New Beer Weekend #246

Joining in the Utopias reviews -
Received a pour from @Bishop in the second Barleywine and Stouts BIF.
The pour is rather what I expected for this; not normal. Good color, though a bit murky which wasn’t expected.
The aroma (normally I cannot smell a beer; this is not an ordinary beer) is hot, as in what whiskey or bourbon smells like. Cheers for that.
The taste is amazing. If bourbon tasted like this I’d drink much more of it. Dark chocolate, dark fruit, bourbon - lots of bourbon. No idea how they got a beer to taste like this, but wow.
The feel is appropriately viscous. This begs to be sipped.
OA, so glad I finally got to try this. Thank you so much @Bishop!

Cheers!

 

Blanc 1664
. ...cloudy pale gold appearance
...around medium carbonation with about the same for the body
... aroma is citrus peel and fruit, malt,cereal and sweet sugary bread.
....taste has some sweetness with an incredibly mild dry bitterness. Citrus fruit and peel but more subdued than in the aroma.
...overall it has a candied fruit peel taste that some might not like but overall it was good

 

Bajuvator by Brauerie Tucher Brau.
A Dunkel Doppelbock. Prost!

4.08/5 rDev -0.2%

look: 4.25 | smell: 4.25 | taste: 4 | feel: 4 | overall: 4

An easy pour released a finger of beige creamy foam with short retention but a lasting raft, small blotches of lacing remain. Clear deep dark brown color with red highlights, ruby red in front of bright light.

Bold smell of a blend of dark bready and caramel malts, the intent of sweetness combined with roasted grains and nuts, hop smell in low, I get a whiff of hard candy and booze.

On the border of sweet and semi-sweet at first with medium low hop flavor and average hop bitterness. A sweet malt taste along with baked pears and apples begins to dry and is replaced by toasted dark bread and lightly roasted grains and nuts. An herbal hop flavor builds at the fast dry finish, average bitterness lingers with memories of the sweetness.

Medium bodied with reserved carbonation, well balanced and smooth. Alcohol is very well hidden, matches style guidelines and brewers' notes.


Brewers notes.
Our Bajuvator is a dark bock beer with a rich malt aroma and a finely rounded hop note. Its coffee-colored appearance and particularly pleasant full-bodied character, accompanied by subtle roasted malt notes, make this beer a unique strong beer specialty. Our Doppelbock specialty is available from October to March.

 

Another from the amazing Barleywine and Stouts BIF #2, this one from my sender, @DIM -

The pour is stout black with a short brown head. The density of the foam was loose, interesting.
The taste is truly good; can’t say I got apple brandy from it but it wasn’t rye whiskey or bourbon either. Definitely apple something, which I don’t think I’ve ever had in a stout before, but it works very well.
The feel is lightly viscous, an easy sipper.
OA, delicious. I would definitely buy one if I had the opportunity to drink it again.

 

Courtesy to the Quality Inn Placentia Anaheim Fullerton (IYKYK)

Firestone Walker's Between Two Grahams (2023)

4.21/5 rDev -1.9%
look: 4 | smell: 4.25 | taste: 4.25 | feel: 4 | overall: 4.25
Pours jet black with one finger of mocha head. Smell is vanilla, chocolate, and cinnamon. Taste echos nose but introduces rum, cake, oak, and char notes. Mouthfeel is somewhat thin for the ABV, moderate carbonation. Finish is rum-soaked cake and char. Very tasty.

 

One I never saw in 2001-2004 over there. Easily my favorite German Style

 

Social Project Vendetta Hazy IPA, I usually call these New England IPAs, but when they're 8.3% ABV, they are Imperials IMHO. 4.3 Overall

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

S: Tons of citrus, melons, peaches, fades a smidge once warm

T: Tangerine, Nectarine, Green Melon & dryness & just a little Pink Grapefruit up front. Dryness, pomelo, & green melons as this beer warms up, some grassy notes as well. Finishes with orange, lime, dryness & peach notes

MF: Medium body, restrained carbonation, great balance

Plenty juicy/drinkable but some other good flavors mixed in

 

Jacks abby intrepid traditions pilsner
...cloudy pale gold appearance
...medium light carbonation with a close to medium body
....aroma is cereal, grain, lightly toasted bread. Theres an earthy dry hop element that brings a little bitterness.
...taste doesn't stray too far from the aroma.
...overall an interesting enjoyable beer

 

Fox Farm's Fohn

4.12/5 rDev -2.1%
look: 4.25 | smell: 4 | taste: 4.25 | feel: 4 | overall: 4
Can dated 12/16/24 courtesy of @Roguer

Pours an opaque orange, one finger head that recesses into a thin layer of foamy bubbles. Smells very comparable to sourdough and unfermented grain, hints of lemon sourness. Taste is malty, subtle lemon sourness, bread. Mouthfeel is moderately carbonated. Finish is slightly sour, slightly bitter, things in balance. Easy drinking no questions.

 

I failed to mention that price thing. Not sure I could ever pull the trigger on that. Maybe if I had a few people to split with. You can get a more than a few bottles of good Bourbon at that price point

 

Teddy reached deep into the fridge and pulled out an intense great one
Mr sandman xo imperial stout
....solid black appearance with a thin dark tan head
...light carbonation with and incredibly thick,creamy, dense body.
...aroma is not holding back the reins. Boozy without coming off medicinal or like rubbing alcohol. Bourbon, mild wood and coffee with milk and dark chocolate
...taste is a perfect expression of everything that was present in the aroma.
....overall what makes this so spectacular was it was similar to others in this style but so much more smooth,intense yet well done and not rough or crude

 

Love the "Should you really be doing this?" look that Teddy is giving you Cheers, Alan!

 

A massive thanks to @Bishop for this one..

Sam Adams - Utopias 2023





Notes:
P Murky deep chestnut, no head
N massive boozy toffee and caramel notes, some burnt sugar, vanilla, amazing
T boozy throughout, toffee, sharp dark fruit/vinous notes, brandy, definitely warming in the finish
Mf spirit-like, with just a touch more body, very little carb, as to be expected
O like a mega English barleywine or a complex spirit, a boozy sipper, what a tremendous opportunity to try it!

Cheers, friends

 

All these weirdos drinking strange-ass samples of Utopias
Why can't anyone be normal like me? Hammered on a Sunday afternoon at a no-name brewery a 20 minute walk from Noborito. This is the way.

Monkey 5 Factory IPA v2 at Over Rev

 

La Superbe Brew Co. (France) DDH IPA Mosaic / Azacca

Fresh 44 cl can poured into an IPA glass. Pops quick with a nice white foam crowning opaque yellow brew.
The nose is outstanding, pineapple, mango and passionfruit just oozing out, piney hop vapors abound.
Taste is fruitilicious; pineapple up front, expressive hop presence, malty cereal and fruit cocktail on the long finish.
Mouth is resinous, but thin. Medium carbonation.
Overall, a well crafted, crushable, straightforward French-made American-style unfiltered IPA.

 

I'll be drinking in Wisconsin in a couple of hours, does that count as close enough?