooth bourbon makes this an enjoyable experience. Medium plus body, gentle but persistent light carbonation. Bourbon strengthens as this warms. Bourbon chocolate fudge finish. 4.75

Overall: I don't always pick up Central Waters as they make many stouts with additives, but would always reach with confidence for these offerings. This is an excellent selection, one of my first attempts at beers brewed at their Milwaukee facility. So glad I stopped in and picked up this bottle, hope to get their more often in the future. 4.75

I really enjoyed my other Milwaukee brewed selection, a WCIPA, so really hope to make at minimum an annual trek to Milwaukee to enjoy their taproom, a lot more convenient then hitting their still wonderful Amherst primary brewery.

 

That's a perfect one for a blind beer, maple sap as the water...I think I've only seen that in one other beer, I think a lawsons one.

I assumed that was an actual lable until I read your post @sulldaddy well done @muchloveforhops3. Is that a picture from "hop lovers compound" locatd somewhere in the wilds of Montana?

 

Damn!! You nailed that one to a tee @Whyteboar

 

Having a hell of a time in Fargo, headed to Bismarck very soon. Enjoying a mystery beer for breakfast, from @bbtkd:

Blind notes:
16oz can covered in blue tape. If there's a date on the can, it's covered up by the tape.

Pours dark brown, wouldn't quite call it black, looks thicc. Small dark head that doesn't last long, leaves a satiny smooth off-black surface. Evidence so far suggests big heavy stout.

Smell is supporting big heavy stout. Chocolate, cocoa, some roast coffee. I might get something a little bit along the lines of cinnamon, but that may just be my fear talking. Maybe it's a rye barrel. Smells boozy.

Taste is...not cinnamon. Sweet. Boozy. Something syrupy but not quite maple. Slight spiciness that could still be rye. Sweetened coffee. Could believe lactose is involved. Not as convinced this is a stout by the flavor, actually -- not much roast bitterness. It's almost a dark, barrel-aged, English barleywine vibe. Not quite, though. Dates, toffee, raisins.

Mouthfeel is thick and silky, as expected. It's really tasty.

Guessing in the 11-12% range, leaning toward a dark barleywine or a blend of stout and barleywine. Believe it's barrel aged, would guess (wildly) that it's rye barrel. I'll sip and cogitate while I pack my bag to leave the hotel in Fargo and go to Bismarck.

Reveal:
Barrelywine Volume 10 - Williquors, a 13% whiskey barrel aged barleywine from Kros Strain, in Nebraska! I'll give myself a B- on that one.

 

Poured into a 16 oz glass not sure when it was canned. Pours a very attractive hazy yellow orange with a 2 finger sticky white head that leaves thin streaks of lace with excellent retention. 4.75

Aroma is peach, mango, passionfruit, tangerine, and apricot. 4.25

Taste follows, but much less flavor than I was expecting. The nose made me expect more flavor. Peach, mango, passionfruit, tangerine, and apricot. 4

Mouthfeel is almost medium, soft gentle carbonation, not sticky or dry, and at 7% it actually goes down more like 6%. 4.25

Overall this is nice, the smell had me expecting more, but still a solid beer experience. 4.25
Cheers all.

 

Have a good Sunday. Been working on some recruiting applications this week again, but read and slept all weekend. I finished Do Not Disturb by Freida McFadden, Lessons in Chemistry by Bonnie Garmus and Material World by Ed Conway and loved all of them, especially the material science book.

Got some more Cookout last night after I slept all day, love the char grilled burgers and chicken sandwiches. The best fast food. Also got a caramel cheesecake shake last night!


Odd Side Derby Days. No reviews yet but I have a few cans left. Canned on 4/30/2020. Amazing head retention and lacing. Aromas of spicy rye, brown bread, caramel, brown sugar, toffee, rye whiskey, mint, and vanilla. Taste follows with big caramel, spicy rye, brown bread, brown sugar, toffee, rye whiskey, mint, vanilla, wood, peppercorn, pine, herbal, grass, yeast earthiness. Light-medium pine/woody bitterness and oak spiciness on the finish. Medium carbonation and medium-full body; very creamy/silky mouthfeel with lingering hop resin and oak tannin dryness. No cloying. Increasing warmth/booze of 11.5% and barrel after the finish. A lot of nice rye malt complexity and some melanoidins from aging. Strong barrel presence, but still well balanced and not too hot. 4.13


Cheers

 

Good Sunday morning NBS/nbw and thanks @WunderLlama for hosting this week.
This weekend is windy and cool. We have been enjoying live music at The Back Porch Festival all weekend. Still on the lookout for @TCgenny , we seem to be orbiting but not connecting yet.
Todays offering before we head out to see Bobby Rush, is from Belleflower, a very good scotch ale. Malt forward and avoids the sweet trap, earthy and delicious

Of the Lowlands

Scotch Ale / Wee Heavy | 9% ABV
Belleflower Brewing Company in Portland, Maine

Reviewed by SABERG from Massachusetts

4.02/5 rDev 0% | Average: 4.02
look: 4.25 | smell: 4 | taste: 4 | feel: 4 | overall: 4
Poured from an undated 16 oz can, into the test glass.
A - A beaultiful mahagony red/brown color. Nice clarity lets a gentle parade of carbonation be on full display.
Starts with a thin off white cap, morphing into a steady ring clinging the perimeter.
S - Brown sugar, a bit of caramel. raisin, some pumpernickle.
T - More caramel forward, sweet malts, and earthy hop thread, a hint of smoke.
M - Thick on the palate, sweet but avoids the trap well. Pleasant dry finish, with just enough bitterness to clean up. Linger is delightful and invites another sip.

 

Ayinger Urweisse
5.8% dunkelweizen



Poured from a 500 ml bottle,the body is a clear amber with a fluffy white head and light lacing.

Aroma is sweet malt and light clove.

Taste follows nose with a rich bready malt flavor with honey, clove and banana notes. The malt is heavy and a bit sweet but not overly so. Light hop presence balances without much bitterness.

Mouthfeel is good (almost heavy) with medium carbonation.

A delightful beer that should always be in my refrigerator.

 

Thanks, @jonphisher! Yeah, taken here at the compound from the back porch

 

Toppling Goliath Pseudo Sue Riwaka Dry Hopped. Solid head retention, minimal lacing. Aromas and flavors of big red grapefruit, mandarin orange, passion fruit, white melon, lime zest, lemon grass, berries, citrus rind, wood, peppercorn, pine, cracker, bread, herbal, floral, grass. Moderate pine, citrus rind, woody, spicy bitterness on the finish. Medium carbonation and body. Balanced bready/grainy malts and sticky/resinous hops in mouthfeel. Lingering resin dryness with no astringency. Very drinkable with very dank/earthy hop flavor of Riwaka, and nice soft malt backbone for a hazy. Outstanding variation. 4.21/5


Cheers

 

Full disclosure: I’ve had a Transient stout that featured salted caramel and cacao nibs, (I think all the Junie series has those base additives) and it strongly reminded me of that one.
I feared drinking the Junie because salt in my beer is generally a bad thing, but it was well done, in both cases.
Delicious beer, thank you again for sharing it with me!

 

Pancakes by Campfire - Timber Ales, CT

(crosspost from barleywine/stout BIF)


Can dated 12/30/22, courtesy of @Roguer from early '25 BIF:

Pours a murky black with ample head and no lacing as it drinks down. Smells immediately of maple syrup and I'm thinking I'm at breakfast with a plate of pancakes before me. Faint banana and the very faintest of coffee remain but the maple overshadows the others by a very dominate degree. Taste is maple-forward, very sweet--could come off as a dessert beer with the sweetness and turns a bit cloying as it warms. Banana plays second fiddle, coffee is a distant third but likely at over two years of age is a shell of what this was fresh. Mouthfeel is lightly carbonated, thin body, somewhat sticky. Finish is a lingering maple sweetness. I think this would improve greatly at a higher abv and/or an addition of oats for body--take it from a 6% abv to 10-12% and you likely end in a more balanced experience.

 

Good afternoon Sunday beer reviewers!
My new to me beer is Epic’s “Censored Naked Baptist”:



Aged in whiskey barrels, no adjuncts added. Canned 2023? Poured at 56°. One finger of creamy light tan head with rocks; very good cap retention with heavy ring; bands of sticky lacing; black with ruby see-through body; medium plus legs on swirl. Bourbon nose followed by chocolate malt; mild boozy retro nasal. Entry is bourbon followed by oak, chocolate malt, and baker’s chocolate. Silky smooth with a dry wooden barrel tongue coating; medium body but thin for 12.3% abv; light carbonation; minimal mouth warmth. Overall, an old school BBA Imperial Stout with no adjuncts; the finish/linger is dry barrel, which I don’t mind; just chocolate malt base and barrel notes.

4.5 | 4.25 | 4.5 | 4.25 | 4.5
Score: 4.42 rDev: 2.6%

A beer I would gladly drink again, and I will try to buy more. Cheers y’all!

 

It's a beautiful Sunday here in central Minnesota. What little snow we got on Tuesday has melted and it is warming up nicely. It is awesome for it to be warm enough to open the windows and let fresh air in. It is now beer time.

Turf King - BeerClub Brewing - Mora, MN - Kolsch - 4.9%

Damn, this old welding shop in a small town just produces killer beers. Holy cow! There's a ton of tasty flavors in this beer and it is so damn delicious. Yes, I will be visiting them a lot this summer for sure.

Review:
https://www.beeradvocate.com/beer/profile/53755/683355/
4.01/5 rDev 0%
look: 4.5 | smell: 4 | taste: 4 | feel: 3.75 | overall: 4
From a 16oz can. Date on the can 02/21/25

This beer pours slightly murky in the glass and a beautiful golden color. There's just a steady stream of carbonation bubbles rising in the glass. The head is a very fluffy looking white color, 2 finger, and the bubbles are just tiny. The head retention is great and when the head does dissipate, it leaves a sticky lacing on the glass.
The aroma is as I would expect - I get a light buttery biscuit and cereal grain aroma with floral notes to it.
Taste - Well the flavor is quite floral. I get so much of that element and it hits right away, and just lingers throughout. The cereal grains and buttery biscuit come into play toward the middle of the flavor profile. The finish is all of the above with a light sweetness, and a slight hop bitterness, that seems to tie it all together.
The body is quite bubbly feeling. Smooth bodied. Slightly creamy feeling.
This is a tasty treat on a nice late winter day. Delicious, and so glad I bought it when at the brewery.

I think I'll have another beer today. See you all later. Cheers!

 

This is mystery beer#2 sent to me by @NorsemanOne in a Stout/Barleywine BIF box. All I know is the ABV is 5%. It pours dark brown, with a two-finger beige head that left no lacing. Aroma is maple syrup, chocolate malt, maybe faint cinnamon. Taste is roast malt, chocolate, faint sweetness, no bourbon, moderate bitterness. Decent mouthfeel left slightly sticky lips, overall very good. I was ready to call it a barleywine looking at the color as I poured. I believe this is an American Stout with maple syrup. The second picture will reveal what it is, he sent the label and I'll tape it back on...



Well, it's a stout, but missed on the flavor. It was coconut, not maple. Now I can taste that. F'ing maple strikes again! It's a KiiTOS Coconut Milk Stout.

3.8/5 rDev +8%
look: 4 | smell: 4 | taste: 3.75 | feel: 3.5 | overall: 3.75

 

A classic for the start!

 

Dang. First a Central Waters and now a New Glarus offering. 2 amazing Wisconsin breweries right off the start. This is going to be epic.