New Beer Weekend #277

Thanks for the start @Victory_Sabre1973 , here's my new beer from Missouri:

Urban Chestnut Zwickel


Appearance: Clear gold, good head.

Smell: Very bready, doughy.

Taste: Starts mildly sweet, then the doughy note from the smell comes in. A bit of light fruitiness-pears. More dough and a bit of honey in the finish.

Overall: Picked this up in Kansas City since it is not available in MN. A nicely drinkable lager with a good mix of flavors. Going down easy here in the hotel room.

 

Thanks for opening up the weekend tap @Victory_Sabre1973 - I have one tonight that I’ve been wanting to try for, well, since I first saw it.
Of course, that can be said for most of Transients stouts.

Pour is dark, nearly black. As in actual black. The mocha colored head just made it over the entire top before dissipating almost as quickly as it formed.
The taste is maple syrup and vanilla which almost, but not quite overwhelm the coffee stout that carry it all. The rye is almost more felt than tasted, but there is a light rye bite that helps reign in the sweetness.
The feel is nice and viscous, it needs some body to carry all this flavor.
OA, another excellent stout from Transient.
Cheers!

 

Cheers to @Victory_Sabre1973 for getting us going. New offerings were scant this week

Martin House Lizard Milk Sour with Prickly Pear, Watermelon & Lactose, 6.0% ABV; 3.01 overall


Pours a fairly bright & effervescent gold/honey color with a thumb of fast-falling beige head. Zero head retention & lacing

S: Watermelon in spades, some lime & soapy notes

T: Watermelon, some vanilla, strawberry & some prickly pear sourness up front. Watermelon, a touch of sweetness & then for lack of a better word, soapy notes. Finishes a little dry with some sour patch lime strawberry notes

MF: Medim body, fairly firm carbonation

One is enough of this, the soap aspects never quite go away. Not horrible, but close

 

GTA Brews: Saison! from Bickford Brewing Co.

Poured a 473ml can into a tulip. A three finger fine white head on a cloudy light amber. Excellent head retention. It diminishes to a layer that sticks around to the end. Sheets of fine lacing.

Yeast in the nose. Leans fruity. The taste follows the nose. Mild fruit gives way to a dry finish. Mild brett flavours come through in the end.

Very smooth and creamy for a Saison. Overall a subdued but smooth and pleasant Saison. It avoids the harshness that many Saisons exhibit. Well worth a try.

4.06/5 rDev 0%
look: 4.5 | smell: 4 | taste: 4 | feel: 4.25 | overall: 4

 

From later in the evening yesterday.

I found myself in Milton, Ontario yesterday and stopped in at one of my favourite breweries to grab some stuff I’d ordered from their Halloween release. Ive known for years that there is a second brewery in Milton, but have never gone. Reviews have been middling at best and they seem to focus on what I call ‘crossover’ beer; beer designed to appeal to macro drinkers looking to find local alternatives to what they are used to.

This time in Milton, I checked the GPS and realized it was only a 5 minute drive from the one brewery to the other! So, I ventured over to the as yet unvisited one and grabbed a few of their offerings. This is the first I’m giving a go at.



This is Orange Snail Brewers Honey Beer. An ale brewed with locally sourced honey from BackedbyBees.

Pours a light gold with a moderate head that holds strong and dissipates slowly to settle as a light ring around the beer’s surface. Negligible lacing.

The aroma is muted. Light floral notes shine forth most prominently. A little brown sugar there as well. Really rather bland in aroma overall.

The taste is slightly sweet, but honey is not noticeable. The sweetness is not really distinguishable as any type of sugar in particular. The floral notes on the nose are also present on the tongue. Again, rather bland in taste as in aroma.

The body is medium with a good deal of carbonation. 5.5% ABV.

This is a rather bland, milquetoast beer that I’d not bother with trying again. I’m still looking forward to the others I picked up, including a couple of what I believe are brewery flagships, and am hoping for better.

Cheers!

 

2nd Shift Bella Birra

Appearance: Clear gold, good head.

Smell: Mineral-y, light grass, hard to smell.

Taste: Balanced arrival, light breadiness and light sweetness before a solid grassy hop hit. Medium-light bodied. Finishes dry and grassy.

Overall: In Kansas City for a wedding so looked for anything not available in MN. 2nd Shift is from across the state in St. Louis, but fits the bill. This is a very good hoppy pilsner, hits the spot after 7-plus hours of driving.

 

Happy new beer weekend everyone, this week every year is always a special for the Fisher fam. We go to our family “farm” near Lewes, DE…est 1685.

On the marsh, isolated, no TV or WiFi; generations of memories that continue to grow. This time we got in our regular Dogfish visit, Cape Henlopen beach and hike, little fishing, and lots of running around and just being free.

Drank this one last night, my dad brought it down for me to try; drank while we played scrabble and dozed off.

Other Half - Snaps (Hoppy Lager 4.5%)



Pours light watered down lemonade like color, cloudy but see through, white head, bubbly and soapy.

Nose is mostly straw and grain; bright citrus, almost exclusively lemon and lime vibes.

Taste brings pretty much exactly what the nose brought; lots of straw and lemon lime citrus; more depth with very noticeable pithiness.

Body is light; but hop heavy, not chewy, but close; mouth coating drying sensation, low to moderate bitterness; it does have a nice little bite to it.

I was gifted this beer so I can’t complain; is it a beer I’d seek out or buy again no, but that’s just preference.

It’s a well made hoppy, but refreshing lager, from an IPA factory so overall I’d give it a decent grade for what it is. Almost reminds me of a classic amecian pale ale.

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May or may not have a new one in me by weekends end. The view that never gets old…feeling grateful.

 

Cool picture! Unplugging is so important - and so hard to do. We find it takes us a couple days just to get into the concept but it is so worth it! Enjoy.

 

Happy stouturday everyone! Started my new brews today with Branch & Bone's Morning Candle:

Morning Candle | Branch & Bone Artisan Ales | BeerAdvocate





I thought this was pretty good, recommend it if you like maple and coffee imperial stouts! Should be back here in a little while with another couple new beers.

 

Thanks to @Victory_Sabre1973 for kicking off NBW!

Drekker Fluff Stuff Cranberry/Orange Fruited Sour, 6% ABV. Pours thin and medium-red with a ring of pink bubbles that left no lacing. Aroma is strong vanilla/marshmallow and faint fruit. Taste is cranberry and orange up front, some vanilla, moderately tart, slightly sweet. Mouthfeel is a bit overcarbonated. Overall very goodish.

3.87/5 rDev 0%
look: 3.75 | smell: 4.25 | taste: 3.75 | feel: 3.75 | overall: 3.75

We got 4" of snow overnight, our first snow of the season. We're predicted to get 31" this year, so we're 13% done with winter! Looks like I've got a tree growing out of my beer...

 

Happy New Beer Weekend, people! Especially @Victory_Sabre1973 , who has opened the bar and set the taps a-flowing.

Here on the west coast it's still morning, and the weekend is stretching out before me offering a tableau of New Beer delights. As it happens, I had my first new beer last night when I met Mrs. vurt at Breakside's taproom here in Beaverton.



Breakside Albatross IPA
(Collab with Ghost Town Brewing of Oakland, CA)

Albatross is a West Coast IPA loaded with Citra and Nelson Sauvin, which turns out to be an awesome combo in the hands of these two IPA masters. The beer is bursting with Citra flavor and aroma, giving off bright citrus (red grapefruit, lemon/lime zest) enriched with resiny weed. It even has a bit of that green onion character that came through so vividly in Breakside's fresh hop beers with Citra. The Nelson Sauvin character of white grapes and diesel plays a nice supporting role, finding gaps in all that Citra to shine through. A pinch of sweetness makes all those hop flavors really pop. Body is light-medium with bracing carbonation.

Overall, this is every bit as excellent as you'd expect a Breakside-Ghost Town IPA collaboration to be. Great stuff.

 

What a great view! Sounds like a terrific week, and I hope you and your family enjoy every unplugged moment.

 

Another one from yesterday’s visit to Orange Snail Brewers in Milton, Ontario.



This is Rattle ‘n’ Nemo Amber Ale. The back of the can shares a story about taking years to ‘perfect’ this ‘smooth and refreshing amber ale.’ Also noted is the use of 5 malts, though which ones used is not shared. Also noted is its award winning pedigree.

Pours a mahogany brown with a light, fairly quickly dissipating head. No lacing.

The malts take centre stage on the nose. Toasted brown bread, hints of toffee. There is also a background note of coffee peaking through. There is also a periodic off-putting not rubbing alcohol quality on the nose as well.

The taste follows closely. Some grainy fresh bread, light toffee and even a drop of black coffee on the tongue.

Medium body. Light carbonation. 5% ABV.

This is fine as far as it goes. I’d drink it again, but would not seek it out.

 

Continuing my stouturday and NBW with this great Speedway Stout variant:

Speedway Stout - Hammerhead - Bourbon Barrel-Aged | AleSmith Brewing Company | BeerAdvocate





Another one to try for sure if you like barrel aged coffee imperial stouts!