New Beer Weekend #302

And we’re off, thank you @vurt for such a welcoming and fun start, I like how you new beer weekend.

I feel like I just read an unedited modern fantasy novel

I’ll show you how I knew beer weekend on Saturday. Who’s up next?? I’m gonna guess Jack.

 

Yay, I'm early, thanks @vurt for starting this...

It has been pouring down rain all day here...no bother I planned for this...which just means I went and got some beers yesterday in anticipation ha.

Altsadt Vienna Red is up first.

Vienna Lager, 5% ABV.



Pours a dark reddish/orange color. A white head tries to rise to about two fingers. Though that recedes rather quickly to a ring. Some spotty and filmy lace left behind.
Aroma is toasted malts and bread. Cereal grains, and a dusty, doughy yeast cake aroma.
Taste wise, follows the nose, with toasted malts and cereal grains. I would like a more nuanced malt character especially for the style.
A medium body and moderate carbonation. That becomes clean and smooth. The sum is greater than the parts here, as this is enjoyable to drink.

I love Vienna malts, and the Vienna Lager style in general. This is a nice, but not exceptional version of the style. For me the malt character should be more nuanced, as is, just kind of average. Which isn't bad at all, actually still very enjoyable to drink. Just a bit more malty complexity would make this excellent for me though.

Overall score is 3.64, which is a solid B
https://www.beeradvocate.com/beer/profile/49210/579703/?ba=champ103#lists

A rainy, gloomy afternoon, a Vienna Lager...oh that means some Keith Jarrett Vienna Concerts spinning.

 

My second new beer for today...on this continually gloomy, and rainy day...impressively so.

Sierra Nevada West Ghost IPA. 7.2% ABV. I have heard of this one, just from threads on this site...but I don't think I ever paid any attention to the actual can and label design. I'm almost positive I saw this a few weeks ago, but passed right by it. As it resembled absolutely nothing resembling of any other Sierra Nevada I have come by..anyway...here we go.



Pours a perfectly crystal clear golden/yellow color. A dense white head forms, and rises to two fingers at least. Retention for days, and lace left all the way down the glass. This is a looker, as I like to say.
Aroma...Oh man, big and bright up front in the nose. Citrus, pink grapefruit, pine resin, dank. A lovely spicy and floral character that balances this out. Love it.
Taste wise, like the nose, this pops. Citrus/pink grapefruit pith, pine resin, dank, floral spicy. Even a touch of a modern melon kind of fruity character. A faint grainy malt backbone, but a wonderful bitterness lingering.
A medium to full body. Effervescent carbonation, that is crisp, clean and super dry. As easy to drink as any IPA I have come across in a while.

This is spot on. All around really enjoyable and just one of the best new IPA's I have had in a long time. I will be getting more, and hoping Sierra Nevada continues to make this. I don't have much more to say, just get it.

Overall score is 4.27, easy A...and I think the highest score I have given all year, so far.
https://www.beeradvocate.com/beer/profile/140/599268/?ba=champ103#lists

Still raining and storming like crazy out, good thing I have my free jazz from Cecil Taylor and Sam Rivers to keep me company (my trusty dog, Moe, has been hiding under the bed all day, even he is avoiding this day ha). I'll spare you all the free jazz, but look it up if you want something wildly different

 

Thanks to @vurt for kicking off NBW!

Covert Artisan Ice Scream BBA Imperial Stout, 12% ABV. Pours deep brown with a 1.5 finger medium-brown head that left no lacing. Aroma is vanilla and hot honey. Taste is vanilla, melding into honey, then the Ghost and Habenero kick in. Sweet and increasingly hot. There is no sign of the bourbon and rye. Decent mouthfeel, overall very good.

3.93/5 rDev 0%
look: 4.25 | smell: 4.25 | taste: 3.75 | feel: 4 | overall: 3.75

TBH, I wouldn't have gotten this if I had realized it had hot peppers and honey, neither of which I like in beer.

 

Great start @vurt
Well this on his new, within the budget, not bad, but...not likely to repeat,
Bonanza
Decent looking IPA with the typical straw to gold color and a nice fluffy white head. Good retention and soapy lacing.
Aroma pops with an initial, very floral, delivery of peach and lemon blossom. Lemon blossom, to me, has a slight hint of sweet citrus and a rose note.
Flavor is a flavored version of the aroma. Somewhere between peach and mango, but still floral. Kind of coats the tongue.
Mouthfeel is fine for style. Light to medium in heft. Ok carbonation.
3.52/5 rDev -3.3%
look: 3.75 | smell: 3.5 | taste: 3.5 | feel: 3.5 | overall: 3.5

 

Speaking of Texas...Listening to Abiline from Austin!

 

Well, it's a long story but...
Actually, it's not. But I will make it one.

I got this along with the beer I teased finding last week but will not be able to have until at least next weekend... because beer is meant to be shared. Or forced upon people in hopes they grow to be as crazy about beer as you are.

Like this beer - it's crazy (but not being shared). Who would buy a 2.9% smoky beer?!? Or at least buy it hoping it is a bit smoky? Some of us here... including me.

Okay, so Schelnkerla is a smoked beer powerhouse. I am not sure a if Grodziskie is in thei wheelhouse, though. So maybe that's why this is (what I take as) "like a Grodziskie."

Pours a bit lighter than my crappy photo - more straw yellow than the red-shifted exposure I got. The head dropped a bit shortly, but has sustained pretty well since - nice lacing. A quick nose and... familiarly distinctive aromas of smoke. It is definitely richer than I expect from the palate.

First sips were as light in feel and smoke as expected before I got the punch in the nose. Now that I've cleared my head of that... it's light on smoke and... wait......

Well, I'll be darned! There is a decent amount of smoke packed into the light package. It is a lighter beer, but the smoke that fills in late fills in for any body this overtly lower ABV beer brings. If you like the Schlenkerla profile, I argue you'll definitely get it in á la Grodziskie. I'd like to try this against their Helles (which I apparently have not reviewed).

There is definitely some hockey to draw my attention for the rest of the evening, I think.

 

This is a beer I think I would love, will be on the look out…and yes two great games going on right now.

 

Lindeman's Cassis Indulgent Black Currant, 3.5% ABV; 4.15 overall

Pours a foamy burgundy/purple with 3 fingers of pink-ish purplely head. Stellar lacing & above average head retention

S: Some sour notes, a little berry & wet hay

T: Some sweet tart blueberry & currants, a bit dry up front. More sweet than tart, but not out of hand as this beer warms up, slight vinegar notes as well. Finishes fairly sweet, there's also some tartness which I always get with black currents & a bit dry

MF: So sticky on the teeth, light body, delicate carbonation, lovely balance for what is, faint acidity

Easy to drink despite my feelings about Black Currants, a nice one off I suppose, refreshing

 

I am rooting for the teams north of my latitude**.

You might wonder, "Aren't three of the teams playing now north of you?"
If you were not from America, because we don't know from geography (right @JamFuel?)

But I would respond, "Yes."

It actually did take this playoff to solidify my realization as to how complete my turn away from the Bruins to the Capitals has come to fruition that I'm ambivalent to whether a what-are-you-doing-in-the-playoffs "underdog" team wins or my old fave.

**Sorry Montreal fans.

 

Hell(es) Yeah!

The Craft Brewers Conference occurred recently (April 20-23) in Philly and some of the non-local breweries brought some of their beers for locals like me to enjoy. This brings us to today’s beer: Bierstadt Helles.

Below is how this beer is detailed on the Bierstadt website:

“Helles

Helles = Light

We get that color is an oversimplified way to describe a beer, and a Helles can often be dismissed as yellow and fizzy. What it should be is the purest expression of malt in any brewer's portfolio.

Our Helles is around 5% ABV, so it shouldn't leave you unable to defend your views on politics and religion. We often find those topics are the only things worth talking about anyway. The people that say "you shouldn't discuss such matters because it's rude" aren't drinking enough Helles.

And:

“Everybody's Lager

Walk into any Munich Bierhalle and you will see 90% of the people drinking one thing: Helles Lager. When people ask for "Beer flavored bier", Helles is what they want.

The battle for bier superiority has raged over the last 125 years, and pale lager won. In fact, Helles was so effective in its pursuit, it almost rendered all other bier styles obsolete. We recommend drinking a liter to get a true appreciation of its majesty.”

Well, that got me salivating!

Served in my Sly Fox Bockfest Willibecher glass since this event is occurring once again this Sunday (May 3rd). I will once again be attending (I enjoy the Sly Fox Maibock):

Appearance:

Golden colored with a BIG soapy white head (which dissipated fairly quickly).

Aroma:

A pleasant combination of mostly bready/cracker-like malt but also some hop aromas of herbal, spicy and citrusy (lemon-like).

Taste:

The flavor follows with mostly bready/cracker malt flavors but nicely accompanied with hop flavors of herbal, spicy and a hint of citrus. There is a low-moderate bitterness.

Mouthfeel:

Medium bodied, smooth mouthfeel with a dry finish.

Overall:

This is an excellent Helles beer, I enjoyed drinking it. It is malt forward but nicely balanced with hop aromas/flavors. This beer has the quality of drinkability, süffig as he Germans would phrase it.

@rotsaruch @RobH @KOP_Beer_OUtlet @CarolinaCardinals @ATL6245

 

Bad guess.

But I did post as you can see above.

Cheers!

 

Minnesota vs. Buffalo with Lindy Ruff getting carried off the ice on the shoulders of his players with the cup in his arms is my current rooting interest ... surely that counts as underdog vs. underdog, no?

 

Thanks @vurt for the cordial invitation. I dip my toe in a Friday night entry, even after an 11 hour work day. Fine, I didn’t run 100 miles in California with my fraternity bro @Beersnake . Back when he was a freshman he had to run around the quad with his underwear as a headband. He made an impression in by the Delta We Lamda Youalot, the ****ty Sorority. I digress
Tree House Platinum Fern


viewed by TCgenny from New York

4.45/5 rDev -0.9%
look: 4.5 | smell: 4.5 | taste: 4.5 | feel: 4 | overall: 4.5
One month in the can pours gluggy , solid golden yellow milky murk with a fluffy latte head with a beautiful shiny sheen on top yielding a thick soapy film on the side of the glass. Aroma is jumping peach, grapes, orange rind. Tropical fruits of the rainbow, my salivary glands are hurt so good. Oofa this thick, bubble gum after taste is delic, no sense of the 9.4% abv. This is creamy balances sweet with some smaky, neither overt. Medium carbonation….. overall I love the Fern series, and this one is top notch!!

Dedicated to New England’s most New England …. @mickyge 1:33 before the Sabres win!

 

Here's a wild (no pun intended) six degrees (or less) thing with all of it...

Outside of the TB-MTL series, which I have been more or less riveted to, the only other series mildly interesting to me in play was MIN-DAL. About game 5 the realization came to me that they were "the same team" given how moves over time worked.

In explaining it to the GF, I also relayed how Minnesota got our local MLB team (well before my time here), and that our local MLB team was actually stolen from Montreal.

And Tampa Bay doesn't belong in any of this. Ideally

Edit: dammit!!!

 

Lovely photo & as always stellar decriptors!

 

Props to @vurt for starting us off.

Now that my Bruins are out, just down to rooting for underdogs & against teams

Alltech's Kentucky Bourbon Barrel Milk Stout, 12% ABV; 3.98 overall

Pours an effervescent chestnut with a thumb+ of tan head. Above average head retention & better lacing

S: Cocoa, cola, faint Bourbon notes

T: Dry, roasty, definitely some lactose going on & oakyness up front, a touch of boozy vanilla up front. Chocolate milk with a splash or two of Bourbon, & toasty dryness once this beer is warmer. Finishes with vanilla cream & Bourbon bite & just a little cocoa, perhaps a bit too sweet

MF: Medium body, fairly assertive carbonation, warming

Solid, drinks alright. I would possibly buy this again, ABV asserts itself but doesn't detract from this