New Beer Weekend #244

It's barleywine time courtesy of @snaotheus from the barleywine etc. bif. Prisoner at the Crossroads from Varietal. Quite an interesting name, I wonder what it means? Someone with paralysis by analysis at a critical juncture in their life? A reference to an old blues song?



Looks like this was brewed in 2021, aged in a blend of bourbon and rye barrels for 18 months, and bottled late 2022. There is an extremely satisfying lightly charred toffee and raisin foundation here. I also get some vanillin, Kings syrup, brown sugar, and prickly, rye whiskey goodness. The finish adds biting oak that is just a touch hot.

Based on other reviews, it seems that time has served to mellow this nicely. Very glad to have tried this, thanks Ryan!

 

Have a good Saturday. Me and my wife went to the NC zoo today and hiked 5 miles through the exhibition. Really crowded day. Got 50% off ticket with science museum subscription. Then we came to Goose and the monkey brewery in Lexington NC.



I got the Goose and the monkey Fire Door. This was great Irish red ale with coffee. Aroma of nutty coffee and caramel. Taste of big caramel, toasted brown bread, nutty coffee, wood, peppercorn, pine, herbal, floral, grass, yeast earthiness. Medium pine, rind, woody bitter finish. Medium carb and body; balanced creamy bready malts and sticky resinous hop mouthfeel. Lingering resin dryness with no astringency. Very flavorful and drinkable, though just a bit too bitter for the style. 4/5


Cheers

 

What a game, the refs are getting a little inconsistent in what they are calling in crunch time. Not to either team's favor. IMHO

 

I have posted some of these in the past, but Saint Arnold's Beer Garden is pretty cool.

Their big fountain out in the huge patio, made from old brewing equipment.



The inside is like a cathedral, and there are little nooks cut into the side for more seating, painted by local artists.

 

Hillbilly Export from Caledon Hills Brewing

Poured a 473ml can into a pint glass. A one finger fine white head on a clear gold. Good head retention with some fine lacing.

Malts in the nose. Sweet malts dominate the taste followed by a smooth hop finish.

Medium body and carbonation. Overall a pretty good malt forward lager with a clean but subdued hop finish. Well worth a try.

look: 3.75 | smell: 3.5 | taste: 4 | feel: 3.75 | overall: 4

 

The polar bear was in this time, but not the seals.


Goose and the monkey L-Cubed. Aromas of corn cracker grain, herbal hops, and fruit. Taste of cracker grain, corn, herbal, grass, wood, pepper, pine. Medium pine, herbal, woody bitter finish. Medium carb and light med body. Very crisp clean refreshing finish. Balanced grainy malt and sticky hop mouthfeel. Nearly bone dry finish. Clean lager flavors. Great for an adjunct lager style. 4/5


Cheers

 

Hey friends, nice to be back; a solid week in the books, sorry I was MIA last weekend. Something got me Friday at work and I was out all weekend, fever broke fast that night but I wasn't back to beer ready till Tuesday.

Today I'm dedicating this post to my NY State friend @cavedave who taught me that stout and breakfast food go together like PB and J (see end of post ), and a throwback beer that no doubt you probably had before. Saranac brought back their Throwback Variety pack this year after two year hiatus, I love it, its like drinking in a time machine, look at that label!!! Saranac was a staple in my early craft days and I love that they do this.

Yes, I had this beer years ago, and last time they did the variety pack but I have never reviewed so I wanted to share my thoughts on this zombie beer today.

Saranac - Black and Tan (Amber/Stout)



Pours very dark brown; light brown head, overall good retention at first, even a little bit of lace.

Nose doesn’t present much to me or I’m struggling to pick up for some reason; what I do get is some sweet caramel malt and an almost oaky roast character, bittersweet chocolate chips; but tone down the chocolate character.

Taste is nice, and different; the amber lager character plays very nicely with the darker chocolate stout notes; firstly it comes of amber lager like, light bit of caramel malt, toast; then comes a nice hot of roast and bittersweet chocolate; unique little bit of dry wood character on the finish for me.

Mouthfeel is medium but it maintains a nice drinkability; it’s both full and also lager smooth; there is some good bitterness that I enjoy and a little lingering roast on the tongue.

Overall this beer really blends stout and lager; the lager character really comes through, first, then comes the stout notes and stout/lager hybrid finish. This would never be a regular purchase for me as I'd personally either want stout OR lager but its a nice little treat in the variety pack that oozes with past beer loves.

Probably a one and one weekend for me but you never know what tomorrow ill bring. Have a great Saturday night everyone

PS...much like you @Whyteboar we regularly have breakfast for dinner on the weekends and @cavedave the sips of that beer I had while having dinner were gold...

 

That is a fun post and review...I can smell the breakfast for dinner from the picture ha, cheers

 

Well thank you @champ103 it was a fun one to sip on while flipping, then eating, pancakes...the pancake's sole purpose in life, to be the delivery vehicle for mother nature's greatest gift, maple syrup.

 

Cheesy bread and loaded queso watchos.





Goose and the Monkey Goose & the funky. Aromas of tangerine and apricot juice. Taste of tangerine, apricot, tart lemon, wheat, cracker, herbal, grass, pepper, pine, light lacto funk/vanilla. Medium pine herbal bitter and lacto tang/tartness on finish. Medium plus carb and light med body. Crisp clean refreshing finish. Balanced grainy malt, sticky hop, and acidic mouthfeel. Nearly bone dry finish with no pucker. Very well balanced and drinkable. Zero warming of 5.7%. 3.9/5


Cheers

 

I went looking for this post! lol. Interesting review on that double Irish stout. Fish and chips look amazing!

 

Bavarian pretzel.


Goose and the monkey Breakfast Byrd. Awesome American porter. Aromas of big nutty dark roast coffee, dark chocolate, dark bread, herbal, pine, light smoke/vanilla. Taste of big nutty coffee, caramel, vanilla, dark chocolate, cocoa, dark bread crust, herbal, grass, pepper, pine, light smoke/char. Medium carb, herbal, char bitter finish. Medium carb and body. Balanced creamy bready malts, sticky hop, and chalky roast mouthfeel. Lingering hop drying with no acrid/astringent flavors. Great rich malt complexity with tons of coffee presence and adequate hopping for the style. 4.21/5


Cheers

 

Hello New Beer Weekend!!!

Well, I am glad to hear that you liked the Separated at Birth from Back Shed Brewing @cheeseheadinMinneapolis . I believe I still have one bottle left of it, and will savor it someday as a tribute to my now closed local. If I'm able to pull off going to the BA meetup hosted by @GreenBayBA , I would bring it to share.

Time for my beer, and I am enjoying it.

Royal Peach - Pryes Brewing - Minneapolis, MN - Fruited Kettle Sour - 4.8%

There's a lot of peach in this beer and it has a nice balance between sweet and tart/sour. Tasty and refreshing.

Review:
https://www.beeradvocate.com/beer/profile/36629/692142/
3.87/5 rDev 0%
look: 3.75 | smell: 4.25 | taste: 3.75 | feel: 3.75 | overall: 3.75
From a 16oz can. Canned on 11/27/2024

The beer is slightly murky pouring and golden in color. There's a 1 finger white head that really doesn't last long, and there's no lacing on the glass when it does dissipate.
I was getting a nice peach aroma when pouring this beer and get the same thing up close. It is a nice and pleasing peach aroma that is real and not artificial.
Taste - The flavor is as expected - peach. The peach flavor isn't as strong as the nose suggested. There's sweet elements to the flavor which appear up front. The tart/sour elements to the peach come into play on the back.
There's a nice bubbly feeling on my tongue from the beer, even though the head dissipated rapidly. The body is smooth in general, and seems decent for the lower ABV.
This is not a bad beer at all, and does pack a lot into a lower ABV.

I'm sure I have a few more in me today. Cheers!

 

Ilk - Retopia red IPA

16oz can served in a snulip. Can dated 01/29/25. Bought it at Hops & Hound yesterday.

Pours dark reddish brown, big tan head, settles slowly into an uneven cap ranging from a thin skin to a one centimeter hump. Smell is toffee and cascade hops, grass and pine, lots of grapefruit rind.

Taste is in the same vein, a bit more on the roasted malts side than I expected from the aroma -- toasted bread, toffee and nuts, pine and grapefruit rind bitterness.

Mouthfeel is medium to light, smooth, a little noticeable prickly effervescence. Overall, very satisfactory beer. Really enjoying it.

 

Minhas doesn't just make lagers, how about a double IPA?

Thirsty Miner Double IPA

Appearance: Hazy amber, very nice rocky head.

Smell: Oxidized old IPA, muted hop aroma with stale malt.

Taste: A little sweetness, then a short burst of citrus hops, then an oxidized caramel note. Light bodied, ends with a mix of citrus and old caramel.

Overall: To break up the lager-fest, I also grabbed a DIPA from the single rack at Minhas. This beer could have been good but it appears to be 9 months old. The makings of a decent beer are there but the age takes the flavor to staleness.

One more Minhas beer tomorrow.

 

Good evening. Really quiet day today. Warm but a bit breezy so still a bit of a chill. Trying to get interested in Match Madness but just checking on the scores has been as far as I can get. Maybe as the tourney goes on it will get more compelling. UW Badgers do play later and as an alum I think I am supposed to watch...

This one has been lurking for quite a while:



Practice Artisan Ales Seasick Crocodile. Sour ale with cranberry, ginger, cinnamon, and nutmeg.

Pours every so slightly hazy, orange tinged gold color. Half inch of so of head. Falls to a sturdy ring and respectable cap.

Smells like a Christmas kitchen. Cinnamon and nutmeg are fairly strong. I can find the cranberry and ginger in the background. The ginger gives some earthiness. Very faint bread malt.

The taste is quite sour at first - very sharp but short-lived. The spices own the mid-taste. Cran and ginger follow after. Again the ginger is providing an earthiness. There's just a bit if sweetness to at least try to balance the sharp sour. Base beer is pretty hidden but there's a little maltiness sneaking through.

Feel is light and lively, a bit puckery. A little astringent but dry as it induces some salivation. A bit of a phenolic twang.

Overall it's pretty good. It's not overly spiced but the additions are noticeable as the primary flavors. I'm going to say 3.7 or so. It's getting harder to drink as I go...

 

Machine House - Hoppy Red

16oz can served in a big snifter. Can has no date that I can find. Bought it at Hop & Hound yesterday.

Pours a dark reddish amber. Medium sized bone-white head, settles to a coarse half-centimeter uneven layer. Smell is oak and toffee, some pine and more wet wood. Herbal, slightly spicy.

Taste is very oaky, tons of toffee complemented nicely by the woody tannins. Pine and wet wood serve to more fully round out an excellent skeleton.

Mouthfeel is dry and light. This beer is excellent.

@jonphisher, did I send this to you? If so, I regret it, I should have kept that shit to myself. I want moar.