New Beer Weekend #266

A vacation review…we’re finally back at home sweet home. To me one of the best parts of vacation is finally returning, a renewed sense of peace always seems to ensue once were settled back in.

I drank this beer 2 years ago with our friends that we stay with and I wrote the following…

I thought this would be a fun experiment because sometimes I think impressions of beer depend on mindset; whether that be place and mood or preconceived thoughts going in. So I wanted to compare a beer that I reviewed from memory, after the fact, to one that I wrote as I drank it. Summarized the differences at the end of the review...

I also like highlighting the lesser sought after Vermont beers because we all know the ones that hides these ones in plain sight sometimes. This is a great brewery, so now…

Let’s see if my memory jives with an in the moment review written in the same place that I first drank this beer.

Kraemer & Kin - Red Ale (American Red 6.2%)



Pours slightly cloudy, more opaque than hazy; amber with hints of ruby; lightly browned head, above average retention.

Nose is dominated mostly by caramel malt; a distinct toasted grain presence, hops are light but there, sappy citrus.

Taste shows more hop presence, a really nice balance with pretty rich, yet low sweetness malt; the toastiness is again distinctly there, with a sticky grapefruit pine mix on the finish.

Body is medium, smooth carbonation, lightly creamy; long lingering sticky hop tongue-coat, moderate bitterness with pleasant residual malty feel; pairs nicely with the sticky hops; most definitely drinks below the 6.2% listed.

This beer is hoppy but it is not a red IPA; the malt wins out with hops playing a strong supporting role.

I like this beer a lot, it shows richer malt character than I usually like in an amber but it is kept in check nicely by good old school sticky American hops.

Comparison review...did I experience the same beer and impressions?

——————

@Beersnake I will answer your question when I write my proper non-vacation post this weekend, looking forward to this weekend and the beers to come in this thread.

 

Boulevard Brewing 35th Anniversary Ale. A barrel-aged blend. 11.5% ABV. Courtesy of an unknown BeerAdvocate who visited my house in July, and left it for me. I looked deep into my cellar and refrigerators to find something to show up @Beersnake, but I figured I should not go too far. I am riding Elvis Presley's favorite roller coaster at 10am tomorrow. The look is pitch black, with a touch of crimson. There was no foam. The smell leads with candy cane. Sweet and inviting. It follows with chocolate, marshmallow, vanilla, and finishes with mint. The taste is marshmallow, cream, bourbon, mint, and almond. It is indeed a nice blend. The mouthfeel is silky, smooth, soft, and full, with light-medium carbonation. Overall, this is a nice selection. It is a barrel-aged experience that is not exactly an imperial stout, but quite similar. I enjoyed it. Thank you, generous unknown BeerAdvocate!

 

Let’s have a Barbeque!

An old college buddy invited my wife and I (plus others) to a barbeque at his house in South Jersey. We get together once or twice a year to catch up, drink beer and other stuff. My ‘job’ for the barbeque is to bring homebrewed beers. I brought a mixed case (24 bottles) of Bohemian Pilsner, English Bitter Ale, Belgian Dubble, Czech Dark Lager and Classic American Pilsner. The folks did a pretty good job of drinking these beers with only two bottles left at the end (which I left with my buddy Art).

But to circle back to today’s beer there were some commercial beers there so I decided to drink a can of Tonewood Parkway to Paradise which is a Pilsner. Below is the BA description for this beer:

“Parkway to Paradise is an easy-drinking dry-hopped Pilsner. We used premium German malts and noble hops (Perle and Saaz) to make a crisp and refreshing beer that you can enjoy all summer.”

Served in a fancy plastic Solo cup (it is an outside barbeque so…):

Appearance:

Straw yellow with a white head.

Aroma:

On the initial pour I picked up subtle aspects of Sulfur Dioxide (a struck match aroma) and then later the aroma is mostly sweet-ish Pilsner malt. There are some citrus hop aromas in the background.

Taste:

The flavor follows the nose with the sweet-ish Pilsner Malt flavors upfront, but there are hop flavors (e.g., lemon-like & herbal) as well. There is a moderate bitterness.

Mouthfeel:

Medium bodied with a dry finish.

Overall:

I enjoyed drinking this beer, it is very good.

I am a fan of Sulfur Dioxide on the nose. In the past I have sometimes perceived this with fresh bottles of Jever.

Cheers!

@KOP_Beer_OUtlet @rotsaruch @RobH

 

You can’t go home again.
I picked this up because it was my introduction to how amazing beer could taste about 20 years ago. And make no mistake, it rocked my world.
So with fond memories I tried it again, this time with the intention of reviewing it here.

My palate has obviously changed; I remember it being the pinnacle of beer back then but have experienced a wonderful multitude of different beers since.
So - the pour is darker than I expected, almost cola dark and a tight knit beige head of a couple centimeters.
The taste is good, warm bread, dark fruit and some sweet notes to round things out. A touch of spice around the edges too.
The feel is lighter than I remembered, not bad at all, just unexpected.
OA, I used to think this was an amazing beer and I still think it’s really good. Just not the best I’ve ever had any more.
Cheers!

 

Thanks for getting us started. My contributions will be meager this weekend.

I will mention to Mrs. Powell if it's a beer I think she'd like. Otherwise not so much unless wild ingredients are involved.

 

New Province Brewing Co. Haze Parade Juicy Hazy IPA, 6.3% ABV; 3.79 overall

Pours a hazed gold with one finger of beige head. Below average head retention & lacing

S: Melons, peaches, some grassyness & tropical fruit

T: Follows the nose, a little dry, passion fruit to front. Dryness, tangerine, limes & guava as this beer warms up. Finishes with pink grapefruit, a little grassyness, dryness & guava

MF: Medium body, ever so slight carbonation, slightly acidic, pretty good balance

Easy to drink, good not great flavor




bonus pic

 

Not according my son who is rising Junior at U of Arkansas. To be fair, he will drink good beer when I am buying

 

Yowch! Knee replacement?

 

Correct

 

Good luck on the recovery and rehab that I’m sure will follow.

 

Elysian Space Dust


Appearance: Clear yellow-gold, big head.

Smell: Tropical fruits.

Taste: A hint of sweetness to start, but then this is pretty pure old school bitter IPA. Lots of citrus bitterness with just the lightest cracker malt below. Medium bodied, finishes dry and bitter.

Overall: Finally getting around to reviewing Space Dust, this can might be a hair old, as the beer is a little more bitter than I remember with a little less of the sweet grapefruit coming through. Still a good experience as a west coast IPA.

 

That is possibly my favorite can-art ever.

 

Starting off today's NBW with a tasty imperial stout from The Bruery:

Amburana Noir | The Bruery | BeerAdvocate





I liked this one a lot, leans a little sweeter and boozy tasting but I think most people who are fans of imperial stouts would like this one. Will probably have another new brew in a little while. Cheers!

 

I started things off early for the NBW with an outing to four places in nearby Windsor by my Responsible Beer Drinking Club.

It elicited 11 new beers from some of my favourite Ontario craft breweries, that were only available on tap, so, with a pint and 10 4oz. tasters, I had the equivalent of 3.5 brews--easily the most I've had since founding The Responsible Beer Drinking Club just nine years ago this month. But I'm old (18 with 38 years experience), not dead, so I was a trooper, none the worse for wear... and with many remarkable beer experiences. My taste buds will never be the same!
The pint was from our first stop: Sandwich Brewing Company, and their 6.6% New School Cool West Coast IPA (which I'd rate 4/5, or 80%)...



At Walkerville Brewery, they didn't have any new brews, but they had a book that I was excited to get my hands on: The Ontario Craft Beer Guide, Second Edition, by Robin LeBlanc and Jordan St. John (Dundurn, Toronto; 2017)...
At Chapter Two Brewing Company, they didn't have any new beers, but it's always nice to touch base with manager Mikaela...
I was expecting at our last stop, The Cookie Bar, to struggle to find four new beers to investigate in a flight, but, of course, they had 10 (!?), so I grinned and beared it...



The first four of those ten beers were:
--Rouge River (Markham): 5.4% Planet of the APA's American Pale Ale; 85%
--Collective Arts (Hamilton) X Town (Whitby): 7.5% Vert Doubles DIPA; 85%
--Fine Balance (Kingston) X Bossanova (Toronto): 5.6% Proeflakaal Dutch Pale Ale; 80%
--Slake (Picton): 5% Plush Wheat Pale Ale; 80%

More in a bit! Cheers from McGregor! =)

 

My last six of the ten beers from my mega-flight yesterday were:



--Fairweather (Hamilton): 5.1% Yonder Lust Tart Pale Ale; 95%
--Rorschach (Toronto): 6.4% Hedonism Passionfruit Lime Sour; 90%
--Short Finger (Kitchener): 5.5% Fargo Gin Barrel Aged Golden Sour; 95%
--Dominion City (Ottawa): 7% Two Flags American IPA; 85%
--Railway City (St. Thomas): 4.5% Playa Cerveza Mexican Lager; 80%
--Godspeed (Toronto): 4% Sklepnik Czech Pilz; 80%

My first beer for today, poured, and with an article on the film, Being There, is my 5.1% Stiegl Goldbrau, from Salzburg, Austria...



More in a bit! Cheers, from The Responsible Beer Drinking Club! =)

 

I concluded my three new beers for today with my first from London, Ontario's Storm Stayed Brewing Company--their 2.4% Southcrest Extra Light Lager (with an article on the film, Hair)...



Then, to complete my refreshment trifecta, it's the 6.5% Happyness IPA, from Vancouver, BC's Superflux Beer Company (with an article about the film, Kramer vs. Kramer)...



Have a great rest of your day! I've ordered some pizza from McGregor's Columbian Club (the old Knights of Columbus), and my lady Pamela and I are going to watch some contemporary horror cinema... =)