New Beer Weekend #253

Will definitely hit that should it turn up in Spokanistan. Yesterday, as it happens, my brother and I were drinking a couple Italian pilsners I brought to our parents' house, namely Lumberpunk.

 

Getting a bit off topic here, but this is one I have to take up. While curiosity often wanes (or let's say redirects to more interesting pursuits) in many teenagers, I think a lot of what we're seeing recently is how extended screen time and the media and information consumption patterns it promotes has a profound effect on how the brain processes, interprets, analyzes, and critiques information, and how it uses that information to build useful knowledge. It's this latter portion that concerns me the most.

Luckily for you all, I hate typing on my phone or this post would be much longer.

I'll be back in an hour or so with one inspired by today's thread.

 

I didn’t want to get off topic too much so I left this part out of my post but yes I think it hits the nail on the head.

I too will be back later with a beer, that’s my hope at least, see you all then.

 

Equilibrium Swiss Bliss Imperial Stout, 11% ABV. Pours moderately thick and black, with a half-finger brown head that left nice lacing rings as I drank. Aroma is cocoa, almond, and marshmallow. Taste is strong semi-sweet chocolate, almond, marshmallow, and coffee, moderately sweet, slightly bitter. Thick and smooth mouthfeel with decent carbonation, overall outstanding.

4.52/5 rDev +2%
look: 4.25 | smell: 4.75 | taste: 4.5 | feel: 4.25 | overall: 4.5

This is apparently meant to mimic Swiss Miss. Coincidentally, Swiss Miss was originally manufactured in my small home town, and two of my brothers worked at that factory for a few years. We're having shredded pork sandwiches for supper.

 

I do not enjoy overly sweet beers, but I enjoyed every line of this post. Superb.

 

With @LeRose and @JackHorzempa having differing experiences with different canning dates of Modern Pils, I figured that I'd join in. My can was packaged on 3/12. I can't say for certain whether we had different batches or whether they simply pulled from the lagering tank as needed to meet demand.

The biggest thing I've noticed is that the non-bitter hop notes are only coming out as it warms. The longer I let it sit, the better it is getting (at 35 minutes out of the fridge so far). I've had to edit my review a couple of times, as straight off the pour I had the same experience that @LeRose did. I'm creeping ever closer to what @JackHorzempa enjoyed, though.

Jack's Abby Modern Pils
5.0% Pilsner



Pours bright yellow with a three-finger head of dense white foam.

Aromas of bread dough, slight biscuit, and slight honey, with pepper and a bit of floral hops coming through.

The taste follows what you'd expect for a Pilsner: a drizzle of honey up front that quickly shifts to white bread, cracker, and biscuit; then grassy hops join the party along with slight floral notes, blending nicely with the malt characteristics; finally the hops come to the fore at the finish with lemon and grapefuit, and citrus pith and earthy bitterness that lingers through the aftertaste. As it warms, there is more floral through the middle and on the finish, and honey shows up again in the aftertaste.

Medium carb and medium-light body. Drinks very nicely with a little carb on the palate. Pretty standard JA feel here that I've become quite spoiled by!

Overall, a good Pils but I was hoping for a little more non-bitter hop character from the coolpooling, especially on the aroma where I got almost none.

 

I had to grab a new Tree House Polish-Style Pilsner when I was shopping at thier NY location last Sunday, being of Polish heritage. It features European malts and Polish hops.
During the week Nate from Treehouse highlighted this beer (with a few other beverages) in his weekly YouTube installment.

3.97/5 rDev +1.5%
look: 3.75 | smell: 3.5 | taste: 4.25 | feel: 4 | overall: 4
Purchased cold at TH Saratoga 1-week ago for $14.40/4-pack. Kept cold until served. Poured from a 16-oz can simply dated 2025 to a bulbous, tulip/weizen-like glass.
Pours out almost clear, just slightly translucent with a light to medium gold color. A pure white head forms about ¼-inch/6mm tall. The head lasts maybe 2-minutes and fades to a single layer of bubbles. Lacing is generous with every glass tilt and about 15% of that clings for minutes.
The aroma is quite malty with underlying grass notes.
The taste is also malty in the front, think rye bread. However the effervesce turns on the hops that start slightly bitter but change to a subtle lemony sweetness. After the swallow the mouth dries out like desiccant was in there. Actually interesting.
The mouthfeel is a little heavier than a “standard” Pilsner and also slightly oily.
Although I have had some Polish-originated Pilsners and lagers I don’t have much recollection of them, so I don’t really know how to rate this to style. The beer is enjoyable and interesting. I think it would be great with some Polish food. It would stand up to some heavy flavors well.

 

I'll give that a shot. I did drink it a tad bit fast, but I have three more to play with. I blame it on the barleywines - in contrast, this went down tye hatch in no time! An improved result will mean I'll edit my review accordingly, of course.

I think part of it was that the Jacks Abby-ness didn't seem to be there - there is definitely an expectation with a familiar brewery.

 

I agree with that. That wonderful JA feel was there, but it was missing some of the top quality we've all come to expect.

 

Good Memorial Sunday afternoon, New Beer Sippers and commentators. And thank you again @Beersnake for providing a theme for this weekend's festivities. Like several others have said, I enjoy drinking a new beer alone and carefully considering its appearance, smell, taste, and feel. If I enjoy a new beer at a brewery, I'll try to take some home and write a thoughtful review.

My first new beer today is a two-week-old Imperial Stout collaboration between Twin Elephant and Troon. It was released for TE's 9th Anniversary. Panopticon is brewed with Thai bananas, Ceylon cinnamon, Guatemala Cribbiana and Vanuatu Planifolia vanilla beans. It is aged in both bourbon and rum barrels. 13%. The intent was to simulate a Bananas Foster dessert.

This sucker is very sweet but nonetheless enjoyable. I question whether it will age well given the adjuncts. It was also expensive: $30 for a 750 ML bottle. All that said, it is the work of two well-regarded Stout brewers. While I don't like it as much as I did last year's TE-Troon release called Drag the Lake, I have no regrets. I capped it and will have another glass later.

Poured at 61°. It is nearly ink black with a modest, frothy, dark mocha-colored cap and virtually no lacing. The smell pops with freshly-brewed coffee and cocoa while the bourbon and rum barrel aroma is also strong. Its taste is considerably sweeter than the nose would indicate: the Thai banana flavor is fresh and strong and is complimented by cocoa. The coffee and vanilla bean come through mid-sip and balance the initial sweetness. I also like the spiciness of the cinnamon. The barrel influence is noticeable and although I'm not a rum drinker per se, it works well here. At 2 weeks in the bottle, it is still fairly hot and boozy. This Stout has a creamy, viscous mouth feel. The carbonation level is low but I can feel the 13% ABV.

4.43/5 rDev 0%
look: 4.25 | smell: 4.25 | taste: 4.5 | feel: 4.5 | overall: 4.5

I'll have to reset my palate after this sweet Stout. Cheers!

 

The Brewing Projekt Resist-Double Vanilla

Appearance: Cloudy orange, good head.

Smell: Sweet vanilla frosting, then gives an orange creamsicle aroma.

Taste: Sweet but not overpowering, orange creamsicle flavor—a little bitterness from the oranges and vanilla, but not too much vanilla. Full bodied. Finish has both a bit of citrus bitterness and vanilla.

Overall: Checked out the Brewing Projekt in Eau Claire. Nice facility with all sorts of space to hang out. Grabbed a 4 pack of this milkshake IPA, it's pretty good! Not a total sweetness bomb, pretty nicely balanced. Like it better than Surly's orange cream beer.

 

Now enjoying Into the Blue from the Bruery. Based on the rDev I’m apparently enjoying this to an above-average degree. And that’s just fine with me. Preliminary review below. Cheers!

4.19/5 rDev +6.1%
look: 4.25 | smell: 4 | taste: 4.25 | feel: 4.25 | overall: 4.25
750mL bottle (2024 edition) into a tulip. Pours a ruby coppery caramel mahogany with a 1-finger head.

Aroma is fruity and sweet with hints of oak and sour funk. Not strongly sour or acidic. Mostly sweet bready caramel malt and fruit.

Taste is definitely more sour than the nose, but it’s countered deftly by the fruity sweetness. I’m not overwhelmed by a distinctive blueberry flavor, but the blueberry surely adds to the tart quality of the beer. More oak.

Mouthfeel is squarely medium bodied, nicely balanced, soft on the palate with a nice semi-dry finish.

Overall a solid wild/sour ale. Well done.

 

Just to double check, even after the beer opened/warmed up there was no hop aroma?

I suppose in retrospect the aromas would have dissipated by the 35 minute mark?

If you have any cans left, an exBEERiment you could conduct is to take a can out of the refrigerator and let it sit at room temperature for a number of minutes (maybe 15 minutes?) and then pour the beer into the glass and sniff away.

Cheers!

@LeRose

 

NBS #2 is this week's new release from my hometown brewery, Autodidact: Fractured Quartz, an 8.1% DIPA hopped with Riwaka, Nelson Sauvin, and Nectaron. Auto has been using these hops a lot lately in different combinations. This one is terrific! More tart than sweet and the Nelson is very subtle. I suspect that by next weekend it will be more noticeable. Auto has been brewing small batches lately and canning about 40 cases so the cans are gone within days. It's a joy to be able to drink fresh, unfiltered hazies every weekend.

Canned 6 days before review. It is opaque and dirty tangerine in color. It sports more than a finger of fluffy, bright white foam and very thick lacing. The smell includes lemon, lime, grapefruit, pineapple, and passion fruit. The taste follows and it's big and bold but not overly sweet. The flavors lead with lemon, lime zest, and grapefruit. There is subtle pineapple and tropical sweetness and perhaps a hint of melon. I'm not sure I would have guessed that Nelson was used if it didn't say so on the can. Auto uses Nelson very deftly. When you know it is there you can taste it but it isn't obvious. The mouth feel is vintage Autodidact: thick and plush and it doesn't drink like 8.1%. Before I realized the glass was nearly empty.

4.32/5 rDev -0.9%
look: 4.25 | smell: 4 | taste: 4.5 | feel: 4.5 | overall: 4.25

The first rating was from @SadMachine, whose numbers I respect. I'm comfortable when I'm in his ratings range. Have a great week, everyone. Cheers, NBW!

 

Correct. I got nearly no hop aroma throughout. In retrospect I should have done exactly what you suggest. That was my only can, but I have one of their Modern Fest (potentially trying it tomorrow) and I'll be letting it warm a bit before cracking open.

 

Black Howler Beer Co. (Gentry, AR ) Sentinel Pine Pale Ale, 5.6% ABV; 4.03 This a Veteran Owned/Operated company so I am so pulling for these guys. Based on my visit yesterday, I believe their future is on solid ground.


Pours a chill hazed amber with one finger of cream-colored head. Average-ish head retention & lacing

S: Very bready/cakey

T: Biscuitty malt, dryness, pineyness & slight fruittyness up front. Biscuitty malt with a little toffee, plus pine & dryness as this beer warms up. Finishes piney with biscuitty malt & dryness & a little toffee & just a hint of pear

MF: Medium body, subdued carbonation, good balance, but certainly malt forward

Solid old school APA, very drinkable

 

Maybe Larry (@LeRose ) can conduct an exBEERiment with one of his remaining threes beers.

Cheers!

 

Cheers and Happy New Beer Sunday (well, weekend anyway) everyone! Had some new brews yesterday but was too lazy to post them so figured I'd at least post my one new brew for today. I liked The Bruery's Midnight Frost a lot:

Midnight Frost | The Bruery | BeerAdvocate







Definitely a good brew if you like holiday-type spiced beers, although with all the spiciness I think it overpowered the barrel aging. But with that being said I was a big fan of this one. No more new brews today, now just deciding on having more brews or some whiskies next. Cheers and have a great weekend!

 

Holzlager Brewing from Woodstock, brewed this tasty Black IPA called Trojan Unicorn, purchased at the brewery.

3.77/5 rDev +1.1%
look: 4 | smell: 3.75 | taste: 3.75 | feel: 3.75 | overall: 3.75
Pours a dark brown with a tan head, excellent lacing. Hops'n, smoke. Medium bodied, good carbonation. Its been awhile since ive had a black IPA. Pretty good.